Ever hear of Alien Exodus?

[Mr. Laser Beam]

It was to have been the first of a three-part Star Wars EU novel, by Robert J. Sawyer. It confirms what a lot (and by that I mean 'I') had always suspected, that all humans in the Star Wars universe are descended from:

Spoiler: SW

Earth

.

It features a group of humans who commandeer a spacecraft and flee the planet, which is being controlled by AIs. This part is actually a prequel, linking SW to yet another film:

Spoiler: prequel

THX-1138

.

It probably doesn't fit well with a lot of the EU works, but then again, what does?

Alien Exodus synopsis

 

[marillion]

But then, wouldn't the "A long time ago" part be wrong?

I mean, if it were people escaping earth, it would have to be a future type thing...

Not sayin', just sayin....

 

[Trent Roman]

Maybe the spaceship hit a wormhole? You also have to account for the "far, far away" part...

And I don't recall THX-1138 being controlled by A.I. A lot of computerized methods of control, yes, but nothing really seemed to be in control of that society, whether human or A.I.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[Klagg]

Apparently Robert J Sawyer's take never saw print. From the Wookieepedia:

Alien Exodus was the proposed title for the first book in a trilogy of Expanded Universe novels by Canadian author Robert J. Sawyer. Unlike the Bantam Spectra novels which were being published at the time, these novels would have been published by Ace Books.
At the time, Ace Books was negotiating with Lucasfilm to publish a series of novels which would tell the backstories of the aliens found in Monsters and Aliens from George Lucas, a book of creature designs and concept art for the original trilogy, the Ewok TV-movies (Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor), and other Lucasfilm productions. When Ace Books approached Sawyer in 1994, he wrote a 10,000 word story outline and two sample chapters, using A Guide to the Star Wars Universe and Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races as additional sources.
However, as negotiations went on, it was decided that the project would use entirely new alien designs (probably because Bantam Spectra still had the rights to publish novels in the Star Wars universe.) After Sawyer dropped out of the project, Deborah Chester became the project's new author. In 1998 and 1999, she published three novels in the Alien Chronicles series—The Golden One, The Crimson Claw, and The Crystal Eye.
Robert J. Sawyer's storyline did not see publication in any form until he posted the outline and two sample chapters for the first novel on his website in 2003.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Alien_Exodus

 

[rafterman1701]

Glad it never saw print. Don't see a reason to link our future to the GFFA. And I especially don't think every George Lucas film needs to be part of a shared universe.

 

[Trent Roman]

^ Nor do I, really, but I've always liked Sawyer's work and would have been curious to see what his entry into the Star Wars universe would have been like.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[Canadave]

Huh. I would have liked to see where RJS could have taken that starting point (not to mention how he could have shoehorned in a Toronto reference or seven ). He's one of my favourite authors, and it's an interesting concept.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

But then, wouldn't the "A long time ago" part be wrong?

I mean, if it were people escaping earth, it would have to be a future type thing...

Not sayin', just sayin....

There was a time warp involved. After the humans fled Earth, they fell into one, and ended up in the distant past.

 

[Fury]

Did a quick search. Here's an outline and first few chapters dated from 1995.

http://www.sfwriter.com/alienout.htm

http://www.sfwriter.com/alien.htm

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Ever hear of Alien Exodus?

Yeah, that was the mass migration of ALIEN fans into outer space.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Maybe the spaceship hit a wormhole? You also have to account for the "far, far away" part...

And I don't recall THX-1138 being controlled by A.I. A lot of computerized methods of control, yes, but nothing really seemed to be in control of that society, whether human or A.I.

The AI could have malfunctioned, like Landru from that TOS episode.

I can definitely buy the explanation that it's computers who were responsible for THX's society. I don't see any society like that being run by actual humans. Nobody is *that* soulless, except maybe for Hillary Clinton.

I also like the fact that *somebody* has tried to explain how the human race could have independently arisen in a completely alien galaxy, and how Earth could be connected to all this.

I agree that the connection to American Graffiti was definitely a stretch, though.

 

[Trent Roman]

I can definitely buy the explanation that it's computers who were responsible for THX's society. I don't see any society like that being run by actual humans. Nobody is *that* soulless, except maybe for [needless political jab excised].

All it really takes is the majority of one generation to decide it's a good idea, and inertia does the rest. Whatever drove human beneath the surface, it was certainly drastic enough for humanity to consider massive societal changes (assuming it wasn't a gradual transformation, which is also possible given some of the cultural remnants that don't seem to have much function in the society, like the utterly disposable consumer goods and the religion). It is, basically, an all-encompassing bureaucracy with no obvious head, where the system becomes more valuable than the constituent units; given the context, pretty clear allusions to Soviet and Maoist projects of collective technocracy, with the element of merit shown utterly absent by the corporate need to remove any real sense of individuality.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman