August 13, 2025 • 23 mins
Galen’s Revenge.
John & Matt ponder why the Death Star even had a trash compactor in the first place, and chat about possible reasons to justify it, in the way that it exists. They stumble on one idea that’s just poetic enough to make sense, disturbing enough to be possible, and at the same time honors the small acts of rebellion someone like Galen Erso could have made along the way.
Hosts
John Mills and Matthew Rushing
You’ve found the best Star Wars podcast with one-of-a-kind discussions in the spirit of fun! While you’re here, look around our creator-focused network of podcasts with all the best of Star Trek, a deep-dive read of Harry Potter's magical world, analysis of film's greatest directors, and breaking news from top names in international film festivals, and so much more!
Send us your feedback!
Twitter: @TheJediMasters
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNerdParty/
Email: http://www.thenerdparty.com/contact
Subscribe in Apple Podcasts
John & Matt ponder why the Death Star even had a trash compactor in the first place, and chat about possible reasons to justify it, in the way that it exists. They stumble on one idea that’s just poetic enough to make sense, disturbing enough to be possible, and at the same time honors the small acts of rebellion someone like Galen Erso could have made along the way.
Hosts
John Mills and Matthew Rushing
You’ve found the best Star Wars podcast with one-of-a-kind discussions in the spirit of fun! While you’re here, look around our creator-focused network of podcasts with all the best of Star Trek, a deep-dive read of Harry Potter's magical world, analysis of film's greatest directors, and breaking news from top names in international film festivals, and so much more!
Send us your feedback!
Twitter: @TheJediMasters
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNerdParty/
Email: http://www.thenerdparty.com/contact
Subscribe in Apple Podcasts
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm going to regret this.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Welcome to the Nerd Party.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hi.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
This is Nick and Astasu, story editor on Star Wars,
the Clone Wars and Star Wars bad Batch, and you
are listening to aggressive negotiations.
Speaker 4 (00:24):
Lasting across the hyperspace lanes and the Hollownet waves. Is
aggressive negotiations your dose of Star Wars goodness here on
the nerd Party Network. I am John Mills, and I
am joined on this journey by the esteemed Jedi Master
Matthew Rushing, who will illuminate for us the great mysteries
of the Star Wars recipe for humble Pie.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Master Rushing, how are you well?
Speaker 5 (00:51):
I appreciate that, John, And of course I don't know
actually how good my recipe is, but hopefully you will
enjoy this.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
First, You're gonna want to take your first pinch. I'm
just kidding. Yes, Oh man, what does humble pie taste like?
Speaker 5 (01:10):
Do you think in the Star Wars fizzy drink at
Galaxy's Edge that numbs your lips?
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Oh? Oh yeah? That? What was that one called juice
or something like that?
Speaker 5 (01:24):
It possibly is, but but I I probably I think
that's the one I actually had when we went together.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
So Oh you mean where they took back the limited
edition cup after you paid for it.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Yes, and do you know you want to hear a
great story.
Speaker 5 (01:37):
This has nothing to do with the EU, but that
year for my birthday, a good friend of mine gave
me a first edition of one of those.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Well, there you go, take that Galaxy's edge.
Speaker 4 (01:54):
Balance to the force and balance to the terrible customer
service experience you had at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
But you know what a great customer service experience would
be would be if somebody goes on over and gives
us a star rating review over on Apple Podcasts. We
ask you each time, folks, if you haven't yet, please
do so. We know that most people don't, But if
(02:17):
you can find it in your heart to just go
over and at least give us a star rating, that'd
be fantastic.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
A review is just a little bit better.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
But we'll take what you're willing to give because we
do this because we love to give. We love to give,
and we love to also give our thoughts on some
zany topics here in Star Wars. And this is one
of those oddball ones I'm gonna throw at you at
and I'm gonna explain the origin of this whole topic.
(02:45):
I recently went to a hibachi dinner with the family.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
For those not familiar with.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
Habachi, that's where they cook in front of you. They
have like the big grill and they do the cool
stuff with flipping the eggs and the volcano fire and
stuff like that with the onions. And they served us
the soup which has mushrooms fairy delicious broth and the
mushrooms floating in it. And I turned to my youngest, who
I've converted into a Star Wars fan by showing her animation.
(03:10):
I'm just going to point that out, and I said, oh,
doesn't this look like all of the garbage floating in
the garbage compactor? And she wrinkles her nose for a
second and she says yeah. And I said, you're going
to finish that? She said no. I said, great, I'll
take yours. So it got me thinking, though, I froze
for a second. And this is because this is just
(03:32):
how any Star Wars fans brain works. I make the
joke and I look at it and I go, why
did they have garbage compactors on the Death Star? There's
no space? Is a big place, Like what was the
point of compacting the garbage? And so I just want
to sit here just have a discussion, like what would
the point of a garbage compactor be on the Death Star?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Anyway?
Speaker 5 (03:53):
You know, I actually think that that is a really
good question, because the.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Size of the Death Star is so enormous.
Speaker 5 (04:00):
You know, you would think you wouldn't run really run
out of room for trash in the first place.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
And you know, who knows.
Speaker 5 (04:09):
I know we've gotten cross sections of it and everything
like that, but I don't know, like, what what point
is there to have a trash compactor? And maybe it's
just the efficiency of the empire, like they just, you know,
they were worried about all of the cola that all
(04:30):
the guys were gonna be drinking because they're just on
break all the time, and like, you know, broken coffee mugs.
And I mean, seriously, that's one thing I think too
when you think about the trash compactor, and then and
then you kind of extrapolate, okay, like how many people
actually are on the desk start at any one time.
(04:52):
So I mean you could be talking about massive amounts
of trash, sure, but still it does seem like a
very strange thing that you have this huge thing. We've
already seen that the Empire doesn't care about space and
they just dump their trash before they jump to hyperspace.
(05:12):
And so what would cause them to need to compact trash?
Was there a flaw in the design? And there was
there were only a few places that trash was collected,
and therefore they needed to be able to compact it
to create more space.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
I'm going to come at this from a couple angles.
The first one isn't going to say this is a
government project. And if there's one thing any human being
should realize, a government project is full of waste and draft.
And I can easily see somebody bribing their way in saying, hey,
I need some funds and my company's going under Hey Orson,
(05:49):
you know, nudge nudge, could you help a brother out here?
And Orson's like, we need trash compaction on the Death
Star and it's a big speech and before they Gorman
and they realize, oh yeah, we need that, and so
they construct those I have been trying to put my
head around it though, because it's like there's no separation. So,
(06:11):
like I tried to come at it initially from Oh, well,
they could reconstitute things and recycle stuff, sure, pretty easily
because they're going to need more stuff. But if you're
putting food and what looks like construction waste and other
stuff in there, you're you're not separating your garbage. Now,
if you compact it, can you still can't recycle it.
(06:34):
So it's not like the joke problem that the enterprise has,
which is they're recycling everything on there into its constituent matter.
So it make me very suspicious of drinking coffee on Voyager,
But that's just me.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
This coffee tastes a little nutty.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
Yeah, it's a little a little gamey, Yeah, little gamey.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
That's weird.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Yeah, But I'm thinking, is it possible that they compacted
it to use it as I'm sort of fuel for
secondary systems? There was some way they could burn it,
But what could you get from burning the stuff? Like
it would take more energy to burn, like that giant
metal stanchion that they're using to try to stop the
(07:12):
trash compactor.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
Then that like you know that that's a.
Speaker 5 (07:17):
Negative cost right there, So like yes, you know, Okay,
So I have to ask you this question because the
moment we started thinking about the trash compactor. Now, I'm
I'm trying to understand as to why a creature like
the dianoga exists in the trash compactor. And is it
(07:39):
that the Dianoga really enjoys feeding off of, you know,
the the waste from beings and that's what cleans that
part of the trash, and what's left gets compacted and
then is able to to be you know, like put
(08:02):
into smaller forms, which allows them then to like take
those raw metals and possibly turn to things. You see
what I'm saying, like idea, it's a process of elimination,
so you get rid of all the stuff that like
is biological in that and the rest of it is
all stuff that just could be melted down, separated and
(08:24):
used for say ship construction.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
And if you really want to make it, well, I
mean ship repair because if the Death starts to be
a battle station, you got to be able to repair
ships and stuff like that. But I love this idea
because my brain then takes it again. And this is
why we're such a good pair, because I'm the slightly
demented one.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
So I take what you're talking.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
About here, and all the food stuffs go in and everything,
and then I say, well, it was dry when the
Dianoga started eating. So what they're floating around in isn't
just waste water. It's actually the uh, the the levins
from the Dianoga, because every organic creature is going to
(09:09):
expel waste, so they're basically floating in a bunch of p.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
All right, let's go ahead and say it. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (09:16):
See, I think that the whole idea of what the
Empire does with its waste, and and and the question
then about you know, the trash compactor and everything. You know,
it really is an interesting question because you know, when
you think about what happened in Empire strikes back and
(09:38):
they just dump their trash in space and then they
just leave it, it does remind you of and it's
just one of these things where it's like this small
reminder of how little the Empire cares about anything but itself,
(09:59):
right uh. And so if you think about this is
the idea that it's standard operating procedure that they would
just dump their trash before they they you know, light
speed out of a place. Well, I mean, if you're
in orbit of a planet, you do that, well, that's
just going to come crashing down on a planet or
(10:19):
be an orbit of that planet, right. Uh, And and
so there's so little care for the Empire about anything
else other than themselves. And I just find that to
be incredibly fascinating. And it's one of those those areas
where you know, I think everybody is just kind of reminded. Yeah,
the Empire just doesn't care about anybody with them.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
And so but is there is there anything else that
so if we if.
Speaker 5 (10:50):
We can pacted this trash down, like, is that the
kind of thing too that you know, we saw a
world like Feryx right where it seems to be a
place where they bring old ships and things to be
taken apart and broken into parts and then utilized basically
(11:10):
as a you know, intergalactic junk yard, so that you know,
if you need certain parts, this is the type of
place you come. Is that also the type of thing
where a trash compactor just compacts everything and then it's
brought to maybe a place like Feryx, you know, a
(11:30):
planet that's that's kind of run on taking apart old things,
and then the Empire then at that point starts to
get a cut of that.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
Okay, So you're saying from like a financial standpoint, the
Empire drops that off.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Yes, yeah, like it's a part of like a business arrangement.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
I could see that.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
The thing is, though they then have to transport the
stuff there, and I'm like that that really seems too
I would view it as they wouldn't go to Feryx
or a place like Feryx. They would keep it internal only,
and you know, let's extend it even to the command ship.
In the Last Jedi A sequel, fans, I'm throwing you
(12:14):
a bone here, there's like a construction plant on there.
I wonder specifically about the Death Star if they would
have had their own construction plant on there, because the
best space station would be one that would be self
sufficient enough not just to repair ships, but to construct them.
And if it's that large, I know, we have our
(12:36):
cross sections and stuff, but none of that stuff's like
really official official. It's brilliant, it's beautiful, and I love
the cross sections and location stuff.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
I'm not knocking that stuff at all.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
There's some of my favorite books that they ever released,
and like, I would see it with the Death Star
that they would be putting it into its own on
premises like ship construction plant because think about it. If
you have a space state, like I'd love a story
if let's lean into this right where they're doing the
trash compactor, organic matter gets eaten by the dianoga, dianoga
(13:11):
goes off, they clean it, they press it, they dry it,
they put it down there. Think about the ultimate test
facility for high concept weapons, new prototypes. Yeah, it's contained
on the desk start. There's zero security problems with that
at all. You've suddenly created this self contained You could
(13:33):
make new superships without anybody knowing or able to track
down where it is. Desk Star can just go off
to the outer rim, float around for a little bit,
test the thing, and then fly back over and watch it.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
You know, I don't know.
Speaker 5 (13:49):
Yeah, I mean yeah, it is one of those things too,
where by asking the question we also are like, yeah,
we get it. I mean, it's just it makes flo
a fund sequence, and so I don't think any more
thought was put into it than that.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Oh goodness, no, not at all.
Speaker 5 (14:09):
But at the same time, when I do think about
the size of the Death Star, that it's basically larger
than some moons that are fully occupied with people, And
you think about all of.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
The the the crew.
Speaker 5 (14:28):
You think all of the soldiers, all of the ships
that can dock in there, all of that, and you
think about all of the waste that is generated by
that much stuff, that many people, that much going on.
I do think it can make sense as to why
you would need something like this, because even as big
(14:52):
as the Death Star is, you know, I mean we
as human beings, right, you just think about the small mounts.
You think about the small areas in our house that
are devoted to the trash that we can elect, right,
it's not very much. And so but then you multiply
(15:13):
that by the size of a small moon. I think
that you can kind of understand as to why, even
with as big as the Death Star is, you know,
do you want to be giving tons of space to
trash collection or do you realize, hey, you know what,
we could we could have less space to devoted to
(15:35):
this and devote more space to other things if we
just use trash compactors, and that allows us to be
more Again, it becomes about the efficiency of the thing,
which you know, as you mentioned, this is a government project,
which you know, they're really known for their efficiency. But
this seems like a place where you might actually be
(15:55):
thinking about that, right, because because the military itself when
it comes to that type of stuff, when you think
about submarine life, when you think about you know, aircraft
carrier life, that type of stuff, they are very efficient
with space, right they have to be. And so this,
even though you're on something again this big, it does
(16:17):
actually kind of make sense that you might be thinking
from when you're thinking from an engineering standpoint, an engineer's
thought process.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
This this actually makes a little bit more sense.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
But see, I would I would say just to just
have fun with it to counter argue your your efficiency
standpoint on that is, the test star appears to be
largely hollow on the inside, even from the little shots
that we get. So I can't imagine anybody walking to
the trash receptacle. There has to be some sort of
like null gravity field area down near the core where
(16:50):
there's just like this ball of trash floating, you know,
like wait, it's just like wait, that's.
Speaker 6 (16:57):
Why in Robot Chicken, where the guy to just keeps
falling and he hits the ground or the guy's like
come on, because he's the one down there who's sweeping
it all into where it goes, right.
Speaker 4 (17:09):
Yeah, But I mean, well, you know, come up what
troopers like, Oh I'm waiting for tuty, I'll just sort
of wrapper over the side here, you know, and then
just like that rapper just floats on down and all
those sorts of things. You know.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Well, I mean it's a lot of fun to ponder.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
So, you know, if if you had to say you're
pressed and the trash compactor is there, I mean I
have to honestly question one last thing. Why was there
a great that would allow the smell of the trash
(17:46):
compactor to waft up into the cell block? Was that
on purpose to punish people for working in this because
she blows a greater part to jump down in there
that has very obvious slat in it that are allowing
vapor to escape, which from a large sense makes sense
because you don't want the gases to build up you
(18:07):
have problems. Then that's why landfills have the little you know,
exhaust vents that that spout flame every so often, methane
and everything. But why would you put those grates in
the hallway?
Speaker 1 (18:19):
I mean, can you can you answer that one for me?
On our way out the door here?
Speaker 5 (18:23):
Yeah, that's that's a great question, because you you think
about the opportunity that you know, if you're if you're
cleaning a cell, you know somebody's and and then and
you know, maybe maybe they are really about cleanliness.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
Who knows in the empire, and.
Speaker 5 (18:43):
Is that every place that we see empire wise looks
very clean and sterile, and so that those grates are
there for you know, the cleaning crews to just throw
the trash down to the compactor. But sure, why is
it open? Uh? I think it is a great question,
especially when the doors to the compact, especially the doors
(19:06):
to the cells closed, so they wouldn't be able to
smell what's on the outside. I think that this was
a real engineering flaw here. And that's actually what Galen
Urso spent so much time working on. Was he was
going to make their.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
Own make sure that they smelled their own exactly.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
But he made their lives.
Speaker 5 (19:26):
As you know, just for the few short moments that
the Death Star was fully operational, that they smelled their
own crap.
Speaker 6 (19:35):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (19:36):
And I like that, Yeah, that was that was his
ultimate revenge other than it getting destroyed. That was the
other ultimate revenge from Katelyn.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
That was the part of the hologram that they never
got to play because the death Star shot Jetta that
the second half of the hologram was like eed gin
as it added bonus smell. That's right, entire place smells awful.
That was my final revenge.
Speaker 6 (20:05):
You think about it that way, that's the name of
the episode, Gaalan's Revenge.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
It's like Manta Zuma's revenge. Boom, there you go. I
love this. I absolutely love it. You know what, we
figured it out. The whole trash compactor mysteries are solved
here on aggressive negotiations.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
That's what we do.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
And that's the thing.
Speaker 5 (20:27):
When you compat to the trash, it actually smells worse,
you know, because you're mixing it up right.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
Actually, oh, that's why there's a door. Somebody has to
go and get it exactly.
Speaker 4 (20:38):
Yes, guest Star really seems terrible, But you know what
is not terrible, what is in fact delightful, is connecting
with you on social media. So where can people find
you out there in the wilds of the Internet.
Speaker 5 (20:56):
Well, yes, if you like to do that, please do
that over on any the social media platforms. You'll want
to search for Matt Rushing zero two. If I'm on
that platform, you'll find me under that name. We'd love
to talk to you. Of course, here on the network,
you'll also find me outside Aggressive Negotiations on our posts
talking about every single chapter of the Harry Potter series,
(21:17):
one chapter at the time, so enjoy that. And then
over on the TFM network, I've got a bunch of
shows talking about Star Trek that you can listen to,
whether it's Strange New Worlds or Deep Staatenime, Voyage or
Enterprise so many others.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Check those out.
Speaker 5 (21:32):
You can also find me doing the six or two Club,
which is a general geek show, and we just talk
about all of the franchises we love outside of Star Trek.
So and John's a frequent guest over there, so if
you'd like to check all those out, we'd love that.
But you know, John, if people are wondering if they
could maybe get a trash compactor installed in their house
(21:56):
and they're wanting some tips, where can they find you.
Speaker 4 (21:59):
Well, you can send that to orson Krenik care of
Kessel Junkie Online k E, S, S E, L j
U and k I E. You know it connects with
me on letterbox, folks, because I make a habit of
watching lots of movies, lots and lots of movies, and
I love talking about them with people. So, speaking of
loving talking about movies with people, I co host a
(22:20):
show here on the Network called house Lights with Tristan
Riddell and Darren Moser, where we have a lot of
fun talking about the different works of directors their entire careers,
sometimes depending on how many movies that is, but otherwise
we cut it up by topic and decade. We have
a lot of fun with it. So come on and
over and join us there. But Matt, I want to
(22:41):
invite you to join me over to the Jedi Temple,
where I have a new prototype trash compactor that unfortunately
was built right next to Master windows quarters and it's
made him even grumpier than usual.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
So it could use your hand on this.
Speaker 4 (22:57):
So I think it's time that we get back there
and close these negotiations.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
John, negotiations are closed. Join the Revolution, Join the Nerd Party.
I'm going to regret this.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Welcome to the Nerd Party.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hi.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
This is Nick and Astasu, story editor on Star Wars,
the Clone Wars and Star Wars bad Batch, and you
are listening to aggressive negotiations.
Speaker 4 (00:24):
Lasting across the hyperspace lanes and the Hollownet waves. Is
aggressive negotiations your dose of Star Wars goodness here on
the nerd Party Network. I am John Mills, and I
am joined on this journey by the esteemed Jedi Master
Matthew Rushing, who will illuminate for us the great mysteries
of the Star Wars recipe for humble Pie.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Master Rushing, how are you well?
Speaker 5 (00:51):
I appreciate that, John, And of course I don't know
actually how good my recipe is, but hopefully you will
enjoy this.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
First, You're gonna want to take your first pinch. I'm
just kidding. Yes, Oh man, what does humble pie taste like?
Speaker 5 (01:10):
Do you think in the Star Wars fizzy drink at
Galaxy's Edge that numbs your lips?
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Oh? Oh yeah? That? What was that one called juice
or something like that?
Speaker 5 (01:24):
It possibly is, but but I I probably I think
that's the one I actually had when we went together.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
So Oh you mean where they took back the limited
edition cup after you paid for it.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Yes, and do you know you want to hear a
great story.
Speaker 5 (01:37):
This has nothing to do with the EU, but that
year for my birthday, a good friend of mine gave
me a first edition of one of those.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Well, there you go, take that Galaxy's edge.
Speaker 4 (01:54):
Balance to the force and balance to the terrible customer
service experience you had at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
But you know what a great customer service experience would
be would be if somebody goes on over and gives
us a star rating review over on Apple Podcasts. We
ask you each time, folks, if you haven't yet, please
do so. We know that most people don't, But if
(02:17):
you can find it in your heart to just go
over and at least give us a star rating, that'd
be fantastic.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
A review is just a little bit better.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
But we'll take what you're willing to give because we
do this because we love to give. We love to give,
and we love to also give our thoughts on some
zany topics here in Star Wars. And this is one
of those oddball ones I'm gonna throw at you at
and I'm gonna explain the origin of this whole topic.
(02:45):
I recently went to a hibachi dinner with the family.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
For those not familiar with.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
Habachi, that's where they cook in front of you. They
have like the big grill and they do the cool
stuff with flipping the eggs and the volcano fire and
stuff like that with the onions. And they served us
the soup which has mushrooms fairy delicious broth and the
mushrooms floating in it. And I turned to my youngest, who
I've converted into a Star Wars fan by showing her animation.
(03:10):
I'm just going to point that out, and I said, oh,
doesn't this look like all of the garbage floating in
the garbage compactor? And she wrinkles her nose for a
second and she says yeah. And I said, you're going
to finish that? She said no. I said, great, I'll
take yours. So it got me thinking, though, I froze
for a second. And this is because this is just
(03:32):
how any Star Wars fans brain works. I make the
joke and I look at it and I go, why
did they have garbage compactors on the Death Star? There's
no space? Is a big place, Like what was the
point of compacting the garbage? And so I just want
to sit here just have a discussion, like what would
the point of a garbage compactor be on the Death Star?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Anyway?
Speaker 5 (03:53):
You know, I actually think that that is a really
good question, because the.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Size of the Death Star is so enormous.
Speaker 5 (04:00):
You know, you would think you wouldn't run really run
out of room for trash in the first place.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
And you know, who knows.
Speaker 5 (04:09):
I know we've gotten cross sections of it and everything
like that, but I don't know, like, what what point
is there to have a trash compactor? And maybe it's
just the efficiency of the empire, like they just, you know,
they were worried about all of the cola that all
(04:30):
the guys were gonna be drinking because they're just on
break all the time, and like, you know, broken coffee mugs.
And I mean, seriously, that's one thing I think too
when you think about the trash compactor, and then and
then you kind of extrapolate, okay, like how many people
actually are on the desk start at any one time.
(04:52):
So I mean you could be talking about massive amounts
of trash, sure, but still it does seem like a
very strange thing that you have this huge thing. We've
already seen that the Empire doesn't care about space and
they just dump their trash before they jump to hyperspace.
(05:12):
And so what would cause them to need to compact trash?
Was there a flaw in the design? And there was
there were only a few places that trash was collected,
and therefore they needed to be able to compact it
to create more space.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
I'm going to come at this from a couple angles.
The first one isn't going to say this is a
government project. And if there's one thing any human being
should realize, a government project is full of waste and draft.
And I can easily see somebody bribing their way in saying, hey,
I need some funds and my company's going under Hey Orson,
(05:49):
you know, nudge nudge, could you help a brother out here?
And Orson's like, we need trash compaction on the Death
Star and it's a big speech and before they Gorman
and they realize, oh yeah, we need that, and so
they construct those I have been trying to put my
head around it though, because it's like there's no separation. So,
(06:11):
like I tried to come at it initially from Oh, well,
they could reconstitute things and recycle stuff, sure, pretty easily
because they're going to need more stuff. But if you're
putting food and what looks like construction waste and other
stuff in there, you're you're not separating your garbage. Now,
if you compact it, can you still can't recycle it.
(06:34):
So it's not like the joke problem that the enterprise has,
which is they're recycling everything on there into its constituent matter.
So it make me very suspicious of drinking coffee on Voyager,
But that's just me.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
This coffee tastes a little nutty.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
Yeah, it's a little a little gamey, Yeah, little gamey.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
That's weird.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Yeah, But I'm thinking, is it possible that they compacted
it to use it as I'm sort of fuel for
secondary systems? There was some way they could burn it,
But what could you get from burning the stuff? Like
it would take more energy to burn, like that giant
metal stanchion that they're using to try to stop the
(07:12):
trash compactor.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
Then that like you know that that's a.
Speaker 5 (07:17):
Negative cost right there, So like yes, you know, Okay,
So I have to ask you this question because the
moment we started thinking about the trash compactor. Now, I'm
I'm trying to understand as to why a creature like
the dianoga exists in the trash compactor. And is it
(07:39):
that the Dianoga really enjoys feeding off of, you know,
the the waste from beings and that's what cleans that
part of the trash, and what's left gets compacted and
then is able to to be you know, like put
(08:02):
into smaller forms, which allows them then to like take
those raw metals and possibly turn to things. You see
what I'm saying, like idea, it's a process of elimination,
so you get rid of all the stuff that like
is biological in that and the rest of it is
all stuff that just could be melted down, separated and
(08:24):
used for say ship construction.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
And if you really want to make it, well, I
mean ship repair because if the Death starts to be
a battle station, you got to be able to repair
ships and stuff like that. But I love this idea
because my brain then takes it again. And this is
why we're such a good pair, because I'm the slightly
demented one.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
So I take what you're talking.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
About here, and all the food stuffs go in and everything,
and then I say, well, it was dry when the
Dianoga started eating. So what they're floating around in isn't
just waste water. It's actually the uh, the the levins
from the Dianoga, because every organic creature is going to
(09:09):
expel waste, so they're basically floating in a bunch of p.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
All right, let's go ahead and say it. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (09:16):
See, I think that the whole idea of what the
Empire does with its waste, and and and the question
then about you know, the trash compactor and everything. You know,
it really is an interesting question because you know, when
you think about what happened in Empire strikes back and
(09:38):
they just dump their trash in space and then they
just leave it, it does remind you of and it's
just one of these things where it's like this small
reminder of how little the Empire cares about anything but itself,
(09:59):
right uh. And so if you think about this is
the idea that it's standard operating procedure that they would
just dump their trash before they they you know, light
speed out of a place. Well, I mean, if you're
in orbit of a planet, you do that, well, that's
just going to come crashing down on a planet or
(10:19):
be an orbit of that planet, right. Uh, And and
so there's so little care for the Empire about anything
else other than themselves. And I just find that to
be incredibly fascinating. And it's one of those those areas
where you know, I think everybody is just kind of reminded. Yeah,
the Empire just doesn't care about anybody with them.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
And so but is there is there anything else that
so if we if.
Speaker 5 (10:50):
We can pacted this trash down, like, is that the
kind of thing too that you know, we saw a
world like Feryx right where it seems to be a
place where they bring old ships and things to be
taken apart and broken into parts and then utilized basically
(11:10):
as a you know, intergalactic junk yard, so that you know,
if you need certain parts, this is the type of
place you come. Is that also the type of thing
where a trash compactor just compacts everything and then it's
brought to maybe a place like Feryx, you know, a
(11:30):
planet that's that's kind of run on taking apart old things,
and then the Empire then at that point starts to
get a cut of that.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
Okay, So you're saying from like a financial standpoint, the
Empire drops that off.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Yes, yeah, like it's a part of like a business arrangement.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
I could see that.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
The thing is, though they then have to transport the
stuff there, and I'm like that that really seems too
I would view it as they wouldn't go to Feryx
or a place like Feryx. They would keep it internal only,
and you know, let's extend it even to the command ship.
In the Last Jedi A sequel, fans, I'm throwing you
(12:14):
a bone here, there's like a construction plant on there.
I wonder specifically about the Death Star if they would
have had their own construction plant on there, because the
best space station would be one that would be self
sufficient enough not just to repair ships, but to construct them.
And if it's that large, I know, we have our
(12:36):
cross sections and stuff, but none of that stuff's like
really official official. It's brilliant, it's beautiful, and I love
the cross sections and location stuff.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
I'm not knocking that stuff at all.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
There's some of my favorite books that they ever released,
and like, I would see it with the Death Star
that they would be putting it into its own on
premises like ship construction plant because think about it. If
you have a space state, like I'd love a story
if let's lean into this right where they're doing the
trash compactor, organic matter gets eaten by the dianoga, dianoga
(13:11):
goes off, they clean it, they press it, they dry it,
they put it down there. Think about the ultimate test
facility for high concept weapons, new prototypes. Yeah, it's contained
on the desk start. There's zero security problems with that
at all. You've suddenly created this self contained You could
(13:33):
make new superships without anybody knowing or able to track
down where it is. Desk Star can just go off
to the outer rim, float around for a little bit,
test the thing, and then fly back over and watch it.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
You know, I don't know.
Speaker 5 (13:49):
Yeah, I mean yeah, it is one of those things too,
where by asking the question we also are like, yeah,
we get it. I mean, it's just it makes flo
a fund sequence, and so I don't think any more
thought was put into it than that.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Oh goodness, no, not at all.
Speaker 5 (14:09):
But at the same time, when I do think about
the size of the Death Star, that it's basically larger
than some moons that are fully occupied with people, And
you think about all of.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
The the the crew.
Speaker 5 (14:28):
You think all of the soldiers, all of the ships
that can dock in there, all of that, and you
think about all of the waste that is generated by
that much stuff, that many people, that much going on.
I do think it can make sense as to why
you would need something like this, because even as big
(14:52):
as the Death Star is, you know, I mean we
as human beings, right, you just think about the small mounts.
You think about the small areas in our house that
are devoted to the trash that we can elect, right,
it's not very much. And so but then you multiply
(15:13):
that by the size of a small moon. I think
that you can kind of understand as to why, even
with as big as the Death Star is, you know,
do you want to be giving tons of space to
trash collection or do you realize, hey, you know what,
we could we could have less space to devoted to
(15:35):
this and devote more space to other things if we
just use trash compactors, and that allows us to be
more Again, it becomes about the efficiency of the thing,
which you know, as you mentioned, this is a government project,
which you know, they're really known for their efficiency. But
this seems like a place where you might actually be
(15:55):
thinking about that, right, because because the military itself when
it comes to that type of stuff, when you think
about submarine life, when you think about you know, aircraft
carrier life, that type of stuff, they are very efficient
with space, right they have to be. And so this,
even though you're on something again this big, it does
(16:17):
actually kind of make sense that you might be thinking
from when you're thinking from an engineering standpoint, an engineer's
thought process.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
This this actually makes a little bit more sense.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
But see, I would I would say just to just
have fun with it to counter argue your your efficiency
standpoint on that is, the test star appears to be
largely hollow on the inside, even from the little shots
that we get. So I can't imagine anybody walking to
the trash receptacle. There has to be some sort of
like null gravity field area down near the core where
(16:50):
there's just like this ball of trash floating, you know,
like wait, it's just like wait, that's.
Speaker 6 (16:57):
Why in Robot Chicken, where the guy to just keeps
falling and he hits the ground or the guy's like
come on, because he's the one down there who's sweeping
it all into where it goes, right.
Speaker 4 (17:09):
Yeah, But I mean, well, you know, come up what
troopers like, Oh I'm waiting for tuty, I'll just sort
of wrapper over the side here, you know, and then
just like that rapper just floats on down and all
those sorts of things. You know.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Well, I mean it's a lot of fun to ponder.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
So, you know, if if you had to say you're
pressed and the trash compactor is there, I mean I
have to honestly question one last thing. Why was there
a great that would allow the smell of the trash
(17:46):
compactor to waft up into the cell block? Was that
on purpose to punish people for working in this because
she blows a greater part to jump down in there
that has very obvious slat in it that are allowing
vapor to escape, which from a large sense makes sense
because you don't want the gases to build up you
(18:07):
have problems. Then that's why landfills have the little you know,
exhaust vents that that spout flame every so often, methane
and everything. But why would you put those grates in
the hallway?
Speaker 1 (18:19):
I mean, can you can you answer that one for me?
On our way out the door here?
Speaker 5 (18:23):
Yeah, that's that's a great question, because you you think
about the opportunity that you know, if you're if you're
cleaning a cell, you know somebody's and and then and
you know, maybe maybe they are really about cleanliness.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
Who knows in the empire, and.
Speaker 5 (18:43):
Is that every place that we see empire wise looks
very clean and sterile, and so that those grates are
there for you know, the cleaning crews to just throw
the trash down to the compactor. But sure, why is
it open? Uh? I think it is a great question,
especially when the doors to the compact, especially the doors
(19:06):
to the cells closed, so they wouldn't be able to
smell what's on the outside. I think that this was
a real engineering flaw here. And that's actually what Galen
Urso spent so much time working on. Was he was
going to make their.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
Own make sure that they smelled their own exactly.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
But he made their lives.
Speaker 5 (19:26):
As you know, just for the few short moments that
the Death Star was fully operational, that they smelled their
own crap.
Speaker 6 (19:35):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (19:36):
And I like that, Yeah, that was that was his
ultimate revenge other than it getting destroyed. That was the
other ultimate revenge from Katelyn.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
That was the part of the hologram that they never
got to play because the death Star shot Jetta that
the second half of the hologram was like eed gin
as it added bonus smell. That's right, entire place smells awful.
That was my final revenge.
Speaker 6 (20:05):
You think about it that way, that's the name of
the episode, Gaalan's Revenge.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
It's like Manta Zuma's revenge. Boom, there you go. I
love this. I absolutely love it. You know what, we
figured it out. The whole trash compactor mysteries are solved
here on aggressive negotiations.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
That's what we do.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
And that's the thing.
Speaker 5 (20:27):
When you compat to the trash, it actually smells worse,
you know, because you're mixing it up right.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
Actually, oh, that's why there's a door. Somebody has to
go and get it exactly.
Speaker 4 (20:38):
Yes, guest Star really seems terrible, But you know what
is not terrible, what is in fact delightful, is connecting
with you on social media. So where can people find
you out there in the wilds of the Internet.
Speaker 5 (20:56):
Well, yes, if you like to do that, please do
that over on any the social media platforms. You'll want
to search for Matt Rushing zero two. If I'm on
that platform, you'll find me under that name. We'd love
to talk to you. Of course, here on the network,
you'll also find me outside Aggressive Negotiations on our posts
talking about every single chapter of the Harry Potter series,
(21:17):
one chapter at the time, so enjoy that. And then
over on the TFM network, I've got a bunch of
shows talking about Star Trek that you can listen to,
whether it's Strange New Worlds or Deep Staatenime, Voyage or
Enterprise so many others.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Check those out.
Speaker 5 (21:32):
You can also find me doing the six or two Club,
which is a general geek show, and we just talk
about all of the franchises we love outside of Star Trek.
So and John's a frequent guest over there, so if
you'd like to check all those out, we'd love that.
But you know, John, if people are wondering if they
could maybe get a trash compactor installed in their house
(21:56):
and they're wanting some tips, where can they find you.
Speaker 4 (21:59):
Well, you can send that to orson Krenik care of
Kessel Junkie Online k E, S, S E, L j
U and k I E. You know it connects with
me on letterbox, folks, because I make a habit of
watching lots of movies, lots and lots of movies, and
I love talking about them with people. So, speaking of
loving talking about movies with people, I co host a
(22:20):
show here on the Network called house Lights with Tristan
Riddell and Darren Moser, where we have a lot of
fun talking about the different works of directors their entire careers,
sometimes depending on how many movies that is, but otherwise
we cut it up by topic and decade. We have
a lot of fun with it. So come on and
over and join us there. But Matt, I want to
(22:41):
invite you to join me over to the Jedi Temple,
where I have a new prototype trash compactor that unfortunately
was built right next to Master windows quarters and it's
made him even grumpier than usual.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
So it could use your hand on this.
Speaker 4 (22:57):
So I think it's time that we get back there
and close these negotiations.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
John, negotiations are closed. Join the Revolution, Join the Nerd Party.
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