1337 J0URN41Z

The 1337 J0URN41Z, also known as the Leet Journals, were a series of pamphlets published and distributed by the 1337 N00B5. The journals were first seen in 22 BBY, several months after the start of the Clone Wars, containing mostly essays written by Kaffman pertaining to the moral implications of the war and criticisms of the two factions. Following the Declaration of a New Order, the journals emphasized anti-Imperial propaganda, in an effort to rally the Empire's citizens against Palpatine's regime.

The 1337 J0URN41Z were published solely in 1337, a Holonet hacker's language widely understood in the Outer Rim, but virtually unknown in the bulk of Republic/Empire territory, especially among the upper elite classes that found themselves in a position of power following the rise of the Empire.

History
The journals were originally an extension of Kaffman's historical analysis column, which he published in a newsletter for the University of Corellia. They were published on Corellia and in remote Outer Rim worlds as part of a recruiting campaign, to elevate public perception of the 1337 N00B5 once they attained sufficient power to be self-dependent. The journals' commentary on the events of the Clone Wars threw a critical eye on both the Jedi and the Senate, which inadvertently helped the Sith Lord the 1337 N00B5 were trying to destroy. When it was learned that Palpatine was the Sith Lord they were looking for, the 1337 N00B5 focused their attacks on the Chancellor's office.

Kaffman was not the only writer for the 1337 J0URN41Z. Other volunteers from Corellia, including Syal Niccin, published columns for the journals, though most of these essays were perceived to have the wrong effect by Kaffman.

Following the rise of the Empire, the 1337 N00B5 were forced into exile on Yavin IV by the increasing militarization of the Imperial Navy and the crowding out of the underworld criminal leagues by Black Sun and other syndicates. From their base in the Yavin system, the 1337 N00B5 distributed anti-Imperial propaganda in the secret language all over the Outer Rim. They also chronicled their exploits against the Republic, the CIS, and the Empire, often with exaggeration when Syal Niccin wrote.

When the 1337 N00B5 returned to Corellia to ally themselves with the Corellian Resistance, the journals were a helpful rallying tool.

The 1337 N00B5 also distributed technical information the Empire was trying to keep secret, such as the design of the Eta-3 Jadis-class light TIE starfighter, as well as rumors of the Death Star, though the 1337 N00B5 did not comprehend the full power of that battlestation.

Excerpts
The following are examples of content in the 1337 J0URN41Z, translated from 1337.

Issue 1
Note: This article was re-published in later editions of the journals, as the first few issues took a while to catch on.

Written by: Kaffman, under the alias of DR411BR41N

[WHAT THE KRIFF] A CLONE ARMY?

We all know the news stories. The tension between the seceding planets, collectively known as the Separatists, and the Republic, has finally reached a tipping point. In short, war has begun, and it looks to be one on the largest scale seen in known history. The Trade Federation appears to have been spending much of the last ten years preparing for this conflict, and the Republic now faces a droid army of countless numbers.

However, what is even more alarming is the unexpected appearance of a clone army, fully trained, absolutely loyal to the Republic, and, according to the reports from the Senate, ordered secretly by a member of the Jedi Order. It has been made clear that the Jedi who ordered this army did not do so on the orders of the Jedi Council or the Senate, and that the Republic is only using the clones because they are available to fight an enemy in a time of unparalleled crisis.

Though I, personally, would have preferred a more thorough investigation into this matter, it has presumably only been a couple weeks since this army was even known to the Republic. New information may appear in the future. Nevertheless, it is very suspicious that an agent of the Jedi ordered an army to be produced on a world far from the territory of the Republic, just in time for the first galactic war in a millennium. Was the Jedi's prescience so clear that he foresaw exactly when and how this war would start? Perhaps, but if that's so, why didn't the Jedi foresee the unnecessary deaths that would occur on Geonosis?

A friend of mine, who finds the clone army even more appalling than I, considers the clones to be enslaved to the Republic. She's probably right. When you're a clone, you have no choice in what you can be. Your very individuality is suppressed. You are raised to be completely loyal to a government you don't even live near, and you are expected to die defending that government as cannon fodder as hoards of your brothers charge blindly into combat. Would you like a life like that?

Don't argue that the clones have no feelings. While it is true that the Kaminoans likely engineered the clones to be more subservient to their commanders than a normal human, they are still individual beings. They each have their own perception of reality, and no amount of genetic modification can rid them of that. The clones are thinking, feeling organisms, just like you and I. All that you can do with genetics is change the chemistry of the organism; you cannot rob them of their souls. Unlike droids, which are complex arrangements of if/then logic, processed by completely ordinary manufactured products, clones are living flesh-and-blood, with a presence in the Force.

I'm not here to argue the logistics of the Force, or whether it exists. Science has irrefutably shown the existence of a fundamental energy field that can be manipulated and sensed by Jedi. I am not familiar with the biology of it (though my scientist friend is now telling me that it is linked to midi-chlorians, a kind of organelle), but the Force does seem to have a special presence in living beings. I am willing to bet everything that the troopers in the clone army have this presence as well. What is a few genetic modifications to a beautiful vessel of light energy?

Needless to say, the treatment of the clones, from day one, contradicts everything the Republic stands for: individual freedoms, equal justice, basic rights of a sentient being, and so on. Even the Emergency Powers Act, which apportions unprecedented power to the office of the Supreme Chancellor, contradicts the preamble to the Constitution, which states that it is when power is dispersed among the people that a government is truly effective.

Now, I'm not saying Palpatine was completely wrong to accept the powers. The Senate, which speaks on behalf of the people, did vote overwhelmingly for the act. I believe that when necessary, one can and should sacrifice quainter ideals for the greater good. But we should seriously consider whether the fundamental liberties of an individual are worth sacrificing for anything. Essentially, the Chancellor owns the clones, and the Jedi command them. Is this not wrong? Long ago normal people, like you and I, were conscripted into armies when there was a need for a large army. The draft would certainly rob us of our ability to do whatever we want, but in the case of the Republic, certain rights were usually respected. We were still our own people. The clones, however, are robbed of their entire lives. What happens to them after the war? Assuming the Republic wins, they'll sit around, waiting for another war, with nothing to do, until their growth acceleration kills them at half the age a normal person's life expectancy.

Thanks to the clones, the citizens of the Republic don't have to worry about being drafted. But do we also owe them thanks for the re-introduction of slavery into the Republic? How long will the Republic last once it forsakes its core values?

Do the clones a favor. Don't treat them like animals, or droids, or cannon fodder. The clones themselves may believe that this is what they are, but in truth they are not. If the Republic is still what it claims to be, the Senate will listen to the voice of the people. The clones are now unwittingly a portion of these people, and as citizens, we ought to speak for them.

However, it is fully necessary to recognize that we are at war. The Republic has a responsibility to protect itself, and the clones are its most effective tool for doing so. I disagree with the methods, but the ends are noble. When this war is won (and I am confident that free-thinking beings will be fully capable of winning a war against machines), the clones must become citizens, not slaves. And we must make ourselves sure that no renegade Jedi can ever order such an army again.