Datatape
- "Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Lord Vader. Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes, or given you clairvoyance enough to find the Rebels' hidden fort—"
- ―Conan Antonio Motti
A data tape, also information tape, was a recording device that could be read by a holoprojector, such as the one standard in R2 units, or a computer terminal.
Significant datatapes in history
The Jedi training ship Chu'unthor had many datatapes about Jedi training. When it crashed in 340 BBY, Jedi Master Yoda lead a rescue team to the wreck. He left the datatapes and reader discs about the Jedi, and prophesied a Jedi to defeat the Nightsisters. In 8 ABY, Luke Skywalker fulfilled the prophecy and took the records. In 40 ABY, these were the majority in the collection of Jedi datatapes of the New Jedi Order.[2]
The plans for the first Death Star were recorded on datatapes, which were stolen by a rebel force and provided to Princess Leia Organa and uploaded into R2-D2. Later, the tapes came into the possession of the Rebellion, and helped in the Battle of Yavin.
Behind the scenes
The use of the word "tapes" in A New Hope was in 1977. In the 1970s, tapes were a modern way of recording audio, video, and computer data.
Appearances
Star Wars: Droids—"The Frozen Citadel" (Mentioned only)- Han Solo and the Lost Legacy
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope novelization (First mentioned)
- Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars (1977) 1 (First appearance)
- Droids (1986) 6 (Mentioned only)
- Death in the Slave Pits of Lorrd
- Star Wars (1977) 16
- Star Wars: Dark Forces
- Splinter of the Mind's Eye (Mentioned only)
"Changing the Balance" – Star Wars Gamemaster Kit (As "data tape")- "Changing the Balance" – Classic Campaigns (As "data tape")
- "A Rebel Agent" – Galaxy Guide 7: Mos Eisley
- Star Wars (1977) 74 (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars (1977) 80
- The Courtship of Princess Leia
"The Masters of Exocron"—The Kathol Outback - Fate of the Jedi: Omen
- Fate of the Jedi: Omen audiobook
Sources
- A Guide to the Star Wars Universe (As "data tape")
- Galladinium's Fantastic Technology
- Alliance Intelligence Reports (As "data tape")
- The Truce at Bakura Sourcebook
- The Jedi Academy Sourcebook
- Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, Second Edition, Revised and Expanded
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Praji on Hyperspace (article) (content removed from StarWars.com; backup link)- Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force
- Xim Week: The Despotica (Part IV: Evocar) on Hyperspace (article) (content removed from StarWars.com; backup link)