How The Empire Celebrated The Order 66 Massacre With COOKIES
Every Star Wars fan knows that Order 66 was a huge turning point for the entire storyline and in the life of the characters we've come to know and love. In Revenge of the Sith, after succeeding in his plan to turn Jedi Anakin Skywalker to the dark side of the Force, Palpatine contacts various clone commanders and tells them to "execute Order 66." This results in the clones turning against their once Jedi allies, and almost successfully wiping all of them out.
The scene in the movie is actually one of the most heart-breaking to watch, and the accompanying music makes it almost unbearable. This then leads to Palpatine, now fully embracing his Darth Sidious persona, to disband the Galactic Republic and form the Empire, declaring himself Emperor.
This moment basically defines the entire movie saga as we know it at the moment and has gone down in history as one of the greatest tragedies ever to happen, so you'd think it would be a bit of a somber memory. Well, not to the Empire.
Despite it being a truly tragic moment for many, we mustn't forget it was an overall win for Palpatine and fans of his new Empire. Thanks to some research, we have stumbled upon something which is just a little extra insult to injury for the Jedi and those who still believed in them. Some would go on to mourn the fallen Jedi Order, but others would instead gloat about their defeat by commemorating the victory with something as mundane as cookies.
These treats appeared in the MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies during a live player event celebrating the very first Empire Day, set one year after the almost fully successful Jedi extinction. The event itself was to celebrate Galaxies' five-year anniversary. Whilst playing, Imperial-aligned players could buy them from an Imperial officer who stood next to a statue of the Galactic Emperor Palpatine in Theed on Naboo. They are actually described as "crunchy" with a "delightful aftertaste" and gave players a temporary experience bonus. A little bonus backstory given along with them is that the contents of each pack have been individually counted by Stormtrooper TK-555 to ensure there are exactly 66 cookies.
The design of the container for them is like any other bag of cookies you might see in real life, except the front is emblazoned with two big, black 6's - 66. You can view an image below:
Not content with just allowing certain players to eat them and gain a bonus, all players could actually buy non-edible versions to use as house decorations during the same festival, regardless of which faction they belonged to. Imagine being a character fighting against the Empire, but sporting an ornament commemorating their greatest achievement on one of your shelves.
The cookies would later show up again the following year to celebrate Galaxies' six-year anniversary, this time with a décor version. Interestingly, there was also a Rebel Alliance equivalent to the Imperial cookies. This was a beverage called "Death Star Destruction."
It may seem like a silly thing to draw attention to, but to celebrate such a life-altering, tragic event in the form of cookies seems a little below the belt. Imagine being one of the few surviving Jedi out picking up supplies and you come across one of these packages. It would definitely be a bit of a kick in the teeth, don't you think? Although, with the Rebel Alliance having their equivalent to celebrate the destruction of the Death Star, which potentially led to more lives lost than Order 66, one could argue that both sides are just as bad as each other.
What do you think about Order 66 cookies? Would you buy some? Be sure to let us know your thoughts.
Until next time!
Source(s): Wookieepedia