Star Wars has finally revealed the mystery behind the creation of the Clone Army and how Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas came to commission it before his death.
The clones have always been an integral part of that galaxy far, far away and its conflicts, not only helping the free worlds in their fight against the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS) but also playing a key role in the destruction of the Jedi Order and consequently, the Galactic Republic. But we never learned why they were created in the first place.
George Lucas originally wanted to reveal Sifo-Dyas as an alias for Chancellor Palpatine, but he changed the role of the Jedi Master to a patsy for Darth Sidious’ plans. He then decided to reveal his backstory in Revenge of the Sith but ultimately cut those plot points to focus on Anakin and his downfall. As a result, we only got to see Sifo-Dyas in an episode of The Clone Wars animated series where it was revealed that he had indeed ordered the creation of clones, and had been killed by the Pykes criminal network.
Now, Cavan Scott’s audio book, Dooku: Jedi Lost, finally gives us the missing pieces of the puzzle that resolve one of the greatest mysteries of the Republic era. In this new audio book, it’s revealed that Sifo-Dyas and Dooku were close friends in the Jedi Order and together discovered the Bogan Collection, a trove of dark side artifacts that were guarded by the Jedi. Eventually, Sifo-Dyas caught the attention of Master Lene Kostana, who was responsible for collecting these artifacts and strongly believed that the return of the Sith was imminent.
Kostana encouraged Sifo-Dyas to learn about the Cosmic Force, a power that granted visions of the future. The Jedi at that time, especially Grand Master Yoda, were opposed to the idea of predicting the future, seeing it as a futile attempt to control the events, which was an expression of the dark side.
The exposure of Sifo-Dyas to the Cosmic Force revealed many visions to him, and when he sensed that a war was coming, he thought the Jedi needed an army, which is why he went behind the Council’s back and commissioned Kamino to create a clone army. Obviously, Palpatine learned of this plan through Darth Tyrannus (Dooku) and integrated the Clone Army into his scheme.
But that wasn’t enough for the dark lord of the Sith. In fact, Palpatine was so concerned about Sifo-Dyas’s abilities that he ordered Count Dooku to kill him. Dooku ultimately paid a crime cartel to do the deed, killing his childhood friend in the process.
At long last, Dooku: Jedi Lost brings the story of Sifo-Dyas, and more importantly, the clones, to a full circle and answers one of the greatest mysteries in the Star Wars universe.
Ultimately, though, this is just another point in the long list of the things that the Jedi did to prevent the inevitable, which only ended up contributing to their demise.
