Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Reign of the Empire – The Mask of Fear
Star Wars has recently confirmed the existence of “The Century Plan”, a key reason for Palpatine’s overconfidence that was originally justified when his Empire first came into power. As revealed in a new novel set mere weeks after the events of Revenge of the Sith, it’s confirmed that Mon Mothma, the future leader of the Rebel Alliance, had a dark dialogue with Mas Amedda, Grand Vizier to the Emperor himself. Now, this previously unseen moment in the Star Wars canon serves as the first time Mothma understood the true scope of Palpatine’s power under the new Imperial regime.
Alexander Freed’s Reign of the Empire – The Mask of Fear is the first in a new trilogy of books during the Dark Times, revealing how the renamed Imperial Senate reacted to Palpatine’s rule and what it truly meant for the galaxy. This notably includes Mon Mothma and Bail Organa, senators who eventually motivated the formation of the Rebel Alliance years later. However, Mask of Fear is set at a time when Mothma in particular gravely misreads the restructuring of the galactic government, and how far Palpatine was willing to go to maintain his power with his “Century Plan”.
After Revenge of the Sith, There Was Still Hope For Democracy In The New Empire
The Truth Was Much Darker…
Turning the Republic into the first Galactic Empire, many senators in the Imperial Senate wrongly believed that the transition was in name only, and that democracy would still be allowed to continue. Case in point, Mon Mothma thought compromise could be achieved. Gathering corporate leaders, senators from former Separatist worlds, nobility, and the elite, Mothma steadily amᴀssed a large coalition of support for her “Imperial Rebirth Act”, a bill that would ensure that the Senate could still have power, seemingly a masterstroke in the game of politics she thought would force Palpatine’s hand despite his new тιтle as Emperor.
Although the bill pᴀsses by The Mask of Fear’s end, Mothma failed to realize that Palpatine was no longer playing the game, and he’d even gone so far as to flip the board entirely. Based on his plans to secure power long into the future, Palpatine didn’t care how he would be perceived even if Mothma motivated shutdowns to trade, communications, and manufacturing. Additionally, Palpatine’s Grand Vizier confirms that “any attempt to rally support will be viewed quite rightly as a power grab enacted by corrupt senators clinging to old Republic ways or to radical Separatist ideologies.”
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“The Century Plan”- Palpatine’s Grand Vizier Confirms The Full Scope Of The Emperor’s Vision
Palpatine Wasn’t Bothered By The Present When The Future Was Secured
By bringing an end to the Clone Wars, Palpatine had won the hearts and minds of the majority, bringing “peace” and a new era of “prosperity” across the galaxy. Furthermore, the Grand Vizier shares Palpatine’s confidence when meeting with Mothma after the bill’s pᴀssing, confirming that Palpatine will have no trouble ignoring the bulk of the Rebirth Act, despite Mon’s protests that Palpatine couldn’t just veto the Senate-approved bill:
“He is The Emperor. This is the Empire. His power Senator Mothma, is absolute.”
Mas Amedda continues to show Mothma how the galaxy now operates under the Imperial regime. The corporations can be disruptive, but the Emperor will simply seize their ᴀssets and take over operations as a matter of galactic security using the clone army (and the imminent volunteer force of stormtroopers on the way). The Grand Vizier then shows Mothma the first of many Imperial centers constructed to hold and “reeducate” those who try to defy the Empire, effectively holding facilities for political dissidents. Last but not least, Mas Amedda confirms the existence of Emperor Palpatine’s “Century Plan”:
“None of this is more than a minor effort in the eyes of the administration. The trillions of credits spent on this project are a pittance. The Emperor, the governors, all the minds we’ve brought together have grand plans for the galaxy, not just for the next year, or the next five years, but for the next century. We are the architects of the universe our grandchildren will live in, and it will be one where there is no conflict, no dissent, and no visionaries who would undo the work of their betters. Today, we will maintain order through military might. But in the future, every child will learn a superior history, and be raised in a superior family, and the concept of defiance will be as antiquated as the spear.”
Having asked each other if they’d start a war with the other when Mon Mothma is a professed pacifist, and that history would come to view Palpatine as a tyrant, Mas Amedda counters by saying that the Emperor’s already won. Likewise, Mothma realizes that Amedda’s right, and that it will be some time before a new war can begin once the galaxy sees just how far Palpatine is willing to go to maintain his power. Palpatine already has his victory in the present, and he already had plans to secure the future for decades upon decades.
Opposition Was Encouraged, So Long As Palpatine Could Destroy Planets (And Live Forever)
Unlimited Power For Decades To Come
As if Mon Mothma’s hope wasn’t crushed enough, Mas Amedda confirms that Palpatine wants a certain level of opposition within his Empire, recognizing that the right kind of resistance can only make the public love and support him more with the facade that he’s fighting for their freedom and security:
“The Emperor’s concern is the Century Plan. Not with tomorrow. Tomorrow is safe. Tomorrow he leaves to people such as myself, and to you, if you wish it. You are free to go home and hold your news conference and call the pᴀssage of the Rebirth Act a triumph. You can pick fights with the governors, and push back against the executive, and earn the admiration of your peers who wish for a return of the Republic. The Emperor understands the value of opposition….but you will not attempt to interfere with things that matter. The Century Plan will move forward because there are actions the Emperor will not abide.”
So long as The Century Plan remained, Palpatine didn’t care about who was trying to speak out or make moves against him in the present. While it’s obviously not spelled out for Mon Mothma during this conversation with Amedda, large elements of Palpatine’s Century are of course the ongoing construction of The Death Star, ensuring that any significant resistance would be met with the destruction of entire worlds. Likewise, secret operations such as Project Necromancer were tasked with developing the means for Palpatine to unnaturally extend his life into immortality were also crucial, allowing Palpatine and his Empire to reign in perpetuity.
Luke Skywalker Destroyed The Entire Century Plan When He Took Out The Death Star
Destabilizing Palpatine’s Foundation of Power
Without a doubt, the Empire’s Century Plan was a big source of Palpatine’s overconfidence. To that end, the eventual formation of the Rebel Alliance only had Palpatine’s attention once the Death Star plans were stolen and Luke Skywalker blew up the battle station in A New Hope, destabilizing the foundation of power the Emperor had spent years building. It also explains why the Empire almost immediately began work on a second planet-killing weapon.
The Mask of Fear’s encounter between Mon Mothma and Mas Amedda at the dawn of the Empire is largely devoid of hope in the face of Palpatine’s unlimited power. This is to be expected as this book is only the first in the aptly тιтled Reign of the Empire trilogy. That said, it’s fascinating to compare this first meeting between the two leaders and their last known encounter in the Star Wars canon: when a defeated Amedda signs the Galactic Concordance with Chancellor Mothma following Palpatine’s death and the Battle of Jakku, marking the Empire’s official surrender to the New Republic.
Reign of the Empire: The Mask of Fear is on sale now from Lucasfilm Publishing.
Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious
- Created By
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George Lucas
- Cast
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Ian McDiarmid, Sam Witwer, Ian Abercrombie
- First Appearance
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Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
- Died
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Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise Of Skywalker
- Alliance
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Sith, Empire
- Race
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Human
