Is "Stun Setting" an experimental feature?

[noncredible]

Well, I was reading the A New Hope Abridged Script and one part questions why the stormtrooper who stunned Leia said "She'll be alright" since his colleagues obviously know that she'll be alright.

Well, I've been thinking: What if the stun setting was an experimental technology, and the stormtrooper checked to see if it hadn't harmed here or something (they apparently do have some sort of filters and infrared/ultraviolet/x-ray scanners in their helmets, so he might have done it from a distance).

Also, in the prequels, they didn't use the stun setting. In TPM, why didn't the droids just stun the queen and drag her to wherever they were going instead of marching her (and her guards) in the open street. In AOTC in the droid facotry, why did they surround Padme and Anakin instead of just stunning them?

So, could the stun setting be an experimental feature?

[Kingmaker]

Possibly, but EU knowledge suggests that stun-tech has been around for a long time.

I think the simpler explanation is that someone being knocked unconscious mid-stride could result in them hitting their head while falling. The "she'll be alright" comment is the stormtrooper confirming that Princess Leia hadn't cracked her skull on the bulkhead or deck.

[Dooey Jo]

It's also possible most weapons don't have a stun setting.

[noncredible]

Well, the no-broken-bones-check is a possibility.

But why would the 501st enter the Tantive IV with stun-armed guns? They were shooting to kill most of the time. Meanwhile, they didn't stun anyone on Hoth or Endor.

[Imperial528]

Well, it is a Stormtrooper legion. After the clone wars era they became a mix between elite soldiers and military police, so it's very possible that they're given high-quality guns. Especially since they entered knowing that sensitive political targets were aboard. Whilst the cheap droids the TF used back in the clone wars probably weren't armed with guns with more than one setting, since they really had enough droids that they could wait until the target's blaster ran out of power or fuel cells or whatever.

[noncredible]

But wouldn't Gunray also have elite droids? He is, after all, the Viceroy of the Trade Federation.

[Purple]

I really don't think he expected to be attacked in his center of power. Element of surprise and all that.

[Vympel]

There's no reason to believe the stun setting was intended to be experimental. In any event, Vader orders weapons set to stun in TESB as well, when the boarding party for the MF is being prepared.

[lord Martiya]

But wouldn't Gunray also have elite droids? He is, after all, the Viceroy of the Trade Federation.

Droideka. But I don't believe Trade Federation ever bothered. After all, their droids were supposed to kill all the bodyguards and treathen assets to subdue the enemy leaders and workforce, not to police.

[noncredible]

But wouldn't Gunray also have elite droids? He is, after all, the Viceroy of the Trade Federation.

Droideka. But I don't believe Trade Federation ever bothered. After all, their droids were supposed to kill all the bodyguards and treathen assets to subdue the enemy leaders and workforce, not to police.

But they clearly were policing the population. It shows squads of them herding prisoners around.

[Purple]

That does not really mean they need a stun setting. After all, a stun setting is counterproductive for a policing operation. If someone does not obey you shoot them dead and solve your problem. But if you just stun him than he wakes up and you have the same problem all over again.

Plus, a burning corpse sends out a much stronger message than a stunned rebel.

[Havok]

Jeezuz dude. Even Nazis would butt stroke people every now and again. Even the most evil empires don't give carte blanche to just kill everyone.

No, the stun setting is not experimental. Nothing in Star Wars is experimental. It's all old tech that gets scaled or used in new ways.

[dragon]

Well cops carry tasers, mace etc while soliders on patrol (not counting mp's) don't unless they know before hand the'll need them. Which is why the 501st had stunners, they knew that they after a certain female, an killing said female might have irratated Vader.

[lord Martiya]

But they clearly were policing the population. It shows squads of them herding prisoners around.

Were they useful workforce or just mouths to feed? If they were useless for productions, why stun them? Not sure Naboo had any real industry...

[Korto]

Well, modern tranquiliser guns aren't experimental either, but things can still go wrong. We still check to make sure they're OK. It may be that the stun setting on rare occasions actually causes harm, or even kills, like it stops the heart or breathing or something.
That could also explain why important prisoners were not just stunned out of hand. "Uh, yeah, you know that queen you wanted us to bring to you alive? Well, we decided to make it easy on ourselves, and just stun her. You know how, on really rare occasions, a stun blast kills people? Yeah, well, ummm... Sorry about that."

[Dooey Jo]

Tranquilliser guns are pretty much never used on people, despite what movies would have you believe. It's way too dangerous if you don't basically hook the victim up to the same equipment used when monitoring people during general anaesthesia (and even that goes wrong sometimes). As for why they need to check Leia, even if the stun setting has been perfected for safety over the last five thousand years: She's falling face first into the floor. You try that and see how it feels...

[Korto]

Didn't mean to give the impression I thought tranquilizer guns were used on people, I've only ever seen them used on other animals, but even then they constantly monitor.
I was really only meaning to say that that's not an experimental technology, and can still kill, so perhaps a beam which shocks a person into unconsciousness can also go too far on occasion.
Of course, Dooey's explanation (a standing person falling heavily and uncontrolled to the hard floor can be dangerous) is just as valid and doesn't require assuming limitations in the technology I have no other evidence for.

[Batman]

Well we already know the stun setting has a 50/50 chance of sparking a miscarriage in pregnant women so it's far from completely safe, and even a one in a billion chance top do serious harm is still something you'd want to check out, what with Vader being the one you need to tell 'Well you know how the chances of the stun setting accidentally killing a person are a billion to one? Well, you won't believe what happened...'
Though as others have said, even for a 100% totally completely safe stun setting, the fall itself would have been sufficient reason to go check her out even if she hadn't been fired upon in the first place and simply tripped instead.

[Perseid]

I'm pretty sure it's mentioned in the EU that stun has been known to have different results from species to species, for instance the stun setting has been known to kill Wookies IIRC.

So when they say "She'll be alright" they're just confirming that she's only been stunned and not going to end up in a coma or something (basically what everyone else has said)

[PhilosopherOfSorts]

I think you have that backwards, I'm pretty sure its that a blast powerful enough to stun a Wookie can kill a human. I could be wrong, though

[Perseid]

I think you have that backwards, I'm pretty sure its that a blast powerful enough to stun a Wookie can kill a human. I could be wrong, though

I'm pretty sure it's mentioned in the EU, IIRC the Jedi Academy Trilogy, something to do with Han worrying about Chewie being stunned and the notorious adverse affects on Wookies that are shot with the stun setting. It's probably referenced elsewhere in the EU as well.

[Thanas]

Stun is potentially harmful to people with small stamina or pregnant women. As Leia is not exactly the world's strongest person and stun carries some health risk, I think the stormtroopers checking for ill effects is standard procedure.

BTW, I believe the same problems with stun are the reason why SW forces offer surrender with terms in the first place or just do not stun all protesting citizens and arrest them.

[noncredible]

I think you have that backwards, I'm pretty sure its that a blast powerful enough to stun a Wookie can kill a human. I could be wrong, though

I'm pretty sure it's mentioned in the EU, IIRC the Jedi Academy Trilogy, something to do with Han worrying about Chewie being stunned and the notorious adverse affects on Wookies that are shot with the stun setting. It's probably referenced elsewhere in the EU as well.

I remember that book. I think it was Leia worrying about Chewie, and it was after pirates/Imperials/Noghri/Invisible Pink Unicorns boarded the Millennium Falcon.

[PhilosopherOfSorts]

Wait, I DO remember that. The Jedi Academy Trilogy by Kevin J. Anderson, right? When Han and Chewie were captured on Kessel, the locals had Chewie in stun-cuffs, which would deliver a stun charge whenever someone struggled against them, and Han was worried that Chewie would hurt himself because he kept trying to break out, receiving multiple stun charges in a short time in the process. I never thought the concern was because Wookies were unusually sensitive to stun charges, but rather that Chewie was being hit with them over and over.

[Baffalo]

Tranquilizer rounds we use today require careful and precise dosages to keep from overloading a person or animal's body. More often than not, if it's an endangered animal, they'll give it a really low dose and keep hitting it with these low doses until it finally succumbs and lays down. They don't just load up a huge dose and go for a one-shot effect, because that could indeed cause more problems. And that's just dealing with species we know quite a bit about and carefully study. There are plenty of things that are healthy and even essential to one species (chocolate for example... chocolate is critical to Valentines) but is poisonous to a degree in dogs. Also, Tranqs are rarely used to keep an animal subdued for a long period of time. Often, they let the animal wake up during transit, to keep from overloading the system.

In the SW universe, even with a population that is predominantly human, there are still aliens to a large degree. I doubt there's a single ship, with the exception of the Empire's warships, that doesn't have a statistically likely chance of encountering a single alien during a police action. If stun were to be developed, it would probably be easier to make it work for humans and near-humans, then take their chances with non-humans on a case-by-case basis and also issue warnings on what species might be avoided when you stun them, such as wookies. If you're a cop (or stormtrooper) who is under threat of attack by a large creature and you've been told not to kill, you're going to stun him and hope for the best, not just stand there and get your arm ripped off trying to remember if stun is ok for that creature or not.

And also, while stun settings might be useful on most of the stormtrooper standard issue rifles, it might not be an option on some of the bigger, more dedicated versions of weapons like an E-web. No commander in the thick of battle is going to leave it up to Murphy that his squad's gunner accidentally hit the selector switch and tries to stun everyone. If you feel the need to deploy an E-web for any reason, you're going to be using it for deadly intent. You don't issue the troops in Iraq and Afganistan, going out into combat, a taser just incase they find bin Laden. It's weight that can be used elsewhere and the statistical odds you'll need it are tiny. You can frog march anyone of importance back with the clear threat that if they fuck up, they get a bullet somewhere.

And lastly, this comment on A New Hope. Assuming the stormtroopers are just guys recruited to serve the Empire (going on the basis of the film at the time), then the man was probably a sergeant or similar rank, and thus a little more mature than the other men in his squad. If you saw a pretty girl you just stunned, who looks a bit young, and she fell down in a cooridor littered with pipes and other sharp objects, then it makes sense he'd check on her. After all, not everyone is a cold, heartless monster, and his concern was probably genuine. It's a nice reminder that even with everyone being identical, they're still normal people underneith.