In one corner of John Knoll’s office at Lucasfilm stand three racks of imposing black computer servers. The sleek 6-foot-tall towers, complete with mechanical switches and fans, flash blue LEDs. Each bears the insignia of the Galactic Empire from Star Wars and a name—Death Star 748, Death Star 749. Imperial computers, these are. As impressive and menacing as the machines appear, they aren’t real.

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