Growth jar

This article is about growth jars, also known as cloning tanks, which made clones. You may be looking for the cloning tank in the Legends continuity or the HAVw A6 Juggernaut, also known as the Clone Turbo Tank.

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"Ah, leave him alone. They kept him in his growth jar too long."

―CT-4040, teasing CT-1409^[4]

A growth jar, also known as a birthing pod, was a device in which clones were grown during the embryonic stage of development. Tipoca City, the capital city of the government of Kamino, contained facilities such as the Egg Lab and an embryo chamber for the purpose of growing clones. The Galactic Republic's clone troopers were developed in growth jars during their time as embryos. In the aftermath of the Clone Wars, the Galactic Empire decommissioned and subsequently destroyed the Kaminoans' cloning facilities along with much of their equipment, such as the growth jars.

Description[]

"Based on this data, I can calculate how many in this tree are altered."
"I can't believe it. They all have one."

―AZI-345211896246498721347 and CT-5555, on the inhibitor chips in clone embryos^[2]

TipocaCityEmbryoRoom-Aftermath — Growth jars rotated on holding discs to stimulate the brain development of embryonic clones.

Growth jars were devices used by the Kaminoans in the Tipoca City cloning facility to grow the embryos of the clone troopers used by the Galactic Republic. They were situated along circular holding discs that were attached to anti-grav columns^[5] in the Egg Lab^[6] and the Tipoca City embryo room.^[2] The growth jars operated on a system designed to stimulate brain activity in clones at the embryonic stage of development; as such, they were designed to rotate systematically on the holding discs while also loving to different levels on the anti-grav columns.^[5] The embryos were kept in their growth jars until they were old enough to be released. The Kaminoans were skilled cloners^[1] and therefore capable of altering clones while they were still developing as embryos in growth jars.^[2]

History[]

Growing an army[]

"I do believe that this army will be our finest creation yet. Not a single clone unit has fallen below combat parameters. You must be very proud."
"What do I have to be proud of? Livestock bred as cannon fodder? Like you said, they're your creations."

―Taun We and Jango Fett^[7]

Clone Cadets AoRJF — The Kaminoan government used growth jars to turn embryos into clone troopers for the Galactic Republic.

During the last years of the Republic Era, Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas placed a secret order for a clone army with the government of Kamino. Using the genetic template of the bounty hunter Jango Fett,^[1] Chief Medical Scientist Doctor Nala Se^[8] and other Kaminoan scientists created the clone troopers who went on to form the Grand Army of the Republic. Fett's clones were developed as embryos that the Kaminoans kept in growth jars during the initial stage of their creation. The Kaminoans modified the clones by using an accelerated growth process to increase the human aging rate, ensuring that the first generation would be ready for deployment within a decade of their inception.^[1] While Kaminoans such as Prime Minister Lama Su and his aide Taun We regarded the clone army as a testament to their people's reputation as experts in cloning, Fett took no pride in his cloned progeny as in his view they were grown to be disposable assets.^[7]

The Sith, having secretly co-opted the clone trooper program after Sifo-Dyas' death,^[9] instructed the Kaminoans to implant a behavioral modification biochip in the brain of every clone trooper.^[8] This procedure was performed on the clones while they were still embryos in growth jars. The biochips were designed to ensure the clones' compliance with Order 66,^[2] a secret directive that authorized the liquidation of the Republic Military's Jedi leadership.^[10] Lama Su and Nala Se had been led to believe that the biochips acted as a safeguard against treasonous Jedi,^[8] but its true purpose was to allow the Sith Lord Darth Sidious to accomplish his plan for purging the Jedi Order with their own troops.^[11]

Clone Wars[]

"Very impressive."
"I'd hoped you would be pleased."

―Obi-Wan Kenobi and Lama Su^[1]

Kamino Facility — Obi-Wan Kenobi inspected the Tipoca City cloning facility, which contained pillars of growth jars with clones in embryonic development.

The operation on Kamino was discovered^[1] in 22 BBY^[12] by Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was given a personal tour of Tipoca City's cloning facility by Prime Minister Lama Su and his Taun We. Kenobi remarked on the state of their facility, which he described as impressive while inspecting clone embryos in their growth jars. The first clone battalions were deployed upon the completion of their growth and training as a result of the Separatist Crisis and the Clone Wars that followed. While the Kaminoans had succeeded in meeting the timetable that was set for the initial order of clone troopers, additional units required more time to grow before they could be considered combat ready.^[1]

During the early days of the Clone Wars, a Republic outpost on the Rishi Moon was garrisoned by several young clone troopers. One such clone was CT-782 "Hevy," who wanted to serve on the front lines of the war whereas CT-1409 "Echo" was more adjusted to carrying out his other duties as a soldier beyond the battlefield. CT-4040 "Cutup" jokingly referred to Echo's distaste for excitement by saying that he was kept in his growth jar too long.^[4]

TridentDrill — Some growth jars were destroyed during the Separatist attack on Kamino, but the cloning facilities remained operational.

Tipoca City sustained structural damage during the Battle of Kamino in which the Confederacy of Independent Systems invaded the clone homeworld, determined to cut off the Republic's supply of clones. The Confederacy military's Trident-class assault ships used drill spikes on the domed roofs of Tipoca City, resulting in several towers of clone growth jars being destroyed by debris from the ceiling. Ultimately, however, the Kaminoan facilities and their cloning technology was saved from complete destruction through the combined efforts of clone troopers, their younger brethren, a team of elite Advanced Recon Commandos, and the Jedi Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.^[13]

EmbryoRoom — An analysis of the growth jars containing embryos confirmed to CT-5555 that every clone trooper had an inhibitor chip.

When Jedi General Tiplar was killed by CT-5385 "Tup" during the Battle of Ringo Vinda, CT-5555 "Fives" personally investigated the incident and discovered a malfunctioning inhibitor chip in the trooper's brain. After extracting his own inhibitor chip, Fives set out to discover if other clones had the same embedded technology. His ally, the medical droid AZI-345211896246498721347 "AZI-3," deduced that Fives and Tup had been implanted with biochips when they were embryos. Together they infiltrated an embryo chamber in Tipoca City, where AZI-3 analyzed a few of the growth jars that contained clone embryos and detected their biochips. Based on the data collected from the samples, the droid concluded that every clone had been given an inhibitor chip at the third stage of their development.^[2] Fives was killed on Coruscant subsequent to his discovery of the chips; Darth Sidious had the clone's findings suppressed, including the information obtained from the embryo room, in order to prevent the Jedi from learning of his plan to execute Order 66.^[14]

Decommissioned[]

"Extraordinary, aren't they?"
"That remains to be seen."

―Nala Se and Wilhuff Tarkin, referring to clone troopers^[3]

NalaSe-Databank — The Kaminoans displayed growth jars containing clone embryos for Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin's inspection, hoping to ensure the future of their operation.

The clone trooper program on Kamino was still operational by the time the Clone Wars ended. Following the Republic's reorganization into the Galactic Empire, Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin personally informed Prime Minister Lama Su about Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine's intention to terminate the production of clone troopers. The Kaminoan politician protested the notion of replacing clones with a conscription force, and sought to prevent the Empire from canceling Kamino's contracts which stipulated the future creation of clone troopers. Accompanied by Lama Su and Nala Se, Tarkin inspected the facilities in Tipoca City, including the room with pillars of growth jars that contained clone embryos. Nala Se, having been directly involved in the clone army's development as the Chief Medical Scientist of Kamino, described her creations as extraordinary. However, Tarkin had determined the clone trooper project to be a "cost prohibitive relic" of a bygone era.^[3]

EmbryoRoomTBB — Having canceled Kamino's contracts, the Galactic Empire decomissioned the cloning facilities and destroyed them along with all remaining equipment.

Lama Su's efforts to prevent the cancelation of his cloning operation failed;^[15] all cloning facilities across Kamino were consequently decommissioned and stripped of essential staff and equipment, including the capital of Tipoca City. When the operation to evacuate Kamino was complete, Vice Admiral Rampart ordered an Imperial fleet of Venator-class Star Destroyers to commence the orbital bombardment of the planet, causing significant structural damage to Tipoca City^[16] and the other cities spread across Kamino. The facilities collapsed into the ocean as a result of the attack. After the sinking of Tipoca City, the remaining growth jars in the embryo room imploded as the area became increasingly flooded with water.^[17]