Borbarad
Advocatus Diaboli
Originally posted by Fortitude
Superlaser technology was around well before the DS; it's basically a giant compound turbolaser. The DS novel states that the primary challenge was making the hypermatter reactor. And as I stated, but as you seem to ignore, the beaurocracy was what hindered the DS the most; the second, far larger one was built to 60% completion in 6 months...and it was behind scedule!
Urm. I really have to ask, if you did even read the "Death Star" novel, because it clearly states, that the superlaser beams consists of exotic matter, converting energy from the hypermatter reactor (aka energy from hyperspace) into beams that were highly destructive in real space. Which means, that they have precisely nothing to do with common turbolaser technology.
And it's great that you list the design of the hypermatter reactor as main problem, and then take the second Death Star (obviously the reactor design was present after constructing the first) as example that they could do it faster. And in fact, building the superweapon was the main problem. This is why they had a team of the most brilliant minds in the Galaxy working on this problem at the Maw Installation (see "Jedi Academy trilogy"😉, even building a prototype Death Star in the process. I doubt that they did that, because they already were capable of building the station.
That aside: Given that they even used civilian transports to get the material to Endor (see "Shadows of the Empire"), I doubt that less beaurocracy was involved in the construction of the second Death Star compared to the first, especially since we see the outer frame construction taking place at the end of "Revenge of the Sith" already. Not even pointing out that we're dealing with an Empire here and not with your regular technocratic government.
because you cannot understand or rationalize why the CIS has serious plans to build a death star if, by your logic, they wouldn't be able to until they've already won. Why make hardcopies of plans, plans that can be used as propaganda against you if captured, of something that you will not be able to make until after the war is done?
Obviously, you don't get the point.
You can make plans about anything without being able to realize them, even things that could potentially be used against you. Hitler obviously made plans about conquering Russia, without being able to do the job. And as you mention "propaganda" already: Why would anybody believe the Republic officials, if said plans would ever have been stolen and published? There would have been no hard evidence to link them to the CIS anyway.
And you're still ignorant to the facts: Immediately after the war, Sidious was in control of both Republic and CIS resources. Why didn't he built a Death Star in the matter of months, if - as you think - the CIS alone would have been capable of doing so?
Why the CIS would make hard copies of something they supposedly would not he able to build in time to be relevant for the war
To be prepared when they have the ability to built the thing or to work towards gaining said ability. Holy shit. Did you never make a plan featuring something you weren't capable of before you made the plan? So you never planned to learn anything?
Why you feel that the CIS lacks the tech to make superlasers when such weapons are old news in SW
Old news? Last time I checked the history of SW weapon tech, the first superlasers appeared in 29 BBY, just eight years, before the first plans for the Death Star were made. And, as I said above, it was a brand new technology. So you suppose they can gain complete control over this in that rather short amount of time? Appears to be a little bit odd to me. Especially, given the fact that even improved hypermatter reactors were prone to (lethal) malfunctions, despite the fact, that this technique was around much longer.
So, obviously, their problem was that new technology, which is why they had those aforementioned scientists working on the issue and had them build a prototype to test the - newly developed - weapon / reactor.
Why you feel that the 19 year timeframe applies when the main time consumer was heavily implied to be the bureaucracy
What bureaucracy? We're talking about a freaking Empire, a form of government coined by the idea that one person gives orders, which are carried out. If Sidious said "built me a Death Star", then people would have done so. Apparently, they simple weren't capable of carrying out his commands that fast, because they lacked the knowledge to do so. There is - sorry to say that - no other explanation that makes sense in context of the rule of the Emperor, especially not "bureaucracy".