Cephalon Cephalons were a long - lived sentient alien species that had ganglionic intelligence , with multiple sub - brains that sent information to a central brain . Cephalons had no visible sensory organs , and to communicate with other beings they had to use computers to translate their thoughts . They also perceived the galaxy in four dimensions , resulting in an inability to specify past or future - tense ideas . Cephalons were present in the galactic community by 19 BBY . At least one Cephalon opposed the Empire as a member of the resistance movement known as Whiplash . Biology and appearance . Cephalons were a sentient alien species with ganglionic intelligence , meaning that they had a large , sessile , central brain that was connected to multiple semi - autonomous sub - brains . Each of these secondary brains collected information and sent it to the main brain , which was the only intelligence center capable of conceptualization . Cephalons were sessile and globe - shaped , with a random array of tentacles , antennae , and chelae . They had no visible sensory organs common to other species , such as eyes or noses , and they observed their external surroundings by means of electroceptive matrices . They lived in large tanks of sulfate and methane , and their mouth consisted of a baleen plate that strained microorganisms from the tank around it . Cephalons were a long - lived species . A Cephalon ' s consciousness perceived the galaxy in a four - dimensional hypermanifold , seeing time in the way that most other species saw space . Their viewpoint allowed them to predict events in the immediate future with great accuracy . Nevertheless , their sense of time prevented them from specifying past or future tenses . To communicate with other beings , their thoughts had to be translated by a computer and projected onto a monitor . However , because of their complex , four - dimensional perception , computers were often unable to effectively translate their thoughts , and the resulting statements were often very confusing to non - Cephalons . History . Cephalons were a part of the galactic community by 19 BBY . Due to their inability to speak , they didn ' t have a name for themselves , and thus were only called Cephalons — which meant " head " in Oldspeak Basic — by the other beings of the galaxy . They were studied extensively by the Galactic Empire , whose scientists managed to detect nine distinct emotional states in Cephalons , of which only three remotely resembled those experienced by humanoids . It was also rumored that an Imperial Inquisitor had driven himself insane trying to understand the fluctuating states of the Cephalons ' four - dimensional mind . The Cephalon Aoloiloa lived on the galactic capital of Coruscant around 19 BBY . The Cephalon was opposed to the newly - established Empire and joined Whiplash , an underground resistance movement on Coruscant dedicated to helping enemies of the Empire flee the planet . Aoloiloa was visited by two Whiplash members , the Gray Paladin Laranth Tarak and ex - journalist Den Dhur , who hoped to receive the Cephalon ' s assistance in finding the best route to get their clients offworld . However , due to the Cephalon ' s complex perception of the galaxy , they were unable to effectively communicate with Aoloiloa . Behind the scenes . Michael Reaves created the Cephalons for his 2008 novel , " " , the second installment in the . The species was later mentioned in the novel " Shadow Games " , written by Reaves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff and released in 2011 .