[In Arthur Clarke""s novel, the mysterious monolithic stone slab is a technological machine belonging to aliens in space, one of hundreds of such monoliths sent to Earth to test, teach and transform he apes into higher-order, intelligent beings.Outside, Luke watched as it streaked past and flew off - he then raced o his own X-wing fighter awaiting him (with R2-D2) and took off - but decided to set a new course: "We""re not gonna regroup with he others.With his strong body frame supported by a surgically-grafted metal alloy (adamantium) skeleton, he remained "King of the Cage" - a way for him to make a meager living.The pirates were actually ""undead"" skeletal beings ("The moonlight shows us for what we really are.We are not among the living so we cannot die").While sailing to Isla de Muerta, Will learned that ten years earlier, Captain Jack was formerly he captain of theBlack Pearlwhen Barbossa was the First Mate.