I’m barely older than you and received typing classes in elementary school. Moving forward from about 8th grade and up most of my schoolwork was performed via computer. The only things I wrote out by hand in high school were math/science worksheets.
It’s fascinating which practical skills schools fail to teach, differing by district.
The literal backstory for the death star lead designer is that his family is held at gunpoint to force his cooperation.
Are we to believe this is an isolated event or that the Empire simply took what they wanted?