Star Wars : Tanya

35 BBY

Despite her misgivings about being inducted into what could be described as a cult that brainwashed children, Tan'ya was thoroughly enjoying her lessons as a Jedi.

In her second life to cast a spell through a computation orb, even the Elenium Type 95, the user needed a clear mind, a focus on their purpose, and the required formula. The Living Force was similar in some regards, but in others it differed vastly from the field of science Tan'ya had once called 'Magic'.

The Force was a living thing, allegedly, and it bound together all other living creatures. Just the idea of it was a bit frightening, if true. It was made marginally better when Sifo Dyas explained that the Force was often measured by the presence of a miniscule life form called Midi-Chlorians.

These subcellular organisms had somehow infected all life in the known galaxy as best as Tan'ya could discern. They allowed all living beings to communicate with each other in some kind of a gestalt psychic consciousness. The exact method by which they did that wasn't clear, but it was something measurable and provable, a naturalistic explanation Tan'ya vastly preferred to Master Sifo's penchant for mysticism.

The way Sifo talked about the Will of the Force reminded Tan'ya entirely too much of how Christians and other monotheistic religions talked about their God. Ever-present, omnipotent, omniscient, and with a plan for the future. Honestly, of course a bunch of bacteria had a plan for the future. Like all single celled life forms they would be entirely focused on propagating themselves through their hosts. Well, if they gave Tan'ya telekinesis in the process she was happy to let them do it.

Master Sifo's lessons had mostly been focused on self control since the lack of it resulted in her destroying the school's door with what was supposed to be a gentle push. He had instructed her not to try and use the force outside of his presence, at least until she wasn't a risk to herself and others, and she had obeyed. Back in her second life she had been forced to break many of her own cadets of their bad habits. There was no need to soar to the heights of her potential just yet, she had time, and it was important to develop the primary skills that would keep her safe before she learned the wrong way of doing things.

One of the most important skills her master wanted her to focus on was emotional self control, which was conveniently something Tan'ya had been worrying about for some time now. The body she was in was more prone to childish mood swings than her previous ones, which was frustrating and embarrassing. It turned out that a good part of that was actually the Force itself detecting the emotional states of the people around her and feeding them back to Tan'ya, some of which she mistook for her own feelings, and some of it was her own instinctive response to those feelings around her. Shielding her mind, learning to wall it off from those around her, was a basic but important step towards regaining her equilibrium. Though even with her mind walled off, Tan'ya found she wasn't quite like her old self.

There were feelings and impulses she found inside herself, as she began to sift through her own mind during mediations. Beneath all the obvious emotions she'd found a strong current of… something. It was hard to describe, but it felt present and soft, like a gentle current. It was strange, like it was always there even when there were more powerful emotions present. When she was sad, or frustrated or happy, it was still there, unchanged. At first she thought it was just her baseline emotional state, but there were times that it felt stronger and times that it was more distant, though it never quite went away.

Finally, she asked, "Master, what's this feeling?" Tan'ya opened her mind for him to inspect, focusing on that soft emotion in particular.

Sifo smiled. "Love, Tan'ya. That's love."

"What?" She opened her eyes, raising her wall again and feeling somewhat embarrassed. "For who?"

"I think that's your love for me." Sifo answered with obvious amusement.

"But, I've only known you for a week!"

"No, you've known me for much longer than that."

Well, that was true she supposed. Maybe Tan'ya had become familiar with Sifo on a subconscious level from her mostly unremembered days as an infant.

Sifo continued his explanation. "Even if I wasn't here, your love for me would never truly go away. Unlike other emotions it lingers forever, weaker at some times but never truly gone, unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Unless it becomes hatred." Sifo paused, considering his student. "I guess now that we've arrived here, I have to explain the Dark Side to you."

"What's the 'Dark Side'?" Tan'ya asked, slightly amused by the ominous name.

"Nothing to make light of." Sifo warned. "There are two sides of the Force, the Light Side, which we can connect to with peace. We can draw on feelings of love, of joy, of serenity to calm ourselves even amidst a raging storm, and allow the Light Side to flow through us.

"In contrast, the Dark Side is fueled by hatred, fear, and anger, to impose your vision of what should be upon the world. If the Light Side is peace, then the Dark Side is domination."

Tan'ya considered for a moment. "I'm not sure I understand. You speak as though fear, hatred and anger are evil. Aren't they just part of our nature?"

"The exact logic of those who practice the Dark Side." Sifo shook his head sadly. "The argument might even be right, for those who aren't force sensitive these are nothing but just that, feelings that drive you to action. But we're force sensitive, and we commune with a living thing. The key difference between the two is that we are at peace with the Light Side and it's at peace with us, and in the same way you might seek to dominate the Dark Side it also seeks to dominate you.

"Practitioners of the Dark Side enjoy a rush of power. They often reach the peak of their abilities much faster than we might, and they draw great satisfaction in achieving their desires. What starts as hatred of evil, raging against injustice, or fear of danger will be warped with time. The more you draw on these feelings, the more the Dark Side will come to warp you. The users are transformed, often starting with the best of intentions and eventually becoming abominations. Powerful, irrational, and shielded from guilt or remorse by the paranoia, wrath and spite that they cling to."

It sounded frighteningly familiar to Tan'ya. The power offered to her in previous life through the Type 95 had a similar effect, filling her with reckless confidence and an indifference for life. Driven by anger and hatred she'd raged against Being X and his gift, not realizing she was playing right into his game.

"Tan'ya, you must not draw on the Dark Side. Ever." Master Sifo continued.

"Yes, Master. I promise." This was certainly not the sort of thing she would be investigating. At least, not until she was at least an adult, anyway.

"Good. If ever you feel tempted, just remember: all who rely on the Dark Side will die violently, and alone."

…Yup, the jedi were definitely a cult. Tan'ya smiled and nodded, just to move past this uncomfortable moment.

He smiled at her and stood up. "I think that's enough for today. Let's go get some fresh air."

Even though Sifo had intended for their small walk around the Temple Grounds to be a chance to stretch their legs and relax for a moment, Tan'ya found herself burning with curiosity. The armies of worker droids going about their business and endless rows of warehouses and temporary storage were not enough to hold her attention for any length of time.

"Master, are there many Dark Side users?"

"Thankfully, no." He sounded amused, which was slightly irritating. "They're much rarer than those who use the Light Side, mostly because of their self destructive tendencies." He shrugged his shoulders. "Dark Side organizations and cults have a tendency to turn inwards in time, tearing themselves apart with madness and infighting. Individually, they can be very powerful, but they only seem to last as long as they have an external foe to focus their hatred against.

"Are there any large Dark Side organizations in the Galaxy right now?"

"If there are, they're doing a good job hiding themselves… Jedi have been known to bump into some poor self taught fool on occasion, maybe even a small cult working together. In their ignorance they never understood the fire they were playing with. It's entirely too easy for a force sensitive who doesn't understand the danger to accidentally touch the Dark Side, and eventually come to rely upon it."

"Why don't the Jedi try to help them?" Tan'ya asked.

"They do, often, but much of the time we're simply too late." Sifo sighed, looking distant for a moment.

"It's one thing to touch the Dark Side, but when you've bathed in it, gloried in it, drunk it unto yourself then, well, you just can't help someone who doesn't even realize that they need help. Especially not when they're so dangerous."

...

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