The questions and the answers

[greyerrant]

[ A video post to the COMP network ]

[ Garviel stares into the screen for a moment his helm removed, his expression... pensive. ]

What defines humanity? At what point is someone so altered they are no longer human, and what emotions can we lose before are are not even remotely humane? I am curious.

Comments

[greyerrant]

Hmh. Are you always like this?

[echo_of_a_jedi]

Nice, or pretentious?

[greyerrant]

Take your pick.

[echo_of_a_jedi]

I try to be one, and usually get called the other. From an objective standpoint, probably yes to both unless I'm in the middle of something important.

[greyerrant]

You remind me of him, a little.

[ Meetra knows who he means, because of the conversation near the strange construction that rises into the sky. And the pain in him when he confronted his... ghost. ]

[echo_of_a_jedi]

I hope that's a good thing.

[greyerrant]

He was loyal to the end.

[echo_of_a_jedi]

That's as good a compliment as I could have asked for, then.

[greyerrant]

I miss him.

[echo_of_a_jedi]

I noticed. You two fought side-by-side for quite a while, huh?

[greyerrant]

Over a century.

[echo_of_a_jedi]

That is quite a while.

He...fell in that place you mentioned before, right? Istvaan?

[greyerrant]

Yes. My friend Aximand killed him.

[echo_of_a_jedi]

I take it you're not friends with Aximand anymore.

[greyerrant]

No. But I think I still pity him. Abaddon was always a butcher, Aximand was a thinker. I believe events may have conspired to force him into acts he had no real desire to commit. I saw the grief in his face as he slew Torgaddon.

[echo_of_a_jedi]

There are people I wish I could say for certain even that much about...

[greyerrant]

Betrayal is always cruel to us. That is why it is considered the greatest crime of all, by me and mine.

[echo_of_a_jedi]

The most dangerous person I ever met called herself the Lord of Betrayal.

She was...well, she betrayed me, obviously. She betrayed everyone, and everyone betrayed her. I like to think I was the only one who didn't, but then again I'm the one who rejected her teachings and killed her. I'm just not sure if that's what she wanted in the first place.

She was an extremely confusing person.

[greyerrant]

That sounds like.... stories I have read. Of beings who scheme, and scheme, and betray everyone, in the end, they even betray themselves. The question is more if you survived without... being tainted by the experience.

[echo_of_a_jedi]

Every experience changes who we are. But if you mean falling to the Dark Side, I'm not showing any of the typical signs or attitude changes, as far as I can tell, nor am I as likely as Kreia was to up and murder people for a philosophical point.

Still, it's not like one can really trust a self-assessment of their own mental state. If I had fallen to the Dark Side, I wouldn't likely be able to even tell until I looked back on my actions objectively.

[greyerrant]

Tell me more of this... dark side.

[echo_of_a_jedi]

Well, let's see if I can sum up in a way that's not misleading...

The Force is the energy that connects and binds all living things. Everyone and everything is connected, to some degree or another, to everything else. This isn't just a metaphor; with the right potential and training, it's possible to see and feel and use this connection.

Those people with a strong connection to the Force can use it to gain insight or influence toward something else, or even over themselves. When I fight, or when I try to get a feel for someone else's emotions or a glimpse of the future, I'm listening to the Force, or using the Force to push my body to things it wouldn't normally be able to do. Are you with me so far?

[greyerrant]

[ Loken nods his head, face hard, and showing very little, though there is something almost like disgust in his eyes.]

Go on.

[echo_of_a_jedi]

The Force is connected deeply to the mind and personality of anyone who tries to use it. In general, the Force...seems to want to be used for the good of the Universe in general. Lightly, unobtrusively, and for the sake of the continuation of life. To do this, the Jedi traditionally cultivate a balanced and detached emotional state, especially whenever we're actively using the Force. Peace and serenity rather than emotion and passion.

There are, however, other ways to use the Force. Strong, violent emotions, selfish desires, the desire for death and destruction are common to almost all living things. When someone uses the Force in tandem with strong emotions like anger, fear, or aggression, they can be much more powerful, but it comes at a cost. Twisting the Force, a universal entity, for your own personal feelings or selfish needs is a corruption of it, and people who do so become corrupt in turn.

This is the Dark Side of the Force - power and strength at the cost of corrupting your mind and even body into something hateful toward life and peace. It's like spice - an addiction. Sacrifice your morals for the sake of yourself and you gain a little power, and next time it becomes much easier to do the same thing, and then again, until - if you don't check your advance down this path - you're left with nothing but your basest instincts and petty needs, and a massive power you can only use to destroy.

[She pauses.]

Of course, sometimes it's more complicated than that, but that's the general idea of what happens. It's why I try not to act out of selfishness or commit violence out of anger, and if I do, I never drag the Force along with me. It's a dangerous road that's lured too many people I once cared about.

[greyerrant]

It sounds disturbingly like the warp, the base emotions and impulses that spring from death and the loss of loyalty.

All in all though, it sounds very close to warp, with the dark side being the emanations of chaos. There is a reason the Emperor decreed only sanctioned psykers would use it, after Nikaea, and bound the Librarians of the legion to not use their gifts. For their corruption was far too dangerous.