Jacen Solo, Vergere and the Force

Originally Posted by MWStover
Tell Katana I saw the Matt Signal.

To assert that Vergere displays, or is a proponent of, any particular philosophy in Traitor is, in my opinion, a misreading of the text. This opinion, however, should not be taken as having any special significance. Your mileage may vary.

Also, for the record: as far as I know, Vergere was Jim Luceno's character originally. She does have a cameo in Greg Bear's Rogue Planet (which as we know ties in rather intimately with the NJO), but I believe she was Jim's in conception. I could be wrong -- this was, you know, a few years ago, and my brain is not all it used to be.

I have considerable affection for that character, and a great deal of pride in my contribution to her story; it was my first Star Wars novel, and by my peculiarly skewed personal standards, it's still my best. Which is why I occasionally lurk in threads about her, or about the book. And I've even once in a while ridden along on a particularly snarky Trip With Jacen Solo.

Also: for people who believe that categorical good guy/bad guy characterizations -- and handy deep-fried good/evil dichotomy -- is what Star Wars is about, well . . . I'd like you all to meet a friend of mine. His name is Anakin Skywalker.

And you know what else? Han shot first. I was there.

On or about June 15, 1977. The Fischer Theater on Vermilion Street in Danville, Illinois.

The matinee.

Stover is such a badass.

-------------------------------------------------

"Jacen, to tap deeply into the Unifying Force, we will have to surrender our desire to control events. We will have to unbridle ourselves of words and of thinking, because thoughts, too, are born of the physical world. We must refrain from analyzing the Force, and simply allow the Force to guide us. Our relationship with the Force must be impeccable, without the need to be supported by words or reason. We must carry out the commands of the Force as if they were beyond appeal. And we must do what must be done, no matter who attempts to stand in our way." — Sekot, The Unifying Force

"At the Temple, we teach that the only true mistake a Jedi ever makes is to fail to trust the Force. Jedi do not "figure things out" or "come up with a plan." Such actions are the opposite of what being a Jedi means. We let the Force flow through us, and ride its currents to peace and justice. Most of Jedi training involves learning to trust our instincts, our feelings, as opposed to our intellects. A Jedi must learn to "unthink" a situation, to "unact": to become an empty vessel for the Force to fill with wisdom and action. We feel the truth when we stop analyzing it. The Force acts through us when we surrender all effort. A Jedi does not decide. A Jedi trusts." — Mace Windu, Shatterpoint

"But how did you know? How did you know I'd come home? "

"It is an instinct of all pack animals: the mortally wounded crawl back to their own dens to die."

"Wounded?"

"With the greatest wound a Jedi can suffer: freedom."

Another riddle. He had no strength for riddles.

"I don't understand."

"When you always know what is right, where is freedom? No one chooses the wrong, Jacen Solo. Uncertainty sets you free."

...

"Now is time not for death, but for new life. You are healed, Jacen Solo. Arise and walk!"

Jacen sank lower in the chair, staring blindly up through the tangle of arachnoid cables.

"Why should I?"

"Because you can, of course. Why else would anyone bother to get up?"

"I don't know." He closed his eyes again. "It doesn't matter whether I get up or sit here until I starve. Nothing matters. Nothing means anything."

"Not even your brother's death?"

He shrugged listlessly. Life, death--all was one. One with the Force.

He said, "The Force doesn't care."

"Don't you care?"

He opened his eyes. Her gaze had the peculiar, almost humorous intensity he'd seen in the Embrace chamber, in the Nursery, at the crater. But he was too tired, too broken, to puzzle through whatever she might want him to discover.

"Whether I care doesn't matter, either." Corners of her mouth tricked up and down.

"Does it matter to you?"

He stared at his hands. After a long, long silence, he sighed.

"Yes. Yes, it does." It never occurred to him to lie to her. "But so what? Sure, I care—but who am I?"

She gave a shrug so subtle it was almost a shiver.

"That's always been the question, yes?"

"But you never have an answer—"

"I do have an answer," she said kindly. "But it's my answer, not yours. You will find no truth in me."

"You keep telling me that." Bitter ashes rasped in the back of his throat. "Or in anybody else, either, I guess."

She said, "Exactly."

A high buzzing whine rose in his ears, skirling around his head like an angry sparkbee trapped inside his skull.

"Then where is the truth supposed to be?" he asked blurrily. "Where?

Tell me. Please."

...

He looked at Vergere in wonder. He understood now, where he never could have before.

She had not said Ask yourself where else can one look.

She had said: Ask yourself.

Where else can one look?

-------------------------------------------------------------

Ho Hum.

Star Wars fans have strange priorities. The philosophy espoused in Traitor only amounts to a complete reimagining of how we see the Force and by extension the entire raison d'etre of the Jedi.

I'll read the essay properly after I read Destiny's Way. I just finished Traitor. My mind was well and truly blown.

(it took me 8 more days to finish the whole series. Awkward.)

Thanks for linking the essay, I loved it. I think the point about two Vergeres (the 'real' one and the one fabricated to sell books and/or misunderstood) is well-made and I think I've made the right decision in not reading beyond the NJO novels.

It would seem like such a waste to have made such enormous strides in philosophy in the NJO and then have none of it mean anything subsequently.

I will go back and read some of the prequel era novels, such as Rogue Planet, Stover's Shatterpoint and Zahn's Outbound Flight