Exposing Sheevism
Contrary to popular belief, I once held an iron grip of PT superiority over the SWTOR forums. Indeed, one might say that I was one of the cult's most zealous champions. Over the years, my opinion of him dwindled. This is not based in some bias against him, but rather a stop gap measure against his most ardent followers. Without further ado, I give you the great unravelling of Sheevism:
Of all the greatest lies perpetuated and maintained regarding the Emperor, one of the worst is that he's self-sustaining and continues to grow of his own potential. In fact, the opposite is quite true:
When the Sith built their shrine on Coruscant, they did so over a powerful light side vergence. This decision was made in an attempt to corrupt the vergence and use its power to fuel dark ties. Their plan worked to a point, and by the time the Jedi took Coruscant and pulled the shrine down, the vergence had become corrupted with dark side energies. The Jedi were well aware of the dark side corruption of the vergence, but believed they could reverse the process and return the vergence to the light side. Thus, they built their new temple atop the foundations of the old Sith shrine. Unfortunately, the Jedi were wrong on this account. Even as they built the temple, a small portion of lingering Sith corruption infused its foundations. The hint of dark side influence may have been enough to cloud the judgement of the Jedi, leaving them vulnerable to the manipulations of Darth Sidious.
- Force and Destiny: Nexus of Power
The Jedi Temple was built on the foundations of a Sith shrine of serious Sith corruption. In fact, it was so strong that Sidious himself intends to derive the final secrets of dark side power from it:
The two of them were in Sidious’s lair, a small rock-walled enclosure beneath the deepest of the Palace’s several sublevels that had once been an ancient Sith shrine. That the Jedi had raised their Temple over the shrine had for a thousand years been one of the most closely guarded secrets of those Sith Lords who had perpetuated and implemented the revenge strategy of the Jedi Order’s founders. Even the most powerful of Dark Side Adepts believed that shrines of the sort existed only on Sith worlds remote from Coruscant, and even the most powerful of the Jedi believed that the power inherent in the shrine had been neutralized and successfully capped. In truth, that power had seeped upward and outward since its entombment, infiltrating the hallways and rooms above, and weakening the Jedi Order much as the Sith Masters themselves had secretly infiltrated the corridors of political power and toppled the Republic.Save for Sidious, no sentient being in close to five thousand years had set foot in the shrine. The room’s excavation and restoration had been carried out by machines under the supervision of 11-4D. Even Vader was unaware of the shrine’s existence. But it was here that they would one day work together the way Sidious and Plagueis had to coax from the dark side its final secrets. ...Success would grant them the power to harness the full powers of the dark side, and allow them to rule for ten thousand years.
- Star Wars: Tarkin
James Luceno further confirms the power of this site:
The Jedi tried to cap the power of this shrine, but there's leakage. It’s not just Sidious; it's the power of history, it's the residue of what's left of the dark side there.
- James Luceno
This is not something new to Canon, it's been in Legends for years:
"The dark side?""It's... it's too strong for me here. I warned you. I warned you what could happen..."
She raised her hand once more, reaching for his leg; he took a hasty step back to avoid her touch, and she let her arm fall limp to the floor."You see..." she whispered, "...but you do not see. Jacen... why would the Jedi Council... build its Temple upon... a nexus of the dark side?"
- Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Traitor
Not only is it clear that Sidious had the Sith shrine blinding the Jedi Order as opposed to what the Sheevites have proposed in lesser sources. But with the Jedi Temple being such a powerful nexus of dark side energy, Darth Sidious would have a permanent external source of power from which to amplify himself during his battles with Master Windu and Master Yoda. Not to mention other feats he accomplished on the Imperial Center.
This is only the beginning, read on.
Some time prior to the events of Return of the Jedi, the Emperor goes about transforming Byss into one massive energy source from which to draw his power:
Almost mindless under the oppression of the Emperor's dark side influence, the people of Byss find their life energies constantly leeched off during the Emperor's vile machinations.Throughout the worlds submissive to the Empire, Byss is renowned as a paradise, whose siren call multitudes to willingly apply for emigration to its shores. Once there, wrapped in the power of the dark side, the immigrants become completely submissive, their life energy forever enslaved to the mind that would devour a galaxy.
- Dark Empire Endnotes
Imperial ships ferried millions of immigrants to the planet Byss, where the Emperor fed off their life energies through the dark side.
- The New Essential Guide to Characters
After choosing Byss as his resort world, Palpatine lured eager nobles to the planet—then used his dark powers to enslave its people, channeling their life energies for use in his own vile experiments within the fell Imperial Citadel.
- The Essential Atlas
Years ago, Emperor Palpatine chose Byss as his private retreat, and Imperial architects and engineers were commissioned to build him an opulent palace. Several million humans were allowed to emigrate to the world, where the Emperor and his adepts used the dark side to feed off their life energies. The planet's population eventually reached almost 20 billion, and all outgoing communications were censored by security agents.
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
Even Sheev Palpatine himself admits that he uses them as an energy source to fuel him:
The galaxy is choked with beings. Billions die every instant. It is better to make use of this resource. At my retreat on Byss, the life force of its colonists supplied an energy pool to sustain my dark side experiments.
- Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side
Do take note of the fact that the aforementioned sources make clear that this is not just applicable to Sheev on Byss, but wherever he goes. Which leads us to the most important source yet:
The Emperor's throneworld had an elegance to it that went far beyond the staid, bueraucratic monotony of Coruscant's blanketing city. But beyond the world's beauty, that radiated the dark side, a fitting place for the Emperor to stage his return to power.****
Despite his clone's rapid deterioration, Palpatine seemed invulnerable on Byss, and his use of Force powers was more of an afterthought than an exercise.
****
Luke Skywalker traveled to Byss in search of the dark power that called to him from across the galaxy, and found the resurrected Emperor Palpatine. Within Palpatine's lair, and surrounded by the dark side pall that covered the planet, Luke could not stand against the Emperor.
- Dark Empire Handbook
The Emperor, even prior to Return of the Jedi, was drawing upon this massive source of dark side power on a constant basis. Therefore Sheev was utilising an amp whilst accomplishing his feats.
This is the secret truth that has evaded the forum for so long, Sheev like the founder of the Rule of Two was a nexus junkie.