Saber training – pure and simple

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel nodded. “Too many see Force powers as the contents of a Jedi sweet ship. They choose whatever look or sound the most interesting without an consideration of what they would use them for – or even what their likely role would require. Or some times they lack training opportunities and so say yes to whatever is on offer.”

She shook her head. “I do not blame the learner necessarily, it is the teacher’s role to manage the expectations and needs analysis. For in the end, it is the learner that is most likely to suffer as a consequence.”

The next question caused her to pause momentarily. “I cannot, hand on heart, state that subconscious learning occurs. What I can say is that certain Jedi seem to have a disposition to certain abilities. I for one seem to be capable of Farseeing without ever having learned it formally. But it was at a basic level. I have only developed that power through focused training. But it’s fair to say that it was not osmosis that gave me the pre-disposition. But how I came to know of it, I cannot surely say. And I believe, or maybe suspect, that some Force powers are related and that practice and application of one has allowed me to develop another. Force Sense and Force Sight are a good example. I’m not entirely sure where one ability ends and the other picks up. They seem to overlap and I suspect other Jedi have similar stories to tell.”

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"Oh, I can understand that sometimes, especially if one lives on a planet with either a low population or where the native species supply little in the way of Force-users, it is tempting to say yes to everything on offer: in those instances one can legitimately say that one could learn something that may be inappropriate for the learner's usage profile, just because someone actually wants to learn something regardless of what it is. With every Force-power that I seem to pull out of thin air, or should I say the deepest recesses of my brain, I am aware that, without making further usage of the resulting Force-power, I only get the foundation at best. Often my learning process for a Force-power starts with how the Force-power works. But, as you say, there are powers that are related to each other: pyrokinesis, cryokinesis and tapas, and that I caught the similarities between them whereas other Jedi might miss them"

Was it a case of her brain playing tricks on her? Or alternatively, the Force? It certainly wouldn't be the first time: sometimes it really is one of those moments where the Force could send a signal urging her to do something. But clearly what she experienced was not unheard of. Predisposition for mechu-deru? You bet (even though she may have been using mechu-deru for years without realizing it)! Predisposition for IAC? These were the main two things that came to her mind.

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel nodded. “Sometimes the links can be obvious, other times less so. And some Jedi seem to make the connection cognitively whereas others tend to learn of the link instinctively. I suspect I fall more into the latter camp. And often, when I am taught a new ability, I use the one I feel is closest conceptually to the one I am learning as a starting point, especially when the use of the ability does not want to come naturally.”

“And who knows how the Force works really. How some species have natural dispositions to certain powers. Like how I am essentially immune to any coercion through the Force. Nothing about me and everything to do with where I was born.”

“Although I have to say that I’ve yet to find an ability I cannot learn but will readily admit that some have been harder to develop than others and I suspect I could practise the rest of my life and never master them.”

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"I am one of those for whom cognition-intensive Force-powers come more easily, like Instinctive Astrogation Control, as well as the more cognitive ways of making connections between powers. And also some crafty people use some Force-powers to do things they were not intended for: like some overweight Force-users who think they can use tapas to help getting slimmer, me using Electric Judgment to recharge a lightsaber battery or defibrillate patients, that sort of thing"

If, in the process of keeping themselves warm, using tapas, they actually understood that the Force actually induces the heat by accelerating the caster's metabolism, which in turn, amounts to playing with the atoms' speed, whether vibrational (solids), rotational (liquids) or translational (gases, plasmas and supercritical fluids), then someone could use tapas to burn bodily fat, which was a lot safer than using pyrokinesis to that end. But, for the love of the Force, don't ask her to use Force-comprehension as a neural booster: no matter how much effort she will put into it, or how much she trains in it, it won't work on her. Perhaps that's the Force's way to say that there is only so much power in one area you can have: brains are important to me, they are a feature that I know enables me to do things differently from other people. I can have enriching discussions over these philosophical kinds of things, there's no question, she thought.

"And also, as you said some powers will work better on some people than others, much like Force-comprehension won't work on me but definitely will work on other people I know. Have you tried using Force-comprehension?"

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel smiled. Why was she not surprised to learn that Jessica was more than competent at cognitive Force powers. She was most likely the most intelligent Jedi she’d ever met, hands down.

And her smile broadened when she heard of some of the more innovative ways to use the Force. “As long as the Code remains unbroken, I have no issue with how someone uses the Force. Although using it as a slimming aid definitely feels like personal use as opposed to for the greater good. Unless shifting 10 kilos makes the galaxy a safer place of course.”

And then she shook her head. “No, I have never used that ability. I suspect it could be of value for learning a set amount of information in a very short period of time. I tend to think my brain’s capacity is finite and I seem to fill it up perfectly well at usual speed. But maybe, if the need arises, I might consider it. Is it something you’d recommend?”

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

Upon mentioning that the use of tapas as a slimming aid, she couldn't help but think of another girl with whom she took a Force-sensitivity test back in her pre-teen days, whom she knew was still an intellectual force despite not quite measuring up to her. She fell to the dark side of the Force because she became anorexic and used tapas as a slimming aid. But she wasn't otherwise evil, far from it. That sort of case is pretty common among Dark Jedi, and now she runs a fitness center last she heard about her.

"Force-comprehension is a neural booster, and is best used when your frame of mind is calm, with little outside distractions. Hence why it is often perceived as a light-sided Force-power. It makes you use the Force to either increase the density of the neural connections or to accelerate one's neurotransmitters, depending on the person, and useful it is when you need to absorb and process a lot of information in a pinch. With Force-comprehension, it seems that, the smarter someone naturally is, the less effective it is on that person. But is it me or you seem to be using more of your brain capacity now, while I'm having this conversation with you, than you normally would?"

So Sorel thinks that her brain's capacity is not normally fully used? Jessica preferred to be someone to use a brain in Jedi service and, as a result, to be one to use the Force over a lightsaber. Clearly she would feel better about using the Force if her ability to use it matched her Force-knowledge. It comes to no surprise to anybody that knew her in person and saw her use the Force that her favorites were mechu-deru, IAC and Electric Judgment, and also indirectly using Art of the Small through her knowledge of quantum physics, both non-relativistic and relativistic, for several more Force-powers, like tapas, pyro/cryokinesis as well as Force-cloak (changing one's refraction index to -1 is a quantum process when it comes down to it) in addition to Electric Judgment and some uses of mechu-deru. Precisely because they were things that were mentally stimulating to her.

"Oh, I can tell in the Force that you think I am smart, and likely the smartest Jedi you've met in person. I think that, while I am a genius to the eyes of many, including Dune Rhur, there could be other people as smart as I am in the galaxy, maybe not a whole lot though. I know intellect is the Force's gift to me, but one that comes at a cost: I often tend to overthink things. But even at my level my brain's capacity is finite, I'll accept as much"

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel listened. The theory seemed quite simple and in many ways linked to a meditative state. Perhaps there was a link to Moving Meditation? Sorel was able to perform complex tasks in this manner, without any conscious effort – allowing her mind to either remain empty as she meditated, or focus on a challenging mental task.

The question came out of the blue. “In truth, I’m not sure if I’m using more of my brain than usual. It’s not something I really think about if I’m honest.” She furrowed her brow for a second. “No, I can’t recall ever measuring either its capacity or usage. But I believe – and I’m not entirely sure why I believe it – that the mind had a capacity, both in its usage and the storage of information. I suspect an average person would never test either limit, but using a Force enhanced technique is not ‘natural’ in the strictest sense of the word and so I would be wary to commit to filling my memory with information I did not strictly need. And there’s no science in my assertion, just my gut feel.”

“And yes, you are by far in the way the Jedi that has demonstrated your intellect. Most Jedi that are revered in history were wise as opposed to smart. It’s a different gift, neither is better than the other, they just serve different purposes. And knowing that all strengths have a perceived weakness is entirely sensible. Over thinking can be as problematic as under thinking. Not quite as bad, but none the less an issue.”

Sorel chuckled. “It is not something I am guilty of. I simply follow the Code. My weakness has always been in believing I am right. Confidence becomes arrogance way too easily – and I have been guilty of the latter often. But now I am aware of the fine line that separates them and look to remain on the correct side. I suspect I achieve this most of the time now, but not always.”

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"And yet I have both smarts and wisdom. I do realize it's two different things but that overlap somewhat. But arrogance is often a trap one can fall into, and all the easier the more skill or experience one has in an area, or to be interpreted that way even if it held up to scrutiny. And close scrutiny takes time that, unfortunately, can't always be afforded. The ones that are down-to-earth are usually people who have sufficient self-awareness not to make claims they cannot back up. For all my propensity to brag, I would never brag about stuff I know I cannot deliver or otherwise cannot back up. Some Jedi tend to use exaggerated claims about their power, or the resources they otherwise have at their disposal, to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, not that it is something I would necessarily do unless absolutely necessary. But I have the impression that someone that regularly uses exaggerated claims to carry out their duty may be more vulnerable to the dark side"

Upon hearing about confidence easily becoming arrogance, she was reminded of her description in some issue of the Sith Inquisitor: Jessica was an innovative braggart. She decided to roll with it, because it was the tabloid that was the most accurate about geniuses. By now she liked the direction it took: post-Korriban they realized that geniuses were the one thing that had a glaring hole in the galactic tabloid market, thereby guaranteeing both Cathul and Jessica regular appearances on it.

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel smiled. “I do believe you have more than your fair share of both – your observations tell me that. Arrogance is not only a trap, it can be a path to the dark side. Believing you are right becomes not only a product of your knowledge and understanding, it becomes a habit. People tend to believe everything they think is automatically a pearl of wisdom. They confuse their opinions with the truth, and cannot accept there might be a variance. And if the difference is pointed out to them, it is the reality they doubt, not their belief.”

“Which of course leads to poor decisions and even worse behaviour. The Code becomes constricting to their perceived intellect and at first it is bent, then broken – but with an underlying belief that they have merely interpreted the Code the correct way – just a way that others have missed.”

“Of course I am generalising, but there is enough evidence from history to suggest what I say holds weight. Many that fall to the dark side, most perhaps, don’t see themselves as evil. They believe they are acting for greater good and that it is others that are misguided.”

“My, this lesson took an interesting turn.” She smiled at Jessica. “Not that it is unwarranted or unwanted, but not what I expected. But it has proved enlightening, which is always a good thing.”

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"You're correct that a lot of people are held prisoner to their beliefs. But I know no party has a monopoly on dogmatism. Following the Jedi Code demands flexibility in our worldview, especially when events occur or new knowledge is acquired. What you describe here happens all too often and is called confirmation bias. While Sith factions in recent history often promote groupthink that render its adherents nothing but vile and evil people, and often portrayed as organizations for getting galactic butchers (i.e. genocide, mass destruction, mass cannibalism, and also betrayal of vassals) together in one spot, Sith as individuals are much more varied in nature. But what you had to say tied into what I said earlier into stereotyping or judgmentalism, and all the other lack of wisdom Force-users can display. Yet evil is in the eye of the beholder"

She could even talk about how the senior military leadership of the One Sith in its last days were thrown under the bus: in particular the position of Grand General was a much-reviled one, and also the longtime Grand Admiral left the One Sith behind, while rumored to now be in First Order service, at the same rank. Jessica was floating on an intellectual cloud - and no, she wasn't using mechu-deru or Force-comprehension. Plus she definitely had the allure of a Force-scholar: in her mind, Force-scholars were Force-users who, regardless of their Force-alignment or denomination, devoted their lives to the pursuit of knowledge. Better use my mind as much as I can while I am floating on that intellectual Cloud Nine, she thought, knowing that this feeling of being on a cloud would end at some point.

"Many Force-users that seemed to have more intellectual firepower than they had Force-power to act on it became Force-scholars, and even the more intellectually inclined among the Jedi usually tended to be more knowledge-intensive, preferring to use the Force over a lightsaber. Seers, sages, healers, lorekeepers, technicians, researchers, diplomats to a lesser extent, were often specializations pursued by the more intellectual among the Jedi"

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel smiled ruefully. Jessica was, as ever, spot on in her observations. “It is a fine line between dogmatism and faith. Or even belief and blind faith. And some, perhaps myself if I’m honest, appreciate the Code as a bedrock when the galaxy is ever changing. The Code, as I see it, is not inflexible. Rather circumstances change and that allows us to review our understanding and interpretation of the Code.”

“And evil is indeed a matter of perspective. We all see ourselves as somewhere in the middle ground and entirely reasonable. It is others we see as extremists or ignorant to the facts. I am pragmatic enough to understand that and appreciate that my view is entirely my own and not to take an unnaturally high-ground moral viewpoint. But I also accept that, like everyone else, I have an inner sense of right and wrong and cannot entirely detach myself from this compass. But I see actions as bad, not groups or even individuals. Sure, some individuals are carrying out bad acts a lot of the time, and so might be tarnished with the tag ‘evil’ but an entire group? I do my best not to generalise. If that isn’t, by definition, a generalisation.”

“And I approve of playing to your strengths. Why not? You have an intellect that should be utilised fully and not wasted. But I suspect I’m preaching to the converted.”

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"The mind is one's most important Force-instrument, and it is important to maintain it if one wants to maintain its effectiveness at using the Force. I know all too many Force-users neglect to take care of their mind. If a Force-user finds him/herself with impaired mental abilities, its ability to use the Force is impaired, even though the individual's connection to it may very well be unaffected. I know I can get a lot out of my brain when I'm not mentally impaired, so in my case being mentally impaired can be devastating. I guess, that's a weakness that comes with being so invested with one's intellect in life. But I have to be careful: if I use too much mental power at once, I know I can get a seizure. Not that many Force-users use so much of their mental abilities that they are at risk of seizures but I know I am, and cognition-intensive Force-powers can also cause people to get seizures from using these Force-powers at excessive intensity. But yes, it is too often a trap to conflate the evilness of an action with that of its perpetrator, especially when the perpetrators do so on the regular, and same goes when factions are the perpetrators"

But even the Jessica of her worst days, that is, her pre-Kuat days, was still more than simply a large sentient. And even then she still took care of her mind. The list of items that can lead someone to the dark side is piling up at every turn...

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel nodded at Jessica’s words. Certainly an affected mind was impaired at using the Force. “I agree that observation – although I would not conflate the argument with one that suggested the more intelligent a Force User was, the greater their ability to use the Force.”

“Sometimes, often in fact, the propensity to over-think is a weakness for Jedi. And, as a rule, it is the more intelligent that apply their minds to a problem. A simple analysis is often enough – or the collective minds of an assembly. Not group-think, but the individual perspectives, when added together, produce a richness of thought that covers more angles than one highly intelligent person. Like it or not, we all tend to have a bias, to see things from a certain viewpoint.”

“But in the absence of many minds, I’d take one intelligent Jedi to give me an analysis every time. And as I mentioned before, if you can blend intelligence and wisdom – well, then you’ll end up on the Jedi Council one day.”

Not that Sorel had ever seen a Jedi Council in action, so her assertion was based on a lot of her own assumptions and biases.

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"Sure, there are some abilities where well-developed cognitive abilities are a godsend, and I know a few other powers are nearly impossible to use outright by people whose intellectual makeup may not be compatible, like Instinctive Astrogation Control or mechu-deru, but I know it's not the same as assuming that more intelligence, or rather, reinforcing various areas in one's intellectual makeup, is key to increasing one's ability to use the Force. I still feel trapped by having more knowledge of the Force, and cognitive abilities, than I have power to act based on that. And many people seem to conflate intelligence with the magnitude of some vector based on the components that translate best across a wide range of activities: processing power, memory, critical thinking, logic. I instead view it as a vector in an orthonormal vector space with each component being a facet of intelligence, hence why I talk about one's intellectual makeup"

Being mentally impaired may be devastating to her all right, but if the depictions of what happen to geniuses when they, all of a sudden, find themselves brought down to a more normal intellectual makeup are accurate, it might be more devastating on a psychological level than on a functional level at the levels of mental incapacitation she experienced in her life.

"Oh and individuals' biases is why there is a council, usually, rather than just one Grandmaster"

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel suspected she was out of her depth as the conversation progressed. It wasn’t that she was lacking intelligence – but it was not on the same level as Jessica’s. And she suspected her fellow Jedi would appreciate a good debate. And she felt she was letting the side down with her own input. But she spoke honestly and from the heart – which was as much as she could do.

“And be mindful of that frustration. It is a negative emotion and can become unchecked anger or even jealousy or greed. Which is the beginnings of a path to the dark side.”

It was fair to day that there appeared at times a thousand paths and only one seemed to lead to the light side. Which is why wise Jedi often counselled how the route to the dark side was easier.

“And a Council works well when it is drawn from a wide church of opinion and viewpoint. Often teams – and councils are not above this – are chosen by a leader in their own image. Or the leader is so strong – or just admired – that they dominate the decision-making process. People feel unable, unwilling or underqualified to challenge.”

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"I knew growing in power to the point I would no longer feel trapped by my knowledge of the Force was a protracted process. Reaching the point where I can feel good about my knowledge of the Force vs. ability to make use of it will probably take a while. I'm not angry, just that my future goals involve being in harmony with myself and what I know about the Force, and my relationship to the Force is a key component to my well-being. If I don't feel well, then I'm vulnerable to the lure of the dark side. And I know some people whose intellectual predispositions render them good fits for specializations that are cognition-intensive, but never seem to grow in power much beyond what many call low-knight. But how important is one's well-being about their relationship to the Force for not falling to the dark side? I knew that I was vulnerable to the lure of the dark side just because I could be tempted by the lure of learning faster than I naturally would, as if that wasn't fast enough"

Cathul, one of her favorite Mandalorian Jedi, doesn't seem to complain about her knowledge of the Force vs. ability to use the Force anymore, even though, on the power scale of padawan-to-master, she was now closer to a master than to a padawan, they often called such people "high-knights". Sure, she did train a few more Mandos in mechu-deru but Mandos often seemed to use it to refine their suits of beskar and little more. Mechu-deru is often called cognition-intensive because of the sheer amount of engineering knowledge required to master it at the level she does, but doesn't provide any intellectual boost when in use.

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel listened empathetically. Growing into a power was never easy. Many Padawans and even Younglings, looked to rush the development – even though the Masters counselled against this course of action. And she suspected the frustration for Jessica was greater than the average – given her significantly higher intelligence and associated knowledge.

But it sounded as though she was coming to terms with the fact that, whereas the Force was infinite, a Jedi’s capacity to use it was not. And given Jessica’s quick mind, she had to accept her ability to use what she knew would lag for a while – perhaps always. For even a Master’s use of the Force was not boundless.

“Harmony is key. Being comfortable with yourself and your progress is key to advancement. Nothing worthwhile tends to happen because we rush it. Invariably it has the opposite effect. And self-awareness is key to your journey, so I am delighted you are fully aware of the pitfalls and your current limitations.”

Sorel did not subscribe to the concept of high or low Knight. It was not that she necessarily disagreed, but rather it did not register with her. She saw all Jedi as equals, just with different strengths and weaknesses and on different places on the same journey. In much the same way she rarely took any notice of a Jedi’s formal rank. All received her respect and any given task required the best Jedi for the role, not the most senior. But she had no quarrel with those that categorised. Once upon a time she might have been keen to debate the point, to show her views were more accurate. But time was a commodity that had changed her – and now she accepted that not everyone thought as she did. And that didn’t make them wrong or her right – they were just differences of opinion. And you could debate opinion and perception all day – and rarely to any conclusion. So she had learned to respect other’s views and simply reflect on them. Add them to her knowledge base and if that shifted her insight in time, so be it.

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

To Jessica, and to so many among Jedi, the "height" of a knight was a measure of one's level of power, which was best represented as a vertical scale, more than a question of where one sat in a protocolar order of precedence. She knew that often people who were unnaturally smart, were under the illusion that they could do anything, or even bypass their own limitations, sometimes with the acknowledgement that effort is required on some level, sometimes not. Sure, she acknowledged that self-awareness set her apart from other people that had intellectual power like her own, and often one's downfall can be caused by a lack of self-awareness. Oh she could tell how many dark-siders would want a piece of her knowledge and intellect while using Drain Knowledge to get it. She is tempted to say that she could tell how someone fell to the dark side by their pattern of using Drain Knowledge on her.

"It has been really insightful between the two of us. I will soon take my leave of you. Now, if you may excuse me, I wonder who else you had the opportunity to have such conversations with?"

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel had enjoyed the lesson. Like many she undertook, the learning was two-way. Sometimes the takeaway was tangible, other times she was simply prompted to think of things in a different way – to be prompted to re-evaluate opinions or to enter territory previously uncharted. Jessica had done a combination of the last two on that list – and Sorel was grateful.

She bowed. “I have appreciated the exchange and I trust you have gained something from the saber practice too. In terms of conversations like this one, I can honestly say that none have been of this kind. I have had technical chats, where I have developed an understanding of subjects outside of my usual repertoire – and these have been with my Master and also her daughter, a great friend of mine. But in terms of this sort of dialogue?” She paused and truly reflected on the question. “No, I can’t think of one. But don’t let that deter you, I have a relatively small circle of acquaintances.”

Sorel bowed once more. “May the Force be with you.”

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"May the Force be with you. Goodbye"

That was a rather lengthy conversation she had with me, I'll accept as much. And I accept that she doesn't have a whole lot of acquaintances. I was lucky that the Mandos to whom I taught mechu-deru weren't looking for that much more than to refine their own personal equipment. In comparison, my teenage years were years where the Force-roadblock just popped out of nowhere due to the sheer amount of stress of the rat race. Equally puzzling is how I somehow had the impression that, since the day when it became clear to the galaxy what kind of genius I really am, everyone who wants to use Drain Knowledge just wants to use me as a computer in the Force. Well, that's the cost of smarts for you. And yet so many envy me on some level. It's very, very difficult for non-geniuses to imagine what would life be if they suddenly became geniuses, and the same in reverse. Comfort with the self is key to avoid falling into the cracks. Any source of incomfort should be addressed, she thought, upon going back from whence she came, and back to Geonosis she goes, using IAC, whom she knew success was not a question of how much power one has, but the smarts of the person and especially their mathematical talent.