Edge of the Empire Book

THE FORCE

"The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to

• '• the power of the Force."
  I • ' -Darth Vader

B

elief in the Force is nearly extinct in the galaxy. The

Empire has relentlessly destroyed all evidence of

the Jedi and their ancient religion. However, there are

still those few who believe in the Force and those even

rarer few who can draw from its power. These indi-

viduals know the presence of the Force still reaches

through every being, planet, and star system in the

galaxy. It binds, entwines, and penetrates all life.

At its most basic level, the Force is balance. Within

it is both joy and sorrow, rage and love, fear and hope,

and light and darkness. People speak of a "light side"

and a "dark side" to the Force, elements representing

its positive and negative aspects. However, these as-

pects are not in conflict with each other. Rather, they

all form facets of a unifying whole. Although those

who call upon the Force to aid them may only tap into

certain aspects of it, they still count the entirety of the

Force as their ally.

There are only a few individuals in the galaxy who

have the ability to call upon the Force. However, this rare

gift makes these individuals both admired and. feared,

for those who count the Force as their ally find it to be a

powerful ally indeed. It allows people to perform impos-

sible tasks, project themselves from their crude mortal

forms, read and influence the minds of others, and even

peer into the tangled webs of the future. •

Those who can manipulate the Force find that it

manipulates them in turn; It guides their actions and

obeys their commands. For this reason, how one uses

the Force is important. Those who use the Force for

knowledge and defense instead of aggression and

ambition, who act when they are at peace with them-

selves and others, find their actions bolstered by the

light side. However, those who call on the Force for

destruction, and who tap into their hatred, anger, and

fear, find their destructive desires reinforced and am-

plified by the dark side of the Force.

There are'those who say. the dark side of the Force

is easier to use, more seductive, and that it constantly

tempts those who can sense the Force. However, it is

not stronger. When one is calm, when one works tc

preserve and defend, he finds the power of the light

side of the Force to be just as mighty as the dark side