The Tom Veitch Files

>>Cyborg Jedi as "junction between the Force and all possible computer activity"<< Skip, see my reply to Robert Quillen, today, where I start to pry into this area. Also my note to Sterling Hershey, which I will compose after I finish yours. You bring up the RPG rules, which state that the combination of man and machine makes them less in tune with their human nature, and harder to tap the good side of the Force. Your point is well taken, because it flows directly out of the Darth Vader character -- ("He's more of a machine than a man.") It's also connected to George Lucas' basic concept that in the final analysis the heroic spirit is more powerful than any technology you could imagine. I think we will be coming up against the dramatic conflict inherent in the man/machine combination in our sequel, because we will introduce a Jedi, a survivor of the great Dark Side purge, whose body is mostly prosthetics. I see this as an opportunity to show the power of the spirit (read "Force") over technology in a new light. By the fact of the physical disaster that befell him, our man, of necessity, became a cyborg. But instead of showing him as weakened psychologically by that, we will use him as a metaphor for the horrible disabled person, completely dependent on machines, whose spirit manages to shine very brightly and conquer all adversity. Certainly we see examples of that all around us. Stephen Hawking is one. Here's another: Check out a book called UNDER THE EYE OF THE CLOCK, by a lad named CHRISTOPHER NOLAN. I quote from the blurb: "Six years ago the literary world was stunned by the publication of a book of exceptional poems, DAM-BURST OF DREAMS. The author, an Irish boy severely disabled by cerebral palsy, was 15 years old at the time. His poetry was remarkable by any standards. Now at twenty-one Christopher Nolan has written the story of his childhood, UNDER THE EYE OF THE CLOCK. He nearly died at birth from asphyxiation, but survived, imprisoned by his mute and paralyzed body. Unable to move or speak, he found his voice with the aid of a typing stick attached to his head..." So I don't see our guy as following the game-template at all. We will depict him as MORE human than any of the humans around him. We will depict him as having passed through his ordeal and become stronger because of it. And I don't mean that in a sentimental way... I envision this character having a sense of humor about his dependence on machines. And I see him as being very clear about his relationship to the Force. He is going to use it without any kind of self-pity or self-doubt. A true Samurai.