Now That's a Force-using Droid!

[Jessica Med-Beq]

Looks like Arax is taking longer to redeem than expected; perhaps I could train someone else in the meantime. I know I heard the name of Ultimatum circulated and that few organics were comfortable training droids. But, since I was called a Force-using droid on multiple occasions, perhaps I can actually handle training one, especially since I trained a Shard in a droid body in pyrokinesis and cryokinesis, she thought, while reviewing [member="Ultimatum"]'s file as circulated from Ilum from the Republic Remnant, and then on through other people that went on that trip. Just that maybe the droid would be able to understand how she approaches the Force, which was radically different from more classical approaches in that it achieves precision at the cost of computational power; if push comes to shove, she could always use mechu-deru on it to facilitate the learning. So she is awaiting the coming of the Shard-in-a-droid in Silver Rest on Kashyyyk, and, in fact, she could readily feel the presence of that Shard, which she knew is different from the Shard she did train on Sekalus before the planet went supernova.

"Welcome... Ultimatum. I trust you would like to get some Force-lessons, and also some lessons in the Jedi Code"

 

[Ultimatum]

The two had quietly questioned one another on the wisdom of meeting with a Jedi so soon after their expedition on Ilum. The world's experience and ice were still fresh in the droid's mind. And the body, Ultimatum was still finding small patches of frost in his chassis where the heat had not yet penetrated. The artificial duo had not, however, agreed on what Force philosophy they would adhere it, or if they would follow a belief at all. It was the question of religion, did they believe in the concepts held by any side? This was a question without an answer until they had learned more of the various beliefs. Ultimatum's fear, which Upari concurred with, was that they would too quickly accept the views of others without proper consideration. Care would need to be taken, but this was an opportunity that the two were unwilling to pass.

They could feel the power of what they assumed to be the person they were to meet. The ability to sense the Force was still new to the combination, and beyond vague feelings they were blind. Ultimatum's background was questionable at best, having worked alongside Sith and Jedi, though he barely remembered either. It would be an exciting lesson in the psychological reactions, a study in a potential tutor's methods.

"That is an accurate assessment. We would find it most helpful to obtain training in the Force and how to refine our understanding of the Jedi Code. If you would be amicable to teaching us."

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"Yes, I would like to train you. First, other than Force-sense, what can you currently do with the Force?"

Yes, I know that, with Shards, the Force-bottleneck is the Shard within the droid body, so whatever benefits gained from the droid body's additional processing power are instead confined to the realm of cognition, especially with deep learning being usually fitted into AI. For this reason I'd rather not re-train them in powers they already know unless issues arise, she thought, while realizing that she was, in fact, training Upari and that the name of [member="Ultimatum"] instead referred to the droid body. Now, her preliminary information points at that droid having computational power that might rival hers, but comparing a sentient's computational power to a droid's is, in fact, comparing apples to oranges. Especially given what she knows about AI and computational heuristics. So she thinks that she would not need to take the same precautions as she would need with sentient students, whom she know have a wide variety of ways to process information as well as an equally wide variability in what she calls computational power. Just that she was a little apprehensive because she would probably expect a different response regarding computational power.

"It's just that I don't want to waste your computational power for re-learning that which you already know, because frustration could otherwise ensue, plus I know frustration is just one possible thing that could lead the Shard within you to the dark side"

 

[Ultimatum]

"We appreciate the concern, our experience with Force related abilities is almost non-existent." Their recent expedition had only just opened the gates to a more significant connection with the Force. They had no training in anything, and the only inherent ability was that which most Force-sensitives had, a feeling for the world around them. Ultimatum somewhat feared that this training would involve the abstract emotive sentiments that Jedi historically used. While the droid could understand them, he found the whimsical concepts to be less impacting and challenging to comprehend, when compared to more basic, concrete subjects.

At a prompting by Upari, Ultimatum continued, "Anything you would be willing to teach has a high likelihood of being unknown to us." After a moment of silence Ultimatum introduced them properly with a bow, "Ah, sincerest apologies, you know my name, but the sentient, or Shard, you will be teaching is called Upari." This was still a somewhat new method of living for both of them. Perhaps they would need to invent a name for the both of them so that there would be no mistaking them for each other. He expounded, "We are mentally connected, the connections stimulate collective thoughts and experiences. We hear what either of us hears; we feel what either of us feels." Some sentients had found the concept strange enough to believe it implausible, and they understood why to a degree. It was rare for two sentients of the same species to share thoughts naturally, much less two beings of entirely different species. But, they understood that Force users could sometimes sense and send thoughts and feelings, so they believed that it would be more readily understood by this Jedi.

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"Today's first lesson for Upari is telekinesis, and the other Force-related lessons are: telepathy, pyrokinesis, cryokinesis, Electric Judgment and Force-light, with the lessons about the Code to be held whenever you're exhausted from training Force-powers while you're recharging for the next set"

To be fair, Jessica smirked when she heard [member="Ultimatum"] talk about the relationship between Shard and droid; she knew that since that day on Sekalus where she trained a Shard called Sallikar Volling in pyro/cryo. She then used a spoon from the Temple's kitchens that she stored in her pocket to teach Upari telekinesis: most objects she could readily use for that purpose were, in fact, everyday objects for sentients. Now, a Shard in a droid body would probably use it as a cooking instrument rather than as an utensil to eat, but for now anyway, she watched patiently as she was awaiting Upari's first attempt at using telekinesis. With Ultimatum handling the more computation-intensive tasks, she was confident that she could teach the actual principles behind a power rather than just a recipe, while keeping in mind that a bowl of powdered ice cream or a bowl may perhaps be too heavy, even though they could be used later down the road. And, in fact, will. Hopefully I won't overload Upari's mind by teaching so many items in one sitting, and telekinesis is part of the agenda, she thought.

"You will realize over time that Upari's Force-batteries are, in fact, distinct from Ultimatum's power supplies and that their capacity will increase the more Upari uses the Force. But for now, try to calculate the force diagram associated with moving the fork in the desired direction and then picture that you're tractoring the object in that direction"

 

[Ultimatum]

That appeared like a long list, to the beings in mental communion. Even more so because they had little substantial experience in the Force. Then again, a steep learning curve merely strengthened the student. [member="Jessica Med-Beq"] produced a spoon and Ultimatum watched it carefully, half expecting it to move on its own. However, as she explained the mechanics of the thought process, Ultimatum felt relief pouring over them. Mathematics, scientific principles, Ultimatum could handle these. Ultimatum wished that his own power supplies could be expanded by merely expending them.

Focusing, as Jessica had commanded, on the utensil's properties for movement. Many variables had to be taken into account in such a circumstance, the mass of the spoon, the distance desired to travel, resistance. The question Ultimatum was unsure of, and for that matter Upari was interested in discovering, was the type and amount of energy required to make such a movement possible. There were a plethora of examples of Jedi using the Force to move objects on the HoloNet, there was a fairly standard pose they took, but those examples never explained the science of energy transfer. The cardinal rule of physics dictated that neither mass nor energy could be created or destroyed only transformed from one to the other. Where then was the energy coming from for those Force manipulations? Such questions were beyond the current droid's ability to attempt to answer.

"Understood."

The math was begun and finished within moments, easy for Ultimatum to decipher. At that point though, Upari and Ultimatum were uncertain how to continue. The droid body of Ultimatum looked over itself for a moment and then extended a hand towards the spoon tentatively. They focused on the utensil for several moments. There was no answer to their collective mind, no response from the Force.

"Perhaps there is more to it?"

"But what?"

"Perhaps put effort into the answer as well as the object. She said to imagine it moving."

"Can't be any worse, let's give it a shot."

The exchange transpired over a millisecond or so, and the hand only closed slightly before the mechanical being opened it once more. This time, their collective thoughts held an image of the movement and the various forces required behind it. The Force responded, and the small spoon wiggled slightly before moving towards the left for an inch before wobbling and falling still. The droid felt somewhat drained from it, Ultimatum felt in a way he had never believed possible. He could not describe it, but there was a definite tiredness in his thoughts. He could also feel something more, as if the world were slightly different than before.

"I feel strange. Is this the Force?"

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"Strange? It's Upari's feeling of tiredness being channeled in the thoughts being communicated to you, it's also how Upari feels about how it uses the Force. But perhaps Upari feels tired because it's unsettling to use the Force for the first time other than for sensory purposes"

It's normal not to get the lesson right the first time one performs it; in fact, with deep learning, it's important to rectify the lesson as soon as a deficiency is found, but usually I seem to trust Force-users that their initial training in certain Force-powers were done until such deficiencies are addressed, she thought, while also realizing that she could sense emotions in the Shard housed within [member="Ultimatum"] and its Force-batteries. Seeing the spoon being lifted to her right for an inch or so was also cause for her to see if there are no more parasitic thoughts inside Upari that could interfere with its ability to use the Force. She could also feel that Ultimatum has a question about where the Force-energy is coming from, but feels that providing the answer would unduly distract Upari or Ultimatum at this stage and hence she would not yet provide an answer. In fact, she was tempted to provide that very answer on multiple occasions, even to one Preliat Mantis in an attempt to get him to forgive her, but at best she scratched the surface with other Jedi. So, with Ultimatum, she could potentially go all the way with the explanations like she couldn't do before, because on limitations on the students' part.

"Now that you've experienced the initial discomfort, clear your mind and you may then attempt to lift the spoon again, using the same techniques I instructed you in"

 

[Ultimatum]

Indeed it was uncomfortable. The duo felt tightness in their minds for a few moments. Then, as [member="Jessica Med-Beq"] explained further, Upari and Ultimatum agreed they would have to try harder. Taking a moment the droid body took a more relaxed position, declining its head ever so slightly as the two focused together. Now that they were aware of what to expect, the droid allowed his mind to move with Upari's. That strange sensation washed over them, an experience that did not seem to obey any physical law he was aware of. Yet, Upari was calm, and Ultimatum remained so as well.

The Shard followed Ultimatum in the mathematical calculations, the two then answered at once and pushed the image of movement into reality. They did not feel any tiring as it happened, they instead felt oddly detached. The spoon lifted once more, dragging for a moment before enacting a straight line towards Ultimatum for a few centimeters. It turned and move the same distance towards the left, then back towards Jessica, and finally completed the square by returning to its origin. Bumping into the ground once or twice, and at point delaying before turning, there were only a few lapses in its steady course.

"There."

"Good job."

"Let us not count that as accomplishment yet. Our teacher will decide."

After the conclusion, Ultimatum looked to Jessica with a question, "How was that?"

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"An improvement but not yet good enough to move on to the final lesson. You seemed to have a wavering control over the flow of Force-energy, perhaps a wavering concentration"

And that is just a part of the learning curve she is pretty used to, with the number of padawans she trained over the years. Finesse was often part of the game as a Jedi, she trained Upari/[member="Ultimatum"] in that direction because she knew that a lack of control over one's powers could render a Jedi a liability. Arrogance is a flaw that brought down Jedi padawans all over history, regardless of whether or not one fights on a regular basis, even though the mechanisms causing an arrogant FU's downfall are different depending on what one uses the Force for. I want Upari to keep its ego in check, and to address any issues of control before they escalate. Yes, Upari has a lot to learn, yes I can teach it a wide array of powers, just that control is the key aspect that could make the entire regimen fall apart, she thought, while seeing the spoon make a square circuit, with bumping being an issue of telekinetic control, but she wasn't nervous in the slightest, because she knew exactly how to address the issue, but exactly what could go wrong is a thing that is often a personal issue.

"Perhaps you should review any mental memory dumps to see if there is anything that might have gone wrong with Upari's control over its power; once you've done that, you may once again repeat that routine, while remaining mindful of the rooms for improvement the memory dumps provide"

 

[Ultimatum]

"You were correct; we are not quite there yet."

"We are not finished yet. This shall be accomplished before we leave this day."

The two processed the information and began to reroute the memory patterns through a reanalysis. As a computer, the process was a short one, and Ultimatum was left with enough time to hope that they would be able to prove themselves to this potential master. The duo had an opportunity for a method of training beyond self-teaching, which was mostly ineffective. Their mind returned to the task and Ultimatum began,

"Disruption at about point three seconds. Disturbance cascade effect continued in five seconds."

"Cut off periphery sensors at that time? We could create a definite program for it after perfecting the strategy."

"We shall try it."

The two started over. Focusing all of their minds they could, Ultimatum and Upari stretched out with the Force. The spoon lifted once more. The computations led the little utensil on a steady and precise path this time, following the exact way as before. Correcting the calculations as variables became definite. The solution came to fruition as it completed its trail, the droid watched closely. The small spoon waggled back and fourth for a few moments in the end, like a metronome keeping some alien pace. Then, with a spur of the moment calculation, Upari set the spoon gently down onto its head and then the Force left the small utensil to peace.

"That was-" Ultimatum had no word to complete the sentence and his vocabulator merely filled the space with a garbled noise into silence. He could not completely understand this feeling of the Force, it stood as something beyond any experience he had ever known. There was no like to it in the HoloNet, those videos did not prepare him for it.

"Indeed. This is what it is to feel the Force. There is more, I can feel it. But we are not there yet."

"How can there be more? This..."

"Ask her, if you can."

Ultimatum looked to [member="Jessica Med-Beq"] and he wondered what it must feel like. There was math, science behind it all, he realized. Every manipulation of the Force was a pull on the strings of physical sciences. His little feat was nothing compared to what he knew others could do, yet the power involved was awe inspiring.

"It was exhilirating." Belatedly he realized that neither he nor Upari were tired, in fact they felt refreshed somewhat. It was unexplainable and yet it was.

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"Often I realize that most sentients tend to think of the Force in terms of feelings, or otherwise as magic, probably because most of them try to go through the path of least resistance, and not want to use too much computational power, while, in fact, the Force is a collection of quantum fields and comes in microscopic, discrete packets called spirit ichor, each of which being a bosonic particle field enabling a specific set of related powers; I'll discuss the implications in terms of Force-alignment for later. Now you would probably realize that my brain is glowing more intensely in the Force because I'm using more computational power than before"

So a nexus was, in fact, a place where the quantum field associated with the Force was in a permanent excited state, with locations outside of the nexus being normally in a ground state, she thought, while her use of computational power, that is, her mental abilities, became much higher than it was before. So, in fact, [member="Ultimatum"] would probably find exhilirating to see Jessica's brain glow that much more intensely in the Force, while she isn't actively using the Force. But she wasn't trying to use Force-light here so it wouldn't be showing outwardly, and to the NFU eye it would be no different than before. Yes, a few people were intrigued by exactly what I mean when I talk about a sentient's computational power and, because of it, I was referred to as a Force-using droid when I was a padawan. But just because I have a lot of computational power doesn't mean that I'm intrinsically any better than other FUs that may not have it, nor any better than the little NFU guy, but I may as well kill as many birds with the telepathic stone as possible, and teach Upari a lesson or two about light-and-dark and the Jedi Code in telepathic format, she thought.

"Now I feel you are ready to move on to the next item on the agenda: telepathy. It would be much like using the Force as you would a comm unit, and then you can communicate with other Force-using sentients in situations where NFU communication channels would be inappropriate"

 

[Ultimatum]

That was an interesting concept, one that Ultimatum hoped to one day verify. The idea that the Force could be broken down into biological parts that could then be studied suggested to the droid a potential research point. If there were many different powers related to different ichor, then could it not be possible to overwhelm a being with a single type of ichor and thereby create a masterfully powerful person in that restricted area of the Force? The implications of such a concept were startlingly severe. What further intrigued Ultimatum was the potentials of alignment that she spoke of.

Upari and Ultimatum were both gladdened to hear that they had passed this first work. They were now moving onto a field that Ultimatum thought would be quite useful. Communication without physical speech was something that he had experience with insofar as entirely electronic communication. But as [member="Jessica Med-Beq"] had noted, this Force based communication could be more useful in those situations where conventional communication was ill-advised. It would also be helpful in communicating safely with those sentients who did not naturally utilize electronic communication.

"If it is akin to a comm unit, then it works on a frequency?"

Upari wondered if this person could hear his thoughts as well, "Can you hear our thoughts?" For the Shard, the logic followed that if one could send thoughts to another, then hearing the views of another was as likely.

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"In fact, it does work on a frequency band" she told [member="Ultimatum"] before Upari started using telepathy.

Yes, I can hear your thoughts, so I have to say that, however tempting it is to overwhelm a being with a single type of ichor, and, from there, create a masterfully powerful person in that restricted area of the Force, the person's experience and skill with that area determines just how much ichor can be used by any given person at any given time for any specific purpose. That is why a person's Force-batteries increases in capacity the more they use it. Also I can feel that you have lingering questions about light-and-dark. The alignment operator commutes with all three of the light, neutrality and darkness operators, but it takes on the eigenvalues 1, 0 and -1, traditionally associated with light, neutrality and darkness; an entity is said to be light-sided if its expectation value under the alignment operator is greater than 1/3, dark-sided if its expectation value is less than -1/3 and neutrality anywhere in between, she thought, while realizing that it's quite a large packet of information, but they didn't even get to the Code. For example, Jessica, while called a Force-using droid at some point, was perhaps called as such because her brain gave her a lot of computational power, or perhaps because she was adept at using the Force for powers that required a lot of computational power to perform and, from there, use the Force in very precise ways but at a higher cost of computational power.

 

[Ultimatum]

The idea that another could read their thoughts was somewhat concerning. There was no way, that the two knew of, to defend against such intrusion. They realized that this meant that their conversations could no longer be considered secure. Therefore, through unthought agreement, they decided not to converse on subjects until they were more confident of the aspects. Did they fear for privacy? Ultimatum did not, and he was reasonably sure that Upari was unconcerned for their privacy. It was merely a question of security.

"How is the frequency comparable to others? Does it also mean that the telepathy can be communicated to multiple people at the same time? Is it possible to communicate with a sentient who has no Force sensitivity?"

Upari meanwhile noticed the strange lights coming off of [member="Jessica Med-Beq"]. Ultimatum could not see them, but Upari could. The Shard theorized that the glow was Force stimulation in the nervous system. It was logical that the Force abilities of a person would be centered in the control system of the organic body. If this were so, then it explained how a Force user could detect and react to a threat moments before it became apparent, or why many Force users moved in certain ways when using the Force.

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"In fact, there are two common ways telepathy are used: frequency and tightbeam. In frequency mode, one can indiscriminately communicate to multiple people at the same time within a specified range. In tightbeam mode, which is by far the most frequent mode, it's more about communicating with a specific person or set of people. Also, one can use telepathy to understand a language that is otherwise foreign to the user"

I hope that Upari actually processed 1) why one Force-batteries expanded after use and 2) quantized light-and-dark before the discussion went back to telepathy, she thought, while estimating her own alignment expectation value as somewhere in the whereabouts of 0.5-0.6, especially since she definitely leaned more towards the light. Yes, she acknowledged that [member="Ultimatum"] had some privacy concerns, but since most Force-users had an idea of using telepathy before they can even think of learning telekinesis, the ethical concerns of telepathy were not a concern many openly voiced. Just that Jessica seemed pretty adept at using telepathy for understanding a variety of languages, and even speak a few of them: Jawaese, Geonosian, to name those languages she actually understood to any significant degree with Force-assistance, and perhaps Mando'a to a lesser extent, thanks to Preliat Mantis having forgiven her. But, while pretty heavily related in her mind, she understood some FUs lacked the computational power to make the jump from telepathy to Comprehend Speech.

"As for communicating with non-Force-sensitive sentients, it's at best a one-way communication; a NFU sentient may potentially receive a telepathic message, and its surface thoughts can be read, but such a sentient cannot send a telepathic message"

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum absorbed this for a moment and allowed Upari to communicate with him. There was a definite use for this telepathy then if they could talk with other beings at a more extended range and potentially multiple people... There was a particular use that they could find for such abilities. Indeed it would help with their interactions with other sentients. Perhaps it would make a pleasant surprise, about as much as a droid using the Force, to those who expected him to be just another robot. Comedic effects aside, the tactical and economic potentials were astounding. It was here that Ultimatum had a question, and Upari had one as well.

"What of droids? Can their minds be read?" A moment passed before he queried, "Upari would like to know if those with no Force aptitude can have their minds read as you did with him."

Upari digested the information that had been shared thus far. If the Force could be quantified into light and dark elements, along with a neutral, just like electrical charges, then it begged the question as to what caused one to become more dominant. Was it utilization of the Force that polarized these people in one direction or the other? In addition, the Shard wondered about its Force limits, as mentioned earlier by [member="Jessica Med-Beq"]. How did they increase? Did the use of the ichor stimulate expanded growth in individual ichor to become hardier, like muscles? Or did the use of the ichor start a reproduction cycle that increased the numerical statistics of the ichor in a body? How fast did the power grow, was it exponential or linear? These thoughts filled the Shards mental structures, but he kept them from dripping out into Ultimatum's conscious, for now. One question was enough at a time.

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"First, sentients with no Force aptitude can have their minds read, but there are some races that can resist mind reading, such as Epicanthix and Hutts, and Force-dead individuals could also resist being read, too. As for reading droid minds, it's a manifestation of another power altogether, mechu-deru, which involves all manners of manipulating electronic equipment with the Force. Mechu-deru usually comes more easily to entities with a working knowledge of electronics and computing" she answered Upari's question.

Which was, in fact, the main power she used in her early stages as a padawan, to slice into the Rogue One Sith's databases (with the assistance of several other slicers) to steal some schematics for the Silvers' use. [member="Ultimatum"] may come to realize that he could turn the knowledge of its inner workings into actions doable under mechu-deru. Other would-be Jedi rarely, if ever, stop to ask more questions about the Force, and only want to learn the more practical aspects; the most recent paddies I've had were lucky enough to ask more questions about it than she expected of the average padawan, she thought, while realizing that poor understanding of the Force could lead to disasters. Then again, she also realized that people with more knowledge are usually more aware of the existence in gaps in their knowledge, but at that point it becomes more of an issue of the value proposition of bridging a specific knowledge gap. Sometimes bridging a knowledge gap could end up being more trouble than it's worth, and at Jessica's stage it had definitely become about determining what to know and what not to know, with such a thing being highly situational at this point.

"Now, as to exactly how increasing one's experience and skill in an area of the Force increases one's Force-batteries: it's about the use of the ichor stimulating expanded growth in midichlorians to become hardier, like animals' muscles, because it's the midichlorians that make the use of the Force possible, and the most common testing method for Force-sensitivity involves counting for midichlorians, but there are false-negatives and false-positives associated with every medical test, and these are no exception. We're then ready to move on to the Code, because it's relevant to the whole discussion of ichor charges and how FUs seem to be more receptive to a specific charge vs. another"

 

[Ultimatum]

That sounded like an ability that Ultimatum would be most capable of if they could learn how to channel the Force in such a way. Such a power struck Ultimatum as something to be feared as well. If a being could manipulate his inner workings, they might be capable of adjusting his mind or thought process without his realizing. That sort of power could turn him into anything, and he would never be aware. It was not very different from the reading of another's thoughts, dangerous and Ultimatum realized he would probably require a more profound moral query in order to try and discern whether it was genuinely okay to use such powers. Perhaps he was overthinking this quandary, but as a droid, he felt that the ability to destroy and control another artificial being seemed to be antithetical in most circumstances to the ideas of the Jedi.

At Upari's prodding Ultimatum continued, "The Jedi Code then. What makes the Jedi Code so special; are Light Side users capable of existing beyond the confines of the Code?"

This was an important question. The most significant dangers, based on history of the Jedi, was the failure to follow the Code. For many Jedi, it appeared that abandoning the Code was synonymous with falling to the Dark Side.

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"In fact, the Jedi and Sith Codes prescribe a code of conduct that seem to be more about morality than about Force-alignment. Light-and-dark seems to be more about how one uses the Force, while morality is more concerned with what the Force is used for, hence denomination is distinct from Force-alignment. Light-siders tend to either use the Force based on positive emotions or, as is the case with me, without any emotional inputs whatsoever, while dark-siders use negative emotions more"

Maybe it would best to allow Upari's batteries to recharge for a bit, she thought, while she didn't need a reminder of what happened when people were spiritually drained and wanted to continue learning: Paige was all too clear about that. She also knew that NFUs tended to conflate morality and Force-alignment, and titles are misleading. [member="Ultimatum"] would soon realize what people call Dark Jedi really are, and... Light Sith too, despite Light Sith being much, much less common than Dark Jedi. She was willing to teach the pair the various implications of following the Jedi Code, and also the difference between Force-alignment and morality, beyond a person's Force-alignment being the expectation value of a quantum operator (assuming, of course, one has an unitary alignment vector, that is, a wavefunction, said expectation value is hence a2-c2, with the components of the alignment vector traditionally taken to be nonnegative real numbers), and morality not being quantized, although she was all too aware that there were so many different interpretations of the Codes that it would be tedious to go through them all.

"Yes, it's true that many Jedi considered the Code as tantamount to falling to the dark side, but abandoning the Code is more often a consequence of falling to the dark side than a cause. Most Dark Jedi are people who use the dark side without abandoning the Code. That being said, Light Sith, which tend to be rather selfish, Darwinist even, people who nevertheless use the light side, are much less common than Dark Jedi. Now, for the Code proper: There is no emotion, there is peace, there is no ignorance, there is knowledge, there is no passion, there is serenity, there is no chaos, there is harmony, there is no death, there is the Force"

 

[Ultimatum]

That was an interesting dichotomy, and it sounded strange. That the Light and Dark users were based more on their emotional use than the Force they utilized. It was of particular interest that [member="Jessica Med-Beq"] mentioned that the Light tends to use power based on positive and neutral while Dark tend to handle negative emotions. Ultimatum would have assumed, logical as his basis, that the neutral emotions would have their own aspect or, based on the one or zero of Force alignment of the ichor as mentioned earlier, the neutral would fall into either category.

Then came the Jedi Code. He noted a seeming contradiction and Ultimatum asked, "If the Code requires the lack of emotion, then why do Light sided people use positive emotions?"

Then he came into more questions, "The knowledge spoken of, is knowledge of the Force? In regards to passion, do Jedi have no desire for their work, no drive to continue being Jedi? In death, do those who use the Force return to it?"

It felt like quite a few unrelated questions, but the droid's train of thought continued unabated and so he attempted to keep up with it by asking those questions that came first.