Chapter 3, Part 4 (Sparc)

*the scene opens in total darkness. Slowly, lights come on, but it's still quite dim. The scene is revealed to be a small, round room with a door on one side. Sparc is unconscious in the middle of the room, but soon comes to and sits up. He blinks once, twice, then sits up, then stands.*

Sparc: I wish I carried the medkit... want aspirin.... ow.

*he pulls out his scanner, and finds that it's non-functional*

Sparc: I knew I shoulda charged the batteries on this thing before we left....

*he opens the door, and leaves the room. The door leads to a corridor, and then to a larger, square room. As Sparc enters the room, it immediately becomes very bright, though there are no obvious light sources. Sparc shields his eyes, and hears a door close behind him. The light dims to more normal levels, and a holographic image is in the middle of the room. The image is of a human female, dressed in somewhat ornate tan robes. Sparc walks up to her.*

Hologram: I am the image of Bastila Shan, once a Jedi Knight. But that was many, many eons ago. Now all that I was in life has passed into the Force. But I left my thoughts and teachings in a holocron, from which my image is projected.

Sparc: What's a holocron?

Bastila: A crystal lattice device, designed to hold extremely large amounts of data. Jedi have been known to pattern their internal lattices after their own neural networks, and as such, much of their knowledge and personality. This also allows a large degree of interactivity, projecting a holographic image known as a 'gatekeeper'.

Sparc: And what does this 'gatekeeper' do?

Bastila: It mainly serves to provide access to the large quantities of data stored in memory, while providing a more personal touch. In Jedi holocrons, the gatekeeper serves to judge what level, if any, of knowledge to share with the user. Disclosing too much information too quickly is dangerous.

Sparc: Dangerous? It's information. Information is never dangerous in and of itself.

Bastila: Oh? What of the knowledge of a technique that would eliminate the entire population of a planet with a single thought? Or perhaps the schematics for a thought-control device?

Sparc: It's just data. In the hands of a librarian, it would do nothing. It would merely sit in a databank. Knowledge is only dangerous in the hands of a dangerous person.

Bastila: So you would submit that information is neither inherently good or bad, but can be used for either?

Sparc: That's correct. The examples you used earlier, of a technique to wipe out all life on a planet? Perhaps a planet is the breeding ground of a virulent and deadly plague virus, but no sentients. Such a technique could potentially save trillions of lives. And the principle works in reverse, as well. For example, imagine a device that could slow down the orbit of a planet. It could be used to extend the growing season, and end a famine. However, it could also be used to bring the planet's orbit almost to a halt, damning half of its population to eternal winter and darkness.

Bastila: Interesting. I believe you have passed.

Sparc: Passed?

Bastila: Yes. Our discussion was a test, to help me gauge your intentions, and your level of wisdom.

Sparc: From a ten-minute conversation?

Bastila: Yes. While the conversation did provide insight, the scans of your mind were also a factor.

Sparc: You scanned my brain? I hope I don't get cancer.

Bastila: It's never happened before.

Sparc: ...

Bastila: Anyways, you have passed the test. Go through the door on the far side of the room, and receive my lightsaber and my holocron. May the force be with you.

*Bastila shimmers out of existence, as a door opens on the far side of the room. Sparc goes through the now-open door. On the other side is a small, round room very similar to the one he awoke in. There are two pedestals in the room, one with a pyramidal object on it, and the other with an odd metal cylinder. The pyramidal object emits a soft blue glow, and the metal cylinder is quite obviously an electronic device. Sparc picks up each one, and puts them carefully into his bag. The pedestals sink into the floor, and a platform much like the one from earlier rises from the ground. Sparc steps onto it, and it carries him upward.*

*scene ends*