So I woke up insanely early in the morning as I've grown accustomed to doing ever since my daughter joined the family. Only, when I woke this morning, she was sound asleep. So in the moments before I fell back asleep, my brain turned to thoughts of Star Wars as it often has since I was about six years old. There I was, laying awake in the dark, thinking about midi-chlorians and thinking, this is my life?
Midi-chlorians are perhaps the most hated aspect of Star Wars, with the exception of Jar Jar Binks. I admit to also being perplexed at the inclusion of these microscopic organisms in Episode I, thinking that Lucas was trying to jump on the current DNA obsession of the time. It seemed pointless to talk about these things and unnecessary to use them as a way of justifying Anakin's importance in the history of The Force. I never gave it much more thought beyond that...until this morning.
I had a revelation about it today and have come to the conclusion that it's just another wonderful aspect of the story of a galaxy far, far away. This is how I figure it...back in Episode I, the Galactic Senate was still operating, though barely. There was still peace and prosperity. It was operating under the protection of the Jedi Council and the government. It was a developed and central organization, and therefore it makes sense that science was important.
It was only after the dark reign of the Empire and the breakdown of government that mysticism took over. And without the Jedi around, and the mention of them being shunned, their existence became something of legend and myth. The science was forgotten, but that doesn't mean the science doesn't exist. The midi-chlorians serve as a metaphor for the deterioration of science in the deterioration of democracy.
So concludes my reflection of middle-of-the-night thoughts.
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