For those of you who have played Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2:
The Sith Lords, you may already know that the character Kreia
borrows much of her philosophy from real world philosophers.
But her story mirrors one book in particular that it’s uncanny.
As a Jedi master and historian she was the first and last teacher to the legendary Jedi,
Revan. The Jedi she trained followed Revan to war against the mandalorians
and turned to the dark side. In response the Jedi council excommunicated her.
As the Sith lord, Darth Traya, she trained two apprentices, Darth Nihilus, and Darth Sion.
Eventually, as all Sith do,
Nihilus and Sion conspired against her, stripped her of the Force, and exiled her.
Once again Kreia had been betrayed.
Now living without the Force, Kreia was stripped of her powers, her senses diminished,
and disconnected from everything touched by the Force. Which is everyone. She was all alone.
It is standing atop the summit of a great mountain the winds tearing about you
then finding yourself buried alive.
Trapped, helpless and alone.
In his book, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None, German philosopher,
Friedrich Nietzsche, told the tale of Zarathustra. A man who
retired himself from society and spent 10 years living in a cave in the mountains.
For both Kreia and Zarathustra, this solitude allowed them to learn things.
Wisdom that would have otherwise been impossible to learn without that unique experience.
Both of them return to the world of mankind with a goal that, if successful,
will change that world forever.
But due to them living in different realities, their goals are different yet similar.
Zarathustra lives in a world where quote: “God is dead.” Nietzsche noticed that with
the advancements in science, belief in God had waned. Thus association with the Catholic church;
it’s values, and morals, that gave people direction and purpose in life
had also diminished. Without such things nihilism became a very real threat. In order
to save them from this fate, Zarathustra preaches the ideals of the Übermensch.
Commonly translated to “The Overman” or “The Superior Man.” This would be
an individual with characteristics that all mankind can aspire to.
In a world without God and without meaning, the Übermensch creates their own meaning,
their own values, and their own morality. They do not rely on religion to provide these things.
They do not concern themselves with otherworldly ideas of a soul or fulfillment in the next life.
They value earthly things, the here and now, the body that they have and all it’s capable of.
Kreia lives in a world where she knows for a fact that God,
The Force, is very much alive, in every sense. But she wants it dead.
Because I hate the force. I hate that it seems to have a will, that it would
control us to achieve some measure of balance when countless lives are lost.
Kreia doesn’t see the Force as malevolent, but she does see it as detrimental.
It surrounds, binds, and penetrates all living things.
Whether they want it to or not.
The Force influences everything, either directly or indirectly.
To claim to know anything of Revan's choices or
what lay in his heart when Malak fell is conceit, servant of Atris.
And whether Revan had any choice in the matter at all
is something else you should consider. The force is a powerful thing to wield or deny.
But to say that seems an untruth based on what I know of the Jedi.
The force can drive others, but there is still choice is there not?
Ah, but at what point does the power the force exerts
submerge any attempt at choice or free will?
Due to this revelation Kreia felt betrayed for the third time.
The Force itself betrays its own users.
The Jedi and the Sith being it’s greatest slaves. The results have
amounted to constant wars between light and dark. In order to save mankind from this fate,
Kreia embarks on a journey to free the Galaxy from the Force’s machinations.
In order to do that, Kreia will need to find her Übermensch.
But how can an Übermensch exist in a world where God directs the course of our very lives?
They would need to have cut themselves off from God, not only mentally, but physically as well.
Enter the Jedi Exile, Meetra Surik.
No Jedi ever made the choice you did. To sever ties so completely, so utterly,
that it leaves a wound in the Force.
For her God is already dead. Due to the events at Malachor V,
she cut herself off from the Force with such conviction that she became a wound in the Force.
It could no longer directly influence her.
You are beautiful to me exile.
A dead spot in the force.
An emptiness in which its will might be denied.
An Übermensch would disavow the values and morality of religion, in this case the Jedi,
but also the Sith. Whether or not this is the case is left up to the player and the choices
their Exile makes. This is what Kreia’s teachings are ultimately leading you to.
Create your own values and sense of morality. Don’t concern yourself with labels such as
“light” and “dark side.” Think for yourself and you inch ever so closer to being an Übermensch.
Trust in your training. Trust in yourself!
When Zarathustra traveled into town and began preaching, he was viewed with contempt. The people
hated him, ridiculed and laughed at him. His words, blasphemous. Detested by the quote, unquote
“good” and “just” and by the believers of the “one true faith.” He was later told that the
only reason he was allowed to leave with his life was because no one took him seriously.
Zarathustra decided to give up on trying to convince the masses,
and instead decided that he should find like-minded individuals.
Instead of Shepherding the herd, he will lure people away from it.
He finds a number of men and they travel back with him to his cave in the mountains.
They all have potential, and come close to achieving the vision Zarathustra has
of an Übermensch. But they never quite reach it.
To believe in an ideal is to be willing to betray.
It it is something no Sith or Jedi has ever truly learned.
Kreia preached her ideas, primarily through asking difficult questions.
Questions that brought traditional Jedi ideology under scrutiny.
All of her students defied the Jedi council,
went to fight in the Mandalorian wars, and fell to the dark side.
She was preaching her ideas to the masses.
The “good”, the “just”, and the followers of the one true way of the Force, condemned her.
Is this your new master, exile?
If so, then you follow Revan's path.
Her teachings will cause you to fall as surely as he did.
As the Sith lord, Darth Traya, she brought with her the same ideas,
the same kind of questions, and teachings antithetical to Sith ideology.
But she only took on two apprentices. Force users that the Force could not directly influence.
The Force wounds known as Darth Nihilus, and Darth Sion.
Much better candidates to achieve Übermensch status. But again they failed to attain it.
Being the opposite extreme of the Jedi, the Sith reaction to this failure was much more volatile.
Kreia tried to lead people away from the herd, and she was hated for it.
No longer do your whispers crawl within my skull.
No longer do I suffer beneath teachings that weaken us.
Afterwards Kreia determined that the Force perpetuates destructive
conflicts in the Galaxy and must be neutralized.
She would need the Jedi Exile to accomplish this, but also to answer another question.
Kreia faced the same problem as Nietzsche. She knew she could remove the Force,
but should she? What if without the Force people fall into nihilism like her apprentices did?
She needed to know that people can rise above and become examples for others to follow.
I do not want to train you to be a Jedi knight. I want you to learn to be human.
The Jedi Exile is, like most people, neither Jedi or Sith. If she, a Force user,
could embody the traits of the Übermensch, Kreia would have her proof.
Dark or light side alignment is irrelevant in determining this. It’s what you do that defines
you. So based on your choices, your progression is evaluated in the Jedi Council chamber.
You have failed me. Completely and utterly.
She has brought truth and you condemn it?! The arrogance!
You will not harm her. You will not harm her ever again.
The apex of Zarathustra’s teachings is the doctrine of “the eternal recurrence”.
Which states that events will forever repeat themselves again and again.
Only the Übermensch has the strength to fully embrace and accept this.
Nietzsche used this idea as a thought experiment, we are to assume as if it is literally true.
Thus, Zarathustra has trouble with this doctrine himself since he can’t stand the
idea that mankind’s mediocrity continuously repeats instead of improving itself.
Kreia has trouble with this doctrine because she can’t bear the thought
of an otherworldly being's influence resulting in endless wars across the stars for eternity.
Countless murderers, slayers, assassins, born of war that has, as always, taught the wrong lesson.
You showed them life without the force and instead of showing them truth, power,
all you showed them was how the galaxy may die.
In the end Zarathustra and Kreia both joyfully embrace the eternal recurrence.
It is done. At last it is done.
Content with their accomplishments, content with all they’ve suffered,
content with themselves, and without regret.
You are greater than any I have ever trained.
Even if time is cyclical and their lives were to repeat themselves with the exact same events;
it’s okay.
Kreia proved that her teachings are correct. And maybe that’s all she really wanted.
When I win I wish it to be because I was right, my teachings true.
In the end it was Zarathustra and Kreia who became true Übermensch.
By killing me here you have rewarded me more than you can possibly know.
Thank you for watching. But an extra large thank you goes out to Max Derrat for this
amazing opportunity. Make sure you like, share, and subscribe to this channel. My name is Qinn
and if you enjoyed this, head over to my YouTube channel, Papito Qinn.
Home of the Kreia’s Conundrums series, where we analyze this character even further.
Thank you again, especially you, Maryam. And until next time, stay yellow.