Force Ghosts are still a very mysterious element of Star Wars.
The Clone Wars gave us a little information about the training required
to retain one's consciousness after death, but there is still a lot of questions surrounding them.
The new book From a Certain Point of View has given us a little more to chew on in Qui-Gon's story,
which makes sense considering he is a Force Ghost at that point in time.
The tale takes place after Luke has left Obi-Wan to find uncle Owen and aunt Beru murdered.
As Old Ben waits, he calls for guidance from his former Jedi Master.
We see Qui-Gon's spirit as it basically has to pull its individuality out of the oneness of the Force.
It's very trippy.
Basically, the Force exists outside of linear time and space.
So in order to manifest, Qui-Gon has to separate himself from that.
He has to insert himself back into a timeline, and during that process he remembers who he was before.
The experience is described as painful, but bearable with the knowledge that he will be one with the Force again soon.
That's pretty interesting, and I think it answers a few questions for us.
First off, we're getting a better sense of what it means to become one with the Force.
When Obi-Wan and Yoda disappear, they are immediately taken out of time and space.
That process is actually detailed in Obi-Wan's story in the book.
It's also very trippy.
In the time between his disappearance and his voice telling Luke to run,
he's pretty much relived his entire life, which sounds incredibly disorienting on its own,
but he also sees glimpses of the future which has to be even worse.
I also think it's interesting that Qui-Gon describes his manifestation as painful.
I think that's more of an emotional pain rather than a physical one,
otherwise all the Force Ghosts would be screaming every time they appeared.
But appearing visibly seems like it's an inconvenience.
It's not something Qui-Gon really wants to do
because he's kind of taking a break from being in pure bliss to help out Obi-Wan.
If I'm interpreting things correctly, being a Force Ghost means you are no longer completely one with the Force.
You've separated yourself from it to a degree.
I think this is smart from a storytelling perspective though.
It gives the ghosts a reason to not be around constantly.
Oh, and by the way, when I say Qui-Gon manifests himself, I do mean visibly.
When we last saw Qui-Gon, it was in The Clone Wars, and we didn't see him so much as hear him.
He did appear on Mortis, but that was a nexus in the Force, and even then it could have been an illusion.
By the time of A New Hope, Qui-Gon has grown stronger and has a face-to-face conversation with Obi-Wan.
What seems strange to me is how he still apparently needs 19 years to learn that ability
even though he lives outside of time.
I'm not sure how to reconcile that.
He says in the story that to him human lives seem impossibly brief, years are irrelevant.
Only journeys through the Force matter.
But moving on it definitely seems that Force Ghosts have some knowledge of the future.
It's kind of vague, but Qui-Gon knows that Obi-Wan will soon join him in the Force.
He also knows that Luke has a great journey yet to go.
It sounds like he knows major events but not exactly how they will play out.
Or maybe he simply sees those journeys through the Force and he can tell when certain journeys will end.
Again, this is all kind of trippy and theoretical, but it might be the best look at Force Ghosts we have ever had.
Both stories are in the book From a Certain Point of View if you want to look into it for yourself.
But that's it for today.
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