Anyone studying the Galactic Civil War between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance might be
forgiven for arriving at the conclusion that this was a fight between good and evil.
But while I think this clear cut morality can be applied very easily to the Jedi and
the Sith, I'm always looking for more shades of gray across the galaxy as a whole.
Billions, maybe trillions of people were loyal to the Empire, surely they couldn't all be
evil, anymore than every member of the Rebellion must have been a paragon of social virtue.
Thankfully, we're increasingly seeing evidence that the Rebels did indeed have a bit of moral
complexity to them.
In any conflict, especially when you're at a severe disadvantage, it is completely understandable
that some elements might act with brutality and hatred, no matter how noble their greater
cause.
But the Empire by contrast, remains very simple.
Anyone within its ranks who displays even the barest signs of empathy, warmth or really
any positive quality, will invariably defect to the Rebellion.
Those that remain are universally cruel or stupid, driven by either malice or greed.
As a result, anyone wearing an Imperial uniform who isn’t an undercover Rebel spy, never
feel like actual people to me.
Now part of this is to be expected.
Facist regimes like the Empire, that promote the loyal over the competent, are breeding
grounds for corruption, avarice and ineptitude.
But this has been taken to such a cartoonish extreme that it's hard to imagine how they’re
able to stay in power.
Surely there must be somebody in the Empire actually good at their job, someone loyal
to the Imperial Regime not out of fear, but because of a genuine belief that it's making
the galaxy a better place.
Someone who if you met them on the street, you’d get along with and be able to share
some laughs or maybe a meal.
What makes any brutal, tyrannical regime interesting to me, is their ability to take otherwise,
kind and intelligent people, and indoctrinate them so thoroughly that they can interpret
the most horrific acts as something positive.
And this is why Deputy Inspector Syril Karn has my attention.
Now to be fair, we’ve only witnessed the briefest slice of his career, and it's entirely
possible that he’ll end up becoming a mustache twirling two dimensional villain, or defect
to the Rebellion.
And, he’s not technically an Imperial Officer, rather a member of a corporate security force.
But all that aside, Karn might be the first Imperial aligned figure that I have some empathy
for.
A person with good qualities in service to an evil regime.
And if you’ll allow me to play armchair psychologist for a second, I think we can
see how this has happened.
Karn, it's pretty clear, is not great at making connections with people, he’s not particularly
charismatic.
So in the absence of any meaningful relationships with other people, he instead invests himself
into an institution; in this case the Preox-Morlana Corporation.
Now in case it needs to be said, having difficulties in social situations isn’t a crime, nor
does it make Karn a bad person.
And often, the people who wholly direct their energies into institutions can bring about
the greatest change or successes.
Inspector Karn has dedicated himself to his career, and I think this is no less noble
an aspiration than any other.
And I think we can see that Karn is actually quite admirable in his work ethic and personal
morales.
Where other officers and employees are rather undisciplined in their appearance, Karn keeps
his uniform immaculate, even having it tailored at presumably his own expense.
Where others are complacent in their duties, Karn is motivated and deliberate, pushing
the boundaries of his investigations.
When his superior urges him to sweep under the rug the deaths of two Pre-Mor officers,
he instead pursues their killer with even greater effort.
I think these are all positive qualities.
Karn is not driven by ambition or greed, he simply believes in the work.
So every action he takes is logical and understandable.
All this man has done, is try to solve the murder of his compatriots.
The problem is, Preox-Morlana is not worthy of his devotion.
By all accounts it is a corrupt institution, with many of the same moral failings of the
Empire.
And this is exemplified in the attitude of Karn’s direct superior, Chief Inspector
Hyne.
To Karn, failing to investigate these murders would make him unfit to wear the uniform,
but to Hyne, it’s just a hassle to be dismissed as quickly as possible.
Hyne wants to concoct a story to explain their deaths that is sad, but inspiring, though
ultimately mundane.
On at least some level, this is a terrible wound to Karn’s worldview.
He’s seeking in Preox-Morlana acceptance, trust and friendship.
He desperately wants to believe that if he had been the one to be gunned down in the
streets, his fellow officers would display the same level of dedication to finding the
killer that he has.
Instead, Karn is given overt evidence by Hyne that people like him don’t really matter.
Is it any wonder then that Karn performs the mental gymnastics necessary to reconcile this
evidence with his own personal beliefs?
Karn is devoted to an institution, if there is a problem, it’s not systemic within that
institution, but instead isolated in a few bad people in the wrong positions.
To Karn, Preox-Morlana is not the problem and will never be the problem.
And that’s the real tragedy of Syril Karn.
If he had been born a few decades earlier, he might have done some real good for the
Galactic Republic and the galaxy.
But he had the misfortune to live under the Empire.
And I think it’s inevitable that the Imperial Security Bureau or some other Imperial organization
will give Inspector Karn the feeling of camaraderie he desires.
He’ll trade one institution for another, and then the Empire will have one more good
man willing to do terrible things.
However monstrous his deeds, Karn will remain ordinary.
Neither demonic nor monstrous.
And while I think we all like to imagine that if we were put in Karn’s position we’d
have the courage to recognize the failures and evils of the system we serve.
And take dramatic action against it.
But the sad thing is a lot of us don’t.
And that’s all that is necessary for the triumph
of evil.