This Year's Model of Humanity

butterfly

What was Leia talking to Obi-Wan about? Luke resisted the urge to look back with either eyes or mind. Leia probably had a good reason for wanting to be alone. Luke had no right to eavesdrop. Plus, he was pretty sure she was attuned enough to him that she’d sense him if he tried it.

“Ah, Master Luke! It is good to see you.” Threepio was walking down the corridor, looking a little disturbed.

“What is it?” Luke asked, reaching out to touch the smooth metal of Threepio’s arm in an attempt to calm him. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a technique that worked very well on droids. But it was better than nothing.

“I just wish that I knew what was happening,” Threepio said. “How can Master Kenobi still be alive?”

“None of us really know what’s going on,” Luke said reassuringly. “All we really know is that they seem to be from the past.”

“I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Threepio protested.

“Neither have I, but that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible,” Luke said. “If they really are from the past, we have to believe that they’re here for a reason. And that’s why I’m helping them as much as I can.”

“Well, I do believe that the young man knows what he’s doing with that engine,” Threepio said. “So, we should be ready to go to… where is it that we’re going, Master Luke?”

“The old Jedi Temple,” Luke said.

“Oh, dear,” Threepio said. “I don’t imagine that seeing that will make them feel any better.”

“No, but it may help them believe that we’re telling the truth. It’s the only thing that I could think of,” Luke said.

“I can’t think of anything either,” Threepio said.

“That’s all right, Threepio,” Luke said. “You might as well go up and wait for us – I’ll go check on Han.”

“Very well, Master Luke,” Threepio said, heading off.

The idea that both Threepio and Artoo had known his father... well, it still hadn’t entirely sunk in. Luke had been surprised by Artoo’s determination and devotion when they’d first met – was it really just Artoo’s built-in personality?

He’d have to send a message to Chewie, ask him to bring Artoo back to Coruscant. Archiving seemed just a little less important now.

And if by chance Artoo did remember Anakin, then that would bring up a whole new set of questions, like why Artoo had never mentioned that he’d worked with Luke’s father. He’d always thought that Artoo liked him. Or at least tolerated him. Though now that he thought about it, Artoo didn’t really listen to him as much as, say, Threepio did. On the other hand, he was always there when Luke needed him.

Great, now this was going to bother him all the way to the Temple.

At first, feeling Leia’s approach was a relief from the direction that his thoughts were taking, but she didn’t even stop to talk to him, hurrying right past him and toward the engines.

And she was thinking pretty loudly about Han.

“So, Leia’s your sister?” Obi-Wan said, startling Luke.

Leia’s focus had been so powerful that she’d completely overwhelmed Obi-Wan’s presence.

That was a little disturbing, actually.

“She told you that?” Luke asked, turning to face Obi-Wan.

“You know, she’s an odd girl,” Obi-Wan said, pulling at his beard. “At first, she wanted to know all about Anakin and Senator Amidala, and then she just… ran off into the ship. Very peculiar.”

“What did you say?” Luke asked. Obi-Wan gave him a blank look. Luke tried again. “What did you say to her just before she took off?”

“I can’t think of anything that I said that warranted her response,” Obi-Wan said.

“So, one minute she’s confiding in you, and the other, she’s running away, for no apparent reason?” Luke asked skeptically. “That doesn’t make much sense.”

“It really doesn’t,” Obi-Wan said. “And what kind of name is Vader?”

“She told you that, too?” Luke asked.

“Anakin’s a much better name,” Obi-Wan said. “I can’t imagine why he would change it.”

“Maybe he didn’t want anyone to know who he used to be,” Luke said.

“People didn’t know?” Obi-Wan asked. “But Anakin’s famous.”

“He is?” Luke asked.

“Far too famous,” Obi-Wan said. “It’s not good for him at all, even if he has gotten better at handling the politicians and publicity recently.”

“What’s he famous for?” Luke asked.

“He’s… well, he’s a bit of a war hero,” Obi-Wan said. “His face is everywhere. People really didn’t recognize him?”

“Well, there’s actually a good reason for that,” Luke said. And he realized that there really wasn’t an easy way to say, ‘Anakin is somehow going to become so badly injured that he’ll spend his life in a black suit’. “He… wore a mask.”

“And people didn’t find that suspicious?” Obi-Wan asked, but he didn’t seem to need an answer. Which was nice, because Luke didn’t really have one. “Has the general population lowered in intelligence over the years?”

“Don’t ask me,” Luke muttered, but Obi-Wan wasn’t listening anymore.

“Oh, who am I trying to fool? The general population has never shown much signs of intelligence,” Obi-Wan said. He sighed, leaning back against the wall of the ship. “Kill the scholars, no wonder the whole galaxy falls apart. You know, I’m beginning to suspect that this is a very vivid dream. Perhaps a vision from the Force. There’s a first time for everything, after all. Perhaps I’m seeing one possible version of the future so that I might prevent it.”

He was looking over at Luke now, studying him. Luke shrugged. He… doubted Obi-Wan’s conclusions, to say the least.

“My own fears come to light, perhaps,” Obi-Wan continued. “So that I might overcome them and release them into the Force.”

“Because fear leads to the dark side,” Luke said.

“It can,” Obi-Wan said. “Fear often causes people to force a thing to stay the same, when it needs to change. Fear is a step towards hate. And it is not the way of the Force. All things pass away, in time.”

“You’re afraid of losing him?” Luke asked. It wasn't something that he'd thought about much, though it was obvious in retrospect, when he thought about the way Ben had talked about his father.

“Anakin has the potential to be the greatest Jedi who ever lived,” Obi-Wan said. “Losing him would be a tremendous blow to the Order.”

“That’s… not an answer,” Luke said.

“I don’t suppose that it is,” Obi-Wan said. “But even if this is some fever-dream, it is already far too much of one.”

“Because the Jedi are discouraged from attachments?” Luke asked.

“Something like that.” Obi-Wan gave Luke a wry smile. “So, which way is it to the engine, anyway?”