Thousands of force sensitive children?

[valkyrie013]

Was re Watching The Clone Wars, season 2 episode 3, children of the force. Cad Bane stole a list of force sensitive children in the republic. Said to contain Thousands of force sensitive children!

So question is.. What did Darth Sideous do with them in the Empire time?
Leave them alone?
Execute them all?
Grab and train them as acolytes and inquisitors?

Also, with a list of thousands.. It means many kids are born force sensitive, yet by Rey's time it seems there hard to find? I kean, you'd think the New Republic would have the same technology to find hopeful force children like the old Republic did. Luke Skywalker should have had hundreds of children in a Jedi academy.

Thoughts?

 

[fireproof78]

Sidious would have kept that list under tight control. He would have used it either to have more acolytes and inquistors, to contribute to his experiments in living longer, or to be eliminated to avoid too much competition.

The New Republic seemed bent on not repeating the mistakes of the past that it ignored a lot of valuable lessons.

 

[valkyrie013]

I believe the Empire would have kept the tests going and finding new children, and he would take the ones with the greatest power and make them inquisitors or acolytes or assassins like Mara Jade.
But keep it at his level. When he "died" the knowledge went with him.

 

[Jinn]

Do we know how large-scale searches for force-sensitive children work? I'd imagine that it's less of a big machine that scans the universe, and more a bunch of force users meditating intensively. That would also explain why it's so hard to find force sensitive children during the Sequel Trilogy, with no proper Jedi or Sith around to search for them.

 

[Timo]

I sort of doubt the Jedi even at their height were any good at scanning for the kids. They totally missed Anakin bloody Skywalker, after all!

Rather, it seems that it goes like in all good chivalry fiction: the noble knight has a chance meeting with the promising child in his journeys and recognizes the greatness in him, or her, or it, as it may go here. About 99% of those with the potential are never found - but that figure jumps to 99.99999% when the Jedi are massacred and stop going on these quests around the galaxy.

Or then Qui-Gon was holding back on what he really knew when diverting to Tatooine...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Tuskin38]

They totally missed Anakin bloody Skywalker, after all!

According to Legends, every child born within the Republic had their midichlorian count checked at birth. Ones with high enough M Cell counts had their info sent to the Jedi Temple. Tatooine wasn't controlled by the Republic, so his blood would never have been checked.

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Acquisition_Division/Legends

I don't think the new canon has explained how they find force sensitive children yet.

Side note, in Legends lore, apparently the Jedi were legally allowed to take force sensitive children away without the parents permission, however they would usually ask anyways out of respect.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Tatooine wasn't controlled by the Republic, I assume the Jedi only looked for kids within the Republic.

Doesn't Qui-Gon Jinn say as much?

 

[Tuskin38]

Doesn't Qui-Gon Jinn say as much?

Yes.

QUI-GON: Had he been born in the Republic, we would have identified him early. The Force is unusually strong with him, that much is clear. Who is his father?

 

[valkyrie013]

The inquisitors were still going after children in Rebels as well.

 

[The Wormhole]

Side note, in Legends lore, apparently the Jedi were legally allowed to take force sensitive children away without the parents permission, however they would usually ask anyways out of respect.

Though often times, permission wasn't even necessary, since most parents, upon learning their child was Force sensitive gladly handed them over to the Jedi, feeling they had prestige and bragging rights because "their child's going to be a Jedi."

In new Canon, when Count Dooku's father realized Dooku was Force sensitive, he actually kicked baby Dooku out of the house and informed the Jedi "better pick him up before he dies."

 

[Tuskin38]

The inquisitors were still going after children in Rebels as well.

Well Papa Palpy probably never stopped the testing. Better nip the force users in the cradle before they become a problem.

 

[Reverend]

The plot of both 'Jedi: Fallen Order' and one of the Vader comics makes it pretty clear that Sidious never got his hands on that list of potentials. Presumably whatever means the Jedi used was also denied him as between the 'Ahsoka' novel and Rebels, it's apparently the Inquisitors are hunting potentials the hard way. Indeed, the Inquisitorius itself seems to be a fairly small group. Like literally a dozen or so. Even if they managed to find just a fraction of those thousands, either the turnover is ridiculously high or the screening/training/conditioning process has a VERY high mortality rate. Maybe both.

 

[Tuskin38]

Makes me shudder to think what would have happened if he had acquired the list.

 

[fireproof78]

Dooku's Army of the Sith.

 

[Reverend]

They wouldn't have been Sith; there can only be two.

Sidious pretty much said what he intended in that one TCW episode with Cad Bane: an army of force sensitive spies, conditioned to be obedient slaves of the Sith, and set to watching every corner of the galaxy from afar.

It's something that goes back the the OT: somewhere along the way Sidious r came to rely almost entirely on foresight to perceive threats and execute his plots. It blinded him to that which he chose not to see.

 

[fireproof78]

They wouldn't have been Sith; there can only be two.

Sidious pretty much said what he intended in that one TCW episode with Cad Bane: an army of force sensitive spies, conditioned to be obedient slaves of the Sith, and set to watching every corner of the galaxy from afar.

It's something that goes back the the OT: somewhere along the way Sidious r came to rely almost entirely on foresight to perceive threats and execute his plots. It blinded him to that which he chose not to see.

I mean, I didn't think they would be actual Sith, but the army that enforces the Dark Lord of the Sith's will. In the ROTS novel that was the grand vision Dooku had at the end of the Clone Wars, having been captured by Skywalker and told the "truth" of the Separatist's atrocities he would work with Palpatine to remove the Separatist threat and reorganize the Republic under reforms.

 

[Reverend]

I mean, I didn't think they would be actual Sith, but the army that enforces the Dark Lord of the Sith's will. In the ROTS novel that was the grand vision Dooku had at the end of the Clone Wars, having been captured by Skywalker and told the "truth" of the Separatist's atrocities he would work with Palpatine to remove the Separatist threat and reorganize the Republic under reforms.

I don't put much stock in the internal monologues in that book. They're pretty evidentially the invention of the author and not really indicative of Lucas's intent (the stuff about Anakin and Obi-Wan being famous via propoganda for instance, never sat right with me.) Indeed I rather hesitate to even call it a novelization. Semantics, I know, but "an EU adaptation of the movie" is a little more accurate (akin to say, a comic book adaptation.)
The TPM novelization on the other hand has Lucas's fingerprints all over it.

Regardless, there's a reason why the rule of two is a thing. You get three Sith in a room, they're all going to try and recruit on to help murder the other, and typically all end up killing each other in the process.
So the idea that Sidious (who notoriously somehow managed to keep his apprentices both at a distance AND on short leashes) would allow a bunch of force sensitives running around with even a *fraction* of a Sith's power and knowledge is a non-starter.
It's why he ordered Ventress killed, why none of the Inquisitors were particularly well trained (and kept mostly at each other's throats.) He doesn't share power, or tolerate even potential rivals, and he certainly doesn't want his apprentice to have access to any potential apprentices of their own.

What I picture as Sidious' plan isn't a bunch of budget Sith acolyte wannabes running around with red sabers and black cloaks, it's dark control rooms filled with brainwashed and cybernetically enslaved seers. Shackled and wired into the Imperial network, little better than droids. Think THX-1138 crossed with those electro-goggle eyed android things in Flash Gordon.

 

[fireproof78]

I don't put much stock in the internal monologues in that book. They're pretty evidentially the invention of the author and not really indicative of Lucas's intent (the stuff about Anakin and Obi-Wan being famous via propoganda for instance, never sat right with me.) Indeed I rather hesitate to even call it a novelization. Semantics, I know, but "an EU adaptation of the movie" is a little more accurate (akin to say, a comic book adaptation.)
The TPM novelization on the other hand has Lucas's fingerprints all over it.

Regardless, there's a reason why the rule of two is a thing. You get three Sith in a room, they're all going to try and recruit on to help murder the other, and typically all end up killing each other in the process.
So the idea that Sidious (who notoriously somehow managed to keep his apprentices both at a distance AND on short leashes) would allow a bunch of force sensitives running around with even a *fraction* of a Sith's power and knowledge is a non-starter.
It's why he ordered Ventress killed, why none of the Inquisitors were particularly well trained (and kept mostly at each other's throats.) He doesn't share power, or tolerate even potential rivals, and he certainly doesn't want his apprentice to have access to any potential apprentices of their own.

What I picture as Sidious' plan isn't a bunch of budget Sith acolyte wannabes running around with red sabers and black cloaks, it's dark control rooms filled with brainwashed and cybernetically enslaved seers. Shackled and wired into the Imperial network, little better than droids. Think THX-1138 crossed with those electro-goggle eyed android things in Flash Gordon.

Well, I always liked that novel so I'll take it, semantics and all. I know some of it was derived from Lucas' notes due to what I heard from a friend working on the ROTS video game, and stuff ultimately cut from the film.

I don't imagine them being Sith acolytes. More in line with slightly better trained clone assassins'. But, Palpatine's vision and Dooku's were probably quite different in the idea.

You may have a point but I think this army that would quite be to the Inquisitors style.

 

[Reverend]

Well, I always liked that novel so I'll take it, semantics and all. I know some of it was derived from Lucas' notes due to what I heard from a friend working on the ROTS video game, and stuff ultimately cut from the film.

It's not badly written, but honestly it's a little overrated. Like I said, when it comes to discussions about subtext and authorial intent, I find it about as relevant as the comic adaptation, lunchbox, or indeed the video game. It's a product, nothing more.
As for access to BTS stuff; fairly certain that was limited to a package of concept art and a version of the shooting script that was sent out to various licensees while the editing process was still ongoing, which is how certain deleted scenes make it in, why the voice of Grevious in the cartoon sounds like more like Gary Oldman than Matt Wood (because he dropped during production due to a union thing), and why the Jedi Order symbol that was designed for the movie starts appearing the in tie-in media despite the final film not actually using it anywhere.

I don't imagine them being Sith acolytes. More in line with slightly better trained clone assassins'. But, Palpatine's vision and Dooku's were probably quite different in the idea.

It's kinda hard to figure out what Dooku actually thought was going to happen. I mean sure, he clearly intended to find an apprentice kill Palpatine and take over because: Sith! But the war itself is another matter. After all, what the Separatist systems actually want is (essentially) independence from the core worlds. So if the Republic "looses" it's not like they have any desire or intention to conquer and occupy. Best case scenario there is a divided galaxy and a perpetual cold war stalemate between the two powerblocks.
So the idea must have always been for the Republic to "win", but then what happens to Dooku (in his mind's eye)? Faked death and a life of being the power behind the throne? Officially placed under house arrest

As for Sith Assassins: assassins are a dime a dozen in a post war economy. A totalitarian regime has much more need for sources of intelligence, so spies (and the fear of spies) are going to be of far more utility to Palpatine. Plus, as we saw with Ventress; force sensitive assassins trained in the Jedi arts have a limited shelf life before they get too powerful to safely keep around. The Inquisitorius is probably about as close to that as they got, and even then they were deliberately broken, barely competent, kept in intense competition with one-another, put in Vader's charge, and kept to just a handful so they never rise to being any real threat.

 

[fireproof78]

It's not badly written, but honestly it's a little overrated. Like I said, when it comes to discussions about subtext and authorial intent, I find it about as relevant as the comic adaptation, lunchbox, or indeed the video game. It's a product, nothing more.
As for access to BTS stuff; fairly certain that was limited to a package of concept art and a version of the shooting script that was sent out to various licensees while the editing process was still ongoing, which is how certain deleted scenes make it in, why the voice of Grevious in the cartoon sounds like more like Gary Oldman than Matt Wood (because he dropped during production due to a union thing), and why the Jedi Order symbol that was designed for the movie starts appearing the in tie-in media despite the final film not actually using it anywhere.

I mean, it gives insight that is contradicted so I'll take it...

As for the BTS stuff this is hearsay but a friend of mine worked for Lucas Arts when the ROTS video game was being made and saw footage from Gillard of the Dooku-Anakin/Obi-wan duel for determining animations. That footage involved much more elaborate work, and longer fight sequences. Which is consistent with how the novel describes it.

Now, obviously, the only thing that counts is what ends up on screen but as far as BTS information goes I'll take that more than say Zahn.

As always, mileage will vary.