R2-D2
[ aside:] O gift of Fate, that he my master is!
[ To Luke:] Beep, meep, beep, whistle, meep, beep, whistle, squeak!
Luke
I cannot face the future by myself,
What shall I do, R2? I am alone—
The only Jedi left to bear the name.
It may be this responsibility
Is far too great for such a one as I.
How can I bear the burden by myself?
Enter GHOST OF OBI-WAN KENOBI.
Obi-Wan
Nay, not alone, for Yoda always shall
Remain with thee.
Luke
—My soul, ’tis Obi-Wan!
[ Aside:] Now e’en though he of ghostly matter’s made,
He shall anon give answer for his words.
[ To Obi-Wan:] Good Ben, it warms my heart to see thee here,
Yet I must ask thee to explain thyself—
Pray, wherefore hast thou not reveal’d the thing
That thou didst know? Thou said’st my father had
By Vader been betray’d and murderèd.
Ne’er hast thou said that he my father is!
Obi-Wan
[ aside:] I never did imagine that, in death,
I would be call’d upon to justify
The words I spoke in life. ’Twas well I spoke
Not of the midi-chlorians to Luke,
For then he would have endless questions still.
[ To Luke:] Thine inquiry shall have an answer, Luke,
For verily thou dost deserve to know.
Thy father was seducèd by the dark
Side of the Force. ’Twas then that he no more
Was Anakin Skywalker, only Darth.
When that had happen’d, thy good father was
Destroy’d. And thus, forsooth, the words I spoke
Were truthful, from a certain point of view.
Luke
“A certain point of view”? What doth that mean?
It may be said that I, within my ship,
Do see my X-wing as an instrument
Of truth and justice, aye, a noble thing,
While from a certain point of view I know
Mine enemies do see it as a threat.
It may be said that when I was attack’d
By rancor vicious and intemperate,
Prepar’d to make of me his morning meal,
There is a certain point of view that doth
Suggest he was a simple hungry beast.
It may e’en be that our Rebellion is,
For us, an undertaking pure and good,
Possessing every virtue possible,
While from the Empire’s certain point of view
It is a mere annoyance to be crush’d.
But this, I do not understand: how can
A certain point of view say that a man
Was murder’d by another man, when both
Are one and they together are my father?
Obi-Wan
Luke, thou shalt find that many of your truths
Depend entirely on your point of view.
It well may be that thou dost like it not,
But does not follow that it is not so.
’Tis true, that Anakin a good friend was.
When I first knew him, he already was
A pilot skill’d and swift, and it amaz’d
Me with what strength the Force work’d in his life.
I took it on myself to train him as
A Jedi. Even then I did believe
That I could train him just as Yoda could.
But there my fault did lie. Therein I fail’d.
Luke
I do believe it may be rectified.
What if he could be turnèd once again?
There is yet good within him—I can feel’t.
Obi-Wan
He is machine e’en more than man, I fear.
His soul’s an evil, tangl’d labyrinth.
Luke
I shall not do it, Ben.
Obi-Wan
—Thou canst not ’scape
Thy destiny. You must confront and face
Darth Vader once again.
Luke
—I shall not kill
My father.
Obi-Wan
—Then the Emperor hath won.
Thou wert our only hope the Empire and
The dark side to defeat. If thou wilt not,
No other shall arise to take our place.
Luke
But must this necessarily be so?
For Yoda spoke of yet another. Who?
Obi-Wan
No more of hidden pasts: thou shalt know all.
The other one of which he spoke is none
But thy twin sister.
Luke
—Sister? I know none.
Obi-Wan
Both thou and she were hidden safely from
The Emperor just after ye were born.
For he did know, as I do, that the kin
Of Anakin would be a pow’rful threat
Unto his reign of madness, might, and murder.
At birth, the two were separated: thou
Unto thine uncle Owen and thine aunt
Beru, on Tatooine, where I did watch
O’er thee as thou didst grow into a man;
Thy sister to a senator did go,
Apart from thee and thy dread father’s wrath.
There she did grow into a woman fine,
And has, since then, remain’d anonymous.
Luke
[ aside:] O wondrous revelation to my soul!
A sister, and before me comes her face:
For surely Leia is my sister, else
My instincts have no truth in them. What news!
I know not whether to respond with shouts
Of greatest joy, or to shrink back in fear
And paralyzing shock at what we’ve done.
Three times hath she kiss’d me in friendship’s name,
The last of these more passionate than e’er
A sister should upon her sib bestow.
There is an ancient tale of Tatooine,
That tells of Tusken Raider who, through Fate
And circumstance, join’d with his mother in
A bond most strange and quite unnatural.
They liv’d in blissful ignorance of their
Relation until they discover’d it
By chance. And O, what awful times befell!
The Tusken Raider’s mother hang’d herself
Upon a bantha’s horn. The Tusken, in
His agony and grief, pull’d off his mask
And claw’d at his own eyes until they bled,
Then came dislodg’d, and finally pluck’d out.
He fell unto his knees and cried with pain—
Not merely pain to have his eyes remov’d,
But deeper pain that sear’d his very heart.
’Tis said that though he then could see no more,
He saw more clearly than he ever had.
At night, upon the sands of Tatooine,
His howl may still be heard, a warning to
Those who would break the sacred fam’ly bond
Through passions of the body. Shall this be
My fate, for crossing o’er the boundary
That none should cross, e’en once? I’ll warrant: nay.
Not only have I superstitions none,
But our brief moments of affection were
A trifle none could call a love affair.
I now see clearly but still have my eyes,
And may my sister know sans tragedy.
Thus, I do make a solemn, earnest vow:
I shall embrace my royal sister as
A pow’rful ally, and shall show to her
The path that surely leads unto the Force.
[ To Obi-Wan:] ’Tis Leia, aye? My soul doth know ’tis she.