Shatterpoints of the Sith: two Star Wars infinities

In the context of Star Wars, the term infinity is used to refer to a non-canonical tale. The most famous use of the term is in describing a 'might-have-been': a story about a parallel version of the Star Wars universe, where things somehow went differently. I have already written a bit about what I consider the Star Wars 'metaverse'. In this post, I will explore two 'might-have-beens' of the Star Wars universe, based on one simple question: "What if the line of the Banite Sith had been extinguished at some premature point?"

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The Galactic Republic isn't in good shape when we see it at the start of the prequels. On the contrary: things have gotten very bad indeed. There is some reason to believe that even if Palpatine were to die on the eve of being made Supreme Chancellor, the Republic would still collapse into civil war before too long. The rot is already too deep. At the very least, a 'time of troubles' is clearly ahead. After all, addressing the structural problems will immediately cause controversy and opposition to erupt, while letting things go on as they were will only cause the Republic to degenerate ever further. Of course, the reason that things have gotten so bad in the first place is that the Sith have been manipulating events from behind the scenes. In fact, they have been doing so since the supposed destruction of the Sith Brotherhood, a thousand years earlier.

This was the Grand Plan of Darth Bane, who had in fact engineered that apparent destruction of the Sith. The Republic settled into a long peace, and became complacent... and in the shadows, the Banite line worked to undermine everything. No longer attempting an overt military conquest, the goal of the Sith was now to conquer the Republic from within. To achieve that end, they thoroughly corrupted and weakened its many institutions, and manipulated events to create certain conflicts and other evils. All to the final end of putting their own candidate in power, and "restoring order" to the weakened, corrupted galaxy by introducing Sith rule. One question that arises is: when was it too late? When did the Sith plan corrupt the Republic to such an extent that even if the Sith line unexpectedly died out, the Republic would still end up collapsing into violence and bloodshed? The fact of the matter is: successfully ending the Sith line isn't all that easy. There are, in fact, only two specific times that we can clearly identify as "hinge moments" where fate could have easily twisted in such a way as to terminate the Sith. Let us call these moment the shatterpoints of the Sith. They occurred in 32 BBY and 67 BBY. We'll look at them both, in reverse order.

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32 BBY

The latest possible moment to plausibly attempt a prevention of the Republic's collapse into bloody war is 32 BBY. A later date is impractical, because Palpatine at that point corrupted Dooku (who left the Jedi Order in disgust following the death of his former apprentice, Qui-Gon Jinn) to the Dark Side of the Force. The two then colluded the instigate the Clone Wars. So even if Palpatine is killed at some point in the decade 32 BBY - 22 BBY, Dooku (now Darth Tyrannus in secret) will no doubt make a play for power anyway. Thus, war will not be avoided, nor will the Sith line be ended (at least not unless and until Dooku himself is also killed). A freak accident that kills both Palpatine and Dooku can be contrived, but killing two Sith Lords in one fell swoop is no easy feat even if one is well-prepared for the task. The idea of it happening by accident is vanishingly unlikely. Therefore, we can say that as of 32 BBY, something like the Separatist Crisis is almost certain to occur.

This means that the latest plausible moment to end the Sith line and potentially still save the Republic from enormous suffering (and possible destruction) is quite literally the eve of Palpatine's election. At that point, he hasn't yet moved to turn Dooku to the Dark Side. And at the same time, the very night before the election is of course the evening upon which Palpatine is set to betray and murder his Master, Darth Plagueis. Let's suppose that Plagueis realises just in time that his apprentice is trying to get him horribly drunk, moderates his drinking, and pretends to be more intoxicated than he is. When Palpatine attempts to kill him, he defends himself, but because he was already quite drunk when he started getting suspicious, he can't optimally deflect the attack. The two end up mortally wounding each other.

We know that Palpatine at this point already has some  members in his inner circle who know of his true nature, or at least suspect it. Plagueis has loyal servants, too. These are the people with access, so we may assume that someone belonging to these groups finds the bodies. We may further assume that any overt signs of Sith allegiance (which would also reflect poorly on said cronies/servants) will be quickly hidden. Therefore, there will be no inconvenient light-sabres lying around. Considering the damage Sith Lords can inflict on each other in a fight to the death, the whole thing can be passed off as a horribly brutal assassination by parties unknown. Meanwhile, Maul still ends up getting bisected on Naboo, and thus the Sith line comes to an abrupt end. Nobody is really aware of how close things came to a full-on Sith take-over, and the people who know some of it (and perhaps suspect a lot more) have every reason to keep their mouths shut.

The Naboo crisis has now been averted, but the Republic is still be in a terrible situation. Palpatine, the reformist leader that many hoped was going to fix the Republic, has just been murdered. No doubt many will be pointing fingers at the conservatives and the plutocrats, who saw Palpatine as a threat. The already mired politics of the Republic thus get even more hostile and unworkable. In such a situation, there are two options:

— The do-nothing establishment retains control, and another weak (or corrupt) Chancellor is put in place. The Republic proceeds to degenerate, and the opposition to this will grow. Eventually, Count Dooku, an avid critic of the corrupt government long before even 32 BBY, will presumably become the leader of the opposition movement. Note that Dooku wasn't as anti-centralist as he pretended to be as leader of the CIS. He played that up when his role was to oppose the "centralist would-be dictator Palpatine"... but he was actually in league with Palpatine. So Dooku's opposition movement doesn't have to be an anti-centralist, quasi-libertarian secession movement here. He can lead a broader coalition against the corrupt government. In fact, since the corrupt government is mainly owned by the megacorps, Dooku's side will be fighting against them, here! Since the plutocrats have no intention of surrendering power, we may expect this outcome to lead to a civil war. Dooku versus the plutocrats.

— A reformist leader manages to gather enough support to be elected Chancellor, thus forcing the corrupt plutocrats into the opposition. This reformist leader may well be... Count Dooku. Besides Palpatine, he really was the face of the anti-corruption movement, even at an early stage. So it's either Dooku, or someone he'll no doubt support. Again, Dooku and/or his allies will not be so anti-centralist here. Rather, the election of such a reformist Chancellor will prompt the plutocrats to form something like the CIS. An analogue to the Separatist Crisis will thus occur, with (again, ironically) Dooku either in the Chancellor's office, or prominently supportive of the government. So, again, we get Dooku versus the plutocrats.

Either way, the Republic is too far gone to avoid a major conflict. A question that remains is what role the Jedi Order might play. We must consider that with the Sith gone, their clouding of the Force will dissipate as well. The Jedi will not be as "blinded" as they were in the original timeline, where Palpatine could hide in plain sight. The Jedi may therefore be more astutely aware of the ills with which the Republic is beset. How they will respond to the situation is not certain, though. Dooku was quite disgusted with the Jedi when he left the Order, but if his fall to the Dark Side is prevented, and the Jedi are shaken out of the Darkness-induced torpor, he may conclude that his drastic decision has had the desired effect of giving the Order a wake-up call. (This wouldn't actually be the case, but none involved would know that.)

On the other hand, the Jedi may also mistake the situation, and conclude that Dooku's departure caused the shroud of the Dark Side to lift, and actually mistake him for a Dark Side agent. Again, this would be dramatic irony, because the very premise means that he hasn't actually fallen to the Dark Side. Regardless, it is possible for the Jedi and Dooku to mend fences, or for them to spiral into mutual distrust and hostility. It is also possible for certain Jedi to feel sympathetic towards Dooku (especially since he's fighting the corrupt plutocrats instead of leading them), while other Jedi are highly critical and suspicious of him.

We should note that without Palpatine to deliberately raise support for the Outbound Flight project, an ambitious Jedi Master like Jorus C'baoth would still be around. He was quite the supporter of the idea that the Jedi should assume a position of power (much like the Jedi Lords of old). The galaxy collapsing into civil war and the Jedi fighting to restore order may lead to a situation where he ultimately gets his way. It's possible that he leads a faction sympathetic to Dooku's cause; a faction of "political" ex-Jedi (or "Reform Jedi", if you will), who believe it that they have to assume power to save the galaxy from the corrupt establishment.

There are other effects caused by Palpatine's early demise, of course. Without him, Kamino and its secret clone army will remain undiscovered and un-used. There won't be an "Order 66", so even if there's a schism among the Jedi, one side isn't going to be able to get rid of the other in one fell swoop. It'll be very interesting to see it all play out. (And of course, we can only imagine what becomes of young Anakin Skywalker, who isn't influenced and manipulated by Palpatine in this scenario...) No matter what, we can conclude that even if Palpatine dies in the process of betraying his Master, the Republic will nevertheless collapse into war. The outcome of that collapse (whether it's the long-term demise of democracy, or 'merely' a transitional crisis period in the Republic's history) cannot be said with any certainty. But we can say with a lot of conviction that 32 BBY is already too late to avoid a blood-soaked crisis. By that point, the machinations of the Sith have already done their work far too thoroughly.

If we look for an earlier point where the Sith line can plausibly be broken, we find that such points are relatively scarce. At most times, there were two active Sith Lords, and the odds of them being either prematurely unmasked as Sith, or both of the dying in some accidental situation, are vanishingly small. So in seeking the closest point before 32 BBY where the line of the Banite Sith could be effectively ended in one single moment, we arrive at 67 BBY. This is the year that Plagueis kills his own Sith Master, Tenebrous. Shortly thereafter, he faces his Master's (hidden) second apprentice, Venamis. Upon emerging victorious in that contest, he proceeds to discover the young Palpatine two years later, recognises his potential, and takes him on as his own apprentice. This provides us with a narrow window where the Sith line can be extinguished. And indeed with an ideal moment to make it happen.

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67 BBY

Let us suppose that in their fateful duel on Sojourn, Plagueis and Venamis end up killing each other. Thus, the line of the Banite Sith is ended. Plagueis hasn't taken Palpatine as an apprentice yet, and Venamis has only taken some fledgling prospective candidates under his wing— none of whom has showed the kind of promise Palpatine would have gone on to demonstrate, had Plagueis been there to induct him into the ranks of the Sith. None of those acolytes of Venamis can plausibly go on to become Sith, especially not with his death leaving them rudderless. They will be petty figures, unable to affect the grand scheme of things. Palpatine himself is fifteen in 67 BBY, and since the Jedi of this era have hang-ups about the age of prospective padawans, the end of the Sith line means that he will not be taken into the educational embrace of a Master in the ways of the Force.

Since Plagueis would also have been the one to teach Palpatine patience and caution, it is probable that Palpatine's psychopathic tendencies will lead him into serious trouble before too long. We know that even under the tutelage of Plagueis, Palpatine would have been unable to repress his murderous impulses. The odds simply tell us that, without Plagueis to teach him, he'll most likely end up in serious legal trouble. Certainly, he will still act to manipulate the election of 65 BBY on Naboo, but without the support of Plagueis, Bon Tapalo will not win the position of elective monarch. Palpatine will probably try to continue undermining the isolationist faction that his family supports— very likely by resorting more and more illegal means.

Most likely, Palpatine's fledgling machinations will be discovered in due time, and he'll either be disinherited and prosecuted for his crimes... or he'll respond by outright murdering his father and/or his political opponents. Potentially, he'll get away with it for some time, but without the crucial lessons of Plagueis, his typically psychopathic recklessness will almost certainly get him caught before too long. There is also the possibility that his reckless behaviour will accidentally get people killed (as it already has before, e.g. when he killed two pedestrians by crashing into them with his speeder). His family won't be able to cover this up endlessly, especially not as he gets more prominently involved in local politics. For these reasons, we can plausibly write Palpatine off as a major player in galactic affairs. Most realistically, he'll spend his life in prison.

The wider outcome is that the anti-isolationist, pro-Trade Federation faction on Naboo is discredited. Darth Plagueis would also have had a hand in the royal election of Ars Veruna in 54 BBY. his is also prevented by the death of Plagueis, and the likelihood of the Tapalo-Veruna faction gaining the throne is greatly diminished. The Trade Federation will be locked out from the start, preventing even the seeds of its involvement on Naboo. Plagueis would have spent the period 65 BBY - 55 BBY mostly by training his new apprentice. Only by 54 BBY would the effects of their manipulation of Republic politics begin to have open effects, as they would have moved to ensure the eventual passage of legislation aimed at giving numerous Trade Federation-controlled star systems representation in the Senate. This means that the premature death of Plagueis, and the different fate of Palpatine, will have only limited effects beyond Naboo.

For this reason, we may safely assume that persons who would have been born prior to 54 BBY, certainly those whose parent have nothing to do with Naboo, will still be born on schedule. We may think, for instance, of one Obi-Wan Kenobi (born 57 BBY). By 54 BBY, however, the absence of the Sith has surely begun to have clear ramification on the galaxy at large. The Trade Federation will not be getting its desired Senatorial representation (which would otherwise have finally passed in 52 BBY). The Sith manipulation of politics has been interrupted for some thirteen years by this point, and the Republic is all the better off for it. (Elsewhere, the young Nightbrother Maul, born in 54 BBY, would around this time have been taken in by Palpatine as an infant. This doesn't happen; Maul never becomes Darth Maul, and remains a Nightbrother.)

In 52 BBY, Plagueis's non-existence means that he never gets to initiate discussions with the Kaminoans about the creation of a clone army. He also isn't there to suggest this notion to Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas. And in fact, the absence of Sith manipulations over the preceding years means that the fears Sifo-Dyas would have formed regarding the stability of the Republic are not nearly so acute as they would have been. Similarly, Dooku also has less reason to consider the corruption of the Republic as a great danger. Yes, there is already a real degree of corruption, but the absence of active Sith manipulation as of 67 BBY means that things are far, far better than they might otherwise have been by this stage.

By 44 BBY, the absence of the Banite Sith means that the entire Stark Hyperspace War is averted, as well as the subsequent Kol Huro Unrest. The internal troubles of the Republic, at this stage, are not that dire. Things are far better than they would have been. There is no political struggle over militarism, since the creation of a standing army indeed seems superfluous in the absence of these conflicts. The militarist Ranulph Tarkin will hardly be able to rise to prominence. The fact that these Sith-manipulated conflicts are averted also means that the Jedi Order will be able to direct its full attentions to the intervention in the Mandalorian Civil War. Additionally, the perfidious Sith influence on the Force has by this stage dissipated, ever since 67 BBY. The Jedi have by now regained a clearer insight into the Force. They have greater clarity of vision and purpose. As such, the Battle of Galidraan doesn't become the disaster it would have been. The Jedi are not deceived, and the Civil ar is resolved when the True Mandalorians and the Jedi Knights wipe out the Death Watch entirely.

This co-operation goes a long way to healing the rift between the True Mandalorians—now the only heirs to the movement of the Aka'liit—and the Jedi Order. A settlement is arranged by which the True Mandalorians become elite mercenary troops, following their strict code of honour as outlined in the Supercommando Codex, while the New Mandalorians retain their peaceful ways. This reform ends up making the services of the True Mandalorians available to the whole Republic, and the Supercommandos become essential in resolving local conflicts and problems throughout the galaxy. Many of the conflicts carefully instigated by the Sith thus begin to be addressed and resolved. The better outcome to the Mandalorian Civil War, the clear signs of problems being addressed, the decline of the previously mounting corruption, and the lack of an overall "weakening" of the Jedi, also means that Dooku doesn't lose his faith in the Republic and the Order, and remains a Jedi dedicated to improving the galaxy within the frame-work of the established institutions.

Since the experiments with midi-chlorians that Plagueis would have carried out are never undertaken, the Force does not react to his attempt to create life, and thus, in 41 BBY, the miraculous birth of Anakin Skywalker does not occur. He never exists.

The Republic keeps going. Without the Sith, the institutions of state can solve the problems that arise before they become too structural. The Republic is not somehow perfect, but its terminal decline has been averted. There is peace. There is security. The public trust is not undermined deliberately. Problems that the Sith would have exploited and escalated are instead handled via negotiation, long before they become acute. Corrupt politicians that the Sith would have protected and encouraged are instead unmasked and prosecuted. Slowly, the Republic begins to revover from the previously existent influence of the Banite Sith. The lack of the Sith-induced problems simultaneously stops the Jedi from becoming more and more entrenched in an "ivory tower" mentality. Rather than being faced with increasing issues they want no part of, they still see ample proof (as in the preceding centuries) that the presence of Jedi Knights out in the galaxy makes a positive difference. Also, the Jedi would otherwise have been indirectly encouraged by Sith manipulation in their "retreat from society". This doesn't occur, now. And their insight into the Force is clear once more.

By 33 BBY, there is no Yinchorr uprising. The Directorate of the Trade Federation is not murdered at Palpatine's behest, and his Neimoidian cronies (who never even encountered him, here) are not suddenly placed in charge. The Trade Federation has no interests on Naboo, anyway, and has no direct Senatorial representation. Since many Sith-caused regional conflicts have been averted, there is no rampant piracy problem, and the taxation of trade routes isn't even on the table. Palpatine's scheme to falsely implicate House Valorum in money laundering is never implemented, and the government isn't tarnished with accusations of corruption and criminal connections. On the contrary: corruption is on the decline. Men who were previously inclined to worry about the state of the Republic, such as Sifo-Dyas and Dooku, have every reason to be relieved and optimistic. Sifo-Dyas is not induced to finally agree to the creation of a clone army, nor would he be inclined to agree to such a thing under these circumstances. He does not become a pawn in the Sith plan, and he is not murdered.

The following year, 32 BBY, bears witness to no events of great consequence. There is peace. Young Obi-Wan Kenobi is very bored by overseeing tedious negotiations. Nothing happens to alleviate his boredom. The Republic has been saved, and nobody even knows it. Time marches on. Things continue to change; often for the better. As already noted, in the period preceding 67 BBY, due to Sith influence, the Jedi Order became increasingly dogmatic— because the Dark Side increasingly blinded their insight into the Force. The destruction of the Banite Sith has restored their insight into the Force, and has thus gradually diminished their reliance on rigid doctrine. Without the Dark Side clouding their senses, the Jedi come to realise that over-reliance on dogma is itself unhealthy and dangerous. Thus, concurrently with the Republic ridding itself of corruption bit by bit, the Jedi Order has begun to gradually rid itself of dogmatism— to once again become less monolithic, and more heterodox.

The time period in which—had the Sith lived on—the Empire would have arisen and thrived, and in which the Jedi would have been all but exterminated, thus instead becomes a period of growth, self-reflection and reform for the Jedi Order. Even by 67 BBY, the Jedi Order was a shadow of its former self. With the evil of the Sith unexpectedly vanquished, the Force reaches a state of balance once again, without requiring a 'Chosen One'. There are more and more Force-sensitive younglings being found each year, and the ranks of the Jedi continue to swell. It is a good time: a time of growth and new life. As is often the case, this is also a time of change. More and more Jedi—especially, but not exclusively, the younger ones—begin to advocate in favour of ending the ban on romantic relationships. In the end, these reformists have the historic evidence their side: the Jedi Order had no problem with such relationships for at least 95% of its 25,000-year existence.

By 10 BBY, Grand Master Yoda decides to resign from his position as head of the Jedi Order. He is succeeded by Obi-Wan Kenobi, under whose auspices many reforms are enacted. Although change is never easy, the Order becomes all the stronger for it. By 4 ABY or so (not that it would be called there, there never having been a Death Star or a Battle of Yavin), former Grand Master Yoda dies peacefully in his sleep, from old age. Around this same time, the Republic receives diplomatic communications from the typically reclusive Chiss Ascendancy. In the absence of the Outbound Flight project, and with no Empire upon which to pin his (misplaced) hopes, the Chiss Syndic Mitth'raw'nuruodo was forced to be more cautious in his plans. He managed to avoid exile. By 4 ABY, his elite forces have captured Yuuzhan Vong scouts. This evidence has convinced the Chiss that Mitth'raw'nuruodo was right to be concerned. The Chiss, aware of the threat, propose an alliance with the Republic against the coming onslaught. A summit between the Chiss military command, the Republic's government, the Jedi Council and the True Mandalorian leadership has been planned at an out-of-the-way location: the forest moon of little-known Endor. There, it will be discussed how best to prepare for the coming invasion...

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We may conclude that the termination of the Banite Sith in 67 BBY, 35 years before they would have finally engineered the Naboo crisis and placed Palpatine into the highest office of the Republic, would have sufficed to prevent the galaxy's collapse into civil war. Considering the inherent difficulties of terminating the Sith line in one fell swoop, it is safe to say that 67 BBY was thus the last realistic moment where a simple twist of fate could have saved the Galactic Republic. This turn of events would have prevented countless tragedies great and small, and would have left the galaxy in a far better state to deal with future challenges.