It was a good enough explanation for Luke Skywalker, and for each of member of the audience listening back in 1977. But we do live in a different world now - a world in which doors really can open automatically, and in which information can be accessed, downloaded and transmitted continuously from every corner of the world. With all of us so familiar to concepts such as "chi" and "god", it is so easy to cram the Force into any one of these concepts, wrap it up, and say: There you go. This is the Force.

"Without the midi-chlorians life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They continually speak to us, telling us the will of the Force." - Qui-Gon Jinn, The Phantom Menace.

Fans were not impressed with the 1999 release of the Phantom Menace - and it's half-hearted attempt to explain the Force a little further to the ever-curious crowds. Overnight, this great source of energy went from being something accessible, something tangible, to something almost entirely fictional. In today's Jedi Community, it is considered almost exclusively that - pure fiction.

But what if it isn't?

Let's skip the opening line of Obi-Wan's original quote, and concentrate on the second. "An energy field, created by all living things."

All life produces energy. When the sun shines upon a leaf on a tree, the chemical reaction that takes place (photosynthesis) converts the sun's warmth to an energy that enables the plant to sustain life. A human being moving to open a door produces kinetic (movement) energy. The warmth generated by the blood in their veins, their pressure on the handle - it all produces energy. Simply breathing, we are generating energy. The very process of cell division creates energy. So how far fetched is Obi-Wan's theory? All life produces energy. The concept that, collectively, it might become an actual "field" is more than possible.

Nowadays, we take it as scientific fact that every piece of solid furniture around is made up of millions of molecules, all of which are held in place by magnetic fields, generated by the opposite and like polarities of the individual atoms. Densely packed molecules form such things as rock, and concrete - less densely packed molecules form liquids, and some even float around in the air that we breathe. Imagine, for a moment, the concept of many tiny oxygen bubbles being "breathed out" of the pores on a tree's leaf, floating around in the air. Now just imagine that the energy that was used in the photosynthesis process also being "breathed out" to float around with it. Imagine every living creature, giving off that same respiratory energy. Suddenly we find ourselves surrounded in it, swimming in these bubbles, breathing them in and out - and that's just from the energy generated by breathing. Think again of all the energy a human being produces -the electrical energy of impulses in your brain, of messages being passed along your nervous system every time you make contact with anything. "It surrounds us and penetrates us". One who is in tune with these subtle energies could certainly be seen as possessing certain powers, such as "sensing" a physical presence, or sensing a death that happens miles away. A deep, profound understanding of these energies could certainly lead to their full manipulation - including such things as using it to open doors and pull out seats.

This concept is simple enough to understand. The main question most people have, once understanding the basic structure of how the Force might exist, is then: What about the will of the Force?

"Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him."
"You mean it controls your actions?"
"Partially. But it also obeys your commands." Obi-Wan and Luke, A New Hope

The Jedi, as depicted in the prequels, spent their entire lives training to reach an understanding of the Force. From early childhood, throughout their adolescent years, it was the focal point of all their studies.
When it comes to "control", we must remember Obi-Wan's reply: "Partially". But let's think on that logically for a second.
Imagine a mind so open to the intrinsic energies floating in the air, that you can "see" them. Imagine being able to see the Force, seeing it penetrating you and everything around you. Now imagine that an entity came out of nowhere - say, to attack. Deeply entrenched in the energies of the universe around you, of course you would see it coming, long before anyone else. Of course you would respond with an impossibly quick reflex - and if it was asked of you, what would you say? "I saw it in the Force", or - "The Force told me".

This goes a long way to explaining Qui-Gon's answer to Anakin, in the Phantom Menace. "They continually speak to us, telling us the will of the Force." Bear in mind that Qui-Gon is attempting to explain molecular energy fields to a nine year old. Although Anakin at this point has proven himself an extraordinarily capable engineer, and extremely talented in the Force itself, at this point in his young life it is safe to assume no one has spoken to him about invisible energies binding the universe together. He is unaware of the Force - he knows that his reflexes are good, but he doesn't know why. Explaining to him that the Force "tells" him what is going to happen before it does, is a child-friendly way to ease a new person into a world in which they are not alone.

"Master, sir... I've been wondering... what are midi-chlorians?"
"Midi-chlorians are a microcopic lifeform that reside within all living cells and communicates with the Force."
"They live inside of me?"
"In your cells. We are symbionts with the midi-chlorians."

The fiction does stumble here. Of course there is no such thing as midi-chlorians, basic cellular structure of living organisms is something taught in pre-school nowadays. However, we do know of the nucleus - let's examine that for a moment.

The nucleus is described very often as being the "center" of a cell - or even it's "brain". It is the nucleus that contains our DNA - the very molecules that built us - and it is the nucleus that enables the cell multiplication process. If the nucleus itself is where our molecular life is stored, where our cellular lives consistently die and begin - could it perhaps be the nuclei of our cells that produce that connection to the Force? We have already established that all life produces the energy that makes up the Force. Looking at life in it's microscopic terms, here we have the center of it. It may not be a microscopic life form that lives in our skin and whispers in our ear - but it is certainly alive, and present in each and every one of our cells. Is it feasible to assume that the Force itself is generated within the nucleus of each cell? And to then say, "The Force speaks to us through our own cells, through our own bodies."?

Of course, to look at it from the point of view that Qui-Gon states we are "symbiots" with these life-forms, one could also examine the fact that our skin, our air, our kitchen surfaces are all covered in millions of microscopic life-forms. It has been estimated that approximately 95% of cells existing within the human body may actually be bacteria cells. These bacteria are what make our digestive system work well, or protect us from certain diseases - they would die without us, and we would die without them. Thus we fulfil our symbiont cycle. Now, as to whether or not millions of microscopic bacteria are "talking" to us - well, it does sound far-fetched. Let us return again to the concept that being aware of the Force, and all the energies of life, is akin to being "told" things by the Force. Now contemplate exactly how much life you are walking around with inside your intestines alone. I imagine, if one could learn so deep an understanding of this life, and our symbiotic existence with it, that eventually you would feel it "in your cells" - or as we more commonly say, "in our bones". It would be as if your body itself was telling you all you needed to know.

"They continually speak to you, telling you the will of the Force".

The Phantom Menace also introduced this novel idea - that the Force had a will and agenda of it's own, implying a new sentience to this energy that had not been brought up previously. The most common analogies were instantly drawn up, comparing "God" to the Force, and stating that they were one and the same - however, Lucas himself admits that he drew inspiration for the Force from an ideal beyond God, an ideal that humans are, as of yet, unable to comprehend.

"Many people... become aware of some kind of force, or something, behind this apparent mask which we see in front of us, and they call it God." - 21-87

"Calling" it God suggests a definite implication that we have no better word for it, so what better than one we have been using for thousands of years to describe the "higher being", or the "greater purpose" of things? To stop at God seems a little shortsighted, however. God is a definitive thought-form - and if nothing else, he is, in his own religious texts, the Creator. We know for a fact that the Force is renewed and recreated every day - that it is created by life, while sustaining it. Therefore, it is a scientific phenomenon, before it is a religious one.

But to speak of the will of the Force - well, there is just some ground that science has not covered, and questions of fate and destiny are among them. I would wager that almost every person reading this right now has felt that "tug" at one point or another to interrupt their daily lives for no good reason - only to later find out that had they not, they may have missed an opportunity, or worse, been seriously harmed. It is for each of them find their own explanation as to "why" or "how" they heard that tug. Are our lives mapped out for us? Does the Force guide us where it wants us to go? Or is it simply that heightened state of awareness we covered earlier - that being so entrenched in the energies around us that we can sense things before they even happen - even if we are unaware of it on anything but the most sub-conscious of levels? Those are questions best left up to the philosophers - in the meantime, it is important to realise that we can choose not to listen at any point. Thus we are not controlled, nor are we dictated to. The Force does not provide us with a list of laws for behavior - once understanding of it's power is attained, it can be used for all purposes. Again - the concept of the Force being any deity does not mesh well with this.

And so, we have simply the Force - the energy field created and sustained by life itself, all life, down to it's tiniest, microscopic entities. An energy field that we can become aware of, like any other - perhaps even containing all others within itself. And once aware of the energy surrounding us, we can become aware of the web of life that we sit so delicately upon, waiting as the spider does for the slightest tremor to indicate a new event, a new opportunity. In time, we can learn to distinguish one tremor for another - in time, who knows what may be possible? They key is first to understand. The Force is something very real, generated from inside each of us, a science that is waiting to be discovered and proven. It is not a religious deity, residing in the clouds and watching over us - nor is it some puppet master pulling our strings from an unseen alcove. The understanding of life's intricate energies must be examined and understood - this, I believe, is our first step into that larger world. Learning that we are, in fact, such a tiny piece of the puzzle. Learning how we contribute. Learning that we are the Force, that we create it ourselves. Creatures so small, so insignificant, and yet the complexities within even our physical matter alone confound the most brilliant of scientists.

Thank you for reading -
Jasta
07/09/08

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