The "Force" in Star Wars - A sexually transmissable power?

[matrix29bear]

Force as a sexually transmitted disease?
Thinking of the same concept used in the "Empowered" comic book series.

http://www.stardestroyer.net/AOTC/Revelations-1.html

Numerous attempts have been made in order to shore up the genetic interpretation despite its deficiencies:

1. "The Jedi Order was forcibly suppressing the evolution of Force skills by abducting Force-sensitive children into the Order and forbidding them to reproduce, hence their continued rarity (this idea echoes a plotline on Babylon 5 in which normal humans tried to control a developing telepath population with a targeted bio-weapon)." This is an interesting idea (particular for the cynic in you), but it is simply not realistic. Neither the Republic or the Jedi Order could have forcibly suppressed this evolutionary development everywhere in the galaxy, since they obviously don't even check for Force skills in the entire Outer Rim region (as we discovered in TPM). Moreover, at 25,000 years old, the Jedi Order may seem ancient to us, but it's a flash in the pan on evolutionary and astronomical timescales. In a galaxy with millions of sentient species, some would have undoubtedly developed this trait hundreds of thousands or even millions or billions of years ago, long before the Jedi existed, and it would have become dominant. Did the Jedi exterminate entire worlds in order to suppress Force skills? Pogroms and holocausts on an unimaginable scale, in order to prevent the genetic hegemony of Force sensitives who would (oddly enough) command galaxy-wide respect and fear as the Jedi Order? This stretches credibility to the breaking point, and beyond.

2. "Force skills are a double-recessive trait. This explains their rarity." This explanation is inadequate on many levels. The first problem is that it cannot explain the sheer magnitude of the rarity; even with a 1 in 10 million double-recessive trait, you would have at least 100 million Force sensitive people in a galaxy of quadrillions. The only way to whittle down this number to 10,000 Jedi is to assume that only 1 in 10,000 Force sensitive people is identified and trained, which (once again) stretches credibility. The second problem is that it completely ignores all of the five problems cited above (go back and review them if you like); it focuses singlemindedly on the notion of rarity and ignores all the other problems, as if a weak attempt to explain rarity will magically make the other problems go away. The third problem is that it presumes Force sensitivity would just happen to be a double-recessive trait in thousands of separate species on thousands of different worlds, but why? Why would it always be a double-recessive trait in thousands of unrelated species? Sheer coincidence? A quasi-magical compulsion for Force skills to invariably start as a double-recessive trait and stay that way indefinitely, wherever they may happen to independently evolve across an entire galaxy? This interpretation doesn't just stretch credibility; it murders it, and it casually tramples upon the entire conceptual basis of biological evolution just for good measure.

3. "The entire ysalimiri species [from Timothy Zahn's novels, not the films] can block the Force, so Force attunement is genetic." Again, this explanation actually ignores the 5 biology problems cited above. Moreover, it's a non sequitur. So what if the entire ysalimiri species can block the Force? Why does Force blocking lead to Force attunement? A squid's black ink spray blocks eyesight; does this mean that the organ which produces this spray must be able to function as an eyeball? Of course not; the ability to block the Force would seem to be genetic if the entire ysalimiri species has it, but it's also a red herring.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empowered

http://www.comicvine.com/capitan-rivet/29-64754/
Capitan Rivet confessed to Empowered that he became a robot after receiving a mechanical sexually transmitted disease from an attractive fembot he met in a bar and that prior to this he was a normal human. He met several of the other Superhomeys in a support group for superhuman STD sufferers and presumably at this point he decided to use his powers for good.

** One of them (Protean) gained power from an alien STD, the second was turned into a mech by nanomachines contracted through sex with an advanced android, the third due to sex with an unknown superhuman whose dialogue suggested he was made by a certain Doctor.


This would explain the ban on sex for Jedi (too many Jedi and nobody is "Jedi Special" anymore) given that mere sex with any other species would make them Jedi too (once the disease completes the genetic transformation). "The Force" may be akin to a chronic herpes with significant benefits.
Of course, this introduces a whole range of logical problems if the alien species of Star Wars universe given that logically, most sexual diseases are not gene-compatible (although they could feasibly cause all sorts of unpleasant mutations). Now fungi and bacteria and parasites (read up on snail parasites for a their chains of hosts) can be trans-species in nature. "The Force" could be a fungi or parasite that carries a virus (like a mosquito carries the malaria parasite) which then rewrites the genetic code to make the host more favorable to their survival, but prefers a sexually-transmissible path (least guarded route of host exchange). This naturally fails to explain how the host organism gains telekinetic powers under the control of the intentions of their brains. Or the power requirements thereof to achieve telekinetic manipulation of objects in their environment. A fungus or parasite would require less physical needs than the rewriting of their host's DNA, but rewriting the DNA would gain benefits for their own survival so long as the host survives. Not a traditional symbiosis, but more akin to "upgrading" the host to become more adept at surviving external deadly encounters thusly continuing the feeding of the fungus or parasite.

[Ritterin Sophia]

Force as a sexually transmitted disease?

Not even.

There are countless non-Force Users who have had sex with their Force-imbued partners, notably Han. we also know that Jedi aren't banned from having sex, one of the novels (though I can't remember specifically which one) Yoda reveal that it's common for young Jedi in their awkward stages to 'experiment'. What a Jedi is not allowed to do is allow her interpersonal relations to override her commitment to the Order.

[Simon_Jester]

Force as a sexually transmitted disease?
Thinking of the same concept used in the "Empowered" comic book series...

I haven't read Empowered, but from what I've heard, the comic exists in large part to apply a sort of gleeful naughtiness to many of the conventions of comic-book superheroics- such as the title character's tendency to wind up half-naked and helpless. I'm not sure it's the best mental model from which to derive explanations in things going on in more serious settings, because it's got so much comedy and parody within its ranks.

That said, this is at least an original idea. The biggest practical problem is that, as noted, there are too many Force users who aren't related to existing Force users, and too many Force users who have sexual relationships with non-Force-using partners in the EU.

Han Solo married Leia, who was the daughter of a powerful Jedi and certainly Force-capable, had two children and a multi-decade marriage with her, and never "caught" Force use from her. So I don't buy it.

Another factor is that this would make it too easy to induce Force use in others by deliberately infecting them with the disease in a laboratory setting, and yet we don't see any serious attempts to create masses of Force users in this way.

[Adam Reynolds]

Another factor is that this would make it too easy to induce Force use in others by deliberately infecting them with the disease in a laboratory setting, and yet we don't see any serious attempts to create masses of Force users in this way.

This was actually tried in Jedi Outcast, but the attempts failed until the power from the Valley of the Jedi could be tapped. In addition, the reborn created by this process weren't very effective compared to regular Jedi even in Luke's era.

[Havok]

Just because parents 'have' the Force, doesn't mean their children will. (See Outbound Flight IIRC) And vice versa, children having the Force doesn't indicate the parents have it. (See, obviously, Shmi Skywalker) So this whole thing goes out the window.

Taking infants that have a high midichlorian doesn't guarantee a drop in other babies born with similar counts.

[Dalton]

Expanding on Havok's example, Non-Force-sensitive parents can have children that are both Force-sensitive and non-Force-sensitive. Case in point, Dean and Lorana Jinzler.

Shmi Skywalker is a special case, because her pregnancy was Force-conceived.

[Baffalo]

Genetics is one of those things that we don't entirely understand, because while we've mapped the human genome, many people in the field will tell you that it's not simply a matter of mixing up the genes and whipping up a person. There are so many factors that can be influenced by our parents that make us who we are, such as whether they were smokers, drinkers, their personalities, what happened while you were still in the womb, all of it affects people. The study of these genetics is one of the newest fields of research with the potential to completely change everything we know in regards to what it means to be us.

Now, taking that into account, we must approach the problem of who is and isn't Force sensitive on a case by case basis. We'll start with Shmi Skywalker. Somehow, she was able to conceive a child without a man present, and even ended up with a nice Y chromosome just for good measure. I think the entire idea that this happened is ludicrous, and that there was a father whose memory she suppressed. Many people in denial might pretend the problem never happened, and if she was raped... she might pretend it never happened and that Anakin was a miracle. That's just something I'm throwing out for later.

Inside everyone's cells are Mitochondria. These tiny organelles are important because they help create energy for the cells. They are typically provided by the mother's body, because the cell was formed in her own body and so they are carried from mother to child. Since we don't know how Midichlorians work, I'm going to throw out the theory that Midichlorians act as very small symbiotes inside cells. Their presence helps in some way, and they spread from cell to cell and probably divide just like mitochondria, but are small enough to ride along inside sperm as well as the ova.

So, we have a theory, and let's say that Anakin's existing father as put forward in the second paragraph is Force sensitive. He engages in sexual activity with Shmi, and when he ejaculates, he gets her pregnant. The presence of midichlorians in his sperm mean that the fertilized ova now contains the necessary organelles to be Force sensitive, and begin to reproduce inside the developing fetus. Depending on conditions inside the womb, the midichlorians might reproduce faster or slower, affecting the level at which a person is Force sensitive. If conditions aren't right, then despite both parents being Force sensitive, the child may not be. However, there is the matter of the unsuccessful sperm still inside the mother's body. Since the conditions inside the vagina and uterus are hostile towards sperm, they will die off. Most of it gets flushed from the uterus, so that's not really an issue.

So with the proposed theories, the single unified thought is as follows. Shmi Skywalker, as a slave, at some point gets raped approximately 10 years prior to The Phantom Menace. The experience is traumatic enough that she goes into denial and blocks the memory, making it seem to her that it never happened. The father was a Force sensitive individual whose sperm delivered midichlorians to Shmi's ova, making the developing fetus Force sensitive. Conditions inside the womb were apparently very good, and the midichlorians inside the developing Anakin grew in number until they became even more predominant than even Master Yoda. Because Anakin's midichlorian count was so high, when he had sex with Padme, the number of midichlorians in his sperm was enough that Luke and Leia both were Force sensitive enough to become Jedi, even if Padme wasn't. Also, because of random distribution inside sperm, it would help to explain why Leia is less sensitive than Luke, owing to an uneven distribution inside the sperm that fertilized the ovum.

[Jade Owl]

Another factor is that this would make it too easy to induce Force use in others by deliberately infecting them with the disease in a laboratory setting, and yet we don't see any serious attempts to create masses of Force users in this way.

Regarding attempts to mass produce Force users in a lab, as I recall, in the Knights of the Old Republic comics there was a Mandalorian scientist named Demagol that spent decades attempting to isolate a biological cause for Force sensitivity so he could duplicate it.

He acquired genetic material from one of the greatest Jedi Masters of the Era and bred dozens of children combining the Master’s DNA with that of volunteers from several species. But none of the children ever developed Force sensitivity (except for the one girl whose father was already Force sensitive to begin with).

He then spent several years vivisecting captured Jedi researching the biological component to Force sensitivity. We never found out if he got any results.