From: shoham@ll.mit.edu (Daniel Shoham)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.starwars
Subject: Re: LUKE & LEIA
Date: 23 Nov 92 05:22:57 GMT
Organization: MIT Lincoln Laboratory

In article <1992Nov23.010637.17976@ncsu.edu> albusacc@eos.ncsu.edu (ALEXANDRIA LIN BUSACCA) writes:
>
>In ANH when Ben Kenobi gives Luke his first Lightsaber, he says
>something like 'Your father wanted you to have this when you were old
>enough, but your uncle wouldn't allow it...'  Does this mean that Vader
>( or at least Anakin) knew that his wife was pregnant?  Does any one think he

- there is also the problem of why Vader didn't follow up on the light saber
Anakin might have left with Ben, and come for it (and for Ben).

I think this line was yet another one of Ben's lies. Like his other lies, if
you really stretch it, it could be viewed as truth "from a certain point of
view". 
Ben gives Luke (what he claims to be) his father's light saber (LS) and says
that his father wanted him to have it. The following possibilities exist:
1. Anakin (and Vader) didn't know he had or was going to have a son. Had he
   known, he would have wanted him to have his LS. Ben, who somehow got a hold 
   of the LS was fullfilling that "wish"
2. Anakin knowing that he is going on some dangerous mission (confront the
   Emperor?) from which he might not return (at least not as Anakin), left
   his LS with Ben to be given to Luke. Thinking, for some reason, that Ben
   was dead, Vader never followed up on that.
3. The process of conversion to the dark side of the force also cleansed
   Anakin/Vader of all memories of "good" things - like family and friendship.
   He forgot about this LS he left with Ben. Remember, in ROJ, Luke pointing
   to Vader that Anakin "is the name of your true self. You've only forgotten."
4. Anakin/Vader wanted Luke to get strong with the force because father-son
   bond is stronger than the dark-side-of-the-force (as was showed to be the
   case in ROJ), or because he wanted Luke's help to overthrough the Emperor
   (as he stated in ESB).
5. Ben simply lied to get Luke to go with him to Alderaan. (BTW, Until I saw
   the next films, I thought Ben wanted Luke to go with him to Alderaan so
   Luke would finance the [downpayment for the] safari - a slick
   demonstration of Ben's manipulative capabilities - we know Ben didn't have
   the needed cash).

>might have felt the presence of his children through the force?  If he
>can then why didn't he realize that Leia was his daughter and try to
>turn her to the DArk side of the Force in ANH.  
>
>On another note, if the Emperor had forseen Vader's son destroying him
>then why couldn't he forsee Leia being Vaedr's daughter?  Or is it that
>the Emperor could only forsee what was going to happen to him?

The Emperor didn't notice Luke until the latter got strong enough to generate
"a great disturbance in the Force" (while Luke was studying 'intermediate
Force 201' at Prof Yoda's retreat - halfway through ESB). Leia never got that
far.


Dan Shoham               shoham@ll.mit.edu
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