"Michael Stackpole "I, Jedi"" - читать интересную книгу автора

The Jedi Master nodded. УIt is yours to do, then.Ф
Closing my eyes, I set myself and drew in a deep breath. Exhaling it slowly I let my senses expand and touch Tionne and Streen on either side of me. Then my consciousness leaped, link by link until I knew where everyone was in the circle. From there I began to work inward, and as I did so I began to feel the first faint tingles of energy. It felt almost like an ion bolt hitting close by. It made the hair on my arms stand up.
I didn't push, I didn't race after it, but spread myself out to let it come to me. As I made myself receptive, as I caught more of the Force the way a solar sail catches sunlight, my sense of the world became more complete. The blackness before my eyes did not lighten or brighten, but I found structures there and things. Spots that moved were insects. Lines that crawled beneath the dirt were worms. I traced bushes and grasses from leaf-tip to root. If it was alive I could feel it, and what I felt outside I could also feel inside.
The way Luke had molded his thoughts to mine to probe me about Mirax's absence came back to me in a rush. I looked at the currents of Force inside of me and the currents swirling about outside. Little by little, slowly modifying a thought here, calming a doubt there, setting aside fear and encouraging hope, I changed how the Force flowed within me. I let it erode from the inside out all the walls isolating me from the universal tor-rent of Force energy.
With the first breach in my defenses the Force slammed into me like high pressure fluid jetting through a pinpoint gap in a pipe. It filled me up in an instant and I imagined it leaking from my eyes, nose and mouth. I wanted to shout and dance with joy because it was everything Streen had described. It was what I felt when Mirax first said she loved me. It was the scent of the perfume my mother wore, and the warm laugh my father used to have when he was proud of me. It was the hearty slap on the back from Wedge after a mission and even a touch of Whistler's triumphant serenades. It was everything that was good and right and positive and alive; and it was waiting for me to bend it to my will.
Newly empowered, I reached out for the stone. In a heart-beat I plumbed its depths. I knew its size and mass, I knew its contours and its weaknesses. I knew I could shape the Force into a hammer and shatter it, but that was not the task at hand. My task was to move it, to rip it from the ground, to raise it up so all could see what I had done.
I poured the Force into my effort. At first I felt resistance, but I expected that. The stone had been firmly stuck in the ground for years. I tugged at it and could see it rocking back and forth. Small pebbles cascaded off it, bouncing down into the grasses at its base. I worried it like a loose tooth, then I prepared to pull it.
I gritted my teeth against the effort. I felt the stone shift. Before my mind's eye I saw it quiver and shake. Slowly, slowly at first it began to move upward. A micron here, a millimeter there, then a centimeter, then two. And four and six and twenty. Rich brown loam fell from it as the lower half of the stone began to rise above the surface. Faster it moved now, slowed only by the occasional clumsy bump against the side of the hole it had inhabited. My control was not yet fine, but I knew it would get better, so I pushed on, working on lifting it higher.
The stone came fully clear of the ground, but that was not enough for me. I could feel the Force pulsing into me, full and insistent. I channeled it back out through my mind and made the rock's ascent smooth. I lifted it and lifted it up so high that when I opened my eyes, I knew I would be able to see beneath it and find Master Luke across the circle from me. I would lift it so high, in fact, that not even Gantoris could deny what I had done.
Finally I had success. The stone hung in the air better than two meters above the ground. I held it there and redoubled my effort to quell the list in it. I wanted it as firmly embedded in the Force and air as it had been in the ground. When it stopped moving, I smiled and opened my eyes. The rock remained in the ground.
I stared at it and tried to remember if I heard it crash back down into the ground. I couldn't remember such a sound, nor could I remember feeling the shockwave that would have re-sulted from a crash landing. I glanced up at where the rock should have been, then back down. I couldn't believe it had not moved because I knew I had felt the Force, and I knew the rock had flown.
Then I noticed that all the others, every single one of them, were looking at the spot in the air where I had seen the rock floating. Tionne and Streen wore open expressions of wonder-ment. Kam wore the smirk with which he rewarded good ef-forts. Gantoris looked as if he'd seen a ghost and the others just looked amazed.
Across from me Luke shook his head, then passed a hand over his eyes. He glanced back at the spot in the air where the rock should have been, then his gaze flicked toward where it really lay. He looked around at the other students, then gently passed a hand through the air, causing them to blink and rub their eyes.
Gantoris looked at the rock and then accusingly at me.
УWhat did you do?Ф
УWhat Keiran did, was feel the Force.Ф The Jedi Master nod-ded to me, then advanced and rested a hand on Gantoris' shoulder. УHe opened the pathway to his future. What he did or did not do here should not concern you. Instead, be happy knowing yet another of you is past the first hurdle on the road to becoming a Jedi Knight.Ф
Te next morning I found Mas-ter Skywalker waiting for me in my chamber after I finished my run. Dripping with sweat, my chest heaving with exertion, I bowed to him, then remained hunched over, with my hands resting on my knees. УIt is an honor, Master.Ф
Cloaked in black, he nodded to me. УYou can tap into the Force to revitalize yourself, you know.Ф
I slowly straightened up and smiled. УI know, but I choose not to. The fatigue and little aches and pains feel good. They remind me I'm human and mortal, and I think that is a good thing right now.Ф
УCertainly not a bad one.Ф His right hand came out from beneath his cloak. Hovering above his outstretched palm I saw a milky jade crystal block. It rotated slowly there in the air and glowed with an internal light that gave Luke's flesh a nasty green cast to it. УYou remember what this is?Ф
УA Jedi Holocron. It contains histories and wisdom and in-formation about the Jedi, collected down through the years.Ф I twisted my torso left and right to stretch some of the muscles in my back. УTionne has been using it to research Jedi history. She said the gatekeeper is an alien Jedi named Bodo Baas.Ф
;'Exactly right.Ф Luke cupped his hands and touched the floating cube with his fingertips.
The crystal flared white for a moment, then the hologram of a hunched insectoid creature with a bulbous carapace con-gealed above it like a green ghost. The creature oriented itself toward Luke. УGreetings, Jedi,Ф it intoned, УI am Bodo Baas, the gatekeeper of the Holocron. Do you have a question for me?Ф
Luke looked through the hologram at me. УA model of Bodo Baas' cognitive network functions as a search, recovery and storage allocation program. There is quite a bit of information stored here. I spent some time researching last evening to see if what you did the other day has been done before.Ф УHas it?Ф
The Jedi Master smiled. УIt has. In fact, one of the first manifestations of Jedi skill showed to me by Obi-Wan Kenobi was very similar. Gatekeeper, explain the power classified as Alter Mind to Keiran Halcyon.Ф
The gatekeeper turned toward me. Its black compound eyes fixed me with a stare. УJedi skills in the Force are rooted in three areas. Control is internal. It is the Jedi's ability to recog-nize the Force in himself and to use it to his benefit. Sense involves the next step, in which the Jedi recognizes the Force in the universe outside herself. Here she feels the Force and is able to draw upon it for information about the world around her. Through it she is connected to the rest of the universe. Alter is the third and most difficult area to master, for it in-volves the student's ability to modify the Force and redistribute its energies. Through these skills, the Jedi can influence the universe, making changes as needed to accomplish its goals.
УThe power known as Alter Mind bridges all these skill ar-eas. Through it a Jedi can project her perception of reality into the mind of another, or an illusion or conclusion that she needs the other to hold as true. This is a most magnificent and useful power, but it is also one fraught with danger. Bending the will of another for a benign purpose can be noble and good. The dark side lurks nearby in this power, so it should be used with caution.Ф
I blinked my eyes. УWell, that's very interesting.Ф
Luke nodded. УWhen confronted by a stormtrooper looking for droids back on Tatooine, Obi-Wan used this power to con-vince a stormtrooper that our droids were not the ones he was looking for.Ф
УI remember having a stormtrooper searching for me during my escape from Lusankya. I was doing all I could to make myself unseen and he didn't see me.Ф
The Jedi Master's eyes narrowed for a moment. УYou think you unconsciously tapped this power before you began train-ing?Ф
УI guess so. Is that bad?Ф
УNo, actually, it is good. It explains some things.Ф Luke nod-ded toward Bodo Baas' image. УAs the gatekeeper indicated, it's a very powerful Force ability. Some individuals show a cer-tain aptitude for areas of Jedi power-they have an inborn talent for it. It could be your talent falls into this area.Ф
УCould be. It's good I have aptitude in something, because I am useless when it comes to telekinesis. Then again, I'm not certain how adept I am at influencing minds. I remember trying to influence a stormtrooper on Thyferra with disastrous re-suits.Ф
УJust because you have a talent for it doesn't mean you will always succeed.Ф Luke grinned somewhat sheepishly. УWhen I visited Jabba the Hutt's den I managed to use it on his Twi'lek aide to get myself an audience. My attempt to use it on Jabba failed right after that. The Hutt may have been stronger-willed, and a Hutt's thought patterns are a bit further from human than those of a Twi'lek. Success was not guaranteed for me, either.Ф
I nodded. УI should also take the caution about the dark side to heart as well.Ф
УYes, definitely.Ф Luke released the Holocron and the gate-keeper evaporated. УThe dark side is seductive for those who want too much too fast. I was concerned at how easily you managed to make us all see what you wanted us to see, which is why I consulted the Holocron about your ability. I think you should be very careful about how you employ it. I would like you to team up with another student and try to alter the per-ception of color or simple things that don't matter, to test your limits. Of course, I want you only to work with that student's permission and full knowledge.Ф
УGot it.Ф I smiled. УHowever, the temptation to make Gantoris think he's already dressed when he isn't does exist.Ф
Luke laughed lightly for a moment, then withdrew the Holocron from sight. УYou still think like a pilot-maybe this room wasn't a good idea after all. Please don't do that to Gantoris. Jedi powers are not for playing pranks. Later on test-ing yourselves against each other will hone your skills, but we have to work together at it. Your rivalry with Gantoris concerns me.Ф
I held my hands up. УMaster, I don't consider Gantoris a rival. I don't particularly like him. He reminds me of a pilot I knew when I first joined Rogue Squadron. Bror Jace and I didn't get along at first, but we grew to understand each other. We never became good friends, but we managed to work to-gether and managed to liberate his homeworld from Isard.Ф
The Jedi Master lowered his head for a moment. УGantoris has had a lot of hardships in his life. He managed to keep the people of Eol Sha alive in a very difficult place. We have moved his colony to Dantooine and relieved him of his responsibility for them. Despite that he pushes himself and holds himself to the strict level of discipline that kept him alive on Eol Sha. Here he sees you pushing yourself harder than he does, and your work pays off with surprising successes. He cannot beat you physically. While you failed to raise the rock, you exhibited a power for which he has no aptitude and can't understand.Ф
УYou're saying he is having trouble enjoying the freedom he now has because it's new to him. All the measures for his con-duct he would have used before have no value here, so he has seized upon me as a scale against which to measure himself?Ф I shook my head. УHe's worse off than I would have thought.Ф УMaybe you can do things to help him.Ф
I felt a cold draft seep in through my sweaty tunic. УI can try.Ф
УYou should do.Ф
УIf he lets me. I will do what I can, but if he is not receptive, my efforts won't work.Ф
УI appreciate what you will do.Ф The Jedi Master nodded beyond me toward the communal refresher station. УGo get cleaned up and get some food. It will be a busy day for every-one. If things work the way I intend, more will learn what you have learned and we can move into the next stage of develop-ment for Jedi Knights.Ф
In the several days that followed our conversation, a variety of things became readily apparent to me. The first was that my ability to feel the Force followed a simple pattern: when the pressure was on, I could touch it and use it. When just practic-ing I found it elusive. I did manage to make nebula orchid blossoms change colors for Kirana Ti, and let Tionne see what she would look like if she changed her hair color, but even those simple efforts tired me.
Master Skywalker found this problem more alarming than I did. I think I was able to put it into perspective because of my training for CorSec. All recruits were taught how to handle a variety of blasters. We had it drilled into us over and over again that the only time we should draw a blaster and point it at someone was if we fully intended to use it, or were willing to use it. We were told that to use methods that escalated the tension in a situation was a bad thing, which meant my default mode was to hold back. Only when I had to succeed would I cut loose.
That being said, I was able to access the Force more than I had before. Luke was right: tapping into the Force could re-fresh me after a long run. It could sharpen me up when I was feeling drowsy. It could convince my body that I really didn't need to eat yet and could dull the aches and pains of life. The most faint trickle of Force energy was enough to accomplish these simple things and, not needing the vast power I had previ-ously, I didn't draw on it.
I know Master Skywalker wanted all of us to feel comfortable in the Force and to progress at our own rates in finding out how we would use the Force, but I wanted a bit more discipline in our training. We had no baseline against which to measure our-selves-in many ways Gantoris' problem was one we all shared. Progress was difficult to determine, and with a more organized approach we could have tried to duplicate previous efforts and learned how to actually do them again.