Four

I need some different clothes. Tattered and grubby Jedi robes are not really inconspicuous here. To get clothes I need money. Which I have about as much comprehension of here as I do of why this world has all the trappings of civilization but seems to revel in its barbarism.

Having pored over the page of text and images I have managed to decipher at least some of the written language. If you are of this world and are reading this then I should probably explain that not all of the training we receive as Jedi is related to The Force. A great deal of time is spent in the study of culture, politics, economics, science, technology, and comparative linguistics; aswell as many other more esoteric and seemingly purposeless pursuits.

A Jedi must be prepared for a huge number of situations where use of The Force is not appropriate, not necessary, and may even be dangerous. We are taught how to gain an undertanding of a totally new language from very little in the way of clues or exposure to it. This aids us in our diplomatic and exploratory work.

Any human language is relatively easy to gain an understanding of, based as it it on the use of the human brain. Our brains, while prone to some variance across the limitless lightyears of space are basically the same, the need to communicate is hard wired in, as are the basic rules needed to do so.

During the day after my first sojourn into the night of this world I spent a good few hours sitting by the door which opened onto the streen, listening. I stretched out with my feelings, and listened to the everyday interactions of its inhabitants. This gave me a feel for the way phonemes were used, also being able to home in on the speaker's sense whilst I did this allowed me to gain some understanding of how they were feeling when they said certain words.

I learned alot about the economic life of this world, in that the chink of coin told me coin was still used rather than a completely electronic method of transacting. I heard a good few beggars plying their trade up and down the street. Their plaintive wheelding tone and sense of expectant desire a familiar one on many planets across the galaxy. What I didn't understand was their apparent need to excuse themselves for their behaviour.

On many worlds I had visited begging was something done when the need arose, indeed I had even done it myself on a few occasions when I was in need of a meal or a bed for the night. Being a Jedi made things easier of course, though use of The Force to influence people's generostiy was frowned upon and flirted too close to the Dark Side for many of my colleague's tastes, and mine if I'm being honest.

People still respected Jedi for the part they played in the downfall of Palpatine. Some were still apologetic for allowing him to rise in the first place, even if they had not even been born at the time. So simply being a Jedi gave me influence I wouldn't have had otherwise, and if people gave they always got something in return from a Jedi, be it an hour's work in their garden or relief from a small pain.

This didn't seem to be the case here, people resented beggars. A few gave but many ignored them at best, hurled abuse at worst. I wonder what kind of callousness had been bred into these people that they could turn away from those in genuine need. How naive I was, the Dark Side's grip on this world went deeper than I could guess at this juncture, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Satisfied that I had enough of a grasp of the language of this world, I resolved to go out that night and attempt to make a little currency for clothing and a meal. I would go out again that night and head for the busier end of the street, pick a spot and see what I could get. Those who gave would get something in return, whether they knew it or not.