Philosophical Thoughts

……………………………….

Hector P.O.V.

I confess… I was never into Formula 1 - I was not into most sports, to be fair -, like, it does not look that fun… You watch the cars doing the same laps 40 times, always the same ones in the top five.

When something different and exciting happens, most of the time it's a tragedy.

I am an open-minded person, and I admit that maybe I would discover the hype if I put a little effort into understanding. It is kinda cool that there is a lot behind the cars and all that…

But to the people that goes to watch the race… Erm… You kinda like paid to see the cars passing in front of you for 4 seconds… 40 laps vs 4 seconds… You are just watching 160 seconds of the race, less than 3 minutes.

Is it really that exciting?

Maybe I’m missing something… Like the tension and nervousness that someone who is a fan feels, expecting their favorite car to keep in the lead, or hoping to surpass the ones in the front

Again, I am open-minded enough to understand why people can like it. Unfortunately, it is boring to me is boring. Horse racing sounds more fun, it happens fast, so you keep all the time in the edge.

But I only got into horse racing because of Uma Musume, so maybe Formula 1 has some hidden appeal that I haven’t gotten yet. It would help if they made anime girls of racing cars…

Anyway, I am criticizing the concept of racing because I am right now standing watching the spectators cheering the podracers and feeling a little left out. 

But when I see them cheering louder when a podracer crashes and explodes, I can’t help but criticise the fans of this kind of thing. Those aliens are very human in their liking for violence…

“Meh, this place is barbaric…” I say loudly while looking around.

That made Padmé turn to me, agreeing for once. She is worried about little Anakin racing down there.

No need to fret, Ms. The-Age-Difference-Doesn’t-Matter-After-Adulthood. I do not plan to do much, but I at least remembered to prevent Anakin’s pfrom of being sabotaged.

As much as this would be a good moment to test his plot armor, I’m not that heartless to risk him dying because a rock in the track is in a different place because of my presence here. Maybe my flying around moved the air and displaced something that will hit him during the race, or some bullshit like that.

Anyway, I can at least say that I can indeed influence a little. 

Anakin is completely dominating the race. That is why he was sabotaged… To make the thing interesting to the watchers… Damn, this is boring! Sorry, Formula 1 fans, this shit is boring.

There is one, ONE, cool moment of overtaking, and that is it. The one in the curve, with the risk of two pilots crashing, but one didn’t want to risk and the braver one surpassed him.

I lean on the guardrail, silently watching all the people around and the noise they're making. Very strange aliens waving off their limbs - I hope it is their limbs - with their tickets, hoping for their pick to win. Some are already dejected.

I don’t know how they are still excited, even Anakin’s rival, that alien that walks with his arms and has baby legs, is like 3 pods behind him.

Best star pilot of the galaxy in the making, gentlemen. And that thing he is piloting is literally the equivalent of a science project against the tuned car of a guy in Fast and Furious.

Watching closely, I can see where his expertise lies, the fractions of seconds he wins over the rest by taking very close curves and speeding up even when it is risky.

I can admire the craft…

Still boring to me.

“Maybe I should try piloting one…” I say to myself. As an enjoyer of many things, I can’t let Podracing pass without me trying. I enjoy speed, either flying alone or on the carpet… Oh, maybe it's because I’m very fast with the Magic Carpet, that this is kinda average to me.

“Did you grow interested?” Qui-Gon Jinn, of all people, turned to me after hearing me

“So many people seem to enjoy it, so maybe it is worth a try.” I answer with a shrug 

“With the face you are showing, that is surprising.” He points out with some mirth

I mean… Because of my principles, I really don’t hide what I am feeling if I don’t need to, so I must be showing a very bitchy face. Some aliens even stared at me defiantly when we made eye contact. Perks of being strong, by the way. What are they gonna do? Getting beaten by me? 

“I don’t want to lose some fun because I am close-minded, so I like to see and do things myself and take my own conclusions.” I answer “I will hope to be proved wrong, but at least I will have my answer anyway.” 

“If more people had the same mindset as you, the galaxy would be a better place.” Qui-Gon surprises me by saying that

“I agree.” Padmé nods

“What the heck? Was that a compliment?” I turned them with a frown. “For your information, my mindset is basically doing things for me and for my benefit… You wouldn’t wish everyone to be like me.” I also live without consequences.

“I was praising your mindset, not you.” Qui-Gon corrects

“Ouch.” I say with a chuckle

“I can only judge your words. I still need to see more of you before I can judge your character.” He says

“Meh, good luck with that. It will be easy, I’m being an open book here.” I comment while watching the last lap “Here, another philosophical thought that I was having while staying on this shithole of a planet…”

I removed a canteen of water from inside my trenchcoat to hide the fact that I have a pocket space inventory, and went back to talking “I was drinking some water and then DAMN, it tasted good!” Then I take a huge sip

“...” Padmé looks at me like an idiot for saying something obvious. Qui-Gon, for his part, just patiently waits for me to finish my words.

Jar Jar, who doesn’t have an ounce of patience, is already reaching for my canteen for a sip, too.

Okay, as much as I find him annoying, I will not deny a creature water. And he is an aquatic creature, right? It must be even worse for him to stay here. So I just let him get the canteen…

“Gulp Gulp Lick Lick”

“...” I stare at him, slobbering all over it, and remember why I hated him. “You can have it…” I say in a deadpan

“Gulp Gulp Mesa thank you!”

“...anyway…” I turn back to the people with brains bigger than a walnut. “It is just slightly cold water, simple as that, nothing different from any other water… but it tasted so good because of the hot climate, because of this shitty planet. This hellhole made me appreciate something as simple as water. Something that I take for granted 99% of the time.” Because I can go a month without even getting my mouth dry.

I continue “It is so obvious, but I feel that I have finally been slapped with this fact… We need to experience bad things to enjoy the nice things. Heck, I would even go as far as to say that bad things are essential in our lives and should happen. This constant oscillation between struggle and achievement,  despair and hope, bad and good… it is what keeps life worth living. If life were constantly bad, people would kill themselves… And the same would happen if life were only good.” 

If I remember well, in my home world, the suicide rate in first-world countries is considerably higher than in third-world countries.

People who are struggling with wars, hunger, violence, and have only had a few things in life to enjoy didn’t even think about suicide, while the ones who never got a setback are living on meds for depression.

I remember watching a guy going to a tribe in Africa and trying to explain the concept of suicide to the confused locals; they looked at that European like he was retarded.

“Well, said that I don’t plan to suffer too much…” I laugh and continue “I think the wise thing to do is be self-aware, look around, understand that everyone has trouble, and be happy with what you have. Like right now… I’m very disconnected from the lives of those poor people who are forced to live in Tatooine. I haven’t suffered even 1% of what they go through, and it was enough to make me appreciate my life much more.”

Aah~ Sometimes I like my overthinker mind… it makes me contemplate life more, every moment can be stretched and become more meaningful if I really delve into it. There is a lesson at every step; you just need to pause and think about it.

I really pity the average humans that don’t have time to do that. Such short lives, too busy to even have a hobby, working so much to maybe retire at the dusk of their lives.

What is the meaning of life? I don’t know… I just know that life is too short to get the answer anyway. Would this make life meaningless?

I laugh to myself before I transform the nihilistic, boring guy that I am delaying myself to become.

“People are really products of their environment.” I look at Anakin approaching fast at the finishing line “Nature or nurture, Qui-Gon Jinn. What do you think influences the person more?” I ask without taking my eyes off Anakin.

“There is no clear answer to that question.” Like most wise guys, he avoids giving a clear answer “But I believe that - with few exceptions - everyone can be nurtured into a great good.”

“Exceptions kinda that proves the rule…” I watch Anakin cross the finishing line. Padmé, Shmi, Jar Jar, and a lot of people cheer for the winner, but Qui-Gon and I remain calm.

We are thinking the same thing. How can this guy know almost as much as me when I fucking watched the movies?

We exchange glances, two motionless people in the middle of a chaotic sea of people jumping.

“There is a saying like this: a tree that is born with a crooked trunk, can never be straightened.” Anakin is born in this hellhole, and maybe that is what made him so influenceable for evil, like a tree leaning to the Dark side.

“Sometimes beautiful trees can grow in the roughest terrains.” Qui-Gon shots back

“The soil could have already poisoned the roots… Wouldn’t it be a waste to raise it to completion and discover that it is all for naught?” I ask, the whole time, none of us blinks or avoids eye contact

“Then I should remove the sapling from there as soon as possible and plant it in a better place.”

“Another poisoned soil, but of a different kind?”

“As long as it is tended with care…”

“...”

“...”

We start walking together with the crowd, but still keeping eye contact. Both of us are good enough not stumble on anyone even without looking ahead.

Just before we reach Anakin, that is, getting off his podracer, I start laughing.

“Hahaha! Oh, this was fun~”

“Indeed.” Qui-Gon also laughs

I stop walking, but he continues till he gets Anakin and puts the boy on his shoulders to parade him to the crowd.

Hahaha.

I don’t even know why I did this… This pointless debate of metaphors. I already know what he is gonna do, and it's not like I plan to stop it either.

No… it is not pointless… I was trying to get an answer to another inevitable crossroads that I found in the future.

I remember a fan once saying about how Anakin stayed half of his life on the Light Side and the other half on the Dark Side. In the end, bringing balance to the force, and all of that was possible because he lived through the two.

The poor boy with a terrible fate written ahead of him. A terrible, necessary fate that I don’t envy.

I also remember another general consensus of the fanbase… It was something that was having an internal battle with… A big “What if…?”

‘Everything would have been better if Qui-Gon lived…’

He would be Anakin’s master, maybe imbuing some temperance in the boy.

A father figure would be better to help him rein in his emotions. At least it would be better to have him together with the big brother figure of Obi-Wan.

An extra ally in the Jedi order… Dooku probably would not have defected…

Now this is important… This is not some small change.

This is a big snowball on top of an enormous mountain, ready to roll and grow gigantic before smashing canon like how a bowling ball would do with the pins.

But after this little strange talk, I decided… 

I’m gonna save Qui-Gon Jinn.

Too bad I’m not gonna be here to see the butterfly effect though.

……………………………………..

Hm? Where is Darth Maul?

After a very emotional departure between Anakin and his mother, we just brought the boy to the ship; that is it.

Isn’t there a dumb scene where Darth Maul almost gets Anakin?

I guess that is too dumb to reality… Or maybe my presence here made us move faster and together. Despite not showing any hostility, Qui-Gon Jinn doesn’t want to leave me alone with Padmé.

There is a little awkwardness because of my presence and Anakin’s, but no one made a fuss while we are backed by the Master Jedi and the Queen, even though she is hiding her identity. I saw her make a gesture to her body double during the introduction, maybe a signal of “agree”.

The captain of the guard is still looking at me intensely, though.

“Obi-Wan Kenobi. Padawan.” The master of the high ground extends his hand to me after Anakin did the same to him.

“Hello there…” I just can’t help it “Hector. Nobody.” I shake his hand while he looks at me strangely and then at his master. It seems he wants to say something, but Qui-Gon shook his head, and he let the matter rest.

The awkwardness is annoying me - Maybe that is why I like being direct - so I speak first “I’m gonna stay out of everyone’s way. Call me if you need my services. Bye.” And walked away

I understand that they may want to talk about Anakin, or me, or this whole trouble with the Trade Federation without an outsider like me. I have enough tact to know when I am not welcome.

I also want to look around the ship…

This is a honest to god real fucking spaceship! This is awesome! I will not waste the opportunity!

……………………………

Did I say that awkwardness annoys me? That was only half the truth… I can deal with awkwardness when I want something.

That is why I am shamelessly standing in the cockpit of the spaceship, looking over the pilot's and co-pilot's shoulders as they work.

“Approaching hyperspace point…” The co-pilot informs while trying to ignore my presence.

The two occasionally take glances at me, not hiding or anything, really trying to convey that I am an inconvenience, but I don’t care. I want to see this.

Damn, that is a lot of buttons… And I need to learn how to pilot, huh? Are the ships around here standardized? No, it should be impossible… Then, people need to learn how to pilot each model to know what to press.

But I think it gets easier the more experienced you get. Like playing games, the controls could be different, but someone who plays more would get it faster. And I bet some things are standard in most cases, like how the “Shift” button is the keybind for running.

“Entering hyperspace…” The pilot says and goes to press a square button.

Ding

But before he can do it, I press it.

“...”

“...”

He stares at me, and I stare at the screen in front of me, and the stars become lines before we start travelling faster than light… Hehe, rad.

Feeling their gazes on me, I finally turn to them.

“Sorry, always wanted to do that…” I can’t help but get sheepish this time. 

“Out.” 

“Yes, Captain.” I give him a salute and obey

……………………………………

Third Person P.O.V.

In a room inside the ship, Padmé, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Obi-Wan kenobi watches through a hologram Hector’s actions.

“He doesn’t look dangerous…” Obi-Wan comments after watching him act like a curious child with the pilots. “At least he doesn’t look like a spy.” There is some amusement in Obi-Wan’s tone as he said that

“Indeed, he seems to hold a paradoxical personality, changing from serious and mature to childish rather abruptly. “ Qui-Gon comments

“I don’t think he takes anything seriously at all…” Padmé says

“Then even if he is not dangerous to our mission, he is unreliable.” Obi-Wan nods

“I think that would be too quick an understanding, my padawan.” Qui-Gon says while stroking his beard “Did you feel it? The Force acting through him?”

Obi-Wan looks confused and maybe a little ashamed. “No, master… I haven’t felt anything.”

“Exactly.” Qui-Gon smiles as he reveals the answer to the tricky question “The Force wasn’t acting through him, because it is impossible to do so…”

“...?”

“The Force can’t touch him, my padawan.”

“That… that is impossible.” Obi-Wan can’t help but deny his master's words “The Force touches everything in the universe. Isn’t the fact that the Force exists on everything a truth that we learn in our first Jedi lesson?”

“Yes, but he is an exception… I don’t know if he is invisible to the Force or if he is avoiding it. But there are no signs of it on him or in his actions. I couldn’t even feel him before he was really in front of me.”

“Do you think the Force is rejecting him… He can be dangerous.” Now Obi-Wan gets a little serious

“The Force didn’t reject even the old Lords of the Sith, so I don’t think this is the case. If there is rejection… it comes from him and not the other way around.” Qui-Gon rebutts his words

“Ho-How is that possible? And why would anyone reject the Force?” Obi-Wan is perplexed

“That is one of his mysteries… From the little we talked, he sounds wise beyond his years and has a unique perspective on life.” Qui-Gon says

“I feel like he is living ina  completely different world from ours.” Padmé suddenly says “I am not privy to the matter of the Force like the Jedi, but I think he is disconnected with not only the Force but with everything else… It is like he is not even looking at me directly… The way he talks, too, it is more like he is talking with himself.”

“A narcissist/confident person who thinks himself better off without outside interference.” Qui-Gon makes a very accurate description of Hector, albeit lacking other points. “I wished I could have tested his blood as I did with Anakin, but he is very cautious.”

“Master, are you sure that it is wise to keep him around? Such an unpredictable variable is prone to creating chaos and problems.” Obi-Wan says

“There is also the matter that he knows too much… Impossibly too much.” Padmé speaks

Qui-Gon Jinn looks pensive for a long moment.

“I think… I think he came to us for a reason.” He finally speaks “The Force may not guide him, but he came to us by himself… And that means more than we think. I feel that his presence can shift things to our side… if we keep him on our side.”

 Padmé sighed “I thought the same when I decided to take on his offer… In such a despairing situation, any asset can be useful.”

While they are talking they noticed that the holographic image of Hector found Anakin sitting by himself. They stopped to see what he is gonna do…

“Watching how people act when they are not being watched is a good way to measure their character.” Qui-Gon comments

“Are you sure he is not gonna do anything with Ani?” Padmé still remembers that Hector and Anakin don’t get along.

“I don’t think he dislikes the boy… but he dislikes what the boy represents.” Qui-Gon says mysteriously, leaving the two confused 

“Are you feeling down, brat?” They watch Hector approach Anakin with a  mocking smirk “Missing mommy already?”

“So unnecessarily rude…” Padmé disapproves

On the hologram, Anakin just looks at him with silent anger.

“Be careful not to fall ot the Dark Side, boy. Hehe~” But Hector doesn’t take him seriously.

The two stare at each other, and suddenly Hector seems to deflate a little and sigh.

“At least be happy you have a loving mother… Mine hated me.” He sits at Anakin’s side while revealing a dark part of his past with some humor in his voice 

That made Anakin look at hims trangely

“What? Don’t believe in me? Heh~ A brat that only had a loving mother can’t understand it, huh? You have good things in your life, too, boy. Even better things will happen, too, now that you are free… But don’t think that bad things are not gonna happen either.” Hector says

“See? He is not even looking at Ani, just staring ahead.” Padmé points out

“I heard that you wanted to visit all places in the Galaxy…”

Anakin nods after some hesitation, afraid of being mocked again.

“Then we are similar… I also have the dream to visit a lot of places.” Hector says to the surprise of Anakin “Doing that to be the freest person in the universe?” He asks, giving a look

Anakin nods again

“You are doing all wrong… You will not become the freest person in the universe by visiting all places; you will need to be the freest person to go wherever pleases you.”

“...what is the difference?”

“That is something for you to understand…” Hector smiles “But a tip from the guy that is the freest person that you know…” Hector stands up “Don’t get yourself imprisoned by your own objective. Do what you want, be true to yourself… At some point, you will become what you mean to be.”

Hector starts walking away, giving one last look at Anakin. The boy’s face looks confused, but his body is still a little slumped.

“Still sad because of your mom?”

“...”

“Sigh You are going into a adventure, boy. Completely uncertain of the day of tomorrow. I arrived at Tatooine with the same doubts…” He smiles widely “Isn’t it exciting?”

“...a little.”

“Right? Haha, now I get the races! Gambling is exciting!” Hector looks like he realized something “Stepping back and leaving the result to Fate. That could feeling in your stomach… Uuuhh.” He turns around while laughing “But don’t forget to take the wheel from the hands of Fate, boy. You, more than anyone, need to learn about balancing.”

“...I don’t know if you are bad or a good person…” Anakin says with a tilt of his head

“PFFFT!” Hector almost chokes on his own spit. “That is the thing… I am free to do whatever I want.” Hector turns again and points at Anakin “And what about you? Can you do the same?”

He doesn’t wait for an answer.

Padmé, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan watch as Hector moves away from Anakin

“I am sure that he knows about the Prophecy…” Qui-Gon finally speaks with a distant tone.

Padmé looks confused, but Obi-Wan understands because his master talked about his thoughts the other night when he sent Anakin’s blood readings to be tested.

“Do you think he has some plans for the boy?”

“If he had, he would have done something by now…” Qui-Gon shakes his head. “Even without the Force, I can feel some conflict in him… At the same time, he is trying to stay detached from the boy, but he can’t help but want to help a little…”

Padmé closes her eyes to ponder and opens them after some time.

“At this point, we should just live with my choice to bring him along, but at the same time, I would ask the hamsters jedi to keep an eye on him for precaution.” She bows her head. “I know that is selfish-”

“It is completely understandable, Queen Amidala.” Qui-Gon interrupts her “Worry about your battle in the Senate, and we worry about everything else.”

“I thank you, Master Jedi.” 

…………………………………

It didn’t take long for them to finally arrive at their destination.

Padmé is still in her disguise while her double Sabé receives the welcome of the actual Chancellor and Palpatine.

Hector gives Darth Sidious a look from the back and can’t help but nod, impressed. The guy really passes a warm and harmless vibe. It is not for nothing that he could walk with people like Qui-Gon, Yoda, and Windu and keep his disguise.

‘The capital of the galaxy, Coruscant… This looks like a fun place to explore when Padmé wastes her time unknowingly putting the first nail in the coffin of democracy by removing the actual Chancellor.’ He looks around before deciding to get invisible and having to make a decision.

He can go to the Jedi Temple with Qui-Gon and the others or follow Padmé… He thinks for a moment before thinking of a third option.

‘Let’s visit the lower levels.’ He smiles and walks to the edge of the building and casually falls from the great height. He observes the flying cars orderly flying around him with childish wonder as the scenario changes.

The futurist utopia starts giving way to a dark cyberpunk world.

“Heh! The metaphor is so obvious that I don’t even want to speak it loudly.” He says, before finally dropping down on the Underworld of Coruscant, a dangerous and lawless area.

This place is perfect for him. ‘Time to some tourism, maybe a lap dance from a Twi’lek.’

……………………………