milliways_bar | Millitimed to sometime after the thing with k_in

"I don't know exactly. I was thinking of postponing the decision until I've gone through university and had some time to really consider. Perhaps a professor. Although I've heard some better ideas since I thought of that one." She doesn't mention that Jedi was among the best. He seemed a bit odd on the subject, and she fears the sort of argument that starts with 'You're too young to...'

Ray grins. "I used to be a university professor myself," he says. "Got fired because I didn't publish enough stuff about my research. I was pretty lazy at the time. Things've picked up since then, though, since my colleagues and I are in business for ourselves."

"You're required to publish, then, as well as teach? Interesting. Perhaps..." The thought trails off, and she gathers up the courage. She won this argument once about demon slaying, after all.
"But actually, when you mentioned the Jedi... I think they sound like a much better idea than being a professor. D'you think there are any who'd take students as young as me?"

"Oh, yeah. It doesn't look good for the university if you don't," Ray says.

And then he looks back at Matilda thoughtfully. "Actually," he says, "the Jedi generally prefer their apprentices to be young. As young as possible, so that they don't have time to develop bad mental habits like fear. Most Jedi only take pupils who've got the ability to sense or use the Force, which is this energy field that pervades all living things and the rest of the universe besides. That eye-power of yours isn't the Force- it's showing up on a different part of the scans on my PKE meter- but you never know... You should probably talk to the Jedi who was my Master. His name's Qui-Gon Jinn."

She's sharp, this one, and catches the bit about 'who was my Master'.
"So you're a Jedi, then? I'll have a look around for Qui-Gon Jinn. In the meantime, what are some of the first few things a Jedi's supposed to learn about, and are there any books on them? And can I see the lightsaber you said you built?"

"Yeah," Ray says. "Although I'm just a new one. I only just got promoted from being an apprentice a few months ago. You're probably going to have to learn about the Force, and history, and meditation- it might be a little hard to find books in English on the history of the Jedi Order, but if you're good at memorizing I can give you my Roman-to-Aurebesh transliteration key, since it's a straight one-for-one letter exchange for the most part. There's stuff on the Force out there, but you need to learn the Aurebesh first- that's their alphabet. And I'd really suggest you watch the Star Wars movies, just in case, because that's how I first heard about the Jedi Order and I think you need to see what they go through before making up your mind completely. you know, just to be fair."

He then nods. "I'll show you," he says, "but I can't show you in here. There's a rule that says Jedi aren't allowed to switch on their lightsabers in the Bar unless there's an emergency, because they can be really dangerous."

"All right then. I'll have the transliteration key, and ask Bar for some books and the movies and... find something to play them with and on, because my room doesn't have a television or any of a television's accoutrements."

"And there's a lovely spot outside where I've been practicing doing difficult things with the eye-power that I'm sure would be perfect. Why don't we go see?"

"Oh, you don't have to ask the Bar for them," Ray says. "I'll loan you my copies. Only you have to promise me that you won't tell anybody here in the Bar that you saw them in the movies, because they might not know about that and it'd be kind of rude to tell them. People are funny about that kind of thing."

He's okay with it, but that's because he was trapped inside a cartoon universe when he saw the live-action movie they'd made of his life.

No, seriously.

"I'm good if you are," Ray then says, and slides out of his chair. "Lead the way."

"Seems fair enough. And thank you." Nobody's yet mentioned to Matilda that she's from a children's book, although she'd probably take it quite philosophically.

"Excellent." She leads him out to the same place where she was so recently blowing things up. A careful observer might note the remains of eight fireworks scattered about the area.

Ray follows along after, slipping a silver cylinder from his belt into his hand as he goes. "Okay," he says. "Do me a favor, would you? Get a really big stick- thick as you can manage- or a rock or something, and bring it over here for me?"

He holds up the cylinder. "This is my lightsaber," he says. "It's turned off at the moment. And this is what it looks like turned on.

There's a whrmmmmm as the shimmering green blade powers into existence.

She looks around, and fetches as big a stick as she can manage. Without moving.

Upon the turning-on of the lightsaber, she firmly suppresses the urge to yoink it with her eyes for closer examination, and simply brings the newly-acquired branch to hover in front of him.

"Let go of the stick, Matilda," Ray says. "Just stop using the power on it."

The instant she does so, he brings up the 'sabre and slices the stick cleanly in half.

She blinks and has a good look at the 'sabre, then a good look at the fallen halves. Then she brings one back for inspection, tapping the cut part with her fingers thoughtfully.

"That's interesting. How do you make one of those?"

"First you have to design power cells that can run the 'sabre without being completely drained at the first go," Ray says, picking up a rock and tossing it in the air. "Then-"

He swings the blade. Two half-rocks hit the ground.

"-you have to design the power routings and couplings and focusers inside the weapon itself. And then you have to get all of the necessary crystals, most of which aren't available on Earth. I had to learn to grow photonic crystals molecule-by-molecule to make my first one, and that took months. After that- well, while you're learning to build one you need to learn how to move while you're using one, so that you don't accidentally forget that the blade is longer than it feels. It only weighs as much as a flashlight, after all. It's easy to cut off things like arms or legs if you don't watch out."

She drops the branch and fetches a half-rock for examination.

"Hmm. It would take more knowledge of building things than I have at the moment." It has never been clearer that she intends to gain more knowledge rapidly. "But it shouldn't be difficult. You grew your own crystals, you say? What differentiates the sort you grew from any other sort?" Her brain is whizzing along madly in true Matilda fashion. "And would perhaps the sort of power cells you have for the PKE meter, the ones I'm not allowed to make on account of their being radioactive, work well?"

"As I said, they're photonic- periodic dielectric or metallo-dielectric nanostructures designed to affect the propagation of electromagnetic waves in the same way as the periodic potential in a semiconductor crystal affects the electron motion by defining allowed and forbidden electronic energy bands. An opal would be an example of a natural photonic crystal, but the crystals I make are a lot more complicated and sophisticated than anything Earth ever produced naturally. They route and focus the energy themselves and block out the undesirable or unneeded wavelengths so that the blade ultimately terminates naturally, instead of extending forever the way a natural, unattentuated light ray would."

He shakes his head. "The power cells that I would suggest as a substitute for the radioactive ones would be suitable. The deuterium ones just don't have enough energy in them to run this. That's how much of an energy drain it is."

"Well then. I'm sure I saw a few books on advanced physics in the Milliways library that could get me started on understanding exactly how such a crystal would need to be shaped, and with a powerful enough microscope and the right raw materials I could certainly make one."

"That's good. I won't even have to handle radioactive substances."

She notices that he seems perfectly all right with the idea of her making her own lightsabre now - either that or too dense to realize that she's going to, but she'd bet all the money she doesn't have on the former.

Ray nods. "The initial outlay's going to be expensive," he warns. "But once you've gotten good at photonic crystals you should be able to synthesize gem-grade opals, and if you can figure out how to sell those, you should make back your investment in no time. If you're serious about going through with this, though, I really do have to ask you to talk to a Master first. I'm only a Knight, not a full Master."

"Well. I shouldn't have any trouble with the building, then."

"You mean you aren't allowed to go out and find new students? Pity. You seem like you'd be very good at it."

There is definitely more going on in Matilda's brain than there is coming out of her mouth. For one thing, she doubts her ability to find a Jedi Master, and for another, she isn't about to let herself be impeded if for some reason she does find one and he or she doesn't let her study as a Jedi.

"Well, I'm allowed," Ray says, "but only in my own world. I've apprenticed my nephews back there, so that's all right, but around here- not so much. I'll send Master Qui-Gon after you, though. He'll be able to help you way better than I could." Pause. "He's dead, by the way. Is that a problem? Some people are a little weird about that."

"That's more than curious. Why make a distinction between people here and people where you come from? Thanks for sending me Master Qui-Gon, then. I'll be sure to speak with him when the opportunity presents itself."

"Dead? No, not a problem. So long as he's walking around and his bits aren't falling off, because falling-off bits are icky."

"It's a jurisdiction thing," Ray says. "I'm the only Jedi in the world, where I come from. That makes me my world's Master and Founder by default, even if I haven't got the Force and all the other things Jedi Masters know and do. Around here we've got Masters and Knights enough to make up a minor Council, and that means that the senior Masters make the rules."

He shakes his head. "Nah, he's the healthy kind of dead. You wouldn't even know he was dead to look at him. he's a little taller than I am, has light brown hair and a beard, and dresses in brown robes. Sounds a little bit English, in fact, even though he's not from Earth's galaxy."

"Hmm. Well, I suppose the system must work. It exists, after all." A dubious tone is clear in her voice; people making rules have not, in her experience, made them well or sensibly. All those laws about having to be sixteen before you do such-and-such, for example.

"Well, that's all right then. Being dead is a silly thing to worry about if it doesn't affect someone at all, now isn't it?"

"It worked pretty well in Master Qui-Gon's galaxy for a few thousand years and a couple of hundred different species," Ray says. "I'm not going to argue with it too much. Then again, like I said, I'm the only Jedi on my world. It makes a bit of a difference."

He smiles. "Yeah, I know. He does just fine,f rom what I can tell."

"A few thousand years?" The dubiousness retreats a little. "That's fairly impressive."

Millitimed to sometime after the thing with k_in_black.

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