A terrifying Star Wars technology that can turn anyone into a Sith Lord has been discovered. Archeology is a dangerous business in the Star Wars galaxy. After all, an archaeologist could stumble upon anything from an ancient Jedi artifact to a dark side relic possessed by the spirit of an ancient Sith Lord. Still, for crooked archaeologist Doctor Aphra the danger of her career comes with the potential for profit.
Unfortunately even Doctor Aphra is out of her depth right now. One of her rivals, Kho Phon Farrus, is attempting to use technology to imitate the Force - set on becoming a Sith Lord. They've discovered the technology of a dark side cult called the Ascendant, who sought to imitate the power of the Sith, and Aphra has found herself on the wrong side of attacks disturbingly similar to those she faced when she was running from Darth Vader himself. Even worse, Kho Phon Farrus' goal is apparently to locate one specific piece of Ascendant technology - the so-called "Spark Eternal."
In Lucasfilm's new preview for Doctor Aphra #19, written by Alyssa Wong and illustrated by Minkyu Jung, it's finally revealed just what the Spark Eternal really is. "The Spark was the Ascendant's final masterpiece," Doctor Aphra explains. "A piece of tech that granted them tremendous powers and allowed them to transcend the limits of flesh and machine." According to Doctor Aphra, anyone who uses the Spark Eternal can become a Sith. Check out the below preview for the issue, which will be available March 23.
Doctor Aphra #19 bears the "Crimson Reign" banner, suggesting it will dovetail with Crimson Dawn's attempts to take down the Sith. Crimson Dawn's agents have long been collecting ancient relics, including those related to the Ascendants, so they are presumably already familiar with the technology. The Spark Eternal would allow them to transform their most dangerous agents into beings whose power rivals that of Palpatine and Darth Vader, thus making them a true threat to the reign of the Sith. It's reasonable to assume, then, that the Spark Eternal will ultimately fall into their hands - with dramatic consequences for the entire galaxy.
The irony, of course, is that it's not possible to defeat Emperor Palpatine with the dark side at all. As Clone Wars creator Dave Filoni explained, "The Force naturally exists in balance; that balance is thrown out when someone chooses to give in to their fears and then spirals out of control making selfish choice after selfish choice. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering... The choice between dark and light is often subtle and not limited to the Jedi and Sith. Everyone struggles with the balance between light and dark." Whenever any person draws upon or feeds into the dark side, they strengthen its dominance. And Palpatine positioned himself as the manifestation of that darkness, greater than any Sith Lord before him, benefiting from all the selfishness and hatred, pride and prejudice. The anger and hatred driving Crimson Dawn to oppose Palpatine is in fact his fuel. Should they use the Spark Eternal, they will simply strengthen the dark side's grip on the galaxy, unwittingly making the greatest villain of Star Wars more powerful than ever before.
Source: Lucasfilm
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