11 Celestials

Time waits for no one. I stayed longer with the Zenorians than planned, but that didn't matter. The oldest Zenorian, called Zona, was 187 when I first met them on Lehon. The Zenorians can live up to 800-900 years. Some of the more powerful ones can live even a bit longer. I didn't realise that time was passing as I lived among them. But one day, I was called to Zona's quarters and found him rather sickly about to pass away. 

Then it came to me, that I was immortal and that time didn't mean anything to me, but to those who were close to me, it did. 

"What are you doing Zona? You won't kick the bucket will you?", I try to jest with him and it works somewhat. 

"No kicking, I will do. Passing away though, I will.", Zona tells me with a smile. I taught the Zenorians different languages over the years among other things. But sarcasm and figure of speech are still hard for them. I guess they'll learn about that. 

"I wish you a safe journey, Zona.", I tell him as I feel his life force dying out. He dies with a smile on his face and I can tell that he seems to have enjoyed his life at least. I stay with him for a while longer and then stand up and leave the place. I realise that I have already stayed for longer than I had planned and it is time to leave again. 

But going right away, when their oldest family member dies, is not a nice thing to do. But I will slowly distance myself again and observe them. They have connected to the planet very well and it is almost as if they originated from it. So they don't really need my help anymore. I'm glad. 

.

I look at the Zenorians from afar and smile. I have made sure that they can live peacefully from now on. And as long as no empire comes soon, which it won't, then they will have all the time in the galaxy to progress and advance their strength. I walk away and then activate a function telepathically using the Force. The Explorer understands and in front of me, a white portal appears, giving me a view of my ship on the other side. After one last look, I walk through the portal.

I used the past 700+ years to continue my technological research and managed to create portal travel. My scientific achievements are piling up but it doesn't really matter in the long run. Apart from that I also continued my training in the Force and listened to what it had to tell me. I can confidently say that there is no one I know of who is as powerful as I am in the Force. Neither now nor in the future. I can't move a planet yet, but I can move the Explorer as if it were a pebble under normal gravity at the moment. 

I believe it is time for me to go and begin with my next project, to create a planet. I have mapped out a very big part of the galaxy and from what I have seen, I believe that it is best if I start now. I have a lot of things planned and if I start now, I calculate that it will take me roughly a thousand years. I could also make this longer or shorter depending on how I want to create the planet. I could guide evolution from the very beginning and then influence it to the way I want it to, or I could simply collect different species to place them there ... food for thought. 

.

I am on the central computer and am going over most of the new information my probes are gathering and sending here. I have lived through a lot of this galaxy's history. Using the specially created, force-sensitive drones, I can have them record a lot of things and have them send everything they record back to the main hub where I am sorting everything out. I have the time, so why not use it for this? 

The Explorer is suddenly being 'pulled' by a foreign force. I sense it immediately and try to find the origin of this force. 

"Hm? Why are you doing this? No ... it's not you, is it? Someone is using you ... Force users? At this time ... let me check.", I say out loud as I communicate with the Force. Someone is using the Force to pull or more like guide the Explorer. This would never happen if I didn't allow it to. So I focus for a moment and spread my senses to follow the 'scent' of the person using the Force. 

Then I see it. The one guiding and 'manipulating' my dear Explorer is an ... old man? Ah, I see. An old man indeed but someone who believes himself to be more than he is. So that's how it is. And here I thought they were some sort of reincarnations of the Force similar to Anakin. But no, they are simply the oldest Force users, if I wouldn't exist. And their powers got amplified a lot later. They took the easy way.

"Well, Explorer. Let it happen. It might be interesting to see what they want now, that they gained a power-up.", I say with a smile. I can feel the silence of the Force. It seems it has no thoughts on the matter and just goes along with whatever I wish. I notice that is something it has done all the time in the last few millennia. Peculiar. 

.

We followed the trail for a week until we reached a peculiar planet that felt strong in the Force. Very strong. I remember this planet from the very beginning of my travels. It is interesting for the strong connection it has to the Force. And now, it seems that this powerful connection resulted in two Force 'nexus' being created. I don't like such a nexus. Yes, it is a very quick way to gain tremendous amounts of power, but it is unnatural and useless for me. If I grow that powerful in an instant, what would I do for the rest of my life? Another negative point is that using such a Force nexus to gain power, not only gives you power, but it also gives you a limit. 

You won't ever be able to grow beyond the amount of power you gain. And for someone like me, who is immortal and doesn't like limits, this is a very big no. I stop the Explorer and activate a portal that brings me to the planet's surface. I think this might be interesting and I'm looking forward to it. 

The portal opens and I walk through. But before I do that, I give the Explorer some instructions first. 

"Explorer, activate all of the Ysalamir-replicants against foreign influence, to protect yourself. Also, make sure to be ready for extraction, should the planet implode or something like that.", I say and then walk through. 

.

Ysalamir. Ysalamiri are lizard-like tree-dwellers I found. They are about 50 centimetres in length and native to the planet Myrkr. These salamander-like creatures are impressive for the very particular ability they have. 

Adult Ysalamiri grow up to 50 centimetres and hatch their young from bubble-like eggs. They sink their claws into the Olbio trees on which they live and draw nutrients. It is very difficult to remove a Ysalamir from its tree without killing it, although I naturally found a way by channelling the Force through them. This is impressive and we will find out why in a moment.

I researched the Ysalamiri and their biology and managed to recreate their biological ability. But what is their ability? The Ysalamiri have the ability to repel the Force, by creating a Force-neutral bubble. This ability evolved in response to predation by the Force-sensitive Vornskrs, which I also found and researched on Myrkr. This is an amazing ability to have. 

I knew that I wanted this ability for defence on the Explorer. And after working on it for a while, I managed to replicate it. I created a special coating in between the different Forcium layers on the Explorer. This allows the Explorer and everyone inside to remain safely inside the Ysalamiri's Force repelling bubble. Normally I have it deactivated, but in moments like these and especially in the future, I will have it activated most of the time.

Ysalamiri do not actually negate the Force; since all existence was infused with Force energy, this would not be possible. Everything that is alive, has the Force flowing inside it. Rather, they project a bubble inside which users are unable to exert any influence over the Force. A single bubble measured up to 10 meters in diameter; large groups of Ysalamiri can extend their collective bubble by kilometres, but only in great numbers. 

.

I step out of the portal and look around. I can sense three presences on the planet and slowly make my way towards them. I look around the planet and enjoy the flora and fauna. I can see that there are indeed two distinct 'sides' about the Force here. The Dark Side and the Light Side are both present here in equal amounts. I reach down and put my palm on the earth. I close my eyes for about 20 seconds and then stand up again. 

"So that's how it is. Good to know."

I learned this particular skill a while back. The Force told me that for my project of creating a giant library, I would have to know about history when even I wasn't around yet. That's why she taught me how to 'see' or 'relive' what the Force saw at a certain place or in a certain object. A weaker variation of this is called Psychometry. Force Psychometry is the ability to acquire about events or individuals from an object. My version is more in-depth, as I can see what the Force saw and know what the Force knows. An instrumental skill indeed. 

On my travels across the jungle planet, I come across a small pool and a font which have a strong connection to the Force. I use Psychometry on both the pool and the font to gain information. Then I finally reach the monastery where I sense the old man residing. I walk in without care and then come face to face with him. 

[Picture]

He looked old already. To think that he had the power to keep his children in check is impressive. But I know that his children's strength flowed through him, as they were directly tied together. 

"You came. I have foreseen you coming here.", he says. 

"You tried to manipulate my spaceship to come here. You have foreseen nothing.", I reply to him and have my arms locked behind my back. Something I started a few centuries ago. I think it's something that is connected to my rising power. I am not arrogant but it just happened for some reason. 

"I admit, I wanted to meet you. I believe you are the one who is supposed to be here. When I found out about you, I could feel it and knew that you were the one."

"The one? The one who does what?", I ask.

"The one who will learn from me and then one day, become my successor. You see me and my children are Celestials of the Force. We have been alive for many millennia. My daughter and my son are both representations of the Dark and Light side of the Force and it is my job to keep the balance between them, or the galaxy will become chaotic."

"Learn from you, eh? Thank you but I already have a teacher, much better than you."

"I see that you don't think much of me."

"Why would I? You haven't achieved anything on your own. The power you wield is granted to you by the connection between you and your children. You were given everything and didn't work for anything. So don't lie to me, for I am much older than you."