Artifact The Dialogues

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The Dialogues were a collection of philosophical topics that Jedi Councilor Fennex Zeerda, the last Arbiter of the Order before the rise of the ancient Sith Empire, felt were most central to understanding the underlying principles of the Jedi Code and its tenants, and their true relationship to the Force. Before he returned to the Cosmic Force, Master Zeerda crafted a holocron to contain these Dialogues, imprinting its Gatekeeper with all his understanding on the subjects contained within them.

Unlike many Jedi artifacts, the Dialogues were neither a linear path to any specific knowledge, nor was the Holocron itself a vital record of events or the key to any greater power in a traditional sense. It was not a dogmatic transcription of the Orders beliefs, and made no pretense of its philosophies adhering strictly to the Orders teachings. In many ways the Holocron seemed to have very little to do with the Jedi at all- a potential point of serious frustration for those who would try to interact with it, and a source of endless amusement for the devices eternal guardian. Despite all this apparent trickery, the Holocrons Creator and Creation were both very clear and forthcoming with their most essential lesson of all- they had nothing to teach you.


The Seal

The holocron's physical form is that of a crystalline dodecahedron trimmed in polished bronze- a relatively uncommon but still orthodox design. Its shell features engravings of the Ashlan and Bogan- a light and dark figure that predates the modern emblem of the order. Fennex left the devices seal rather simple, requiring only a moderate amount of effort by even an untrained Force Sensitive to open. This would allow nearly anyone to access the Holocrons Gatekeeper- the real challenge, in Master Zeerda's mind.


Content

Making up for the simplistic seal, Fennex put a significant and highly draining effort into shaping and molding his Gatekeeper to be the ultimate guide and narrator of all the Dialogues. The Gatekeeper appears as an indistinct facsimile of its creator- a ghostly silvery blue fox, his features shimmering and shifting as he moves, with blank glowing orbs for eyes. The ghost draws heavily on Fen's personality at it's time of creation- coming across as cryptic, confrontational, and more than a little irritable. It also has a tendency to flicker, fade, and abruptly shut off if the user talks too much. The Gatekeeper must be convinced to take on the opener before it will engage in any of the Dialogues. Once convinced, it will only engage in one dialogue at a time, and all the Dialogues must be completed in order. Only when they are all complete to the Gatekeepers satisfaction will it reveal its final secrets.

The first entry in the series, "the Dialogue of Courage" is ostensibly about the nature of a Jedi's courage, often cited as a hallmark trait of the Orders members, but frames it within the context of a series of seemingly contrarian and diminishing scenarios. The conclusion of this first Dialogue can reveal much deeper understandings of not just its supposed topic, but a new sense of Jedi's place in the Galaxy as a whole. Once the "Dialogue of Courage" is completed, the Gatekeeper will introduce the next topic: "The Dialogue of Love". This topic (obviously) is framed around the concept of Love and (perhaps more importantly) Attachment, but also contains underlying themes that apply to many other strong emotions. The final topic of discussion, "The Dialogue of the Force", is the ultimate conclusion of Fennex' teachings. It can be long, laborious, and complicated, and in the end the student may find themselves disappointed in the results. As the Gatekeeper is wont to remind them, however- "You were warned."

All of the Dialogues are delivered in a difficult style that forces the student to arrive at conclusions themselves rather than have answers dictated to them by the Gatekeeper. The apparition uses a complex mix of parables, responding to questions with questions, or picking apart a students responses. It can come across as belligerent or purposefully difficult, contrarian, and cryptic, depending upon the students responses and the direction it is trying to guide them.

If the user makes it through all three dialogues, the Gatekeeper opens itself to a much easier question and answer style, and can detail Fennex and his Orders role in the rise of the Sith and the fall of the Jedi up to the execution of Project Knightfall. This knowledge is limited to Fennex personal experience and views at the time of the Holocrons creation, and while it can offer opinions and insight into matters related to the subject, it's scope is rather narrow.


Credit

@Loco for the original article.
 
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