I have been recently writing a story called To Cast Away Stones in which the Skywalker children are sent back in time to kill Vader in order to prevent many things from happening. They are mistakenly sent to the time of Revenge of the Sith (Yes, people, I 'officially' explained what the Falcon was doing at the Senate building) and instead of tracking down Vader, they have to track down who of the Old Republic Jedi will become Vader. Leia does not know that she's a Skywalker. Luke doesn't know who Vader is underneath that mask.

Now, what attracted me to this story idea in the first place (other than having Luke and Leia reprise that line about 'I can't kill my own Father') was the idea of what should be done on a moral level about the mission that they are assigned. The question then becomes what the will of the Force is.

In the Book of Mormon, there is a story of Nephi, a young man, who is directed by God. At one point, he has to kill an unrighteous despot in order to secure the sacred writings of his people. The part of the reasoning for this that I like best is: "It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief." (1 Nephi 4:13)

Now, let me assure you that there really is a point to that little introduction. In writing the most recent segment of To Cast Away Stones, I brought up the issue that the aforementioned statement about one man perishing is certainly true, but on the other hand, there is more power in preventing the fall of a person. Therefore, in TCAS, Luke and Leia decide their mission is to stop Anakin from turning.

That led me to thinking, this morning, about the priorities of the Jedi in the last days of the Republic, or even the last years.

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, everyone kind of makes fun of Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. He's the nutjob who thinks that clocks are basilisk eggs, that all his former enemies are trying to poison him, etc. and he's always bellowing "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" As it turns out, everyone should have listened to him, but that's another story.

My point is, there's a very good idea behind constant vigilance and you have to wonder if that isn't one of the flaws of the Republic Jedi. After all, Yoda says of arrogance:

"A flaw more and more common among the Jedi, even the older, more experienced ones. Too sure of themselves."

Now, granted, there's a little smirk on his face as he's saying this, like he's teasing Obi-Wan and Mace, but I think he has a good point. It is not that Anakin is unique in his inability to discern the danger that he faces. It is simply that he is singled out in the storyline.

I wonder if there were protective measures put in place. After all, it had been a millenia since the Sith had last threatened the stability of the Order. Obviously, it was not unusual for someone to exhibit dark tendencies or turn their backs on the Order. After all, they have the Lost Twenty and I'm sure those aren't the only ones.

What, then, did the Jedi do to make sure that the Sith ranks didn't swell? Did they have their own version of constant vigilance? Obviously, there were measures in place throughout the ages to forestall that sort of problem, but I keep wondering if they beefed up their spiritual security in the slightest.

Anakin fell and I'm sure that he was not the first to yield to the temptations that were presented to him. Were there any kinds of preventative measures that could have been put in place rather than relying on the Force as a means of damage control?