fandomhigh | Ethics [Thursday, November 8, 1st period]

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Ethics [Thursday, November 8, 1st period]

Anakin was quieter than usual, trying to shake off the feeling of foreboding he'd woken up with. He hoped it had nothing to do with the bachelor party he'd be attending later in the day.

His weekend plans weren't far from his mind, though, as the day's lesson made clear. "Love is patient, love is kind," he began, then made the universal symbol for "blah, blah, blah" with his hand.

He might secretly be a soft touch on the subject, but no one in this room would ever know it.

"In the Jedi Order, we were taught that in order to maintain proper distance, to negotiate impartially across our galaxy, we were to strive for serenity, not passion. To be proper Jedi, we shall not know anger, or hatred, or love."

He crossed his arms over his chest and glanced around the room, eyes resting on Qui-Gon and Jaina for longer moments. "Is this an unreasonable standard to hold someone to?"

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"My brother saved me because of love." She felt that was a strong argument against the point of view Anakin had argued for, and not just in a personal way, for her and her brother. "Love makes people do things they would not otherwise be capable of. Like anger or hatred. Some good, some bad. Very human." She couldn't help getting some flashbacks from Miranda and the strategy the government had chosen to get rid of violence. "Serenity in the midst of the turmoil."

"Very human," Anakin echoed, nodding. "Jedi were supposed to be better than that -- above wallowing in emotional baggage. Properly trained, we can be seen as living weapons. Without control over what we feel, it could be a weapon without a safety lock on it."

Mace Windu had been fond of that analogy.

He met River's gaze, sending her a wave of reassurance. "Love can make people do amazing things. It can also set catastrophes in motion if the person doesn't care for the consequences affecting everyone other than their loved one."

Living weapon. That sounded a little too close to comfort. "Control over is not the same as not feeling," River pointed out. If it was, she'd be in trouble. "Couldn't love be the safety lock?" She felt it was, to some extent. It kept her human and further away from what the Academy had tried to turn her into.

Everyone other than their loved one. Yes, she could see that risk, and for some reason her mind flashed back to sparring with Lee and taking out all her jealousy on him. She pulled away from that memory, not wanting Anakin to see. It had been innocent though, compared to what she had done in other circumstances.

"Love can also be the catalyst," Anakin said softly. "There are Jedi who have done incredibly stupid things trying to stop people from being hurt. I put entire systems at risk when I was younger."

And that was the least of his crimes.

"The more power you have the more careful you have to be?" River asked. She wouldn't put systems at risk, she imagined, but without control she could hurt people. Still, it didn't make sense just to avoid love. "But the rule doesn't keep you safe."

"It keeps everyone else safe," Anakin said quietly. "There needs to be balance."

River fell silent. Balance. Adah found it immensely important. And here her mind took a detour, as the thought of Adah and staying away from love in the same sentence was uncomfortable. She frowned. "Balance between extremes. Between not loving and blind infatuation."

"That requires time and experience," Anakin replied. "Jedi have enough to master without dealing with rampant hormones as well."

River felt like saying that rampant hormones had so far kept her from getting into fights (with one exception that she tried not to think about), but she didn't, and tried to keep what she was thinking from Anakin as well as she could. She looked down at her desk, falling silent.

Anakin gave her a curious look, but didn't push it.

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Ethics [Thursday, November 8, 1st period]

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