How does Palpatine know about the dark side hell that awaits him after he dies?

They never really established this in DE or in DP, they just mention that Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious was terrified of his final death because he would be experiencing pain and terror without respite in the eternal madness of the dark side of the force, this was a fate that he wanted to postpone at all costs.

And other Sith Lord's like the Sith Emperor and Darth Plagueis were afraid of death and dying too, both wanting to live forever, afraid to lose their power as Palpatine tells Anakin in ROTS.

Is this meant to mean that the Sith all know that using the power of the dark side will make them powerfull in the world of the flesh but that once they die its all over? no more power, no being a force ghost and having the power to influence anyone at all like Obi-Wan and Yoda, just banishment and punishment for abusing the force and using the dark side to kill and destroy and dominate others.

Exar Kun in the JAT was described as being exiled from the universe to another place entirely, banished forever, like in the madness of the dark side itself perhaps, the same thing that Palpatine was afraid of and used clones to try to prevent, by transferring his soul to healthy young clone bodies so that he could cheat death and live forever, even Darth Krayt was afraid of having the Yuuzhan Vong organisms take over his body and either kill him or turn him into a mindless thing, spent over a hundred years trying to prevent that.

And Darth Plagueis wanted to live forever, even learning how to cheat death and perfecting it to a certain degree, almost like he knew that after he died not only would he lose his powers but that he would go to that madness beyond death.

And the Sith Lord's on Korriban entombed themselves in their krypts and tried to live forever by clinging to their graves in what they called the bliss beyond all death, pretty much enjoying their eternity by being trapped together but not being lost in the madness of the dark side of the force, even taking great steps to make certain that they would remain trapped there and not leave their resting places, they even asked Darth Sidious to join them in EE but he got pissed off and said no, and demanded that they heal him and they refused to do so, like Palpatine knew about this option and how to do it but declined to have a krypt built for himself, thinking that he could create clones forever and avoid death.

They never really establish how the Sith all know about the dark side hell like Palpatine does, like it is something that is taught but that they hope to avoid, seems like they want to copy the jedi way of becoming one with the force, except that Qui-Gon Jinn tells Yoda that they cannot, because it is achieved only through the release of self and not by the exhaltion of self, love and compassion is the answer to the darkness, the Sith rejected that ideal though.

You'd think that if Palpatine ever captured Yoda or The Dark Woman or any jedi that knew how to become one with the force and that they explained to him how to do it, everything that is required for it, he might change his mind or question his Sith training, realizing that the jedi have something that the sith do not have, or try to twist it to his own will and attempt it only to fail miserably, Darth Vader was shocked when Obi-Wan and The Dark Woman became one with the force and did not understand what had happened.

 

There's more to a Sith's vision of immortality than, well, simply immortality.

To become one with the Force is to embrace the Force absolutely, to accept it as one's constant guide and ally, to be one with the universal will of all things, and be at peace with one's place in the cosmos. In effect, to become a cog in the great machine.

But a person like Palpatine doesn't want to just be a cog. He wants to be the machine.

Plagueis touches on this in broad strokes in the Book of Sith, where he acknowledges that any discussion about Chaos and/or the Netherworld can only be speculative. Nonetheless, he pretty much sums up how Chaos and the Netherworld, for a Sith, may as well basically be the same thing. They might be; they might not be; he doesn't know for sure. But whatever the case of what comes after death: it means no longer being in control.

That is what they fear more than death itself.

 

There's more to a Sith's vision of immortality than, well, simply immortality.

To become one with the Force is to embrace the Force absolutely, to accept it as one's constant guide and ally, to be one with the universal will of all things, and be at peace with one's place in the cosmos. In effect, to become a cog in the great machine.

But a person like Palpatine doesn't want to just be a cog. He wants to be the machine.


wow that is a great post. I think this applies to the real heaven as well. Hell is probably not a place, but a state of being, and if you can not embrace all the things that make heaven, heaven, you are forced to live in your own hell.

 

It is a good post. I'd liken it to the rich and powerful and the poor and disenfranchised. The first will fear nothing more than losing things. Losing money, stuff, control. You can't take it with you. And the poor and disenfranchised don't fear death in the same way because they have nothing worth keeping save themselves. Embracing the unknown is much easier when one doesn't have control in life. Each day is a leap into the unknown for those of us with no power, stuff, riches.

 

Or at least the guy pulling the levers.

 

this guy probably filled the Sith in

The Dark Underlord was a Dark Lord of the Sith during the New Sith Wars. His origins were a mystery, but theories about his identity ranged from him having been summoned from the realm of Chaos, to him being the spirit of the Lettow General Xendor.

 

Matthew 19:24

And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

 

Matthew 19:24

And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

true, but do you realize that the needle jesus is talking about entrance to a small door in a fixed gate. ironically one would have to unload his possessions to pass. interesting corelation. So It's not a sewing needle. it's not quite that hard

 

the metaphor still works

 

Easily solved: Since the prophet was speaking about ropes used aboard ships (greek: kamilos), the only problem is finding the right thread eye.

 

Interestingly enough, I'd say what awaits Palpatine isn't a dark side hell, but more of a light side hell. I like to think that when that guy with the super long name intercepted Palpatine's essence transfer, his soul is essentially caught in eternal light. Fitting end for a man who has been called "the shadow", or even a black hole.

Honestly, all the other Dark Lords in Empire's End struck me as, for lack of a better word, jealous; even the Bannite Sith, who say they only want Sith prosperity, really want it all to themselves. Tenebrous wasn't content to let a Sith after him rule, he had to be the one. Bane would be much more selfless than pretty much any other Sith lord, but even he attempted to cheat his own rule at the end of his life.

I haven't read Legacy, but I understand a few other lords, such as Bane and Nihilus, pester Krayt for deviating from the Sith tradition, despite him succeeding where they had failed. The Sith are all jealous bastards

 

That's certainly the implication that Plagueis arguably gives in his ruminations in the Book of Sith.

He basically fears returning to the Force as equivalent to spiritual oblivion, so while embracing the universal oneness might be the communal peace that the Jedi aspire to, Plagueis saw it as abhorrent. So, you're right, the Empatayos Brand (if I got that right, do I get a cookiee?) might have just been dragging Palpatine into the netherworld with him, which Palpatine in turn saw as equivalent to hell.

"I...I've got to see my family again? And have dinner with them all every single night for all eternity?! NOOOOOOO!!!"
"It's okay son, we forgive you for what you did."
*big family hug*
"NO! DON'T KISS ME! NOOO!!"

I can see people like Palps finding all that warm fuzzy love their personal idea of hell.

 

Empatojayos.

 

Ah, nearly got it.

Do I get half a cookiee?

 

Is that a Wookiee cook? If so, which half do you prefer?

 

If you become one with the Force and ghost, anyway. To "become one with the Force" is just to die and be transformed into it. Happens to everyone. And, in the non-ghost cases, there's no one to embrace or accept anything. Just energy.

Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. [face_alien_1]

 

Pfft. Waves or particles. Same thing.

 

With certain authors, it's not even that:

 

True.

Then, conversely, you've got Sacrifice, where Traviss!Luke seems to be under the impression that "becoming one with the Force" = body disappearing on death.

IIRC, he's even like "Oh, I'm so glad Mara didn't become one with the Force, it means I have something to mourn".

I may have played that up in my head for laughs, though.

 

Like South Park's conception of heaven?