Des was alone, he had answered every question despite the turmoil he felt inside. It was obvious that he was unsettled, but he insisted he was fine, and in the end she left. He was still stuck on where he was, ‘The Jedi Temple, Coruscant’. She had just nodded and moved on. It was the correct answer but, how could that be? ‘is this a reward, a punishment, a delusion’ Des wondered but no, he could remember dying, this had to be real, there was no point doubting it, that way would lead to madness.

  Having firmed his resolve Des began to consider his position. What would he do? One thing he had gotten from his interrogation was his age. He had been asked how old he was and answered four, given his new size that seemed accurate. He was young, in body at least if not mind. He wasn’t sure how mentally old he was ‘am I fourteen,seventy one, or somewhere inbetween?’ how would he even judge that?

  Given his renewed youth, Des thought his future would primarily be schooling but he was not sure what that schooling might look like for a jedi. That thought brought him up short, with a newly born sense of excitement and a steadily widening smile Des thought ‘am I going to be a Jedi, Wait’, he thought back, he thought of the blackness, that void between lifes and remembered. He had chosen powers there, or something had, ‘were those Force powers?’ he considered it, ‘meditation fits but inventory? That sounds like something out of a video game’

  Part of him wanted to start experimenting right now, to try to figure out just what he was capable of but here in the medical wing might not be the wisest move. Deciding to wait till he was alone he went back to the question of what his future would look like. The problem was he just didn’t have enough information and what he did have might not be accurate, it came from movies after all.

  ‘What I need is internet access, there’s got to be something like that here right? This is a high tech world after all, so high tech in fact that the whole planet is a city. And then there’s the library, It’s supposed to have everything there is to know in it’

  Having made a plan or the outline of one at least Des settled in to wait. His headache was gone and he felt perfectly fine now. Just a few hours to wait and he could start figuring things out..

  ***

  Des was in his room now, the medical wing had held him for two hours before feeding him and sending him on his way. It was only after his footsteps had brought him here that he questioned how he knew where he had been going. As best as he could tell he had memories of this place going back a year, possibly more. Before that all he could get was an image of a building made with sandstone bricks. These memories didn’t feel foreign, more like trying to remember something from early childhood.

  He took in his room, it was rather small and spartan. A single bed far larger than it needed to be and a desk and chair combo. With a little exploration he found a closet and bathroom but the prize was a small tablet computer that his memories named a holopad. It was in his hands and powered up in moments.

  Within five minutes he knew he would not find what he was looking for, the problem was that the holopad was age restricted. All he had access to was some kind of learning software and games designed for four year olds. If what he wanted was in here he was not going to find it now.

  ‘Defeated by a child lock’ Des laughed to himself and put the holopad down. He considered the library but there was no memory springing forth to guide his path. Seeing nothing more he could do for now he moved onto the next item on his checklist: his powers.

  ‘Ok meditation seems obvious, I hope. Inventory though’ pondering on this Des reached out and picked up the holopad once more. He thought ‘Inventory’ but nothing happened, he tried ‘Store’ again nothing, ‘Store in Inventory’ still nothing. After trying every voice command he could think of both spoken out loud and within his own head he moved onto different forms of visualisation.

  There was a small pop as the holopad disappeared, what worked in the end was a desire to pull it within himself. He could see the pad in his minds eye, a perfect visualisation of not just the outside but everything within. Crystals, wires and circuitry along with other things he could not identify formed a pattern that itched at something within him.

  Disliking the sensation he pushed the image away and obediently it moved to somewhere outside his perception. He could not feel it or sense it but he knew it was still there, safe and sound ready to be recalled the instant he wanted it. Without needing to visualise the holopad he pulled it back to his hand. A second pop echoed in his room as the pad reappeared and Des smiled at his success.

  He would need to test the limits of this, how much can he hold? Does weight matter and is there a limit to how many things he can hold? It all needed to be tested but for now Des was happy with his progress.

  ‘Onto Meditation then’ He thought. His first instinct was to go for a lotus position but his new found youth did not grant him new found flexibility. Switching to a more comfortable Cross legged position he straightened his back, closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind.

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  It was automatic. With the slightest of efforts Des sank deep, his sense of his body was a distant thing barely noticeable and completely overshadowed by the force. It was everything, everywhere and everyone. Des could practically hear the words of Obi Wan. “The force is what gives a jedi his power, it’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, it penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together.” those were probably as close as words can come to describing the indescribable,

  Des was not currently concerned with describing the force, he was too busy experiencing it. A sense of peace washed through him, he could feel all his negative emotions being tugged loose and floating off into the force. He was finally able to relax, truly relax.

  Deep within meditation Des lost track of time, the peace he was experiencing was a soothing balm he desperately needed. The car crash, the brain damage and fifty seven years a vegetable, then waking up in that void only to then wake up on Coruscant. It was a lot.

  Des felt something push against his shoulder. He pulled himself from the depths of the force and opened his eyes, only to be met with his first alien.

  A grey skinned twi'lek man was crouched in front of him and Des knew him or at least knew who he was. From his new memories of the temple, he was Knight Casin. He was one of the newly raised knights that watched over the younglings. Before he could say anything though the twi’lek spoke

  “Who taught you to do that little one?”

  The surprise of meeting his first alien slowed Des’s response. when his mind caught up with the present he answered with full honesty “no one taught me.”

  The twi’leks brow crease momentarily before he continued speaking “what you did was potentially dangerous little one, promise me you won’t try that again without guidance”

  Des was confused ‘how could meditation be dangerous?’

  As if reading the question from Des’s mind the jedi answered “you were deep in meditation, very deep. Deeper than I’ve seen any but the masters go. It is possible to lose oneself if not adequately trained and prepared for such depths”. The man seemed dissatisfied with Des’s lack of reaction to the danger so he continued “Tell me, how long were you meditating little one?”.

  Des considered it for a moment before answering “Two hours, maybe three”

  “By my guess you’ve been at it for approximately seventeen hours”

  Des’s jaw dropped, ‘seventeen, no that can’t be right. How?’.

  “You see the danger now? Others have died of thirst or hunger in the past and as I said it is possible to lose oneself within the force.” The Twi’lek squeezed his shoulder as if to emphasise the importance of his words. “Now, you have missed the morning meal but if you leave now you will still be on time for your first class, do you know your way?”

  Des thought about it, no directions or rooms sprang to mind so he shook his head.

  The jedi reached out for the holopad, he tapped it a few times before a holographic arrow sprung to life. It hovered just above the screen and was pointing at the door to Des’s room.

  As the Jedi handed the pad he smiled warmly and said “There, that will guide your path. Now get washed up and get going little one or you shall miss your first class for the second time”

  ***

  Des walked through the door the holopad had led him to, the room inside was rather unremarkable, it was boxy and utilitarian, just like any other building might have. He was a little disappointed. In the middle sat what could only be his class. There were around 12 fellow initiates and a young woman with dark hair, presumably the teacher. She was tall from his perspective but that was to be expected.

  Having noticed him as he entered she was already approaching, as she drew close she welcomed him saying “Hello little one, I trust you are feeling better?”.

  “Ah, yes thank you” he pause unsure how to address her

  She did not notice his uncertainty and carried on speaking “Good, then we shall get you started. I see you remembered your holopad that is good” she held her hand out to receive the device and Des passed it to her. Much like Knight Casin she rapidly tapped the pad a few times before handing it back to him.

  “Take a seat, follow the instructions from the holopad and let me know if you have any problems” as the teacher talked she led him to an empty cushion and indicated he should sit down. He did so and she left, returning to her seat.

  ‘Huh, not how I expected this to go.’ he examined the screen, it had simple lettering displayed. As he tapped each letter the holopad made the corresponding sound and he understood.

  ‘This is schooling for four year olds. Even Jedi need to learn the basics’. It was obvious in hindsight and he felt foolish for not seeing it but his thoughts had centred on the force and lightsabers. ‘This is going to suck but at least it won't be difficult, just boring’ with that in mind Des got to work.

  He was right. It was boring, but he easily moved from the alphabet to simple words, then on to basic maths. Each time he finished a section the holopad presented him with the next.

  One by one he worked his way through them until a message popped up warning him of the imminent midday meal.

  Seeing the others all getting up Des got to his feet and moved to follow them but was stopped short by the teacher. “A Moment please little one” she said as she moved in front of him. “Has someone been tutoring you?” she questioned and Des knew he had screwed up.

  ‘How would a four year old who has never attended school manage what he had done?’ he should have been weeks working on the alphabet alone. ‘Fuck!, what do I say?’

  Des racked his mind trying to come up with an explanation that made any sense but as she stared down at him and the moment stretched on he had nothing, so he played dumb.

  “No, was I supposed to have a tutor?” he tried, offering a slightly confused expression to try to sell it. A strange impulse caused him to add “Am I very far behind the others?”

  She was staring at him, He wasn’t sure if she had bought it or not but he was not going to say anymore. He had dug this hole deep enough as it is.

  “No, you are not behind the others” she finally responded.

  Des couldn’t begin to guess what she was thinking, so he waited for more but nothing came, eventually he asked “is that everything?”

  “Yes, you may go” she answered, though something in the tone of her voice told him that he had gained her attention, whether that was a good or bad thing he did not know..

  Des walked towards the door careful to not rush or show any discomfort. As the doors slid shut behind him he considered his screw up and one word came again to his mind.

  “Fuck!”