Star Wars: The Sith Have a Way to Control Minds Darker Than the Force
In the Star Wars Universe, the Sith have a piece of ancient technology called the mind dowser, and it’s far more dangerous than a Jedi mind trick.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers from Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #15, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
In Star Wars: A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi introduced the world to Jedi mind tricks with the iconic like, “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.” This was the first confirmed use of the Force during a Star Wars movie, and mind tricks became one of the most well-known Jedi powers in the franchise because of it. However, the Sith also used Force-suggestions, and Doctor Aphra #15, by Alyssa Wong, Minkyu Jung, Victor Olazaba and Rachelle Rosenberg, explained how the Sith taught their apprentices the power of Force suggestion by using a piece of evil technology called a thought dowser.
As part of the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover event, Dr. Aphra has been onboard Crimson Dawn’s ship, the Vermillion. However, while Qi’ra was hosting the auction for Han Solo, Aphra had another reason for being there. She and smuggler Sana Starros were working for Domina Tagge to find out as much information on the attending crime syndicates as possible. While there, though, Aphra was captured for stealing a necklace made up of data crystals and had to make an escape from the brig.
In this issue, Aphra and Starros have found the necklace in a display case, but they were being attacked by the Crimson Dawn assassin Deathstick and her poisoned knives. While that was happening, Crimson Dawn’s security team arrived, and Aphra knew that she was going to be in trouble if she couldn’t come up with a plan.
That plan came in the form of another artifact. In a separate case was something that Aphra recognized as a thought dowser. According to the archeologist-turned-thief, the piece of technology was made by an ancient cult of dark-siders called the Ascendant. Supposedly, all of the members had died out, but stories said that the cult was known for technology that was so evil that even Sith were afraid to use some of it.
Knowing what the object was, Aphra took the thought dowser and exploited a loophole to activate it. Using the piece of evil technology, Aphra suggested that Deathstick stab herself, and Deathstick was appalled when she did exactly that. Aphra, however, couldn’t stop herself there. With her nose bleeding and the device prying into her mind, all of her adversaries stabbed themselves. Eventually prying the piece of tech from her own grasp, Aphra found herself disoriented and with a fried arm. Starros actually had to carry her back to the ship.
Later, Aphra explained more about the thought dowser to Starros. She said that the device was made of a special material that amplified its users’ thoughts. In the hands of a regular being like Aphra, the device was literally a way to control people’s minds. However, Aphra said that “if the user was Force-sensitive, the effect would be crushing.”
Because of that potential, the Sith used the thought dowser as a way to teach apprentices how to manipulate people by channeling their will. Using a simple Force suggestion was effective, but with the help of a thought dowser, the results would only be made worse. It essentially operated on its own volition by exposing the darkest parts of Aphra’s mind. So, by probing the thoughts of a Sith and bringing them to fruition, the galaxy was made a much worse place. If the thought dowser could be that dark, it’s probably a good thing that most of the Ascendant’s other technologies were lost.
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