The latest Star Wars novel, Justina Ireland's Out of the Shadows, introduced a new type of Jedi mind trick never seen in the movies themselves. When viewers first encountered Obi-Wan Kenobi in the first Star Wars film, the aged hermit swiftly proved there was more to him than met the eye. He was able to use a Jedi mind trick to deceive two Imperial stormtroopers, persuading them "these are not the droids you're looking for."
From that moment on, the mind trick has become seen as the archetypal Jedi Force power. There's something rather odd about that because, objectively, this Force technique seems to veer rather close to the dark side; a practitioner is invading another person's mind, after all. One episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars even saw multiple Jedi combine their powers in an attempt to force the bounty hunter Cad Bane to reveal his secrets, with Obi-Wan Kenobi cautioning doing so could cause permanent damage to his mind.
Justina Ireland's new novel Out of the Shadows introduces a Force technique markedly similar to the mind trick, one that has never been seen before in the franchise. The book is set in the High Republic Era, some 200 years before the events of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, and it reveals Force-sensitives from a planet named Genetia are born with strong empathic powers. Ireland's novel features a Jedi Padawan named Imri Cantaros, whose natural empathic powers have just begun to emerge, and who is struggling to deal with the tumult of emotion he senses. Working with some other Padawans, Imri begins to figure out how to control his powers - and even use it to soothe the feelings of those nearby, calming them and helping them feel at peace. His Master, Vernestra Rwoh, is more than a little disturbed by this ability, which he calls "soothing," as she is aware ancient Sith used similar powers to manipulate emotions. "The old stories say that the Sith used emotions as a weapon," Vern explains to her Padawan, "which is one of the reasons the Order cautions against things like attachment." Still, Vernestra Rwoh has a deep trust in the Force herself - having even been prompted by the Force to construct a lightsaber-like whip. So she's willing to give Imri the support he needs.
It's interesting to note this particular Force technique is associated with human Force-sensitives from a specific world. Previously, Star Wars books and comics had confirmed some alien races possessed unique relationships with the Force, and thus powers that differed from those of other Jedi; this fits with George Lucas' original idea for midi-chlorians, back in 1977. "It is said that certain creatures are born with a higher awareness of the Force than humans," he noted through in-universe dialogue. "Their brains are different; they have more midi-chlorians in their cells." But this is the first time in canon there's been any evidence humans from certain worlds have unique abilities as well. This suggests there is a stronger genetic component to Force-sensitivity than anyone had previously thought.
Imri is the only Force-sensitive from Genetia to appear in the Star Wars franchise to date, meaning his empathic powers and his unique "soothing" ability - a power so close to the Jedi mind trick, and yet so different - have never been seen before. It will be exciting to see whether Lucasfilm develop this further, with Imri perhaps struggling with the dark side because of the overload of emotions he senses around him.
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