Following on from my last Star Wars thread, I wanted to share a piece of head canon that I worked out about 15 years ago, to help myself make sense of (and improve) the Prequels. It concerns Midi-chlorians.

You know, those apparently sentient living organisms that exist in the cells of all life forms and that, in sufficient quanities, grant Force sensitivity?

If you chose to forget about them, I don't blame you.

_But_, maybe you might actually be on board after this.

See, the only information we get about the Midi-chlorians is a description given by Qui Gon to Anakin. He uses a device to count the Midi-chlorians in Anakin's blood, and uses that as a way to guage his Force potential. He explains that they give Force powers to the child.

_But what if the Jedi are unreliable scholars._

We already know that the Jedi hold misconceptions about the Force - the idea that _zero_ Dark Jedi somehow equals "balance". Why not have other misconceptions?

The Jedi, as an institution, is curiously linked to both science and religion; not unlike the Catholic Church during the European Renaissance. There, we saw leaps in scientific logic based on assumed truths about the world through the lens of Christianity.

My suggestion, therefore, is that the Jedi have done the same. They have observed something (people with Force powers have Midi-chlorians in their blood) and have made an assumption (Midi-chlorians cause Force sensitivity), removing an element of the supernatural.

This sort of "justification" of dogma is all too common in long-standing Imperialist governments where church and state are highly linked. Look at Confuscian China ~Han Dynasty! You had a society try to force scientific thinking into their religion and vice versa for credibility.

So, if what we get told in the films is a misconception... What is the truth?

It's pretty sumple: Midi-chlorians are attracted to concentrations of the Force. Where the Force is strong, Midi-chlorians gather. Like moths to a flame.

Therefore, Midi-chlorians act as an interesting way to test for Force sensitivity. Not because they cause it, but because they are a measurable thing attracted to an unmeasurable thing. Like how scientists detect black holes not by seeing them but by seeing how they affect light.

It's a simple head canon, but I think it's a great one. Not only does it make Midi-chlorians make sense, and remystify the Force, it also reinforces the idea of the Jedi Order of the Old Republic as a church grown lazy and dogmatic by its supremacy. It's COMPLETELY in theme!

I love talking about Star Wars, and if you like reading my thoughts, you might enjoy this thread from earlier today: https://twitter.com/Ben_Scerri/status/1265201778565369856