* http://www.nrg.co.il/online/54/ART2/133/497.html
** http://www.goarad.co.il/?pid=15&t=mFinal&L1=...

My point exactly!

"Why did you choose to become my apprentice?" he asked, challenging her.

"Why did you choose the way of the dark side?"

"Power," she replied quickly.

"Power is only a means to an end," Bane admonished her. "It is not an end in itself. What do you need power for?"

The girl furrowed her brow. Her Master already recognized this expression as a sign she was struggling to come up with an answer.

"Through power I gain victory," she said when she finally spoke, reciting the final lines of the Sith Code she had learned only a few hours earlier. From her tone it was clear she was trying to work through her limited understanding of the dark side to arrive at the answer Bane wanted.

"Through victory my chains are broken ..." she continued, slowly searching for an answer just beyond her reach. A second later she exclaimed, "Freedom! The dark side sets us free!"

Bane nodded his approval. "The ledi shackle themselves in chains of obedience: obedience to the Jedi Council; obedience to their Masters; obedience to the Republic. Those who follow the light side even believe they must submit themselves to the Force. They are merely instruments of its will, slaves to a greater good.

"Those who follow the dark side see the truth of their enslavement. We recognize the chains that bind us and hold us back. We believe in the power of the individual to break these chains. That is the path to greatness. Only if we are free can we reach our full potential.

"The belief that an individual must not bow down before anyone or anything is the dark side's greatest strength " Bane continued. "But it is also our ultimate weakness. The struggle to rise above those around you is often violent, and in the past the Sith were constantly at one anothers' throats."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Zannah interjected, "The strong will survive and the weak will die."

"Weak does not mean stupid," Bane countered. "There were those with less power, but more cunning. Several apprentices would band together to take down a powerful Master, hoping to elevate their own position among the Sith. Then they would turn on one another, making and breaking alliances until only one remained-a new Master, but one weaker than the original. This survivor would then be taken down in turn by another band of lesser Sith, further weakening our Order.

"Kaan recognized this. But his solution was far worse than the problem. Kaan declared all the followers of the dark side-all the members of the Sith Order-as equals in the Brotherhood of Darkness. In doing so, he betrayed us all."

"Betrayed you?"

"Equality is a lie" Bane told her. "A myth to appease the masses. Simply look around and you will see the lie for what it is! There are those with power, those with the strength and will to lead. And there are those meant to follow-those incapable of anything but servitude and a meager, worthless existence.

"Equality is a perversion of the natural order!" he continued, his voice rising as he shared the fundamental truth that lay at the core of his beliefs. "It binds the strong to the weak. They become anchors that drag the exceptional down to mediocrity. Individuals destined and deserving of greatness have it denied them. They suffer for the sake of keeping them even with their inferiors.

"Equality is a chain, like obedience. Like fear or uncertainty or selfdoubt. The dark side will break these chains. But Kaan could not see this. He did not grasp the true power of the dark side. The Brotherhood of Darkness was nothing but a twisted reflection of the Jedi Order, a dark parody of the very thing we stood against. Under Kaan the Sith had become an abomination."

"And that's why you killed him," Zannah said, thinking the lesson had come to an end.

"That is why I manipulated Kaan into killing himself," Bane corrected.

"Remember: power alone is not enough. Patience. Cunning. Secrecy. These are the tools we will use to bring down the Jedi. The Sith are only two now-one Master and one apprentice. There will be no others."

Kaan had perverted the entire Sith order, transforming it into a sickly assemblage of mewling sycophants. He had tricked them all into believing they could achieve victory over the Jedi through martial might, but Bane knew better. The Jedi were many, and they gained strength when united against a common foe: that was the nature of the light side. The key to defeating them wasn’t fleets or armies. Secrecy and deception were the weapons to bring them down. Victory could only come through subtlety and cunning.