George Lucas first introduced the concept of vergence in Star Wars: The Phantom Menacewhere Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn calls young Anakin Skywalker a “vergence of the Force.” The idea of focusing Force power was later expanded to refer to physical locations, such as the mysterious pit that Rey explores in The Last JediBrandock's witch house Noviceand the cave on Dagobah where Luke Skywalker saw his dark vision. The Empire Strikes Back. So it's only fitting that, thanks to a new Star Wars book, the same concept that was once applied to young Anakin is used in a clever way to offer new insight into his fractured psyche as Darth Vader.
Adam Christopher Master of EvilVader encounters the Vergent while on a mission for Emperor Palpatine. Christopher uses this opportunity to gain new insights into the inner workings of his character, while also challenging our understanding of what vergence is.
[Ed. note. The following contains spoilers for Master of Evil.]
Install a few days after Revenge of the SithChristopher's book explores the transition period of the young Empire and the early days of Emperor Palpatine's relationship with his new Sith apprentice. Enraged by the death of Padmé Amidala, Vader directly disobeys the Emperor and seeks ways to bring her back from the dead. This leads him to an ancient temple of the Force that Count Dooku had previously stolen and hidden inside a freighter anchored in hyperspace. Inside the temple lies the dark vergence, an imposing black hole that calls out to anyone who approaches. Seeking the power to resurrect Padmé, Vader ignores obvious warning signs and jumps inside, where he is visited by several visions.
Inside vergence, Vader walks the cold sands of Tatooine at night. He meets Padme on the dune, but before he can reach her, he is blocked by Anakin Skywalker himself. “Anakin” goads Vader, saying that the Emperor has been hiding the truth about the power of the Dark Side from him because it benefits the Emperor not to share the secret. The Sith follow the Rule of Two, whereby power belongs to the master and the apprentice desires it. The master then uses the student's resentment at the lack of this power to fuel his own abilities. As “Anakin” tells Vader, only by collecting secrets and knowledge will he eventually gain the power he needs to become more powerful than his master. He tells Vader to take the power within vergence and master it.
This may seem like a sensational revelation about how the Dark Side of the Force works, but Christopher tells Polygon that we shouldn't read too much into what Vader's vergence tells him. Perhaps he is simply repeating what he wants to hear.
“Vergence literally creates a copy of Vader,” says Christopher. “It's not because Vader is so powerful that he gets power from vergence, but vergence also gets power from him. [Vader's] the mind is so powerful, its will so strong, that we receive all the reflections of its mind in close proximity.”
Vergences are often divided into three categories: Dark Side, Light Side, and Neutral. Interacting with them, regardless of their category, can lead to visions that reflect a person's thoughts and feelings. Vader's interaction with vergence gives us a glimpse of the man behind that skull-like mask at a time in his life that we've never seen before. In this sense, vergence acts as a mirror reflecting Vader's psyche.
In one of the visions in the book, Vader is reunited with Padmé in a moment of love and tenderness as he transforms back into the man he once was, the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. However, the vision soon ends: Padme appears in the same costume that Vader wears, and the Emperor stands behind her, laughing. In another vision, Vader relives his fateful duel with his former Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar. But this time, Anakin and Obi-Wan's positions are reversed: Obi-Wan is the chosen one, just like Padmé was in the vision before she turned into Vader.
“Part of the visions he experiences when he's on the edge of the Dark Side are the ways of the Dark Side,” Christopher says. “It’s what could have happened and what might have happened, but it’s also a reflection of his own mind.”
Christopher also explores Darth Vader's psyche through a different lens: how others see him. That's why Master of Evil is primarily told from the point of view of Halland Goth, an Imperial Royal Guard sent by Palpatine to spy on his apprentice.
“The important thing about Vader—and keeping his secret—is how others react to him and see him.” Christopher says. “We can't really get inside his head because he's different from us. The transformation he undergoes from Anakin to Vader, both mentally and physically, is so enormous that we cannot fathom it. So we can't see what's in his head, but it can be reflected in the visions he has in vergence.”
