Sometimes people need a wakeup call of sorts, a slap in the face to realize how fucked up things are and that they need to change it, in the Star Wars universe it was the Empire and Dark Lord of The Sith who ruled it that was a collective reminder to everyone that they needed to truly cherish the values of the republic to avoid something like Palpatine happen again as well to the Jedi who become more flexible and honest with their emotions than they were.

In this universe however, something like that doesn't happen, instead the crumbling structure goes on for a while longer before it falls unto itself.

The thing I most love about this is the decidedly biased look we have as we're left wondering if all the bad things happening is just Palpatine being curious and taking the Jedi code to it's natural and logical conclusion or if it's symptoms in both the order and the republic itself and he simply rides with the waves as they say, either way he gets what he wants until he is satisfied.

The ending is so haunting too, instead of being saved, both the Jedi and Republic ceases to be, dead not via an outside force or internal subversion but simply the result of it's rotten existence eventually collapsing under it's own weight and like Palpatine himself says, that is death that someone doesn't come back from, maybe linger as ghosts but only that.

It's fitting given that he can simply see it all end like his life will and he is simply is accepting. Great fic

Light or Dark, Palpatine remains an unmatched turbo-chad

Wow. Palpatine the nihilist Jedi. Dang...

Convince them to care about nothing, and when momentary amusement is all they seek, why are you surprised? Palpatine is far less a threat as an overt evil, as the prequel and main trilogy prove quite efficiently.

With total detachment, life becomes a zero-sum game.

He solved for zero.

Balancing the Force. Idiots.

Nice job on pointing at the flaws of 'no attachments' philosophy.

Very nice. It didn't even register to me while I was reading that the protagonist was Palpatine. I realised it when I was reading to check if this fic had an appropiate number of reviews (and it does not, but let's give it time). When you think about it, the galaxy is kinda better of with Palpatine as a sith :D

Yes, I can see Palpatine as being very like this.

Rightly or wrongly, the Jedi are no good guys. An amoral and detached person would fit very well in such an enviroment.

Did you ever see an Anime called Noein? Noein has a great hatred of suffering so he creates an utopia where there is no attachment or individuality. Are we suprised he is an antagonist to flawed but pitifully human heroes?

But he is no villain. he has gone beyond notions of good or evil.

And the look on his face when he removes his mask...Insane enlightenment. I suspect the Netherworld of the Force might be like this. (And we notice there are Sith there too...not just Jedi)

Palpatine, of course, has to destroy the Jedi...Before they destroy him. He has no choice.

Good work! This is a very interesting take on pushing the no attachments ideology to an extreme and excellently written. Very dark, but plausibly so. I really liked the ending.