Introduction
What are Midi-Chlorians?
Midi-Chlorians and the Force
Force in the Family
Time, Space, and the Force
A Final, Force-ful Exit
Concluding Remarks

"FREEDOM!!!!"
-- screamed by an unseen celebrant on Bespin, "Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi" (Special Edition)
(also screamed by Chris Knight upon completing these pages :-)

Here, in a nutshell, is a possible theory about life, the Force, and the midi-chlorians:

Life creates the Force and makes it grow, beginning at the cellular level. The Force, in return, lends its power to either the generation of bodies or the modifying of organelles within the cell that will channel its energies and adapt the cell to the Force it is creating. These bodies are the midi-chlorians. Midi-chlorians are a living, vital part of the cell and also a living part of the Force... they do not create the Force, but they do connect all life to the Force. Wherever life is, Force is created. Where the Force is created, it uses midi-chlorians to establish itself within the cell as the most basic manifestation of the Force on the physical plane. Where the Force is within a cell (meaning all cells), there will be midi-chlorians. They are "cells" of the Force within life, just as all life resides within the Force in a symbiont circle.

The greater the amount of Force is being generated by an organism, the higher the amount of midi-chlorians per cell within that organism. Strength in the Force is a dominant trait that is passed on from parent to offspring. It is NOT passed down by inheriting the midi-chlorians! Instead, as strength is inherited, so too will go the production of midi-chlorians in proportion to strength in the Force.

The greater the amount of midi-chlorians, the more potential exists within a person to use the Force. A greater amount of midi-chlorians allows for a greater "sense" of the Force, whether the person is intimately aware of the Force or not. This greater exposure puts the person more "in tune" with the flow of the Force, its guidance and its delivering a person to destinations and situations according to its "will" (whether the Force is actually a sentient being as much as anyone else is not discussed in this theory).

A person can gain strength in the Force by training and dedication to the Force. As strength increases, midi-chlorian levels would logically increase. A person can NOT become stronger in the Force by transferring midi-chlorian rich blood or other tissue from another person. However, a clone of a person with the genetic tendency towards Force-ability would have the same midi-chlorian levels. They would still require learning the disciplines of the Force to make effective use of it, however.

In seeking the Force, a person can choose to abide by its flow or to work against it. Working with the Force means using it to help others grow, leading for growth in the Force as well. To work against the Force means to take from it without recompense, for selfish and evil gain.

Upon death, a person who has allied himself or herself with the Force can choose to give back to the Force by yielding their bodies: the ultimate act of strengthening the Force. Their identities live on after death, forever at peace in the Force. However, a person who has chosen to exploit the Force while denying it growth must be denied by the Force in kind. Or simply put: Light-Siders go to "Heaven", while Dark-Siders are either totally destroyed or go to Sith Hell (hey, Hell must be in Star Wars somewhere: Han Solo said there was! Does Han look like the kind of guy who would lie?!? :-)

Concepts in these pages are derived from material created by Lucasfilm Ltd. and George Lucas. While these pages discuss Star Wars, they are NOT to be considered "canon". This is merely a theory. As for the true nature of midi-chlorians, as Mark Hamill once said, "only George knows." Most of the ideas presented here are my original thoughts about midi-chlorians to the best of my knowledge but some, such as theoretical physics and Kirlian photography, are in the province of those who discovered them. Otherwise, the layout, structure, and interpretation in these pages is Copyright ? 2000 Chris Knight and TheForce.net.

Got questions? Comments? Suggestions? Think Chris has WAY too much time on his hands? Let us know!