Palpatine's Grand plan: the skywalkers, Starkiller base, and the "Source of the Force"

Apologies for the essay, but please bear with me:

This might be old hat in these forums, but I just wanted to lay these ideas out, for my own understanding as much as anyone else's. My theory stems from six main pieces of information found in various new and old canon Star Wars media:

1. The Death Star used giant kyber crystals to fuel its planet-destroying laser cannon. (Lost Stars)

2. The Emperor had sent people to the farthest reaches of the galaxy in order to find the source of the Force, or the Dark Side. An "Imperial Future Council," in a session post-Emperor-demise, debated whether or not to continue this search for this ultimate power, allegedly hidden on the outskirts of the galaxy. "We must move toward the Dark Side. Palpatine felt that the universe beyond the edges of our maps was where his power came from. Over the many years he, with our aid, sent men and woman beyond known space. They built labs and communication stations on distant moons, asteroids, out there in the wilds. We must follow them. Retreat from the galaxy. Go out beyond the veil of stars. We must seek the source of the Dark Side like a man looking for a wellspring of water." (Aftermath)

3. The Emperor hinted at similar ambitions earlier, claiming that he and Vader would, much as Sidious himself and his former master had, "coax from the Dark Side its final secrets," in an ancient Sith Temple below the Jedi Temple. Thought Sidious: "Such perilous machinations required two Sith, one to serve as bait for the dark side, the other to be the vessel. Success would grant them the power to harness the full powers of the dark side, and allow them to rule for ten thousand years." He talked to Vader of "our needs" as separate from the "Empire's needs." He later thought about master's wise words on the Force, specifically about how it could "strike back." Clearly, he had something much grander on his mind than just galactic political domination. (Tarkin)

4. Starkiller Base has been confirmed to be a planet armed with a weapon with the capability of destroying entire star systems. (StarWars.com) It has also been rumored to have been a Sith homeworld of sorts, an entire planet that is converted into a weapon by a source that gets more credible as more facts are confirmed (the Mizzlewump leak).

5. Kyber crystals were the source of the energy of a Jedi's lightsaber, and had a strong connection to the Force. (Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

6. While Vader and Luke dueled on Bespin, Vader kept hinting that there was something greater at play here, something unspoken that was behind all of this. He claimed Luke did "not yet realize [his] importance," and opined "if only [he] knew the power of the Dark Side." Vader knew something he didn't entirely let on to either Luke or the audience. (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back).

Here's my theory: the Death Star, which it is now clear was nothing more than a gigantic, moon-sized lightsaber of sorts, was a beta test. It was the Emperor's way of seeing if it were feasible to harness the power of the Force via kyber crystals on such an enormous scale. It was a stepping stone, and the Emperor, needing the manpower, resources, and political sway to pull off such a monumental undertaking, realized the only way anyone would be able to realistically do so would be to take control of everything, that is, to become an all-powerful despot who could command such manpower, resources, and unquestionable political sway. So began his plotting.

He also knew he would need two extremely powerful Dark Side Force users to enact his ultimate goal - one to be the "bait," and the other to be the "vessel." His master and he served these roles well enough, but either through greed or belief the master was not powerful enough to perform to the role up to the heights he hoped to achieve, and taking to heart his master's teachings that "the Force can strike back" and that with the manipulation of the Force, he could "create life," he created a being borne of the Force itself, meant to replace his master. Once he met that being, and could sense his nigh-unlimited potential in the Force, he killed his master, and began to take on the role of mentor figure to the troubled boy; this troubled boy, who was a living, breathing, human prism of the Force, would be the ultimate vessel.

Having planted the seeds for civil war and a Republic Army, his puppeteering continued. The Clone Wars spread thin the Jedi, and the already seeping and insidious Dark Side of the Force from the hidden temple made their vision ever cloudier. He continued to mould the ambitions of the boy he knew would eventually become his apprentice and vessel, and when the time was right, he used him as a catalyst to end the Clone Wars, eliminate the weakened and vulnerable Jedi and grab a hold of the dictatorial power and unlimited access to resources he needed to continue his plans.

So began the construction of his beta test. Kyber crystals were harvested, gargantuan ones that when brought together, could have their energy harnessed to do unspeakable damage. Palpatine was pleased. The first stepping stone was a success. The Empire, thus far, was performing its role: as a tool.

The Rebellion became a thorn in the Empire's side, inciting dissent and decreasing the efficiency and effectiveness of its utility as a means to the Emperor's ultimate end. It destroyed the beta test. But at that point, it was no matter. That it could be done had already been proven. Now it was time to both eliminate this thorn and test Palpatine's theory on a larger scale.

At this point, Vader knew of Palpatine's ultimate goals, and perhaps either thought, as he told to the Emperor, that Skywalker could be a great "asset" in said goals, or that, much like Palpatine did to his master, he could eliminate his mentor and take up his role, with his son taking his stead as the "vessel." Luke did not yet realize his importance, nor had he even begun to grasp what the capabilities of the Dark Side were.

So while Palpatine sent out men and women on far-reaching scouting missions for this "wellspring of the Dark Side," he built a much, much larger test. The second Death Star. Or at least, he tried to. Partway through its construction, his attempts to discard his incumbent "vessel" for one less tarnished, maimed, and with just as much Force potential (read: discard Vader for Luke), backfired, and led to his demise.

So the Emperor died, along with his staggeringly leviathan ambitions. Or did they? Obviously, seeing as the Imperial remnants maintained their designs of finding this "wellspring," some part of his plans remained known and acted upon.

Now we get to the kicker: essentially, Palpatine wanted to become an all-powerful Force demigod, one who could rule as a nigh-immortal ("rule for ten thousand years"). His ambitions began during his teachings with his master, who desired the same things. He wanted to find this supposed source of the Dark Side so that he could harness it, which in some way was connected to kyber crystals (which at this point are looking more and more as if they are extremely powerful conduits if not the source itself of the Force in some ways). He did not find it while he was alive, but what became of the Imperial remnant, that is, the First Order, did. And they took what was successful in beta test form on a lunar scale and enlarged it to planetary proportions. They took an entire planet, the greatest concentration of kyber crystals in the galaxy, and converted it into a weapon capable of harnessing and focusing the power of the Force into pure energy, energy that could lay waste to entire star systems.

But for Snoke, who is somehow connected to Palpatine, and through whom Palpatine's grand vision and ultimate ambitions live on, Starkiller Base, this super-sized Death Star, is nothing more than another stepping stone. The First Order, like its predecessor the Empire, is the means to an end. And Kylo Ren, much like Luke a descendant of the human prism of the Force that was Anakin Skywalker, his Snoke's "vessel," as Vader was to Palpatine. To what exact end this stepping stone is, I'm not sure. What I can surmise is that it has to do with harnessing this "power of the Dark Side" Vader spoke of in a way that needs two powerful Force users, and that the use of kyber crystals as focal points for the Force's destructive (Dark Side) power (Death Star, Starkiller Base), have been precursors to said end. Perhaps, in the end, Kylo Ren will seek himself and Rey to be those two Force users? Whatever it ends up being, I'm sure the ultimate revelation on this will come in Episode IX.

There are a couple snags:

1. Vader, in ANH, says, "The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force." Now, why would he say that if he knew that the Death Star was essentially a beta test for harnessing the Force's power itself? Perhaps he was attempting to state that there was more to come, that this was just the beginning? That to think this was the "ultimate power in the Universe," as the Moff so arrogantly and ignorantly stated, was naive?

2. How do the Knights of Ren fit into this? I love Revanite's "balance" theory, and if anyone can find a way to fit it into what I've laid out above that would be great. I have some ideas, but I'm not sure they jive well with what I have.

What do you think?

 

All we know for sure is that the Geonosians helped in the design of the Death Star. It's very unlikely that Palpatine, who ultimately was the one running the show and therefore commissioned the Geonosians through Dooku to help design the station, didn't give strict parameters to said design. And it's not a "Force creation," it's a gigantic piece of technology that happens to take advantage of and make use of materials that are inherently and profoundly connected to the Force. That's indisputable (as in it's canon that kyber crystals have a strong connection to the Force, and it's canon that the Death Star uses kyber crystals as the source for its laser). Since lightsabers are essentially the same thing on an exponentially smaller scale (pieces of technology that take advantage of and make us of materials that are inherently and profoundly connected to the Force), I made the analogy you're referring to. What's up for debate is whether or not it's a stepping stone towards something greater.

 

I understand those who are skeptical that Palpatine wouldn't train Anakin from the very beginning, but I think he honestly didn't know where this being birthed from the Force he had manipulated into existence was born. He just trusted that the Force would bring Anakin to him, which is of course what happened. And after Anakin was brought to him, he couldn't train him without raising huge red flags in the eyes of the Jedi, so he just became a close confidant and insidiously twisted his mind over a long period time.

 

I purposefully didn't mention Plagueis when saying Snoke was somehow connected to Palpatine, because I know how some people get; if it were to be true, however, I personally believe it could make for well done, symmetrical storytelling. You think what I wrote above is long? I wrote a 3500-word treatise on why I believe Plagueis to be a worthy choice for the antagonist of the sequel trilogy and on which clues point towards his presence. What I find interesting is how vitriolic some people seem to get when he's brought up -- and I honestly think it's because of his association with the prequels. Had Plagueis never been mentioned in a few lines in Episode III, and had he remained unnamed and unmentioned throughout the PT, the idea of Palpatine's former master rising and attempting to finish what he started would probably be much more palatable to quite a few more people than it is now.

How Snoke could possibly be connected to Palpatine, I don't know. I personally detest the idea of Palpatine having had a secret student who we conveniently never heard of during the OT but who is simultaneously powerful enough to pose as much of a threat now as Palpatine once did.