The usual magic kerfluffle whisks you out of your comfortable chair and into a certain well-known cinematic fantasy universe. Unfortunately, unlike in the Star Trek universe, nobody knows anything about whatever technobabble is required to get you home. Fortunately, you’re so high in midichlorians that the Jedi decide to ignore your age and take you on as an apprentice. Padawan. Whatever.
Anyhoo, you arrive a good year before the first prequel, so you’re a full-fledged Jedi Knight by the time the Clone Wars begin. Using your superior Force powers, common sense, and knowledge of the the plot, you’re able to expose Palpatine’s schemes. With your help, the Jedi are able to end take out not merely Dooku & Grievous, but the villainous chancellor himself, a good year before the events of REVENGE OF THE SITH would have happened. In the climactic battle, you, Yoda, Mace Windu, and Obi-Wan quadruple-team Palpatine and relieve his shoulders of the burden of his head. Wisely, you keep Anakin Skywalker far from these events; sadly, both Mace & Yoda die in the big fight. For your service to the Order, you are given a seat on the council.
What changes do you try to push through in Jedi operating procedures, and why?
Marriage is allowed.
Base housing is provided, so that your mom doesn’t have to stay a slave somewhere.
Jedi are encouraged to be in more places than the capitol.
We train anyone in proper use of the force, regardless of age.
I’d stop the Outbound Flight Project, or at the very least alert them to the fact that they would get ambushed. Maybe shiv Jorus C’baoth while I’m at it.
Not to be anal about the conditions in the OP (which is, after all, silly), but I don’t think you can. By the time you’re a Master, wouldn’t that project have already started?
There isn’t much you could do to fix the Jedi Order, as far as I’m concerned. Their greatest weakness is arrogance and I don’t know how I could institutionalize a correction for that problem.
Just a few notes:
I keep marriage banned. In fact, I attempt to create procedures that will make it more difficult for Jedi to harbor secret relationships. Cerean Jedi will continue to be allowed to marry but I’d consider preventing Cerean Jedi with such attachments from serving on the council.
I’ll attempt to further separate the Jedi Order from the Galactic Republic. The Jedi should be acting based on the will of the Force, not the whims of politicians.
Lightsaber training would cease being mandatory. I think that the lightsaber’s central role in Jedi training is contradictory. Obi-Wan barely trained Luke in the use of the lightsaber and it seems to me that even the few lightsaber lessons he did provide were more about Luke learning to see without the use of his eyes than anything else. Yoda never once mentions lightsabers or lightsaber combat to Luke. Jedi should not universally be combatants.
The whole ‘ripping candidates from their families’ thing? Gone.
Romance allowed.
Anyone who displays an aptitude, and doesn’t display criminal/psychopathic tendencies will be trained, no matter how old they are when we find them. Wild force sensitives are bad juju.
Even if they do display criminal/psychopathic tendencies they will be given aid/therapy in preparation for training. (Cuts down on the Sith recruiting pool.)
Any who remain criminally inclined would be contained.
Doesn’t stop me from talking about it. The timeline shows that I am there in plenty of time to give warning. Outbound Flight launched in 27BBY. You state I arrive at 33BBY. Doable.
The Jedi are all about two things:
1.) Suppressing emotions.
2.) Dedication to the Force.
Sexual relationships run contrary to #1 and provide a conflict of interests in regards to #2.
Edit: Oh, and while I’m mentioning old Jedi traditions that I’d keep around but enforce more stringently- I’d keep older recruits out, just as before, while also preventing exceptions (like Anakin) from slipping through the cracks.
Suppressing emotions as a whole is a mistake, and celibacy is a larger conflict of interest with dedication to the Force than sex is. The Force is a manifestation of the essence of life, and reproduction is fundamental to life.
Yoda didn’t even have a lightsaber in the original trilogy. Neither did Pappy. They were each masters of their chosen paths and had no need for weapons.
I would impose a Jedi-junta on the Galaxy or just use some Senator as a front. Once Palpatine’s exposed as a Sith Lord most of the citizenry probably won’t mind a takeover. Politicians in Star Wars have proven to be utter dolts and easily duped by people like Palpatine or Nom Anor that authoritarianism is necessary. Impose Imperial reforms on the Galaxy and order a massive military buildup to prepare for the Yuuzhan Vong invasion including some Death Stars.
Email me when you turn 18. There’s a job for you in Rhymer Industries.
Except you HAVE just become, if not Pope, a cardinal. Yoda’s been light-sabred to death, and Mace Windu just sacrificed himself to get all these motherfucking snakes off the motherfucking spaceship; and Kenobi probably resigned in disgrace or disgust or something else like that. The only reason the Jedi are still around is that you saved their asses, and they’ve made you a master in recognition of the fact that you’re smarter than they are. You have a lot of credibility. Not using said credibility to oppose obviously stupid policies is even stupider than the stupid policies.
So, your plan is to make every mistake the Jedi made, but even worse?
Seriously, NONE of the bad shit in the movies would have happened if the Jedi hadn’t done this stuff.
If Anakin had been taken in enthusiastically, and his positive emotions not been treated as shameful, he wouldn’t have been so susceptible to Palpatine’s manipulations.
Positive emotions - love (all kinds) included - should be encouraged, and positive ways of dealing with (NOT suppressing) negative emotions, such as fear and anger, should be taught.
And, no, ‘suppressing emotion’ isn’t the same to the Jedi as ‘God’ is to Christians. It’s the same as clerical chastity and celibacy in the Catholic church - the Force itself is the God analogue.
I think they’re beyond help. I keep thinking about the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO; it’ll be a two-faction game, where a character is either on the Jedi/Republic or Sith/Empire side. It’s hard to find a basis for predicting which faction will be the cool faction. Based on what I’ve seen in the KOTOR games, the Sith Lords suck worse than the Jedi Council, and the Jedi Council fucking sucks.