Harry's mouth thinned somewhat at Shaak Ti's mention of Dobby and his eyes flashed somewhat. "It's interesting that you immediately jumped to that thought, and I'd be interested to tell if every single family that gave up a child did it willingly, without any 'persuasion.' But that's not what I'm talking about."
"What are you talking about?" Aayla asked cautiously.
"Clones," Harry replied simply.
"Clones are not slaves," Shaak Ti and Aayla responded reflexively in unison. She had worked with them, befriended them.
"Oh? I see," Harry nodded agreeably to their point. "This must be one of those cultural things I don't understand. There's obviously another definition for creating an entire race of people for one purpose. People who then are given no choice but to join a war not their own so that they could fight and regularly die in. Of course not before it is ensured that those clones that are created have the requirement to follow every order given to them through the chain of command. You know… stripping them of their free will."
Harry tapped his chin and his voice turned sarcastic. "You're right that doesn't sound like slavery at all."
Shaak Ti regarded him neutrally, her face not betraying her thoughts at all. Aayla on the other hand was staring at Harry in open mouthed horror. No one had ever laid it out so clearly, at least for her, nor had she even considered the subject before. For someone like her, whose race was one of the most enslaved in the galaxy, and had even been a slave herself, it was a stunning thought. A devastating hammerblow had just been taken to her galaxy-view and her perception of the Republic, the Jedi Order and herself as well.
"The Jedi council didn't order the clones created," Shaak Ti responded after several silent moments.
"Of course not, you just didn't object to using them when they fell in your lap," Harry replied evenly. "Eagerly available canon-fodder whose mere presence allows you to not have to conscript people into serving in your war."
"The galaxy has been plunged into war. We would have fallen without an army," Shaak Ti replied, her eyes regarding Harry more thoughtfully now. "Ah, yes. Of course. Needs must while the devil drives. It's for the Greater Good. The ends justify the means," Harry spouted off several sayings before he sighed and seemed to slump a little bit, a weary look manifesting on his face. "I've heard it all before. Excuses for doing what is easy rather than what is right."
He shook his head and then fixed them with another stare. "The only reason your Republic still exists is because its foundations now firmly rest upon the backs of the slaves you now have fighting for it."
"Without them the Republic would have fallen to the Separatists," Shaak Ti replied quietly.
"So?" he responded succinctly and somewhat apathetically. "So? So?" Aayla interjected in disbelief. "The Republic has stood for thousands of years."
"That hardly makes it good. And everything falls eventually. There's a reason that what… some six thousand worlds think that the philosophy of the Separatists is better?" Harry replied. "Did anyone stop to think that maybe they have a few legitimate reasons?"
"Do you support the Separatists?" Shaak Ti asked quietly as she regarded her with cautious dark eyes.
Harry actually sneered at her. "That's a very loaded question. One I could never answer correctly given the connotations in which you asked." Before she could respond, he started to speak, "Are you asking me if I support the Separatists… as in directly support them in some way? Then the answer is no."
"Are you asking me if I've sat down and reviewed the histories of a majority of the worlds, isolated those who are being led around by corrupt leaders, and then looked at the remainder, those who have legitimate concerns and were dumped on by the Republic and agree with their stance on why they want no further part of things? The answer is also no."
He paused to catch his breath, and before they could interject, he continued, "Or are you asking me if I'm an armchair philosopher, who agrees that they probably have some legitimate gripes about the situation, but like 90% of this galaxy, I am too apathetic towards the whole situation to give a damn because it will probably never affect me personally? That's probably a yes."
"How can you say that?" Shaak Ti asked. "This war, affects everyone. Hardly a world is untouched by this war and the sides needing to be chosen."
"But it doesn't. The majority of people don't care about the war. They don't see any difference between one side and the other," Harry smiled a sad smile. "I explained this a few days ago to Aayla, on the ship. It's the same reason there is an undercurrent of resentment toward the Jedi because of the war. Because they don't see the differences between Jedi and Sith. All they see are people wielding glowy swords with amazing powers." "But when talking about ruling ideologies, that's the part you should be concerned with. Right now, both sides of the conflict are working to appear moderate under the constraints of the war to appeal to worlds as best they can. What happens when one side emerges victorious and they don't have to appear that way anymore?"
He pressed on despite the look of confusion on both women's face. He knew he was preaching slightly but he did have a tendency to ramble, a habit that had only gotten worse with time. "The fact of the matter is, based on what I'm seeing from an outsider's perspective. Both sides have their share of idealists who probably don't see reality of situations. Both sides have their opportunists who are only out for ways this can benefit them. And the leadership of both sides seem to take turns at being amazingly adept and then shockingly incompetent. Whether through political infighting or other reasons. I can't say."
"Both sides have their share of characters who are less than pleasant to death with for various reasons." Harry shook his head again, disgust in his voice.
"To answer the crux of your question. I don't trust either side in this conflict. One side seems overtly aggressive and militaristic. Though to be fair, that is historically common in relatively new political movements good or bad." Harry shrugged, "It tends to be necessary since change generally requires a boot in the arse. People prefer to stay with the status quo because it's easier. But from what I can that side tell relies almost exclusively on droids and people who volunteer willingly for their armed forces." "The other side is more reactionary, and seems to be less focused and hear more opinions but respect less opinions. It also seems to be mired in bureaucracy and red tape too much to really get anything done, and seems to support slavery in the form of clones."
"That is why I've mostly just stayed the hell out of it and let the two sides duke it out battle after battle," Harry stated plainly cutting off any rejoining comment Aayla might have made. Though internally given the events that seemed to be happening around him, he wondered just how long he would be able to say that he was staying out of it.
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