"No, I wasn't. I'm not sure it's even worth trying, but maybe, it's not like the code implies everyone should be ruthless egotistical mass murdering despots."

"No? What do you think someone who followed the Sith Code should look like?"

"...like me. I care about things, that's what it's about, right? Passion, power, freedom. It doesn't say I should use this power to go on and hurt everyone less powerful than me, and I refuse to let that be what I'll do, what I'll become."

"And when someone more powerful than you challenges your freedom?"

"...I defend it?"

"How far do you go? And when it happens again? And again."

"Either I die or become powerful enough people stop doing that."

"Doesn't seem like that generalizes well."

"I mean, that depends on how ambitious I am, but—the Jedi do in fact manage to have their Republic not fall into chaos and infighting, it's not like a kill or be killed mentality is strictly necessary, and it's awfully simplistic to expect that the literal only way to get what I want is by going over everyone else."

"Not necessarily the only, but perhaps the most straightforward. And the Jedi do not exactly emphasize personal freedom."

"They don't, it's true. But I mean—is it that straightforward? People can want compatible things."

"Can is not a guarantee."

"No it's not but—it's common enough societies do in fact exist. Most people don't want to do things that impinge on others."

"Most people aren't Force sensitive."

"So... being Force sensitive makes you antisocial, is the theory?"

"It makes your actions larger, more likely to impinge upon others."

"I suppose."

"And when people want that not to happen, we're back to curtailing your freedom."

"...I guess I just fundamentally care about other people's freedom enough that this doesn't feel like that big a sacrifice?"

"And that does not feel like a broken chain for many."

"It feels... weird to think that so many people see 'caring about other people' as a chain that must be broken."

"Try framing it as 'being forced to subordinate your own desires to others''."

"But the very fact that people choose to frame it like that is informative, it's like—like saying your neighbour Jan who helped you with those weeds in your garden the other day is suddenly impinging on you for not doing whatever you want but he's just Jan and he's important—"

"Why is he important?"

"Because everyone is, but also because you used to care about him before you were all powerful, used to like him and sometimes spend time with him and he has people he cares about too, and why should that stop?"