Following his resurrection on the planet Byss ten years after the Battle of Yavin, Emperor Palpatine began work on a series of books he called 'The Dark Side Compendum'. Though he intended the work to span several hundred volumes, he completed only three manuscripts before he was vanquished once and for all by Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Leia Organa Solo. The three books he completed were 'The Book of Anger', 'The Weakness of Inferiors' and 'The Creation of Monsters'. Through these books, he hoped to pass on his knowledge to future generations of darkiders - perhaps even future Sith acoloytes.
The Book of Anger.
Palpatine knew from his own experience with Sith teachings that the bestway to unlock the dark side potential in a Force-wielding student was through the student's rage. The Book of Anger outlined this propodal in an intriguing and perhaps even logical fashion, asserting that by exploring one's anger, one could ultimately learn to conquer it, thus taming the power of the dark side - instead of being tamed by it.
The Emperor wrote: 'Many claim to have found serenity, and through serenity to have overcome anger. Such arrogance is astounding. These fools have never faced their anger, and thus have no idea whether they have truly overcome it or not. True calm is only achieved through testing the limits of one's anger and passing through it unscathed. The capability for this ability lies within everyone, though most fear to test their own strength, and are thus considered at best weaklings, and at worst irresponsible.'
The Weakness of Inferiors.
In addition to attempting to lure the unwary with his views on using strong emotiobns, the Emperor sought to indoctinate future darksiders with his own vision of the 'natural order' - the superiority of the gifted, the trained, and the powerful. In typical fashion, he called this discussion 'The Weakness of Inferiors', a book devoted entirely to another insidious perspective on how 'those of great strength' must guide 'those of low capability' through life, by whatever means necessary.
The Emperor wrote: 'Inferiors continually endanger their own lives and the lives of others through poor decisions, reckless behaviour, and simple inability to engineer the reality of their ambitious dreams. They are like children, crying in frustration because they do not comprehend their own limitations. These weaklings need structure - to be shown their place in the existing socail structure. It is left to the wise and powerful to provide that structure in order for civilisation to survive and thrive in the galaxy. Those who cannot - or will not - accept that peace and order are far more important than their own selfish desires must be removed from society before they can inflict any lasting damage.'
This sort of thinking laid the foudnation for the Empire, and the Emperor hoped to lay the groundwork for future empires, modelled on his own. 'The Weakness of Inferiors' suggests that by reading it, the reader as somehow been made custodian of galactic civilsation, and that by applying the Emperor's teachings, the reader can bring peace and order to the gaaxy.
The Creation of Monsters.
Emperor Palpatine perished before he could complete this volume on the ancient art of Sith alchemy, but it is complete enough for most purposes. It provides not only detailed schematics for Sith alchemical apparati, but guidelines and advice on how to avoid the pitfalls of tinkering with the physical components of living, independent creatures.
The Emperor wrote: 'Conquer the temptation to create specimens that are superior in every way. The dange of such monstrosities being turned against you is too great. Instead, focus on instituting controlling weaknesses into each and every beast you construct. Make it strong where you are weak, but weak where you are strong. It must have a fatal flaw that you - and only you- know how to explot. And always, without fail, be prepared to destroy your most valued creation..or be prepared to be destroyed by it.'
The Lady Darkmasque has noted that while the Emperor was specifically speaking of alchemical monstrosities, his advice could easily apply to the instruction of Force-Users in the ways of the dark side. Certainly the Emperor knew exactly how to take advantage of the vulnerabilites of his few students, and it was only his overconfidence that sealed his fate as Endor, and later Onderon.
