Dirac Angestun Gesept

So there’s this soi-disant literary agent (when you don’t appear to have any sales, despite claiming to have been representing authors since 1984, I think you are probably not), Barbara Bauer. She’s on Writer Beware’s Twenty Worst Agencies list. So far, whatever; no different than the other 19, right?

Well, except for her multiple attempts to get sites closed down or her sending of legal threats for one! billion! dollars! for mentioning her name. Most recently, the Absolute Write discussion site disappeared rather suddenly, apparently due to their ISP rolling over for an abusive phone call that may have mentioned the DMCA.

There’s a bunch of coverage around on this, including two posts from Miss Snark.

It’s all about Barbara Bauer. Hmm, Google juice much?

While I’m not the first one to think of this, it’s clear to me that there is an extra surviving Jedi after the events of Revenge of the Sith.

I’m referring, of course, to the only known Droid Jedi Knight, R2-D2.

Let’s look at the evidence:

Right at the beginning of SW:ANH, he rolls through the middle of a firefight without being hit by either side (and protects C-3PO while he’s at it).

After that, R2-D2 manages to land the escape pod on Tatooine, practically next door to Obi-Wan’s place. He then mind-tricks the Jawas into picking him up and finding C-3PO, before delivering them to the Lars family moisture farm, where (just coincidentally) Luke Skywalker is waiting. When Owen Lars buys the wrong droid, a little Force blast takes care of things; R2 can continue his mission.

Then he wanders off to find Obi-Wan, detects the Sandpeople (with his sensors, or the Force?), hides in a crevice when they attack Luke, and then Kenobi arrives. (Maybe a little Force communication?) In Mos Eisely, he hides again (mind tricks on the Stormtroopers?). On the Death Star, he mind tricks the Stormtroopers again in the control room. Then, of course, he helps Luke out in the Death Star attack.

In TESB, on Dagobah he escapes from the swamp monster with what looks like a forceful spit-out, but could have been a Force jump. (Oh, and once again, with an entire planet to choose from they land next door to the one Jedi? What are the odds?) Threepio is broken up when R2 can no longer protect him. Then, on Cloud City, R2 conveniently runs into the rest of the group as they’re headed to Fett’s ship. During the escape, he gets through the secured door, and later fixes the Falcon’s hyperdrive.

ROTJ includes more mind tricks in Jabba’s palace, the famous Hidden Lightsaber trick, zapping an Ewok with what could be electricity or could be Force Lightning…

His ability to hack any computer? Droid Mind Tricks.

The prequels add more evidence. All those extra capabilities, like flying, that he didn’t have in the original trilogy? Stuff he had to hide when the Jedis went underground.

R2-D2 is a Jedi. Search your feelings. You know it to be true.

John Scalzi, with the cooperation of his publisher (Tor), is making an electronic version of his novel Old Man’s War available to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, as he notes on his blog.

If you qualify, he has directions on how to get it there.

If you don’t, consider thanking Scalzi and Tor for supporting the troops by buying a copy of the book (currently out in hardcover). It’s good. (This offer has pushed me over my “don’t generally buy hardcovers” plan.)

And it looks something like this:

Note the “Cetagandan Order of Merit” necklace, which includes her various award pins (Hugo nominee pins, et cetera); there are also close-up pictures of it on the artist’s site. My shots don’t really do it justice.

I have some other pictures from the Worldcon-so-far up as well.