William Shakespeare's The Empire Striketh Back

O pain, O bitter weariness. I didNot know the power of the Force till now—Till it, to purpose rank, was turn’d on me!Now for my very life I grasp and holdUnto the precipice whereon I cling.Be with me now, O Ben, restore my strength.I see that Vader hath ta’en flight, yet itIs plain he doth but wait for his next chance.Some hope remains, e’en now, amidst my fear—He may yet be defeated, all’s not lost.I have regain’d my footing, and may restUntil the fight must be resum’d. Now quick:Look deep within your heart, Luke, and recallThe teachings of your gentle master Yoda.Breathe deeply and call on the Force, that it

May show to thee the path that thou must take.O, give me strength to win this battle nowOr, if not win, maintain my sense of right.But lo, Darth Vader cometh once again!

EnterDARTH VADER. They duel, and Luke is forced to the edge of a deep cavern.

VADER

This is the end for thee, Skywalker. See,Thou art defeated now; resistance wouldBe futile. Let yourself not be destroy’dAs Obi-Wan did, weak old man he was.

[They duel. Darth Vader cuts off Luke’s right hand with his lightsaber.

LUKE

O horror! O vast pain exceeding words!

VADER

Thou shalt find no escape. Do not make meDestroy thee. Great importance shalt thou haveWithin the Empire’s power, and thine ownShall only grow with time. I prithee, joinWith me, and I your training shall complete.When our strength is combin’d, we shall concludeThis bitter conflict and bring order toThe galaxy entire.

LUKE

—I never shallJoin with thee; I would rather be destroy’d.

VADER

[aside:] The boy doth admirably keep his head,But now I shall unleash the final blow.[To Luke:] If thou but knewest all the power of

The dark side. Obi-Wan hath never toldThee of what happen’d to thy father, Luke.

LUKE

O, he hath spoken much. And he hath toldMe of the truth—that thou didst slay him, aye,And without cause or mercy, murdererMost vile and wretched!

VADER

—No, I am thy father.

LUKE

Nay, ’tis not true! It is impossible!

VADER

Pray, search thy feelings, Luke. Thou knowest itIs true.

LUKE

—Nay!

VADER

—Luke, thou mayst the EmperorDestroy; he hath foreseen what thou wouldst do.It is thy destiny, come join with me—Together we shall rule the galaxyAs son and father. Come now, Luke, it isThe only way: the dark side is thy path.O join with me, and we shall be as one.

[Luke looks down and drops into the cavern.

LUKE

I fall, and yet no death’s upon me yet.I fall, for ’tis a better path than hate.

VADER

He falls, and welcomes death instead of pow’r.He falls, but I can sense he liveth still.

LUKE