Perhaps one of the most controversial bit of continuity ever inserted into Star Wars was the midi-chlorian. Based on the endosymbiotic theory that certain cell organelles such as mitochondria and chloroplasts (from which midi-chlorians derive their name) developed as free floating bacteria-like organisms before being taken inside other cells as symbionts, midi-chlorians are supposed to act as intermediaries between the force and living creatures.
But obviously, as explained by Qui-Gon above, they are more than that.
If we take Qui-Gon literally, then without midi-chlorians life could not exist, but I believe that like most mystics, Qui-Gon was speaking at least in part metaphorically and religiously. Life can exist without midi-chlorians, you and I are examples of this.
I mention all this because the other day I was considering the original series Star Trek episode “Plato’s Stepchildren” which is famous as depicting the first inter-racial kiss on national when Kirk was forced via telekinetic control to kiss Lt. Uhura by aliens on the planet Platonus.
The kiss not withstanding, I was always more fascinated with other aspects of the story. The aliens on this planet all have remarkable telekinetic (and possibly other psychic powers) because they have ingested a poorly defined substance called kironide. To turn the tables on the aliens, Dr. McCoy develops a kironide injection that will give Kirk, Spock and himself twice the power of the aliens. Kirk uses his new found abilities to win.
The abilities Kirk develops are telekinesis and limited mind control. What bothered me about the episode is now that Star Fleet has discovered this amazing technology, why isn’t everyone using it? The series never explains this. Perhaps there are terrible side effects? It is never explained.
The other day it occurred to me that the effects of kironide are exactly the same as the effects of midi-chlorians, and I began to wonder if they are indeed one and the same thing. If so, we can see much of what Qui-Gon says about midi-chlorians as being mystically minded nonsense. The midi-chlorians don’t actually speak to the Jedi, in the same way that we understand that ghosts don’t actually speak to believing spiritualists. Midi-Chlorians provide an actionable ability for the Jedi religion to exploit, but in no way does this completely natural phenomenon prove the existence of a mystical energy field called the force.
Dr. McCoy came at the same substance in an entirely different way. He understood kironide (or midi-chlorians) as an entirely natural idea. It was simply a life form or substance that amplified one’s psychic abilities, the same kind of thing that happened to Lt. Commander Gary Mitchell at the galaxy’s edge in the episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before”.
