Qui-Gon thought before answering. He needed to keep her talking. He needed to appear to be interested in her studies.

"That is a good point," he said. "We believe the Force connects us all."

"That is exactly my point!" Zan Arbor said excitedly. "The Jedi should welcome my interest."

"How do you know they do not?" Qui-Gon asked. "You haven't asked us."

"I don't need your permission," she snapped.

He was losing her. "I didn't mean that," he said. "You are a brilliant researcher. You might want to share your findings with the galaxy."

"When I am ready," she said. "But not until then."

"And what are you looking for?"

She did not answer for a moment, and he was afraid the conversation was over. Then she said, "My colleagues are fools."

Qui-Gon waited. He did not want to seem too eager. Something told him that Jenna Zan Arbor wanted to talk.

"You've traveled. You must have seen that the galaxy is full of fools."

"I have seen that many beings do not trust their eyes, their minds, or their hearts," Qui-Gon said.

"Exactly! So you see what I have to deal with," Jenna Zan Arbor said, her voice warming. "I have just come from a conference at the Senate. My colleagues are chasing dreams, not ideas. New ways to make starships go faster. New engines, new fuels, new hyperdrives. They try to find ways to make weapons more powerful, more effective. They look for new sources of power. Faster. Bigger. Better. That is what they chase. They ignore the most powerful energy in the galaxy. The Force is far more important than any of these. With the Force, you can move minds. That is much more important than ships!"

"I would agree with that," Qui-Gon said.