William Shakespeare's The Phantom Menace (12 page)

Yet 'tis a life I wish for, have wish'd for.

My mind is settl'd: I shall go with you.

[
To Shmi:
] O, mother mine, dost give me leave to go?

My son, 'tis not my place to give or take.

This path is set before thee—thou alone.

The choice, therefore, lies not with me, but thee.

Dost thou choose to depart—what is thy will?

Know this: no choice that thou canst make herein

Shall alter my unending love for thee.

Then I shall go—it is mine earnest wish.

Go then, and swift thy preparations make.

Hurrah! [
Aside:
] Yet wait, what's this that comes to me?

A thought o'er which I'd not reflected yet.

[
To Qui-Gon:
] What of my mother? May she also come?

There is no use in hiding truth from thee:

I did attempt to free her, Anakin—

I tried as well I could. Yet Watto did

Refuse to let your mother come withal.

And yet, thou shalt come with us, Mother, yea?

My place is here, my future here as well.

The time hath come for thou to just let go—

This change shall do thee well, be not afeard.

Why do we worship at the shrine of change?

Hath change e'er put a meal upon our board?

Is change a thing to be devoutly wish'd?

Doth change betoken something positive?

Or may it be that change for changing's sake

But changes good to evil, bad to worse?

Yet change cannot be stopp'd, lest thou would stop

The sun from setting, or stop death itself.

How shall a heart be whole that's rent in twain?

Would that I could be two instead of one

Both boy who doth remain with mother true,

And man who shall become a Jedi Knight.

I cannot be a man by staying here,

Therefore I'll be a boy who takes his leave.

Go with my love, my heart, my joy, my life.

[Anakin walks aside, to his chamber, where C-3PO sits, turned off
.

[
To Qui-Gon:
] I thank you, e'en though it is difficult.

I shall look after him: thou hast my word.

Wilt thou be well?

—As well as I can be.

Thou knowest, I do hope, how much I wish

We could take thee withal. Some part of me

Remaineth here, with thee, on Tatooine.

Indeed, I know. In taking my sweet boy,

You take with you my heart, and it is yours.

Pray, treat it well.

—'Twill be my life's pursuit.

And now farewell, dear lady. Be at peace.

[Anakin turns on C-3PO
.

Awake again—good Master Anakin!

I stand a'ready at your service, sir.

C-3PO, I have been freed today,

And presently must take my leave from thee.

I shall by starship fly from Tatooine.

I wish you well, my maker, master, both—

Yet I would wish to be complete ere you

Depart for stars and systems still unknown.

I beg thy pardon, Threepio, for I

Have not the time to finish thee or give

Thee all the coverings thou dost deserve.

I'll miss the time I spent constructing thee,

And e'en though thou art droid, thou wert a friend.

I shall entreat my mother not to sell thee.

Alack, to sell me?

—Now, adieu.

—O, my!

[Exit C-3PO. Anakin returns to Shmi and embraces her
.

I cannot part from thee, my mother, nay.

O, Anakin, have courage and endure.

O, think'st thou we shall ever meet again?

What is the whisper of thy heart, dear one?

I do not know; I hope so. I say: aye.

If thou dost say it, truly it shall be.

Keep me within thy heart until that time.

I shall return and grant your freedom, too.

This is my promise and my solemn vow.

Now go, my son, and look not backward. Yea,

I bid thee, keep thine eyes e'er forward turn'd.

O, look not backward.

[Exit Anakin
.

Agony most rare!

With ev'ry yearning of this mother's will

I would both let him go and keep him here.

The two desires make duel in me still:

The selfish one would keep him for mine own,

The better one would see him go, be free.

That better part hath power o'er my tongue,

Whilst cries the selfish part within my soul.

For one, this is a mother's proudest time,

For th'other, 'tis the height of pain and grief.

Such gain, such loss, such blessing and such burthen,

Beyond all measure anguish, joy, and fear.

Was ever mother fortunate as I?

Was ever mother desolate as I?

O, Fate, go with these two who leave me now:

The man and boy—nay, rather 'tis two men.

One young, one older, aye, yet both are men.

This is my solace: I did raise the boy,

Did give him all I could whilst he was mine,

And now, as a young man, the bird shall fly.

Thus shall my tears turn to a healing balm,

And sighs of sorrow turn to breath of life.

Goodbye, mine Anakin, mine only son:

My life is whole since thine hath just begun.

[Exit
.

The Jedi's whereabouts my droids have found,

And I shall make my strike on them anon.

I see them now—the older Jedi comes

With boy of little consequence behind.

I'll make my swift attack upon the elder,

And finish with the youth once he is dead.

Enter
Q
UI
-G
ON
J
INN
and
A
NAKIN
S
KYWALKER
.

Behold, what's this? An enemy? [
To Anakin
:] Make haste!

Unto the ship make thou the swiftest flight,

And tell them to depart most urgently!

[Exit Anakin. Qui-Gon and Darth Maul begin to duel
.

Your pow'rs are weak, and agèd your technique.

You art no match for one so skill'd as I.

Alas, such speed and fleet agility

I ne'er have seen but in the Jedi ranks.

Enter
O
BI
-W
AN
K
ENOBI
, A
NAKIN
S
KYWALKER
, R2-D2, C
APTAIN
P
ANAKA
, and R
IC
O
LIÉ
on balcony, in the cockpit of the Naboo cruiser
.

Great trouble doth pursue Qui-Gon below!

I prithee, pilot, take off now!

—I shall!

Draw near to them—fly low that he may leap.

[Qui-Gon begins to lose strength
.

You grow still weaker; soon I'll see you fall.

Perchance I've one last leap to save myself.

[Qui-Gon jumps into the ship, on the balcony
.

This battle ends, and you are barely sav'd:

Next time you shall not be so fortunate.

[Exit Darth Maul
.

Good sir, is't well with you?

—What was the thing?

I am not certain, merely do I know

That it was trainèd well in Jedi arts.

Belike it hither came to take our queen—

And, lo, the game it plays is dangerous.

What shall we do?

—For now we bide our time,

And strive for calm and patience in all things.

Young Anakin Skywalker, I present

My strong apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Well met, dear sir. Are you a Jedi, too?

Indeed, my lad, as well thou mayest be.

Together we shall this new threat confront—

Belike we'll answers find on Coruscant.

[Exeunt
.

Your queen is lost, your people feebly starve,

And it appears their governor—e'en you—

May not outlive them. Truth, your life is mine,

A prize that I do mean to claim anon.

Your ill-advis'd attack shall gain you nil.

Naboo is proudly a democracy:

Its citizens decide, and they did speak

Decisively enough against your rule.

Your insolence offends. [
To guards:
] Take him away!

[Exeunt several guards with Sio Bibble
.

My troops have ta'en position in the swamps,

Where they seek out the underwater towns

About which rumor hath been spread of late.

What hidden is shall soon revealèd be.

I thank thee, Captain: thy words ease my mind.

Make me a full report of what they find.

[Exeunt
.

Whilst cruelly doth the Federation find

Excuse to starve Naboo's poor, conquer'd hordes,

Fear starts to rise within each troubl'd mind—

Look ye, and see how Rumor knots her cords.

Young Anakin by guilt is overrun,

Thinks he of her he left with sad regret.

Old Qui-Gon and the younger Obi-Wan

Consider this portentous recent threat.

O, how fleet Rumor does her labor—see?—

Runs to and fro to make them sick with fear.

Unsung is my impact on history,

Such times as these are wherefore I am here.

Catch all, I shall, within the net I threw

And witness each sharp pain they undergo.

Now, watch as one more cometh into view:

The maiden Padmé, full of care and woe.

[Exit Rumor
.

Enter
P
ADMÉ
.

By dark of night I come to hear what news

I can of my defenseless countrymen.

Would that I could be present with them there

To share in their torment and suffering

And be handmaiden to their ev'ry hope.

Yet since, for now, I am a traveler

And spinning through the echelons of space,

My path lies not with that of my dear ones.

Thus must I steal a hidden glimpse of them.

P
ADMÉ
turns on the computer
.
Enter
S
IO
B
IBBLE
in beam
.

The death toll hath been catastrophic here.

Conform unto their wishes, Highness, please,

And contact me anon, ere more are dead.

[Exit Sio Bibble from beam
.

Enter
A
NAKIN
S
KYWALKER
.

Sweet boy, how dost thou fare?