The Monty Hall Paradox

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***

 "Monty Hall's Paradox is one of the famous problems in probability theory whose solution, at first glance, defies common sense." 

 Padme walked into the room and plopped tiredly into a chair, covering her eyes so she didn't even notice me placing a cup of fragrant herbal Nabuan tea in front of her. Qui-Gon and Obi-wan had come in after me and were now seated next to Padmé. Obi-wan looked impatient, and even Qui-Gon had a look of impatience on his face, so they watched as Padmé opened her eyes, looked around, and then just noticed the tea. Taking a small sip, she took a breath and began to tell them:

 - The Chancellor decided everything on his own, he didn't even let the Queen get a word in edgewise! And he decided to start a full-scale conflict with the Federation, to declare them pirates.....

 The Jedi looked at me and looked at me, so I had to recant:

 - What about me? I'm nothing!

 - Yes, yes," Qui-Gon nodded and looked demandingly at Padme, so she continued:

 - He's also become very aggressive towards the Federation. I didn't expect such harshness from Valorum, who was usually soft-spoken.... No one in the senate expected it either, but everyone was pleased - this trade federation is too much, and the blockade of Naboo goes beyond the law.

 - Padme fell silent while I pondered the new situation. My intervention had led to unpredictable results - Valorum-Koschei hadn't been overthrown, so Palpatine was still a senator, and might never rise above him - the queen had an excuse to just suspend him, but that was a tricky one to pull off.

 - I wonder how the Chancellor is going to destroy an entire trade federation. - I asked while everyone was silent.

 - Obviously, he'll use the Jedi," Padme raised an eyebrow at Qui-Gon, but he shook his head:

 - The Jedi are the guardians of the peace of the Republic, not the army, and besides, even if we could pull it off, the council would be dead set against the chancellor-the Order doesn't like the senate trying to use us as a replacement for the army and the justice corps.

 - But we'll probably have a job... - Obi-wan stretched out after listening to his teacher.

 - Yes, my padawan, the Order is never short of work, especially when it comes to destroying a corporation as large and powerful as the Trade Federation. Neimodia will resist to the last. - Qui-Gon, as tired as Padme, collapsed in his chair and closed his eyes. The queen, on the other hand, asked in surprise:

 - You mean you're not going to help us? - Obi-wan answered her:

 - To you, Padme, with pleasure, but to work as warriors instead of the republic's army - never. Not only did the Republic, after the Ruusan reform, demilitarise the Order, abolish ranks, units, and fleets, but they also disbanded their own army. As a result, a handful of traders armed no better than smugglers dictate their terms to the Republic, and the Senate has been silent and afraid of them for a long time. Even if there was an embarrassment with the trade federation, it would be a good lesson for the whole Senate.

 First they refused to feed their own army, and now they resented feeding someone else's. Padme stared silently to the side and said:

 - We're flying to Naboo tomorrow night, the Chancellor has promised to give some warships and ask the Order to help, so...

 - 'We understand,' Qui-Gon nodded, 'Anakin, will you fly to Naboo?

 - Me? Mm-hmm. - I thought seriously. The prospect of going to this dangerous place didn't make me happy, but the choice was simple: Naboo or the Jedi Temple. Naboo was probably more interesting, especially since there was something to do instead of putting my sword under discharges.... - Of course, Qui-Gon.

 - Well, the choice is yours. Now, you will continue your training. Obi-wan? Will you keep watch? - He turned to his student.

 - Yes, Master. - Ben nodded humbly and stood up, looking at me. I had to get up and move to the living room, while it was still a long way before "her majesty" arrived. Qui-Gon stayed with Padme and started talking about something, but I couldn't make out the words.

 The second training session of the day was more fun than the first - after I'd been fending off gunfire for a few minutes, Ben had had enough and increased the droid's rate of fire. Unlike the first mode, I had to adjust a bit - the sword was trying to get out of my hands when I moved quickly. After I adjusted, it became easier, and the charges stopped stinging me, and the sword held confidently. As far as I understood, the gyroscopic moment occurs in the whole arch of the sword and in order to keep the balance it is necessary not to end the movement by forceful stopping of the sword, but to smoothly move it away, using minimum force, or finishing the movement at all, to start a new one from the same moment. After about ten minutes of shooting, I experimented a bit and tried to start a new movement as a continuation of the old one.

 The difficulty was that the movement had to be not only a continuation of the previous one, but also to be shot at the right moment in time, i.e. I had to start reflecting the second shot before the first one happened - from the first movement.

 It is somewhat like chess - when making a move, assume the second and initially arrange the pieces so that both the second and third moves of the opponent would encounter a dense defence. After the first three failed attempts, Obi-wan, whom I had forgotten about, sat on the couch and just watched me deflect the droid's shots. The droid, a kind of balloon, was flying around me, unlike in the film, in a circle, so I couldn't relax. In time dimension it looked interesting - the droid shoots, then describes a parabola and goes down a bit, making a shot at the bottom point, then accelerates and comes from the back, making two more shots, then back, but already at the height of my height. First of all I put my sword under the first shot, then, trying to synchronise the movement in time, I describe an arc with my sword, and in the process catch two more charges, then with the help of sword inertia I turn around one hundred and eighty degrees and put my sword obliquely, so that both shots hit him, and then, without stopping the movement, I take my sword behind my shoulder and reflect the shot from the back. Not bad fun, I'll tell you that. if the droid didn't keep firing, never giving me a break. After I realised what the training was all about, it got easier.

 Again, I consider the droid in its near future - it moves in a circle around me, firing at four points - I respond by swiping my sword at a speed that would be parried in one motion, without having to strain my tired arms.

 Before the droid could fire again, Obi-wan got up from the couch and switched off the droid. I, however, legitimately took off my blindfold on it without opening my eyes, but Ben didn't wait for me to look at him and spoke:

 - "Yeah, you're doing pretty good. It must be the experiments you've been doing. There's something strange about your movements, though...

 - Maybe a complete lack of style? After all, I didn't learn to swing this thing..... - I said, slowly opening my eyes. Ben thought for a moment and replied:

 - No, something else... You parried a series of shots so easily, five discharges in one move - that's something. But I don't understand how you do it," he said. Well, that gives me something to think about in the underworld-apparently something about my results is atypical of a Jedi. Ben's not a silly little boy, he's already figured it out.

- Well, I don't know that. What's the right way?

 - You're doing the right thing. You're doing a good job. We'll do faster modes later - for now, get some rest," he said and, having placed the switched off droid on the table, continued: - 'You can put the sword aside for now.

 I rested, but before Ben could call out to me, I turned to him and gave him a look of attention.

 - The gift is well-developed, but you're right - you have no training in swordsmanship, so we'll start from the beginning....

 - With what?

 - Breathing. So, breathing is the most important thing in fencing - the rhythm of the fight and all other movements depend on how we breathe. You can put away your training sword for now and sit closer, - he sat down in a pseudolotos pose next to the sofa on the clean floor and, closing his eyes, took a deep breath.... I seem to recall something like that - Qui-Gon had done it during his duel with Maul.

 I had to repeat Ben's pose, sitting across from him. The only exception was that when I closed my eyes, the perception of power came back to me - a vision of the entire sphere around me and a time span of five to ten seconds ahead. My legs didn't feel as stiff in the non-lothos pose, and I was able to sit up easily. I didn't see much difference, so I just sat there, savouring the new perception. It wasn't so much more than the clarity of my vision, but it was powerful, like a bright and not-so-bright glow that permeated every molecule of matter..... The glow was strong in Obi-Wan, as it was in me, and separately I could see the bright dot on his belt, the lightsaber crystal. About ten minutes passed after I closed my eyes, and Ben, when I was beginning to worry that he had fallen asleep, said:

 - Relax. Just relax your muscles, and don't worry about anything, think of pink hutt..... - He said in an "otherworldly" voice without opening his eyes.

 - ??? Um... Ben? Are you all right? - Jabba immediately burst into my thoughts. Is that mountain of meat pink? No, my imagination is failing.

 - Heh-heh. I couldn't help myself. - Said Kenobi, smiling.

 - What a joke you've got... I was beginning to repaint Jabba. In my mind.

 - Yeah, that would be fun," Kenobi smiled again and gave a serious expression, "just relax.

 That's how Qui-Gon caught us trying to catch our breath. Unlike Ben, I saw him, so I interrupted the breathing exercise and struggled to stand up. Ben noticed the movement and opened his eyes.

 - I see you started with the basics. Well, that's fine. Anakin, Obi-wan and I are going to stay here for now, and the queen leaves tomorrow. You will fly with us, as I have taken responsibility for you to the council," the Jedi said nonchalantly.

* eight hours later *

- What's this about? - Qui-Gon asked in surprise, looking at Skywalker asleep as he walked. Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was dragging him along, looked at the teacher, then at the boy, and couldn't find a better answer than "It's Anakin".

- I can see it's Skywalker! Tell me, Obi-Wan, what is he doing on OUR ship? - The knight tried to calm down, and watched his breathing, but what had happened still threw him off balance.

- Well, he was sleeping in the cargo hold. - Obi-Wan Kenobi answered, unconsciously ruffling his hair.

The perpetrator of the dispute, aka Anakin Skywalker, was just beginning to wake up and come to his senses.

- Obi-Wan, I ask again, how did he get on the ship and why isn't he with the Nabuans?

- Master, you should ask Anakin yourself. I have no idea.

- Very well. - Qui-Gon replied in a tone that did not bode well for Obi-wan. The boy yawned widely at that moment, stretching at the same time. He was finally awake from the high-pitched conversation that had taken place, and he looked in amazement at the place where he was staying - the Consul ship, which looked nothing like the Nubian.

* An hour before the above events *

I was rudely shaken awake. As I woke up, I heard the sounds of voices, both male and female, the stomping of feet, the metallic sounds of moving droids... I opened my eyes and looked at the man who had woken me up, but all I saw was Obi-wan walking away from my room. The Jedi was in full attire, and that was all I could see. As I stretched, I noticed a noise, and thinking something had happened, I hurriedly began to get dressed. After I dressed quickly, put my lightsaber on my belt, and took my credit cards, I went out into the living room... Well, the picture that appeared before my eyes was worthy of a chronicler as an example of chaos and disorder, and undisciplined. There were maids in orange-red robes, ordinary servants, somewhere in the distance, Panaka, a negro invisible to me, was commanding something - he could be heard clearly in this cacophony of sounds. I decided to find out what was going on, and started to look for Padme or Mum, but I had to squeeze into the wall - people were walking with astonishing frequency, and I could have been knocked down without being noticed.

The Jedi didn't add to the calm - Qui-Gon was standing by the window, saying something to the male guards, led by Panaka. His apprentice, Ben, was seen at the other end of the room dragging something heavy under the guidance of a maid in a bright orange robe.

Mum was spotted in all this bedlam, and as quickly as I could, I went over to her, immediately asking:

- "Mum! What's going on, what's all the noise?

- Ani? Ani, we're leaving for Naboo, so hurry up and get your stuff. Come on, run," Mum pushed me towards the room where my belongings were nestled in a corner, the little things I'd bought here on Coruscant.

I just as hastily shoved the stuff into my rucksack and stepped out. On my way out of the room, I ran into Qui-Gon, who noticed me. Deciding to ask about the reasons for such a rush, I blurted out:

- Qui-Gon, what's all this trouble? What's wrong, why are we leaving?

- Anakin, not now. - The Jedi dismissed me as a child in the way and walked past me. 

Since I didn't have the strength to stay in this pandemonium, I just closed my eyes and sank into the perception of reality through force. I don't know what it's called, but when the information of circular, or more precisely to say spherical-panoramic view started to come into my brain, it became easier, at least the chance of bumping into someone and not not noticing them was much less, and if you add time perception, it was reduced to zero. I took a quick step through the crowd without hitting anyone and walked to the door.

I walked out of the royal chambers and down the corridor to the hangar where Nubian was standing. The noise and clamour in the royal chambers had not spread to the hangar, so that here, the silence was interrupted only by the low hum of city sounds. The air was a little colder at night than during the day, and it smelled of machinery.

There were two ships in the hangar, the Nubian itself and another one, red and white in colour and one and a half times larger than the Nabuan yacht.

Obi-Wan came out with what looked like a heavy bale and followed me into the red-and-white yacht. After a few seconds he went inside on the ramp and after a few seconds he came out hurriedly back and said to me: "We're leaving, it's started" and went back inside. As soon as he was out of the hangar door, a maid came out and followed him to Nubian. Without a moment's thought, I, still asleep on the move and acting on automatic, stepped into the red and white spaceship. Qui-Gon had said we'd leave tonight, but something must have happened to cause such a commotion.

Inside was a roomy cargo cabin, similar to a cargo plane, only unlike planes, it was full of boxes, things, and other stuff. Judging by the size of this "warehouse" it occupied only a fifth of the whole fuselage, but it was quite impressive. Even the ramp was twice the size of the Nubian's. Deciding to wait for Qui-Gon to explain what was going on, I put my duffel bag with the other things and sat down on the crate, yawning.

An Erdva drove past me with its tracks whirring. The droid stopped and turned the sensor in my direction and beeped something warningly, but I said "Uh-huh" without opening my eyes. Erdva, for some reason, emitted a cheerful or trill that must mean something like a laugh or a giggle and drove on, leaving me alone....

Qui-Gon was still not coming, so I didn't realise that I had fallen into a dream....

* Present tense *

Qui-Gon looked at me demandingly. At that moment the ship was already in hyperspace, and there was no way to get out of it and get everything back.

- Um... Qui-Gon, can you explain what happened? I don't understand! - I started to defend myself. But the Jedi Knight surprised me by putting his right hand to his face and after a few seconds of silence, saying:

- Obi-Wan, explain to Anakin, I'm already exhausted from the two of you. You're driving me to my grave!

Ben, looking at his teacher in surprise, didn't argue and turned to me:

- Anakin, we're not going to Naboo. The Nabuans are returning, but the Council has called us back to Neimodia.

- Ben, tell me exactly what happened. - I demanded, glancing at Qui-Gon. He was still sitting in his chair with his hand over his eyes. Ben began to tell me:

- In order? Well, then, listen. The Chancellor, before making such strong proposals as destroying the TF, or rather disbanding and reorganising it, had the support of important allies....

Apparently something was reflected on my face as Ben explained:

- Well, the Techno-Union, other major organisations... The Valorums are an ancient and influential clan, so the Chancellor has plenty of connections. Here.

- I realised I didn't understand anything," I explained, eliciting a heavy sigh from Qui-Gon.

- 'Anyway, Skywalker, before picking a fight with the Federation, the Chancellor negotiated with the Federation's main allies and got their support. I don't know what he promised them, but the Federation turned its back on many, if not all, of them. The last one to become a big problem was the Hutts. They could have let the Federation use their sector of space and turned them from fine people into real rebels. But fortunately, the Hutts had declared neutrality - they wouldn't let us in, but they wouldn't let the Federation get anything from them either. True, they gave their answer when everyone was already asleep.

Kenobi coughed and, after a few seconds of silence, continued:

- The Neimodians, having learnt that a large-scale action was being prepared, began to hastily withdraw their troops from Naboo and other planets, pulling all their forces to Neimodia and the so-called "money worlds" - the main planets of their trade. But mainly, of course, Neimodia. It happened almost immediately - a few hours after the Chancellor's speech.

- It was expected, wasn't it? - I asked, realising that to defend the metropolis, pulling in forces from all sorts of distant garrisons was kind of a normal move.

- Yes, expected. But that's not the point. The Chancellor, as soon as he realised Palpatine was trying to force a vote of no confidence, used his connections... or powers, or bribes, or whatever, and within half an hour he had the original memory cards of all the droids that serviced Senator Palpatine. Your suspicions were confirmed, but we didn't get them--

- What, Palpatine publicly confessed that he was a Sith? - I asked, admitting that I had underestimated Koschei. They don't keep fools in such positions, and the general "democratic" lawlessness gives rise to some pretty unthinkable moves for the government. Shit, a chancellor who takes bribes? Yeah, we've lived to play democracy... but on the other hand, no courts or search warrants... Palpatine probably has a lot to answer for.

- Almost. It's been proven that he was behind the assassination attempt on the Queen and that he's a Sith. Not exactly public, but enough dirt to bury him and the entire trade federation. That's about the time the Senators will wake up and start demanding proof of the Viceroy's guilt... Never mind! The main thing is that he unearthed a real live Sith. Guess how he used the information? - Obi-Wan asked, smiling.

- I can see how, considering you snapped in the middle of the night to those she-what's-her-name?

Kenobi smiled and, after a moment's silence, asked:

- So why the Hutt are you flying with us? And why do I find you sleeping in the cargo hold?

- Well... yesterday Qui-Gon said that 'we're flying out'. And today, too.

- Is that so? - The student looked at the teacher, but encountered a frown.

- 'I thought we would continue the mission, but Valorum was able to manipulate even the Jedi council by digging up information about the Federation-Sith connection. Master Yoda, will personally lead the attack on Neimodia, and is gathering the best Jedi to do so. We don't expect peace talks - the Neimodians, or rather the heads of the Federation, are ready to fight to the last man, so it will be dangerous. I don't know why you're following us. Qui-Gon had already recovered from his irritation and regained his samurai calmness: "However, you have a sword, just try to keep your head down..." he said.

- Master, have you forgotten what happened to the last Consul team that brought us to Naboo?

- I haven't forgotten, Ben. And you, Anakin, I hope you don't do that again. - Qui-Gon said reproachfully.

- Um... I had nothing to do with it at all! - I exclaimed back. I had a meeting with the Master and an assault on a Trade Federation planet ahead of me, and something tells me I can't sit on the sidelines. Man, I'm so lucky to be in this mess. All I memorised was the phrase "we leave tomorrow." But at least I have my sword with me, and wherever we go.....

Qui-Gon and his apprentice sat in the main compartment, silently pondering their own thoughts. Probably, Qui-Gon was already preparing to get a reprimand from the Master, and his pupil, Ben, was waiting for something to be clear. I broke the silence again:

- "Um... Qui-Gon, ben, while we're flying, we should practice. It's so boring here in this hyperspace....

- He's bored," the Jedi grumbled. He grumbled, but got up and went to his quarters. Qui-Gon Jinn returned with my old friend, the training droid. Ben, do you have the training sword?

- Yes, master. - Kenobi pulled a practice lightsaber from somewhere in his pocket and held it out to his teacher, but Qui-Gon addressed it to me:

- Give it to Anakin. Anakin, I hope you realise that it's in our best interests that you do well, or else the Master will kill me....

- Think you brought an untrained boy with you? - I raised an eyebrow, taking the saber from Obi-wan.

- There, you understand. Now just pull yourself together and do your best. Obi-Wan, where was the ribbon?

Ben Kenobi, with a magician's gesture, pulled a good old ribbon from somewhere in the folds of his clothes and handed it to me. I didn't have to try - my perception was much better with my eyes closed than with my eyes open. But I didn't tell the Jedi that secret yet, though they'd figure it out sooner or later.