Dr. Meridius & The Sisters of Mercy
Dr. Ezra Meridius is a Tydirian like myself (not to be confused with a "Toydarian") and one of the foremost experts in the know galaxy on matters related to telepathy. His father, Yavis Meridius, was a wealthy Corellian shipping magnate who wasn’t linked to his Tydirian mother, Oopat’hani. She was, however, linked with 2 other men, quite rare for a female mentalist but not surprising considering she was a woman of extraordinary cognitive ability. None the less, she and Yavis fall in love and married while vacationing on Tydirium Prime.
During the last trimester of her pregnancy, on a visit to Coruscant, both she and Yavis were placed under arrest by the Jedi Council and charged with treason. It was all an excuse to get hold of the unborn child, whom the Jedi had correctly assumed would share his mother’s unique abilities, thus being a potential asset. It was not unusual for the Council to procure children it deemed “gifted,” but this was a calculated risk: They had full jurisdiction over Corellia but were facing a potentially serious diplomatic row with powerful Tydirium. In the end they decided that Ezra was worth the price. Shortly after delivering the baby Oopat’hani was given a sham trial and executed, as was Yavis.
Ezra was sent to an off-world laboratory for examination and testing. Over the years he was watched carefully, prodded, poked, studied and controlled. Several clones were produced from his DNA in the hopes that they would also share his enhanced cognitive abilities, but in the end they all turned out to be mere empty shells of the original.
To ensure the Jedi had complete control over their slave, cybernetic components were implanted throughout his body including inside his prostate, kidneys, lungs and heart. There were also devices inserted into his prefrontal cortex and along the optic nerves. These were intended to monitor brain activity and to prevent any “unauthorized communication” with his potential Links. It was all going along as planned until his 26th revolution.
His mind somehow bypassed the suppression hardware and sent a distress call to one of his Links, a beautiful Twi'lek named Uthantani who was living on Candirius 2 at the time, some 3 parsecs (appx. 10 light years) away from Coruscant. This started a chain reaction and awoke the minds of 11 additional Links who began speaking with one another, and soon started formulating a plan to free their man from his imprisonment.
Ezra's subconscious mind was now communicating in a love language that was foreign to the Jedi, both literally and figuratively. It also confused the hell out the computers and the analysts assigned to monitor him. The Council itself was well aware that something was developing, but they remained divided on what to do about it. A contingent led by Mace Windu, perhaps fearing reprisal from Tydirium, wanted him disposed of immediately. The other half, including Yoda, voted to keep the subject alive and maintain the program.
Over the next 9 revolutions Ezra gradually became cognizant of who he was speaking with. He called them the Sisters of Mercy, and eventually grew to be as devoted to them as they were to him. They finally freed him after launching an audacious rescue operation in broad daylight, just a few steps from the Jedi temple. It was truly the stuff of legends.
I’m fortunate to have had the opportunity to speak with Doctor Meridius at length on several occasions. He’s been quite candid with me about his time in captivity, his thoughts on the Jedi, and his experiences with the Great Link. He recently said to me, “You and your devotees have shared The Link from birth, but do you know what it is to feel completely alone in the universe and then suddenly discover the blissful intimacies of a shared mind? It’s like a man wandering the wastelands of Tatooine for many revolutions without water and then suddenly finding himself in an oasis, with his lovers waiting patiently by the shore. To put it another way: I’ve never visited a pleasure planet and it’s unlikely that I ever will. It's not that I have any moral qualms about it, I just feel it would be a disappointing experience. Nothing could satisfy like being near a Sister of Mercy, or compare to the shared euphoria of our dreams.”