As a result of reading tGS, I have been ruminating on the Forsaken and the nature of evil, and how behavior that seems counter-indicated for success is actually inherent in overtly evil types.

Now everyone likes to point out all the stuid things characters in Star Wars do to make themselves feel smart. And one of the favorite things to pick on is the destructibility of the Death Star. "Why build a big, super-powerful space ship with what amounts to a self-destruct button?" is a typical complaint, and not usually unjustified when that particular plot device is abused in a lot of sci-fi. But we have to remember that despite assesment of normal engineering concerns, this was not a typical military project (though military history is replete with equally flawed designs - HMS Hood stored much of their blow-uppy materiel in a place that was inadequately protected against shellfire). It was conceived and bought/funded/ordered by people who actually ARE evil, not merely subscribing to an unpopular political agenda. The Dark Lords of the Sith built this as a superweapon, which according to the one discussion in the movie about the ramifications, was intended to terrorize people into obeying the Empire now that their elected legislature was disbanded. They plainly thought this was a sowrd of Damocles they could use to control an entire galaxy! Their minions called it "the ultimate power in the universe." Vader, on the other hand, responds to that with a sneer, basically telling them that he's still the most powerful guy, not the time-serving technician in charge of operating the Death Star. With that kind of attitude towards the creators of this "technological terror" do you really think the Sith are all that sanguine about setting all this firepower loose in a nearly-indestructible moon-sized battle station, which ordinary schlubs can use to blow up planets? Especially one that is so easily infiltrated by a small group (look at how effortlessly Han & Luke get around after stumbling into the place by accident - imagine a rebel commando team with a schematics for the controls! )?

This is the essence of Evil characters - they want power for themselves. They are not working for any sort of ostensible political ideal. Hitler might have sacrificed himself if it would have furthered National Socialism for all we know, but I can't see Vader or the Emperor doing the same for the cause of the Dark Side, anymore than I can see one of the Forsaken taking a bullet for the Nae'blis or diving on a grenade to save the others. This would explain why convenient plot devices like self-destruct buttons on spaceships would exist, as long as they were under the control of an actually Evil ruler. Even in the real world, warships have means of scuttling, which appears to have killed more German warships in the 20th century than the Royal Navy. Now one might argue that a mircle shot down an exhaust shaft is a bit far-fetched as a means for a control-freak Emperor to prevent his minions from running off with his new toy or from blowing up Coruscant, but how was that shot accomplished? Nearly every fighter attacking the Death Star was destroyed and the only guy to attempt the shot failed. In the briefing before the battle, one of the professional pilots calls it impossible. How was it actually done? By a guy using the Force! It would have to ONLY be doable through the Force, otherwise why would Ghostly-Wan have told Luke to do it? I know he wanted Luke to practice, but when the whole cause for which he died was at stake, I doubt he'd enourage Luke to use a less-likely-to-succeed method just to get some practice in. And Luke is a tyro at the whole "Force" thing, which means if it was possible for the computer to make that shot, it would have been the better gamble.

So, to re-cap. Evil people deploy an unprecedentedly powerful weapon which mundane folks (who are high-ranking military officers) think is capable of intimidating the whole galaxy into obediance - in effect, capable of turning ordinary people against even the Emperor if his enemies got their hands on it, deploy a weapon whose only weakness requires command of the Force to exploit! And who in the galaxy can use the Force? Well that would be the Jedi and the Sith, except the Jedi are all wiped out, and the Sith are the guys who commissioned this thing. So the Sith are the only ones left who can actually blow it up! The only Jedi that might still be around are a rapidly aging guy who constantly complained how much he hated flying (and who mostly got shot down without Anakin to cover his butt), and a guy too short to actually fly any kind of real fighter (why else would he need Bail Organa for a chauffer? ). Even if one of the surviving Jedi did manage to kill the Death Star that way, the Emperor & Vader still come out ahead, because the Force has just been proven more dealy thatn the Empire's ultimate weapon, so all you treacherous minions just keep that in mind... Do you think they really care about the cost in lives and resources? The Death Star was hardly the work of anyone with respect for human life OR a reasonable military appropriations budget.

Vader sneers condescendingly at how insignificant the Death Star is next to the Force, but how would a Jedi, based on what we see them do in the movies, go about destroying the Death Star? The Grand Wizard of the Jedi needs to concentrate to get an X-Wing out of a shallow pond, and we are supposed to believe they could smash up the Death Star? I would imagine even the Emperor would get tired pretty quick trying to chop up any significant portion with a light saber. But using the force to place a silver bullet right in the exact necessary spot? Sure! And note the different reactions of Vader and Tarkin upon learning about the rebel attack. Vader hears about a bunch of fighters breaking off from the main group and he's suddenly "We've got to go out get those Mo-Fos," while the other guy runs the place doesn't think they can hurt him. Almost like he knew what they were up to...

And coincidentally, the main Sith guy responsible for keeping an eye on the Death Star is an awesome pilot (and cited as such in this exact movie) and just happens to have been equipped with a hyperspace-capable fighter mod of a type noted earlier as having a very short range. Darth Vader JUST HAPPENED to have a TIE fighter that appears to be the only one of its kind capable of flying to safety if the Death Star HAPPENS to blows up.

IMO, it is entirely plausible that the Death Star's fatal weakness was a design feature for the sole convenience of the Sith who ruled the Empire. After all, if you have the Force, which is the greatest power known, why make something that is viscerally more scary than the Force for anyone who cannot sense and appreciate that all-powerful energy field? Evil rulers are always afraid of treachery because they practice it themselves and so imagining it comes easy to them. When you build a weapon that lets anyone with the keys rule the galaxy through fear, you are just asking to be overthrown by it. "I'll come choke you if you follow the treacherous Death Star admiral's orders" just doesn't cut it as a counter-threat. So what better way to keep a hand on the wheel than building in a weakness to your particular brand of power, and tailored to the skill set of your main enforcer? I submit that the supposed plot hole of the Death Star's weakness is completely in character for the guys who commissioned the thing in the first place.