While I was initially attracted to the Jedi of the Agricultural Service Corps, that original idea eventually evolved into something else, attempting to answer the question, “If a Jedi managed to escape the Purge, what would it take in the intervening years to simply get by in the Galaxy?”
Before we get too carried away, let’s address the bantha in the room:
Is it too ‘Gary Stu’ to survive through the Jedi Purge into the early Civil War period? Almost certainly. However, several factors from various texts increase the likelihood of survivability, and the older ‘failed Jedi’ is an interesting archetype to play with. Besides, I created this persona as an engagement hook to teach survival skills, and what’s the point of portraying a survivalist ex-Jedi if he’s not surviving?
Contributing factors to consider:
As an AgriCorps worker, Silo would have been out of the Temple a year before the war even began—so he was long gone by the time Operation Knightfall occurred in 19 BBY.
Per the Power of the Jedi Sourcebook, “most young Jedi in the AgriCorps serve on or near Coruscant” [presumably referring to the Salliche Ag Circuit], but “the Republic sometimes asks the Jedi to send students to other worlds to assist with farming operations” (WotC, 2002, p86).
James Luceno’s 2005 novel Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader proves an invaluable source for giving a Jedi POV of the chaos at the end of the Clone War. In one chapter, a survivor speculates, “It’s not possible that every Jedi has been killed…Some Jedi weren’t even with clone troopers…Other commanders may have refused to obey High Command’s execution orders” (Chapter 14).
This possibility is further underlined when it is pointed out [when Order 66 was issued] the Jedi “from the Agricultural Corps hadn’t been in the company of troopers” (Ch 23), although they were fired on and pursued when their shuttle arrived at a Republic space station.
Towards the end of the book, it is described how the further one gets from the Core, “HoloNet broadcasts were standard days, sometimes weeks, behind and always degraded…” (Chapter 52).
So, with these pieces of evidence, it is possible—however unlikely—that if an AgriCorps member was posted to a distant Rimward agriworld shortly before Order 66 (which may have been delayed in reaching him by hyperpace weirdness), was not in the presence of any nearby troops, is without lightsaber and with only very rudimentary (i.e. inconspicuous) Force powers to begin with…if he picked up the recalibrated Stay-Away signal and went underground or went nomad or native…survival could be possible.
Naming:
I have always struggled with coming up with in-universe names for my GFFA personas, as my first, middle, and last names give me a limited selection of letters to play with, all of which are very ‘soft’ sounds: AHILNOSTUY.
However, I like to have my personas’ names include elements of my real name as a way of better connecting with that character: I would like to avoid picking a random name simply because it sounds cool. In this case, I cut down my last name into ‘Olis’ and reversed the letters to form ‘Silo’. It is a nice coincidence that this is already an agricultural term!
Since Silo was a late-Republic Jedi, he would have very few (if any) memories of his life before being brought to the Temple, ergo I do not have to worry about coming up with either names for my parents or deciding on a homeworld – simplify simplify simplify!
Age:
As with all my personas, I like to ‘anchor’ each one around a specific event in-universe – and to tie this event to a similar or analogous event from real life. In the case of Silo, the persona is ‘anchored’ around the outbreak of the Clone Wars, waged over a three-year period which was reflected in real-time between the release of Episode II (May 2002) and Episode III (May 2005). I was 14.5 years old when Episode II was released (the outbreak of the War in 22 BBY), making Silo born in 36 BBY (1BrS—one year before the Great Resynchronization).
He would have been a part of a youngling clan at the Jedi Temple from the time of the Naboo crisis (32 BBY/GrS 3) until age eight (Complete Encylopedia Vol 2, p203), then washed out to the AgriCorps at age 13 (23 BBY/GrS 12) just before the Clone War.
This allows me to truthfully say that I was 14-17 during the war, and was aware enough to follow its developments (in the forms of the various EU novels, games, and comics, plus Tartakovsky’s microseries).
If I shave my head and dye some gray beard hairs, I can pass as early 30s, making Silo’s present 3BBY/GrS 32 and after: solidly Dark Times, though not quite in the open Rebellion phase: there’s not that much going on, but you’d definitely be starting to hear some anti-Imperial rumblings.
Personality:
Another great thing about what is essentially a ‘Jedi gardener’ impression is that I don’t have to do many mental gymnastics to fit myself into the headspace:
Per the protagonist of the novel Red Harvest, we learn that “Her fellow [AgriCorps] Jedi often worked for hours among their individual species without speaking a word. Much of their daily routine was accomplished in absolute silence” (Ch. 7). While I always enjoy working as part of a team, I’m very comfortable with solitary tasks, so this monk-like routine is very relatable! Being typically very reserved and comfortable with working with my hands in quiet for hours on end, for those who know me this persona is not much of a stretch!
The Jedi philosophy (especially that of the Living Force-focused variety espoused by Qui-Gon) also aligns nicely with my own interests and tendencies. Personally, I would much rather be out there doing good by getting my hands dirty, rehabilitating my landbase, and supporting my local ecosystem than navel-gazing in an ivory tower worrying about the big picture and nature of evil in the Galaxy.
Living History in the Star Wars Galaxy 