I know what I did was wrong, and that I betrayed many who put their trust in me. I do not ask you to condone this. Understand though, that I was young and naive at the time, and I really didn't know any better. Like the apprentice who thinks he knows more than his master, I acted arrogantly and without thought.

No, I'm not trying to play mind tricks on you. We all make mistakes, and I know that there are always consequences to our actions. But now I would willingly accept my fate, because this secret has--for too long--been pulling at me like some unseen force.

I realize that this does not excuse me from my from what I did, but perhaps it will bring some solace to many who suffered from my deliberate act. Those I have hurt I cannot ask of them forgiveness, and I know I cannot undo the harm that has already been done, but maybe there is still some consolation in knowing that I have suffered--almost every day--for all these long years. Despite what I did, I know there is still some good in me. You can strike me down if you want, but it shall only make me stronger.

Even after I admit my heavy deed, I cannot expect to be granted pardon. I know that. The guilt weighs down on me like the gravity from a hundred suns. I'm not sure there is a suitable punishment for my crime. When I committed that senseless act, it was like the lights from a thousand stars being snuffed out, as if hundreds of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.

Regardless of what happens as a result of my admission, I know that somehow I will find redemption. But this betrayal has been eating away at my soul on me for what seems like light years, festering inside like an unhealed wound. It is time I confessed to my sin, for I can no longer bear to keep it a secret. When I stand in judgement at the gateway to the next life, I want my conscience to be free, for I would dare not carry this with me to the next plane, be that life be again on this same world or in a galaxy far away.

So it is here now that I tell you, once and for all, for I cannot delay this any longer, for fear that I may never again muster the courage to admit this. You see, I was the one who drove by the theatre line-up that afternoon that The Empire Strikes Back was premiering and yelled: "Darth Vader is Luke's father!"

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