Warning: contains spoilers for Doctor Aphra (2020) #24!In Star Wars lore, the Force is not a wholly benevolent power. While its most ardent champions, the Jedi, are adherents of the Light Side, even they argue for balance rather than eradicating the dark side. Though inherently volatile, destructive, and violent, the Dark Side is every bit a natural part of the Force as the Light. While balance must be sought to prevent the Dark Side from growing too powerful and throwing the natural order of life into disarray, it undeniably serves a fundamental purpose.
The Force exists within and around all living things - it's an unseen energy field that binds and makes all life possible. With the Light, it brings growth, comfort and harmony, allowing living things to multiply and prosper. The Dark, however, is the domain of the predator - the wildfire that purges a forest choking on its own undergrowth. For all its violence and destruction, the Light cannot exist without the Dark. Without the Dark Side, the Light would blaze out of control. However, beyond this, even the Force itself has competitors.
With Doctor Aphra #24 by Alyssa Wong and Minkyu Jung, fans get a glimpse at the Dark Side playing its role in the natural order. Possessed by the Spark Eternal, Aphra is forced to relive not only her own memories but also those of a member of the Ascendant, an ancient cult that attempted to replicate the powers of the Force through AI and technology. The Ascendant, a Chadra-Fan named Miril, assumes control of the Spark Eternal and transports themselves and Dr. Aphra to their own memory: an encounter with a group of Sith in a time long before Darth Bane's Rule of Two. The Sith are identified as Darkseekers, a group dedicated to hunting down and eradicating anything the Sith deem a competitor to their way of life.
The Sith Destroy the Force's Enemies
The Sith are so threatened because the Ascendant cult is a danger to the very concept of the Force. The Spark Eternal is technology that promises to emulate, or even surpass, the Force and grant power to all intelligent life in the galaxy, not just those lucky to have been born with enough midi-chlorians. Such an event would not only lead to the destruction of the Sith, it would throw the Force out of balance with cataclysmic consequences. To the Sith, the Ascendant are a threat to the exclusivity of their power, and the Darkseekers are motivated to act by their allegiance to the Dark Side. The Jedi stop evildoers, but they'd never be so militant in wiping out those harmlessly searching for knowledge. This is part of why the Dark Side is important, acting as the Force's brutal protector against other systems which could act contrary to its power in the universe. The Sith may seek supremacy, but they do so within the Force, motivating them to fight on its behalf.
The Sith Do What the Jedi Won't
This Sith doctrine is consistent. In Darth Vader (2015) #5 by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca, Vader considers Doctor Cylo's creations - individuals enhanced with cybernetics in order to mimic the Force - to be "abominations," wiping them out in his disgust and fear of being replaced. For all the evils and atrocities the Dark Side is responsible for, it serves a fundamental purpose in keeping the larger Force as the fulcrum on which the entire universe turns. While Star Wars' unending battle between Jedi and Sith has had some horrifying and major consequences, it's a battle that reinforces the idea that the Force is the only significant way to define power, and the Dark Side is incredibly effective at eradicating anything that suggests otherwise, especially technological competitors.
Doctor Aphra #24 is available now from Marvel Comics.