What is a Sith's ultimate goal?

Question

Let's say that a Sith Lord achieves all of his goals and becomes the ruler of the galaxy (similarly to, for instance, what Palpatine managed to).

Also let's assume that the Sith has killed all the remaining Jedi and has repressed any form of rebellion. It has achieved a state where he has total political control through fear.

On a rather more personal note, he is a being with formidable powers. He basically cannot be defeated in combat since there are no other trained Force users, and his extraordinary abilities cannot generally be matched in a 1-on-1 combat.

On this point, what kind of driving purpose could this Sith have in his life? War is over, fighting and killing seems unnecessary, unless it would do it for fun, which doesn't seem to characterize the Sith though.

What kind of pleasure could he take out of life?

What would he do with the accumulated power? What move "evil" purposes could he start cooking?

Answer 1

As with most of my answers on here, I'm going to lean fairly heavily on Legends, as the philosophy of the Sith isn't built out very well in the new canon.

According to the Sith Code, the ultimate goal of the Sith isn't power or domination, but freedom.

Peace is a lie, there is only passion
Through Passion I gain strength
Through Strength I gain Power
Through Power I gain Victory
Through Victory my Chains are Broken
The Force shall Free me

The Sith are all about using power and victory over opponents and obstacles as a vector to personal freedom. The core of the Sith ideology is that any limit imposed on you that inhibits your ability to do what you wish is a shackle, and the only way to break those shackles is the accumulation of power and the domination of anyone who gets in your way. There is no after for a Sith.

Ruling the galaxy isn't actually the goal--nor is defeating the Jedi; both are simply a means to the ultimate end which is, as the Sith code so succinctly states, Freedom.

So let's look at some specific examples like Sidious or Vitiate, who accomplish most or all of their Galactic Domination scheme. They both get close enough to the point you're talking about to be relevant behavior studies. Both Emperors are the unabashed masters of their domain (for a time,) and are functionally unchallenged (for several years, at least). Once that happens, they both turn to conquering the ultimate chain: Death.

Death is seen by the Sith as the final failing of the Weak (expressed as such various times in SWTOR dialogue, KOTOR/II, Darth Bane, Darth Plagueis, etc). To die is to be ultimately powerless, to have your will so thoroughly overridden that you can never hope to express it again.

Logically, then, most Sith Lords atop massive power structures with nearly unlimited power at their fingertips start looking into ways to prolong their life indefinitely; ways to avoid that final failing and ultimate expression of weakness.

So a few quick summary points:

• Galactic domination isn't the goal, it's a means to an end

• The Sith Code posits that freedom from any restriction is the ultimate goal

• A Sith with nearly unlimited power really only faces death as a restriction on his action

• So most Sith who 'Win,' as it were, spend their time trying to become immortal.

Answer 2

Thorn made some valid points. I would like to add that along with attempting to achieve immortality through either making their body last forever, or through spirit possession or whatever, they also sought a more symbolic immortality through the training of their apprentices. It is their apprentice that carries on their will in case their efforts at actual immortality fail, hence Palpatine's search for the perfect apprentice in Luke.

Answer 3

The actual goal of most siths is to be so consumed by the dark side, that it possesses their whole being to be metamorphosed into an evil slug. Jaba the Hutt is an example of a successful sith lord.