Issue date: May 16, 1999

GUESTBOOK Tell the world what the Force means to you.

t last: The long-awaited Star Wars prequel, Episode I - The Phantom Menace is here. To get into the spirit -- and to solve one of life's major mysteries -- we asked a diverse group of people about the Force:

Xena: Warrior Princess actress Lucy Lawless: "When you kill a demon, may they darn well stay dead."

Wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin: "It's that invisible outer space-type hokey-pokey stuff that sounds good so that's why they're saying it. Kind of like a way to say, 'Good luck.' "

Tennis great Michael Chang: "The Force is the Holy Spirit, who lives in each Christian believer's heart. He guides, protects, comforts, convicts and, of course, loves. And since the Holy Spirit is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent, you know this Force is always with you."

U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts, R-Okla.: "Playing [football] for the University of Oklahoma, we had a phrase, 'Sooner Magic.' This was that positive energy that made the team come from behind, thrill the fans and win games. When I hear 'May the force be with you,' I think of Sooner Magic. Do you think the Jedi wore crimson and cream?"

Movie critic Roger Ebert: "It is a place holder for a more evolved philosophical statement that will emerge if and when Thoreau is reincarnated and directs a movie."

Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar: "It makes me think of Princess Leia, who I loved. And I had one of those light-saber things."

Author Stephen Covey: "Related to the movie, it means, 'Good luck to you, and have a great day, and may the ethos support you.' "

Musician Julian Lennon: "The Force is your inner strength. It's what guides you."

America Online Chairman Steve Case: "It doesn't mean a lot. It's a clever line in a clever movie."