Memory rubbing was a telepathic Force technique that allowed an individual to use the Force to alter or erase both the memories and/or learned skills of another.
The effects of this power could be more or less replicated against a celestial by employing mnemotheraphy via the dark side.
On Mortis, the Father used this power to erase Anakin Skywalker's knowledge of his future as Darth Vader after he had learned it from the Son to tempt him to the dark side of the Force.
On Dagobah, Yoda planned to use this power against the historian Arhul Hextrophon, but ultimately decided that to hurt someone like that was not the Jedi way and trusted the man to keep his location secret.
Luke Skywalker used a similar technique while infiltrating a Dathomiri prison complex, using it to alter a pair of stormtroopers memories to forget their presence "for a couple of years".
Jacen Solo learned this technique from the Fallanassi during his five-year journey of Force exploration after the Yuuzhan Vong War. He used it twice on Ben Skywalker, once to distort Ben's knowledge of his and Tenel Ka's newborn child, Allana, and a second to distort Ben's knowing of the truth that Brisha Syo was Dark Lady of the Sith Lumiya.
Cade Skywalker tried used this technique on Darth Maladi during their confrontation at her lab on the planet Wayland to erase her memory of what she'd learned there. The Lady was able to overcome this attack, however, and recovered her full stature and wisdom, if indeed she ever lost it.
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