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- In Darkness Find Me
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- Overview
-
- Commander Sinclair is recalled to Earth and discovers a long-kept
- secret that leads to a new assignment.
-
- Issue 1 (January 1995, released December 6, 1994)
-
- Setting: Between [6]"Chrysalis" and [7]"Points of Departure"
- Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
- Penciller: Michael Netzer
- Inker: Rob Leigh
- Colorist: Robbie Busch
- Letterer: Tracy Hampton Munsey
-
- _________________________________________________________________
-
- Synopsis
-
- A few days after being recalled from Babylon 5 (cf. episode [8]"Points
- of Departure") Commander Sinclair is languishing in Earthdome, Geneva,
- waiting for someone to tell him why he was called back. His nights, as
- always, are filled with horrible dreams, replays of the Battle of the
- Line. He tries to prevail on a senator to tell him what's going on,
- but is rebuffed, with an additional admonition to stop spreading
- rumors about President Santiago being assassinated.
-
- Then, in the middle of the night on January 6, 2259, some
- heavily-armed men escort Sinclair to see President Clark. Clark
- introduces him to Rathenn, of the Minbari Grey Council. Rathenn
- introduces himself and says he's come to take Sinclair back to his
- home. Not Mars Colony, where his body was born -- but to his soul's
- home.
-
- Rathenn uses a triluminary on Sinclair, who is suddenly able to recall
- in full what happened after he was taken aboard the Grey Council's
- cruiser at the Battle of the Line (cf. episode [9]"And the Sky Full of
- Stars.") He was drugged, interrogated about Earth targets, and
- tortured after he tried to escape. He recalls the whispers of the Grey
- Council as Delenn confirms that he has a Minbari soul.
-
- Rathenn explains that every human pilot the Grey Council examined had
- a Minbari soul, or part of a Minbari soul, and that the Minbari
- population has been declining for the past six thousand years. At
- first the Grey Council blamed the soul hunters (cf. episode [10]"Soul
- Hunter") but the decline was too great to be accounted for that way.
- That day, they discovered why the Minbari race was dying, where all
- the souls were going. Since no Minbari had killed another in thousands
- of years, the Grey Council surrendered.
-
- Clark says that the Grey Council told the Earth government of their
- findings, and that both the government and the Council agreed the
- information would not be taken well by the public. Earth officials
- gave the Council permission to wipe Sinclair's memory; they were on
- the verge of defeat and weren't about to object to such a small demand
- by the Minbari. "We were dying," Clark explains later, after Rathenn
- has left. "It didn't matter that it was insane... _Everything_ was
- insane. If it made them stop killing us... well, that was fine by us."
-
- Clark tells Sinclair he's free to resign his commission with full
- retirement pay. Or he can accept a new assignment, his most important
- one to date: accept the Minbari government's invitation to come to
- their world as ambassador. Clark promises to keep Sinclair informed
- about Garibaldi's condition. As for why the Minbari wanted Sinclair,
- Clark speculates: "Maybe they feel guilty about what they did to you.
- Maybe they're comfortable with you. And maybe they _need_ you. We've
- heard about trouble between the Minbari religious caste and the
- military caste. It's possible that... well, the religious caste might
- just need an experienced soldier to talk to."
-
- Sinclair's shuttle arrives at the Grey Council's cruiser. As he waits
- to be greeted, he pulls out a small slip of paper and reads. He's
- shortly greeted by several hooded Councilmembers and a few members of
- the military caste, and explains that he was reading a [11]poem by a
- long-departed writer, something he wants to share with the Council in
- the hopes that it will help them understand. He is escorted away by
- the Councilmembers, as one of the military looks on, expression
- twisted in hatred.
-
- Backplot
-
- * No Minbari has killed another (intentionally, presumably) for
- several thousand years. (See [12]jms speaks)
- * The Grey Council believes Sinclair has a Minbari soul.
- * Some within the Earth government have known the reason behind the
- Minbari surrender from the start, and gave the Grey Council
- permission to wipe Sinclair's mind. Clark claims to have not
- learned the secret until he took office as President.
-
- Unanswered Questions
-
- * What does the triluminary do to Sinclair such that he can remember
- everything all of a sudden? Is there a single function it performs
- that explains its seeming variety of uses? (cf. episodes [13]"And
- the Sky Full of Stars," [14]"Chrysalis")
- * Who in the Earth government knew about the Minbari surrender?
- Someone other than the President, probably, since Santiago was
- dead when Clark took office. It's also possible the Minbari told
- Clark themselves.
- * Why did the Grey Council choose to reveal their secret to Sinclair
- now? Why have they invited him to become ambassador after pushing
- so hard to get him in command of Babylon 5 (cf. episode [15]"Signs
- and Portents"?)
-
- Analysis
-
- * Sheridan was wrong about Clark being the only other person who
- knows about the situation with Minbari souls (cf. episode
- [16]"Points of Departure.") How widespread the knowledge is, and
- how it's being used, may be important story points in the future.
- * The coverup of Santiago's assassination appears to be very
- effective, unless the senator Sinclair speaks with is in on it as
- well. Everyone seems convinced that it was a simple accident.
-
- Notes
-
- * Sinclair's d*ck makes an appearance on page 17. Or a swan, anyway.
- * Oddly, there are some inconsistencies with the series:
- + Clark tells Sinclair that he's giving Ivanova a field
- promotion to commander, _before_ Sheridan arrives on Babylon
- 5 and puts in the paperwork (in episode [17]"The Geometry of
- Shadows.") On the other hand, it's possible Sheridan actually
- requested the promotion as soon as he got his assignment, or
- that Clark was planning on promoting Ivanova anyway.
- + Sinclair's recollection of his last words on the Line are
- different. In [18]"And the Sky Full of Stars" he says, "If
- I'm going out I'm taking you bastards with me! Target main
- cruiser, set for full velocity ram." Possibly to tone down
- the language, the comic renders this as, "If I'm dying I'm
- taking you demons with me! Target lead Minbari cruiser! Set
- for full velocity ram!"
- * Even _Clark_ thinks Sinclair is stiff: "Excuse me, Commander, but
- is that as much at ease as you get?"
- * There's a slight gaffe on page 19; Sinclair's uniform is backwards
- in the mirror. (The strap should be on the other side of the
- buttons, as shown on page 22.)
-
- jms speaks
-
- * By the "flip side" of stories I was referring to the other side of
- events. I.e., in episode one, Sinclair is reassigned, but we hear
- about this mainly when he's away. In the comic, we'll see where he
- is, and see his reaction to what's going on. In B-squared, we saw
- the present events in the vanishment of B4; in a future episode,
- we'll actually see our characters make the decision to go back in
- time and yank B4 forward, what went wrong, and so on.
- * It's not supposed to be a blasted landscape around Geneva, and
- didn't look like that in the pencils.
- * The word "bastards" was in the script I turned in to DC. It got
- changed to "demons" by the editor. That change was made at the
- last minute; all the inked and penciled versions I'd seen before
- had the right word in it. I'm considerably less than thrilled
- about it.
- * Prior to the time of Valen, the Minbari's greatest spiritual
- leader, there was killing of Minbari by Minbari. There were three
- warring castes, which he pulled together when he formed the Grey
- Council (three from each caste forming nine, Worker, Warrior,
- Religious Caste). Since that time, and the Minbari have been in
- space for well over a thousand years, they have pretty much hewn
- to that rule; it is their greatest taboo. Once the three sides
- were integrated, the warrior caste mainly contented itself with
- external threats.
- * Rathenn said the soul migration had been going on for 6000 years;
- Lennier in [19]"Points of Departure" said one or two thousand.
- What gives?
- Rathenn spoke incorrectly.
- * Rathenn said Sinclair did not *entirely* remember their meeting;
- he then refreshed this memory.
- * _Squaring the account of Ivanova's promotion with "The Geometry of
- Shadows"_
- The president spoke truthfully; Sheridan could petition for a
- promotion for her, but it's up to Earthforce to grant it, so the
- line still tracks. (Note also there's no pronoun there; "Giving
- her a field promotion." The imperial We still stands, though.)
- Also, Sheridan says he put through the paperwork the day after he
- got there; which is fairly close to the time frame in the story in
- which the President says they'll be giving Ivanova a promotion.
- There's no discontinuity here.
- * _In "Points of Departure," Sheridan implied he told Clark about
- the soul migration._
- Sheridan did NOT tell President Clark about the Minbari soul
- situation. Clark already knew about it. Sheridan's line is, "I
- spoke with the president. He is the only other person who knows
- why the Minbari surrendered." Also, in the first issue of the
- comic, this prior knowledge on Clark's part is clear as well.
-
-
-
- Last update: October 30, 1996
-
- References
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