lurkers-guide/synops/082

<h3>Synopsis by Matthew Murray (mmurray@cc.wwu.edu)</h3>

<p>
"This is Commander Susan Ivanova brining you the Voice of the
Resistance.  The liberation fleet continues to retake territory held in
violation of the Earth Alliance constitution.  More ships on the other
side continue to defect carrying stories of atrocities carried out
under the direct orders of President Clark.  In addition to the
liberation of Proxima III, the colony at Beta Durani and the mid-range
military base have also been freed.  The long march toward Earth
continues."

<p>
"Personal Log, Michael Garibaldi.  It's started.  They're really doing
it.  This is what I was afraid would happen.  But it's been coming for
a long time--ever since Sheridan got back.  Before he went to Z'ha'dum,
he never would have gone up against his own--our own-- government like
this.  I don't know--maybe he thinks he's Alexander the Great.  And
maybe he thinks he's John the Baptist.  And maybe he wants to take over
the whole operation for himself."  The transport tubes on Mars appear.
"That's the part that worries me.  That's the part that made me come
back here.  Mars...  I can't believe I'm back on Mars.  Three times
before, this place almost killed me.  I swore I'd never give it another
chance to finish the job.  Humans got no business being here.  No
business at all."

<p>
<img align=right width=128 height=96 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/082/tube.jpeg">
Wade, who is sitting across from Garibaldi, tells him that they are
almost there, and that he needs to put on a blindfold to meet with
William Edgars.  Garibaldi is reluctant at first, and Wade understand
that Garibaldi doesn't like to give up control, but if Garibaldi
doesn't play along, he will have to leave.  Wade says that Edgars has
gone through a lot of trouble to get Garibaldi to Mars, and that the
average guy would be grateful.  Garibaldi says he isn't the average
guy, and Wade notes that he wouldn't be there if he were, since Edgars
doesn't like average guys.  Wade again tells Garibaldi to put on the
blindfold, but says he doesn't need to worry--they are going to Edgars'
private dock, so no one will think it strange.  Wade informs Garibaldi
that, in olden days, the rising of Mars always precipitated climactic
events.  "It was a bad sign.  Now, there are two million people living
here," he says.

<p>
"It still is a bad sign," says Garibaldi, now wearing the blindfold.

<p>
"Mars," Garibaldi says, continuing his log.  "Can't believe I'm back on
Mars.  I've got to be out of my mind."

<br clear=all>
<p>
<img align=right width=128 height=96 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/082/awaken.jpeg">
Dr. Franklin is in MedLab running experiments on the Shadow-implanted
telepaths when Zack arrives.  Franklin explains his troubles to
Zack--nothing he has tried to remove the implants has worked, and
pressure from Sheridan to do it hasn't made things any easier,
especially since he doesn't know what the rush is.  Dr. Franklin leaves
for a moment, and Lyta, whom Zack had been looking for, enters MedLab.
He tells her he needs her to scan the victim of a mugging to confirm
the assailant's identity.  She agrees to do so, and Zack leaves.  She
goes over to look at one of the telepaths lying on the examination
table in the isolation lab, and the telepath's eyes open suddenly.
Franklin sees what's going on--the telepath sitting up, touching Lyta's
hand through the window of the lab, and calls out to her, causing her
to lose her concentration.  The telepath returns to his comatose
state.

<br clear=all>
<p>
<img align=right width=128 height=96 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/082/intro.jpeg">
Garibaldi arrives at William Edgar's compound, only to run into Lise.
She tells him it wasn't a good time for him to come, and that things
are too busy, but Edgars insists it is alright that Garibaldi is
there.  Lise leaves to go assist the cook with dinner, and Edgars and
Garibaldi begin talking.  Edgars asks Garibaldi why he insisted on
coming now, and Garibaldi explains that he was tired of not seeing
Edgars' face, wanted to know what he was helping Edgars do, and to stop
Sheridan if at all possible.  Edgars insists he is just a businessman,
but Garibaldi knows better, since Edgars has some strong political
connections.  Garibaldi tells Edgars that he doesn't trust Clark, and
Edgars agrees, though he shouldn't be stopped by a military action, but
from inside the system.  Garibaldi admits that he feels Sheridan wants
to take over himself, but, while he can't let Sheridan do that, he
can't turn him over to Clark either.  Garibaldi wants Edgars to speak
on Sheridan's behalf, which would increase his political power, and
possibly even put him in the Presidency himself.  Edgars finds
Garibaldi's words intriguing, but informs him he won't do anything
further until he knows he can trust Garibaldi.

<p>
Wade shows Garibaldi the room he will be staying, and then leaves him
for the night.  The room is on the small side, containing little more
than a bed and a few light fixtures.  Garibaldi settles in for the
night.

<br clear=all>
<p>
<img align=right width=128 height=96 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/082/help.jpeg">
Franklin chases after Lyta, who insists she's late for an appointment.
She apologizes for messing up his experiment, but he says that he's
glad she did what she did--it's the only reaction he had managed to
achieved.  He asks her how she did it, and she tells him that she
looked at him, and heard a sound--the sound a Shadow vessel makes--in
her head, acted instinctively to make it go away, and he woke up.
Franklin asks her to come back after her other job, and convinces her
to try to help him.

<p>
Garibaldi is asleep in his room when the door bursts open and several
figures in mask rush in.  They grab him and force him out of the room,
and into another chamber, where only one figure, a woman, sits at a
table.  The voice of Edgars, coming from unseen speakers, assures him
he is in no danger.  Edgars explains that the woman is a telepath, and
she will only inform him if he is telling the truth when he answers
Edgars' questions.

<p>
Edgars begins by asking Garibaldi what he thinks about telepaths, and
Garibaldi responds that he doesn't trust them--he doesn't like someone
being able to get inside his head, or being able to tell if he's lying
if he doesn't know when they are, or to be able to conduct business
with no records.  He says the tension between telepaths and mundanes
will turn ugly someday, but hopes he won't be alive to see it.  Edgars
asks if this means he feels they are a menace to society, and Garibaldi
answers, "The biggest one we've got."

<p>
Edgars asks Garibaldi if he was sincere when he said he wanted to
locate and secure someone, and Garibaldi answers yes to both
questions.  The telepath turns and nods.

<br clear=all>
<p>
<img align=right width=128 height=96 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/082/interrogate.jpeg">
Edgars asks Garibaldi why the reason given for his employment--to keep
in-development pharmaceuticals safe from competitors isn't enough.
Garibaldi explains that Edgars could pay off anyone to keep the secret,
but that he feels he's being used as a scapegoat in case they catch him
in the act.  Edgars asks Garibaldi if he's assuming he's lying.
Garibaldi says everyone lies, and though it's a sad view of the
universe, it's the only one he has.

<p>
Edgars asks Garibaldi if he can remember anything about his
disappearance from Babylon 5 earlier that year.  Garibaldi says he
can't remember anything.  The telepath turns again, and nods.

<p>
Edgars tells Garibaldi that he is finished, and can go.  As he walks
toward the door, however, Edgars asks one more question: Is Garibaldi
still in love with Lise?  Garibaldi answers no, Edgars thanks him, and
lets him return to his room.  The telepath turns and shakes her head.
Edgars thanks the telepath and tells her that Wade will see to her
payment.

<p>
Edgars enters his own room, to find Lise waiting up.  She asks him how
it went, and he tells her it went fine, but he also tells her that she
was never mentioned.  He says he thinks Garibaldi put it all behind
him, and that he thinks Garibaldi would be a fine addition.  He tells
Lise not to worry, and that everything will be just fine.

<p>
As the telepath gathers her coat and prepares to leave, Wade appears in
the doorway.  As she turns to face him, he pulls a PPG and fires
several shots directly at her.

<br clear=all>
<p>
<img align=right width=128 height=96 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/082/suicide.jpeg">
In MedLab, Lyta and Franklin are standing over the same telepath from
before.  He tells her to do what she did the last time, only slower--he
wants to learn to stimulate the same brainwaves artificially, but they
can worry about getting the implants out later.  Franklin is ready, and
begins the computer recording.  Lyta concentrates on the telepath, and
one of the monitor displays of the telepath changes.  Franklin surmises
that the Shadow implants speed up brain functions--useful for running a
Shadow vessel--and that that causes trouble when there is nothing
around to control.  The telepath's eyes open, and he sits up suddenly,
remembering his implant procedure.  He grabs Franklin by the throat and
asks if the machines are gone.  Franklin tells him they are, but the
telepath is still not calmed.  "What am I?  Why am I?" asks the
telepath, as he throws Franklin to the floor.  The telepath turns to
Lyta.  "I can't live like this," and picks up a medical device and
holds it to his own throat.  Lyta stops him from going any further,
apologizes to him, and then puts him back to sleep.  Franklin is able
to take over from there, but Lyta, disturbed and shaken, just turns and
leaves MedLab.

<br clear=all>
<p>
<img align=right width=128 height=96 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/082/edgars.jpeg">
Garibaldi arrives in Edgars' office the next morning, and asks to be
told the whole story about his involvement with Edgars, since he
apparently passed the test.  Edgars begins by telling him that, in a
world run by telepaths, mundanes would be severely limited in what they
could pursue, and how they could behave--a world with no privacy.  It's
a world neither Edgars nor Garibaldi want to live in.  Garibaldi feels
that, despite certain members of the PsiCorps feeling they should be in
control, telepaths don't have enough power to take over.  Edgars says
they don't, yet, but they are beginning to fight their own battle of
secrets and intimidation.  He points out that, without the PsiCorps
badge, no one can really tell a telepath from a normal human, and that
they can inspire fear whether they show their true colors or not.
Edgars explains to Garibaldi that Clark has power given him by the
voters who were afraid of aliens and wanted to do something about it.
Clark has begun to pass that power on to the PsiCorps.  He wants
complete and total loyalty, and he can only prove loyalty with the use
of telepaths.  When President Santiago objected to this, Clark
eliminated him, with outside help, including the help of aliens, who
promised him all the power he could want.  The aliens were interested
in the PsiCorps, which became Clark's "insurance policy" against them,
and he used them to gain more power still.  He created the Nightwatch
and selected his own people to fill important positions, with telepaths
watching over everything.  Edgars is sure that, no matter what happens
to Clark, the PsiCorps will not want to give up its newfound power.

<p>
Garibaldi asks what Sheridan has to do with this, and Edgars explains
that, should Sheridan go too far, Clark will remove the last
restrictions from the PsiCorps, giving them all the power they need,
turning it into a military and police force under his direct control,
which Garibaldi recognizes as thought police.  When that happens,
Edgars believes, they will never let go of their power.  Edgars tells
Garibaldi that Clark is not really in charge--that his own
megacorporation, as well as the others on Earth, have really been
running things behind the scenes for years.  Now that the PsiCorps
threatens their bussinesses, they have to take action.  Edgars wants
Sheridan out of the way so that they have enough time to perfect their
solution, and to keep him from putting too much power in the PsiCorps
too soon.  Garibaldi asks Edgars how they can stop the PsiCorps when
Lise interrupts, telling them that breakfast is ready.  Edgars asks
Garibaldi if he'd like to join them, but Garibaldi declines, instead
saying that he has some thinking to do.  Edgars starts to leave, but
Garibaldi stops him and asks him if the story he was just told was
really the truth.  Edgars tells him it's as close to the truth as
he--or anyone else--will ever get, but that it should be enough for
Garibaldi to decide if he wants to continue working with Edgars.
Edgars tells Garibaldi he hopes that he will, and then leaves for
breakfast.

<p>
As the fleet continues on its way, Sheridan is talking to Ivanova, who
is still on Babylon 5.  She tells him that they have turned two more
Earth Alliance ships over to the Resistance, a fact which pleases and
worries Sheridan--he always becomes suspicious when things start going
too well.  He asks her about Delenn, and Ivanova tells him that she is
done with her work on Minbar, and will be back on Babylon 5 soon.
There is nothing else that she has to report, but he tells her that he
wants to talk to Dr. Franklin.

<br clear=all>
<p>
<img align=right width=128 height=96 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/082/status.jpeg">
Ivanova calls down to Medlab and tells him that Sheridan wants to talk
to him.  Franklin explains that he thinks he found a way to neutralize
the implants.  Sheridan asks Franklin how long it will take him to get
the telepaths up and running, but Franklin refuses to do anything more
until Sherdian tells him exactly what he wants to do with the
telepaths.  Franklin gets rid of everyone else in MedLab, and Sheridan
begins explaining his plan.

<br clear=all>
<p>
<img align=right width=128 height=96 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/082/shocked.jpeg">
Franklin leaves Medlab, visibly shaken.  While standing in the
corridor, Lyta arrives.  She asks him if he's alright, and he says he
isn't.  He says that, when Sheridan came back from Z'ha'dum, he never
understood why everyone thought he was acting so different.  But, he
explains that the Sheridan he knew never would have asked him to do
what this Sheridan just did.  Franklin admits that it is the only way,
but really wishes he were wrong about it.  He asks Lyta if she is
available for a long-term job.  She is, and he tells her to start
packing--they leave for Mars in a few days.

<br clear=all>
<p>
<img align=right width=128 height=96 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/082/history.jpeg">
Garibaldi is sitting on his bed when there's a knock on the door.  It's
Lise, who has brought him his dinner.  As she is about to leave, he
says he doesn't know what she sees in Edgars, besides his money.  He
asks her what Edgars has that he doesn't.  She insists it's not the
money, and that he's a good man, and that she does love him.  She is,
however, very concerned about Garibaldi, and doesn't want anything to
happen to him, or to Edgars.  Garibaldi tells her that she should have
tried to get things back the way they were, but that wasn't enough for
her--she didn't want to hold up the relationship herself.  She wanted
him to care about something else, other than his job, and that he never
said that he loved her until she said it to him.  She starts to leave
again, but can't force herself through the door.  In a broken voice,
she explains that, after Franz left her, Garibaldi was too far away,
and that she needed someone in her life to be there for her, and that
Edgars was that person.  She asks him if he would have left and gone to
her when she needed him, and he says he doesn't know.  Crying, she says
that she is too old for that, and that Bill does care for her and he
does love her.  Garibaldi apologizes for what happened, and tells her
that he did he did love her.  She says she's sorry, too, tells him to
eat his dinner, and then leaves him alone.

<br clear=all>
<p>
<img align=right width=128 height=96 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/082/lab.jpeg">
Edgars is standing over three beds when Wade comes in.  Edgars tells
him that they are at a critical stage, and can't afford any mistakes.
Edgars sits down next to one of the beds, which contains a man with
white skin and lesions all over his face.  He reaches under the plastic
covering the man's face, and touches his skin.  Wade says Edgars
shouldn't touch him, but Edgars says the man can use some compassion,
and that he can't be infected anyway.  Wade asks how long he's been off
the drug, and Edgars says five days--the drug is working faster than
before.  The man moans, and Edgars tells him that, though it's part of
the process, it will be over soon.  He gets up and tells Wade to put
the man down.  He knows the drug works, but doesn't want to add to the
pain in the universe unless it's absolutely necessary.  He leaves Wade
alone in the room with the three people.

<p>
Garibaldi arrives in Edgars' office, and tells him that he's been
thinking about a lot of things.  Garibaldi says that he has made his
decision--he is in all the way.  Edgars is pleased, but Garibaldi wants
to know the rest of the story.  That's not good enough for Edgars,
though--he wants Garibaldi to prove himself.  The way to do that is to
give him Sheridan.  If he does that, Edgars will tell him the rest.
Edgars wants Clark to feel secure in his position, and with Sheridan,
that will give Edgars the time he needs to do what he must.  Garibaldi
doesn't want Clark to get Sheridan, since he is sure he'll kill him.
Edgars knows that Clark is an amateur, and will go through the motions,
but won't kill him, at least right away.  Edgars says that they need to
take Sheridan out of the picture, and that it is time to do so.
Garibaldi tells Edgars that the easiest way to get to Sheridan is
through his father.  Edgars says that Earth was torn apart looking for
him, but no one knows how to find him.  Garibaldi, however, does--he
knows Sheridan's father has a rare blood disease which requires the use
of a certain Centauri drug, which is rare and expensive, and easy to
track.  Edgars says that they still need someone to set Sheridan up,
and Garibaldi volunteers.  Edgars tells Garibaldi that he's doing the
right thing, and hopes he understands it.

<p>
"Mars.  Three times before, this place almost killed me.  And now...
I've finally finished the job.  I can't feel anything anymore.  I don't
know what I care about anymore.  Except Lise.  I screwed up both our
lives pretty good.  Now I get to make up for it, assuming any of us can
ever make up for anything we've done in the past.  Maybe we can't.
Maybe we just have to live with it, and get on with it, and do what we
have to--never what we want to.  It has to be done.  I hope he can see
that someday..."