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								<h2><a name="OV">Overview</a></h2>


								<blockquote><cite>

								Earth's most secret agency is explained, examined, and demystified for the

								average Babylon 5 resident.

								</cite></blockquote>


								<p>

								Issue 11 (December 1995)


								<p>

								Setting: Season two, before

								<a href="/lurk/guide/040.html">"Confessions and Lamentations"</a>


								<pre>    Writer: Tim DeHaas

								    Artist: John Ridgway</pre>


								<p>

								<hr>

								<p>


								<h2><a name="SY">Synopsis</a></h2>


								<p>

								<note role=note>This issue is in the form of an infomercial produced by

								Psi-Corps.  Since it isn't a story in the usual sense, the following is more

								a description than a synopsis.  It's not entirely clear whether the

								presentation is supposed to be in print itself or if the comic is a print

								rendition of a television program; this description assumes the latter.</note>


								<p>

								The host of the show, Diane Matthews, introduces herself as one of

								the commercial telepaths working on Babylon 5.  She demonstrates how

								commercial telepaths aid in business dealings, sitting in on a deal between

								a human and a Markab.  She points out that Markab is lying about the quantity

								of merchanside he has available; the human reduces his order.  Next, Matthews

								visits Medlab, where she assists Garibaldi by scanning an assault victim and

								descibing the assailant.  She points out to the viewers that she won't be

								allowed to scan any suspects; she can only produce information to help point

								Garibaldi toward admissible evidence.


								<p>

								A Psi-Corps training center is the next stop, where a few psi training

								exercises are shown.  "Psi Corps knows how to help you achieve your innermost

								desires," claims Matthews.


								<p>

								"These days," she says later, "people have learned to trust and accept

								telepaths, like this Psi-Cop."  That wasn't always the case, she says, and

								launches into a narrative about the founding of Psi Corps.  The Corps was

								founded on the basis of a single, heroic act by her great-grandfather, William

								Karges.


								<p>

								Karges discovered his talents at age thirteen.  He didn't know what to make of

								them, so he sought out activities that would teach him self-disciplined and

								isolated.  Later, he joined Earthforce; during his training he trained himself

								to control his skills and use them to be a better soldier.  Eventually he was

								promoted and transferred to Earthforce Security.  But even then, he kept his

								secret, afraid he'd be locked up by the government.


								<p>

								After distinguishing himself by stopping three terrorist plots, Karges was

								placed in charge of Earth Alliance President Robinson's personal security

								staff.  One day, Karges and his forces were escorting President Robinson

								to a campaign rally.  Karges sensed a strong thought from the surrounding

								crowd: "The bomb is ready!"  Concentrating, he zeroed in on the man

								responsible and cornered him.  The man claimed to know nothing about a bomb,

								so Karges forcibly scanned him.  As Karges rushed off, shouting into his

								link to tell his team about the man's accomplice, he was shot in the back.

								With the last of his strength, Karges sent a command into the mind of the

								bomber, forcing him to drop the detonator.  The President was safe.


								<p>

								In the hospital, dying, Karges admitted to President Robinson that he found

								out about the bomb by reading the perpetrator's thoughs.  Some time later,

								President Robinson passed laws ensuring opportunities for telepaths.  A

								special agency already existed to monitor the recent sudden increase in

								telepaths; Robinson changed its mission, to help telepaths function in society,

								and the Psi Corps was born.


								<p>

								"Nowadays, all telepaths are asked to register with Psi Corps, for their own

								good," Matthews says.  "That way, the Earth Alliance and Psi Corps can help

								them achieve their full potential!"


								<p>

								Some telepaths don't want to join

								the Corps, Matthews admits.  She visits Lisa, a lawyer, as a doctor

								administers telepathy-inhibiting drugs.  Lisa is delighted to receive the

								injection, as numbing her psi abilities allows her to continue working in

								the legal profession.  "Sometimes it makes me tired, and I have to rest,"

								Lisa says.  "But that's okay, because I can still be a successful lawyer."


								<p>

								Matthews describes the Psi Corps' work placement programs, designed to help

								telepaths who don't want to join the Corps and are allergic to the medicine.

								She says she started out there, but eventually realized she wanted to be a

								commercial telepath, having the adventure of a lifetime on Babylon 5.


								<p>

								"Even far from Earth, Psi Corps has influenced all our lives," she says.

								She describes a little-known aspect of the Battle of the Line: a telepathic

								pilot in Sinclair's squadron, Lt. Andrew Denmark of Psi Corps, used his

								powers to steady the nerves of other pilots.  Without his help, Matthews

								claims, Sinclair would never have lived long enough to make his legendary

								attack on the Minbari cruiser.


								<p>

								The Psi Corps helps on Mars, too, Matthews continues.  When there was a food

								shortage, Psi Corps rushed to get food supplies to all the hungry colonists.

								Recently, a small group of terrorists began an uprising, and Psi Corps stepped

								in to protect the colonists.  "You could say Psi Corps' mission is to protect,"

								Matthews says.  "Protect the future -- for those who want to make it better

								and safer."


								<p>

								"On Earth, on Mars, or on Babylon 5, you don't have to be alone.  Psi Corps

								is here for <em>you!</em>  And if you or a friend discovers they're telepathic,

								Psi Corps will always help."  As an example, she introduces the case of

								Alfred.  On Earth, as a ten-year-old boy, he was a bright student at the

								top of his class.  But when a teacher claimed he was copying parts of a test

								from someone across the room, Alfred and his friends discovered he might be

								a telepath.  One friend offered to take him to Psi Corps -- he had an uncle

								there, and knew the Corps took good care of its members.


								<p>

								Alfred went to the Corps and chose to stay there.  Today he's one of its

								most valued members: Bester.


								<p>

								"So, if you ever feel <em>you</em> might be a telepath, too -- remember, kids,

								you've got friends, here on Babylon 5!  One of us is always stationed here to

								help you.  Come talk to us any time!  With Psi Corps as your friend, you never

								have to feel... all alone in the night."


								<H2><A NAME="BP">Backplot</A></H2>

								<ul>


								   <li> Psi Corps was founded around 2160.  According to the Corps, it was

									founded after the death of a Presidential security official, William

									Karges, who revealed he was telepathic at the time of his death.


								   <li> Officially, Bester was born on Earth and entered the Corps at age ten.

									He's placed highly enough to warrant mention as one of the Corps "most

									valued members."


								   <li> Psi Corps claims to have had representatives in the military, flying

									Starfuries, during the Earth-Minbari War.  If the presentation is to

									be believed, one of them was in Sinclair's squadron during the Battle

									of the Line.


								</ul>


								<H2><A NAME="UQ">Unanswered Questions</A></H2>

								<ul>


								   <li> How much of what's said in this issue is true, and how much is

									fabricated propaganda?


								   <li> Was there really a telepath in Sinclair's squadron?  What influence

									did he have on what happened to Sinclair, if any?


								</ul>


								<H2><A NAME="AN">Analysis</A></H2>

								<ul>

								   <li> Psi Corps' claim that one of its members was in Sinclair's squadron

									seems unlikely, given that in

									<a href="/lurk/guide/016.html">"Eyes,"</a>

									Mr. Grey says he wasn't allowed to fight in the war because he was

									a telepath.

								</ul>


								<H2><A NAME="NO">Notes</A></H2>

								<ul>

								   <li> This promotional program was produced before

									<a href="/lurk/guide/040.html">"Confessions and Lamentations,"</a>

									since it shows someone dealing with a Markab trader.

								</ul>


								<H2><A NAME="JMS">jms speaks</A></H2>

								<ul>


								   <li> There's nothing that I'm aware of in comic #11 that would place it

									after "Confessions."  It's a general pamphlet prepared by Psi Corps some

									time before.


								   <li> Tritium: you actually believe *anything* in a PsiCorps propaganda

									booklet?  Only about 10% of what's recorded in that booklet is true,

									and even that's distorted.  The character in the booklet is totally

									fictional.


								</ul>


								<pre>


								</pre>