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								    ### GUIDE ### [3][Background] [4][Synopsis] [5][Credits] [6][Episode

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								   _Contents:_ [9]Overview - [10]Backplot - [11]Questions - [12]Analysis

								   - [13]Notes - [14]JMS


								     _________________________________________________________________


								Overview


								     Talia is caught in a treacherous web of intrigue after she

								     witnesses a murder. [15]Adrienne Barbeau as Amanda Carter.

								     [16]Michael Beck as Abel Horn. [17]Jessica Walter as Senator

								     Voudreau.


								   (Originally titled "A Trick of the Mind")

								Sub-genre: Mystery

								[18]P5 Rating: [19]8.04


								Production number:  206

								Original air date:  December 7, 1994


								Written by Lawrence G. DiTillio

								Directed by Kevin Cremins


								  Watch For:


								     * Sheridan's drink.

								     * San Diego.

								     * Shattering glass.

								     * "Erronium."


								     _________________________________________________________________


								Backplot


								     * Talia's first assignment was on Mars Colony, where she scanned

								       several members of the radical group Free Mars (cf. [20]"A Voice

								       in the Wilderness.")

								     * Sheridan is a conspiracy buff; he collects information about all

								       sorts of black projects and secret organizations.

								     * After the last rebellion, the Mars Conglomerate, a powerful group

								       of business interests, nearly pulled out of Mars.

								     * In the 2230s, the Earth Alliance began experimenting with

								       electronic brain implants. The experiments were unsuccessful

								       because the machines couldn't operate in conjunction with

								       conscious thought. Later, after the project was officially closed

								       down, a group within the Earth Alliance began trying a different

								       approach. They took people who were nearly dead and, with

								       telepathic deep scans by one or more members of Psi Corps, fixated

								       the subjects' minds on the moments of their deaths, blocking out

								       all other conscious thought. That allowed the implants to operate

								       as long as the subjects remained fixated.

								     * A secret group within the Earth government called Bureau 13 is

								       deeply involved in, if not responsible for, the continuation of

								       the experiments. Bureau 13 has at least one officially deceased

								       PsiCop in its employ, possibly even its head.


								Unanswered Questions


								     * Who is the Bureau 13 "Control" Officer on B5?

								     * If the cyber-experiments failed, what is Abbut, the "vicker" from

								       [21]"Deathwalker?"

								     * Is "Abbey," Talia's mentor from her first year in Psi Corps, the

								       Bureau 13 PsiCop?

								     * The station's computer system has a secret override built in which

								       Bureau 13 has access to. What, if any, other subversions are in

								       place on Babylon 5?

								     * What role, if any, will the T'Kar play in the future, assuming

								       they decide to come to Babylon 5? What's so special about them?

								     * What did Sheridan learn when he was on the T'Kar ship?


								Analysis


								     * Since Talia scanned Free Mars members, it's reasonable to assume

								       that Psi-Corps is still doing so. Why, then, were they apparently

								       caught unawares by the rebellion in [22]"A Voice in the

								       Wilderness?" In that episode, the Psi-Corps representative

								       expressed surprise at the size and well-equipped nature of Free

								       Mars, something that presumably would have been discovered during

								       the course of scans. Either some within Psi-Corps are actively

								       hiding such information from the rest of the Corps (and from

								       Earth) or Free Mars is run very tightly and almost no members know

								       enough to compromise the organization as a whole.

								     * Sheridan's interest in secret organizations and conspiracies may

								       explain why he was so ready to believe in an assassination plot

								       against the President (cf. [23]"Revelations.") Most other people

								       seem to believe the accident cover story (cf. comic [24]"In

								       Darkness Find Me.")

								     * What about Abbut, the "Vicker" or "VCR" from [25]"Deathwalker?" He

								       was quite clearly human, and also clearly carrying a brain

								       implant. (Indeed, his brain was exposed, surrounded and penetrated

								       by what looked like quite extensive implants. The exact quote by

								       Garibaldi was, "Most of the cyber experiments were a bust." Abbut

								       could have been one of those few that worked. In principle

								       implants recording and monitoring what Abbut experiences are

								       fundimentally different from an implanted AI that controls your

								       actions.

								     * In a related but more tenuous vein, what about the Technomages?

								       Some aspects of their abilities (all based on technology,

								       remember) seem to imply non-vocal, non-manipulatory control over

								       their gear. The production of an orange blossom while walking,

								       talking and gesturing. Sleight of hand is one explanation,

								       (sidestepping the issue of how the orange blossom was produced,)

								       but an alternative one is that they have some kind of control

								       device implanted someplace -- not necessarily their brains. This

								       would also explain their preternatural knowledge. Elric always

								       seemed to know more than anyone else, and some of that could have

								       come from a built in data system or an implanted link to one. Add

								       to this Elric's ability to pull up holograms literally in the palm

								       of his hand, and the arguement seems strong for such an implant.

								       But again, it could be nothing but an IO path, not an AI, and so

								       again different from the cyber experiments' failures.

								     * _[[2/17]]_ Sheridan said Earth's cyborg research took place in the

								       2230s. That places it just after the Dilgar war

								       ([26]"Deathwalker.") In [27]"Deathwalker," Na'Toth recalled that

								       the Dilgar were experimenting with brain implants. Was Earth

								       continuing the Dilgar research? Did they receive research data

								       after the war, the same way the allies obtained Nazi advances in

								       rocket technology after World War II?

								     * B5's computer system is compromised. At the very least,

								       communications are insecure and under the control of the Bureau 13

								       AI, including both local and interstellar channels. This is

								       supported by the way the public computer console is quickly taken

								       over by the AI, and the quickness with which it handled the

								       exchange between the Bureau 13 Psicop in San Diego and the control

								       officer on site at B5. The extent of the problem isn't known, but

								       the AI isn't omnipresent. It doesn't prevent Captain Sheridan from

								       modifying the environmental sensors, for instance.

								     * Is Bureau 13 set up in a cell structure, like an organized

								       underground or revolutionary movement? We know of two Bureau 13

								       members, and we saw them interacting via the Bureau 13 computer.

								       They never saw each other, and never refered to one another by

								       name. This hints that Bureau 13 is indeed set up this way, which

								       points to an an explanation for the episode title. The cell

								       structure of an underground, with its singular links between

								       cells, is indeed a web. And at the center of such a web would be a

								       central directing authority -- A Spider in the Web.


								Notes


								     * The title shown onscreen is "Spider in the Web," but all previous

								       references to the episode by JMS and others have called it "A

								       Spider in the Web," so that's the title listed here. The longer

								       title was also listed on the title page before the original

								       satellite uplink.

								     * The name "Bureau 13" may be a role-playing game reference; it is

								       the name of the US paranormal investigations branch in the game

								       "Stalking the Night Fantastic." (Of course, that could just be a

								       coincidence; another theory is that it refers to P13-level

								       telepaths.)

								     * The ship that fired on Abel Horn was the Earth Forces Cruiser

								       Pournelle, according to the computer readout on his history.

								     * Sheridan orders a Jovian Sunspot; the only other time that drink

								       has been referenced is in [28]"Deathwalker," which also involved

								       Talia and a cyborg of sorts. Probably just a coincidence.

								     * According to Isogi, Ms. Carter's great-grandfather John piloted

								       the first colony ship to Mars. "John Carter of Mars" is a classic

								       SF story by Edgar Rice Burroughs; the character also appears in

								       other Burroughs stories such as [29]"Princess of Mars." See the

								       [30]Project Gutenberg home page.

								     * The animation of the destruction of Abel Horn's ship by an

								       EarthForce cruiser over Phobos is quite detailed. When his ship is

								       hit, the window Abel Horn was looking through shatters, and the

								       air rushes out carrying odd bits and debris with it.


								jms speaks


								     * Having lived in San Diego from 1974-81, it's just my way of giving

								       a wink to the old home town. Though there are some important

								       things going on underground, in areas no one goes...the choice of

								       SD is just a bit of fun.

								     * San Diego was nuked by terrorists some time earlier; but if you

								       dig deep enough, you could probably build something with enough

								       money; and who knows how bad it *really* is.

								     * How big was the San Diego Nuke? Big enough, and dirty enough, to

								       make the area officially uninhabitable for a long time.

								     * The San Diego wastelands was a physical model, yes.

								     * Local in-house joke: Abby's last name...Normal.

								     * If you're a telepath, Psi Corps IS your family. (And no, that

								       wasn't Abby, too young; also not a case of

								       programming/rebuilding...the DECEASED is a cover to get her out.)

								     * Actually, the age on Abby is fairly straightforward...Talia came

								       to the Psi Corps as a young child; she was assigned to an adult

								       Psi Corps member to help her adjust. So Abby would be anywhere

								       from 15-20 years older than Talia. Or more.

								     * No, the Bureau 13 rpg precedes our show; we weren't aware of it at

								       the time we did the episode.

								     * We hadn't heard of the Bureau 13 game when we did the episode, it

								       was just something we came up with 'cause it sounded neat. Later,

								       we found out there was a game by that name. At which point I

								       decided that it wouldn't be appropriate to use that name again,

								       and had a good conversation with some folks at the game company

								       about it. There was no problem, I just didn't want to walk on

								       their turf intentionally or otherwise. Logically, any secret group

								       is going to change its name from time to time *anyway* (it's not

								       like they're in the yellow pages or anything), so the organization

								       would remain under varying names.

								     * The security guard didn't trigger the detonation; he picked up

								       some energy buildup on his scanner the moment Horn's heart

								       stopped.

								     * Basically, Garibaldi's third favorite thing...is whatever the

								       member of the opposite sex is having....


								     _________________________________________________________________


								   Originally compiled by Dave Zimmerman

								     _________________________________________________________________


								   [36][Next]


								      [37]Last update: February 17, 1998


								References


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								  15. http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Barbeau,+Adrienne

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