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

								   - [13]Notes - [14]JMS


								     _________________________________________________________________


								Overview


								     Bester asks Talia to investigate an "underground railroad" of

								     unregistered telepaths. [15]Walter Koenig as Bester.


								Sub-genre: Intrigue

								[16]P5 Rating: [17]8.38


								Production number:  207

								Original air date:  January 25, 1995


								Written by J. Michael Straczynski

								Directed by Jim Johnston


								  Watch For


								   A minor character from a previous episode, who turns out not to be so

								   minor after all.


								     _________________________________________________________________


								Backplot


								   Michael Garibaldi says, "The Corps got started because of our own

								   fears." The sudden appearance of real psi abilities in otherwise

								   unremarkable people caused so much concern among the general

								   population that those showing such talents were gathered together into

								   a group that could be more easily controlled -- and Psi-Corps was

								   born. Its members are deeply conditioned to prevent any psi from using

								   his or her talents to dominate normal people or disrupt society. But

								   this conditioning isn't absolute, and attitudes molded early in life

								   can still evolve over a persons lifetime.


								   Given that psis were forced into this essentially closed society,

								   shunned by the rest of humanity, it isn't surprising that the

								   loyalties of the telepaths turned to the Corps itself. Soon Psi-Corps

								   gained control of itself, and eventually the organization began

								   pursuing its own goals. The leadership began to exert ever greater

								   control over the lives of the members, in an effort to enhance the

								   abilities of their people.


								   The level of control exerted by the Corps over its members grew as

								   they began seeking to enhance the abilities of their people, extending

								   even to marriage and reproduction. Eventually the onus became too

								   great and too pervasive for newly awakened psis to tolerate, and they

								   began seeking ways to escape. The Psi-Cops exist to counter this, to

								   search for and either capture or eliminate psi talented people who

								   escaped early detection or who fled Psi-Corps.


								   Now the Corps has become a power in its own right. Though the

								   organization was intended to keep psis under control, it has itself

								   come under the control of those very people. As a group, they _must_

								   feel seperate and different if not outright superior to the rest of

								   society, and who have long been held in a position of subservience.

								   They are organized, ruthless, and determined to pursue their own

								   agenda.


								   "We created our own monster." -- John Sheridan


								Unanswered Questions


								     * Where have all the unregistered psis been going?

								     * How long has this "underground railroad" been running?

								     * We see Ivanova giving Sheridan his morning briefing, and in it she

								       says that B5 has been running in the red for a while because,

								       "there's been a lot of Earth Force military transports coming

								       through." Where were they going?

								     * Has Talia turned completely against the Corps?

								     * Why, and by whom, was Bester told that Sheridan would be

								       sympathetic to the Psi-Corps?

								     * How much did Talia tell Ivanova about the situation, and about

								       what's happened to her?

								     * "What am I?" "The future." What does that mean? The future of

								       telepaths? Of humans in general? Does it refer to Talia's new

								       powers, to the fact that she's now likely to work against

								       Psi-Corps from within, or something else? Is there even more to

								       Ironheart's gift?

								     * Will Bester notice that his gun was never actually fired?


								Analysis


								     * The core of Psi-Corps indoctrination was summed up by Bester.


								     You were raised by the Corps,

								     Clothed by the Corps.

								     We are your father,

								     And your mother.

								       What Psi-Corps has become was also demonstrated by Bester.

								       Standing with another Psi-Cop, he looks down at a captured rogue

								       telepath who he has just forcibly mind-scanned. "He's dead," the

								       other Psi-Cop says. "It doesn't matter," Bester replies,

								       apparently assuming she was concerned he wouldn't be able to read

								       the man any more. Talia doesn't see this, since it happened on

								       Mars Colony, but she does meet a stream of rogues who are on B5,

								       in transit through the "underground railroad." From them she

								       learns, first hand and with undeniable truth, that the experience

								       she has had with the Corps is far from unique. Indeed, her

								       experiences were mild compared to the stories she hears.

								       Abductions. Experiments. Breeding programs that don't rely on

								       volunteers for subjects. And as a telepath speaking _to_

								       telepaths, she can't avoid the full truth and force of the events

								       she hears.

								     * How can a Psi-Corps operative turn against the Corps? The

								       impossibility of it is clear: The highest rated, strongest

								       telepaths are "turned into" Psi-Cops. When the guardians are

								       stronger than everyone else, how do you turn against them? Unless

								       you are truly exceptional like Matthew Stoner in [18]"Soul Mates"

								       you can only flee, immediately, before someone else scans you and

								       reads your intention. Matthew Stoner may or may not have eluded

								       the clutches of Psi-Corps for a time, but in the end he was firmly

								       returned to them. Talia Winters' whole life experience tells her

								       that she _cannot_ turn against the Corps, no matter what her

								       opinions may be about the integrity or intentions of the

								       organization.

								       But several events changed her mind about this -- and it was not

								       the tales of woe told by the folks in the underground railroad,

								       though they undoubtedly inclined her toward rebellion. What

								       allowed her to rebel was the realization that her shields were

								       much stronger than she thought they were. A year ago Jason

								       Ironheart, a victim of Psi-Corps experimentation, visited the

								       station (cf. [19]"Mind War.") He became something vastly powerful,

								       and departed. But before he left, he gave his onetime love Talia

								       Winters a gift, the very thing that Psi-Corps was trying to induce

								       in him: telekinesis. And the strength to keep that gift secret.

								     * Talia's telekinetic powers are at least somewhat stronger than

								       suggested at the end of [20]"Mind War." She can not only move her

								       penny with her thoughts -- she can cause it to fly across the room

								       with enough force to embed itself in the wall.

								     * Telepaths can combine their powers through physical contact. What

								       are the limits to such unions? Would a hundred linked telepaths

								       begin to approach some of Ironheart's power, or perhaps become

								       greater than just a collection of individuals? Does this perhaps

								       have something to do with the Minbari prophecy suggesting that

								       humans are destined to walk among the stars? (cf. [21]"Babylon

								       Squared")

								       Or it could simply be that by touching, the telepaths were able to

								       help each other focus their individual energies; that's supported

								       by the railroad leader's comment that what they did shouldn't have

								       worked.

								     * The "Underground Railroad." The timeline of the underground

								       railroad stretches back to before B5. There is a group of people

								       that have actively been working to keep people with psi ability

								       out of Psi-Corps. Dr. Franklin implied that it was mostly doctors,

								       and it makes sense that their ability to alter or manipulate

								       medical and genetic records would make them logical and necessary

								       members. But there is no reason to assume that the organization is

								       comprised solely of doctors.

								       Dr. Franklin was a member before he came to Babylon 5. When Jason

								       Ironheart came to B5 he brought with him another rogue, who

								       disappeared into downbelow while Jason went through his

								       spectacular confrontation with Bester and his subsequent

								       transformation. This unnamed telepath (who we've met before, in

								       [22]"Chrysalis") apparently contacted Dr. Franklin. Between them,

								       they extended the underground railroad through B5 -- though where

								       the rogues were going _after_ B5 is unclear. Nor is it clear that

								       Dr. Franklin will actually put a stop to the railroad. Dr.

								       Franklin's answers to Captain Sheridan's demand that he put a stop

								       to it were quite evasive. The telepaths actually at the station

								       agreed to leave, which they intended to do anyway. Dr. Franklin

								       admitted that his part in it was over, and that others would have

								       to take over -- but he never actually said it would stop.

								       Ironically, the person Garibaldi first suspected was aiding the

								       railroad was Ivanova. He was wrong. She wasn't connected to it.

								       But neither was Talia at the time. Now Talia is talking to

								       Ivanova. What did they discuss, alone and late at night in

								       Ivanova's quarters?

								     * Did Ironheart's unnamed friend have ulterior motives when he put

								       Garibaldi onto Devereaux' trail in [23]"Chrysalis?" There's

								       evidence the Corps was involved in Santiago's death (cf.

								       [24]"Revelations") so it's plausible the man knew something of the

								       plot, and wanted to foil it without revealing himself.

								     * Along similar lines, Bester's request to Talia that she keep an

								       eye on Sheridan and the others for their reactions to President

								       Santiago's death implies that he knows something other than an

								       accident occurred, even that he (or someone he's associated with)

								       was involved. His offhand comment that he'd been told Sheridan

								       would be sympathetic to the Psi-Corps also implies that there may

								       be more to Sheridan's appointment as head of Babylon 5 than meets

								       the eye.

								     * "Who'd have thought?" John Sheridan asks Ambassador Delenn. He was

								       speaking at the time about the common trait of laughter, shared by

								       humans and Minbari, but he could equally have been speaking of the

								       whole scene. A human ship captain, commanding a giant station on

								       the fringe of human controlled space, having a quiet dinner with

								       the Minbari ambassador -- who also happens to be a member of their

								       ruling body and who is also, to some degree "half-human."

								       Moreover, she has apparently chosen him to teach her about

								       humanity on a personal level. How personal this can get... who can

								       say?

								     * Finally, there is a telepath who can operate on the side of the

								       "good guys." True, there are all the telepaths who have passed

								       through the "underground railroad," but they are untrained or at

								       best, trained but fleeing. Talia is fully trained and Psi-Corps

								       doesn't know that she has turned--and she is strong enough to

								       maintain her independence. It's likely she will be a very

								       important player now, and her personality may develop in new

								       directions now that she isn't under the heavy hand of Psi-Corps.


								Notes


								     * This episode takes place in March, 2259, three months into

								       Sheridan's tour of duty with B5.

								     * There is a subthread in this episode about lack of sleep. Bester

								       gets Talia out of bed, Talia gets Ivanova out of bed, and Ivanova

								       and Sheridan spend a night sacked out in his office (he in his

								       chair, she on the couch). Coincidence?

								     * "Knock Knock" (who's there) "Kosh" (Kosh who?) "Gesundheit!" --

								       Sheridan

								     * Judy Levitt, who plays the Psi Cop opposite Bester in the scene on

								       Mars, is Walter Koenig's wife.

								     * Production gaffe: In the scene outside Earhart's, when Delenn is

								       asking Sheridan to dinner, a boom microphone is visible for an

								       instant at the top of the screen.


								jms speaks


								     * Favorite line in the next new episode, from Sheridan: "I'm not

								       saying what I'm saying. I'm not saying what I'm *thinking*. For

								       that matter, I'm not even *thinking* what I'm thinking."

								     * BTW, just to note a little something you might not notice in the

								       show...we've adopted the tradition of putting the symbol for a

								       given ship onto the bar in Earhart's, as many real contemporary

								       officers' clubs and airforce/naval base clubs put the logos or

								       markings of big planes or ships that come through there. The

								       Cortez symbol is the most visible among the various emblems you

								       can see in a shot of the bar in "A Race Through Dark Places." It

								       comes at the moment we follow *another* old military tradition.

								     * As for the sound mix...yeah, we put a great deal of work into that

								       aspect, for the surround effect. If you fire up "Race" there's a

								       LOT going on in that one. It takes a great deal of time, but it's

								       worth it.

								     * Yes, originally, "Soul Mates" was to air after "Race." At that

								       time, PTEN was initially going to show just 6 new episodes, and we

								       would have come in after the rerun break with "Race," then "Soul."

								       When the ratings came in and looked good, they didn't want to

								       interfere with the growth, and indicated they wanted to show 7 new

								       eps in the first batch. "Race," as you can see, was a very complex

								       episode visually, and the only way to get it ready to run #7 in

								       the first batch would've been to compromise the integrity of the

								       show, and we simply won't do that for ANY reason. "Soul Mates," on

								       the other hand, required very little in the way of post

								       production, so that was moved forward into the #7 slot.

								     * Q: How many telepaths does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

								       A:

								     * I always have to have a title before I begin writing, since the

								       title always influences the feel of the show. I try to design one

								       that is literary, or refers to a literary influence; it should

								       have a certain rhythm, and avoid coming at the subject of the

								       episode too dead-on. For instance, one could call the recent Psi

								       Cop episode with Bester, "Capture" or "Chase." But I wanted it to

								       be evocative, to conjure up the image of people slipping through

								       the shadows, pursued by others, and to continue this season's

								       trend toward titles that indicate a coming night. Hence, "A Race

								       Through Dark Places."

								     * _No repeat of Bester's salute from "Mind War"_

								       Also, bear in mind that Bester's parting shot in "Mind War" was

								       exactly that, in essence an "Up yours" but subtle. There was no

								       reason for that to be given to anyone in "Race."

								     * Correct, the penny was/is a keepsake.

								     * _Where did Ivanova's outfit in the last scene come from?_

								       I think it came out of the Victoria's Secrets catalog....


								     _________________________________________________________________


								   Originally compiled by Dave Zimmerman

								     _________________________________________________________________


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								      [31]Last update: October 13, 1997


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