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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


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