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The Unoffical Babylon 5 Technical Manual
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By Thomas Chiverton
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Last updated - 26/10/97, includes Eps. up to Season 4, #1 (HOTW), and
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Update number 10
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[title]
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There are no spoilers for the UK in this document. See separate Update file
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B5.tech.1 or b5-techu.txt for updates.
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Each update release is numbered.
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WHAT ISNT IN HERE:
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Char details, or spoilers (i.e. stuff not shown/published in U.K.)
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WARNING: THIS MEANS THAT THIS DOC MAY HAVE SPOILERS FOR SOME COUNTRIES.
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THESE ARE NOT MARKED. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
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Story ideas etc.
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(This is because it is a tech manual, small amounts of info on races is
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included, however, to aid in identification)
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All pictures are held on a different server. It's very reliable, but please
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excuse it if it won't give you the pictures. I have no control over it !
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NEW / UPDATED
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* More URL changes
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* URL changes
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* Minor wording changes
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* Rearenged where to get updates, fixed some dodgy HTML
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* Everything, went to Wolf 359 and talked about the manual
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Index
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* List of Terms Used
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* I B5 Information and Stats
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* II Shadow Technology
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* III Strieb Technology
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* IV Lumati Technology
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* V Narn Technology
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* VI Centuri Technology
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* VII Minbari Technology
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* VIII Humen (also know as Earther) Technology
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* IX Vorlon Technology
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* X Jump Gates
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* XI What Ships Fire What Weapons (Partly written by David Engkent)
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* XII The White Star
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* XIII Sigma 957 Aliens
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* XIV Epsilon 3 (The Great Machine)
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* XV Misc. (What will *not* fit anywhere else !)
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* Legal stuff, credits, where to get further updates etc
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* Back to main B5 page
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TERMS USED:
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Organic / Non-organic tech: Refers to wether the technology used is organic
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('grown') or metalic ('built') or not.
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Hyper-Space: A different dimension/Universe, which maps large distances in
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our universe to small distances in the different one, allowing for
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interstellar travel without bypassing the photonic barrier. Newtonian
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physics apply, so any inertia created while passing through a gate remains
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upon entry/exit.
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Accessed via a jump gate or point. Distorts transmissions that past through
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it greatly, giving communications a very limited range.
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Major colour scheme is shades of red.
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Trained telepaths rated P12 or better can aid navigation in Hyper-space by
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homing in on a targets thought emissions.
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Ships of a certain size are capable of entering hyper-space without using a
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gate, with a large cost in energy. It has become common for these ships to
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construct gates after arriving in a new system, in order to save energy for
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future trips.
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80% of the Galaxy is outside hyper space beacon range.
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It is assumed that exposure to HS for periods longer than a few weeks is
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dangerous to cell/DNA structure.
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RS to HS is a 1 to many phenomena, whereas HS to RS is a many to one
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phenomena.
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(Zathras) ... once you come out of hyperspace past the galactic rim, all
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your points of reference are gone ...and you can't just "keep going" in a
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straight line in hyperspace. (JMS)
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Tachyon Space: Maps distance travelled within it into a shift in time (but
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not position) in the 'real' Universe. Impulses of energy and the time
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distortions these create can do 'great harm', such as speeding up a
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travellers personal time, resulting in death within a short time. The exit
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is a gradual fade from Tachyon Space to real space, entry is by a hole,
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edged with glowing blue/white energy, through which a picture of the other
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time can be seen, broadcasts heard etc.
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Once in the other time zone, care must be taken, powerful energy discharges
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can 'unstick' the traveller, sending them forwards or backwards along their
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time line, where they 'leap' into their future or past self.
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Hyper-space Engines: The system of guidence computers and beacon trackers
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and the like that allow a ship to navigate in hyper-space using a
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pre-created Jump Gate or Point. Low power consumption means almost all
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ships, incl. fighters have this system fitted.
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Jump point (or Vortex Generator): Entrance to Hyper space. Large permenant
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points have a focusing system in orbit around them, four seven-mile long
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generators.
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These are free floating with a central computer controlling the position
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thrusters; these allow the brackets to re-position for larger than average
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ships and maintain a relative stationary position. The element Quantium-40
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(a derivative of which is Duridium) is a vital component of jump gate
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construction. As a consequence of the amount of energy a jump gate
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produces, it takes a long time to shut one down and even longer to start it
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back up. Smaller, ship generated gates have no such orbital devices.
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The point is unstable, and can be closed by a large energy discharge. Known
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as jump points when they are unfixed (i.e. generated by a ship) Detecting
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ships coming out of a jump gate is limited by time. While you can get the
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frequency identification of a ship a few minutes prior to its exiting
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hyper-space, much more information can be gained just as it begins to exit;
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like silhouette, mass, etc.
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Jump gates (and points) are directional, a yellow gate for entry to
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hyperspace, and blue for exiting. Travel is not possible in the 'wrong'
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direction.
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Jump points broadcast a signal in hyper space that is detectable for 1000km
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or so.
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(See also X Jump Gates)
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Jump Point Generator: allows a ship to create its own jump point from its
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location to hyper-space, without using a fixed entry/exit jump gate.
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Requires large amounts of power, and so only carried by larger ships. They
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also require a stable power source, or they malfunction, destroying the
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ship. They also require a recharge time before they can be reused. Once
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shut down, they need time to rebuild their energy levels before they can be
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resued.
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NOTE: Advanced races (First Ones) don't need jump points or generators to
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enter hyper-space (Shadows- phase, or 'ripple', Sigma 957 Aliens- a 'hole',
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Vorlons are the exception to this. But they introduced the technology to
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the current races.
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Beam weapon: As yet unidentified craft weapons, maybe plasma, ion, neutron
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or laser based, depending on the ship.
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Missiles: Miscellaneous launched weapons (mines, missiles, remote
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controlled ships etc. as applicable to size of ship.) Including:
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Mass Driver: Propels mass from ship to the target. Banned by all-race
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agreement, but Centuri used them against the Narn home world, 'bombing them
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back to the stone age'.
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Energy Mine: Operate as 20th century mines, but can be guided to target at
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high speed, releasing a disc of energy when detonated.
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Cruiser: Medium sized ship. Sometimes used as ambassadors transport.
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Fighter: one or two being fighter craft.
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Mother: Home base for fighters. In addition to specifically mentioned
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weapons these probably carry 'weapons of mass destruction' (Fusion bombs,
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ion cannon, mass drivers, heavy energy weapons).
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Back to top
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I
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Babylon 5
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Babylon 5 is the last of the Babylon stations. After the loss of Babylon 4,
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the station was left with a minimal budget. Even with additional alien
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funding, the Earth Alliance kept looking for ways to reduce their financial
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commitment. Even so, Babylon 5 is a marvel of human engineering, even in
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the face of more advanced alien technology. It is a cylindrical construct
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nearly five miles long with a maximum capacity of 250,000 beings. While the
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interior rotates for a gravity positive environment, the spine of the
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station, housing the zero-g docking bays, and the fusion reactor are
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relatively stationary. Framing the rear of the station are the blue heat
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radiator fins.
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Babylon 5 is painted blue, where it is not left as bare metal.
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B5 has a mass of 2.5 million tons. It is a little over 5 miles long. The
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main body is 5 miles long, and the docking guides add another .3 miles on
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to that.
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Normal planetary gravity is simulated by rotating the station. Outward
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acceleration at the perimeter is approximately 9.8 m/s2 [1g]. The station
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does not have engines per se, although there are small thrusters used in
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maintaining it's location at the L5 point. It is located 160,000 km from
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where Babylon 4 used to be, and is 92,000km from the planet.
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The station is defended by a low level defence grid, as well as several
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small weapon emplacements located beneath panels on the outer hull, and a
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complement of more than 48 Starfuries (both original and Thunder Bolt
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versions).
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The "front" of the station consists of two docking bays, the first allowing
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small craft to enter along the 0g centreline, and be transferred to the
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appropriate bay, and the second dedicated to craft remaining in free fall.
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The forward section also contains the cobra bays for the fighters.
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Other locations of interest include the Observation Dome, from where the
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station is run; the Zocalo, a shopping and entertainment district; and the
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Garden, an O'Neill style environment (cylinder with gardens, pools, cafes
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baseball etc. in it).
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The station's main computer is based on crystalline human-alien hybrid
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technology, and is capable of both written and voice input and output in
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several languages. Integrated within its system is the Babcom
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communications network, which handles intastation, ship-to-station, and
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long- range Tachyon messages.
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All the computer systems on the station are controlled via this centralised
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system. This system is subject to commands from terminals, and also the
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external communications feed, so Earth Alliance command could order the
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shutdown of life support for instance, although the access codes have now
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been changed. When the system was originally put on-line an artificial
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intelligence (or personality) was installed as part of the interface, but
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was later removed due to compatibility problems with the human staff.
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However, the personality (called Sparky) still surfaces from time to time.
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All command crew and diplomatic staff have a 'Link' stuck to the back of
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their hand, which acts as a futuristic walkie talkie. These contain a
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tracking beacon. Earthforce personal links are bio-coded and can not be
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used by anyone except their correct owner. Any attempt to use someone
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else's link triggers a warning in C&C.
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Main power is handled by the fusion generator at the tail of the station.
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Internal co-ordinates are as follows. First a colour, denoting a ring of
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the station. Then one of, on average, 36 level numbers, and a letter
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denoting section. Hence the main corridor passes through blue 15 a for
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example.
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A jump gate is located nearby with the Corridor being the standard approach
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vector to the station. Vessels straying off the Corridor's flight path are
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fined.
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South, Back end North, Front end
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Radiator Fins
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V Tachyon Emitter
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/\ /\ /\ V
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|| || || /\____________ _______ .
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__ _||_||_||//-------------\/--------\___/_____
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|\______||______/ || || || | | | | \___/ \ ^
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|| || | ---------------| | | | |___ | |
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||______||______\________________| |_____| | |___\___/ Docking Horns
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|/ || || || || \_____|_|/ |__|__/
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|| || ||
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\/ \/ \/
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^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
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| | | | Green | | | | | Docking bay
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| | | | section | | | | Cobra bays
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| | | | | | | Med lab/Iso lab
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| | | | | | Blue section
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| | | | the | Red section
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| | | +--Garden---+
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| | Gray section
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| Brown section
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Fusion reactor
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(ASCII art by Richard Meikle)
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In the fore of the station is the zero-gravity docking bay entrance. Two
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docking horns frame the bay, to help guide and stabilise the huge bulk
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freighters. Once parked in front of the area, a freighter is offloaded,
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refuelled by the 'hose jockeys', and loaded up again.
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The docking guides have magnetic strips laid into them, so that personal
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can walk out on to them easily.
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The zero-g bays extent well into the middle of the station, just above red
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sector. Although the area is stationary, it as accessible from many parts
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of the habitable sections of the station.
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Mounted above and between the docking horns is the Tachyon
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transmitter/receiver and the docking beacon.
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Below the zero-g docking bay, in the rotating section, is the docking bay
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proper. All ships enter the station dead centre. An incoming ship
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surrenders its shipboard computer to the Babylon 5 Command and Control, or
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C&C, located directly beneath the bay entrance. While most pilots can
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easily match the station's rotation, however the possibility of pilot error
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is far greater than computer error. Unfortunately, certain cost-cutting
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measures in docking hardware have lead to accidental loss of life and
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property. A ship is then taken and lowered into one of many bays located
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toward the hull. The docking areas are divided into sections, with the
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diplomatic and military bays having restricted access.
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Starfuries are housed in separate launch bays in cobra shaped projections
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along the round front of the station, hence their common name "Cobra Bays."
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Set in the front of the station, beneath the entrance to the dock areas, is
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a window which looks into C&C. This can be covered with a set of blast
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doors, as can the docking entrance. C&C is located 1/3 of the way off the
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spin axis, and hence is a low gravity area (1/3g). The C&C main 'Window' is
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in fact, a huge slab of armor glass that can do multiple duty as a
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controllable filter and digital display device. The 'window' can be
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transparent when you want it to, and can also display video images from any
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source; thus, the C&C window can be looking out through the eye of a camera
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on the loading bay spines, through a camera mounted on the non-rotating
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spine, or from any camera-equipped spot on the station, including the
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Maint-Bots. The only time the view through the C&C "Window" seems to be
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spinning is when it's been switched to "Transparent Mode" or it is
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displaying the view seen from a camera mounted on a spinning part of the
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station. (Gharlane of Eddore)
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The interior station is itself divided in to colour coded sectors. Blue
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sector houses station administration and EA personnel quarters. Also in
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Blue Sector are the Medlabs, staffed by highly trained xenobiologists to
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tend to the ambassadors and Earth Force personnel. Medlab One is a small
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facility exclusively used by the Medical Chief of Staff, Doctor Stephen
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Franklin.
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There are larger medical facilities, resembling proper hospitals, elsewhere
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on the station.
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A recent addition to Blue Sector is the Strategic War Room, from which the
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war with the Shadows is monitored and directed.
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Red Sector is relegated to business and diplomatic chambers.
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Red Sector's highlight is the Zocalo. Hundreds of shops, stands, bars,
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restaurants, and clubs line the curved passageways, as does the EA postal
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services Post Office.
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Aliens requiring alternate atmosphere/gravity to generally more common
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oxy-nitro combinations live in the Alien Sector. While most aliens here
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require special mixes, oxygen breathing aliens tend to gravitate here, away
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from the overabundance of humans elsewhere. Ambassadors and their
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entourages are housed in a separate part of Green Sector, with higher
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security.
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The alien sector is not all blank corridors covered in noxious gasses, the
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Hanging Gardens houses various varieties of alien plant life suited to a
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methane-ammonia atmosphere. The Garden got its name from the various
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spheres of soils that hang suspended from the ceiling by thick chains. Most
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of the alien growths are phosphorescent.
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The Dilgar War Memorial was erected here to commemorate the world and
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species that fell to the Dilgar.
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Green sector contains high-security quarters for the various alien
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diplomats (with adjustable environment quarters for ambassadors that
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require it). The Vorlon quarters are number 8.
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Unauthorised personnel are not admitted.
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Both Grey and Brown Sectors were largely unfinished due to budgetary
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constraints.
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Grey sector is infamous for the Babylon 5 Triangle -- an area around Grey
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17 that leads an active imagination to believe the place is haunted.
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Maintenance crews have reported strange lights, sounds and disappearances
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in the area.
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There is a 'extra' level between the levels labelled Grey 16 and Grey 17,
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resulting in Grey sector having 'only' 29 levels. The real Grey 17 is
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inaccessible from normal routes, and is filled with junk, a rather nasty
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alien, and a mad cult.
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All sectors (apart from those under the garden) have 95 levels.
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The Service Collar is the name for the structure immediately behind the
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command and docking sphere at the head of the station. Immediately "south"
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of the collar is Customs and Disembarkation. Customs is a hundred-meter
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wide chamber running alongside the collar. While most employees are human,
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several aliens are employed using hardware translators.
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The entire interior of the rotating cylinder is called the Garden. It's
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main purpose is to provide food and oxygen reclamation for the station.
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Most of the food grown here do not require seasonal changes, since there
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are no seasons in this artificial environment. Foods that do need seasonal
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variation are grown in separate hydroponic areas. In addition to necessary
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insects cultivated in the zoos below the "ground," birds are also in the
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Garden all of which are now used to the "new physics" of flying in this
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environment. No one is allowed to "camp out" on the interior anyone doing
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so is arrested for destroying precious crops. A small percentage of the 12
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square miles of vegetation is used for recreation. Supporting the park
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plant life is twenty meters of dirt, under which are four levels of
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hydrobays, support systems, storage and silage units, water and oxygen
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reclamation units, chemical processors, farm equipment garages, and insect
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zoos. There is a train in the garden that runs around the circumference of
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the station. The garden is half a kilometer across.
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"Downbelow" is a term used to describe the unused parts of the station
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where the homeless, or Lurkers, eke out a living. Trapped on station for
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various reasons, most die here unknown and unrememberd.
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A monorail runs the length of the station, along the axis of rotation,
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hence it is in a zero-g environment, and so is known as the Zero-G Train.
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The hull of Babylon 5 is a double hull to provide an extra layer of
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protection from micrometor strikes and internal explosions. This leaves a
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crawl space between the two hulls.
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The rotating sections are mounted on electro-magnetic bearings.
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B5 communicates with earth via a faster than light link able to carry many
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live video feeds to and from B5. This FTL link also allows real-time video
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communication with other races homeworlds and ships.
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B5 is orbited by unmanned maintenance robots (Maint-Bots).
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These have colour vision, the feed from which may be patched into the B5
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video network.
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B5 also has video cameras (Monitors) that can be sent to automatically film
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an area. The video recorders are made of an extremely ultralight material,
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new alloys that in total weigh less than an ounce; it has a visible (and
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audible) air propulsion system, a high speed fan with a
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stabiliser/gyroscope that keeps it steady, and moves it forward. (JMS)
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The main power source is a fusion reactor, mounted at the rear of the
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station. This can be reached, for maintaince purposes, by the Zero-G Train,
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or via a large set of doors set into the hull. Inside these there is a
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large open space, with the reactor wall forming one wall of this space.
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The floors are linked via 'transport tubes' that take the form of lifts,
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which move radily (that is, from the centre line outwards to the hull).
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Update to B5 Weapons Grid
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A visiting platoon of Ground Pounders installed an enhanced Defence Grid
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for the B5 station. The updated specs are as follows:
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* Pulse cannons
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* Interceptors
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* Mine launchers
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* Upgrade to the tracking system ( x3 speed increase)
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Distributed in 6 groups along the main back bone of the station.
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B5 Population
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* 1,500 Dock Workers
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* 6,500 Earthforce personnel
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* 42% of population are 'Aliens' i.e. non-Earthers
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* Total Population: 1/4 million
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When it became operational in 2257, the odds on it lasting six months were
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500-1 Lloyds of London, 350-1 Las Vegas and 200-1 New Vegas.
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By 2259 the odds were 250-1 Lloyds of London, 200-1 Las Vegas and 5-1 New
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Vegas and 41% of people were against the station, as opposed to nearer 30%
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at the outset.
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Each area (such as green-2 or whatever) is split into segments. These
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segments can be isolated from each other in the event of fire, flood or
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vacuum. This is achieved by having a transparent door slide down and seal
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off the area. The door has strips of the zones colour, and small flashing
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red lights set into it.
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In the docking and other areas close to vacuum these are stronger, made out
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of a beryllium alloy. They are highly resistant to PPG fire, the rebounds
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being a grave danger to the firer !
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Production Methods
|
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Instead of creating new forms and processes in the construction of the
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Babylon stations, the Earth Alliance altered established mass production.
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For example, Exploration vessels are nearly five miles long and its
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rotating section as wide. Production lines required only a minimal
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alteration to construct sections of the hull and the rotational interface.
|
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The pieces were jumped from the stardocks to Epsilon Eridani and assembled.
|
|
Materials from Sol system's asteroid belt and minerals found in the Tigris
|
|
system were used. In the case of Babylon 4, some of the materials used were
|
|
the salvageable remains of Babylon 1 through 3 (see also Humen Technology).
|
|
|
|
Credit Cards
|
|
Beings entering Babylon 5 are given a credit chit. Any currency held by the
|
|
being is converted to current Earth-value credits according to the currency
|
|
exchange rate. The credit chit contains the being's name, ID, additional
|
|
personal information, including genetic anti-forgery information, and the
|
|
current amount of credits the being currently has in the Babylon 5 central
|
|
computer (the chit is also tied to a being's IdentiCard). Employees of the
|
|
station have their salaries tied into the chit. It is used as a debit card.
|
|
Each purchase or transfer runs down the total amount of credits until a
|
|
deposit is made.
|
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
II
|
|
|
|
Shadow Technology
|
|
|
|
These are the oldest race, older even than the Vorlons. At least twice they
|
|
have tried to take over the galaxy. The Shadow's real name is 10,000
|
|
letters long.
|
|
A 4 foot high spider like organic creature, it is four legged, with a long
|
|
neck and a pair of pincers. Many eyes that glow in the dark. Invisible
|
|
except on certain frequencies.
|
|
They seem to prefer to work via agents such as the Centuri, Morden and
|
|
maybe the Strieb.
|
|
Some Human agents appear to come from the exploration ship Icarus, which
|
|
carried Sheriden's wife. It landed on the 'deserted' Shadow home world,
|
|
Za'Ha'Dum, where it encountered the Shadows. The Humans who did not agree
|
|
to help were killed. Those who agreed to help now travel space corrupting
|
|
races. These agents are always protected and accompanied by a 'minder' that
|
|
is normally invisible, sometimes even the Shadows themselves.
|
|
At any one time most of the Shadows are on their home world, Za'Ha Dum,
|
|
they use other beings to pilot their ships. Their whole civilization was
|
|
moved underground centuries ago (B5 timeline), in interests of security. In
|
|
general the city is shaped like an egg hewn out of the bed rock, with
|
|
several large skylights set into the roof, to afford a view of the sky.
|
|
Also in the city are huge, 2 or miles deep, shafts.
|
|
Organic/Bio-technology is used to modify 'donors' to act as Cores for their
|
|
ships, suggesting organic technology
|
|
|
|
Like most advanced aliens, the ships have an organic look and are composed
|
|
of a large number of interlocked pentagons.
|
|
The skin of these are made of a shimmering oily black substance able to
|
|
withstand the rigors of space and hyper-space travel. The skin is extremely
|
|
versatile; able to be in a rigid, flexible, or fluid state seemingly at
|
|
will. It appears to bond easily with other vessels having similar "skin."
|
|
Carbon-based lifeforms, not properly prepared, die immediately upon
|
|
touching this substance. Being organic in design, damage to the ship acts
|
|
as it would a living being (for example: severing a spine on the Shadow
|
|
vessel will put the Shadow vessel in shock or anger, depending on its
|
|
mental state and "personality.")
|
|
'When it flies past you, its like a scream in your mind'.
|
|
'Once they target you they never stop, never slow down, never give up.
|
|
until they have destroyed you- they are nearly invincible'
|
|
The mother ship, at least, creates a characteristic trail of neutrinos as
|
|
it moves through hyper-space. This trail, if found, can be used to find the
|
|
ship.
|
|
One craft was excavated on Mars, and another of Ganymede.
|
|
Only current non-First One ship that stands a chance against it is the
|
|
White Star (see section XII- White Star)
|
|
Shadow vessels are vulnerable to telepathic interference. At a cost of
|
|
great strain a P5 or better can scramble and upset their central operating
|
|
system, rendering them 'harmless'. In this state several ships can surround
|
|
and attack easily.
|
|
Vulnerable to sustained, very high energy, continuous beam weapons, such as
|
|
those carried on the White Star and Narn Cruisers, and by Vorlon ships. One
|
|
White Star, with all energy diverted to forward weapons and a Narn heavy
|
|
cruiser, or two normal strength White Star forward cannons and a Narn heavy
|
|
cruiser is sufficient to explode a 'Crab in 5 seconds.
|
|
All Shadow ships can 'warble' into and out of hyperspace. Shadow Ships
|
|
require a weapons lock, which can be detected.
|
|
|
|
FIGHTER Shaped like a fat starfish.
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
* Energy ball of some kind.
|
|
* Impervious to fighter fire, but can be destroyed by ramming them,
|
|
although they still remain active for a short time. The White Star was
|
|
able to destroy 6 in a short battle.
|
|
|
|
PROBE Shaped like a cross between a Battle crab, with long curving
|
|
'fingers', and a Berserker probe. Stronger than fighters, but not as much
|
|
as a Ship or Crab, they can withstand the loss of 2 or 3 spines long enough
|
|
to ram the offending ship.
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
* Hyper-space engines
|
|
* Single shot cannon
|
|
* High power sensor arrays and communications systems
|
|
|
|
MOTHER AND CRUISER Shaped like a many legged spider. The Mother is 2-3
|
|
miles across, the cruiser about 600 meters in width (spine to spine).
|
|
Composed of organic technology the Mother requires a sentient being to
|
|
operate as its Core. The Core must be properly prepared for insertion. If
|
|
it is not, the result is a confused, disoriented, and insane ship. Although
|
|
merged with the ship, the Core can be removed with great difficulty and
|
|
with permanent mental damage to the Core. The Core is neither pilot nor
|
|
passenger, it is a ready-made thought matrix. An organic unit can process
|
|
information faster than most computer systems and reacts faster when
|
|
formulating strategy. It is much easier and faster to temper an existing
|
|
brain than manufacture a complex computer.
|
|
The Mothers are two-tiered with the lower part housing the weapons. The
|
|
upper tier houses a wing of approximately seventy-five fighters, with a
|
|
possible total complement of two-hundred fighters.
|
|
As for defensive systems, the Shadow Ship can absorb destructive energy,
|
|
but at the cost of great pain. Many smaller hits, as from many fighters,
|
|
appear to confuse the ship, to the point where it does not return fire.
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
* One very high energy beam weapon, more powerful than most other
|
|
weapons seen. This device can cut an enemy ship in half in under a
|
|
second, although it is possible to dissipate this, the energy cost is
|
|
large. The weapon appears ineffective against Vorlon mother ships.
|
|
* hyper-space engines.
|
|
* Impervious to fighter fire. When hit by combined fire power of several
|
|
enemy mother ships a small portion of one 'leg' was severed. The wound
|
|
'healed' itself.
|
|
* Two ships may join to become one larger ship. They same to travel in
|
|
this paired formation, they are then known as Battle Crabs.
|
|
* Mothers can fire a spiked ball which explodes into many fighters.
|
|
* They can also fire a device into a jump gate that destroys it, along
|
|
with any ship unlucky enough to be in the gates field, this maybe just
|
|
a simple cannon blast.
|
|
* They can enter and leave hyper-space without using a jump point,
|
|
instead they just *ripple* into and out of normal space.
|
|
* Although impervious to normal weapons, one was destroyed by an
|
|
exploding jump gate (See Section X- jump gates), and another by an
|
|
extreme gravitational field. Another technique was used by a Vorlon
|
|
cruiser- using some form of modulated energy beam the Vorlon ship was
|
|
able to capture a Shadow Vessel, and then ram it, destroying it.
|
|
Telepaths appear to impair the interface between them and their Core.
|
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
III
|
|
|
|
Streib Technology
|
|
|
|
This race has so far only been encountered by the Narn, Minbari and the
|
|
Earthers.
|
|
They are assumed to be restricted to their home world. At the moment they
|
|
are currently engaged in obtaining 'samples' of the technology and
|
|
creatures of neighbouring space. Their last two raids were into Narn and
|
|
Earth space.
|
|
In both encounters they were followed back to their home world, and fired
|
|
upon, and, in at least one case, had their ship destroyed.
|
|
They may be allied to the Shadows. Small figures, large heads and eyes. A
|
|
minor race.
|
|
|
|
SHIP A huge ship, unsymetrical. Equipped with a torture chamber where
|
|
captured aliens are forced to fight, and are experimented upon.
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
* High energy rapid fire energy cannon.
|
|
* Tractor beam.
|
|
* hyper-space engines / jump point generator.
|
|
|
|
The ships cannon seems to have great difficulty in hitting targets.
|
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
IV
|
|
|
|
Lumati Technology
|
|
|
|
This race has only recently been encountered.
|
|
They scorn of 'inferior' races, and will not left a finger to help a lesser
|
|
species, but they do consider Humens non-inferior, even if they now have
|
|
strange ideas about Humen sexual acts. Tall, symbiotic. Deep crevices on
|
|
head.
|
|
|
|
SHIP Structured from 5-6 spheres, linked by symmetrical sets of four
|
|
triangles.
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
* Unknown weapon systems, assumed energy cannon / missile.
|
|
* hyper-space engines. Possibly jump point generator, the ship is big
|
|
enough to hold one.
|
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
V
|
|
|
|
Narn Technology
|
|
|
|
One of the Big Four races, lizard like in appearance. 150 years ago they
|
|
were almost wiped out by the Centuri who strip mined the Narn home world.
|
|
They eventually managed, after 100 years, to drive them off. For them the
|
|
words 'Never Again' have special meaning. Their B5 ambassador, G'Kar,
|
|
guessed the Shadows are coming.
|
|
They are possibly much older than almost any other race, but were decimated
|
|
in the first war against the Shadows, and now in this one as well, having
|
|
only 10 or 15 ships left.
|
|
Non-organic tech.
|
|
They are the only race not to have telepaths, although they used to have
|
|
them, they were killed off by the Shadows, resulting in too small a gene
|
|
pool for them to breed a telepath.
|
|
Home world is called Narn.
|
|
Non-organic technology
|
|
|
|
FIGHTER Flat and rounded.
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
* Beam weapon.
|
|
|
|
HEAVY FIGHTER Chunkier version of fighters. Better amoured / weaponed.
|
|
|
|
DREADNAUGHT Looks like two heavy fighters join base to base by a bridge.
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
* Jump point genearator, hyperspace engines.
|
|
* More pwerful version of cruiser.
|
|
|
|
MOTHER SHIP Larger version of fighter, composed of three decks. The bridge
|
|
can be sealed off from rest of ship. One kilometer long.
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
* Beam weapons.
|
|
* hyper-space Engines, jump point generator.
|
|
* Missiles.
|
|
* Suffer a comms black out after re-entering normal space.
|
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
VI
|
|
|
|
Centuri Technology
|
|
|
|
One of the big four races. Attempted twice to trick Humens on first
|
|
contact, saying they were a lost Centuri colony, and that the Centuri ruled
|
|
the entire Universe. Large fan of hair on males. Females shave their heads.
|
|
|
|
Earth's first encounter with aliens was with them and the Centuri traded
|
|
Earth jump gate technology.
|
|
Home world is known as Centuri Prime.
|
|
Non-organic tech.
|
|
|
|
BLOCKADE MINES Squat cylinder, with two cannons revolving around the top.
|
|
Assumed to be remotely controlled or automatic. Inaccurate, we have only
|
|
seen them once, but most shots missed, and it was also commented that they
|
|
were 'beginning to get [the] range', implying they can not fire straight
|
|
away upon a target.
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
* Cannons (see above), but these appear to be very inaccurate.
|
|
|
|
FIGHTER Crescent shaped, thin and 'spacialdynamic'
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
* Beam weapon.
|
|
* Prob. hyper-space engines.
|
|
|
|
CRUISER Cross shaped
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
* hyper-space engines and jump point generator,
|
|
* missiles, misc. beam weapons.
|
|
|
|
Note: The Centauri appear to be the only race whose cruisers do not have
|
|
some sort of beam weapon. Centauri cruisers rapid-fire single shots from
|
|
the centre point of the front of the ship. They also appear to have lesser
|
|
weapons elsewhere on their cruisers, but the ones that seem most effective
|
|
in battle are the front-and-centre guns that fire some sort of elongated
|
|
shot.
|
|
|
|
MOTHER Like two cruisers joined side by side
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
* Beam weapons.
|
|
* hyper-space engines and jump point generator.
|
|
* Missiles
|
|
* Mass drivers.
|
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
VII
|
|
|
|
Minbari Technology
|
|
|
|
One of the big four races. Almost wiped out the Humens in a huge war,
|
|
driving them back to their 0 home system, and then home world, bypassing
|
|
the Mars and Io colonies. All remaining Earth ships ordered into Earth
|
|
orbit.
|
|
At the last moment the Minbari surrendered, after examining a captive
|
|
Human, and discovering that they were reborn Minbari souls, but not before
|
|
19800 out of the 20000 ships were destroyed.
|
|
Recognised by bony protrusions on skull.
|
|
Home world known as Minbar, the 7th planet from their sun. One quarter of
|
|
planet covered by north polar ice cap. So rich in crystal deposits many
|
|
cities carved out of crystal formations. Three languages Len'a, Feak and
|
|
Adrinato (the language of the religious cast). An example of Adrinato is
|
|
'Ni sec schlect slem wa' Meaning 'I am your friend, in peace'. The Minbari
|
|
have had artificial gravity for some time, and all Minbari ships are driven
|
|
by a garivtio-magnetic system. They are also at the experimental stage of
|
|
time travel, having the ability to control certain types of time fields,
|
|
however this is at a very early stage, horse and carriage compared to a
|
|
modern sports car, or the Great Machine.
|
|
Semi-organic tech.
|
|
|
|
Rings The Minbari have been observed using small rings to great effect. One
|
|
such ring was observed increasing the local gravity a whole order of
|
|
magnitude. Careful observation indicates the presence of a small silvery
|
|
discoloration on the ring finger of the Minbari ambassador, probably some
|
|
form of cybernetic interface. Thus the rings most probably act merely as
|
|
transmission devices to much larger units. It is therefore postulated that
|
|
the devices are only usable in certain areas, in this case the quarters of
|
|
the Minbari ambassador.
|
|
|
|
FIGHTER Y shaped, like Chigs from Space: Above and Beyond.
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
* Beam weapon.
|
|
* hyper-space engines.
|
|
|
|
FLYER (Equivalent to Cruiser/Shuttle) Flat, with upright fins at corners.
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
* hyper-space engines.
|
|
* Atmosphere capable.
|
|
|
|
MOTHER 300m long, 200 M tons, shaped like an angel fish.
|
|
In the centre of Minbari cruisers there is the Tactical Centre. Over head a
|
|
large inverted mushroom hangs. A full 360 degree view is offered here, and
|
|
communication to any ship in range is as easy as speaking to it. Displays
|
|
on offer range from tactical maps to camera images.
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
* hyper-space engines, jump point generator.
|
|
* Tractor beam.
|
|
* Highly resilient to fighter weapons.
|
|
* Some form of stealth tech. that prevents Earther scanners at least
|
|
from locking on.
|
|
* 12 fusion lasers
|
|
* 6 neutron cannons
|
|
* 6 missile launches (20M ton per missile)
|
|
* 1 forward stasis beam
|
|
* 4 attractor breams around launch bay
|
|
* Cargo pay able to hold up to 2000 m tons
|
|
* 64 crew
|
|
* 150 troops
|
|
* maximum speed of .2 c
|
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
VIII
|
|
|
|
Earther Technology
|
|
|
|
The last of the big four. 'Mankind'.
|
|
Scanner systems can be knocked out using an Electro Magnetic Pulse, as from
|
|
a fusion bomb.
|
|
Messaging systems stamp all transmissions with a date stamp, and in
|
|
military systems a 'subchannel ID' which allows the sender to be
|
|
authenticated.
|
|
Non-organic tech.
|
|
|
|
FIGHTER (SA-23E)
|
|
[sf wire] [sf pers]
|
|
The SA-23E Mitchell-Hyundyne Starfury is a single-seat non-atmospheric
|
|
fighter craft utilised by the Earth Alliance for short range defence
|
|
operations. It is armed with two Plasma Projection Guns, as well as four
|
|
Pulse Discharge Cannons. Unlike in classic Terran designs, the pilot sits
|
|
almost perfectly vertically in the cockpit, operating the vessel by a
|
|
combination of hand, foot, and voice-activated controls.
|
|
It has an average speed of 15km/s.
|
|
One of the most intriguing facets of Starfury operations is the launch
|
|
sequence. The pilot enters the cockpit by a short ramp, wearing a pressure
|
|
suit. As he prepares for launch, the bay is depressurized. When all is
|
|
ready, the fighter pivots point-down into launch position, and is launched
|
|
by the inertial forces created by station rotation. After it clears the
|
|
station, the main engines fire.
|
|
These engines are the most unusual aspect of the design, being placed on
|
|
long wings, forming an X shape.
|
|
Weapons
|
|
|
|
* Four 20 megawatt pulse discharge cannons (located on thruster pods)
|
|
* Up to 8 externally mounted missiles with nuclear, frag., jam etc.
|
|
warheads as needed.
|
|
* PDC's may be replaced with unguided missile launchers.
|
|
* 2 PPG's mounted under cockpit.
|
|
|
|
Four fuel cells mounted on the inboard trailing edge of each wing.
|
|
Thrust is vectored using a system of 8 flaps mounted behind the engines.
|
|
Launch rail attach points can be seen on the underside.
|
|
Long range scanners can detect objects up to 2 hours flight time away, and
|
|
mix passive and active systems, and feature a multi-level active amp.
|
|
4.4 m long, 1 pilot. Thrust glows bluw-white. Seems not to have evolved
|
|
much since the Earth-Minbari war.
|
|
|
|
* Variants
|
|
o Star Fury (Black Omega): Used for infiltration due to advanced
|
|
stealth capabilities. Very expensive. Omega decal on underside.
|
|
o Star Fury (two seater): two cockpits, one facing forward, one
|
|
facing aft. Missiles and heavy pulse cannons, fixed forward
|
|
mountings, with a turret on the back.
|
|
o Star Fury (Thunder Bolt (SA-42B) ):
|
|
o Star Fury (Thunder Bolt (SA-42B) ):
|
|
1 rapid burst pulse cannon. 4x missile rack under [tb-sce]
|
|
cockpit. Wings are more planer and feature swing wing on
|
|
each of the 4 thrusters. When extended act as aerofoils, else
|
|
folded over the body. Better speed and manoeuvrability then the
|
|
original.
|
|
[tb pers]
|
|
Next generation of fighters, atmosphere capable- the thunderbolts
|
|
can do a low-level bombing run and then leave the atmosphere. 2
|
|
seater. Minimum speed in atmosphere is about Mach 2, due to small
|
|
wing size. Thrust glows orange, maybe they are not as efficent
|
|
due to having to work in the atmosphere as well ?
|
|
|
|
Control of Ships A Starfury needs and uses all 6 degrees of freedom. This
|
|
means there are two T shaped joysticks, one for each hand.
|
|
To yaw right, you might pivot the right hand stick to the right, increasing
|
|
the angle to increase the speed of the yaw ... as you hold it there you
|
|
keep spinning until you let go, at which time the ship stops itself. To
|
|
achieve this the computer would give an initial burst from the correct
|
|
thrusters to set your roll in motion at a rate proportional to the amount
|
|
you have depressed the stick ... when you let go, the computer gives
|
|
another burst from the opposite thrusters to stop your spin.
|
|
This kind of control would be very intuitive and would minimise the
|
|
possibility of the pilot becoming disoriented in a fast but complex
|
|
manoeuvre. Also a "manual" mode would be included that gave you direct
|
|
control over the thrusters. In this mode, the control sticks would act more
|
|
like throttles .. when depressed, the thrusters activate at proportional
|
|
intensity and when released, the thrusters turn off.
|
|
Another feature is the ability to set the "zero"... the motion of your base
|
|
frame of reference. Your base frame of reference would be the motion the
|
|
ship would have when the control sticks are zero-ed. For example, if you
|
|
want to dock on B5, you need to set your translation to be 0,Vy,0... that's
|
|
speed Vy down the axis of the station and 0,0 lateral motion. Also, you'd
|
|
need to set your spin velocities to be 0,Ry,0... the core of the station
|
|
rotates at a certain velocity which you must match before entering the
|
|
docking bay. So, your base frame of reference could be set to 0,Vy,0;
|
|
0,Ry,0... when you release the control sticks, the computer makes sure that
|
|
these are your velocities relative to the station. If, as you approach the
|
|
core, you notice that you're a little off-axis, you can keep virtual-active
|
|
mode on and nudge the stick in the right direction a few times to translate
|
|
over onto the axis without having to manually cancel the translation when
|
|
you get right on the axis. Meanwhile, if you notice that your spin rate is
|
|
a tad too slow, you could depress the manual button on the spin stick and
|
|
then twist in just a bit to the right to boost your y-axis rotation rate,
|
|
setting your new base frame to be rotating a little faster in the clockwise
|
|
direction.
|
|
Of course, the computer on a Starfury would very likely have all kinds of
|
|
support for automatically performing precise manoeuvres since manual
|
|
docking is needlessly tedious... especially for an exhausted pilot who's
|
|
just coming off an adrenaline high. These can be activated by voice
|
|
command, such as 'roll 270 degrees left', 'rotate to track target, continue
|
|
course', 'set zero reference to target', 'collide with target' or 'maximum
|
|
thrust' as well as more mundane tasks such as 'dock with target' or 'divert
|
|
all power to life support'.
|
|
(Scott Silvey)
|
|
The foot pedals are used to cycle through scanned targets on the HUD.
|
|
Fire control is similar to modern fighter planes, with weapon selection and
|
|
firing combined into a few switches on one of the joysticks.
|
|
Ejecting is done by pulling two tabs mounted either side of the pilots
|
|
head.
|
|
|
|
CRUISER Functional. Rotating mid-section.
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
* hyper-space engines, jump point generator.
|
|
* Powerful forward beam weapon.
|
|
* Prob. missiles.
|
|
|
|
HEAVY CRUISER As above
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
As above but more weapon sites, incl. a rear mounted powerful beam
|
|
weapon, and a fighter compliment.
|
|
|
|
Hyperion (and similar class) destroyers: 150 meters Omega class ships: 500
|
|
meters (excluding guns/atennas) B1, B2, B3, B4, B5 STATIONS
|
|
|
|
* Babylon's 1, 2 and 3 were destroyed by various races before
|
|
completion.
|
|
* Babylon 4 is much more heavily armored then Babylon 5, shaped like a
|
|
traffic cone, with solar arrays at the bottom, two large rotating
|
|
sections, the smaller front section framed by 4 very large Y shaped
|
|
weapons pylons. Painted green, as opposed to Babylon 5's blue. Pulled
|
|
back in time 1000 years to act as a new base of operations during the
|
|
last Shadow War. The reason for 2 counter rotating sections is to set
|
|
the total angular momentum to zero, thus enabling B4 to move much more
|
|
easily than would otherwise be the case. B4 has a certain amount of
|
|
movement, much more compared to B5, for instance, but still too
|
|
limited to make it more than a snack for anything with access to a
|
|
jump point. It is 6 miles long. It is located 160,000 km from where
|
|
Babylon 5is now, and is 92,000km from the planet.
|
|
* Babylon 5 remains in neutral territory. See also Section I- Babylon 5
|
|
.
|
|
|
|
Breaching Pods: A small, limited mobility, transport vessel. Equipped with
|
|
4 corner mounted cluster pods, egg shaped body. Carries a large number of
|
|
troops from the assault ship to the target vessel, where it seals its self
|
|
on to the hull, and cuts an opening for the troops. Raiders: Small one or
|
|
two man attack fighters. Similar in shape to Cylon attack ships, they
|
|
present a very small front/back profile. Assumed to have a limited range,
|
|
and so must operate from a near-by base. Assumed beam weapons. Not very
|
|
effective in combat, half a dozen or so were wiped out by two star furies.
|
|
Most vunrable on their wings. Atmosphere able. Raider Base: A chunky squat
|
|
life support and engine blocked mounted 'behind' a large wheel like
|
|
structure that the Raiders dock to. Able to open its own jump point. All
|
|
explosives manufactured in the Earth Alliance are laced with special
|
|
chemical codes to allow them to be traced to a particular buyer/batch.
|
|
|
|
The security forces of Babylon 5, unlike the civilian population, are
|
|
allowed to carry weaponry in the line of duty. The standard issue weapon is
|
|
the PPG, a small hand-held weapon which ionises small quantities of
|
|
hydrogen or helium gas, and suspends the resultant product in a magnetic
|
|
bottle, which is then released by a moving electric charge. The bottle
|
|
decays, resulting in an energy discharge.
|
|
|
|
Identicards
|
|
Most likely, the Identicards are an outgrowth of the "smart" cards of the
|
|
twentieth century, acting as a combination driver's licence, credit card.
|
|
passport, and medical file. A crystalline memory module, similar to the
|
|
ones used in the main computer could hold medical information, account
|
|
balances, immigration status, and possibly even a small personal calendar
|
|
ala the PDA's introduced in the late 1980's. The technology is simple, but
|
|
requires a merger of data networks difficult to un-bureaucratize.
|
|
|
|
Dust:
|
|
Dust, an addictive manufactured drug, allows non-telepaths of several races
|
|
to probe the minds of others, experiencing all the victim's memories and
|
|
thoughts in the space of a few minutes. Unfortunately, this leaves the
|
|
victims unconscious, and telepathic victims never recover. The more often
|
|
Dust is taken, the more is required to achieve the effect the next time.
|
|
Dust was originally developed, and is apparently still being produced, by
|
|
Psi Corps in an attempt to induce permanent telepathy in normal humans; the
|
|
experiment has been a failure so far.
|
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
IX
|
|
|
|
Vorlon Technology
|
|
|
|
The second oldest race. The ships (and certainly the Cruiser) are
|
|
completely organic, a living being. The pattern on the ships can be seen to
|
|
move slightly.
|
|
The ships are as sentient as dogs, and are breed by the Vorlons as ships.
|
|
(JMS)
|
|
Have an almost unique defence system which can dissipate energy weapons
|
|
fired at their ships, leaving only the physical impact. This device,
|
|
however, appears to have a long recharge time, and in this case the ship
|
|
has to take the hit, a Vorlon Mother being so far the only ship to survive
|
|
a direct hit from a Battle Crab. The organic tech. also allows the ships to
|
|
evolve, and learn.
|
|
The Vorlon race is one of the last remaining First Ones.
|
|
Vorlons appear as humanoid figures cloaked in glowing cloaks of light. Each
|
|
race sees something different, yet the same- an angel or god. Every race
|
|
that is apart from the Centuri. However most of the time Vorlon ambassadors
|
|
wear an organic 'encounter suit'. As well as acting as a space suit, the
|
|
suit can tap into local energy reserves and use them to produce telekinetic
|
|
effects, or deliver a energy 'slap'. The suit may be a living 'being' as
|
|
with their ships.
|
|
When Vorlons are killed, no body is found.
|
|
Have manipulated most races to condition them to see the correct thing, and
|
|
act accordingly, when they reveal themselves.
|
|
Vorlons appear to use standard jump point techniques ! This is because the
|
|
Minbari obtained jump gate technology from them, and they spread it to
|
|
other races, resulting in the 'standard' looking gates and points.
|
|
Very organic technology.
|
|
|
|
FIGHTER + CRUISER (Fighters are smaller version of Mother ships) Egg
|
|
shaped, with four tendrils extending forward from the point. Vorlon
|
|
Cruisers are 60 m in length.
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
* Beam weapon (energised in the nexus of the tendrils).
|
|
* hyper-space engines (jump point generator on mother.
|
|
* Method of propulsion unknown.
|
|
* Note also the "petals" which open out and towards the rear of the
|
|
craft, and may be related to its propulsion (they are always shown
|
|
being folded towards the craft as it approaches the docking bay of
|
|
Babylon 5; of course, it wouldn't fit in the approach tunnel if the
|
|
petals were extended...).
|
|
|
|
SHUTTLE Like fighter, but elongated.
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
* Beam Weapon?
|
|
* hyper-space engines.
|
|
* NOTE: Talks to Kosh via Vorlon writing. Kosh appears to be a
|
|
subordinate to either the ship, or the sender of the message.
|
|
* Ship has facility to maintain Humen life for extended periods.
|
|
* Ship has auto-detect and destroy feature active while it is docked.
|
|
This takes the form of a probe which morphs out of the side of the
|
|
ship. It is not known what action it would take with persistent
|
|
attackers.
|
|
* Surface is similar to Shadows', but is yellow with green patches, and
|
|
can alter its look to generate letters.
|
|
* Kosh's Shuttle is almost permanently locked in B5 docking bay number
|
|
13.
|
|
* Shuttles are made for individual Vorlons, they are part of them, and
|
|
can not live with out them. When the Vorlon dies, the ship grieves as
|
|
best it can, for it is some sense alive, this usually takes the form
|
|
of delivering itself and the personal effects to the nearest sun.
|
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Jump Gates
|
|
|
|
Construction:
|
|
"Quantium" is a generic term applied to molecules which have been
|
|
sufficiently stressed by catastrophic events that some of their
|
|
electron-pair bonds reach across (or "tunnel through") the potential
|
|
barrier between normal space and hyper-space.
|
|
Quantium ores are normally found on planets which have been close enough to
|
|
a supernova to get blasted and irradiated, but far enough out that they
|
|
haven't been completely vaporised.
|
|
Quantium can't be made on purpose, at least by the technologies of
|
|
non-First Ones / Ancients so most starfaring races spend a lot of time
|
|
looking for Quantium.
|
|
The appended number refers to the isotope involved.
|
|
The preferred version of Quantium-40 is the Potassium-40 isotope.
|
|
Due to packing-fraction effects and long-term decay effects (Potassium-40
|
|
has a half-life of about 1.27 x 10 ^ 9 years) natural abundance of
|
|
Potassium-40 is low. (On Earth, for example, Potassium-40 is only about
|
|
.0118% of naturally-occurring Potassium on the planet!)
|
|
The problem is that rods of almost any metallic, or transition-metal,
|
|
Quantium alloy can be put into gate nodes and resonated at very high
|
|
frequencies, resulting in a localised juxtaposition of Normspace and
|
|
hyper-space but most Quantium metals have crystal structures that require
|
|
very high driving frequencies, some up as high as gamma radiation. For some
|
|
reason known only to the Great Maker, Potassium-40 (in its Quantium form)
|
|
provides a stable, very high energy (and thus hard to disrupt) but low
|
|
frequency, trans-barrier bond. As a result, the driving electronics used to
|
|
excite Potassium-40 Quantium Gate resonators are easily achievable by Humen
|
|
technology.
|
|
Quantum-bonded Potassium 40 is the Gate-node material preferred by most
|
|
races, due to the low cost of the necessary support technology. This does
|
|
not mean, however, that other races, or even humans, have to use
|
|
Quantium-40 for gates. It's just the best and most economical engineering
|
|
choice. Quantized Calcium-40 and Argon-40, both stable isotopes, have been
|
|
used; but both, due to trans-barrier bond lengths, and lower bond energies,
|
|
require more expensive machinery. (Calcium-40 is inefficient, and tends to
|
|
vaporise under load, and Argon-40 has to be run as a supercooled solid, at
|
|
liquid Helium temperatures.) Both require much higher frequency driver
|
|
electronics.
|
|
Jump points are formed in a particular location within a margin of error;
|
|
it's not like throwing a newspaper at a door.(JMS)
|
|
|
|
Each jump point, when viewed from hyper-space, can be thought of as a
|
|
lighthouse, sending out a signal to guide ships to it.
|
|
Once in hyperspace, you can ride the navigational beams between beacons,
|
|
and by corrolating the beacons, know where you have to come out.
|
|
(JMS)
|
|
Ships lock on to this beam to prevent themselves from becoming lost. If the
|
|
signal is lost, there is little hope of re-establishing contact, and the
|
|
ship must attempt to carry on its course on internal gyroscopic
|
|
measurements only.
|
|
This is a high risk manoeuvre, and many ships have been lost without trace
|
|
in hyper-space.
|
|
|
|
Aside from simply destabilising the point by firing on it or whatever,
|
|
there is another way to use a point as a weapon. If one Gate is opened in
|
|
another Gate, the competing energies are impossible to control and the
|
|
whole thing explodes. However opening a jump point onto a jump point is
|
|
impossible due to the hideous amount of energy required. However, if a
|
|
convient jump gate is to hand, a jump point can be opened within that
|
|
instead, the effect is the same. (JMS)
|
|
The energy released is huge, and expands rapidly.
|
|
|
|
The Babylon 5 Jump Gate is able to be told to reject certain ships,
|
|
presumably on the basis of mass / shape etc. This may not be a common
|
|
feature, but a function of the generation system used.
|
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
XI
|
|
|
|
What Ships Fire What Weapons
|
|
|
|
Earth Alliance Star Furies are armed with two PPG's and four PDC's, both of
|
|
which are white balls. They can carry unguided nuclear rockets.
|
|
The two Human mother ships we saw in battle were the Hyperion and the
|
|
Agamemnon. Hyperion seems to have larger PPG type weapons mounted on
|
|
turrets and on a forward fixed gun. The Agamemnon has a particle beam-like
|
|
weapon (That was the only weapon it fired, but I'll assume it has more).
|
|
|
|
Narn fighters seem to carry PPG style weapons.
|
|
A Narn cruiser fires both Particle beam and PPG type weapons.
|
|
|
|
Centauri Fighters fire a PPG-like weapon only the blasts are red while Narn
|
|
Fighters and Star Furies have white blasts.
|
|
Centauri Cruisers have similar red blast weapons. However, Instead of being
|
|
PPG's they could be ion Cannons (G'Kar mentioned twice that Centauries used
|
|
ion cannons).
|
|
Centauri Blockade Mines fire orange elongated shots.
|
|
|
|
Both Minbari Fighters and Warships have Green Particle beam-style weapons
|
|
(the Narn's and the Agamemnon fired red particle beams). The Warships have
|
|
larger ones.
|
|
|
|
Note: I use the word "like" because there is no concrete proof that the
|
|
weapons are Particle Beams or PPG's.
|
|
(David Engkent)
|
|
|
|
The White Star fires purple elongated blasts from the pods, and white
|
|
elongated blasts from somewhere near the front. Also on the front is rapid
|
|
fire pulsed green energy weapon (Fusion cannon).
|
|
|
|
Vorlon mothers energise a ball of yellow/green energy in the nexus of their
|
|
tendrils. From here a beam of energy is release.
|
|
Vorlon cruisers have some form of large scale energy weapon as well, which
|
|
can be modulated, and act as a 'net' for larger vessels.
|
|
Vorlon fighters have yellow/green sparks of energy from their tendrils'
|
|
nexus.
|
|
|
|
Shadow fighters fire white balls of energy, and pulse as they fire.
|
|
Shadow probes fire elongated purple blasts, looking like mini versions of
|
|
the Shadow ships main weapon. Battle Crabs, Cruisers and Mothers have a
|
|
continuos pinky-purple ray.
|
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
XII
|
|
|
|
The White Star
|
|
|
|
[ws sch]
|
|
[ws sch 2, upside down :-)]
|
|
The White Star is a ship created by a
|
|
melding of Vorlon and Minbari technologies, and is to date the only
|
|
non-Vorlon ship that has escaped the Shadows. The surface is 'pearl, so its
|
|
got a weird refractive quality'. It has a kind of manta look to it, almost
|
|
Minbari like flowing lines. The pods are each attached to the body by two
|
|
intertwined 'wings', and glow when the ship manoeuvres, as does a single
|
|
underslung pod.
|
|
It is attached to the B5 station, just like a shuttle or transport ship,
|
|
and is under the B5 commanders control. It was, however, commissioned by
|
|
the Minbari religious caste, without the knowledge of some on the Minbari
|
|
High Council (The Grey Council).
|
|
The White Star uses local drive engines based on magnetic and gravitational
|
|
principles; in a sense, it doesn't so much push itself toward other worlds
|
|
as pull itself or repel itself. One side effect of creating a powerful
|
|
gravitational system is the ability to create artificial gravity.
|
|
(JMS)
|
|
This allows it to alter its internal gravitational field to enable a smooth
|
|
transition from the White Star to, say, a large rotating space station that
|
|
it has grappled on to and burnt through the hull of.
|
|
The ship is extremly manoeuvrable, it has dodged multiple shots from a
|
|
Battle Crab, whereas almost all other ships fired upon have been hit 1st
|
|
time.
|
|
It is smaller than other ships of its power, and faster than any other ship
|
|
of the same size, certainly faster than any Humen ship.
|
|
The controls mix coloured crystal/sonic controls with more standard
|
|
displays and can display hi-res. maps and other displays above the forward
|
|
windows. However, the weapons on the ship are not able to directly damage a
|
|
fully capable Shadow ship.
|
|
Named to coincide with the Black Star, a Minbari battle cruiser destroyed
|
|
by Sheriden in the Earth-Minbari war, and now kept in orbit around a White
|
|
Dwarf.
|
|
The outer skin is very tough, only slightly less able to withstand extremes
|
|
of pressure and temperature than a Shadow ship.
|
|
Equipped with the Vorlon-style skin, enabling the ship to learn from
|
|
experience, to change, to evolve. This enabled it to learn from previous
|
|
encounters with the shadows, and adopt the Vorlon Defence System, which
|
|
deflects most of the energy of a shot away, leaving only the physical
|
|
impact.
|
|
Weapons may be controlled by computer or by hand, hand firing is more
|
|
useful at extreme range. The White Star's forward battery is powerful
|
|
enough to destroy a Battle Crab, however the energy demands of using this
|
|
as a continuous burst means the jump engines have to be taken off-line,
|
|
leaving the ship with no hyper space ability for 20 minutes. The beam cuts
|
|
a tunnel through a Battle Crab in the space of a few seconds.
|
|
The White Star is one member of a fleet of similar ships.
|
|
It is 130 meters long, and has an escape pod mounted on its back.
|
|
[ws-pers]
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
* hyper-space engines, jump point generator (almost certainly two,
|
|
mounted one aft and one forward).
|
|
* 3 arrays of weapons (forward, left pod and right pod)
|
|
o 1 heavy fusion laser (green, pulsed) (forward array)
|
|
o 3 banks of rapid fire heavy neutron cannon (one to each array)
|
|
o 3 power stasis beams (one to each array)
|
|
* Attractor beams, based on magnetic attraction, causing a mottled blue
|
|
coating on the attracted ship.
|
|
* Grapple legs, and hull cutters.
|
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
XIII
|
|
|
|
Sigma 957 Aliens
|
|
|
|
Their real name is 15,000 letters long, and they can be summoned by
|
|
broadcasting this signal close to planets where they 'walk among the stars'
|
|
(JMS)
|
|
Their ship is huge, from a hemi-sphere base, a long cylinder emerges,
|
|
tipped with a black globe with 70's style computer graphics on it
|
|
(mono-chromatic squares and lines of dots mostly). This stalk is rimmed at
|
|
the base by bony protrusions that extend over the lip of the base. There is
|
|
some 'bad blood' between them and the Vorlons, but they have agreed to help
|
|
in the War.
|
|
Semi-organic tech.
|
|
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
* Prob. beyond our understanding, i.e. 'magic'
|
|
* Non stnd. hyper-space tech.
|
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
XIV
|
|
|
|
Epsilon 3 (The Great Machine)
|
|
|
|
From the outside, just some nova blasted desolate planet, but it actually
|
|
houses a huge machine, built long ago by a gone race. It is now run by a
|
|
Minbari, who has offered its services to Babylon Five.
|
|
Tunnelled through a large part of the planet Euphrates, a planet orbiting
|
|
Epsilon Eridani, the Great Machine is powered by massive banks of fusion
|
|
generators (the largest are 5 to 10 miles across).
|
|
Highly advanced technology is housed within; including the time distortion
|
|
devices used to "hijack" Babylon 4.
|
|
|
|
The Great Machine is controlled by the Heart - a control room where the
|
|
Custodian is bodily hooked up to the machine. The machine itself chooses
|
|
who may control it. Once installed, the Great Machine's operations are tied
|
|
to the life signs of the Custodian. By entering the Machine, the
|
|
Custodian's life is greatly extended, mostly by rejuvenating the physiology
|
|
of the individual. The previous Custodian was the member of an unknown race
|
|
named Varn who described that by being the Heart you "see all the futures,
|
|
hear all the songs, and touch the edge of the universe with [one's]
|
|
thoughts." The Heart allows anyone hooked into the Machine access to an
|
|
"Ethernet." The Ether Interface allows a being to travel along the paths
|
|
woven between all lifeforms. Within the Ether, time and space are
|
|
irrelevant. Travelling the pathways can bring the traveller to the past,
|
|
present, and future, allowing the Custodian to see into distant worlds and
|
|
to gain greater understanding of the universe. A race of aliens live
|
|
inside, acting as caretakers.
|
|
|
|
Capabilities
|
|
|
|
* Can gather all forms of information from a large area, project a
|
|
hologramatic image of its operator large distances, and to
|
|
astronomically distant places by tapping the paths, or energies, that
|
|
link all life together.
|
|
* Has many energy based defence systems to prevent unauthorised craft
|
|
landing on the planet, and presumably weapons to use against orbital
|
|
craft.
|
|
* Heavily armed with missile launchers, planetary-scale slicer beams,
|
|
electronic debilitator wave generators.
|
|
* The Machine has the ability to record transmissions found on the
|
|
Etherweb from the past, and possibly future.
|
|
* The Custodian can also utilise the Machine's holographic projection
|
|
system, allowing the receiver real-time interaction with the golden
|
|
holo-image of the Custodian.
|
|
* The massive computer banks contain reports regarding the First Ones
|
|
and their haunts: Tales of encounters with alien forces beyond
|
|
description and stories of vast and nameless forces that prowl the
|
|
ruins of ancient cities.
|
|
* At a great cost in terms of strain and energy, can create and control
|
|
a stream of Tachyons, which can control time rifts, and use them as
|
|
entries to Tachyon Space.
|
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
XV
|
|
|
|
Misc.
|
|
|
|
(What will *not* fit anywhere else !)
|
|
How does a changeling net work?
|
|
This piece of technology is on the restricted list, so a sample was not
|
|
available for study. However, similar technologies have used a hologram to
|
|
mask the wearer in a form of high- tech camouflage. The key question is how
|
|
does the onboard computer know which image to project. The images are
|
|
usually of the immediate background, or pre-programmed. But then, there
|
|
must be someone who knows the image....
|
|
|
|
Metaphysics:
|
|
The Babylon 5 universe seems to behave according to the Copenhagen
|
|
interpretation of Quantum Physics, with a number of 'ghost' futures
|
|
co-existing until a choice is made which makes one of them 'real'. Messages
|
|
may be passed 'backwards' from these ghost realities, though not forward
|
|
from 'now' to the 'future'.
|
|
Time travel is possible in both directions, but at great strain, and cost
|
|
in terms of energy. So far the only thing to do this feat is the Great
|
|
Machine, however it seems likely that the Vorlons, Shadows, Sigma 957 and
|
|
other First Ones have this technology, as do the Minbari to some small
|
|
degree.
|
|
|
|
Data Crystals:
|
|
Much as 3.5" inch disks are the common storage media world-wide today, so
|
|
data crystals are the common inter-race storage medium. Shaped like a very
|
|
small (2cm) long transparent crystal they can store large amounts of data.
|
|
As with disks this can be anything from text, to video, to sound, even
|
|
personalities can be encoded.
|
|
The data is encoded as a pattern of refracting light, and the crystal
|
|
altered to produce this pattern when illuminated.
|
|
|
|
Berzerker Probes:
|
|
These low-intelligence probes were sent out by the hundreds by an unknown
|
|
race. They have no crew or weapons. Their seamless hull suggests they are
|
|
(at least partially) organic ships. The probes are programmed to seek out
|
|
intelligent life.
|
|
Once a suitable subject is found, the probe transmits alphabet and language
|
|
codes (in all possibility not even the tongue of the Berserkers). If the
|
|
subject figures out the code within a set amount of time, the probe
|
|
transmits a series of over 600 questions relating to physics, quantum
|
|
mechanics, molecular biology, genetics, and other advanced sciences. In
|
|
return for correct answers, the probe promises to give the subject cures
|
|
for every known disease, improved jump gate data and other advanced
|
|
technology; if the subject fails to answer correctly, the probe will
|
|
self-destruct with the force of 500 thousand megatons.
|
|
The subjects have twenty-four hours to respond. Unknown to the victims, the
|
|
probe will detonate if the correct answers are given, failure to answer
|
|
will prompt the probe to move on to another target.
|
|
In the event that the probe queries beings living on a planet, the blast is
|
|
generally sufficient to wreak havoc with most incoming and outgoing
|
|
communication systems (also further damaging the planet's ecosystem by
|
|
throwing up a dust curtain) giving the Berserkers enough time to send more
|
|
probe ships and finish the job.
|
|
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|
Back to top
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Legal, contact etc
|
|
|
|
Maintained by Thomas Chiverton, Falken@Bigfoot.com
|
|
|
|
Thanks to:
|
|
* Odarka Stefanyszyn, Andy Thomas, Gharlane of Eddore, Boris Skrbic,
|
|
Zathras, Voltayre, Julian Graham, Mark Kochte, Bill, David Engkent, Robert
|
|
Kaiser, Andy Dunn, J M S ( how could I forget ! ), Scott Silvey.
|
|
Also to the newsgroups R.A.S.T.B5.M, U.M.S.T.B5 and U.M.S.T.B5.M .
|
|
Special thanks and praise to Mario Di Giacomo, the original technical FAQ
|
|
author of old, on which this is based.
|
|
|
|
I retain the copyright on all original parts, 3rd party articles are
|
|
credited where known, and (c) remains with author unless stated otherwise.
|
|
|
|
Where to get a new copy of this document, or the update file (order of
|
|
usefulness):-
|
|
|
|
* WWW:
|
|
o htttp://www.home.ch/~spaw1791/b5index.htm (main site)
|
|
o http://www.mk.dmu.ac.uk/guests/b5/ (mirror)
|
|
* E-Mail: mail Falken@Bigfoot.com and ask to be added to the mailing
|
|
list
|
|
* FTP: ftp.midwinter.com/pub/babylon-5/ (file name b5.tech and b5.tech.1
|
|
for text, appened .htm for HTML adition of manual)
|
|
|
|
Please note: Manual will soon aquire more pictures, but will remain as a
|
|
single file untill the end of season 5, when it will be split. The update
|
|
will stay as text only.
|
|
Please also note: This document is not in anyway officially endorsed by
|
|
JMS, Warner Brothers or anyone else involved in anyway with the B5 TV show.
|
|
However, as this is a copyrighted document, I'd like to be informed if it
|
|
is used by anyone in an official capacity, or is distributed beyond the
|
|
realms of E-Mail, the Internet and BBS's (such as magazine disks,
|
|
PD/Shareware, CD-ROM etc.). Please also keep this file together with the
|
|
update.
|
|
All trademarks etc. acknowledged, (C) 1996-1997 Thomas Chiverton
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|
Back to top
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