brennen
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lurkers-guide


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


								<blockquote><cite>

								Bester asks Talia to investigate an "underground railroad" of unregistered

								telepaths.

								</cite>


								<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Koenig,+Walter">Walter Koenig</a> as Bester.

								</blockquote>


								<pre>

								Sub-genre: Intrigue

								<a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/030">8.38</a>


								Production number: 207

								Original air date: January 25, 1995

								<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000087EYB/thelurkersguidet">DVD release date</a>: April 29, 2003


								Written by J. Michael Straczynski

								Directed by Jim Johnston

								</pre>


								<h3>Watch For</h3>


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

								minor after all.


								<p>

								<hr size=3>


								<h2><a name="BP">Backplot</a></h2>


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

								sudden appearance of real psi abilities in otherwise unremarkable people

								caused so much concern among the general population that those showing such

								talents were gathered together into a group that could be more easily

								controlled -- and Psi-Corps was born.  Its members are deeply conditioned to

								prevent any psi from using his or her talents to dominate normal people or

								disrupt society.  But this conditioning isn't absolute, and attitudes molded

								early in life can still evolve over a persons lifetime.


								<P>

								Given that psis were forced into this essentially closed society, shunned by

								the rest of humanity, it isn't surprising that the loyalties of the telepaths

								turned to the Corps itself.  Soon Psi-Corps gained control of itself, and

								eventually the organization began pursuing its own goals.  The leadership

								began to exert ever greater control over the lives of the members, in an

								effort to enhance the abilities of their people.


								<P>

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

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

								marriage and reproduction.  Eventually the onus became too great and too

								pervasive for newly awakened psis to tolerate, and they began seeking ways

								to escape.  The Psi-Cops exist to counter this, to search for and either

								capture or eliminate psi talented people who escaped early detection or who

								fled Psi-Corps.


								<P>

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

								was intended to keep psis under control, it has itself come under the control

								of those very people.  As a group, they <em>must</em> feel

								seperate and different if not outright superior to the rest of society, and

								who have long been held in a position of subservience.  They are

								organized, ruthless, and determined to pursue their own agenda.


								<P>

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


								<h2><a name="UQ">Unanswered Questions</a></h2>


								<UL>

								   <LI> Where have all the unregistered psis been going?

								   <LI> How long has this "underground railroad" been running?

								   <LI> We see Ivanova giving Sheridan his morning briefing, and in it she says

									that B5 has been running in the red for a while because, "there's been

									a lot of Earth Force military transports coming through."  Where were

									they going?

								   <li> Has Talia turned completely against the Corps?

								   <li> Why, and by whom, was Bester told that Sheridan would be sympathetic

									to the Psi-Corps?

								   <li> How much did Talia tell Ivanova about the situation, and about

									what's happened to her?

								   <li> "What am I?"  "The future."  What does that mean?  The future of

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

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

									from within, or something else?  Is there even more to Ironheart's

									gift?

								   <li> Will Bester notice that his gun was never actually fired?

								</UL>


								<h2><a name="AN">Analysis</a></h2>


								<UL>


								<P>

								   <LI>The core of Psi-Corps indoctrination was summed up by Bester.

									<blockquote>

									You were raised by the Corps,<br>

									Clothed by the Corps.<br>

									We are your father,<br>

									And your mother.<br>

									</blockquote>


									<P>

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

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

									he has just forcibly mind-scanned.  "He's dead," the other Psi-Cop

									says.  "It doesn't matter," Bester replies, apparently assuming she

									was concerned he wouldn't be able to read the man any more.  Talia

									doesn't see

									this, since it happened on Mars Colony, but she does meet a stream of

									rogues who are on B5, in transit through the "underground railroad."

									From them she learns, first hand and with undeniable truth, that the

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

									her experiences were mild compared to the stories she hears.

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

									volunteers for subjects.  And as a telepath speaking <I>to</I>

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

									she hears.


								<P>

								   <LI>How can a Psi-Corps operative turn against the Corps?  The impossibility

									of it is clear:  The highest rated, strongest telepaths are "turned

									into" Psi-Cops.  When the guardians are stronger than everyone else,

									how do you turn against them?  Unless you are truly exceptional like

									Matthew Stoner in <a href="029.html">"Soul Mates"</a> you can only

									flee, immediately, before someone else scans you and reads your

									intention.  Matthew Stoner may or may not have eluded the clutches

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

									them.  Talia Winters' whole life experience tells her that she

									<STRONG>cannot</STRONG> turn against the Corps, no matter what her

									opinions may be about the integrity or intentions of the organization.


									<P>

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

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

									they undoubtedly inclined her toward rebellion.  What allowed her to

									rebel was the realization that her shields were much stronger than

									she thought they were.  A year ago Jason Ironheart, a victim of

									Psi-Corps experimentation, visited the station (cf.

									<a href="006.html">"Mind War."</a>)

									He became something

									vastly powerful, and departed.  But before he left, he gave his onetime

									love Talia Winters a gift, the very thing that Psi-Corps was

									trying to induce in him: telekinesis.  And the strength to keep

									that gift secret.


								<p>

								   <li> Talia's telekinetic powers are at least somewhat stronger than

									suggested at the end of

									<a href="006.html">"Mind War."</a>

									She can not only move her penny with her thoughts -- she can cause

									it to fly across the room with enough force to embed itself in the

									wall.


								<p>

								   <li> Telepaths can combine their powers through physical contact.  What

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

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

									greater than just a collection of individuals?  Does this perhaps

									have something to do with the Minbari prophecy suggesting that

									humans are destined to walk among the stars? (cf.

									<a href="020.html">"Babylon Squared"</a>)


									<p>

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

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

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

									worked.


								<P>

								   <LI>	The "Underground Railroad."  The timeline of the underground railroad

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

									actively been working to keep people with psi ability out of

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

									makes sense that their ability to alter or manipulate medical and

									genetic records would make them logical and necessary members.  But

									there is no reason to assume that the organization is comprised

									solely of doctors.


									<P>

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

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

									into downbelow while Jason went through his spectacular confrontation

									with Bester and his subsequent transformation.  This unnamed telepath

									(who we've met before, in

									<a href="022.html">"Chrysalis"</a>)

									apparently contacted Dr. Franklin.  Between them, they extended the

									underground railroad through B5 -- though where the rogues were going

									<EM>after</EM> B5 is unclear.  Nor is it clear that Dr. Franklin will

									actually put a stop to the railroad.  Dr. Franklin's answers to Captain

									Sheridan's demand that he put a stop to it were quite evasive.  The

									telepaths actually at the station agreed to leave, which they intended

									to do anyway.  Dr. Franklin admitted that his part in it was over,

									and that others would have to take over -- but he never actually said

									it would stop.


									<P>

									Ironically, the person Garibaldi first suspected was aiding the

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

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

									What did they discuss, alone and late at night in Ivanova's quarters?


								<p>

								   <li> Did Ironheart's unnamed friend have ulterior motives when he put

									Garibaldi onto Devereaux' trail in

									<a href="022.html">"Chrysalis?"</a>

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

									<a href="024.html">"Revelations"</a>)

									so it's plausible the man knew something of the plot, and wanted to

									foil it without revealing himself.


								<p>

								   <li> Along similar lines, Bester's request to Talia that she keep an eye

									on Sheridan and the others for their reactions to President Santiago's

									death implies that he knows something other than an accident occurred,

									even that he (or someone he's associated with) was involved.  His

									offhand comment that he'd been told Sheridan would be sympathetic

									to the Psi-Corps also implies that there may be more to Sheridan's

									appointment as head of Babylon 5 than meets the eye.


								<P>

								   <LI>"Who'd have thought?" John Sheridan asks Ambassador Delenn.  He was

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

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

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

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

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

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

									she has apparently chosen him to teach her about humanity on a

									personal level.  How personal this can get... who can say?


								<p>

								   <LI> Finally, there is a telepath who can

									operate on the side of the "good guys."  True, there are all the

									telepaths who have passed through the "underground railroad," but

									they are untrained or at best, trained but fleeing.  Talia is fully

									trained and Psi-Corps doesn't know that she has turned--and she is

									strong enough to maintain her independence.  It's likely she will be

									a very important player now, and her personality may develop in new

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


								</UL>


								<h2><a name="NO">Notes</a></h2>

								<UL>


								   <LI> This episode takes place in March, 2259, three months into

									Sheridan's tour of duty with B5.


								   <LI> There is a subthread in this episode about lack of sleep.  Bester gets

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

									Sheridan spend a night sacked out in his office (he in his chair, she

									on the couch).  Coincidence?


								   <LI> "Knock Knock"  (who's there)  "Kosh"  (Kosh who?)  "Gesundheit!"

									-- Sheridan


								   <li>@@@876775538 Judy Levitt, who plays the Psi Cop opposite Bester in the

									scene on Mars, is Walter Koenig's wife.


								   <li> Production gaffe: In the scene outside Earhart's, when Delenn is asking

									Sheridan to dinner, a boom microphone is visible for an instant at the

									top of the screen.

								</UL>


								<h2><a name="JS">jms speaks</a></h2>


								<ul>


								   <li> Favorite line in the next new episode, from Sheridan: "I'm not saying

									what I'm saying.  I'm not saying what I'm *thinking*.  For that matter,

									I'm not even *thinking* what I'm thinking."


								   <li> BTW, just to note a little something you might not notice in the

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

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

									clubs and airforce/naval base clubs put the logos or markings of big

									planes or ships that come through there.  The Cortez symbol is the

									most visible among the various emblems you can see in a shot of the

									bar in "A Race Through Dark Places."  It comes at the moment we follow

									*another* old military tradition.


								   <li>@@@846703182 As for the sound mix...yeah, we put a great deal of work

									into that aspect, for the surround effect.  If you fire up "Race"

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

									it's worth it.


								   <li> Yes, originally, "Soul Mates" was to air after "Race."  At that

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

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

									ratings came in and looked good, they didn't want to interfere with

									the growth, and indicated they wanted to show 7 new eps in the first

									batch.  "Race," as you can see, was a very complex episode visually, and

									the only way to get it ready to run #7 in the first batch would've been

									to compromise the integrity of the show, and we simply won't do that for

									ANY reason.  "Soul Mates," on the other hand, required very little in

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


								   <li> Q: How many telepaths does it take to screw in a lightbulb?<br>

									A:


								   <li> I always have to have a title before I begin writing, since the

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

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

									certain rhythm, and avoid coming at the subject of the episode too

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

									Bester, "Capture" or "Chase."  But I wanted it to be evocative, to

									conjure up the image of people slipping through the shadows, pursued by

									others, and to continue this season's trend toward titles that indicate

									a coming night.  Hence, "A Race Through Dark Places."


								   <li> <em>No repeat of Bester's salute from "Mind War"</em><br>

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

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

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


								   <li>@@@846703182 Correct, the penny was/is a keepsake.


								   <li> <em>Where did Ivanova's outfit in the last scene come from?</em><br>

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


								</ul>


								<hr>

								Originally compiled by Dave Zimmerman

								<hr>