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lurkers-guide


								<!-- TITLE The Face of the Enemy -->


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


								<blockquote><cite>

								Sheridan's search for his father leads him into danger on Mars.  Lyta warns

								Franklin of an impending clash between telepaths and mundanes.  Garibaldi

								chooses between loyalty to Sheridan and to Edgars.

								</cite>


								<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Gant,+Richard">Richard Gant</a> as Captain MacDougan.

								<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Gentile,+Denise">Denise Gentile</a> as Lise.

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

								<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Monaghan,+Marjorie">Marjorie Monaghan</a> as Number One.

								<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Schneider,+Mark">Mark Schneider</a> as Wade.

								<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Zimbalist+Jr.,+Efrem">Efrem Zimbalist Jr.</a> as William Edgars.

								</blockquote>


								<pre><a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/083">9.26</a>


								Production number: 417

								Original air week: June 9, 1997

								<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000DGBEY/thelurkersguidet">DVD release date</a>: January 6, 2004


								Written by J. Michael Straczynski

								Directed by Mike Vejar

								</pre>


								<p>

								<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000636I/thelurkersguidet">An

								episodic soundtrack is available.</a>


								<p>

								<strong>Warning: This episode reveals a lot of information, and there are

								spoilers below.  Think twice before reading on if you haven't seen

								the episode.</strong>


								<p>

								<hr size=3>


								<h2><a name="BP">Plot Points</a></h2>

								<ul>


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865841437 Clark's ship commanders have been convinced that if they

									surrender to Sheridan, they'll be killed and their crews replaced by

									Minbari.  Perceiving they have nothing to lose, they are therefore

									willing to fight the rebel forces to the death.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865841437 Sheridan has been captured by Clark's forces.  Garibaldi

									personally sprung the trap, which earned him a commendation

									from ISN and condemnation from Ivanova: she has ordered B5's

									personnel to shoot him on sight.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865843518 Ivanova is now in command of the rebel fleet, and has

									vowed to keep up the fight with or without Sheridan.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865843518 Sheridan's old ship, the Agamemnon

									(<a href="023.html">"Points of Departure"</a>)

									has joined the rebel fleet.  (See

									<a href="#NO.aggie">Notes</a>)


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865841437 The telepath virus described by Wade and Lise in

									<a href="078.html">"Conflicts of Interest"</a>

									is indeed real, as is the drug to suppress it -- but the virus was

									developed by Edgars' company.  It is airborne, 100% contagious, and

									completely harmless to normals.  Telepaths have to take

									the cure every two weeks, or they'll die.  Edgars' plan was to release

									it on Earth and use control of the cure to effectively enslave all

									the telepaths, preventing them from ever gaining the upper hand

									over normals.  Bester believes the virus was developed with the help

									of the Shadows, who had a vested interest in wiping out telepaths.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865841437 When Justin told Sheridan that the Shadows wouldn't kill

									him because someone else would come along and take his place

									(<a href="066.html">"Z'ha'dum"</a>)

									he had specific people in mind: Delenn, Ivanova and Garibaldi.  The

									Shadows decided that given his innate paranoia, Garibaldi would be

									easiest to cause to turn away from Sheridan's cause, thus sabotaging the

									Army of Light in Sheridan's absence.  The Psi Corps was given the

									assignment of programming Garibaldi.  They took him to a secret

									facility on Mars, where Bester intervened and added some programming

									of his own.


									<p>

									Bester was aware that some kind of action was being planned against the

									Corps, but he didn't know what or by whom.  Given Garibaldi's proven

									track record at ferreting out conspiracies, Bester instructed his

									colleagues to leave Garibaldi's personality largely intact, and to

									accentuate his natural sense of paranoia and distrust.  Garibaldi's

									resignation was an unexpected bonus that put him in a perfect position

									to infiltrate Edgars' organization.


									<p>

									Garibaldi's mission was to gather information about the threat to

									the Psi Corps if the opportunity arose, then signal Bester.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865841437 Bester has removed Garibaldi's programming, leaving him

									with full memory of what was done to him and what he's done to

									Sheridan.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865841437 Bester's people have murdered Edgars and Wade and may

									have taken the virus.  Lise's whereabouts are unknown.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865841437 The Corps has engaged in clandestine operations in the

									past.  While Lyta was interning with the Psi Cops

									(<a href="041.html">"Divided Loyalties"</a>)

									someone started murdering telepaths.  The Corps engaged in illegal

									scans of civilians, and eventually found the killer.  Rather than

									simply kill him, they twisted his mind.  According to Lyta, he's

									now in a cell in a secret facility on Beta 2, straitjacketed 24

									hours a day to keep him from clawing out his own eyes to stop the

									nightmare visions only he can see.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865843518 The Corps has gone even further with the establishment of

									"bloodhound units," special undercover detachments of the Earth

									military who are accompanied by telepaths.  Their mission is to

									perform random scans of the public and arrest any members of the

									resistance they come across.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865841437 Lyta believes there's likely to be a war between telepaths

									and mundanes some day, when word of such operations gets out and

									the trust the Corps has managed to build up evaporates as a result.


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li>@@@865841437 Where is Lise?


								   <li>@@@871079445 What does Bester plan to do with the virus, assuming he

									has it?


								   <li>@@@865843518 Does Franklin know the full extent of Sheridan's plans

									for the frozen telepaths, and can he carry them out with Sheridan

									out of the picture?


								   <li>@@@866145360 Why didn't Franklin detect Garibaldi's false tooth during

									his medical exams?


								   <li>@@@866271627 Now that Ivanova is leading the fleet, will she continue

									her Voice of the Resistance broadcasts?


								   <li>@@@866347436 Is the Agamemnon's defection to the resistance what it

									seems?


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865843518 The resolution of the battle between Sheridan and Clark's

									forces points out what may be Sheridan's most potent weapon against

									Clark: not White Stars or superior strategy, but the presence of

									previously loyal human commanders who lend credibility to the rebel

									cause.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866949092 The White Stars appear to have adapted to Earth's weapons;

									a hit from an Earth heavy cruiser only disables a White Star until

									the auto-repair systems come online.  Even without the defection

									of so many Earth ships, Ivanova is in command of an unstoppable

									military force.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866948931 Sheridan told the Agamemnon's captain that the rebel

									forces had lost some battles, but had kept the news to themselves.

									("We've lost a few.  We just made damned sure nobody heard about it.")

									How is that possible?  Wouldn't Clark jump at the chance to spread

									news of victory over Sheridan's forces?  And for that matter, would

									Ivanova participate in covering up any losses, given her insistence

									on telling the truth in her Voice of the Resistance broadcasts?

									(<a href="079.html">"Rumors, Bargains and Lies"</a>)


									<p>

									Perhaps Sheridan simply has a more specific definition of "victory"

									than most other people.  He didn't seem to consider the outcome of

									the Proxima 3 battle a victory

									(<a href="081.html">"No Surrender, No Retreat"</a>)

									so perhaps he'd consider it a loss if he wound up having to fight

									Clark's forces to the death.


									<p>

									Or maybe Sheridan wasn't referring to his current campaign, but was

									speaking in general of his military career.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865843969 Sheridan demonstrated a lack of caution in this episode,

									first going over to the Agamemnon on a moment's notice (it could

									easily have been sent by Clark as a trap) then agreeing to go to

									Mars by himself.  He even walked straight into a public place without

									attempting to obscure his face, which has no doubt been featured daily

									on ISN.  That can be seen as evidence of what Garibaldi

									referred to as a "God complex" -- Sheridan appears to have disregarded

									his own fallibility.


									<p>

									It's possible that this stems in part from the glimpse of his own

									future in

									<a href="061.html">"War Without End, Part Two,"</a>

									which might lead Sheridan to believe that no matter what he does now,

									he'll be alive and free in 17 years.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866618297 Sheridan's capture was similar to G'Kar's in

									<a href="068.html">"Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?"</a>

									Both of them left a place of relative safety to try to rescue someone

									they cared about, and both were captured by a regime that was

									oppressing their people.  Both were tortured after capture.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866347436 The Agamemnon, according to its captain, had been

									modified to track Sheridan's forces down.  What, specifically, were

									the modifications?  And more importantly, how likely is it that Clark

									would equip a ship specifically to seek Sheridan out without being

									very sure of its loyalty?


									<p>

									The Agamemnon would make a perfect plant.  Clark's people might have

									figured that Sheridan's emotional attachment to it would likely prompt

									him to put it in a position of trust, all the better to sabotage

									Sheridan's efforts at a critical juncture.  Of course, Ivanova isn't

									biased toward trusting the Agamemnon, but at the time the Agamemnon

									was sent out to find the rebel fleet, Clark had no idea Sheridan's

									capture was imminent.


									<p>

									Its arrival just after the battle was also very convenient; its

									captain could claim to be joining up with the rebels without actually

									having to fire on Clark's forces.  If it had indeed been chasing

									after Sheridan for weeks, emerging from hyperspace at just that

									moment was quite a coincidence.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866618536 Was the Agamemnon's captain the one in command when it

									fired on the White Star?

									(<a href="052.html">"Messages From Earth"</a>)


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866950838 The Agamemnon has been involved in skirmishes with

									raiders near Io.  Who are the raiders?  Are the Drakh

									(<a href="077.html">"Lines of Communication"</a>)

									encroaching on Earth's territory?  Or are the raiders simply

									opportunists out to take advantage of Sheridan's campaign and its

									likely effect of drawing Earth forces away from their home system?


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865968823 The Shadows were apparently right about Ivanova; she is

									indeed taking Sheridan's place, just as Bester says they feared.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866827988 Bester's manipulation of Garibaldi was foreshadowed in

									<a href="050.html">"Dust to Dust."</a>

									Bester told Garibaldi, "I enjoyed working with you.  We made a good

									team.  Perhaps we'll do it again sometime."


									<p>

									It was also foreshadowed, if obliquely, in

									<a href="041.html">"Divided Loyalties,"</a>

									in which Garibaldi <em>pretended</em> to have a personality implant,

									if only as a joke.


									<p>@@@867174664

									And before then, ironically, in

									<a href="021.html">"The Quality of Mercy,"</a>

									Talia and Garibaldi shared a moment of mutual foreshadowing when she

									said to him, "Things that live inside us, Mr. Garibaldi.  Terrible

									things.  Terrible."


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866132660 Bester referred to the Corps as "my telepaths."  This

									echoes his comment to Ivanova in

									<a href="058.html">"Ship of Tears"</a>

									that he had plans for Earth's telepaths and didn't want the Shadows

									interfering.  Apparently he considers himself responsible for Earth's

									telepaths, even if he's not officially in charge of the Corps.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865929593 Did Bester's people get the virus?  It's possible Lise took

									it when she fled Edgars' compound.  She wanted Garibaldi to help her

									stop him, and taking the virus would be a big step in that direction.

									Of course, that's assuming she could get to it; the Psi Cops could

									presumably take control of Edgars and force him to use the handprint

									reader, but Lise would have had a harder time getting to the vials.


									<p>

									Garibaldi did see blast marks around the secret compartment, though,

									suggesting that it was opened by force.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866949231 The ISN broadcast showed investigators picking up a

									necklace from the floor of Edgars' residence.  That necklace, or one

									like it, was being worn by Lise when she listened in on Edgars'

									conversation with Garibaldi, suggesting she was in the room after

									Edgars and Garibaldi left.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865972353 Bester's supposition that the virus was developed with

									the help of Shadow technology is consistent with the courier's claim in

									<a href="078.html">"Conflicts of Interest"</a>

									that coming up with the cure was a job beyond the capabilities of

									Earth's biologists, and that alien help had been enlisted.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865978102 If Bester is right about the Shadows helping create the

									virus, it means Edgars was in contact with the Shadows, even if

									indirectly.  And indeed, Edgars and Wade seemed to espouse something

									like the Shadow philosophy: the enslavement of normals by telepaths or

									vice versa was a natural consequence of evolution.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866303309 References to the Nazis abound: Edgars described his

									plan as a solution to "the telepath problem," an echo of Hitler's

									"Jewish problem."  Bester told Garibaldi that he had just prevented

									a Holocaust.  Edgars even referred to the Nazis directly, though he

									misspoke a date; he claimed they came to power in 1939, but in fact

									Hitler was appointed Chancellor in 1933.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866346960 Garibaldi's line about the last person with his job being

									paid 30 pieces of silver is a

									<a href="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?Matthew+26:14-16">Biblical

									reference.</a>

									Judas was paid

									30 pieces of silver to betray Jesus to the Romans.  Even under the

									influence of his altered personality, Garibaldi apparently has moral

									qualms about betraying Sheridan.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866393326 After Edgars told Garibaldi the full extent of his plans,

									Wade told Garibaldi he wouldn't be allowed to leave Edgars' compound.

									The implication was that any passing telepath (e.g. one of the

									"bloodhound units") would be able to scan Garibaldi and learn about

									the virus.


									<p>

									Why, then, was Wade allowed to travel to Babylon 5, and stay there to

									recruit Garibaldi? Was Wade unaware of the big picture until his return

									to Mars?  The laboratory scene near the end of

									<a href="082.html">"The Exercise of Vital Powers"</a>

									doesn't give the impression that Wade just found out what Edgars was

									up to; he seemed to have witnessed similar experiments in the past.


									<p>

									Perhaps Wade was drugged or brainwashed in some way that made him

									more difficult to scan or that caused him to believe the story he

									told Garibaldi in

									<a href="078.html">"Conflicts of Interest."</a>


								<p>

								   <li>@@@867090072 Bester's release of Garibaldi was, in some ways, an act

									of arrogance; in essence, Bester was saying that he didn't consider

									Garibaldi a threat.  Given Garibaldi's determination in the past, he'll

									likely seek revenge or justice, and he won't rest until he has it.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@867090072 Despite Bester's apparently accurate warning that

									Garibaldi's old comrades wouldn't want to have anything to do with him

									any more, Garibaldi did try to get in touch with Babylon 5.  How will

									he be able to prove his story to them, and prove that he's no longer

									under Bester's influence?  One obvious answer is to submit to a scan

									by Lyta, whose Vorlon-enhanced powers appear to far exceed Bester's.

									She would easily be able to verify Garibaldi's story, and her word

									might be enough to convince the others.


									<p>

									Edgars' order to Garibaldi to fire Lyta

									(<a href="080.html">"Moments of Transition"</a>)

									may, ironically, have been his downfall.  If Edgars hadn't forced

									Garibaldi to get rid of her, she might have eventually detected

									Bester's handiwork and removed it, and Edgars would still be alive.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866044386 Why didn't Edgars release the virus?  What was he waiting

									for?  In

									<a href="082.html">"The Exercise of Vital Powers,"</a>

									he seemed satisfied that the virus worked, and even asked that a

									test of its effectiveness be terminated.


									<p>

									Since his aim was to control the telepaths, not simply wipe them out,

									perhaps he needed to wait until he had enough of the cure manufactured

									to supply to millions of victims.


									<p>

									Edgars said he was waiting for Clark to drop his guard, but it's

									not clear what difference that would have made; Clark's level of

									paranoia would presumably have little effect on the spread of the

									virus and the demise of the telepaths.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865843518 Edgars' plans didn't amount to anything in the end.  He was

									the only known credible threat to the Psi Corps.  Now that he's dead

									and the Corps has control of his weapon against them, and Ivanova is

									continuing the rebel advance even in the face of Sheridan's capture,

									Edgars' fear of Clark panicking and giving increasing amounts of

									control to the Psi Corps may well become a reality.


									<p>

									Of course, Sheridan may have anticipated that problem, and

									the frozen telepaths may be his answer.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@867602156 In

									<a href="082.html">"The Exercise of Vital Powers,"</a>

									Edgars implied that there were other powerful megacorps dissatisfied

									with Clark, and that his company was one of several planning to move

									against the government.  Will any of the others act now that Edgars

									is out of the picture?


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865972353 The problem may have gotten even worse thanks to Edgars:

									if the Corps has the virus, they'll presumably spend a good

									deal of effort studying it.  The virus selects its victims via the

									presence of the telepathy genes.  Developing that selectivity from

									scratch may have required the aid of the Shadows, but it might not

									be beyond Earth's biotechnology to use it as a blueprint and produce

									a modified version that selects for the <em>lack</em> of the

									telepathy gene -- thus giving the Corps the same power over normals

									that Edgars wanted to gain over telepaths.


									<p>@@@866151770

									Or the Corps could use the virus to cement its own control over all

									human telepaths.  By releasing the virus and only giving the cure to

									members of the Corps, they'd eliminate the problem of rogue telepaths

									overnight.  Latent telepaths like Ivanova would no longer be able to

									hide themselves from the Corps.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@868380941 Bester could possibly also use the virus on Lyta; death

									by the virus might be considered natural causes under the terms of her

									contract

									(<a href="080.html">"Moments of Transition."</a>)

									Of course, such an operation would be very risky, since Lyta would

									be contagious.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866303491 Assuming Edgars kept detailed personnel records, the

									police will most likely look to Garibaldi as a prime suspect in the

									murders.  Lise might also be a suspect.  Both of them disappeared

									suddenly at the time of the murder, and given their past history,

									the police might conclude that Edgars' murder was a crime of passion

									committed by two old lovers who wanted to be together again.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@874306737 The bloodhound units may have been in evidence before

									this episode.  In

									<a href="078.html">"Conflicts of Interest,"</a>

									the two telepaths chasing Garibaldi, Wade and Lise seemed to fit the

									description pretty well.  And, more speculatively, they could have

									been the ones to plant the Keeper on Captain Jack in

									<a href="076.html">"Racing Mars,"</a>

									since they presumably would have had little trouble learning of his

									personal association with Number One.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@867904346 Lyta's description of the Corps' treatment of the murderer

									is strikingly similar to her threat to Londo in

									<a href="048.html">"Passing Through Gethsemane."</a>

									Perhaps she was present when the murderer was implanted and knows

									firsthand how to do such things.  Maybe she was even involved in

									the process; that could be the secret about her Bester threatened

									to reveal in

									<a href="073.html">"Epiphanies."</a>


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866304051 Number One said that when Lyta passed through Mars a

									year and a half earlier

									(<a href="041.html">"Divided Loyalties"</a>)

									she made no mention of being a telepath on the run from the Corps.

									That's inconsistent with Lyta's story in that episode.  She told

									Sheridan and the others at that time that she'd been helping out

									the resistance, and implied that they'd hired her for her telepathic

									skills.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866948542 Number One apparently really <em>does</em> treat all

									her former lovers like she treated Phillipe

									(<a href="077.html">"Lines of Communication."</a>)


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								<img align=right width=128 height=96 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/083/harlan.jpeg">

								   <li>@@@863468689 Harlan Ellison has a cameo appearance in this episode.

									He's the Psi Cop Bester instructs to alter Garibaldi's personality.


								   <li>@@@866313791 Bester's parting salute to Garibaldi, "Be seeing you," is

									a reference to the 60s TV show "The Prisoner."  Bester first used the

									salute in

									<a href="006.html#NO.13">"Mind War."</a>


								   <li>@@@865843518 Garibaldi is now missing a molar.


								   <li>@@@865843969 <a name="NO.aggie">The appearance of the Agamemnon</a>

									contradicts the attack scene at the end of

									<a href="080.html">"Moments of Transition,"</a>

									in which the Agamemnon can be seen attacking civilian targets.

									However, as JMS noted in response to comments on that episode,

									the use of the Agamemnon was a slipup on the part of the production

									team.


								   <li>@@@866303309 The Cadmus, the ship that surrendered to Sheridan and

									MacDougan, is named after a mythological hero.  Cadmus slew a dragon,

									and when he sowed the dragon's teeth, a race of warriors sprang from

									the ground.


								   <li>@@@866303559 This is the series' second attack on someone using a

									skin tab.  The first was the poisoning of Kosh in

									<a href="000.html">"The Gathering."</a>


								   <li>@@@866783885 The Sheridan fight scene, shot in slow motion, was

									interspersed by editor David Foster with shots taken by still

									photographer Byron Cohen, who does most of the B5 publicity stills

									sent out to TV stations.


								   <li>@@@867001532 The shot of Garibaldi shown on the ISN broadcast is

									from the season-three opening credits.


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li>@@@866442821 I agree that it's probably one of the best we've done.

									I've now watched it at least a dozen times in finished form, and it

									still works for me.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866442821 One thing I've been doing with the latter part of

									season 4 is to experiment a little more, try different things.  I feel

									that we need to push visually to try new things, the sort of visual

									techniques you don't see much in SF-TV, which for the most part is

									fairly prosaic as these things go. And to push the writing, to try some

									things that may succeed, or may fail, but you learn something either

									way.  In its way, next week's ep is just as experimental, but in a very

									different direction.


									<p>

									Mike Vejar definitely did a great job with this episode.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866619976 Zimbalist did a great job for us...he took huge gobs of

									exposition and not only delivered them, he made them interesting.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866620147 <em>Was he a fan of the show?</em><br>

									Nope, just figured he'd be great for the job, and cast him

									without audition.  He didn't know anything about the show before that.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866620147 <em>What was the shimmering wall Sheridan stood near on

									the White Star bridge?</em><br>

									Those were the autorepair systems at work.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866620147 ""The Face of the Enemy" might represent the flipside of

									young Delenn's claim in "Atonement" that the most dangerous enemy is the

									one you know nothing about.  Now the face of the enemy is the one you

									know all too well, one which you take for granted until it's revealed

									that the face is actually a mask."


									<p>

									Yep.  It's one thing facing implacable, vast enemies...it's

									quite another when you friend betrays you.  That's personal.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866617854 There isn't that much direct,

									personal violence in the show.  My feeling is that if you do that a

									lot, it loses any potential for impact.  You only pull out that card

									when you really need it, to best effect...don't waste it.  It's like

									harsh language, after you've heard someone going on using all the more

									remarkable Anglo-Saxon words for a while, it loses all impact.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866618128 "I thought the fight was a bit too long for much the

									same reason as you. All I can suggest is that John's metabolism isn't

									"normal" any more, and perhaps this had an effect. (And maybe the

									bullyboys were doing less damage than we think, simply to prolong

									the "fun".)"


									<p>

									1) It was for dramatic/stylistic effect.  Not everything done

									with some style has to have a scientific explanation.


									<p>

									2) Having been mugged myself, time expands and slows down.


									<p>

									3) It's the TV cliche that fights are over in a second.  Ask

									anyone who's ever been in a real knock-down fight.  It goes on a heck

									of a lot longer than we showed here.  When I got mugged it went on for

									10 minutes.


									<p>

									One of the ironies in other messages on this (not this one here

									specifically) is that some have noted the fast-paced editing, which is

									supposedly associated with music video/short attention span

									material...and then turn around and say it wasn't over fast enough.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866044536 <em>Was Lyta's story the secret from her past alluded

									to by Bester in

									<a href="073.html">"Epiphanies?"</a></em><br>

									No, Franklin's comment to Lyta didn't involve her past, though

									we will find out more about that in a bit.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866619976 <em>Was Bester's salute a "Prisoner" reference?</em><br>

									Nope, not a Prisoner homage at all, in any way.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866619976 <em>Why mess Edgars' place up so thoroughly?</em><br>

									They wanted it to look like it was done by the Resistance;

									too much "attention" to his death would've drawn attention to the

									Corps.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866443179 Wade specificially says Lise wasn't there when they got

									back, so that eliminates her from the scenario.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866617855 <em>Why haven't the other races had conflict between

									their telepaths and their normals?</em><br>

									Obviously some, like the Minbari, dealt with it more easily than

									others; and in some places it came through Vorlon interference, while

									in others it came about naturally.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866949468 "Wade had a great line about the clash of homo sapiens

									and Neanderthals in Carthage.  Was this line inspired by some of the

									recent Neanderthal finds? Or was this part of your orignial

									conception for the story?"


									<p>

									Not recent stuff, just a general knowledge of this area.


									<p>

									"Did Edgars really believe the Earthgov propaganda that Sheridan was

									operating under the malignant influence of aliens?


									<p>

									Nope.


									<p>

									"Is Bester really done with Garibaldi?"


									<p>

									For the moment.


									<p>

									"One of the captains of the Earth vessels is named Leo Frank.  Was

									this a deliberate historical reference?"


									<p>

									Not intentionally.


									<p>

									"Franklin and Number One seem to have cooled their relationship.

									Any further developments in the works here?"


									<p>

									Any more personal stuff got set aside when Franklin showed up

									a) with another female, and b) she was a teep.  When #1 calms

									down, they might take another shot at it.


									<p>

									"Lastly, there is a bit of irony in the fact that the stage for

									Sheridan's capture is set when he steps aboard his old ship, the

									Agamemnon.  Agamemnon was the supreme commander of the Greek forces

									at Troy, who survived that long war, but who was betrayed and

									murdered by his wife when he returned home. He blindly and arrogantly

									stepped into a trap, as Sheridan also seemed to do."


									<p>

									Yeah...that's one of many reasons why I picked that

									image/reference. It plays on a LOT of levels in the story.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@866999604 <em>Wasn't Edgars' complex guarded to keep people from

									leaving without permission?</em><br>

									If anybody could slip away, Garibaldi could.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@867904437 <em>Ivanova quoted Sheridan as saying, "The person is

									expendable.  The job is not."  But in fact, it was Sinclair who

									said that, in

									<a href="060.html">"War Without End."</a></em><br>

									But then, if I did everything perfectly, wouldn't it be boring?


								</ul>