brennen
/
lurkers-guide


								<!-- TITLE No Compromises -->


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


								<blockquote><cite>

								As the station adjusts to the arrival of a new command officer and prepares

								for Sheridan's inauguration, a group of telepaths arrives looking

								for sanctuary.

								</cite>


								<a href="http://us.imdb.com/Name?Downes,+Robin+Atkin">Robin Atkin Downes</a> as Byron.

								</blockquote>


								<pre><a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/089">7.45</a>


								Production number: 502

								Original air date: January 21, 1998

								<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00019071C/thelurkersguidet">DVD release date</a>: April 13, 2004


								Written by J. Michael Straczynski

								Directed by Janet Greek

								</pre>


								<p>

								<hr size=3>


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

								<ul>


								   <li>@@@885448558 B5 is now under the command of Captain Elizabeth Lochley,

									an Earth Force officer hand-picked by Sheridan for her ability to

									defuse crises without resorting to violence, and her ability to

									fight effectively when required.  He has placed her in charge of

									all aspects of station operation except political decisions affecting

									the Interstellar Alliance.


								   <li>@@@885923970 B5 hasn't rejoined Earth yet.  The Alliance is discussing

									buying it from Earth.  In the meantime it remains an independent state.


								   <li>@@@885448558 Sheridan has allowed a group of rogue human telepaths, led

									by a man named Byron (whose psi powers seem to be quite strong) to

									establish a colony on Babylon 5.


								   <li>@@@885448558 Narns aren't given their adult names at birth; they're

									given temporary ones for the first ten years of their lives, after

									which they're allowed to select their true names from whatever pantheon

									they've come to believe in.  G'Kar was no exception.


								   <li>@@@885448558 G'Kar has assembled a declaration of principles for the

									Alliance.  It consists of the first page of every holy book of every

									race in the Alliance, a reminder that the Alliance is a multitude of

									voices and beliefs, all worthy of respect.  (See

									<a href="#AN.declaration">Analysis</a>)


								   <li>@@@885448558 G'Kar continues to write his own book

									(<a href="053.html">"Point of No Return"</a>)

									and has shown it to other Narn and to Garibaldi.  The other Narn

									have even begun quoting it.


								   <li>@@@885448558 Sheridan has named Garibaldi the head of the Alliance's

									covert operations division.


								   <li>@@@885924386 B5 continues to employ Narns in its security forces.


								   <li>@@@885924386 Sheridan's first assignment in Earthforce was the 54th

									North American Unit.


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li>@@@885479607 When they first met, Sheridan told Lochley, "It's good

									to see you again."  Under what circumstances were they previously

									acquainted?


								   <li>@@@885480715 Who was the girl in Simon's vision?  What was happening

									between (or to) the two of them?


								   <li>@@@885448558 Did anyone discover the murder of the Gaim ambassador?

									What repercussions, if any, will it have?


								   <li>@@@885448558 Who was the original G'Kar?  A character in the Book of

									G'Quon?  Why did G'Kar choose that name?  (See

									<a href="#AN.narnnames">Analysis</a>)


								   <li>@@@885924316 Why wasn't Lochley at the swearing-in ceremony?


								   <li>@@@885448558 Did G'Kar put the first page of his own book in the

									declaration of principles?


								   <li>@@@885491393 Which side was Lochley on in the civil war?


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li>@@@885492665 Lochley was described as Ivanova's replacement, but she

									really replaced both Ivanova and Sheridan, since the latter isn't in

									charge of station affairs any more.  Will Lochley bring in additional

									staff to help fill that apparent gap?


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885492665 Both Zack and Lochley are in the unenviable position of

									having their predecessors nearby, now civilians but still

									second-guessing their decisions.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885492665 Sheridan's story about washing his own socks echoes his

									conversation with Lorien

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

									about his life being predicated on finding something to live for.  In

									a less drastic sense, that's exactly what Sheridan's drill instructor

									was doing by washing his socks every night.  Presumably "washing my

									socks" wouldn't have sufficed as an answer to Lorien, though.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885448558 How strong is Byron?  He was able to project his image to

									Lochley, something most telepaths don't seem to be able to do.  Is

									that simply a normal ability of high-level psis, or is there something

									different about Byron?  One other example of someone able to push

									thoughts to others was Matthew Stoner, Talia's ex-husband

									(<a href="029.html">"Soul Mates."</a>)

									Another example was

									<a href="030.html">"A Race Through Dark Places,"</a>

									in which the combined power of Talia and the rogue telepaths was able

									to project images into Bester's mind.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885448558 Byron alluded to Franklin's participation in the

									underground railroad

									(<a href="030.html">"A Race Through Dark Places."</a>)

									How many of his people did Franklin assist?  Do they feel indebted to

									Franklin as a result?


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885479935 How was the assassin able to steal a Starfury so easily?

									It's been previously implied

									(<a href="011.html">"Survivors,"</a>

									<a href="019.html">"A Voice in the Wilderness, part 2"</a>)

									that Starfury launches -- or more specifically, the launch bay doors

									-- are controlled from C&amp;C.  If that's true, the assassin might

									have had inside help, which would in turn imply a wider conspiracy.


									<p>

									If he did receive inside help, there's some indication (not very

									conclusive) that it might have been Lochley.  The assassin served

									with her in the past.  Her evasive answer to Garibaldi implied that

									she opposed Sheridan in the civil war.  She argued for the inauguration

									to proceed on schedule.  She would have had the authority to launch

									the assassin's Starfury, and she wasn't present at the ceremony.


									<p>

									On the other hand, the assassin may have been the computer expert

									Garibaldi supposed, and may have launched the Starfury the same way

									he sent untraceable messages to Sheridan.  His task would have been

									made easier, perhaps, by the fact that it appeared the pilot he knocked

									unconscious was getting dressed for a launch -- a Starfury launching

									on schedule would presumably raise no alerts in C&amp;C.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885491393 How was <em>Garibaldi</em> able to get to a Starfury?

									As a civilian (at the time Sheridan hadn't yet appointed him to any

									official position) he should have been barred from the launch bay as

									well.  Of course, by his own admission, Garibaldi is perfectly able to

									circumvent B5's security measures when he needs to.


									<p>

									Garibaldi's ship, incidentally, was his own personal Starfury, as

									evidenced by the Daffy Duck emblem on the right side, between the

									wings -- Garibaldi has been a Daffy fan

									from day one (the cartoon he shared with Delenn in

									<a href="001.html">"Midnight on the Firing Line."</a>)


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885448558 Sheridan's decision to allow Byron's people on B5

									may be a point of contention with Lochley, even

									though it was arguably a political question from the start.  If she

									denied Byron's request, she clearly thought it fell within her

									jurisdiction to make such decisions, and may now feel that any

									decision she makes can be declared a political issue by Sheridan

									and overturned.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885448558 Sheridan's assumption was that by allowing the colony to

									form on the station, he'd be gaining telepathic allies in any future

									war between telepaths and normals.  But doesn't that depend on the

									nature of the war?  It might be sparked in such a way that it's not

									just a matter of Psi Corps versus everyone else, in which case having a

									colony of telepaths, some quite powerful, aboard Babylon 5 would be a

									tremendous liability.  For example, Edgars' telepath virus

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

									would clearly be seen as a threat by all telepaths, regardless of their

									political affiliation, and all normals would be potential carriers.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885491687 If Psi Corps propaganda can be believed (comic

									<a href="/lurk/comic/011.html">"The Psi Corps and You"</a>)

									the circumstances surrounding the establishment of the Corps (a

									telepath foiling the assassination of the Earth Alliance president)

									closely resemble those of the establishment of Byron's colony.  Whether

									the colony will mirror the Corps in other ways remains to be seen.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885492665 Another on-station colony, of sorts, also helped uncover a

									murderous criminal: Theo's monks, who identified the bomber in

									<a href="046.html">"Convictions."</a>


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885925199 Byron said his people refuse to have anything to do with

									technology (except, presumably, the ships that brought them to the

									station.)  In some ways that makes his group the opposite number of the

									technomages

									(<a href="025.html">"The Geometry of Shadows."</a>)

									Both achieve near-magical results, the technomages using advanced

									technologies honed to an art, Byron's people using no technologies at

									all.  And both want to be left alone by the rest of society.

									Will the two groups ever meet?


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885492665 This wasn't the first time an attempt was made on

									Sheridan's life following a shift in political power: in

									<a href="055.html">"Ceremonies of Light and Dark,"</a>

									a gunman almost killed him in the Zocalo following B5's break from

									Earth, and a ceremony celebrating the new order (the Minbari rebirth

									ceremony) was disrupted.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@886360919 How do Garibaldi's new job duties differ from Delenn's

									as head of the Rangers?  Though their presence is public knowledge

									now, the Rangers have traditionally been a covert intelligence-gathering

									group.  Are they no longer performing that function?  Will they be

									reporting to both Garibaldi and Delenn, or will Garibaldi put together

									a separate group answerable only to himself?


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885923970 <a name="AN.narnnames">The exact workings of the Narn</a>

									naming custom are still unknown.  G'Kar said that Narns pick their true

									names at ten years of age, but he didn't say what that meant exactly.

									He named three examples of religious persuasion: G'Quon, G'Lan, and

									Na'Kiri.  From that, it's possible to infer that only the prefixes of

									Narn names come from their religions (G'Kar, Na'Toth, etc.)  But it's

									equally possible that Narns select their entire true names from their

									religious texts.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885492665 Which holy books did G'Kar choose to represent humans? In

									<a href="005.html">"The Parliament of Dreams,"</a>

									it was implied that humans have a far greater diversity of religious

									beliefs than the other races.  Did G'Kar attempt to represent all

									of humanity's religions, or just the major ones?  He might have had

									some help from Theo's monks, who, if they're still on the station,

									are already engaged in the work of cataloguing the religious beliefs

									of all the races on the station

									(<a href="046.html">"Convictions."</a>)


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885924287 <a name="AN.declaration">It's possible that the book</a>

									G'Kar used for the swearing-in wasn't intended to be the declaration of

									principles at all, and that G'Kar is still writing the declaration.

									Swearing on a holy book may be as common among alien races as it is

									among humans, so G'Kar may have intended the book of holy books simply

									as a ceremonial device.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885538410 The question of who controls B5 is a bit muddled.

									Lochley is an Earthforce officer, but at least some of her senior

									staff (Zack and Franklin) are, judging by their uniforms, affiliated

									with the Interstellar Alliance.  So is Sheridan, who is in some ways

									her superior and in others not.  The rest of her subordinates, the

									crew of the station, are presumably employees of a sovereign state

									until B5's final disposition is determined.  Though on a day-to-day

									basis this jumble of affiliations may not be problematic, it's

									probably untenable in the long term.  For example, if some of the

									crew want higher pay, as in

									<a href="012.html">"By Any Means Necessary,"</a>

									it's not clear to whom they'd make their appeal.


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li>@@@885492665 Sheridan and Delenn are alternating between their

									quarters, apparently on a nightly basis.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885479607 Garibaldi's comparison of Sheridan to

									<a href="http://www.mcs.drexel.edu/~gbrandal/Illum_html/Joan.html">Joan

									of Arc</a>

									is another instance in which the prospect of burning in fire is used a

									metaphor for imminent danger.  Others are Delenn's repeated

									references (following Valen) to going into darkness and into

									fire, and Kosh's predicting all would end "in fire"

									(<a href="031.html">"The Coming of Shadows."</a>)


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885493590 As Garibaldi tried to figure out the assassin's identity,

									he mused about the historical references in the message to Sheridan.

									Though the error did lead him in the right direction, he was wrong

									about Lincoln's assassin being a soldier on the opposite side in the

									Civil War:

									<a href="http://www.insiders.com/civil/t13person1.htm">John Wilkes

									Booth</a>

									was never in the Confederate army, though he was in the Virginia

									militia for a time.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@887272943 The Gaim have been around since season two (they first

									appeared in

									<a href="040.html">"Confessions and Lamentations"</a>)

									but this episode was the first time one was shown without its helmet.

									According to the

									<a href="/lurk/resources/products.html#software">official CD-ROM encyclopedia,</a>

									Gaim ambassadors aren't typical of their species, but are specially

									bred bipedal creatures engineered to more comfortably interact with

									other races.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885538615 Despite the title, there were several compromises in

									this episode: Sheridan and Lochley compromised over responsibility

									for the station.  Garibaldi took a job that's a compromise between

									reenlisting and remaining a civilian.  Sheridan and Delenn compromised

									about their quarters.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885923970 Continuity glitch: During the swearing-in ceremony, after

									the assassin was dispatched, G'Kar held out the book to Sheridan.

									He was holding it in his left hand in the shots showing him from

									the front, and in his right hand in the shots showing him from behind.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885923970 Possible continuity glitch: The Acheron, the ship that

									brought Lochley to the station, was an Omega-class destroyer (the

									type with the rotating middle section.)  Later, an exterior shot

									of the station showed an Earth ship nearby, but it was missing the

									rotating middle section (a Nova-class destroyer.)  It's not clear

									that they were intended to be the same ship, though.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885755966 Effects glitch: When the Starfury is shown floating

									outside the station, maintaining a more or less fixed position

									relative to the window, the lateral thrusters on the right

									side of the ship (from the pilot's point of view) can be seen

									firing, presumably to keep up with the window as the station

									rotates.  Unfortunately, that's wrong.  The thrusters on the

									<em>bottom</em> of the Starfury should have been firing instead.


									<p>

									To see how this works, imagine B5 as a planet and the Starfury as

									a satellite that wants to attain a circular orbit.  To do so, it

									has to get the desired distance away from the surface of the planet

									(not very far, in this case, but with no atmosphere to create drag

									that's fine) and move in the direction of its orbit at a high

									enough speed that it's always inching away from the surface at the

									same rate that gravity is pulling it down.  Once that speed is

									reached, no further adjustments are required; momentum will pull

									it away from the planet and gravity will pull it toward the planet

									and the two will cancel each other out.


									<p>

									In the case of the Starfury and B5, there's no appreciable gravity

									from the station.  So the Starfury would have to apply the same

									force gravity would have supplied, thrusting toward the axis of the

									station at the same rate that it was drifting away.  Since the pilot's

									head was facing the station (implying, incidentally, that the ship

									had a slight spin) that would mean continuously firing the bottom

									thrusters.


									<p>

									Once the correct orbital speed is in place, any acceleration in the

									direction of the orbit would cause the Starfury to move past the

									window.  In an atmosphere, of course, the side thrusters would have

									to fire just to maintain that speed, thanks to drag slowing the

									Starfury down otherwise.  But there's no appreciable atmosphere

									outside B5, so that wouldn't have been a factor here.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@887703539 Possible timing glitch: Byron visited Lochley in a cafe

									and asked her to meet him in two hours.  Franklin interrupted her lunch

									by asking her to come to Medlab right away; she agreed and left.

									She arrived in Medlab and was there only a few minutes when she

									received a call from C&amp;C reminding her

									of an appointment, which (judging by the fact that it was the next

									scene) was the meeting with Byron.  That means it took her two hours

									to get from the cafe to Medlab to the meeting with Byron.  Of course,

									it's possible she did something else on her way to Medlab, or that

									the station's transportation systems are just that slow.


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li>@@@886064865 <em>About the title</em><br>

									I picked "No Compromises" because that was my approach for this

									season: we aren't going to give an inch on the quality of the show.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@874171922 John Copeland and I just did the producer's

									cut on 502, the first S5 episode...and Tracy [Scoggins] is *terrific*.

									I think she's going to go over like gangbusters.  It's a solid episode,

									and her presence adds a great deal to the show.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@877413204 BTW, saw the first pass today on the S5 title sequence,

									based on my outline to the editors...looks pretty spiffy, and a big

									difference from what we've done before, stylistically.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885407265 <em>Whose idea was it to put your name on the back of the

									station?</em><br>

									I confess it was my idea...damn taggers are everywhere...it's my one

									indulgence in 5 years.  Doesn't any good artist sign his work?


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885407362 This in some ways is my favorite title sequence.

									It took a long time to make it, and it was very difficult to assemble.

									Usually I can design the title sequence on paper, and the working with

									the editors part doesn't take that long...here it took a Long Time to

									painstakingly choose the images, use counterpoint dialogue, pick the

									high moments and make it all flow from one year to the next, sort of a

									Cliff's Notes version of the history of the show.  And the music is

									terrific...very mature, solid sounding.


									<p>

									As for the back of the station...y'know, those damn taggers are

									everywhere, aren't they?


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885407362 In about two dozen comments so far about the S5 title,

									only one has been negative, the rest loving it.  It helps to place each

									season for the new viewers, recaps things, hits the high points, and

									the new music gives it a more mature sound.  I'm pleased.  (Since I

									designed it, I guess I'd better be....)


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885480715 <em>Won't it confuse new viewers?</em><br>

									I think the newbies will be fine...unless and until you know the

									context of the scenes from S1-4, they're just pretty pictures.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@882987731 <em>My local station didn't show the end of season 4.

									Should I avoid season 5?</em><br>

									My gut reaction...because S5 starts pretty cleanly, and Sheridan's new

									situation is set up right from the git-go, I think that you'd be okay to

									just dive in.  Not knowing at the time that there'd be any kind of

									problem in the airing of the final 4, but having learned from experience

									that nothing about this show is EVER easy or predictable, I did sort of

									a primer about where things stand now in the top of the teaser, done

									breathlessly by Corwin as Lochley arrives.


									<p>

									(That ain't much of a spoiler since it happens in the first few minutes

									of the show.)


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885761816 One note: due to the TNT ad blitz, we went into this on

									the assumption that we were (and did) pick up a LOT of viewers who had

									never before seen B5.  These folks would need to be brought up to speed

									on the returning characters and situations, and the regular viewers

									would need to be brought up to speed on Lochley...so I wrote it with

									that intention.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@889549848 <em>Robin Atkin Downes played Morann in

									<a href="111.html">"In the Beginning."</a>  Coincidence?</em><br>

									We were impressed by his portrayal of Minbari, and that led to

									him coming in for Byron.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885925199 <em>Garibaldi is completely bald this season, and Sheridan

									has a beard.  Whose choice was that?</em><br>

									Jerry has been shaving his head, getting shorter each year, and

									it worked for where his character is going, so I let it stay...Bruce

									would love nothing more than to get rid of the beard (I suspect Melissa

									doesn't like it also), but for me it's important to make the character

									visually different, and to give him a more mature look, so Bruce

									graciously indulges me.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885925199 We always start out slow each

									season...especially in this case, knowing that we're going to get a lot

									of new viewers, I structured the show so it would bring folks up to

									date asap on who everybody is, and where things stand.  Believe me,

									there's plenty of tragedy and pathos lurking right around the corner.

									It picks up at the end of the season, after some very rough things for

									the characters, because I can't end it all on a downer, but at the same

									time, it has to have meat to it.


									<p>

									"Isn't the Psi Corps still formally a branch of EarthGov? If so, then

									wasn't Captain Lochley duty-bound to report Byron's people to the Psi

									Cops as soon as she found out that they were rogues?"


									<p>

									You'll find that question answered soon enough.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885925199 <em>About Lochley</em><br>

									It's easy to mistake the actor for the character in

									situations like this.


									<p>

									It's a vastly different character from Ivanova also, not meant

									to fit in the same place, do the same things, or be the same person.

									They're both strong characters, but different in their approach.

									Ivanova tended to be a shouter, and on the impatient side...Lochley is

									a thinker, and more inclined to the blade than the ball-bat.  But both

									are equally lethal.


									<p>

									Lochley, I think, also has the maturity of character you need to

									rise to the rank of captain in the military, and the voice of moral

									authority, which both Sinclair and Sheridan had, in comparable

									positions.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885925199 Oh, she has a sense of humor...but we don't see it

									here in this episode any more than when Ivanova first came in, because

									both are in new situations and that requires a certain degree of

									seriousness. We'll see some of her humor along the way...it's also

									different from Ivanova's, more a sly kind of humor, the sort that slips

									past you and ricochets around the corner half an hour later to nail you

									between the eyes.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885480715 <em>About Sheridan</em><br>

									There's certainly a messianic streak running through the

									character, though he himself might challenge that notion.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885925199 <em>What is G'Kar's position now?</em><br>

									A lot of that will be established this season, but technically,

									he's still the Ambassador from Narn.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@886064821 <em>The ship that brought Lochley was named the

									Acheron</em><br>

									Actually, the Acheron is the river of woe....


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885480715 "Does anyone know whether Byron's "The geometries that

									circumscribe your waking life draw narrower until nothing fits inside

									them anymore" came from anywhere. My first (rather obvious) guess was

									that it was a line from Byron."


									<p>

									No, that was me.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@889482428 <em>Why did you name the character Byron?</em><br>

									It's a play on words that becomes a bit clearer later.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885925199 "Why couldn't the young telepath just broadcast his

									discovery to the others, vs. having to deliver it himself?"


									<p>

									Line of sight.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@886401531 <em>How does Sheridan know about the telepath

									war?  Did he watch

									<a href="088.html">"Deconstruction"</a>

									or something?</em><br>

									This is hardly a new plot element...this has been brewing for 4 years

									now, with the growing telepath underground.  As for the latter part of

									that comment...did you already forget that in "Rising Star" there was a

									conversation between Sheridan and Bester about the coming telepath war?

									<p>

									Not my fault if you're not paying attention.


									<p>

									<em>Wouldn't Garibaldi believe the telepath war had been averted since

									Edgars was killed?</em><br>

									No, Edgars wasn't trying to *start* a war, he was trying to solve it

									BEFORE it started.  He knew it was coming, is coming, and was trying to

									give normals an edge.  That edge is now gone.  Again, you're

									misinterpreting or misremembering what's been established and saying

									it's an error on our part.


									<p>

									<em>If B5 is a free port, why did Byron need to ask permission?  Isn't

									the station open to anyone?</em><br>

									Individually, yes...but again, pay attention, we're talking about a

									COLONY, which means you've got several hundred people living in one

									area, under one authority (Byron), with an unknown or unspecified

									agenda, whose presence might bring problems from the Psi Corps and

									elsewhere.  So yeah, they're going to need somebody's permission.


									<p>

									<em>Why did Sheridan break his promise to Lochley?</em><br>

									He didn't break his promise...he moved this into a political decision,

									which is his purview.  He said specifically, "If it's a political

									problem, or involves the Alliance, it's my turf."  This is a strategic

									decision on behalf of the Alliance.


									<p>

									<em>How can Byron project images?  We haven't seen that before.  It

									took an entire mob of telepaths in

									<a href="030.html">"A Race Through Dark Places"</a>

									to fool Bester.</em><br>

									Well, now you've got a contradiction.  Either we have seen this before,

									or we haven't seen it before.  You say where did it come from, then

									cite an example of where it's been seen before.  And if you'll go back

									and rewatch that episode, you'll see that teeps can act collectively

									and be very strong.


									<p>

									[...] No...again, you're distorting the situation.  The task wasn't

									just to send an image into his [Bester's] head, it was to CONVINCE HIM

									that this image had really happened, and it took a lot of them to do

									this to a Psi Cop.  That's why it took so many of them; he's a strong

									target.  It ain't the same as doing it to a normal.  You're not

									thinking through what you're saying.


									<p>

									<em>Why don't Byron and his people just turn invisible and live on

									the station without anyone knowing they're there?</em><br>

									Maybe because they are (or are trying to be) the good guys?  Maybe

									because they don't actually vanish, or turn off sound, they can

									individually manipulate somebody by pressing on receptors and

									distorting things like their time sense...but they're going to show up

									on cameras, and on sensors, and unless they want to constantly try and

									control every single person on the station in large groups as they pass

									by, they're going to be discovered, and booted off the station.  So

									they may as well do the right thing and ask.  Just because someone

									*can* steal doesn't mean they *should* steal.


									<p>

									Besides, where are they going to live?  Quarters have to be assigned,

									and they're always short on space.  Food has to be paid for.  On and

									on.  Your contention doesn't make sense...they're not gods.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885480715 "That last one is what hooked me. I figured you'd be

									spending the next few weeks explaining how you really hadn't broken the

									cardinal rule of B5 [<em>"No cute kids or robots"</em>] by introducing

									little Simon."


									<p>

									That means you went for the okeydoke...and thus didn't see the

									last bit coming.  That was the intent.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885925271 <em>How did the assassin manage to position himself

									outside the window so precisely?</em><br>

									Excuse me, folks, but he was using a B5 starfury, which is programmed

									like all starfuries there to sync up with the station's rotation for

									purposes of docking, ejecting, and holding position for repair purposes.

									All a pilot would have to do is tell the on-board computer to sync up

									the thrusters with the station's rotation, and it'd be done.


									<p>

									This is a no-brainer...which is why I didn't specify it in dialogue

									(also it would've killed the drama of the moment).


								<p>

								   <li>@@@885925199 <em>Was Garibaldi's "it's a little crooked" comment

									about the EA logo meant as foreshadowing?</em><br>

									No, but it was certainly meant as a subtle double-entendre, given his

									recent experiences.


								</ul>