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424 lines
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424 lines
16 KiB
<!-- TITLE The Paragon of Animals -->
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<h2><a name="OV">Overview</a></h2>
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<blockquote><cite>
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Sheridan clashes with the League ambassadors over G'Kar's declaration of
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principles. Garibaldi attempts to enlist the aid of the refugee telepaths.
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</cite>
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<a href="http://us.imdb.com/Name?Downes,+Robin+Atkin">Robin Atkin Downes</a> as
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Byron.
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</blockquote>
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<pre><a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/091">8.16</a>
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Production number: 504
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Original air date: Feburary 4, 1998
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00019071C/thelurkersguidet">DVD release date</a>: April 13, 2004
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Written by J. Michael Straczynski
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Directed by Mike Vejar
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</pre>
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<h3>Watch For</h3>
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<ul>
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<li>@@@887657453 <a href="#NO.spell">A spell-checker.</a>
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</ul>
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<p>
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<hr size=3>
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<h2><a name="BP">Plot Points</a></h2>
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<ul>
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<li>@@@886670096 The Centauri have been using telepaths in their military
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for over 300 years.
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<li>@@@886670096 At Garibaldi's behest, and with great trepidation, Sheridan
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has approved the use of telepaths as intelligence operatives of the
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Interstellar Alliance. Byron has agreed to supply Garibaldi with
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two members of his group, well-trained telepaths who will ferret
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out dark secrets wherever they lie.
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<li>@@@886670096 For the past 10 years, the Drazi have been secretly
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supporting raiders who attack minor worlds on the edge of Drazi space.
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Byron has uncovered the secret and brought it to Sheridan's attention,
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and now the Drazi have most likely stopped the practice.
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<li>@@@886670096 Lyta has been in the mind of two people at the moment of
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death. It's a tremendously traumatic experience; a telepath actually
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sees what she believes is the soul departing, and a little of the
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telepath's departs as well. She says Bester has scanned the dying
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on numerous occasions in an attempt to try to see what's on the other
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side -- something she says isn't supposed to be known by the living --
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and his soul has been diminished as a result.
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<li>@@@886709948 Byron believes that telepaths are superior to mundanes,
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and feels that mundanes don't think of telepaths as anything but tools
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to be used when needed.
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<li>@@@886709304 Byron's telepaths, if he's to be believed, make no effort
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to shield their thoughts from one another. Nor do they make any effort
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to avoid picking up the thoughts of others around them, something
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Byron claims takes a lot of effort to avoid.
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</ul>
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<h2><a name="UQ">Unanswered Questions</a></h2>
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<ul>
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<li>@@@886670096 When did Lyta previously scan a person at the time of
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death?
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<li>@@@886670096 Is her story about Bester true?
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<li>@@@886670096 Have the Drazi stopped supporting the raiders entirely?
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<li>@@@886670096 How did the raider ships nearly destroy a White Star?
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Are they getting support from people other than the Drazi?
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<li>@@@886702789 Did the Enphili join the Alliance?
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<li>@@@886708396 Did the Drazi sign the declaration? Have they cut off
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their support for the raiders as a result?
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<li>@@@886708396 Did Earth join the Alliance? If so, who signed the
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paperwork on Earth's behalf? Lochley?
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<li>@@@886670245 What changes did G'Kar make to the declaration?
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</ul>
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<h2><a name="AN">Analysis</a></h2>
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<ul>
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<p>
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<li>@@@886709804 How did the Ranger get to the Enphili homeworld? Are
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White Stars routinely patrolling the territories of governments who
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haven't joined the Alliance yet? Sheridan did arrange for border
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patrols
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(<a href="079.html">"Rumors, Bargains and Lies"</a>)
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so perhaps the Enphili were close enough to the Drazi border to be
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within range of existing Ranger patrols.
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<p>
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<li>@@@886709804 Sheridan has the power to order the White Star fleet into
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combat. Is that a power of the President of the Alliance in general,
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or Sheridan in particular? Do the Rangers still owe allegiance to
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Sheridan and Delenn personally, or will command of them pass to
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Sheridan's successor when he leaves office?
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<p>
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<li>@@@886670096 Lyta's first experience scanning a dying person may
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be related to the secret Bester knows about her
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(<a href="073.html">"Epiphanies."</a>)
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It might also be related to the reason she left the Psi Cop division
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(<a href="041.html">"Divided Loyalties."</a>)
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One possibility is that she was with Bester when he had the experience
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she recounted to Garibaldi; if what he was doing was forbidden in
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some way, her secret might be guilt by association.
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<p>
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<li>@@@886708122 Is Lyta's sympathy with Byron's cause what it appears
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to be? Clearly she's dissatisfied with her treatment at the hands
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of Sheridan and the others, and has been for some time (she complained
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about it to Zack in
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<a href="073.html">"Epiphanies."</a>)
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At the same time, though, she does appear to see that her work with
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the Alliance is doing a lot of good, and Sheridan does appear to be
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appreciative of her, despite Byron's claims to the contrary.
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<p>
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So the question is, what's Lyta's motivation for returning to Byron and
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asking to learn more about his ideas? Is she genuinely interested in
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joining his cause, or does she sense that he's a potential danger? If
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it's the latter, she might be engaging in a covert operation of her
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own, learning all she can about Byron's plans with the intent of
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reporting them to Sheridan if they turn out to be a threat to the
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Alliance.
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<p>
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<li>@@@886670096 Sheridan appears to be dead wrong in his reasoning for
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allowing Byron's colony on the station. His assumption, stated again
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in this episode, is that they'll be on his side should war erupt
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between telepaths and normals. But from Byron's conversation with
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Lyta, it appears more likely that his group will be the ones to
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<em>start</em> a conflict against mundanes. It's even possible
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they'll find themselves at odds with the Psi Corps, since the Corps
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appears to prefer taking control in more subtle, insinuative ways
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and might view an open conflict as too great a risk.
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<p>
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If Byron's group really does spark a conflict between telepaths and
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mundanes, it would explain the 2361 commentator's view that allowing
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the colony was the biggest mistake in Sheridan's career
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(<a href="088.html">"The Deconstruction of Falling Stars."</a>)
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<p>
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<li>@@@886703118 Byron promised Lyta he'd give Garibaldi two "highly
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trained" telepaths. Where were they trained? Are they former Psi
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Corps members? Were they trained by nonhuman telepaths? Did the other
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refugees conduct the training?
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<p>
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If they're former Corps members (or even if not) the possibility
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exists that there are Corps agents in Byron's group. The Corps is
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capable of implanting hidden personalities such that extremely powerful
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telepaths don't notice them (e.g. Talia's implanted alter ego,
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which wasn't noticed by Ironheart in
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<a href="006.html">"Mind War."</a>)
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<p>
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That's assuming, of course, that Byron's group is legitimate at all;
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they might <em>all</em> secretly be working for the Corps, their
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refugee story simply a cover to convince Sheridan to allow large
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numbers of telepaths to gather unquestioned on the station.
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</ul>
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<h2><a name="NO">Notes</a></h2>
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<ul>
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<li>@@@870986860 The title is from Shakespeare's
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<a href="http://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/Tragedy/hamlet/hamlet.html">"Hamlet,"</a>
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specifically Hamlet's speech in
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<a href="http://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/Tragedy/hamlet/hamlet.2.2.html">act 2, scene 2:</a>
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<blockquote>
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What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! How infinite
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in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action
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how like an angel! In apprehension how like a god! The beauty of
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the world! The paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this
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quintessence of dust? Man delights not me: no, nor woman neither,
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though by your smiling you seem to say so.
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</blockquote>
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<p>
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<li>@@@886668869 The beginning of the second draft of the Interstellar
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Alliance Declaration of Principles:
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<p>
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The Universe speaks in many languages, but only one voice. <BR>
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The language is not Narn or Human or Centauri or Gaim or Minbari.
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<p>
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It speaks in the language of hope. It speaks in the language of trust.<BR>
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It speaks in the language of strength, and the language of compassion.<BR>
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It is the language of the heart and the language of the soul. <BR>
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But always it is the same voice.
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<p>
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It is the voice of our ancestors speaking through us. <BR>
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And the voice of our inheritors waiting to be born. <BR>
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It is the small, still voice that says we are One.
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<p>
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No matter the blood, no matter the skin, <BR>
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No matter the world, no matter the star, <BR>
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We are One. <BR>
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No matter the pain, no matter the darkness,<BR>
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No matter the loss, no matter the fear.<BR>
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We are One.
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<p>
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Here, gathered together in common cause <BR>
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We agree to recognize this singular truth and this singular rule: <BR>
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That we <em>must</em> be kind to one another.
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<p>
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Because each voice enriches us and ennobles us, <BR>
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And each voice lost diminishes us. <BR>
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We are the voice of the universe, the soul of creation, <BR>
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The fire that will light the way to a better future.
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<p>
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We are One.
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<p>
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<li>@@@888082633 The text of Franklin's letter to the Ranger's parents:
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<blockquote>
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Your son served with honor and died bringing us news that may help to
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save the lives of literally thousands of people, people he did not
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know, but whose lives mattered more to him than his own.
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</blockquote>
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<p>
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<li>@@@887657453 <a name="NO.spell">When Franklin is composing the
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letter</a>
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to the Ranger's parents, the words "Spell Check Online" are visible
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at the top of the screen.
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<p>
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<li>@@@886709304 Byron's comment that telepaths have to concentrate on
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songs or other distractions to keep from inadvertently reading the
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thoughts of others may be a reference to the novel "The Demolished
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Man" by Alfred Bester, in which the protagonist, seeking to shield
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his thoughts from telepaths, forces himself to concentrate on a
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catchy tune.
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<p>
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<li>@@@887658019 <a name="NO.cruiser">The name of the new race</a>
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being harassed by the Drazi,
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Enphili, sounds almost identical to the name of a Minbari cruiser in
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<a href="065.html">"Shadow Dancing."</a>
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In that episode, Sheridan ordered the Minbari cruiser Imphili to
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protect a group of Drazi ships.
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<p>
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<li>@@@887783860 Continuity glitch: Sheridan handed a copy of the
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declaration to the Hyach ambassador (the orange-skinned alien with
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the large cranial lobes.) Immediately afterward, G'Kar passed copies
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of the declaration out to everyone, including the Hyach ambassador,
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who no longer had the one Sheridan gave him. Of course, it's possible
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Sheridan took the scroll back.
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<p>
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<li>@@@898570048 Continuity glitch: During Lyta's time in the mind of the
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Ranger, as he's dying, he approaches the door and is casting a shadow on
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the equipment to the left of him, just inside the door. There is a
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cut to Lyta, then back to the Ranger, and his shadow has disappeared.
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Most likely the actor was digitally added to the picture in the final
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shot so he could be made to stretch into the distance, while he was
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actually standing on set before the cut to Lyta.
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</ul>
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<h2><a name="JS">jms speaks</a></h2>
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<ul>
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<p>
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<li>@@@887704582 <em>About Kim Strauss</em><br>
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He does tend to play Drazis a lot, primarily the ambassador, for
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purposes of continuity, unless he's not available.
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<p>
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Re: Hamlet...one of the wonderful aspects of Shakespeare's work
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is that it lends itself to reinterpretation and reinvention; cynical
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lines can be read with hope, and vice versa, and somehow, the darned
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thing tracks. One recent version of Hamlet mounted by Joseph Papp
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starred a woman actor in the title role, and it worked beautifully.
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<p>
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<li>@@@887704657 <em>What were Sheridan and Delenn drinking at dinner?
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Did Delenn's transformation enable her to drink alcohol?</em><br>
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Nonalcoholic wine, at worst...I sometimes have it myself, since
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I don't drink.
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<p>
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<li>@@@887704582 I like the declaration a lot.
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<p>
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<li>@@@887704582 The funny part of it is...the editors made a point of
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dropping in my writing credit just when G'Kar says his muse is talking
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to him....
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<p>
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<li>@@@887657633 <em>The declaration didn't say anything about
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rights.</em><br>
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That's fine, if this were a constitution or something based on
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coming out from under an opressive government, as the colonies did.
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This is an incremental process; get the principles in place, and then
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build the laws and the constitution on that. Get them on board for one
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thing they can sign, and then use that as a platform to get them to
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sign the more restrictive stuff. And bear in mind you only heard part
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of it; the full thing would go on for many many pages.
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<p>
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<li>@@@887704582 Byron's feelings about mundanes comes out later in more
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detail...I wouldn't call it a hatred. A resentment, yes, and certainly
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there's a sense of having been mistreated...but he's surprisingly not a
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violent person, as we'll find.
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<p>
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<li>@@@887704582 "I wouldn't be surprised to see Byron realize that
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the mundanes have talents that teeps generally do not."
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<p>
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Clog dancing...?
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<p>
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<li>@@@887704582 "Quick question: regarding what Byron said about the
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amount of effort it takes to block out the thoughts of mundanes, I was
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wondering--have any non-teep humans given thought, time, or effort to
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creating any sort of artificial 'shielding' device to keep their
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thoughts to themselves? Is it impossible, or just not something they
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would bother with, figuring it's up to the teeps to deal with it?"
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<p>
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Some of them have trained at it a bit, and learned little tricks
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that can help...one such tries it later this season.
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<p>
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"As for Lyta, I felt like she was sort of an abused child, always
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looking for that benevolent authority figure."
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<p>
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Yep, that's what she's doing, looking for someone to believe in.
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<p>
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"I don't know if I buy the idea of death of the soul, but if it
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explains Bester, I guess I can swallow it."
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<p>
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Bear in mind, though, that Lyta also said that that's the mind's
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only way of interpreting what it's seeing, not that it *is* what she's
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seeing, so it doesn't necessarily validate or invalidate the notion of
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a soul.
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<p>
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<li>@@@888082462 <em>About the shot of Lyta looking into the council
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chamber</em><br>
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The Lyta-outsider view was to further reinforce her on the
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outside of the group.
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<p>
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<li>@@@887657633 <em>Why enlist only human telepaths?</em><br>
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Remember though that the purpose of the teeps is to gather
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covert intelligence. There are two operative words there: covert and
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intelligence.
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<p>
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Intelligence against whom? Logically, this would involve in
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part keeping tabs on worlds not in the Alliance...and some that *are*
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in the Alliance. If you think the Drazi are up to something, and you
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have Drazi telepaths on your team...are they going to cooperate against
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their own government? If you leave them out, won't they find out if
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they're in the company of the other teeps on a daily basis? The covert
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part also goes out the door.
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<p>
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<li>@@@887657633 "But if the hypothetical Drazi teeps are Rangers,
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would they have loyalty to the Drazi government, or to Entil'zha?"
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<p>
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Maybe they would..one hopes they would...but why take that
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chance if you're in Sheridan's shoes, trying to make this thing work?
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<p>
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<li>@@@887657788 Yeah, I'm sure that some Minbari teeps could be
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trusted...but would they function well in a covert situation? They're
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mainly out in the open.
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<p>
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One other thing I forgot to mention in my note to Nancy...if you
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put out the word that you want 2 teeps from each world...that kind of
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kills any chance of putting together a group of telepaths that's going
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to operate IN SECRET, a covert unit, yes...?
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<p>
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<li>@@@887658091 <em><a href="#NO.cruiser">About the word
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"Enphili"</a></em><br>
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Coincidence.
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<p>
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<li>@@@887704789 White Stars are not invulnerable. If they saw what they
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were told were a friendly fleet coming in, to join them in an offense,
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they would have their defenses down. And a full-scale Drazi fleet would
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also somewhat outnumber the White Stars. A Pearl Harbor style attack
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on White Stars would effectively decimate the fleet before they would
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have a chance to respond.
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</ul>
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