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								<!-- TITLE Darkness Ascending -->


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


								<blockquote><cite>

								Lennier uncovers hard evidence about the source of the cargo ship attacks.

								Lise arrives to see Garibaldi.  Lyta attempts to strike a deal on behalf of

								the rogue telepaths.

								</cite>


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

								<a href="http://us.imdb.com/Name?Yniguez,+Richard">Richard Ynigues</a> as Montoya.

								</blockquote>


								<pre><a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/103">8.74</a>


								Production number: 516

								Original air date: June 3, 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>@@@896925016 Lennier has observed firsthand an attack on civilian

									Brakiri ships by a Centauri attack force.  He has brought a recording

									of the attack back to Sheridan and Delenn, who have called a closed

									meeting of all the Alliance worlds except the Centauri.


								   <li>@@@896926070 The Centauri royal court has learned that Sheridan and

									other Alliance representatives believe the Centauri responsible for

									the attacks on Alliance ships.  They've asked Londo to do whatever he

									can to keep the Centauri from being blamed, and have suggested to him

									that the real culprits are Narns making use of ships and weapons left

									behind when the occupation of Narn ended.


								   <li>@@@896926070 Lyta has made a deal with G'Kar: in exchange for a few

									deep-space-capable ships and a considerable sum of money, she will

									give the Narn access to the genetic codes of hundreds of rogue

									telepaths, enough to allow the Narn to isolate the genetic basis of

									telepathy and start to engineer it back into their race.  She intends

									to send telepathic scouting parties into deep space in search of a

									world suitable for habitation by a telepath colony.


								   <li>@@@896986273 Garibaldi has started having nightmares about failing to

									be around to help the Alliance when he's needed.  In one dream, he

									saw a vision of Lyta, who said she'd decided to stop hiding what the

									Vorlons did to her and was testing the limits of her powers.


								   <li>@@@896926609 Lise has discovered Garibaldi's drinking, though for the

									moment he seems to have convinced her that he has it under control.

									He doesn't, though: despite promising to her that he wouldn't drink

									while she was visiting, he hasn't been able to resist the urge.


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li>@@@896925016 What was happening in Garibaldi's dream?

									Was Lyta really involved at all?


								   <li>@@@896926609 What unpleasant secrets has Lise discovered about her

									newly-inherited company?


								   <li>@@@898541644 Did Lise take Garibaldi's advice and flee the station?


								   <li>@@@898541644 Was Lise fooled by Garibaldi's attempt to convince her he

									could stop drinking?


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li>@@@896925016 Is Lennier's solo mission what Morden was referring to

									as "betraying the Anla'shok" in

									<a href="096.html">"Day of the Dead?"</a>

									He did indirectly disobey the chain of command by disregarding

									Sheridan's order to return to Babylon 5, but on the other hand he was

									arguably still well within the bounds of loyalty since he was acting

									on behalf of the head of the Rangers.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@896925016 Delenn strongly implied that Sheridan had considered

									sending Lennier to the Centauri border, but had decided against

									it.  Is that the case, or was she just assuming that he would do so if

									presented with the choice?  If he did consciously decide not to send

									Lennier at some point, why didn't Delenn attempt to argue the case with

									him then?


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898543790 Delenn apparently thinks the situation with the Centauri

									is going to end badly.  Londo was obviously surprised when she

									hugged him, a departure from her normal reserve.  What did she think

									was going to happen to Londo such that this was her last chance to

									embrace him?


								<p>

								   <li>@@@896926609 Does Garibaldi actually intend to return to Mars?  That

									doesn't square with accepting the job of director of covert

									intelligence for the Alliance.  Though it's possible he could perform

									many of his job duties from an office on Mars, he'd be far away from

									one of the most convenient sources of intelligence information:

									Babylon 5.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@896986946 Garibaldi's dream was ambiguous.  It may have been

									completely metaphorical, his own mind warning him about his alcoholism.

									His vision of Lyta may have been a manifestation of his distrust of

									telepaths and his knowledge that they're still affecting his mind.


									<p>

									On the other hand, much of it could be literal.  Kosh had the ability

									to visit people in dreams

									(<a href="033.html">"All Alone in the Night,"</a>

									<a href="059.html">"Interludes and Examinations"</a>)

									so the Vorlons might have given Lyta the same power.  Glimpses of

									possible futures have been seen, e.g. Ladira's vision of the

									destruction of Babylon 5

									(<a href="013.html">"Signs and Portents"</a>)

									or Londo's dream of the arrival of the Shadows on Centauri Prime and

									his eventual coronation and death

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

									If such visions are an extension of telepathic power, it's possible

									that contact with Lyta was allowing Garibaldi to incorporate elements

									of precognition into his dream.


									<p>

									Depending on how much of Garibaldi's dream was based in reality, it

									raises some questions: What was happening in the Zocalo?  Why were

									Lyta's eyes glowing white, instead of going black as they generally

									do while she's exercising her enhanced powers?  (They glow white

									when she's possessed by a Vorlon, e.g. in

									<a href="072.html">"Into the Fire,"</a>

									but are otherwise black even when she's doing something

									Vorlon-related, e.g. remembering her time on the Vorlon homeworld in

									<a href="095.html">"Secrets of the Soul."</a>)

									What exactly was she doing to Garibaldi, and why did she choose him?


								<p>

								   <li>@@@896987744 The rough time the waiter at Fresh Air gave Garibaldi

									may have been due to knowledge of Garibaldi's heavy drinking, since he

									has had food from the restaurant delivered to his quarters while drunk

									(<a href="102.html">"Meditations on the Abyss."</a>)


								<p>

								   <li>@@@896987934 G'Kar's test of Lyta wasn't as useful as he seems to

									think: if she <em>was</em> scrupulous in the use of her powers, she'd

									have little choice but to answer "no" to his request.  But if she was

									willing to go to any lengths to get what she wanted, she would almost

									certainly have been scanning him and would have easily discovered why

									he was really asking her to spy on the ambassadors.  Armed with that

									knowledge, she would also have said "no."  So her answer doesn't

									actually say much about how far she's willing to compromise her

									principles on behalf of the rogues.


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li>@@@896925016 Lyta's conversation with G'Kar took place in

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

									The Narn interest in acquiring telepaths was also a factor in

									<a href="017.html">"Legacies."</a>


								   <li>@@@896987744 Garibaldi mentioned that Catherine Sakai disappeared

									over a year ago.  Her disappearance is covered in more detail in the

									novel

									<a href="/lurk/novels/009.html">"To Dream In the City of Sorrows."</a>

									One possible chronological discrepancy is that according to the book,

									Sakai disappeared before Sinclair returned to the station in

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

									which would make it at least two years, not one.  Of course, Garibaldi

									may not have found out about her disappearance until some time after

									it happened.


								   <li>@@@896987744 In

									<a href="102.html">"Meditations on the Abyss,"</a>

									a Minbari fighter with 15% of its oxygen remaining only had an hour's

									worth of air, implying a six-hour air supply.  But in this episode,

									Montoya mentioned that fighters normally have over thirty hours of

									air.  It's possible that the oxygen supply isn't a reserve of oxygen

									per se, but rather the capacity remaining in an air recycling

									system, and that the system recycles more efficiently when it's at

									full capacity.


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li>@@@897030289 "OK, so is anyone going to try to pass *this* one off

									as non-arc 'filler'?"


									<p>

									Exactly.  See, that's where I get nuts about some of the other

									comments. A number of folks said last week's was just filler...but last

									week we saw the process by which Lennier was sent to White Star 27,

									what he was looking for, and why...we were introduced to the captain,

									the mission...and now this week it pays off.  It seems like the

									*result* is considered arc, and the set-up is considered "filler."


									<p>

									Similarly, Lyta's actions in this episode (and those that are

									going to follow) are a direct result of the whole Byron thread, which

									is going to spiral further in some interesting directions.  Some said

									the Byron stuff was just filler...but it was there to move Lyta into a

									whole new direction that will have a substantial effect on the show and

									her character (and at least one other).


									<p>

									It seems to me that repeatedly, people dismiss something new in

									the mix as filler or non-arc...when in fact it's ABSOLUTE arc stuff

									once you've seen the whole thing.  (Except for those who only seem to

									feel that results are arc, not setups, which is as nutty a view as I've

									ever heard.)


								<p>

								   <li>@@@897030289 <em>Was Lyta flirting with G'Kar?</em><br>

									I wouldn't say she has any sexual interest in G'Kar...she had

									her pleasure threshold expanded with Byron just recently, and as for

									her parting comment, I think it came more under the category of "you

									ain't getting it, but since you were still wondering..."  A friendly

									plink.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898543837 <em>How would a human and Narn mate, anyway?</em><br>

									Well, as G'Kar said in the pilot, there would have to be rather

									substantial genetic manipulation and adjustment to allow for the

									different DNA structures to mix.


									<p>

									After that, it would require the usual: dinner, flowers, and

									being willing to sit through a chick-flick....


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898543471 <em>Delenn didn't take any guff from Sheridan.</em><br>

									That's one of my favorite scenes from that episode...she basically yanks

									his pants up over his head and ties them in a knot.  Someone trained in

									the religious caste can argue her way around just about anything and

									anyone.


									<p>

									Minbari religious caste make Jesuits look like intellectual softies by

									comparison.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898544209 <em>But she made a big assumption about why he didn't

									want to send Lennier.</em><br>

									She's right because she's married to the guy and knows him inside and

									out, including how he thinks and why he does things.


									<p>

									When you live with somebody like that, you can go out and buy a pair of

									shoes, and in the morning, complain that they're too tight...and never

									mention it again for the rest of the day...then in the evening you sigh,

									as you're taking them off, and he or she says, "Don't worry, we can

									always have them stretched."


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898543523 <em>Wouldn't the Centauri have noticed air

									escaping?</em><br>

									The amount of oxygen taken would have been very minimal, given the size

									of Lennier's ship (little more than coffin-sized), and the volume would

									be replaced by the carbon dioxide from Lennier's ship.  The hole would

									have been self-sealed by the Minbari fighter, which was designed to do

									this sort of thing in order to sneak past enemy lines.


								</ul>