brennen
/
lurkers-guide



								<p>  Jason Ironheart, Psi-Corps Level 10, has stolen a transport

								vessel but is being pursued.  His pursuers order him to stop, but

								he ignores them.  Suddenly, there is a strong explosion, and only

								one ship emerges:  Ironheart's ship, headed toward Babylon 5.

								<p>

								<img src="/lurk/gif/006/ironheart-pursuit.gif" align=middle> Pursuing Ironheart.

								<p>  On Babylon 5, Sinclair and Catherine Sakai, his girlfriend,

								have just woken up.  Catherine explains that she's working on

								finalizing a contract with Universal Terraform, an important

								corporation from Earth.

								<p>  Meanwhile, Ironheart has arrived on Babylon 5.

								<p>  Talia Winters is having a conversation with a businessman from

								Universal Terraform who wants to use her services in an upcoming

								negotiation.  They enter an elevator (turbolift?) which Garibaldi

								is also currently using.  The businessman asks what it's like to be

								a telepath; Winters responds that it's often difficult to block out

								the thoughts around her--while casual thoughts are simple to

								ignore, strong emotions can somehow break through whatever mental

								barriers she can set up.  Suddenly, she turns around at Garibaldi

								(who has been experiencing his own "strong emotions" while staring

								at Winters) and elbows him in the stomach.

								<p>  Elsewhere on the station, Bester and Kelsey, two Level-12

								"Psi-Cops," have just come aboard Babylon 5.  They telepathically

								"ask" a minor official to bring them to Sinclair.

								<p>  Catherine Sakai is meeting with the businessman from Universal

								Terraform--the businessman who has brought Winters along.  The

								businessman is concerned with the confidentiality of the planet

								which Catherine wishes to survey (because the planet, known as

								Sigma-957, may have some deposits of Quantium-40, a material

								important to the construction of jumpgates)--and so, following

								orders from his superiors, he asks Sakai to promise not to mention

								the planet to anyone--not even Sinclair.  He has brought Winters

								along to verify that Sakai is telling the truth when she says she

								will not tell anyone about the planet--and, indeed, Winters does

								confirm this.  The businessman also notes that, since the planet in

								question is in a contested region of space, they need the consent

								of one other major party--in this case, G'Kar, representing the

								Narn, will give that consent and will collaborate concerning Sigma-957.

								<p>  Bester and Kelsey arrive at Sinclair's office, and begin to

								have a telepathic conversation with him.  Sinclair gets quite

								annoyed, telling them that he doesn't like people "rummaging around

								in my head."  He questions them, asking about the rules governing

								such use of telepathic abilities.  They tell him that they are

								psi-cops, and because of their important responsibilities, they are

								given a wider latitude than other telepaths.  They tell Sinclair

								that they are on a mission to track down a rogue telepath--one who

								may be putting the Earth Alliance's military structure at tremendous risk.  Sinclair is hesitant to offer assistance, but they insist

								that he hold a meeting with the station's resident telepath

								(Winters), as well as security and command personnel.

								<p>

								<img src="/lurk/gif/006/psi-cops.gif" align=middle> Bester and Kelsey consult

								Sinclair.

								<p>  Ironheart is standing in his newly-rented quarters when he

								suddenly appears to get a terrible headache.  He clutches his head,

								but is apparently unable to make the pain go away.  Suddenly, the

								entire room starts shaking, almost as if to reflect his pain.

								<p>  The meeting that Bester and Kelsey requested has begun.

								Winters, Ivanova, Garibaldi, and Sinclair are present.  Bester asks

								Winters if she knows (or ever knew) Ironheart; she replies that

								Ironheart was her instructor in the Psi-Corps Training Academy.

								Kelsey explains that one year before, Ironheart had been reassigned

								to work on a covert operation with Earth Force Military Intelligence.

								Bester and Kelsey refuse, however, to explain the nature of

								his covert operation.  They only say that what is in Ironheart's

								brain would compromise Earth Force's position and possibly lead to

								the deaths of covert operatives on other worlds; they believe that

								Ironheart wishes to sell this information to alien governments.

								They refuse to give any other information (particularly, they

								refuse to tell Sinclair what type of danger Ironheart poses to the

								station); they only Sinclair to find and bring back Ironheart

								("Alive if possible; dead if necessary")--"We'll do the rest."  The

								Psi-Cops asks Winters if she has had any contact with Ironheart;

								she replies that, since she left the academy, they have

								corresponded only through letters.  The Psi-Cops, however, do not believe

								her--they order her to submit to a mental scan so that they can be

								sure of what she's saying.  She cringes at the possibility, for

								mental scans can be quite painful--nonetheless, she is forced to

								comply.  The scan is performed, and the Psi-Cops are surprised to

								find that Winters has been speaking the truth.  "Surprising," says

								Kelsey, "given their prior involvement."  The Psi-Cops then leave,

								ordering everyone (but especially Winters) not to speak with or

								approach Ironheart if he is found on the station.

								<p>  A short time after Winters has left the meeting, Ironheart

								approaches her in dark corridor.  She attempts to leave quickly,

								explaining that she was ordered not to see him.  He says that he is

								aware of the Psi-Cops (and also that he was aware of their scan of

								her mind--which is why he waited until after the scan to contact

								her), and promises to simply explain the whole situation to Winters

								if she'll give him the chance.

								<p>  Sakai, meanwhile, is quite annoyed at G'Kar's involvement with

								the mission at Sigma-957.  He explains that he has involved himself

								only in order to protect Sakai--"Sigma-957 is not a healthy place.

								Strange things happen there."  Sakai, however, doesn't believe him,

								and explains that she thinks he and the Narn just want Sigma-957

								for themselves.  He denies her suspicions, telling her that she

								shouldn't believe everything she's heard about G'Kar--"No one here

								is exactly what he appears," says G'Kar.  "Not Mollari, Delenn, not

								Sinclair, and not me.  My warning is sincere; ignore it at your own

								peril."  She still, however, doesn't believe him, saying that she

								will, if necessary, "go over his head" and communicate with her own

								contacts in the Narn regime.

								<p>  Ironheart, in Winters's quarters, explains that one year

								before, he volunteered for an ambitious Psi-Corps experiment--an

								experiment that, if successful, would greatly increase the powers

								of telepaths.  He volunteered because he was told that the

								experiment was necessary for Earth Force Defense--each race wants

								to make sure that its telepaths are powerful enough.  After months

								of the experiment, his telepathic abilities expanded beyond his

								belief--he could "cut through any block without even trying--all I

								had to do was to look at them."  However, such development was a

								mixed blessing, because he finally realized the true purpose of the

								experiment:  to develop "stable" telekinesis.  Winters recalls the

								telekinesis tests she took at the academy--"I tried for days to

								make [a penny] move with my thoughts; I couldn't do it."  He

								explains that only one in every thousand humans is telepathic; and

								only one out of every ten-thousand telepaths is telekinetic--but

								that half of these telekinetics are clinically insane.  But the

								experiment was successful, says Ironheart, "It worked beyond

								anyone's wildest dreams."

								<p>

								<img src="/lurk/gif/006/talia-ironheart.gif" align=middle> Ironheart and

								Winters.

								<p>  Garibaldi tells Sinclair that he has found something which

								might help him track down Ironheart:  one of the ships which

								recently arrived at Babylon 5 was a stolen transport that came from

								Ironheart's previous location.  Garibaldi says that he is checking

								the guest quarters on the station.  He comments that he's working

								as quickly as possible--he doesn't like the idea of rogue telepaths

								<strong>or</strong> Psi-Cops on the station.  "There's just something creepy about

								[Psi-Cops]," explains Garibaldi, "The way they look at you like

								you're some kind of bug."  Just then, Bester arrives on the bridge,

								and Garibaldi leaves relatively quickly.  Bester stares at

								Garibaldi as he's walking away and "replies," somewhat annoyed,

								"Anatomically impossible, Mr. Garibaldi, but you're welcome to try,

								any time, anywhere."

								<p>  Meanwhile, Sakai is on her way to Sigma-957.

								<p>  G'Kar is in his quarters, speaking on a secure channel with

								Narn Military Headquarters.  He says he requires a well-armed heavy

								fighter for a mission to Sigma-957.

								<p>  Ironheart, still in Winters's quarters, explains to Winters

								that at first, he thought that the Psi-Corps wanted telekinesis for

								"big jobs"--heavy construction in 0-G, telekinetic shields on

								ships.  He explains that the Psi-Corps, however, wanted increased

								control of smaller objects--the smaller the better.  If precise

								control over small objects were perfected, telekinetics could

								become the ideal assassins:  "Murder without a trace.  No fingerprints,

								no poisons."  Suddenly, as he speaks, the room begins to

								shake again.  He tells Winters to run--to leave the room quickly --

								for he cannot control this side-effect of his new telekinetic

								powers.  This time, however, it's not just his room that starts to

								shake--it's an entire section of Babylon 5.

								<p>  Sinclair is walking with Bester and Kelsey when the vibrations

								reach him.  The Psi-Cops immediately recognize the situation as a

								"mind-quake."  When Sinclair finds Garibaldi, Garibaldi comments

								that he has pinpointed the source of the disturbance, but that the

								entire level of the station where the disturbance is coming from is

								blocked by some type of energy shield.  Sinclair angrily mentions

								that, when he asked Bester what type of danger Ironheart represented,

								Bester replied that Sinclair didn't need to know.  He calls a

								meeting with Bester and Kelsey.

								<p>  Sinclair accuses the Psi-Cops of placing the station in danger

								by withholding information from Sinclair.  They merely reply that

								they were following orders, but Sinclair dismisses that excuse.  He

								confronts the Psi-Cops, ordering them to explain the precise danger

								that Ironheart poses.  Bester only replies that Ironheart is no

								longer entirely "human"--other than that, the Psi-Corps doesn't

								know exactly what he is.

								<p>  Ironheart is meanwhile sitting in the middle of the rubble

								caused by his telekinesis.  He is trying, with some success, to

								calm his thoughts down and stop the accidental destruction.

								<p>  At the meeting between Sinclair, Ivanova, Bester, and Kelsey,

								Bester explains the basics of Ironheart's experiment to Sinclair.

								Bester says that, toward the end of the experiment, Ironheart began

								to show signs of paranoia, stress, and psychosis.  One night,

								Ironheart left his room, killed the head researcher of the

								experiment, and escaped.  Kelsey comments that Ironheart's

								telekinetic abilities grew stronger and more violent as time

								progressed.  Bester tells Sinclair that Ironheart, in his present

								state, is a valuable commodity--and the Psi-Corps cannot allow him

								to fall into the hands of any alien government.  He adds that the

								Psi-Corps wanted to keep the whole incident quiet in order that

								alien governments not find out about Ironheart's abilities--this

								reason is why they withheld the information about Ironheart's

								condition.  "It was a calculated risk," comments Bester.  (Ivanova

								expresses her disgust with the way the Psi-Corps have no ethical

								problem with taking inhumane, calculated risks).  Sinclair asks how

								the Psi-Cops plan to stop Ironheart if he is so powerful.  They

								explain that, during the experiment, Ironheart was programmed with

								a "fail-safe code," which, when sent into his brain by a powerful

								telepath, has the ability to shut down Ironheart--to "put him to

								sleep"--but not kill him.  Bester and Kelsey believe that, between

								the two of them, they will be able to overcome any defenses that

								Ironheart has set up--but they can only send the fail-safe code if

								Ironheart is in their line of sight.

								<p>  Winters walks up to one of the shields that Ironheart has set

								up around the level of B5 which was shaken by his thoughts.  She

								tries to speak with him--to shout to him through the shields.  When

								he hears (or senses) her, he drops the shields for a moment so that

								she can pass through.  When she finally arrives to where Jason is

								standing, he is glad to see her.  He explains that he came to

								Babylon 5 in order to see her--that he felt that being with her

								would be enough to calm his thoughts, "shut out the voices," and

								rest "for a little while ... before the end."  He admits that he

								shouldn't have come to the station--he has inadvertently put people

								at risk, though he didn't want to hurt anyone.  He tells Winters

								what he has learned of the Psi-Corps--that, although people believe

								that the government controls the Corps, the reverse is coming to be

								true.  "[The Psi-Corps is] more powerful than you can begin to

								imagine.  Telepaths make the ultimate blackmailers, Talia.  I've

								seen it all."  He tells Winters that he is currently undergoing a

								tremendous change--and that he is no longer Jason Ironheart.

								<p>  Sakai has finally arrived at Sigma-957.  She enters into an

								orbit above the planet and beings to conduct environmental

								research.  She laughs to herself about G'Kar's warnings concerning

								Sigma-957.

								<p>

								<img src="/lurk/gif/006/skydancer-probe.gif" align=middle> The Skydancer

								launches a probe.

								<p>  Winters, after leaving Ironheart, finds Sinclair and tells him

								that she has seen Ironheart.  She requests to speak with Sinclair

								privately; he agrees.  When they are in private, she explains the

								situation to Sinclair.  She tells Sinclair that Ironheart wants to

								see him.  Sinclair asks what exactly was between Ironheart and

								her--why he came to this station.  She explains that they had been

								lovers--and that Ironheart came to B5 to see Winters.  "He was

								everything to me--the perfect model of what it meant to be in the

								Corps.  Do you know what it's like when telepaths make love,

								commander?  You drop every defense, and it's all mirrors.... It's

								a feeling so profound it makes you hurt.  It's the only moment in

								a telepath's life when you no longer hear the voices.  He came to

								say goodbye, commander."

								<p>  Meanwhile, Sakai, at Sigma-957, suddenly sees <strong>something</strong> near

								Sigma-957.  Neither she nor her computer can identify it, but her

								computer's power level is reduced drastically.  Her orbit is

								decaying, and she will crash into the planet in less than two

								hours.  She tries to open an emergency channel with Babylon 5, but

								there is not enough power to establish a link.

								<p>  Sinclair and Winters arrive to where Ironheart is sitting.  He

								greets Sinclair politely, but gets rights into the purpose of his

								discussion.  "The Psi-Corps is dedicated to one thing, commander:

								control."  He explains to Sinclair what he had previously explained

								to Winters.  "But there is something even more powerful--something

								they didn't even know existed until I crossed the line.  Not mind

								over matter, mind over energy.... I look at you, commander, and I

								see not a man, but a galaxy of subatomic particles which I can ...

								rearrange with a casual thought."  Ironheart explains that he feels

								humans aren't ready for these types of powers; but if the Psi-Corps

								find him and bring him back, they will study him to try to figure

								out the combination of drugs which caused this phenomenon.

								<p>  Sinclair, however, asks why he should trust Ironheart over the

								Psi-Cops.  Ironheart explains that if he meant any harm, he could

								vaporize Sinclair instantly.  When Sinclair mentions that Ironheart

								has already caused harm and destruction on the station, Ironheart

								explains that the "mind-quake" was an accident.  Ironheart claims

								he never wanted to hurt anyone; however, as his telekinetic powers

								expand, it takes him a while to learn how to control them.

								Sinclair mentions the head researcher that Bester said Ironheart

								killed; Ironheart claims that he didn't want to kill the researcher--but

								since that researcher was the only one who could duplicate

								the experiment, he had no choice.  "There must never be any more

								like me," he says earnestly.  Ironheart explains that he only wants

								Sinclair's trust--and a little bit of help.  He says that he needs

								to leave the station so that he can be free to become whatever it

								is that he's becoming.  At length, Sinclair agrees, and arranges

								with Ivanova and Garibaldi to escort Ironheart off the station to

								the stolen transport which is docked outside.

								<p>  Meanwhile, very soon before Sakai's ship would have burned up

								in the atmosphere of Sigma-957, Sakai's computer detects the

								arrival of two ships.  The ships open a communication channel with

								her--they explain to her they are Narn vessels dispatched on the

								order of G'Kar to rescue her in the event that anything strange

								should happen in Sigma-957.  They grapple Sakai's ship and escort

								it back to Babylon 5.

								<p>  Bester and Kelsey have meanwhile discovered that Sinclair is

								attempting to escort Ironheart off of the station.  They meet up

								with Ironheart as he is trying to escape; they attempt to send the

								fail-safe code, but Ironheart's defenses are too powerful.

								Ironheart is, however, forced to kill Kelsey in the struggle.  He

								successfully escapes from Bester, then enters his ship and leaves

								the station.

								<p>

								<img src="/lurk/gif/006/bester.gif" align=middle> Bester takes a shot

								at Ironheart.

								<p>  Sinclair and Winters, along with Garibaldi and Ivanova, watch

								Ironheart's ship leave Babylon 5.  Shortly after, the station's

								sensors detect a strong energy surge; suddenly, Ironheart's ship is

								no longer there, and in its place is a strange configuration of

								floating energy.  The energy entity--the new Jason Ironheart--

								speaks with Winters on the bridge.  As a parting gesture, he gives

								her "the only gift I have to give"--suddenly, a bright flow of

								energy enters Winters's head, knocking her unconscious.

								<p>  "Goodbye, commander," says Ironheart, "I will see you again in

								a million years."

								<p>  Afterwards, Sinclair is speaking with a somewhat-depressed

								Bester, who complains that his superiors will believe none of what

								just happened.  Sinclair agrees, "Especially since in about an

								hour, we'll have a small accident in data storage that'll erase the

								file you just saw."  Garibaldi suggests an alternative report:

								"That Ironheart's ship escaped Babylon 5 but exploded before it

								could enter the jumpgate."  If Bester refuses to use this suggestion

								in his report, Sinclair threatens that he will make it known

								how Bester withheld information, put the station in danger, and,

								through his interference, cause the death of his fellow Psi-Cop.

								Sinclair also makes Bester promise to have his report indicate that

								Winters was under Ironheart's control during the incident--and that

								she was not responsible for her actions during the incident.

								Bester agrees reluctantly and leaves quietly.

								<p>  After Bester leaves, Garibaldi asks Sinclair if Sinclair will

								report to "the senator" (probably the senator with whom Sinclair

								communicates periodically) what Ironheart accused the Psi-Corps of.

								Sinclair says that he doesn't think it will do any good--Ironheart

								was feverish and paranoid, so what he said might not be true.  Even

								if it is true, without Ironheart available to testify, it would

								just be his word versus that of the Corps.  However, they agree to

								keep their eyes open for anything threatening.  Garibaldi then

								wonders out loud what Ironheart's gift to Winters was.  Sinclair

								comments that he doesn't think she would tell Garibaldi even if he

								were to ask.

								<p>  Meanwhile, Winters is in her quarters.  She has placed a penny

								on the table, and when she focuses on it, she finds that he can

								make it move using only her thoughts....

								<p>  Catherine Sakai has arrived safely with the help of the Narn

								ships.  She finds G'Kar and thanks him for his help.  She asks him,

								however, why he went to the trouble of rescuing her.  "Why not?" he

								replies.  When she comments that that isn't an answer, G'Kar

								replies, "Oh, yes it is.  It's simply not an answer you like or the

								answer your expected.  There's a difference.  Narns, humans,

								Centauri--we all do what we do for the same reason:  because it

								seemed like a good idea at the time.  There was no profit--no

								advantage--in letting you fall to an untimely and most uncomfortable

								death.  It would distress the commander to no good end."  She

								seems to accept this reason, then asks if G'Kar knew what it was

								that she saw near Sigma-957.  He explains that it is a phenomenon

								which they cannot explain:  "There are things in the universe

								billions of years older than either of our races.  They are vast,

								timeless ... They are a mystery, and I am both terrified and

								reassured to know that there are still wonders in the universe--

								that we have not yet explained everything.  Whatever they are, Ms.

								Sakai, they walk near Sigma-957.  They must walk there alone."

								Catherine only stares in wonder.

								<p>

								Shawn Bayern

								<em>bayern@cshl.org</em>

								<hr>

								Copyright 1994, Shawn Bayern.  All rights reserved.  Permission is

								granted to distribute this synopsis <strong>noncommercially</strong> as long as

								the synopsis and this copyright notice remain intact.  Babylon 5 is

								a copyright of the PTN Consortium; no infringement of that

								copyright is intended by writing these synopses.