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257 lines
14 KiB
257 lines
14 KiB
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<p>
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Londo is talking to a Centauri senator on his screen. The senator tells him
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that it's vital he promote good relations with the other species on Babylon 5,
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some of whom may be potential allies. Londo protests that he's doing the best
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he can, but the senator tells him to try harder.
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<p>
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<img align=middle src="/lurk/gif/021/trusting.gif"> Londo states his case.
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<p>
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Shortly thereafter, Londo encounters Lennier in the hallway. When Lennier
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admits that most of his knowledge about the other races comes from reading,
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Londo offers to spend two days showing him "the Babylon 5 <em>I</em> know."
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<p>
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Meanwhile, in one of the station courtrooms, Ombuds Wellington announces the
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verdict against a man named
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Karl Edward Mueller, who has been found guilty of murdering two station
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residents and one member of the security staff. Sentence will be handed
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down tomorrow, Wellington says.
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<p>
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In Downbelow, Ivanova finds Dr. Franklin running an unauthorized free clinic
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for people who can't afford the services of Medlab. She upbraids him for
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not telling her -- she won't shut the clinic down, "but if I'm going to share
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in the blame, I'd at least like to share in some of the fun."
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<p>
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Garibaldi, Wellington, Commander Sinclair, and Talia Winters discuss the
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fate of Mueller. Garibaldi suggests spacing him. "A couple hours of hard
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vacuum would do him and the gene pool a world of good." He's upset not only
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because of the crime, but because he believes that Mueller has killed many
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times before.
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<p>
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Wellington replies
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that there are only three legal punishments. Mueller can be returned to
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Earth. Sinclair counters that Earth doesn't want Mueller and won't pay
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to have him shipped back. The second option is life imprisonment, but
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Garibaldi says there's not enough room in the brig for the prisoners who're
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already there, let alone to keep someone for life. The third option involves
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Talia, who reluctantly agrees to help. Garibaldi suggests that while she's
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in Mueller's mind, she can see if he's killed before; Wellington reminds
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Garibaldi that any such evidence would be inadmissable.
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<p>
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Franklin searches Downbelow for a woman named Laura Rosen, who he's heard
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is running a bogus medical practice. He enters her office to find that she
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and a man are both hooked up to an alien device of some kind. The man says
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he feels much better now, and asks what he owes; Laura tells him that's up
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to him, and that he can leave his donation in the box outside the door.
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<p>
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<img align=middle src="/lurk/gif/021/customer.gif"> Laura Rosen and patient.
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<p>
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She and Franklin talk about the device. She claims it cures anything from
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the common cold to Stafford's disease. Franklin starts to confront her,
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calling her a con artist and a fraud, when Laura's daughter Janice arrives
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and tells him to leave. He does, but promises to return.
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<p>
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Ombuds Wellington sentences Mueller to personality death. He'll be
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telepathically scanned and brainwiped, then programmed with new memories,
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to spend the rest of his natural life serving the community he harmed.
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Mueller is livid, and struggles against his guards, but they lead him away.
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<p>
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Franklin tells Garibaldi he'll need to check over the brainwipe machine
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to make sure the procedure is painless, something Garibaldi isn't too
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concerned about. Franklin asks Garibaldi to see what information he can
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find on Laura Rosen.
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<p>
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Londo takes Lennier to Dark Star, a club with erotic dancers. "Here, my
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friend," he says, ushering Lennier to a seat at the stage and ordering
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drinks. "Here you
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will see the heart and soul of Babylon 5. Also its spleen, its kidneys...
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a veritable parade of internal organs." Claiming he left his credit chit
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in his quarters, Londo tells Lennier to pay for their drinks. Lennier
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asks whether his drink contains alcohol -- even small amounts, he says,
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can cause Minbari to experience violent, homicidal rages. Londo quickly
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grabs Lennier's drink and orders water for him.
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<p>
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<img align=middle src="/lurk/gif/021/darkstar.gif"> Londo and Lennier
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arrive at the club.
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<p>
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Franklin stops by the stall where Janice Rosen sells jewelry for a living.
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He talks to her about her mother. Janice says that all her mother ever
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wanted was to be a doctor. And she was, originally, but she could never
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do as much as she liked -- she started taking stimulants to stay awake
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longer, became addicted to them, and finally slipped up, causing the death
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of a patient. After her license was revoked, she wandered the stars,
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thinking that if she could find some new alien healing technology, she
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could return to Earth, vindicated.
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<p>
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"And now she thinks she's found it," says Franklin. "What do <em>you</em>
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think?"
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<p>
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"I think... I think that for the first time in years, I see my mother
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smiling. For the first time, I see hope in her eyes."
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<p>
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Franklin counters that it's a sham; the machine doesn't work. Janice
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says he doesn't know that for sure. If it works, asks Franklin, why
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are Janice and her mother still on Babylon 5? They could return to Earth
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and show her mother's fantastic discovery to the world. Janice starts to
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claim she can't afford it, but Franklin says she can; she just doesn't
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want her mother to know it.
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<p>
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<img align=middle src="/lurk/gif/021/hope.gif"> "I see hope in her eyes."
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<p>
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Janice leaves, warning Franklin not to try to take away what her mother has;
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if he does, she'll fight him, and win.
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<p>
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Lennier relates the story of his education to a bored, bleary-eyed Londo.
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He studied the ninety-seven Minbari dialects and subtongues, then moved on
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to mathematics, specializing in probability. That perks Londo up, and when
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Lennier says he achieved the rank of master adept, Londo drags him away from
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the stage to introduce him to something the Earthers call "poker."
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<p>
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After preparing, Talia goes to Mueller's cell to scan him. He's not very
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cooperative, and when she threatens him, he scoffs. "It's not like I'm going
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to remember any of this. That's the plan, isn't it? Take away my thoughts,
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my memories, everything that makes me <em>me</em>, so they can put me to
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work for the rest of my life, mopping floors, scrubbing toilets..." But he
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eventually sits down, allowing Talia to enter his mind.
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<p>
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<img align=middle src="/lurk/gif/021/scan.gif"> Talia arrives to scan
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Mueller.
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<p>
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She finds herself facing the security guard Mueller killed, watching him
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die from Mueller's point of view. And it's not just the guard, Mueller
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says to her, as face after face drifts by, humans and aliens alike. He is
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building a choir, and has to keep adding to it until there are enough
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voices to sing him into heaven. "The overture is just beginning," he
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says. Talia breaks contact with him, stumbling back, overwhelmed by what
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she's just seen and felt.
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<p>
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Franklin's clinic assistant brings him a file full of followup reports on
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Laura Rosen's patients. If he can show Janice that her mother isn't helping
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people, he says, maybe she'll listen... but apparently that's not what the
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reports show. He rushes away.
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<p>
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Londo and Lennier play poker in another part of Dark Star. Lennier looks at
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his hand and announces cheerfully that the probability of this combination
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of cards is approximately five thousand to one against. The other players
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fold, and as Lennier adds the chips to his already substantial mound,
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Londo tells him to stop doing that -- Lennier could be winning ten times
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more if he'd just keep quiet.
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<p>
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Franklin enters Laura's office as she heals a woman. While she and
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the woman are hooked up to the alien machine, Franklin pulls out a portable
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scanner and points it at Laura. The alien treatment only lasts a moment,
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and the woman leaves, claiming she feels much better.
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<p>
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After offering his apologies to Laura, Franklin notes that her lifesigns
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dropped 15 percent while she was hooked up to the machine. She says she
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knows, that that's how the machine works -- it takes life energy from one
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person and transfers it to another. It was designed as a form of capital
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punishment for criminals; they gave up their lives to heal terminally ill
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people. But it can be used at partial strength so it doesn't immediately
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kill the donor.
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<p>
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Franklin complains that it's still killing her, if only gradually. Laura
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says it doesn't matter. She has Lake's syndrome, and has maybe three years
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left to life. Time enough to figure out how the machine works, possibly
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figure out how to modify it such that it doesn't hurt the donor. Franklin
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deduces that Janice doesn't know how the device works, or even <em>if</em>
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it works. Laura confirms that; if Janice knew the machine was killing her,
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she'd force her to stop. She promises to give the machine to Franklin if
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something happens to her, but asks him for his word that he won't tell
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Janice about it.
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<p>
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Janice arrives as Franklin leaves. He offers to treat her to dinner if
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she wants to take a break sometime.
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<p>
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Garibaldi finds Talia in the Garden. She tells him she scanned Mueller
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well enough to do a comparison scan after the brainwipe. She says Mueller's
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mind is inhuman, more so than any of the aliens she's had contact with.
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As Garibaldi leaves, she adds, "You once said you'd bet good money he'd
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killed before. You would not have lost."
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<p>
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<img align=middle src="/lurk/gif/021/garden.gif"> Talia in the Garden.
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<p>
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Back at the gaming table, Londo clears his throat loudly and adjusts his
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clothing. Something underneath the fabric begins to move. As people
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examine their cards, a tentacle reaches up from beneath the table and
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snatches the top card from the deck. Seconds later, Londo switches it
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for a card from his hand, and the tentacle puts that card on the deck.
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<p>
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<img align=middle src="/lurk/gif/021/tentacle.gif"> Londo's helping
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tentacle.
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<p>
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Garibaldi and a few guards lead Mueller away. As they reach the transport
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tube, Mueller overpowers the security guard in the car, grabs a gun,
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and is inside before anyone
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can stop him. Garibaldi manages to shoot him in the arm as the doors close,
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then orders C&C to stop the elevator car immediately. Mueller pries the
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doors open and stumbles onto a different floor; nobody is around, and he
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runs off, clutching his injured arm.
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<p>
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Londo tries to snatch another card, but one of the other players inadvertently
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puts a pitcher of icewater down on the tentacle as it lifts a card from the
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deck. "Is it cold in here all of a sudden, or is it just me?" Londo asks.
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The tentacle struggles to pull itself out from under the pitcher as Londo
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looks increasingly uncomfortable. One of the other players notices what's
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going on and lifts the water; the tentacle snaps under the table, hitting
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Londo. Several of the other players stand up and accuse Londo of cheating.
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They knock over the table and advance. Lennier lays two of them out cold
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with an expert punch and a flying kick, but by now the other people in the
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club are closing in. "This... is not good," Lennier says, taking a
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defensive stance.
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<p>
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In medlab, Franklin patches up the security guard who Mueller attacked. He
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calls his clinic, warning them to be on the lookout for a man with a
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PPG wound, then heads to Laura's office to warn her.
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<p>
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When he arrives, he finds that Mueller is already there, and has a gun to
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Janice's head. Laura is in the middle of treating him. Franklin tries
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to intervene, but Mueller shoots at him, warning him to stay back or the
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next shot won't miss.
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<p>
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<img align=middle src="/lurk/gif/021/hostage.gif"> Mueller holds Janice
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hostage.
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<p>
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Convinced that he'll kill Janice anyway when the treatment is finished,
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Laura hits a control on the machine. Suddenly, Mueller writhes in pain,
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drops the gun and collapses to the floor. "That's Lake's syndrome," she
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tells him, describing its agonizing symptoms in detail. "You'll never hurt
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<em>anyone</em> again." Mueller stops moving, and Franklin, after a quick
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examination, says he's dead.
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<p>
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Later, Laura is cleared of any wrongdoing by Ombuds Wellington; she acted
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in self-defense. But she must turn the alien device over to station
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personnel for study. As the courtroom clears out, Garibaldi tells Laura she
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did the right thing. Janice agrees, but Laura is still haunted by the fact
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that she has taken a life, in violation of her oath as a doctor. "I did
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the necessary thing," she tells Janice. "That is not always the same as
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the right thing."
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<p>
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Ivanova catches up with Garibaldi as he leaves the courtroom and tells him
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they've identified the two suspects who started the fight in Dark Star.
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<p>
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Sinclair tries to get Londo and Lennier to tell him what happened at the
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club. Lennier takes full responsibility, claiming that the argument started
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because he misunderstood the rules. Sinclair doesn't believe a word of that,
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but can't press further thanks to diplomatic privilege.
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<p>
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After Sinclair leaves, Londo thanks Lennier. Lennier asks what the part of
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Londo that reached for the cards was. Londo whispers the answer to him, and,
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when Lennier stares at him in disbelief, picks up a nearby statuette, a
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figurine with six long tentacles protruding from her midriff. "It's true,"
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Londo says. "Yes! Here: Li, goddess of passion. A synthesis of male and
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female Centauri. Did you think <em>these</em> were just decorations?"
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Lennier leaves in a hurry.
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<p>
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Laura and Janice drop the alien machine off in medlab. Franklin says he'll
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study it. Perhaps it can still be used to heal; volunteers could donate a
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little of their life energy the way people once donated blood. Laura tells
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him she's leaving, going out to the stars to redeem herself, to try to find
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a way to make up for what she's done.
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<p>
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"Is that dinner invitation still open?" Janice asks as she leaves.
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<p>
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"Yeah. Yeah! It's still open," Franklin says, happily surprised. "7, zocalo?"
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Janice nods and leaves Franklin with a smile on his face.
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<h3>Synopsis by <a href="http://www.midwinter.com/~koreth/">Steven Grimm</a></h3>
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