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188 lines
7.7 KiB
188 lines
7.7 KiB
<html>
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<head>
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<title>Babylon 5 Universe: Setting (season one)</title>
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<map name="toplevel">
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<area shape="RECT" coords="0,0,99,23" href="/lurk/universe/intro.html" alt="Universe">
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</map>
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<link rev=made href="mailto:koreth@midwinter.com">
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</head>
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<body>
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<p align=center nowrap><nobr><img
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align=middle border=0 usemap="#titlebar"
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src="/lurk/nav/titlebar.gif" width=500 height=32
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alt="[Home]">
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<br><img
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align=top border=0 usemap="#toplevel"
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src="/lurk/nav/bar-universe.gif" width=500 height=32
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alt="">
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<br><a href="intro.html"><img
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align=top border=0
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src="/lurk/nav/dark/un-intro.gif" width=100 height=24
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alt=" [Introduction]"></a><img
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align=top border=0
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src="/lurk/nav/lit/un-setting.gif" width=100 height=24
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alt=" ### SETTING ###"></a><a
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href="cast-1.html"><img
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align=top border=0
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src="/lurk/nav/dark/un-maincast.gif" width=100 height=24
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alt=" [Main Cast]"></a><a
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href="supporting-1.html"><img
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align=top border=0
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src="/lurk/nav/dark/un-supporting.gif" width=100 height=24
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alt=" [Supporting Cast]"></a><a
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href="station-1.html"><img
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align=top border=0
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src="/lurk/nav/dark/un-station.gif" width=100 height=24
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alt=" [Station]"></a>
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</nobr>
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<p>
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<strong>Season 1: "Signs and Portents"</strong><br>
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<a href="setting-2.html">Season 2: "The Coming of Shadows"</a><br>
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<a href="setting-3.html">Season 3: "Point of No Return"</a><br>
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<a href="setting-4.html">Season 4: "No Surrender, No Retreat"</a>
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<p>
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<blockquote><cite>
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It was the dawn of the third age of mankind, ten years after the
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Earth/Minbari war. The Babylon Project was a dream given form. Its
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goal, to prevent another war by creating a place where humans and aliens
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could work out their differences peacefully. It's a port of call - home
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away from home for diplomats, hustlers, entrepreneurs, and wanderers.
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Humans and aliens wrapped in two million, five hundred thousand tons
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of spinning metal, all alone in the night. It can be a dangerous place,
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but it's our last best hope for peace. This is the story of the last of
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the Babylon stations. The year is 2258. The name of the place is
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Babylon 5.
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</cite> - Commander Sinclair
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</blockquote>
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<p>
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With the completion of the last of the Babylon stations in 2257, the
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galaxy is enjoying a fragile peace. Babylon 5 is functioning as planned,
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defusing disputes among the five major governments and acting as a hub
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for interstellar commerce and communication.
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<p>
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<img align=right width=80 height=100 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/chars/sinclair.gif">
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The <strong>Earth Alliance,</strong> headquartered in Geneva,
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is in charge of the station and the
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surrounding space. It is led by President Luis Santiago, a forward-looking
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politician who values Earth's participation in Babylon 5 tremendously.
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Of special note is a branch of the Earth government called
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<strong>Psi-Corps,</strong> responsible for the tracking and training of
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human telepaths. Pictured here is Jeffrey Sinclair,
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commander of Babylon 5.
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<br clear=all>
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<p>
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<img align=right width=80 height=100 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/chars/delenn-1.gif">
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Earth's former adversary, the <strong>Minbari Federation,</strong> was the
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major alien contributor to the construction of Babylon 5. An old, highly
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spiritual race, Minbari are humanoid with exterior bone crests on their
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heads. The Minbari are ruled by a body known as the Grey Council,
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three members from each of the three castes of Minbari society. The reason
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behind the sudden Minbari surrender at the climax of the Earth-Minbari War
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is a closely-guarded secret, but what isn't a secret is that the warrior
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caste was none too pleased about the order; even today, it is a source of
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tension within Minbari society.<br clear=all>
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<p>
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<img align=right width=80 height=100 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/chars/londo.gif">
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The <strong>Centauri</strong> were the first aliens encountered
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by humanity. Physically, they look nearly identical to humans,
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and in fact the Centauri initially claimed that Earth was a lost
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colony (a claim they later retracted after humans discovered that
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the similarities weren't so great after all.) Centauri women are
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bald; men wear their hair in peacock-style fans whose length indicates the
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wearer's social standing. The Centauri Republic is a fading empire, slowly
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losing control of its member worlds, a decline much like that of the
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British Empire.<br clear=all>
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<p>
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<img align=right width=80 height=100 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/chars/gkar.gif">
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Among those formerly under Centauri domination are the <strong>Narn,</strong>
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a reptilian-looking race who fought off their oppressors in a century-long
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war of attrition. Now the Narn Regime is building its military up, trying
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to settle the score through an aggressive expansionist policy. Most Narn
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would like nothing better than to see the Centauri wiped from the face of
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the universe, and from all appearances, they'll shortly be in a position to
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get their wish.<br clear=all>
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<p>
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<img align=right width=80 height=100 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/chars/kosh.gif">
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The final major government represented on Babylon 5 is the <strong>Vorlon
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Empire.</strong> The Vorlons are shrouded in mystery. Even though their
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ambassador is on the station, nobody knows what they look like; they dress
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in bulky encounter suits. Whether the suits are there to keep a noxious
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atmosphere in or prying eyes out is a matter of some debate. The Vorlons
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are an extremely powerful race; no expedition into their space has been
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heard from again. They seem to have had dealings with the Minbari in the
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past, though neither the Minbari nor the Vorlons care to discuss the matter.
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<br clear=all>
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<p>
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<img align=right width=160 height=100 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/chars/league2.gif">
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Each of the five races has an ambassador on the Babylon 5 Advisory Council,
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something like the UN Security Council. In addition, a number of smaller
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governments are members of the <strong>League of Non-Aligned Worlds,</strong>
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which is also represented on the Council. This group is generally sympathetic
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to Earth, largely because Earth stepped in to save many of them from invasion
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by a hostile race (now extinct.)<br clear=all>
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<p>
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The peace is most often threatened by aggressive behavior on the part of
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the Narn, or by lingering tensions between Earth and the Minbari warrior
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caste, a sizable fraction of which wouldn't mind a rematch. And there are
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enduring mysteries to set everyone on edge: the reasons behind the Minbari
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surrender and the sudden disappearance of Babylon 4, the nature and motives
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of the Vorlons, the hint of dark forces moving behind the scenes in the
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Earth government.
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<p>
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<strong>Next:</strong> <a href="cast-1.html">The Main Cast</a>
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<pre>
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</pre>
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<p nowrap>
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<nobr><a href="/lurk/lurker.html"><img
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</nobr>
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<h5>
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Last update:
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October 8, 1995
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</h5>
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</body>
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</html>
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