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208 lines
8.4 KiB
208 lines
8.4 KiB
<html>
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<head>
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<title>Babylon 5 Universe: The Station (season four)</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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<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><a
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href="setting-4.html"><img
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align=top border=0
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src="/lurk/nav/dark/un-setting.gif" width=100 height=24
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alt=" [Setting]"></a><a
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href="cast-4.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-4.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><img
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align=top border=0
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src="/lurk/nav/lit/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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<a href="station-1.html">Season 1: "Signs and Portents"</a><br>
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<a href="station-2.html">Season 2: "The Coming of Shadows"</a><br>
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<a href="station-3.html">Season 3: "Point of No Return"</a><br>
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<strong>Season 4: "No Surrender, No Retreat"</strong>
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<h1>
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<a href="/lurk/ftp/Pictures/Effects/station4.jpg"><img align=middle
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src="/lurk/gif/station.gif" align="middle"></a>
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<a href="/lurk/ftp/Clips/rotate.avi"><img src="/lurk/gif/movie.xbm" alt="[Movie]"></a>
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The Babylon 5 Station
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</h1>
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<h3>Originally written by J. Michael Straczynski on GEnie</h3>
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<p>
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<strong>Babylon 5</strong>
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is a space station in neutral space more or less central to all
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five of the different alliances, human or alien. To get to one or the
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other, you have to pass through this sector of space. Thus, Babylon 5 has
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been created as a sort of port-of-call for travellers, statesmen,
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emissaries, traders, refugees and other, less savory characters.
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<p>
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Five miles long, Babylon 5 is divided into
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separate, discrete sections that rotate at differing speeds to provide
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different gravities to accommodate those who come to the station. It
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boasts the latest in defensive weaponry from Earthforce R&D, enough to
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hold off a large Centauri war cruiser -- a capability, unfortunately, which
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has been put to the test. Of course, even the best weapons Earth has to offer
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would be useless if the Shadows attacked. Luckily, the station isn't alone.
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<p>
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Babylon 5 is in orbit around the third planet in the Epsilon Eridani star
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system, a world which was until recently believed to be barren, devoid of life.
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In 2258, however, the remains of an ancient civilization were discovered
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buried deep beneath the planet's surface: a massive, planetwide machine with
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awesome offensive power and the ability to bend time. It is currently under the
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control of Delenn's mentor, Draal, who took over from the former guardian in
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<a href="/lurk/guide/019.html">"A Voice in the Wilderness, part 2."</a>
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Draal has placed the planet's power at the disposal of Captain Sheridan, for
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use in the battle against the Shadows.
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<p>
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As for locations inside B-5...we've designed a number of very different
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looks and locations to give it a non-claustrophobic feel. By virtue of
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being patterned physically after the work of such scientists as Gerard K.
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O'Neill, the absolute center of the elongated station (which revolves to
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provide gravity) is a sort of hollow-world look, with fields and hydroponic
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gardens along the 360-degree circular section (which is about a half-mile,
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or a mile across)...and as you get closer to the absolute center, where a
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transport tube cuts from one end of the station to the other, naturally you
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get less and less gravity until you can literally hang suspended. This
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area is known as the Garden.
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<p>
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<a href="/lurk/ftp/Pictures/Effects/garden.gif"><img
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src="/lurk/gif/garden.gif" alt="The Garden (GIF)"></a>
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<a href="/lurk/ftp/Pictures/Effects/garden-night.gif"><img
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src="/lurk/gif/garden-night.gif" alt="The Garden at 'night'(GIF)"></a>
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<p>
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And there are living areas designed to accommodate different environments
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and atmospheres and conditions. The alien sectors are off-limits to humans
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without protection (breathing gear and other measures). Similarly, a heavy
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CO2 breather or methane breather would have to wear an encounter suit to
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travel among the humans on the station.
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<p>
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<a href="station-map-4.html"><img width=100 height=24 hspace=4 align=middle
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border=0 alt="[More Info]" src="/lurk/nav/moreinfo.gif"></a>
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<em>A map of the station.</em>
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<p>
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Some sections of the station, called the Downbelow, are inhabited by Babylon
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5's equivalent of the homeless, called Lurkers. Most of them are people who
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came to the station looking for work; they didn't find any, and can't afford
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passage offstation. No government is willing to pay to ship them home (and
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in some cases, they wouldn't even be <em>allowed</em> home) so they languish on
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the station. The Downbelow is a center of criminal activity on B5, though by
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no means is crime confined to that area.
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<p>
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At the opposite end of the spectrum is C&C, short for Command and Control,
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located at the front of the station near the docking bay.
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Either Sheridan or Ivanova is usually on duty in C&C. It is the
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equivalent of an airport control tower; ships are directed into and out
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of the docking bay and cargo areas. The station's defense systems are
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also controlled from C&C.
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<p>
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When they're not in C&C, the senior officers can often be found in the
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War Room, a recent addition. Equipped with a large galactic map to track
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the progress of the Shadow War, the War Room is where the Army of Light plots
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its strategy and analyzes enemy movements.
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<p>
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Parts of the station are still under construction, and parts are finished.
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Some sections are in daylight, some in night, alternating by level and
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sector. On the very outer ring, the viewports are in panels ON THE FLOOR,
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so you're looking down and out into space, revolving beneath your feet.
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Some places are beautifully finished and neat, and other areas are
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very rough and in-the-works. (Remember, B5 only recently went operational,
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and thus there are still some parts being constructed.)
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<p>
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In talking with our production designer, John Iacovelli, the one term he
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kept using, over and over, was "travelogue." We should get a real sense in
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this show of a world turned inside out...with varying textures, lighting,
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angles, and a mix of looks. There will <strong>not</strong> be a homogeneous
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look to
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this place, if I or Iacovelli have anything to say about it. You can walk
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from the carefully and neatly appointed Council Chamber room, to the high-
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tech control room, to a section of the station under construction and
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exposing beams and wires, to the dark and noire-looking nightclub, to the
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Garden, to....
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<p>
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<a href="http://www.nas.nasa.gov/NAS/SpaceSettlement/"><img width=100 height=24
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hspace=4 align=middle border=0 alt="[More Info]"
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src="/lurk/nav/moreinfo.gif"></a>
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<em>NASA's "Orbital Space Settlements" page.</em>
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<p>
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<strong>Next:</strong> <a href="/lurk/episodes.php">The Episodes</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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alt="">
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</nobr>
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<h5>
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Last update:
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December 25, 1996
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</h5>
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</body>
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</html>
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