ATT: JMS: A Challenge!

[B5JMS Poster]

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From: "Laura M. Appelbaum" <l-appelbaum at mindspring.com>
Date: 7 Jul 1998 20:05:25 -0600
Lines: 25

Hi jms!  Okay, while watching "A Race Through Dark Places" tonight, I
was struck not just by the inevitable "if only Talia had stayed"
thoughts, but by the seemingly impossible contradictions in Bester's
character as seen in that episode and the fifth season.  Specifically,
in the fifth season, we're shown an Alfred Bester who wants to save and
protect ALL telepaths, including rogues, no matter what the cost,
because he supposedly sees them as being his symbolic children.  The
impression we're given is that this is what has been behind Bester's
ruthless behavior all along; that at heart he has some kind of
Human/humane agenda, however he's twisted it with his actions.  However
upon going back to "A Race" we find that Bester was quite happy to
believe all of the rogue telepaths in B5's underground railroad had been
killed -- not only that, he's happy to imagine that HE has personally
killed them! From the moment the episode begins, we find him torturing a
telepath and ultimately murdering him, just to obtain some information
-- exactly the kind of thing he goes on and on bewailing in the fifth
season.

So, the challenge I pose to you is this: can you reconcile these two
diametrically opposed positions for me in any kind of plausable way, or
would you be willing to admit that you simply changed your mind about
who Bester is and what motivates him during the full course of the
series?

LMA

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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: 8 Jul 1998 10:08:52 -0600
Lines: 11

It would be a question of what the group of rogue telepaths had *done* prior to
his running into them.  If, for instance, they had killed any of his fellow Psi
Cops, I think (to turn a phrase on its head) the gloves would come off.

Byron's people weren't a threat to Psi Cops until the very end. 

 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com
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