The Shadow's Long-Term Memory Problem

[B5JMS Poster]

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From: "Laura M. Appelbaum" <l-appelbaum at mindspring.com>
Date: 15 Oct 2000 19:21:17 -0700
Lines: 60

"Jms at B5" <jmsatb5 at aol.com> wrote in message
news:20001015172325.03056.00001934 at ng-fj1.aol.com...
> > OTOH, why talk to G'Kar?  1000, G'Quon and his
> >contemporaries, tho' not yet spacefaring themselves, made Narn an
unpleasant
> >enough environment for the Shadows that they left; don't they remember
this?
> >Even *more* significantly, 1000 years ago, Valen and the Anla'Shok (we'll
> >assume they didn't recognize him in Sinclair, even if Kosh and the Grey
> >Council have) kicked their sorry butts right off their homeworld and into
a
> >millenium of exile!  You mean to tell me they don't remember THAT?
Methinks
> >the Shadows needed a good dose of Gingko Biloba!
> >
>
> No, because in every group there is always someone who can be corrupted by
> offering him or her what he/she wants.  Many on Narn wouldn't believe
G'Kar's
> suspicions, remember?  So those individuals would be perfect foils for
shadow
> involvement, step by step, until it's too late to get out.
>
Hmm, my impression over the years has been that they were looking for a race
(or large and powerful portion thereof) to ally themselves with, not just a
key individual or two.  The Centauri were perfect for the Shadow's purposes
not because Londo was a pathetic old man looking to reclaim past glory, but
because the entire power structure was *full* of similarly unprincipled,
conniving people.  True, there were a couple of people; the first Emperor,
Vir, who really wanted to live in peace, but the vast majority of Centauri
politicians, soldiers, hangers-on were quite willing to do just about
anything for personal glory and the perceived overall glory of the "great"
Centauri Republic -- the raw evil of Vir's almost-betrothed seemed to me to
be perfect evidence of this.  Clearly just getting a couple of people to
participate in their plan wouldn't have done the Shadows much good -- they
needed to find a people so blinded by a lust for power or so innately evil
that they'd be willing to follow along, lock, stock and barrel.

But okay, let's say I completely accept your argument, which I don't. <G>
That means Morden goes to Londo, G'Kar and Delenn NOT because they are
Ambassadors for their races and thus represent their people, but because of
who they are personally.  That makes my argument about their
short-sightedness (or bad memory) even stronger -- why approach G'Kar, then,
a follower of G'Quon and thus among those people most likely to one day open
his holy book and see that familiar picture, instead of some equally
unprincipled Narn who worships G'Lan and will never get wise to their
history on Narn?  And why, oh why speak to Delenn, who's not only a
Religious Caste Satai, but a particularly devout follower of Valen with a
magic triangle in her forehead?  Shakiri, *he* might listen.  The
self-exiled Tragati crew, maybe.  But to go and potentially alert (as they
indeed do) one of the leaders of your historically most dangerous enemy that
you're out and about and looking for trouble?  Either they forgot everything
that happened before they went on their forced thousand-year bedtime nap, or
I'm sorry, the Shadows are just not smart.

LMA





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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: 15 Oct 2000 21:13:38 -0700
Lines: 47

> why approach G'Kar, then,
>a follower of G'Quon and thus among those people most likely to one day open
>his holy book and see that familiar picture, instead of some equally
>unprincipled Narn who worships G'Lan and will never get wise to their
>history on Narn? 

The error you're making is the assumption that the shadows would know as much
about our characters as you, the audience, do.  "Well, *I* know all about him
being a follower of G'Lan, so why don't they?"  Because you're watching the
show, they're not.  They sent Morden on a fishing expedition to see what they
could find because they've been gone a long time and want a sense of the room,
and who would bite.  

As for Delenn...remember, the Vorlons had only RECENTLY made contact with the
Minbari -- which we, as audience members, know but they don't.  So they would
naturally be curious to see what the situation was there...remember, some
Minbari didn't even BELIEVE the Shadows were back or would eve be a threat
again.

And finally, you must remember that the shadows didn't just come out and
introduce themselves...they were known only as Morden's associates for a long
time, and would've kept their real identity secret as long as possible, which
would've made it easier to manipulate anyone who "bit" (as was the case with
Londo).

The universe is a big place, and the shadows have been gone a long, long
time...of those endless billions of souls, we see a few of them via B5, and
thus the viewer has knowlege other characters or players don't.  That's not a
failing on the part of the other characters.  

>But okay, let's say I completely accept your argument, which I don't. <G>

Okay.

But it's my show, so I win.

 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
(all message content (c) 2000 by
synthetic worlds, ltd., permission
to reprint specifically denied to
SFX Magazine)




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