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Introduction to Corwin |
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Before beginning this piece, it's worth bearing in mind that the B5 universe is an intricate one, and this section can only hope to provide a basic introduction for novitiates. In fact, it would be little exaggeration to say that Babylon 5 is a work of such stunning breadth, that any attempt to define it within the space of a few paragraphs would be utterly futile. Nevertheless, I'm aware that many visitors to this site have never encountered the programme before, and to place the character of Corwin within his proper context, some background details are neccessary. The information contained on this page can be augmented by visiting two of the best B5 reference sites on the net: The Lurker's Guide, and the ISN News: Babylon 5 site.
Ostensibly, Babylon 5 is a science fiction serial, set between the years 2258 and 2261, aboard a space station devoted to interplanetary conflict resolution. In reality, it's televised space-opera at its finest - the tale of what it's creator Joe Michael Straczynski (JMS) described as "choice, consequence, and responsibility for those choices," taking various detours through politics, history, religion, philosophy, classical literature, psychology and myth. The first programme of its genre to be planned and executed with a coherent story arc, unfolding over a pre-determined number of series and shows, B5's episodic structure is well suited to the in-depth development of both characters and narrative, but is occasionally (and in my estimation, wrongly) branded impenetrable by those who have failed to see it from the outset. While many episodes do serve to advance the overarching plot, they can also be appreciated as well-crafted and compelling stories in their own right.
Babylon 5 as a whole consists of 5 series, comprising 22 episodes each, a pilot - "The Gathering," and 5 spin-off films, and numerous supplementary novels. Details of it's tortuous production history are superfluous to this site, but indepth examinations of the subject can be found at both the reference sites mentioned above, as well as in "The Babylon File" (Andy Lane, Virgin Press) and Jane Killick's "Babylon 5 Episode Guide" series (Del Rey publications.) The show, which was in development from 1986, was first aired in the US in 1994, completing its run in 1998, and has subsequently found audiences in Australia, Canada, the UK, France and Germany, and was until April 2002 regularly repeated on the US Sci-Fi Channel.
The Narn, Minbari and Centauri ambassadors to Babylon 5.
Background - The Babylon Project
The Babylon Project was the galaxy's last best hope for peace. Conceivd in the aftermath of a war in which humankind narrowly escaped extiction at the hands of a vastly superior enemy, the Babylon stations - a series of diplomatic outposts constructed in neutral territory, were designed to avoid any repetition of this carnage. The first 3 stations were sabotaged in mid-construction, the fourth was completed but vanished mysteriously barely 24 hours before becoming operational. Earth, reluctant to expose itself to further financial losses declared a moratorium on station development, before offers of assistance fom alien governments - and particularly from that of the Minbari, the very race who Earth had so catastrohically engaged in war, pursuaded them to rethink. Naturally, this help was qualified by conditions.
The Earth Minbari War. (From a piece written by J Michael Straczynski)
The Earth/Minbari war began as a misunderstanding. The first time aTerran ship encountered a Minbari starship, they studied each other closely.The Minbari ship made a move that they thought would be considered non-threatening. It wasn't. Even in the present of our story, no one is quitesure who fired first. The Minbari ship was greater in power, but taken bysurprise, was destroyed, and the Earth ship limped back to base with tales ofa terrible new enemy. Minbari ships, arriving to investigate, wereinterpreted to be the first wing of an invasion force by the base commander,and ships were launched in response before receiving formal authorization fromEarth Central.
The war put a great strain on the Minbari, who have always been stronglydivided between the religious caste, and the military caste, who were nowforced to work together. The religious caste were quietly opposed to the war,but were generally vague about their reasons when asked.
The war went badly for Earth, with one loss after another; the Minbari hadan overwhelming technological advantage. During the entire course of the war,Earth scored only one major victory, when a young officer namedJohn Sheridan destroyed the Minbari war cruiser Black Star andseveral accompanying vessels. It was all downhill from there. The climax of the war was the Battle of the Line. Earth had all but lost the war. In a last-ditch attempt to save Homeworld, every available ship leftin the armada was positioned around Earth itself. It was, everyone knew, asuicide mission. And that's, indeed, how the Battle of the Line started outto be.
In the course of that battle, a lone ship -- a one-man fighter with verylittle in the way of armaments -- took several heavy hits. His instrumentsfailing, other ships blowing up all around him, he aimed his ship at thenearest Minbari cruiser, deciding to ram it in the hopes of destroying atleast that one ship. He kept his ship on course for as long as he could holdout. Then, abruptly, he blacked out. When he awoke, he was still in his ship. Drifting. He fired up theengines, ready to continue, only to discover two things: first, that he hadbeen out of it for a full 24 hours. Second...the war was over.
And, incredibly, the Minbari had surrendered. On the very verge ofsuccess in the war, they had rolled over and sued for peace. No one in theEarth Alliance quite knew why, but they weren't about to debate the issue, andaccepted minimal compensation for the war. Now, ten years later, the Earth Alliance is no closer to figuring out whythe Minbari surrendered. It is, in fact, one of the great puzzles of thatera, debated on a hundred different worlds. Only a few strange clues haveslipped out. One is that the military genius who led the Minbari into the warcommitted suicide the day of the surrender, though it is unclear if his deathtook place before or after the surrender. And the rift between the militaryand religious castes apparently came to some sort of climax, with thereligious caste taking complete control. There are rumors of some sort ofreligious vision, of a prophecy of great things, and a prophecy of completedoom. But since almost nothing is known of Minbari religion, what this might be, no one knows.
Alien Races
Babylon 5 takes place in a galaxy densely populated by alien life-forms, most of which have established their credentials as significant powers long before humanity "reached the stars." Humans are presented as relative newcomers to the galactic community, having made first contact with the Centauri barely a century before the beginning of the series, and thanks to their disastrous experiences during the Earth-Minbari War, are a race still harbouring profound suspicions about the motives of alien governments. The Cantauri provided Earth with advanced spacefaring technology, particularly the "jump gates," "jump engines" required for negotiating the galaxy's extensive hyperspacial conduits - a method of circumventing the vast distances between planets and star systems. This allowed humans, previously confined to their own solar system, to participate in lucrative trading and commerce with other species, to establish deep range colonies, "spheres of influence," military outposts, and of course to engage in warfare with varying degrees of success.
The Centauri Republic
Broadly speaking, the Centauri are Babylon 5's answer to the Roman Empire - although they also share characteristics with the Romanovs and pre-unification Prussia. A once formidable, but now decaying colonial power, the Centauri are still regarded as a highly important and influential race, largely thanks to their well developed military capacity, and position as a lynchpin of galactic trade. Nevertheless, an increasing awareness of their declining stature, and an embittered nostalgia for the "Great Old Days of the Republic" loom large in the political culture of Centauri Prime. Their society is both elitist and patriarchal - a monarchist system of government, with ministers for their parliamentary body - the "Centarum" appointed from a hierarchy of Noble Houses (ancient and wealthy families.) Males wear their hair in elaborate crests, the size and height of which is symbolic of their status. Women, who are entirely excluded from the mechanisms of power, shave their heads to varying degrees, and irrespective of their personal talents or intelligence, are relegated to the status of chattels, with their importance determined by their eligibility for marriage. The rather stagnant nature of the Centauri Royal Court makes it highly susceptible to assassinations, intrigues blackmail and palace coups. The Centauri are pantheists, boasting a deity for practically any occasion, but despite their frequent invocations of the Great Maker (their principle god) spiritualism is not one of their more prominent traits. Their passion for hedonism is established early in the first series, and it's not unusual to find Centauri propping up a bar, swearing loudly at a gaming table, or leering with infinite style at some unfortunate exotic dancer. Neverthless, a pronounced strain of duty, obediance and respect for tradition is discernable in the customs of this race, and the constant friction between obligation, self indulgence, brutality and compassion make the Centauri among some of the most interesting characters depicted in Babylon 5.
The Narn Regime
Narns are a humanoid race, with reptilian characteristics and are, like humans, rescent ascendants to the realm of economic and political influence. Former colonial subjects of the Centauri, Narn endured a brutal conquest and a century of repressive occupation, before achieving liberty through a prolonged and extremely bloody campaign of attrition. Despite their continuting claims of persecution, by the time of B5's commencement the Narn Regime has undergone a period of extensive reconstruction and managed to create an effective military machine of its own, and certainly at the outset of the series indulges in a fair amount of threatening, conquering and repressing in its own right. Attacks are frequently directed against Centauri holdings, although economic considerations and a need to capture profitable assets to compensate for the near total depletion of Narn's resources during the period of Centauri rule are frequently a motive. Vengeance and an obsessive need to eradicate any possibility of future conquest are prominent features of the Narn mentality.
Little is known of Narn governmental structures - their ruling body is referred to as the Kha'Ri, and would appear to be composed of a number of graduated "circles," strata of rulers wielding varying degrees of authority. According to the third B5 spin-off novel this arrangement of "circles" encompasses their society as a whole, and forms the basis for a largely closed caste system, where social mobility can occur only by dint of marriage, murder or other less than savoury machinations. There is, however, little evidence given in the series to support this view. In accordance with their much prided capacity for survival, Narn society is appropriately spartan and unforgiving in it's outlook. Professional assassins guilds abound, formal blood oaths justifying revenge murders are deemed to be perfectly acceptable, and the average Narn finds a stout stick to be a more satisfactory means of settling an argument than patient reasoning. Conversely, Narns are not without their spiritual and philosophical leanings, aspects of their culture which grow in importance as the series progresses.The transformation of the Narn ambassador - G'Kar, from vengeful nationalist to quasi-religious theoretician is a mainstay of the series' themes of enlightenment, revelation, sacrifice and rebirth.
The Vorlon ambassador to Babylon 5
The Minbari Federation
A venerable and well established spacefaring people, the Minbari place heavy emphasis on tradition, continuity, prophecy and matters of the spirit and the intellect. Neverthless, despite their overtly pacific demeanour Minbari military technology is frighteningly sophisticated, as Earth was to discover during their catastrophic war against this race. Indeed, the Minbari took humankind to the brink of obliteration before mysteriously surrendering on the eve of victory. Whatever their cultural affection for the ideals of unity and balance, this surrender created profound divisions within Minbari society - principally between their Warrior caste, and their counterparts in the Religious caste, responsible for ordering their withdrawal from battle.
Triumverates are of enormous importance to this people - their society is composed of 3 castes - Worker, Warrior and Religious, their governmental body, The Grey Council, draws 3 representatives from each, and many of their most important relics and symbols assume a triangular form. The caste system is an enduring feature of Minbari culture, although the Grey Council was a more recent innovation. Created roughly 1000 years before the beginning of the series by Valen - one of the race's holiest and most respected figures, the Grey Council was designed to impose a unified identity upon Minbar's warring castes and clans, in preparation for a broader conflict with an ancient and altogether terrifying enemy. This unification of hostile factions can be viewed as a precursive microcosm of a broader co-operation between disparate cultures, which increases in necessity as Babylon 5 progresses. Traditionally, the Council was weighted in favour of the Warrior and Religious castes, although by the end of the series this situation has been remedied.
In short, the Minbari cannot be described as a party people. Their lives are governed by complex rituals - many of which can endure for days, proper meditation is required to use their beds, and mealtimes are a labyrinth of formal regulation. They are not, however without a sense of humour - even though roughly one year of instruction in a temple is required to appreciate it.
The Vorlon Empire
One of the galaxy's elder races, Vorlons are mysterious, god-like figures both enigmatic and extremely powerful. Their advanced organic tecnology, and ability to communicate telepathically with other individuals remain jealously guarded secrets, and few visitors to Vorlon space will return alive and intact. Their true physical form is rarely seen, as Vorlons will usually appear clad in impenetrable "encounter suits" which ostensibly house atmospheric and other life support equipment, but which quite naturally also serve to maintain their anonymity. In keeping with these ambiguities, Vorlon conversation assumes the form of convoluted metaphors and short, cryptic untterances. It's probably best to avoid arranging a bussiness meeting with a Vorlon unless you actually know what time the "hour of scampering" refers to.
Along with the League of Non-Aligned worlds - a congregation of lesser alien powers, Earth and the 4 races outlined above form the axis of the Babylon 5 Council - a body designed to promote peaceful relations amongst its members. It's a little like the UN in space - but rather more effectual.