The "Elder Gods"

A Shadow (click to see full-sized image)	Vorlon in an encounter suit (click to see full-sized image)

Babylon 5 was one of the finest science-fiction shows to ever be broadcast on commercial TV. Lovecraftian at times, vast in dimension, B5 is a five-year story arc where humans are mere ants and yet assert themselves in a matter of vast dimensions. The galaxy is a dangerous place of beatific mysteries and ancient horrors; there are things in space that can drain the soul from your body and leave nothing but a shrivelled husk, there are powers so vast and timeless they exceed the ability to comprehend them. Yet, in the face of the unknown and unknowable, the younger species are forced to finally resolve a long-standing rivalry between two ancient superpowers. Babylon means "The Gates of God."

The rivalry between the two ancient powers, the Vorlons and the Shadows, is apparently derived from two archetypes:

1. Satan vs. God.

The Shadows represent the id and ego, the satisfaction of wants. Their question is "What do you want?" A shadow's face is reminiscent of a demon. The Vorlons are non-corporeal energy beings who appear as angelic apparitions. They represent the super-ego, the conscience. They ask: "Who are you?"

The Shadow philosophy is to secretly enter alliances that may lead to conflict but foster (evolutionary) progress. Their philosophy is that of extreme social Darwinism (capitalism), where the strong survive and the less fortunate are crushed by the momentum of social evolution. The Vorlons require order and obedience; they want social order, one that the Vorlons determine centrally (communism)
 
 

"He is a holy man. A true seeker. Among my people a True Seeker is treated with the utmost reverence and respect. It doesn't matter that his Grail may or may not exist. What matters is that he strives for the perfection of his soul and the salvation of his race, and that he has never wavered or lost faith." -- the Minbari Ambassador Delenn, in the "Grail" episode of Babylon5.

"The past tempts us, the present confuses us, the future frightens us. And our lives slip away, moment by moment, lost in the terrible in-between. But there is still time to seize that one last fragile moment, to choose something different." -- Delenn

"Can God make a rock so big he can't lift it? What if that's the wrong question? Can God make a problem so complex that he can't solve it? What if we're that problem?!"

"If you're going to be worried that the universe doesn't make sense, you're going to be worried every moment of your natural life." -- Delenn

"The universe puts us in places where we can learn. They're never easy places, but wherever we are is the right place. We are the universe, made manifest, trying to figure itself out." And: "If the universe puts a mystery in front of us as a gift, politeness requires that we try to understand it." - Delenn

"We believed we were superior to the universe that gave us birth; we believed that we could transcend this dimension; that we belonged to another higher plane. We forgot that a door may swing in two directions." - Lyta Alexander, channeling the Vorlon collective consciousness

"Perhaps we'll find something extraordinary. Perhaps something extraordinary
will find us." - G'Kar

Babylon 5

B5 .wav's and quotes