Shadow (Babylon 5)
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The Shadows are an ancient alien species in the science fiction television series Babylon 5. Their homeworld is Z'ha'dum. In contrast to the Vorlons who ask "Who are you?" the Shadows ask the question of "What do you want?" centering towards desire rather than identity. J. Michael Straczynski, the show's creator, once explained that he chose the name "Shadows" because of its meaning in Jungian psychology. [1]
For further information on the Shadows, Mongoose Publishing created an RPG book called Darkness and Light that talks about the Vorlons and Shadows. The now defunct Agents of Gaming RPG books also have information relating to the Shadows which is considered canon information.
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[edit] Physiology
A Shadow is an insect-like organism with a spiky, violet-black carapace. They are similar in shape to a praying mantis with an upper body, shoulder spines, a mobile head and at least one pair of grasping forelimbs. The rear of the body is supported by multiple pairs of legs.
The Shadows have 14 eyes in total divided into 4 groups. Two sets of three arranged, slanted upward and two sets of four arranged to align perfectly under the first sets. Shadows might have multi-lensed eyes like other insects, but this was not explored in the series.
The spoken language of the Shadows is a rapid series of high-frequency bursts and chirps like a cricket or grasshopper. The Shadows' own name for themselves is 10,000 letters long, and unpronounceable by many.
Detailed descriptions are rare, due to their ability to "cloak" their physical bodies to visual wavelengths of light. They are thus rarely seen except as shadowy, mirage-like silhouettes, which can be seen by telepaths, those using visual enhancement devices, or when the entity chooses to partially or wholly reveal itself.
Other manifestations take the form of the Shadows' three pairs of glowing orange eyes, usually as a symbolic image within a telepathic or dream vision.
[edit] Homeworld
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- Z'ha'dum is the homeworld of the Shadows. No one leaves the same as they arrived. --Delenn
- If you go to Z'ha'dum, you will die. --Kosh to John Sheridan
In the fictional Babylon 5 universe, Z'ha'dum was the homeworld of the ancient, mysterious species known as the Shadows. Although a blasted, devastated world from which the Shadows were frequently driven over the eons, they kept coming back out of respect for Lorien -- the first of the First Ones -- who for a long time resided on the planet.
There also appears to be more than one place of power for the Shadows and their minions. According to Markab Ambassador Fashar: "When the darkness was defeated long ago, they scattered, hid themselves away in secret places." This suggests that the shadows apparently have colony worlds within their realm.
The Shadows, according to Anna Sheridan in "Z'ha'dum" believed they'd die if anything Vorlon touched their homeworld. It is not known whether this is true or merely an old superstition. Many of them did die when Sheridan arrived with a piece of Kosh and detonated the White Star (partially based on Vorlon technology) in a kamikaze attack. And Lyta's telepathy, enhanced by the Vorlons (and, indeed, genetically seeded by the Vorlons in the first place) later triggered the destruction of Z'ha'dum itself. Perhaps they foresaw these events - and no one can deny it turned out that their belief wasn't too far from the truth.
[edit] Government
Very little is known about the actual structure of Shadow society; it is unknown whether it is organized into anything that most people would recognize as a "government". While they have no clear domain, the Shadow's Homeworld of Z'Ha'Dum is a subject of whispered interest, as no one who has ever set foot on the planet has returned the same or at all.
[edit] History
[edit] Before recorded history
The Shadows are presumed to have evolved from arachnoid creatures. Little is known about what the Shadows evolutionary history was like.
Some records indicate that the Shadows first achieved Hyperspace capability as far back as 100 million BC, maybe earlier. Around this time the Shadows also became a major galactic power, exploring the universe and making contact with alien races. The first of these races was that of the being Lorien, whose race was the first of the First Ones.
The Shadows waged many wars with other ancient powers, including the Vorlons, Walkers and many more. The reasons for these wars are unknown, but some theorize the Shadows attacked out of fear of the telepathic talents of their enemies. In these wars the Shadows were defeated, but never destroyed. Retreating to their home Z'Ha'Dum, the Shadows enjoyed thousands of years of peace with their neighbours before reemerging a more powerful and learned force. It is believed that this cycle of defeat and adaptation laid the basis for the Shadows' ideology of "facilitated survival of the fittest," which they would later enforce on the younger races.
[edit] One million Years ago
Over a million years ago, the Vorlons, believing themselves just one step short of godhood, decided to build a jump gate to open a doorway to what they believed was the well of souls, the source of life. The Vorlon Jump Gate takes one neither to normal space nor to hyperspace but to a "third" space. The purpose was to make contact with the gods. In reality, thirdspace was inhabited by a violent race that posed a threat even to the Vorlons. They took control of hundreds of Vorlons with their telepathy, and in the ensuing battle, the aliens were beaten back and a group of Vorlons (controlled by the thirdspace entities) captured the artifact and jettisoning it into hyperspace, hoping to recover it later.
Given the potential danger, it was possible that the Vorlons fought alongside Lorien's race, the Shadows and the other First Ones against the alien forces as they who would have as much of a vested interest as anyone else in seeing the aliens beaten back (though it'd be consistent with Vorlon arrogance to not mention anyone else's involvement.)
[edit] 10,000 years ago
Millions of years later, many younger races had began to evolve on thousands of worlds and the First Ones realized that in order for these new sentients to succeed, the ancient races would have to move on. Thus many of the First Ones moved beyond the Galactic Rim, to explore the vast emptiness between galaxies. Several of the First ones decided to stay behind and shepherd the younger races until they were fit to control their own destiny. The primary care takers were the Vorlons and surprisingly enough, the Shadows.
At first there was a balance between the two sides. Then the Vorlons began tinkering with races on a genetic level, in an effort to make the younger races evolve more like them. Among these genetic dabbling, the Vorlons manipulated the younger races to see them as angelic prophets, using their telepathic abilities to shield their true form from the beings they manipulated.
Through this action, the Vorlons were able to control the perceptions of the younger races. Finding the actions of their fellow ancients appalling, the Shadows and the Vorlons began to fight amongst themselves and those who tried to mediate, like the Walkers of Sigma 957, left the conflict embittered.
Over the course of the centuries that passed, the wars between the Shadows and Vorlons persisted. Then at some unknown point in time they decided to have their students fight for them, in an effort to prove who was right. This lead to the Great War of 1260.
[edit] Year 1260
In 1260, the penultimate Shadow War raged between the Shadows and the combined forces of the Vorlons and Minbari. The primitive and agrarian Narn homeworld was occupied by the Shadows, and the planet became a Shadow staging area. The Shadows had no interest in the Narn themselves at that time.
Somehow, Narn telepaths learned that they could hurt the Shadows' ships, and may have begun guerilla operations against the Shadows. Through an unknown mechanism the Shadows slew all Narn telepaths of breeding age in order to prevent the Narn from resisting the Shadows, but the surviving telepaths, led by G'Quan, were still able to drive the Shadows from the planet.
Realising the war was lost, the Shadows seeded hundreds of worlds across the galaxy with their ships so their forces couldn't be wiped out in a single attack as even the Vorlons could never find them all. They then retreated and hid themselves away, going into a state of hibernation.
[edit] Year 2259
In 2259, there are increasing reports of a black, spidery ship being encountered in hyperspace, which instills a dark fear in all who look upon it. Meanwhile, Narn ambassador G'Kar realizes that the ancient writings of the Narn philosopher G'Quan tell of a great enemy that rose to power a thousand years in the past. Known as the Shadows, they spread from their homeworld Z'ha'dum to rival the stars themselves:
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- "And the Spirit of Darkness moved upon the land. It screamed in the dreams of the Mindwalkers; and they fell, destroyed by it to their children and their children's children. Then did the Darkness come to Narn until it was driven out by G'Quan and the last of the surviving Mindwalkers."
The text is accompanied by pictures of the black ship, and ends on a chilling note:
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- "There is a darkness greater than the one we fight. It is the darkness of the soul that has lost its way. Greater than the death of flesh is the death of hope, the death of dreams. Against this foe we can never surrender."
[edit] Year 2260
In late 2260, Captain John Sheridan was invited to Z'ha'dum for a meeting with the Shadows. The Shadows badly want to have Sheridan on their side because if he unraveled the Army of Light, it would stay unravelled, as past experience showed them that killing him would simply cause someone else to take his place.
Sheridan did go to Z'ha'dum but the negotiations collapsed, and he jumped into a ravine two miles deep to evade capture once his suspicion that he had been led into a trap was confirmed.
Before doing so, he remotely piloted his ship, the White Star, to crash into the Shadows' capital city, which he was visiting. The White Star was carrying two nuclear bombs in its cargo bay, each with a yield of over 500 megatons (the strongest nuclear bomb to be detonated as of the year 2006 was the Tsar Bomba, which only had a yield of 50 megatons).
Seconds after Sheridan jumped into the abyss, the White Star crashed into the city and the nuclear weapons it contained detonated: the White Star and the city were destroyed. In fact, the crater left from the blast was the size of a large Earth country and clearly visible from space.
[edit] Year 2261
The explosion on Z'ha'dum destroyed the Shadows' biggest city, presumably killed most of their government and threw them into chaos. They then went to seek outside help, and enlisted the Centauri to shelter a small fleet of their ships in case Z'ha'dum was attacked while they were weak.
At the Battle of Coriana 6, the second Shadow War ended and the Shadows passed beyond the Galactic Rim. Nonetheless, their servants, the Drakh, stayed behind, and retained the advanced technology and aggressive philosophy of the Shadows.
Sheridan, along with Alfred Bester and Lyta Alexander, trying to find some of this technology, went back to Z'ha'dum in early 2261. This triggered a self-destruct security feature that caused the entire planet to explode, leaving nothing behind - except for what the Drakh took with them in their quick exodus from the planet.
The Drakh aren't the only race who worked for the Shadows but neither the surgeons and pilot in "Ship of Tears" nor the creature in "The Long Dark" were seen to be helping with the evacuation, though of course the Drakh might have been the only ones to have lived on Z'ha'dum full time.
With the destruction of Z'ha'dum, those beings that had faithfully served the Shadows down through the centuries found themselves homeless. Now these thralls seek to become masters of chaos themselves. Thus, the legacy of the Shadows live on.
[edit] Alliances and agents
- See Drakh
- See Centauri Republic
- See Londo Mollari
- See Mr. Morden
[edit] Ships
All Shadow ships have a sentient being enslaved as its central processing unit (CPU). This gives it incredible control and maneuverability, but leaves the ship vulnerable to telepathic attack, which the Shadows attempted to counter by installing telepaths into their ships' cores. Unlike conventional ships, Shadow vessels do not form "Jump Points" to enter Hyperspace. Instead they slide or phase into Hyperspace.
Agents of Gaming RPG books make mention that the Shadows a long time ago actually piloted their own craft but gave up the practice perhaps due to their limited numbers; instead they used members of the younger races as cannon fodder, and made it possible for their warships to be bred more quickly.
[edit] One Man Fighters
Current records on the Shadow fighter indicate that the ships, like Shadow capital ships, can both cloak and phase into Hyperspace, making it the smallest vessels ever seen to have Jump capability.
Shadow one man fighters have more than enough firepower to dispatch an entire conventional fighter squadron, single handed. Like the Shadow warships, all technology in these fighters is organic based and most were piloted by minions of the Shadows. They are launched from the mothership in a large spiky ball which splits apart.
[edit] Capital ship
Shadow Capital ships, also known as battle crabs, are the standard issued warship of the Shadows. These powerful vessels, while all similar in design, appear to be varied in size and power. It has been documented that the Shadow beam weapon can literally slice a planetoid into shards. This weapon is theoretically powerful enough to turn the entire surface of a planet into wasteland when used under continuous fire. Shadow ships can also fire a type of tractor beam and a burst weapon capable of destroying enemy Jump Points by making them collapse and destabilize. Once locked onto a target, a Shadow vessel will follow that target until it has destroyed it.
Shadow Capital ships are also equipped with a cloaking device that makes use of Hyperspace technology. Essentially a Shadow vessel cloaks by phasing their vessels somewhere between real space and first level Hyperspace. A Shadow Capital ship will be virtually invulnerable to attack in real space or Hyperspace when cloaked. It is not vulnerable until it fully enters either dimensional plane. This cloaking system is apparently susceptible to large graviton shifts. Current documentation indicates that some of these vessels could also carry up to forty one man fighters.
[edit] Shadow Scout Ship
Fast, maneuverable and very well armed, this class vessel was one of the last warships in Shadow's arsenal to be seen. This heavy assault fighter/scout ship is about 2/3 the size of a White Star vessel and was armed with a powerful energy burst weapon that is much more powerful than the energy cannons used by Shadow fighters. They usually do not break radio silence until they have something to report.
[edit] Shadow Planet Killer
One of the most terrifying of weapons seen by the eyes of man is the Shadow Planet Killer or Death Cloud. The Shadow Death Cloud consists of several layers. The outer layer of the Shadow planet killer is its trademark black cloud that completely obscured the mechanism's inner workings.
The inner workings of the Death Cloud appear to be a larger, web like construct that expands from a very compact form, to envelope an entire world. Once a planet is locked within the grip of the Death Cloud, the mechanism's offensive systems go to work.
Unlike the Vorlon Planet Killer, which used a massive energy bolt to blow a planet to kingdom come, the Shadows take a much more conservative approach to destroying a planet. Using multi-gigaton missile-like projectiles, the Death Cloud fires these projectiles at the planet and they burrow down through the planet's crust and detonate once they reach a planet's core. This literally turns a planet inside out, transforming it into a radioactive, molten wasteland.
While in its molten form, the planet killer strips the planet of any and all organic and useful inorganic matterials and uses this to fuel the Death Cloud. Once a planet has been strip-mined of all useful materials, it is left little more than a cold dead boulder in space, all organic life, in any form having been devoured with no chance of life ever springing up on that world again. This suggests that the Death cloud also acts as a portable factory, producing its own missiles en route to its next target, using the remains of its last victim.
[edit] Technology
The Shadows developed many other weapons of war. These include a deadly bioengineered viruses and an artificial intelligence pod capable of operating a vessel in lieu of a normal crew. These weapons were scavenged by the Drakh following the Shadows' departure from the galaxy; it is unknown what other horrors the Shadows may have left behind. The Shadows may also have created a special type of jumpgate called a Null field which appears as a black hole and establishes an instantaneous connection between two points. They were also the creators of a bio-plague that used nanites to wipe out entire species.
The Shadows may also be the originator of technology that gives the Technomages their powers (making them cyborgs). It seems likely that the Technomages were developed to serve as some of the Shadows' many soldiers of darkness, against telepaths in the Vorlon army of light, but the Technomages learned of this and rebelled, though attempts were made on many occasions to draw them back into the ranks of the Shadows.
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Also there is some debate over the eye of Z'ha'dum. The fact that it was shaped like the Shadows' eyes at first suggests that it was them telepathically projecting themselves. However the fact that they apparently left these devices behind proves that they were a machine of some kind. It appears to telepathically contact the minds of any ships crew, probing their minds and drawing them to the planet. It was this device that was tracking Ivanova during her journey in the Great Machine on Epsilon 3 in "Voices of Authority." The Eye also appears to be the Shadows' main defense system. That would explain why the White Star was able to get to the surface unharmed in "Z'ha'dum." It wasn't touched by the Eye because there was nobody onboard to influence it.
[edit] References
- The Lurker's Guide To Babylon 5: JMS Speaks Guide page: "Signs and Portents"
