Civilizations in Babylon 5
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This article discusses fictional civilizations on the science-fiction television show Babylon 5.
As the Babylon station was conceived as a political and cultural meeting place one of the show's many themes is the cultural and social interaction between civilizations. There are five dominant civilizations represented on Babylon 5: humans, the Narn, the Centauri, the Minbari, and the Vorlons; and several dozen less powerful ones. A number of the less powerful races make up the League of Non-Aligned Worlds, which assembled as a result of the Dilgar War, which occurs 30 years before the start of the series.
[edit] Abbai
The Abbai are a race from the fictional Babylon 5 universe. Their Homeworld is Abbai 4 called SsumsshaA, which orbits the Star Beta Pictoris in Sector 16. A peaceful, matriarchal society, the Abbai were the central force behind the formation of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds.[1] The Abbai have had Interstellar Flight since the Earth year 1461.
[edit] Brakiri
The Brakiri feature heavily in the episode "Day of the Dead", which deals with a mysterious Brakiri religious celebration. The Brakiri have had interstellar flight since the Earth year 2111. Brakiri are primarily night dwellers, and have a reputation amongst the other races as being pack rats and scavengers. The Brakiri were among the first that Shadows attacked openly in Earth year 2260. They were also among those that were under attack by the Centauri in Earth year 2262. Image:Image brakiri.jpg
[edit] Centauri Republic
The Centauri Republic was once a mighty empire which has grown decadent and is in a slow decline.[2] The Centauri, a humanoid race similar in appearance to humans, are a proud and aristocratic people governed by an emperor and a nobility-driven senate called the Centarum. Centauri males wear their hair in fanlike crests, the height of which displays the male's rank in society; females are traditionally bald except for a long queue or ponytail.
The Centauri were the first alien race to openly contact humanity. The Centauri initially tried to convince the humans that they were a long lost colony of the Republic. This ruse failed once human scientists got access to Centauri DNA, but Centauri-Human trade and contact led to tremendous technological advancement and humanity's eventual rise as a major power. For instance, it was the Centauri who sold jumpgate technology to the Earth Alliance, allowing humanity to start colonizing interstellar space.
[edit] Dilgar
The Dilgar were an aggressive, warlike species who began a massive expansion of their empire when it was discovered their sun was about to go supernova. This led to a bloody campaign to capture territory and assure the survival of their species between 2229 and 2232. Believing all species that were not Dilgar to be nothing more than potential slaves at best, the Dilgar quickly began attacking and destroying the outposts of many alien worlds.
With the help of the Earth Alliance, the Dilgar were forced all the way back to their homeworld. After the war ended, the Dilgar sun went supernova, wiping out almost the entire species. A civilian colony on the planet Planthos survived the war and cataclysm. The leader of the colony was E’Phraim of the House of Ados, the Baron of Planthos.[citation needed]
There was a survivor of the war, Warmaster Jha'Dur, who was known to many races as "Deathwalker" because of the many extravagant war crimes she committed. Following the war, Jha'Dur entered the service of the Minbari Warrior Caste. She came to Babylon 5 to establish her people's legacy via an immortality serum, claiming that it was so that all races could be indebted to the Dilgar for immortality. However, the immortality serum required the death of a sentient being to work-- Deathwalker intended to increase war, bloodshed and other atrocities among the other races. She nearly accomplished her plan: an alliance of races attempted to employ her to refine a version of the serum that did not require murder; however, her Minbari flyer was destroyed by a Vorlon warship as she was leaving Babylon 5.
[edit] Drakh
Servants of the Shadows until the older race left Z'ha'dum, the Drakh became major antagonists late in the Babylon 5 series and in its sequel, Crusade. The Drakh were users of biotechnology and were responsible for releasing the nanovirus plague on Earth in A Call to Arms.
[edit] Drazi
The Drazi are reptilian in appearance, with blue skin, thick skull bones, and no nostrils, although they are otherwise humanoid. They were a member of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds and are members of the Interstellar Alliance.
Drazi have a pouch in one of their armpits; it is actually used as a reproductive area. In Crusade, the Drazi are described as hermaphrodites.
The ancient Drazi used to live outdoors, only sleeping inside at night. As a result Drazi houses are constructed with large balconies and a much smaller interior. The streets on the Drazi homeworld are very narrow, reflecting their long history of warfare: armoured Drazi vehicles found it impossible to invade an enemy city without first demolishing its buildings.[3]
Every five Earth years, the Drazi have a "civil war" among two rival factions, green Drazi and purple Drazi. A Drazi's allegiance is decided arbitrarily by choosing a colored sash (either green or purple) which is then worn around their torso. There is no inherent motive or reason for the civil war at all, other than tradition. This "civil war" takes the form of a series of (usually) non-lethal contests. A group of Green Drazi on their homeworld intended to escalate to lethal violence which was quickly followed by Green Drazi on Babylon 5, but Commander Susan Ivanova ended the contest through the use of a loophole in the rules.[4]
[edit] Drazi military
The Drazi participated heavily during the Shadow war in 2260, and its later escalation with the full of entrance of the Vorlons by early 2261.
The only known major warship seen on-screen operated by the Drazi is the "Sunhawk" a small, highly maneuverable cruiser possibly designed primarily for patrols and quick hit-and-run attacks on larger targets. A Sunhawk has also been shown to have the ability to carry and launch a small one-man craft (it is unknown if it is armed though its possible that it is a fighter). Designation for this small vessel is the "Sky Serpent."
In the "Call to Arms" table top wargame by Mongoose Publishing, the Drazi have numerous other craft, from small fighters up to large dreadnoughts. All Drazi craft share the same *hawk suffix and are armed with forwardfiring heavy weapons.
In 2262, it was revealed that the Drazi had begun several wars of aggression against weaker races. The Drazi also took part in the bombing of Centauri Prime in the series' fifth season.
[edit] Earth Alliance
The Earth Alliance was founded at the end of the twenty-first century after the Third World War, first as a loose coalition of nations, then as a tight alliance of nearly every nation on Earth as well as Alliance controlled colonies throughout the Galaxy, though colonial populations have had a history of independence driven rebellion, especially Mars. The Alliance is a unicameral representative democracy under the leadership of an elected President with a strong military. In one second-season episode ("And Now For a Word"), the Alliance is said to consist of 24 outposts and colonies in over a dozen solar systems.
Since the end of the Earth-Minbari War, the Alliance had prospered in interstellar trade, though some influential factions had become increasingly xenophobic and isolationist. Following the assassination of President Luis Santiago and the rise to power of President Morgan Clark, the new President formed Nightwatch (a pervasive secret police) and dissolved the Senate, turning Earth and her colonies into a totalitarian fascist state. Adding to the milieu is the Psi Corps, an increasingly powerful quasi-military organization which regulates and controls human telepaths. These actions led to the Earth Civil War, itself an offshoot of the final Shadow War, with the forces originating from Babylon 5 seeking to free Earth and liberate the colonies.
[edit] First Ones
The First Ones are the oldest races in the galaxy, the first to gain sentience. Most went "beyond the rim" to the darkness between galaxies over the last million years. The rest, with the exception of the Shadows and Vorlons, were gone after the last great Shadow War of a thousand years ago, though some races still are rumored to appear now and then.
[edit] Gaim
The Gaim are an insectoid race and were a member-race of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds and are members of the Interstellar Alliance. Their name and costume are a tribute to Neil Gaiman[citation needed], the author of the episode "Day of the Dead". Gaim require an environmental suit in order to function in an oxygen / nitrogen atmosphere.
The Gaim are ruled by six hive-queens who dictate the behavior of all Gaim. The Gaim never believed that anything existed outside of their home planet, N'chak'fah, for centuries due to their thick atmosphere that prevented Gaim astronomers from seeing the stars properly. The Gaim slaughtered Narn explorers immediately after they landed there in the early 2240s. When a Narn assault fleet showed up some time later, planning to conquer the planet, they met a similar fate as the explorers because for the first time in their history the Queens united to stave off the invasion.
Realizing that they faced alien enemies as well as each other, the Queens began making contact with aliens in an effort to ensure their species' continued survival. Upon appearing in the galactic scene the Gaim quickly joined the League of Non-Aligned Worlds to gain protection from the Narn. The Gaim queens generated a new caste of workers, a diplomatic caste, able to interact with other species, although they still had to use an electronic translator since the Gaim speak in a series of clicks and chirps like many Earth insects. The Gaim, for their part, set about procuring as many starship hulls and other parts as possible to begin constructing their fledgling navy. The queens of the Gaim were able to generate "boutique" chemicals and biological goods which were used to help purchase technology.
The Gaim had only been in space briefly when agents of the Shadows began making themselves apparent in the galaxy. They convinced the Gaim to go to war with a nearby xenophobic race, the Descari. The Gaim initially refused to join Sheridan's alliance against the Shadows on the basis that they had not been attacked yet and by joining with Sheridan would invite attacks. They reconsidered their position when the Vorlons destroyed a small group of Shadow vessels, thus demonstrating victory was possible.
[edit] Goblyns
Goblyns are genderless mammals endowed with well-developed telepathy; their telepathic ability is apparently the only way they communicate. Their stamina and agility surpasses that of humans. Like chameleons they have the ability to camouflage themselves by taking on the texture of their surroundings while they try to mess with their victims' minds, planting suggestions in their brains with their telepathy. However well-aimed PPG blasts are just as deadly for them as other normal species. Like the Soldiers of Darkness, and the Shadows themselves, upon dying, Goblyns leave no body, only a smoking scorch mark on the ground where they perished. They apparently work for the Shadows.
[SOURCE: Babylon 5 comic (#6, #7)]
[edit] The Hand
The Hand are an ancient race and said to be over a million years old and are claimed by those who serve them to be more powerful than the Shadows.
The Hand were imprisoned one million years ago by another as yet unidentified ancient race, said to be a force of light. The ships seen in use by the Hand in The Legend of the Rangers are described by Minister Kafta as being 'toys given to those races which serve The Hand' and yet seem very powerful - they are shown to be capable of taking out an entire colony including several ships of the Interstellar Alliance with relative ease. At no point has an actual member of The Hand's race been seen and nor has their age or connections with the other first ones been revealed. It is known that a pyramid in a city buried eight miles beneath a planet named Beta Durani 7 contains a doorway that leads to another dimension. The expedition studying the billions of years old city sent a probe through which returned distorted and changed.
Servitors of The Hand wear a black cloak and speak in a near mechanical monotone voice somewhat similar to the Vorlons.
The Hand is behind the events of The Legend of the Rangers, but are not mentioned in any other Babylon 5 media. It is speculated that The Hand is connected in some way with the Thirdspace aliens, or perhaps some splinter faction who worked for these beings.
[edit] Hyach
The Hyach were members of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds and are members of the Interstellar Alliance. The Hyach are humanoid, though they are slightly shorter on average than a human and have bald, lumpy heads. They are a gerontocracy, with the eldest among them ruling since they have the wisdom to govern.
The Hyach birth rate is declining due to the death of the Hyach-do centuries ago, who co-evolved with the Hyach. Today's Hyach are deeply ashamed of this genocide and forbid mentioning it or the Hyach-do to offworlders. The problem is they need to crossbreed with the Hyach-do, since the Hyach-do provide essential genetic information to propagate the Hyach race. Scientists of the Interstellar Alliance are at work attempting to fix the problem and save the race.
[edit] Markab
The Markab species largely became extinct in 2259 due to the Drafa Plague. They were members of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds. There may still be some isolated colonies or outposts, but for all intents and purposes the Markab are a dead race.
The first instance in which the Drafa Plague manifested itself on the Markab homeworld was 1000 years before the beginning of the series. This is interesting for two reasons. Number one being that this first appearance seems to coincide with the previous Shadow War. The second reason is that the virus itself only affects the Markab, much like the Drakh Plague was created for the Human race. There might be a connection between these two factors, and that the Markab race was a test-case for the manufactured plague. Note that these factors are highly speculative and that JMS never commented on it.
[edit] Minbari Federation
The Minbari were already advanced when humanity was young, and capable of space travel for well over a thousand years. They were the primary military force in the previous Shadow War which took place roughly in the Earth year 1260 A.D. The Minbari Federation is a caste society, its people divided into worker, warrior, and religious castes. The Minbari are led by the Grey Council, which contains nine representatives, originally three from each of the three castes. The council was disbanded by Ambassador Delenn as part of an effort to fight the Shadows. She later reorganized it, giving the Worker Caste (which had previously been caught in the middle of the power struggle between the Warrior and Religious castes) a substantial increase of power and influence. Minbari are humanoid, usually thin and pale, though considerably stronger than humans of the same size; they are bald, with gray bony crests across the back of their heads. The first encounter between Minbari and Humans was a disaster - a misunderstanding led to Earth ships firing on Minbari ships, killing their leader Dukhat and precipitating the Earth-Minbari War. Shortly before reaching Earth, the Minbari surrendered and retreated. At the time the official reason for this reprieve was unknown.
The Minbari do not believe in any individual God or Gods. They instead believe that the universe itself is sentient and that it "broke itself into pieces to study every aspect of its being" as is stated in many episodes through the entire series. They also believe the number "3" to be sacred.
[edit] Narn Regime
Another "young race" like humanity, the Narn Regime were previously occupied and enslaved by the Centauri, and bear them deep ill-will because of the brutal methods of control employed. Narns are widely perceived to be primitive and barbaric, a stereotype the Centauri engendered during their occupation.
The Narn are led by the Kha'Ri council. Their religion venerates philosopher prophets, and most Narn draw strength from various different holy writings, the most noted being The Book of G'Quan. Narns are tall and have a stocky build; they are bald, with a yellowish complexion, mottled with brown and/or green spots. Although they appear reptilian, they are in fact marsupial and at least presumably mammalian, in nature.
[edit] pak'ma'ra
The pak'ma'ra were members of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds and are members of the Interstellar Alliance. For religious reasons, they are dedicated carrion eaters, partly because the pak'ma'ra consider themselves superior to other races. The pak'ma'ra are generally considered stupid and lazy by members of other races, who are also generally disgusted by their eating habits. They have the reputation for scavenging not only their foods but also technologies.[5]
Broadly humanoid in form, the pak'ma'ra have tentacles around a mouth cavity containing an inflexible beak, somewhat reminiscent of the mind flayers or Cthulhu. As this combination renders their mouths incapable of forming words in most other species' languages, they rely on machine translation for interspecies communication. However, Durhan commented once that they refuse to learn any other language than their own.
The pak'ma'ra were one of the few other races to be susceptible to the Drafa Plague, though, unlike the Markab, their numbers were not threatened by Second Outbreak in 2259.
In the final episode "Sleeping in Light", Vir Cotto remarks that he and Londo had once passed a group of pak'ma'ra who were singing in their quarters, and that "It was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard." When it was over, even the ever-stoic Londo Mollari was moved to tears.
[edit] Shadows
The Shadows (a name given to them by the younger races, as their true name - at ten thousand letters - is unpronounceable) are the most ancient of the surviving First Ones, the second to gain sentience in the Galaxy. The Shadows are believed to be the first to discover and manipulate Hyperspace. For more than a million years, the Shadows warred with the remaining First Ones, and suffered their greatest defeat ten thousand years ago. One thousand years ago the Shadows returned, and were barely defeated by the Vorlons and First Ones, led by the Minbari with the help of Valen. They dispersed throughout the galaxy, waiting for an opportunity to come back into power.
[edit] Soldiers of Darkness
Carnivorous Reptiles that stand at a towering 5-6 meters. They are parasitic in nature, slowly feeding on the internal organs of living sentient beings. One man in the episode The Long Dark was reduced to a mere 85 pounds in weight by the time one had stopped feeding on him. They also appear to be able to control their metabolism and go for decades with little food.
When one of these creatures consumes a part of a sentient, a psychic link is formed with that individual that can last years and the creature will actually use that person to scout for it without realizing what they're doing. They also have the same light distortion/phasing ability that the Shadows have, though whether this is due to technology or a natural ability was never stated.
They are clearly sentient, as the individual seen in the episode The Long Dark was able to board a ship and reprogram its computer, and they are very patient. They are not invincible, however. If they can be tricked to become partially visible, they can be killed by multiple heavy PPG blasts at point-blank range.
According to JMS on The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5 this species is one of their lower-level types. Shadow servant, Soldier of darkness. Not a shadow, but a good, close friend of same. This group of Shadows allies is known to have participated in the first Shadow War one thousand years ago and the occupation of Narn as both the Markab and the Narn have records of these creatures.
[edit] Soul Hunters
Soul Hunters are a humanoid race. They are not really interested of the matters of other races until someone is going to die that they think is important. They can sense when a life form is going to die and if they choose to, can capture its soul at the moment of death in a transparent sphere using their equipment. This is only done to the most valuable souls such as leaders, thinkers, poets, dreamers, and blessed lunatics. They have also been revealed to be able to take several souls simultaneously, or even whole worlds. The spheres are then put in places where they are respected and worshiped. All Soul Hunters also carry with them at least some part of their own collection of souls. They usually travel alone and only gather into large groups when they anticipate large numbers of deaths. They see themselves as preservers, and believe that when a person dies his soul is lost and all the person's knowledge and greatness is lost along with it. Soul Hunters can extract souls from living people, but this goes against their own rules that state they may only take souls from those who are about to die. It is not known how other species interact with them, but the Minbari have stopped several of them from taking Minbari souls as it goes against their own beliefs.
[edit] Streibs
The Streibs are a mysterious race that doesn't engage in diplomatic contacts with other races, but rather treats them as laboratory animals and conducts cruel experiments upon them.
Few things are known about the Streibs except that they launch raids on other worlds and sectors, capture isolated life-forms from their ships, and quickly retreat before they can be pursued. They then proceed to perform very cruel experiments upon their "samples", and presumably eliminate them when finished, notably by just spacing them.
It is unclear whether these captures are scientific experiments, intelligence gathering for an invasion, or just a cruel way for the Streibs to entertain themselves.
The Streibs once invaded Minbari territory, but it proved a terrible mistake, as the superior Minbari fleet pursued them all the way to their home world and "made sure they understood the depth of their mistake" (in the words of Delenn)
The Streibs also captured Babylon 5 commander John Sheridan, but this too was a fatal mistake as the EAS Agamemnon, with the help of Delenn and Ivanova, completely destroyed the sampler ship and rescued Sheridan.[6]
The Streibs in appearance (and behaviour) look a bit like the Greys of UFO folklore, although in the Babylon 5 universe, what we call Greys are in fact the Vrees. The Streibs are named for Whitley Strieber, author of Communion and other UFO-themed works.
[edit] Thirdspace aliens
The Thirdspace aliens are large, octopus-like creatures. Little is known about the species, but they appear to be powerful telepaths. The aliens also have a concept they call "The One." It is not clear if this is the leader of the aliens, their deity, or perhaps a unified race consciousness. Their philosophy is that they are the only ones worthy of existence.
Over a million years ago, the Vorlons built a jump gate to open a doorway to what they believed was the source of life. The gate actually opened up into the Thirdspace aliens' dimension. The aliens took control of many Vorlons with telepathy and in the ensuing battle, the Vorlons forced the aliens back into their own dimension and sealed the portal. A group of Vorlons, still under the control of the Thirdspace aliens, captured the artifact and jettisoned it into hyperspace, hoping to recover it later. The aliens were trapped in their own dimension but they waited until the time when the gate would be found and opened again.
[edit] Vendrizi
The Vendrizi, like Drakh keepers, are symbiont life form that joins with a host. The Vendrizi symbiont is a creature less than one meter long. When a Vendrizi is joined to a humanoid host, it wraps itself around the spinal cord. Unlike the Drakh keepers, the Vendrizi symbionts do not forcefully take control of the host.
The Vendrizi symbionts' history begins half a million years ago when their species was created by an unidentified race. They were created to be living records of history. The Vendrizi have existed since that time, traveling the galaxy from one host to the next. The Vendrizi decided to go into hiding because of the growing Shadow War.[7]
[edit] Vorlon Empire
The Vorlons are an ancient and technologically advanced race, one of the last of the First Ones. Little is known of Vorlon history, except that they have played significant roles in defeating the Shadows in the previous great wars over the past million years. For thousands of years Vorlons have been observing and manipulating younger races. Little is known about their appearance - when interacting with other races they wear complicated encounter suits which seem to preserve their natural atmosphere.
[edit] Vree
The Vree were one of the first races to make contact with humanity. The Vree had visited Earth fairly regularly since the 1940s. They had decided not to make formal contact, but to simply observe the humans for a time. They used to kidnap humans from time to time to do further scientific studies on them. Vree look much like Greys, the alien archetype reported in many alien sightings (as for example the Hills or Roswell incident) and it is actually hinted[8] that the Vree and the Greys are the same race.
The Vree spaceships have the characteristic shape of flying saucers, although they sport many colored lights that distinguish them from traditional flying saucers.
[edit] Zener
The Zener are a humanoid species similar to the Strieb and the Vree. They lack mouths, suggesting that telepathic abilities are the only way they can communicate. They are able to persuade their targets by using this ability to plant suggestions in their minds.
In the episode Ship of Tears they were shown to be helping the Shadows prepare people for their battlecruisers with advanced cyber-technology. They were also shown to be extremely loyal to the Shadows, the crew committing mass suicide rather than be captured alive.
They were later shown to be on Centauri Prime in the episode Movements of Fire and Shadow, helping the Drakh prepare Londo for his keeper as well as in flashbacks in the episode The Exercise of Vital Powers.
Name of the race may be related to Zener Cards which are used to conduct test for clairvoyance and telephatic abilities.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Graw, B. and Glass, R.: "Babylon 5 Wars Second Edition Rules Compendium.", pages 211-216. Agents of Gaming, 2000
- ^ "The Gathering". Babylon 5. 1993-02-22.
- ^ "The Ragged Edge". Babylon 5. 1998-04-08.
- ^ "The Geometry of Shadows". Babylon 5. 1994-11-16.
- ^ Voltayre's Encyclopedia Xenobiologica. Retrieved on 2006-10-07.
- ^ "All Alone in the Night". Babylon 5. 1995-02-15.
- ^ "Exogenesis". Babylon 5. 1996-02-12.
- ^ "Grail". Babylon 5. 1994-07-06.
