Dust to Dust (Babylon 5)
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| “Dust to Dust” | |||||||
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| Babylon 5 episode | |||||||
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| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 6 |
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| Written by | J. Michael Straczynski | ||||||
| Directed by | David Eagle | ||||||
| Guest stars | Julian Neil (Lindstrom) Jim Norton (Narn Image) Walter Koenig (Bester) |
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| Production no. | 306 | ||||||
| Original airdate | 5 February 1996 | ||||||
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| List of Babylon 5 episodes | |||||||
Dust to Dust is an episode from the third season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5.
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[edit] Synopsis
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This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (December 2007) |
Sheridan approaches a store owner who is having an argument with a member of the Night Watch. The member of Night Watch says that the store owner, who has been hanging signs expressing his negative feelings about President Clark, is committing acts of sedition. Sheridan tries to calm him down, and says that the shopkeeper has a right to his opinion. He warns the Night Watch officer that, if such harassment happens again, the responsible party will be disciplined.
Ivanova arrives in Garibaldi's office to receive a message from the PsiCop Bester, who will be arriving on Babylon 5 in seven hours. He claims that there is an individual on board who may be a danger to the station, Earth, and the PsiCorps. Garibaldi tells her that he thinks this visit, like Bester's others, is merely a ploy to check up on them. It turns out that Bester's concerns may be justified, for a crazed man, shouting, "The mountain is falling on me," is attacking people elsewhere on the station.
Sheridan warns the other members of the Babylon 5 war council that Bester will soon be on the station. He tells them that, with the current state of the station and everything that has been going on, they can't afford to be scanned by Bester, who might not obey PsiCorps regulations. Garibaldi suggests killing him if he learns too much, but Sheridan won't hear of it. Delenn tells everyone that, although risky, there may be an alternative to violence.
Vir arrives off a transport to meet Londo in the docking bay. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Londo asks Vir to tell him everything about his trip.
Dr. Franklin, in MedLab, is treating the man who had the crazed fits earlier when a nurse comes in with one of his victims, who nearly died in avalanche several months earlier. Since the crazed man had been shouting about a mountain falling on him, Dr. Franklin asks him to be tested for traces of Dust.
When Bester's transport arrives at the station, Ivanova orders everyone off the command deck so that she can perform a maintenance routine, but she has other ideas in mind. "They don't know you, your kind, the way I do," she says to herself. "They don't understand, they think it's some kind of a joke. But nothing works with you people. Nothing but force. Computer, activate forward defense grid. We can't risk throwing it all away, not because of you. I've been saying it for weeks now... The defense grid's been acting funny. Defense grid, prepare to fire. Fire!"
"Belay that order," shouts Sheridan, who entered unbeknownst to Ivanova. He manages to convince her that this would be throwing away her career, and that she would become exactly what she hates most. He deactivates the defense grid and tells the computer to begin docking maneuvers.
After his ship docks, Bester comes aboard the station, and is taken to Sheridan's office, where Sheridan and the others are waiting, each with a Minbari standing by them. Sheridan introduces them as Minbari telepaths, who he has brought to level the playing field. He tells Bester that he doesn't trust him, and blames him for what happened with Talia Winters. Bester tries to bait Garibaldi on that topic, but isn't successful. Ivanova explains that, while a human telepath couldn't block a PsiCop's scan, a group of Minbari telepaths can. Franklin gives him the choice of either taking the sleeper drugs to suppress his telepathic abilities, or to put up with the Minbari telepaths. Bester chooses to submit to an injection of sleepers.
Londo, Vir, Delenn, Lennier, and the Drazi ambassador and his aide are meeting together to try to solve the dispute between the Centauri and the Drazi. Londo explains that the Centauri Republic wants a buffer zone of seven planets, which is five more than he originally wanted. This angers the Drazi ambassador, but Londo is unwilling to say anymore, and tells the Drazi ambassador that, if he isn't careful, what happened to the Narn homeworld might happen to the Drazi homeworld as well. Londo and the Drazi leave, leaving Vir alone with Delenn and Lennier. He thanks them for supporting his visit to Minbar, and suggests that Londo might do well to visit as well. Delenn and Lennier are unsure that that would help, but Vir insists that he knows there is more to Londo than meets the eye.
Bester explains to the command staff that he has come aboard the station to find one of the main distributors of Dust, a drug which allows the user to activate his or her latent telepathic gene, allowing them to invade others' minds, living their life for several hours. It is highly addictive, and more is required each time to achieve the affect. When a telepath is read by someone using Dust, he almost never recovers. Bester explains that he believes that the seller wants to sell the Dust to alien governments to use as a weapon, and that that is what the Corps is worried about.
G'Kar tells Lindstrom, the Dust dealer, that their agreement called for no selling of Dust while he was delivering it to G'Kar. G'Kar promises to pay him, when he learns that it works as advertised. Lindstrom presents G'Kar with a small packet of Dust, which G'Kar explains he wants to use as a weapon. Lindstrom tells him that the drug was designed for human telepaths, and might not work on the Narn, whose telepaths and their families had been exterminated many generations earlier. G'Kar tells Lindstrom they will continue business after the Dust has been tested, but Lindstrom warns him that it could be dangerous. G'Kar doesn't care, and sends him on his way.
Garibaldi and Bester are walking together through a crowded area. Bester explains that he wishes to protect Earth just as Garibaldi wishes to protect Babylon 5. Bester says it is his job to protect the human race from threats that only the Corps can stop. He says they may be the only chance that the human race has for survival.
G'Kar sits crumpled on the floor of his quarters, the empty Dust packet sitting nearby. He croaks out the word "Mollari," and leaves his quarters. He sees and hears the world around him differently while he is under the effects of the drug, picking up the stray thoughts of those that walk by him, and he is scarcely able to control their effect on him. But, he does manage to make his way through the station slowly, toward his destination.
Garibaldi and Bester are interrogating one of the more powerful members of Babylon 5's underground about what he knows about the Dust dealer. When the man, Ashi, claims he doesn't know anything, Bester says that he's lying, explaining that strong emotions cause him to blurt out things like that sometimes, though the information can't be used officially. Ashi explains that he was approached by a man with numerous crates of Dust, but that he wouldn't help handle them. He tells Garibaldi that the man has quarters in Red Sector, that he is using the assumed name Morgenstern, and that he has a shipment coming in this afternoon. Garibaldi sends the man away with two other security officers, and then asks Bester how he was able to read the man's thoughts. Bester explains that his uniform gives him a power over others -- whether or not he can read their thoughts, they believe he can. Garibaldi accuses him of using it merely for intimidation, but Bester is quick to point out to Garibaldi that his uniform, too, can be used for that purpose.
Londo tells Vir that the report he is planning to send to the Centarum is not appropriate, and that it demonstrates great political naivete. Vir tries to explain his point of view, but Londo will not listen to anything he has to say, only allowing Vir to leave in his explanation of Minbari spirituality. Londo's door chimes, and Vir goes to answer it, but is accosted and rendered unconscious by G'Kar, who then enters Londo's quarters, a look of fire in his eyes.
Garibaldi and Bester hide behind a large crate in a storage room, hoping that they will be able to catch the dealer and the evidence all at the same time, according to due process, which Garibaldi accuses Bester of ignoring all too frequently. Several men enter the room, and begin their dealings for the Dust. Garibaldi speaks into his link quickly, and a shrill siren fills the room, dropping all of the men to their knees, while Garibaldi confiscates the Dust. Several other security officers enter and cart off the men involved in the deal.
Londo, bleeding and unable to move, finds G'Kar standing over him, and tries to make an offer to him. G'Kar, still under the effects of the Dust, takes a trip into the depths of Londo's mind...
...He finds himself seeing Londo being assigned to Babylon 5, and learns that Londo was appointed to his position of Ambassador only because there was no one else who wanted it.
G'Kar takes great pleasure, while inside Londo's head, in tormenting him about this fact. Londo begs G'Kar to leave his mind, but G'Kar refuses, demanding that Londo show him all of the secrets he has been holding in. He delves further into Londo's mind...
...This time seeing the meeting Londo had with Morden in the garden just before President Santiago's death.
G'Kar reacts very strongly to this, finally learning that it was Londo who was behind the plight of the Narn. G'Kar demands to know who he was working with, but Londo refuses to tell him. Infuriated, G'Kar rips the information he wants from his mind. The resulting montage of images is so strong that it thrusts him out of Londo's mind, and into his own...
...G'Kar finds himself back on the Narn homeworld, many years earlier, witnessing the death of his father. His father asks him to honor his name right before he dies. The image ends, and G'Kar hears a voice. He turns around...
...To find an old Narn standing before him. (This old Narn has been dubbed "G'Quan" by some fans, though Straczynski has stated that this is again G'Kar's father, or at least the image of his father.) The old Narn tells G'Kar that both the Narn and the Centauri are a dying people, and that they cannot simply fight forever, until both races have been exterminated. Once that happens, there can be no winners or losers. G'Kar says that he made a promise to his father to honor his father's name, but the old Narn asks him to reexamine how he should go about that. He tells G'Kar that, if they are a dying race, they should die with honor, and no longer devote their life to fighting and hatred. "We are fighting to save one another. And some of us must be sacrificed," he tells G'Kar, "if all are to be saved. Because if we fail in this, then none of us will be saved, and the Narn will be only a memory." The old Narn vanishes, but G'Kar is not alone for long...
...A strange voice fills his thoughts. "You have the opportunity, here and now, to choose. To become something greater and nobler and more difficult than you have been before. The universe does not offer such chances often, G'Kar."
"Why now?" G'Kar asks. "Why not earlier? All this time... Where have you been?"
"I have always been here," the voice replies. G'Kar finally sees its source as the sound of flapping wings fills his mind. G'Kar spins around to see the white, glowing figure of G'Lan rise up and fly into the distance.
Once G'Lan has vanished, G'Kar can only sit and sob, with the unconscious Londo nearby. Neither of them notice another visitor, Kosh, who soon takes his leave.
While Vir visits Londo, who is just regaining consciousness in MedLab, G'Kar faces the ombuds who is presiding over the hearing where he is being tried for his crimes. After G'Kar pleads guilty, Sheridan tries to convince the ombuds that G'Kar's actions were caused by the Dust, and therefore, not his fault. She disagrees, saying that the fact that he went to Londo's quarters, constitutes premeditation. She sentences him to a term of no less than 60 days in the station's prison facilities. Garibaldi approaches G'Kar and offers him the Book of G'Quan, which G'Kar had loaned him, but G'Kar asks him to keep it, since he himself is now "somewhat closer to the source."
After being released from MedLab, Londo and Vir speak of the last few days' events, but Vir explains that he must leave that night. Londo tells him that he should never allow the Centauri government to make a joke of him or his work. Vir promises that he won't.
Garibaldi escorts Bester to the docking bay, and though Bester has enjoyed working with Garibaldi, the feeling isn't mutual. When another PsiCop arrives for Bester, Garibaldi makes a hasty exit. As they walk away, Bester says that he knew the original purpose of Dust, to create telepaths from those without latent skill, would never work, but that at least he has retrieved it; it's back among humans, where it belongs.
G'Kar sits alone in his prison cell, quietly thinking, and remembering the words he heard the old Narn speak to him, while under the effect of the Dust. "We are fighting to save one another. And some of us must be sacrificed, if all are to be saved."
[edit] Arc significance
- G'Kar uses Dust to telepathically assault Ambassador Mollari and learn what his role was in the war. During this time G'Kar has a spiritual revelation when Kosh appears to him.
- G'Kar is sentenced to sixty days in prison for his assault on Mollari.
