Babylon 5 – What Was It That Got You Hooked?
Most fans of the Babylon 5 television show will acknowledge that the one element in the series that kept us coming back again and again was without question the puzzle of the Vorlons and the Shadows. These two races were evolved to the point where they were beings of light who had to place their life energy inside encounter suits just to be able to relate to us lesser races who still lived inside material bodies.
This mystery was the thread that ran through the entire series and it was this that kept many of us die hard science fiction fans coming back again and again for more. We eventually learn that the Vorlons and the Shadows were billions of years ahead of us. That they were in fact among the “first ones” to come into existence in our galaxy.
We were no more to them than insects were to us and though they barely noticed us most of the times, they were very much interested in the affairs of the lesser races of the galaxy. This was the puzzle that many viewers applied their wits to. To see if we could figure it out before it was revealed to us explicitly. It became apparent that the Vorlons and the Shadows were aware of each other but they kept their distance from each other, as if there were some deep irreconcilable innate difference between them.
It was the Vorlons who made contact first, making themselves known to a small number of individuals from the Minbari and Human races. The extent of their involvement was minimal, offering nothing more than advice or maybe just being present to watch us. All they would impart to us was a warning – of a time that was coming when chaos and war might threaten our existence. We were to prepare ourselves but they could not get involved directly.
Meanwhile the Shadows took a completely different approach. They also selected a few individuals from some of the lesser races and offered them direct help with any territorial conflict. The Shadow vessels were billions of years more advanced than anything else in the galaxy and when they got involved in one of the conflicts between the lesser races there was only one certain outcome – the side getting help from the Shadows always won.
But what was this great cosmic game the Vorlons and Shadows were playing at? And why were the lesser races paying the cost? If they were beings of light why did they care about the petty disputes between far inferior races? Toward the end of the series we find out it was really nothing more than a difference between ideologies. The Shadows evolved through the process of chaos, war and conflict. It was what made them what they were today. Whereas the Vorlons achieved their position on the top of the evolutionary chain by embracing cold emotionless order and discipline. What these two giants now wanted was for the lesser races to chose one of their ways, to chose order or chaos as the process to their evolution. Which did the lesser races chose? To discover that answer you would have to watch the entire series.
Re-visit Babylon 5, check out this showcase of science fiction.