Michael Garibaldi's Motorcycle

The first season episode "Eyes," written by Larry DiTillio, transports us to Babylon 5 in the year 2258. Aboard this space station, where people of all species and planets can learn to like and respect different beliefs and ways of life than their own, disagreements often give way to violence. An air of tension and turmoil remains a constant inhabitant, given the need for everyone to get along with people who look different, who act different, who hold different values, and who belong to a nation or culture that may have wronged another people or planet in the past. This uneasy peace often gives way to out-and-out rioting, whenever news of some outrage--a politician's unfortunate statement, a military incursion, whatever--reaches the space station. Still, the space station remains a melting pot of culture and ideas, and many see this process--this constant proximity and interaction--as essential to promoting universal peace.

Security Chief Michael Garibaldi,
played by actor Jerry Doyle

No one wants peaceful coexistence more than Michael Garibaldi. As the Security Chief, it's his job to ensure the harmonious operation of Babylon 5. Yet in "Eyes," we learn what he does in his off-time. He's got a project he's working on: rebuilding a 1990s era Kawasaki motorcycle. We never learn why he decided to build an old gas-powered motorcycle while living on a space station, but he's gradually tracked down all the parts, and won a manual in a card game. Unfortunately, the manual is written in Japanese. Thus, it's fortunate for him that Lennier, the assistant to Minbari Ambassador Delenn, enjoys studying other cultures, learning new languages, and putting things together.

Minbari aide Lennier, played by Bill Mumy,
who in earlier days played young Will Robinson
in the TV series Lost In Space

Garibaldi's Kawasaki isn't the central story in this episode. As events unfold, we learn that Commander Jeffrey Sinclair's command of Babylon 5 is under attack from an Earth inspector who believes he should be running the space station instead. Naturally Sinclair's friend and right-hand man Michael Garibaldi gets swept up in these events. While Garibaldi accepts Lennier's offer, and grants him access to his quarters, he doesn't believe that the Minbari aide will make much progress in his absence.

Thankfully, the Commander is able to fight off the inspector's attacks, and retain command of Babylon 5. And when the dust has settled from this latest conflict--ironically one solely between humans--Garibaldi returns to his quarters to find that Lennier has not only assembled his motorcycle in his absence, but replaced the gas-powered engine with a Minbari propulsion system. At first Garibaldi is miffed, as he had looked forward to the conquering his seemingly impossible project, but then he accepts Lennier's tremendous gift of assistance and friendship gracefully, and takes him on a two-wheel tour of the mammoth space station. As Commander Jeff Sinclair and Lieutenant Commander Susan Ivanova watch them ride past, with the Earth inspector banished, they reflect on how nice it is that things on Babylon 5 have gotten back to normal.

Garibaldi, Lennier, and the completed Kawasaki motorcycle

"Eyes" is a wonderful episode, revealing all the rivalry and hatred Humans can bear toward each other, but also filled with the love and the desire to embrace the different that made J. Michael Straczynski's series so important to TV history. DiTillio's story also seems to have inspired those authors who wrote Babylon 5 novels. John Vornholt references DiTillio's character, Psi Corps agent John Harriman, in his novels. In The Touch of Your Shadow, the Whisper of Your Name, Neal Barrett Jr. has a religious motorcycle gang riding nuclear-powered Harley Davidsons through the station. They identify with Michael Garibaldi, as he's a fellow biker, and get the humorous idea that Susan Ivanova is his moll. Lots of fun!

The influence of "Eyes" seems surprising, if not downright strange, given how many more episodes contained significant plot elements, and portrayed events that generated higher stakes for those living on the space station and other planets. It is a quieter, more personal story, rather than one of the major foundation-stone episodes that significantly impacted the overarching stories behind the series. But sometimes it's those smaller-scale, quieter, more personal stories that linger in the mind, and prove more memorable and important to you later on, don't you think?

Dragon Dave

Susan Ivanova on Aliens & Chamber Pots

Anyone who has ever traveled, and suffered disturbed sleep patterns as a result, can understand what the people in Neal Barrett, Jr's novel are going through. In The Touch of Your Shadow, the Whisper of Your Name, something is inflicting nightmares upon everyone aboard the space station. And I do mean everyone: all 250,000 inhabitants of the great Babylon 5 station, the universe's best hope for peace.

The nightmares, and consequent lack-of-sleep, don't create a lot of peace on the space station. Quite the reverse. All our little demons--the things about others that bother us, all our fears of suffering pain, loss, and failing those we care about--that we push to the back of our minds when we're properly rested, now force their ugly selves to the forefront. No one proves immune to these disturbing nightmares, and consequent sleepless nights. Not even the beautiful and resourceful Susan Ivanova. 

Actress Claudia Christian as Commander Susan Ivanova

For all her wit, charm, and understanding of human frailties, she suffers from her own inner demons. Chief among these are her mother's death, caused by the powerful drugs forced upon her when she refused to join Psi Corps. More than most, she knows the intimacy afforded those with telepathic abilities. So in the episode "Eyes," when Harriman Gray, a PsiCorps telepath, arrives on Babylon 5, she tells him in no uncertain terms that if he dares to peer inside her mind, she will relieve his body of his head, and use the unnecessary article for her chamber pot. 

Did I mention that she could be resourceful? I mean, using someone's head for a chamber pot. Not a lot of people would think of doing that!

So, in The Touch of Your Shadow, the Whisper of Your Name, when she learns that a Centauri youth has been kidnapped by a group of aliens known as Live Eaters, she heads down to their quarters to interrupt their Feast & Dissolution Ceremony. There she informs the giant squid people, in no uncertain terms, that no matter how intolerable they find living in close proximity with other lifeforms, that doesn't give them the right to eat them. 

So the young Centauri male remains locked in his capsule, while Susan Ivanova is forced to watch the Live Eaters commit suicide by...well, I'll give you one guess how they end their existence. It's not a pretty thing to watch, but then, at least she's saved the Centauri male's life. That's a worthwhile act.

It's easy to let life get on top of us, especially when we're tired. And no matter how hard we try, there will always be some people who refuse to draw close to us, to allow us into their hearts, and truly befriend us. We all know how heartbreaking it can be to desperately want to break down another's walls, only for them to refuse all our best efforts. But no matter how similar we appear to others, no matter how closely we're linked by ties of family, career, or society, we're all aliens to each other. It's up to us to get over our fears, and the knowledge that some people will always refuse to really live in harmony with us. It's our duty to emulate Susan Ivanova, to stand up for our rights, to fight for the rights of others, and never to give in to fears and seemingly hopeless situations. 

As for repurposing other people's body parts to perform household tasks, particularly in the smallest room in your house, I'll let you make up your own mind about that. Personally, I prefer the modern toilet to the outdated chamber pot. But then, when I have to call out the plumber, and wonder how horrendously he's going to bill me for his services...

Dragon Dave

Related Dragon Cache entries
Another Welcome Return to Babylon 5 

J Michael Straczynski & Robert Silverberg: Lend a Helping Hand

Gray says:
Maybe I should start my own version of PsiCorps.
You know, to help my fellow Daleks.

In J. Michael Straczynski's TV series Babylon 5, Psi Corps monitors and controls everyone with telepathic abilities. Its members regard Psi Corps as their true mother and father, because of the mentors who educated and trained them in their youth. As a result, they were able to properly employ their powers build decent lives for themselves, and to also serve others. Unlike Talia, David Selig has no career or job satisfaction, and no friends or anyone to love. David Selig thus serves as an example to us all, of someone who had a tremendous talent, but failed to properly build upon it. But this is a common failing, and only makes him all the more human. Often, the reason we end up off-track and lost, is because we have great talents and abilities, and are seeking to utilize them to fulfill a great dream. 

The biographies of most truly great people testify that, at one point or another, they had to spend a few years in the wilderness, until they found themselves, and discovered a way to get back on course. So if you find yourself wandering and lost, remind yourself that there are no straight paths to success. Practice patience, and refuse to give up. 

Oh, and amid your wanderings, show pity to others. People like David Selig in Robert Silverberg's novel Dying Inside, may be totally confused about what path they should have followed in the first place, and what destination they should have chosen for themselves. If you can, give them a helping hand now and then. After all, we all get a little lost sometimes. 

Yes, even during the holidays.

Dragon Dave

Robert Silverberg on Getting Your Life Back On Course

Eton College has formed and shaped
some of England's greatest leaders. 

What do you do when you realize that you've gotten off-track? Your first inclination is obvious: just get back onto your desired course, right? But what if every effort you make to steer yourself back toward the road leads you down a false path, and you end up back in the wilderness again? How can it be that you've gotten so lost, when the way ahead seemed so clear?

For David Selig, in Robert Silverberg's novel Dying Inside, life seems to have veered wildly off-course. Because he was able to read other peoples' minds, he knew what those around him were feeling and thinking. He could anticipate their reactions, and structure his interactions with them accordingly. Yet he ends up friendless, and earning his living by ghostwriting term papers for students at his old university. You can bet he didn't plan on that happening!

People may not know that he can read minds, but the way he interacts with them usually puts them on edge, at least in the long term. He's had friendships, lovers, and jobs, but none of them lasted. Perhaps it would have been better had he announced to the world that he could read minds: at least then he would have been a celebrity, perhaps a prized talent utilized by the government. But he always feared the other possibility more, that people would revile him for his gift, and that he would end up an experimental lab rat. It's difficult to fault his logic, as his sister Judith, the one person he tells--or at least, the single nontelepath he tells--ends up hating him as a result. So, while he can immerse himself in the lives of everyone around him, he only ends up feeling more alone.

If only he had spent more time developing other abilities, instead of merely exploiting the gift he was born with. 

Dragon Dave

J. Michael Straczynski on Reading People's Minds Part 2

Gray Dalek says:
Give Mr. Garibaldi a chance, Talia.
He likes you.

In J. Michael Straczynski's TV series Babylon 5, we meet a beautiful blonde telepath, Talia Winters, when she reaches the space station. She uses her abilities to oversee business transactions, question criminals, and help others. Her PsiCorps training allows her to selectively shut out all the voices of nearby "normals," nontelepaths who can't help but broadcast their thoughts and emotions. Had she not learned this crucial ability, the constant assault of these radiated thoughts and feelings would have driven her mad. Even with her training, she finds it difficult to enter into any sort of relationship with a nontelepath. Even loving another telepath is problematic and worrying. So she clings to the memory of a psychic she had loved long ago, knowing how the toll of entering into a romantic relationship with another psychic--lowering all her mental defenses, and experiencing all her partner's feelings and emotions--requires a higher than she is willing to pay.

Then an agent from PsiCorps visited Babylon 5, and used his psychic abilities to rip aside all of Talia's defenses. Suddenly Talia Winters hates all the friends she's made on the space station, and despises all nontelepaths. She had always been someone else, it seemed: researchers in PsiCorps had implanted an imaginary consciousness in her mind. The Talia they knew had only been a veneer, an actor playing the role of the ultimate spy, someone who utterly believed her new identity and did not suspect that a darker personality hid behind her, watching and waiting for the right time to cast aside this mental mask and regain mastery of their body.

Superhero movie fans are already looking forward to the release of "Captain America 3: Civil War" in 2016. Comic book fans have often wondered how Tony Stark could side with the government and order all mutants and those with superhuman powers to register with the government. J. Michael Straczynski, who has long written for Marvel Comics, is under no illusions about the dangers of blindly trusting others to right by its citizens. He knows the dangers of blindly trusting others. But then, he constantly had to fight the networks to keep his show on the air. If only he could have read the network executives' minds. Then he would have better known how to appease their desires, and Babylon 5 sequel series and spinoffs might still be on TV.

Oh, and if you've got latent psychic abilities, don't tell me about them. After all, I already know your secrets. 

Oops.

Dragon Dave

Related Dragon Cache entries
Talia Winters' Plight

J. Michael Straczynski on Reading People's Minds Part 1

Gray Dalek says:
Listen. I'm projecting my thoughts to you.
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me now?

Scientists and Science Fiction writers have often speculated on the capabilities of the human mind. They've wondered if abilities like telepathy lay dormant in the brain, just waiting to be unlocked. Wouldn't it be great, they asked, if you knew what people were going to say before they said it? Wouldn't that be a useful skill? 

Most of the time we don't say what we're really thinking. Sometimes, we're just being kind and thoughtful, and repress our reactions because we don't want to hurt our friends. Then again, sometimes "friends" lie to us, and sometimes we don't learn the truth until years later. Wouldn't it be great if you could read other people's minds?

In his TV series Babylon 5, creator J. Michael Straczynski foresees a future in lots of people demonstrate psychic ability. Eventually this number grows so large that Earth's government passes laws to regulate individuals with psychic or telepathic abilities. Anyone identified with such abilities must enlist in a governmental agency called Psi Corps, be properly trained, and agree to abide by a strict code of conduct. These laws protect the privacy of nontelepaths, and prevents those with psychic abilities from preying on "normal" people. But they also help those with psychic or telepathic abilities to perform useful roles in society, and live a somewhat normal existence.

So if you're hearing voices, and you're not sure where they're coming from, you might very well be a telepath. But don't rush down to your government office and join PsiCorps. At least, not until you read tomorrow's post.

Dragon Dave

Related Dragon Cache entries
John Vornholt's Mars Novel

The Role of Mothers in Babylon 5: Part 2

As in the TV series, Security Chief Michael Garibaldi plays an important role in the first two Babylon 5 novels: Voices, by John Vornholt, and Accusations, by Lois Tilton.  He regards Commander Susan Ivanova as a friend, and so he works hard to clear her name in Accusations, despite all the roadblocks the Earth inspectors throw in his path.  While he’s never forgotten Lise Hampton, the woman he left behind on Mars when he took the job aboard Babylon 5, he feels drawn to the telepath Talia Winters.  Although she doesn’t return his interest, he nonetheless cares for her.  When she flees the station in Voices, he follows her to Earth.  He knows he’ll have no official authority there, but it’s his only chance to protect her from the Psi Cops intent upon killing her. 

Michael Garibaldi was raised in the Bronx of New York, but his mother seems to have played no role whatsoever in his life.  His father worked in law enforcement, was an excellent cook, and the life of any party (particularly any dinner party).  Michael followed in his father’s footsteps, pursuing a career in Security.  Yet his life somehow took several wrong turns, giving him a bad name in his chosen career, wrecking promising relationships, and driving him into alcoholism. 

In the episode, “A Distant Star” (written by D. C. Fontana), we learn that Garibaldi always makes the Italian dish Bagna Cauda on his birthday.  “Now Pop was a great cook, and Bagna was his specialty,” Garibaldi tells Dr. Stephen Franklin, who in the episode is trying to force him onto a diet.  

"You know, this dish is loaded with fat!
Wow, hang on, that's good!"

"Too bad, Doc.
You disrespected the Bagna Cauda, so
I'm keepin' the dessert to myself."

Over the course of the series, Garibaldi leaves his job to start his own business, ends up being manipulated by the evil Psi Cop Bester, and reverts to alcoholism.  Because of the stresses he endures, or simply because he ate too many Bagna Caudas (a dish consisting of Olive Oil, Butter, Garlic, Anchovies, and pepper, served up like fondue), Garibaldi grows increasingly overweight.  He never mentions his mother, but tells Franklin that his father, who has been dead for a long time, always made him the dish to show him that he loved him, even if he could never say it.  Perhaps his father might have found it easier to express his feelings, and Garibaldi might have endured fewer hardships, had his mother played a greater role in his life.

Captain John Sheridan, who commands Babylon 5, facilitates Garibaldi’s efforts to protect Talia Winters and Susan Ivanova.  Although he never emerges as a primary character in either novel, he becomes the most important person in the TV series.  After winning two wars, he retires from Earth’s military, marries the Minbari ambassador Delenn, and settles into his new career as President of the Interstellar Alliance.  He frequently tells Delenn stories about growing up on Earth with a mother and father who always did their best to take care of him, and never left him in any doubt as to their love and respect for him. 

While Talia Winters’ life ends in tragedy, Susan Ivanova finishes her Earthforce career as a general.  She never marries, but after she leaves the military, commits her life to serving as the head of the Rangers.  Michael Garibaldi eventually marries Lise Hampton-Edgars, and rules her former husband's corporation Edgars Industries.  However, neither he nor Ivanova end up as powerful and important as John Sheridan, and both have to battle inner demons throughout their lives.  So there you have it, a testimony to the importance of mothers in the space age, courtesy of Babylon 5, writers John Vornholt, Lois Tilton, and D. C. Fontana, and series creator J. Michael Straczynski.  If you want to live a happy life, suffer a minimum of inner turmoil, and end up ruling the universe, a loving, supportive, and nurturing mother is absolutely essential.  I’ve benefitted from my mother’s influence in my life.  How about you?

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there who play a strong supportive role in your children’s lives.  (Even if, for some unfathomable reason, you don’t love Babylon 5). 

Dragon Dave

Related Internet Links

Notes on "A Distant Star" and a recipe for Garibaldi's Bagna Cauda 

The Role of Mothers in Babylon 5: Part 1

With Mother’s Day approaching, I began to muse on fictional mothers, and the roles they played in our heroes’ lives.  Aside from a few notable examples, such as Lady Jessica in Frank Herbert’s novel Dune, I had a difficult time recalling strong mother-characters.  So I pulled out my reading log for 2013, and surveyed the books I read this year.  Two of my favorite novels were literary tie-in books for the TV series Babylon 5, created by J. Michael Straczynski.  Both feature strong female protagonists, such as Psi Corps telepath Talia Winters, and Commander Susan Ivanova, neither of whom enjoys a mother’s love and support.

The show takes its name from the space station on which humans and aliens live and work side-by-side.  The major characters tend to have important positions, serving as representatives of their organizations, in Earth’s military, and as ambassadors for their respective governments.  But regardless of how important they are, space travel is expensive, which means none of them have enough frequent spacer miles to bring their mothers along.  Of course, that assumes that they have mothers to begin with.

John Vornholt’s novel Voices primarily concerns Talia Winters, who is accused of setting off a bomb during a Psi Corps Convention.  When she demonstrated telepathic abilities at five years of age, she was taken away from her family to be trained by Psi Corps.  As we all know, the organization strips away all other loyalties, and indoctrinates its members with the oft-repeated phrase: “The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father.”  Talia is a likeable person, but only enjoys a few brief romances, all of which end badly.  Talia herself enjoys but a few happy years on Babylon 5, before her life takes a tragic turn.  We can only speculate what her mother was like, and how Talia’s life might have been better, had her mother played a stronger role in her life.

Due to his fixation on Commander Susan Ivanova, Harriman Gray decides to hold the ill-fated Psi Corps Convention on Babylon 5.  He uses the opportunity to pursue her, but she spurns all his advances.  Despite numerous declarations of love, she cannot get past the fact that he is a member of Psi Corps.  Susan was born in St. Petersburg, Russia.  Her mother had telepathic abilities, but chose to take drugs that inhibited her abilities rather than join Psi Corps.  Over time, those drugs depressed her spirits and drained away any love for life until she eventually committed suicide.  Her mother’s experience led Susan to hate Psi Corps, and fractured relationships with the rest of her family (particularly her father).  Despite Harriman Gray’s optimism, this makes any sort of close relationship with her impossible. 

Susan Ivanova takes center stage in Lois Tilton’s novel Accusations, in which she is linked to a conspiracy against Earth, labeled a terrorist, and stripped of her duties in Command and Control.  While Security Chief Michael Garibaldi worked hard in Voices to clear Talia's name, this time he faces the even more difficult task of clearing Susan’s.  Eventually, he does so, and Susan goes on to serve several more years aboard the space station.  Yet due to her experiences growing up, Susan finds it difficult to draw close to anyone, even when Psi Corps doesn’t stand in the way.  Despite the wall she has surrounded herself with, the ranger Marcus Cole never stops trying.  After his death, she finds it difficult to forgive herself for not letting him in, and abandons her post on the space station.  As with Talia, we can only wonder how Susan might have developed, had her mother not been blessed with telepathic abilities.

Based on these two examples, I think it's safe to say that a mother's love and support is crucial to a child's development, wouldn't you?

Dragon Dave

Related Dragon Cache entries

John Vornholt’s Mars Novel

Talia Winters’ Plight

Another Welcome Return to Babylon 5

Religion and Revenge on Babylon 5

In the first season episode, “The Parliament of Dreams,” all the sentient species aboard Babylon 5 spend a week celebrating their culture’s dominant religion.  The Centauri host a feast commemorating a time in their history when they battled against another intelligent species, the Xon, for dominion of their home world.  The Minbari perform a ceremony of rebirth and renewal, which we later learn also doubles as a wedding ceremony.  Unfortunately, we don’t get to see all the religious ceremonies, as a major portion of the episode concerns an attempt on the life of Ambassador G’Kar.

When we first glimpse the Narn Ambassador, he is preparing a meal in his quarters, and singing this lighthearted Narn song with his beautiful tenor voice.

I'm thinking of thinking of calling her right

after my afternoon nap.

I'm thinking of thinking of sending her flowers,

right after Bonnie gets back.

So many fishies left in the sea,

so many fishies - but no-one for me...

I'm thinking of thinking of hooking a love,

soon after supper is done.

As he sits down to eat, a Narn messenger arrives and asks, “Are you Ambassador G’Kar?”  Annoyed, G’Kar responds, “This is Ambassador G’Kar’s quarters. This is Ambassador G'Kar's table. This is Ambassador G'Kar's dinner! What part of this progression escapes you?"  The messenger leaves him with a memory crystal, stressing that the message is urgent.  With a growl, G’Kar rises, and places the memory crystal in his computer.  All thoughts of his meal evaporate as an old political adversary, Du’Rog, reminds G’Kar of how he once disgraced Du’Rog before the Narn Council.  Now that he is dying, Du’Rog is liquidating his assets to hire an assassin.  Du’Rog says that while the assassin is close to him, G’Kar will not learn the identity of his killer…until it is too late. 

Ambassador G'Kar loses his appetite.

G’Kar bursts into action, intent on protecting himself any way he can.  Complicating matters is the arrival of his new aide Na’Toth.  She is replacing Ko’Dath, his former aide who died during an airlock malfunction.  While Na’Toth’s suggestions seem wise, her governmental sponsor was Li’Dak, and Li’Dak’s sponsor was his nemesis Du’Rog!

By pairing the celebration of religion with a tale of revenge, writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski suggests that, as much as we grow as a society, and as evolved as our species may become, as individuals we will still inflict harm on others, and occasionally “repay evil with evil.”  Yet religion gives us a means through which we can stretch ourselves, and attempt to embody our highest ideals. 

In the final scene, Commander Sinclair demonstrates “Earth’s dominant belief system” to the ambassadors of the major alien races.  Instead of holding a particular ceremony, Sinclair lines up representatives of various Human religions.  Having survived his encounter with death—a situation caused by how he harmed others in the past--G’Kar follows as Sinclair introduces each representative’s name and Faith, and shakes his or her hand.  

Even more solemnly than the commander, G’Kar greets each person, shaking hands or bowing.  Perhaps he has learned something that will light the way to his transformation later on.  Perhaps he recognizes now, more than ever, that the ultimate expression of religion is not only that we love and respect those who believe like we do, but that we love and respect those who believe differently, whether they be atheists, Roman Catholics, Zen Buddhists, Muslim, Jew, Greek Orthodox, Taoist, Shinto, Hindu, or any of the other 250 Humans who have assembled on the space station to represent “Earth’s dominant belief system.”

Dragon Dave

Related Internet Links

"The Parliament of Dreams" on Wikipedia

The Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5

Another Welcome Return to Babylon 5

In her novel Accusations, Lois Tilton returns us to Babylon 5, a space station built by humans after the Earth-Minbari War.  While Commander Susan Ivanova played a small role in John Vornholt’s novel Voices, Tilton’s story centers on her.  While working in Command & Control (C&C), she gets a call from J. D. Ortega, her former flight instructor.  The man has retired from the military and works on Mars.  He sends her a message, asking to meet with her later in the Alpha Wing ready room.  When he doesn’t show, Ivanova visits Michael Garibaldi, the Chief of Security, who informs her that Ortega is wanted for terrorism and conspiracy back on Mars.  This makes no sense to Ivanova.  As with Talia Winters’ uncle in Voices, Ivanova cannot believe that Ortega is a terrorist.  Garibaldi conducts a search, only to discover that Ortega has been murdered.

Babylon 5 then receives a mayday signal: raiders are attacking a transport ship.  Susan Ivanova leads the Starfuries of Alpha Wing from the station.  Before they reach the ship, the raiders take its cargo, and kill its crew.  Raiders have grown bold of late, and hit a large number of heavy transport vessels.  Ivanova conducts an investigation into inventory records, and discovers that many of these transports were carrying supplies of morbidium, a metal mined on Mars, and important in the manufacturing of military weaponry.  She sends her findings to Earthforce, in the hopes of preventing future attacks. 

Events rapidly escalate on Babylon 5.  After an investigation team arrives from Earth, Ivanova is relieved of her duties in C & C.  Meanwhile Garibaldi discovers another body.  The investigators round up anyone with the slightest ties to Mars, and they order Talia Winters to scan their minds, or even perform deep probes.  As these are conducted without the witnesses’ permission, she protests.  But the inspectors produce orders from Psi Corps: she must accede to the team’s demands, without question.

Mysteries build upon mysteries, and we’re never sure what will happen next, or why.  But Tilton keeps us focused on Garibaldi’s search and Ivanova’s dilemma.  The heavy-handed methods of the inspectors impede Garibaldi’s efforts, and their superior access to computer records make it difficult for him to discover clues before they classify the records or arrest a potential informant.  But he won’t quit, as inspection team has linked Ivanova with a Martian terrorist.  Ivanova also does what she can, knowing that her career is over unless she can uncover the plot involving Ortega, and demonstrate that she was not involved in…whatever it is that Earthforce seems so concerned about.

In Voices, John Vornholt returned us to Babylon 5, showed us Earth in the twenty-third century, and then whisked us off to Mars for a thrilling climax.  Now Lois Tilton returns us to Babylon 5 for an entire novel, and spins such an involving mystery that I tore through the book in a couple days.  I literally couldn’t put Accusations down for the last seventy-five pages.  If you loved the show, seek out these novels.  They’re real treasures, and would have made wonderful TV movies.  Plus, both tantalize us with the possibility of colonizing Mars.  And who doesn’t love stories about Mars?

Dragon Dave

Related Dragon Cache entries

John Vornholt’s Mars Novel

Talia Winters’ Plight