Many fans of the Babylon 5 TV Series will agree that the single most important element of the show that kept us coming back for more was the mystery of the Vorlons and the Shadows. Two races of beings that were so advanced they no longer had material bodies. They were beings of light that placed their life energy into encounter suits to enable them to interact with the lesser races, with beings like us.
The mystery of these two races of beings was the story thread that connected most of the episodes, that provided the glue for the series. Fans were eager to return to the show hoping each new episode would give us one more clue into the motives of these two races. We learned that the Vorlons and the Shadows were billions of years in advance of us, that they were among the first races to come into existence in the milky way galaxy.
They were as far removed from us as we were from ants, and yet they were interested in us to a degree. But was this for our purposes or for their own? The answer to this question is what kept many of us returning to this show. We wanted to know why such beings would have any interest in us at all if they were so evolved. It became clear that these two races were aware of each other but they avoided each other deliberately, as if there existed a great divide between them.
The Vorlons made their presence known first to a small number of select individuals from the Minbari and Human races, but that seemed to be the extent of their involvement with the lesser races. They limited their contact to nothing more than an advisory role, to warn us of a time when chaos and war would threaten the very existence of our race, but they did not want to get involved directly. They only wanted us to prepare ourselves.
On the other hand, the Shadows would get involved directly. They also chose a select number of individuals from certain races with whom they made their pawns. The Shadows would eagerly participate in tipping the balance in any territorial dispute of the lesser races, especially if it resulted in an increase in hostilities. Their ships were billions of years ahead of anything else in the galaxy and they seemed to be indestructible.
But where was all this going? Why did races as advanced as the Vorlons and the Shadows care at all about the outcome of the petty wars between the inferior races? As it turns out it was a difference between ideologies. The Vorlons embraced order and discipline over conflict, it is what worked for them, while the Shadows embraced chaos and war because that is what had worked for them in their development. Like all beings with an over-inflated sense of self-importance, the Vorlons and the Shadows wanted the lesser races to chose their way. In the end, what did the lesser races chose? Or did we chose at all? To find out the answer to that you would have to watch the entire series. - 23812
The mystery of these two races of beings was the story thread that connected most of the episodes, that provided the glue for the series. Fans were eager to return to the show hoping each new episode would give us one more clue into the motives of these two races. We learned that the Vorlons and the Shadows were billions of years in advance of us, that they were among the first races to come into existence in the milky way galaxy.
They were as far removed from us as we were from ants, and yet they were interested in us to a degree. But was this for our purposes or for their own? The answer to this question is what kept many of us returning to this show. We wanted to know why such beings would have any interest in us at all if they were so evolved. It became clear that these two races were aware of each other but they avoided each other deliberately, as if there existed a great divide between them.
The Vorlons made their presence known first to a small number of select individuals from the Minbari and Human races, but that seemed to be the extent of their involvement with the lesser races. They limited their contact to nothing more than an advisory role, to warn us of a time when chaos and war would threaten the very existence of our race, but they did not want to get involved directly. They only wanted us to prepare ourselves.
On the other hand, the Shadows would get involved directly. They also chose a select number of individuals from certain races with whom they made their pawns. The Shadows would eagerly participate in tipping the balance in any territorial dispute of the lesser races, especially if it resulted in an increase in hostilities. Their ships were billions of years ahead of anything else in the galaxy and they seemed to be indestructible.
But where was all this going? Why did races as advanced as the Vorlons and the Shadows care at all about the outcome of the petty wars between the inferior races? As it turns out it was a difference between ideologies. The Vorlons embraced order and discipline over conflict, it is what worked for them, while the Shadows embraced chaos and war because that is what had worked for them in their development. Like all beings with an over-inflated sense of self-importance, the Vorlons and the Shadows wanted the lesser races to chose their way. In the end, what did the lesser races chose? Or did we chose at all? To find out the answer to that you would have to watch the entire series. - 23812
No comments:
Post a Comment