Babylonia!

Patrick

Patrick is a mid-40 year old geek with an undergraduate degree in mathematics and a master's degree in Information Systems. Nothing he says here has anything to do with the official position of his employer or any other institution.

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9 Responses

  1. James K says:

    I think the overstuffed plot was a deliberate stylistic choice. The episode is called “A Day in the Strife”. The whole point is to show how incredibly overwhelming an environment like B5 is. We had diplomacy, commercial negotiations, personal crisis, the question of how to resist power and a giant alien bomb all in 45 minutes. To give us an understanding of what the characters go through, they had to keep the episode operating at a rapid pace.Report

  2. Jaybird says:

    I don’t know how I feel about the bomb thing.

    Mostly because of the gold record we put on Voyager.

    I imagine that a sufficiently advanced race would be able to look at the bomb and trace it back to its homeworld (Like, technology that could defuse the bomb, or put the bomb in temporal stasis, or hit it with a reverse cationic pulse and reverse the polarity of the bomb or something.)

    Sure, you think that you’re only going to hit creatures of Babylon 5 level of tech or thereabouts, but they’re smart enough to see through your little ruse *AND* you’ve got their animosity for a good long while as well.

    I don’t see the likely upside as being higher than the potential downside (and the potential downside is *VERY* down).

    That said: I loved Londo and Vir. Londo is doing a great job attacking so very many things. The lovable loser who is now Head Honcho, the nice guy who is struggling with the banality of evil, the boss who is trying to protect his guys by getting them the heck out of there… I like Londo a lot.Report

    • Pinky in reply to Jaybird says:

      BX, bar bs gur gurzrf bs Onolyba 5 vf ubj gur byqre enprf qrny jvgu gur lbhatref. Jr xabj gung gur Funqbjf grnpu gurz guebhtu pbzcrgvgvba, naq gur Ibeybaf guebhtu borqvrapr. V guvax jr’ir nyernql unq n enpr gung grfgrq gur jrnx enprf jvgu n erzbgr fuvc.

      Jung vs gur qebar’f checbfr vf gb ryvzvangr nal rzretvat enpr gung qbrfa’g cenpgvpr fhogreshtr? N Funqbjl-glcr enpr zvtug jnag gb trg evq bs nal enpr gung’f (n) grpuabybtvpnyyl nqinaprq/nqinapvat, naq (o) fgenvtugsbejneq va vgf guvaxvat. Na nqinaprq enpr jub fheivirf gur qebar zhfg or n yvggyr cnenabvq gb qvforyvrir gur zrffntr – naq jvyy cebonoyl orpbzr rira zber cnenabvq orpnhfr bs gur qebar obzo.

      Ba gur bgure unaq, n enpr zvtug fraq bhg fbzrguvat yvxr gung gb ryvzvangr gur grpu-terrql. Be gurer ner n unys-qbmra dhrfgvba ohevrq va gur zvk gung gur enpr unfa’g orra noyr gb fbyir, naq gur qebar enqvbf onpx gur nafjref, gura oybjf hc nalbar jub’f fznegre guna gurl ner. Gurer ner n ybg bs qvssrerag cbffvovyvgvrf urer.Report

      • Patrick in reply to Pinky says:

        “Ba gur bgure unaq, n enpr zvtug fraq bhg fbzrguvat yvxr gung gb ryvzvangr gur grpu-terrql. Be gurer ner n unys-qbmra dhrfgvba ohevrq va gur zvk gung gur enpr unfa’g orra noyr gb fbyir, naq gur qebar enqvbf onpx gur nafjref, gura oybjf hc nalbar jub’f fznegre guna gurl ner. Gurer ner n ybg bs qvssrerag cbffvovyvgvrf urer.”

        Gung’f n snve cbvag, ohg zl pevgvpvfz bs guvf jubyr ‘qbbzfqnl znpuvar’ cybg vf gung vg qbrfa’g svg (ng guvf cbvag) vagb nal bs gur bire-nepuvat aneengvir bs gur O5 Havirefr.

        V zrna, *zl* svefg ernpgvba gb “fgenatr nyvra cebor fnlf vg’f tbaan oybj hc vs jr qba’g whzc guebhtu n ubbc”, nf Furevqna, jbhyq or gb tb gb Xbfu.

        Ubj znal haanzrq Ryqre Enprf ner gurer?

        Va Fgne Gerx, vg’f cerggl pyrne gung gurer ner zhygvcyr enprf bs Ryqre fgnghf fcernq bhg urer naq gurer, rnpu jvgu vgf bja ntraqnf naq jungabg.

        Va O5, gurer’f guvf fhccbfrq tnynkl-jvqr fgehttyr orgjrra gur Funqbjf naq gur Ibeybaf gung’f xvaqn n Ovt Qrny. Bar jbhyq guvax gung rvgure bgure Ryqre enprf jbhyq or vaibyirq va gung, fbzrubj, be gurl jbhyq unir nyernql ohttrq bhg bs gur tnynkl va snibe bs abg orvat vaibyirq, be fbzrguvat.

        Nal jnl lbh fyvpr vg, vs lbh’er va gur zvqqyr bs Guvf Tnynpgvp Plpyr’f Vgrengvba bs gur Pyvznpgvp Onggyr Orgjrra Beqre naq Punbf, lbh’q rkcrpg “enaqbz fhcre-nqinaprq enpr fvtugvat” gb fche vzzrqvngr fhfcvpvbaf gung gur fvtugvat vf abg fb enaqbz.

        Abj, vg pregnvayl pna or gur pnfr gung gurer ner fgvyy Ryqre Enprf bhg gurer bgure guna gur Ibeybaf naq gur Funqbjf, ohg zl svefg thrff jbhyq fgvyy or rvgure (n) guvf cebor pbzrf sebz gur Ibeybaf (be fbzr nyyvrq enpr) naq Xbfu zvtug xabj fbzrguvat nobhg vg (o) guvf cebor pbzrf sebz gur Funqbjf (be fbzr nyyvrq enpr) naq Xbfu zvtug xabj fbzrguvat nobhg vg be (p) guvf cebor pbzrf sebz fbzr enpr fgebat rabhtu gb abg trg vaibyirq va gur Ibeyba-Funqbj Jne, va juvpu pnfr Xbfu zvtug xabj fbzrguvat nobhg gurz, be (q) gur tnynkl vf ovt rabhtu gung gur Ibeyba-Funqbj Jne qbrfa’g arprffnevyl vaibyir rirelobql gur jnl vg’f orra fbyq, fb sne, va juvpu pnfr V’q jnag gb gnyx gb Xbfu naljnl.Report

      • Pinky in reply to Pinky says:

        Snve cbvagf. Yvxr lbh, V’q ng yrnfg nfx nebhaq gb frr vs nalbar ryfr unq urneq bs gur Nyvra Dhvm Qebar Enpr.

        V fgvyy guvax gurer ner rabhtu cbffvovyvgvrf gung vg qbrfa’g jrvtu zr qbja, gubhtu. V zrna, vs Rnegu pbhyq chyy gbtrgure gur vasbezngvba arrqrq gb gevttre vg, gur grpu yriry bs gur qebar’f perngbef jbhyqa’g unir gb or fb uvtu. Vg pbhyq or n enpr ba gur yriry bs, fnl, gur Zvaonev. Ba gur bgure unaq, jub xabjf ubj ybat vg’f orra sybngvat nebhaq – vg pbhyq or n cenpgvpny wbxr sebz fbzr ybat-sbetbggra nyyvrf bs gur Funqbjf. Vg pbhyq or fbzrguvat gung Rnegu fraqf bhg va 10000 lrnef, gung znyshapgvbarq va fbzr gvzr jnec. Cbvag vf, gur havirefr vf n anfgl by’ cynpr, naq jub jbhyqa’g or grzcgrq gb hfr fgvzf gb cbjre guebhtu n onq qnl? V qba’g guvax gurer jnf nal qrrcre zrnavat guna gung.

        V qb yvxr gur nyzbfg Nvecynar! vqrn bs naabhapvat gb gur znal enprf bs O5 gung gurer’f abguvat hahfhny nobhg gur haanzrq fuvc gung whfg neevirq, naq ol gur jnl, unf nalbar rire rapbhagrerq na haanzrq fuvc gung jnf svyyrq jvgu rkcybfvirf?Report

      • Patrick in reply to Pinky says:

        V qb yvxr gur nyzbfg Nvecynar! vqrn bs naabhapvat gb gur znal enprf bs O5 gung gurer’f abguvat hahfhny nobhg gur haanzrq fuvc gung whfg neevirq, naq ol gur jnl, unf nalbar rire rapbhagrerq na haanzrq fuvc gung jnf svyyrq jvgu rkcybfvirf?

        “Abg gung gurer vf nalguvat jebat, ohg pbhyq rirelbar genvarq va qvfznagyvat svir tvtngba ahpyrne qrivprf cyrnfr ercbeg gb gra-sbejneq?”Report

      • Pinky in reply to Pinky says:

        Abj lbh’ir tbg zr guvaxvat nobhg gur bgure Byq Barf, gur barf gung znlor jrera’g dhvgr nf pbby, be jub nqinaprq n yvggyr yngr. Gur Funqbjf qrpvqrq gb nfx “jung qb lbh jnag?” naq gur Ibeybaf gbbx “jub ner lbh?”, ohg gur erfg bs gur byqre enprf jrer yrsg jvgu fvtangher dhrfgvbaf yvxr “qb lbh jnag sevrf jvgu gung?” be “jub yrg gur qbtf bhg?”. Ab jbaqre gurl whfg jnag gb oybj guvatf hc.Report