Expert: Byron Pennyworth - 9/27/2007

Question
QUESTION: I am a bit lost on Telepaths and their relationship with The Shadows.

Premise:  I have no problem if Joe left a few inconsistencies here and there.  
That wouldn't change one bit the opinion and admiration I have for him: like
anyone else he too is not free from mistakes.  On the other hand, if there is a
better and consistent explanation I would be happy to listen to it.

It seems the Telepaths were created by the Vorlons as a weapon against The
Shadows. I'm not sure how they were supposed to be weapons, maybe
because, as we see, they can "freeze" a Shadow spaceship?   Actually Justin on
Z'ha'dum says "Cannon fodder", others say weapons.  To me Cannon Fodder
sounds more like the opposite rather than a synonym of Weapons.  Which was
the "use" Vorlons originally created telepaths for?

Justin also says that The Shadows "got there first with the Psi Corps, making
sure they're on our side."  Would this mean the PSI Corps were founded by
the Shadows, and their true task is to keep Telepaths on the Shadow's side?:

Actually we see this cooperation a few times, but then, why are some
telepaths chosen, abducted it seems, altered and shipped to be used as
Shadow vessels pilots?  We know from Anna Sheridan that a non-lelepathic
human is enough for that task.  Also, isn't the pilot position (or Central
Processing Unit, if you prefer) a bit incompatible with the fact they somehow
have a negative effect on the vessels themselves.

Were the telepaths supplied by the PSI Corps?  Hardly.  Betser is much high in
the hierachy, he is informed of every PSI Corps operation.  But it seems he got
news of the telepaths shipment elsewhere.   He would have strongly opposed
and even stopped it, had it come from within the Corps.  So the Shadows
highjack and abduct their now own allies?

Why does Carolyn shoot the  PSI Corps symbol?  This deeply surprises Bester,
meaning that hating the Corps was not in her usual behaviour.  Rather it
would seem a product (intentional or secondary?) of the Shadows
reprogramming.  But weren't Shadows and Corps allied?  I believe that's what
Justin said.

So why abduct their allies, risking to strain or even break the relationship
with the Corps and reprogram them to... hate themselves (at leasts it looks
like that - they react violently against the Corps).


As you can see I'm quite confused on this subject.  Can you shed some light
on it please?

Thank you.  Vic.

ANSWER: Justin says cannon-fodder, but I think he's choosing his words to be as pro-shadow as possible.  Telepaths can disrupt shadow ships because they can disrupt the sentient being at the center.

The Shadows started using teeps as a counter-measure against the Side of Light's teeps.

The Psi-Corps was founded by Earth-gov.  It was Bureau 13/Department Sigma (which is a secret organization within Psi-Corps) that was allied with the shadows.  Bester is a prominent member of Psi-Corps, but not of Department Sigma. The telepaths were provided by Department Sigma.

As far as Carolyn's reaction to the badge, I think it was perhaps an idea that no longer fit in when JMS got further down the line.  I am as much in the dark there as you are.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Interesting and useful, thank you.

I believe I don't know Department Sigma.   Where is their story told?   On the
PSI Corps trilogy, maybe?  (I do have the 11 canon books, though I can never
find the time to read past  "The Shadow Within" <sigh>)  

Answer
Department Sigma was referred to as "Bureau 13" during the run of the show.  They had to change the name in the books for copyright reasons.  Since "Department Sigma" appears to be what Bureau 13 changed it's name to, I refer to it by its newer name.

It was only really brought up once, during the second season episode "A Spider In The Web."  They were the organization that was responsible for Project Lazarus, which was responsible for Abel Horn's cyborg rebirth and ordering the hit on Taro Isogi.

Sheridan told Garibaldi that he planned to go after B13:  "There is a spider in the web, Mr. Garibaldi.  And I intend to catch it."  But as the organization could no longer be referred to by name afterwards, the plot-line was largely dropped, to be picked up later in (as you so rightly guessed) the Psi-Corps Trilogy.

The Shadow within is easilly the weakest of the canon books.  May I suggest trying out the Centauri trilogy first.  It is the finish to the Babylon 5 story, but the easiest and most fun read.