Shuttle Dyson, you're our last shuttle for today.
Logging off for now.
Please remind your passengers
about customs procedures prior to debarcation.
Roger that, Babylon control.
Have a nice day.
They're finally here, jacque.
[Ding ding]
Ok. We all know what we're here, right?
Yeah! Whoo!
As of 0630 tomorrow morning,
Lieutenant JG David Corwin is promoted to full Lieutenant.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
Next round is on the house.
[Cheering]
Did you see the look on his face?
Yeah.
He hates being the center of attention.
Classic example of being caught
between fight and flight.
Why does everything with you
always have to come down to biology?
Because no matter what you do
everything comes down to one of two things--
biology or math.
Please don't start him. We'll be here for days.
Hey, by the way, where's Marcus?
I thought you were gonna invite him.
I just didn't think it was appropriate.
Earhart's is for Earthforce personnel only.
Come on. David invited a bunch of civilians,
buddies who came over for the big night.
Who'd notice one more?
I mean, Marcus is one of us--
is he? I don't see an Earth Alliance symbol
on his chest, or flight wings or--
Susan...
Look, I said I didn't think it was appropriate,
and it was my call, ok?
Does anybody at the table have a problem with this?
You know what? She's right.
We're better off with Marcus
keeping a low profile right now.
Well, here's to our new Lieutenant.
And getting through
another day in one piece.
May tomorrow be as quiet and ordinary
as today.
Amen to that.
Aah!
It's all right.
Don't worry. You'll be just fine.
It'll be over soon. Just try and relax.
Aah!
The Babylon project was our last best hope for peace.
It failed.
In the year of the Shadow War, it became something greater--
our last best hope...
For victory.
The year is 2260.
The place...
I don't understand. What went wrong?
I don't know.
Security's coming.
They heard the screams. We have to go.
We can't just leave him.
We don't have any other choice.
We can't afford to be captured.
Susan...
Walk with me a minute.
Sure.
It's all yours, Lieutenant.
Aye, Commander.
Is there a problem?
That's what I want you to find out.
Now that Corwin's been promoted,
sooner or later he's gonna end up getting
in our business.
You mean with Earth, the President,
and the 10,000 ministries?
He's due the promotion. I don't begrudge him that.
But he could be a problem,
and I need to know where he stands.
If he can help us, great.
But if you don't think he's up for it,
then we keep him out of the loop.
I suggest a private meeting.
Just talk to him.
See what you can find out
without giving anything away.
Will do.
You know, this is the part of all this I really hate.
[Snoring]
The gracious Duncan, asleep by the gate.
Methinks I hear a voice cry, "sleep no more!"
Marcus does murder sleep.
You're a madman, you know.
Such has been said,
but it was not I that gifted you
with so ominous a name as Duncan.
Of course, I doubt whether you ever read the Scottish play,
so the irony is lost. Typical.
You should watch your wares,
otherwise someone might steal them
out from under your sleepy eyes.
Why? None of it's worth buying,
much less stealing.
Don't know why I bother anymore.
The thrill of new encounters...
The bargaining, the negotiations--
the chance to catch a little sleep
until otherwise interrupted by madmen
who read too much.
[Coughs]
I don't think I like the sound of that.
Can't say I like it myself.
Can't do much about it, either.
I understand there's a clinic--
I don't like to be poked by doctors.
I'll be fine.
How much for this one?
The same as the piece was yesterday
and the day before that--2 credits.
You're a thief, a highwayman.
The least you could do is wear a mask
and ride a horse.
See you tomorrow.
And, Marcus... Thanks.
And we expect fresh blood supplies by Friday.
Now, we're still having a hard time
getting Drazi blood for transfusions,
so we're gonna have to stick to the synthetics for now.
Dr. Steinhoff, Dr. Lieberman in medlab 3
is having some trouble with a Brakiri.
Now, you know their biology better than anyone down there.
Maybe you could give 'em a hand? Good.
Dr. Harrison, talk to me now.
What's our status?
We lost a Centauri patient in medlab 5--
chronic problems with bicardial separation.
There wasn't much we could do.
Latest report from security show
the usual quota of injuries--
fights, stabbings-- nothing major.
Good. Anything else?
Well, got a D.O.A. last night--
male human, no I.D., mid-30s,
no sign of injury or illness,
nothing to point to as a cause of death.
Dr. Morris wants you to take a look at the body,
see if you can help him figure out
what to put on the death certificate.
Tell him to bring the body by medlab one
this afternoon. I'll take a look at it.
That's it. Let's go to work.
Are you ready?
[Whispering]
What do you have for me?
Message from Ranger one on Minbar.
He recommends our people go on a heightened state of alert
and pull back from Earth space.
Word is something screwy's going on back home.
This is not exactly a revelation.
Anything else?
Shadow vessels.
They were sighted in sector 800 2 days ago.
Seems they're gathering, creating a border
on the edge of Centauri space.
Oh, and that package you've been asking about
just left Mars.
Should be here in about a week.
All right. On your next supply run,
I want you to make a quick side trip
through sector 800,
and drop a long-range scanner,
and get out fast.
Let's see if we can find out
what's going on out there.
Anyone else?
No. That was the last one.
Good.
Where's Samuel?
My sources are used to having him
as my liaison,
and they don't react well to change.
He said he had more important things to do.
Did he? Strange.
When I first enlisted him,
he said there was nothing more important
than our work here.
I think I'll pay him a visit.
Computer, begin recording.
Deceased is a human male, age 35,
identified as having lived in downbelow
since June of 2258.
Toxicology scans indicate
the subject used a variety of controlled substances--
traces of dust, morphozine, and others,
but none in sufficient quantities to cause death.
No overt signs of physical trauma.
Scanners indicate heart, lungs,
and other internal organs are all in fair condition.
There are fingernail marks in both palms.
It appears they were caused by the deceased
clenching his fist.
From the lividity of the skin,
I'd say they were made at time of death,
indicating that the subject
was under a great deal of stress...Or fear.
Shock may have been a contributing factor.
Contributing factor to what, though?
Disease scan--negative.
Blood tracking-- negative on all counts.
Neural scan--one anomaly.
Cardiovascular--
wait a minute.
Show me the anomaly.
What the hell is that?
Unknown.
No sign of entry.
Nothing on his record.
How did this end up
wrapped around his spinal column?
Unknown.
I'm going to open him up.
Stand by recording while I prep.
Hi, Samuel.
Marcus.
I haven't seen you in a few days.
I've been busy.
I can see you've made some new friends.
Good. Is everything all right?
Fine.
I just can't work with you anymore.
I have things to do now.
Really? What kind of things?
Yes. Well, I can see you're busy,
so I'll let you go.
If there's anything I can do...
Thanks.
I don't like it.
I don't know what,
but something's gotten into him.
Well, well...
What the hell are you?
[Gasping]
Closer examination confirms
that the biomass is 100% genetically neutral--
it can exist in any life form.
What it's doing here, I can't tell.
It doesn't conform to any known parasite.
I've initiated a background check
to see if this is something
the deceased brought with him to the station,
or if he was infested here.
If it happened here... We may have a problem.
Excuse me.
The fellow that normally works
that table--Duncan-- have you seen him?
Yeah, just a little while ago.
He took all his stuff out, said he was packing it in.
Told mackie to go ahead and rent out his space.
That doesn't make sense.
He said he'd see me here this morning.
This is his-- his place.
Sorry. That's all I know.
Quiet, isn't it, Lieutenant?
Yeah, a little.
I like it when it's quiet.
It's a nice change of pace, that's for sure.
Listen, now that you've been promoted,
I was thinking...
We spend a lot of time up here together,
but we never really get a chance to talk.
So, I was thinking maybe we could get together,
talk about what you see yourself doing
down the road.
Just, you know,
get to know each other a little bit better.
Well...uh...sure.
We could-- I don't know--
meet in the mess hall for breakfast.
You can't have a private conversation up there
with dishes clattering, people talking.
So, why don't you come by my quarters later in the day.
We can have a cup of coffee--
real coffee.
Just don't ask how I got it.
Then we can just talk about stuff outside work,
you know, person to person.
Ok...
Uh, fine.
I'll be there.
Good.
I think we may have a problem here.
Well, I wish I could see it, but I don't.
See, people here get flaky sometimes.
Babylon 5 is like that.
When you've been around longer,
you'll understand.
I've been working with these people for months now
putting together my network of contacts.
I know how they think.
They wouldn't just drop everything
and change their lives like this.
Samuel wouldn't drop out of sight
without telling me--
no crime's been committed here, Marcus.
I've got nothing to go on.
Nothing? Really? How odd.
All this time,
I thought I'd been expressing
a rational and reasonable concern
about the fact
that an increasingly large number of people
in downbelow aren't acting normally.
If they were normal,
they wouldn't be in downbelow.
Well, thank you, Mr. Garibaldi,
one of the leading minds of the 14th century.
"Have we no workhouses? Have we no prisons?"
Mr. Marley here would like a word with you.
He's the fellow in the chains.
Ignore the moans. It's just gas.
Don't you ever shut up?
Not until I get what I want.
Why? Do you think silent meditation
would work better?
Ivanova's right--you are a pain in the ass.
All I'm asking is that you come with me
and look into it.
It'll take 5 minutes.
5 minutes I don't have. Look, I'm sorry,
but until somebody does something out of line,
it's not my business.
Now, if your friends are acting a little weird,
maybe they need to talk to a doctor.
But it's not my jurisdiction.
Can I quote you?
Yeah, sure, whatever.
So, Mr. Garibaldi suggested that you come see me?
Yes. He was quite firm about it.
He said he's up to his ears,
and doesn't have 5 minutes to spare,
but you'd be perfect for the job.
His interest in this situation is...
Almost indescribable.
Well, I'm sort of in the middle of something now.
Won't take more than an hour.
It'll take the computer at least that long
to finish the analysis.
I guess I could pop out for a bit.
Hi. Something I can help you with?
I don't know. I was thinking...Flowers?
Thinking flowers is good.
Giving flowers is better.
What's the occasion?
I'm not sure, but I think I have a date.
She asked you out?
She asked me in. Her place.
Moves fast. She aggressive?
You could say that.
Lucky guy.
It's not like that.
Well, it's not like that yet...I think.
You don't get out much, do you, son?
Well, i--
no. Not really.
Artificial roses.
Same smell. Same feel.
Works every time.
But what if it's not a date?
I don't want to offend her.
Roses never offend a woman,
except by their absence.
That'll be 40 credits.
Duncan!
Duncan, if you're in there, open up.
Maybe he went out.
Look, are you sure this is--
he's an old man. He hasn't been well.
He could be sick or injured.
Well, in medical emergencies,
I can open the door and look,
but I can't just walk in, though.
Fine.
All right.
Hey--hey, I said--
you said you couldn't go in.
I don't have that problem.
That's funny. There's a--
Marcus?
You all right?
I think you'd better come and see this.
Lights.
They're out. Here.
What the...
I told him.
No one ever listens.
Hey! Hey, Marcus!
Jeez! Franklin to secur--
don't.
That thing under his skin--
I found another one just like it during an autopsy.
Now, my guess is
that it's some kind of alien parasite
that Burrows into the spinal column
and takes control of the neural system.
Now, if there are enough of these things,
they could take over the whole station
before anyone knows they're here.
Point of logic--
if that's true, then why take over lurkers?
They're of no strategic value.
They're in no position to take over the place.
No authority.
I recognize the woman.
Jacque Lee--
a loner looking for a life.
Classic lost soul.
Why them and not some of the crew?
For that matter, why not you or me?
Maybe they haven't had a chance to until now.
Maybe.
I'm not so sure.
Well, we'd better try and find out.
[Moaning]
Hey.
That man is in pain.
Well, look, you can't just leave him like that.
That thing on his back, did that happen to you, too?
Listen to me.
Whatever these creatures are,
they're controlling you.
You've got to let us help you.
Can you even understand me?
I am...
Was Matthew duffin.
I understand you.
You will remain here
until we are finished.
When we turn up missing,
people will come looking for us.
Now, you cooperate, we can try to work this out.
If not, I can't guarantee the safety of you
or any of your people.
And I cannot guarantee yours.
That went well.
At least I'm trying to do something.
We've got to get out of here
and tell the others what's happening.
We will.
How? How are we going to do that?
There are 3 of them with guns
against 2 of us with nothing.
They'll cut us down before we get halfway across the room.
What we need is for one of them to leave the room.
Then there'll be only one man with a gun.
Wha--excuse me.
Where I come from, one man from 3 leaves 2.
Where I come from
is a far more interesting place.
Well, one good thing--
at least Garibaldi knows we're down here.
We don't turn up soon,
he'll know where to come look.
Mr. Garibaldi does know where we are, doesn't he?
Not...as such, no.
So, no one knows that anything's wrong.
That would be essentially correct,
yes.
Great.
That's...that's great.
[Chime]
Come.
Where the hell did those come from?
I, uh, I found them.
Where?
There. They were just, you know...
Just lying there.
Synthetic roses.
Good ones.
Whoever bought these must have paid a lot for 'em.
Yes--i imagine.
Spending that kind of money on high-priced synthetics--
must be a real dope.
Yes, I think so.
It's showy, excessive,
not at all cost-effective.
And terribly romantic.
Don't tell anybody,
but I've always had a weakness for roses.
This is a very sweet gesture.
I definitely have to find out who's responsible.
Hey, thank you, David.
If you hadn't come along,
somebody might have just walked off with them.
Right. Sure. You're welcome.
Hello, Marcus.
Duncan. You're looking well.
I am well.
No pain, no cough.
First time in years.
They can do for you what they've done for me.
I'd feel better about the recommendation
if I knew which "me" I was talking with.
Does it matter?
I think so, yes.
Who are they? Who are you?
I am...
Was Duncan.
The other part of me is vindrizi.
The part of me that was Duncan
remembers that you were kind to me, Marcus.
I don't want to hurt you.
The part of me that is vindrizi
says that we will hurt you, if necessary.
We cannot allow you to interfere.
Interfere? In what?
It says you would not understand.
It says you've come at a good time.
We left this one for you to watch
so that you can see
how the process is supposed to work.
I've seen it.
Got a dead body up in medlab
that tells me all I need to know.
He was killed when a vindrizi tried
to merge with him.
It says he was not ready for the merging.
His health was poor
and his blood tainted by strange chemicals.
It says...
Will you help us?
No.
It says if you do not help us,
others not suited for the merging
may die
and our kind will die with them.
If you wish to save lives,
this is the only way.
Oh, it's great.
I haven't had real coffee
since... I can't remember.
It just costs too much to bring the stuff in.
Well, I had the hydroponics guys
set aside a little space for me.
I know, I know.
Hydroponics garden is to be used only
for fruit, vegetables, and oxygen reclamation,
but sometimes you've got to bend the rules
a little bit
in order to get what you want.
Does that idea bother you?
No. Not really.
I don't think the ends
always justify the means,
but if no one's hurt,
and if it's good for Earth,
I've got no complaints.
That means a lot to you, doesn't it, serving Earth?
Well, sure.
It's why we're all here, to follow orders
and do what's right for Earth.
But what do you do if there's a contradiction--
if doing what's right for Earth
and following your orders aren't the same thing?
I don't think that's a decision
I can make on my own.
You can't just decide which orders to obey
and which to ignore.
We have to respect the chain of command,
or everything falls apart.
So, if you saw someone trying to get other officers
to speak out or even act against Earthdome,
you'd report them?
Absolutely.
Why, is there anyone
you want me to keep my eye on?
No, no. It's just a hypothetical question.
With everything that's going on,
it's good to know
where we all stand with each other.
Well, it's getting late.
Thank you for stopping by, Lieutenant.
I'm glad we had this time to talk.
Sure. Anytime.
So, any thoughts yet?
Just one.
What's your opinion of Ivanova?
Susan?
Well, I've known her for about 2 years now.
She's a fine officer and a good friend,
and why are we talking about her?
When I first came aboard,
she seemed quite friendly.
Lately, though, she's been a bit...
Distant.
I was thinking perhaps
it was something I'd done.
Oh, no, no, no, no.
It takes her a while, that's all.
Back when you first showed up,
you were just some guy passing through.
And now you're part of our little family here,
and I don't think that she has adjusted just yet.
I sense in her a key as yet unturned.
And what exactly does that mean?
Don't know,
but I should think it would be fascinating
to find out.
It wasn't that funny.
Oh, come on, this is-- I can't believe this.
We're sitting here-- guns pointed at our heads,
and walled up by alien parasites,
neither of us likely to get out of here alive--
and you're thinking about making a play
for Ivanova, is that right?
Can you think of a better time?
You're nuts, you know that? You are.
And I've got to be just as nuts sitting here
talking about it at a time like this.
Marcus...
You are so far from being her type
that you're practically in different galaxies, ok?
Back up. Away from the door.
One of us is sick.
You, outside now.
Where are you taking him?
If you have to take someone, take me.
Stephen!
He is dying.
Save him.
The only way to save him
is to take that thing out of his system.
Unacceptable.
You will save them both.
We have medical instruments.
Use them.
If you do not cooperate,
you will be directly responsible
for his death.
One from 3 leaves one.
Excuse me.
There's something I think you should know.
If you really want your friend to survive,
you're gonna need more than the good doctor.
You're gonna need some of his instruments.
Not that I really care one way or the other,
but you know how doctors are--
the right tool for the right job.
You see that tube
on the corner of the table there?
That's a medical scanner--
the copeland j-5000.
Very advanced.
I was bringing it to him.
You need to get it to him immediately.
I know. I know.
Why should you believe me?
It could be a weapon or something.
Check it out for yourself.
Just look into the open end.
Yeah. That's it. Now...
Shake-- shake it twice firmly
to activate the scanner.
[Beep beep]
Security!
Hello? Is anyone there?
Warning.
Biogenetic I.D. Comparison
indicates you are not authorized
for operation of this link.
Please turn it in to security.
I'm trying to contact security,
you stupid machine.
Warning.
Biogenetic I.D. Comparison...
Yeah, Ivanova, what is it?
We just picked up someone
trying to use Dr. Franklin's link.
You get a fix on the location?
Brown 84.
Recommend you get a team down there stat.
You got it.
Are you ok?
Yeah, fine.
[Samuel] Doctor! Your patient is dying.
Does this mean nothing to you?
You care too much
to bluff your way out of this convincingly.
Let me try.
Oh, for the record--
if they kill me,
this was not a good idea on my part.
What, him?
He means nothing to me.
Just another one of you I'll have to put down
to get out of here.
I say let nature take its course.
Marcus, please don't do this.
Why not, Duncan?
Look what they've done to you.
If we save him,
what kind of life will he have
serving these creatures?
A life far better
than the one he has here, Marcus.
All of us here...
We weren't taken over.
We volunteered.
All right,
this is the last place we tracked the signal.
Split up and search by quarters.
You see anything, you let me know
before you move in. Let's go.
Under the circumstances, Duncan,
I'm afraid I don't believe you.
It says we knew you wouldn't understand.
That's why we tried to keep this quiet.
Once we have fulfilled our mission,
we will go.
What mission?
It says
we were created half a million years ago,
bred to be living records
of all those we have seen
and touched.
For all that time,
we have traveled through the galaxy
in our host bodies.
We have seen...
Double suns set on worlds so far away
you have no name for them.
We remember music that was played
before your kind learned to speak.
Within us...
Is the living memory
of deeds and stories,
civilizations and passions,
wars and struggle,
and great beauty...
But, in time, even we die
unless we find shelter
within other living beings.
So, we seek out those
who have nothing to look forward to,
those whose lives are at an end,
those who know
they will be never more than they are now...
Those who will never know beauty
or peace or purpose,
and we give them that.
Through us,
they are born into a new life.
Samuel, I thought I'd given you a purpose--
to help me in our task ahead.
Your purpose comes from the outside--
to fight someone else's battles.
Ours comes from within.
Why should we believe you?
You're controlling these people.
They'd say whatever you want.
Do you trust me, Marcus?
I trust the Duncan I knew,
not the Duncan that stands in front of me.
[Screaming]
Duncan?
It said there was no other way, Marcus.
Now it's over.
Don't you see, Marcus?
I was going to live and die here,
never add up to any damn thing.
It's true, Marcus.
It's all true.
Everything they told you--
it's true.
When it was inside me,
I saw flame birds dying on Orion 7.
I saw...
Cities floating in the air
5 miles high.
I knew everything.
Our mission is to preserve these memories,
all our experience,
against the day when all life,
all knowledge falls into a new dark age...
When the books have gone
and the histories have been burned.
Every world will look back to learn what went before
and they will turn to us and we will be there--
keepers of the past,
the present,
and the future.
Before I go along with this,
I want complete and total verification.
I want to go over every inch of your biologies.
I want complete statements by everyone involved
and no more volunteers
without my approval and supervision.
Otherwise, I'll have security take you in
and remove the vindrizi by force.
Is that clear?
Agreed.
[Beep beep]
Franklin to Garibaldi.
Stephen. Are you ok?
I'm fine. I'm in brown 87.
I need a medevac team in here stat.
We have a patient that needs immediate treatment.
I'm sorry, Duncan.
I didn't know.
Is there any way...
No. I can't take on another one.
They said it'd do permanent damage
to my neural system.
Everything I saw
when we were joined...
Music--
all of it--
it's going away.
By tomorrow...
I shan't remember any of it.
Marcus...
If you could have seen with our eyes.
If you could have seen.
Duncan.
I just heard you were leaving.
Please don't.
If you go, I'll miss you.
And I hate that feeling.
I have to, Marcus.
You see, for a while there,
I knew what it was like to be special,
and I can't go back to what I was.
When we were joined,
I saw things out there,
incredible things.
I want to try to find them--
really see them
just once before I die...
Be special one more time.
I wish there were something I could do.
I'm sorry.
No.
You did what you did
because you cared.
Got nothing to do with you
and everything...
Everything to do with me.
Maybe it was good.
Maybe we...
We all need to wake up,
become special...
Before it's too late.
Earth transport Dyson
is now boarding at gate seven.
Duncan...
Got to go now, Marcus.
Take care of the old place
for me, and...
Maybe when I've seen
what I've been looking for,
I'll come back.
Take care, Marcus.
[Dr. Franklin] I've been checking out their story,
and so far everything seems to fit.
Yeah, but if they have all this knowledge,
why keep it secret?
Information is power.
If anyone ever wanted to eliminate that knowledge,
they'd be the first ones up against a wall.
So, uh...How'd Marcus do?
It's the first time you've worked with him, right?
Fine. The main thing-- under pressure,
he's ok.
And I think that he would
definitely appreciate
a second chance with you, Susan.
That's it.
He must have sent them.
Him what?
Sent what?
I'll be back.
Keep 'em.
Thank you.
I will.
Well, I guess there's hope for us, after all.