And the Sky Full of Stars
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"And the Sky Full of Stars" is an episode from the first season of the science fiction
television series Babylon 5
. The episode title is derived from a line Sinclair says in the B5 Pilot
telefilm: "…and the sky was full of stars, and every star was an exploding ship — one of ours."
.
They then kidnap Commander Sinclair
, the commander of Babylon 5, and attach him to the device. As it develops, both Knight Two and Knight One are members of a covert, sinister organization on Earth which is determined to eliminate all alien influence from the planet; their "names" are merely codes. They have kidnapped Sinclair to force him to relive his memories of the Battle of the Line
, the final battle of the epic Earth-Minbari War
ten years earlier.
In this battle the Minbari
destroyed almost all human resistance and were on the verge of destroying the Earth itself when they suddenly, and shockingly, surrendered on the eve of victory.
Sinclair had led a fighter squadron which was annihilated in the attack; Sinclair's fighter mysteriously vanished for 24 hours and when it reappeared on sensors the Minbari had surrendered. Although Sinclair claims that he has no memory of the missing 24 hours, Knight Two is convinced that he is hiding something and is determined to find out what it is.
At first Sinclair doesn't realize that he's in a simulation; he awakens in his quarters and discovers that his computer and communications don't work. When he leaves his quarters he finds that the entire station is deserted. He finally meets Knight Two, who tells him that he is actually inside a computer-generated illusion; in the real world both Sinclair and Knight Two are strapped into chairs and connected to the neural device. Knight One is monitoring both men to make sure that the machine doesn't damage their brains. Knight Two believes that Sinclair is lying about his experiences at the Battle of the Line, and he accuses Sinclair of being a traitor to humanity. Knight Two's theory is that Sinclair secretly agreed to help the Minbari take over the Earth Alliance from the "inside", and in exchange the Minbari allowed Sinclair to survive the battle. Sinclair angrily responds that Knight Two's accusations are absurd. Knight Two then forces Sinclair to relive the Battle of the Line; Sinclair watches helplessly as his squadron is devistated by Minbari warships. Eventually Sinclair punches Knight Two, causing him to vanish from the simulation and awaken in his chair, Sinclair's simulated "punch" leaves Knight Two in considerable pain.
Meanwhile, on the real Babylon 5 Sinclair's kidnapping has been noticed, and Security Chief Garibaldi begins a station-wide search. Realizing that he doesn't have much time before they are discovered, Knight One gives Sinclair a dangerous dose of drugs which weaken his resistance to the machine. Sinclair then remembers what happened to him. His fighter was damaged, and believing that both he and all of humanity were doomed, Sinclair decided to ram the nearest Minbari cruiser
in an act of desperation. His fighter was instead captured and he was taken aboard the Minbari warship. There he was tortured and examined by the Minbari, and he was taken before the reclusive Grey Council, the Minbari's ruling body. There he saw Delenn
. After seeing her, Sinclair breaks out of the neural machine and punches Knight Two in the chair next to him, short-circuiting the machine and frying Knight Two's brain. He punches Knight One and steals his pistol. Still drugged, he hallucinates and sees Babylon 5 personnel as Minbari, he shoots at them. Knight One awakens and goes after Sinclair, but is shot and incapacitated by Garibaldi. Sinclair is confronted by Delenn, she convinces him to put down his weapon.
After recovering in medlab, Sinclair tells Ambassador Delenn that he remembers nothing of his experience. However, in his quarters he says in his journal that he remembers some (important) things, and he vows to find out why the Minbari took him aboard during the battle and why Delenn seems to have so much interest in him. In Delenn's quarters a mysterious Minbari tells her that if Sinclair ever learns the truth about what happened to him at the Battle of the Line, he must be killed. As Knight Two is being led off the station back to Earth Sinclair confronts him and asks questions. However, the damage to Knight Two's brain is so severe that he cannot remember even his real name, he is led away looking confused and dazed.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
. The episode title is derived from a line Sinclair says in the B5 Pilot
Babylon 5: The Gathering
Babylon 5: The Gathering is the pilot movie of the science fiction television series Babylon 5. The telefilm aired on February 22, 1993...
telefilm: "…and the sky was full of stars, and every star was an exploding ship — one of ours."
Synopsis
As the episode begins two mysterious men, known only as "Knight Two" and "Knight One", meet at Babylon 5. Together they construct a sophisticated neural device which causes its users to imagine that they are in a highly realistic but illusionary environmentSimulated reality
Simulated reality is the proposition that reality could be simulated—perhaps by computer simulation—to a degree indistinguishable from "true" reality. It could contain conscious minds which may or may not be fully aware that they are living inside a simulation....
.
They then kidnap Commander Sinclair
Jeffrey Sinclair
Jeffrey Sinclair is a character in the fictional universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played by actor Michael O'Hare. He was a regular in the first season of the show, as Commander of the Babylon 5 station, and made a number of guest appearances afterward.-Early life and...
, the commander of Babylon 5, and attach him to the device. As it develops, both Knight Two and Knight One are members of a covert, sinister organization on Earth which is determined to eliminate all alien influence from the planet; their "names" are merely codes. They have kidnapped Sinclair to force him to relive his memories of the Battle of the Line
Battle of the Line
In the Babylon 5 fictional universe, the Battle of the Line was the final battle of the Earth-Minbari war. The Battle of the Line was a desperate attempt by the Earth Alliance to stop a Minbari combat fleet from attacking Earth. Over 20,000 Human defenders fought in the battle; including most of...
, the final battle of the epic Earth-Minbari War
Earth-Minbari War
The Earth–Minbari War is a fictional war that formed a major part of the back story of the science fiction television series, Babylon 5. The war was fought between the Earth Alliance and the Minbari, an older alien race that overwhelmingly outmatched Earth in terms of technology and weapons...
ten years earlier.
In this battle the Minbari
Minbari
The Minbari are a fictional alien race featured in the television show Babylon 5. The Minbari characters of Delenn and Lennier figure prominently throughout the series; Neroon, Draal, and Dukhat are less prominent Minbari characters....
destroyed almost all human resistance and were on the verge of destroying the Earth itself when they suddenly, and shockingly, surrendered on the eve of victory.
Sinclair had led a fighter squadron which was annihilated in the attack; Sinclair's fighter mysteriously vanished for 24 hours and when it reappeared on sensors the Minbari had surrendered. Although Sinclair claims that he has no memory of the missing 24 hours, Knight Two is convinced that he is hiding something and is determined to find out what it is.
At first Sinclair doesn't realize that he's in a simulation; he awakens in his quarters and discovers that his computer and communications don't work. When he leaves his quarters he finds that the entire station is deserted. He finally meets Knight Two, who tells him that he is actually inside a computer-generated illusion; in the real world both Sinclair and Knight Two are strapped into chairs and connected to the neural device. Knight One is monitoring both men to make sure that the machine doesn't damage their brains. Knight Two believes that Sinclair is lying about his experiences at the Battle of the Line, and he accuses Sinclair of being a traitor to humanity. Knight Two's theory is that Sinclair secretly agreed to help the Minbari take over the Earth Alliance from the "inside", and in exchange the Minbari allowed Sinclair to survive the battle. Sinclair angrily responds that Knight Two's accusations are absurd. Knight Two then forces Sinclair to relive the Battle of the Line; Sinclair watches helplessly as his squadron is devistated by Minbari warships. Eventually Sinclair punches Knight Two, causing him to vanish from the simulation and awaken in his chair, Sinclair's simulated "punch" leaves Knight Two in considerable pain.
Meanwhile, on the real Babylon 5 Sinclair's kidnapping has been noticed, and Security Chief Garibaldi begins a station-wide search. Realizing that he doesn't have much time before they are discovered, Knight One gives Sinclair a dangerous dose of drugs which weaken his resistance to the machine. Sinclair then remembers what happened to him. His fighter was damaged, and believing that both he and all of humanity were doomed, Sinclair decided to ram the nearest Minbari cruiser
Sharlin Class Warcruiser
The Sharlin Class Warcruiser is the main starship used by the Minbari Federation in the fictional Babylon 5 universe. Also commonly known as the Minbari War Cruiser, the Sharlin class is very large but conflicting sizes have been noted by different resources...
in an act of desperation. His fighter was instead captured and he was taken aboard the Minbari warship. There he was tortured and examined by the Minbari, and he was taken before the reclusive Grey Council, the Minbari's ruling body. There he saw Delenn
Delenn
Delenn is a fictional lead character in the universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Mira Furlan.-Overview:Delenn, an alien ambassador and leader from the planet Minbar, is one of the pivotal characters in Babylon 5....
. After seeing her, Sinclair breaks out of the neural machine and punches Knight Two in the chair next to him, short-circuiting the machine and frying Knight Two's brain. He punches Knight One and steals his pistol. Still drugged, he hallucinates and sees Babylon 5 personnel as Minbari, he shoots at them. Knight One awakens and goes after Sinclair, but is shot and incapacitated by Garibaldi. Sinclair is confronted by Delenn, she convinces him to put down his weapon.
After recovering in medlab, Sinclair tells Ambassador Delenn that he remembers nothing of his experience. However, in his quarters he says in his journal that he remembers some (important) things, and he vows to find out why the Minbari took him aboard during the battle and why Delenn seems to have so much interest in him. In Delenn's quarters a mysterious Minbari tells her that if Sinclair ever learns the truth about what happened to him at the Battle of the Line, he must be killed. As Knight Two is being led off the station back to Earth Sinclair confronts him and asks questions. However, the damage to Knight Two's brain is so severe that he cannot remember even his real name, he is led away looking confused and dazed.
Arc significance
- This episode has great significance, as it is the first time that Jeffrey Sinclair begins to move towards understanding his missing 24 hours (mentioned in "The GatheringBabylon 5: The GatheringBabylon 5: The Gathering is the pilot movie of the science fiction television series Babylon 5. The telefilm aired on February 22, 1993...
") and realising the role his identity means he must play, in the future and the past. (See "ChrysalisChrysalis (Babylon 5)"Chrysalis" is the final episode of the first season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.-Synopsis:Mollari and G'Kar argue about Quadrant 37....
" and "War Without End", parts 1 and 2.)
- The episode reveals that there is a secret, growing conspiracy within the Earth Alliance to eliminate all alien influence from the planet; this conspiracy will become a major factor in later seasons of the series.
- Delenn is clearly involved in Sinclair's experience aboard the Minbari cruiser.
- First time a triluminaryTriluminaryTriluminaries are devices in the science fiction drama Babylon 5. The triluminary is a triangular shaped Minbari crystal with a small chip in the centre. The full extent of its abilities are unknown, although it is said to be the holiest of all relics in Minbari society and thus any readings it...
is seen in an episode.
- During his interrogation by the Grey Council, Sinclair asks his captors "What do you want?". That question will have great significance during the series, beginning with the episode "Signs and PortentsSigns and Portents"Signs and Portents" is an episode from the first season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5. It is the first episode of the series to dramatically advance the series "arc" and set up the events which lead up to the Shadow War; it was also used as the title for the entire first...
". It is interesting to note that asking this question of the members of the Grey Council results in a bizarre effect where the words are amplified and echoed around the room. Clearly, one cannot ask this particular question of Grey Council surreptitiously.
Production details
- The role of Knight Two was originally offered to Walter KoenigWalter KoenigWalter Marvin Koenig is an American actor, writer, teacher and director, known for his roles as Pavel Chekov in Star Trek and Alfred Bester in Babylon 5. He wrote the script for the 2008 science fiction legal thriller InAlienable.-Early life:...
, who was unable to accept at the time for health reasons. Walter Koenig was later cast as the recurring character of Bester. The role of Knight Two was then offered to The PrisonerThe PrisonerThe Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
star Patrick McGoohanPatrick McGoohanPatrick Joseph McGoohan was an American-born actor, raised in Ireland and England, with an extensive stage and film career, most notably in the 1960s television series Danger Man , and The Prisoner, which he co-created...
, who likewise wished to accept, but was out of the country at the time of filming, and had to decline as well.