Babylon 5 (1994–1998): Season 4, Episode 22 - The Deconstruction of Falling Stars - full transcript
In the distant future, a man exams key moments in history that have shaped the world. Starting with the formation of the Alliance that was formed on Babylon 5.
Shuttle 1 to C & C.
The package is on its way in.
Confirmed, Shuttle 1.
Hang on. Hang on.
- Welcome home.
- This was your idea, wasn't it?
Well, we figured you'd wanna come back
with as little fanfare as possible.
Your usual low-key approach.
But there's a time and a place
for everything...
...and this is the time and this is definitely
the place for one hell of a party.
Mr. President, we have a lot to celebrate.
Including, and especially, your marriage.
And you two just can't avoid it.
If I can find some way to pay
you back for this, I will.
Thank you.
So, doctor, who died?
What are you talking about?
Well, among my people,
this is how we celebrate state funerals.
Our marriage ceremonies are
solemn, sober. Moments of reflection.
Also regret, disagreement, argument
and mutual recrimination.
Once you know that it
cannot get any worse...
...you can relax and enjoy the marriage.
But to start with something like this...
No, it is a very bad sign for the future.
Perhaps it was something I said.
Perhaps it is everything you say.
I knew we should have gone
to Minbar first.
Well, I suppose we can't blame them.
I mean, Clark's gone, Earth and Mars
are free. They wanna celebrate.
I guess they see us
as a symbol of that.
They should be applauding themselves,
not us. We did it together.
There is something immodest
about all this.
Oh, I wouldn't worry about it.
What matters
is what we did here together.
In 100 years,
it won't matter who we were.
- They probably won't even remember.
- That's true.
Here's our first shot of the First Couple
of the Interstellar Alliance...
...President John Sheridan and Delenn,
live on ISN.
Their triumphant return to Babylon 5
after the liberation of Earth...
...has generated good...
- messages from the Senate...
- in the former
League of Non-Aligned Worlds.
Continuity error caused by high energy.
Correcting for error.
Resetting. Do you wish to continue?
Reloading sequence:
Sheridan and Delenn.
Select a time period or select auto play
for a chronological display of records.
Loading records for period covering one year
through 1000 years from events shown.
Please stand by to receive.
It was the year of fire.
The year of destruction.
The year we took back
what was ours.
It was the year of rebirth.
The year of great sadness.
The year of pain.
- And a year of joy.
- It was a new age.
It was the end of history.
It was the year everything changed.
The year is 2261.
The place, Babylon 5.
Accessing records from initial
scanning date. Stand by.
ISN Nightside...
...a no-holds-barred look
at the events of today...
...that will shape the world
of tomorrow.
And now your host, Derek Mitchell.
Good evening. The events of the last
few weeks have been remarkable.
The end of a civil war that split Earthforce
squarely down the middle...
...the death
of President William Morgan Clark...
...the birth of an independent Mars...
...and the creation of a new
interstellar alliance.
It can be more than
a little overwhelming.
However, there's a word
in the Old Testament...
...used to call for silence
between passages.
Selah.
It means "pause and consider."
So tonight, starting with a report from
special correspondent Jim Bitterbane...
...and a word or 10 from our
usual panel of experts...
...we've set aside a few moments
to reflect, discuss, pause and consider.
Selah.
Greatness is a quality that is often sought
by those who want it most...
...but are the least worthy.
Correspondingly, greatness is sometimes
thrust upon those who want it least...
...but are the most deserving.
These words seem to best describe
Captain John J. Sheridan...
...in the way he came into the world and as
the position that he currently occupies...
...as that of the president
of the new Interstellar Alliance.
The only son of a career diplomat...
...Sheridan was an average
but enthusiastic student.
He drifted in and out of various hobbies,
including a brief but obsessive interest...
...in works of the Dalai Lama...
...before entering Earthforce
shortly after the Dilgar War.
He served with distinction during
the Minbari War and the food riots on Mars.
Quite a change from those early,
unremarkable years...
...and the man who came to Earth leading
a fleet and carrying an ultimatum.
But now, an even greater challenge
stands before him.
Can he hold together this newborn alliance
of competing, even mutually hostile, races?
- Derek.
- Thank you, Jim.
We'll now turn to our panel of experts
for their thoughts.
From Earth Dome,
Senator Elizabeth Metarie.
From Mars, author and journalist
Leif Tanner.
And from Paris, Henry Ellis, former
speechwriter and political commentator.
- Gentlemen, senator, welcome.
- Thank you, Derek.
I don't know which of you
wants to be first...
- I'd like to jump in here, Derek.
- All right.
What amazes me...
...is the way that everyone has tried
to turn Sheridan into some kind of hero.
This is the man who resigned
his commission in Earthforce...
...under dubious circumstances.
The president cleared him
and his crew, Henry...
...and she called him
the hero of the hour.
Yes, she did, and she's gonna have to
answer for that in the next election...
...but that's besides the point.
Now, there was obviously
some sort of deal made there...
...which is how he got out of there
with his hide in one piece.
Call me old-fashioned...
...but that doesn't sound like the best
qualification to run a major alliance.
Sounds like most of the generals
and politicians...
...who've made history
in the last hundred years.
Oh, come on.
Let's look at the facts.
The man isn't qualified to run an operation
as large as this Interstellar Alliance.
He could barely operate Babylon 5
without shooting at everything in sight.
- Oh, that's an exaggeration.
- He can barely get along with his own race.
And now he's gonna stitch together
an alliance of radically different aliens...
...and make it work? No, this whole
shebang is doomed from the get-go.
- You're overreacting.
- At least let him prove if he can do it...
- Absolutely.
- With what's at stake?!
I agree with the senator.
Give Sheridan a break. To write him off
before he's even started...
...well, that's irrational,
even for you, Henry.
He fires on his own ships and you're
calling me irrational? Come on, Leif.
- That's not fair.
- I beg your pardon.
Do you actually believe
the Alliance will work?
I don't know if it will work...
...l'm just saying that he deserves a chance
to try and make it work.
What I think is missing and being lost
in this whole discussion...
...is that this is an election year...
...and that Mr. Ellis was working as
a speechwriter in the Clark administration.
And I think that he and others of his party
consider Sheridan a real threat...
...to their hopes for a majority
in the Senate...
...so they're doing all they can
to discredit him in advance.
- That is completely unfair.
- It is not unfair. It's true, Henry.
I hate to interrupt you at this point,
but we're coming up on a break.
So why don't each of you give me
your calls for the next couple of years...
...on the following.
Can Sheridan and his people make
a go of this new alliance?
- Absolutely.
- Yes.
Do you think they'll make
any difference?
And what do you consider to be
the number one problem waiting for them?
Mr. Tanner.
From where I sit, they've
already made a difference.
The Senate has been debating what to do
about Mars for years and did nothing.
It took Sheridan to push them
into recognizing...
...our sovereign rights of independence.
- At gunpoint.
- Senator?
Obviously, there's a degree of uncertainty
in any new political situation.
This next year will prove critical
for Sheridan and the rest of his people.
Look at what they're up against.
He has to ride herd on a dozen or so alien
races that have signed on to this alliance...
...and probably don't fully understand
what's being required of them.
There's still sporadic fighting
between many of those members.
On top of that he has supply problems,
telepath problems, raiding parties...
...not to mention distrust among elements
of his own government here at home.
This man has his work cut out for him,
but I know that he can handle it.
Mr. Ellis, last words.
Whatever Sheridan and Delenn say
about this economic alliance...
...he's going to have to apply
military force to make it work.
Now, let me finish. I didn't interrupt
you people when you were talking.
Now, when this happens,
it's all gonna fall apart.
He's power hungry and he's unprepared
and that is a dangerous combination.
- Dangerous combination, that's what...
- Thank you. Thank you very much.
We'll be back in just a moment
to consider the political implications...
...of this new Interstellar Alliance
and the recent calls for the formation...
...of independent political parties
on Mars.
Record ends. Auto play feature engaged.
Loading next sequence.
Date: 100 years from first time period.
Stand by.
Accessing records for date 100 years
from initial scanning date. Stand by.
With another in our series
of educational stellarcasts...
...on the 100th anniversary
of the Interstellar Alliance.
Taking part in today's discussion
from Earth Dome...
...historian Dr. Jim Latimere
from the University of York...
...political scientist Dr. Barbara Tashaki,
University of Japan at Tokyo...
...and psychologist Dr. William Exeter
from NYU.
Good morning. We have roughly half
a million students and faculty...
...online today waiting with questions,
which is more than we expected...
...so if the system runs a little slow,
bear with us.
Our first question, from Ray Winston,
University of Kiev:
What role do you feel Babylon played
in the creation of the 100 Year Peace?
Well, the station, none at all. It's a place...
Was a place that served as a nexus.
- I agree.
- A nexus how?
The first thing you have to do
is separate fantasy from reality.
The Alliance publicity machine
would have you believe...
...that all this came about because
of what a few people did.
But large political movements
are rarely the work of any one person.
The individual at the center gives
permission for others to act and inspires...
...but the individual really cannot
effect change as an act of will.
They did not do.
They allowed others to do.
By "they,"
you mean Sheridan and Delenn?
We all have a profound psychological
need to believe in heroes.
The shining knight on the white horse.
If they don't exist, we create them.
Sheridan and Delenn
are two classic examples.
If you look at the social dynamic around
them, they actually didn't do anything.
They were the open vessels in which people
poured their hopes and their dreams...
...that sets up sort of a gestalt where
events take on a life of their own.
So the record of their
accomplishments is overrated?
Absolutely. Good PR, as Tashaki said.
In a lot of ways, they blew it.
Only the force of history saved the situation
from collapsing of its own weight...
...after so many people died in its first year.
And the incident concerning their son...
I don't want to get off the track
and into associated biography...
...so let's move on
to the next question.
If your assumption is correct...
...where did Sheridan and Delenn
and those involved go wrong?
Where do you start?
So many people died in the year after
Sheridan and Delenn returned to Babylon 5.
- You can't blame them for all that.
- Of course you can.
As one example, they had no business
creating a colony of telepaths on Babylon 5.
He said later it was the worst
mistake of his career.
He thought they could control the telepaths,
when any fool knows that's impossible.
They were bound to turn on Sheridan
and everybody else...
...and that's exactly what happened.
- I have to agree.
That one event may have done much
to precipitate the Telepath War and...
You can't say one incident
was the cause...
Not the sole cause, no.
But it was a contributing factor.
I'd like to turn our attention
to this historical record.
It's from later in 2262, just after
the creation of the Interstellar Alliance.
I'd like to get your comments on it.
You gotta listen to me.
This isn't gonna work.
If you give yourselves up, we could
go back, we could talk to the others.
All right, you say you're
doing this for a cause.
What kind of sympathy are you gonna get
by killing innocent people in cold blood?
You wanna send out a message,
this ain't it.
Look, I can work with you.
I can get you out of this,
but you've gotta work with me.
What do you say?
Yeah.
That's what I thought
you were gonna say.
This is President Sheridan.
I have consulted
with Captain Lochley...
...and we've reached a decision
regarding the current situation.
It is not the policy of the Interstellar
Alliance or this station...
...to bargain with terrorists
for the lives of hostages.
If we open that door even once
we will never be able to close it again.
Now, you have two choices.
Surrender...
...or we will use lethal force
to bring you down.
You have 10 minutes.
Swell.
Wait, look, we...
Comments?
I don't know what more needs to be said.
The pictures speak for themselves.
Sheridan was clearly pathological.
Most governments take that position.
I'm not debating that.
But you can see it in his attitude,
how he addresses the terrorists.
That coldness is emblematic
of his personality.
He was power-hungry, as simple as that.
And he never let anything get in his way.
Dr. Tashaki?
A truly pathological individual...
...could never have constructed a mythos
around himself the way Sheridan did.
It's a very sophisticated PR campaign.
Brilliantly done.
And there's that bit about the way
his death was handled.
Exactly. Everyone knows
Sheridan died on Minbar.
The cover story they put out...
...was clearly designed to perpetuate
the myth of his character.
And I guess it worked, because a lot
of people still believe it 80 years later.
So where do the two of you
fall on the Delenn question?
Well, everyone knows Minbari live
a long time, but not that long.
I think the record is 120 years.
140? Forget it.
This is what Dr. Tashaki mentioned earlier,
this constant perpetuation of fantasy.
The idea that Delenn is still around
after this long and living in seclusion...
...so, of course, no one can see her,
it's very convenient.
The Alliance is continuing the illusion
that Delenn is alive for their own purposes.
I don't think she would have approved.
Apparently they feel they have to maintain
this fiction to keep their people in line.
If the Alliance and the Rangers
are as strong as they say...
...they don't need this security blanket
of lies and myth.
Looking back, has the Alliance
been a force for good?
Well, for the most part, yes.
Although good things can grow
in questionable ground.
It's clear the motives of those
at the birth of the Alliance...
...were not as pure as their biographers
and allies would suggest.
The force of history is what moves us
forward, our common shared destiny.
The individual does not move
society forward.
To give them undue credit
is immodest and impertinent.
Sheridan was a megalomaniac.
And to allow history to feed that
megalomania, even posthumously...
...simply compounds the error.
We have an obligation as academics
to uphold certain standards...
I've just heard we've had a security breach
in the building. We're going to...
Delenn?
John Sheridan...
...was a good...
...and kind...
...and decent man.
Delenn, wait.
You came all this way
just to say that?
You came just as far to say less.
But this is extraordinary. There's so
much more we'd like to ask you.
So much more we'd like to know.
You do not wish to know anything.
You wish...
...only to speak.
That which you know...
...you ignore...
...because it is inconvenient.
That which you do not know...
...you invent.
But none of that matters.
Except that he was a good man.
A kind man...
...who cared about the world...
...even when the world...
...cared nothing for him.
Of course we would expect you
to say that. We...
Goodbye.
Record ends. Auto play feature engaged.
Loading next sequence.
Date: 500 years from first time period.
Stand by.
Accessing records for date 500 years
from initial scanning date. Stand by.
Continue holographic recording
from last index point.
Test sequence number five.
2 January, 2762.
All monitors set to record mode.
Initiating environmental hologram,
location 2C. Sequence, start.
Virtual environment functioning, identical
to Babylon 5 system records from 2262.
Data transfer of records
is complete...
...successful in spite of extreme age
of original files...
...and destruction of original
Babylon 5 station 480 years ago.
To recap for Politdivision Central...
...the purpose of this simulation is
to provide reverse-correct infospeak...
...as support for current changes
in Earth policy.
It is the new policy that
the Interstellar Alliance is restrictive...
...and against the best
interests of Earth.
Intent is to deconstruct historical figures
revered by prole sector...
...thereby legitimizing current
government policies.
Initiating phase two of re-creation.
To determine if the psychohistorical
research has been thorough...
...phase two will begin
with the control holograms...
...working with the actual psychological
makeups of the subjects in question.
The holograms will thus perform
in a fashion consistent with realfact.
Program start...
...now.
Do you know where you are?
Babylon 5, the conference room,
level Blue 3.
And what year is it?
2262.
Very good.
The next step is to determine how well
the system can be modified.
Computer, update system files
for holographic figures...
...filling in period
from 2262 through 2762.
Stand by.
The system is updating
the holographic representations...
...with our current political situation
and the developments leading up to them.
This will demonstrate
system flexibility...
...and capacity to spontaneously emote
to changes in programming.
Download complete.
Well.
Five hundred years.
- Are we...?
- Yes.
You, the real you, are deceased.
We have reconstructed
your thought patterns...
...and your forms for a series of vids
designed to help...
Designed as propaganda to justify your
break from the Interstellar Alliance.
Not propaganda. Goodfacts.
As opposed to realfacts.
Facts the government has endorsed.
I don't get it. Why are you doing this?
Why the break with the Alliance?
Five hundred years of working
with the Alliance...
...has weakened the position of humans
in the greater scheme of things.
We have lost our uniqueness.
We have been polluted by
too many outside ideas.
That's a great story.
I'm sure that's the one
you're putting out.
What's the real one?
The realfact, not the goodfact.
Earth needs room to expand.
The Rangers and the Alliance prove
a hindrance to our plans to expand.
Can't you see?
They've re-created us so that
they can provide false records...
...and portray us to be, what,
the bad guys?
Only out for interests but our own?
They want to undermine the Alliance
by attacking the people who created it.
- Looks like...
- Just a second.
I'm remembering things I never saw.
Those are the records
they downloaded to us.
There's another force out there.
Earthgov is split.
The two sides are fighting
each other over...
...land and resources, power.
We're on the cusp of another civil war.
No, he's right.
I'm getting it too.
That's the reason for the planned
invasion, isn't it?
They wanna take over several colonies
that have gone over to the opposition...
...which is still loyal to the Alliance.
Your legacy has proven a hindrance
to that intention.
Therefore, you must be deconstructed.
Initiating phase three.
Goodfact scenario ready for testing.
- Look, if you think this is going to work...
- Engaging reprogram.
You may proceed.
Welcome to Babylon 5.
I understand that you surrendered to our
forces in the hopes of finding mercy.
The Interstellar Alliance is not here
to be merciful to the weak.
In all the universe,
there are only two kinds...
...the conquerors...
...and the conquered.
Through your blood and the blood
of your children...
...we will blaze a path
across the galaxy!
What we cannot take by force,
we will win by subversion.
And in the end, we will bury you.
Your lives are not the first
and they will not be the last.
If a billion must die to ensure
the continuance of our empire...
...then so be it!
You are only...
...a down payment.
Stand ready!
Aim!
Fire!
- There must be something we can do.
- How?
We're dead. We're not even here.
Just our memories, our thought patterns.
But that must be worth something.
What we are is not a matter of flesh,
it's a matter of will.
We know their backgrounds, we know
what they're doing. Why don't we just...?
Phase two.
Instituting Franklin reprogram,
placing Delenn module in standby mode.
Proceeding with next simulation.
Doctor's personal log: May 3, 2262.
We have secured several test subjects
for the next series of experiments.
We will now continue with the use
of alien organs in human bodies...
...in an attempt to create
a genetic crossbreed...
...compliant to the needs
of the Alliance.
Later today we will begin again
with our experiments on children.
The problem with the vivisection
is the younger children...
...can only survive the initial removal
of organs for a short time.
Now, we hope that
by increased use of drugs...
...we may find a way to prolong
their lives while we work.
Very good, very good.
Program hold while I make notes
on this for Infospeak Division.
So, Daniel, right? Dan, Danny.
Can I call you Danny?
Oh, right. Sorry, I forgot.
I'm just a hologram
and you're reprogramming me.
Didn't mean to interrupt.
No point conversing with someone
that doesn't really exist.
When you've got your pieces in place,
you're gonna launch a preemptive strike...
...against the enemy, right?
I mean, it's what I would do.
- Computer, initiate shutdown of Garibaldi.
- Now, wait.
Just one second.
Before you do that...
...I might have some useful
information for you.
See, the thing is,
me and Sheridan were close...
...but I was the one who did most
of the strategic planning during the war.
Now, a resource like that, you might
not want to wipe it out just yet.
I could help you. Give you some tips
to pass along to the big boys...
...and maybe get you a promotion.
Go on.
Well, before I can help,
I have to ask just a few small questions.
Now, you're a realfact kind of guy.
You know what they're up to
out there, don't you?
Come on, you can tell me.
Am I right?
Your boys are planning a first strike
against the enemy, aren't they?
That's why you're rushing ahead like this,
because you're under the gun.
We will strike at the outer-world colonies...
...and the enemy nations here on Earth
at the same time.
Our attack fleet will be leaving
within the hour.
Good. Good, that's very smart.
Now, will you be targeting military bases
or civilian population centers?
Civilian population centers.
We...
My superiors feel it will demoralize
the enemy. Force a surrender.
Estimated dead?
Fifteen to 20 million enemy casualties.
Can't make an omelet without
breaking a few eggs.
Absolutely.
Now, what suggestions do you have?
Well, I suggest...
...that you put your head between your legs
and you kiss your ass goodbye.
Thank you.
Computer!
The thing about being a holographic
record is that you don't really exist...
...except in patterns of light,
shadow, information.
And I happen to have a knack
for breaking system codes.
While you downloaded the new world order
into me I watched the system work.
I know where it comes in
and I know where it goes out.
And I just sent out
our entire conversation.
Broadcast the whole damn thing.
So as of right now, the enemy knows
what you have in mind, Danny.
From your records, they're more
humanitarian than you are.
They'll probably target your military bases
and research facilities.
Hell, their missiles are probably
halfway here by now.
You're lying.
Holograms don't lie, Danny boy.
Computer, end simulation.
End simulation!
Guess the system's busy.
This little lab of yours...
...this isn't, by any chance,
located on a military base, is it?
No!
Rest easy, friends.
Rest easy.
Record ends.
Auto play feature engaged.
Loading next sequence.
Date: 1000 years from first time period.
Stand by.
Accessing records for date 1000 years
from initial scanning date. Stand by.
Surprised it all still works
after this long.
Well, better get to my report.
Start auto-track systems.
Yes!
Yes? Yes, just a moment.
- Well, Brother Michael, it's rather late.
- Yes, I know, I know.
But I really had to talk to you,
Brother Alwyn.
So it would seem.
I am having a...
- A crisis of faith.
- That again?
- What?
- Nothing, nothing.
And what is afflicting your conscience
tonight, Brother Michael?
Well, I don't know what my role is
or what I'm doing here.
- You're doing God's work.
- Yes, but to what end?
The ways of the Lord are mysterious
and do not bend to your or to my desire...
...for answers on a certain schedule.
"Where was thou when I called
forth leviathan?"
Yes, I've read Job, Brother Alwyn,
and it is really not helping.
All right, Brother Michael.
What has precipitated
this particular crisis of faith?
There is a rumor going around
that our request for recognition...
...has been turned down yet again
by Rome.
Yes, I see.
A better rationale for the vow
of silence I've never heard.
Is it true?
The ways of Rome are like unto God.
They are mysterious...
...and sometimes they transcend
understanding.
They confess to an inability to see
the wisdom of our mission.
To keep alive the knowledge
of the past.
The knowledge that would have been lost
forever after the Great Burn 500 years ago.
Science and technology?
It's not really their calling.
- But it is ours.
- But, I mean...
Well, how?
How do we know it's our calling?
- How exactly can we be sure?
- Brother Michael!
I'm not actually saying anything that Rome
hasn't already asked. And you know it.
Most of the records were
destroyed in the Great Burn, sir...
...and we only have word of mouth
to go on.
In the holy books written
after the Great Burn!
And so it came to pass that
in the 500th year of the Alliance...
...the children of Earth did war,
one upon another...
...with missiles and terrible weapons.
And they burned the Earth...
...and the air and the cities and the sea!
You need only look outside
to have that part verified.
- Why is the rest suspect?
- It's all too clean.
It's all too well-thought-out to be real.
Look in here. Here, the...
...blessed Lorien.
- The last of the firstborn.
- Exactly.
The last shall come first,
the first shall come last.
A fable, specifically created to match
scripture, that's what the others say.
And there is not one shred of evidence
that he even existed.
There is proof. Out there, in space.
Yes, but space is closed to us now.
Just look at us, Brother Alwyn.
And look at what Earth has become.
Our cities are little more than villages.
All those great secrets of our ancestors
are almost gone.
Almost. That's why we're here.
To find the ancient wisdoms
and preserve them.
Why, we've already found and restored
so many books.
Yes, but we are not one inch closer to...
To those flying machines that the
books talk about, or to the stars.
And if the truth really does lie
in the stars...
...then how will we ever know
the truth?
Look, the others.
The blessed Sheridan...
...who lived and died...
...and returned from the dead
and was taken bodily into heaven.
And lvanova the strong
and Delenn the wise.
They could all be fables for all we know.
- You know the worst of it?
- What?
I was halfway through illuminating it
when my heart just left me.
You know the prophecies.
The prophecies of Delenn III...
...said that the Anla'shok,
the Rangers...
...would come again to the Earth
in her greatest hour of need...
...and rebuild what was once the cradle
of Sheridan and the Alliance.
And we have waited so, so long,
Brother Alwyn...
...and they have never come.
If that's a myth,
then everything else could be a myth.
And the whole of my life
could just be a lie.
And if they do not come today,
but they come tomorrow...
...is your life a lie then?
I cannot help you, Brother Michael.
That is what faith is for.
Faith sustains us...
...in the hour when reason tells us
that we cannot continue...
...that the whole of our lives
is without meaning.
Then why were we born able
to reason if reason's useless?
Not useless. But it's also not enough.
Faith and reason
are the shoes on your feet.
You can travel further with both
than you can with just one.
If you must have reason for an answer,
then consider this.
If today the Rangers came back to Earth
from their place in the heavens...
...you would not know about it.
They would come in secret
and move around us and help us...
...and we wouldn't even
know they were here...
...because the secret that they bring
is feared by people...
...who still blame science
for the Great Burn.
Then you think the Rangers
are here today?
I believe they could be.
That's all that faith requires.
That we surrender ourselves
to the possibility of hope.
With that, I am content.
And I believe you will be as well.
It's beautiful work.
Too lovely and significant
for you to half-finish.
Finish your illumination, Brother Michael.
You've gone this far.
It's too late to lose your faith now...
...or my faith in you.
If the truth really is in the stars,
Brother Alwyn...
...then just once,
once before I die...
...I really wish that I could walk
amongst those stars.
If there is a way, Brother Michael...
...I pray that your wish comes true.
Oh, dear.
Your energy level's almost
down to nothing.
I'm going to have to sit you in the sun
tomorrow to recharge.
Alwyn Macomber reporting in.
Nothing of substance to report
since my last.
We think we may have gathered enough
information from the time pre-Burn...
...to assemble a working
gasoline engine.
Obviously, there's no gasoline
in this part of the country.
Therefore, we ask the supply department
if they could...
...arrange to have a suitable supply
of gasoline...
...found in the vicinity near the abbey
in a few days.
Only this time, for Valen's sake,
please make it look like an old container.
The last one could've been
produced 100 years ago.
We will rebuild the Earth.
Though it take us another 2000 years.
But this time we will build it better.
I'm attaching a conversation
I just had with Brother Michael...
...who I still think would be a worthy
recruit after he's grown a little.
Give him another 20 years
and he'll be fine.
Alwyn, Anla'shok, Earth Sector, end report.
We live for the one,
we die for the one.
Record ends.
Auto play feature complete.
Stand by.
System has finished processing
and archiving records...
...for period of one million years
from initial scanning date.
Instructions.
Our job is finished.
- Convey records to New Earth.
- Confirmed.
Use enhanced tachyon sequence to ensure
arrival in time for the celebrations.
Confirmed. Note: Atypical solar
emissions increasing in intensity.
Estimate Sol will hit nova
in less than five standard hours.
Recommend immediate evacuation.
Tell the others not to worry.
I wouldn't miss this for anything.
Now go on.
This is how the world ends.
Swallowed in fire, but not in darkness.
You will live on.
The voice of all our ancestors...
...the voice of our fathers and our mothers
to the last generation.
We created the world we think
you would've wished for us.
And now we leave the cradle
for the last time.
You should sleep.
We both have early meetings.
Yeah, I know.
I was just thinking about it all.
Everything we've done...
...and what I said earlier.
And I was wondering...
...if they will remember us
100 years from now, or 1000.
Then I figured, probably not.
But it doesn't matter.
We did what we did because it was right,
not to be remembered.
History will attend to itself.
It always does.
[ENGLISH]
The package is on its way in.
Confirmed, Shuttle 1.
Hang on. Hang on.
- Welcome home.
- This was your idea, wasn't it?
Well, we figured you'd wanna come back
with as little fanfare as possible.
Your usual low-key approach.
But there's a time and a place
for everything...
...and this is the time and this is definitely
the place for one hell of a party.
Mr. President, we have a lot to celebrate.
Including, and especially, your marriage.
And you two just can't avoid it.
If I can find some way to pay
you back for this, I will.
Thank you.
So, doctor, who died?
What are you talking about?
Well, among my people,
this is how we celebrate state funerals.
Our marriage ceremonies are
solemn, sober. Moments of reflection.
Also regret, disagreement, argument
and mutual recrimination.
Once you know that it
cannot get any worse...
...you can relax and enjoy the marriage.
But to start with something like this...
No, it is a very bad sign for the future.
Perhaps it was something I said.
Perhaps it is everything you say.
I knew we should have gone
to Minbar first.
Well, I suppose we can't blame them.
I mean, Clark's gone, Earth and Mars
are free. They wanna celebrate.
I guess they see us
as a symbol of that.
They should be applauding themselves,
not us. We did it together.
There is something immodest
about all this.
Oh, I wouldn't worry about it.
What matters
is what we did here together.
In 100 years,
it won't matter who we were.
- They probably won't even remember.
- That's true.
Here's our first shot of the First Couple
of the Interstellar Alliance...
...President John Sheridan and Delenn,
live on ISN.
Their triumphant return to Babylon 5
after the liberation of Earth...
...has generated good...
- messages from the Senate...
- in the former
League of Non-Aligned Worlds.
Continuity error caused by high energy.
Correcting for error.
Resetting. Do you wish to continue?
Reloading sequence:
Sheridan and Delenn.
Select a time period or select auto play
for a chronological display of records.
Loading records for period covering one year
through 1000 years from events shown.
Please stand by to receive.
It was the year of fire.
The year of destruction.
The year we took back
what was ours.
It was the year of rebirth.
The year of great sadness.
The year of pain.
- And a year of joy.
- It was a new age.
It was the end of history.
It was the year everything changed.
The year is 2261.
The place, Babylon 5.
Accessing records from initial
scanning date. Stand by.
ISN Nightside...
...a no-holds-barred look
at the events of today...
...that will shape the world
of tomorrow.
And now your host, Derek Mitchell.
Good evening. The events of the last
few weeks have been remarkable.
The end of a civil war that split Earthforce
squarely down the middle...
...the death
of President William Morgan Clark...
...the birth of an independent Mars...
...and the creation of a new
interstellar alliance.
It can be more than
a little overwhelming.
However, there's a word
in the Old Testament...
...used to call for silence
between passages.
Selah.
It means "pause and consider."
So tonight, starting with a report from
special correspondent Jim Bitterbane...
...and a word or 10 from our
usual panel of experts...
...we've set aside a few moments
to reflect, discuss, pause and consider.
Selah.
Greatness is a quality that is often sought
by those who want it most...
...but are the least worthy.
Correspondingly, greatness is sometimes
thrust upon those who want it least...
...but are the most deserving.
These words seem to best describe
Captain John J. Sheridan...
...in the way he came into the world and as
the position that he currently occupies...
...as that of the president
of the new Interstellar Alliance.
The only son of a career diplomat...
...Sheridan was an average
but enthusiastic student.
He drifted in and out of various hobbies,
including a brief but obsessive interest...
...in works of the Dalai Lama...
...before entering Earthforce
shortly after the Dilgar War.
He served with distinction during
the Minbari War and the food riots on Mars.
Quite a change from those early,
unremarkable years...
...and the man who came to Earth leading
a fleet and carrying an ultimatum.
But now, an even greater challenge
stands before him.
Can he hold together this newborn alliance
of competing, even mutually hostile, races?
- Derek.
- Thank you, Jim.
We'll now turn to our panel of experts
for their thoughts.
From Earth Dome,
Senator Elizabeth Metarie.
From Mars, author and journalist
Leif Tanner.
And from Paris, Henry Ellis, former
speechwriter and political commentator.
- Gentlemen, senator, welcome.
- Thank you, Derek.
I don't know which of you
wants to be first...
- I'd like to jump in here, Derek.
- All right.
What amazes me...
...is the way that everyone has tried
to turn Sheridan into some kind of hero.
This is the man who resigned
his commission in Earthforce...
...under dubious circumstances.
The president cleared him
and his crew, Henry...
...and she called him
the hero of the hour.
Yes, she did, and she's gonna have to
answer for that in the next election...
...but that's besides the point.
Now, there was obviously
some sort of deal made there...
...which is how he got out of there
with his hide in one piece.
Call me old-fashioned...
...but that doesn't sound like the best
qualification to run a major alliance.
Sounds like most of the generals
and politicians...
...who've made history
in the last hundred years.
Oh, come on.
Let's look at the facts.
The man isn't qualified to run an operation
as large as this Interstellar Alliance.
He could barely operate Babylon 5
without shooting at everything in sight.
- Oh, that's an exaggeration.
- He can barely get along with his own race.
And now he's gonna stitch together
an alliance of radically different aliens...
...and make it work? No, this whole
shebang is doomed from the get-go.
- You're overreacting.
- At least let him prove if he can do it...
- Absolutely.
- With what's at stake?!
I agree with the senator.
Give Sheridan a break. To write him off
before he's even started...
...well, that's irrational,
even for you, Henry.
He fires on his own ships and you're
calling me irrational? Come on, Leif.
- That's not fair.
- I beg your pardon.
Do you actually believe
the Alliance will work?
I don't know if it will work...
...l'm just saying that he deserves a chance
to try and make it work.
What I think is missing and being lost
in this whole discussion...
...is that this is an election year...
...and that Mr. Ellis was working as
a speechwriter in the Clark administration.
And I think that he and others of his party
consider Sheridan a real threat...
...to their hopes for a majority
in the Senate...
...so they're doing all they can
to discredit him in advance.
- That is completely unfair.
- It is not unfair. It's true, Henry.
I hate to interrupt you at this point,
but we're coming up on a break.
So why don't each of you give me
your calls for the next couple of years...
...on the following.
Can Sheridan and his people make
a go of this new alliance?
- Absolutely.
- Yes.
Do you think they'll make
any difference?
And what do you consider to be
the number one problem waiting for them?
Mr. Tanner.
From where I sit, they've
already made a difference.
The Senate has been debating what to do
about Mars for years and did nothing.
It took Sheridan to push them
into recognizing...
...our sovereign rights of independence.
- At gunpoint.
- Senator?
Obviously, there's a degree of uncertainty
in any new political situation.
This next year will prove critical
for Sheridan and the rest of his people.
Look at what they're up against.
He has to ride herd on a dozen or so alien
races that have signed on to this alliance...
...and probably don't fully understand
what's being required of them.
There's still sporadic fighting
between many of those members.
On top of that he has supply problems,
telepath problems, raiding parties...
...not to mention distrust among elements
of his own government here at home.
This man has his work cut out for him,
but I know that he can handle it.
Mr. Ellis, last words.
Whatever Sheridan and Delenn say
about this economic alliance...
...he's going to have to apply
military force to make it work.
Now, let me finish. I didn't interrupt
you people when you were talking.
Now, when this happens,
it's all gonna fall apart.
He's power hungry and he's unprepared
and that is a dangerous combination.
- Dangerous combination, that's what...
- Thank you. Thank you very much.
We'll be back in just a moment
to consider the political implications...
...of this new Interstellar Alliance
and the recent calls for the formation...
...of independent political parties
on Mars.
Record ends. Auto play feature engaged.
Loading next sequence.
Date: 100 years from first time period.
Stand by.
Accessing records for date 100 years
from initial scanning date. Stand by.
With another in our series
of educational stellarcasts...
...on the 100th anniversary
of the Interstellar Alliance.
Taking part in today's discussion
from Earth Dome...
...historian Dr. Jim Latimere
from the University of York...
...political scientist Dr. Barbara Tashaki,
University of Japan at Tokyo...
...and psychologist Dr. William Exeter
from NYU.
Good morning. We have roughly half
a million students and faculty...
...online today waiting with questions,
which is more than we expected...
...so if the system runs a little slow,
bear with us.
Our first question, from Ray Winston,
University of Kiev:
What role do you feel Babylon played
in the creation of the 100 Year Peace?
Well, the station, none at all. It's a place...
Was a place that served as a nexus.
- I agree.
- A nexus how?
The first thing you have to do
is separate fantasy from reality.
The Alliance publicity machine
would have you believe...
...that all this came about because
of what a few people did.
But large political movements
are rarely the work of any one person.
The individual at the center gives
permission for others to act and inspires...
...but the individual really cannot
effect change as an act of will.
They did not do.
They allowed others to do.
By "they,"
you mean Sheridan and Delenn?
We all have a profound psychological
need to believe in heroes.
The shining knight on the white horse.
If they don't exist, we create them.
Sheridan and Delenn
are two classic examples.
If you look at the social dynamic around
them, they actually didn't do anything.
They were the open vessels in which people
poured their hopes and their dreams...
...that sets up sort of a gestalt where
events take on a life of their own.
So the record of their
accomplishments is overrated?
Absolutely. Good PR, as Tashaki said.
In a lot of ways, they blew it.
Only the force of history saved the situation
from collapsing of its own weight...
...after so many people died in its first year.
And the incident concerning their son...
I don't want to get off the track
and into associated biography...
...so let's move on
to the next question.
If your assumption is correct...
...where did Sheridan and Delenn
and those involved go wrong?
Where do you start?
So many people died in the year after
Sheridan and Delenn returned to Babylon 5.
- You can't blame them for all that.
- Of course you can.
As one example, they had no business
creating a colony of telepaths on Babylon 5.
He said later it was the worst
mistake of his career.
He thought they could control the telepaths,
when any fool knows that's impossible.
They were bound to turn on Sheridan
and everybody else...
...and that's exactly what happened.
- I have to agree.
That one event may have done much
to precipitate the Telepath War and...
You can't say one incident
was the cause...
Not the sole cause, no.
But it was a contributing factor.
I'd like to turn our attention
to this historical record.
It's from later in 2262, just after
the creation of the Interstellar Alliance.
I'd like to get your comments on it.
You gotta listen to me.
This isn't gonna work.
If you give yourselves up, we could
go back, we could talk to the others.
All right, you say you're
doing this for a cause.
What kind of sympathy are you gonna get
by killing innocent people in cold blood?
You wanna send out a message,
this ain't it.
Look, I can work with you.
I can get you out of this,
but you've gotta work with me.
What do you say?
Yeah.
That's what I thought
you were gonna say.
This is President Sheridan.
I have consulted
with Captain Lochley...
...and we've reached a decision
regarding the current situation.
It is not the policy of the Interstellar
Alliance or this station...
...to bargain with terrorists
for the lives of hostages.
If we open that door even once
we will never be able to close it again.
Now, you have two choices.
Surrender...
...or we will use lethal force
to bring you down.
You have 10 minutes.
Swell.
Wait, look, we...
Comments?
I don't know what more needs to be said.
The pictures speak for themselves.
Sheridan was clearly pathological.
Most governments take that position.
I'm not debating that.
But you can see it in his attitude,
how he addresses the terrorists.
That coldness is emblematic
of his personality.
He was power-hungry, as simple as that.
And he never let anything get in his way.
Dr. Tashaki?
A truly pathological individual...
...could never have constructed a mythos
around himself the way Sheridan did.
It's a very sophisticated PR campaign.
Brilliantly done.
And there's that bit about the way
his death was handled.
Exactly. Everyone knows
Sheridan died on Minbar.
The cover story they put out...
...was clearly designed to perpetuate
the myth of his character.
And I guess it worked, because a lot
of people still believe it 80 years later.
So where do the two of you
fall on the Delenn question?
Well, everyone knows Minbari live
a long time, but not that long.
I think the record is 120 years.
140? Forget it.
This is what Dr. Tashaki mentioned earlier,
this constant perpetuation of fantasy.
The idea that Delenn is still around
after this long and living in seclusion...
...so, of course, no one can see her,
it's very convenient.
The Alliance is continuing the illusion
that Delenn is alive for their own purposes.
I don't think she would have approved.
Apparently they feel they have to maintain
this fiction to keep their people in line.
If the Alliance and the Rangers
are as strong as they say...
...they don't need this security blanket
of lies and myth.
Looking back, has the Alliance
been a force for good?
Well, for the most part, yes.
Although good things can grow
in questionable ground.
It's clear the motives of those
at the birth of the Alliance...
...were not as pure as their biographers
and allies would suggest.
The force of history is what moves us
forward, our common shared destiny.
The individual does not move
society forward.
To give them undue credit
is immodest and impertinent.
Sheridan was a megalomaniac.
And to allow history to feed that
megalomania, even posthumously...
...simply compounds the error.
We have an obligation as academics
to uphold certain standards...
I've just heard we've had a security breach
in the building. We're going to...
Delenn?
John Sheridan...
...was a good...
...and kind...
...and decent man.
Delenn, wait.
You came all this way
just to say that?
You came just as far to say less.
But this is extraordinary. There's so
much more we'd like to ask you.
So much more we'd like to know.
You do not wish to know anything.
You wish...
...only to speak.
That which you know...
...you ignore...
...because it is inconvenient.
That which you do not know...
...you invent.
But none of that matters.
Except that he was a good man.
A kind man...
...who cared about the world...
...even when the world...
...cared nothing for him.
Of course we would expect you
to say that. We...
Goodbye.
Record ends. Auto play feature engaged.
Loading next sequence.
Date: 500 years from first time period.
Stand by.
Accessing records for date 500 years
from initial scanning date. Stand by.
Continue holographic recording
from last index point.
Test sequence number five.
2 January, 2762.
All monitors set to record mode.
Initiating environmental hologram,
location 2C. Sequence, start.
Virtual environment functioning, identical
to Babylon 5 system records from 2262.
Data transfer of records
is complete...
...successful in spite of extreme age
of original files...
...and destruction of original
Babylon 5 station 480 years ago.
To recap for Politdivision Central...
...the purpose of this simulation is
to provide reverse-correct infospeak...
...as support for current changes
in Earth policy.
It is the new policy that
the Interstellar Alliance is restrictive...
...and against the best
interests of Earth.
Intent is to deconstruct historical figures
revered by prole sector...
...thereby legitimizing current
government policies.
Initiating phase two of re-creation.
To determine if the psychohistorical
research has been thorough...
...phase two will begin
with the control holograms...
...working with the actual psychological
makeups of the subjects in question.
The holograms will thus perform
in a fashion consistent with realfact.
Program start...
...now.
Do you know where you are?
Babylon 5, the conference room,
level Blue 3.
And what year is it?
2262.
Very good.
The next step is to determine how well
the system can be modified.
Computer, update system files
for holographic figures...
...filling in period
from 2262 through 2762.
Stand by.
The system is updating
the holographic representations...
...with our current political situation
and the developments leading up to them.
This will demonstrate
system flexibility...
...and capacity to spontaneously emote
to changes in programming.
Download complete.
Well.
Five hundred years.
- Are we...?
- Yes.
You, the real you, are deceased.
We have reconstructed
your thought patterns...
...and your forms for a series of vids
designed to help...
Designed as propaganda to justify your
break from the Interstellar Alliance.
Not propaganda. Goodfacts.
As opposed to realfacts.
Facts the government has endorsed.
I don't get it. Why are you doing this?
Why the break with the Alliance?
Five hundred years of working
with the Alliance...
...has weakened the position of humans
in the greater scheme of things.
We have lost our uniqueness.
We have been polluted by
too many outside ideas.
That's a great story.
I'm sure that's the one
you're putting out.
What's the real one?
The realfact, not the goodfact.
Earth needs room to expand.
The Rangers and the Alliance prove
a hindrance to our plans to expand.
Can't you see?
They've re-created us so that
they can provide false records...
...and portray us to be, what,
the bad guys?
Only out for interests but our own?
They want to undermine the Alliance
by attacking the people who created it.
- Looks like...
- Just a second.
I'm remembering things I never saw.
Those are the records
they downloaded to us.
There's another force out there.
Earthgov is split.
The two sides are fighting
each other over...
...land and resources, power.
We're on the cusp of another civil war.
No, he's right.
I'm getting it too.
That's the reason for the planned
invasion, isn't it?
They wanna take over several colonies
that have gone over to the opposition...
...which is still loyal to the Alliance.
Your legacy has proven a hindrance
to that intention.
Therefore, you must be deconstructed.
Initiating phase three.
Goodfact scenario ready for testing.
- Look, if you think this is going to work...
- Engaging reprogram.
You may proceed.
Welcome to Babylon 5.
I understand that you surrendered to our
forces in the hopes of finding mercy.
The Interstellar Alliance is not here
to be merciful to the weak.
In all the universe,
there are only two kinds...
...the conquerors...
...and the conquered.
Through your blood and the blood
of your children...
...we will blaze a path
across the galaxy!
What we cannot take by force,
we will win by subversion.
And in the end, we will bury you.
Your lives are not the first
and they will not be the last.
If a billion must die to ensure
the continuance of our empire...
...then so be it!
You are only...
...a down payment.
Stand ready!
Aim!
Fire!
- There must be something we can do.
- How?
We're dead. We're not even here.
Just our memories, our thought patterns.
But that must be worth something.
What we are is not a matter of flesh,
it's a matter of will.
We know their backgrounds, we know
what they're doing. Why don't we just...?
Phase two.
Instituting Franklin reprogram,
placing Delenn module in standby mode.
Proceeding with next simulation.
Doctor's personal log: May 3, 2262.
We have secured several test subjects
for the next series of experiments.
We will now continue with the use
of alien organs in human bodies...
...in an attempt to create
a genetic crossbreed...
...compliant to the needs
of the Alliance.
Later today we will begin again
with our experiments on children.
The problem with the vivisection
is the younger children...
...can only survive the initial removal
of organs for a short time.
Now, we hope that
by increased use of drugs...
...we may find a way to prolong
their lives while we work.
Very good, very good.
Program hold while I make notes
on this for Infospeak Division.
So, Daniel, right? Dan, Danny.
Can I call you Danny?
Oh, right. Sorry, I forgot.
I'm just a hologram
and you're reprogramming me.
Didn't mean to interrupt.
No point conversing with someone
that doesn't really exist.
When you've got your pieces in place,
you're gonna launch a preemptive strike...
...against the enemy, right?
I mean, it's what I would do.
- Computer, initiate shutdown of Garibaldi.
- Now, wait.
Just one second.
Before you do that...
...I might have some useful
information for you.
See, the thing is,
me and Sheridan were close...
...but I was the one who did most
of the strategic planning during the war.
Now, a resource like that, you might
not want to wipe it out just yet.
I could help you. Give you some tips
to pass along to the big boys...
...and maybe get you a promotion.
Go on.
Well, before I can help,
I have to ask just a few small questions.
Now, you're a realfact kind of guy.
You know what they're up to
out there, don't you?
Come on, you can tell me.
Am I right?
Your boys are planning a first strike
against the enemy, aren't they?
That's why you're rushing ahead like this,
because you're under the gun.
We will strike at the outer-world colonies...
...and the enemy nations here on Earth
at the same time.
Our attack fleet will be leaving
within the hour.
Good. Good, that's very smart.
Now, will you be targeting military bases
or civilian population centers?
Civilian population centers.
We...
My superiors feel it will demoralize
the enemy. Force a surrender.
Estimated dead?
Fifteen to 20 million enemy casualties.
Can't make an omelet without
breaking a few eggs.
Absolutely.
Now, what suggestions do you have?
Well, I suggest...
...that you put your head between your legs
and you kiss your ass goodbye.
Thank you.
Computer!
The thing about being a holographic
record is that you don't really exist...
...except in patterns of light,
shadow, information.
And I happen to have a knack
for breaking system codes.
While you downloaded the new world order
into me I watched the system work.
I know where it comes in
and I know where it goes out.
And I just sent out
our entire conversation.
Broadcast the whole damn thing.
So as of right now, the enemy knows
what you have in mind, Danny.
From your records, they're more
humanitarian than you are.
They'll probably target your military bases
and research facilities.
Hell, their missiles are probably
halfway here by now.
You're lying.
Holograms don't lie, Danny boy.
Computer, end simulation.
End simulation!
Guess the system's busy.
This little lab of yours...
...this isn't, by any chance,
located on a military base, is it?
No!
Rest easy, friends.
Rest easy.
Record ends.
Auto play feature engaged.
Loading next sequence.
Date: 1000 years from first time period.
Stand by.
Accessing records for date 1000 years
from initial scanning date. Stand by.
Surprised it all still works
after this long.
Well, better get to my report.
Start auto-track systems.
Yes!
Yes? Yes, just a moment.
- Well, Brother Michael, it's rather late.
- Yes, I know, I know.
But I really had to talk to you,
Brother Alwyn.
So it would seem.
I am having a...
- A crisis of faith.
- That again?
- What?
- Nothing, nothing.
And what is afflicting your conscience
tonight, Brother Michael?
Well, I don't know what my role is
or what I'm doing here.
- You're doing God's work.
- Yes, but to what end?
The ways of the Lord are mysterious
and do not bend to your or to my desire...
...for answers on a certain schedule.
"Where was thou when I called
forth leviathan?"
Yes, I've read Job, Brother Alwyn,
and it is really not helping.
All right, Brother Michael.
What has precipitated
this particular crisis of faith?
There is a rumor going around
that our request for recognition...
...has been turned down yet again
by Rome.
Yes, I see.
A better rationale for the vow
of silence I've never heard.
Is it true?
The ways of Rome are like unto God.
They are mysterious...
...and sometimes they transcend
understanding.
They confess to an inability to see
the wisdom of our mission.
To keep alive the knowledge
of the past.
The knowledge that would have been lost
forever after the Great Burn 500 years ago.
Science and technology?
It's not really their calling.
- But it is ours.
- But, I mean...
Well, how?
How do we know it's our calling?
- How exactly can we be sure?
- Brother Michael!
I'm not actually saying anything that Rome
hasn't already asked. And you know it.
Most of the records were
destroyed in the Great Burn, sir...
...and we only have word of mouth
to go on.
In the holy books written
after the Great Burn!
And so it came to pass that
in the 500th year of the Alliance...
...the children of Earth did war,
one upon another...
...with missiles and terrible weapons.
And they burned the Earth...
...and the air and the cities and the sea!
You need only look outside
to have that part verified.
- Why is the rest suspect?
- It's all too clean.
It's all too well-thought-out to be real.
Look in here. Here, the...
...blessed Lorien.
- The last of the firstborn.
- Exactly.
The last shall come first,
the first shall come last.
A fable, specifically created to match
scripture, that's what the others say.
And there is not one shred of evidence
that he even existed.
There is proof. Out there, in space.
Yes, but space is closed to us now.
Just look at us, Brother Alwyn.
And look at what Earth has become.
Our cities are little more than villages.
All those great secrets of our ancestors
are almost gone.
Almost. That's why we're here.
To find the ancient wisdoms
and preserve them.
Why, we've already found and restored
so many books.
Yes, but we are not one inch closer to...
To those flying machines that the
books talk about, or to the stars.
And if the truth really does lie
in the stars...
...then how will we ever know
the truth?
Look, the others.
The blessed Sheridan...
...who lived and died...
...and returned from the dead
and was taken bodily into heaven.
And lvanova the strong
and Delenn the wise.
They could all be fables for all we know.
- You know the worst of it?
- What?
I was halfway through illuminating it
when my heart just left me.
You know the prophecies.
The prophecies of Delenn III...
...said that the Anla'shok,
the Rangers...
...would come again to the Earth
in her greatest hour of need...
...and rebuild what was once the cradle
of Sheridan and the Alliance.
And we have waited so, so long,
Brother Alwyn...
...and they have never come.
If that's a myth,
then everything else could be a myth.
And the whole of my life
could just be a lie.
And if they do not come today,
but they come tomorrow...
...is your life a lie then?
I cannot help you, Brother Michael.
That is what faith is for.
Faith sustains us...
...in the hour when reason tells us
that we cannot continue...
...that the whole of our lives
is without meaning.
Then why were we born able
to reason if reason's useless?
Not useless. But it's also not enough.
Faith and reason
are the shoes on your feet.
You can travel further with both
than you can with just one.
If you must have reason for an answer,
then consider this.
If today the Rangers came back to Earth
from their place in the heavens...
...you would not know about it.
They would come in secret
and move around us and help us...
...and we wouldn't even
know they were here...
...because the secret that they bring
is feared by people...
...who still blame science
for the Great Burn.
Then you think the Rangers
are here today?
I believe they could be.
That's all that faith requires.
That we surrender ourselves
to the possibility of hope.
With that, I am content.
And I believe you will be as well.
It's beautiful work.
Too lovely and significant
for you to half-finish.
Finish your illumination, Brother Michael.
You've gone this far.
It's too late to lose your faith now...
...or my faith in you.
If the truth really is in the stars,
Brother Alwyn...
...then just once,
once before I die...
...I really wish that I could walk
amongst those stars.
If there is a way, Brother Michael...
...I pray that your wish comes true.
Oh, dear.
Your energy level's almost
down to nothing.
I'm going to have to sit you in the sun
tomorrow to recharge.
Alwyn Macomber reporting in.
Nothing of substance to report
since my last.
We think we may have gathered enough
information from the time pre-Burn...
...to assemble a working
gasoline engine.
Obviously, there's no gasoline
in this part of the country.
Therefore, we ask the supply department
if they could...
...arrange to have a suitable supply
of gasoline...
...found in the vicinity near the abbey
in a few days.
Only this time, for Valen's sake,
please make it look like an old container.
The last one could've been
produced 100 years ago.
We will rebuild the Earth.
Though it take us another 2000 years.
But this time we will build it better.
I'm attaching a conversation
I just had with Brother Michael...
...who I still think would be a worthy
recruit after he's grown a little.
Give him another 20 years
and he'll be fine.
Alwyn, Anla'shok, Earth Sector, end report.
We live for the one,
we die for the one.
Record ends.
Auto play feature complete.
Stand by.
System has finished processing
and archiving records...
...for period of one million years
from initial scanning date.
Instructions.
Our job is finished.
- Convey records to New Earth.
- Confirmed.
Use enhanced tachyon sequence to ensure
arrival in time for the celebrations.
Confirmed. Note: Atypical solar
emissions increasing in intensity.
Estimate Sol will hit nova
in less than five standard hours.
Recommend immediate evacuation.
Tell the others not to worry.
I wouldn't miss this for anything.
Now go on.
This is how the world ends.
Swallowed in fire, but not in darkness.
You will live on.
The voice of all our ancestors...
...the voice of our fathers and our mothers
to the last generation.
We created the world we think
you would've wished for us.
And now we leave the cradle
for the last time.
You should sleep.
We both have early meetings.
Yeah, I know.
I was just thinking about it all.
Everything we've done...
...and what I said earlier.
And I was wondering...
...if they will remember us
100 years from now, or 1000.
Then I figured, probably not.
But it doesn't matter.
We did what we did because it was right,
not to be remembered.
History will attend to itself.
It always does.
[ENGLISH]