Qeastion on the Drakh plage in B5 Universe

[destron1]

First, hello everyone

I've been a fan of Babylon 5 since it first aired but havent seen it in years untill recently when the show started again in my country and its been fun to enjoy it again.

I've seen all 5 seasons and 7 movies but only seen a few episodes of Crusade.

I wanted to ask, excapt from Crusade and A Call to Arms, was the Drakh plage mention anywhere else in the B5 Universe? any B5 episode? or Book?

I just cant remember + havent read yet any of the books

Thanks in advance

 

[RW7427]

I believe there's some mention of it and the Drakh's plans for the galaxy in the Centauri trilogy, but since it's been a long time since I've read it, I don't remember exactly what that might be. I'm sure someone else here can enlighten us.

BTW, welcome to the forums.

 

[KoshN]

I believe there's some mention of it and the Drakh's plans for the galaxy in the Centauri trilogy, but since it's been a long time since I've read it, I don't remember exactly what that might be. I'm sure someone else here can enlighten us.

That's correct. The Drakh plague is mentioned in the Centauri trilogy (Legions of Fire), as is Captain Gideon and The Excalibur. They're just mentioned in passing, but they're nice tie-ins to Crusade. Galen is in Legions of Fire, ~starting in Book 2, as are three cloister Technomages (initiates but sans Galen's extensive, outside-of-the-hiding-place, experience).

I have no time to look up specifics at the moment. I'll do it later. Right now, it's off to work....


Legions of Fire - Book I - The Long Night of Centauri Prime
pg. 141 Technomage Kane (an initiate)
pg. 228 Technomage Kane
pg. 233 Technomage Kane
pg. 237 Technomages Kane, Gwynne and Finian (all initiates)
pg. 280 Technomages Kane, Gwynne and Finian (all initiates)

Legions of Fire - Book II - Armies of Light and Dark
pg. 1 12/14/2266 NOT 12/14/2267. All dates after this are off by one year. e.g. 2268 is really 2267. That way, they match up with Crusade. Remember, stuff on the screen trumps stuff in the books. Peter David just screwed this bit up.
pg. 41 Daltron 7 (Jan. 2267) - "A Call to Arms"
pg. 53 Vir & Kane...

Spoiler for re. Vir & Kane:

use a Shadow Death Cloud to destroy Xha'dam, the Shadow (Drakh operated) Weapons construction facility. That's why the Drakh only had one Death Cloud to use in "A Call to Arms."

pg. 57 Kane...

Spoiler for re. Kane:

dies, hit by three Drakh spikes.

pg. 58-59 Galen! (So this is where Galen flits off to when he leaves the Excalibur.)

Spoiler for re. Galen:

Galen destroys the Shadow jumpgate, IMHO, with his Spell of Destruction.

pg. 61 Death Cloud and Plague.

Spoiler for re. Death Cloud and Plague:

Originally, the Death Cloud was to be used on Earth, and the Shadow (Drakh) Plague was to be used on Minbar. When the IA stopped the Death Cloud from destroying Earth, the Drakh fell beck on their second weapon, the plague, and so Minbar was spared.

pg. 97 Galen.
pg. 128 The Excalibur and Captain Gideon are mentioned.
pg. 183 Garibaldi & Lou Welch.
pg. 187 Garibaldi, Lou Welch & G'Kar.
pg. 199-210 Lou Welch....

Spoiler for re. Lou Welch:

...dies on page 210.

Legions of Fire - Book III - Out of the Darkness
I made no Technomage notes in this book. They might be in there, but I didn't note anything. Without re-reading the book, I just don't know.

 

[Bester]

I believe there is also a brief reference to the plague (and the Excalibur) in the third Psi Corps novel.

 

[KoshN]

I believe there is also a brief reference to the plague (and the Excalibur) in the third Psi Corps novel.

Hmm, all I have is:

pg. 7 - Lise on Earth. 02/15/2271. Plague must have been cured.

 

[Bester]

Hmm, all I have is:

pg. 7 - Lise on Earth. 02/15/2271. Plague must have been cured.

There's also a reference to it later on, IIRC. It happens when Bester is in Paris and he sees a newspaper stand (or billboard) regarding the Excalibur.

 

[KoshN]

There's also a reference to it later on, IIRC. It happens when Bester is in Paris and he sees a newspaper stand (or billboard) regarding the Excalibur.

Wish I had a Kindle or Kindle2 and all of these books on it.

 

[Bester]

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Babylon-5-1098/Babylon-5-Crusade.htm

In terms of canon, the cure for the plague is discovered by the Excalibur crew in 2271. This is referred to in the Psi-Corp book from J Gregory Keynes, "Final Reckoning: The Fate of Bester".

 

[KoshN]

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Babylon-5-1098/Babylon-5-Crusade.htm

That doesn't jibe with what JMS said about the cure being discovered in mid-Season 2 (mid-2268.).

 

[Triple F]

Based on what John C was saying that idea of discovering the cure midway through season 2 *may* have been a late addition as things didn’t appear to have been set in stone. Not that they ever are that is. Then again yon author may have just assumed in was at the end of the 5 year series, unlikely as it sounds.

http://themadgoner.com/B5/B5Scrolls/B5Scrolls.htm#Screen1_04_3

What is unfortunate is Joe deciding to end it all after 5 years. But everyone has to remember that B5 was always described by Joe as a five year novel for television – similar to several English series. I think that folks should just let Crusade go. It wasn't nearly as planned out in Joe's head as B5 was, he had five years to contemplate the intricacies of the series while we were trying to find a home for it on television and it is also hard to make lightning strike twice in the same bottle.

 

[Bester]

That doesn't jibe with what JMS said about the cure being discovered in mid-Season 2 (mid-2268.).

Yeah, you're right. I think the guy got confused with the years, as the events of the novel take place in 2271. However, having just checked, I can confirm that there are several references to the Drakh plague and the Excalibur in the novel.

 

[destron1]

Thanks again to everyone for their info, Its nice to know that the plage was infact had a "real" part of the B5 universe and not some storyline that was invanted just to be a plot point in a spinoff (as I thought it was)

 

[KoshN]

Re: Question on the Drakh plague in B5 Universe

Thanks again to everyone for their info, Its nice to know that the plague was in fact had a "real" part of the B5 universe and not some storyline that was invented just to be a plot point in a spinoff (as I thought it was)

Well, it is a plot point in a "A Call to Arms" and was put there because Warner Brothers and TNT thought the spinoff series needed a "hook" to get people to watch the series. Basically, it as a note from the Studio and the Network that JMS incorporated into the show, but it is still a "real" part of the B5 universe.

 

[KoshN]

Based on what John C was saying that idea of discovering the cure midway through season 2 *may* have been a late addition as things didn’t appear to have been set in stone. Not that they ever are that is. Then again yon author may have just assumed in was at the end of the 5 year series, unlikely as it sounds.

http://themadgoner.com/B5/B5Scrolls/B5Scrolls.htm#Screen1_04_3
.... I think that folks should just let Crusade go. ....

No. It was the last, good part of the B5 universe on TV/DVD, and it should be finished in some way, hopefully not in some half-assed way.

 

[Triple F]

I agree completely, and suspect that the fleshing out of the story to give closure to it may be one of the reasons why it will take a while for some type of book to be created. May be quite a while as joe’s pretty tied up with other things for the foreseeable future though.

 

[Jan]

I agree completely, and suspect that the fleshing out of the story to give closure to it may be one of the reasons why it will take a while for some type of book to be created. May be quite a while as joe’s pretty tied up with other things for the foreseeable future though.

Just as an FYI, when asked at a con one time (Heroes Con, IIRC) about completing Crusade in book form, JMS said he didn't have any plans to do so as the story was conceived for TV.

Jan

 

[KoshN]

Just as an FYI, when asked at a con one time (Heroes Con, IIRC) about completing Crusade in book form, JMS said he didn't have any plans to do so as the story was conceived for TV.

Jan

Well, we may get a synopsis/infodump in the Crusade scriptbooks. I suppose that's all we could hope for at this point in time. Once we get that, the book of the B5 Universe will probably be closed, permanently.

 

[A_M_Swallow]

Spoiler for cure:

The cure found half way through Season 2 would turn out to be a false cure. The real cure was meant to turn up later.

 

[Ninja_Squirrel]

Just as an FYI, when asked at a con one time (Heroes Con, IIRC) about completing Crusade in book form, JMS said he didn't have any plans to do so as the story was conceived for TV.

Jan

He may have said this elsewhere too, but if you're talking about Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC, about three summers ago, I was there too and also remember him saying the same thing.

 

[KoshN]

Spoiler for cure:

The cure found half way through Season 2 would turn out to be a false cure. The real cure was meant to turn up later.

Spoiler for cure:

I was under the impression that the false cure would have been found toward the end of Season 1 or the beginning of Season 2, and that the real cure would have been found in mid-Season 2. I remember JMS being asked if the cure (and the person asking the question meant the real one.) would be found at the end of Season 5, and JMS replied <something, something> "....if not sooner." Naturally, I looked in http://www.jmsnews.com/ and couldn't find it. I know that "if not sooner" is the exact phrase in the post, but can't find the message in http://www.jmsnews.com/ . :brickwall:

Aha!!!!! http://www.jmsnews.com/msg.aspx?id=1-1113 I must be thinking of another post.

Oddly enough, searches in jmsnews for "false cure" or "real cure" turn up nothing. "renegade" and "on the run" are more dead ends, yet I remember these being in JMS replies. :brickwall: :brickwall: :brickwall: