River of Souls

[Galahad]

Just finished watching this (I've been watching the series again and am just starting A Call to Arms).

Just a few thoughts i had:

1) Soul Hunter culture seems to be very similar to the gnosticism in some respects - the body is a distraction and only the soul is pure.

2) 2 other entire races have been captured in one of those soul globes, are we ever likely to find out who? Are there any hints from what is know of the B5 universe.

3) Do the aliens aventually escape the globe at some point in the future, and if so do they reach the heights they so nearly achieved before they were captured.

4) What will happen to Martin Sheen's soulhunter if that day came?

5) When Humans and Minbari eventually reach that evolutionary point in the future... have the Soul Hunters learned from their mistake... or did they try the same thing again? Was their conflict? Indeed are the Soul Hunters still around in a million years time?

 

[puzzle]

3) Do the aliens aventually escape the globe at some point in the future, and if so do they reach the heights they so nearly achieved before they were captured.

I guess it depends on which comes first: some unfortunate twist of fate destroying their media of storage, or someone appearing who has ability of extracting them to viable form.

Whether that viable form is the same as they were scheduled for, is questionable. Whoever ends up extracting them might not be able to guess where their crash-stopped transformation was heading.

So someone might be able to revive them, but into a different existence than they would have naturally obtained. (And from a certain viewpoint, which existence they were scheduled for, is unknowable anyway.)

Whether that someone is sincerely helpful, or has an ulterior motive, is anyone's guess. For some reason, I'd guess someone capable of doing it would be capable of more profitable jobs than civilization-level paramedic, so I'd hope they'd either do it to help, or to discover interesting things.

4) What will happen to Martin Sheen's soulhunter if that day came?

He's probably more than a bit different from them. So he'd likely need to be processed differently by anyone attempting an extraction.

That could complicate things, but ease them too. For him, a reference of what his natural form is, exists in the form of records and other Soul Hunters. For the others, no reference exists, and records may be gone too.

Unless of course by that time, Soul Hunters are history too, or have evolved to be something very different - and he ends up being the only intact individual of their kind, or their old form.

5) When Humans and Minbari eventually reach that evolutionary point in the future... have the Soul Hunters learned from their mistake... or did they try the same thing again? Was their conflict? Indeed are the Soul Hunters still around in a million years time?

It seems, at least in my eyes, a fairly odd twist of fate, that they should have:

- undertaken their evolution in such a coordinated manner (all together)
- that it should have included a lengthy vulnerable period
- that entrance into it would have confused the Soul Hunters into thinking they were dying

I would suspect it was a rare exception. Afterall, would it not seem likely that many creatures capable of transforming to a more capable physical form would undertake this individually? I imagine that curious and risk-accepting persons would try first, and cautious ones follow later.

I imagine that many would do everything in their powers to transform smoothly and incrementally, with no vulnerable point, never losing ability to defend, instead gaining more and more.

Finally for many creatures, switching gear might be sufficiently different/covert for Soul Hunters to never sense anything (or otherwise have a clue or chance of doing anything hostile). For others, it could be sufficiently overt to qualify as a blatant sign: "Busy evolving. Do not disturb. (Or else.)".

 

[fisheggs]

Kinda off the cuff, but if you haven't, read Arthur C Clarke's " Childhood's End", do. It's definitely the inspiration for this tale.

 

[deaded]

Kinda off the cuff, but if you haven't, read Arthur C Clarke's " Childhood's End", do. It's definitely the inspiration for this tale.

Probably my favorite book ever.

 

[hypatia]

It's one of my favorite books, too.

 

[fisheggs]

Another title I recommend frow a long way ago is Alan Nourse's "The Mercy Men". presages Psi-Corp. Very good luck finding a copy! Silly in the age of the internet to lose good stories.