Small point that I noticed

[RW7427]

I thought that there was a thread here where we were discussing inconsistancies and such that we have spotted in the show, or things that don't seem to make sense. If there is, I couldn't find it, so I decided to start this thread to point out an observation that I made after watching Grey 17 Is Missing tonight.

In this ep, Sheridan and Ivanova are discussing the fact that they were trying to get telepaths to sign on in their cause against the Shadows. Sheridan reminds Ivanova of how Dr. Franklin ran that underground railroad for telepaths through B5. He suggests to her that they should find Franklin on his Walkabout and ask him if he would give them contact information for some of these people.

Now, my point is this...After Bester tried (and failed) to take the blips back in the episode A Race Through Dark Places, Sheridan sends the telepaths away and tells their leader that he doesn't want to see him or any of his people there again. If so, wouldn't his telling Ivanova that they need to find them and bring them back to help against the Shadows be like a contradiction to his previous order to them?

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Tarondor]

Absolutely. Turnabouts happen in war. Frequently.

 

[RW7427]

Turnabout of convenience, no doubt.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Turnabout of convenience, no doubt.

Changes in circumstances. At the time of "A Race Through Dark Places" Sheridan is trying to organize B5 as one cell in an underground movement dedicated to stopping President Clarke and revealing the truth about Santiago's assassination. The Teep underground and Psi Corps continuned interest in it jeopardize that operation. The Corps is allied with Clarke, to the point of violating its charter by publicly supporting his election (see "Midnight on the Firing Line" Universe Today headline) The last thing Sheridan needs is Psi Cops showing up every few weeks looking for "blips" and stumbling across who-knows-what-else. That's a dangerous situation for a man trying to run a conspiracy against his own government. It isn't that Sheridan was unsympathetic, it is just that the blip's operation was endagering something bigger and more importatnt (and which might have helped them, too, since some reform of Psi Corps could well result if Clarke were removed by Constitituional means, after a public investigation.)

By the time of the "Grey 17" B5 is in open rebellion against Earth, no longer subject to its laws and fighting a much bigger battle than the mere struggle against Earth. The teeps have a least as much to lose if the Shadow win, arguably more since the Shadows will want to keep normals around as slaves and canon fodder, but you can be sure they'd make sure they exterminated the telepaths on any planet they occupied for any length of time, as they did on Narn 1,000 years ago.

So it isn't "convenience", it is "reality" that determines Sheridan's action. In each case he does what is best for the larger cause. There is no contradiction and it isn't cynical - which is also frequently the case in the real world. Churchill was as dedicated an anti-Bolshevik as any one could ask for and as clear-eyed an enemy of Communism as England ever produced. Yet he willingly entered into an alliance with the mass-murderer Stalin, even riksing British lives and British ships to carry American aid to Russia that England itself desparately needed, because the more immediate threat to civilization was Hitler. ("If Corporal Hilter undertook to invade Hell I would endeavor to find a good word to say about the Devil.")

Different circumstances, different approach. "Convenience" doesn't enter into it.

Regards,

Joe

 

[A_M_Swallow]

After "A Race Through Dark Places" the telepaths were not safe on Babylon 5. Bester had already been sent on a mission to kill as many as possible, with a few token ones brought back for propaganda purposes.

When they found out that they had been tricked Psi Corps would send more assassins. They would quickly learn not to tell Babylon 5 Security. Any rogue telepaths staying on the spacestation would soon be dead. Sheridan was saving their lives by kicking them off. It would however have been nice to find them somewhere to live.