the Kosh thing was meant in a Vorlon philosophical sense. They ain't wired up like the rest of us.
This part of the JMS quotation referenced above was a response to a question about the "We are all Kosh" thing in the original thread. Sometimes what JMS is referring to is hard to tell from the archives and TLG because they generally only included the portion of the question that JMS chose to quote, if any, whereas he might be answering several
unquoted questions in a post, or even questions from multiple posts in a single reply. It all makes perfect sense if you're reading the exchange "live", but it can be a little confusing otherwise. Here's a selection of his answers (and some questions)
Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks: Since Kosh and Ulkesh seem to have the authority to dictate Vorlon policy from what you've said, can we assume that they were near the top of the Vorlon heirarchy (whatever THAT may be)?
It's not a hierarchy as you or I would understand it...and the weird thing is, though I kinda know how it functions, I'll be damned if I can figure out how to explain it in words.
jms
{original post unavailable}
They're not that far apart in age, but yes, Kosh would be a bit older
jms
5. Besides being extremely old, was Kosh an average Vorlon or particularly special in terms of strength, skill, or status? No other ambassador on the station has demonstrated the clout back home to sortie an entire fleet at a moments notice. Delenn and Londo have only called on forces from a particular faction in their polities.
He was certainly well regarded...one of the older of the vorlons.
jms
And yes, Kosh and Ulkesh were contemporaries, though Ulkesh was the more military of the two, very isolationist, while Kosh was the curious one, interested in the younger races, and more willing to extend himself (with sometimes unfortunate results). Kosh always worried what Ulkesh would do without his moderating presence...and ultimately had to be the one to take him down to allow the younger races to step forward.
jms
No, I wouldn't call them friends. They had a certain respect for one another, but Ulkesh always thought Kosh was soft, and Kosh always worried that Ulkesh was dangerous. In their own ways, both were right.
jms
Certainly he came to care about us more than the vorlons intended.
jms
There's a lot more to be said of the story of Kosh, and the Vorlons in general...and part of me says explain it later...and another part says that if you explain mysteries too much, it destroys them.
jms
Regards,
Joe
