• The new B5TV.COM is here. We've replaced our 16 year old software with flashy new XenForo install. Registration is open again. Password resets will work again. More info here.

Sigma 957

Marcelo

Member
In the episode "Mind War", Catherine Sakai was on a survey mission
on the planet Sigma 957, looking for the precious "Quantium-40", but we all know what happened. What I was wondering is, after the first ones left, no one tried to explore that planet again? The only reason why that planet was left alone was because of the Walkers. It would make sense to explore that planet after they left, who knows what may be buried there... and there is the Quantium 40 possibility also.
 
Wouldn't surprise me if they had gone back there in Crusade. There is also the possibility that it got nuked ala Z'Ha'Dum after the Walkers left the gakaxy... but I think they would have returned in Crusade... if only to have a giant stone face yelling "ZOG!" when they knocked on the door of a tomb or presidential palace or something and asked to come in.
 
Well, the Shadows had ancient defense systems on Z'Ha'Dum, so I'm sure the Walkers of Sigma 957 did as well.
 
The Walkers didn't "leave" permanently. The whole point of G'Kar's warning is that those creatures come and go from Sigma 957 all the time - that's why the Narn, who long ago discovered the area, have never tried to exploit it. There are no "safe" times to visit Sigma 957 and Sakai's report would have made this clear. (It is posssible that IPX or whoever sent another expedition or two, but presumably gave up after they failed to return.)

Regards,

Joe
 
The Walkers didn't "leave" permanently. The whole point of G'Kar's warning is that those creatures come and go from Sigma 957 all the time -

But that was before the first ones went beyond the rim, right? Or are you saying that they eventually come back to visit the galaxy?
 
Sorry, brain fart. My eye somehow skipped over the "after the first ones left" part that was sitting right there in plain sight and I thought the question was why they didn't go back immediately. :) It is true that they may have gone back after the First Ones departed, but from a story point of view, who cares? The only people connected to that event dramatically are Sakai and Sinclair, who are off the chessboard, and G'Kar, who has bigger fish to fry and then goes into temporary exile.

BTW, since the Narn were already familiar with the area, I'd say there is a good chance they have a prior claim to the Q-40 anyway. The funds could come in handy for rebuilding Narn after the Centauri occupation. If Sakai were around G'Kar would probably be inclined to pay her a finder's fee and maybe a small royalty for verifying the presence of Q-40, but with her gone he'd probably want the Narn to get all the profits.

Regards,

Joe
 
Sakai did not actually find any Q-40 but traces of a material normally found with Q-40. On a raw planet this would be a strong indicator. Unfortunately Sigma 957 is not a raw planet but a previously industrialised one. They may only find pollution from a Q-40 refinery.

However if the design of the refinery is sufficiently advanced the technology may be useful. The planet is probably full of mysterious machines that will keep IPX busy for centuries.
 
No proof Sigma 957 was industrialized, AMS. Although it would make sense that it was once the Walkers' home planet, perhaps they set up shop there later on.
 
Ivanova on Sigma 957 in 'Voices of Authority'
"They were here - I can feel their footprints in the sand, hear their words whispered in the wind."

There were also lots of flashing lights shown on the surface of the planet. Even if it was only a holiday camp there will have been some interesting machines left on the planet.
 
I was thinking about de Walkers and their planet because:

1) We know what happened to Z'ha'dum, and about the uses of Shadow technology;
2) we know that the Vorlon Homeworld was full of defenses so that no one could simply steal their technological wonders, and that is was reserved for humanity in the future;
3) They are the only other first ones whose home planet location is known, but we haven´t heard anything about Sigma 957 after the first ones departed.

Of course there are the others first ones that helped in the final battle against the Vorlons and the Shadows, but I know that they are a complete mistery that is better left to the imagination.
But I think that the Walkers are a different case. JMS has shown us some things about them. We know that they lived (probably) in Sigma 957 and that they were not in good terms with the Vorlons. We have seen one of their ships and even a holographical representation of them.
So I think that there is more to learn about them, and perhaps we would in Crusade...
 
If there were technological goodies on Sigma 957 that "man was not meant to have," then I bet the Walkers cleaned house before heading to Coriana 6. They knew they wouldn't be coming back. Besides, I'm still not convinced there's anything on the planet's surface at all; the Walkers were Elsewhere most of the time, and in orbit when they weren't.

That's not to say there isn't anything left behind in the confusion...
 
...I'm still not convinced there's anything on the planet's surface at all....

There could indeed be nothing on the surface, but there could be something impressive deep beneath the surface. We've seen more than one advanced alien species take to building deep underground.
 
I'm not at all convinced that anyone ever lived at Sigma 957, least of the Walkers. The episode suggests that they visit the place from time to time, for reasons of their own, and that they don't tolerate others hanging around the place. But that's about all we know for sure. And that's part of the mystery of the Walkers, which I think works a lot better than assuming that it was their homeworld.

Regards,

Joe
 
They don't necessarily need to have lived there in order to have built something deep underground. Maybe there's some kind of big machine deep beneath the planet's surface that they use in some way to help them jump about the galaxy at an even greater clip than regular hyperspace or something fun. The possibilities are endless, and it's fun to go "Ooo, what if...".
 
I wonder if JMS has, in his head, a little more about the Walkers,
or if everything he ever thought about them is what was shown in the series...
damn, I want to know more about them! :D
 
I believe G'Kar's statement at the end of Mind War perfectly sum up my sentiments.

I am both terrified and reassured that there are some things out there which have not been explained away. I think they themselves were supposed to be a mystery.

Of course I'd give good money to know if the vorlons really did owe them money or what was the real cause of their grumpiness towards the vorlons.

My guess is they were fed up of the vorlons having a superiority complex and being up the back end their own encounter suits. Maybe they were tired of the way the vorlons and shadows had agreed on raisng the younger races.
 
The episode suggests that they visit the place from time to time, for reasons of their own, and that they don't tolerate others hanging around the place.

That would certainly suggest that the planet has some significance to the Walkers even if it is not their actual homeworld. Maybe they had some jolly good memories of the long gone inhabitants of the planet. Maybe there was some important technology beneath the surface of the planet. Or just maybe they were attracted by the Quantum 40 in some odd way.
 
That was basically my theory, Galahad -- the Walkers had gotten pissed at the Vorlons for screwing up the younger races. And when Ivanova essentially said, "Well, all we really have to do is just cozy up with the good ol' Vorlons," the Walkers sort of said to themselves, "We can't let them dig their own graves. Better lend a hand."

Would have made for an interesting story, if Sheridan had never gone to Z'ha'dum and found Lorien: what would the Walkers have done, once the Vorlons went mad?
 

Latest posts

Members online

No members online now.
Back
Top