And now for a Word (most chilling line)

I still wonder why the Shadows bothered with such a smaller entity. Not much of a threat to their plans.......and if anything spread more "chaos" for them. But truely it seems they may have had a hand in their struggles..........along with the Psi Core bloodhound units.

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The attacks on the Mars Resistance may simply have been the Shadows bribing an ally. They wanted Clarke to keep the Earth neutral.

The Shadows did however consider Babylon 5 and Psi Corps important enemies.

It's probably very simple. Clark asked them for a little help, just as Londo asked them for help with the Narn base in "The Coming of Shadows," and they gave him a tightly controlled spy in the Mars Resistance. Dirt cheap from their perspective, and it kept Clark happy.

I have a sort of related question....

In season 4 when the Vorlons went mad and started destroying whole worlds that had Shadow influence, does anyone here think that Earth might have been on their list? Could the Vorlons have known that Clark had dealings with the Shadows, and would it have been enough for the Vorlons to wipe the planet out?

Yeah, I fully expect that they would have gotten to Earth eventually. It was just a matter of time.

Unless the Shadows stopped them through direct combat before then.

Since one Earth colony had been destroyed and the Vorlons were heading in the direction of Earth then Earth will have probably been on the target list.

Yes, I always assumed that Earth was on their target list. One might hope that they would have hit it last, out of respect for Valen's home, but I'd bet they would just do whatever they thought was the most efficient.

out of respect for Valen's home

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Well, Valen was actually more Minbari then human, I would wager, so I don't think that would have any bearing on their decision to destroy Earth. Remember, he was called "Minbari not born of Minbari". That would seem to indicate to me that he was more Minbari than human.

Interesting statement, that Sinclair is more Minbari than Human after the transformation. I wonder how one would quantify that. Clearly his thought processes have not changed and he lost his hair (of couse, the same could be said of me and I'm still mostly human). So he is physically Minbari (enough so to have children) but does that make him MORE? Is Delen more human that Minbari now that she has undergone the same transformation in reverse?

Sinclair had Minbari children.

Which raises the question: Did they even know at the time that he used to be human?

Which" they"?

In my opinion:

Minbari: No

Vorlons: Yes

Which raises the question: Did they even know at the time that he used to be human?

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I doubt it. Knowing Sinclair like I do I expect he'd keep it a secret. I doubt he even left any clues. I think that the first person who ever found out was Sinclcair when he got the letter he sent himself.

Sinclair had Minbari children.

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I wonder what David was.

Intreging. Assuming Sinclair "half" of each, it would depend how many generations had diluted his human percentage......and then Delenn with that percentage Minbari to human, mix with a pure human (as far as we know :devil: ).........David would seemingly be slightly more human than minbari, but only by a small percentage. Assuming classic human gentic 50/50 dominance patterns extended to human - Minbari/human mating.

David was probably only one quarter Minbari. Assuming Delenn was half human/half Minbari in equal parts, and given the fact that Sheridan was all human, I would think that his human side would be stronger or whatever.

On the transformation issue... my preference is trying to think from the viewpoint of the creature who designed the triluminary... from the viewpoint of finding the simplest strategy for accomplishing it.

1) We must devise a system, to transform a humanoid between species.

2) Of primary importance: the personality must survive intact and complete.

3) Of secondary importance: the body must change enough to simplify acceptance among the target species.

3)A) For dealing with various degrees of xenophobia among target species... we may desire to include functionality for adjusting how perfect the transformation is for a given species.

3)B) For enabling the person to receive medical aid, eat common foods, and possibly practise biological reproduction, it seems reasonable to copy the metabolism (of the target species) entirely.

3)C) However, since the brain is annoyingly difficult to dissolve while preserving personality... we should make an exception for the brain. Let's keep it.

3)D) Since we keep the brain, someone must devise an interface layer -- to relay neural/chemical signals, convert and deliver fresh fuel, convert and extract used fuel, yet protect the brain from the alien metabolism of its new body.

3)E) Using our presumably extensive knowledge of artificial life, we should craft an highly efficient yet immunologically un-rejectable interface layer.

3)F) However, complete copying of all external attributes is not desirable.

3)F)1) If the transformation were perfect, the new appearance could be perceived as threatening (some species may fear Changers or shape-shifters).

3)F)2) If the transformation were perfect, there would be no reminder of difference, diversity or past origin. Since we want those reminders, let the tranformation leave extrnally visible imperfections.

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Consequently I think that Delenn's mind was not *translated* into a Human mind... but for practical purposes, her brain remained unchanged, merely protected by an interface layer.

Everything else would be practical to discard entirely, and rebuild from scratch. Possibly with the exception of bones, since those might be difficult to dissolve/rebuild quickly, so one might settle with minor tweaking.

Wow, I had never thought about the particulars of the chrysalis before, but you're making good sense.

Well I look at the whole thing differently (anyone surprised?)

The fact that Delenn had a children with Sheridan, a human, and the little not-so-throw-away joke where she complained about cramps to Ivanova, tells us she has a completely human reproductive system. I don't know who said it, but in response to aliens mating, someone said it would be easier for a human to mate with a flower than an alien being. This illustrates the necessity of couples being the same species.

Delenn is, biologically, a human with a bone on her head.

Sinclair, in order to convince the Minbari that he's the real deal, became completely a Minbari. So biologically, the Minbari species was never "diluted." But of course he did pass his genetics on, which is how the triluminary can pick up his descendants.

Ah, but there must have remained some biological difference, as Dr. Franklin was concerned about Delenn being able to carry David to term, and mentioned it would be a tough pregnancy. I didn't get the impression that was simply from her injuries, but, more to do with her insides.

The fact that Delenn had a children with Sheridan, a human, and the little not-so-throw-away joke where she complained about cramps to Ivanova, tells us she has a completely human reproductive system.

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Sure, but do we really know how Minbari reproduce?