All the best science fiction uses the medium to convey a message. Isaac Asimov used fiction to show possible advances in science, and what effects those could have on humanity. As fantastical as his stories might seem, they were always rooted in scientific reality. John Wyndham, on the other hand, was less interested in the science and more concerned with the dependency humanity has placed on science: what would happen if that crutch was removed? In the original series of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry used each episode to tell a subtle morality tale of the type popular in medieval Europe, while Ron Moore’s re-imagined Battlestar Galactica more directly explores American politics and society, post-9/11.
Babylon 5 was very much science fiction as myth. Even the name of the show was a link with Ancient Babylonian mythology, which was peculiarly bereft of notions of good and evil but instead centred around gods that maintained order against the chaos of the universe. Of course, this clue wasn’t laid bare until about halfway through the series, when it became clear that the “good guys” weren’t good in the way we expected them to be, and the “bad guys” certainly weren’t evil, and were trying, in their own way, to help us. Characters that start off as being likeable turn out to be the ones who cause the most harm, while those who seem nefarious and self-centred end up inspirational heroes.
The key to myths is that while fictional, they still manage to tell timeless truths. Achilles remains a symbol of the destructiveness of anger and vengeance, just as Robin Hood personifies justifiable law-breaking when the law-makers are corrupt and cruel. It doesn’t matter if these characters are real or not, because it is the symbolism that is significant. Instead of creating merely believable characters and plausible events, Straczynski devised archetypal personalities and situations that remain as powerful and inspirational now as they were when the show was first broadcast over ten years ago.
What do you want?
‘Signs and Portents’, Season 1
More than anything else, Babylon 5 is about choices. Londo Mollari, in particular, makes bad choices. As he observes later on, “When we first met, I had no power and all the choices I could ever want. And now I have all the power I could ever want and no choices at all”. Essentially Londo’s failure is to accept power without working for it; in short, he didn’t deserve it. In the Babylon 5 universe, nothing worthwhile comes without effort and sacrifice. Those who seem to hand over power and wealth do so to manipulate you, not to elevate you. Those who become great do so by being prepared to give up everything, even their lives, for their people and in doing so come back as inspirational leaders. By having power without this context, Londo is alternately feared and despised, and eventually loses virtually all friendship and love. Without these, he realises too late, power is nothing at all.
It is easy to look around and watch the rich and the powerful, and wish to be among them. But Straczynski’s message is quite clear: be very careful what you wish for. Londo was given his wish, and he had no happiness afterwards. Quite the reverse in fact; his was only truly happy at the start of the series, when he was seen to be a old-fashioned, irrelevant figure. Wealth and influence may seem attractive, but what matters is happiness, love, and friendship. These things can’t be given by others and have to be worked at.
If you do the right thing for the wrong reasons, the work becomes corrupt, impure, and ultimately self-destructive.
‘Comes the Inquisitor’, Season 2
One of the most powerful concepts in mythology generally is that motives are as important as actions; fighting isn’t enough, you have to be fighting for something. And rather than making the point by a having his character heroically declaim their principles, Straczynski turns the whole idea of heroism on its head. To be a worthy leader, to be the right person to send others into danger, you must be prepared to give it all up, to die, unknown and unmourned, simply to save the life of another: No greater love hath a man than he lay down his life for his brother. Not for millions… not for glory, not for fame. For one person… in the dark… where no one will ever know… or see. Delenn is tested by the Inquisitor, and in being willing to make this sacrifice, she proves that she is the right person, in the right place, at the right time.
What makes this scene so powerful is the light it casts on the current occupation of Iraq by American and British forces. Undoubtedly, removing Saddam Hussein was the right thing. He was cruel, brutal, and corrupt. But was the work done for the right reasons? Did our leaders act out of altruism and nobility of spirit? Or for political, commercial, and strategic gain? We know that our leaders are willing to send others to die for their cause, but would they have been prepared to lay down their lives, unheard and unseen, to save the life of a stranger?
No moral ambiguity, no hopeless battle against ancient and overwhelming forces. They were the bad guys… we were the good guys. And they made a very satisfying thump when they hit the floor.
‘A Late Delivery from Avalon’, Season 3
This odd little episode seems at first not to have very much to do with the rest of the Babylon 5 narrative, but in fact the episode is a surprisingly important one. Set against the lack of clear-cut good guys and bad guys, this brief interlude gives the characters an chance to be heroic in a simple way. G’Kar can see who is good, and who is bad, and all that matters is the fighting. For the rest of the show, such simply decisions are impossible.
This practically unique situation within the show makes it obvious that Straczynski doesn’t want viewers to believe in anything as trite as an “Axis of Evil”. Such ideas might be fine for children’s stories where the heroes are radiantly good and the enemies despicably evil, but in the real work, everything is shades of grey. Choices need to be made every day, and motives must be continually appraised. By giving G’Kar a moment where everything is clear and nothing more complex than ensuring the bad guys are beaten into submission, Straczynski allows G’Kar the rest of the series to struggle with the subtle relationship between self-interest, fear, history, and hope.
We are all the sum of our tears. Too little and the ground is not fertile, and nothing can grow there. Too much, the best of us is washed away.
‘Objects in Motion’, Season 5
The importance of past events — whether the life of a single person or the history of an entire people — is something Babylon 5 portrays both critically and sympathetically. All four of the major races, humans, Minbari, Narns, and Centauri, are defined in part by historical events that have led them to the Babylon 5 space station. The motives of the characters are further defined by historical events, often tragic and painful ones. G’Kar experienced the brutality of the Centauri occupation of his world and watched his father being executed. Londo has seen his people decay from a position of power and is frustrated by the weakness of his government. Sinclair is deeply scarred by his experience of the Earth-Minbari war, and Delenn was in part responsible for the genocidal war that almost led to the destruction of humanity.
But Straczynski makes it while pain and grief should not be ignored, neither should they be allowed to direct current events. The Narns only begin to recover their freedom when they become willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good of all sentient beings, not just their own. In seeking to make themselves proof against another catastrophic war, the humans allow themselves to be manipulated by the Shadows and ruled by a fascist state that, just as it collapses, threatens to wipe out billions of people. To move forwards, one must be reconciled with the past but looking towards the future.
You’re wrong, Mollari. Whether it was me or my world, whether it was a total stranger or your worst enemy, you were a witness! It doesn’t matter if they stopped. It doesn’t matter if they’d listen. You had an obligation to speak out!
‘The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari’, Season 5
These words delivered by G’Kar to a dying Londo Mollari crystallise one of the obligations of all thinking people: to not stay silent in the presence of evil. Mollari watched G’Kar being whipped to within an inch of his life, but said nothing. He stood aboard a starship and watched it destroy all the cities on Narn, killing millions of people in the process, and said nothing. Even if he couldn’t have changed things, he should have spoken out against them, but he chose not to.
It isn’t enough to for a soldier to say he is following orders, or for a lawyer to instruct a client to obey the letter of the law while skirting its intent. It isn’t enough to mind our own business when we see a child being bullied or a hungry man picking through a trashcan for scraps. The practicalities of politics and the forces of market economics aren’t an excuse for injustice and suffering. Turning a blind eye to what is wrong in our world doesn’t prevent those things from happening. When we are witnesses to something, we should admit it, and try to change it. This is perhaps the most difficult of all Straczynski’s lessons because it is the one that requires us to confront our own natural behaviours day by day. But as we approach the Christmas holiday, it is certainly the most timely. Making the right choices is difficult and demanding and requires a consistent belief that what your are doing is right and your motives are just, but as Straczynski likes to say, “Faith manages”.
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