Most fans of the Babylon 5 television show will acknowledge that the one element in the series that kept us coming back again and again was without question the puzzle of the Vorlons and the Shadows. These two races were evolved to the point where they were beings of light who had to place their life energy inside encounter suits just to be able to relate to us lesser races who still lived inside material bodies.
The Vorlons and the Shadows were the thread that wove its way throughout the series, the one main story underlying the many episodic stories. It is what bound all the episodes together. With each episode we learned a little more about these two god-like races. They were billions of years ahead of us. In time, as the series progressed, we came to learn they were among the first races ever to come into existence in our galaxy.
We were no more to them than insects were to us and though they barely noticed us most of the times, they were very much interested in the affairs of the lesser races of the galaxy. This was the puzzle that many viewers applied their wits to. To see if we could figure it out before it was revealed to us explicitly. It became apparent that the Vorlons and the Shadows were aware of each other but they kept their distance from each other, as if there were some deep irreconcilable innate difference between them.
The Vorlons made their presence known first to a small number of select individuals from the Minbari and Human races, but that seemed to be the extent of their involvement with the lesser races. They limited their contact to nothing more than an advisory role, to warn us of a time when chaos and war would threaten the very existence of our race, but they did not want to get involved directly. They only wanted us to prepare ourselves.
Meanwhile the Shadows took a completely different approach. They also selected a few individuals from some of the lesser races and offered them direct help with any territorial conflict. The Shadow vessels were billions of years more advanced than anything else in the galaxy and when they got involved in one of the conflicts between the lesser races there was only one certain outcome - the side getting help from the Shadows always won.
But where was all this going? Why did races as advanced as the Vorlons and the Shadows care at all about the outcome of the petty wars between the inferior races? As it turns out it was a difference between ideologies. The Vorlons embraced order and discipline over conflict, it is what worked for them, while the Shadows embraced chaos and war because that is what had worked for them in their development. Like all beings with an over-inflated sense of self-importance, the Vorlons and the Shadows wanted the lesser races to chose their way. In the end, what did the lesser races chose? Or did we chose at all? To find out the answer to that you would have to watch the entire series. - 30542
The Vorlons and the Shadows were the thread that wove its way throughout the series, the one main story underlying the many episodic stories. It is what bound all the episodes together. With each episode we learned a little more about these two god-like races. They were billions of years ahead of us. In time, as the series progressed, we came to learn they were among the first races ever to come into existence in our galaxy.
We were no more to them than insects were to us and though they barely noticed us most of the times, they were very much interested in the affairs of the lesser races of the galaxy. This was the puzzle that many viewers applied their wits to. To see if we could figure it out before it was revealed to us explicitly. It became apparent that the Vorlons and the Shadows were aware of each other but they kept their distance from each other, as if there were some deep irreconcilable innate difference between them.
The Vorlons made their presence known first to a small number of select individuals from the Minbari and Human races, but that seemed to be the extent of their involvement with the lesser races. They limited their contact to nothing more than an advisory role, to warn us of a time when chaos and war would threaten the very existence of our race, but they did not want to get involved directly. They only wanted us to prepare ourselves.
Meanwhile the Shadows took a completely different approach. They also selected a few individuals from some of the lesser races and offered them direct help with any territorial conflict. The Shadow vessels were billions of years more advanced than anything else in the galaxy and when they got involved in one of the conflicts between the lesser races there was only one certain outcome - the side getting help from the Shadows always won.
But where was all this going? Why did races as advanced as the Vorlons and the Shadows care at all about the outcome of the petty wars between the inferior races? As it turns out it was a difference between ideologies. The Vorlons embraced order and discipline over conflict, it is what worked for them, while the Shadows embraced chaos and war because that is what had worked for them in their development. Like all beings with an over-inflated sense of self-importance, the Vorlons and the Shadows wanted the lesser races to chose their way. In the end, what did the lesser races chose? Or did we chose at all? To find out the answer to that you would have to watch the entire series. - 30542
