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Shadow (Babylon 5)
Encyclopedia
The Shadows are a fictional alien species in the science fiction
television series Babylon 5
. Their homeworld is Z'ha'dum
. In contrast to the Vorlon
s, whose philosophy is represented by the question "Who are you?", that of the Shadows is represented by the question "What do you want?", centering towards desire rather than identity. J. Michael Straczynski
, the show's creator, once explained that he chose the name "Shadows" because of its meaning
in Jungian psychology.
A Shadow is an insect-like organism with a spiked, violet-black carapace
. They are similar in shape to a praying mantis with an upper body, shoulder spines, a mobile head, and at least one pair of grasping forelimbs. The rear of the body is supported by multiple pairs of legs. Their legs resemble those of a spider
, but each Shadow has six of them instead of eight.
The Shadows have fourteen eyes in total divided into four groups. Two sets of three arranged, slanted upward and two sets of four arranged to align perfectly under the first sets.
The spoken language of the Shadows is a rapid series of high-frequency bursts and chirps like a cricket or grasshopper. The endonym of the Shadows is ten thousand letters long, and unpronounceable by many.
Detailed descriptions are rare, due to their ability to "cloak
" their physical bodies to visual wavelengths of light. They are thus rarely seen except as shadowy, mirage-like silhouettes, which can be seen by telepaths, those using visual enhancement devices, or when the entity chooses to partially or wholly reveal itself. The Shadows may use an advanced encounter suit and may be beings of light, just as the Vorlons.
Other manifestations take the form of the Shadows' three pairs of glowing orange eyes, usually as a symbolic image within a telepathic or dream vision.
Shadows very rarely engage in hand-to-hand combat to accomplish their goals, relying instead on invisibility, behind-the-scenes maneuvering and their technology. They are, however, vulnerable to high-powered energy weapons, as demonstrated when the two Shadow guards flanking Mr. Morden are killed by particle gun fire from Centauri guards.
In the fictional Babylon 5
universe, Z'ha'dum
was a world extremely important to the ancient, mysterious species known as the Shadows. Although a blasted, devastated world from which the Shadows were frequently driven over the eons, they kept coming back out of respect for Lorien
—the first of the First Ones
—who for a long time resided on the planet.
Because of their periodic presence on Z'ha'dum, the planet is often assumed to be the Shadows' homeworld, but it is unknown whether the species actually originated there, or if its importance to them is centered strictly on Lorien
. Before undergoing her fundamental genetic change to become more human, Delenn
confirms with Kosh that the Shadows have returned to Z'ha'dum, implying that the species is based elsewhere when not actively preparing to launch one of their periodic wars. There appears to be more than one place of power for the Shadows and their minions. According to Markab Ambassador Fashar: "When the darkness was defeated long ago, they scattered, hid themselves away in secret places."
According to Anna Sheridan in "Z'ha'dum
", the Shadows believed they would die if anything Vorlon touched Z'ha'dum. It is not known whether this is true, merely an old superstition, or a way to separate and isolate Sheridan from his transportation. Many of them did die when Sheridan arrived with a piece of Kosh and detonated a pair of nuclear warheads that he had secretly smuggled onto the White Star (partially based on Vorlon technology) in a kamikaze
attack. And Lyta
's telepathy, enhanced by the Vorlons (and, indeed, genetically seeded by the Vorlons in the first place) later triggered the destruction of Z'ha'dum itself.
As was stated in the Technomage Book Trilogy, the Shadows and Vorlons are both creatures of light. The Shadows prefer a more "down to earth" appearance, as opposed to the Vorlons who, due to generations of genetic tampering, are perceived as angels from the religious legends of races that see them.
Some records indicate that the Shadows first achieved Hyperspace
capability as far back as 100 mya, maybe earlier. Around this time the Shadows also became a major galactic power, exploring the universe and making contact with alien races. The first of these races was that of the being Lorien, who was the first of the First Ones
.
The Shadows waged many wars with other ancient powers, including the Vorlons, Walkers and many more. The reasons for these wars are unknown, but some theorize the Shadows attacked out of fear of the telepathic talents of their enemies. In these wars the Shadows were defeated, but never destroyed. Retreating to Z'ha'dum, the Shadows went into hibernation for 1000 years before reemerging, a more powerful and learned force. It is believed that this cycle of defeat and adaptation laid the basis for the Shadows' ideology of "facilitated survival of the fittest
," which they would later enforce on the younger races.
At first there was a balance between the two sides. One of the two then broke the agreement. Which is unknown. The Shadows claim the Vorlons broke the balance when they began tinkering with races on a genetic level, in an effort to make the younger races evolve more like them; which the Vorlons did, in fact, do. Though, as previously alluded to, it is not known whether this was the first act. Among these genetic dabblings, the Vorlons manipulated the younger races to see them as angelic creatures, using their telepathic abilities to shield their true form from the beings they manipulated.
The Shadows and the Vorlons began to fight amongst themselves, and those who tried to mediate, like the Walkers of Sigma 957, left the conflict embittered.
Over the course of the centuries that passed, the wars between the Shadows and Vorlons persisted. Then at some unknown point in time they decided to have their students fight for them, in an effort to prove who was right. This led to the last Shadow War before the time in which the Babylon 5 television series was set.
raged between the Shadows and the combined forces of the Vorlon
s, Minbari
, and various other younger races allied with the Vorlons. The primitive and agrarian Narn
homeworld was occupied by the Shadows, and the planet became a Shadow staging area. The Shadows had no interest in the Narn themselves at that time.
Somehow, Narn telepaths learned that they could hurt the Shadows' ships, and may have begun guerrilla operations against the Shadows. Through an unknown mechanism the Shadows slew all Narn telepaths of breeding age in order to prevent the Narn from resisting the Shadows, but the surviving telepaths, led by G'Quan, were still able to drive the Shadows from the planet.
Realising the war was lost, the Shadows seeded hundreds of worlds across the galaxy with their ships so their forces couldn't be wiped out in a single attack, as even the Vorlons could never find them all. They then retreated and hid themselves away, going into a state of hibernation.
, which instilled a dark fear in all who looked upon it. Meanwhile, Narn ambassador G'Kar realized that these ships were those described in the ancient writings
of the Narn philosopher G'Quan, which told of a great enemy that rose to power a thousand years in the past. Known as the Shadows, they spread from their homeworld Z'ha'dum to rival the stars themselves:
The text is accompanied by pictures of the black ship, and ends on a chilling note:
was invited to Z'ha'dum for a meeting with the Shadows. The Shadows badly wanted to have Sheridan on their side because if he unravelled the Army of Light, it would stay unravelled, but, as past experience had showed them, if they killed him, someone else would simply take his place.
Sheridan did go to Z'ha'dum but the negotiations collapsed, and he jumped into a ravine two miles deep to evade capture once his suspicion that he had been led into a trap was confirmed.
Before doing so, he remotely piloted his ship, the White Star, to crash into the Shadows' capital city, which he was visiting. The White Star was carrying two nuclear bombs in its cargo bay, each with a yield of over 500 megatons
. (The strongest nuclear bomb to be detonated as of 2011 was the Tsar Bomb, which had a yield of 50 megatons.)
Seconds after Sheridan jumped into the abyss, the White Star crashed into the city and the nuclear weapons it contained detonated. Both the White Star and the city were destroyed. The crater left from the blast was the size of a large Earth country and was clearly visible from space.
At the Battle of Coriana 6, the second Shadow War
ended, and the Shadows passed beyond the Galactic Rim. Nonetheless, their servants, the Drakh
, and a few others stayed behind, and retained the advanced technology and aggressive philosophy of the Shadows.
Sheridan, along with Alfred Bester
and Lyta Alexander
, went back to Z'ha'dum in early 2261 in search of some of this technology. This triggered a self-destruct security feature that caused the entire planet to explode, leaving nothing behind — except for what the Drakh and other allies of the Shadows took with them in their quick exit from the exploding planet.
The Drakh
aren't the only race who worked for the Shadows, but neither the surgeons and pilot in "Ship of Tears
" nor the creature in "The Long Dark
" were seen to be helping with the evacuation, though of course it has been speculated that the Drakh might have been the only Shadow servants to have been living on Z'ha'dum at that time.
With the destruction of Z'ha'dum, those beings that had faithfully served the Shadows down through the centuries found themselves homeless. Now these thralls sought to become masters of chaos themselves. Thus, the legacy of the Shadows lived on.
(CPU). This gives it incredible control and maneuverability, but leaves the ship vulnerable to telepathic
attack, which the Shadows attempt to counter by installing telepaths into their ships' cores.
Unlike conventional ships, Shadow vessels do not form "Jump Points" to enter Hyperspace. Instead they slide or phase into Hyperspace.
Agents of Gaming RPG books make mention that the Shadows a long time ago actually piloted their own craft but gave up the practice perhaps due to their limited numbers. Instead they used members of the younger races as cannon fodder, and made it possible for their warships to be bred more quickly.
Shadow one-man fighters have more than enough firepower to dispatch an entire conventional fighter squadron single-handedly. Their weaponry consists of a pulse weapon fired from the front of the vessel. One vessel can be seen expanding then contracting before firing, as if propelling it. Like the Shadow warships, all technology in these fighters is organic, and most were piloted by minions of the Shadows. They are launched from mother ships in large, spiked balls which split apart.
Shadow battlecrab
s were the standard warships of the Shadows. These powerful vessels, while all similar in design, appeared to be varied in size and power. The vessels' main weapon consists of a singular beam weapon most often seen being fired from the front lower portion of the vessel. It doesn't explode on impact, rather it penetrates through enemy vessels, slicing them into pieces. It has been documented that the Shadow beam weapon could literally slice a small planetoid into shards. This weapon was theoretically powerful enough to turn the entire surface of a planet into wasteland when used on continuous fire. Shadow ships could also fire a type of tractor beam and a burst weapon capable of destroying enemy jump points by making them collapse and destabilize. The capital ship's secondary weapon is torpedoes, similar to proximity mines, which are capable of locking onto a ship and destroying it. Once locked onto a target, a Shadow vessel would follow that target until it had destroyed it.
Shadow capital ships were also equipped with a cloaking device that made use of hyperspace technology. Essentially, Shadow vessels cloaked by phasing somewhere between real space and first level Hyperspace. A Shadow capital ship would be virtually invulnerable to attack in real space or hyperspace when cloaked. It was not vulnerable until it fully entered either dimensional plane. This cloaking system was apparently susceptible to large graviton shifts. Current documentation indicates that some of these vessels could carry up to forty one-man fighters.
or Death Cloud. The Shadow Death Cloud consisted of several layers. The outer layer of the Shadow planet killer was its trademark black cloud that completely obscured the mechanism's inner workings.
The inner workings of the Death Cloud appear to be a larger, web-like construct which started out in a compacted form and was then able to expand to encompass an entire planet. Once a planet was locked within the grip of the Death Cloud, the mechanism's offensive systems went to work. The cloud surrounding the mechanism prevented anything within the cloud from escaping, as it had exhibited a capability to depower starships, thus leaving them both defenseless and vulnerable to the missiles and various hand-shaped weapon turrets on the construct inside the cloud. The hand-shaped turrets had several "fingers" which could fire the infamous purple Shadow "slicing beams" individually. However, as seen in "A Call to Arms", these "fingers" could touch together and form a super slicing beam capable of wreaking havoc on powerful vessels like a Victory-class cruiser and, theoretically, even shielded Vorlon vessels.
Unlike the Vorlon Planet Killer, which used a massive energy bolt to obliterate a planet, the Shadows took a much more conservative approach to destroying a planet. The Death Cloud fired multi-gigaton missile-like projectiles at the target planet, which would burrow down through the planet's crust and detonate once they reached the planet's core. This literally turned a planet inside out, transforming it into a radioactive, molten wasteland. The rationale behind this was not one of efficiency, but rather the promotion of chaos and strife — while the Vorlon method is swift and deadly, thus exhibiting their "punishment" of races who have become "disobedient" to them, the Shadows preferred to prolong the fear and panic brought on by their rather imposing weapon, sowing more and more chaos with each passing minute. Also, by leaving the targeted world intact but defiled, the Shadows left testaments to their work for their enemies to see.
While in its molten form, the planet was stripped of any and all organic and useful inorganic materials by the planet killer, and this material was used to fuel the Death Cloud. Once a planet had been stripped of all useful materials, it was left as little more than a cold, dead boulder in space — all organic life, in any form, having been devoured with no chance of life ever springing up on that world again. This suggests that the Death cloud also acted as a portable factory, producing its own missiles en route to its next target, using the remains of its most recent victim.
following the Shadows' departure from the galaxy. It is unknown what other horrors the Shadows may have left behind. The Shadows may also have created a special type of jumpgate
called a Null field, which appears as a black hole and establishes an instantaneous connection between two points. They were also the creators of a bio-plague that used nanites to wipe out entire species.
The Shadows may also be the originator of technology that gives the Technomage
s their powers (making them cyborg
s). It seems likely that the Technomages were developed to serve as some of the Shadows' many soldiers of darkness, against telepaths in the Vorlon
army of light, but the Technomages learned of this and rebelled, though attempts were made on many occasions to draw them back into the ranks of the Shadows.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
. Their homeworld is Z'ha'dum
Z'ha'dum (planet)
In the fictional Babylon 5 universe, Z'ha'dum was the homeworld of the ancient, mysterious race known as the Shadows. The planet is near the galactic rim...
. In contrast to the Vorlon
Vorlon
A Vorlon is a member of a fictional alien species in the Babylon 5 television series and fictional universe. The Vorlon species is a member of the First Ones, a group made up of the earliest species to gain sentience in the galaxy...
s, whose philosophy is represented by the question "Who are you?", that of the Shadows is represented by the question "What do you want?", centering towards desire rather than identity. J. Michael Straczynski
J. Michael Straczynski
Joseph Michael Straczynski , known professionally as J. Michael Straczynski and informally as Joe Straczynski or JMS, is an American writer and television producer. He works in films, television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is a playwright, a former journalist,...
, the show's creator, once explained that he chose the name "Shadows" because of its meaning
Shadow (psychology)
In Jungian psychology, the shadow or "shadow aspect" is a part of the unconscious mind consisting of repressed weaknesses, shortcomings, and instincts. It is one of the three most recognizable archetypes, the others being the anima and animus and the persona...
in Jungian psychology.
Physiology
Carapace
A carapace is a dorsal section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...
. They are similar in shape to a praying mantis with an upper body, shoulder spines, a mobile head, and at least one pair of grasping forelimbs. The rear of the body is supported by multiple pairs of legs. Their legs resemble those of a spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
, but each Shadow has six of them instead of eight.
The Shadows have fourteen eyes in total divided into four groups. Two sets of three arranged, slanted upward and two sets of four arranged to align perfectly under the first sets.
The spoken language of the Shadows is a rapid series of high-frequency bursts and chirps like a cricket or grasshopper. The endonym of the Shadows is ten thousand letters long, and unpronounceable by many.
Detailed descriptions are rare, due to their ability to "cloak
Cloaking device
Cloaking devices are advanced stealth technologies still in development that will cause objects, such as spaceships or individuals, to be partially or wholly invisible to parts of the electromagnetic spectrum...
" their physical bodies to visual wavelengths of light. They are thus rarely seen except as shadowy, mirage-like silhouettes, which can be seen by telepaths, those using visual enhancement devices, or when the entity chooses to partially or wholly reveal itself. The Shadows may use an advanced encounter suit and may be beings of light, just as the Vorlons.
Other manifestations take the form of the Shadows' three pairs of glowing orange eyes, usually as a symbolic image within a telepathic or dream vision.
Shadows very rarely engage in hand-to-hand combat to accomplish their goals, relying instead on invisibility, behind-the-scenes maneuvering and their technology. They are, however, vulnerable to high-powered energy weapons, as demonstrated when the two Shadow guards flanking Mr. Morden are killed by particle gun fire from Centauri guards.
Z'ha'dum
-
- Z'ha'dum is the homeworld of the Shadows. No one leaves the same as they arrived. --DelennDelennDelenn is a fictional lead character in the universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Mira Furlan.-Overview:Delenn, an alien ambassador and leader from the planet Minbar, is one of the pivotal characters in Babylon 5....
- If you go to Z'ha'dum, you will die. — Kosh to John SheridanJohn Sheridan (Babylon 5)John J. Sheridan is a lead character in the fictional universe of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Bruce Boxleitner. For most of the series, he is the commander of the Babylon 5 station; during the series' final season he is the President of the Interstellar...
- Z'ha'dum is the homeworld of the Shadows. No one leaves the same as they arrived. --Delenn
In the fictional Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
universe, Z'ha'dum
Z'ha'dum (planet)
In the fictional Babylon 5 universe, Z'ha'dum was the homeworld of the ancient, mysterious race known as the Shadows. The planet is near the galactic rim...
was a world extremely important to the ancient, mysterious species known as the Shadows. Although a blasted, devastated world from which the Shadows were frequently driven over the eons, they kept coming back out of respect for Lorien
Lorien (Babylon 5)
Lorien is a fictional character from the universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5. He appears at the start of season four and again in the last episode of the show. Lórien is also a name given to one of the Valar, god-like beings in the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, of whom series...
—the first of the First Ones
First Ones
The First Ones is the collective name of a group of aliens from the television science fiction drama Babylon 5.-Overview:The First Ones are the ancient alien races of the galaxy, the first organisms to achieve sentience and the first to become spacefaring. Of these races, Lorien's was the first,...
—who for a long time resided on the planet.
Because of their periodic presence on Z'ha'dum, the planet is often assumed to be the Shadows' homeworld, but it is unknown whether the species actually originated there, or if its importance to them is centered strictly on Lorien
Lorien (Babylon 5)
Lorien is a fictional character from the universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5. He appears at the start of season four and again in the last episode of the show. Lórien is also a name given to one of the Valar, god-like beings in the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, of whom series...
. Before undergoing her fundamental genetic change to become more human, Delenn
Delenn
Delenn is a fictional lead character in the universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Mira Furlan.-Overview:Delenn, an alien ambassador and leader from the planet Minbar, is one of the pivotal characters in Babylon 5....
confirms with Kosh that the Shadows have returned to Z'ha'dum, implying that the species is based elsewhere when not actively preparing to launch one of their periodic wars. There appears to be more than one place of power for the Shadows and their minions. According to Markab Ambassador Fashar: "When the darkness was defeated long ago, they scattered, hid themselves away in secret places."
According to Anna Sheridan in "Z'ha'dum
Z'ha'dum
Z'ha'dum is the final episode of the third season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.-Teaser:Anna Sheridan, John Sheridan's lost wife, returns to the station, unexpectedly showing up at Sheridan's room, much to the shock and anxiety of Delenn. Anna attempts to get close to...
", the Shadows believed they would die if anything Vorlon touched Z'ha'dum. It is not known whether this is true, merely an old superstition, or a way to separate and isolate Sheridan from his transportation. Many of them did die when Sheridan arrived with a piece of Kosh and detonated a pair of nuclear warheads that he had secretly smuggled onto the White Star (partially based on Vorlon technology) in a kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
attack. And Lyta
Lyta Alexander
Lyta Alexander is a character from the fictional universe of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Patricia Tallman.Lyta was introduced in the pilot episode "The Gathering" as a telepath assigned to the Babylon 5 space station by the Psi Corps, a fictional organization...
's telepathy, enhanced by the Vorlons (and, indeed, genetically seeded by the Vorlons in the first place) later triggered the destruction of Z'ha'dum itself.
Before recorded history
On the TV series, the Shadows are presumed to have evolved from arthropoid creatures. Little is known about what the Shadows' evolutionary history was like.As was stated in the Technomage Book Trilogy, the Shadows and Vorlons are both creatures of light. The Shadows prefer a more "down to earth" appearance, as opposed to the Vorlons who, due to generations of genetic tampering, are perceived as angels from the religious legends of races that see them.
Some records indicate that the Shadows first achieved Hyperspace
Hyperspace (science fiction)
Hyperspace is a plot device sometimes used in science fiction. It is typically described as an alternative region of space co-existing with our own universe which may be entered using an energy field or other device...
capability as far back as 100 mya, maybe earlier. Around this time the Shadows also became a major galactic power, exploring the universe and making contact with alien races. The first of these races was that of the being Lorien, who was the first of the First Ones
First Ones
The First Ones is the collective name of a group of aliens from the television science fiction drama Babylon 5.-Overview:The First Ones are the ancient alien races of the galaxy, the first organisms to achieve sentience and the first to become spacefaring. Of these races, Lorien's was the first,...
.
The Shadows waged many wars with other ancient powers, including the Vorlons, Walkers and many more. The reasons for these wars are unknown, but some theorize the Shadows attacked out of fear of the telepathic talents of their enemies. In these wars the Shadows were defeated, but never destroyed. Retreating to Z'ha'dum, the Shadows went into hibernation for 1000 years before reemerging, a more powerful and learned force. It is believed that this cycle of defeat and adaptation laid the basis for the Shadows' ideology of "facilitated survival of the fittest
Survival of the fittest
"Survival of the fittest" is a phrase originating in evolutionary theory, as an alternative description of Natural selection. The phrase is today commonly used in contexts that are incompatible with the original meaning as intended by its first two proponents: British polymath philosopher Herbert...
," which they would later enforce on the younger races.
10,000 years ago
Millions of years later, many younger races had begun to evolve on thousands of worlds and the First Ones realized that in order for these new sentients to succeed, the ancient races would have to move on. Thus many of the First Ones moved beyond the Galactic Rim, to explore the vast emptiness between galaxies and perhaps explore the numerous other galaxies throughout the universe. Several of the First Ones decided to stay behind and shepherd the younger races until they were fit to control their own destiny. The primary caretakers were the Vorlons and surprisingly enough, the Shadows.At first there was a balance between the two sides. One of the two then broke the agreement. Which is unknown. The Shadows claim the Vorlons broke the balance when they began tinkering with races on a genetic level, in an effort to make the younger races evolve more like them; which the Vorlons did, in fact, do. Though, as previously alluded to, it is not known whether this was the first act. Among these genetic dabblings, the Vorlons manipulated the younger races to see them as angelic creatures, using their telepathic abilities to shield their true form from the beings they manipulated.
The Shadows and the Vorlons began to fight amongst themselves, and those who tried to mediate, like the Walkers of Sigma 957, left the conflict embittered.
Over the course of the centuries that passed, the wars between the Shadows and Vorlons persisted. Then at some unknown point in time they decided to have their students fight for them, in an effort to prove who was right. This led to the last Shadow War before the time in which the Babylon 5 television series was set.
Circa 1260
Around the Earth year 1260, the penultimate Shadow WarShadow War
The Shadow Wars are a fictional series of wars involving the Shadows in the television science fiction series Babylon 5. There have actually been many Shadow Wars since ancient times in the galaxy. Roughly every thousand years, the Shadows begin a new Shadow War to promote chaos in the universe in...
raged between the Shadows and the combined forces of the Vorlon
Vorlon
A Vorlon is a member of a fictional alien species in the Babylon 5 television series and fictional universe. The Vorlon species is a member of the First Ones, a group made up of the earliest species to gain sentience in the galaxy...
s, Minbari
Minbari
The Minbari are a fictional alien race featured in the television show Babylon 5. The Minbari characters of Delenn and Lennier figure prominently throughout the series; Neroon, Draal, and Dukhat are less prominent Minbari characters....
, and various other younger races allied with the Vorlons. The primitive and agrarian Narn
Narn
The Narn are a fictional alien race in the universe of the Babylon 5 television series. Their homeworld is also called Narn.-Homeworld:Narn is the homeworld of the Narn and the Narn Regime. Its day is 31 hours long. Prior to the Centauri's first invasion, Narn was a healthy green planet. Now it...
homeworld was occupied by the Shadows, and the planet became a Shadow staging area. The Shadows had no interest in the Narn themselves at that time.
Somehow, Narn telepaths learned that they could hurt the Shadows' ships, and may have begun guerrilla operations against the Shadows. Through an unknown mechanism the Shadows slew all Narn telepaths of breeding age in order to prevent the Narn from resisting the Shadows, but the surviving telepaths, led by G'Quan, were still able to drive the Shadows from the planet.
Realising the war was lost, the Shadows seeded hundreds of worlds across the galaxy with their ships so their forces couldn't be wiped out in a single attack, as even the Vorlons could never find them all. They then retreated and hid themselves away, going into a state of hibernation.
Year 2259
In 2259, there were increasing reports of a black, spidery ship being encountered in hyperspaceHyperspace (science fiction)
Hyperspace is a plot device sometimes used in science fiction. It is typically described as an alternative region of space co-existing with our own universe which may be entered using an energy field or other device...
, which instilled a dark fear in all who looked upon it. Meanwhile, Narn ambassador G'Kar realized that these ships were those described in the ancient writings
Book of G'Quan
In the Babylon 5 science fiction saga, the Book of G'Quan is a Narn holy book. Each book is copied painstakingly by hand, exactly reproduced from the original version...
of the Narn philosopher G'Quan, which told of a great enemy that rose to power a thousand years in the past. Known as the Shadows, they spread from their homeworld Z'ha'dum to rival the stars themselves:
-
- "And the Spirit of Darkness moved upon the land. It screamed in the dreams of the MindwalkersTelepathyTelepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
; and they fell, destroyed by it to their children and their children's children. Then did the Darkness come to Narn until it was driven out by G'Quan and the last of the surviving Mindwalkers."
- "And the Spirit of Darkness moved upon the land. It screamed in the dreams of the Mindwalkers
The text is accompanied by pictures of the black ship, and ends on a chilling note:
-
- "There is a darkness greater than the one we fight. It is the darkness of the soul that has lost its way. Greater than the death of flesh is the death of hope, the death of dreams. Against this foe we can never surrender."
Year 2260
In late 2260, Captain John SheridanJohn Sheridan (Babylon 5)
John J. Sheridan is a lead character in the fictional universe of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Bruce Boxleitner. For most of the series, he is the commander of the Babylon 5 station; during the series' final season he is the President of the Interstellar...
was invited to Z'ha'dum for a meeting with the Shadows. The Shadows badly wanted to have Sheridan on their side because if he unravelled the Army of Light, it would stay unravelled, but, as past experience had showed them, if they killed him, someone else would simply take his place.
Sheridan did go to Z'ha'dum but the negotiations collapsed, and he jumped into a ravine two miles deep to evade capture once his suspicion that he had been led into a trap was confirmed.
Before doing so, he remotely piloted his ship, the White Star, to crash into the Shadows' capital city, which he was visiting. The White Star was carrying two nuclear bombs in its cargo bay, each with a yield of over 500 megatons
TNT equivalent
TNT equivalent is a method of quantifying the energy released in explosions. The ton of TNT is a unit of energy equal to 4.184 gigajoules, which is approximately the amount of energy released in the detonation of one ton of TNT...
. (The strongest nuclear bomb to be detonated as of 2011 was the Tsar Bomb, which had a yield of 50 megatons.)
Seconds after Sheridan jumped into the abyss, the White Star crashed into the city and the nuclear weapons it contained detonated. Both the White Star and the city were destroyed. The crater left from the blast was the size of a large Earth country and was clearly visible from space.
Year 2261
The explosion on Z'ha'dum destroyed the Shadows' biggest city, throwing them into chaos and forcing them to regroup. They then went to seek outside help, and enlisted the Centauri to shelter a fleet of their ships on Centauri Prime.At the Battle of Coriana 6, the second Shadow War
Shadow War
The Shadow Wars are a fictional series of wars involving the Shadows in the television science fiction series Babylon 5. There have actually been many Shadow Wars since ancient times in the galaxy. Roughly every thousand years, the Shadows begin a new Shadow War to promote chaos in the universe in...
ended, and the Shadows passed beyond the Galactic Rim. Nonetheless, their servants, the Drakh
Drakh
The Drakh are a fictional alien race in the Babylon 5 universe. The Drakh were dark servants for the race of First Ones known as the Shadows. They appeared in the fourth and fifth seasons of Babylon 5 as well as the television movie, A Call to Arms...
, and a few others stayed behind, and retained the advanced technology and aggressive philosophy of the Shadows.
Sheridan, along with Alfred Bester
Alfred Bester (Babylon 5)
Alfred Bester is a Babylon 5 character played by Walter Koenig. He is a senior Psi Cop and a recurring antagonist in the series. J. Michael Straczynski named the character after the science fiction writer Alfred Bester, since telepathy is a recurring theme in his work .-Early Life and Career:The...
and Lyta Alexander
Lyta Alexander
Lyta Alexander is a character from the fictional universe of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Patricia Tallman.Lyta was introduced in the pilot episode "The Gathering" as a telepath assigned to the Babylon 5 space station by the Psi Corps, a fictional organization...
, went back to Z'ha'dum in early 2261 in search of some of this technology. This triggered a self-destruct security feature that caused the entire planet to explode, leaving nothing behind — except for what the Drakh and other allies of the Shadows took with them in their quick exit from the exploding planet.
The Drakh
Drakh
The Drakh are a fictional alien race in the Babylon 5 universe. The Drakh were dark servants for the race of First Ones known as the Shadows. They appeared in the fourth and fifth seasons of Babylon 5 as well as the television movie, A Call to Arms...
aren't the only race who worked for the Shadows, but neither the surgeons and pilot in "Ship of Tears
Ship of Tears
Ship of Tears is an episode from the third season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5.-Synopsis:Bester returns to Babylon 5 and proposes an unlikely alliance....
" nor the creature in "The Long Dark
The Long Dark
"The Long Dark" is an episode from the second season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5.-Synopsis:A cryonic exploration vessel from a hundred years ago approaches Babylon 5, bringing with it a deadly creature and a human from the past...
" were seen to be helping with the evacuation, though of course it has been speculated that the Drakh might have been the only Shadow servants to have been living on Z'ha'dum at that time.
With the destruction of Z'ha'dum, those beings that had faithfully served the Shadows down through the centuries found themselves homeless. Now these thralls sought to become masters of chaos themselves. Thus, the legacy of the Shadows lived on.
Alliances and agents
- See DrakhDrakhThe Drakh are a fictional alien race in the Babylon 5 universe. The Drakh were dark servants for the race of First Ones known as the Shadows. They appeared in the fourth and fifth seasons of Babylon 5 as well as the television movie, A Call to Arms...
- See Centauri RepublicCentauri (Babylon 5)The Centauri are a humanoid species in the fictional universe of the Babylon 5 television series. They were the first alien species to make open contact with the human race. Their homeworld is Centauri Prime, a small Earth-like planet consisting of two large continents and several smaller islands...
- See Londo Mollari
- See Mr. MordenMorden (Babylon 5)Morden is a fictional character in the universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Ed Wasser. He is a recurring antagonist in the show.-Overview:...
Ships
Every Shadow ship has a sentient being enslaved as its central processing unitCentral processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
(CPU). This gives it incredible control and maneuverability, but leaves the ship vulnerable to telepathic
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
attack, which the Shadows attempt to counter by installing telepaths into their ships' cores.
Unlike conventional ships, Shadow vessels do not form "Jump Points" to enter Hyperspace. Instead they slide or phase into Hyperspace.
Agents of Gaming RPG books make mention that the Shadows a long time ago actually piloted their own craft but gave up the practice perhaps due to their limited numbers. Instead they used members of the younger races as cannon fodder, and made it possible for their warships to be bred more quickly.
One Man Fighters
Current records on the Shadow fighter indicate that the ships, like Shadow capital ships, can both cloak and phase into Hyperspace, making them the smallest vessels ever seen to have hyperspace capability.Shadow one-man fighters have more than enough firepower to dispatch an entire conventional fighter squadron single-handedly. Their weaponry consists of a pulse weapon fired from the front of the vessel. One vessel can be seen expanding then contracting before firing, as if propelling it. Like the Shadow warships, all technology in these fighters is organic, and most were piloted by minions of the Shadows. They are launched from mother ships in large, spiked balls which split apart.
Capital ship
Shadow battlecrab
A Shadow battlecrab is a fictional spacecraft from the Babylon 5 universe.These ships make up the bulk of the Shadows' fleet. These ships are alive, but cannot operate independently, instead they require a humanoid to be merged with them and operate as its CPU. The unfortunate "pilots" are usually...
s were the standard warships of the Shadows. These powerful vessels, while all similar in design, appeared to be varied in size and power. The vessels' main weapon consists of a singular beam weapon most often seen being fired from the front lower portion of the vessel. It doesn't explode on impact, rather it penetrates through enemy vessels, slicing them into pieces. It has been documented that the Shadow beam weapon could literally slice a small planetoid into shards. This weapon was theoretically powerful enough to turn the entire surface of a planet into wasteland when used on continuous fire. Shadow ships could also fire a type of tractor beam and a burst weapon capable of destroying enemy jump points by making them collapse and destabilize. The capital ship's secondary weapon is torpedoes, similar to proximity mines, which are capable of locking onto a ship and destroying it. Once locked onto a target, a Shadow vessel would follow that target until it had destroyed it.
Shadow capital ships were also equipped with a cloaking device that made use of hyperspace technology. Essentially, Shadow vessels cloaked by phasing somewhere between real space and first level Hyperspace. A Shadow capital ship would be virtually invulnerable to attack in real space or hyperspace when cloaked. It was not vulnerable until it fully entered either dimensional plane. This cloaking system was apparently susceptible to large graviton shifts. Current documentation indicates that some of these vessels could carry up to forty one-man fighters.
Shadow Scout Ship
Fast, maneuverable and very well armed, this class vessel was one of the last warships in the Shadows' arsenal to be seen. This heavy assault fighter/scout ship was about 2/3 the size of a White Star vessel and was armed with a powerful energy burst weapon that was much more powerful than the energy cannons used by Shadow fighters, though it shared the vulnerability to ramming. All spines curled sharply to face forward, suggesting that the spines of Shadow ships served as sensors. They usually did not break radio silence until they had something to report.Shadow Planet Killer
One of the most terrifying weapons seen by the eyes of man was the Shadow Planet KillerShadow Planet Killer
A Shadow Planet Killer is a fictional machine from the Babylon 5 television show and films, which was used to destroy planetary ecosystems....
or Death Cloud. The Shadow Death Cloud consisted of several layers. The outer layer of the Shadow planet killer was its trademark black cloud that completely obscured the mechanism's inner workings.
The inner workings of the Death Cloud appear to be a larger, web-like construct which started out in a compacted form and was then able to expand to encompass an entire planet. Once a planet was locked within the grip of the Death Cloud, the mechanism's offensive systems went to work. The cloud surrounding the mechanism prevented anything within the cloud from escaping, as it had exhibited a capability to depower starships, thus leaving them both defenseless and vulnerable to the missiles and various hand-shaped weapon turrets on the construct inside the cloud. The hand-shaped turrets had several "fingers" which could fire the infamous purple Shadow "slicing beams" individually. However, as seen in "A Call to Arms", these "fingers" could touch together and form a super slicing beam capable of wreaking havoc on powerful vessels like a Victory-class cruiser and, theoretically, even shielded Vorlon vessels.
Unlike the Vorlon Planet Killer, which used a massive energy bolt to obliterate a planet, the Shadows took a much more conservative approach to destroying a planet. The Death Cloud fired multi-gigaton missile-like projectiles at the target planet, which would burrow down through the planet's crust and detonate once they reached the planet's core. This literally turned a planet inside out, transforming it into a radioactive, molten wasteland. The rationale behind this was not one of efficiency, but rather the promotion of chaos and strife — while the Vorlon method is swift and deadly, thus exhibiting their "punishment" of races who have become "disobedient" to them, the Shadows preferred to prolong the fear and panic brought on by their rather imposing weapon, sowing more and more chaos with each passing minute. Also, by leaving the targeted world intact but defiled, the Shadows left testaments to their work for their enemies to see.
While in its molten form, the planet was stripped of any and all organic and useful inorganic materials by the planet killer, and this material was used to fuel the Death Cloud. Once a planet had been stripped of all useful materials, it was left as little more than a cold, dead boulder in space — all organic life, in any form, having been devoured with no chance of life ever springing up on that world again. This suggests that the Death cloud also acted as a portable factory, producing its own missiles en route to its next target, using the remains of its most recent victim.
Technology
The Shadows developed many other weapons of war, including deadly bioengineered viruses and an artificial intelligence pod capable of operating a vessel in lieu of a normal crew. These weapons were scavenged by the DrakhDrakh
The Drakh are a fictional alien race in the Babylon 5 universe. The Drakh were dark servants for the race of First Ones known as the Shadows. They appeared in the fourth and fifth seasons of Babylon 5 as well as the television movie, A Call to Arms...
following the Shadows' departure from the galaxy. It is unknown what other horrors the Shadows may have left behind. The Shadows may also have created a special type of jumpgate
Jumpgate
In science fiction, a jump gate is a fictional device able to create a wormhole or portal, allowing fast travel between two points in space...
called a Null field, which appears as a black hole and establishes an instantaneous connection between two points. They were also the creators of a bio-plague that used nanites to wipe out entire species.
The Shadows may also be the originator of technology that gives the Technomage
Technomage
The Technomages are a group of sentient beings from the fictional Babylon 5 universe. The technomages shown in the television series are primarily human, but in the "Technomage Trilogy" books, apprentices and mages of other races including Centauri are named. They are described as using "science to...
s their powers (making them cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
s). It seems likely that the Technomages were developed to serve as some of the Shadows' many soldiers of darkness, against telepaths in the Vorlon
Vorlon
A Vorlon is a member of a fictional alien species in the Babylon 5 television series and fictional universe. The Vorlon species is a member of the First Ones, a group made up of the earliest species to gain sentience in the galaxy...
army of light, but the Technomages learned of this and rebelled, though attempts were made on many occasions to draw them back into the ranks of the Shadows.