####Overview

Babylon 4 returns as abruptly as it vanished, but its reappearance may bode ill for the future. Delenn receives a momentous offer.
####Guest Stars

Kent Broadhurst as Major Krantz. Tim Choate as Zathras. Denise Gentile as Lise Hampton.
####Lurk

http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/synops/020.html
####Backplot

Babylon 4 was stolen by people from the future, apparently at Sinclair’s behest during that time period, to act as a base of operations in a tremendous war being fought between the forces of light and darkness.

Sinclair will be a great leader, possibly the leader, of the forces of light in that war.

At some point, long before he participates in Babylon 4’s disappearance, Sinclair will flee a place (most likely Babylon 5, cf. [[Signs and Portents]]) that is about to be overrun by some evil creatures. Garibaldi will stay behind to fight, but will force Sinclair to leave. A transcript of the scene in question is available.

The Grey Council stopped the war because of a prophecy. Valen (a revered figure, see jms speaks) said that humans, or some among them, had a destiny with which the Minbari could not be allowed to interfere.

Delenn is on Babylon 5 to study humanity, to determine whether the prophecy is correct.
####Unanswered Questions

Will Babylon 4 appear again? If so, when?

Was it really Sinclair in the suit? If not, who or what was it?

What was Sinclair trying to prevent from happening?

Who was waiting for Delenn and Sinclair?

Will Delenn keep her position on the council?

What is the purpose of the triluminary?

What was happening in Sinclair’s flashforward? Who or what was attacking the station? Is it related to the destruction of the station as foretold in “Signs and Portents?”

What was the crazed man referring to when he shouted about “monsters” and said, “I see you… you think I can’t?” (see Analysis)

Is the Grey Council’s cruiser the same place Sinclair was taken during the Battle of the Line? (cf. [[And the Sky Full of Stars]])

Why is Delenn so convinced she must remain on Babylon 5, even at the risk of her standing in the Council?

What “change” does Delenn believe is coming?
####Analysis

None of the races have demonstrated an ability to travel through time. Yet within Sinclair’s lifetime, such technology will either be developed, discovered, or introduced by people from the distant past or future. Does it exist already? If so, who has it? Zathras’ people may be the ones to provide the technology.

The voice that speaks to Sinclair sounds like Delenn’s, but her face is intentionally not shown. Presumably there is a reason for that; Delenn may be due to change in some way that will alter her appearance.

After Babylon 4 completes its time jump, a voice (presumably a computer) announces that the atmosphere was breathable. Why wasn’t it breathable before? Zathras clearly had no trouble breathing in the past, so is something about the future Sinclair different that prevents him from breathing a normal atmosphere?

In the past, when we’ve seen Grey Council members, they have had silver triangles on their foreheads ([[And the Sky Full of Stars]] and [[Signs and Portents]] during Morden’s visit to Delenn.) Yet no such triangles were visible this time. What do the triangles mean, and what causes them to appear? (see jms speaks)

The attacking force in Sinclair’s vision of the future seemed to be invisible. Witness the fact that Garibaldi’s men were firing in seemingly random directions, as if they didn’t know where the enemy was. It also seems unlikely that they’d use a flamethrower if they could aim at their opponents. When the unknown force finally cut through the wall, it was forced inward, but nothing could be seen forcing it. This also explains what the crazed man on B4 was talking about; he’d seen visions of a battle against invisible foes too.

The only instance of invisibility seen in the series up until this episode was in “The War Prayer,” and it was developed by the Earth Alliance military, suggesting perhaps that the attackers might be humans.

Garibaldi flashed back to an event two years earlier. That may suggest that Sinclair’s flashforward (if indeed that’s what it was) was to two years in the future, which would put the scene somewhere in the year 2260, season three of the series.
####Notes

Babylon 4 is larger than Babylon 5.