####Overview

Lyta Alexander, the station’s first telepath, returns with a warning that one of Babylon 5’s officers is an operative for a top-secret government organization. A long-held secret of another Babylon 5 officer is revealed.
####Guest Stars

Patricia Tallman as Lyta Alexander.
####Lurk

http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/synops/041.html
####Backplot

Lyta Alexander is part of a secret movement against Psi Corps. She’s evidently been a dissident since she probed Kosh ([[The Gathering]].) When Lyta probed Kosh, she felt something she then hid from the years of subsequent interrogations from Psi-Corps. She has been feeling drawn to Vorlon space and has desperately tried to get there. She knows a lot more than she has ever told anyone, including what Kosh is under his suit.

Talia Winters was programmed with a ‘sleeper’ personality by the Psi Corps. She is probably “Control” (cf. [[A Spider in the Web]].)

Ivanova is a latent telepath. She is able to block some scans, knows instantly if someone scans her, can pick up on some feelings, but has never been able to scan anyone except her mother. She claims, though, that her psi rating is “not even a P1.”

“Universe Today” has a section called ‘Eye on Minbari’ which Delenn uses to find out things about her homeworld she might not neccessarily have been told yet, in addition to learning human perceptions of Minbari.

Lyta spent some time with Psi Cops as part of her training, but left because she didn’t like it and became a commercial telepath instead.
####Unanswered Questions

Exactly how much does Talia’s new persona know? And what will this do to B5 in the future?

Is there really no chance of the old Talia recovering? If not, what good is the recording Kosh made?

How safe is Lyta’s escape? Will Psi-corps get her in the end? The fact that Kosh let her off the station suggests he’s prepared to risk Psi-Corps getting their grubby hands on whatever it is she knows from the scan.

What did Lyta see when she asked Kosh to reveal himself? Something with a halo of light, but what?

Dr. Kyle also saw Kosh. Has Psi-Corps learned anything from him that they didn’t learn from Lyta?

How involved are Sinclair’s rangers with the Mars resistance?

Was it Talia who attempted to kill Lyta?

How did (presumably) Talia get the lights in the security section to go out, being replaced with red backups? And how did she know that she had a chance to hit Lyta? She was being taken from one cell to another on orders passed from Garibaldi to Zack to two ordinary security people. Is Zack implicated in some way, perhaps by way of his involvement in Nightwatch? It seems conincidental that in the few minutes available an attempt was made on Lyta’s life.

What about Ironheart (cf. [[Mind War]]?) If he saw “everything,” would he not have known about the implanted personality, however deep it was?

What will Psi Corps do with Talia now that the Artificial Personality has taken control?

Was the ‘Control’ mentioned by Lyta the same one installed by Bureau 13?

Was Garibaldi really faking the transition to an artificial personality? And does he know more that he’s letting on? (see Analysis)

How will Sheridan and Delenn handle the growing feelings in their friendship?

Why is Babylon 5 seen to be so important to several unknown individuals/groups, and who are those people?
####Analysis

Whatever Ironheart did to Talia seems to have enhanced her powers enormously, and she seems to be growing more powerful. Psi Corps, at a minimum, now have the psychic assassin they were trying to create, and potentially much more. Assuming, of course, that Ironheart’s gift wasn’t erased when Talia’s original personality was destroyed.

Another possibility is that Talia wasn’t destroyed, that Ironheart’s gift allowed her to prevent Control from taking over, but she’s playing along as a means of continuing her own investigation into what’s going on with Psi-Corps (cf. [[A Spider in the Web]].)

Talia’s implanted personality was foreshadowed in [[The Quality of Mercy]]. After she was finished scanning Mueller, she was joined by Garibaldi in the Garden. As they talked about her experience, she commented to him, “Things that live inside us, Mr. Garibaldi. Terrible things. Terrible.”

Delenn’s choice of articles in Universe Today is a revealing one. This highlights the lack of information she is receiving now that she is no longer a member of the Grey Council. However, she is learning to gather information from other sources and to “read between the lines” more carefully. It appears that she is regaining confidence in her abilities.

During the attempted murder of Lyta while she is being transfered between holding cells, we see the hand holding the assailants PPG. It is wearing a black glove, very similar to those worn by Talia. However, the lead time between Garibaldi ordering Lyta to be moved, and the attempted assassination appears to be very short. So how did Talia know when to leave Ivanova’s quarters in order to intercept Lyta? And does Talia know how to kill the main lights in a section? Three possibilities present themselves:

1. Coincidence. Talia, under the control of the artificial personality (AP), goes to hunt down and kill Lyta while Ivanova is out getting some air. The fact that Lyta was being transferred made the attempt much easier. Killing the main lights is knowledge that Talia has but we aren’t shown. However, in [[A Spider in the Web]], we are shown that Bureau 13 has cracked the station computer’s security, which presumably would allow Talia to discover both Lyta’s location and the time of the transfer.
2. There is an additional agent provocateur on Babylon 5. Someone who does have the knowledge of Lyta’s movements, and would know how to kill the main lights in a section. This strongly suggests Garibaldi, but might be Zack or another member of the security staff. A trigger message is sent to Talia, who then attempts to kill Lyta.
3. As above, there is an additional mole on Babylon 5, but it is this individual who knows about Lyta’s movements, knows how to short circuit the main lights, and attempts to kill Lyta. In this case, Talia is innocently caught up in the actions of another individual attempting to protect themselves. There is additional evidence that might be seen to support this (see below).

How does Talia know that Lyta Alexander is aboard Babylon 5? She may have guessed indirectly from a conversation with Ivanova and done some digging of her own, but Ivanova only asks if Talia knew Lyta – not telling her that she was aboard. Alternatively, she learnt of this through her PsiCorps contacts. Or Talia arranged (at the suggestion of the submerged AP) for her quarters to be out of use so that she could be closer to Ivanova. Once close enough, she could scan Ivanova and learn about the cell group, also learning about Lyta at the same time. When Talia wakes up (finding Ivanova gone) she has no gloves on. Physical contact may be used to intensify mental contact, and Talia might have done this while Ivanova was sleeping. Talia’s new personality indicates that there was an ulterior motive for getting close to Ivanova.

Garibaldi’s flashbacks refer to [[Deathwalker]], where Kosh uses a ViCaR (or VCR, an individual with an enhanced photographic memory) to conduct a strange negotiation, with Talia monitoring. A data crystal was also passed to Kosh from the ViCaR, and Talia doesn’t know what it contained. Kosh’s comments seem to indicate his awareness of Talia’s AP and what will happen when it is activated. So, has Kosh recorded a copy of Talia’s personality onto a data crystal? We have already seen that the Earth Alliance has the technology to wipe a personality and build a new one ([[The Quality of Mercy]].) Will this be a way for Sheridan to wipe out the AP and any knowledge that PsiCorps might pick up from Talia? It may not be so easy (see JMS Speaks).

Garibaldi believed Lyta and her story. Considering how strongly this goes against his previous behaviour, does he have an ulterior motive? This may tie in with some of the speculation about Lyta’s attempted murder. See also the following two points.

When Taro Isogi is killed by the modified Free Mars leader ([[A Spider in the Web]],) Control identifies Talia Winters (who witnessed the murder) as someone who should also be eliminated. Given that Lyta Alexander referred to the (then unknown) sleeper agent as ‘Control’, can we draw the conclusion that Talia was part of a Bureau 13 operation? Or are there different sections of PsiCorps treading on each other’s toes? It seems unlikely that Talia ordered her own execution, especially if Lyta is right about Control being programmed for self-preservation.

Garibaldi’s “faked” personality transition was taken by all the others as being a joke in bad taste. But consider an alternative explanation: Lyta stated that the AP would say or do anything to protect itself, and Garibaldi was behaving out of character. He also immediately turned everyone’s attention to Ivanova. Talia was caught unprepared for the sending of the password, but Garibaldi knew that the password would be sent. Garibaldi knew, or could easily have found out, when Lyta was slated to be moved, so could have pulled the trigger. And he was ready to bring Talia into the conspiracy, perhaps in order to expose it indirectly.

However, it is unlikely that two different sleepers would respond to the same password, and the events in the “flashforward” scene in [[Babylon Squared]] would suggest that Garibaldi’s loyalty is not in question.

Ivanova was also awake at the time, and unaccounted-for, making her a suspect.

How high up the chain of Psi-Corps command does this implanting go? There is every indication the it’s above Bester. Twice in the series Bester has suspected and even accused Talia of conspiring against the Corps. Why would he suspect or accuse her of this if he knew he had an ally inside her brain?

The Delenn/Sheridan relationship is growing stronger. Neither Delenn or Sheridan are making a strong attempt to hide their growing trust and respect for each other. After the events in [[Confessions and Lamentations]], Delenn has drawn emotional support from Sheridan. Her growing affection for him is something that she clearly shows in her face and actions while they are in the garden talking. Sheridan also appears to be happy that he has someone who he can turn to who will help him when all around is madness, and is wondering just where all this is leading.

The relationship between Talia and Ivanova is one that will attract much debate.

At the start of the episode, it seems clear that they are just friends. Talia would not hesitate to impose on Ivanova’s sleeping quarters if there were anything stronger.

During the episode, as Ivanova becomes more and more worried about revealing her (limited) telepathic ability, she relies on Talia during the expression of her feelings and doubts. There is an apparent emotional tension between them that might be interpreted as a “should I make the first move,” or as Talia’s giving support but hesitating to probe further, and Ivanova’s “should I trust her, even though she’s a telepath?”

When Talia wakes up in Ivanova’s bed, finding her missing, it is tempting to jump to the “obvious” conclusion. However we know that Ivanova’s quarters only has one cot (indicated in [[The Long Dark]] by Dr. Franklin.) Of course, Ivanova probably has a sofa/couch that might have been used.

When Ivanova has her final conversation with the dominated Talia, she indicates that it gave Talia the words that would get her close to all Ivanova knew. Just how much Talia knows about Ivanova is unclear, and we have no indication of just how close in addition to the emotional bond.

Had Ivanova and Talia had a physical relationship then Ivanova might have revealed her latent telepathy (“Do you know what its like when telepaths make love?” in [[Mind War]].) Since the alternate Talia didn’t goad Ivanova about this, then either Ivanova maintained a block, or they didn’t have a physical relationship.

Ivanova’s relationship with her mother is opened up further by her revelation of being a latent telepath, although this is not explored directly. Since Ivanova could initiate contact with her mother, she could obtain a clear mental as well as physical picture of her mothers deterioration under the PsiCorps telepathic suppression drugs. The drugs would of course prevent any attempt at contact initiated by her mother, and also of any blocking.

We now have a clearer understanding of how Ivanova developed her strong feelings against PsiCorps, and what she must have overcome in order to establish her friendship with Talia. This change in Talia (and the AP claiming to have directed the growth of their friendship) may have far reaching effects in her ability to trust again.

Sheridan has now seen a part of his Kosh-induced dream ([[All Alone in the Night]]) come true. In the dream he saw Ivanova with a black raven on her shoulder, and heard her say: “Do you know who I am?” At what point will other parts of the dream come true? (If they haven’t already.)

Why did Sheridan let Talia go so easily? He could have held her on charges of shooting two security guards, if nothing else. Perhaps he felt that doing so would draw too much attention to his covert activities.

Since a Ranger was involved in smuggling the data crystal to Lyta, Garibaldi may have been warned of her arrival.

Delenn appeared to be turning down closer relations with the Lumati (cf. [[Acts of Sacrifice]]) when Lyta called. Why? (Maybe their method of closing treaties is a bit closer than she’d prefer the relations to get.)

JMS says (see jms speaks) that originally, Takashima ([[The Gathering]]) was going to be the plant, and that that part of the storyline was transferred over to Talia with the cast changes between pilot and series. The other events in [[The Gathering]], combined with some revelations from the comic series (cf. comic 8, “Silent Enemies”) suggest some disturbing connections.

Psi Corps was working with Minbari dissidents to kill a Vorlon. The comic has also established a connection between Psi Corps and the Shadows, although this has not yet been seen on screen. If the comic is to be believed, there is a link through Psi Corps between the Shadows and elements of the Minbari warrior caste. The effects of that link on the coming war may be quite unfortunate for one side or the other.
####Notes

Zack is still wearing his “Nightwatch” armband (“In the Shadow of Z’ha’dum”) and Garibaldi is a little bemused by it. Clearly he doesn’t quite approve of the idea.

The Pak’ma’ra have separate toilet facilities. Oddly, the warning sign next to the door is written, among other languages, in Vorlon! Or at least, in a script identical to that displayed by Kosh’s ship in [[Hunter, Prey]].

At least one of the fugitives in the sewers on Mars was clearly a ranger. The other may not necessarily have been. Lyta arrived in a shot-up ship and knows that two men died for the information. Obviously she has links with the rangers.

Delenn lies yet again, and is caught immediately.

When Delenn is dictating her response to the Lumati, the computer screen shows the text appearing (whether this is Lumati writing or Minbari isn’t clear.) One odd thing about it is that it alternately flows in both directions, up and down, across the width of the screen from left to right.

Production gaffe: In the first live-action shot after the title sequence, as Sheridan enters the restroom, one of the production crew’s hands (likely the director’s) can be seen briefly at the bottom of the screen.