Sheridan’s forces make their final strike. Marcus weighs a vital decision.

##Overview

###Guest Stars

J. Patrick McCormack as General Lefcourt. Marjorie Monaghan as Number One. Carolyn
Seymour as Senator Crosby.

###Lurk

http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/synops/086.html

##Plot Points

Sheridan’s plan for the frozen telepaths ([[Ship of Tears]]) was to smuggle them onto as many Earth warships as possible and activate them. The telepaths would wake up and

merge with the ships’ computer systems, making the ships unable to maneuver or attack and thus removing the need for Sheridan’s forces to destroy them. The plan

succeeded in disabling the better part of the Earth fleet at the Mars colony.

Sheridan’s forces have arrived at Earth, prompting President Clark to commit suicide rather than face capture or trial. A member of the Earth Senate, apparently friendly to

Sheridan, has at least temporarily filled in the power vacuum.

Marcus has used the alien healing machine ([[The Quality of Mercy]]) to give his life to Ivanova, apparently dying in the process.

##Unanswered Questions

What happened to the telepaths on the destroyers?

Was Bester’s lover Carolyn ([[Ship of Tears]]) among the telepaths used against the destroyers? Did she survive?

What was meant by “The ascension of the ordinary man” on Clark’s suicide note? (See Analysis)

Did Clark have a vice president? Will he or she become the new head of the Earth Alliance, and if so, will Earth continue the policies of the Clark administration?

##Analysis

When General Lefcourt addressed the fleet at Mars, he didn’t bother repeating Clark’s propaganda about Sheridan’s forces being under alien influence. That could be a sign

that few people in Earthforce really believed it anyway, so there was little point maintaining the pretext. Or it could have been a result of his knowledge of Sheridan; that might

lead him to believe that Sheridan would take up arms against Clark of his own free will.

Both Sheridan and Lefcourt were in charge of Omega-class destroyers, and they both displaced the destroyers’ usual captains.

The device Franklin placed on Lyta was most likely the one he mentioned developing in “The Exercise of Vital Powers.” He claimed to be working on a repeater to help

broadcast her thought patterns.

The formation of the assault team on Mars was planned oddly; all the top-ranking people were together in a single group (Garibaldi, Number One, Lyta, and Franklin,) which

would have been disastrous if they’d failed to take over the outpost. However, it’s not an arrangement without merit: Franklin and Lyta obviously had to be together for him to

hook her up to the device, and Number One probably wanted to keep an eye on both Garibaldi and Lyta.

After her bad treatment at the hands of Sheridan and company, treatment which forced her to reassociate herself with the Psi Corps (“The Exercise of Vital Powers,”) Lyta

was surprisingly willing to put herself on the line yet again. Has her arrangement with Bester made her comfortable enough to set aside her past annoyance with Sheridan and

the B5 crew, or does she simply believe so strongly in the cause that she’s willing to disregard personal considerations?

Marcus viewed several log entries from Franklin. The first referred to the death of Cailyn, Franklin’s lover in “Walkabout.”

The second might have referred to Marcus’ recovery from his fight with Neroon in “Grey 17 Is Missing,” although at that time Franklin was on walkabout and thus couldn’t

have recorded the log entry — a possible gaffe. It couldn’t have referred to any event before “Ceremonies of Light and Dark,” since Franklin was wearing his Army of Light

uniform.

The third, of course, was in reference to the use of the alien healing machine on Garibaldi in “Revelations.” Franklin’s flashback recounted [[Revelations]] as well.

These log entries paralleled Marcus’ own dilemma. The first dealt with the death of a woman Franklin cared about. The second (assuming it truly referred to “Grey 17 Is

Missing”) was the last time Marcus was willing to give up his life for a woman he cared for, namely Delenn. And the third message was a warning about the consequences of

what Marcus was contemplating.

The phrase on Clark’s suicide note (“The ascension of the ordinary man”) is a cipher, but it might have some discernable meaning. The theme of death leading to ascension is

common in religion; perhaps the “ordinary man” referred to the innocent civilians who’d be killed by the defense platforms, and Clark believed they’d ascend to heaven.

There’s also an echo of Cartagia’s belief that his involvement with the Shadows would allow him to ascend to godhood; though Cartagia’s belief was rooted in Centauri religion

(other emperors had been elevated to godhood, as noted by Vir in [[Chrysalis]]) it’s possible Clark believed the same was true of himself.

It’s also possible that “ordinary” referred to non-telepaths: by scouring Earth’s surface, a mundane was determining the fate of his evolutionary superiors, thus ascending

above them.

How did the Senator know so quickly what Clark had done, and how much damage the particle beams could cause Earth? One possible answer to the second question is that

the potential danger to Earth might have been discussed in the Senate, for example while debating funding of the defense platforms. And perhaps the control panels on Clark’s

desk made it obvious that he’d turned the defense platforms against Earth, though the implication is that she guessed his plan simply from the words “scorched earth.”

It’s odd that the Agamemnon was the only ship available to destroy the last defense platform, since only moments earlier it was in the midst of a swarm of other friendly

vessels. Obviously this was a matter of artistic license, but why couldn’t one of the Minbari cruisers, for example, have fired a beam weapon at the platform from a distance?

Now that Sheridan’s forces have removed Earth’s defenses to a large extent — the orbital platforms are all gone, many ships have been destroyed, and the advanced

destroyer group is no more — an aggressive alien government, perhaps the Drakh ([[Lines of Communication]]) might consider this an ideal time to try to attack Earth or some

of its colonies. Sheridan may have to station some of the White Star fleet and/or the League ships at Earth to help make up for the damage his campaign has done and ensure

Earth’s security.

On the other hand, after Earth has had a chance to build up its forces again, it may be far in advance of the rest of the galaxy, even the Minbari. Assuming Sheridan relinquishes

command of his fleet to Earthgov now that Clark is out of the picture, Earth will have both Vorlon and Shadow technology at its disposal. Given that some progress has

obviously been made in integrating Shadow technology into Earth’s ([[Between the Darkness and the Light]]) it’s not implausible that the Vorlon technology in the White Stars

***”***- not to mention their Minbari components — could be analyzed by the same researchers. Will the Minbari stand for that if it’s attempted? How much do they value their

current technological edge over the other major races?

The parallel between Greek myth and Sheridan’s command of the Agamemnon has further resonance here, especially the variant in which Agamemnon’s daughter Iphigenia

is saved from death by Artemis. Marcus, a self-described virgin ([[The Summoning]]) has brought Ivanova back from the dead (assuming the alien device does in fact

successfully revive her.) What parallel, if any, there will be with the rest of the myth — Iphigenia living the rest of her life in a distant temple, far from her family — remains to

be seen.

##Notes

The design of the rocket launching from Mars just before and after the opening credits may be a visual homage to the DC-X, a prototype of a reusable lightweight space

vehicle. DC-X performed eight test flights between 1993 and 1995.

Effects glitch: One of the destroyers attacked by the White Stars at Mars was the Nemesis. Unfortunately, the Nemesis defected to Sheridan’s side in “No Surrender, No

Retreat.” Of course, it could have been one of the fake defectors ([[Between the Darkness and the Light]]) and gone back to Clark’s side after gathering information about the

rebel fleet.

Effects glitch: When the fleet first approaches Earth, it’s daytime in east Africa, Asia, and the Indian Ocean. But when the Agamemnon is about to ram the defense platform,

North America is in sunlight.

Clark’s suicide and note are similar to a scene in the film “Dr. Strangelove.” In the movie, a base commander launches a nuclear strike against the Soviet Union. As troops try

to break in to capture him and get the abort code, he shoots himself. They discover on his desk a sheet of paper with mad ramblings and a number of circled letters.

And of course, many real despots in history have committed suicide rather than be captured by the enemy, such as Adolf Hitler.