The Centauri Republic invade the Narn Homeworld. Initially welcomed by the Narns with open arms, the Centauri quickly take advantage of the technological superiority to enslave the population and begin strip mining the planet's resources, which will slowly turn the green and verdant world into a dry, red dust ravaged planet.[6]
In Arizona, Earth, the mother of Kevin Vacit is shot and wounded after being identified as a telepath. While hiding in a cave to escape their pursuers, Kevin's mother passes on to him part of the Vorlon consciousness she carried in her mind before she dies. This would later enable him to hide his own ability. [14]
Genetic tests on telepaths reveal a marker that indicates that the ability has been artificially engineered. The results are suppressed, known only to a few individuals including SenatorLee Crawford and Dr. Alice Kimbrell who confirmed the results.[14]
The DeepProbe Network detects a Tachyon emission, indicating the presence of extraterrestrial intelligence. Earthgov agrees to finance an upgrade to the network with the construction of the Heimdal probe.[14]
Earthgov institute the Metasensory Regulation Authority, an initiative lead by Senator Lee Crawford. The purpose of the MRA is to monitor, track and regulate telepaths for their own protection. The Psi Scale also comes into use to grade the strength of telepath abilities from P1 to P12.[14]
MRA agents Desa Alexander, Teal and Daria Beaudain intercept a group of blips in Prague, consisting of Didier Krijgsman, a former traffic flow analyst, his wife Mary, and their twelve-year-old son Len. They were travelling on train 1116 from Amsterdam to Prague, fleeing to India. Realising they'd been spotted, Didier attempted to run, buying time for his wife and child to get away, but is caught when a local security guard hits him with a neural collapser, causing him to fall and break his neck. An enraged Desa crushes his larynx.[20]
Despite a troubled on again off again relationship, Will and Mariah Cirrus volunteer for a long duration deep space flight in cryonic freeze aboard the USS Copernicus. The ship is programed to home in and revive the crew if any signal of intellegent origin is detected during the course of the mission. [21]
2148
An Interplanetary Expeditions team discovers fragments of highly advanced alien technology scattered across Syria Planum, on Mars. The find is classified top secret and the artifacts are moved to IPX headquarters in San Diego.[14]
At IPX headquarters in San Diego, Dr. Phillip Stoddard working on a hunch that the Syria Planum finds are examples of Organic Technology, has Commercial telepath Mr. Raskov scan them. Raskov confirms Stoddard's hunch but is somehow affected by the scan and becomes obsessed, making drawings of insects. Stoddard contacts a biotech firm to arrange a possible sale.[14]
Sunday, May 5th
As Dr. Stoddard negotiates with representatives from a biotech firm, Mr. Raskov asks to touch the artifacts again, but is refused. After lifting the access codes for the vault, Raskov later attempts to break in but trips a security alarm. Fearing for the profits involved, Raskov is murdered and his death made to look like stroke.[14]
Monday, May 6th
Kevin Vacit and MRA operative Ninon Davion are called in to investigate the death of Mr. Raskov.[14]
Tuesday, May 7th
Deducing what Stoddard had planned for the artifacts, Vacit confronts him with the result of his investigation and secures exclusive MRA access to them.[14]
The city of San Diego is destroyed by an act of nuclear terrorism.[22][23] The weapon used is traced back to the breakup of the Soviet Union in the late 20th Century.[24]
On Earth, in Chiapas Mexico one hundred Rogue Telepaths choose to martyr themselves by barricading themselves in a church then setting fire to it, singing all the while as MRA agents stand outside looking on. Labelled as "The Chiapas incident", it becomes a rallying point for EA member states Japan, the Indonesian Consortium, Amazonia, and New Zealand, already dissatisfied to threaten to pull out of the Alliance if EA PresidentRobinson continued to push for an independently chartered, universal MRA. By this point it would seam as if the Earth Alliance is on the verge of collapse.[25]
In later decades, scholars would agree that this incident single handedly rescued the Earth Alliance from the brink of collapse, especially after the Centauri inform them that they and other races also posses telepaths. Although the initial reaction is similar to the pogroms of 2115, eventually the MRA finds new support as cooler heads realise that humans will need telepaths if they hope to compete with other races.[27]
Initially the Centauri claim they are a "huge empire" claiming they ran the entire galaxy, though this is later found to be a gross exaggeration. They also claim that Earth is a lost Centauri colony, making humanity distant relatives. Later when Human scientists finally gain access to Centauri DNA they find that cosmetic appearances aside, the two species are not even remotely related. The Centauri would later claim they made a clerical error, mistaking Earth for "Beta 9" when in fact it was "Beta 12".[28]
The Centauri, having become a declining, decadent culture find themselves fascinated by the abundance of human art, trinkets and eccentricity and Centauri Prime soomsigns a number of trade agreements with Earth that will allow human ships access to hyperspace travel. Initially leasing time on alien jumpgates, before purchasing the technology to build their own.[29][30][31]
Psi Corps operative, Ninon Davion is killed in the line of duty.[14]
Tuesday, May 19th, 2156
Centauri Prime's first permanent Ambassador to Earth arrives in Geneva. During his first week, President Robinson arranges a meeting between the Ambassador and Director Crawford.[14]
Crawford is killed by a car bomb planted by the Rogue TelepathJack O'Hannlon while en-route to the meeting. The Ambassador comes out of the Centauri compound to see what has happened and Kevin Vacit - the Director's assistant - brings the Ambassador to a dying Crawford so that he'll get his wish to see an alien before he passes.[32]
Kevin Vacit, is appointed the new Director of Psi Corps following Crawford's death.[14]
Following a number of deaths related to restaurants serving alien food to humans and visa versa, Earthdome passes a number of laws regulating the serving and preparation of xenocuisine.[35]
2175
Stephen Walters discovers his telepathic abilities and voluntarily joins the Psi Corps.
Psi Corps finally track down Jack O'Hannlon, the Resistance leader also known as "Monkey" in Malaysia after Fiona Davion unintentionally led them back to their safe house. O'Hannlon, now over 90 years old killed himself along with several Psi Cops by detonating a large explosive device.[38]
In the years following on from their visits to the Yucatan and Antarctica, Psi Corps Director Kevin Vacit's study of Natasha Alexander's research on the tales told of a still unknown alien's death leads him to conclude that the other alien may be hiding on or near Venus. Obtaining data from a satellite orbiting the planet he finds a magnetic anomaly at the Venusian south pole almost matching those recorded over Antarctica. Accompanied by Natasha, Vacit travels to Lucifer station in Venus orbit and from there to an orbit over the Venusian south pole.[14]
After a few days of sending out messages and probe to the surface, a Vorlon vessel captures their ship. Taken aboard, the Vorlon shows them a glimpse of the coming Shadow War, revealing to Vacit the Vorlon conscientiousness within his mind and where and how telepaths were created, demonstrating to him the importance of telepaths and the Psi Corps in the coming conflict. A telepathic trigger is planted in Natasha's DNA to compel her or one of her descendants to come to the Vorlon Homeworld when the Shadows come again. Returning to their own vessel the Vorlon ship disappears. Upon his return to Earth, Director Vacit realises that to strengthen Psi Corps he'll have to destroy the resistance he has been secretly supporting for years.[14]
After saying goodbye to his grandson, Alfred Bester, Kevin Vacit arranges for the Centauri to transport his one man ship to the nearest jumpgate to Vorlonspace. At the secret archive on Ganymede, he places a heavily encrypted file into the system. Time-locked for the next 65 years, the file details Vacit's flight plan and his reason for going. After being dropped off by the Centauri, Vacit pilots his ship at sublight speed, beginning the just over fifty eight light year journey to the Vorlonoutpost where telepaths were first engineered.[40][42]
The Centauri Republic provides humans with advanced terraforming technology. Serious terraforming of Mars begins with the melting of the southern polar ice cap and the pumping of CFCs into the atmosphere to retain heat from the sun.[44]
↑Dark Genesis - The Birth of the Psi Corps - Len is 12 in 2132 (NOTE: Senator Lai later states the boy was only 10. Either and error by the author or Lai's simply misinformed)
↑Dark Genesis - The Birth of the Psi Corps - While discussing the founding of Psi Corps, President Robinson said the Ambassador arrive in a month and that she can arrange a meeting within the first week.