Toa of Mirrors (talk | contribs) m (→Government) Tag: sourceedit |
Thebilldude (talk | contribs) m (→Technology) |
||
| (24 intermediate revisions by 14 users not shown) | |||
| Line 8: | Line 8: | ||
|interstellar=Unknown <small>([[20th Century and earlier#Circa 7 Billion Years Ago|Billions of years ago]])</small> |
|interstellar=Unknown <small>([[20th Century and earlier#Circa 7 Billion Years Ago|Billions of years ago]])</small> |
||
|extinct=Unknown<br /><small>(Passed beyond the [[Rim]], [[2261]])</small> |
|extinct=Unknown<br /><small>(Passed beyond the [[Rim]], [[2261]])</small> |
||
| − | |transcendance = |
+ | |transcendance = No}}{{quote box|What do you want?|The Shadow Question}} |
| − | The '''Shadows''' is the name given to an ancient race who were among the oldest of the [[First Ones]]. The name "Shadows" was given to them by the younger races as their actual name is unknown, though it is said to be over |
+ | The '''Shadows''' is the name given to an ancient race who were among the oldest of the [[First Ones]]. The name "Shadows" was given to them by the younger races as their actual name is unknown, though it is said to be over ten thousand letters long and unpronounceable by any of the younger races.<ref name="Z'ha'dum">''[[Z'ha'dum]]''</ref> |
==Biology== |
==Biology== |
||
[[File:MordenShadows 01.jpg|thumb|Morden was never alone|right|200px]] |
[[File:MordenShadows 01.jpg|thumb|Morden was never alone|right|200px]] |
||
| − | The Shadows |
+ | The Shadows resemble a cross between an [[Earth]] spider and praying mantis with a small triangular head and seven pairs of pinpoint eyes in two stacked rows (3 above, 4 below.) Externally, they're colored in shades of dark purple and black and possess the ability to cloak themselves from most visible wavelengths. They can however sometimes be seen as figures of static in the upper end of the infrared spectrum.<ref name="SumLight" /><ref>[[In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum]]</ref> |
| ⚫ | |||
| − | Shadows, like [[Vorlon]]s, have evolved into beings of light, but unlike them prefer to assume material form.<ref name="InvkDarkn" /> |
||
| − | |||
| ⚫ | |||
==Ideology== |
==Ideology== |
||
| − | {{Quote_box|As always, chaos is the way to strength[...] Chaos is the engine |
+ | {{Quote_box|As always, chaos is the way to strength [...] Chaos is the engine |
powering life. The spread of chaos is our triumph. And the |
powering life. The spread of chaos is our triumph. And the |
||
greatest joy is the ecstasy of victory.|A Shadow, 2260 <ref name="InvkDarkn">[[Invoking Darkness]]</ref>}}The Shadows believe that for a race to evolve into their full potential, they must do so through a cycle of chaos; growth through pain and struggle, conflict and war. Weak races die. Strong races are made even stronger. With this they developed their ''First Principles'': chaos through warfare; evolution through bloodshed; perfection through victory.<ref name="InvkDarkn">[[Invoking Darkness]]</ref><ref>[[The Summoning]]</ref><ref>[[Into the Fire]]</ref> |
greatest joy is the ecstasy of victory.|A Shadow, 2260 <ref name="InvkDarkn">[[Invoking Darkness]]</ref>}}The Shadows believe that for a race to evolve into their full potential, they must do so through a cycle of chaos; growth through pain and struggle, conflict and war. Weak races die. Strong races are made even stronger. With this they developed their ''First Principles'': chaos through warfare; evolution through bloodshed; perfection through victory.<ref name="InvkDarkn">[[Invoking Darkness]]</ref><ref>[[The Summoning]]</ref><ref>[[Into the Fire]]</ref> |
||
==Government== |
==Government== |
||
| − | Though no official name or structure of ruling government was attributed to the Shadows, several facts point |
+ | Though no official name or structure of ruling government was attributed to the Shadows, several facts point to having a sort of Social Darwinistic rule. The Shadows embrace chaos as the defining characteristic of their race and the supreme force of the universe, and that the strong reign over the weak. |
| − | |||
| − | Also, when the Shadows came to murder Ambassador [[Kosh]], in 2260, the murderers used ropes of light unleashed from their very eyes. From Kosh's perspective, the ropes of light were manifestations of the Shadow's very thoughts and said light was ''infected with anarchy''.<ref name="InvkDarkn">[[Invoking Darkness]]</ref> |
||
==Technology== |
==Technology== |
||
| − | {{Main|Shadow |
+ | {{Main|Shadow technology}} |
The Shadows use organic technology in virtually everything. Their ships resembled huge black spiders and are simply referred to as [[Shadow Vessel]]s. Capable of phasing in and out of [[hyperspace]] without using [[jumpgate]]s or any known form of [[Jump point]], they require a living sentient being as the central processing unit for their ships; humans have been used for this purpose. They have powerful beam weapons, are capable of de-stabilizing jump points of enemy ships, and can launch shadow fighter squadrons. |
The Shadows use organic technology in virtually everything. Their ships resembled huge black spiders and are simply referred to as [[Shadow Vessel]]s. Capable of phasing in and out of [[hyperspace]] without using [[jumpgate]]s or any known form of [[Jump point]], they require a living sentient being as the central processing unit for their ships; humans have been used for this purpose. They have powerful beam weapons, are capable of de-stabilizing jump points of enemy ships, and can launch shadow fighter squadrons. |
||
The Shadows are also capable of tying their technologies directly into the mind and the body. They can make a person say or do what they want. Such was seen in [[2260]] with [[Anna Sheridan]].<ref name="Z'ha'dum">''[[Z'ha'dum]]''</ref><ref name="ShpofTrs">''[[Ship of Tears]]''</ref> By [[2262]], it was also discovered that they could control alien ships by remote. They used black pods, probably some kind of organic war computer, to navigate the ship, destroy targets and deal with any opposition.<ref>[[The Fall of Centauri Prime]]</ref> |
The Shadows are also capable of tying their technologies directly into the mind and the body. They can make a person say or do what they want. Such was seen in [[2260]] with [[Anna Sheridan]].<ref name="Z'ha'dum">''[[Z'ha'dum]]''</ref><ref name="ShpofTrs">''[[Ship of Tears]]''</ref> By [[2262]], it was also discovered that they could control alien ships by remote. They used black pods, probably some kind of organic war computer, to navigate the ship, destroy targets and deal with any opposition.<ref>[[The Fall of Centauri Prime]]</ref> |
||
| − | All |
+ | All Shadow tech can be disrupted by [[telepath]]ic activity. This resulted in the Shadows eliminating some telepaths from the population of some worlds, as with the [[Narn]]s.<ref name="ShpofTrs">''[[Ship of Tears]]''</ref> The Vorlons realizing this created telepaths on many different worlds to be used in the next war.<ref>[[Secrets of the Soul]]</ref> In an attempt to correct this weakness, the Shadows, with help of the [[Psi Corps]], were given telepaths which they adjusted with neural devices in order to fight for them.<ref name="ShpofTrs">''[[Ship of Tears]]''</ref> However, it seems that this was ineffectual since [[John Sheridan|Sheridan]], with the help of [[Alfred Bester|Bester]], got to them first. This allowed the telepaths to be used against their ships very effectively.<ref>[[Shadow Dancing]]</ref> |
==Servant races== |
==Servant races== |
||
| − | |||
* [[Drakh]] |
* [[Drakh]] |
||
* [[Shadow Servants (Surgeons)|Surgeons]] |
* [[Shadow Servants (Surgeons)|Surgeons]] |
||
| Line 47: | Line 42: | ||
==History== |
==History== |
||
{{Expand}} |
{{Expand}} |
||
| − | When they were a young race they were found by [[Lorien]] and the [[First Born]], who taught and guided them until they were ready to stand on their own. Like the [[Vorlon]]s, the Shadows opted to stay in the galaxy to guide the younger races when most of the other First Ones went out beyond the [[Rim]], into the void between galaxies. The Shadows believed that races could only grow stronger through chaos and conflict and |
+ | When they were a young race they were found by [[Lorien]] and the [[First Born]], who taught and guided them until they were ready to stand on their own. Like the [[Vorlon]]s, the Shadows opted to stay in the galaxy to guide the younger races when most of the other First Ones went out beyond the [[Rim]], into the void between galaxies. The Shadows believed that races could only grow stronger through chaos and conflict and driving the younger races to war with one another, a diametrically opposite view to the Vorlons' ideology of order and obedience. Initially the two guardian races agreed to honor the each other's positions, respect their boundaries and agreed on rules of engagement. However, as time went on, one or both of them decided that their way was the only correct way to help the younger races. A series of wars were fought against the Shadows with the Vorlons recruiting several younger races and even some of the last remaining First Ones. The Shadows were repeatedly defeated and driven back to their Homeworld of [[Z'ha'dum]], where Lorien was known to have been dwelling. The Shadows believed they were showing him respect by returning every time. After a defeat they would go into hibernation, waiting for the right time to move again. |
Around the [[Earth]] year [[20th Century and earlier#1259|1259]] the Shadows were again awake and on the move, setting up bases on remote worlds, forging alliances and seeding conflict among the younger races. [[Kulan's homeworld|One planet]] resisted their attempts to establish a base and so the Shadows decided to make an example of them by releasing a [[Drakh plague|Bio-genetic Plague]] into their atmosphere then leaving them to die.<ref>[[Racing the Night]]</ref> One of the younger races, the [[Minbari]] were then new to space travel and were driven back by Shadow forces almost to defeat. When they lost their greatest [[Minbari Starbase|Starbase]], the center of their war effort, it appeared as though they were on the verge of collapse both from without and from within. To their surprise and as if in answer to their prayers a [[Babylon 4|replacement station]] arrived along with the [[Vorlon]]s, who had until that point been unknown to them and a Minbari not born of Minbari named [[Valen]].<ref>[[To Dream in the City of Sorrows]]</ref> |
Around the [[Earth]] year [[20th Century and earlier#1259|1259]] the Shadows were again awake and on the move, setting up bases on remote worlds, forging alliances and seeding conflict among the younger races. [[Kulan's homeworld|One planet]] resisted their attempts to establish a base and so the Shadows decided to make an example of them by releasing a [[Drakh plague|Bio-genetic Plague]] into their atmosphere then leaving them to die.<ref>[[Racing the Night]]</ref> One of the younger races, the [[Minbari]] were then new to space travel and were driven back by Shadow forces almost to defeat. When they lost their greatest [[Minbari Starbase|Starbase]], the center of their war effort, it appeared as though they were on the verge of collapse both from without and from within. To their surprise and as if in answer to their prayers a [[Babylon 4|replacement station]] arrived along with the [[Vorlon]]s, who had until that point been unknown to them and a Minbari not born of Minbari named [[Valen]].<ref>[[To Dream in the City of Sorrows]]</ref> |
||
| − | Around this time one Shadow base of operations was located on of one of the southern continents on the [[Narn Homeworld|Narn]] home world and were mostly ignored by the Shadows. |
+ | Around this time one Shadow base of operations was located on of one of the southern continents on the [[Narn Homeworld|Narn]] home world and were mostly ignored by the Shadows. After Narn pilots in their small explorer vessels discovered the Shadows were engaged in a war that threatened to overwhelm the very stars themselves and the location of their homeworld in a system at the edge of known space, G'Quan leads acts of sabotage to disrupt the Shadows war efforts. Bringing themselves to the attention of the Shadows, the presence of [[telepath]]s in the local population prompts the Shadows to send their [[Soldier of Darkness|dark servants]] to kill them. Eventually [[G'Quan]], with the support of [[G'Lan]] and a number of [[Vorlon|other such beings]] lead the last remaining telepaths to drive the Shadows from Narn, never to return.<ref>[[Matters of Honor]]</ref><ref>[[Ship of Tears]]</ref><ref>[[Revelations]]</ref><ref>[http://www.jmsnews.com/msg.aspx?id=1-4458 JMS post on CIS - 3/21/1996 7:53:00 AM]</ref><ref>[http://www.jmsnews.com/msg.aspx?id=1-4467 JMS post on CIS - 3/22/1996 5:41:00 PM]</ref> |
On [[Minbar]], Valen eventually managed to unite the Minbari and alongside the Vorlons and some of the remaining [[First Ones]] organized the other races to drive back the Shadows. The Shadows retreated into hibernation once more, though not before burying many of their ships and supplies on hundreds of barren unpopulated worlds including [[Mars]] and [[Ganymede]] where they would be safe and easy to quietly retrieve when the time was again right for another war. The return of the Shadows was prophesied by many races including the Minbari, Narn, pak'ma'ra.<ref>[[Casting Shadows]] - (p.142)</ref> |
On [[Minbar]], Valen eventually managed to unite the Minbari and alongside the Vorlons and some of the remaining [[First Ones]] organized the other races to drive back the Shadows. The Shadows retreated into hibernation once more, though not before burying many of their ships and supplies on hundreds of barren unpopulated worlds including [[Mars]] and [[Ganymede]] where they would be safe and easy to quietly retrieve when the time was again right for another war. The return of the Shadows was prophesied by many races including the Minbari, Narn, pak'ma'ra.<ref>[[Casting Shadows]] - (p.142)</ref> |
||
| Line 59: | Line 54: | ||
In [[2254]], while the Shadows slept their allies recognized the newly completed [[Earth Alliance]] station [[Babylon 4]] as the same station that appeared with Valen to turn the tide against them. Sending a group of [[Shadow Fighter|fighters]] to attach a [[Thermonuclear device|fusion bomb]] they hoped to destroy it and change the course of history in their favor. The attempt failed when an [[White Star|unknown vessel]] intercepted and destroyed them shortly before B4 disappeared into a temporal rift.<ref>[[War Without End, Part II]]</ref> |
In [[2254]], while the Shadows slept their allies recognized the newly completed [[Earth Alliance]] station [[Babylon 4]] as the same station that appeared with Valen to turn the tide against them. Sending a group of [[Shadow Fighter|fighters]] to attach a [[Thermonuclear device|fusion bomb]] they hoped to destroy it and change the course of history in their favor. The attempt failed when an [[White Star|unknown vessel]] intercepted and destroyed them shortly before B4 disappeared into a temporal rift.<ref>[[War Without End, Part II]]</ref> |
||
| − | In [[2256]], the IPX ship [[Icarus]] arrived on Z'ha'dum, causing the premature awakening of the Shadows. The Icarus crew were captured and given the opportunity to serve them, all but one - a Dr. [[Morden]] - refused and were converted into fresh CPUs for their warships.<ref>[[The Shadow Within]]</ref> |
+ | In December [[2256]], the IPX ship [[Icarus]] arrived in the Alpha Omega system. Their long range probe landed on Z'ha'dum, causing the premature awakening of the Shadows. The Icarus crew were captured by the Shadows on 3 January [[2257]] shortly after landing and given the opportunity to serve them, all but one - a Dr. [[Morden]] - refused and were converted into fresh CPUs for their warships.<ref>[[The Shadow Within]]</ref> |
| + | |||
| + | In [[2258]], Morden acted as their emissary to Babylon 5, eventually striking up an alliance with [[Centauri]] ambassador [[Londo Mollari]]. The Shadows assisted the Centauri in combat against the Narn, apparently without reward. The chaos caused an excellent smokescreen for the Shadows to begin moving openly in [[2259]]. |
||
| + | |||
| + | In [[2260]], the Shadow War continued in earnest. [[John Sheridan]] used a thermonuclear device in a White Star ship in order to destroy the Shadow Capital on Z'ha'dum. |
||
==References== |
==References== |
||
<small>{{reflist|3}}</small> |
<small>{{reflist|3}}</small> |
||
| − | <br clear="all"/> |
+ | <br clear="all" /> |
{{MajorRaces}} |
{{MajorRaces}} |
||
[[Category:First Ones]] |
[[Category:First Ones]] |
||
Revision as of 00:03, 15 November 2019
“"What do you want?"
- – The Shadow Question
The Shadows is the name given to an ancient race who were among the oldest of the First Ones. The name "Shadows" was given to them by the younger races as their actual name is unknown, though it is said to be over ten thousand letters long and unpronounceable by any of the younger races.[1]
Biology
Morden was never alone
The Shadows resemble a cross between an Earth spider and praying mantis with a small triangular head and seven pairs of pinpoint eyes in two stacked rows (3 above, 4 below.) Externally, they're colored in shades of dark purple and black and possess the ability to cloak themselves from most visible wavelengths. They can however sometimes be seen as figures of static in the upper end of the infrared spectrum.[2][3]
Shadow speech sounds like a dynamic screeching that can be understood by their thralls, such as Morden, Anna Sheridan and Justin, through an implant.[2]
Ideology
“"As always, chaos is the way to strength [...] Chaos is the engine powering life. The spread of chaos is our triumph. And the greatest joy is the ecstasy of victory."
- – A Shadow, 2260 [4]
The Shadows believe that for a race to evolve into their full potential, they must do so through a cycle of chaos; growth through pain and struggle, conflict and war. Weak races die. Strong races are made even stronger. With this they developed their First Principles: chaos through warfare; evolution through bloodshed; perfection through victory.[4][5][6]
Government
Though no official name or structure of ruling government was attributed to the Shadows, several facts point to having a sort of Social Darwinistic rule. The Shadows embrace chaos as the defining characteristic of their race and the supreme force of the universe, and that the strong reign over the weak.
Technology
The Shadows use organic technology in virtually everything. Their ships resembled huge black spiders and are simply referred to as Shadow Vessels. Capable of phasing in and out of hyperspace without using jumpgates or any known form of Jump point, they require a living sentient being as the central processing unit for their ships; humans have been used for this purpose. They have powerful beam weapons, are capable of de-stabilizing jump points of enemy ships, and can launch shadow fighter squadrons.
The Shadows are also capable of tying their technologies directly into the mind and the body. They can make a person say or do what they want. Such was seen in 2260 with Anna Sheridan.[1][7] By 2262, it was also discovered that they could control alien ships by remote. They used black pods, probably some kind of organic war computer, to navigate the ship, destroy targets and deal with any opposition.[8]
All Shadow tech can be disrupted by telepathic activity. This resulted in the Shadows eliminating some telepaths from the population of some worlds, as with the Narns.[7] The Vorlons realizing this created telepaths on many different worlds to be used in the next war.[9] In an attempt to correct this weakness, the Shadows, with help of the Psi Corps, were given telepaths which they adjusted with neural devices in order to fight for them.[7] However, it seems that this was ineffectual since Sheridan, with the help of Bester, got to them first. This allowed the telepaths to be used against their ships very effectively.[10]
Servant races
History
|
"...You know how they rushed to get this place finished."
This article or section is incomplete and requires expansion. |
|---|
When they were a young race they were found by Lorien and the First Born, who taught and guided them until they were ready to stand on their own. Like the Vorlons, the Shadows opted to stay in the galaxy to guide the younger races when most of the other First Ones went out beyond the Rim, into the void between galaxies. The Shadows believed that races could only grow stronger through chaos and conflict and driving the younger races to war with one another, a diametrically opposite view to the Vorlons' ideology of order and obedience. Initially the two guardian races agreed to honor the each other's positions, respect their boundaries and agreed on rules of engagement. However, as time went on, one or both of them decided that their way was the only correct way to help the younger races. A series of wars were fought against the Shadows with the Vorlons recruiting several younger races and even some of the last remaining First Ones. The Shadows were repeatedly defeated and driven back to their Homeworld of Z'ha'dum, where Lorien was known to have been dwelling. The Shadows believed they were showing him respect by returning every time. After a defeat they would go into hibernation, waiting for the right time to move again.
Around the Earth year 1259 the Shadows were again awake and on the move, setting up bases on remote worlds, forging alliances and seeding conflict among the younger races. One planet resisted their attempts to establish a base and so the Shadows decided to make an example of them by releasing a Bio-genetic Plague into their atmosphere then leaving them to die.[11] One of the younger races, the Minbari were then new to space travel and were driven back by Shadow forces almost to defeat. When they lost their greatest Starbase, the center of their war effort, it appeared as though they were on the verge of collapse both from without and from within. To their surprise and as if in answer to their prayers a replacement station arrived along with the Vorlons, who had until that point been unknown to them and a Minbari not born of Minbari named Valen.[12]
Around this time one Shadow base of operations was located on of one of the southern continents on the Narn home world and were mostly ignored by the Shadows. After Narn pilots in their small explorer vessels discovered the Shadows were engaged in a war that threatened to overwhelm the very stars themselves and the location of their homeworld in a system at the edge of known space, G'Quan leads acts of sabotage to disrupt the Shadows war efforts. Bringing themselves to the attention of the Shadows, the presence of telepaths in the local population prompts the Shadows to send their dark servants to kill them. Eventually G'Quan, with the support of G'Lan and a number of other such beings lead the last remaining telepaths to drive the Shadows from Narn, never to return.[13][14][15][16][17]
On Minbar, Valen eventually managed to unite the Minbari and alongside the Vorlons and some of the remaining First Ones organized the other races to drive back the Shadows. The Shadows retreated into hibernation once more, though not before burying many of their ships and supplies on hundreds of barren unpopulated worlds including Mars and Ganymede where they would be safe and easy to quietly retrieve when the time was again right for another war. The return of the Shadows was prophesied by many races including the Minbari, Narn, pak'ma'ra.[18]
In 2253, one of the Shadow's hidden ships was discovered 300 feet beneath Syria Planum by an IPX sponsored dig. As soon as the ship was exposed to sunlight it let off a homing signal and before long another Vessel arrived to retrieve it, though not before the humans managed to install a homing beacon of their own, allowing them to track the location of Z'ha'dum.[19]
In 2254, while the Shadows slept their allies recognized the newly completed Earth Alliance station Babylon 4 as the same station that appeared with Valen to turn the tide against them. Sending a group of fighters to attach a fusion bomb they hoped to destroy it and change the course of history in their favor. The attempt failed when an unknown vessel intercepted and destroyed them shortly before B4 disappeared into a temporal rift.[20]
In December 2256, the IPX ship Icarus arrived in the Alpha Omega system. Their long range probe landed on Z'ha'dum, causing the premature awakening of the Shadows. The Icarus crew were captured by the Shadows on 3 January 2257 shortly after landing and given the opportunity to serve them, all but one - a Dr. Morden - refused and were converted into fresh CPUs for their warships.[21]
In 2258, Morden acted as their emissary to Babylon 5, eventually striking up an alliance with Centauri ambassador Londo Mollari. The Shadows assisted the Centauri in combat against the Narn, apparently without reward. The chaos caused an excellent smokescreen for the Shadows to begin moving openly in 2259.
In 2260, the Shadow War continued in earnest. John Sheridan used a thermonuclear device in a White Star ship in order to destroy the Shadow Capital on Z'ha'dum.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Z'ha'dum
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Summoning Light
- ↑ In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Invoking Darkness
- ↑ The Summoning
- ↑ Into the Fire
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Ship of Tears
- ↑ The Fall of Centauri Prime
- ↑ Secrets of the Soul
- ↑ Shadow Dancing
- ↑ Racing the Night
- ↑ To Dream in the City of Sorrows
- ↑ Matters of Honor
- ↑ Ship of Tears
- ↑ Revelations
- ↑ JMS post on CIS - 3/21/1996 7:53:00 AM
- ↑ JMS post on CIS - 3/22/1996 5:41:00 PM
- ↑ Casting Shadows - (p.142)
- ↑ Messages from Earth
- ↑ War Without End, Part II
- ↑ The Shadow Within
| Major Races | ||
| Ancient Races | ||
| First Born · Vorlon · Shadow · Walkers of Sigma-957 · Thirdspace Aliens · The Hand · Asmodeus' race | ||
| Major Races: | ||
| Minbari · Centauri · Human/Neanderthal · Narn · Dilgar · Drakh | ||
| League/Alliance Races: | ||
| Drazi · Brakiri/J/Lai · Gaim · pak'ma'ra · Abbai · Yolu · Hyach/Hyach-do · Markab · Llort · Grome · Hurr · Cascor · Balosian · Onteen · Iksha · Vree | ||