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| Three miles beneath the surface of Epsilon 3 - the
planet that Babylon 5 orbits - lies a vast machine built by an ancient race
probably about 800 years ago. It consists of huge reactors, about twenty miles
across, and an enormous array of sensory and defensive apparatus. The machine
was first detected by Babylon 5 in 2258, after Varn, its then guardian, began
to lose control of the machine as his life neared its end, causing planet wide
earthquakes. The machine can also see through space and time to places far away and is also able to create time-rifts , and is able to allow a person attached to it to travel the path that links all life-forms. At the heart of the machine is its guardian (or custodian) who is bodily linked into the machine and becomes part of it. The machine makes the final decision as to who it will accept as its guardian. By entering the machine the guardian's life span is considerably extended, but there is a downside to this. When the Guardian's life nears its end, the machine begins to go out of control. If another Guardian is not found quickly, the machine will self-destruct, taking the entire planet, Epsilon 3, with it. As the dying Varn told Draal the new Guardian, once hooked to the machine, "you will see all the futures, hear all the songs, and touch the edge of the universe with your thoughts". Some Capabilities of the Great Machine:-
entrance to the control centre of the Great Machine.
  the Great Machine
The Guardian (or Custodian) of the Great Machine entrusted with its care when its creators left the planet. His failing health caused him to search for a replacement in 2258, as he began to lose control of the machine, which would have led to the destruction of Epsilon 3. He appeared as a hologram on Babylon 5, to Commander Sinclair and Ambassador Londo Mollari, which led to an expedition by Sinclair and Susan Ivanova into the heart of the planet, where they discovered Varn plugged into the Great Machine, and brought him back to Babylon 5 for medical assistance. calling for help on Babylon 5
While in Medlab, Varn was able to telepathically call Draal, who with Delenn rushed to Medlab, where Varn convinced them to help. Varn seemed to sense that Draal would be the next Guardian of the machine. The last few days of Varn's life, were spent helping Draal to settle in as the Machine's new Guardian.  In 2258 Delenn's friend and teacher, Draal, came to Babylon 5 to say farewell to Delenn, because he had come to believe that after Dukhat's death and the Earth-Minbari War, both the Minbari and the Universe in general had taken a turn for the worse, and that for him, life no longer had any meaning. He believed that for him it was time to "go to the sea". The Great Machine
While on Babylon 5, he felt the call of Varn, to replace him as a Guardian of the Great Machine. Draal realised that he had found a meaning for his existence and took the dying Varn's place as the Machine's new Guardian. After being accepted by the Machine as its new Guardian, he warned that no one was to approach the planet, as the time was not yet right. appearing to Captain Sheridan
The following year, Draal placed the resources of the Great Machine at the disposal of Captain John Sheridan and his "Conspiracy of Light" He also helped to move Babylon 4 a thousand years into the past and provided Jeffrey Sinclair with the Triluminary that he needed to make the transformation into Valen.  In 2260, Draal assisted Commander Susan Ivanova to locate some of the First Ones, by allowing her to briefly take his place in the Heart of the Machine. The idea was that by allowing her to hook into the interface with the Great Machine, she would be able to travel along the paths that are woven and connect all life-forms. himself in the machine, with Ivanova at his side.
Travelling the pathways, can take the traveller to the past, the present and the future, but it also can be dangerous. Draal's final instructions to Ivanova was not to leave the path. from Draal before the machine takes her onto the Path.
The path manifested itself to Ivanova as a type of bridge linking space and time. Once on the path, Ivanova was able to locate the whereabouts of a group of First Ones, known as the Walkers of Sigma 957. However she nearly came to grief as she deviated from the path and felt the call of some unknown force that appeared to be associated with the Shadows. Draal who apparently was able to see all that she could see realised the seriousness of the situation and ordered her to return to the path, as he could not remove her from the Machine without killing her. Fortunately Ivanova was able to return to the path and return to the Machine. appears to Ivanova.
to murder President Santiago as it appeared to Susan Ivanova.
 There are ten brothers who have a major role in maintaining the Great Machine, and also serving the Machine's Guardian. These brothers are Zathras, Zathras, Zathras, Zathras, Zathras, Zathras, Zathras, Zathras, Zathras and Zathras - its all in the pronunciation onboard the White Star
One of the bothers mysteriously appeared on Babylon 4 to aid in stealing the station for use as a base of operations in the last Shadow War. At one hundred and ten years old Zathras was the oldest living caretaker of the Great Machine and claimed to know many of its secrets, including some that even Draal had not managed to discover after two years as its custodian. Although there are those who consider him quite mad, Zathras is very intelligent, if somewhat clumsy. Despite his claimed lack of skill with mathematics, Zathras is highly skilled with electronics, repairing John Sheridan's damaged time stabilizer and correctly deducing that he could provide a temporary fix by placing a spacesuit where John Sheridan had briefly appeared and using its power supply as a stabilizer. Zathras appears to be quite forgetful, especially when it is convenient (or maybe wise) to be so, claiming to have forgotten the list of things that he had been told not to mention by Draal after accidentally revealing that there was such a list to John Sheridan and Jeffrey Sinclair. He also seems to follow the Minbari tenet that "understanding is not required, only obedience", agreeing to Jeffrey Sinclair's request not to tell his past self about the future, even though he did not understand why this should be required. Zathras is dedicated to serving The One, and when captured by Major Lewis Krantz on Babylon 4, explained that he was quite prepared to die for The One, who was their leader and needed the station for a great war between the forces of light and dark, but could not explain when this was to occur as mathematics was not one of his skills and as such he could not convert his year of 4993 into a human year. As a result of his devotion to The One, Zathras is also aware of much of the circumstances surrounding The One, including events that have yet to transpire, explaining the relationship between Jeffrey Sinclair, Delenn and John Sheridan as "the one who was", "the one who is" and "the one who will be" and the recurrence of the number three in Minbari culture. He then went on to say that they were also the beginning, the middle and the end of the story that creates the next, Great Story. Ultimately Zathras was to accompany Jeffrey Sinclair, The One who was, back into the past aboard Babylon 4 where they were to unite and lead the Minbari forces against the Shadows . Another Zathras (one of the brothers) was encountered by Susan Ivanova while she was visiting the Great Machine to arrange for a power source to enable the broadband transmission of the Voice of the Resistance over the StellarCom system, something that Babylon 5 alone did not have the necessary power to accomplish. NOTES:
Varn played by Curt Lowens. Zathras played by Tim Choate Note: Louis Turenne also played Brother Theo in three episodes of Babylon 5. Reference to the Great Machine is made in the following episodes:- Season
one: Season 2: Season 3: Season 4: || RETURN TO MAIN NAV MENU || |
