Delenn: It is said that in every age there is one singular event that forever changes the world around us. A nexus if you will.

G'Kar: It is said that the future is always born in pain. The history of war is the history of pain. If we are wise, what is born of that pain matures into the promise of a better world. Because we learn that we can no longer afford the mistakes of the past.

Delenn: But in the pain of that war the future was born. A future that would one day have a name whispered on a hundred worlds. The final refuge for dreams. Our last best hope for peace - Babylon 5.

***

The above is the dialogue that opens the movie "In The Beginning" and is the real starting point of the whole great story of Babylon 5 even though the movie was made after season 5 was completed. It ties together the various scenes and statements that refer back to the events that set it all in motion, and adds material that we did not know about. Hence it is the true starting point of the story.

About 100 years before the Babylon stations, humanity encountered its first aliens - or rather the aliens encountered us in the form of the Centauri. Before that contact we were confined to our own solar system, or else forced to use slow sleeper ships to explore nearby star systems [Season 2 - The Long Dark].

The Centauri opened the way to the stars by offering us the use of "Jumpgates" - portals into hyperspace. Later when we understood the technology we built our own.

In the eighty years that followed, the human race expanded outwards and at the same time began to flex its muscles. When a group of less powerful races were attacked by an invading race - the Dilgar - Earth came to their aid [refer season 1 "Deathwalker"]. This helped to cement the role of Earth as a major galactic power. Although a young brash somewhat arrogant one.

It was this arrogance that finally brought everything cashing down when humanity made contact with a mysterious race called the Minbari. It all began with a misunderstanding, a human captain totally unsuited for first contact situations. He should not have been in Minbari space and as the Minbari ship approached him with gun-ports open its intentions were misunderstood. In Minbari terms to approach with gun-ports open means "I come open handed and have nothing to hide." To the human captain it was a threat and as a result of being much to quick on the trigger the Minbari ship was fired upon with the result that their Leader Dukaht was killed [refer season 3 "A Late Delivery From Avalon" and season 4 "Atonement"].

This led to war - to the Minbari a holy war as they sought vengeance for the murder of their spiritual leader, said to be the greatest leader since Valen. Earth could be no match for the technologically superior Minbari. They beat us back to our own planet and came close to wiping out the entire human race.

However on the eve of their victory they suddenly surrended. Only a few elite knew why [refer season 1 "And The Sky Full of Stars].

Out of that war the Babylon Project was conceived, so that such tragedy could never happen again - a sort of United Nations set in space. It was to be a meeting place in neutral territory where all the interstellar races could meet and sort out their differences peacefully.

The first three Babylon stations were sabotaged in mid-construction. The fourth was completed but mysteriously disappeared just as it was about to go online. Its story is fascinating and has an important part to play in the overall storyline. [refer season 1 "Babylon Squared" and season 3 "War Without End" parts 1 & 2].

The Earth government would have stopped at this point, but some of the alien governments offered financial assistance, including the Minbari, but their help came with a string attached, they wanted a say in who would be appointed as the commander of Babylon 5. They chose Commander Jeffrey Sinclair - a choice that had ramifications in both the past and the future [see season 3 "War Without End" parts 1 & 2].

The year is 2257. The place - Babylon 5. And as Ambassador Kosh would say "and so it begins..."