And the Sky Full of Stars
| "And the Sky Full of Stars" | |
|---|---|
| Babylon 5 episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 8 |
| Directed by | Janet Greek |
| Written by | J. Michael Straczynski |
| Production code | 106 |
| Original air date | 16 March 1994 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
|
Christopher Neame (Knight Two) |
|
Christopher Neame (Knight Two)
Judson Scott (Knight One)
Jim Youngs (Benson)
Justin Williams (Mitchell)
"And the Sky Full of Stars" is an episode from the first season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5. The episode title is derived from a line from Babylon 5's pilot: "…and the sky was full of stars, and every star was an exploding ship — one of ours."
As the episode begins two mysterious men, known only as "Knight Two" and "Knight One", meet at Babylon 5. Together they construct a sophisticated neural device which causes its users to experience a highly realistic but illusionary environment.
They then kidnap Commander Sinclair, the commander of Babylon 5, and attach him to the device. As it develops, both Knight Two and Knight One are members of a covert, sinister organization on Earth which is determined to eliminate all alien influence from the planet. They have kidnapped Sinclair to force him to relive his memories of the Battle of the Line, the final battle of the epic Earth-Minbari War ten years earlier.
Sinclair had led a fighter squadron which was annihilated in the attack; Sinclair's fighter mysteriously vanished for 24 hours and when it reappeared on sensors the Minbari had surrendered. Although Sinclair claims that he has no memory of the missing 24 hours, Knight Two is convinced that he is hiding something and is determined to find out what it is.
At first Sinclair doesn't realize that he's in a simulation; he awakens in his quarters and discovers that his computer and communications don't work. When he leaves his quarters he finds that the entire station is deserted. He finally meets Knight Two, who tells him that he is actually inside a computer-generated illusion; in the real world both Sinclair and Knight Two are strapped into chairs and connected to the neural device. Knight One is monitoring both men to make sure that the machine doesn't damage their brains. Knight Two believes that Sinclair is lying about his experiences at the Battle of the Line, and he accuses Sinclair of being a traitor to humanity. Knight Two's theory is that Sinclair secretly agreed to help the Minbari take over the Earth Alliance from the "inside", and in exchange the Minbari allowed Sinclair to survive the battle. Sinclair angrily responds that Knight Two's accusations are absurd. Knight Two then forces Sinclair to relive the Battle of the Line; Sinclair watches helplessly as his squadron is devastated by Minbari warships. Eventually Sinclair punches Knight Two, causing him to vanish from the simulation and awaken in his chair; Sinclair's simulated "punch" leaves Knight Two in considerable pain.
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