Shadows (Babylon 5)

The Shadows are a fictional alien species in the science fiction television series Babylon 5. Their homeworld is Z'ha'dum, although whether it is the world they originated from is uncertain, and they were the second race among the First Ones to be discovered and nurtured by Lorien, the "First One". In contrast to the Vorlons, whose philosophy is represented by the question "Who are you?", that of the Shadows is represented by the question "What do you want?", centering towards desire rather than identity. J. Michael Straczynski, the show's creator, once explained that he chose the name "Shadows" because of its meaning in Analytical psychology.

A Shadow is an incorporeal being that when manifesting in a way that is visible to the viewer, appears in the form of an encounter suit resembling a spiked, violet-black exoskeleton. Their encounter suit is similar in shape to a praying mantis with an upper body, shoulder spines, a mobile head, and at least one pair of grasping forelimbs. The rear of the encounter suit is supported by multiple pairs of legs. Their legs resemble those of a spider, though each Shadow has six of them instead of eight.

The Shadows have fourteen "eyes" showing their true form in total divided into four groups. Two sets of three arranged slanted upward and two sets of four arranged to align perfectly under the first sets.

The spoken language of the Shadows is a rapid series of high-frequency bursts and chirps like a cricket or grasshopper. According to one of their human emissaries, the endonym of the Shadows is ten thousand letters long, and unpronounceable by many; but this may simply be a lie to avoid revealing their actual name.

Detailed descriptions are rare, due to their encounter suits' ability to "cloak" themselves to visual wavelengths of light. They are thus rarely seen except as shadowy, mirage-like silhouettes, which can be seen by telepaths, those using visual enhancement devices, or when the entity chooses to partially or wholly reveal itself. Other manifestations take the form of the Shadows' three pairs of glowing orange eyes, usually as a symbolic image within a telepathic or dream vision.

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