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The Shadows are an ancient alien species in the Science Fiction Television Series '' Babylon 5 ''. Their homeworld is Z'ha'dum . In contrast to the Vorlon s who ask "who are you," the Shadows ask the question of "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 Jungian Psychology . {Link without Title} For further information on the Shadows, Mongoose Publishing created an rpg book called Darkness and Light that talks about the Vorlons and Shadows. The now defunct Agents of Gaming rpg books also has information relating to the Shadows which is considered canon information. '']] HOMEWORLD In the fictional '' Babylon 5 '' universe, Z'ha'dum was the homeworld of the ancient, mysterious race known as the Shadows. Although a blasted, devastated world from which the Shadows were frequently driven over the eons, they kept coming back out of respect for Lorien -- the first of the First Ones -- who for a long time resided on the planet. ::''Z'ha'dum is the homeworld of the Shadows. No one leaves the same as they arrived.'' -- Delenn ::''If you go to Z'ha'dum, you will die.'' -- Kosh to John Sheridan HISTORY Year 1260 In 1260, the penultimate Shadow War raged between the Shadows and the combined forces of the Vorlon s and Minbari . The Narn of the Narn Regime were also assaulted by the Shadows at this time. The Narn telepaths learned they could hurt the Shadows' ships, and successfully fended off the attack. However, the Shadows destroyed all Narn telepaths of breeding age in order to prevent Narn telepaths from ever resisting the Shadows again. Year 2259 In 2259, there are increasing reports of a black, spidery ship being encountered in Hyperspace , which instills a dark fear in all who look upon it. Meanwhile, Narn ambassador G'Kar realizes that the Ancient Writings of the Narn philosopher G'Quan tell of a great enemy that rose to power a thousand years in the past. Known as the Shadows, they spread from their homeworld Z'ha'dum to rival the stars themselves: ::''"And the Spirit of Darkness moved upon the land. It screamed in the dreams of the Mindwalkers ; and they fell, destroyed by it to their children and their children's children. Then did the Darkness come to Narn until it was driven out by G'Quan and the last of the surviving Mindwalkers."'' The text is accompanied by pictures of the black ship, and ends on a chilling note: ::''"There is a darkness greater than the one we fight. It is the darkness of the soul that has lost its way. Greater than the death of flesh is the death of hope, the death of dreams. Against this foe we can never surrender."'' Year 2260 In late 2260, Captain John Sheridan went to Z'ha'dum, and jumped into a ravine two miles deep to evade capture once his suspicion that he had been led into a trap was confirmed. Before doing so, he remotely piloted his ship, the '' White Star '', to crash into the Shadows' capital city, which he was visiting. The ''White Star'' was carrying two Nuclear Bomb s in its cargo bay, each with a yield of over 500 Megaton s (the strongest nuclear bomb as of the year 2000 only had a yield of 50 megatons). Seconds after Sheridan jumped into the abyss, the ''White Star'' crashed into the city and the nuclear weapons it contained detonated: the ''White Star'' and the city were destroyed. In fact, the crater left from the blast was the size of a large Earth country and clearly visible from space, although this would be impossible in the real world. Year 2261 At the Battle of Coriana 6 , the second Shadow War ended and the Shadows passed beyond the Galactic Rim. Nonetheless, their servants, the Drakh , stayed behind, and retained the advanced technology of the Shadows. Sheridan, along with Alfred Bester and Lyta Alexander , trying to find some of this technology, went back to Z'ha'dum in early 2261. This triggered a self-destruct security feature that caused the entire planet to explode, leaving nothing behind - except for what the Drakh took with them in their quick exodus from the planet. ALLIANCES AND AGENTS
PHYSIOLOGY (center) is approached unawares by a Shadow on Z'ha'dum .]] A Shadow is an insect-like organism with a spiky, violet-black Carapace . They are similar in shape to a Praying Mantis with an upper body, mobile head, and at least one pair of grasping forelimbs. The rear of the body is supported by multiple pairs of legs. Detailed descriptions are rare, due to their ability to " Cloak " their physical bodies to visual wavelengths of light. Hence they are rarely seen except as shadowy, miragelike 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. TECHNOLOGY Extremely powerful, Shadow Vessels are based on Bioengineered Organic Technology . A crablike central body supports multiple rigid spines curving away from the main mass. During normal flight, these spines are oriented towards the rear, but in order to attack, the ship rotates so that they curve forward. The ship's main weapon is a cutting beam of incredible range and power, it is easily capable of destroying most vessels immediately yet is precise enough to be used effectively even against fighter craft. They have also been seen deploying smaller, spiky attack craft, but it is unknown whether these are autonomous ships or simply pieces of the larger vessel. Shadow ships have a single crew member, a sentient being enslaved as its Central Processing Unit (CPU). This gives it incredible control and maneuverability, but leaves the ship vulnerable to Telepathic attack, which the Shadows attempted to counter by installing telepaths into their ships' cores. In addition, the Shadows developed many other weapons of war, including artificial intelligence pods capable of operating a vessel in lieu of a normal crew, vast, cloud-enveloped, Nuclear-armed Superstructures designed to annihilate the surface of a planet, and deadly bioengineered viruses. All three of these were scavenged by the Drakh following the Shadows' departure from the galaxy, and it is unknown what other horrors they may have left behind. The Shadows may also be the originator of technology that gives the Technomage s their powers (making them Cyborg s). It seems likely that the Technomages were developed to serve as the Shadows' many soldiers of darkness, against telepaths in the Vorlon army of light, but the Technomages learnt of this and rebelled though attempts were made on many occassions to drawn them back into the ranks of the Shadows. REFERENCES
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