<*> The Shadow Within <*>

by Jeanne Cavelos.
Dell, 1996, paper.


Dr. Anna Sheridan lives for two things: her husband, John Sheridan, and alien artifacts. Anna returns from an Interplanetary Expeditions (IPX) excavation on Theta Omega 2 with a unique J/Lai "tool", a bio-mechanical mouse. Accidentally, she activates the mouse-machine and it melds with her mind. She becomes the machine and the machine is her universe. Anna is able to break contact with the mouse-machine, but she becomes obsessed with it. Finding out about how it works gnaws at her. When a colleague offers Anna a position on an expedition to the mouse-machine's homeworld, she jumps at the chance without really thinking about what she's doing. Believing that she will return in a few months, she sends her husband a "be back soon" data crystal and heads for Alpha Omega 3 (Z'ha'dum) on the galactic rim.



Captain John Sheridan is too busy with his own problems to protest her impromptu mission. Sheridan was promoted to captain and has received command of the heavy cruiser, Agamemnon. His crew and officers are a tightly-knit gang of slackers and screw-ups. By golly, he is going to straighten them out and get things running ship-shape. Sheridan accomplishes this; and at the same time, he saves the Babylon 5 Station and the Earth President Santiago from destruction by terrorists.


Meanwhile, Anna discovers more than the remnants of an ancient culture. "Exploring the past to create a better future" is the slogan of IPX, but the goal of this Earth Gov(ernment) - funded venture is to scavenge alien weapons technology for commercial profit and military advantage. Earth Gov and Psi Corp have been monitoring her experiments with the mouse-machine. Earth Gov wants more military might. Psi Corp wants to keep psi weapons out of the hands of non-telepaths. Each group has operatives in the ship's crew and the archaeological team, competing to obtain this new technology. When the killing begins, Anna can't trust anyone, except her good friend, Dr. Morden, the team's linguist and translator.

This in-fighting awakens the planet's subterranean residents, The Shadows, who capture the crew and team. Each captive is allowed to chose their servitude. Those who won't serve willingly are wired as bio-machine parts. When asked to choose, Anna looks deep into "the shadow within" herself and answers the question: "What do you want?".


This is the seventh Babylon 5 book. It's a melodramatic story, focusing on the events that wake The Shadows. The events begin in late 2256, when Babylon 5 becomes operational, and end in early 2257, when The Shadows awaken. the story line is consistent with Dr. Mary Kirkish's tale about excavating a Shadow ship on Mars in 2253 (B5 episode "Messages From Earth") and Sheridan's investigation into Anna's disappearance (B5 episode "In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum"). The references to the Earth-Minbari War and the Black Star, as well as the cameo appearances by Sinclair, Delenn and Kosh, may be lost on someone unfamiliar with the television series. This is not a "stand alone" book.

I came away from the book with one valuable nugget. Morden traded his freedoom to appease the shadow within himself. Vir cursed him for it and stated that "some favors come with too high a price". Vir was wrong. Morden's gain was worth the price. I can no longer watch the head-on-the-post scene (B5 episode "Into the Fire") with the same vehement satisfaction, that I had before I read this book.


<*> Ariann <*>

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