Untitled Document
Every government in the galaxy both fears and respects the Vorlons and keeps
extensive files monitoring their activities – however, very little is
actually within those files. What is clear is that they are a very ancient race,
secretive in their motives and ambitions, and possessing technologies far in
excess of anyone else in the galaxy. They are not merely centuries ahead of
other races, but millennia. Before Ambassador Kosh arrived on Babylon 5 in 2257,
no race had any contact with the Vorlon Empire though it is rumoured that they
have had ties with the Minbari far in the past.
Many expeditions have been sent into
the Vorlon Empire to learn more about this enigmatic race but none have ever
returned. On the few occasions the Vorlons have acknowledged the existence of
these ships, they have merely stated that the expeditions met with an unfortunate
accident and suggested that no others are sent. Some have theorised that the
Vorlon Empire is surrounded by dangerous hyperspace currents and other navigational
hazards that only the Vorlons themselves are able to negotiate, though others
are certain more sinister events have taken place in order to preserve the secrecy
of these worlds.
The Vorlons have thus become more
myth than reality in the eyes of many races and many wild stories are told about
them. There are tales of fantastic cities of unbelievable technology on their
worlds and living ships miles across. It is even said that anyone seeing a Vorlon
will be instantly turned to stone.
The only Vorlon seen by the other
races, Ambassador Kosh, does much to maintain these underlying fears. Rarely
leaving his quarters, even to attend meetings of the Babylon 5 Advisory Council,
he consents to see very few petitioners wishing an audience and travels everywhere
in an encounter suit, ostensibly to protect him from the atmosphere of the station.
It is presumed Vorlons are methane-breathers, but some are beginning to wonder
just how necessary the encounter suit is, and how much it is just to cloak his
true appearance.
