This is the continuation of our fictional letter (reviewing each film and episode of Babylon 5) that I receive each week from Ranger Mayann.
Here is her 18th report:
—
Nih sakh sh’lekk, sleem wa, Greetings from Tuzanor:
In this report, in your Earth year 2258, it is just past the middle of the second year of operation of the station. The Anla’Shok have ‘borrowed’ part of the official EarthForce archives, given the importance of Ivanova to our order, for this report.
An inspector from someone in your EarthForce arrives on the station with, as you Humans say, an axe to grind. We find this incident to be especially important to the Anla’Shok due to the way it pushed Lt. Commander Ivanova to grow in her dealings with those able to see into another person’s mind, and with those unable to see the honor of another. We Minbari take particular pride in her willingness to serve with us, when insulted by your own Human officers, by her own EarthForce. Commander Sinclair again shows his wisdom in reading the fine print of the regulations and also in showing the liaison telepath that no one is above suspicion.
From the city of Tuzanor, on Minbar
Earth year 2278,
Anla’Shok Mayann
–
Addendum to Ranger Mayann’s report, by Shira: Excellent Ivanova quotes!
“Mr. Gray … As for fear, if you enter my mind for any reason I will twist your head off and use it for a chamber pot. “
Beautiful use of “fear,” Lt. Commander! Even Mr. Garibaldi fears a fight with her, wanting “to live to see the future!”
And then there is the
“very Russian ending”
of her career, or so, at that point in the episode, Ivanova fears. Commander Sinclair, obviously, figures out a way around the problem, saving both of their careers.
I also love the use of historical names, like naming the ship the Von Braun, and the allusion to Anne Frank, in the name of the admittedly over-the-top villain of this episode. I’ve never been comfortable watching most of the scenes with this guy, and it feels vaguely unsettling, in some of the implications, but it is still a good episode.
That was part of Ranger Mayann’s letter on the history of the Babylon Project. It can be seen from another point of view by watching the Babylon 5 Season 1, Episode 16, which I highly recommend seeing!!
Neatnik has a more standard type of review of this episode, with summary and all. Don’t forget to come back and do the Action Items below!
See Ranger Mayann’s report from last week on Seeking, and next week on preparing Our Future, kids as our Legacies
To see all of her reports as an on-going PDF version: B5EpsThr10.
-Shira Destinie
Action Items:
1.) Share your thoughts on the many ideas of Honor.
2.) Share your thoughts on how we Human Beings might start to build a more fully inclusive society for all of us, and how this episode of Babylon 5 could help that process.
3.) Write a story, post or tweet that uses these thoughts.
Dear Readers, ideas on learning, especially multiple #LanguageLearning, on-going education and empathy-building, to #EndPoverty, #EndHomelessness, #EndMoneyBail & achieve freedom for All HumanKind?
Support our key #PublicDomainInfrastructure & #StopSmoking for CCOVID-19:
1. #PublicLibraries,
2. #ProBono legal aid and Education,
3. #UniversalHealthCare, and
4. good #publictransport
Read, Write, Vote, Teach and Learn (Lesson Plan Book)!
Nih sakh sh’lekk, sleem wa.
Shira Destinie A. Jones, BsC, MAT, MPhil
our year 2021 CE = 12021 HE
Stayed on Freedom’s Call
(free copies at: https://archive.org/details/StayedOnF…)
includes two ‘imagination-rich’ walking tours, with songs, of Washington, DC. New interviews and research are woven into stories of old struggles shared by both the Jewish and African-American communities in the capital city.
Shared histories are explored from a new perspective of cultural parallels and parallel institution-building which brought the two communities together culturally and historically.
-one can add Stayed on Freedom’s Call for free via this GoodReads link. Please leave a review, if you can make a bit of time, on the GoodReads page.

Shira Destinie Jones is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Honor, in the end, is all one really has.
Ranger Mayann
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Agreed, Ranger Mayann: Honor, as Service to Humanity.
Valen go with you,
-Shira Destinie
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I love the character of Ivanova best of the series.
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Indeed. She has a sense of Honor.
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Yes, but also a temper which she must learn to control, and harness for the good of others, no?
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True. Intilza Ivanova teaches much about both honor and self-discipline of one’s faults of character.
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Yes. We humans each have many character flaws to work on.
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What do you like about her char. most? I personally find her temper, within the tight self-discipline of doing the right thing even when difficult, to be the best about Ivanova. What made her willing to serve as head of the Anla’Shok.
-Shira
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It’s her sense of honor, I think, that draws me to her. She does what she thinks is the right thing to do, whether she is following orders or not. That’s a risky position to take in this universe, especially considering the events that are about to take place.
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Indeed.
Risky, but, as you say, the right thing to do.
Valen go with you,
Ranger Mayann
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And you, Ranger Mayann
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Very true.
-Shira
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Good that communities could find reasons to unite
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Did you mean for this comment to go on the Thoughtful Thursday post about communities uniting via shared institutions and struggle?
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Transplanting comment from backup blog to here:
“Watching Jeffrey Combs (more famous for his work on “Deep Space Nine”) act is always fun. The role of a sympathetic member of the Psi Corps is different from most of his other roles.
”
Yes, indeed, it is good to see that not teeps are the same!
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It appears that Shira meant to say, not all teeps are the same?
Ranger Mayann
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Yes, in fact, that is precisely what I meant to say!
🙂
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not all teeps are the same!
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