Great Machine of Epsilon III
The Great Machine of Epsilon III is a titanic device that features in Babylon 5.
Contents |
History
The Great Machine was a massive machine that was built deep within Epsilon III with its creators unknown. A group of aliens were placed as custodians of the machine with these including one known as Varn. However, some among his kind were aggressive and violent leading to them being exiled from the planet. This group would spend around 500 years searching for the Great Machine in order to usurp it for their own purposes. (A Voice in the Wilderness, Part 2) At some point, a family of ten identical aliens all known as Zathras were responsible for the maintenance of the Great Machine. (Episode: Conflicts of Interest)
In 2259, Draal would break his silence and made contact with both Delenn as well as Captain John Sheridan in order to meet them on the planet. During this encounter, he revealed several of the secrets he had learnt since he had melded with the machine and determined that he wanted to ally with them for the coming Shadow War. (Episode: The Long, Twilight Struggle) Afterwards, in 2260, Commander Susan Ivanova travelled to the Great Machine in place of Sheridan in order to meet with Draal so that she could link with the machine. This was in order to use its power to search for sites where the First Ones dwelt in space. (Episode: Voices of Authority) During the course of the Shadow War in 2261, both the Shadows and Vorlons engaged in warfare against each others supporters. This led to a great number of displaced refugees arriving at Babylon 5 where it was decided by Stephen Franklin to set up a temporary Medlab facility at the Great Machine of Epsilon III in order to cope with the number of people arriving at the station who were escaping the Vorlon planetkillers. (Episode: Falling Toward Apotheosis) After the Shadow War, a ground quake impacted Epsilon III which damaged the weather control machinery forcing a Zathras to conduct repairs. At the time, Commander Susan Ivanova had arrived at the Great Machine in order to find the power requirements needed to send interstellar messages into Earth Alliance space as part of the Voice of the Resistance. (Episode: Conflicts of Interest)
Overview
To maintain the massive construct, the Great Machine required a number of caretakers that helped it during its operations. (Episode: War without End, Part 2)
At the heart of the machine, a user was able to project a holographic version of themselves anywhere on the planet or even in space. (Episode: Severed Dreams) Without its caretaker, the Great Machine entered into a self-destruct sequence that would not only destroy Epsilon III but anything orbiting near it. (Episode: A Voice in the Wilderness, Part 2)
A weather control machine was part of the system. (Episode: Conflicts of Interest)
Its weapon systems were highly advanced allowing it to fire missiles from deep within the planet to destroy approaching ships. A more powerful weapon was an energy beam that had such destructive potential that it could destroy entire starships in a single shot. (Episode: A Voice in the Wilderness, Part 2)
Appearances
- Babylon 5: "War without End, Part 1"
External Link
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