Babylon 5: The River of Souls Page #2

I'm glad.

- Mr. Garibaldi?

- Doctor.

Doctor, meet

Captain Elizabeth Lochley.

Captain, Dr. Robert Bryson.

- Pleasure.

- Thank you.

- Lf I may ask, a doctor of what?

- Archaeology...

...with a secondary degree

in cultural anthropology.

He digs stuff up.

Thank you for the translation,

Mr. Garibaldi.

If you hadn't jumped in, I might have

gotten confused and fallen down.

I didn't start out digging things up.

I specialized in palynology.

That's the study of fossilized pollen...

...to determine the age

of the accompanying bodies.

Oh, I've heard of it. Apparently

it's more accurate than carbon dating...

...and more useful on off-world expeditions,

since carbon values differ planet to planet.

Yes. You're the first person I've met

outside the field who knows what it is.

There's only a dozen of us

back on Earth who specialize in it.

That's what got me into

interplanetary digs...

Right, right, right. Listen, I think

we should be going.

I know you two kids could

talk shop until dawn...

...but we've got a little talking

of our own to do.

So I suggest you let the captain

get back to work.

- Perhaps we can talk later.

- Of course.

Captain.

Dr. Bryson.

- Find anything interesting lately?

- Yes.

Oh, yes. Most definitely.

I was sorry to hear about

Mr. Edgars passing away like that.

He was a good man. A visionary.

He was a nut and he was a control freak.

Well, these days...

...only a nut and a control freak...

...would completely fund

research into pure science.

He didn't do it to advance science

or serve the commonwealth.

He wanted everything that wasn't

nailed down or on fire.

He wanted to invent anything he couldn't

buy and buy anything he couldn't invent.

Perhaps. But he was

willing to fund my program...

...and for that alone...

...I will always consider him...

...a good man.

Anyway...

...that has nothing to do with

why I wanted to see you.

According to our records, your work has

been funded for 2 million credits a year.

That's a lot of money.

I'd like to know what it's for...

...so I can evaluate whether

to continue funding it.

- The ledgers didn't say?

- No. They only had the initials L. E...

...next to the dollar amounts.

- Oh, I see.

I suppose "L.E." could be

shorthand for "life extension."

But knowing Mr. Edgars,

I think it was a reference...

...to my pet name for the project,

Life Eternal.

Immortality.

I'm engaged in nothing less...

...than the search for eternal life,

Mr. Garibaldi.

- I see.

- At the height of our medical expertise...

...we can extend human life to 110,

maybe 115 years.

But there are dozens of alien life forms

that can live double, even triple that.

And some older alien civilizations

can sustain life...

...in one form or another

for thousands of years.

Some of them eliminated death entirely.

Can you think of a worthier cause

than immortality, Mr. Garibaldi?

That would depend upon three things:

Number one, does it really exist?

Two, how much will it cost?

Three, who gets to use it?

Given the probable answer to two...

...means probably just the rich folk.

- That was the general idea.

Mr. Edgars saw considerable profit...

...in finding the answer

to the question of life eternal.

And have you?

You've been at this for over three years.

Are you any closer to the answer

now than when you started?

Let me take this for you.

I...

I think I am, Mr. Garibaldi.

I found something recently that...

...for 20 years of my life

I've been searching for.

This discovery could unlock

the answer to eternal life.

And what's that?

Well, I don't want to say just yet.

I want to make sure it is what it is and

that I fully understand how it works.

- Dr. Bryson, I have come a long way.

- So have I.

Mr. Garibaldi, I just need a few more days

to finish my preliminary analysis...

...and then I'll tell you everything.

No.

I'd like to say that I can wait

for it all, but I can't.

You may have found something new and

I understand you want time to investigate.

That doesn't cover the data you've

gathered for the last three years.

You can at least give me that information

so I can better evaluate this new finding.

- Mr. Garibaldi, if...

- Nope.

No, that's the condition.

Or I'm back on Mars...

...and your funding stops,

effective immediately.

Fine. It'll take a while for me

to get my notes together...

...so that you can understand them.

Oh, that's fine. That's fine.

I'll swing by your quarters tomorrow

morning and look over the material...

...you have while you finish doing

whatever it is that you're doing.

Thank you.

Fascinating, isn't it?

Our obsession with life

and death and beyond.

We eat that which is dead...

...in order to stay alive.

Death becomes part of our daily routine,

our very consciousness.

That's where we must make the break.

Not at the level of flesh and bone...

...but at the level of the mind.

What we are is what's in here.

And the rest...

...is useless.

Dead meat.

- Captain, can I see you for a minute?

- Yes, lieutenant. What is it?

Come on in.

This is Mr. Clute.

He's been bringing me up to speed

on a problem in Downbelow.

I thought you'd wanna

hear about it yourself.

All right.

Go on, Mr. Clute.

Well, this is a little embarrassing.

I don't want this to get back home.

- It'll get me in a lot of trouble.

- Anything said in this room stays here.

All right. Well, I was trying out

the holobrothel in Brown 11...

...and not only was the equipment faulty,

it was dangerously faulty.

The wiring was shot.

- Someone's gonna get killed or...

- Wait, wait, wait. The what?

The holobrothel.

We don't have a holographic brothel

on Babylon 5.

- It appears we do now.

- I don't understand.

The owner said the place was

sanctioned by the station.

That's the reason I spent money on it.

Lots of people claim their business

is sanctioned by us.

Over half are lying.

You shouldn't believe them...

...without checking with us first.

All right. Take him down to Security...

...get a full report.

Off the record.

Then turn Zack loose on them.

Thank you.

I appreciate the information.

- We will take it from here.

- Thank you.

I'll be with you in a second.

Captain, before I go...

...when you got your headache earlier,

I said I might have something for it.

Most headaches are caused by stress

and since this has really worked for me...

...I thought I'd pick you one up as well.

Here.

Well, thank you. It's very...

It's quite...

- What is it, exactly?

- It's a love bat.

It's great for relieving

the physical and emotional stress...

...that can cause headaches

or muscle tension.

Here. It works like this.

I love you.

I forgive you.

I love you.

- I forgive you.

- See?

It physically releases the need

for punishment and guilt...

...when we do something wrong

and at the same time...

...supplies positive, verbal,

psychological reinforcement.

Helps boost confidence and self-esteem.

Well...

...thank you. I'm...

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