Synopsis[edit]

Taro Isogi, a representative of FutureCorp, is seeking to negotiate a deal with the provincial
Mars Colony government to help make them a self-sufficient entity, and arranged to speak
with Amanda Carter, a representative of the government, and Talia Winters to act as a neutral
telepathic for the negotiations aboard Babylon 5. The initial meeting goes well, but as Talia
escorts Taro back to his quarters, they are assaulted by a man who shouts "Free Mars!",
grabs Taro and jolts him with energy, killing him. When Talia grabs the man, she glimpses a
vision of him being shot at by a space cruiser while trying to escape in a fighter, and being
ejected into space. The man runs off, and later hijacks one of the station's communication
stations to make contact with "Control" operating out of the ruins of San Diego and given
additional instructions.
Talia reports this to Sheridan and Garibaldi, and her description is sufficient to identify the
man as Abel Horn, a former member of the Free Mars movement but Earth Alliance records
state that he died. Talia also reports that while he might seem to be with the Free Mars rebel
group, his mind did not experience any of the hostility that she normally encounters with
those members. Garibaldi has Talia put under guard to protect her. While being escorted
around the station, Abel rushes her guard and kills him, but again when Talia touches his
mind, he is stunned with the memories of death, and she is able to run off. Sheridan orders
Talia placed under a full guard and orders a manhunt for Abel. Sheridan confides in Garibaldi
that he thinks Abel may be the product of a secret Lazarus project which was trying to create
cybernetically-enhanced humans, using subjects taken at their point of near-death; they are
programmed to relive their moments of near-death to allow the cybernetic programming to
retain control. Sheridan cannot prove Lazarus exists, but if it is the case, then they would be
able to detect his presence by low-level benign radiation his cyber components would be
emitting. Sheridan sets to work to reconfigure the station sensors.
Abel makes his way to Amanda's quarters, seeking her help, struggling to fight his own
identity against the programming his cybernetics are giving him. He demands Amanda bring
Talia there, hoping her telepathic abilities can help him dispel his programming which is
causing him severe pain. Thinking Amanda wants to talk further about the Mars deal, Talia
travels there with a full security escort who wait outside. When inside, Abel grabs her,
causing her to scan his mind, and among the moment of his death, she is able to see what
happened afterward: his body was taken and operated under the orders of a female Psi-Corps
agent. Sheridan completes the sensor sweep and discovering Abel in Amanda's quarters,
rushes there. Abel tries to hold Amanda at gunpoint, and when his cybernetics work against
him, Amanda breaks free and security stuns him. They discover his cybernetics are
overloading, and the group safely flees the quarters before his body self-destructs.
Amanda is treated for injuries, and agrees to continue to work with FutureCorp to follow
Taro's vision, by Talia's suggestion. Talia reports that she saw Abel's conversion to a
cybernetic being, but keeps quiet on the Psi-Corps involvement; she later searches Psi-Corps
records and identifies the officer that she saw in Abel's memories, but finds that she is listed
as deceased. On Earth, that same woman reviews a message from an unknown agent on
Babylon 5 on the failure of Abel's mission.