BPP Crusade 110 – The Memory of War

The Babylon Project Podcast

As mentioned previously, the previous episode was intended to be the premiere for the series, and this episode was intended to air third.

This episode kicks off with Jane (our favorite actress Maggie Egan!) talking about how the Rangers are scouting for leads on potential cures, with the military research vessel Excalibur following up on specific leads. This explains why in earlier episodes (as aired) it seemed the Excalibur was sort of wondering around, almost purposelessly or without any real focus or urgency. Here, the Excalibur arrives at a planet, sends probes into the atmosphere, and begins plans to send crew members to the surface. However, Galen appears and warns them not to go: those who go will die. As this storyline unfolds, we learn that many have gone to this planet before, including Technomages, and all have died. In a tender moment, Galen explains he’s being as pushy as he is because he views Gideon and the crew of Excalibur as his family.

Warnings considered, Gideon and crew head to the surface, risking death for information that might prove useful toward finding a cure for the Drakh virus on Earth. As camp is set up, we’re shown a sort of graffiti on some walls, and Dureena immediately does what she does: explore and seek information that wouldn’t be easily obtained by others. She finds an interesting data crystal and brings it back to the others, and shortly thereafter, an IPX employee working for Max dies. Someone or something has slashed her throat. Then several others die.

Max takes the data crystal and begins working to decipher what’s on it, and translates the written planetary language. We learn the graffiti means “behold and die”. Galen links himself to some of the remaining probes dropped by Excalibur and also makes an important discovery: there is an artificial virus at work. On that virus: a symbol, sigil, a signature of sorts, that Galen immediately recognizes and causes him to become furious. The virus was created using Technomage technology, and becomes active at night, reprogramming itself to adjust to the beings infected, causing them to kill themselves. With only a few hours left before dark, he grabs a very cool tool of his trade, a unique staff, and heads below the surface to find what drives the virus.

Back on the Excalibur, the team returned with samples (actually “buckets” of the nano virus, and Doc Chambers found a way to incorporate it into a compound that could be used as a temporary vaccine. A promising discovery! Excalibur is ready to depart, but Gideon is told there’s one shuttle remaining away, but imminently returning to return to the ship. With all shuttles previously accounted for, he questions why one left and went back to the surface. That’s when Dureena walks back in and we see why she made the quick trip back to the planet. Remember, she’s a thief, and has even been called a “tunnel rat”. Well, our favorite tunnel rat found her way back down to the control chamber Galen had destroyed, recovered his staff, and brought it back to him.

The show ends with Gideon consulting the Apocalypse Box again. In a troubling moment, we see the box caution him, “Do not trust.” When asked, the Box elaborates: Galen…

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