Editing Babylon 5 (section)

==Setting==
{{main article|Civilizations in Babylon 5}}
The main ''Babylon 5'' [[story arc]] occurs between the years 2257 and 2262. The show depicts a future where Earth has a unified [[Earth Alliance (Babylon 5)#Early development|Earth government]] and has gained the technology for [[faster-than-light]] travel using "jump gates", a kind of [[wormhole]] technology allowing transport through the alternate dimension of [[hyperspace]]. The Colonies within the Solar System and beyond make up the [[Earth Alliance (Babylon 5)|Earth Alliance]], which has established contact with other [[Spacefaring#Spacefaring in popular culture|spacefaring]] species. Ten years before the series is set, Earth barely escaped destruction by the technologically superior [[Minbari]], who sought revenge after an Earth starship unwittingly killed their leader during [[First contact (science fiction)|first contact]], only for them to unexpectedly surrender on the brink of victory. Earth has since established peaceful relationships with them and the Earth Alliance has become a significant and generally respected power within the galactic community.

Among the other species are the imperialist [[Centauri (Babylon 5)|Centauri]]; the [[Narn]], who only recently gained independence from the Centauri empire; and the mysterious, powerful [[Vorlon]]s. Several dozen less powerful species from the [[League of Non-Aligned Worlds]] also have diplomatic contact with the major races, including the [[Drazi]], [[Brakiri]], [[Vree]], [[Civilizations in Babylon 5#Markab|Markab]], and [[pak'ma'ra]]. An ancient and secretive race, the [[Shadow (Babylon 5)|Shadows]], unknown to humans but documented in many other races' religious texts, malevolently influence events to bring chaos and war among the known species. Among the chaos the Shadows cause is a Centauri descent into [[irredentism]] and Earth sliding into [[totalitarianism]] under President Morgan Clark.

{{Anchor|Babylon4}}
The ''Babylon 5'' space station is located in the [[Epsilon Eridani]] system, at the [[Trojan (celestial body)|fifth Lagrangian point]] of the fictional planet Epsilon III and its moon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/universe/station-1.html |title=Babylon 5 Universe: The Station |first=J. Michael |last=Straczynski |date=October 8, 1995 |access-date=July 28, 2009 |archive-date=February 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220020529/http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/universe/station-1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It is an [[O'Neill cylinder]] {{convert|5|mi|km}} long and {{convert|0.5-1.0|mi|km}} in diameter. The station is the last of its line; the first three stations were all destroyed during construction, while ''Babylon 4'' was completed but mysteriously vanished shortly after being made operational.<ref name="4thSeason">{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/11/21/babylon-5-plans-explosive-4th-season/ |title='Babylon 5' Plans Explosive 4th Season |author=Ian Spelling |date=November 21, 1996 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] (reprinted from [[The New York Times]])|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104012950/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-11-21/features/9611210323_1_straczynski-earth-minbari-war-space-station-babylon|archive-date=November 4, 2012 |url-status=live |access-date=January 14, 2011}}</ref> It contains living areas which accommodate various alien species, providing differing atmospheres and gravities. Human visitors to the alien sectors are shown using breathing equipment and other measures to tolerate the conditions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jmsnews.com/messages/message?id=21366 |title=There are, in fact, a number of... |last=Straczynski |first=J. Michael |date=January 3, 1992 |website=JMSNews |publisher=Midnight Design Productions, LLC |access-date=February 26, 2019 |archive-date=October 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026123246/http://www.jmsnews.com/messages/message?id=21366 |url-status=live }}</ref>