Kosh Naranek - Character Description

Character Description

Until John Sheridan's arrival as commander of Babylon 5, Kosh had shown little interest in council meetings and was seldom seen. Once Sheridan arrived, Kosh started attending Council meetings with more regularity. One noted absence was when the last surviving person from the former Dilgar Empire came aboard Babylon 5. She was called "Death Walker" by members of other races that were subject to her medical experiments. She arrived with the promise of a drug that would give eternal life to anyone who took it. Initial investigation by the medical staff at Babylon 5 confirmed the drug seemed to be able to do what it was purported to do. After much debate among the security council and the League of Non-Aligned worlds, she was allowed to leave for Earth to deliver the drug. While all of this had been happening, Kosh had contacted the Vorlon government, who sent a ship that destroyed the Dilgar's transport ship shortly after leaving Babylon 5. When asked why the Vorlons had destroyed the ship, Kosh replied "You are not ready for immortality."

Sheridan had a fascination with the Vorlons and Kosh in particular. He asked Kosh if he would teach him about Vorlon culture. Kosh told Sheridan that he could not teach him if he did not even know himself. He did offer to teach Sheridan about himself and give Sheridan lessons on "fighting legends." He would also warn him later in the series that if he went to Z'ha'dum, he would die and later told Sheridan that when he went to Z'ha'dum, he would not be there to help. Kosh consistently frustrated Sheridan with his seemly vague and mercurial answers, such as "You have always been here," and "The avalanche has already started, it is too late for the pebbles to vote." In fact, Sheridan once said that Vorlon answers are always "completely accurate and totally useless."

Unlike some Vorlons, Kosh cared about the younger races on some level, in particular Sheridan. He left his encounter suit to save Sheridan's life after a terrorist assassination attempt. This was a great personal risk to Kosh as he had said that if he were to ever reveal himself "everyone would recognize me". This became apparent during Sheridan's rescue: to humans he appeared as an angel; to every other being that saw him except Londo, he appeared as a holy being in whatever religion that individual's race practiced, due to the Vorlons having tampered with those races' evolutions.