Vorlon - Physiology

Physiology

When in the company of aliens, Vorlons wear encounter suits to conceal their true form. The suits are large, cumbersome units with crest-like shoulders and elongated helmets and draping fabric; aside from a single illuminated iris to represent an eye/face, a Vorlon's shape cannot be deduced from the suit's design. While the official Vorlon explanation is that the suit maintains the specific environment necessary to support them, the actual reason is to hide their appearance. In actuality, Vorlons are incorporeal beings who require very little if any environment to survive; Vorlons have even managed to survive in vacuum with no ill effect.

Vorlons conceal their identity to prevent undesired reactions from younger races: having evolved into incorporeal lifeforms millions of years before, the Vorlons appear as radiant beings of light, which most of the younger races interpreted as signs of divinity. Unbeknownst to most alien species other than the Minbari, the Vorlons have altered the genetic template of these younger species to include certain psychological traits such as telepathy, and subconscious associations. Before the Vorlons adopted reclusive natures, they actively visited and influenced early civilizations by telepathically projecting racial variations of themselves, causing the younger races to perceive them as kindred. Eventually, the Vorlons inserted this association genetically, altering their perceptions so that anyone viewing them saw them as a race-specific divine being. Humans who look upon an unclad Vorlon would see a winged angel from Abrahamic religions; a Drazi would perceive them as Droshalla, a Narn as G'Lan, a Minbari as Valeria, etc. The process, however, requires telepathic exertion on the part of the Vorlon, and can physically drain them if they are viewed by too many at once.

A Vorlon's true shape, without the aid of telepathic projection, is that of a glowing cephalopod. Vorlon spaceships, being composed of the same organic foundation as their builders, illustrate this appearance in their squid-like design. The only occasion when a Vorlon's true form was viewed by humans was during the assassination of Vorlon Ambassador Ulkesh Naranek in Falling Toward Apotheosis, when his suit was shattered by weaponized electricity.

When Ambassador Londo Mollari of the Centauri Republic observed an unsuited Vorlon, he claimed to have not seen anything at all. Show creator J. Michael Straczynski has said about this that "Londo saw what he said he saw". It is clear that Londo alone saw nothing because of his relationship with the Shadows. Similarly, it is unclear whether the Vorlon was invisible to Londo or if this can be taken less literally to mean that Londo saw nothing of spiritual significance. At least one Babylon 5 novel contradicts Straczynski's statement, saying that Mollari saw a very bright ball of energy. It is plausible that Kosh was using his telepathy to make Londo see what he wanted him to see.

Vorlon physiology makes them biologically immortal (incapable of death by natural causes), and extremely difficult to kill with conventional weaponry. They possess undisclosed levels of telepathic prowess and sensitivity, able to project their consciousness into another person's mind even from massive distances. They are also able to divide their essence into smaller quantities and insert themselves into other beings to observe or collect intelligence undetected, even by the host themselves. While their physical abilities are largely uncatalogued, they do have physical mass that allows them to strike objects and be vulnerable to certain assaults; Vorlons are susceptible to Florazine, a rare poison of the Damocles Sector, that was used in an early assassination attempt on Kosh Naranek at his first arrival on Babylon 5. Vorlons can, however, be killed by other First One species.

Vorlons are known for speaking cryptically with brief phrases that vaguely relate to the question they are asked (e.g. "The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote"). This is typically considered a limitation of their language as it is translated into English, Interlac, or other languages, but there remains speculation that they are deliberately obscure to prevent disruptions to the timeline.

The formal name for their society is the Vorlon Empire, although the nature of Vorlon government was never revealed on the show. According to the Baylon-5 Roleplaying Game Fact Book: (Darkness and Light. The Vorlon and Shadow Fact Book), the Vorlon Empire is ruled by all the Vorlons as a large community. All Vorlons in existence are part of this community, and they all have equal saying in this communion. Every Vorlon stands for an aspect of their society. This is reflected in their names they use when dealing with the Younger Races. Kesh for example, is the military and offensive branch of the Vorlon Empire, while Kosh stands for teaching and maturing the Younger Races.