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Talia Winters

From The Babylon Project

Talia Winters
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Date of Birth: 2233
Date of Death: Uncertain
Place of Birth: Vienna, Earth
Place of Death: Uncertain
Hair color: Blonde
Eye color: Blue
Psi rating: P5
Relatives: Jenny Winters (Ancestor)
Affiliation: Psi Corps
Earth Alliance
Portrayed by: Andrea Thompson

Talia Winters was a licensed commercial telepath and a member of the Psi Corps assigned to Babylon 5 in 2258. Winters is classified as a P5, the norm for commercial telepaths.

She was assigned to Babylon 5 to replace the former commercial telepath, Lyta Alexander who was removed from her position soon after she arrived in 2257 when she scanned the Vorlon ambassador Kosh.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Early age

Talia Winters was born in Vienna on Earth in 2233.[2] Her telepathic abilities manifested at age five. The law required her to be taken in by the Psi Corps to be raised and trained by them. She was tested for telekinesis, but her test results came up negative.[3] Upon her arrival, she had a difficult time adjusting to her new environment. She was assigned an older woman named Abby to be a kind of "big sister" to her, which greatly helped her adjust in that first year.[4]

As with most members, she became extremely loyal to the Psi Corps. While training she met Lyta Alexander.[5]

While at the Psi Corps Academy, she had a relationship with Jason Ironheart, one of her instructors. The two would share a deep bond for many years.[3]

She also married Matthew Stoner via a Psi Corps arranged marriage, as they were a match likely to produce more powerful telepathic offspring. The marriage occurred quickly and she soon discovered she did not care much for Stoner. Inexplicably, Stoner managed to find a way to leave the Corps. Once he did so he disappeared and the marriage was annulled.[6]

After leaving the Academy, she briefly worked with convicted criminals that were to have their mind and personalities wiped. She left that work after she had to scan a serial killer, something which haunted her for quite some time.[7]

Unknown to Miss Winters, at some point before arriving on Babylon 5 she was modified by the Psi Corps, in which they added a hidden personality deep within her mind. The personality was so well hidden that it would not appear in even a Deep Scan.[5]

This modification apparently occurred in a secret facility on Mars.[8]

[edit] On Babylon 5

For several weeks after arriving on Babylon 5, Miss Winters attempted to check in with Lt. Commander Ivanova, per Psi Corps regulations requiring her to check in with the second in command. Being unsuccessful, she went to find Ivanova at C'n'C, where Ivanova quickly dismisses her. Winters asked Michael Garibaldi for advice in approaching Ivanova. Garibaldi suggested meeting Ivanova at the casino after her shift, and invited Talia to his quarters to see his second favorite thing in the universe. Winters met Ivanova at the casino, where Ivanova apologized for her behavior and related the story of her mother's experiences as an unregistered telepath.

Accidental telepathic contact with ambassador Londo Mollari revealed his intent to murder G'Kar during the Ragesh 3 incident. She then warned Garibaldi of Mollari's intentions.[9]

Talia acted as a mediator for the station as well as strictly commercially. She was part of the negotiations between the Narn Regime and the Centauri Republic as they finalized the Euphrates Treaty.[10]

Her former lover Jason Ironheart, arrived on the station later in 2258. Affected by experiments done on him by the Psi Corps, he quickly became unstable and began to transform into a higher form of life. Talia helped him evade a pair of Psi Cops, Alfred Bester and Ms. Kelsey, long enough for his transformation to be completed. After his transformation, he secretly gave Talia the gift of telekinesis. Thanks to Sinclair, Talia was not reprimanded by Bester for her involvement.[3]

In mid 2258, Talia was approached by Ambassador Kosh of the Vorlon Empire to "mediate" a series of talks he had with a strange being named Mr. Abbut. Talia was surprised when she realized Abbut's mind was completely blank. The talks, however, confused her all the more, as Kosh and Abbut merely spoke in a series of riddles. Finally, during the last talk she began to have flashbacks to when she scanned the mind of a serial killer, a terrifying experience. Abbut removed a data crystal from his own brain and handed to Kosh. The Vorlon cryptically responded to Talia's question regarding its contents. She sought out Garibaldi and Sinclair to ask them about it. Garibaldi explained that Abbut is a Vicker, a cyborg capable of recording thoughts. He explains it seems Kosh set her up so he could record the memories--but for what reason is anybody's guess.[7]

Later in the year, Talia met Alisa Beldon, an orphaned teenager living on her own on the station, when Alisa's latent telepathy suddenly emerged. Talia correctly guessed Alisa was a P10 and assumed it would be a simple matter for her to be sent back to Earth and the Psi Corps. Susan Ivanova, however, made it clear that she had no intention of sending Alisa to the Corps, leading to more friction between the two. Alisa eventually left the station to become an envoy for the Minbari Federation with the hope she could help foster relations between humans and Minbari. Talia, while not agreeing with the decision, found she could respect it.[11]

Soon afterwards, Mars became the site of a series of deadly riots. Talia was approached by Garibaldi, who was looking for a favor. At first she tries to rebuff him, annoyed at his almost uncanny ability to always be aboard the particular transport tube she needs to board, but he pleas for her that his request for help is genuine. He explains that his ex-girlfriend, Lise Hampton, still lives on Mars. He has not spoken to her since he came to Babylon 5 and is worried about her safety. He surprises Talia when he explains he knows of the location of a secret Psi Corps facility on the planet. He asks her if she can find out via the facility whether Lise is alive. Talia reluctantly agrees to help him. She privately contacts the location, but they refuse to concede to her request for fear of exposing themselves. Talia is able to obtain independently a list of injured persons (of which Lise is not named) and share this information with Garibaldi.[12]

In 2259, Miss Winters became part of the Telepath underground railroad.[13]

[edit] Control

In late 2259, Lyta Alexander learned of the Psi Corps sleeper program while hiding out with members of the Martian resistance. She found out that one of these sleepers was on Babylon 5, though she was unsure who it may have been. She discovered the password required to unlock this hidden personality and traveled to Babylon 5. Lyta scanned the minds of all the command staff but was unable to discover who it may have been. By chance, Talia walked into the room and Lyta scanned her mind, unlocking the hidden personality.[5]

With the hidden personality completely unlocked from the subconscious, Talia Winters was effectively dead. The control personality then was removed from the station by station security. Alfred Bester claimed later she had been studied and dissected.[14]

[edit] Relationships

While Ivanova did not like Miss Winters, much of her dislike was due to the constant reminder of the Psi Corps and what they had done to her mother, Sofie Ivanov. Ivanova blamed Psi Corps for her mother's suicide; her experience gave Talia her first opportunity to learn about the darker side of the Psi Corps. When she began helping telepaths on the underground railroad, Susan Ivanova began to develop a respect for her which shortly before her personality was wiped, became a very brief relationship.

[edit] References

  1. ↑ The Gathering
  2. ↑ Across Time and Space: The Chronologies of Babylon 5
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Mind War
  4. ↑ A Spider in the Web
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Divided Loyalties
  6. ↑ Soul Mates
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Deathwalker
  8. ↑ Silent Enemies
  9. ↑ Midnight on the Firing Line
  10. ↑ Born to the Purple
  11. ↑ Legacies
  12. ↑ A Voice in the Wilderness, Part I
  13. ↑ A Race Through Dark Places
  14. ↑ Dust to Dust
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