You stay talking with Diplomatic Attaché Lennier of the Minbari Federation. You ask him about the different races present on Babylon 5, and what forms of government they each have. In the end, the list is rather long! So you ask him to order his description in terms of the most significant, or powerful races. Lennier begins his account with the five major races that have permanent seats on the Babylon 5 Advisory Council.
The Vorlons are the elder race. Their government is known as the Vorlon Empire. They are at least a million years more advanced than the younger races. I have never seen a Vorlon in its true form, since Vorlons always travel in their encounter suit. This offers some protection from our oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere, since Vorlons are believed to breathe a different air mixture.
No ships have ever survived going into Vorlon space to find the Vorlon homeworld. The Vorlon government simply says that they met with an accident. Since Vorlon ships are extremely powerful, no other race would dare to contest them!
The Minbari are perhaps the next most significant spacefaring race; and we have had contact with the Vorlons for over a thousand years. Our government is known as the Minbari Federation. It is ruled by the Grey Council, with three members from each of the Religious Caste, the Warrior Caste and the Worker Caste. Each of the castes subdivides into a number of family clans - my clan is the Third Fane of Chudomo. Our society is extremely ordered, and honour is paramount. A Minbari could never lie, except perhaps to preserve the honour of another.
Our homeworld is Minbar, a crystalline planet whose northern hemisphere is covered by the ice cap. We therefore have agricultural colonies on fourteen different worlds within 50 light years of Minbar, including Kordat IV.
The Centauri are a longstanding spacefaring race, coming from the Alpha Centauri system. Their government is known as the Centauri Republic, although it operates more along the lines of an empire, with an Emperor in charge, who wields almost absolute executive power. The only other form of government is the Centaurum, a legislative assembly of the major noble houses, and the Populum, an assembly of the lesser noble houses. The males are dominant, wearing huge fantail crests of hair, while the females are bald and almost completely subservient.
Their homeworld is Centauri Prime and they have two main colonies on Centauri Beta I and Immolan V, which are luxurious holiday destinations, and a colony world on Davo in the Aries sector. They have an agricultural colony on Ragesh III and an industrial colony on Tolonius VII. They operate a number of secret outposts on their border with the Narn Regime.
The Humans are a new major spacefaring race, who made first contact with the Centauri about a hundred Earth years ago, and encountered the Minbari only thirteen years ago in 2245. Their government is known as the Earth Alliance, a democratic federal republic consisting of a Senate with representatives elected from nineteen different nation states and colonies, an executive President who is elected directly by the whole population, and a Judiciary, which oversees the constitution.
Their homeworld is Earth and they have major home colonies within the Sol system on Mars, Luna, Ganymede, Io and Europa, and outer colonies on Beta Durani I, Proxima III, Deneb IV, Vega VII, Orion IV and Orion VII as well as Earth Colony III in Orion. They have other outputs on another twenty worlds - these are often mining operations, but also support small populations.
The Narns are a young spacefaring race, who picked up most of their technology from the Centauri, who occupied their homeworld for a hundred years. They are proudly independent, having thrown off Centauri rule 27 years ago. Their government is known as the Narn Regime, ruled by a council called the Kha'Ri, organised in eight circles. The first ruling circle consists of eight counsellors, the second advisory circle of sixteen advisers, the third diplomatic circle of twelve ambassadors, and the fourth military circle consists of all the senior generals. The fifth and sixth circles are concerned with regional government; and the seventh and eighth circles are concerned with the preservation of Narn culture.
Their homeworld is Narn, and they have colonies on Shi, Dross, Zok and Hilak VII. They maintain a number of outposts near their border with the Centauri Republic.
