From the translator: As a rule, the works of foreign authors published in this wonderful magazine are not given prefaces. But in this case, when I finished translating the first chapter of “Dark, Crooked Mirror,” I decided to add a few words of my own. So, dear readers, you are dealing with one of the most serious, both in its scope and in the thoroughness of the processing of the world Babylon 5, a fantasy (in both senses of the word) novel. The history of its writing goes back more than two years of persistent work by the author, and it is still far from being completed. From one single idea, thrown by the author into the fertile soil of “Babylonian” material, a sprawling and at the same time logically harmonious tree of a new narrative grew. Having seemed familiar for a long time, the characters of Babylon 5, being placed in other, frankly speaking, unnatural conditions within the framework of the “historical plot”, not only do not lose their former brilliance, but also reveal such facets of their own images that were previously unknown even to a sophisticated viewer and to the reader. At the same time, of course, none of them loses their originality and those special features that make this character easily recognizable to us. By the way, I would like to explain myself. I never take on the task of translating something that does not give me special (positive, of course) feelings towards myself. It can be assumed that I am not capable of translating to order. Therefore, I recommend that dear readers cast aside all doubts that I really like this work. Every aspect of it, from the deep symbolism of the title to the clarity of the structure of the scenes. I sincerely hope that you will like it just as much. Alexander Krasnyansky. 1999.

The year is 2258, ten years after the destruction of Earth by the Minbari fleet. The last refuge of Humanity is a devastated colony on the planet Proxima-3. President Mary Crane is the head of the Resistance Government. The remnants of the Earth Military continue to fight against the Minbari using raiding tactics. Relations with Narn allies are far from ideal. The last hope of Humanity is one single ship and one single person. This ship is Babylon, this man is its captain. John Sheridan.

Sheridan is betrayed by the Narn administration on Vega 7 and captured by the Minbari. He is brought before the Gray Council. A woman who inexplicably entered his cell asks him a mysterious question: “What do you want?” With the help of her mysterious companions, Sheridan escapes and takes with him a hostage - Satai Delenn from the Gray Council.