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The few times we see Mr. Morden's invisible Shadow handlers, they are always right next to him. Such as this scene where Prime Minister Londo Mollari says goodbye to Morden's Shadow handlers.

Do they follow Mr. Morden even in public when there are crowds around him?

In this scene, Mr. Morden is at the Zocalo Cafe during a conversation with Vir Cotto. There are people around, so it might be awkward for the invisible Shadows to stand nearby. It would be strange if some random person tripped over the leg of an invisible Shadow.

Does he ever get some "alone time" such as when he sleeps or goes to the men's room?

2 Answers 2

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Everything we're shown says they're with him all the time.

  • They're with him in Signs and Portents, shown when random light fixtures suddenly go out when Kosh confronts him/them
  • They managed to get into both of his cells when Sheridan arrests him, despite the fact that being under heavy armed guard also might make some people stumble on invisible limbs.
  • Same episode as the above example, Sheridan arranges for Morden and Talia to pass each other in tight quarters. We know the Shadows are following him cell to cell, and Talia's reaction prove that something is there.
  • There's a few other random Shadow noises sprinkled liberally through the show, just to remind us.
  • Just the fact the the first thing Mollari does to isolate Morden is take heavy weapons to the invisible critters should tell you how omnipresent they've been in Mollari and Morden's frequent arrangements.

Your concern over how people don't trip over them is not addressed directly in the show, but there is partial handwave already in play - they're a species that has advanced past a mostly physical form into a state of mostly energy, much like the Vorlon. Phasing slightly so that such physical detection isn't easy, or just sending out an angry psych pulse that says "Don't tread on me", is easily within their ability range.

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  • Now I am wondering how the Shadows avoided people. Somebody could trip over one. Or back up into one. Or accidentally stab one while running with scissors. And how did the Shadows get through the narrow doorway into Mr. Morden's prison cell?
    – RichS
    Mar 10, 2017 at 5:15
  • Gimme a break. Fiction is about suspension of disbelief. If you were wondering how people avoided tripping over the shadows when you watched the episodes for the first time, there was a failure on the part of the show to bypass your disbelief mechanism. I bet most people didn’t ask this question till later and fully enjoyed the scenes in question. Dec 23, 2018 at 20:12
  • sending out an angry psych pulse that says "Don't tread on me" - That would be a very useful ability!
    – RichS
    Dec 23, 2018 at 21:43
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Let me propose a possible answer: Say that the Shadows can change from their physical form and become non-corporeal, while remaining invisible, with short notice, say a few seconds. Let us also suppose that they can't stay like this for long, however, and must return to physical form. Thus, when a physical form would be limiting, like in a crowded area, they can become non-corporeal long enough to get past the situation, and then return to physical form, once clear to do so. We would also have to suppose that they are vulnerable to physical attacks while in physical form, but only if that attack can harm them before they have time to change form.

Note that this explanation assumes that the Shadows did not know they were about to be shot, which means they neither were able to eavesdrop on Molari when he prepped the guards (a range limit on eavesdropping could explain this), nor were they able to read any of their minds. So, if they can read minds, they chose not to, perhaps because it would be apparent to the mind-reading targets and reveal the Shadow's presence and abilities (the Shadows being all about keeping hidden).

One variation on this theory is that the non-corporeal form must exist within a physical host, like Mr. Morden. There they might be vulnerable if he was killed, so would only choose this option when necessary (crowds, etc.) or if they considered the host to be a safer situation than they were as physical beings. This would explain why they weren't within Mr. Morden when he was summoned before Prime Minister Molari, since they considered him to be in danger, Molari having a well-known hatred for Morden, and just having achieved a position where he could have Morden killed (as he soon did).

The Shadows also could have presumably kept Morden from being hauled before Molari, but they considered it important to know what Molari had to say.

1
  • This is pure speculation and it doesn't answer the question.
    – Sava
    Dec 23, 2018 at 20:14

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