“Believers” is episode ten of season one of Babylon 5.
In Medlab a young alien boy is being examined by Dr. Franklin. The boy asks if he’s going to die and his mother says it depends what is written in the streams of time. Franklin says to the boy, Shon, that he will soon breathe much better. The mother is not happy about this statement.
The doctors on their homeworld say that there is no cure for Shon, and that this is their last chance for honour for the family. Franklin says that the boy is treatable, and that he’s seen it before in races with internal air sacs. Sometimes a blockage develops, and this usually clears by itself but that sometimes it hardens. A simple operation will easily correct the condition.
The parents look worried by this, and asks if the surgery will involve cutting Shon open. Dr. Franklin says that that’s what surgery means. The parents are really not happy and Franklin says that it’s a simple procedure. On their world, only food animals are cut open; the chosen of god may not be punctured.
Lieutenant Commander Ivanova tells Sinclair that they’ve received a distress call from the star liner Asimov. They had a fire in their Command and Control, and their navigation systems and much of their communications are down. Sinclair says that this is raider territory, and that they should send a fighter wing to escort the Asimov. Ivanova says that a potential combat situation needs the presence of a command officer. Sinclair asks if Garibaldi is free but Ivanova, less than subtly, makes it clear that she wants to go herself, as she’s going stir crazy.
In Medlab, Franklin tells Shon’s parents that there might be another way to cure him, but it will be more painful and more expensive. As the parents discuss this, Franklin speaks to the other doctor, Hernandez. Hernandez asks why he is lying to the parents, as only surgery will work. Dr. Franklin says that they need to be able to convince the parents that surgery is the only option. If they try to leave, the child will die.
Franklin intends to try and go ahead with the surgery anyway and speaks to Sinclair about overriding the parents’ wishes. The parents are really, really religious and go to the other ambassadors for help. Kosh’s response is rather less than helpful, even for him.
Much of the episode revolves around the dilemma with the parents’ religious beliefs endangering their child. The Children of the Egg believe that cutting open a body kills the spirit. There is not really a good solution, and Franklin gets rather emotionally involved. The miner thread is Ivanova and the Asimov.