“Intersections in Real Time” is episode eighteen of season four of Babylon 5.
This episode opens with Sheridan lying on the floor of a mostly unlit large room. He is having flashbacks of Garibaldi contacting him in the previous episode, “The Face of the Enemy”, Ivanova warning him about a trap, and Garibaldi’s betrayal. He wakes when a man enters the room carrying a briefcase. Several guards follow him in, bringing in chairs and a table. The guards leave and shut the door and the man asks Sheridan if he has any allergies or illnesses. If he is taking any medication or has a history of heart trouble. If Sheridan doesn’t respond at once, and truthfully, he will be punished. Sheridan attempts to approach the man, but a collar around his neck shocks him. A Narn paingiver, he is told.
The man tells Sheridan that he is not his enemy. He has no personal stake in what happens. It is a job he has to do, nothing more, nothing less. He will inflict pain on Sheridan as required and will use whatever means he feels necessary to ensure that Sheridan cooperates. The soldiers return and Sheridan is placed in a chair, which restrains him. The man asks Sheridan again about whether he has any health problems, and it’s not out of a concern for the captain’s health.
However, one of the first things is messing with Sheridan’s concept of time, using light to make him think it is daylight or not. He says that Sheridan apparently had no interest in politics before. So, he could only have decided to overthrow his own government due to the influence of outsiders. Aliens at that. The man continues messing with Sheridan’s head and concept of what time it is. He says that truth is a concept that undergoes constant modification. Other than the paingiver, the only other mistreatment that Sheridan gets at this point is a sandwich which contains a poison.
The man tells Sheridan that his father is being held at another facility. He will be held until Sheridan cooperates. Sheridan’s, lengthy, confession is already written. He will sign it, read it out loud to the public, apologise to the family and friends of those he has killed and put everything down to the influence of aliens. Once Sheridan agrees, he will be released. He has no rights or anything else he might normally expect.
This entire episode is about Sheridan being, interrogated is not the right word, as they want him broken rather than questioned. It takes place in the cell and the only two people who really have a role in it are Sheridan and the man speaking to him. Any torture is more of a psychological nature, trying to destroy Sheridan’s ability to remain unbroken.