No, the closest parallel to the Centauri would, I suppose, be
ancient
Rome. I tend not to go that much to contemporary sources for
metaphor, since
it's too obvious and over-done. Much of what's in B5 is drawn from
much older
sources. The only exception, the only means of creating a metaphor
for the
present, is one that will take some time before it's even
perceptible, though
by the end of the season, you'll see what it is pretty clearly.


jms