Cylons

The Cylons are a cybernetic civilization at war with humanity in the science fiction movie and television series Battlestar Galactica, in both the original 1978/1980 series and movie and the new "reimagining" of 2003/2004. The word "Cylon" was minted in the original production and is pronounced as /sīlon/. The word could be a combination of "Cy" for cybernetic/cyborg and the Greek suffix "lon" meaning member/structure/unit (as in "pylon"). It may also be an alusion to the German word Zyklon (tsʏkloː), which has an "S" sound at the beginning rather than a "Z" sound. It also may be an alteration of the Greek name "Cyclops," as the Centurions are one-eyed robots.

The nature and origins of Cylons differ greatly between the two Galacticas.

Battlestar Galactica (1978) & Galactica 1980

Cylon models

In the 1978 Galactica movie and series and the 1980 spin-off, the Cylons were created to serve the reptilian race of the Cylon Alliance. Somehow, just prior to the start of The Thousand Yahren War, the android Cylons made a deal with the mysterious Count Iblis (meaning "Satan" in the Arabic language) and destroyed their biological masters. Only the higher ranking Cylons retain the physical appearence of their creators.

At the beginning of the series the Cylons are singularly devoted to the destruction of humanity. The war between the two species is stated in the episode "the Lords of Kobol" as being started when the Cylon empire sought to expand into an allied species territory, so their original intentions may not have been genocidal. This statement seems like a suicidal sentiment at the time but is reinforced in the same two part episode when Baltar, the betrayer of humanity, is spared and brought before the new Imperious leader. This leader gives him command of several Basestars and tells him that he wishes Baltar to be a peace envoy sent to seek reconciliation. He states that this is because he is a newer model than the previous leader and has room for wider thinking on the subject of "lesser" species. Baltar takes the position but is clearly confused by the act. There is never peace with the Cylons, but they do drop out of the series for about ten episodes.

Centurions are armed with a powerful energy weapon, often referred to as a blaster rifle. They also have bayonets and swords for close combat and execution of prisoners.

Cylon society is composed of five models, four of which have been well-documented:

• Imperious Leader: The leader of the Cylon Alliance and highest Cylon model. The Imperious Leader is an IL-Series Cylon with some extra augmentation, including a third brain and a body shell resembling the reptilian Cylons. One was killed at the Battle of Carillon and another was likely killed during the Battle of Gamoray. The voice of the Imperious Leader is identical to that of Count Iblis (both were voiced by Patrick Macnee).
• IL-Series: Acts as a commander for the military and governor for civilians of the Alliance. They have two brains, a humanoid face and wear shimmering cloaks. They are almost feudal in nature and bicker among themselves frequently. This could be a tactic to help the most skilled IL-Series ascend the throne and receive a third brain. IL-series Cylons have a normal human-sounding voice, unlike the flat mechanical tones of Centurions. They pride themselves on having two brains, as opposed to the single brains of Centurions.
  • Lucifer - Baltar's second in command. Presumably led pursuit of the Galactica after Baltar's capture. (voiced by Jonathan Harris)
  • Spectre - Commander on the planet Atilla in The Young Lords. Enemy of Lucifer.
• Command Centurion: Centurions with gold armor. These are the lower commanders for individual military units. At least one, Vulpa of Gun on Ice Planet Zero fame, has a name. Voices are slightly different (lower pitched) than regular Centurions.
• Centurion - Centurions with silver armor. Basic centurions make up the ground forces and pilots of the Alliance military.
• Android: A Cylon android was featured on the Halloween episode of Galactica 1980. This model had a superficial human appearance, a condescending/superior attitude toward Centurions, and was believed to be entirely electromechanical.

All Cylons from the IL-series on down, typically repeat the phrase "By Your Command" when responding to an order.

There is also a unique Cylon with glittering robes, but what looks like a mask attached to its face. They are seen in the Imperious Leader's delegation to Gamoray in The Living Legend.

The Cylon Centurions – the type most often depicted in the original Battlestar Galactica – were strikingly similar to the Imperial Stormtroopers of Star Wars (and the Imperious Leader was an obvious parallel to the evil Emperor). The similarities were noted by many at the time and may have been one of the factors that prompted 20th Century Fox's lawsuit for plagiarism against Universal Studios, the owners of Battlestar Galactica.

Cylon spacecraft

• Cylon Raider: A heavy fighter with a crew of 3, two pilots and a commander. They are armed with dual-firing weapons.
• Basestar: A large warship mounting two pulsars, many laser turrets, and carrying 300 Raiders.

Cylon Government

Cylons are led by the Imperious Leader, an IL-Series Cylon elevated to a supreme leadership position over all Cylons. The Cylon Empire is also responsible for tributary powers under the aegis of the Cylon Alliance. The Ovions are the only known member of the Cylon Alliance, other than the Cylons themselves. This may be due to the fact that the Cylons rarely maintain alliances for longer than is necessary for efficiency; they will regularly turn on and exterminate their living allies when it suits them.

Battlestar Galactica (2003/2004)

In the 2003 miniseries and 2004 full-length series which "reimagined" Battlestar Galactica, the Cylons are fundamentally different. They were created by humans as robotic workers and soldiers; executive producer Ronald D. Moore has hinted that they were used in wars between the human Colonies. Eventually they gained sentience, rebelled and fought the humans in a major conflict that devastated both sides. An armistice was agreed, following which the Cylons disappeared for over forty years. They returned en masse, launching a sneak attack with nuclear weapons which eliminated most of the colonies (similar to the original Galactica). This is the starting point of the 2003 Battlestar Galactica miniseries.

Another fascinating divergence from the old series is that the Cylons now have a monotheistic religion of their own devising, in contrast to the polytheistic beliefs of the human colonists, who worship a pantheon of gods including Zeus, Artemis, Apollo, and Aphrodite. Despite their artificial origin the Cylons believe they are part of a divine plan, and destroying or decimating humanity is a part of that plan. Cylons do consider themselves to be divinely chosen.

Some fans believe that the Cylons actually have a greater plan for mankind and allowed the Galactica fleet to escape the destruction of the Colonies on purpose in order to facilitate this 'plan.' The first season finale also suggests that a union of the Human and Humanoid Cylon species is a goal.

Cylon models

Alongside more classical-looking Cylons that resemble "walking chrome toasters", the miniseries also introduces humanoid Cylons, appearing both externally and internally identical to humans. It is established that there are twelve models of Cylon, with multiple copies of each model are in existance. The humanoid Cylons seem to serve as leaders to the lesser types of Cylon. There is no clearly established hierarchy among the humanoid Cylon models, even though individual Cylons are variously placed within certain hierarchies.

The humanoid Cylons look exactly like humans. They are specialized models which are used for infiltration, and the revelation that Cylon infiltrators can perfectly mimic human form, even down to the internal organs and lymphatic system, creates a wave of fear and paranoia among the humans. Some Infiltrator-model Cylons are "sleeper" agents, and like the humanoids in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, they have been implanted with false memories so they think they are human. They can interact with humans very convincingly, even being capable of intimate emotional and sexual relationships, although spines of female humanoid Cylons pulse with a red glow during intercourse. It's also been suggested that Human/Cylon hybrids are also possible.

Apparent weaknesses in the Infiltrators include heightened susceptibility to radiation and a perhaps too-close duplication of human frailties, such as fear, jealousy, pride, lust, wrath and zealotry. Their superior strength and endurance is an additional, although likely necessary, deviation from human norms which could "give away" a stealth unit. Boomer's copies shows suspicious endurance on Galactica and Caprica, which is noticed by their human counterparts. The humanoid Cylons are not merely biological clones of humans: they have one major chemical difference, possessing "silica pathways" or "silica relays" — both terms are used in the miniseries — in the body's nervous system or brain. The exact nature of this network is unclear, but in the second season episode Flight of the Phoenix, the prisoner Valerii uses her network to send a "power down" signal to a Cylon attack group through the Galactica's communication system.

Another defect of the humanoid Cylons is that they are normally not capable of sexual reproduction. As such, they were limited to asexual reproduction under laboratory conditions. However, a central tenet of the Cylon religion is God's commandment to procreate, "be fruitful and multiply", so the Cylons searched for any way possible for the humanoid Cylons to produce offspring. As a result, the Cylons began a program to create a hybrid Human/Cylon offspring (which was deemed the most feasible way to produce some form of child of a humanoid Cylon). After the 12 Colonies of Kobol fell to the Cylons, they began keeping the handful of surviving human women as prisoners on breeding farms and artificially impregnating them to produce Cylon offspring. However, this process also met with very little success.

Analysing their failure, the Cylons theorized that what their breeding experiments had been lacking was love. Thus, they set up the Colonial pilot Lt. Helo to fall in love and have sex with a "Sharon" copy of humanoid Cylon while he was stranded on Caprica (at the time he was unaware of the existence of humanoid Cylons). The Caprica-Boomer's unborn child is the first Human/Cylon hybrid conceived in love, and as a result it is the only Cylon pregnancy to survive as long as it has (over a month). As a result it is of vital importance to the Cylons, but unfortunately for them the Caprica-Boomer has defected to the Colonials.

Unlike many sci-fi robotic races, including the original Cylons, these re-envisioned Cylons are not ignorant or naive about human emotions, and some even seem to have a mastery of the subject beyond that of the average human. One Cylon on Caprica is heard expressing doubt and apparent regret about the extermination of the humans.

Playing mind games with their human enemies appears to be a common tactic of the Cylons, and they often are seen manipulating the emotions of humans in order to destroy or control them, most notably Baltar. The Leoben Conoy model in particular was described by Adama as a master manipulator who mixes lies with truth.

When an infiltrator's body dies, its consciousness is supposedly transmitted to another empty shell of the same model. The process is not perfect, however; the radiation in Ragnar Anchorage stops the first "Leoben Conoy"'s consciousness from transferring, and the second saboteur copy of "Conoy" claims that his actions have been prompted by a fear that the transmission process has a finite range and that he is too far away.

Fans have noted that there are twelve Cylon models and twelve Colonies, which may have significance within the BSG universe.

The known Cylon models are as follows:

• Centurion: The new Centurion models have an updated look, retaining the silver appearance, robotic body, helmet-like head and oscillating red bar eye. They are larger, stronger, and more agile than the originals. They also have retractable weapons in their lower arms. This model is the successor to the original Centurion, a replica of which is seen very briefly in the miniseries as an homage to the 1978 series.

Humanoid Cylons

In the miniseries, Commander Adama discovered a note in his quarters that read "There are 12 models of Cylons." It is unclear whether there are 12 different models of humanoid Cylons or twelve total models, including the mechanical Cylons. There are many copies of each model. The six humanoid models revealed so far include:

• "Aaron Doral" – Three copies have been shown so far. The first is as a public relations worker for the abortive Battlestar Galactica museum, who is revealed to be a Cylon in the miniseries and is stranded at Ragnar Anchorage by Adama. The second is a suicide bomber who narrowly misses killing Adama and Tigh. The third is one of the 'controllers' who monitors the progress of Helo and the duplicate Boomer on Cylon-occupied Caprica, working alongside one of the duplicate Number Sixes. [1]

• Lieutenant Junior Grade Sharon "Boomer" Valerii – Numerous copies have been seen although only two have been featured regularly: a sleeper agent on Galactica who did not know that she was a Cylon (although she suspected it), and a fully aware version who accompanies a fellow Galactica crewmember (who does not know that she is a Cylon) who has been stranded on Cylon-occupied Caprica. The Boomer aboard Galactica has performed a number of involuntary actions due to her Cylon programming, involving bombing the water tanks and shooting Commander Adama. Despite taking these actions, Boomer has no recollection of them after they happen and often seems confused. The Galactica-Boomer later shot Commander Adama in a failed assasination attempt, and was thrown in the brig. While being escorted to another cell she was shot and killed by an enraged crewman. The fully aware Caprica-Boomer originally served the other Cylons faithfully, but then fell in love with the human Lt. Helo who was the father of her hybrid child. Caprica-Boomer then effectively defected to the Colonials, helping Lt. Helo escape their patrols and to liberate Starbuck from a Cylon breeding facility. She also stole a Heavy Raider that the trio could use to return to the Galactica. [2].

• "Leoben Conoy" – Two copies are shown in the first series. The first claims to be a smuggler and is discovered in the munitions depot at Ragnar Anchorage. Adama kills this copy and has the body taken back to the Galactica. The second is an agent provocateur, an apparently unsuccessful saboteur who is captured aboard a passenger ship, claiming to have planted a nuclear warhead somwhere in the fleet. He is tortured by Starbuck but just before he is executed on the President's order, he tells her that Adama is a Cylon.

• "Simon" – Two copies were shown in the episode that aired 12 August 05. Simon appears to be a tall, slender, dark-skinned male with close cropped or balding hair, approximately 35 years old. The first copy posed as a human physician treating Lt. Thrace for a gunshot wound in a clinic on Cylon occupied Caprica. He also performed invasive tests on her reproductive organs. He accidently revealed himself as a Cylon when he called Thrace "Starbuck", even though she hadn't told him her callsign. After killing Simon by jabbing a shard of mirror in his neck, Thrace escaped and encountered another Simon copy prior to her rescue by resistance forces.

• "D'Anna Biers" – Two copies have been shown so far. D'Anna appears to be a woman approx 36 years old, blonde hair, and the copy on the Galactica has a regional accent. The first copy poses as a reporter for the Fleet News Service, and is asked by President Roslin and Commander Adama to create a documentary to help the fleet relate to the hard-working staff on the Galacica (after they discover she possesses controversial video footage of a friendly fire incident). With full access to the ship, this D'Anna stumbles across Caprica-Boomer and during an incident with two Cylon Raiders manages to relay a transmission of the documentary back to the other Cylons on Caprica. The Cylons copies viewing the documentary are Doral, Valerii, Six and D'Anna. The D'anna on Caprica speaks with an American type accent, implying that the personality of her counterpart on Galactica is just a facade. D'Anna is played by actress Lucy Lawless

• Number Six – is a beautiful female model evidently designed for seduction. (The name may be a reference to The Prisoner). In the first episode she is shown having an affair with Baltar (and possibly others) on Caprica, and she was the Cylon "Trojan horse" who built vulnerabilities into the Colonial defence system mainframe, allowing the Cylons to annihilate the Colonies and deactivate the automated systems of the Colonial fleet. One of the series' most effective plot devices is that the Number Six on Galactica can only be seen by Baltar -- in every episode she appears to torment Baltar in disturbing waking visions, as well as making him 'relive' his last hours with her on Caprica. It is not clear whether she is a product of his incipient madness, as he first thinks, or if (as she claims) she is a projection of a chip that she implanted in his brain, or some other form of mental projection. A brain scan of Baltar in the second season episode Final Cut revealed no chip. She does appear once on Galactica in physical form, calling herself "Shelley Godfrey". There are also several copies of Number Six on Caprica including the copy working with the third Doral copy observing Helo and Boomer. The Cylon religion appears to be of central importance to her, she refers to "God" in almost every episode, and part of her mission is evidently to convert Baltar to the religion of the Cylons' "one true god".

Cylon spacecraft

Cylon spacecraft in the new series are of a biomechanical design. They are not necessarily Cylons themselves, and there is little indication that they have any intelligence outside the specialized tasks for which they are designed.

• Raider: The new Raider is a biomechanical fighter craft with twin cannon weapons and FTL (Faster-than-light) capability. Unlike the original Raiders, these are autonomous craft without a separate pilot. It appears to be an oxygen-breathing biomechanical organism housed within a metallic exoskeleton. In one episode of the 2004 series, the stranded Starbuck finds a downed raider and discovers that once inside its "head" she can control the propulsion and weapons systems by manipulating its biomechanical actuators. Another (Cylon) character describes the Raider as being somewhat like a pet.

• Heavy Raider: A previously unknown Cylon craft, introduced in the last episode of season one, which is capable of transporting squads of Cylon Centurions for boarding actions. It appears to be loosely analogous to a Colonial Raptor transport in this respect. It may not require a pilot, but it has been shown as being controlled by a humanoid Cylon. Ronald D. Moore confirms this craft's name as "Heavy Raider" in his podcast for this episode.

• Basestar: The Basestar is the only Cylon capital ship yet seen in the series, outmatching a colonial Battlestar in nearly every tactical respect. Basestars are designed to make hyperlight jumps and equipped to deploy large-scale strikes with high yield nuclear ordnance. They carry at least 250 Raiders on their exterior service pods, and an indeterminate number of additional fighters inside. Although the staggering number of Raiders they can deploy at a moment's notice suggests an enormous crew, it is suspected that much of a Basestar's internal workings may be automated. They are themselves biomechanical entities, with fleshy "hangars" to house Raiders. Basestars are, however, capable of carrying other Cylon models within them.

Trivia

Sci-fi fans traveling through Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta were always quick to note that the automated voice on the trains connecting the passenger concourses to the main terminal was a perfect match for the voice of a Cylon. Alas, in preparation for the 1996 Summer Olympics, the airport was spruced up and the Cylon voice was retired in favor of a pre-recorded "human" voice. The voice heard going down the escalator to the trains, however, still reminds them of the robot guarding the path to sanctuary in Logan's Run.

In the source code of Mozilla (and its Netscape predecessor), the "undetermined" progress bar that slides back and forth -- rather than filling up the bar from left to right -- is referred to as the "Cylon".

A Cylon appears in the season 3 episode of Futurama Bendin' In The Wind. He’s part of the musical duo Cylon and Garfunkel, a parody of Simon and Garfunkel.

In the opening credits of certain seasons of The A-Team, Dirk Benedict watches a Cylon walk past (while at the Universal Studios tour), initially expresses concern, and then decides to ignore it. Dirk Benedict played the character Starbuck in the original Battlestar Galactica series.

Glen A. Larson produced both the original Battlestar Galactica and Knight Rider. He incorporated the cylon red moving eye into KITT, and it is speculated in fanon that KITT's electronic brain was originally part of a Cylon that crashed to earth in Galactica: 1980.

External links

• The Battlestar Galactica Wikipedia