Cylons
The Cylons are a cybernetic civilization at war with the twelve colonies of humanity in the science fiction movie and television series Battlestar Galactica, in the original 1978/1980 series as well as the movie and the reimagining of 2003-2006. The word "Cylon" was minted in the original production and is pronounced as /sīlon/.
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 appearance 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 the territory of a species allied with the colonies, so their original intentions may not have been genocidal. This may seem a quixotic mission 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 sight for about ten episodes.
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 an effete 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. The IL-series also have two "eye" scanners as opposed to the one scanner of the Centurion model.
- 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 two, Vulpa of Gun on Ice Planet Zero and Cyrus of The Return of Starbuck, have a name. Voices are slightly different (lower pitched) than regular Centurions.
- Centurion: Military androids with silver armor. Basic centurions make up the ground forces and pilots of the Alliance military. 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. (Although Earth's Roman Centurions commanded a unit of one hundred men, Cylon Centurions form the rank and file of the Cylon forces.)
- 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.
There is also a unique Cylon with glittering robes, with what looks like a mask attached to its face. They are seen in the Imperious Leader's delegation to Gamoray in The Living Legend. This is evidently some kind of civilian Cylon, as Gamoray was said to have a very large community of civilian Cylons, though how civilian Cylon society differed from its military was never explored.
All Cylons from the IL-series on down, typically repeat the phrase "By Your Command" when responding to an order.
The Cylon Centurions – the type most often depicted in the original Battlestar Galactica – were strikingly similar to the Imperial Stormtroopers of Star Wars. 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 copyright infringement against Universal Studios, the owners of Battlestar Galactica. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed as "Groundless."
Cylon spacecraft
- Basestar: A large warship mounting two pulsars, many laser turrets, and carrying 300 Raiders.
- Cylon Raider: A heavy fighter with a crew of 3, two pilots and a commander. They are armed with dual-firing weapons.
- Cylon Freighter: A cargo ship referenced in the Battlestar Galactica soundtrack [1]
- Cylon Tanker: A ship for transporting the fuel tylium [2]
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 shown onscreen, 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 regularly turn on and exterminate their living allies when it suits them. Cylon society is almost exclusively military - until the discovery of Gamoray, which the Colonial fleet had targeted for its rich fuel reserves, no civilian Cylon outpost has ever been seen by anyone.
Battlestar Galactica (2003-)
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 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 (i.e. the gods and goddesses of Ancient Greece). 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 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 the Cylon Centurions that resemble "walking chrome toasters" (from which they gain the racial epithet of "toaster" from the Colonials), the miniseries also introduces humanoid Cylons, appearing both externally and internally identical to humans. It is established that there are twelve models of humanoid Cylon, with multiple copies of each model in existence. 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. The Colonials and the Human Resistance Army on Caprica refer to them as "skinjobs". 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 replicants 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. The show's second season established that Human/Cylon hybrids are also possible under the right conditions, although most of the genetic experiments by the Cylons in this regard were failures.
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 show suspicious endurance on Galactica and Caprica, which is noticed by their human counterparts. The humanoid Cylons are not merely biological clones of humans: they are synthetic bio-chemical machines (hinted to be partially but not completely based on human DNA samples). They have several differences, possessing "silica pathways" or "silica relays" — both terms are used in the miniseries — in the body's nervous system and 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. "Silica Pathways" may be a remnant mechanical aspect of the Cylons' biomechanical technology. Another difference is the increased vulnerability to radiation of Cylon cellular structures.
Another defect of the humanoid Cylons is that they are normally not capable of sexual reproduction with other humanoid Cylons. 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 men and women as prisoners on breeding farms to forcibly produce human-Cylon hybrid offspring with them. However, this process also met with very little success.
Analyzing their failure, the Cylons theorized that what their breeding experiments had been lacking was a certain kind of bond between the parents: love. Thus, they set up the Colonial pilot Lt. Agathon to fall in love and have sex with a "Sharon" copy of humanoid Cylon while he was stranded on Caprica. The Caprica-Boomer's unborn child is the first Human/Cylon hybrid conceived in love, and according to Caprica-Boomer this is the reason that it is the only Cylon pregnancy to survive as long as it has (over two months, at that time). As a result it is of vital importance to the Cylons, but unfortunately for them the Caprica-Boomer appears to have 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 humanoid Cylon models and twelve Colonies, which may have significance within the BSG universe.
The known Cylon models are as follows:
Centurions
The new Centurion models have a more streamlined 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, bladed fingertips, and are armored against most small-caliber weapons. 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. (At one point, the bio-mechanical Number Six says that "mechanical" Cylons are still around as they "have their uses", although whether she was referring to the old-model Centurions along with the standard, updated model, is unclear.) According to Tigh, in a second season flashback video (on the official site), the necks of the old Centurion models were easier to break than a human neck. Unlike the old Centurions, the new models might be mute, since none have shown using any form of speech to date. The Centurions are fully mechanical, containing no bio-mechanical components found in other models. Centurions are not sentient, but seem to possess some intelligence on occassion, at least of a tactical-military nature.
Ronald D. Moore has recently commented that these new Cylon Centurions have only limited intelligence at best, and do not "Reincarnate" or resurrect when they are destroyed. Cylon Raiders, however, have recently been revealed in the series to reincarnate just like the human models, though their intelligence is also implied to be comparatively low and 'animal-like' in that same episode, but also described at the same time as possessing a learning-capability to increase the Raiders' lethality.
The Centurions have also received the nickname of "bullet-head" due to the shape of their heads, as revealed in "Downloaded." This episode also for the first time shows the Centurions doing manual labor, which might indicate that they also serve the Humanoids as their labor force as well as soldiers.
If accurate, this societal relation between the Centurions and the Humanoids becomes a bizarre irony of the Cylons. The Cylons originally rebelled against their human masters who had created them to serve as workers and soldiers. Now the Humanoid Cylons appear to have duplicated this exact same "master & servant" society between themselves and their Centurions.
Humanoid Cylons
In the miniseries, Commander Adama discovered a note in his quarters that read "There are only 12 Cylon models." Ron D. Moore has confirmed in interviews that there are 12 different models of humanoid Cylon, the older models have lower numbers. Also, page 20 of "Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion" (Titan Books, 2005), written by David Bassom, it is stated that "there are now 12 models of human-appearing Cylons". There are many copies of each model. Ron D. Moore has also stated that the humanoid Cylons are not based on pre-existing humans: "The idea is not that there was likely an original human model that they were copied from. The idea was that these models of Cylon were sort of developed out of their own study of us. The Cylons on some level looked at humanity and said “You know what? There’s really only 12 of you.” If these are the 12, and sort of if you look at them they each represent different archetypes of what humanity is."
The seven humanoid models revealed so far include:
- Number Three ("D'Anna Biers") – Two copies have been shown so far. D'Anna appears to be a woman approximately 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 Galactica (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 Cylon copies viewing the documentary are Doral, Valerii, Six and D'Anna. The D'Anna on Caprica speaks with an "American" accent, as do most of the natives of Caprica. The Galactica crew is completely unaware that the Galactica-D'Anna is a Cylon, and she is currently still at large in the Fleet. D'Anna is played by actress Lucy Lawless. Her role as the D'Anna on Galactica is the first time she has used her native New Zealand accent onscreen in many years. In the episode "Downloaded", it is revealed that she is model Number Three.
- Number Five ("Aaron Doral") – Numerous copies have been seen, with three being particularly prominent. 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. Several other copies are seen on Caprica in season 2. Five is the apparent leader of the contingent that takes over New Caprica, it is not clear as to whether or not this is a new copy.
- Number Six ("Gina"/"Shelley Godfrey"/"Caprica Six (Natasi)") – 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 defense 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 Home revealed no chip. She did 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."
- Another of the Number Six model, named "Gina", infiltrated the Battlestar Pegasus but was later captured by its crew. After being taken prisoner, she was tortured and gang-raped by Pegasus crewmen on a routine basis. By the time Dr. Baltar examined her, after Pegasus reunited with Galactica, she was in a catatonic state from the trauma of her abuse. The Pegasus crew kept her shackled to the ground with cuffs on her hands and feet and a collar, which were all connected by a chain that was bolted to the floor. The Pegasus crew felt that Cylons aren't people, and never considered this as prisoner abuse because they feel the humanoid Cylons are just machines. This model, Gina, escaped captivity with the help of Baltar. She then killed Admiral Helena Cain before escaping from the Pegasus entirely. For a time she was at large within the fleet, and leading a human resistance movement that encouraged the humans to seek peace with the Cylons. These humans may or may not have been aware that Gina was a Cylon. In Lay Down Your Burdens Part II, Gina and Dr. Baltar briefly became lovers before Gina detonated a nuclear weapon given to her by Dr. Baltar, destroying the starship called "Cloud Nine" and other nearby craft. It has been theorized that her motivation was to send a signal to her fellow Cylons.
- In the episode "Downloaded", it was revealed that a reborn Number Six on Caprica is something of a celebrity for the Cylons, and has been nicknamed "Caprica Six" by other Cylons. Interestingly, she is accompanied by a Baltar that only she can see or hear, much as Baltar is plagued by an illusory Number Six. However, while this Number Six tries to manipulate Baltar into acting in what could be considered unethical manners, the illusory Baltar appears to be Caprica Six's conscience.
- Number Eight ("Sharon Valerii") – Numerous copies have been seen although only two have been featured regularly. One (Lieutenant Junior Grade Sharon "Boomer" Valerii) was a sleeper agent aboard Battlestar Galactica who did not know that she was a Cylon, although she suspected it. Another Sharon is fully aware she is a Cylon and accompanies Galactica crewmember Lt. Karl "Helo" Agathon who met her while he was stranded on Cylon-occupied Caprica. In the episode "Downloaded", it is revealed that Sharon is model Number Eight.
- The Boomer aboard Galactica performed a number of involuntary actions due to her Cylon programming, including bombing the ships water tanks and shooting Commander Adama. Despite taking these actions, Boomer has no recollection of them after they happen and often seems confused. After the failed assassination attempt, Boomer was thrown in the brig. While being escorted to another cell she was shot and killed by Specialist Cally. She was resurrected in a new body and is seen on Caprica during the episode "Downloaded".
- The Boomer on Caprica originally served the other Cylons faithfully, attempting to make Lt. Agathon fall in love with her. However Boomer ended up falling in love with him and the two conceived a child together. Boomer then effectively defected to the humans, helping Helo escape Cylon patrols and to liberate Starbuck from a Cylon breeding facility. Boomer also stole a Cylon Heavy Raider ship which the trio used to return to Galactica. Upon reaching the Galactica she was immediately incarcerated, as another Boomer had shot Commander Adama. Even in the brig she aided the crew in removing a Cylon computer virus from the ship's systems, then broadcast another virus to a massive Cylon strike force attacking Galactica, resulting in the destruction of hundreds of Raiders. Since the defection of Caprica-Boomer, a third Boomer has been seen along with Number Six and Aaron Doral (on Cylon-occupied Caprica), discussing the future direction of the Cylon fleet in the movie theatre in the episode "Final Cut".
- Several other Boomer copies are seen aboard the Basestar orbiting Kobol. They are presumed destroyed after Galactica-Sharon destroyed the basestar, although they were likely immediately resurrected at another location. A Cylon raider can be seen escaping the explosion that destroyed this basestar but the significance of this has yet to be revealed.
- "Leoben Conoy" – Three copies have been shown so far, the first claiming to be a smuggler upon being 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. Commander Adama, having spent time with the first copy, knows how dangerous this Cylon model is. Conoy is adept at psychology, mixing lies with truth making him very difficult to believe or to ignore. He is tortured for information by the strong-willed Starbuck on Adama's orders, but the result is the remaining human fleet is even more vulnerable to attack. The president Laura Roslin realizes nothing he says can be trusted and has him thrown out the airlock, but not before Conoy tells her that Adama is a Cylon. A third copy appears on New Caprica looking for Starbuck when Cylons take over the planet.
- "Simon" – Two copies have been shown so far, as well as a possible third. Two copies appeared at a Cylon breeding facility on Caprica. 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 what was supposedly a hospital on Caprica, but he was also performing invasive tests on her reproductive organs. He accidentally revealed himself as a Cylon when he called Lt. Thrace "Starbuck", even though she had not told him her callsign. After killing Simon (by jabbing a shard of a broken mirror in his neck), Lt. Thrace encountered another Simon copy while fleeing the breeding facility, before he was killed by Starbuck's rescue party. In the episode "Downloaded", Simon was also seen in passing in a cafe in Caprica; this may or may not have been a third copy.
- "Brother Cavil" -(Played by Dean Stockwell ) Two copies have been shown so far. The first appears on Galactica, posing as a priest. The second appears on Caprica. Cavil tells Adama that the Cylons have given up their campaign to destroy humanity. This model has expressed atheism unlike other models to date which have all been devout monotheists, although it is possible the Cavil models were not expressing their true beliefs.
Colonial fleet infiltrators
While Galactica-Boomer was being held prisoner for attacking Adama, Dr. Baltar coerced her into revealing that eight humanoid Cylons were still hidden within the fleet. This number would not include Galactica-Boomer (she stated that there were 8 Cylons still hidden, and she had been found out), who was murdered shortly thereafter, nor would it include the Caprica-Boomer who would arrive subsequently with Helo, or Gina, the Number 6 Cylon that was aboard Pegasus (and not a part of the fleet at the time of the admission). Three of these hidden Cylons have since been revealed on-screen:
- Number 6 "Shelley Godfrey": Exposed as a Cylon during her failed attempt to discredit Dr. Baltar. Since the introduction of the Gina Number 6, no reference to Godfrey has been made. Though one may assume that this cylon had been apprehended, she is never seen in a brig and may still be at large. (This is one of many "loose ends" that Galactica has not addressed.) [From BattlestarWiki: "As Baltar is released, Adama learns that "Shelly Godfrey" has literally vanished, her watchers reporting she turned a corner in a corridor, and when they got to it, she had simply disappeared."]
- Number 3 "D'Anna Biers": Revealed as a Cylon when a copy is seen meeting with copies of Numbers 5, 6, and 8. Still unknown to the fleet and possibly at large on New Caprica.
- Brother Cavil (Unknown Model Number): First seen in the season 2 pre-finale (part one leading into the finale episode), Brother Cavil was a priest and, judging by his reactions in the season finale, may not have known that he was a Cylon (though he seemed to take the news very calmly when it was demonstrated to him). He was exposed as a Cylon when another copy is came aboard Galactica with the Caprica rescue team. This model Cylon's model number has not yet been revealed, though speculation exists that Brother Cavil is Number 1 (based usually on his apparent age).
While multiple copies of the same Cylon may have managed to remain undetected for after the attack on Caprica, this was prior to the Fleet being generally aware of humanoid Cylons. Presumably, security forces are aware of the current known models of Cylon and are on the lookout for copies, making it possible that five different additional Cylon models are embedded in Caprica's fleet. Of the remaining known Cylon models seen on Caprica, none (other than those above) have been seen in the fleet to date. Coincidentally, there are still five humanoid models of Cylon that have not been seen on-screen. Conversely, it may be possible that known models exist unrevealed with appearance-altering features. Neither of these two possibilities has been demonstrated on the series.
Many recurring characters have been shown to be possible Cylon agents as well. One notable case occurs with Ellen Tigh, Colonel Tigh's wife. There are occasional implications that Ellen may be a Cylon, especially given her "miraculous" reappearance - unharmed - in the fleet after being presumed dead on Caprica. Since reappearing, she has frequently been seen giving Colonel Tigh very poor advice on political issues, such as his treatment of a "rebel" President Roslyn, and settling on New Caprica. Ellen was subjected to Dr. Baltar's Cylon test, but at the time, he would would not reveal positive identifications for fear that any Cylon he may uncover may kill him or expose his role in the attack on Caprica; additionally, the episode never makes clear whether her test was ever completed and any results of the test are never made known, not even to the viewer or to Dr. Baltar's virtual Number 6 companion (who would presumably know anyway).
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, missile hardpoints, 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. In the 2006 episode "Scar", it is revealed that Raiders reincarnate when they die in a fashion similar to humanoid Cylons, and might possess some learning intelligence.
- Heavy Raider: A previously unknown Cylon craft, introduced in the ninth episode of season one (though first deployed in combat in the season 2 premiere), which is capable of transporting squads of Cylon Centurions for boarding actions. Ronald D. Moore confirms this craft's name as "Heavy Raider" in his podcast for this episode. It appears to be loosely analogous to a Colonial Raptor transport in this respect, and is heavily cannon-armed and armoured. It may not require a pilot, but it has been described and shown as being controlled by a humanoid Cylon on one occasion. There was once very briefly glimpsed a "head" with red-bar eye, about identical to the head and eye on all the Raider fighter-crafts, but offset to the side inside of centered, and quite small in proportion to the Heavy Raiders' size. The Caprica Sharon once mentioned the Heavy Raider possessing a "brain" which had to be removed in order to steal the craft. Presumably, this "brain" was the organism Starbuck found and removed from within the standard Raider.
- Basestar: The Basestar is the primary Cylon capital ship yet identified in the series, on par with the Colonial Battlestar. Basestars are designed to make hyperlight jumps and equipped to deploy large-scale strikes with high yield nuclear ordnance. Their only weapons seem to be long range missiles, relying on an overwhelming number of fighters for defense. Although superior at longer ranges, Basestars are no match for a Colonial Battlestar at close range. 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.
- Resurrection Ship: The identity of the unknown ship from "Pegasus" is finally revealed in "Resurrection Ship Part 1". It is a massive vessel housing many dormant copies of humanoid-Cylons, serving to replace lost copies. The fleeing human fleet led by Galactica traveled so far from the 12 Colonies that the Cylons are out of range from the Cylon homeworld for the normal consciousness-downloading process to work. The Resurrection Ship is a signal booster which picks up transmitted Cylon consciousnesses onto the ship. Each humanoid-Cylon that dies has its memories transfered to one of the thousands of copies aboard this vessel, ensuring that valued information is not lost with the destruction of the Cylon's body. Thousands of copies - presumably of all 12 models of humanoid Cylon - are held in racks aboard the ship. "Resurrection ship" is the name given to the vessel by the Cylons, as revealed by the Cylon prisoner aboard the Pegasus. The destruction of this vessel would mean that any Cylons that die fighting Galactica's fleet would actually die, permanently, rather than their mind simply transmitting away. It is currently unknown if this vessel has any kind of armaments, or if it is entirely dependent on an accompanying fleet of Basestars for support. It was destroyed as the result of a combined engagement of Galactica and Pegasus against a Cylon fleet in "Resurrection Ship, Part II", dealing a significant blow to the Cylons chasing the human fleet.
- The main Cylon fleet is mentioned as being accompanied by about a dozen various "support ships", of unknown design. Some are probably responsible for mining and refining tylium fuel from asteroids, or constructing tylium mining bases like the one seen in "The Hand of God". Others might be analogous to Colonial support cruisers, which have also been mentioned but not yet seen on screen.
Trivia
In the classic arcade video game Berzerk, the playing character is pursued by armies of robots in every room with electronic walls, which could kill the character instantly as well as the robots themselves. The robots in pursuit do resemble the classic Cylon Centurions, except they appear to be wider and bulkier, and the red eye circles the head instead of the traditional back and forth. They do utter the following words: "Coins detected in pocket" (referring to a potential player who has inserted a coin to play), "Stupid!" (referring from any robot who accidently gets itself killed, runs into a wall, shoots a fellow robot or colliding into the Evil Otto), "Get him!", "Get the intrudor/humanoid!", "Count down humanoid, count down intrudor!" (when character is slain), "The humanoid must not escape!", "Chicken! Fight like a robot!" (when character escapes to another room without destroying the rest in the current room), "Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" (if the character has spent too much time in the room with the robots, a smiley faced being known as the Evil Otto, who happens to be indestructable, bounces around the room in attempts to kill the character. As the result in doing so, the being takes out the robots who happen to be in its path).
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. However, in preparation for the 1996 Summer Olympics, the airport was renovated 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.
The classic Cylons have also appeared on The Simpsons on several occasions, the most notable in Mayored to the Mob during a sci-fi convention. There's a quick gag in a boxing arena where three Centurions square off against R2-D2 and C-3PO from Star Wars. ("See the mighty robots from Battlestar Galactica fight the gay robots from Star Wars!") They easily pin C-3PO to the floor, and R2 refuses to help.
In the FOX Animated Series Family Guy, the host of 'KISS Forum' also hosts 'Battlestar Galactica Forum' on Quahog's public access channel. He introduces the forum by putting a classic Centurion mask on and saying "Welcome to Battlestar Galactica Forum" in traditional Cylon computerized-monotone.
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. This scene is later recreated on the animated show Family Guy.
Glen A. Larson produced both the original Battlestar Galactica and Knight Rider. He incorporated the Cylon scanning moving eye into KITT, and it is speculated in fanon that KITT's electronic brain was originally part of a Cylon that crashed on Earth in Galactica: 1980.
In his podcast, Ron Moore revealed that the Pegasus cylon based on Number Six was named "Gina" as a back-handed reference to the numerous fans of the original series who had referred to the reimagined series as "GINO," or "Galactica in name only."
Although the term "Centurion" for Cylon warriors is commonly spelled as such, several sources from the original series, as well as the "Cylon datasheet" in the opening scene of the 2003 miniseries, actually spell the term: "Centurian" .
Sources for the name
The word could be a combination of "Cy" for cybernetic/cyborg and the Greek suffix "lon" meaning member/structure/unit (as in "pylon"). It could be an allusion to the ancient Greek Cylon, who was advised by the oracle at Delphi to try to overthrow Athens.
It may also be an allusion to the German word Zyklon (tsʏkloːn), which has a "TS" 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.