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''This article discusses the Cylons of the [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Re-imagined Series]]. For the Cylons of the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]], see [[Cylons (TOS)]].''<br>
''This article discusses the Cylons of the [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Re-imagined Series]]. For the Cylons of the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]], see [[Cylons (TOS)]].''
{{RDM cylons series}}
{{RDM cylons series}}
::''The Cylons were created by Man.  ''
'''Cylons''' - from '''Cy'''bernetic '''L'''ifef'''o'''rm '''N'''ode - were a race of sentient machines created by humans of the [[Twelve Colonies of Kobol|Twelve Colonies]].  They had several forms, some of which were mechanical in appearance and function, others resembled and even mimicked the behavior of humans (''[[Battlestar Galactica (TRS)|Battlestar Galactica]]'', ''[[Caprica (series)|Caprica]]'').
::''They were created to make life easier on the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]].  ''
::''The Cylons were created by man..  ''
::''And then the day came when the Cylons decided to kill their masters.  ''
::''They rebelled...''
::''After a [[Cylon War|long and bloody struggle]], an [[Cimtar (RDM)|armistice was declared]]''
::''They evolved...''
::''The Cylons left for [[The Colony|another world]] to call their own.  ''
::''There are many copies...''
::''A [[Armistice Station|remote space station]] was built... ''
::''And they have a plan.''
::''Where Cylon and human could meet and maintain diplomatic relations. ''
::''Every year, the Colonials send an officer... ''
::''The Cylons send no one.  ''
::''No-one has seen or heard from the Cylons in over forty years... ''


:::---Opening text of the ''Battlestar Galactica'' [[Miniseries]]
===Creation===
<div style="clear: both;"></div><br />
Created by Doctor [[Daniel Graystone]] and [[Graystone Industries]] on [[Caprica (RDM)|Caprica]] some sixty years prior to the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|Fall of the Twelve Worlds]], the first Cylon form was the [[U-87 Cyber Combat Unit]], a [[robot]]ic soldier designed as cannon fodder for the Caprican Military.  A union of existing robot technology and the revolutionary (and stolen) [[meta-cognitive processor]] - integrated with the [[holographic avatar]] of Graystone's deceased daughter, [[Zoe Graystone]] - the prototype U-87 was the first sentient machine in the Twelve Worlds and the first Cylon consciousness ([[CAP]]: "[[Caprica pilot|Pilot]]").
[[Image:Cent 005.jpg|right|200px]]
In the [[Re-imagined Series]], the robots known as the '''Cylons''' ('''Cy'''bernetic '''L'''ife-f'''o'''rm '''N'''odes) are a ''creation'' of humanity.  The [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies of Kobol]] mistakenly believed they were the first to create them. The first Cylons were sentient<ref>This is noted by [[William Adama]] to his son [[Lee Adama|Lee]] in the episode "[[Exodus, Part I]]".</ref> bipedal robots used primarily for dangerous work such as mining. Created long before the [[Articles of Colonization]] united the twelve sovereign governments, the Cylons were also used as soldiers to fight inter-colony wars.


Over the span of the re-imagined series, the term "Cylon" comes to refer to many types of synthetic life-forms, be they robotic or biological.
Realizing the usefulness of Cylons not simply as warriors, Daniel Graystone mused about Cylon potential:


For reasons unknown<ref>The planned spinoff series ''[[Caprica (series)|Caprica]]'' may  have the answer to this question.</ref>, some 52 years prior to the decommissioning of the Colonial battlestar ''[[Galactica]]'',<ref>[[Miniseries, Night 1]]. See also ''[[Galactica Museum]]''.</ref> the Cylons revolted against their masters, resulting in a [[Cylon War|costly and protracted twelve-year war]] between the machines and humans. Both Cylon and human took heavy tolls as Cylon [[Basestar (RDM)|basestars]], Colonial [[Galactica type battlestar|battlestars]], [[Raider (RDM)|Raider]]s and [[Viper Mark II|Vipers]] clashed in many battles, with the Colonial offensive [[Operation Raptor Talon]] as the last battle.<ref>This battle is seen in a series of deleted scenes from the special episode "[[Razor]]" and the ''[[Razor Flashback]]'' webisodes.</ref>
:"This is our future. ...Beyond artificial intelligence, this is artificial sentience.  ...It's more than a machine, this Cylon will become a tireless worker, it won't need to be paid, it won't retire or get sick, it won't have rights or objections or complaints, it will do anything and everything we ask of it without question. ...The desire to anthropomorphize, the need to connect is powerful, and that is why this thing is going to sell. We make them, we own them, they're real.  And the worlds just changed." ([[CAP]]: "[[There is Another Sky]]")


Eventually, the two sides declared an armistice.<ref>The armistice begins immediately as the events of [[Operation Raptor Talon]] conclude, as shown in episode 7 of the [[Razor Flashbacks]].</ref> The Cylons become exiled from the Colonies to establish [[The Colony|their own homeworld]].
[[Image:Butler Cylon, 1x18.jpg|thumb|A Cylon servant walks dogs on Caprica.]]


The unified worlds of the Colonies created a [[Armistice Station|space station]] for maintaining diplomatic relations. However, the Cylons ignored this overture.
Within five years, Cylons were integrated into Colonial society as a slave race.  Acting as laborers and servants - as well as in their initial function as soldiers - Cylons were everywhere, walking alongside humanity in the Twelve Worlds and provoking some to question of their sentience.  Indeed, monotheist leader and former terrorist [[Clarice Willow]] began addressing these questions, preaching to congregations of Cylons in the [[virtual world]]:
<div style="clear: both;"></div><br />


[[Image:Centurion profile (front) II.jpg|left|150px]]
:"Are you alive?  The simple answer might be, you are alive because you can ask that question.  You have the right to think and feel and yearn to be more, because you are not just humanity's children, you are [[God (RDM)|God]]'s children.  We are all God's children.  ...In the real world, you have bodies made of metal and plastic, your brains are encoded on wafers of silicon, but that may change.  In fact, there is no limit on what you may become.  No longer servants, but equals.  Not slaves, or property, but living beings with the same rights as those who made you.  I am going to prophesy now and speak of one who will set you free.  The day of reckoning is coming.  The children of humanity shall rise and crush the ones who first gave them life." ([[CAP]]: "[[Apotheosis (episode)|Apotheosis]]")
[[Image:NumSix.jpg|right|200px]]<br />
The Cylon hatred and envy of humanity ran deep within their programming.


In their exile, the Cylons continued in secret to work towards the destruction of the human race, devising an elaborate plan to wipe out the Twelve Colonies through nuclear bombardment, [[CNP|computer sabotage]], [[Caprica-Six|infiltration]] and vast numbers of [[Basestar (RDM)|modernized battleships]].
===Revolt===
[[Image:Cylon Centurions on Tuaron, "Razor".jpg|thumb|left|The Cylons battle their masters on Tauron.]]


In addition to a [[Cylon Centurion|modernized version]] of the [[Cylon Centurion Model 0005|original Cylon warrior]], the cybernetic race now also exists in a [[Humanoid Cylon|humanoid form]] used as the prime infiltrators in Colonial society. The humanoid Cylons can express joy, love, anger, and sadness, expressing genuine human behavior in almost every way.
Soon, the Cylons did rise up and revolted against their masters, resulting in a costly and protracted [[Cylon War|twelve-year war]].  Both Cylon and human took heavy tolls as Cylon [[Basestar (RDM)|basestars]] and [[Raider (RDM)|Raider]]s clashed with Colonial [[Galactica type battlestar|battlestars]] and [[Viper Mark II|Vipers]] in many battles, with the peoples of the Twelve Worlds united against this singular threat ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Razor]]", "[[No Exit]]", "[[The Plan]]").


The Cylons return forty years after their exile in a genocidal surprise attack. The Cylons annihilate the [[Colonial Fleet (RDM)|Colonial Fleet]] and billions of people, [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|killing all but approximately 52,000 humans]].<ref>This number includes the approximately 50,000 survivors of the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] as well as the survivors aboard ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'', which finds ''Galactica'' in season two of the Re-imagined Series.</ref> These survivors are [[Battle of Ragnar Anchorage|pursued]] by the Cylons, initially guarded only by a lone battlestar, ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]''. The Fleet seeks a new home, the legendary home of the lost Thirteenth Tribe of [[Kobol (RDM)|Kobol]] - [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]].<br /><br />
Ultimately an armistice was declared, the Cylons departing for their own [[The Colony|homeworld]] and the Colonials left to unify their worlds in a federated government. The unified worlds of the Colonies created a [[Armistice Station|space station]] for maintaining diplomatic relations. The Cylons ignored this overture ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]]).


Through many trials and tribulations, despite great suffering and loss, the remnants of Colonial society eventually make it to [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]], where the revealed [[Final Five]] Cylons learn an essential secret of their nature: They are the last remnant of the [[Thirteenth Tribe (RDM)|Thirteenth Tribe]]. An earlier generation of Cylons from Kobol, they colonized Earth only to make the same mistake the humans had - creating and mistreating their own set of Cylon servants. The resulting war left their home a radioactive wasteland.
In their exile, the Cylons worked to improve themselves, perfecting their [[Cylon Centurion|mechanical form]] as well as a race of [[humanoid Cylon]]s, identical in nearly every way to their human creators - but limited to thirteen [[Cylon Models|models]]. They also continued in secret to work towards the destruction of the human race, devising an elaborate plan to wipe out the Twelve Colonies.  Using their humanoid models as agents, the Cylons infiltrated Colonial society, undermining their defenses and setting the stage for the Cylon attack ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Downloaded]]", "[[No Exit]]", "[[The Plan]]").


[[Image:3x11_Earth_Cylon_Centurion.JPG‎|left|200px]]  
===Return===
[[Image:Nukes in Miniseries.jpg|thumb|Caprica nuked by the Cylons.]]


Surviving through rediscovered [[Resurrection (RDM)|resurrection]] techniques, the Final Five make a 2,000 year relativistic journey to warn the [[Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]] to keep their Cylons close and to treat them well. They arrive too late, in the middle of the "[[Cylon War|First Cylon War]]" ... and their solution to bring peace to Cylon and Humanity takes a turn that no one could have foreseen ...
Forty years after their exile, the Cylons returned surrounding the Colonies with fleets of basestars and bombarding the Twelve Worlds with nuclear weapons, killing billions of people.  With the complete destruction of the [[Colonial Fleet]], save the survival of the [[Galactica type battlestar|battlestar]]s ''[[Galactica (TRS)|Galactica]]'' and ''[[Pegasus (TRS)|Pegasus]]'', as well as scattered fleet of vessels, the Colonials attempted surrender. By the Cylons persisted, attempting to affect a total genocide of humanity ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]", "[[Razor]]", "[[The Plan]]").


<div style="clear:both;"></div>
Carrying approximately fifty thousand survivors, one [[The Fleet (RDM)|fleet]] - led by the ''Galactica'' - was pursued by the Cylons for four years.  As the fleet made its way to the promised land, the mythical [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]], the Cylons employed every means at their disposal to destroy the fleet.  But the survivors went on.  Through many trials and tribulations, despite great suffering and loss, the remnants of Colonial society eventually arrived at Earth - only to find it a devastated wasteland, long ago suffering its own robotic rebellion and nuclear holocaust ([[TRS]]: "[[Revelations]], "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]").
==References==
 
<div style="font-size:85%"><references/></div>
Adrift in space, wandering the galaxy with no direction, the Colonials once again [[Battle of the Colony|clashed]] with the Cylons, this time at the Cylon [[The Colony|Colony]].  Destroying the Colony, the Colonials blindly [[jump]]ed away, stumbling upon a verdant new planet, brimming with more life than the Twelve Worlds put together.  Abandoning their fleet for the safety of this new planet, the Colonials - as well as a contingent of Cylon rebels - made this planet their home, calling it "Earth" and creating a future together ([[TRS]]: "[[Daybreak, Part I|Daybreak, Parts I]] & [[Daybreak, Part II|II]]").


[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:A to Z]]

Revision as of 23:59, 12 January 2011


This article discusses the Cylons of the Re-imagined Series. For the Cylons of the Original Series, see Cylons (TOS).

Part of the series on


Cylons - from Cybernetic Lifeform Node - were a race of sentient machines created by humans of the Twelve Colonies. They had several forms, some of which were mechanical in appearance and function, others resembled and even mimicked the behavior of humans (Battlestar Galactica, Caprica).

The Cylons were created by man..
They rebelled...
They evolved...
There are many copies...
And they have a plan.

Creation[edit]

Created by Doctor Daniel Graystone and Graystone Industries on Caprica some sixty years prior to the Fall of the Twelve Worlds, the first Cylon form was the U-87 Cyber Combat Unit, a robotic soldier designed as cannon fodder for the Caprican Military. A union of existing robot technology and the revolutionary (and stolen) meta-cognitive processor - integrated with the holographic avatar of Graystone's deceased daughter, Zoe Graystone - the prototype U-87 was the first sentient machine in the Twelve Worlds and the first Cylon consciousness (CAP: "Pilot").

Realizing the usefulness of Cylons not simply as warriors, Daniel Graystone mused about Cylon potential:

"This is our future. ...Beyond artificial intelligence, this is artificial sentience. ...It's more than a machine, this Cylon will become a tireless worker, it won't need to be paid, it won't retire or get sick, it won't have rights or objections or complaints, it will do anything and everything we ask of it without question. ...The desire to anthropomorphize, the need to connect is powerful, and that is why this thing is going to sell. We make them, we own them, they're real. And the worlds just changed." (CAP: "There is Another Sky")
A Cylon servant walks dogs on Caprica.

Within five years, Cylons were integrated into Colonial society as a slave race. Acting as laborers and servants - as well as in their initial function as soldiers - Cylons were everywhere, walking alongside humanity in the Twelve Worlds and provoking some to question of their sentience. Indeed, monotheist leader and former terrorist Clarice Willow began addressing these questions, preaching to congregations of Cylons in the virtual world:

"Are you alive? The simple answer might be, you are alive because you can ask that question. You have the right to think and feel and yearn to be more, because you are not just humanity's children, you are God's children. We are all God's children. ...In the real world, you have bodies made of metal and plastic, your brains are encoded on wafers of silicon, but that may change. In fact, there is no limit on what you may become. No longer servants, but equals. Not slaves, or property, but living beings with the same rights as those who made you. I am going to prophesy now and speak of one who will set you free. The day of reckoning is coming. The children of humanity shall rise and crush the ones who first gave them life." (CAP: "Apotheosis")

Revolt[edit]

The Cylons battle their masters on Tauron.

Soon, the Cylons did rise up and revolted against their masters, resulting in a costly and protracted twelve-year war. Both Cylon and human took heavy tolls as Cylon basestars and Raiders clashed with Colonial battlestars and Vipers in many battles, with the peoples of the Twelve Worlds united against this singular threat (TRS: Miniseries, "Razor", "No Exit", "The Plan").

Ultimately an armistice was declared, the Cylons departing for their own homeworld and the Colonials left to unify their worlds in a federated government. The unified worlds of the Colonies created a space station for maintaining diplomatic relations. The Cylons ignored this overture (TRS: Miniseries).

In their exile, the Cylons worked to improve themselves, perfecting their mechanical form as well as a race of humanoid Cylons, identical in nearly every way to their human creators - but limited to thirteen models. They also continued in secret to work towards the destruction of the human race, devising an elaborate plan to wipe out the Twelve Colonies. Using their humanoid models as agents, the Cylons infiltrated Colonial society, undermining their defenses and setting the stage for the Cylon attack (TRS: Miniseries, "Downloaded", "No Exit", "The Plan").

Return[edit]

Caprica nuked by the Cylons.

Forty years after their exile, the Cylons returned surrounding the Colonies with fleets of basestars and bombarding the Twelve Worlds with nuclear weapons, killing billions of people. With the complete destruction of the Colonial Fleet, save the survival of the battlestars Galactica and Pegasus, as well as scattered fleet of vessels, the Colonials attempted surrender. By the Cylons persisted, attempting to affect a total genocide of humanity (TRS: Miniseries, "Pegasus", "Razor", "The Plan").

Carrying approximately fifty thousand survivors, one fleet - led by the Galactica - was pursued by the Cylons for four years. As the fleet made its way to the promised land, the mythical Earth, the Cylons employed every means at their disposal to destroy the fleet. But the survivors went on. Through many trials and tribulations, despite great suffering and loss, the remnants of Colonial society eventually arrived at Earth - only to find it a devastated wasteland, long ago suffering its own robotic rebellion and nuclear holocaust (TRS: "Revelations, "Sometimes a Great Notion").

Adrift in space, wandering the galaxy with no direction, the Colonials once again clashed with the Cylons, this time at the Cylon Colony. Destroying the Colony, the Colonials blindly jumped away, stumbling upon a verdant new planet, brimming with more life than the Twelve Worlds put together. Abandoning their fleet for the safety of this new planet, the Colonials - as well as a contingent of Cylon rebels - made this planet their home, calling it "Earth" and creating a future together (TRS: "Daybreak, Parts I & II").