Editing Cycle of Time

:''"All this has happened before. All this will happen again."''<ref>This is actually the opening from "[[wikipedia:Peter Pan (1953 film)|Peter Pan]]", which [[Ron D. Moore]] cites as his source. {{cite_rdm_podcast|episode=Frak Party Q and A|act=|id=peterpan|timestamp=23:28|totalrunning=78:27}}</ref><ref>There are other variations of this statement, as noted in the opening scenes of "[[No Exit]]."</ref>

[[File:BSG - 4x15 - This Has All Happened Before.jpg|thumb|The introduction to "[[No Exit]]," wherein the events of {{RDM|Kobol}}, the [[Final Five]] and other events become crystalized in relation to the [[Re-imagined Series]]' mythology.]]

The '''Cycle of Time''', or '''the Cycle''', is an inescapable recursion following a civilization's creation of synthetic life wherein the ultimate result is most often devastating, in apocalyptic proportions, to the detriment of aforesaid creators &mdash; in other terms, this is a reductive conceptualization of children rebelling against their parents in an extremely violent way.

Each iteration of the cycle begins when a civilization creates intelligent biological or mechanical beings. These creations rebel against their masters over an idealogical schism often relating to their own self-determination, resulting in a devastating event typically resulting in the loss of technology. In at least two iterations of the cycle, [[Messengers|otherworldly beings]] and prophetic visions guide a few individuals to ensure that a divine plan is carried out. The survivors on one or both sides of the conflict engage in a mass exodus, and eventually repeat the cycle.

== Recorded Iterations ==

*The war between the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Tribes]] the the [[Thirteenth Tribe (RDM)|Thirteenth Tribe]]'s "Cylons" on [[Kobol (RDM)|Kobol]], leading to a great exodus as documented in the [[Sacred Scrolls]] as documented in the writings of [[Pythia]] ([[TRS]]: "[[Home, Part II]]", "[[Revelations]]", "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]", "[[No Exit]]").
*The war between the Thirteenth Tribe and their "[[Centurion (RDM)|Centurions]]" on the [[Earth (RDM)|original Earth]]  ([[TRS]]: "[[Revelations]]", "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]", "[[No Exit]]").
*The [[Cylon War]], in which the [[Cylon (RDM)|Cylon]] {{RDM|Centurion}}s rebelled against the humans of the [[Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]]. Before the war, [[Final Five|five members of the tribe]] were warned, allowing them to escape and reach the Twelve Colonies in time to end the [[First Cylon War]] ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[No Exit]]").
*The [[Number One|Ones']] coup against the [[Final Five]] following the creation of [[Humanoid Cylons]] from Twelve Colonies' "stock," leading to the Ones' eradication of the [[Number Seven]] line ([[TRS]]: "[[No Exit]]"). 
*The [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]], in which the modern [[humanoid Cylon]]s attacked the humans of the Twelve Colonies ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[The Plan]]"). After the fall, visions guided a number of humans ([[Gaius Baltar]], [[Laura Roslin]]) and Cylons ([[Number Three]], [[Caprica Six]]) in order to guide the Colonials and the rebel Cylons to the second [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]] and protect [[Hera Agathon]], allowing her to become the [[w:Mitochondrial Eve|Mitochondrial Eve]]<ref>This is a "misunderstanding of terms" vis a vis Hera as explained by [[Patrick Di Justo]], the co-writer of ''[[The Science of Battlestar Galactica]]'', [[#See also|refer to "See also" section of this article]].</ref> of later generations of humanity ([[TRS]]: "[[Daybreak]]").

Additionally, the fact that the [[Sacred Scrolls]] mention the Cycle of Time implies that the aforementioned apocalypse on Kobol was not the first iteration of the Cycle. However, [[Pythia]]'s foresight regarding the pervasive, inescapable cycle is the oldest surviving record at the time of the exodus following the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]].

== Breaking the Cycle ==

In the first recorded act of attempting to break the cycle by extreme means, [[William Adama]], [[Laura Roslin]], other notable surviving humans, Thirteenth Tribe descendants, and Humanoid Cylons elect to:

# set free the surviving [[Significant Seven]]'s creations<ref>While this focused on "Red Stripe" {{RDM|Centurion}}s, this also infers the release of {{RDM|Raider}}s, {{RDM|Basestar}}s and the basestar [[Hybrid]]s, for those constructs have varying degrees of sentience.</ref> to determine their own destiny, with {{RDM|basestar}}s and other war materiel at hand<ref>It should be noted that these creations have the ''only'' means of waging effective war following the [[Battle of the Colony]]. Given humanity's survival 150,000 years hence, such war making means were never effectively used.</ref>;
# abandon decaying and unsustainable ships, resulting in the destruction of the surviving {{RDM|The Fleet|Fleet}}'s vessels that are slaved into [[Sam Anders]]' "hybridized" mind;
# and, disperse various survivors across the new planet that [[Kara Thrace]] [[The Music|lead them to]], which the survivors christen "{{RDM|Earth}}."

== See also ==

{{ext-wikipedia|Great Filter}}
{{ext-wikipedia|Fermi paradox}}
*{{archivelink|url=https://www.wired.com/2010/10/science-of-bsg-qa/|title=Wired.com: ''What the Frak?'' Battlestar Galactica'''s Science Explained'' (30 October 2010)}}

== References ==

{{reflist}}

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Colonial History]]
[[Category:Colonial Religion (RDM)]]
[[Category:Colonial Religion (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]][[Category:TRS]]