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Created page with "{{Separate continuity|universe=TOS|cont=Richard Hatch Novelizations}} '''Cylon''' is a planet and the homeworld of the reptilian race that Count Iblis manipulated to create the Cylon race. Described as the most hostile and uninhabitable planet in the galaxy, Cylon served as the site of exile for Iblis and his followers from the House of Iblis after their banishment from K..."

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{{Separate continuity|universe=TOS|cont=Richard Hatch Novelizations}}

'''Cylon''' is a planet and the homeworld of the reptilian race that [[Count Iblis (TOS-RH)|Count Iblis]] manipulated to create the [[Cylons (TOS-RH)|Cylon race]]. Described as the most hostile and uninhabitable planet in the galaxy, Cylon served as the site of exile for [[Count Iblis (TOS-RH)|Iblis]] and his followers from the [[House of Iblis (TOS-RH)|House of Iblis]] after their banishment from [[Kobol (TOS-RH)|Kobol]].

== Planetary Characteristics ==

Cylon is characterized as an arid, desert planet—a "stinking desert planet" and "hell world" even by the standards of those exiled there.<ref name="DES87">{{cite book/RH|6|87}}</ref> The planet's environment was so hostile that [[Count Iblis (TOS-RH)|Iblis]]'s enemies never believed he or his followers could survive it.<ref name="DES87" /> The world was home to the most vicious, predatory species ever discovered—the reptilian Cylons, who were warlike, savage, yet sentient creatures.<ref name="DES87" /><ref name="RES208">{{cite book/RH|3|208}}</ref>

Despite its hostile nature, the planet possessed biological resources that Iblis exploited for his genetic experiments. The world's environment created unique challenges, including long-dead spores that became activated during terraforming efforts, causing respiratory problems for the human inhabitants.<ref name="DES87" />

== Native Species ==

The indigenous population of Cylon consisted of reptilian creatures that were sentient but undeveloped when Iblis arrived.<ref name="WAR163">{{cite book/RH|2|163}}</ref> These beings were warlike and savage, operating above the animal stage in their mental powers but below human level.<ref name="DES86">{{cite book/RH|6|86}}</ref> The reptiles were highly volatile and violent—too unpredictable to be properly controlled even by someone with [[Count Iblis (TOS-RH)|Iblis]]'s persuasive powers.<ref name="DES87" />

Through rudimentary communication, Iblis ascertained that with proper training and selective breeding, these creatures possessed the potential to be the finest warriors in the universe.<ref name="DES87" /> This discovery drove his decision to combine human and reptilian DNA, creating the hybrid species that would eventually exterminate their reptilian progenitors and adopt their planet's name as their own.

== History ==

=== Exile of Iblis ===

Generations after the founding of the [[House of Iblis (TOS-RH)|House of Iblis]], the Kobollian forefathers cast [[Count Iblis (TOS-RH)|Iblis]] and his followers out of the [[House of Kobol (TOS-RH)|House of Kobol]].<ref name="RES173">{{cite book/RH|3|173}}</ref> They were exiled to Cylon—described as the most hostile and uninhabitable planet in the galaxy—where they were expected to die.<ref name="RES173" /> The exile was intended as capital punishment in all but name, sending Iblis to a world where survival seemed impossible given the vicious, predatory nature of the native species.

=== Iblis's Experiments ===

Rather than perishing as intended, Iblis survived and began conducting genetic experiments on the native reptilian population. An expert in genetic engineering, Iblis had mastered every ethical argument for using advanced biological techniques to improve health and intelligence.<ref name="DES86" /> However, his experiments on Cylon went far beyond any ethical boundaries his original colleagues on [[Kobol (TOS-RH)|Kobol]] would have tolerated.

Iblis's somewhat callous manner toward the backward but highly volatile alien species drew objections from weak-willed members of his staff who protested the pain he inflicted on the reptilian beings. He asserted his authority repeatedly, reminding critics they were stuck on a dismal planet and the only resource at their command was biological material.<ref name="DES86" /> One colleague who attempted to stop his human-reptilian DNA experiments was killed, and Iblis reflected that her death provided more human genetic material for his work. Other members of his party met similar fates.<ref name="DES87" />

Iblis combined human genetic splicing with cybernetic technology to create a new race with two goals as a species: the conquest of the universe and the extermination of humanity.<ref name="WAR163" /> He introduced his own human DNA into the Cylon genetic structure, evolving the reptilians into bipedal creatures.<ref name="RES208" /> The physical combination became a literal metaphor for the philosophical—if humans couldn't appreciate what he offered them, he would make his point with a new species that would conquer all.<ref name="DES87" />

By this time, Iblis had developed a new religion ensuring fanatical followers who believed his every utterance to be revealed Truth and had no desire to end up on his laboratory table. He rather enjoyed being a god.<ref name="DES87" /> Even those of his original crew who survived came to believe in whispers that the old man must be crazy to enjoy the hell world.<ref name="DES87" />

=== Terraforming and Environmental Challenges ===

Iblis's efforts to make Cylon more habitable through terraforming created new problems by activating long-dead spores. Everyone developed respiratory problems from the revived fungus that invaded the lungs.<ref name="DES87" /> Everyone except Count Iblis himself—in a spare moment, he developed a cure but didn't bother sharing it with his fellow humans. His interest was almost entirely focused on the hybrid race he was creating.<ref name="DES88">{{cite book/RH|6|88}}</ref>

=== Rise of the Cylons ===

The reptilian Cylons were introduced to technology by the outsider filled with as much hatred as they themselves possessed.<ref name="RES208" /> Iblis promised to make them the most ruthless, fearsome warriors the universe had ever seen, and kept that promise through genetic manipulation.<ref name="RES208" /> Cloning followed the initial genetic alterations, making females of the species redundant and unnecessary. Genetic manipulation bred all emotion out of the reptilian creatures except hatred—they had plenty of that, as did their creator.<ref name="RES208" />

Predictably, the Cylons eventually turned upon Iblis himself, destroying his human body and leaving his brain under their control. However, Iblis proved more resilient than anticipated—though his brain remained enslaved to the Cylons, his consciousness continued to evolve until he could project his esoteric body through space and time.<ref name="RES208" />

=== Manufacturing Center ===

By the time of the [[Great Betrayal (TOS-RH)|Great Betrayal]], Cylon served as the manufacturing center for the Cylon race. Both [[Centurion (TOS-RH)|Centurions]] and [[Cogitator (TOS-RH)|Cogitators]] were manufactured on the planet, and an [[Imperious Leader (TOS-RH)|Imperious Leader]] was always kept in preparation should the reigning leader be destroyed.<ref name="WAR164">{{cite book/RH|2|164}}</ref> [[Baltar (TOS-RH)|Baltar]] never had occasion to visit the home planet during his time with the Cylons, noting he doubted he would have enjoyed it very much.<ref name="WAR164" />

The planet housed the bio-labs where the upper echelons of two-brained Cylons were created to maintain the Cylon leadership hierarchy.<ref name="DES88" />

=== Cylon Civil War ===

The planet Cylon later became central to an internal conflict within the Cylon race. When bio-labs worked overtime to meet production quotas, a damaged genetic program introduced a virus that destroyed the [[Count Iblis (TOS-RH)|Iblis]] programming in some two-brained Cylons.<ref name="DES88" /> These Cylons concluded that the human element was the virus weakening the race and preventing universal conquest. A clandestine movement began advocating for purely reptilian Cylons over those with human DNA, creating a new religion to defy the orthodoxy of the [[Iblis Faith (TOS-RH)|Iblis Faith]].<ref name="DES89">{{cite book/RH|6|89}}</ref>

== Experimental Archives ==

The planet maintained extensive archives of [[Count Iblis (TOS-RH)|Iblis]]'s original genetic experiments. In section four, category ten of the human DNA experiments, Iblis had not only created diseases but also developed cures—closing the circle of his research by exhausting all possibilities before abandoning a project.<ref name="RED196">{{cite book/RH|7|196}}</ref> These archives proved valuable millennia later when the [[Colonial Fleet (TOS-RH)|Colonial Fleet]] desperately needed a cure for a plague ravaging the population.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Planets]]
[[Category:Planets (TOS)]]
[[Category:Cylons]]
[[Category:Cylon Worlds]]
[[Category:Richard Hatch Novelizations]]

Cylon (planet) (TOS-RH) - Revision history