Editing Cylon Models

:''For information on the [[Original Series]] Cylons, see [[Cylons (TOS)]].''

{{RDM cylons series}}

==The original Cylons==
The first Cylons in the Twelve Colonies, created by [[Daniel Graystone]], were robotic, but looked human.
{{spoiltext|Graystone's daughter [[Zoe Graystone|Zoe]] died in a suicide bombing. After learning that his daughter uploaded her personality into an online avatar before her death, Graystone decided to recreate Zoe as a robot, using technology stolen from his [[Tauron (RDM)|Tauron]] competitor, [[Tomas Vergis]] with the help of his wife [[Amanda Graystone|Amanda]] and [[Joseph Adama]], whose wife and daughter also died in the same explosion. Zoe-A, the holographic avatar, was downloaded into a robot brain, and thus became Zoe-R, the first cybernetic life-form node, or Cylon. Graystone also created a Cylon version of [[Tamara Adama]], but her father was appalled by it, and decided to repent his actions.}}

==Centurion Model 0005==
[[Image:Cent 005.jpg|thumb|Cylon Centurion during the First Cylon War ([[Razor]])]]
Model Name: Cylon Centurion
:''Main article: [[Cylon Centurion Model 0005]]''
The Centurion Model 0005<ref>This model was included in the miniseries primarily as an homage to the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]]. Within the context of the Re-imagined Series, the Model 0005 is over 40 years old, and was the last assumed appearance of the Cylons after the war.</ref>, glimpsed briefly in two scenes of the [[Miniseries]], was apparently the latest Cylon model to have been extensively documented by Colonial authorities after the [[Cylon War]]. It is a primitive model, resembling a short, clumsy humanoid with a single red eye - or as some of the Colonials contemptuously referred to them, "chrome [[toaster]]s". According to [[Saul Tigh]],<ref>From "[[Resistance (episode)|Resistance]]", [http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/episodes/season02/202/deleted1.html deleted scene]</ref> they had a distinctive "stink" of machine oil.

These models were apparently the instigators of the Cylon rebellion, or their immediate descendants. They fought in all the major engagements of the Cylon War, including the boardings of ''[[Brenik]]'' and ''[[Galactica]]''. A painting by [[Monclair]] depicts a massive melee between early-model Cylons and joint Aerelon-Caprican ground forces.

Not only were these models sentient, they were far from emotionless — in his recollection of the ''Brenik'', [[Saul Tigh]] recalls their vicious tactics in hand-to-hand combat: "The first one was Duncan Raverty. I found him in the corridor. His guts were strewn around on the floor. Y'know, at first I couldn't figure out why the Cylons would bother doing something like that [...] You had to look into their red eye-slit. They hated us. They hated us so much it wasn't enough just to kill us" ("[[Scattered]]", deleted scene).

While remarks by [[Number Six]] in the miniseries state that "those [walking chrome toaster] models are still around. They have their uses," it is most likely that she is referring to the modern Centurions (below), which seem to have replaced the Model 0005 entirely.

A relatively small group of this model survives the "upgrade" on the later destroyed [[Guardian basestar]] ([[Razor]]).

==Modern Centurion==
[[Image:Cento.jpg|thumb|right|Modern Cylon Centurion, evolved from its First Cylon War predecessors.]]
:''Main article: [[Cylon Centurion]]''
The current mainstay of Cylon ground forces, the modern Centurion is a taller, swifter and more agile unit than the Model 0005. Its "fingers" serve as edged weapons in close-quarters combat, and can retract to make way for projectile weapons built into its forearms.

There are apparently two armor configurations - the Centurions encountered by Lt. [[Karl Agathon]] on occupied [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]] were susceptible to normal small-arms fire, while a boarding party dispatched to ''Galactica'' in a boarding action could only be impeded by explosive rounds ([[Valley of Darkness]]).

While the earlier Centurion models presumably took a leadership role in their war against the Colonials, modern Centurions appear completely mute and are subservient to the human models. To prevent an uprising of their own, the human models did not design the modern Centurion with any sentience.<ref>Ron Moore, from [http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/blogs/ blog] [http://blog.scifi.com/battlestar/archives/2006/01/#a000114 entries] on January 20th, 2006, confirms "the Centurions are not sentient[,] and their memories/experiences are not downloaded into new bodies when they die." [[William Adama]] notes this to his son in the episode, "[[Exodus, Part I]]."</ref>

==Earth Centurion Models==

After the combined Human/Cylon Fleet arrives on Earth ([[Sometimes a Great Notion]]), an excavation unearths the remains of several Centurions scattered throughout the planet.  Although recognizable as Cylon Centurions they represent a model (or models) not constructed by the Colonial Cylons. They eventually rebel against the early generation humanoid Cylons, starting a nuclear war. They destroyed the humanoid Cylons, most life on the planet, and possibly themselves as well ([[No Exit]]). It is unknown if they were actually called Centurions.

==Cylon Spacecraft==
[[image:SCinside2.jpg|thumb|right|[[Kara Thrace]] cuts her way through the biomechanical muscles of the [[Cylon Raider]] in order to get in ([[You Can't Go Home Again]]).]]
:''Main article: [[Cylon Spacecraft (RDM)]]''
The current model Cylon Raider is an autonomous craft ([[Miniseries]]), apparently capable of operating at fair distance from any command vessel ([[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]];  [[Final Cut]]). Captain [[Jackson Spencer]], encountering the newer model Cylon Raider for the first time, expresses shock that "nobody's flying these things." Lt. [[Kara Thrace]] later discovers that the Raider she [[Skirmish over the Red Moon|shoots down]] is "alive". She removes most of its organic parts before returning with it to ''Galactica''. [[Sharon Valerii]], a Cylon sleeper agent, guesses that the Raider is a Cylon in its own right, although "more of an animal, maybe, than the human models... like a pet" ([[Six Degrees of Separation]]).

[[Sharon Agathon|Another Sharon copy]] confirms that Raiders "[[Resurrection (RDM)|download]]" and reincarnate.  She echoes the earlier statement about the animal-like nature of Raiders: "A raider's much like a trained animal, with the basic consciousness and survival instinct."

A [[Basestar (RDM)|basestar]] is also an integrated blend of flesh and machine ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). The ship is [[Basestar command|commanded by a group of Humanoid Cylons]], and has a living computer, the [[Hybrid]], which is essentially the basestar's brain and takes orders from humanoid models (more on ''Hybrid'' below). Hybrids do not function autonomously.<ref>In both these cases, the distinction between a "Cylon" and their own semi-sentient technology becomes increasingly blurred — interestingly, the same problem that led to the [[Cylon War]] in the first place.</ref>

== Human Models ==
:''Main article: [[Humanoid Cylons]]''
There is an organic humanoid model of Cylon that's almost completely indistinguishable from a human being. [[Final Five|Five]] of these models are actually the descendants of artificial life-forms created by humans on [[Kobol (RDM)|Kobol]] thousands of years ago. The others were created by the Five after the [[Cylon War|First Cylon War]] ([[No Exit]]). 

The humanoid Cylons have become the quintessential Cylon form. They quietly and effectively infiltrated the Colonial defense forces, with humanoid models such as [[Number Six]] gaining access to secret military technology, and sleeper agents such as [[Sharon Valerii|Sharon "Boomer" Valerii]] being planted within the [[Colonial Fleet (RDM)|Colonial Fleet]] itself. These sleeper agents are programmed with false memories and appear genuine. Unplanned discovery of their true nature can be extremely disturbing for these units, and their behavior is not always predictable.

Only slight chemical differences reveal human from Humanoid Cylon. Humanoid Cylons also apparently differ from humans in two significant ways.
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[[Image:Sharonspine.jpg|thumb|right|Sharon Valerii conceives a child with [[Karl Agathon]] ([[Six Degrees of Separation]]).]]

===Reproductive Difficulties===
It was determined to be impossible for two Cylons to reproduce with each other<ref>According to the [[Podcast:Deadlock|podcast for Deadlock]], they were likely able to conceive but unable to carry pregnancies to term.</ref>, and as a result the Cylons begin cross-breeding experiments with humans, which results in the pregnancy of [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|the Caprica-copy of Sharon Valerii]]. Cylon beliefs attribute this to the love between Valerii and [[Karl Agathon]]. The forceful impregnation of human women however was unsuccessful ([[The Farm]]).

[[Saul Tigh]] and [[Caprica-Six]] conceived a fully Cylon child ([[Sine Qua Non]]), but the child was lost soon after [[Ellen Tigh|Ellen's]] return. ([[Deadlock]])

The Cylon tribe inhabiting Earth did not have these difficulties, and each of the Final Five were born to Cylon parents ([[No Exit]]).

===Physiology===
[[Image:6spine-ms.jpg|thumb|left|[[Number Six]]'s spine glows during intercourse]]On two occasions, the vertebrae of human-model Cylons have been seen to emit a red glow visible through the skin during sexual intercourse ([[Miniseries]], "[[Six Degrees of Separation]]"). On one occasion, the eye of one of the [[Final Five]] is seen to emit a red glow ("[[He That Believeth In Me]]").

Other elements of Cylon humanoid physiology are light-sensitive. Tissues within in their forearms function as [[Cylon data port|data links]] which can be crudely interfaced with Colonial fiber-optic networks ([[Flight of the Phoenix]]), but are primarily for accessing the Cylon optical network known as the [[datastream]] ("[[Torn]]", "[[A Measure of Salvation]]").

Synthetic compounds unique to Cylon physiology ionize when subjected to [[Wikipedia:Plutonium|plutonium]] radiation, forming the basis of Dr. [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]]'s [[Cylon detector]].

Cylon nervous systems possess [[Silica Pathways|silica pathways]]. A legacy of their evolution from mechanical Cylons, this technology remains in the humanoid models. Silica pathways are susceptible to some forms of radiation, such as the one surrounding the [[Ragnar Anchorage]]. Prolonged exposure to such radiation will gradually take a physical toll on a humanoid Cylon ([[Miniseries]], "[[Bastille Day]]"), and possibly impair the resurrection process. With other forms of radiation, humanoid Cylons possess greater (but not complete) resilience against radiation poisoning than humans ([[The Passage]]).

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===Known Models===

In the Miniseries, somewhat ambiguous comments by [[Caprica-Six]] and a note left for [[William Adama]] (presumably by [[Gaius Baltar]]) indicate that there were only twelve humanoid models at the time of the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]].<ref>Humanoid Cylons are constructs, archetypes of human behavior that are not and never were human, as clarified by [[Ronald D. Moore]] in an [http://www.thefandom.com/Article50.phtml interview] on "The Chase Show", hosted on the SF webcast news site [http://www.thefandom.com/TheFandom.com TheFandom.com].</ref> The final cylon, [[Ellen Tigh]], was revealed as of the episode "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]". There was once a thirteenth model, Number Seven, but that was destroyed decades ago by the Number One model.

The Cylons listed in italics are assumed deceased as of "[[Daybreak, Part II]]".
<gallery>
Image:Tighlon.jpg|[[Saul Tigh]]
Image:Ellen Final Cylon.jpg|[[Ellen Tigh]]
Image:Anders_Cylon.jpg|''[[Samuel Anders]]''
Image:Tory Cylon.JPG|''[[Tory Foster]]''
Image:Tyrol Cylon.jpg|[[Galen Tyrol]]
Image:Cavil_closeup.jpg|[[Number One]]
Image:Leoben Headshot.jpg|[[Number Two]]
Image:Number Three Headshot.jpg|[[Number Three]]
Image:Cysim.jpg|[[Number Four]]
Image:Doral.jpg|[[Number Five]]
Image:Six_closeup.jpg|[[Number Six]]
Image:Unknown Cylon.jpg|''[[Number Seven]]''
Image:Eight.jpg|[[Number Eight]]
</gallery>
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===The "[[final five]]"===

[[Image:TheFinalFive.JPG|right|thumb|300px|The Final Five, as seen in visions by observers.]]
The existence or knowledge of the [[Final five|five remaining models]] appear to be something of a taboo in Cylon society. When Baltar mentions their absence to Caprica-Six he is told not to talk about them. The identities of these five models appear to be suppressed or missing from the Cylons' collective knowledge base.

D'Anna Biers, a Number Three model, believes that the five silhouetted figures she sees in a vision of Kobol's ancient [[Opera House]] while she is in the "space between life and death" prior to [[Resurrection (RDM)|resurrection]] are images of the final five.

Inside the [[Temple of Five]], D'Anna Biers manages to return to the "space between life and death" and sees the faces of the five and retains her memories of them for the first time. She apologizes to one of the five while she is in their presence. When she returns from her vision, she promptly dies before she can reveal who she saw. Biers's consciousness, along with those of all other Three models, is [[boxing|boxed]] to suppress knowledge of the five, until she is unboxed and subsequently rescued by the alliance of humans and Cylon renegades ("[[Rapture]]", "[[The Hub]]"). 

As [[Saul Tigh]], [[Galen Tyrol]], [[Samuel Anders]] and [[Tory Foster]] approached the [[Ionian nebula]], a strange [[The Music|event]] brings them physically together to realize that they are Cylons. [[Ellen Tigh]] was revealed as the final Cylon model in a memory of Saul Tigh's past life ([[Sometimes a Great Notion]]). The Final Five are the only survivors of an entire civilization of humanoid Cylons that once existed on Earth. They are responsible for creating the other eight ([[No Exit]]).

===Hybrids===
:''Main articles: [[Hybrid]], [[First Hybrid]]''
[[Image:Hybrid.jpg|thumb|left|A Hybrid speaking "nonsense".]]

In addition to the humanoid Cylons, there is a type that is partly humanoid known as the Hybrids. Not to be confused with the Cylon/human hybrid child [[Hera Agathon]], the Hybrids aboard basestars resemble [[humanoid Cylon]]s, but are another type of Cylon similar to the autonomous bio-mechanical [[Cylon Raider (RDM)|Raiders]]. They are specially constructed living computers that manage the autonomic functions of the basestar. The Hybrids are so integrated into the basestar's functionality that they ''are'', for all practical purposes, the basestar.  [[Sharon Agathon|Athena]] claims that development of the Hybrids was abandoned after the version used on modern baseships was created ([[Razor]]). 

[[Image:First Hybrid.png|thumb|right|The First Hybrid]]

The [[First Hybrid]] created from the Cylons' experimentation with human beings possesses many of the same traits that the modern Hybrids exhibit, only with a few distinct differences. The First Hybrid, although it possesses the same metaphysical perception as its descendants, is considerably more lucid and speaks in coherent, though slightly ambiguous, sentences. Like the modern Hybrids, the First Hybrid functions as the central computer of its [[Guardian basestar|basestar]], but it also appears to function as the basestar's command and control, given the absence of modern humanoid Cylons aboard. While Athena claims the First Hybrid is an evolutionary dead-end and was abandoned by the Cylons, the Hybrid itself claims that its "children" see it as a god.  The First Hybrid was destroyed along with its basestar in the [[Battle of the Guardian basestar]], and it is currently unknown whether or not it was the only one of its kind.
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===Organizational Relationships===

The humanoid models, as the most evolved form of Cylon, are in charge of all other models, such as the Centurions, Raiders, and Hybrids. [[Caprica-Six]]'s statement in "[[Downloaded]]" that Cylon culture is based on unity and that celebrities such as herself are something new implies that there is no single leader <ref>Like the [[Imperious Leader]] in the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]].</ref>. 

Instead, each model is equal in terms of power and authority and the Cylons make critical decisions based on consensus, or failing that, majority opinion. This approach to self-governance was taught to them by their creators, the [[Final Five]], and is a hold-over of the ancient Cylon government from [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]] ([[Deadlock]]). One or two representatives from each available model gather and discuss matters in a forum-like environment, then hold a vote on what course of action to take. Each model gets one vote that represents the opinion of every copy of that model. Exceptions to this occur in the episode "[[Precipice]]", when Caprica-Six disagrees with the other Sixes, and in the episode "[[Six of One]]", when [[Sharon Valerii|Boomer]] gives a vote opposed to that of the other Eights. The Centurions, Raiders and the [[Hybrid|baseship Hybrids]] are not permitted a vote in the decision making process ("[[Occupation]]" through "[[A Measure of Salvation]]"). 

Though major decisions are made through consensus, the [[Number One]] models see themselves the ''de facto'' leaders and decision makers of their people, continuously making decisions behind the backs of the other models that effect the wellbeing of the Cylon race as a whole. Actions like the murder of the [[Final Five]], their implantation among the civilian population, the murder of the [[Number Seven]] model line and the cover-up of these actions are undertaken entirely by the Ones ([[No Exit]]). When the [[Number Three]] model goes against the collective will of her fellow models and ultimately imposes her will over the rest it is deemed as an act so radical that every Number Three copy is [[boxing|boxed]] for disrupting the unity of the Cylon race. This is merely a pretext used by Number One in order to prevent her from revealing that she had uncovered the identities of the [[Final Five]] ("[[The Eye of Jupiter]]", "[[Rapture]]").

Unlike the modern Hybrids, [[First Hybrid|the first Hybrid]] appears to exert independent control over its own [[Guardian basestar|basestar]] and [[Guardians|Cylon Centurions]]. The Hybrid claims that his "children" consider him to be a god. The exact meaning behind this statement is not yet known ([[Razor]]).

As of the [[Cylon Civil War]], the race has split into two factions with clear leaders. The first faction is comprised of Twos, Sixes, and Eights was originally led by the Number Six [[Natalie]], later by the last surviving Number Three, D'Anna Biers, and is currently led by a Number Six called [[Sonja]]. The other faction is led by the Number One known as John Cavil and comprised of Ones, Fives, Fours, and a lone Eight: Sharon Valerii.  The [[Final Five]] operate among the human military and government as active members of (Colonel [[Saul Tigh]], Ensign [[Samuel Anders]], Cheif [[Galen Tyrol]]) or advisers to ([[Tory Foster]], [[Ellen Tigh]]) the Fleet leadership.

==References==
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[[Category:Cylons]]
[[Category:Cylons (RDM)]]
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