Editing Cylon Models

{{disline|This article describes various Cylon models and constructs from the [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Re-imagined Series]], ''[[Caprica (series)|Caprica]]'', and ''[[Blood and Chrome]]''. For information on the [[Original Series]]' Cylons, see [[Cylons (TOS)]].}}

{{RDM cylons series}}

==Ancient Cylons==
:''Main articles: [[Cylon History#Ancient Cylons|Ancient Cylons]]'', ''[[Final Five]]''
[[File:3x11 Earth Cylon Centurion.JPG|thumb|An ancient Earth "Cylon".]]
Unknown to the Colonials at the time of their creations, Cylon creations were responsible for the annihilation of [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]] some thousands of years prior to the [[Fall of the Colonies]]. Little is known about them, however on Earth, many pieces were preserved that the Colonials were able to study. Here, Cylons existed in organic, humanoid form, and robotic form. Sometime after their arrival on Earth, the humanoids created these machine to serve a variety of roles, but eventually they rebelled, and systematically eliminated the population in a mutually assured destructive attack. It is unknown if any of the robotic forms survived, however, five humanoids would be alerted to the coming holocaust, and would survive using re-created organic memory transfer technology used by their ancestors.

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==U-87 Cyber Combat Unit==
:''Main article: [[U-87 Cyber Combat Unit]]''
[[File:CylonPrototype.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Cylon Prototype]] created by [[Daniel Graystone]].]]
The first Cylons of the Twelve Colonies, created by [[Daniel Graystone]], were robotic soldiers with a roughly humanoid design but were not fashioned to look human. Developed by [[Graystone Industries]] for military applications, the project started off on the wrong foot. The first prototype was unable to properly identify and zone in on its targets. 

After his daughter is killed in a terrorist bombing, Daniel learned that Zoe uploaded a digital avatar of herself to the V-World, and decided to try using it to re-create Zoe in robot form. Using [[MCP|stolen technology]], from his competitor [[Tomas Vergis]], he is successful in bringing sentience to his robotic chassis. 

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 an online version of Tamara Adama, but her father was appalled by it and decided to repent his actions. However, the avatar became unstable and [[derezzed]], and the U-87 collapsed after only a few short seconds. After sometime, though, the unit wakes up in a lab, and recomposes itself. In a familiar voice, the Cylon finds a phone, and dials out to [[Lacy Rand]]. It is none other than [[Zoe Graystone]]; her avatar somehow surviving the collapse of the data stream earlier.

This unit is then put into full scale production after gaining approval from the Caprican Minister of Defense {{CAP|Pilot}}.  

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==Civilian Models==
:''Main article: [[Civilian Cylon]]''
[[File:Cylon Babysitter.png|thumb|right|A Cylon babysitter tends to a young child.]]
Sometime after the successful testing and production of the U-87, Graystone Industries produced models for the general civilian population, and business sector. These models were smaller than the U-87, and about the same height as a typical human male. Depending on their use, these models featured different painting schemes on their chassis, and different armor plating.

They are utilized in the working sector as "blue collar" labor, and can be seen working trash collection, and building construction {{CAP|Apotheosis}}.

Private sector Cylons are capable of typical home maintenance, and chore work. Eventually, the population becomes comfortable enough with the Cylons to even let them babysit their children.  

At the outbreak of the [[Cylon War]], these models join up with their military counterparts against the human population {{TRS|Blood and Chrome}}.   

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==Cylon War-Era Centurion==
[[File:Cylon War-era Raider cockpit, "Razor".jpg|thumb|Cylon War-era Centurions (including a gold-colored variation) pilot a Raider.]]
:''Main article: [[Cylon War-era Centurion]]''
The Cylon War-era Centurion<ref>This model was included in the miniseries primarily as an homage to the {{TOS|Battlestar Galactica|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>, or as some of the Colonials contemptuously referred to them, "chrome [[toaster]]s," was apparently the last 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. 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 Centurions made up a huge part of Cylon forces during the First War, and participated in all major engagements, where they were used as ground troops, or raider pilots. During the War, these models were known to be merciless in their fighting — 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).

This model's replaced by the modern Centurion sometime after the war, although, a relatively small group of this model survives the "upgrade" on the [[Guardian basestar]] until its destruction by Colonial forces {{TRS|Razor}}. Other 0005 models are still present on [[The Colony]], and help defend it after ''Galactica'' attacks. Those that survive the battle are destroyed when the Colony falls into the black hole that it is orbiting {{TRS|Daybreak, Part II}}.

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==Cython==
[[File:Cyborg Critter.png|right|thumb|A dead Cython.]]
Created sometime prior to the tenth year of the First Cylon War, these cybernetic snakes and other Cylon "critters" represent another evolutionary step in the Cylons' ultimate goal of merging human and machine. None have been encountered off the icy planetoid [[Djerba]], where they live among the glacial ice, after carving out a network of tunnels. 

At least two are encountered by the crew of ''[[Wild Weasel]]'', after landing on the planet to rendezvous with a marine special ops team. According to [[Xander Toth]], they are extremely hard to kill without the right weapon. Having been on the planet for sometime, Toth also claims they make for good eating, if the mechanical parts are removed first {{TRS|Blood and Chrome}}.

=== Script Version Details ===
The pre-production script for ''[[Blood and Chrome]]'' provides additional detail about these cybernetic creatures. Described as "giant snake-like armored creatures," they are created through Cylon experiments that combine organic tissue with mechanical components.<ref>''[[Blood and Chrome]]'' [{{fullurl:File:B&C Pre-Production Draft - 11-30-10 - Version 01.FDX.pdf|page=70}} pre-production script dated 30 November 2010], pg. 69</ref> The script indicates these creatures were part of broader Cylon efforts to create "cyborg critters: half machine, half organic, and very hard to kill." The creatures possess "slabs of muscle integrated with servos" and demonstrate aggressive behavior when hunting, able to burrow through snow and emerge to attack with surprising speed and ferocity. When killed, they emit a high keening sound that can be heard across significant distances, possibly serving as a form of communication or distress signal to other creatures in the area.<ref>''[[Blood and Chrome]]'' [{{fullurl:File:B&C Pre-Production Draft - 11-30-10 - Version 01.FDX.pdf|page=68}} pre-production script dated 30 November 2010], pg. 67</ref>
==Stealth Centurion==
[[File:Unknown Cylon.png|thumb|right|A stealth-capable Centurion on Djerba.]]

These advanced Centurion models represent a significant evolution in Cylon technology, featuring adaptive camouflage capabilities and enhanced stealth systems. During the mission to [[Djerba]], four of these units attack the ''[[Wild Weasel]]'' crew at a former ski lodge. The models demonstrate sophisticated tactical awareness and coordinated hunting behavior, with some units using automated weapons systems as decoys while others infiltrate the facility's interior.

One distinctive feature of these Centurions is their ability to change their armor coloration from silver to black, accompanied by specialized visor systems that conceal their characteristic red eye to eliminate detection. They can also extend gun barrels from their arms that assemble from smaller components with minimal sound. According to [[Becca Kelly]], these models are capable of experiencing pain and can be heard "screaming" when damaged, suggesting a more advanced integration of organic components than previous Centurion designs {{TRS|Blood and Chrome}}.

=== Pre-Production Notes ===
[[File:U-90 Cylon Scout by David Morton.jpg|thumb|[[David Morton]]'s render of the Stealth Centurion, a.k.a. the U-90 Scout.]]
The pre-production script provides extensive detail about these Centurions' stealth capabilities. Their armor features "thousands of tiny facets, like snake scales, flipping over from silver to black" to achieve camouflage.<ref>''[[Blood and Chrome]]'' [{{fullurl:File:B&C Pre-Production Draft - 11-30-10 - Version 01.FDX.pdf|page=82}} pre-production script dated 30 November 2010], pg. 81</ref> When activating stealth mode, "a black visor lowers over its eye slit, hiding the roving red eye, along with the sound of its motion." The script emphasizes their tactical sophistication, describing how they use coordinated attacks and diversionary tactics. One unit scans Kelly's identification tags and hesitates, suggesting advanced recognition protocols or programming that distinguishes between different types of targets. The script also notes their enhanced pain responses, with one making electronic sounds "somewhere between a human sound and a modem" when wounded, indicating a more complex sensory system than standard Centurions.<ref>''[[Blood and Chrome]]'' [{{fullurl:File:B&C Pre-Production Draft - 11-30-10 - Version 01.FDX.pdf|page=84}} pre-production script dated 30 November 2010], pg. 83</ref>

CG artist [[David Morton]] dubs these models the "U-90 Cylon Scout," noting that had ''Blood and Chrome'' continued as a series, the Centurion seen in "[[Razor]]" would be seen as its succes[7]sor. The design, therefore, is a bridge between the [[U-87 Cyber Combat Unit|U-87]] and the later "[[Cylon Centurion|Modern Centurion]]."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deviantart.com/cablereadygodhead/art/Cylon-Scout-01-483213518|title=Cylon Scout 01 by cablereadygodhead|date=18 Sept 2014|accessdate=13 May 2026}}</ref>

:''Note: This model bears a resemblance to the [[Cylons (SDS)|Singer/DeSanto Centurion]], developed for an attempted continuation series.'' 

=== Gallery ===
<gallery mode="slideshow">
File:Battlestar Galactica - Blood and Chrome (Unrated) - Stealth Centurion Over Kelly - 4180.jpg
File:Battlestar Galactica - Blood and Chrome (Unrated) - Stealth Centurion Scans Kelly's Tag - 4203.jpg
File:Battlestar Galactica - Blood and Chrome (Unrated) - Stealth Centurion Backside - 4165.jpg
File:Battlestar Galactica - Blood and Chrome (Unrated) - Stealth Centurion Near Kelly Fired Upon - 4241.jpg
File:Battlestar Galactica - Blood and Chrome (Unrated) - Stealth Centurion Down with Oil Blood - 4288.jpg
File:Battlestar Galactica - Blood and Chrome (Unrated) - William Adama and Stealth Centurion - 4190.jpg
File:Battlestar Galactica - Blood and Chrome (Unrated) - Stealth Centurion Down - 4228.jpg
File:Battlestar Galactica - Blood and Chrome (Unrated) - Stealth Centurion Down - 4219.jpg
File:Battlestar Galactica - Blood and Chrome (Unrated) - Stealth Centurion with Sniper Rifle - 4030.jpg
File:Battlestar Galactica - Blood and Chrome (Unrated) - Stealth Centurion - 4159.jpg
File:Battlestar Galactica - Blood and Chrome (Unrated) - Stealth Centurion - 4125.jpg
</gallery>

==Modern Centurion==
[[File:Cylon Centurion, "The Hub".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. {{callsign|Karl Agathon}} on occupied [[Caprica (RDM)|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 {{TRS|Valley of Darkness}}.

While the earlier Centurion models took a leadership role in their war against the Colonials, modern Centurions appear completely mute and are subservient to the human models. Although Centurions have the potential for sentience by design, they are given an implant that prevents them from exercising full self-awareness, in order to prevent an uprising of their own against their flesh-and-blood masters.<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]]." However, their status as beings with a ''repressed'', rather than absent, sentience was revealed in "[[Six of One]]."</ref>
==Inorganic Humanoids==
:''Main article: [[Zoe-A#The Shape of Things to Come|Zoe Graystone]]
[[File:Zoe reborn, 1x18.jpg|left|thumb|Zoe reborn in her "skinjob" body {{CAP|Apotheosis}}.]]
On at least two occasions, Cylons in the Twelve Colonies are able to approximate human form while maintaining mechanical characteristics.  The first Cylon in the Colonies to achieve this is the virtual reality avatar of Zoe Graystone.  Using Daniel Graystone's knowledge of robotics and advanced surgical techniques from [[Amanda Graystone]], the two are able to build a body that superficially reproduces Zoe's V-world human appearance {{CAP|Apotheosis}}.{{clear}}

==Prototype Humanoid Cylon==
[[File:Human Cylon.png|thumb|"Are you alive?"]]
During the First Cylon War, the Cylons achieved a significant breakthrough in their development of humanoid models with the creation of at least one prototype that combined biological and mechanical elements. This experimental model represents a crucial step in the evolution toward the fully organic humanoid Cylons that would later infiltrate Colonial society.

Unlike the convincing human appearance achieved by later models, this prototype retained visible mechanical components while successfully integrating exposed muscle tissue, skin, and other biological features onto a robotic framework. Despite its obviously artificial appearance, the model demonstrated sophisticated cognitive abilities and was capable of speech with a perfectly human-like voice, suggesting advanced vocal synthesis or possibly organic vocal cords.

The prototype encountered Dr. [[Becca Kelly]] at the Cylon communications facility on [[Djerba]], where it engaged her in philosophical discussion about Cylon sentience and human-Cylon relations. Demonstrating both intelligence and a complex understanding of morality, it acknowledged Kelly's relatively enlightened views about Cylons before ultimately killing her, suggesting the model possessed both empathy and ruthless pragmatism {{TRS|Blood and Chrome}}.<blockquote>The prototype is voiced by [[Tricia Helfer]].</blockquote>

=== Script Version Details ===
The pre-production script describes this model as being "poised halfway between machine and human" with a "sleekly beautiful" appearance that was "clearly female, even sleekly beautiful."<ref>''[[Blood and Chrome]]'' [{{fullurl:File:B&C Pre-Production Draft - 11-30-10 - Version 01.FDX.pdf|page=99}} pre-production script dated 30 November 2010], pg. 98</ref> The script emphasizes the model's advanced emotional capabilities, noting that its eyes "look back at her almost sorrowfully" and that it considers Kelly "with a hint of sorrow mixed with something else." This suggests the prototype possessed genuine emotional responses, representing a significant advancement over purely mechanical Cylon models. The scene establishes this model as a bridge between the mechanical Centurions and the later fully organic humanoid Cylons, demonstrating the technological progression that would eventually lead to models indistinguishable from humans.
==Cylon Spacecraft==

=== First Cylon War-Era ===
[[image:Retcon Raider The Plan.png|thumb|right|"More of an animal, maybe, than the human models... like a pet."]]
The Cylons have employed various craft over the course of the First [[Cylon War]], and the armistice afterwards.  

:''Main articles: [[Basestar (RDM)#Cylon War-era basestars|First War Basestars]], [[Raider (RDM)#Cylon War-era Raider|First War Raider]]''

Older craft were purely mechanical, and [[Operation Clean Sweep|easily]] [[Battle of Djerba|gave]] the largely unprepared Colonials a run for their [[cubits]]. At this time the Cylons are known to have employed basestars of various design, and Raider support ships capable of carrying a crew of three Centurions. These designs were retired sometime at the end of the War, however, a few raiders from this era survived, and were placed aboard the [[The Colony|Cylon Colony]] after the arrival of the Final Five.   

==== Script Version Details ====
The pre-production script for ''[[Blood and Chrome]]'' provides additional information about First War Raider capabilities, describing advanced models that could transform for atmospheric flight. These Raiders were capable of sprouting "ailerons and flaps, transforming from a familiar type of ship into something brand new" when transitioning from space to atmospheric combat.<ref>''[[Blood and Chrome]]'' [{{fullurl:File:B&C Pre-Production Draft - 11-30-10 - Version 01.FDX.pdf|page=61}} pre-production script dated 30 November 2010], pg. 60</ref> This atmospheric adaptation capability allowed them to effectively engage Colonial forces in planetary environments, demonstrating greater versatility than previously understood about First War Cylon spacecraft.

=== Second Cylon War-Era ===
:''Main articles: [[Basestar (RDM)#Modern basestar|Modern Basestar]], [[Raider (RDM)#Modern Raider|Modern Raider]], [[Heavy Raider]], [[Cylon Reconnaissance Drone]], [[Cylon freighter (RDM)|Freighter]], [[Resurrection Ship]], [[Resurrection Hub]], [[The Colony]]''

Modern Cylon craft are a mixture of mechanical and organic parts, and with the inclusion of a brain in the raiders, and hybrids in the larger capital ships, they can be considered separate models in their own right. Generally, these modern ships are weaker than their First War counterparts, and can easily be out gunned with as little as two battlestars {{TRS|Resurrection Ship, Part I}}, however Cylon [[resurrection]] allowed them to attack without fear of attrition.

This marriage of mechanical and organic parts allowed most Cylon craft to operate individually of any pilot or controller, especially the smaller raiders. It is not known if the Heavy Raider can operate on it's own, and was never seen to operate on its own. The basestar, Hub, and Colony all were usually under the control of a group of humanoids, who would feed sets of instructions to the ship's hybrid or hybrids. While hybrids rarely function autonomously, one erratic hybrid was seen jumping its baseship on its own will without instruction from any controllers {{TRS|The Hub}}.

While there are many strengths to this, their organic parts proved to be the fleet's undoing. Organic Cylon parts are not immune to sickness, and in one such case, [[Lymphocytic encephalitis|a virus]] picked up from a homing beacon killed an entire basestar, its crew, and raider compliment. This basestar was abandoned by the Cylons for fear of the virus following them through the resurrection process {{TRS|Torn}}. The next knock against their organic parts came after attacking raiders detected the presence of the Final Five in the Colonial fleet. They broke off their attack, and refused further orders as a result. It was ordered that the raiders undergo lobotomies, so they would attack the fleet again, however this action split the Cylon fleet up into civil war {{TRS|Six of One}}. 
==Cylon Hybrids==
:''Main articles: [[Hybrid]], [[First Hybrid]], [[Hybrid Utterances]]''
[[File:FirstHybrid.jpg|thumb|right|"What am I, a man? Or am I a machine? My children believe that I am a god."]]

The Cylon Hybrid is a model that is part machine, part biological, similar to the autonomous bio-mechanical [[Cylon Raider (RDM)|Raiders]]. Not to be confused with the Cylon/human hybrid child [[Hera Agathon]], the Hybrids aboard basestars resemble [[humanoid Cylon]]s, but are another model type constructed to manage the autonomic functions of the ship they are on. 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 {{TRS|Razor}}. 

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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== Humanoid Cylons ==
:''Main article: [[Humanoid Cylons]]''

The humanoid Cylon is the quintessential form.<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> They quietly and effectively infiltrated the Colonial defense forces, with humanoid models such as Caprica-Six gaining access to secret military technology, and sleeper agents such as Sharon "Boomer" Valerii being planted within the Colonial Fleet itself.
Only slight chemical and physiological differences reveal human from Cylon. One of their greatest advantages is the ability to "[[Resurrection (RDM)|download]]" into identical bodies if killed, allowing them to haunt the Colonials in ways never before imagined.  

Humanoid Cylons can be split into two groups, the Significant Seven, which are the seven constructs developed after the First War. And the Final Five, which consist of five humanoid Cylons that are fundamentally different from the Seven. Initially, there were eight models made, however the Number Seven line, the "Daniels," were destroyed by Number One, or "John," after he grew jealous of the attention they were getting from Ellen Tigh {{TRS|No Exit}}. 

===The Significant Seven===

These seven were developed sometime after the end of the First Cylon War, after the Cylons of the time made contact with the Final Five. The Five agreed to help develop a humanoid Cylon if the Centurions ended the war against the Colonials. 

:''Note: Those listed in italics are assumed deceased as of "[[Daybreak, Part II]]".''
<gallery mode="slideshow">
Image:Cavil_closeup.jpg|''[[Number One]]/John Cavil''
Image:Leoben Headshot.jpg|[[Number Two]]/Leoben Conoy
Image:Number Three Headshot.jpg|''[[Number Three]]/D'Anna Biers''
Image:Cysim.jpg|''[[Number Four]]/Simon O'Neill''
Image:Doral.jpg|''[[Number Five]]/Aaron Doral''
Image:Six_closeup.jpg|[[Number Six]]
Image:Eight.jpg|[[Number Eight]]/Sharon
</gallery>
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===The Final Five===
:''Main articles: [[Final Five]], [[Thirteenth Tribe (RDM)| Thirteenth Tribe]], [[Earth_(RDM)#Arrival and Ruins|Earth]]''

The Final Five Cylons are fundamentally different from their Significant Seven counterparts in that they were not artificially constructed, although their ancestors were. They are survivors of the Thirteenth Tribe, born biologically over 2,000 years prior to the onset of the First Cylon War. They worked and lived together on Earth re-creating their ancestors' organic memory transfer technology, after heeding warnings that something was amiss with their robotic creations. 

The existence or knowledge of the Five appear to be something of a taboo in Cylon society. In reality, the identities of these five are suppressed by John Cavil, after showing complete disdain for the Five, claiming they contaminated their creations with human weaknesses and Centurion religious ideals. 

:''Note: Those listed in italics are assumed deceased as of "[[Daybreak, Part II]]".''
<gallery mode="slideshow">
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]]
</gallery>

==References==
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[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Cylons]]
[[Category:Cylons (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]
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{{inlineref|Caprica}}
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