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Cylon History

2011-03-25T23:54:22Z

Dubaaron: /* The Colony */ punctuation

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

{{RDM cylons series}}

More than fifty-eight years before the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|destruction]] of the [[Twelve Colonies of Kobol|Twelve Worlds]], the humans of the Colonies created the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]], a race of sentient machines whose history and destiny were forever tied to their human "parents".

==Ancient Cylons==
Over two thousand years before Colonial [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]] -- a race of [[robot|sentient machines]]s -- [[Earth Cylon Centurion|ancient Cylon]]s existed on [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]], and on [[Kobol (RDM)|Kobol]] more than two thousand years before that.

===Kobol===
[[Image:Remains on Kobol, Valley of Darkness.jpg|thumb|Human remains on Kobol, birthplace of man and Cylon.]]
According to the [[Sacred Scrolls]], man lived alongside the [[Lords of Kobol|Gods]] in the birthplace place of humanity: the planet Kobol. In truth, humanity lived alongside its creation, the Cylons, who, over time, evolved into [[humanoid Cylons|humanoid]] form. Though these humanoid Cylons were indistinguishable from their human creators, they were unable to procreate, instead relying on organic memory transfer to [[download]] their consciousness into new bodies after death ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming]]", "[[Revelations]]", "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]", "[[No Exit]]").

Though in the ancient texts, Kobol was described as paradise, war and human sacrifice -- either figurative or literal -- plagued the planet. Humanity and the Cylons also came into conflict, forcing the humanoid Cylons to flee Kobol and travel to the distant planet Earth where they settled ([[TRS]]: "[[Valley of Darkness]]", "[[No Exit]]").

Two thousand years later, the human inhabitants of Kobol abandoned their world and journeyed to the Twelve Worlds, where the Twelve Tribes settled colonies. Over time the memory of what happened on Kobol faded, passing into cryptic legends portrayed in the Colonials' Sacred Scrolls, which referred to the Cylons only as a "[[Thirteenth Tribe]]" ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming]]", "[[Revelations]]", "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]", "[[No Exit]]").

:''[[Ronald D. Moore]], creator and executive producer of ''[[Battlestar Galactica (TRS)|Battlestar Galactica]]'', explained the creation myth of Kobol in an interview. Describing the overall concept behind the exodus of man from Kobol by comparing it the mythological story of [[Wikipedia:Prometheus|Prometheus]], saying "Kobol, once upon a time, [was where] man and the gods lived as one. Man stole fire from the gods, which in our case was the secret of AI or artificial intelligence."[http://www.scriptphd.com/geeky-gathering/2009/05/17/battlestar-galacticacaprica-paley-festival-panel/]

===Earth===
[[Image:3x11 Earth Cylon Centurion.JPG|thumb|An ancient Cylon Centurion discovered on Earth, 2,000 years after its obliteration by war.]]
On Earth, the Thirteenth Tribe prospered, building a new civilization and a modern age of technology. Moving beyond their original limitations, the Cylons of Earth were finally able to reproduce and memory transfer and resurrection technology were abandoned and forgotten. As civilization on Earth continued to grow, a new race of mechanical Cylons were created, [[Earth Cylon Centurion|ancient]] versions of the [[Cylon Centurion]]s ([[TRS]]: "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]", "[[No Exit]]").

Roughly two thousand years after the colonization of the Thirteenth Colony, Earth's mechanical Cylons rose up. A devastating war ensued and Earth's inhabitants were wiped out in a nuclear holocaust ([[TRS]]: "[[Revelations]]", "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]").

Five survived the holocaust -- [[Samuel Anders]], [[Tory Foster]], [[Saul Tigh|Saul]] and [[Ellen Tigh]], and [[Galen Tyrol]] - later coming to be called the [[Final Five]]. These survivors were researchers involved in the rediscovery of [[resurrection (RDM)|resurrection technology]] -- a technology from Kobol which allowed individuals to be reborn (or downloaded) after death in duplicate bodies. Having anticipated the attack, the Final Five resurrected aboard a ship waiting for them in orbit of Earth ([[TRS]]: "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]", "[[No Exit]]").

Fearing their human cousins in the distant Twelve Worlds would suffer the same fate as the humanoid Cylons of Earth, the Final Five departed in their vessel, beginning an approximately 2,000-year-long sublight journey in order to prevent such a catastrophe ([[TRS]]: "[[No Exit]]").

==First Cylons in the Twelve Colonies==
The first Cylons in the Twelve Colonies were created (or recreated) by Doctor [[Daniel Graystone]], a brilliant computer scientist and CEO of [[Graystone Industries]] on the colony of [[Caprica (RDM)|Caprica]]. Known as the [[U-87 Cyber Combat Unit]], or '''Cy'''bernetic '''L'''ifeform '''N'''ode, the prototypical Cylon was created as cannon fodder for the Caprican Military. Though its design called only for soldiers capable of "shooting and fighting", the U-87 achieved true sentience through the integration of the robotic body with the [[meta-cognitive processor]], a device stolen from Graystone competitor [[Tomas Vergis]] of [[Tauron]]. The mega-cognitive processor, or MCP, was a revolutionary new artificial brain that - though it never worked for Vergis - served as higher intelligence for the U-87 once uploaded with the living [[avatar|virtual avatar]] of Daniel Graystone's recently deceased daughter, [[Zoe Graystone]] ([[CAP]]: "[[Caprica pilot|Pilot]]", "[[The Imperfections of Memory]]", "[[Unvanquished]]").

===A New Race===
[[Image:Graystone and the U-87, 1x05.jpg| thumb|Daniel Graystone and his creation, the U-87 robot soldier.]]

Though Graystone thought that his attempt at resurrecting his daughter by implanting her personality into the U-87 was unsuccessful, Zoe Graystone lived on as the first fully sentient Cylon consciousness. Unable to reproduce the MCP with the [[Zoe-A|Zoe avatar]] driving it, Graystone Industries scientists struggled to meet the Caprican Military's order for 100,000 battle-ready units. Finally, however, the avatar was removed from the chip when the U-87 prototype was destroyed. Rebooting the original chip from the ruined chassis, Graystone Industries was finally able to duplicate the MCP for mass production ([[CAP]]: "[[Ghosts in the Machine]]", "[[End of Line]]", "[[Unvanquished]]").

Seeing beyond their application as robot soldiers, Daniel Graystone spoke of the potential of Cylons as a new race that would walk alongside man:

:"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]]")

[[Image:Butler Cylon, 1x18.jpg|thumb|A Cylon butler on a Caprica City street.]]

Delivering the first line of U-87s to the Caprican Military, Graystone scientists were unaware that remnants of the Zoe avatar still existed on the MCP, making the U-87s recognize and even obey people from Zoe Graystone's past. With the Tauron crime syndicate, the [[Ha'la'tha]], controlling Graystone Industries in tandem with Daniel Graystone, a black market was created for Cylons, with the robots being shipped to the colonies of [[Gemenon]] and Tauron without the knowledge or consent of the Caprican Government ([[CAP]]: "[[Unvanquished]]", "[[False Labor]]", "[[Blowback]]").

===The Differently Sentient===
As the threat by the [[Monotheist Church|monotheist]] terror group, the [[Soldiers of the One]], culminated in the attempted bombing of [[Atlas Arena]] in [[Caprica City]], a turning point was achieved. Using a squadron of Cylons to target and kill a group of STO terrorists at Atlas, Daniel Graystone prevented the bombing and the deaths of 100,000 Capricans. The event at the arena galvanized the public in support of Cylons as protectors of the Twelve Worlds, with statues erected in their honor. Within five years of the U-87's development, several new lines of Cylons were created to serve various functions in Colonial society ([[CAP]]: "[[Apotheosis (episode)|Apotheosis]]").

[[Image:Cylon garbage collector, 1x18.jpg|thumb|left|Cylons working alongside man.]]

Cylons quickly became integrated into life on the Colonies, with Cylon servants and Cylon workers becoming a common sight on the streets of worlds like Caprica. With that integration came questions about Cylon sentience, notably addressed by Sister [[Clarice Willow]], former STO leader and monotheist cleric, who lead congregations of Cylons - communicating through the [[virtual world]] - in worship of a singular, all knowing, all powerful [[God (RDM)|God]]:

:"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 [[Zoe-A|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]]")

===The First "Skin Job"===
While Cylons were becoming commonplace in the Colonies, the Zoe Graystone avatar - having survived the destruction of the original U-87 chassis - lived exclusively in the virtual world. Though she attended Clarice Willow's Cylon sermons, the Zoe avatar was primarily concerned with the construction of a new robotic body that would allow her to exist in the physical world ([[CAP]]: "[[Apotheosis (episode)|Apotheosis]]").

[[Image:Zoe reborn, 1x18.jpg|thumb|Zoe Graystone resurrected in the first "skin job" body.]]

Working with her parents, Daniel and [[Amanda Graystone]], Zoe labored to create a body more suited to her. Utilizing Daniel Graystone's expertise in robotics and Amanda Graystone's experience as a plastic surgeon, the family was successful in building the first "skin job": a mechanical skeletal structure with human-looking skin and hair. The body was activated in the Graystones' private lab - a perfect, robotic copy of their daughter and the true rebirth of Zoe Graystone into the physical world ([[CAP]]: "[[Apotheosis (episode)|Apotheosis]]").

:''Had ''[[Caprica (series)|Caprica]]'' continued to a second season, the series would have followed the Zoe avatar in flashback as she worked to create the skin job. In that storyline, Zoe would have communicated with the Final Five in the virtual world as they traveled to the Colonies. The Final Five would have assisted Zoe in building the skin job, though not in creating a true humanoid Cylon body. Zoe would have worked in later episodes, in her new body, to undermine the coming Cylon rebellion on behalf of the Final Five, albeit unsuccessfully. [http://dvd.ign.com/articles/114/1140870p1.html]

==The Cylon War==
[[Image:Tauron.png|thumb|Cylon basestars in orbit of Tauron.]]

...And then the day came when the Cylons decided to kill their masters. Within just a few years of their introduction, the Cylons revolted, resulting in a costly and protracted war known as the [[Cylon War]]. Humanity responded by unifying their once fractured coalition of worlds into a federal republic, with each of the Twelve Worlds signing the [[Articles of Colonization]]. A stipulation of the articles was the construction of [[Galactica type battlestar|battlestars]] to defend each of the Twelve Worlds, supplemented by other military craft including the [[Viper (RDM)|Viper]] fighter and the workhorse, multifunction craft called the [[Raptor]] ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Razor]]").

===Man Versus Machine===
[[Cylon Centurion Model 0005|Cylon Centurion]]s - derisively referred to as chrome "toasters" by the Colonials - were the mainstay warriors in the battle against their human oppressors, with various models serving in a variety of roles and functions. Though humanity was unaware at the time, the Centurions were deeply religious, a trait passed down to them by U-87 model inhabited by the monotheist Zoe Graystone. The Centurions operated [[Basestar (RDM)|basestars]] (vessels comparable to the Colonial battlestars) and fighter vehicles known as [[Raider (RDM)|Raider]]s (comparable to Vipers and Raptors). The Centurions also utilized [[Cylon computer virus|computer viruses]] to infiltrate Colonial computer networks, undermine defenses and disable vessels ([[CAP]]: "[[The Heavens Will Rise]]", "[[Here Be Dragons]]", [[TRS]]: "[[Fragged]]", "[[No Exit]]").

:''It is unclear if civilian Cylons like those depicted in ''Caprica'' also took part in the Cylon War as only the chrome plated Centurions have been depicted in the conflict. It is possible that those Cylons - smaller in stature than the U-87s so clearly connected to the Centurions - were either upgraded or destroyed.

[[Image:Cylon War-era Raider cockpit, "Razor".jpg|thumb|left|Cylon Centurions pilot a raider in battle.]]

The Cylon War was fought on the surface of the Twelve Worlds as well as on outlying planets and in space. During an [[Operation Raptor Talon|operation]] late in the war, rookie Viper pilot Ensign [[William Adama]] crashed his plane on a remote [[ice planet]], stumbling upon a Cylon installation. Inside the installation, Adama discovered evidence of a bizarre experiment in which the Cylons used human captives to perform dissections. The result of those experiments was the creation of the [[First Hybrid]], an evolutionary "dead end" in the Cylons' attempt at creating their own flesh and blood bodies. As the war came to a close, that Hybrid escaped aboard a basehip with a handful to Centurions - later passing into Cylon legend as [[Cylon_Centurion_Model_0005#Guardians|The Guardians]] ([[TRS]]: "[[Razor]]").

The casualties mounted as the war stretched on for twelve and a half years. Ultimately, the Final Five arrived at the Colonies and met in secret with the mechanical Cylon race. Promising to aid the Cylons in creating humanoid bodies, the Final Five brokered an end to the war and departed to create a new world. With an armistice declared and the war over, the Colonials were left to rebuild their worlds, abandoning much of their advanced technology - including [[holoband]]s and computer networks - for fear of future Cylon attacks ([[CAP]]: "[[Caprica pilot|Pilot]]", [[TRS]]: "[[Razor]]", "[[No Exit]]").

A [[Armistice Station|space station]] was created were the Cylons and Colonials could meet in order to maintain diplomatic relations. Each year the Colonials sent one officer. The Cylons sent no one ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]]).

===The Colony===
[[Image:The Colony As Seen In The Plan.png|thumb|The new Cylon homeworld: The Colony.]]
In their exile, the Cylons worked with the Final Five to build a [[The Colony|Colony]] and perfect their mechanical form. They also labored to upgrade their baseships and raiders, and continued the development of the [[Hybrid]]s. The Cylons also developed their humanoid form, creating thirteen organic models - though nearly perfectly human were unable to biologically reproduce like their ancestors. Living alongside both Cylon War-era Centurions, the new humanoid Cylons feared their own mechanical uprising and developed new [[Cylon Centurion|Cenurion]]s, implanting them with [[telencephalic inhibitor]]s that repressed self-awareness and higher brain function ([[TRS]]: "[[Exodus, Part I]]", "[[Six of One]]", "[[No Exit]]").

The first of these organic models was John Cavil, also known as [[Number One]], who was patterned and named after Ellen Tigh's father. Cavil assisted in the development of the other seven models, but became jealous of the attention Ellen paid to Daniel, the [[Number Seven|seventh]] humanoid Cylon. Contaminating the amniotic fluid in which the Number Seven copies were being grown, Cavil corrupted the model's genetic formula, destroying the entire line. Consumed with jealousy and bitterness over the limitations of life as an organic being, Cavil became obsessed with vengeance against the Final Five. Capturing and [[boxing]] the Final Five, Cavil planted them on several of the Twelve Colonies and provided them with false memories and new identities. Cavil also reprogrammed his humanoid Cylon kin, preventing them from thinking about or discussing the Final Five ([[TRS]]: "[[No Exit]]", "[[The Plan]]").

===Planning and Provocation===
[[Image:Cylons models aboard Basestar, The Plan.jpg|thumb|Humanoid and mechanical Cylons aboard a baseship.]]
As the Five lived unaware of their true identities on the Colonies, the Colonials themselves, having had no contact with the Cylons in decades, began to take provocative steps. Six years before the Fall of the Colonies, the [[Colonial Fleet]] dispatched the [[Battlestar (RDM)|battlestar]] ''[[Valkyrie]]'' on a reconnaissance mission, deploying a [[Stealthstar|stealth fighter]] across the [[Armistice Line]] and into Cylon territory. Though the stealth vessel was only briefly in their space, the Cylons acted swiftly, destroying the fighter and capturing the pilot, Lieutenant [[Daniel Novacek]] ([[TRS]]: "[[Hero]]").

Though the ''Valkyrie'''s intelligence mission was a failure, the Colonial Fleet commanders' suspicions were correct - the Cylons were preparing a war machine. Using humanoid models as agents, the Cylons planted operatives in key positions in the Twelve Worlds, working from the inside to undermine Colonial defenses. Among those Cylons deployed to the Colonies, a [[Number Six|Six]] - later called [[Caprica Six]] - was placed in a key position to sabotage the [[Colonial Defense Mainframe]] by seducing (and falling in love with) its designer, Doctor [[Gaius Baltar]]. Agents were also planted in the Colonial Fleet, including another Six, [[Gina Inviere]] aboard the battlestar ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'' and an [[Number Eight|Eight]], [[Sharon Valerii]] aboard the ''[[Galactica (TRS)|Galactica]]''. A [[Number Two|Two]] was also highly placed within the Colonial Government ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Downloaded]]", "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]" "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]", "[[Razor]]", "[[The Plan]]").

Though their [[Cylon religion|worship]] of a single, all powerful [[God (RDM)|God]] provided the Cylons with a moral direction, many - though not all - believed the extermination of the human race was justifiable. While some models viewed the attack on the Colonies as a preemptive strike against an aggressive adversary, others viewed it in more philosophical terms, believing that parents have to die for their children to grow ([[TRS]]: "[[Bastille Day]]", "[[Downloaded]]", "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]", "[[The Plan]]").

==Humanity's Children Return Home==
:''Main article: [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]]
[[Image:Cylon Fleet Surrounding Twelve Colonies.png|thumb|The Cylon war machine in orbit of Caprica.]]
More than forty years after their disappearance, the Cylons returned to the Twelve Colonies in force. Surrounding the Colonies with fleets of baseships, the Cylons unleashed a torrent of nuclear missiles and waves of raiders equipped with computer viruses capable of infiltrating and disabling Colonial ships' [[CNP|operating system software]] ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Razor]]", "[[The Plan]]").

===The Plan===
As the bombs fell on the Colonies, and cities like [[Caprica City]] were wiped from existence, the personal vendetta of John Cavil took shape. Having planted his "parents", the Final Five into Colonial life, Cavil took particular satisfaction in watching them suffer through the annihilation of the human race. Forcing them to experience the destruction of the Colonies, however, was not enough for Cavil, who pulled Ellen Tigh from the wreckage and placed her on an escaping [[Rising Star (TRS)|ship]] to later be hunted by the Cylons. Miraculously, all of the Final Five survived the destruction of the Twelve Worlds, four of them escaping into space, the fifth, Samuel Anders surviving in the mountains of Caprica ([[TRS]]: "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]", "[[The Resistance]]", "[[No Exit]]", "[[The Plan]]").

With the total destruction of the [[Scorpion Fleet Shipyards]] and scores of battlestars, many Colonial vessels attempted retreat, but only a handful survived the assault. The plan received mixed reviews from its Cylon engineers with models including [[Number Three|Three]]s considering a success beyond their expectations, while others, like "[[Six#.22Tough_Six.22|Tough Six]]" and John Cavil considering it a failure. Still the Colonial Fleet was destroyed and the Colonies themselves subjected to nuclear bombardment - humanity was all but wiped out, save a handful of survivors on the ground and in rag-tag fleets of escaping ships ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Downloaded]]", "[[Razor]]", "[[The Plan]]").

===The Survivors===
[[Image:Centurions on the street, The Plan.jpg|thumb|Cylons Centurions attack civilians on the streets.]]
Believing that any survivors allowed to escape would return to seek vengeance on them, the Cylons pursued the remnants of humanity. Chasing a [[The Fleet (TRS)|fleet]] of ships led by the battlestar ''Galactica'' well beyond explored space, the Cylons dogged the survivors, making several attempts at destroying them. Nevertheless, the fleet continued, under the command of Cylon War veteran Commander (later Admiral) William Adama and surviving Colonial cabinet member, later President [[Laura Roslin]] ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Exodus, Part II]]").

In the devastated Colonies, the Cylons slaughtered most of the survivors they were able to capture, though some were taken to "[[farm]]s" where they were subjected to medical testing and experiments: an attempt at solving the persistent reproductive problems of the Cylons by trying to fertilize human women with Cylon DNA. Though the farms proved unsuccessful, the Cylons remained on the Colonies, hunting survivors and fighting a resistance movement led by Samuel Anders - unaware of his true nature as one of the Final Five. They also worked to repair the damage they had done, removing bodies and repairing structures and replanting trees, the Cylons occupied the Twelve Worlds, taking them for their own ([[TRS]]: "[[The Resistance]]", "[[The Farm]]", "[[Downloaded]]").

===Cylon Occupied Caprica===
[[Image:S2-Downloaded-DelphiRestoration.jpg|thumb|Humanoid Cylons and Centurions work to rebuild Delphi, Caprica.]]
An extension of their attempt at creating a human/Cylon hybrid, the Cylons deliberately allowed a single survivor - Lieutenant [[Karl Agathon]], a Raptor pilot - to remain alive, wandering the woods and abandoned cities of Caprica with his former shipmate, Sharon Valerii. In reality, Agathon's companion was another [[Sharon Agathon|Cylon agent]], an Eight sent to fall in love with him and conceive a child. As Agathon and Valerii ostensibly evaded capture as they searched for a way off the planet, the two were forced into intimacy and ultimately conceived a child. The experiment, however successful, backfired on the Cylons when Valerii - apparently truly in love - began helping Agathon in earnest to avoid capture while keeping her true nature secret ([[TRS]]: "[[33]]", "[[Six Degrees of Separation]]", "[[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]]", "[[Colonial Day]]").

==Pursuit of the Fleet==
With agents embedded in the escaping vessels and a tracking device planted aboard the battlestar ''Galactica'', the Cylons attempted to bring the fleet down from within while simultaneously attacking it outright. Still, despite the Cylons' efforts, suicide bombers, sabotage and months of interstellar battles proved unsuccessful in eliminating the human fleet. Though their identities were still unknown, the existence and presence of humanoid Cylons quickly became common knowledge, further damaging the Cylons' advantage. Still, the four members of the Final Five residing in the fleet remained unaware of their true identities, Saul Tigh even acting as first officer of the ''Galactica'' alongside its commander, Cylon War veteran William Adama ([[TRS]]: "[[33]]", "[[Water]]", "[[Litmus]]", "[[Crossroads, Part II]]").

===Cylons Versus ''Galactica''===
[[Image:Ragnarbattle3.jpg|thumb|The Cylon fleet engages the ''Galactica'' at Ragnar Anchorage.]]
Within its first few months on the run, the fleet led by the ''Galactica'' was engaged by the Cylons in battle numerous times. The first conflict occurred as the ''Galactica'' armed itself and gathered its fleet to leave the Colonial star system at [[Ragnar Anchorage]]. Having discovered the Cylons' attempt at sabotaging the battlestar's CNP program, the crew of ''Galatica'' and Gaius Baltar - having survived the holocaust - purged the mainframe computer removing that particular Cylon advantage. Deploying a squadron of antique Viper Mark IIs from ''Galactica'''s [[Galactica Museum|Cylon War museum]], the Colonials [[Battle of Ragnar Anchorage|engaged]] Cylon basestars and raiders, providing the fleet cover in order to jump to safety. With the Cylons successfully repelled, the ''Galactica'' itself jumped away, leading the fleet to a new home - the mythical planet described by Colonial [[Sacred Scrolls]], Earth ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]]).

====Cylon Failures====
The Cylons quickly regrouped and pursued the Colonial fleet. As the Cylon fleet tracked the ''Galactica'' and its fleet jump after jump, a group of Cylon agents - John Cavil, [[Aaron Doral]], [[Leoben Conoy]], and [[Shelly Godfrey]] - worked from inside to disrupt, sabotage and destroy the fleet. Another Cylon - an Eight posing as Raptor pilot [[Sharon Valerii|Sharon "Boomer" Valerii]] - was planted aboard ''Galactica'' as a sleeper agent, acting against her ship under hypnotic suggestion. Cut off from the rest of their fleet, these Cylon agents bungled attempt after attempt to destroy the fleet, only able to contact the others after being killed and resurrected aboard a nearby [[Resurrection Ship]] ([[TRS]]: "[[33]]", "[[Water]]", "[[Litmus]]", "[[Six Degrees of Separation]]", "[[The Plan]]").

Further undermining the Cylon agents' attempts to destroy the fleet, were their own "human" failings. Like the Number Six, Shelly Godfrey who fell in love with Gaius Baltar after trying to frame him for treason, a [[Number Four|Four]] calling himself Simon O'Neill likewise fell in love with and married a human. Having spent years as an agent in the Colonial Fleet, O'Neill later refused orders to sabotage the a vessel in the rag-tag fleet, choosing to commit suicide rather than betray his human wife and adopted daughter ([[TRS]]: "[[The Plan]]").

====''Galactica'' Scores a Victory====
:''Main article: [[Battle for the Tylium Asteroid]]
[[Image:Colonial offensive, Hand of God.jpg|thumb|Colonial Vipers prepare to attack the Cylon plant.]]
After being on the run for weeks, the Colonial fleet was in desperate need of refueling. Discovering a rich source of [[tylium ore]] on an asteroid occupied by the Cylons, Commander Adama determined to take the fuel by force. Marking the first offensive against the Cylons, the Colonials planned an operation involving decoy ships to draw the Cylons' attention away from the asteroid as a squadron of Vipers led by Captain [[Lee Adama]] attacked the Cylon tylium processing plant. Though the operation proved costly in terms of equipment and manpower, the Colonials prevailed, sending the Cylons into retreat. As Commander Adama described it: "If you keep running from the school yard bully, he keeps on chasing you but the moment you turn around and stop you punch him really hard in a sensitive spot. He'll think twice about coming back" ([[TRS]]: "[[The Hand of God]]").

===Kobol Rediscovered===
:''Main article: [[Battle of Kobol (RDM)|Battle of Kobol]]''
[[Image:Kobol surface, Kobol's Last Gleaming II.jpg|thumb|Ruins on the ancient world of Kobol.]]
Believing they possessed a greater knowledge of human religion than the Colonials did themselves, the Cylons traveled to the planet Kobol where Colonials believed life originated. Placing a basestar in orbit, the Cylons laid in wait, hoping to catch the Fleet seeking refuge. Soon, the Colonial fleet detected Kobol and dispatched a scout of three Raptors to survey the planet. Destroying one of the Raptors immediately, the Cylons forced another to jump back to ''Galactica'' while the third crashed on Kobol. On Kobol the survivors fought for survival against a landing party of Cylon Centurions, engaging them in multiple firefights ([[TRS]]: "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I|Kobol's Last Gleaming, Parts I]] & [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II|II]]", "[[Scattered]]", "[[Fragged]]").

With the Cylons waiting in orbit, the Colonials were unable to rescue their men, choosing instead to send a Raptor piloted by Sharon Valerii - still unaware of her true nature - to plant an explosive aboard the basestar. Using a Cylon tracking device to disguise her ship as a captured vessel, Valerii and her co-pilot [[Margaret Edmondson]] flew their Raptor inside the baseship and planted a nuclear device. As she attempted to arm the nuke aboard the baseship, Valerii was confronted by a group of Eights, who allowed Sharon to plant the bomb and depart before the device detonated, destroying the Cylon vessel ([[TRS]]: "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]").

[[Image:Valshootadama.jpg|thumb|Sharon Valerii shoots Commander Adama in the chest.]]

Returning to the ''Galactica'' victorious, Valerii's Cylon programming activated and she shot Commander Adama twice in the chest, point-blank range. With the ''Galactica'' in chaos, another Cylon basestar attacked the fleet, forcing the Colonials to abandon Kobol and retreat. However, in the confusion, the fleet was separated from the ''Galactica'', leaving it vulnerable to attack ([[TRS]]: "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]", "[[Scattered]]").

Fearing for the safety of the civilians at jump coordinates unkown, Colonel Saul Tigh took command of the ''Galactica'' jumping the ship back to its original coordinates and back to the Cylons in order to locate the fleet. Fighting off a Cylon barrage, the coordinates were discovered and the ''Galactica'' jumped away once again, but not before taking on a boarding party of Centurions. Using the same tactics they employed during the Cylon War, the Centurions disabled ''Galactica'' and overran the ship, attempting to reach its atmospheric controls and vent the crew into space. Despite losing a handful of officers to brutal hand-to-hand combat with the Centurions, the crew of ''Galactica'' prevailed, repelling the Cylon boarding party, repairing the ship, and returning to the Fleet. In addition, the Colonials also acquired the Cylon party's ship, a [[Heavy Raider]], allowing them study and cannibalize its technology ([[TRS]]: "[[Scattered]]", "[[Fragged]]").

===Resurrection===
With their fleet reunited and its commander on the mend, the Colonials continued their flight to Earth - and the Cylons tracking them. Unknown to the humans, however, another Colonial vessel, the battlestar ''Pegasus'' had also survived. Conducting hit-and-run operations against Cylon installations including a [[communication relay]] and Raider staging ground, the ''Pegasus'' tracked the Cylon fleet only to discover its target: the ''Galactica''. Joining with the ''Galactica'', the presence of the ''Pegasus'' gave the Colonials further advantage and resulted in yet another [[Battle of the Resurrection Ship|offensive]] against the Cylons ([[TRS]]: "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]", "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I|Resurrection Ship, Parts I]] & [[Resurrection Ship, Part II|II]]", "[[Razor]]").

[[Image:TheEnemysGateIsDown.jpg|thumb|left|The Cylons take heavy losses under assault from ''Galactica'' and ''Pegasus''.]]

Locating and targeting the Cylon Resurrection Ship - a previously unknown vehicle - the Colonials planned an operation to take it out, thus temporarily robbing the Cylons of their ability to download into new bodies. The combined offensive action resulted in the destruction of an entire fleet of basestars and the ultimate destruction of the Resurrection Ship, sending the Cylons into retreat ([[TRS]]: "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I|Resurrection Ship, Parts I]] & [[Resurrection Ship, Part II|II]]").

Though the Colonials were victorious, the Cylons scored their own victory when a captured Cylon agent, Gina Inviere, escaped her cell aboard ''Galactica'' and assassinated the ship's commander, Admiral [[Helena Cain]]. Though other commanders rose to take Cain's place, the command structure aboard ''Pegasus'' was weakened - a fact demonstrated when the ship's new commander was killed when the Cylons lured ''Pegasus'' into an easy [[Battle of the Binary Star System|ambush]] ([[TRS]]: "[[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]", "[[Captain's Hand]]").

Still, the Cylons became cautious, changing their tactics to reflect their loss of resurrection. Even Raiders - which were capable of downloading after being destroyed - behaved differently, choosing not to engage Colonial fighters in battle, but rather lure them into traps. Though the loss of the Resurrection Ship created yet another disadvantage for the Cylons, the loss was only momentary and a new ship was soon placed into service ([[TRS]]: "[[Scar]]", "[[The Plan]]").

==A New Plan==
Having failed time and again to destroy the more than fifty-thousand survivors aboard the Colonial fleet, and continuing to suffer attacks from the human resistance movement on Caprica, the Cylons' plans changed ([[TRS]]: "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]", "[[The Plan]]").

===Heroes of the Cylon===
[[Image:Heroes of the Cylon, Downloaded.jpg|thumb|Caprica Six and Boomer pledge to change the course of Cylon history.]]
After being killed aboard the ''Galactica'' in retribution for shooting - though not fatally shooting - William Adama, Sharon Valerii was resurrected and sent to live on Cylon occupied Caprica. There she was heralded as a hero, but struggled to cope with life as a former sleeper agent, unable to move beyond her life aboard ''Galactica''. Taking up residence in her old apartment in [[Delphi]], Valerii - continuing to go by her ''Galactica'' call sign "Boomer" - proved a threat to the Cylons who valued unity and conformity in their culture ([[TRS]]: "[[Resistance (episode)|Resistance]]", "[[Downloaded]]").

Also struggling to reconcile her actions as an undercover agent, Caprica Six - haunted by a [[Messenger Baltar|vision]] of Gaius Baltar - was sent to meet Boomer in order to help her move on. Though Six was unaware of it at the time, she too proved a threat to Cylon conformity and was sent to meet with Boomer in order to prevent both from being punitively [[boxing|boxed]]. This however backfired and together the "[[Heroes of the Cylon]]" worked to change the course of action pursued by their people. Influenced by their love and affection for humanity - Six for her love of Baltar and Boomer her love of Galen Tyrol - the Heroes convinced the Cylon majority that the genocide and occupation of the Colonies was immoral. With this vast change in philosophy, the Cylons abandoned the Colonies, allowing a One to be captured and taken aboard ''Galactica'' where he informed humanity that it could return home ([[TRS]]: "[[Downloaded]]", "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]", "[[The Plan]]").

===Benevolent Dictators===
[[Image:Bsg_s02_e20_time01-06-12_orig.jpg|thumb|Cylon Centurions invade New Caprica.]]
Following a rescue mission to retrieve survivors from Caprica - including Samuel Anders and his resistance group - the fleet led by ''Galactica'' continued its search for Earth, refusing the offer from the Cylons to return to the now abandoned Colonies. As Colonial society became split over the prospect of settling on a planet dubbed [[New Caprica]], the Cylon agent from ''Pegasus'', Gina Inviere detonated a nuclear device in orbit of the planet - a signal to the Cylons of the fleet's location ([[TRS]]: "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]").

Ultimately choosing to settle on New Caprica, the Colonials abandoned most of their fleet for a makeshift [[New Caprica City|village]] on the planet's surface, leaving the ''Galactica'' and ''Pegasus'' to patrol in orbit. Despite the patrols, however, the planet was protected by a nebula that masked its presence from the Cylons for more than a year. Detecting traces of the nuclear detonation, the Cylons eventually discovered the planet and surrounded it. With the Colonials caught totally by surprise and the ''Galactica'' and ''Pegasus'' in retreat, the Cylons were offered the unconditional surrender of humanity ([[TRS]]: "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]").

[[Image:BONC.jpg|thumb|Cylon baseships destroys the ''Pegasus'' in a momentary victory.]]

Though the Cylons were ostensibly there for peaceful coexistence and cooperation with humanity, the situation on New Caprica quickly devolved into an occupation. While this new course for Cylon/human relations - spearheaded by Caprica Six and Boomer - was far more peaceful than their previous attempts at genocide, the Cylons nevertheless resorted to brute force, restricting many freedoms and leading to a [[New Caprica Resistance|resistance movement]]. As the Cylons battled the resistance, the ''Galactica'' and ''Pegasus'' regrouped and returned to rescue the colonists. With both ships engaged in heavy combat with the Cylons, the ''Pegasus'' was destroyed, taking out several basestars in the process. Themselves complacently underpowered in terms of reinforcements, the Cylon occupiers fled New Caprica, taking Gaius Baltar and the half-human, half-Cylon child [[Hera Agathon|Hera]] with them ([[TRS]]: "[[Exodus, Part I|Exodus, Parts I]] & [[Exodus, Part II|II]]").

==The Race to Earth==
:''Main article: [[Earth (RDM)]]''

The Cylons abandoned New Caprica as well, retrieving the Cylon-hybrid baby from the planet by happenstance, and turned their attention to the same objective as the Colonials: finding Earth. Using the research of [[Gaius Baltar]] (who resided with the Cylon fleet at the time), the Cylons located the [[Lion's Head Nebula]]. A scouting basestar found an [[Lion's Head beacon|ancient beacon]] in the area, verifying that the [[Thirteenth Tribe (RDM)|Thirteenth Tribe]] did pass through the area on their way to Earth. But the Cylon scout ship met with disaster; the probe was [[Lymphocytic encephalitis|contaminated with a pathogen]] that, while benign to humans, infects, deactivates or kills all Cylons, their ships, and their entities ([[Torn]]).

The Cylon fleet, which also includes a second Resurrection Ship, abandoned the scouts and cut off further communication, believing that the virus could replicate through their resurrection process. The Cylon scout ship eventually self-destructed and the Cylons managed to prevent the infection from spreading, although, unknown to the Cylons, the Colonials gained a critical biological warfare option ([[A Measure of Salvation]]).

The [[Number Three]] units exhibited strange behavior in attempting to ascertain the identities of the [[Final Five]] Cylon models, as they had seen in visions prior to a model being resurrected. At the [[algae planet]], while the Cylon majority attempted to gain information on the location of Earth by way of the [[Eye of Jupiter]], the Threes' ulterior motive to seek knowledge of the [[Final Five]] disturbed the collective status quo and command consensus of the Cylon majority to the point where all Three models were [[boxing|boxed]] for their aberrant behavior ([[Rapture]])

==The Final Five==
:''Main article: [[Final Five]]''

Unknown to either the Cylon or Colonial commanders and leaders, four Colonials exhibited strange behavior that ultimately brought them to come to the discovery that they are Cylons. [[Saul Tigh]], [[Galen Tyrol]], [[Samuel Anders]] and [[Tory Foster]] were the only crewmembers that could hear a [[The Music|strange melody]] that drew them to meet each other in a room on ''Galactica'', shortly after the Fleet arrived at the Ionian nebula. The nature of these particular Cylon models, especially given Saul Tigh's existence as a decorated veteran of the Cylon War, was unclear and likely fundamentally different from other humanoid Cylons.

During the [[Battle of the Ionian Nebula|ensuing battle]], one [[Raider (RDM)|Raider]] identified Anders as a Cylon, which caused all Raiders to break off the battle and forced the Cylon fleet to retreat. Because of this, a [[Number One]] decided to lobotomize the Raiders to prevent such insubordination in the future. This decision was opposed by a faction, led by [[Natalie]], who advocated the search for the Final Five and who desired to unbox [[Number Three]] to learn what she found at the Temple of Five. The disagreement between these factions led to a [[Cylon Civil War|violent conflict]] between the humanoid models. This eventually leads to the [[Battle of the Resurrection Hub]] where [[resurrection]] is destroyed by a combined attack force from the Rebel Cylons and the Colonials. Eventually the Rebel Cylons and the Colonials destroy the main enemy Cylon faction in the [[Battle of the Colony]]. The remainder of the Rebel Cylons settle on the new Earth with the Colonials while they let their Centurions have the [[Rebel Basestar]] and their freedom to find their own destiny.

==The Parent Trap==
In the [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Re-imagined Series]], an [[w:Oedipus complex|Oedipus theme]] exists between the creations (Cylons) turning on their creators (Colonials). The [[Humanoid Cylon|humanoid Cylons]] themselves draw the analogy of children murdering their parents:

[[Image:Parents have to die.jpg|thumb|right|"But parents have to die. It's the only way children come into their own."]]
* [[Number Six]]: "Humanity's children are returning home... today." ([[Miniseries]])
* [[Number Five]]: "But parents have to die. It's the only way children come into their own." ([[Bastille Day]])

Oedipus is the tragic character of Sophocles' play ''Oedipus Rex''. Without realizing it until much later, Oedipus murdered his father Laius and married his mother Jocasta, with whom he had several children, just as the Cylons had tried to do in the [[farms]].

All the Significant Seven models view each other as "siblings".

==Notes==
* The retaliatory nature of sentient machines against humanity is a popular [[Themes in Battlestar Galactica (RDM)#Themes compared to those in other media|theme]] in science fiction.

==Cylon Evolution Tree==
{{Cylon evolution tree}}

==References==
<div style="font-size:85%"><references/></div>

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Cylons]]
[[Category:Cylons (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Cylon History

2011-03-25T23:51:38Z

Dubaaron: /* A New Race */ Clarify language and grammar

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

{{RDM cylons series}}

More than fifty-eight years before the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|destruction]] of the [[Twelve Colonies of Kobol|Twelve Worlds]], the humans of the Colonies created the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]], a race of sentient machines whose history and destiny were forever tied to their human "parents".

==Ancient Cylons==
Over two thousand years before Colonial [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]] -- a race of [[robot|sentient machines]]s -- [[Earth Cylon Centurion|ancient Cylon]]s existed on [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]], and on [[Kobol (RDM)|Kobol]] more than two thousand years before that.

===Kobol===
[[Image:Remains on Kobol, Valley of Darkness.jpg|thumb|Human remains on Kobol, birthplace of man and Cylon.]]
According to the [[Sacred Scrolls]], man lived alongside the [[Lords of Kobol|Gods]] in the birthplace place of humanity: the planet Kobol. In truth, humanity lived alongside its creation, the Cylons, who, over time, evolved into [[humanoid Cylons|humanoid]] form. Though these humanoid Cylons were indistinguishable from their human creators, they were unable to procreate, instead relying on organic memory transfer to [[download]] their consciousness into new bodies after death ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming]]", "[[Revelations]]", "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]", "[[No Exit]]").

Though in the ancient texts, Kobol was described as paradise, war and human sacrifice -- either figurative or literal -- plagued the planet. Humanity and the Cylons also came into conflict, forcing the humanoid Cylons to flee Kobol and travel to the distant planet Earth where they settled ([[TRS]]: "[[Valley of Darkness]]", "[[No Exit]]").

Two thousand years later, the human inhabitants of Kobol abandoned their world and journeyed to the Twelve Worlds, where the Twelve Tribes settled colonies. Over time the memory of what happened on Kobol faded, passing into cryptic legends portrayed in the Colonials' Sacred Scrolls, which referred to the Cylons only as a "[[Thirteenth Tribe]]" ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming]]", "[[Revelations]]", "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]", "[[No Exit]]").

:''[[Ronald D. Moore]], creator and executive producer of ''[[Battlestar Galactica (TRS)|Battlestar Galactica]]'', explained the creation myth of Kobol in an interview. Describing the overall concept behind the exodus of man from Kobol by comparing it the mythological story of [[Wikipedia:Prometheus|Prometheus]], saying "Kobol, once upon a time, [was where] man and the gods lived as one. Man stole fire from the gods, which in our case was the secret of AI or artificial intelligence."[http://www.scriptphd.com/geeky-gathering/2009/05/17/battlestar-galacticacaprica-paley-festival-panel/]

===Earth===
[[Image:3x11 Earth Cylon Centurion.JPG|thumb|An ancient Cylon Centurion discovered on Earth, 2,000 years after its obliteration by war.]]
On Earth, the Thirteenth Tribe prospered, building a new civilization and a modern age of technology. Moving beyond their original limitations, the Cylons of Earth were finally able to reproduce and memory transfer and resurrection technology were abandoned and forgotten. As civilization on Earth continued to grow, a new race of mechanical Cylons were created, [[Earth Cylon Centurion|ancient]] versions of the [[Cylon Centurion]]s ([[TRS]]: "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]", "[[No Exit]]").

Roughly two thousand years after the colonization of the Thirteenth Colony, Earth's mechanical Cylons rose up. A devastating war ensued and Earth's inhabitants were wiped out in a nuclear holocaust ([[TRS]]: "[[Revelations]]", "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]").

Five survived the holocaust -- [[Samuel Anders]], [[Tory Foster]], [[Saul Tigh|Saul]] and [[Ellen Tigh]], and [[Galen Tyrol]] - later coming to be called the [[Final Five]]. These survivors were researchers involved in the rediscovery of [[resurrection (RDM)|resurrection technology]] -- a technology from Kobol which allowed individuals to be reborn (or downloaded) after death in duplicate bodies. Having anticipated the attack, the Final Five resurrected aboard a ship waiting for them in orbit of Earth ([[TRS]]: "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]", "[[No Exit]]").

Fearing their human cousins in the distant Twelve Worlds would suffer the same fate as the humanoid Cylons of Earth, the Final Five departed in their vessel, beginning an approximately 2,000-year-long sublight journey in order to prevent such a catastrophe ([[TRS]]: "[[No Exit]]").

==First Cylons in the Twelve Colonies==
The first Cylons in the Twelve Colonies were created (or recreated) by Doctor [[Daniel Graystone]], a brilliant computer scientist and CEO of [[Graystone Industries]] on the colony of [[Caprica (RDM)|Caprica]]. Known as the [[U-87 Cyber Combat Unit]], or '''Cy'''bernetic '''L'''ifeform '''N'''ode, the prototypical Cylon was created as cannon fodder for the Caprican Military. Though its design called only for soldiers capable of "shooting and fighting", the U-87 achieved true sentience through the integration of the robotic body with the [[meta-cognitive processor]], a device stolen from Graystone competitor [[Tomas Vergis]] of [[Tauron]]. The mega-cognitive processor, or MCP, was a revolutionary new artificial brain that - though it never worked for Vergis - served as higher intelligence for the U-87 once uploaded with the living [[avatar|virtual avatar]] of Daniel Graystone's recently deceased daughter, [[Zoe Graystone]] ([[CAP]]: "[[Caprica pilot|Pilot]]", "[[The Imperfections of Memory]]", "[[Unvanquished]]").

===A New Race===
[[Image:Graystone and the U-87, 1x05.jpg| thumb|Daniel Graystone and his creation, the U-87 robot soldier.]]

Though Graystone thought that his attempt at resurrecting his daughter by implanting her personality into the U-87 was unsuccessful, Zoe Graystone lived on as the first fully sentient Cylon consciousness. Unable to reproduce the MCP with the [[Zoe-A|Zoe avatar]] driving it, Graystone Industries scientists struggled to meet the Caprican Military's order for 100,000 battle-ready units. Finally, however, the avatar was removed from the chip when the U-87 prototype was destroyed. Rebooting the original chip from the ruined chassis, Graystone Industries was finally able to duplicate the MCP for mass production ([[CAP]]: "[[Ghosts in the Machine]]", "[[End of Line]]", "[[Unvanquished]]").

Seeing beyond their application as robot soldiers, Daniel Graystone spoke of the potential of Cylons as a new race that would walk alongside man:

:"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]]")

[[Image:Butler Cylon, 1x18.jpg|thumb|A Cylon butler on a Caprica City street.]]

Delivering the first line of U-87s to the Caprican Military, Graystone scientists were unaware that remnants of the Zoe avatar still existed on the MCP, making the U-87s recognize and even obey people from Zoe Graystone's past. With the Tauron crime syndicate, the [[Ha'la'tha]], controlling Graystone Industries in tandem with Daniel Graystone, a black market was created for Cylons, with the robots being shipped to the colonies of [[Gemenon]] and Tauron without the knowledge or consent of the Caprican Government ([[CAP]]: "[[Unvanquished]]", "[[False Labor]]", "[[Blowback]]").

===The Differently Sentient===
As the threat by the [[Monotheist Church|monotheist]] terror group, the [[Soldiers of the One]], culminated in the attempted bombing of [[Atlas Arena]] in [[Caprica City]], a turning point was achieved. Using a squadron of Cylons to target and kill a group of STO terrorists at Atlas, Daniel Graystone prevented the bombing and the deaths of 100,000 Capricans. The event at the arena galvanized the public in support of Cylons as protectors of the Twelve Worlds, with statues erected in their honor. Within five years of the U-87's development, several new lines of Cylons were created to serve various functions in Colonial society ([[CAP]]: "[[Apotheosis (episode)|Apotheosis]]").

[[Image:Cylon garbage collector, 1x18.jpg|thumb|left|Cylons working alongside man.]]

Cylons quickly became integrated into life on the Colonies, with Cylon servants and Cylon workers becoming a common sight on the streets of worlds like Caprica. With that integration came questions about Cylon sentience, notably addressed by Sister [[Clarice Willow]], former STO leader and monotheist cleric, who lead congregations of Cylons - communicating through the [[virtual world]] - in worship of a singular, all knowing, all powerful [[God (RDM)|God]]:

:"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 [[Zoe-A|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]]")

===The First "Skin Job"===
While Cylons were becoming commonplace in the Colonies, the Zoe Graystone avatar - having survived the destruction of the original U-87 chassis - lived exclusively in the virtual world. Though she attended Clarice Willow's Cylon sermons, the Zoe avatar was primarily concerned with the construction of a new robotic body that would allow her to exist in the physical world ([[CAP]]: "[[Apotheosis (episode)|Apotheosis]]").

[[Image:Zoe reborn, 1x18.jpg|thumb|Zoe Graystone resurrected in the first "skin job" body.]]

Working with her parents, Daniel and [[Amanda Graystone]], Zoe labored to create a body more suited to her. Utilizing Daniel Graystone's expertise in robotics and Amanda Graystone's experience as a plastic surgeon, the family was successful in building the first "skin job": a mechanical skeletal structure with human-looking skin and hair. The body was activated in the Graystones' private lab - a perfect, robotic copy of their daughter and the true rebirth of Zoe Graystone into the physical world ([[CAP]]: "[[Apotheosis (episode)|Apotheosis]]").

:''Had ''[[Caprica (series)|Caprica]]'' continued to a second season, the series would have followed the Zoe avatar in flashback as she worked to create the skin job. In that storyline, Zoe would have communicated with the Final Five in the virtual world as they traveled to the Colonies. The Final Five would have assisted Zoe in building the skin job, though not in creating a true humanoid Cylon body. Zoe would have worked in later episodes, in her new body, to undermine the coming Cylon rebellion on behalf of the Final Five, albeit unsuccessfully. [http://dvd.ign.com/articles/114/1140870p1.html]

==The Cylon War==
[[Image:Tauron.png|thumb|Cylon basestars in orbit of Tauron.]]

...And then the day came when the Cylons decided to kill their masters. Within just a few years of their introduction, the Cylons revolted, resulting in a costly and protracted war known as the [[Cylon War]]. Humanity responded by unifying their once fractured coalition of worlds into a federal republic, with each of the Twelve Worlds signing the [[Articles of Colonization]]. A stipulation of the articles was the construction of [[Galactica type battlestar|battlestars]] to defend each of the Twelve Worlds, supplemented by other military craft including the [[Viper (RDM)|Viper]] fighter and the workhorse, multifunction craft called the [[Raptor]] ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Razor]]").

===Man Versus Machine===
[[Cylon Centurion Model 0005|Cylon Centurion]]s - derisively referred to as chrome "toasters" by the Colonials - were the mainstay warriors in the battle against their human oppressors, with various models serving in a variety of roles and functions. Though humanity was unaware at the time, the Centurions were deeply religious, a trait passed down to them by U-87 model inhabited by the monotheist Zoe Graystone. The Centurions operated [[Basestar (RDM)|basestars]] (vessels comparable to the Colonial battlestars) and fighter vehicles known as [[Raider (RDM)|Raider]]s (comparable to Vipers and Raptors). The Centurions also utilized [[Cylon computer virus|computer viruses]] to infiltrate Colonial computer networks, undermine defenses and disable vessels ([[CAP]]: "[[The Heavens Will Rise]]", "[[Here Be Dragons]]", [[TRS]]: "[[Fragged]]", "[[No Exit]]").

:''It is unclear if civilian Cylons like those depicted in ''Caprica'' also took part in the Cylon War as only the chrome plated Centurions have been depicted in the conflict. It is possible that those Cylons - smaller in stature than the U-87s so clearly connected to the Centurions - were either upgraded or destroyed.

[[Image:Cylon War-era Raider cockpit, "Razor".jpg|thumb|left|Cylon Centurions pilot a raider in battle.]]

The Cylon War was fought on the surface of the Twelve Worlds as well as on outlying planets and in space. During an [[Operation Raptor Talon|operation]] late in the war, rookie Viper pilot Ensign [[William Adama]] crashed his plane on a remote [[ice planet]], stumbling upon a Cylon installation. Inside the installation, Adama discovered evidence of a bizarre experiment in which the Cylons used human captives to perform dissections. The result of those experiments was the creation of the [[First Hybrid]], an evolutionary "dead end" in the Cylons' attempt at creating their own flesh and blood bodies. As the war came to a close, that Hybrid escaped aboard a basehip with a handful to Centurions - later passing into Cylon legend as [[Cylon_Centurion_Model_0005#Guardians|The Guardians]] ([[TRS]]: "[[Razor]]").

The casualties mounted as the war stretched on for twelve and a half years. Ultimately, the Final Five arrived at the Colonies and met in secret with the mechanical Cylon race. Promising to aid the Cylons in creating humanoid bodies, the Final Five brokered an end to the war and departed to create a new world. With an armistice declared and the war over, the Colonials were left to rebuild their worlds, abandoning much of their advanced technology - including [[holoband]]s and computer networks - for fear of future Cylon attacks ([[CAP]]: "[[Caprica pilot|Pilot]]", [[TRS]]: "[[Razor]]", "[[No Exit]]").

A [[Armistice Station|space station]] was created were the Cylons and Colonials could meet in order to maintain diplomatic relations. Each year the Colonials sent one officer. The Cylons sent no one ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]]).

===The Colony===
[[Image:The Colony As Seen In The Plan.png|thumb|The new Cylon homeworld: The Colony.]]
In their exile, the Cylons worked with the Final Five to build a [[The Colony|Colony]] and perfect their mechanical form. They also labored to upgrade their baseships and raiders, and continued the development of the [[Hybrid]]s. The Cylons also developed their humanoid form, creating thirteen organic models - though nearly perfectly human were unable to biologically reproduce like their ancestors. Living alongside both Cylon War-era Centurions, the new humanoid Cylons feared their own mechanical uprising and developed new [[Cylon Centurion|Cenurion]]s, implanting them with [[telencephalic inhibitor]]'s that repressed self-awareness and higher brain function ([[TRS]]: "[[Exodus, Part I]]", "[[Six of One]]", "[[No Exit]]").

The first of these organic models was John Cavil, also known as [[Number One]], who was patterned and named after Ellen Tigh's father. Cavil assisted in the development of the other seven models, but became jealous of the attention Ellen paid to Daniel, the [[Number Seven|seventh]] humanoid Cylon. Contaminating the amniotic fluid in which the Number Seven copies were being grown, Cavil corrupted the model's genetic formula, destroying the entire line. Consumed with jealousy and bitterness over the limitations of life as an organic being, Cavil became obsessed with vengeance against the Final Five. Capturing and [[boxing]] the Final Five, Cavil planted them on several of the Twelve Colonies and provided them with false memories and new identities. Cavil also reprogrammed his humanoid Cylon kin, preventing them from thinking about or discussing the Final Five ([[TRS]]: "[[No Exit]]", "[[The Plan]]").

===Planning and Provocation===
[[Image:Cylons models aboard Basestar, The Plan.jpg|thumb|Humanoid and mechanical Cylons aboard a baseship.]]
As the Five lived unaware of their true identities on the Colonies, the Colonials themselves, having had no contact with the Cylons in decades, began to take provocative steps. Six years before the Fall of the Colonies, the [[Colonial Fleet]] dispatched the [[Battlestar (RDM)|battlestar]] ''[[Valkyrie]]'' on a reconnaissance mission, deploying a [[Stealthstar|stealth fighter]] across the [[Armistice Line]] and into Cylon territory. Though the stealth vessel was only briefly in their space, the Cylons acted swiftly, destroying the fighter and capturing the pilot, Lieutenant [[Daniel Novacek]] ([[TRS]]: "[[Hero]]").

Though the ''Valkyrie'''s intelligence mission was a failure, the Colonial Fleet commanders' suspicions were correct - the Cylons were preparing a war machine. Using humanoid models as agents, the Cylons planted operatives in key positions in the Twelve Worlds, working from the inside to undermine Colonial defenses. Among those Cylons deployed to the Colonies, a [[Number Six|Six]] - later called [[Caprica Six]] - was placed in a key position to sabotage the [[Colonial Defense Mainframe]] by seducing (and falling in love with) its designer, Doctor [[Gaius Baltar]]. Agents were also planted in the Colonial Fleet, including another Six, [[Gina Inviere]] aboard the battlestar ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'' and an [[Number Eight|Eight]], [[Sharon Valerii]] aboard the ''[[Galactica (TRS)|Galactica]]''. A [[Number Two|Two]] was also highly placed within the Colonial Government ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Downloaded]]", "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]" "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]", "[[Razor]]", "[[The Plan]]").

Though their [[Cylon religion|worship]] of a single, all powerful [[God (RDM)|God]] provided the Cylons with a moral direction, many - though not all - believed the extermination of the human race was justifiable. While some models viewed the attack on the Colonies as a preemptive strike against an aggressive adversary, others viewed it in more philosophical terms, believing that parents have to die for their children to grow ([[TRS]]: "[[Bastille Day]]", "[[Downloaded]]", "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]", "[[The Plan]]").

==Humanity's Children Return Home==
:''Main article: [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]]
[[Image:Cylon Fleet Surrounding Twelve Colonies.png|thumb|The Cylon war machine in orbit of Caprica.]]
More than forty years after their disappearance, the Cylons returned to the Twelve Colonies in force. Surrounding the Colonies with fleets of baseships, the Cylons unleashed a torrent of nuclear missiles and waves of raiders equipped with computer viruses capable of infiltrating and disabling Colonial ships' [[CNP|operating system software]] ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Razor]]", "[[The Plan]]").

===The Plan===
As the bombs fell on the Colonies, and cities like [[Caprica City]] were wiped from existence, the personal vendetta of John Cavil took shape. Having planted his "parents", the Final Five into Colonial life, Cavil took particular satisfaction in watching them suffer through the annihilation of the human race. Forcing them to experience the destruction of the Colonies, however, was not enough for Cavil, who pulled Ellen Tigh from the wreckage and placed her on an escaping [[Rising Star (TRS)|ship]] to later be hunted by the Cylons. Miraculously, all of the Final Five survived the destruction of the Twelve Worlds, four of them escaping into space, the fifth, Samuel Anders surviving in the mountains of Caprica ([[TRS]]: "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]", "[[The Resistance]]", "[[No Exit]]", "[[The Plan]]").

With the total destruction of the [[Scorpion Fleet Shipyards]] and scores of battlestars, many Colonial vessels attempted retreat, but only a handful survived the assault. The plan received mixed reviews from its Cylon engineers with models including [[Number Three|Three]]s considering a success beyond their expectations, while others, like "[[Six#.22Tough_Six.22|Tough Six]]" and John Cavil considering it a failure. Still the Colonial Fleet was destroyed and the Colonies themselves subjected to nuclear bombardment - humanity was all but wiped out, save a handful of survivors on the ground and in rag-tag fleets of escaping ships ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Downloaded]]", "[[Razor]]", "[[The Plan]]").

===The Survivors===
[[Image:Centurions on the street, The Plan.jpg|thumb|Cylons Centurions attack civilians on the streets.]]
Believing that any survivors allowed to escape would return to seek vengeance on them, the Cylons pursued the remnants of humanity. Chasing a [[The Fleet (TRS)|fleet]] of ships led by the battlestar ''Galactica'' well beyond explored space, the Cylons dogged the survivors, making several attempts at destroying them. Nevertheless, the fleet continued, under the command of Cylon War veteran Commander (later Admiral) William Adama and surviving Colonial cabinet member, later President [[Laura Roslin]] ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Exodus, Part II]]").

In the devastated Colonies, the Cylons slaughtered most of the survivors they were able to capture, though some were taken to "[[farm]]s" where they were subjected to medical testing and experiments: an attempt at solving the persistent reproductive problems of the Cylons by trying to fertilize human women with Cylon DNA. Though the farms proved unsuccessful, the Cylons remained on the Colonies, hunting survivors and fighting a resistance movement led by Samuel Anders - unaware of his true nature as one of the Final Five. They also worked to repair the damage they had done, removing bodies and repairing structures and replanting trees, the Cylons occupied the Twelve Worlds, taking them for their own ([[TRS]]: "[[The Resistance]]", "[[The Farm]]", "[[Downloaded]]").

===Cylon Occupied Caprica===
[[Image:S2-Downloaded-DelphiRestoration.jpg|thumb|Humanoid Cylons and Centurions work to rebuild Delphi, Caprica.]]
An extension of their attempt at creating a human/Cylon hybrid, the Cylons deliberately allowed a single survivor - Lieutenant [[Karl Agathon]], a Raptor pilot - to remain alive, wandering the woods and abandoned cities of Caprica with his former shipmate, Sharon Valerii. In reality, Agathon's companion was another [[Sharon Agathon|Cylon agent]], an Eight sent to fall in love with him and conceive a child. As Agathon and Valerii ostensibly evaded capture as they searched for a way off the planet, the two were forced into intimacy and ultimately conceived a child. The experiment, however successful, backfired on the Cylons when Valerii - apparently truly in love - began helping Agathon in earnest to avoid capture while keeping her true nature secret ([[TRS]]: "[[33]]", "[[Six Degrees of Separation]]", "[[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]]", "[[Colonial Day]]").

==Pursuit of the Fleet==
With agents embedded in the escaping vessels and a tracking device planted aboard the battlestar ''Galactica'', the Cylons attempted to bring the fleet down from within while simultaneously attacking it outright. Still, despite the Cylons' efforts, suicide bombers, sabotage and months of interstellar battles proved unsuccessful in eliminating the human fleet. Though their identities were still unknown, the existence and presence of humanoid Cylons quickly became common knowledge, further damaging the Cylons' advantage. Still, the four members of the Final Five residing in the fleet remained unaware of their true identities, Saul Tigh even acting as first officer of the ''Galactica'' alongside its commander, Cylon War veteran William Adama ([[TRS]]: "[[33]]", "[[Water]]", "[[Litmus]]", "[[Crossroads, Part II]]").

===Cylons Versus ''Galactica''===
[[Image:Ragnarbattle3.jpg|thumb|The Cylon fleet engages the ''Galactica'' at Ragnar Anchorage.]]
Within its first few months on the run, the fleet led by the ''Galactica'' was engaged by the Cylons in battle numerous times. The first conflict occurred as the ''Galactica'' armed itself and gathered its fleet to leave the Colonial star system at [[Ragnar Anchorage]]. Having discovered the Cylons' attempt at sabotaging the battlestar's CNP program, the crew of ''Galatica'' and Gaius Baltar - having survived the holocaust - purged the mainframe computer removing that particular Cylon advantage. Deploying a squadron of antique Viper Mark IIs from ''Galactica'''s [[Galactica Museum|Cylon War museum]], the Colonials [[Battle of Ragnar Anchorage|engaged]] Cylon basestars and raiders, providing the fleet cover in order to jump to safety. With the Cylons successfully repelled, the ''Galactica'' itself jumped away, leading the fleet to a new home - the mythical planet described by Colonial [[Sacred Scrolls]], Earth ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]]).

====Cylon Failures====
The Cylons quickly regrouped and pursued the Colonial fleet. As the Cylon fleet tracked the ''Galactica'' and its fleet jump after jump, a group of Cylon agents - John Cavil, [[Aaron Doral]], [[Leoben Conoy]], and [[Shelly Godfrey]] - worked from inside to disrupt, sabotage and destroy the fleet. Another Cylon - an Eight posing as Raptor pilot [[Sharon Valerii|Sharon "Boomer" Valerii]] - was planted aboard ''Galactica'' as a sleeper agent, acting against her ship under hypnotic suggestion. Cut off from the rest of their fleet, these Cylon agents bungled attempt after attempt to destroy the fleet, only able to contact the others after being killed and resurrected aboard a nearby [[Resurrection Ship]] ([[TRS]]: "[[33]]", "[[Water]]", "[[Litmus]]", "[[Six Degrees of Separation]]", "[[The Plan]]").

Further undermining the Cylon agents' attempts to destroy the fleet, were their own "human" failings. Like the Number Six, Shelly Godfrey who fell in love with Gaius Baltar after trying to frame him for treason, a [[Number Four|Four]] calling himself Simon O'Neill likewise fell in love with and married a human. Having spent years as an agent in the Colonial Fleet, O'Neill later refused orders to sabotage the a vessel in the rag-tag fleet, choosing to commit suicide rather than betray his human wife and adopted daughter ([[TRS]]: "[[The Plan]]").

====''Galactica'' Scores a Victory====
:''Main article: [[Battle for the Tylium Asteroid]]
[[Image:Colonial offensive, Hand of God.jpg|thumb|Colonial Vipers prepare to attack the Cylon plant.]]
After being on the run for weeks, the Colonial fleet was in desperate need of refueling. Discovering a rich source of [[tylium ore]] on an asteroid occupied by the Cylons, Commander Adama determined to take the fuel by force. Marking the first offensive against the Cylons, the Colonials planned an operation involving decoy ships to draw the Cylons' attention away from the asteroid as a squadron of Vipers led by Captain [[Lee Adama]] attacked the Cylon tylium processing plant. Though the operation proved costly in terms of equipment and manpower, the Colonials prevailed, sending the Cylons into retreat. As Commander Adama described it: "If you keep running from the school yard bully, he keeps on chasing you but the moment you turn around and stop you punch him really hard in a sensitive spot. He'll think twice about coming back" ([[TRS]]: "[[The Hand of God]]").

===Kobol Rediscovered===
:''Main article: [[Battle of Kobol (RDM)|Battle of Kobol]]''
[[Image:Kobol surface, Kobol's Last Gleaming II.jpg|thumb|Ruins on the ancient world of Kobol.]]
Believing they possessed a greater knowledge of human religion than the Colonials did themselves, the Cylons traveled to the planet Kobol where Colonials believed life originated. Placing a basestar in orbit, the Cylons laid in wait, hoping to catch the Fleet seeking refuge. Soon, the Colonial fleet detected Kobol and dispatched a scout of three Raptors to survey the planet. Destroying one of the Raptors immediately, the Cylons forced another to jump back to ''Galactica'' while the third crashed on Kobol. On Kobol the survivors fought for survival against a landing party of Cylon Centurions, engaging them in multiple firefights ([[TRS]]: "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I|Kobol's Last Gleaming, Parts I]] & [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II|II]]", "[[Scattered]]", "[[Fragged]]").

With the Cylons waiting in orbit, the Colonials were unable to rescue their men, choosing instead to send a Raptor piloted by Sharon Valerii - still unaware of her true nature - to plant an explosive aboard the basestar. Using a Cylon tracking device to disguise her ship as a captured vessel, Valerii and her co-pilot [[Margaret Edmondson]] flew their Raptor inside the baseship and planted a nuclear device. As she attempted to arm the nuke aboard the baseship, Valerii was confronted by a group of Eights, who allowed Sharon to plant the bomb and depart before the device detonated, destroying the Cylon vessel ([[TRS]]: "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]").

[[Image:Valshootadama.jpg|thumb|Sharon Valerii shoots Commander Adama in the chest.]]

Returning to the ''Galactica'' victorious, Valerii's Cylon programming activated and she shot Commander Adama twice in the chest, point-blank range. With the ''Galactica'' in chaos, another Cylon basestar attacked the fleet, forcing the Colonials to abandon Kobol and retreat. However, in the confusion, the fleet was separated from the ''Galactica'', leaving it vulnerable to attack ([[TRS]]: "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]", "[[Scattered]]").

Fearing for the safety of the civilians at jump coordinates unkown, Colonel Saul Tigh took command of the ''Galactica'' jumping the ship back to its original coordinates and back to the Cylons in order to locate the fleet. Fighting off a Cylon barrage, the coordinates were discovered and the ''Galactica'' jumped away once again, but not before taking on a boarding party of Centurions. Using the same tactics they employed during the Cylon War, the Centurions disabled ''Galactica'' and overran the ship, attempting to reach its atmospheric controls and vent the crew into space. Despite losing a handful of officers to brutal hand-to-hand combat with the Centurions, the crew of ''Galactica'' prevailed, repelling the Cylon boarding party, repairing the ship, and returning to the Fleet. In addition, the Colonials also acquired the Cylon party's ship, a [[Heavy Raider]], allowing them study and cannibalize its technology ([[TRS]]: "[[Scattered]]", "[[Fragged]]").

===Resurrection===
With their fleet reunited and its commander on the mend, the Colonials continued their flight to Earth - and the Cylons tracking them. Unknown to the humans, however, another Colonial vessel, the battlestar ''Pegasus'' had also survived. Conducting hit-and-run operations against Cylon installations including a [[communication relay]] and Raider staging ground, the ''Pegasus'' tracked the Cylon fleet only to discover its target: the ''Galactica''. Joining with the ''Galactica'', the presence of the ''Pegasus'' gave the Colonials further advantage and resulted in yet another [[Battle of the Resurrection Ship|offensive]] against the Cylons ([[TRS]]: "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]", "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I|Resurrection Ship, Parts I]] & [[Resurrection Ship, Part II|II]]", "[[Razor]]").

[[Image:TheEnemysGateIsDown.jpg|thumb|left|The Cylons take heavy losses under assault from ''Galactica'' and ''Pegasus''.]]

Locating and targeting the Cylon Resurrection Ship - a previously unknown vehicle - the Colonials planned an operation to take it out, thus temporarily robbing the Cylons of their ability to download into new bodies. The combined offensive action resulted in the destruction of an entire fleet of basestars and the ultimate destruction of the Resurrection Ship, sending the Cylons into retreat ([[TRS]]: "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I|Resurrection Ship, Parts I]] & [[Resurrection Ship, Part II|II]]").

Though the Colonials were victorious, the Cylons scored their own victory when a captured Cylon agent, Gina Inviere, escaped her cell aboard ''Galactica'' and assassinated the ship's commander, Admiral [[Helena Cain]]. Though other commanders rose to take Cain's place, the command structure aboard ''Pegasus'' was weakened - a fact demonstrated when the ship's new commander was killed when the Cylons lured ''Pegasus'' into an easy [[Battle of the Binary Star System|ambush]] ([[TRS]]: "[[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]", "[[Captain's Hand]]").

Still, the Cylons became cautious, changing their tactics to reflect their loss of resurrection. Even Raiders - which were capable of downloading after being destroyed - behaved differently, choosing not to engage Colonial fighters in battle, but rather lure them into traps. Though the loss of the Resurrection Ship created yet another disadvantage for the Cylons, the loss was only momentary and a new ship was soon placed into service ([[TRS]]: "[[Scar]]", "[[The Plan]]").

==A New Plan==
Having failed time and again to destroy the more than fifty-thousand survivors aboard the Colonial fleet, and continuing to suffer attacks from the human resistance movement on Caprica, the Cylons' plans changed ([[TRS]]: "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]", "[[The Plan]]").

===Heroes of the Cylon===
[[Image:Heroes of the Cylon, Downloaded.jpg|thumb|Caprica Six and Boomer pledge to change the course of Cylon history.]]
After being killed aboard the ''Galactica'' in retribution for shooting - though not fatally shooting - William Adama, Sharon Valerii was resurrected and sent to live on Cylon occupied Caprica. There she was heralded as a hero, but struggled to cope with life as a former sleeper agent, unable to move beyond her life aboard ''Galactica''. Taking up residence in her old apartment in [[Delphi]], Valerii - continuing to go by her ''Galactica'' call sign "Boomer" - proved a threat to the Cylons who valued unity and conformity in their culture ([[TRS]]: "[[Resistance (episode)|Resistance]]", "[[Downloaded]]").

Also struggling to reconcile her actions as an undercover agent, Caprica Six - haunted by a [[Messenger Baltar|vision]] of Gaius Baltar - was sent to meet Boomer in order to help her move on. Though Six was unaware of it at the time, she too proved a threat to Cylon conformity and was sent to meet with Boomer in order to prevent both from being punitively [[boxing|boxed]]. This however backfired and together the "[[Heroes of the Cylon]]" worked to change the course of action pursued by their people. Influenced by their love and affection for humanity - Six for her love of Baltar and Boomer her love of Galen Tyrol - the Heroes convinced the Cylon majority that the genocide and occupation of the Colonies was immoral. With this vast change in philosophy, the Cylons abandoned the Colonies, allowing a One to be captured and taken aboard ''Galactica'' where he informed humanity that it could return home ([[TRS]]: "[[Downloaded]]", "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]", "[[The Plan]]").

===Benevolent Dictators===
[[Image:Bsg_s02_e20_time01-06-12_orig.jpg|thumb|Cylon Centurions invade New Caprica.]]
Following a rescue mission to retrieve survivors from Caprica - including Samuel Anders and his resistance group - the fleet led by ''Galactica'' continued its search for Earth, refusing the offer from the Cylons to return to the now abandoned Colonies. As Colonial society became split over the prospect of settling on a planet dubbed [[New Caprica]], the Cylon agent from ''Pegasus'', Gina Inviere detonated a nuclear device in orbit of the planet - a signal to the Cylons of the fleet's location ([[TRS]]: "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]").

Ultimately choosing to settle on New Caprica, the Colonials abandoned most of their fleet for a makeshift [[New Caprica City|village]] on the planet's surface, leaving the ''Galactica'' and ''Pegasus'' to patrol in orbit. Despite the patrols, however, the planet was protected by a nebula that masked its presence from the Cylons for more than a year. Detecting traces of the nuclear detonation, the Cylons eventually discovered the planet and surrounded it. With the Colonials caught totally by surprise and the ''Galactica'' and ''Pegasus'' in retreat, the Cylons were offered the unconditional surrender of humanity ([[TRS]]: "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]").

[[Image:BONC.jpg|thumb|Cylon baseships destroys the ''Pegasus'' in a momentary victory.]]

Though the Cylons were ostensibly there for peaceful coexistence and cooperation with humanity, the situation on New Caprica quickly devolved into an occupation. While this new course for Cylon/human relations - spearheaded by Caprica Six and Boomer - was far more peaceful than their previous attempts at genocide, the Cylons nevertheless resorted to brute force, restricting many freedoms and leading to a [[New Caprica Resistance|resistance movement]]. As the Cylons battled the resistance, the ''Galactica'' and ''Pegasus'' regrouped and returned to rescue the colonists. With both ships engaged in heavy combat with the Cylons, the ''Pegasus'' was destroyed, taking out several basestars in the process. Themselves complacently underpowered in terms of reinforcements, the Cylon occupiers fled New Caprica, taking Gaius Baltar and the half-human, half-Cylon child [[Hera Agathon|Hera]] with them ([[TRS]]: "[[Exodus, Part I|Exodus, Parts I]] & [[Exodus, Part II|II]]").

==The Race to Earth==
:''Main article: [[Earth (RDM)]]''

The Cylons abandoned New Caprica as well, retrieving the Cylon-hybrid baby from the planet by happenstance, and turned their attention to the same objective as the Colonials: finding Earth. Using the research of [[Gaius Baltar]] (who resided with the Cylon fleet at the time), the Cylons located the [[Lion's Head Nebula]]. A scouting basestar found an [[Lion's Head beacon|ancient beacon]] in the area, verifying that the [[Thirteenth Tribe (RDM)|Thirteenth Tribe]] did pass through the area on their way to Earth. But the Cylon scout ship met with disaster; the probe was [[Lymphocytic encephalitis|contaminated with a pathogen]] that, while benign to humans, infects, deactivates or kills all Cylons, their ships, and their entities ([[Torn]]).

The Cylon fleet, which also includes a second Resurrection Ship, abandoned the scouts and cut off further communication, believing that the virus could replicate through their resurrection process. The Cylon scout ship eventually self-destructed and the Cylons managed to prevent the infection from spreading, although, unknown to the Cylons, the Colonials gained a critical biological warfare option ([[A Measure of Salvation]]).

The [[Number Three]] units exhibited strange behavior in attempting to ascertain the identities of the [[Final Five]] Cylon models, as they had seen in visions prior to a model being resurrected. At the [[algae planet]], while the Cylon majority attempted to gain information on the location of Earth by way of the [[Eye of Jupiter]], the Threes' ulterior motive to seek knowledge of the [[Final Five]] disturbed the collective status quo and command consensus of the Cylon majority to the point where all Three models were [[boxing|boxed]] for their aberrant behavior ([[Rapture]])

==The Final Five==
:''Main article: [[Final Five]]''

Unknown to either the Cylon or Colonial commanders and leaders, four Colonials exhibited strange behavior that ultimately brought them to come to the discovery that they are Cylons. [[Saul Tigh]], [[Galen Tyrol]], [[Samuel Anders]] and [[Tory Foster]] were the only crewmembers that could hear a [[The Music|strange melody]] that drew them to meet each other in a room on ''Galactica'', shortly after the Fleet arrived at the Ionian nebula. The nature of these particular Cylon models, especially given Saul Tigh's existence as a decorated veteran of the Cylon War, was unclear and likely fundamentally different from other humanoid Cylons.

During the [[Battle of the Ionian Nebula|ensuing battle]], one [[Raider (RDM)|Raider]] identified Anders as a Cylon, which caused all Raiders to break off the battle and forced the Cylon fleet to retreat. Because of this, a [[Number One]] decided to lobotomize the Raiders to prevent such insubordination in the future. This decision was opposed by a faction, led by [[Natalie]], who advocated the search for the Final Five and who desired to unbox [[Number Three]] to learn what she found at the Temple of Five. The disagreement between these factions led to a [[Cylon Civil War|violent conflict]] between the humanoid models. This eventually leads to the [[Battle of the Resurrection Hub]] where [[resurrection]] is destroyed by a combined attack force from the Rebel Cylons and the Colonials. Eventually the Rebel Cylons and the Colonials destroy the main enemy Cylon faction in the [[Battle of the Colony]]. The remainder of the Rebel Cylons settle on the new Earth with the Colonials while they let their Centurions have the [[Rebel Basestar]] and their freedom to find their own destiny.

==The Parent Trap==
In the [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Re-imagined Series]], an [[w:Oedipus complex|Oedipus theme]] exists between the creations (Cylons) turning on their creators (Colonials). The [[Humanoid Cylon|humanoid Cylons]] themselves draw the analogy of children murdering their parents:

[[Image:Parents have to die.jpg|thumb|right|"But parents have to die. It's the only way children come into their own."]]
* [[Number Six]]: "Humanity's children are returning home... today." ([[Miniseries]])
* [[Number Five]]: "But parents have to die. It's the only way children come into their own." ([[Bastille Day]])

Oedipus is the tragic character of Sophocles' play ''Oedipus Rex''. Without realizing it until much later, Oedipus murdered his father Laius and married his mother Jocasta, with whom he had several children, just as the Cylons had tried to do in the [[farms]].

All the Significant Seven models view each other as "siblings".

==Notes==
* The retaliatory nature of sentient machines against humanity is a popular [[Themes in Battlestar Galactica (RDM)#Themes compared to those in other media|theme]] in science fiction.

==Cylon Evolution Tree==
{{Cylon evolution tree}}

==References==
<div style="font-size:85%"><references/></div>

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Cylons]]
[[Category:Cylons (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Cylon History

2011-03-25T23:47:32Z

Dubaaron: /* Ancient Cylons */ punctuation and grammar edits

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

{{RDM cylons series}}

More than fifty-eight years before the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|destruction]] of the [[Twelve Colonies of Kobol|Twelve Worlds]], the humans of the Colonies created the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]], a race of sentient machines whose history and destiny were forever tied to their human "parents".

==Ancient Cylons==
Over two thousand years before Colonial [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]] -- a race of [[robot|sentient machines]]s -- [[Earth Cylon Centurion|ancient Cylon]]s existed on [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]], and on [[Kobol (RDM)|Kobol]] more than two thousand years before that.

===Kobol===
[[Image:Remains on Kobol, Valley of Darkness.jpg|thumb|Human remains on Kobol, birthplace of man and Cylon.]]
According to the [[Sacred Scrolls]], man lived alongside the [[Lords of Kobol|Gods]] in the birthplace place of humanity: the planet Kobol. In truth, humanity lived alongside its creation, the Cylons, who, over time, evolved into [[humanoid Cylons|humanoid]] form. Though these humanoid Cylons were indistinguishable from their human creators, they were unable to procreate, instead relying on organic memory transfer to [[download]] their consciousness into new bodies after death ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming]]", "[[Revelations]]", "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]", "[[No Exit]]").

Though in the ancient texts, Kobol was described as paradise, war and human sacrifice -- either figurative or literal -- plagued the planet. Humanity and the Cylons also came into conflict, forcing the humanoid Cylons to flee Kobol and travel to the distant planet Earth where they settled ([[TRS]]: "[[Valley of Darkness]]", "[[No Exit]]").

Two thousand years later, the human inhabitants of Kobol abandoned their world and journeyed to the Twelve Worlds, where the Twelve Tribes settled colonies. Over time the memory of what happened on Kobol faded, passing into cryptic legends portrayed in the Colonials' Sacred Scrolls, which referred to the Cylons only as a "[[Thirteenth Tribe]]" ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming]]", "[[Revelations]]", "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]", "[[No Exit]]").

:''[[Ronald D. Moore]], creator and executive producer of ''[[Battlestar Galactica (TRS)|Battlestar Galactica]]'', explained the creation myth of Kobol in an interview. Describing the overall concept behind the exodus of man from Kobol by comparing it the mythological story of [[Wikipedia:Prometheus|Prometheus]], saying "Kobol, once upon a time, [was where] man and the gods lived as one. Man stole fire from the gods, which in our case was the secret of AI or artificial intelligence."[http://www.scriptphd.com/geeky-gathering/2009/05/17/battlestar-galacticacaprica-paley-festival-panel/]

===Earth===
[[Image:3x11 Earth Cylon Centurion.JPG|thumb|An ancient Cylon Centurion discovered on Earth, 2,000 years after its obliteration by war.]]
On Earth, the Thirteenth Tribe prospered, building a new civilization and a modern age of technology. Moving beyond their original limitations, the Cylons of Earth were finally able to reproduce and memory transfer and resurrection technology were abandoned and forgotten. As civilization on Earth continued to grow, a new race of mechanical Cylons were created, [[Earth Cylon Centurion|ancient]] versions of the [[Cylon Centurion]]s ([[TRS]]: "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]", "[[No Exit]]").

Roughly two thousand years after the colonization of the Thirteenth Colony, Earth's mechanical Cylons rose up. A devastating war ensued and Earth's inhabitants were wiped out in a nuclear holocaust ([[TRS]]: "[[Revelations]]", "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]").

Five survived the holocaust -- [[Samuel Anders]], [[Tory Foster]], [[Saul Tigh|Saul]] and [[Ellen Tigh]], and [[Galen Tyrol]] - later coming to be called the [[Final Five]]. These survivors were researchers involved in the rediscovery of [[resurrection (RDM)|resurrection technology]] -- a technology from Kobol which allowed individuals to be reborn (or downloaded) after death in duplicate bodies. Having anticipated the attack, the Final Five resurrected aboard a ship waiting for them in orbit of Earth ([[TRS]]: "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]", "[[No Exit]]").

Fearing their human cousins in the distant Twelve Worlds would suffer the same fate as the humanoid Cylons of Earth, the Final Five departed in their vessel, beginning an approximately 2,000-year-long sublight journey in order to prevent such a catastrophe ([[TRS]]: "[[No Exit]]").

==First Cylons in the Twelve Colonies==
The first Cylons in the Twelve Colonies were created (or recreated) by Doctor [[Daniel Graystone]], a brilliant computer scientist and CEO of [[Graystone Industries]] on the colony of [[Caprica (RDM)|Caprica]]. Known as the [[U-87 Cyber Combat Unit]], or '''Cy'''bernetic '''L'''ifeform '''N'''ode, the prototypical Cylon was created as cannon fodder for the Caprican Military. Though its design called only for soldiers capable of "shooting and fighting", the U-87 achieved true sentience through the integration of the robotic body with the [[meta-cognitive processor]], a device stolen from Graystone competitor [[Tomas Vergis]] of [[Tauron]]. The mega-cognitive processor, or MCP, was a revolutionary new artificial brain that - though it never worked for Vergis - served as higher intelligence for the U-87 once uploaded with the living [[avatar|virtual avatar]] of Daniel Graystone's recently deceased daughter, [[Zoe Graystone]] ([[CAP]]: "[[Caprica pilot|Pilot]]", "[[The Imperfections of Memory]]", "[[Unvanquished]]").

===A New Race===
[[Image:Graystone and the U-87, 1x05.jpg| thumb|Daniel Graystone and his creation, the U-87 robot soldier.]]

Though Graystone was unaware his attempt at resurrecting his daughter by implanting her personality into the U-87, Zoe Graystone lived on as the first fully sentient Cylon consciousness. Unable to reproduce the MCP with the [[Zoe-A|Zoe avatar]] driving it, Graystone Industries scientists struggled to meet the Caprican Military's order for 100,000 battle-ready units. Finally, however, the avatar was removed from the chip when the U-87 prototype was destroyed. Rebooting the original chip from the ruined chassis, Graystone Industries was finally able to duplicate the MCP for mass production ([[CAP]]: "[[Ghosts in the Machine]]", "[[End of Line]]", "[[Unvanquished]]").

Seeing beyond their application as robot soldiers, Daniel Graystone spoke of the potential of Cylons as a new race that would walk alongside man:

:"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]]")

[[Image:Butler Cylon, 1x18.jpg|thumb|A Cylon butler on a Caprica City street.]]

Delivering the first line of U-87s to the Caprican Military, Graystone scientists were unaware that remnants of the Zoe avatar still existed on the MCP, making the U-87s recognize and even obey people from Zoe Graystone's past. With the Tauron crime syndicate, the [[Ha'la'tha]], controlling Graystone Industries in tandem with Daniel Graystone, a black market was created for Cylons, with the robots being shipped to the colonies of [[Gemenon]] and Tauron without the knowledge or consent of the Caprican Government ([[CAP]]: "[[Unvanquished]]", "[[False Labor]]", "[[Blowback]]").

===The Differently Sentient===
As the threat by the [[Monotheist Church|monotheist]] terror group, the [[Soldiers of the One]], culminated in the attempted bombing of [[Atlas Arena]] in [[Caprica City]], a turning point was achieved. Using a squadron of Cylons to target and kill a group of STO terrorists at Atlas, Daniel Graystone prevented the bombing and the deaths of 100,000 Capricans. The event at the arena galvanized the public in support of Cylons as protectors of the Twelve Worlds, with statues erected in their honor. Within five years of the U-87's development, several new lines of Cylons were created to serve various functions in Colonial society ([[CAP]]: "[[Apotheosis (episode)|Apotheosis]]").

[[Image:Cylon garbage collector, 1x18.jpg|thumb|left|Cylons working alongside man.]]

Cylons quickly became integrated into life on the Colonies, with Cylon servants and Cylon workers becoming a common sight on the streets of worlds like Caprica. With that integration came questions about Cylon sentience, notably addressed by Sister [[Clarice Willow]], former STO leader and monotheist cleric, who lead congregations of Cylons - communicating through the [[virtual world]] - in worship of a singular, all knowing, all powerful [[God (RDM)|God]]:

:"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 [[Zoe-A|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]]")

===The First "Skin Job"===
While Cylons were becoming commonplace in the Colonies, the Zoe Graystone avatar - having survived the destruction of the original U-87 chassis - lived exclusively in the virtual world. Though she attended Clarice Willow's Cylon sermons, the Zoe avatar was primarily concerned with the construction of a new robotic body that would allow her to exist in the physical world ([[CAP]]: "[[Apotheosis (episode)|Apotheosis]]").

[[Image:Zoe reborn, 1x18.jpg|thumb|Zoe Graystone resurrected in the first "skin job" body.]]

Working with her parents, Daniel and [[Amanda Graystone]], Zoe labored to create a body more suited to her. Utilizing Daniel Graystone's expertise in robotics and Amanda Graystone's experience as a plastic surgeon, the family was successful in building the first "skin job": a mechanical skeletal structure with human-looking skin and hair. The body was activated in the Graystones' private lab - a perfect, robotic copy of their daughter and the true rebirth of Zoe Graystone into the physical world ([[CAP]]: "[[Apotheosis (episode)|Apotheosis]]").

:''Had ''[[Caprica (series)|Caprica]]'' continued to a second season, the series would have followed the Zoe avatar in flashback as she worked to create the skin job. In that storyline, Zoe would have communicated with the Final Five in the virtual world as they traveled to the Colonies. The Final Five would have assisted Zoe in building the skin job, though not in creating a true humanoid Cylon body. Zoe would have worked in later episodes, in her new body, to undermine the coming Cylon rebellion on behalf of the Final Five, albeit unsuccessfully. [http://dvd.ign.com/articles/114/1140870p1.html]

==The Cylon War==
[[Image:Tauron.png|thumb|Cylon basestars in orbit of Tauron.]]

...And then the day came when the Cylons decided to kill their masters. Within just a few years of their introduction, the Cylons revolted, resulting in a costly and protracted war known as the [[Cylon War]]. Humanity responded by unifying their once fractured coalition of worlds into a federal republic, with each of the Twelve Worlds signing the [[Articles of Colonization]]. A stipulation of the articles was the construction of [[Galactica type battlestar|battlestars]] to defend each of the Twelve Worlds, supplemented by other military craft including the [[Viper (RDM)|Viper]] fighter and the workhorse, multifunction craft called the [[Raptor]] ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Razor]]").

===Man Versus Machine===
[[Cylon Centurion Model 0005|Cylon Centurion]]s - derisively referred to as chrome "toasters" by the Colonials - were the mainstay warriors in the battle against their human oppressors, with various models serving in a variety of roles and functions. Though humanity was unaware at the time, the Centurions were deeply religious, a trait passed down to them by U-87 model inhabited by the monotheist Zoe Graystone. The Centurions operated [[Basestar (RDM)|basestars]] (vessels comparable to the Colonial battlestars) and fighter vehicles known as [[Raider (RDM)|Raider]]s (comparable to Vipers and Raptors). The Centurions also utilized [[Cylon computer virus|computer viruses]] to infiltrate Colonial computer networks, undermine defenses and disable vessels ([[CAP]]: "[[The Heavens Will Rise]]", "[[Here Be Dragons]]", [[TRS]]: "[[Fragged]]", "[[No Exit]]").

:''It is unclear if civilian Cylons like those depicted in ''Caprica'' also took part in the Cylon War as only the chrome plated Centurions have been depicted in the conflict. It is possible that those Cylons - smaller in stature than the U-87s so clearly connected to the Centurions - were either upgraded or destroyed.

[[Image:Cylon War-era Raider cockpit, "Razor".jpg|thumb|left|Cylon Centurions pilot a raider in battle.]]

The Cylon War was fought on the surface of the Twelve Worlds as well as on outlying planets and in space. During an [[Operation Raptor Talon|operation]] late in the war, rookie Viper pilot Ensign [[William Adama]] crashed his plane on a remote [[ice planet]], stumbling upon a Cylon installation. Inside the installation, Adama discovered evidence of a bizarre experiment in which the Cylons used human captives to perform dissections. The result of those experiments was the creation of the [[First Hybrid]], an evolutionary "dead end" in the Cylons' attempt at creating their own flesh and blood bodies. As the war came to a close, that Hybrid escaped aboard a basehip with a handful to Centurions - later passing into Cylon legend as [[Cylon_Centurion_Model_0005#Guardians|The Guardians]] ([[TRS]]: "[[Razor]]").

The casualties mounted as the war stretched on for twelve and a half years. Ultimately, the Final Five arrived at the Colonies and met in secret with the mechanical Cylon race. Promising to aid the Cylons in creating humanoid bodies, the Final Five brokered an end to the war and departed to create a new world. With an armistice declared and the war over, the Colonials were left to rebuild their worlds, abandoning much of their advanced technology - including [[holoband]]s and computer networks - for fear of future Cylon attacks ([[CAP]]: "[[Caprica pilot|Pilot]]", [[TRS]]: "[[Razor]]", "[[No Exit]]").

A [[Armistice Station|space station]] was created were the Cylons and Colonials could meet in order to maintain diplomatic relations. Each year the Colonials sent one officer. The Cylons sent no one ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]]).

===The Colony===
[[Image:The Colony As Seen In The Plan.png|thumb|The new Cylon homeworld: The Colony.]]
In their exile, the Cylons worked with the Final Five to build a [[The Colony|Colony]] and perfect their mechanical form. They also labored to upgrade their baseships and raiders, and continued the development of the [[Hybrid]]s. The Cylons also developed their humanoid form, creating thirteen organic models - though nearly perfectly human were unable to biologically reproduce like their ancestors. Living alongside both Cylon War-era Centurions, the new humanoid Cylons feared their own mechanical uprising and developed new [[Cylon Centurion|Cenurion]]s, implanting them with [[telencephalic inhibitor]]'s that repressed self-awareness and higher brain function ([[TRS]]: "[[Exodus, Part I]]", "[[Six of One]]", "[[No Exit]]").

The first of these organic models was John Cavil, also known as [[Number One]], who was patterned and named after Ellen Tigh's father. Cavil assisted in the development of the other seven models, but became jealous of the attention Ellen paid to Daniel, the [[Number Seven|seventh]] humanoid Cylon. Contaminating the amniotic fluid in which the Number Seven copies were being grown, Cavil corrupted the model's genetic formula, destroying the entire line. Consumed with jealousy and bitterness over the limitations of life as an organic being, Cavil became obsessed with vengeance against the Final Five. Capturing and [[boxing]] the Final Five, Cavil planted them on several of the Twelve Colonies and provided them with false memories and new identities. Cavil also reprogrammed his humanoid Cylon kin, preventing them from thinking about or discussing the Final Five ([[TRS]]: "[[No Exit]]", "[[The Plan]]").

===Planning and Provocation===
[[Image:Cylons models aboard Basestar, The Plan.jpg|thumb|Humanoid and mechanical Cylons aboard a baseship.]]
As the Five lived unaware of their true identities on the Colonies, the Colonials themselves, having had no contact with the Cylons in decades, began to take provocative steps. Six years before the Fall of the Colonies, the [[Colonial Fleet]] dispatched the [[Battlestar (RDM)|battlestar]] ''[[Valkyrie]]'' on a reconnaissance mission, deploying a [[Stealthstar|stealth fighter]] across the [[Armistice Line]] and into Cylon territory. Though the stealth vessel was only briefly in their space, the Cylons acted swiftly, destroying the fighter and capturing the pilot, Lieutenant [[Daniel Novacek]] ([[TRS]]: "[[Hero]]").

Though the ''Valkyrie'''s intelligence mission was a failure, the Colonial Fleet commanders' suspicions were correct - the Cylons were preparing a war machine. Using humanoid models as agents, the Cylons planted operatives in key positions in the Twelve Worlds, working from the inside to undermine Colonial defenses. Among those Cylons deployed to the Colonies, a [[Number Six|Six]] - later called [[Caprica Six]] - was placed in a key position to sabotage the [[Colonial Defense Mainframe]] by seducing (and falling in love with) its designer, Doctor [[Gaius Baltar]]. Agents were also planted in the Colonial Fleet, including another Six, [[Gina Inviere]] aboard the battlestar ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'' and an [[Number Eight|Eight]], [[Sharon Valerii]] aboard the ''[[Galactica (TRS)|Galactica]]''. A [[Number Two|Two]] was also highly placed within the Colonial Government ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Downloaded]]", "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]" "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]", "[[Razor]]", "[[The Plan]]").

Though their [[Cylon religion|worship]] of a single, all powerful [[God (RDM)|God]] provided the Cylons with a moral direction, many - though not all - believed the extermination of the human race was justifiable. While some models viewed the attack on the Colonies as a preemptive strike against an aggressive adversary, others viewed it in more philosophical terms, believing that parents have to die for their children to grow ([[TRS]]: "[[Bastille Day]]", "[[Downloaded]]", "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]", "[[The Plan]]").

==Humanity's Children Return Home==
:''Main article: [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]]
[[Image:Cylon Fleet Surrounding Twelve Colonies.png|thumb|The Cylon war machine in orbit of Caprica.]]
More than forty years after their disappearance, the Cylons returned to the Twelve Colonies in force. Surrounding the Colonies with fleets of baseships, the Cylons unleashed a torrent of nuclear missiles and waves of raiders equipped with computer viruses capable of infiltrating and disabling Colonial ships' [[CNP|operating system software]] ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Razor]]", "[[The Plan]]").

===The Plan===
As the bombs fell on the Colonies, and cities like [[Caprica City]] were wiped from existence, the personal vendetta of John Cavil took shape. Having planted his "parents", the Final Five into Colonial life, Cavil took particular satisfaction in watching them suffer through the annihilation of the human race. Forcing them to experience the destruction of the Colonies, however, was not enough for Cavil, who pulled Ellen Tigh from the wreckage and placed her on an escaping [[Rising Star (TRS)|ship]] to later be hunted by the Cylons. Miraculously, all of the Final Five survived the destruction of the Twelve Worlds, four of them escaping into space, the fifth, Samuel Anders surviving in the mountains of Caprica ([[TRS]]: "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]", "[[The Resistance]]", "[[No Exit]]", "[[The Plan]]").

With the total destruction of the [[Scorpion Fleet Shipyards]] and scores of battlestars, many Colonial vessels attempted retreat, but only a handful survived the assault. The plan received mixed reviews from its Cylon engineers with models including [[Number Three|Three]]s considering a success beyond their expectations, while others, like "[[Six#.22Tough_Six.22|Tough Six]]" and John Cavil considering it a failure. Still the Colonial Fleet was destroyed and the Colonies themselves subjected to nuclear bombardment - humanity was all but wiped out, save a handful of survivors on the ground and in rag-tag fleets of escaping ships ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Downloaded]]", "[[Razor]]", "[[The Plan]]").

===The Survivors===
[[Image:Centurions on the street, The Plan.jpg|thumb|Cylons Centurions attack civilians on the streets.]]
Believing that any survivors allowed to escape would return to seek vengeance on them, the Cylons pursued the remnants of humanity. Chasing a [[The Fleet (TRS)|fleet]] of ships led by the battlestar ''Galactica'' well beyond explored space, the Cylons dogged the survivors, making several attempts at destroying them. Nevertheless, the fleet continued, under the command of Cylon War veteran Commander (later Admiral) William Adama and surviving Colonial cabinet member, later President [[Laura Roslin]] ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Exodus, Part II]]").

In the devastated Colonies, the Cylons slaughtered most of the survivors they were able to capture, though some were taken to "[[farm]]s" where they were subjected to medical testing and experiments: an attempt at solving the persistent reproductive problems of the Cylons by trying to fertilize human women with Cylon DNA. Though the farms proved unsuccessful, the Cylons remained on the Colonies, hunting survivors and fighting a resistance movement led by Samuel Anders - unaware of his true nature as one of the Final Five. They also worked to repair the damage they had done, removing bodies and repairing structures and replanting trees, the Cylons occupied the Twelve Worlds, taking them for their own ([[TRS]]: "[[The Resistance]]", "[[The Farm]]", "[[Downloaded]]").

===Cylon Occupied Caprica===
[[Image:S2-Downloaded-DelphiRestoration.jpg|thumb|Humanoid Cylons and Centurions work to rebuild Delphi, Caprica.]]
An extension of their attempt at creating a human/Cylon hybrid, the Cylons deliberately allowed a single survivor - Lieutenant [[Karl Agathon]], a Raptor pilot - to remain alive, wandering the woods and abandoned cities of Caprica with his former shipmate, Sharon Valerii. In reality, Agathon's companion was another [[Sharon Agathon|Cylon agent]], an Eight sent to fall in love with him and conceive a child. As Agathon and Valerii ostensibly evaded capture as they searched for a way off the planet, the two were forced into intimacy and ultimately conceived a child. The experiment, however successful, backfired on the Cylons when Valerii - apparently truly in love - began helping Agathon in earnest to avoid capture while keeping her true nature secret ([[TRS]]: "[[33]]", "[[Six Degrees of Separation]]", "[[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]]", "[[Colonial Day]]").

==Pursuit of the Fleet==
With agents embedded in the escaping vessels and a tracking device planted aboard the battlestar ''Galactica'', the Cylons attempted to bring the fleet down from within while simultaneously attacking it outright. Still, despite the Cylons' efforts, suicide bombers, sabotage and months of interstellar battles proved unsuccessful in eliminating the human fleet. Though their identities were still unknown, the existence and presence of humanoid Cylons quickly became common knowledge, further damaging the Cylons' advantage. Still, the four members of the Final Five residing in the fleet remained unaware of their true identities, Saul Tigh even acting as first officer of the ''Galactica'' alongside its commander, Cylon War veteran William Adama ([[TRS]]: "[[33]]", "[[Water]]", "[[Litmus]]", "[[Crossroads, Part II]]").

===Cylons Versus ''Galactica''===
[[Image:Ragnarbattle3.jpg|thumb|The Cylon fleet engages the ''Galactica'' at Ragnar Anchorage.]]
Within its first few months on the run, the fleet led by the ''Galactica'' was engaged by the Cylons in battle numerous times. The first conflict occurred as the ''Galactica'' armed itself and gathered its fleet to leave the Colonial star system at [[Ragnar Anchorage]]. Having discovered the Cylons' attempt at sabotaging the battlestar's CNP program, the crew of ''Galatica'' and Gaius Baltar - having survived the holocaust - purged the mainframe computer removing that particular Cylon advantage. Deploying a squadron of antique Viper Mark IIs from ''Galactica'''s [[Galactica Museum|Cylon War museum]], the Colonials [[Battle of Ragnar Anchorage|engaged]] Cylon basestars and raiders, providing the fleet cover in order to jump to safety. With the Cylons successfully repelled, the ''Galactica'' itself jumped away, leading the fleet to a new home - the mythical planet described by Colonial [[Sacred Scrolls]], Earth ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]]).

====Cylon Failures====
The Cylons quickly regrouped and pursued the Colonial fleet. As the Cylon fleet tracked the ''Galactica'' and its fleet jump after jump, a group of Cylon agents - John Cavil, [[Aaron Doral]], [[Leoben Conoy]], and [[Shelly Godfrey]] - worked from inside to disrupt, sabotage and destroy the fleet. Another Cylon - an Eight posing as Raptor pilot [[Sharon Valerii|Sharon "Boomer" Valerii]] - was planted aboard ''Galactica'' as a sleeper agent, acting against her ship under hypnotic suggestion. Cut off from the rest of their fleet, these Cylon agents bungled attempt after attempt to destroy the fleet, only able to contact the others after being killed and resurrected aboard a nearby [[Resurrection Ship]] ([[TRS]]: "[[33]]", "[[Water]]", "[[Litmus]]", "[[Six Degrees of Separation]]", "[[The Plan]]").

Further undermining the Cylon agents' attempts to destroy the fleet, were their own "human" failings. Like the Number Six, Shelly Godfrey who fell in love with Gaius Baltar after trying to frame him for treason, a [[Number Four|Four]] calling himself Simon O'Neill likewise fell in love with and married a human. Having spent years as an agent in the Colonial Fleet, O'Neill later refused orders to sabotage the a vessel in the rag-tag fleet, choosing to commit suicide rather than betray his human wife and adopted daughter ([[TRS]]: "[[The Plan]]").

====''Galactica'' Scores a Victory====
:''Main article: [[Battle for the Tylium Asteroid]]
[[Image:Colonial offensive, Hand of God.jpg|thumb|Colonial Vipers prepare to attack the Cylon plant.]]
After being on the run for weeks, the Colonial fleet was in desperate need of refueling. Discovering a rich source of [[tylium ore]] on an asteroid occupied by the Cylons, Commander Adama determined to take the fuel by force. Marking the first offensive against the Cylons, the Colonials planned an operation involving decoy ships to draw the Cylons' attention away from the asteroid as a squadron of Vipers led by Captain [[Lee Adama]] attacked the Cylon tylium processing plant. Though the operation proved costly in terms of equipment and manpower, the Colonials prevailed, sending the Cylons into retreat. As Commander Adama described it: "If you keep running from the school yard bully, he keeps on chasing you but the moment you turn around and stop you punch him really hard in a sensitive spot. He'll think twice about coming back" ([[TRS]]: "[[The Hand of God]]").

===Kobol Rediscovered===
:''Main article: [[Battle of Kobol (RDM)|Battle of Kobol]]''
[[Image:Kobol surface, Kobol's Last Gleaming II.jpg|thumb|Ruins on the ancient world of Kobol.]]
Believing they possessed a greater knowledge of human religion than the Colonials did themselves, the Cylons traveled to the planet Kobol where Colonials believed life originated. Placing a basestar in orbit, the Cylons laid in wait, hoping to catch the Fleet seeking refuge. Soon, the Colonial fleet detected Kobol and dispatched a scout of three Raptors to survey the planet. Destroying one of the Raptors immediately, the Cylons forced another to jump back to ''Galactica'' while the third crashed on Kobol. On Kobol the survivors fought for survival against a landing party of Cylon Centurions, engaging them in multiple firefights ([[TRS]]: "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I|Kobol's Last Gleaming, Parts I]] & [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II|II]]", "[[Scattered]]", "[[Fragged]]").

With the Cylons waiting in orbit, the Colonials were unable to rescue their men, choosing instead to send a Raptor piloted by Sharon Valerii - still unaware of her true nature - to plant an explosive aboard the basestar. Using a Cylon tracking device to disguise her ship as a captured vessel, Valerii and her co-pilot [[Margaret Edmondson]] flew their Raptor inside the baseship and planted a nuclear device. As she attempted to arm the nuke aboard the baseship, Valerii was confronted by a group of Eights, who allowed Sharon to plant the bomb and depart before the device detonated, destroying the Cylon vessel ([[TRS]]: "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]").

[[Image:Valshootadama.jpg|thumb|Sharon Valerii shoots Commander Adama in the chest.]]

Returning to the ''Galactica'' victorious, Valerii's Cylon programming activated and she shot Commander Adama twice in the chest, point-blank range. With the ''Galactica'' in chaos, another Cylon basestar attacked the fleet, forcing the Colonials to abandon Kobol and retreat. However, in the confusion, the fleet was separated from the ''Galactica'', leaving it vulnerable to attack ([[TRS]]: "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]", "[[Scattered]]").

Fearing for the safety of the civilians at jump coordinates unkown, Colonel Saul Tigh took command of the ''Galactica'' jumping the ship back to its original coordinates and back to the Cylons in order to locate the fleet. Fighting off a Cylon barrage, the coordinates were discovered and the ''Galactica'' jumped away once again, but not before taking on a boarding party of Centurions. Using the same tactics they employed during the Cylon War, the Centurions disabled ''Galactica'' and overran the ship, attempting to reach its atmospheric controls and vent the crew into space. Despite losing a handful of officers to brutal hand-to-hand combat with the Centurions, the crew of ''Galactica'' prevailed, repelling the Cylon boarding party, repairing the ship, and returning to the Fleet. In addition, the Colonials also acquired the Cylon party's ship, a [[Heavy Raider]], allowing them study and cannibalize its technology ([[TRS]]: "[[Scattered]]", "[[Fragged]]").

===Resurrection===
With their fleet reunited and its commander on the mend, the Colonials continued their flight to Earth - and the Cylons tracking them. Unknown to the humans, however, another Colonial vessel, the battlestar ''Pegasus'' had also survived. Conducting hit-and-run operations against Cylon installations including a [[communication relay]] and Raider staging ground, the ''Pegasus'' tracked the Cylon fleet only to discover its target: the ''Galactica''. Joining with the ''Galactica'', the presence of the ''Pegasus'' gave the Colonials further advantage and resulted in yet another [[Battle of the Resurrection Ship|offensive]] against the Cylons ([[TRS]]: "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]", "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I|Resurrection Ship, Parts I]] & [[Resurrection Ship, Part II|II]]", "[[Razor]]").

[[Image:TheEnemysGateIsDown.jpg|thumb|left|The Cylons take heavy losses under assault from ''Galactica'' and ''Pegasus''.]]

Locating and targeting the Cylon Resurrection Ship - a previously unknown vehicle - the Colonials planned an operation to take it out, thus temporarily robbing the Cylons of their ability to download into new bodies. The combined offensive action resulted in the destruction of an entire fleet of basestars and the ultimate destruction of the Resurrection Ship, sending the Cylons into retreat ([[TRS]]: "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I|Resurrection Ship, Parts I]] & [[Resurrection Ship, Part II|II]]").

Though the Colonials were victorious, the Cylons scored their own victory when a captured Cylon agent, Gina Inviere, escaped her cell aboard ''Galactica'' and assassinated the ship's commander, Admiral [[Helena Cain]]. Though other commanders rose to take Cain's place, the command structure aboard ''Pegasus'' was weakened - a fact demonstrated when the ship's new commander was killed when the Cylons lured ''Pegasus'' into an easy [[Battle of the Binary Star System|ambush]] ([[TRS]]: "[[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]", "[[Captain's Hand]]").

Still, the Cylons became cautious, changing their tactics to reflect their loss of resurrection. Even Raiders - which were capable of downloading after being destroyed - behaved differently, choosing not to engage Colonial fighters in battle, but rather lure them into traps. Though the loss of the Resurrection Ship created yet another disadvantage for the Cylons, the loss was only momentary and a new ship was soon placed into service ([[TRS]]: "[[Scar]]", "[[The Plan]]").

==A New Plan==
Having failed time and again to destroy the more than fifty-thousand survivors aboard the Colonial fleet, and continuing to suffer attacks from the human resistance movement on Caprica, the Cylons' plans changed ([[TRS]]: "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]", "[[The Plan]]").

===Heroes of the Cylon===
[[Image:Heroes of the Cylon, Downloaded.jpg|thumb|Caprica Six and Boomer pledge to change the course of Cylon history.]]
After being killed aboard the ''Galactica'' in retribution for shooting - though not fatally shooting - William Adama, Sharon Valerii was resurrected and sent to live on Cylon occupied Caprica. There she was heralded as a hero, but struggled to cope with life as a former sleeper agent, unable to move beyond her life aboard ''Galactica''. Taking up residence in her old apartment in [[Delphi]], Valerii - continuing to go by her ''Galactica'' call sign "Boomer" - proved a threat to the Cylons who valued unity and conformity in their culture ([[TRS]]: "[[Resistance (episode)|Resistance]]", "[[Downloaded]]").

Also struggling to reconcile her actions as an undercover agent, Caprica Six - haunted by a [[Messenger Baltar|vision]] of Gaius Baltar - was sent to meet Boomer in order to help her move on. Though Six was unaware of it at the time, she too proved a threat to Cylon conformity and was sent to meet with Boomer in order to prevent both from being punitively [[boxing|boxed]]. This however backfired and together the "[[Heroes of the Cylon]]" worked to change the course of action pursued by their people. Influenced by their love and affection for humanity - Six for her love of Baltar and Boomer her love of Galen Tyrol - the Heroes convinced the Cylon majority that the genocide and occupation of the Colonies was immoral. With this vast change in philosophy, the Cylons abandoned the Colonies, allowing a One to be captured and taken aboard ''Galactica'' where he informed humanity that it could return home ([[TRS]]: "[[Downloaded]]", "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]", "[[The Plan]]").

===Benevolent Dictators===
[[Image:Bsg_s02_e20_time01-06-12_orig.jpg|thumb|Cylon Centurions invade New Caprica.]]
Following a rescue mission to retrieve survivors from Caprica - including Samuel Anders and his resistance group - the fleet led by ''Galactica'' continued its search for Earth, refusing the offer from the Cylons to return to the now abandoned Colonies. As Colonial society became split over the prospect of settling on a planet dubbed [[New Caprica]], the Cylon agent from ''Pegasus'', Gina Inviere detonated a nuclear device in orbit of the planet - a signal to the Cylons of the fleet's location ([[TRS]]: "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]").

Ultimately choosing to settle on New Caprica, the Colonials abandoned most of their fleet for a makeshift [[New Caprica City|village]] on the planet's surface, leaving the ''Galactica'' and ''Pegasus'' to patrol in orbit. Despite the patrols, however, the planet was protected by a nebula that masked its presence from the Cylons for more than a year. Detecting traces of the nuclear detonation, the Cylons eventually discovered the planet and surrounded it. With the Colonials caught totally by surprise and the ''Galactica'' and ''Pegasus'' in retreat, the Cylons were offered the unconditional surrender of humanity ([[TRS]]: "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]").

[[Image:BONC.jpg|thumb|Cylon baseships destroys the ''Pegasus'' in a momentary victory.]]

Though the Cylons were ostensibly there for peaceful coexistence and cooperation with humanity, the situation on New Caprica quickly devolved into an occupation. While this new course for Cylon/human relations - spearheaded by Caprica Six and Boomer - was far more peaceful than their previous attempts at genocide, the Cylons nevertheless resorted to brute force, restricting many freedoms and leading to a [[New Caprica Resistance|resistance movement]]. As the Cylons battled the resistance, the ''Galactica'' and ''Pegasus'' regrouped and returned to rescue the colonists. With both ships engaged in heavy combat with the Cylons, the ''Pegasus'' was destroyed, taking out several basestars in the process. Themselves complacently underpowered in terms of reinforcements, the Cylon occupiers fled New Caprica, taking Gaius Baltar and the half-human, half-Cylon child [[Hera Agathon|Hera]] with them ([[TRS]]: "[[Exodus, Part I|Exodus, Parts I]] & [[Exodus, Part II|II]]").

==The Race to Earth==
:''Main article: [[Earth (RDM)]]''

The Cylons abandoned New Caprica as well, retrieving the Cylon-hybrid baby from the planet by happenstance, and turned their attention to the same objective as the Colonials: finding Earth. Using the research of [[Gaius Baltar]] (who resided with the Cylon fleet at the time), the Cylons located the [[Lion's Head Nebula]]. A scouting basestar found an [[Lion's Head beacon|ancient beacon]] in the area, verifying that the [[Thirteenth Tribe (RDM)|Thirteenth Tribe]] did pass through the area on their way to Earth. But the Cylon scout ship met with disaster; the probe was [[Lymphocytic encephalitis|contaminated with a pathogen]] that, while benign to humans, infects, deactivates or kills all Cylons, their ships, and their entities ([[Torn]]).

The Cylon fleet, which also includes a second Resurrection Ship, abandoned the scouts and cut off further communication, believing that the virus could replicate through their resurrection process. The Cylon scout ship eventually self-destructed and the Cylons managed to prevent the infection from spreading, although, unknown to the Cylons, the Colonials gained a critical biological warfare option ([[A Measure of Salvation]]).

The [[Number Three]] units exhibited strange behavior in attempting to ascertain the identities of the [[Final Five]] Cylon models, as they had seen in visions prior to a model being resurrected. At the [[algae planet]], while the Cylon majority attempted to gain information on the location of Earth by way of the [[Eye of Jupiter]], the Threes' ulterior motive to seek knowledge of the [[Final Five]] disturbed the collective status quo and command consensus of the Cylon majority to the point where all Three models were [[boxing|boxed]] for their aberrant behavior ([[Rapture]])

==The Final Five==
:''Main article: [[Final Five]]''

Unknown to either the Cylon or Colonial commanders and leaders, four Colonials exhibited strange behavior that ultimately brought them to come to the discovery that they are Cylons. [[Saul Tigh]], [[Galen Tyrol]], [[Samuel Anders]] and [[Tory Foster]] were the only crewmembers that could hear a [[The Music|strange melody]] that drew them to meet each other in a room on ''Galactica'', shortly after the Fleet arrived at the Ionian nebula. The nature of these particular Cylon models, especially given Saul Tigh's existence as a decorated veteran of the Cylon War, was unclear and likely fundamentally different from other humanoid Cylons.

During the [[Battle of the Ionian Nebula|ensuing battle]], one [[Raider (RDM)|Raider]] identified Anders as a Cylon, which caused all Raiders to break off the battle and forced the Cylon fleet to retreat. Because of this, a [[Number One]] decided to lobotomize the Raiders to prevent such insubordination in the future. This decision was opposed by a faction, led by [[Natalie]], who advocated the search for the Final Five and who desired to unbox [[Number Three]] to learn what she found at the Temple of Five. The disagreement between these factions led to a [[Cylon Civil War|violent conflict]] between the humanoid models. This eventually leads to the [[Battle of the Resurrection Hub]] where [[resurrection]] is destroyed by a combined attack force from the Rebel Cylons and the Colonials. Eventually the Rebel Cylons and the Colonials destroy the main enemy Cylon faction in the [[Battle of the Colony]]. The remainder of the Rebel Cylons settle on the new Earth with the Colonials while they let their Centurions have the [[Rebel Basestar]] and their freedom to find their own destiny.

==The Parent Trap==
In the [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Re-imagined Series]], an [[w:Oedipus complex|Oedipus theme]] exists between the creations (Cylons) turning on their creators (Colonials). The [[Humanoid Cylon|humanoid Cylons]] themselves draw the analogy of children murdering their parents:

[[Image:Parents have to die.jpg|thumb|right|"But parents have to die. It's the only way children come into their own."]]
* [[Number Six]]: "Humanity's children are returning home... today." ([[Miniseries]])
* [[Number Five]]: "But parents have to die. It's the only way children come into their own." ([[Bastille Day]])

Oedipus is the tragic character of Sophocles' play ''Oedipus Rex''. Without realizing it until much later, Oedipus murdered his father Laius and married his mother Jocasta, with whom he had several children, just as the Cylons had tried to do in the [[farms]].

All the Significant Seven models view each other as "siblings".

==Notes==
* The retaliatory nature of sentient machines against humanity is a popular [[Themes in Battlestar Galactica (RDM)#Themes compared to those in other media|theme]] in science fiction.

==Cylon Evolution Tree==
{{Cylon evolution tree}}

==References==
<div style="font-size:85%"><references/></div>

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Cylons]]
[[Category:Cylons (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]

The Road Less Traveled

2011-03-25T22:11:39Z

Dubaaron: a few small grammatical corrections

{{Episode Data
| image=4x05 - The Road Less Travelled - Promo 1.jpg
| title= The Road Less Traveled
| season= 4
| episode= 5
| guests=
| forumthread= 1008
| writer=[[Mark Verheiden]]
| story=
| director=[[Michael Rymer]]
| production=407
| rating=1.3
| US airdate=2 May 2008
| CAN airdate=2 May 2008
| UK airdate=6 May 2008
| dvd={{flag|US|notext=Y}} {{Season 4.0 NTSC DVD release date}}
| population=39676
| oldpopulation=39675
| prev= [[Escape Velocity]]
| next= [[Faith]]
| amazon=y
| podcast = Y
| frakr=Baltar Gets a Handshake
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}}

== Overview ==

: ''The prospect of a truce between the [[The Fleet (RDM)|remnants of humanity]] and the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylon]]s encourages [[Kara Thrace]] to trust an old enemy.''

== Summary ==

=== On ''Galactica'' ===

* [[Gaius Baltar]] listens to the laments of [[Phoebe]], who lost her two children on [[Picon (RDM)|Picon]], as well as her husband, during the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]]. She is angered by the fact that all this happened and that the [[Lords of Kobol (RDM)|Gods]] did nothing to spite the people who were responsible for the attack, such as the politicians, programmers, and corporations. Baltar, surrounded by his [[Cult of Baltar|followers]], makes a speech (which is recorded and broadcast over the [[wireless]]) about how the Gods failed to come to their aid not because they didn't want to, but because the Lords of Kobol don't exist.

* [[Galen Tyrol]] is listening to Baltar's broadcast while exercising with a jumping rope, but turns it off eventually. [[Nicholas Tyrol|Nicholas]] begins crying, so Tyrol turns it on again, which apparently soothes the child.

* Later, Tyrol silently stands in the [[launch tube (RDM)|launch tube]] where his wife died and is joined by [[Tory Foster]]. Foster tell him that it might never make sense, no matter how long he obsesses over it. Tyrol can't believe that she would commit suicide, despite taking anti-depressants and that she would leave her son behind. Foster tells him to let it go and brings up the possibility that she might have known that he is a Cylon.

* After having sex with Foster, Baltar wonders if she is telling [[Laura Roslin|Roslin]] about what he does. She affirms, but says that the politicians have bigger things to worry about than him, and that only inconsequential people from the fringe of society are drawn to him.

* Later, Tyrol hears another of Baltar's sermons and heads down to the commune. There he listens, but is pulled aside by Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]], who scowls and scoffs Tyrol for not getting over Cally's death quickly. Tyrol is told that he needs to get over Cally's death before they are outed as [[Final Five|Cylons]]. Tyrol retorts that Tigh isn't dealing well with their situation either and that he knows that Tigh has been spending time with [[Caprica-Six]].

* After Tigh leaves, Baltar calls out Tyrol, saying that he's sorry for his loss. Tyrol becomes furious, saying that Baltar is a scumbag and that, for some reason, Cally liked him and his [[My Triumphs, My Mistakes|manifesto]] and his dead. Baltar doesn't raise to the bait and asks Tyrol to shake his hand. However, Tyrol grabs him by the throat. Baltar's followers pull him away and Tyrol leaves after shouting "you didn't know her!"

* Back in his quarters, he becomes furious, takes a pistol from a shelf and briefly contemplates killing himself. Later, as Tyrol lies awake in bed, still with his service weapon in hand, Baltar visits him and apologizes for the things he said about Cally. He also tells Tyrol that he committed many crimes and accepted his religious role as his only remaining chance of redemption. Tyrol listens silently, then still without speaking extends his hand to Baltar, who takes it.

=== On the ''Demetrius'' ===

* On day 58 of their mission, [[Kara Thrace]] unexpectedly decides to join the [[Combat Air Patrol]], although this usually is beyond her duty as captain. With [[Brendan Costanza|Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza]] as her wingman, Thrace (in [[Diana Seelix|Seelix]]'s Viper) encounters a heavily damaged [[Heavy Raider]] that just appeared on their [[DRADIS]]. Both are unsure of what course of action to take, until [[Leoben Conoy (New Caprica copy)|Leoben Conoy]] hails them over the [[wireless]], offering them a truce between Cylons and humans and a chance for Thrace to fulfill her "journey."
* After allowing the Heavy Raider to dock, Conoy tells Thrace that the ones he left behind on the [[Basestar (RDM)|baseship]] need her help, but also that the [[Hybrid]] can help them. Although the crew doesn't find any explosives or tracking devices in the Raider, they are suspicious of Conoy.
* However, Thrace has Conoy escorted to her quarters, where he aims to help her until [[Samuel Anders]] sees how physically close they are and assaults Conoy. He fights with him until the Marines drag Conoy away to lock him up in a closet.
* Anders visits Conoy there to ask him what he wants from Thrace. He tells Anders that he wants to understand her [[The Destiny|destiny]], which Anders doesn't consider good enough. Conoy replies that it is good enough for Thrace and that Anders might have his own destiny, beyond his relatively inconsequential life as a [[Pyramid (RDM)|Pyramid]] player. Conoy's words disturb Anders, who fears Conoy may know of his Cylon nature. Conoy also repeats his offer of a truce and that they can find Earth, the "promised land," together.
* On the bridge, [[Sharon Agathon]] and others express their concern that Thrace cannot be trusted, and that they have to meet up with the Fleet to refuel. Moreover, Admiral [[William Adama|Adama]] made it clear that if the ship didn't return by then, they would be considered lost.
* [[Karl Agathon]] defends Starbuck's authority, but out of concern orders a more thorough search for tracking devices and other potential issues. Gunnery Sergeant [[Erin Mathias|Mathias]] dons a spacesuit and conducts an inspection of the hull, but is blown away and killed after the reactor on the ship goes critical.
* After her death, Thrace makes a speech to the ship's crew in the mess hall, saying that sometimes people die senseless deaths, but that she is responsible for Mathias's death and has to live with it. She is trying to concede that she may have been a difficult captain, but can't find the words. [[Felix Gaeta]] tries to come to her aid, by telling her that the rendezvous coordinates with the Fleet have been laid in, but Thrace again insists to meet with Conoy's basestar.
* At this, [[Eammon Pike]] becomes openly hostile and riles everyone up against Thrace's order, believing that her course of action will get them killed, too. Captain Agathon offers him a chance to walk away, but when Pike continues, he pistol whips him into unconsciousness.
* Later, on the bridge, she orders the crew to spin up the [[FTL]] drives and prepare to jump to the [[Cylon Civil War|Cylon rebels]]' basestar. Captain Agathon refuses, which leads her to promote Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta]] to be her new XO, who refuses to carry out the order as well. Agathon then officially relieves Thrace of command, citing the [[Colonial Military Code]].

== Notes ==
*The title is derived from the poem "The Road Not Taken" by [[w:Robert Frost|Robert Frost]]
::''Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—''
::''I took the one less traveled by,''
::''And that has made all the difference.''
:The common interpretation is that one may be rewarded greatly by choosing a more difficult path than the one used by the crowd. The phrase may also have had a religious meaning for Frost, alluding to [http://www.newadvent.org/bible/mat007.htm Matthew 7,12-14], which mentions a broad gate leading to destruction and a narrow gate leading to salvation. <ref>{{cite_web|url=http://local.google.com/answers/threadview?id=426710|title=Google Answers: Origin of "road less travelled"}}</ref>
* The survivor count increases by one, meaning that at least one child has been born in the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]].
* It has been 58 days since the end of "[[Six of One]]", when Kara Thrace is given the command of the ''[[Demetrius]]''.
* Gunnery Sergeant [[Erin Mathias|Mathias]]'s first name, Erin, is spoken for the first time on screen.
* Neither [[William Adama]] nor [[Laura Roslin]] appear in this episode. In both cases, this is [[Central character absences (RDM)|unprecedented]].
* Just before the damaged Heavy Raider comes into view, the constellation of Orion is clearly visible by mistake<ref>Revealed by [[Adam "Mojo" Lebowitz]] in his [http://darthmojo.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/my-god-it-full-of-the-wrong-stars/ blog post].</ref>, just as it was during the Cavil-Boomer faction's ambush of the Natalie-Conoy faction.
* In a deleted scene (included on the Season 4.0 DVD), just before going out to talk to his followers, Baltar is visited by [[Virtual Six]], who proceeds to say goodbye to him, saying he no longer needs him anymore. Baltar thanks her and leaves; Virtual Six watches him go and then fades away. Virtual Six reappears in a later episode, rendering this farewell scene moot.

== Analysis ==

=== Characters ===

==== Kara Thrace ====

* This episode states clearly that Thrace does remember what happened when she descended into the maelstrom that supposedly killed her. She apparently remembers chasing the Heavy Raider, the vision of her mother, and the message that she has a destiny to fulfill.
* In an interesting moment of symmetry, Conoy, after being beaten up and thrown down by Anders, recites the first article of faith. This is a call back to "[[Flesh and Bone]]", when after one of the interrogation sessions he experienced at the hands of Thrace, he recites the first article of faith.
* Although [[Karl Agathon]] initially defends Thrace against her crew's discontent and tries to quell any insubordination, he eventually leads the mutiny against her. The difference is that [[Eammon Pike]], and to a lesser extent [[Sharon Agathon]], complain about Thrace behind her back and in an informal way, thus potentially impeding everyone in their work. When push comes to shove, Agathon shares their opinion, but uses official means by citing Colonial military regulations. As executive officer he is also in a better and more credible position to do so than the rest of the crew.

==== Galen Tyrol ====

* Instead of using his demotion as a wakeup call, Chief [[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]] has slipped further into despair and even contemplates to kill himself. That he has completely shaven his head might also be an indicator of his state of mind.
* Earlier resenting Baltar's presumption of believing what Tyrol's dead wife Cally would want, Tyrol strangles Baltar after ignoring his hand to shake. After Tyrol's suicide effort Baltar visits him in his quarters to apologize and Tyrol accepts Baltar's handshake. In light of Tyrol's resentment, and even hatred, towards Baltar displayed in other episodes, it seems more likely that Tyrol forgives Baltar for offending him in this one instance, but not for all his sins as Baltar may intend.
* Tyrol contemplating to kill himself is visually and thematically similar to [[Sharon Valerii]]'s suicide thoughts in "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]". Both either suspect or know that they are a Cylon and fear to hurt those around them. However, Valerii was more serious and calm about killing herself and made a real attempt to do so, while Tyrol acts in a fit of rage and eventually calms down.
* In spite of Foster clinging to the idea that she is perfect and thus cannot be held accountable for her actions, her unwillingness and blatant lying to Tyrol about Cally's death betrays her fear of what would happen if Tyrol were to learn that she was responsible for her murder.

=== Cylons ===

* Conoy's comments to Anders indicate that a true Cylon civil war has commenced, and not an isolated incident between the Cavil-Boomer faction vs. the Natalie-Conoy ("rebel") faction.
* The Cylon Civil War appears to be fulfillment of the [[First Hybrid]]'s prophecy from "[[Razor]]". "''[[Significant Seven|They]] will know enmity, bitterness, the wrenching agony of the one splintering into the many...''" Furthermore, it appears that the alliance offered by Conoy to the Colonials could possibly be the meaning of "''...they will join the promised land, gathered on the wings of an angel. Not an end, but a beginning''," as Conoy tells Thrace that he now sees an angel when he looks at her.

== Questions ==

=== Answered Questions ===

* How will the situation on the ''Demetrius'' be resolved? ([[Faith|Answer]])
* What have Tigh and Caprica-Six been doing recently? ([[Sine Qua Non|Answer]])
* Does Conoy sense that Anders is a fellow Cylon? ([[Revelations|Answer]])
* Will Galen Tyrol begin to associate with Baltar? ([[A Disquiet Follows My Soul|Partial Answer #1]], [[The Oath|Partial Answer #2]], [[Blood on the Scales|Partial Answer #3]])

=== Unanswered Questions ===

* If yes to the last question in the above section, will Baltar have a positive influence on Tyrol and help him to overcome his grief or uncertainty about being a Cylon?
* Why does Baltar's broadcast appear to soothe Nicholas Tyrol?
* How large has Baltar's movement grown?
* Did Conoy intend for his Raider to explode or is it really an accident?
* Why does Baltar focus on making amends with Tyrol? Is it because of Foster's words, a genuine desire to reach out to Tyrol, or both?

== Official Statements ==

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==
*''[[Gaius Baltar]] to [[Galen Tyrol]] about his conversion to a believer:''
:"I know it's hard to...make sense of things sometimes. In my own life, I...in my own life I've joined the fleet as a scientist, as a skeptic, as a...supposedly a man of reason. Only to have fate turn that all on its head. But I understand now that there is a purpose to it. We change. We evolve. Maybe we even learn something along the way. (pauses) I have committed...unconscionable crimes. And I have been offered one last chance at redemption, because I chose to accept my fate and not fight it anymore."

== Guest Stars ==

* [[Rekha Sharma]] as [[Tory Foster]]
* [[Bodie Olmos]] as Lieutenant [[Brendan Costanza|Brendan "Hotdog" Costanza]]
* [[Callum Keith Rennie]] as [[Number Two]]
* [[Eileen Pedde]] as Gunnery Sergeant [[Erin Mathias]]
* [[Jennifer Halley]] as Ensign [[Diana Seelix|Diana "Hardball" Seelix]]
* [[Keegan Connor Tracy]] as [[Jeanne]]
* [[Lara Gilchrist]] as [[Paulla Schaffer]]
* [[Leela Savasta]] as [[Tracey Anne]]
* [[Finn R. Devitt]] as [[Nicholas Tyrol]] (credited as "Baby Nicky")
* [[Ryan McDonell]] as Lieutenant [[Eammon Pike|Eammon "Gonzo" Pike]]
* [[Alisen Down]] as [[Jean Barolay]]
* [[Lori Triolo]] as [[Phoebe]]
* [[Leo Li Chiang]] as the [[Tattooed pilot]] (uncredited)

== External Links ==
*Composer [[Bear McCreary]] on the episode's score: http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/?p=306

== References ==
<div style="font-size:85%"><references/></div>

{{Episode list (RDM season 4)}}

[[Category:Episodes directed by Michael Rymer]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Mark Verheiden]]
[[Category:RDM]]

[[de:Meuterei im All]]