Battlestar Wiki - User contributions [en]

Talk:Sine Qua Non/Archive 1

2008-06-10T15:41:52Z

Gmusser: /* Battlestar leaving the fleet undefended */

{{newsection link}}

== No promo pics ==

As far as I can tell, no promo pics for this episode were released?? -- [[User:Gougef|FrankieG]] 20:37, 15 May 2008 (UTC)
: I suspect that there's a reason for this... and it may relate {{spoilli|to Mary McDonnell}}. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] [[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]] 02:56, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

== Promo spoilers ==

{{spoilli|Romo Lampkin appears towards the end of the trailer; could this be the returning "favourite character"?}} (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dbjPNG_9Xo) --[[User:Kosh|Kosh]] 04:06, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

== Lock? ==

Considering on this side of the Atlantic we get the episode 3 days before the US does, what is the procedure going to be for locking this article (and the rest of 4.0)? [[User:OTW|OTW]] 21:12, 23 May 2008 (UTC)
:Lock it a day before the UK airing I guess. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 21:13, 23 May 2008 (UTC)
::And keep it locked for 4 days? That would be a very long time to have an article locked. [[User:OTW|OTW]] 22:41, 23 May 2008 (UTC)
:::Mhh, yeah, that is a problem. We could unlock it until the US airing and then lock it again. So there are 2-3 days to edit it. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 22:47, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

I feel that it'll be determined on a case-by-case basis... If the article is sufficiently developed by Friday, we may just leave it unlocked and see how the server copes. If not, then we lock on Friday and Saturday (till noon-ish). Sound good? -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] [[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]] 20:02, 24 May 2008 (UTC)
: I don't see any real need to lock this article on Friday, since it's pretty fleshed out. If it becomes a performance issue, then, we'll lock it. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] [[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]] 05:15, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

== Surviour Count ==

How are we qualifiying the count as going up?

Caprica Six has an unborn baby, which is obviously debatable in terms of counting as a surviour because the baby's parents are both Cylons and it isn't even born, but I digress as that isn't my point.

Either way, a Raptor poliot has been ''confirmed'' dead and a Viper pilot has been persumed dead, which at worst cancels the unborn baby in terms of surviours.
--[[User:Syferus|Syferus]] 19:33, 28 May 2008 (UTC)
:Children are born within the Fleet. There are a couple of cases where the count just goes up or deaths are offset. In fact it probably doesn't happen often enough. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 19:48, 28 May 2008 (UTC)
::"In universe" the teaser ends only a few hours after [[Guess What's Coming to Dinner?]] does, so its likely that the "battle of the resurrection hub" hadn't concluded by that point. It's interesting to note they didn't subtract all the abductees though. My guess is that the [[The Hub]] will be chronologically concurrent with Sine Qua Non, making our survivor count next week a little confusing. [[User:OTW|OTW]] 12:45, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

== Lance the Cat is not dead ==

When Romo discovers Lee Adama is the only candidate for the President he is talking to his cat, Lance. He leaves to go confront Lee and he says to the cat, "Lance, defense rests. Come on." In the next scene he claiming Lance was dead for weeks.

If this is true it fits Romo's pattern of manipulation. He used the same pattern during the trial of Balter (the use of the cane). The best explanation is that Romo is using the cat to manipulate Lee.

: The cat is dead, Jim. Lee sees the body of it in the duffel bag. Also, there are several indicators to all of this in the episode; the fact that no one else but Romo sees the pet, Lee almost tripping over an overturned, empty dish... not to mention Lampkin's general depression and ennui. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] [[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]] 03:43, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
: This confused me too, but go back and look at those scenes. One of the first scenes, the cat is sitting next to Romo on the bed, and it when it cuts away from Romo the cat is gone. [[User:Philwelch|Philwelch]] 11:18, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

== Fundamental difference? ==
There is another possible explanation for Caprica-Six's pregnancy, maybe the [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThePowerOfLove love theory] is correct, perhaps Cylon have some sort of biological failsafe to prevent them from breeding in the wrong circumstances. -- [[User:Gordon Ecker|Gordon Ecker]] 02:57, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

== Incorrect quote ==
In re "Lampkin: Quandary is, one doesn't generally get the chance to wield political power without the ambition to actively seek it. That same ambition often compromises the unselfish motives that began the quest. In other words, in a battle of it versus ego, that ego rarely wins."

I'm pretty sure it was "ID versus ego." That's how I heard it and it makes alot more sense. Lampkin was talking about repressed desiers ( ID ) beating out our unselfish motives (ego). I didn't record the show, however, so someone who can check may want to edit this. {{unsigned|Glaucon}}

: Agreed. It's "id vs. ego". -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] [[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]] 05:14, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

== If / when ==

''"What exactly happened to the rebel baseship and the [[Resurrection Hub]]? Did the rebels and Colonials escape '''when/if''' their baseship was destroyed?"''

Seems its difficult to decide if it is conclusive that the rebel basestar was destroyed or not. IMO I'd go for "if", because although it looks likely, it's not certain (Adama still has hope for one). They'd probably have to have destroyed one of Cavil's basestars if they were to eliminate the Hub. [[User:OTW|OTW]] 17:02, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
:Yeah, now that you say it, that seems to be correct. Sorry. To me it initially seemed like the basestar is destroyed for sure. Which is what Tigh thinks. But Adama believes that they survived. So there is some uncertainty. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 17:32, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

== More breaks than acts? ==

Is it my imagination, or did SkyOne throw in more commercial breaks than there are acts in this episode? -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] [[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]] 17:35, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
:It was hard for me to follow, particularly since the central Indiana area was dodging severe thunderstorms and tornadoes during the first broadcast, which interrupted my cable recordings and totally munged up my DVR. Ssssss... --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 16:43, 1 June 2008 (UTC)
: Well, I'll see if I can't catch a repeat, unless someone beats me to it. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] [[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]] 20:49, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

== Boomer/Athena's song (hum?) ==

Just wanted to let you guys know that the song Boomer/Athena both hum is a traditional Korean children's song. The title would roughly translate to "The Stream Deep in the Forest." I guess Grace Park picked the song, since she's Korean.
[[User:Icenerve|Icenerve]] 17:48, 30 May 2008 (UTC)icenerve
:As noted at [[Flesh and Bone#Notes]] (at the very end), though the title is given a bit different there. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 17:52, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

== Where Romo confronted Lee ==

The article assumes that Romo held Lee at gunpoint in Colonial One. While it was clearly the Colonial One set, the way it was lit, shot, and the added industrial details made it seem to me that it was a redress that was supposed to be Romo's ship. -- [[User:David cgc|David cgc]] 16:11, 31 May 2008 (UTC)
:Could be either. Lampkin is alone and then goes off to see Adama. But then he runs into Adama in the hallway. That could either mean that Adama simultaneously goes to see Lampkin (the reason for which isn't explained), or that the two run into each other on ''Colonial One''. It's not like the ship is all plush and luxury. There are cargo areas in the bowels of the ships for example. Anyways, I removed, since it's a bit unclear, but not vital information -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 16:24, 31 May 2008 (UTC)
::Guys, wow... It's ''Colonial One'', since Romo just came from deliberations with the Quorum, which meets on ''Colonial One''. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] [[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]] 16:33, 31 May 2008 (UTC)
:::Erm, it doesn't say that he comes from a Quorum meeting. "We found our candidate. One the Quorum won't hesitate to approve". That doesn't sound like he actually talked to them yet. One might also say that he is just leaving his quarters and runs into Adama outside. I consider it be ''Colonial One'' as well, but I can see why people can be confused about it. But as said, it doesn't really matter. Or could Lampkin actually live somewhere on ''Colonial One''? Ah..I don't really care :p -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 18:04, 31 May 2008 (UTC)
:::: I suppose I can see where other people are coming from. Anyway, hopefully the podcast might clear that up, once one's released. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] [[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]] 18:19, 31 May 2008 (UTC)
:::::My assumption (and it is only that) from Romo saying Laura gave him the room was that Romo's new room is on Colonial One. It's a big ship that does house some civilians on a permanent basis, and it kinda fits. [[User:OTW|OTW]] 19:17, 31 May 2008 (UTC)
::::::That'd make sense. I'm sure the person or persons who had that room before him weren't too pleased to give up such a spacious piece of real estate. :P -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] [[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]] 20:48, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

== Battlestar leaving the fleet undefended ==

The wiki states:
<blockquote>
Despite the fact that Galactica has left the Fleet before to engage combat, this episode marks the first time that the civilian Fleet is intentionally left without any defense. The only other time the Fleet was left without military aid was after Boomer's assassination attempt of William Adama, when Galactica accidentally jumped to different coordinates than the rest of the Fleet (Scattered).</blockquote>
Actually the Pegasus left the (residual) fleet undefended during the Battle of New Caprica. I added a note to this effect to the wiki, but someone edited it out. —The preceding '''[[BW:SIGN|unsigned]]''' comment was added by [[User:Gmusser|Gmusser]] ([[User talk:Gmusser|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Gmusser|contribs]]).
:''Pegasus'' left its entire air wing behind to guard the residual fleet, hence the need for suicidal tactics at the Battle of New Caprica. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 18:42, 9 June 2008 (UTC)
::Exactly the reason why I removed it. At least I think it was me :) -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 18:54, 9 June 2008 (UTC)
Ah, I see your point. Thanks for setting me straight. Why don't you flesh out this part of the discusson?--[[User:Gmusser|Gmusser]] 15:41, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Talk:Sine Qua Non/Archive 1

2008-06-10T15:39:18Z

Gmusser: /* Battlestar leaving the fleet undefended */

2006-01-30T15:03:00Z

Gmusser:

George Musser is a science editor and writer (with a background in planetary science) living in Glen Ridge, N.J.

Science in the Re-imagined Series

2006-01-30T14:58:05Z

Gmusser: /* The Cancer Cure of Laura Roslin */

FTL

2006-01-30T03:41:46Z

Gmusser: /* Feasibility */

==Introduction==

Acronym for Faster-than-Light. This is a term used to describe a means of astral propulsion utilized by the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]] and the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Colonials]]. The standard term for FTL travel is known as a '''"Jump."'''

The FTL drive makes interstellar travel possible for both the Colonials and [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]]. No longer confined to their own home solar system, the Cylons managed to avoid Colonial interference for 40 years after the [[Cylon War]] and establish their own homeworld. However, not all ships -- from small to large -- are outfitted with these drives ([[Mini-Series]]). It's likely that FTL drives are not commonplace on many civilian ships because of the costs involved in using and maintaining the drive and the amount of [[tyllium|fuel]] available. For some civilian ships that travel comparatively short distances between some destinations, such as the ill-fated [[Botanical Cruiser]], FTL may simply be impractical or unnecessary.

The technology behind FTL systems is such that, providing the relevant data is known, ships can jump with a high degree of accuracy, allowing ships to rendezvous in space and even "park" in a synchronous orbit directly above a given point on a planet's surface ([[Mini-Series]]). Proper FTL use even enables vessels to arrive in crowded areas, such as the middle of an asteroid field or other ships, without the risk of collision and damage ([[The Hand of God]]).

No specific information on the technology of an FTL drive has been given in the Mini-Series or regular series. We know only that ''Galactica'' has two FTL drives, and that other smaller or civilian ships have a single drive. We also know from dialogue that the FTL drives on ''Galactica'' are "spun up", suggesting a use of electromagnetic or centrifugal energies that may serve in creating the fields or forces needed to activate the engines.

== Colonial Limitations ==

* Colonial FTL systems are not small-scale, and cannot be installed into vehicles such as the [[Viper (RDM)|Viper]]. They can, however, be used on vehicles the size of a [[Raptor]], which is limited to brief, short-distance jumps ([[Mini-Series]]).
* Colonial FTL systems cannot be used multiple times over a long period of time, for they are prone to breakdown after excessive, repetitive use ([[33]]).
* FTL jumps can apparently induce nausea or discomfort in some people, such as [[Cally]] ([[Miniseries]], [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]])
* The wormholes generated by Colonial drive systems are limited in size; this defines the maximum size to which a colonial vessel can be built (hence the need for [[Battlestar|battlestars]] to retract their landing pods and reduce their overall cross-section prior to a jump ([[Mini-Series]], [[33]], etc.).
* Colonial FTL systems appear to have been developed to meet the needs of jumping between the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]] and their attendant [[Cyrannus|star system(s)]]. As such, Colonial FTL capabilities have defined limits, referred to as the [[Red Line]], beyond which jumps may not be possible / could result in damage to a vessel's drive system / lead to navigational inaccuracies that might put the ship at risk.
* Navigators must be careful to plan FTL jump paths so as not to get too close to planets or other large objects, as they can be dangerous ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]).

== Cylon Advantage ==

* Cylon FTL systems can be manufactured on a smaller scale to their Colonial equivalent, thus allowing the [[Cylon Raider]] to be outfitted with an FTL drive. ([[Mini-Series]]).
* Cylon FTL drive systems are far more efficient than their Colonial equivalent. Tests with the Raider captured by the [[Battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]'' ([[You Can't Go Home Again]]) demonstrated that the drive could enable the Raider to jump directly from the vicinity of [[Kobol]] back to [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]] ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]) - a jump completed by Lieutenant [[Kara Thrace]] during her search for the [[Arrow of Apollo]] ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]).
* The extreme ranges over which Cylon vessels can jump would indicate that Cylon navigation systems are far better integrated with their FTL system to enable such long-distance jumps to be accurately plotted.
* Given that the Cylons left Colonial space to find their own planet, it is possible that their longer-range FTL capability was created in response to a desire to be able to cover the distance between their adoptive homeworld and those of the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]] with a single jump.

==Background to FTL in New BSG==
In establishing the series the creators of the [[Re-imagined|new Battlestar Galactica]] determined to keep everything within the show very "[[Naturalistic science fiction|natural]]". This means steering away from the standard clichés of television science-fiction: no bumpy-head aliens, no remarkable technology such as matter/anti-matter conversion, etc. So how is the concept of faster-than-light travel possible within this precept?

===Underpinning Theories===

[[Image:Wormhole-demo.png|thumb|FTL: "Folding Space" (credit: Wikipedia)]]
The FTL drive technology used within the [[Re-imagined|new Battlestar Galactica]] appears to be based on the use of [[Wikipedia:Superstring Theory|Superstring Theory]] and [[Wikipedia:M-Theory|M-Theory]] that essentially enable the "jump drive" systems to "fold" space, reducing the distance between any two points by creating a "corridor" through space that links them together (essentially forming a wormhole, or Einstein-Rosen Bridge). Such "corridors" are allowed by the general theory of relativity; what [[Wikipedia:M-Theory|M-Theory]] does is provide a way to change the topology of spacetime dynamically.

The use of such Wormholes is based on the tenet that space is curved. Hence the term "[[Wikipedia:Wormhole|wormhole]]", which arises from the analogy that space can be seen as an apple. A worm can travel from one side of the apple to the other in two ways:
* By crawling over the surface, or
* By burrowing through the apple (creating a "wormhole").
Obviously, the second option is considerably shorter than the first.

===Relativistic Acceleration===
A key point concerning the use of wormholes within the new Battlestar Galactica, is that they do not break the fundamental limiting factor of our universe: the speed of light. Vessels in the new Battlestar Galactica series do not accelerate to faster-than-light velocities. Rather, they use the wormhole to reduce the distance to their destination, thus giving the ''impression'' of faster-than-light travel.

This is the reason why FTL jumps are virtually instantaneous within episodes (e.g.[[33]]). It also means that the only ''direct'' form of propulsion available for vessels is generated by their [[Sublight Propulsion|sublight drive systems]]. In turn, this is why vessels exiting from a jump are seen to be travelling at the same velocity as when they committed to the jump ([[Mini-Series]], [[33]], [[The Hand of God]], etc.)

===Feasibility===
While the use of wormholes in this manner is not currently possible, work is progressing on superstring and M-Theory which may make the creation of wormholes possible in the future. The limiting factor is the ability to generate negative energy densities, which are allowed (though severely restricted) by quantum mechanics. As such, the use of such systems again meets one of the stated desires of the the producers of the new Battlestar Galactica: not to rely on the "traditional" trappings of science-fiction that require exotic science and technology. Theoretical physicist [[Wikipedia:Kip Thorne|Kip Thorne]] has carried out extensive research into wormholes, and helped develop a scientifically-consistent means of wormhole travel used by [[Wikipedia:Carl Sagan|Carl Sagan]] in his novel [[Wikipedia:Contact (novel)|"Contact"]] which bears a remarkable similarity to the technology employed within Battlestar Galactica.

==Notes==
# In the [[Mini-Series]], Colonel Tigh gives the impression that an FTL jump hasn't taken place in some 20 years and would be inadvisable. Given the preponderance of ships with FTL drives (some 63 comprising the suriving Colonial fleet alone ([[33]]), this seems unlikely for the following reasons:
## Why build ships with the added mass and complexity of FTL systems if they are not going to be used?
## Two decades puts the cessation mid-way between the [[Cylon War]] and present-day times, so the reason for halting FTL jumps cannot be related to any fear that FTL systems may be infiltrated by Cylons
## At the beginning of the Mini-Series when Adama reaches the bridge, [[Felix Gaeta|Gaeta]] mentions making a jump to the [[Armistice Station]] as though it was a run-of-the-mill occurence.
## Just before the jump to [[Ragnar Anchorage]] is made in the Mini-Series, [[Cally]] says that she hates this part, referring to the jump, implying that she has done this several times before.
## However, Colonel Tigh's fear mentioned above is that the calculations will be incorrect, not that ''Galactica'' could not handle the jump. This implies that the people aboard ''Galactica'', Gaeta in particular, had never made FTL calculations or an FTL jump. Gaeta had only served aboard ''Galactica'' for three years, so should not be so out of practice calculating jumps that he could not be trusted to make the calculations correctly if it was only ''Galactica'' that had not jumped in 20 years.
# It is therefore inconclusive whether in making the comment in the [[Mini-Series]], [[Saul Tigh|Colonel Tigh]] was referring to the last time the ''[[Galactica]]'' herself made an FTL jump.
# The concern among the crew was that ''Galactica'' had not made an inter-planetary jump in 20 years and the slightest error would cause them to jump into a planet.

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:RDM]]
[[Category:Technology]]
[[Category:Terminology]]

FTL

2006-01-30T03:39:29Z

Gmusser: /* Underpinning Theories */

==Introduction==

Acronym for Faster-than-Light. This is a term used to describe a means of astral propulsion utilized by the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]] and the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Colonials]]. The standard term for FTL travel is known as a '''"Jump."'''

The FTL drive makes interstellar travel possible for both the Colonials and [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]]. No longer confined to their own home solar system, the Cylons managed to avoid Colonial interference for 40 years after the [[Cylon War]] and establish their own homeworld. However, not all ships -- from small to large -- are outfitted with these drives ([[Mini-Series]]). It's likely that FTL drives are not commonplace on many civilian ships because of the costs involved in using and maintaining the drive and the amount of [[tyllium|fuel]] available. For some civilian ships that travel comparatively short distances between some destinations, such as the ill-fated [[Botanical Cruiser]], FTL may simply be impractical or unnecessary.

The technology behind FTL systems is such that, providing the relevant data is known, ships can jump with a high degree of accuracy, allowing ships to rendezvous in space and even "park" in a synchronous orbit directly above a given point on a planet's surface ([[Mini-Series]]). Proper FTL use even enables vessels to arrive in crowded areas, such as the middle of an asteroid field or other ships, without the risk of collision and damage ([[The Hand of God]]).

No specific information on the technology of an FTL drive has been given in the Mini-Series or regular series. We know only that ''Galactica'' has two FTL drives, and that other smaller or civilian ships have a single drive. We also know from dialogue that the FTL drives on ''Galactica'' are "spun up", suggesting a use of electromagnetic or centrifugal energies that may serve in creating the fields or forces needed to activate the engines.

== Colonial Limitations ==

* Colonial FTL systems are not small-scale, and cannot be installed into vehicles such as the [[Viper (RDM)|Viper]]. They can, however, be used on vehicles the size of a [[Raptor]], which is limited to brief, short-distance jumps ([[Mini-Series]]).
* Colonial FTL systems cannot be used multiple times over a long period of time, for they are prone to breakdown after excessive, repetitive use ([[33]]).
* FTL jumps can apparently induce nausea or discomfort in some people, such as [[Cally]] ([[Miniseries]], [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]])
* The wormholes generated by Colonial drive systems are limited in size; this defines the maximum size to which a colonial vessel can be built (hence the need for [[Battlestar|battlestars]] to retract their landing pods and reduce their overall cross-section prior to a jump ([[Mini-Series]], [[33]], etc.).
* Colonial FTL systems appear to have been developed to meet the needs of jumping between the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]] and their attendant [[Cyrannus|star system(s)]]. As such, Colonial FTL capabilities have defined limits, referred to as the [[Red Line]], beyond which jumps may not be possible / could result in damage to a vessel's drive system / lead to navigational inaccuracies that might put the ship at risk.
* Navigators must be careful to plan FTL jump paths so as not to get too close to planets or other large objects, as they can be dangerous ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]).

== Cylon Advantage ==

* Cylon FTL systems can be manufactured on a smaller scale to their Colonial equivalent, thus allowing the [[Cylon Raider]] to be outfitted with an FTL drive. ([[Mini-Series]]).
* Cylon FTL drive systems are far more efficient than their Colonial equivalent. Tests with the Raider captured by the [[Battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]'' ([[You Can't Go Home Again]]) demonstrated that the drive could enable the Raider to jump directly from the vicinity of [[Kobol]] back to [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]] ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]) - a jump completed by Lieutenant [[Kara Thrace]] during her search for the [[Arrow of Apollo]] ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]).
* The extreme ranges over which Cylon vessels can jump would indicate that Cylon navigation systems are far better integrated with their FTL system to enable such long-distance jumps to be accurately plotted.
* Given that the Cylons left Colonial space to find their own planet, it is possible that their longer-range FTL capability was created in response to a desire to be able to cover the distance between their adoptive homeworld and those of the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]] with a single jump.

==Background to FTL in New BSG==
In establishing the series the creators of the [[Re-imagined|new Battlestar Galactica]] determined to keep everything within the show very "[[Naturalistic science fiction|natural]]". This means steering away from the standard clichés of television science-fiction: no bumpy-head aliens, no remarkable technology such as matter/anti-matter conversion, etc. So how is the concept of faster-than-light travel possible within this precept?

===Underpinning Theories===

[[Image:Wormhole-demo.png|thumb|FTL: "Folding Space" (credit: Wikipedia)]]
The FTL drive technology used within the [[Re-imagined|new Battlestar Galactica]] appears to be based on the use of [[Wikipedia:Superstring Theory|Superstring Theory]] and [[Wikipedia:M-Theory|M-Theory]] that essentially enable the "jump drive" systems to "fold" space, reducing the distance between any two points by creating a "corridor" through space that links them together (essentially forming a wormhole, or Einstein-Rosen Bridge). Such "corridors" are allowed by the general theory of relativity; what [[Wikipedia:M-Theory|M-Theory]] does is provide a way to change the topology of spacetime dynamically.

The use of such Wormholes is based on the tenet that space is curved. Hence the term "[[Wikipedia:Wormhole|wormhole]]", which arises from the analogy that space can be seen as an apple. A worm can travel from one side of the apple to the other in two ways:
* By crawling over the surface, or
* By burrowing through the apple (creating a "wormhole").
Obviously, the second option is considerably shorter than the first.

===Relativistic Acceleration===
A key point concerning the use of wormholes within the new Battlestar Galactica, is that they do not break the fundamental limiting factor of our universe: the speed of light. Vessels in the new Battlestar Galactica series do not accelerate to faster-than-light velocities. Rather, they use the wormhole to reduce the distance to their destination, thus giving the ''impression'' of faster-than-light travel.

This is the reason why FTL jumps are virtually instantaneous within episodes (e.g.[[33]]). It also means that the only ''direct'' form of propulsion available for vessels is generated by their [[Sublight Propulsion|sublight drive systems]]. In turn, this is why vessels exiting from a jump are seen to be travelling at the same velocity as when they committed to the jump ([[Mini-Series]], [[33]], [[The Hand of God]], etc.)

===Feasibility===
While the use of wormholes in this manner is not currently possible, work is progressing on string, superstring and M-Theory which may make the creation of wormholes possible in the future. As such, the use of such systems again meets one of the stated desires of the the producers of the new Battlestar Galactica: not to rely on the "traditional" trappings of science-fiction that require exotic science and technology. Theoretical physicist [[Wikipedia:Kip Thorne|Kip Thorne]] has carried out extensive research into wormholes, and helped develop a scientifically-consistent means of wormhole travel used by [[Wikipedia:Carl Sagan|Carl Sagan]] in his novel [[Wikipedia:Contact (novel)|"Contact"]] which bears a remarkable similarity to the technology employed within Battlestar Galactica.

==Notes==
# In the [[Mini-Series]], Colonel Tigh gives the impression that an FTL jump hasn't taken place in some 20 years and would be inadvisable. Given the preponderance of ships with FTL drives (some 63 comprising the suriving Colonial fleet alone ([[33]]), this seems unlikely for the following reasons:
## Why build ships with the added mass and complexity of FTL systems if they are not going to be used?
## Two decades puts the cessation mid-way between the [[Cylon War]] and present-day times, so the reason for halting FTL jumps cannot be related to any fear that FTL systems may be infiltrated by Cylons
## At the beginning of the Mini-Series when Adama reaches the bridge, [[Felix Gaeta|Gaeta]] mentions making a jump to the [[Armistice Station]] as though it was a run-of-the-mill occurence.
## Just before the jump to [[Ragnar Anchorage]] is made in the Mini-Series, [[Cally]] says that she hates this part, referring to the jump, implying that she has done this several times before.
## However, Colonel Tigh's fear mentioned above is that the calculations will be incorrect, not that ''Galactica'' could not handle the jump. This implies that the people aboard ''Galactica'', Gaeta in particular, had never made FTL calculations or an FTL jump. Gaeta had only served aboard ''Galactica'' for three years, so should not be so out of practice calculating jumps that he could not be trusted to make the calculations correctly if it was only ''Galactica'' that had not jumped in 20 years.
# It is therefore inconclusive whether in making the comment in the [[Mini-Series]], [[Saul Tigh|Colonel Tigh]] was referring to the last time the ''[[Galactica]]'' herself made an FTL jump.
# The concern among the crew was that ''Galactica'' had not made an inter-planetary jump in 20 years and the slightest error would cause them to jump into a planet.

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:RDM]]
[[Category:Technology]]
[[Category:Terminology]]

FTL

2006-01-30T03:39:05Z

Gmusser: /* Underpinning Theories */

==Introduction==

Acronym for Faster-than-Light. This is a term used to describe a means of astral propulsion utilized by the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]] and the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Colonials]]. The standard term for FTL travel is known as a '''"Jump."'''

The FTL drive makes interstellar travel possible for both the Colonials and [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]]. No longer confined to their own home solar system, the Cylons managed to avoid Colonial interference for 40 years after the [[Cylon War]] and establish their own homeworld. However, not all ships -- from small to large -- are outfitted with these drives ([[Mini-Series]]). It's likely that FTL drives are not commonplace on many civilian ships because of the costs involved in using and maintaining the drive and the amount of [[tyllium|fuel]] available. For some civilian ships that travel comparatively short distances between some destinations, such as the ill-fated [[Botanical Cruiser]], FTL may simply be impractical or unnecessary.

The technology behind FTL systems is such that, providing the relevant data is known, ships can jump with a high degree of accuracy, allowing ships to rendezvous in space and even "park" in a synchronous orbit directly above a given point on a planet's surface ([[Mini-Series]]). Proper FTL use even enables vessels to arrive in crowded areas, such as the middle of an asteroid field or other ships, without the risk of collision and damage ([[The Hand of God]]).

No specific information on the technology of an FTL drive has been given in the Mini-Series or regular series. We know only that ''Galactica'' has two FTL drives, and that other smaller or civilian ships have a single drive. We also know from dialogue that the FTL drives on ''Galactica'' are "spun up", suggesting a use of electromagnetic or centrifugal energies that may serve in creating the fields or forces needed to activate the engines.

== Colonial Limitations ==

* Colonial FTL systems are not small-scale, and cannot be installed into vehicles such as the [[Viper (RDM)|Viper]]. They can, however, be used on vehicles the size of a [[Raptor]], which is limited to brief, short-distance jumps ([[Mini-Series]]).
* Colonial FTL systems cannot be used multiple times over a long period of time, for they are prone to breakdown after excessive, repetitive use ([[33]]).
* FTL jumps can apparently induce nausea or discomfort in some people, such as [[Cally]] ([[Miniseries]], [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]])
* The wormholes generated by Colonial drive systems are limited in size; this defines the maximum size to which a colonial vessel can be built (hence the need for [[Battlestar|battlestars]] to retract their landing pods and reduce their overall cross-section prior to a jump ([[Mini-Series]], [[33]], etc.).
* Colonial FTL systems appear to have been developed to meet the needs of jumping between the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]] and their attendant [[Cyrannus|star system(s)]]. As such, Colonial FTL capabilities have defined limits, referred to as the [[Red Line]], beyond which jumps may not be possible / could result in damage to a vessel's drive system / lead to navigational inaccuracies that might put the ship at risk.
* Navigators must be careful to plan FTL jump paths so as not to get too close to planets or other large objects, as they can be dangerous ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]).

== Cylon Advantage ==

* Cylon FTL systems can be manufactured on a smaller scale to their Colonial equivalent, thus allowing the [[Cylon Raider]] to be outfitted with an FTL drive. ([[Mini-Series]]).
* Cylon FTL drive systems are far more efficient than their Colonial equivalent. Tests with the Raider captured by the [[Battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]'' ([[You Can't Go Home Again]]) demonstrated that the drive could enable the Raider to jump directly from the vicinity of [[Kobol]] back to [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]] ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]) - a jump completed by Lieutenant [[Kara Thrace]] during her search for the [[Arrow of Apollo]] ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]).
* The extreme ranges over which Cylon vessels can jump would indicate that Cylon navigation systems are far better integrated with their FTL system to enable such long-distance jumps to be accurately plotted.
* Given that the Cylons left Colonial space to find their own planet, it is possible that their longer-range FTL capability was created in response to a desire to be able to cover the distance between their adoptive homeworld and those of the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]] with a single jump.

==Background to FTL in New BSG==
In establishing the series the creators of the [[Re-imagined|new Battlestar Galactica]] determined to keep everything within the show very "[[Naturalistic science fiction|natural]]". This means steering away from the standard clichés of television science-fiction: no bumpy-head aliens, no remarkable technology such as matter/anti-matter conversion, etc. So how is the concept of faster-than-light travel possible within this precept?

===Underpinning Theories===

[[Image:Wormhole-demo.png|thumb|FTL: "Folding Space" (credit: Wikipedia)]]
The FTL drive technology used within the [[Re-imagined|new Battlestar Galactica]] appears to be based on the use of [[Wikipedia:Superstring Theory|Superstring Theory]] and [[Wikipedia:M-Theory|M-Theory]] that essentially enable the "jump drive" systems to "fold" space, reducing the distance between any two points by creating a "corridor" through space that links them together (essentially forming a wormhole, or Einstein-Rosen Bridge). Such ''corridors'' are allowed by the general theory of relativity; what [[Wikipedia:M-Theory|M-Theory]] does is provide a way to change the topology of spacetime dynamically.

The use of such Wormholes is based on the tenet that space is curved. Hence the term "[[Wikipedia:Wormhole|wormhole]]", which arises from the analogy that space can be seen as an apple. A worm can travel from one side of the apple to the other in two ways:
* By crawling over the surface, or
* By burrowing through the apple (creating a "wormhole").
Obviously, the second option is considerably shorter than the first.

===Relativistic Acceleration===
A key point concerning the use of wormholes within the new Battlestar Galactica, is that they do not break the fundamental limiting factor of our universe: the speed of light. Vessels in the new Battlestar Galactica series do not accelerate to faster-than-light velocities. Rather, they use the wormhole to reduce the distance to their destination, thus giving the ''impression'' of faster-than-light travel.

This is the reason why FTL jumps are virtually instantaneous within episodes (e.g.[[33]]). It also means that the only ''direct'' form of propulsion available for vessels is generated by their [[Sublight Propulsion|sublight drive systems]]. In turn, this is why vessels exiting from a jump are seen to be travelling at the same velocity as when they committed to the jump ([[Mini-Series]], [[33]], [[The Hand of God]], etc.)

===Feasibility===
While the use of wormholes in this manner is not currently possible, work is progressing on string, superstring and M-Theory which may make the creation of wormholes possible in the future. As such, the use of such systems again meets one of the stated desires of the the producers of the new Battlestar Galactica: not to rely on the "traditional" trappings of science-fiction that require exotic science and technology. Theoretical physicist [[Wikipedia:Kip Thorne|Kip Thorne]] has carried out extensive research into wormholes, and helped develop a scientifically-consistent means of wormhole travel used by [[Wikipedia:Carl Sagan|Carl Sagan]] in his novel [[Wikipedia:Contact (novel)|"Contact"]] which bears a remarkable similarity to the technology employed within Battlestar Galactica.

==Notes==
# In the [[Mini-Series]], Colonel Tigh gives the impression that an FTL jump hasn't taken place in some 20 years and would be inadvisable. Given the preponderance of ships with FTL drives (some 63 comprising the suriving Colonial fleet alone ([[33]]), this seems unlikely for the following reasons:
## Why build ships with the added mass and complexity of FTL systems if they are not going to be used?
## Two decades puts the cessation mid-way between the [[Cylon War]] and present-day times, so the reason for halting FTL jumps cannot be related to any fear that FTL systems may be infiltrated by Cylons
## At the beginning of the Mini-Series when Adama reaches the bridge, [[Felix Gaeta|Gaeta]] mentions making a jump to the [[Armistice Station]] as though it was a run-of-the-mill occurence.
## Just before the jump to [[Ragnar Anchorage]] is made in the Mini-Series, [[Cally]] says that she hates this part, referring to the jump, implying that she has done this several times before.
## However, Colonel Tigh's fear mentioned above is that the calculations will be incorrect, not that ''Galactica'' could not handle the jump. This implies that the people aboard ''Galactica'', Gaeta in particular, had never made FTL calculations or an FTL jump. Gaeta had only served aboard ''Galactica'' for three years, so should not be so out of practice calculating jumps that he could not be trusted to make the calculations correctly if it was only ''Galactica'' that had not jumped in 20 years.
# It is therefore inconclusive whether in making the comment in the [[Mini-Series]], [[Saul Tigh|Colonel Tigh]] was referring to the last time the ''[[Galactica]]'' herself made an FTL jump.
# The concern among the crew was that ''Galactica'' had not made an inter-planetary jump in 20 years and the slightest error would cause them to jump into a planet.

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:RDM]]
[[Category:Technology]]
[[Category:Terminology]]

Science in the Re-imagined Series

2006-01-30T03:34:52Z

Gmusser: /* Artificial Gravity */

The [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|re-imagined Series]] thrives on concentration of its story and the characters that develop it, rather than attempting to awe its audience by futuristic technology. Nevertheless, ''Battlestar Galactica'' is still a science-fiction program and attempts to adhere to Einsteinian, Euclidian and Newtonian principles as we know them here on the real-world Earth when ships, characters, and events require a particular physical result in, say, a space battle, in a medical complication, or when travelling from place to place.

This article summarizes or notes information about scientific objects and events in the [[Miniseries]] and Regular Series and attempts to draw more information, cite problems or contraditions, or conclusions of the scientiic principles revealed as part of the series' plot. In short, this article analyzes ''Battlestar Galactica's'' "[[technobabble]]" and determines how much of it is accurate, interesting, or just plain made-up.

===Why Gaeta Will Never be "Spock"===

The writers intentionally avoid having characters discuss in depth any super-technical particulars in the Regular Series. This is logical in that, if the characters ''know'' that they can or cannot reach a particular location (they can see their own displays), there's no practical reason for the characters to discuss it amongst themselves (and therefore to us); it would be meaningless dialogue in a show that is heavily supported by the personalities of the characters (and is limited in time to tell viewers a story). The iracible Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] would look at Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta|Gaeta]] as if he grew a third eye in his forehead if Gaeta started to spout off the precise distances and time necessary for ''Galactica'' to travel from place to place. Talking about such minutae in BSG is just not in character.

Still, the show gives us clues about the solar system of the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]] to note some interesting facts.

==Distances and Speeds in the Mini-Series==

* '''''Battlestar ''Galactica'' was approximately 335,540,340 miles from one of the Colonies, ostensibly [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]], at the start of the [[Mini-Series]].'''''

:To reach this number, we needed clues from [[Billy Keikeya]], onboard ''[[Colonial Heavy 798]]'', enroute to the battlestar for its decommissioning ceremony. In the Mini-Series, Billy tells [[Laura Roslin]] that he had sent a copy of her ceremony speech to President [[Richard Adar|Adar]] for review, but warns that there is a time delay of 30 minutes between ''Galactica'' and (ostensibly) Adar's location. Adar's actual location was never specified in the show, but we may make an educated presumption that the President resided on Caprica as that appeared to be the seat of the Colonial [[Government]] {{ref|Jack}}.

:We know that ''Battlestar Galactica's'' universe sticks to the same speed of light constant as real-world Earth (and the universe, of course): 186,282 miles per second. If President Adar sent a [[wireless]] message from Caprica to ''Galactica'' in an attempt to correct Roslin's speech, how long would it take the message to get there? Billy gives this answer: 30 minutes. This gives the answer we need if we use the equation that ''distance=speed x time'':

:::(3 x 10^8) ''(the speed of light in meters/sec)'' x 1800 ''(number of seconds in 30 minutes)'' = 5.4 x 10^11 meters

:Simplfied, the wireless message travels over 335.5 million miles in 30 minutes to ''Galactica.'' This is approximately 3.5 astronomical units, which is consistent with the expected dimensions of the Colonial planetary system.

* '''''Colonial Heavy 798'' is travelling at a sublight speed of over 61,000,000 miles per hour to get to ''Galactica'' for the decommissioning ceremony.'''''

:Right after Billy Keikeya's conversation to Laura Roslin on her speech, we overhear the captain of ''Colonial Heavy 798'' on the public address intercom of the [[Intersun|starliner]], telling the passengers how long their trip to ''Galactica'' will take: 5.5 hours. Assuming that the starliner has just left the neighboring space of Caprica and has reached its cruising speed, and given that we know ''Galactica's'' distance from Caprica, we can determine ''Colonial Heavy 798's'' cruising speed with the same formula as above, now adjusted to calculate speed:

:::540000000000 ''(the speed of light in meters/sec)'' / 19800 ''(the number of seconds in 5.5 hours)'' =
:::27272727.28 meters/sec

:While ''Colonial Heavy 798'' is making a very serious clip across space at 61, 009, 090 miles per hour on its [[sublight]] engines, this is only approximately 11 percent of the speed of light, so passenger liners do well in getting from place to place, or colony to colony. To give a real-world comparison, ''Colonial Heavy 798'' could fly from our sun to the Earth in about 90 minutes. The light from the sun takes only 8 minutes to arrive on the Earth's surface.

==Artificial Gravity==

''(Much of this topic is derived from information in an article on subject on [[Wikipedia:Artificial Gravity|Wikipedia]]. Not all of ''Battlestar Wiki's'' contributors are rocket scientists.)''

Of course, it's very practical for humans, who evolved in gravity, to have it aboard their ships. Cinematically, it also makes it much easier to keep production costs down by not having to simulate weightlessness.

That doesn't mean we can let the [[Colonial Fleet]] get away with just having artificial gravity without some explanation, especially given [[Ronald D. Moore|Ron D. Moore]]'s [[Naturalistic science fiction|realistic science fiction]] principles of his show. From a science fiction perspective, this has always been the hardest "technology" to explain away in a show. Most shows don't even bother unless the temporary loss of artificial gravity would make a good plot complication.

From what our scientists have theorized here on the real-world Earth, you can generate gravity from several ideas:

* ''Rotation of the spacecraft'' to generate centrifugal forces within a spacecraft.
:Remember the playground merry-go-rounds of your youth? Same principle. In fact, one of the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]]'s ships uses this form of artificial gravity when it feels like it: the [[Space Park]]. Viewers can get a good view of this ship in motion when the Fleet leaves [[Ragnar Anchorage]] in the Mini-Series.
* ''Keeping the ship at constant acceleration'', with the crew standing in the opposite direction of acceleration.
:Same principle that every astronaut experiences as their rocket launches into space and accelerates. In this principle, you won't take your hands off the throttle, keeping the ship's engines on at all times.
* ''Place something with a lot of mass'' within your ship.
:This isn't artificial gravity, but the real thing. But there is the matter of the energies required to move your ship, the large gravity well that wants to attract other objects into your ship's general direction, and the shape of your ship. Gravity just '''works''', pulling from every direction, so you would need a round ship to keep from strange changes in gravity aboard a ship. Worst of all, the amount of fuel needed to move a ship with a local mass concentration would be really, really high.
* ''Use tidal forces''.
:Stretch a tether with a small mass between a large gravity source and the ship you want. Cheap, fuel-free, and reliable. There's the matter of actually being able to travel somewhere besides planetary orbit without losing gravity, however.
* ''Fake gravity by using another classic force, magnetism''.
:The big term for this is [[Wikipedia:Diamagnetism|diamagnetism]], or, more specificially for this application, ''diamagnetic levitation''. Based on the technologies we've seen in the Re-imagined Series (such as their use of magnetism for landing and launching Vipers){{ref|vipers}}, this principle has the most viability, but it also fraught with huge problems in application.
:''Everything'' has a magnetic attraction, but most objects (a human body included) has so little magnetism that we don't really think about it. This principle could be used to force ''everything'' in a particular direction. But, first off, using magnets together usually makes objects ''float'' between them, not drop, so you have to figure out how to angle things for the proper effect. Scientists here on Earth have actually [http://www.hfml.science.ru.nl/levitate.html levitated a frog at a force of 1''g'' ] (Earth's gravity), but it took a massive amount of cryogeneically frozen hardware to do it, and that was using the magnet to push ''away'' from Earth's gravity, not push the object ''down''. Also, high magnetic field concentrations [http://star-www.st-and.ac.uk/~jrs/safety/magnetic.html are probably not very healthy]] in the long term.

If the writers have to dive back into the old fictionalized bag of tricks, you could consider these fanciful notions for keeping your deck crews on the deck:

* ''Use rotational gravity.''
:This variation of centrifugal gravity generation has been done in the movie ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' (the crew compartment inside the ''Discovery'' spun) and the venerable TV show "[[Wikipedia:Babylon 5|Babylon 5]]" (the cylindrical space station spun on its longitudinal axis).

* ''Simulate gravity with force fields.''
:The central spaceship in the TV show "[[Wikipedia:Andromeda|Andromeda]]" uses "gravity generators". The "Star Trek" saga has a similar idea. This concept seems also to be a slap in the face of realistic SF concepts since it's a completely fanciful concept with no basis in scientific plausibilty at present.

* ''Spacetime manipulation.''
:The ability to do [[FTL|Faster Than Light travel]] indicates an ability to manipulate the fabric of spacetime. This same ability might be harnessed to provide artificial gravitation.

So, there are no definitive answers to this issue, and the concept of artificial gravity in the show has yet to be explained anytime soon by the writers. Maybe a Raptor will lose their gravity on a mission one day in an episode, and the writers will have to have the characters [[Frak|curse]] about the issue.

==Light-speed Travel==

The good news is that, from a theoretical point of view, the Re-imagined Series has this covered well by the use of ''wormhole'' theory, instead of grandiose methods such as in "Star Trek", through the use of fantastic energies. For more detail on how '''Jumps''' work and how the Colonial's manner of apparent faster-than-light travel differs from the more fanciful non-Einsteinian "warp drive" technology in "Star Trek", see the article on [[FTL|Faster Than Light travel.]]

===Why Didn't ''Colonial Heavy 798'' simply Jump to ''Galactica''?===

In the Miniseries, the starliner known as ''Colonial Heavy 798'' took its time and traveled 5.5 hours at sublight speeds to get to battlestar ''Galactica.'' Why did the starliner take its sweet time? Why didn't they simply Jump to ''Galactica'' to save time?

There are several possibilities.

* '''Discomfort.''' [[FTL]] travel is a very disconcerting sensation to most humans. Even trained military staff such as [[Cally]] hated the sensation caused by wormhole travel. And, if the Colonies are full of lawyers as the real-world Earth is, think of the litigation created by people who aren't prepared for Jumping, and sue the starliners. Starliners would rather not Jump if they can help it, and probably explicitly warn travelers when they book a Jumping flight.
* '''Scheduling.''' ''Galactica's'' decommissioning ceremonies were for a specific time and date. While [[Intersun]] could have created an FTL flight, passengers still need time (mentally or physically) to prepare for their trip. As humans without instantaneous travel ability, we may not realize that such travel may create issues of logistics for passengers (many who are late or procrastinate) who actually ''anticipate'' that they will get 5 hours to plan for their event, or to just sleep.
* '''Flight rules or protocol.''' It may be against Colonial flight protocols for any non-military vessel to Jump to the adjoining space of a Colonial Fleet vessel. This makes the most sense because ships such as battlestars are ''always'' on the lookout for a sudden appearance of any ship that approaches them; they ''are'' a warship, after all. An incident where Vipers are scrambled from a battlestar after a civilian ship Jumps too closely would be like a Lear Jet flying too closely to a United States aircraft carrier. If ''Colonial Heavy 798'' were to Jump straight to the battlestar, all kinds of alarms would go off in [[CIC]] until the battlestar could verify the incoming vessel was friendly. And, given that [[Tom Zarek|terrorism existed]] in the Colonies, even a "friendly" vessel may not be necessarily non-hostile (remember the events of September 11, 2001).

==The Tylium Question==

[[Tylium]] is a curious substance in the universe where the Twelve Colonies resides. Used by both Colonials and their foes, tylium has the properties of a mineral or fossil fuel in as that the substance is mined and refined. Like some fossil fuels, tylium isn't useable until refined. While the ore can't be detonated, its precursor (similar to refined crude oil before its refinement into gasoline and other products) is very explosive. The fuel itself isn't as explosive as precursor, however.

So, is tylium a made-up substance or would it have a counterpart or comparative substance to the elements we know of here on the real-world Earth?

One speculation is that tylium can possibly be similar to Helium-3{{ref|helium3}}. Helium-3 is a primordial component in the Earth's crust, is deposited via solar wind on moons and asteroids. But, while helium-3 has potention as an energy source, the amount of energy needed to ignite it (fusion) would be more than the energy it would expel for use as an energy by-product.

There is a problem with this speculation in that helium-3 is a gas, not a mineral or solid element. A tylium counterpart should be a solid, non-radioactive, and likely non-organic substance. Coal would fit the tylium concept were it not a fossil fuel, which would suggest that life forms existed and died on the celestial bodies where the substance is mined. Perhaps another element from the Periodic Table could be a counterpart of tylium.

==The Cancer Cure of Laura Roslin==

''This section was originally written from a layman's perspective. As such, the information in this section is speculative and with little professional background. Battlestar Wikipedians with more experience and training in biology, medical science, and genetics are strongly encouraged to correct and expand on this section.''

The episode "[[Epiphanies]]" showed dying President [[Laura Roslin]] receiving the fetal blood from [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii's]] and [[Karl Agathon|Helo's]] child, which dramatically annihilated the [[Wikipedia:Cancer|breast cancer]] and its subsequent metastasis (spreading) that almost kills Roslin.

The believability of this event is low given that viewers have seen, from the first moment we meet the character of Laura Roslin, that cancer in the Twelve Colonies is just as dire as it is on the real-world Earth.

Killing cancer cells is not inherently a problem in treatment. But killing cancer growths without damaging healthy tissue is the larger issue. As cancer spreads and grows, it infests itself in healthy tissue where surgery is made impossible (brain cancer is commonly inoperable because of the likelihood of damage to critical areas of the brain). Likewise, chemotherapy is less invasive, but can also leave nasty changes to body chemistry and highly undesireable side effects. Roslin mentions that her mother also had breast cancer that she had treated with [[diloxin]] therapy, which appears to be a form of chemotherapy. Roslin declined this treatment in favor of [[Chamalla]] extract, a treatment that led to [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I|interesting side effects]], but ultimately failed in slowing or stopping her cancer (as Dr. [[Cottle]] predicted).

The cancer cure seen in "Epiphanies" appeared to accomplish the following abiliities:

*Destroyed all cancerous and pre-cancerous cells in the bloodstream (to prevent relapsing)
*Destroyed all cancer cells in organ tissue while repairing damage to organs with tumors or other infection
*Differentiated between the host's healthy cells and the cancerous cells
*Be effective with a relatively small dose, since fetal blood volume is low and cannot be taken in large amounts
*Left few or no immediate side-effects

There could be some logic to the use of the Cylon hybrid fetal blood, but this requires some stretching of the imagination and perhaps genetics.

*Earth science has confirmed that [[Wikipedia:Stem cells|stem cells]], undifferentiated cells found in fetal tissue that change into any needed organ or body part, can be used to aid in cellular repair.
*Despite their appearance, [[Humano-Cylon|humanoid Cylon agents]] are not human, but created. Perhaps in their creation, Cylons designed the humanoid bodies to fight off or identify genetic malfunctions immediately, or may be created without any of the historic genetic abnormalities found in humans that could trigger cancer or other diseases.

==Sources==
#{{note|Jack}} In an early draft of the Mini-Series script, Laura speaks by [[wireless]] to "Jack", a fellow secretary or government official. Jack tells Laura of the devastation of Caprica City and Adar's speculated whereabouts and actions. The aired Mini-Series has this scene and does not give Jack's location, but the early draft indicates that Jack is very close to, or in Caprica City.
#{{note|vipers}} In the [[Mini-Series]], viewers see a preflight checkout and launch of the fighters. For launch, the [[Launch tubes|launch tube]] uses a magnetic catapult ("magcat") to hurl the Viper out. On landing, either magnetism or some blend of artificial gravity pulls Vipers to rest on the deck of the [[Flight pod|flight pod]]. This force doesn't appear to be very strong; note the bouncing that the fighters do as their landing skids hit the landing deck while they retreat to ''Galactica'' as it prepares to Jump from Ragnar Anchorage at the conclusion of the Mini-Series.
#{{note|helium3}} See [[Wikipedia:Helium-3|Wikipedia's article on Helium-3]] and [http://www.asi.org/adb/02/09/he3-intro.html this article]] by a private firm on the concept.

==See Also==

[[Naturalistic science fiction]]

[[FTL]]

[[Sublight Propulsion]]

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Technology]]
[[Category:Terminology]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Science in the Re-imagined Series

2006-01-30T03:34:16Z

Gmusser: /* Artificial Gravity */

The [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|re-imagined Series]] thrives on concentration of its story and the characters that develop it, rather than attempting to awe its audience by futuristic technology. Nevertheless, ''Battlestar Galactica'' is still a science-fiction program and attempts to adhere to Einsteinian, Euclidian and Newtonian principles as we know them here on the real-world Earth when ships, characters, and events require a particular physical result in, say, a space battle, in a medical complication, or when travelling from place to place.

This article summarizes or notes information about scientific objects and events in the [[Miniseries]] and Regular Series and attempts to draw more information, cite problems or contraditions, or conclusions of the scientiic principles revealed as part of the series' plot. In short, this article analyzes ''Battlestar Galactica's'' "[[technobabble]]" and determines how much of it is accurate, interesting, or just plain made-up.

===Why Gaeta Will Never be "Spock"===

The writers intentionally avoid having characters discuss in depth any super-technical particulars in the Regular Series. This is logical in that, if the characters ''know'' that they can or cannot reach a particular location (they can see their own displays), there's no practical reason for the characters to discuss it amongst themselves (and therefore to us); it would be meaningless dialogue in a show that is heavily supported by the personalities of the characters (and is limited in time to tell viewers a story). The iracible Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] would look at Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta|Gaeta]] as if he grew a third eye in his forehead if Gaeta started to spout off the precise distances and time necessary for ''Galactica'' to travel from place to place. Talking about such minutae in BSG is just not in character.

Still, the show gives us clues about the solar system of the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]] to note some interesting facts.

==Distances and Speeds in the Mini-Series==

* '''''Battlestar ''Galactica'' was approximately 335,540,340 miles from one of the Colonies, ostensibly [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]], at the start of the [[Mini-Series]].'''''

:To reach this number, we needed clues from [[Billy Keikeya]], onboard ''[[Colonial Heavy 798]]'', enroute to the battlestar for its decommissioning ceremony. In the Mini-Series, Billy tells [[Laura Roslin]] that he had sent a copy of her ceremony speech to President [[Richard Adar|Adar]] for review, but warns that there is a time delay of 30 minutes between ''Galactica'' and (ostensibly) Adar's location. Adar's actual location was never specified in the show, but we may make an educated presumption that the President resided on Caprica as that appeared to be the seat of the Colonial [[Government]] {{ref|Jack}}.

:We know that ''Battlestar Galactica's'' universe sticks to the same speed of light constant as real-world Earth (and the universe, of course): 186,282 miles per second. If President Adar sent a [[wireless]] message from Caprica to ''Galactica'' in an attempt to correct Roslin's speech, how long would it take the message to get there? Billy gives this answer: 30 minutes. This gives the answer we need if we use the equation that ''distance=speed x time'':

:::(3 x 10^8) ''(the speed of light in meters/sec)'' x 1800 ''(number of seconds in 30 minutes)'' = 5.4 x 10^11 meters

:Simplfied, the wireless message travels over 335.5 million miles in 30 minutes to ''Galactica.'' This is approximately 3.5 astronomical units, which is consistent with the expected dimensions of the Colonial planetary system.

* '''''Colonial Heavy 798'' is travelling at a sublight speed of over 61,000,000 miles per hour to get to ''Galactica'' for the decommissioning ceremony.'''''

:Right after Billy Keikeya's conversation to Laura Roslin on her speech, we overhear the captain of ''Colonial Heavy 798'' on the public address intercom of the [[Intersun|starliner]], telling the passengers how long their trip to ''Galactica'' will take: 5.5 hours. Assuming that the starliner has just left the neighboring space of Caprica and has reached its cruising speed, and given that we know ''Galactica's'' distance from Caprica, we can determine ''Colonial Heavy 798's'' cruising speed with the same formula as above, now adjusted to calculate speed:

:::540000000000 ''(the speed of light in meters/sec)'' / 19800 ''(the number of seconds in 5.5 hours)'' =
:::27272727.28 meters/sec

:While ''Colonial Heavy 798'' is making a very serious clip across space at 61, 009, 090 miles per hour on its [[sublight]] engines, this is only approximately 11 percent of the speed of light, so passenger liners do well in getting from place to place, or colony to colony. To give a real-world comparison, ''Colonial Heavy 798'' could fly from our sun to the Earth in about 90 minutes. The light from the sun takes only 8 minutes to arrive on the Earth's surface.

==Artificial Gravity==

''(Much of this topic is derived from information in an article on subject on [[Wikipedia:Artificial Gravity|Wikipedia]]. Not all of ''Battlestar Wiki's'' contributors are rocket scientists.)''

Of course, it's very practical for humans, who evolved in gravity, to have it aboard their ships. Cinematically, it also makes it much easier to keep production costs down by not having to simulate weightlessness.

That doesn't mean we can let the [[Colonial Fleet]] get away with just having artificial gravity without some explanation, especially given [[Ronald D. Moore|Ron D. Moore]]'s [[Naturalistic science fiction|realistic science fiction]] principles of his show. From a science fiction perspective, this has always been the hardest "technology" to explain away in a show. Most shows don't even bother unless the temporary loss of artificial gravity would make a good plot complication.

From what our scientists have theorized here on the real-world Earth, you can generate gravity from several ideas:

* ''Rotation of the spacecraft'' to generate centrifugal forces within a spacecraft.
:Remember the playground merry-go-rounds of your youth? Same principle. In fact, one of the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]]'s ships uses this form of artificial gravity when it feels like it: the [[Space Park]]. Viewers can get a good view of this ship in motion when the Fleet leaves [[Ragnar Anchorage]] in the Mini-Series.
* ''Keeping the ship at constant acceleration'', with the crew standing in the opposite direction of acceleration.
:Same principle that every astronaut experiences as their rocket launches into space and accelerates. In this principle, you won't take your hands off the throttle, keeping the ship's engines on at all times.
* ''Place something with a lot of mass'' within your ship.
:This isn't artificial gravity, but the real thing. But there is the matter of the energies required to move your ship, the large gravity well that wants to attract other objects into your ship's general direction, and the shape of your ship. Gravity just '''works''', pulling from every direction, so you would need a round ship to keep from strange changes in gravity aboard a ship. Worst of all, the amount of fuel needed to move a ship with a local mass concentration would be really, really high.
* ''Use tidal forces''.
:Stretch a tether with a small mass between a large gravity source and the ship you want. Cheap, fuel-free, and reliable. There's the matter of actually being able to travel somewhere besides planetary orbit without losing gravity, however.
* ''Fake gravity by using another classic force, magnetism''.
:The big term for this is [[Wikipedia:Diamagnetism|diamagnetism]], or, more specificially for this application, ''diamagnetic levitation''. Based on the technologies we've seen in the Re-imagined Series (such as their use of magnetism for landing and launching Vipers){{ref|vipers}}, this principle has the most viability, but it also fraught with huge problems in application.
:''Everything'' has a magnetic attraction, but most objects (a human body included) has so little magnetism that we don't really think about it. This principle could be used to force ''everything'' in a particular direction. But, first off, using magnets together usually makes objects ''float'' between them, not drop, so you have to figure out how to angle things for the proper effect. Scientists here on Earth have actually [http://www.hfml.science.ru.nl/levitate.html levitated a frog at a force of 1''g'' ] (Earth's gravity), but it took a massive amount of cryogeneically frozen hardware to do it, and that was using the magnet to push ''away'' from Earth's gravity, not push the object ''down''. Also, high magnetic field concentrations [http://star-www.st-and.ac.uk/~jrs/safety/magnetic.html are probably not very healthy]] in the long term.

If the writers have to dive back into the old fictionalized bag of tricks, you could consider these fanciful notions for keeping your deck crews on the deck:

* ''Use rotational gravity.''
:This variation of centrifugal gravity generation has been done in the movie ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' (the crew compartment inside the ''Discovery'' spun) and the venerable TV show "[[Wikipedia:Babylon 5|Babylon 5]]" (the cylindrical space station spun on its longitudinal axis).

* ''Simulate gravity with force fields.''
:The central spaceship in the TV show "[[Wikipedia:Andromeda|Andromeda]]" uses "gravity generators". The "Star Trek" saga has a similar idea. This concept seems also to be a slap in the face of realistic SF concepts since it's a completely fanciful concept with no basis in scientific plausibilty at present.

* ''Spacetime manipulation.''
:The ability to do [[Faster Than Light travel]] indicates an ability to manipulate the fabric of spacetime. This same ability might be harnessed to provide artificial gravitation.

So, there are no definitive answers to this issue, and the concept of artificial gravity in the show has yet to be explained anytime soon by the writers. Maybe a Raptor will lose their gravity on a mission one day in an episode, and the writers will have to have the characters [[Frak|curse]] about the issue.

==Light-speed Travel==

The good news is that, from a theoretical point of view, the Re-imagined Series has this covered well by the use of ''wormhole'' theory, instead of grandiose methods such as in "Star Trek", through the use of fantastic energies. For more detail on how '''Jumps''' work and how the Colonial's manner of apparent faster-than-light travel differs from the more fanciful non-Einsteinian "warp drive" technology in "Star Trek", see the article on [[FTL|Faster Than Light travel.]]

===Why Didn't ''Colonial Heavy 798'' simply Jump to ''Galactica''?===

In the Miniseries, the starliner known as ''Colonial Heavy 798'' took its time and traveled 5.5 hours at sublight speeds to get to battlestar ''Galactica.'' Why did the starliner take its sweet time? Why didn't they simply Jump to ''Galactica'' to save time?

There are several possibilities.

* '''Discomfort.''' [[FTL]] travel is a very disconcerting sensation to most humans. Even trained military staff such as [[Cally]] hated the sensation caused by wormhole travel. And, if the Colonies are full of lawyers as the real-world Earth is, think of the litigation created by people who aren't prepared for Jumping, and sue the starliners. Starliners would rather not Jump if they can help it, and probably explicitly warn travelers when they book a Jumping flight.
* '''Scheduling.''' ''Galactica's'' decommissioning ceremonies were for a specific time and date. While [[Intersun]] could have created an FTL flight, passengers still need time (mentally or physically) to prepare for their trip. As humans without instantaneous travel ability, we may not realize that such travel may create issues of logistics for passengers (many who are late or procrastinate) who actually ''anticipate'' that they will get 5 hours to plan for their event, or to just sleep.
* '''Flight rules or protocol.''' It may be against Colonial flight protocols for any non-military vessel to Jump to the adjoining space of a Colonial Fleet vessel. This makes the most sense because ships such as battlestars are ''always'' on the lookout for a sudden appearance of any ship that approaches them; they ''are'' a warship, after all. An incident where Vipers are scrambled from a battlestar after a civilian ship Jumps too closely would be like a Lear Jet flying too closely to a United States aircraft carrier. If ''Colonial Heavy 798'' were to Jump straight to the battlestar, all kinds of alarms would go off in [[CIC]] until the battlestar could verify the incoming vessel was friendly. And, given that [[Tom Zarek|terrorism existed]] in the Colonies, even a "friendly" vessel may not be necessarily non-hostile (remember the events of September 11, 2001).

==The Tylium Question==

[[Tylium]] is a curious substance in the universe where the Twelve Colonies resides. Used by both Colonials and their foes, tylium has the properties of a mineral or fossil fuel in as that the substance is mined and refined. Like some fossil fuels, tylium isn't useable until refined. While the ore can't be detonated, its precursor (similar to refined crude oil before its refinement into gasoline and other products) is very explosive. The fuel itself isn't as explosive as precursor, however.

So, is tylium a made-up substance or would it have a counterpart or comparative substance to the elements we know of here on the real-world Earth?

One speculation is that tylium can possibly be similar to Helium-3{{ref|helium3}}. Helium-3 is a primordial component in the Earth's crust, is deposited via solar wind on moons and asteroids. But, while helium-3 has potention as an energy source, the amount of energy needed to ignite it (fusion) would be more than the energy it would expel for use as an energy by-product.

There is a problem with this speculation in that helium-3 is a gas, not a mineral or solid element. A tylium counterpart should be a solid, non-radioactive, and likely non-organic substance. Coal would fit the tylium concept were it not a fossil fuel, which would suggest that life forms existed and died on the celestial bodies where the substance is mined. Perhaps another element from the Periodic Table could be a counterpart of tylium.

==The Cancer Cure of Laura Roslin==

''This section was originally written from a layman's perspective. As such, the information in this section is speculative and with little professional background. Battlestar Wikipedians with more experience and training in biology, medical science, and genetics are strongly encouraged to correct and expand on this section.''

The episode "[[Epiphanies]]" showed dying President [[Laura Roslin]] receiving the fetal blood from [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii's]] and [[Karl Agathon|Helo's]] child, which dramatically annihilated the [[Wikipedia:Cancer|breast cancer]] and its subsequent metastasis (spreading) that almost kills Roslin.

The believability of this event is low given that viewers have seen, from the first moment we meet the character of Laura Roslin, that cancer in the Twelve Colonies is just as dire as it is on the real-world Earth.

Killing cancer cells is not inherently a problem in treatment. But killing cancer growths without damaging healthy tissue is the larger issue. As cancer spreads and grows, it infests itself in healthy tissue where surgery is made impossible (brain cancer is commonly inoperable because of the likelihood of damage to critical areas of the brain). Likewise, chemotherapy is less invasive, but can also leave nasty changes to body chemistry and highly undesireable side effects. Roslin mentions that her mother also had breast cancer that she had treated with [[diloxin]] therapy, which appears to be a form of chemotherapy. Roslin declined this treatment in favor of [[Chamalla]] extract, a treatment that led to [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I|interesting side effects]], but ultimately failed in slowing or stopping her cancer (as Dr. [[Cottle]] predicted).

The cancer cure seen in "Epiphanies" appeared to accomplish the following abiliities:

*Destroyed all cancerous and pre-cancerous cells in the bloodstream (to prevent relapsing)
*Destroyed all cancer cells in organ tissue while repairing damage to organs with tumors or other infection
*Differentiated between the host's healthy cells and the cancerous cells
*Be effective with a relatively small dose, since fetal blood volume is low and cannot be taken in large amounts
*Left few or no immediate side-effects

There could be some logic to the use of the Cylon hybrid fetal blood, but this requires some stretching of the imagination and perhaps genetics.

*Earth science has confirmed that [[Wikipedia:Stem cells|stem cells]], undifferentiated cells found in fetal tissue that change into any needed organ or body part, can be used to aid in cellular repair.
*Despite their appearance, [[Humano-Cylon|humanoid Cylon agents]] are not human, but created. Perhaps in their creation, Cylons designed the humanoid bodies to fight off or identify genetic malfunctions immediately, or may be created without any of the historic genetic abnormalities found in humans that could trigger cancer or other diseases.

==Sources==
#{{note|Jack}} In an early draft of the Mini-Series script, Laura speaks by [[wireless]] to "Jack", a fellow secretary or government official. Jack tells Laura of the devastation of Caprica City and Adar's speculated whereabouts and actions. The aired Mini-Series has this scene and does not give Jack's location, but the early draft indicates that Jack is very close to, or in Caprica City.
#{{note|vipers}} In the [[Mini-Series]], viewers see a preflight checkout and launch of the fighters. For launch, the [[Launch tubes|launch tube]] uses a magnetic catapult ("magcat") to hurl the Viper out. On landing, either magnetism or some blend of artificial gravity pulls Vipers to rest on the deck of the [[Flight pod|flight pod]]. This force doesn't appear to be very strong; note the bouncing that the fighters do as their landing skids hit the landing deck while they retreat to ''Galactica'' as it prepares to Jump from Ragnar Anchorage at the conclusion of the Mini-Series.
#{{note|helium3}} See [[Wikipedia:Helium-3|Wikipedia's article on Helium-3]] and [http://www.asi.org/adb/02/09/he3-intro.html this article]] by a private firm on the concept.

==See Also==

[[Naturalistic science fiction]]

[[FTL]]

[[Sublight Propulsion]]

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Technology]]
[[Category:Terminology]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Science in the Re-imagined Series

2006-01-30T03:33:45Z

Gmusser: /* Artificial Gravity */

The [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|re-imagined Series]] thrives on concentration of its story and the characters that develop it, rather than attempting to awe its audience by futuristic technology. Nevertheless, ''Battlestar Galactica'' is still a science-fiction program and attempts to adhere to Einsteinian, Euclidian and Newtonian principles as we know them here on the real-world Earth when ships, characters, and events require a particular physical result in, say, a space battle, in a medical complication, or when travelling from place to place.

This article summarizes or notes information about scientific objects and events in the [[Miniseries]] and Regular Series and attempts to draw more information, cite problems or contraditions, or conclusions of the scientiic principles revealed as part of the series' plot. In short, this article analyzes ''Battlestar Galactica's'' "[[technobabble]]" and determines how much of it is accurate, interesting, or just plain made-up.

===Why Gaeta Will Never be "Spock"===

The writers intentionally avoid having characters discuss in depth any super-technical particulars in the Regular Series. This is logical in that, if the characters ''know'' that they can or cannot reach a particular location (they can see their own displays), there's no practical reason for the characters to discuss it amongst themselves (and therefore to us); it would be meaningless dialogue in a show that is heavily supported by the personalities of the characters (and is limited in time to tell viewers a story). The iracible Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] would look at Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta|Gaeta]] as if he grew a third eye in his forehead if Gaeta started to spout off the precise distances and time necessary for ''Galactica'' to travel from place to place. Talking about such minutae in BSG is just not in character.

Still, the show gives us clues about the solar system of the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]] to note some interesting facts.

==Distances and Speeds in the Mini-Series==

* '''''Battlestar ''Galactica'' was approximately 335,540,340 miles from one of the Colonies, ostensibly [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]], at the start of the [[Mini-Series]].'''''

:To reach this number, we needed clues from [[Billy Keikeya]], onboard ''[[Colonial Heavy 798]]'', enroute to the battlestar for its decommissioning ceremony. In the Mini-Series, Billy tells [[Laura Roslin]] that he had sent a copy of her ceremony speech to President [[Richard Adar|Adar]] for review, but warns that there is a time delay of 30 minutes between ''Galactica'' and (ostensibly) Adar's location. Adar's actual location was never specified in the show, but we may make an educated presumption that the President resided on Caprica as that appeared to be the seat of the Colonial [[Government]] {{ref|Jack}}.

:We know that ''Battlestar Galactica's'' universe sticks to the same speed of light constant as real-world Earth (and the universe, of course): 186,282 miles per second. If President Adar sent a [[wireless]] message from Caprica to ''Galactica'' in an attempt to correct Roslin's speech, how long would it take the message to get there? Billy gives this answer: 30 minutes. This gives the answer we need if we use the equation that ''distance=speed x time'':

:::(3 x 10^8) ''(the speed of light in meters/sec)'' x 1800 ''(number of seconds in 30 minutes)'' = 5.4 x 10^11 meters

:Simplfied, the wireless message travels over 335.5 million miles in 30 minutes to ''Galactica.'' This is approximately 3.5 astronomical units, which is consistent with the expected dimensions of the Colonial planetary system.

* '''''Colonial Heavy 798'' is travelling at a sublight speed of over 61,000,000 miles per hour to get to ''Galactica'' for the decommissioning ceremony.'''''

:Right after Billy Keikeya's conversation to Laura Roslin on her speech, we overhear the captain of ''Colonial Heavy 798'' on the public address intercom of the [[Intersun|starliner]], telling the passengers how long their trip to ''Galactica'' will take: 5.5 hours. Assuming that the starliner has just left the neighboring space of Caprica and has reached its cruising speed, and given that we know ''Galactica's'' distance from Caprica, we can determine ''Colonial Heavy 798's'' cruising speed with the same formula as above, now adjusted to calculate speed:

:::540000000000 ''(the speed of light in meters/sec)'' / 19800 ''(the number of seconds in 5.5 hours)'' =
:::27272727.28 meters/sec

:While ''Colonial Heavy 798'' is making a very serious clip across space at 61, 009, 090 miles per hour on its [[sublight]] engines, this is only approximately 11 percent of the speed of light, so passenger liners do well in getting from place to place, or colony to colony. To give a real-world comparison, ''Colonial Heavy 798'' could fly from our sun to the Earth in about 90 minutes. The light from the sun takes only 8 minutes to arrive on the Earth's surface.

==Artificial Gravity==

''(Much of this topic is derived from information in an article on subject on [[Wikipedia:Artificial Gravity|Wikipedia]]. Not all of ''Battlestar Wiki's'' contributors are rocket scientists.)''

Of course, it's very practical for humans, who evolved in gravity, to have it aboard their ships. Cinematically, it also makes it much easier to keep production costs down by not having to simulate weightlessness.

That doesn't mean we can let the [[Colonial Fleet]] get away with just having artificial gravity without some explanation, especially given [[Ronald D. Moore|Ron D. Moore]]'s [[Naturalistic science fiction|realistic science fiction]] principles of his show. From a science fiction perspective, this has always been the hardest "technology" to explain away in a show. Most shows don't even bother unless the temporary loss of artificial gravity would make a good plot complication.

From what our scientists have theorized here on the real-world Earth, you can generate gravity from several ideas:

* ''Rotation of the spacecraft'' to generate centrifugal forces within a spacecraft.
:Remember the playground merry-go-rounds of your youth? Same principle. In fact, one of the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]]'s ships uses this form of artificial gravity when it feels like it: the [[Space Park]]. Viewers can get a good view of this ship in motion when the Fleet leaves [[Ragnar Anchorage]] in the Mini-Series.
* ''Keeping the ship at constant acceleration'', with the crew standing in the opposite direction of acceleration.
:Same principle that every astronaut experiences as their rocket launches into space and accelerates. In this principle, you won't take your hands off the throttle, keeping the ship's engines on at all times.
* ''Place something with a lot of mass'' within your ship.
:This isn't artificial gravity, but the real thing. But there is the matter of the energies required to move your ship, the large gravity well that wants to attract other objects into your ship's general direction, and the shape of your ship. Gravity just '''works''', pulling from every direction, so you would need a round ship to keep from strange changes in gravity aboard a ship. Worst of all, the amount of fuel needed to move a ship with a local mass concentration would be really, really high.
* ''Use tidal forces''.
:Stretch a tether with a small mass between a large gravity source and the ship you want. Cheap, fuel-free, and reliable. There's the matter of actually being able to travel somewhere besides planetary orbit without losing gravity, however.
* ''Fake gravity by using another classic force, magnetism''.
:The big term for this is [[Wikipedia:Diamagnetism|diamagnetism]], or, more specificially for this application, ''diamagnetic levitation''. Based on the technologies we've seen in the Re-imagined Series (such as their use of magnetism for landing and launching Vipers){{ref|vipers}}, this principle has the most viability, but it also fraught with huge problems in application.
:''Everything'' has a magnetic attraction, but most objects (a human body included) has so little magnetism that we don't really think about it. This principle could be used to force ''everything'' in a particular direction. But, first off, using magnets together usually makes objects ''float'' between them, not drop, so you have to figure out how to angle things for the proper effect. Scientists here on Earth have actually [http://www.hfml.science.ru.nl/levitate.html levitated a frog at a force of 1''g'' ] (Earth's gravity), but it took a massive amount of cryogeneically frozen hardware to do it, and that was using the magnet to push ''away'' from Earth's gravity, not push the object ''down''. Also, high magnetic field concentrations [http://star-www.st-and.ac.uk/~jrs/safety/magnetic.html are probably not very healthy]] in the long term.

If the writers have to dive back into the old fictionalized bag of tricks, you could consider these fanciful notions for keeping your deck crews on the deck:

* ''Use rotational gravity.''
:This variation of centrifugal gravity generation has been done in the movie ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' (the crew compartment inside the ''Discovery'' spun) and the venerable TV show "[[Wikipedia:Babylon 5|Babylon 5]]" (the cylindrical space station spun on its longitudinal axis).

* ''Simulate gravity with force fields.''
:The central spaceship in the TV show "[[Wikipedia:Andromeda|Andromeda]]" uses "gravity generators". The "Star Trek" saga has a similar idea. This concept seems also to be a slap in the face of realistic SF concepts since it's a completely fanciful concept with no basis in scientific plausibilty at present.

* ''Spacetime manipulation.''
:The ability to do [[Faster-than-light travel]] indicates an ability to manipulate the fabric of spacetime. This same ability might be harnessed to provide artificial gravitation.

So, there are no definitive answers to this issue, and the concept of artificial gravity in the show has yet to be explained anytime soon by the writers. Maybe a Raptor will lose their gravity on a mission one day in an episode, and the writers will have to have the characters [[Frak|curse]] about the issue.

==Light-speed Travel==

The good news is that, from a theoretical point of view, the Re-imagined Series has this covered well by the use of ''wormhole'' theory, instead of grandiose methods such as in "Star Trek", through the use of fantastic energies. For more detail on how '''Jumps''' work and how the Colonial's manner of apparent faster-than-light travel differs from the more fanciful non-Einsteinian "warp drive" technology in "Star Trek", see the article on [[FTL|Faster Than Light travel.]]

===Why Didn't ''Colonial Heavy 798'' simply Jump to ''Galactica''?===

In the Miniseries, the starliner known as ''Colonial Heavy 798'' took its time and traveled 5.5 hours at sublight speeds to get to battlestar ''Galactica.'' Why did the starliner take its sweet time? Why didn't they simply Jump to ''Galactica'' to save time?

There are several possibilities.

* '''Discomfort.''' [[FTL]] travel is a very disconcerting sensation to most humans. Even trained military staff such as [[Cally]] hated the sensation caused by wormhole travel. And, if the Colonies are full of lawyers as the real-world Earth is, think of the litigation created by people who aren't prepared for Jumping, and sue the starliners. Starliners would rather not Jump if they can help it, and probably explicitly warn travelers when they book a Jumping flight.
* '''Scheduling.''' ''Galactica's'' decommissioning ceremonies were for a specific time and date. While [[Intersun]] could have created an FTL flight, passengers still need time (mentally or physically) to prepare for their trip. As humans without instantaneous travel ability, we may not realize that such travel may create issues of logistics for passengers (many who are late or procrastinate) who actually ''anticipate'' that they will get 5 hours to plan for their event, or to just sleep.
* '''Flight rules or protocol.''' It may be against Colonial flight protocols for any non-military vessel to Jump to the adjoining space of a Colonial Fleet vessel. This makes the most sense because ships such as battlestars are ''always'' on the lookout for a sudden appearance of any ship that approaches them; they ''are'' a warship, after all. An incident where Vipers are scrambled from a battlestar after a civilian ship Jumps too closely would be like a Lear Jet flying too closely to a United States aircraft carrier. If ''Colonial Heavy 798'' were to Jump straight to the battlestar, all kinds of alarms would go off in [[CIC]] until the battlestar could verify the incoming vessel was friendly. And, given that [[Tom Zarek|terrorism existed]] in the Colonies, even a "friendly" vessel may not be necessarily non-hostile (remember the events of September 11, 2001).

==The Tylium Question==

[[Tylium]] is a curious substance in the universe where the Twelve Colonies resides. Used by both Colonials and their foes, tylium has the properties of a mineral or fossil fuel in as that the substance is mined and refined. Like some fossil fuels, tylium isn't useable until refined. While the ore can't be detonated, its precursor (similar to refined crude oil before its refinement into gasoline and other products) is very explosive. The fuel itself isn't as explosive as precursor, however.

So, is tylium a made-up substance or would it have a counterpart or comparative substance to the elements we know of here on the real-world Earth?

One speculation is that tylium can possibly be similar to Helium-3{{ref|helium3}}. Helium-3 is a primordial component in the Earth's crust, is deposited via solar wind on moons and asteroids. But, while helium-3 has potention as an energy source, the amount of energy needed to ignite it (fusion) would be more than the energy it would expel for use as an energy by-product.

There is a problem with this speculation in that helium-3 is a gas, not a mineral or solid element. A tylium counterpart should be a solid, non-radioactive, and likely non-organic substance. Coal would fit the tylium concept were it not a fossil fuel, which would suggest that life forms existed and died on the celestial bodies where the substance is mined. Perhaps another element from the Periodic Table could be a counterpart of tylium.

==The Cancer Cure of Laura Roslin==

''This section was originally written from a layman's perspective. As such, the information in this section is speculative and with little professional background. Battlestar Wikipedians with more experience and training in biology, medical science, and genetics are strongly encouraged to correct and expand on this section.''

The episode "[[Epiphanies]]" showed dying President [[Laura Roslin]] receiving the fetal blood from [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii's]] and [[Karl Agathon|Helo's]] child, which dramatically annihilated the [[Wikipedia:Cancer|breast cancer]] and its subsequent metastasis (spreading) that almost kills Roslin.

The believability of this event is low given that viewers have seen, from the first moment we meet the character of Laura Roslin, that cancer in the Twelve Colonies is just as dire as it is on the real-world Earth.

Killing cancer cells is not inherently a problem in treatment. But killing cancer growths without damaging healthy tissue is the larger issue. As cancer spreads and grows, it infests itself in healthy tissue where surgery is made impossible (brain cancer is commonly inoperable because of the likelihood of damage to critical areas of the brain). Likewise, chemotherapy is less invasive, but can also leave nasty changes to body chemistry and highly undesireable side effects. Roslin mentions that her mother also had breast cancer that she had treated with [[diloxin]] therapy, which appears to be a form of chemotherapy. Roslin declined this treatment in favor of [[Chamalla]] extract, a treatment that led to [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I|interesting side effects]], but ultimately failed in slowing or stopping her cancer (as Dr. [[Cottle]] predicted).

The cancer cure seen in "Epiphanies" appeared to accomplish the following abiliities:

*Destroyed all cancerous and pre-cancerous cells in the bloodstream (to prevent relapsing)
*Destroyed all cancer cells in organ tissue while repairing damage to organs with tumors or other infection
*Differentiated between the host's healthy cells and the cancerous cells
*Be effective with a relatively small dose, since fetal blood volume is low and cannot be taken in large amounts
*Left few or no immediate side-effects

There could be some logic to the use of the Cylon hybrid fetal blood, but this requires some stretching of the imagination and perhaps genetics.

*Earth science has confirmed that [[Wikipedia:Stem cells|stem cells]], undifferentiated cells found in fetal tissue that change into any needed organ or body part, can be used to aid in cellular repair.
*Despite their appearance, [[Humano-Cylon|humanoid Cylon agents]] are not human, but created. Perhaps in their creation, Cylons designed the humanoid bodies to fight off or identify genetic malfunctions immediately, or may be created without any of the historic genetic abnormalities found in humans that could trigger cancer or other diseases.

==Sources==
#{{note|Jack}} In an early draft of the Mini-Series script, Laura speaks by [[wireless]] to "Jack", a fellow secretary or government official. Jack tells Laura of the devastation of Caprica City and Adar's speculated whereabouts and actions. The aired Mini-Series has this scene and does not give Jack's location, but the early draft indicates that Jack is very close to, or in Caprica City.
#{{note|vipers}} In the [[Mini-Series]], viewers see a preflight checkout and launch of the fighters. For launch, the [[Launch tubes|launch tube]] uses a magnetic catapult ("magcat") to hurl the Viper out. On landing, either magnetism or some blend of artificial gravity pulls Vipers to rest on the deck of the [[Flight pod|flight pod]]. This force doesn't appear to be very strong; note the bouncing that the fighters do as their landing skids hit the landing deck while they retreat to ''Galactica'' as it prepares to Jump from Ragnar Anchorage at the conclusion of the Mini-Series.
#{{note|helium3}} See [[Wikipedia:Helium-3|Wikipedia's article on Helium-3]] and [http://www.asi.org/adb/02/09/he3-intro.html this article]] by a private firm on the concept.

==See Also==

[[Naturalistic science fiction]]

[[FTL]]

[[Sublight Propulsion]]

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Technology]]
[[Category:Terminology]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Science in the Re-imagined Series

2006-01-30T03:32:57Z

Gmusser: /* Artificial Gravity */

The [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|re-imagined Series]] thrives on concentration of its story and the characters that develop it, rather than attempting to awe its audience by futuristic technology. Nevertheless, ''Battlestar Galactica'' is still a science-fiction program and attempts to adhere to Einsteinian, Euclidian and Newtonian principles as we know them here on the real-world Earth when ships, characters, and events require a particular physical result in, say, a space battle, in a medical complication, or when travelling from place to place.

This article summarizes or notes information about scientific objects and events in the [[Miniseries]] and Regular Series and attempts to draw more information, cite problems or contraditions, or conclusions of the scientiic principles revealed as part of the series' plot. In short, this article analyzes ''Battlestar Galactica's'' "[[technobabble]]" and determines how much of it is accurate, interesting, or just plain made-up.

===Why Gaeta Will Never be "Spock"===

The writers intentionally avoid having characters discuss in depth any super-technical particulars in the Regular Series. This is logical in that, if the characters ''know'' that they can or cannot reach a particular location (they can see their own displays), there's no practical reason for the characters to discuss it amongst themselves (and therefore to us); it would be meaningless dialogue in a show that is heavily supported by the personalities of the characters (and is limited in time to tell viewers a story). The iracible Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] would look at Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta|Gaeta]] as if he grew a third eye in his forehead if Gaeta started to spout off the precise distances and time necessary for ''Galactica'' to travel from place to place. Talking about such minutae in BSG is just not in character.

Still, the show gives us clues about the solar system of the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]] to note some interesting facts.

==Distances and Speeds in the Mini-Series==

* '''''Battlestar ''Galactica'' was approximately 335,540,340 miles from one of the Colonies, ostensibly [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]], at the start of the [[Mini-Series]].'''''

:To reach this number, we needed clues from [[Billy Keikeya]], onboard ''[[Colonial Heavy 798]]'', enroute to the battlestar for its decommissioning ceremony. In the Mini-Series, Billy tells [[Laura Roslin]] that he had sent a copy of her ceremony speech to President [[Richard Adar|Adar]] for review, but warns that there is a time delay of 30 minutes between ''Galactica'' and (ostensibly) Adar's location. Adar's actual location was never specified in the show, but we may make an educated presumption that the President resided on Caprica as that appeared to be the seat of the Colonial [[Government]] {{ref|Jack}}.

:We know that ''Battlestar Galactica's'' universe sticks to the same speed of light constant as real-world Earth (and the universe, of course): 186,282 miles per second. If President Adar sent a [[wireless]] message from Caprica to ''Galactica'' in an attempt to correct Roslin's speech, how long would it take the message to get there? Billy gives this answer: 30 minutes. This gives the answer we need if we use the equation that ''distance=speed x time'':

:::(3 x 10^8) ''(the speed of light in meters/sec)'' x 1800 ''(number of seconds in 30 minutes)'' = 5.4 x 10^11 meters

:Simplfied, the wireless message travels over 335.5 million miles in 30 minutes to ''Galactica.'' This is approximately 3.5 astronomical units, which is consistent with the expected dimensions of the Colonial planetary system.

* '''''Colonial Heavy 798'' is travelling at a sublight speed of over 61,000,000 miles per hour to get to ''Galactica'' for the decommissioning ceremony.'''''

:Right after Billy Keikeya's conversation to Laura Roslin on her speech, we overhear the captain of ''Colonial Heavy 798'' on the public address intercom of the [[Intersun|starliner]], telling the passengers how long their trip to ''Galactica'' will take: 5.5 hours. Assuming that the starliner has just left the neighboring space of Caprica and has reached its cruising speed, and given that we know ''Galactica's'' distance from Caprica, we can determine ''Colonial Heavy 798's'' cruising speed with the same formula as above, now adjusted to calculate speed:

:::540000000000 ''(the speed of light in meters/sec)'' / 19800 ''(the number of seconds in 5.5 hours)'' =
:::27272727.28 meters/sec

:While ''Colonial Heavy 798'' is making a very serious clip across space at 61, 009, 090 miles per hour on its [[sublight]] engines, this is only approximately 11 percent of the speed of light, so passenger liners do well in getting from place to place, or colony to colony. To give a real-world comparison, ''Colonial Heavy 798'' could fly from our sun to the Earth in about 90 minutes. The light from the sun takes only 8 minutes to arrive on the Earth's surface.

==Artificial Gravity==

''(Much of this topic is derived from information in an article on subject on [[Wikipedia:Artificial Gravity|Wikipedia]]. Not all of ''Battlestar Wiki's'' contributors are rocket scientists.)''

Of course, it's very practical for humans, who evolved in gravity, to have it aboard their ships. Cinematically, it also makes it much easier to keep production costs down by not having to simulate weightlessness.

That doesn't mean we can let the [[Colonial Fleet]] get away with just having artificial gravity without some explanation, especially given [[Ronald D. Moore|Ron D. Moore]]'s [[Naturalistic science fiction|realistic science fiction]] principles of his show. From a science fiction perspective, this has always been the hardest "technology" to explain away in a show. Most shows don't even bother unless the temporary loss of artificial gravity would make a good plot complication.

From what our scientists have theorized here on the real-world Earth, you can generate gravity from several ideas:

* ''Rotation of the spacecraft'' to generate centrifugal forces within a spacecraft.
:Remember the playground merry-go-rounds of your youth? Same principle. In fact, one of the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]]'s ships uses this form of artificial gravity when it feels like it: the [[Space Park]]. Viewers can get a good view of this ship in motion when the Fleet leaves [[Ragnar Anchorage]] in the Mini-Series.
* ''Keeping the ship at constant acceleration'', with the crew standing in the opposite direction of acceleration.
:Same principle that every astronaut experiences as their rocket launches into space and accelerates. In this principle, you won't take your hands off the throttle, keeping the ship's engines on at all times.
* ''Place something with a lot of mass'' within your ship.
:This isn't artificial gravity, but the real thing. But there is the matter of the energies required to move your ship, the large gravity well that wants to attract other objects into your ship's general direction, and the shape of your ship. Gravity just '''works''', pulling from every direction, so you would need a round ship to keep from strange changes in gravity aboard a ship. Worst of all, the amount of fuel needed to move a ship with a local mass concentration would be really, really high.
* ''Use tidal forces''.
:Stretch a tether with a small mass between a large gravity source and the ship you want. Cheap, fuel-free, and reliable. There's the matter of actually being able to travel somewhere besides planetary orbit without losing gravity, however.
* ''Fake gravity by using another classic force, magnetism''.
:The big term for this is [[Wikipedia:Diamagnetism|diamagnetism]], or, more specificially for this application, ''diamagnetic levitation''. Based on the technologies we've seen in the Re-imagined Series (such as their use of magnetism for landing and launching Vipers){{ref|vipers}}, this principle has the most viability, but it also fraught with huge problems in application.
:''Everything'' has a magnetic attraction, but most objects (a human body included) has so little magnetism that we don't really think about it. This principle could be used to force ''everything'' in a particular direction. But, first off, using magnets together usually makes objects ''float'' between them, not drop, so you have to figure out how to angle things for the proper effect. Scientists here on Earth have actually [http://www.hfml.science.ru.nl/levitate.html levitated a frog at a force of 1''g'' ] (Earth's gravity), but it took a massive amount of cryogeneically frozen hardware to do it, and that was using the magnet to push ''away'' from Earth's gravity, not push the object ''down''. Also, high magnetic field concentrations [http://star-www.st-and.ac.uk/~jrs/safety/magnetic.html are probably not very healthy]] in the long term.

If the writers have to dive back into the old fictionalized bag of tricks, you could consider these fanciful notions for keeping your deck crews on the deck:

* ''Use rotational gravity.''
:This variation of centrifugal gravity generation has been done in the movie ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' (the crew compartment inside the ''Discovery'' spun) and the venerable TV show "[[Wikipedia:Babylon 5|Babylon 5]]" (the cylindrical space station spun on its longitudinal axis).

* ''Simulate gravity with force fields.''
:The central spaceship in the TV show "[[Wikipedia:Andromeda|Andromeda]]" uses "gravity generators". The "Star Trek" saga has a similar idea. This concept seems also to be a slap in the face of realistic SF concepts since it's a completely fanciful concept with no basis in scientific plausibilty at present.

* ''Spacetime manipulation.''
:The ability to do FTL jumps indicates an ability to manipulate the fabric of spacetime. This same ability might be harnessed to provide artificial gravitation.

So, there are no definitive answers to this issue, and the concept of artificial gravity in the show has yet to be explained anytime soon by the writers. Maybe a Raptor will lose their gravity on a mission one day in an episode, and the writers will have to have the characters [[Frak|curse]] about the issue.

==Light-speed Travel==

The good news is that, from a theoretical point of view, the Re-imagined Series has this covered well by the use of ''wormhole'' theory, instead of grandiose methods such as in "Star Trek", through the use of fantastic energies. For more detail on how '''Jumps''' work and how the Colonial's manner of apparent faster-than-light travel differs from the more fanciful non-Einsteinian "warp drive" technology in "Star Trek", see the article on [[FTL|Faster Than Light travel.]]

===Why Didn't ''Colonial Heavy 798'' simply Jump to ''Galactica''?===

In the Miniseries, the starliner known as ''Colonial Heavy 798'' took its time and traveled 5.5 hours at sublight speeds to get to battlestar ''Galactica.'' Why did the starliner take its sweet time? Why didn't they simply Jump to ''Galactica'' to save time?

There are several possibilities.

* '''Discomfort.''' [[FTL]] travel is a very disconcerting sensation to most humans. Even trained military staff such as [[Cally]] hated the sensation caused by wormhole travel. And, if the Colonies are full of lawyers as the real-world Earth is, think of the litigation created by people who aren't prepared for Jumping, and sue the starliners. Starliners would rather not Jump if they can help it, and probably explicitly warn travelers when they book a Jumping flight.
* '''Scheduling.''' ''Galactica's'' decommissioning ceremonies were for a specific time and date. While [[Intersun]] could have created an FTL flight, passengers still need time (mentally or physically) to prepare for their trip. As humans without instantaneous travel ability, we may not realize that such travel may create issues of logistics for passengers (many who are late or procrastinate) who actually ''anticipate'' that they will get 5 hours to plan for their event, or to just sleep.
* '''Flight rules or protocol.''' It may be against Colonial flight protocols for any non-military vessel to Jump to the adjoining space of a Colonial Fleet vessel. This makes the most sense because ships such as battlestars are ''always'' on the lookout for a sudden appearance of any ship that approaches them; they ''are'' a warship, after all. An incident where Vipers are scrambled from a battlestar after a civilian ship Jumps too closely would be like a Lear Jet flying too closely to a United States aircraft carrier. If ''Colonial Heavy 798'' were to Jump straight to the battlestar, all kinds of alarms would go off in [[CIC]] until the battlestar could verify the incoming vessel was friendly. And, given that [[Tom Zarek|terrorism existed]] in the Colonies, even a "friendly" vessel may not be necessarily non-hostile (remember the events of September 11, 2001).

==The Tylium Question==

[[Tylium]] is a curious substance in the universe where the Twelve Colonies resides. Used by both Colonials and their foes, tylium has the properties of a mineral or fossil fuel in as that the substance is mined and refined. Like some fossil fuels, tylium isn't useable until refined. While the ore can't be detonated, its precursor (similar to refined crude oil before its refinement into gasoline and other products) is very explosive. The fuel itself isn't as explosive as precursor, however.

So, is tylium a made-up substance or would it have a counterpart or comparative substance to the elements we know of here on the real-world Earth?

One speculation is that tylium can possibly be similar to Helium-3{{ref|helium3}}. Helium-3 is a primordial component in the Earth's crust, is deposited via solar wind on moons and asteroids. But, while helium-3 has potention as an energy source, the amount of energy needed to ignite it (fusion) would be more than the energy it would expel for use as an energy by-product.

There is a problem with this speculation in that helium-3 is a gas, not a mineral or solid element. A tylium counterpart should be a solid, non-radioactive, and likely non-organic substance. Coal would fit the tylium concept were it not a fossil fuel, which would suggest that life forms existed and died on the celestial bodies where the substance is mined. Perhaps another element from the Periodic Table could be a counterpart of tylium.

==The Cancer Cure of Laura Roslin==

''This section was originally written from a layman's perspective. As such, the information in this section is speculative and with little professional background. Battlestar Wikipedians with more experience and training in biology, medical science, and genetics are strongly encouraged to correct and expand on this section.''

The episode "[[Epiphanies]]" showed dying President [[Laura Roslin]] receiving the fetal blood from [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii's]] and [[Karl Agathon|Helo's]] child, which dramatically annihilated the [[Wikipedia:Cancer|breast cancer]] and its subsequent metastasis (spreading) that almost kills Roslin.

The believability of this event is low given that viewers have seen, from the first moment we meet the character of Laura Roslin, that cancer in the Twelve Colonies is just as dire as it is on the real-world Earth.

Killing cancer cells is not inherently a problem in treatment. But killing cancer growths without damaging healthy tissue is the larger issue. As cancer spreads and grows, it infests itself in healthy tissue where surgery is made impossible (brain cancer is commonly inoperable because of the likelihood of damage to critical areas of the brain). Likewise, chemotherapy is less invasive, but can also leave nasty changes to body chemistry and highly undesireable side effects. Roslin mentions that her mother also had breast cancer that she had treated with [[diloxin]] therapy, which appears to be a form of chemotherapy. Roslin declined this treatment in favor of [[Chamalla]] extract, a treatment that led to [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I|interesting side effects]], but ultimately failed in slowing or stopping her cancer (as Dr. [[Cottle]] predicted).

The cancer cure seen in "Epiphanies" appeared to accomplish the following abiliities:

*Destroyed all cancerous and pre-cancerous cells in the bloodstream (to prevent relapsing)
*Destroyed all cancer cells in organ tissue while repairing damage to organs with tumors or other infection
*Differentiated between the host's healthy cells and the cancerous cells
*Be effective with a relatively small dose, since fetal blood volume is low and cannot be taken in large amounts
*Left few or no immediate side-effects

There could be some logic to the use of the Cylon hybrid fetal blood, but this requires some stretching of the imagination and perhaps genetics.

*Earth science has confirmed that [[Wikipedia:Stem cells|stem cells]], undifferentiated cells found in fetal tissue that change into any needed organ or body part, can be used to aid in cellular repair.
*Despite their appearance, [[Humano-Cylon|humanoid Cylon agents]] are not human, but created. Perhaps in their creation, Cylons designed the humanoid bodies to fight off or identify genetic malfunctions immediately, or may be created without any of the historic genetic abnormalities found in humans that could trigger cancer or other diseases.

==Sources==
#{{note|Jack}} In an early draft of the Mini-Series script, Laura speaks by [[wireless]] to "Jack", a fellow secretary or government official. Jack tells Laura of the devastation of Caprica City and Adar's speculated whereabouts and actions. The aired Mini-Series has this scene and does not give Jack's location, but the early draft indicates that Jack is very close to, or in Caprica City.
#{{note|vipers}} In the [[Mini-Series]], viewers see a preflight checkout and launch of the fighters. For launch, the [[Launch tubes|launch tube]] uses a magnetic catapult ("magcat") to hurl the Viper out. On landing, either magnetism or some blend of artificial gravity pulls Vipers to rest on the deck of the [[Flight pod|flight pod]]. This force doesn't appear to be very strong; note the bouncing that the fighters do as their landing skids hit the landing deck while they retreat to ''Galactica'' as it prepares to Jump from Ragnar Anchorage at the conclusion of the Mini-Series.
#{{note|helium3}} See [[Wikipedia:Helium-3|Wikipedia's article on Helium-3]] and [http://www.asi.org/adb/02/09/he3-intro.html this article]] by a private firm on the concept.

==See Also==

[[Naturalistic science fiction]]

[[FTL]]

[[Sublight Propulsion]]

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Technology]]
[[Category:Terminology]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Science in the Re-imagined Series

2006-01-30T03:28:06Z

Gmusser: /* Distances and Speeds in the Mini-Series */

The [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|re-imagined Series]] thrives on concentration of its story and the characters that develop it, rather than attempting to awe its audience by futuristic technology. Nevertheless, ''Battlestar Galactica'' is still a science-fiction program and attempts to adhere to Einsteinian, Euclidian and Newtonian principles as we know them here on the real-world Earth when ships, characters, and events require a particular physical result in, say, a space battle, in a medical complication, or when travelling from place to place.

This article summarizes or notes information about scientific objects and events in the [[Miniseries]] and Regular Series and attempts to draw more information, cite problems or contraditions, or conclusions of the scientiic principles revealed as part of the series' plot. In short, this article analyzes ''Battlestar Galactica's'' "[[technobabble]]" and determines how much of it is accurate, interesting, or just plain made-up.

===Why Gaeta Will Never be "Spock"===

The writers intentionally avoid having characters discuss in depth any super-technical particulars in the Regular Series. This is logical in that, if the characters ''know'' that they can or cannot reach a particular location (they can see their own displays), there's no practical reason for the characters to discuss it amongst themselves (and therefore to us); it would be meaningless dialogue in a show that is heavily supported by the personalities of the characters (and is limited in time to tell viewers a story). The iracible Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] would look at Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta|Gaeta]] as if he grew a third eye in his forehead if Gaeta started to spout off the precise distances and time necessary for ''Galactica'' to travel from place to place. Talking about such minutae in BSG is just not in character.

Still, the show gives us clues about the solar system of the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]] to note some interesting facts.

==Distances and Speeds in the Mini-Series==

* '''''Battlestar ''Galactica'' was approximately 335,540,340 miles from one of the Colonies, ostensibly [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]], at the start of the [[Mini-Series]].'''''

:To reach this number, we needed clues from [[Billy Keikeya]], onboard ''[[Colonial Heavy 798]]'', enroute to the battlestar for its decommissioning ceremony. In the Mini-Series, Billy tells [[Laura Roslin]] that he had sent a copy of her ceremony speech to President [[Richard Adar|Adar]] for review, but warns that there is a time delay of 30 minutes between ''Galactica'' and (ostensibly) Adar's location. Adar's actual location was never specified in the show, but we may make an educated presumption that the President resided on Caprica as that appeared to be the seat of the Colonial [[Government]] {{ref|Jack}}.

:We know that ''Battlestar Galactica's'' universe sticks to the same speed of light constant as real-world Earth (and the universe, of course): 186,282 miles per second. If President Adar sent a [[wireless]] message from Caprica to ''Galactica'' in an attempt to correct Roslin's speech, how long would it take the message to get there? Billy gives this answer: 30 minutes. This gives the answer we need if we use the equation that ''distance=speed x time'':

:::(3 x 10^8) ''(the speed of light in meters/sec)'' x 1800 ''(number of seconds in 30 minutes)'' = 5.4 x 10^11 meters

:Simplfied, the wireless message travels over 335.5 million miles in 30 minutes to ''Galactica.'' This is approximately 3.5 astronomical units, which is consistent with the expected dimensions of the Colonial planetary system.

* '''''Colonial Heavy 798'' is travelling at a sublight speed of over 61,000,000 miles per hour to get to ''Galactica'' for the decommissioning ceremony.'''''

:Right after Billy Keikeya's conversation to Laura Roslin on her speech, we overhear the captain of ''Colonial Heavy 798'' on the public address intercom of the [[Intersun|starliner]], telling the passengers how long their trip to ''Galactica'' will take: 5.5 hours. Assuming that the starliner has just left the neighboring space of Caprica and has reached its cruising speed, and given that we know ''Galactica's'' distance from Caprica, we can determine ''Colonial Heavy 798's'' cruising speed with the same formula as above, now adjusted to calculate speed:

:::540000000000 ''(the speed of light in meters/sec)'' / 19800 ''(the number of seconds in 5.5 hours)'' =
:::27272727.28 meters/sec

:While ''Colonial Heavy 798'' is making a very serious clip across space at 61, 009, 090 miles per hour on its [[sublight]] engines, this is only approximately 11 percent of the speed of light, so passenger liners do well in getting from place to place, or colony to colony. To give a real-world comparison, ''Colonial Heavy 798'' could fly from our sun to the Earth in about 90 minutes. The light from the sun takes only 8 minutes to arrive on the Earth's surface.

==Artificial Gravity==

''(Much of this topic is derived from information in an article on subject on [[Wikipedia:Artificial Gravity|Wikipedia]]. Not all of ''Battlestar Wiki's'' contributors are rocket scientists.)''

Of course, it's very practical for humans, who evolved in gravity, to have it aboard their ships. Cinematically, it also makes it much easier to keep production costs down by not having to simulate weightlessness.

That doesn't mean we can let the [[Colonial Fleet]] get away with just having artificial gravity without some explanation, especially given [[Ronald D. Moore|Ron D. Moore]]'s [[Naturalistic science fiction|realistic science fiction]] principles of his show. From a science fiction perspective, this has always been the hardest "technology" to explain away in a show. Most shows don't even bother unless the temporary loss of artificial gravity would make a good plot complication.

From what our scientists have theorized here on the real-world Earth, you can generate gravity from several ideas:

* ''Rotation of the spacecraft'' to generate centrifugal forces within a spacecraft.
:Remember the playground merry-go-rounds of your youth? Same principle. In fact, one of the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]]'s ships uses this form of artificial gravity when it feels like it: the [[Space Park]]. Viewers can get a good view of this ship in motion when the Fleet leaves [[Ragnar Anchorage]] in the Mini-Series.
* ''Keeping the ship at constant acceleration'', with the crew standing in the opposite direction of acceleration.
:Same principle that every astronaut experiences as their rocket launches into space and accelerates. In this principle, you won't take your hands off the throttle, keeping the ship's engines on at all times.
* ''Place something with a lot of mass'' within your ship.
:This isn't artificial gravity, but the real thing. But there is the matter of the energies required to move your ship, the large gravity well that wants to attract other objects into your ship's general direction, and the shape of your ship. Gravity just '''works''', pulling from every direction, so you would need a round ship to keep from strange changes in gravity aboard a ship. Worst of all, the amount of fuel needed to move a ship with a local mass concentration would be really, really high.
* ''Use tidal forces''.
:Stretch a tether with a small mass between a large gravity source and the ship you want. Cheap, fuel-free, and reliable. There's the matter of actually being able to travel somewhere besides planetary orbit without losing gravity, however.
* ''Fake gravity by using another classic force, magnetism''.
:The big term for this is [[Wikipedia:Diamagnetism|diamagnetism]], or, more specificially for this application, ''diamagnetic levitation''. Based on the technologies we've seen in the Re-imagined Series (such as their use of magnetism for landing and launching Vipers){{ref|vipers}}, this principle has the most viability, but it also fraught with huge problems in application.
:''Everything'' has a magnetic attraction, but most objects (a human body included) has so little magnetism that we don't really think about it. This principle could be used to force ''everything'' in a particular direction. But, first off, using magnets together usually makes objects ''float'' between them, not drop, so you have to figure out how to angle things for the proper effect. Scientists here on Earth have actually [http://www.hfml.science.ru.nl/levitate.html levitated a frog at a force of 1''g'' ] (Earth's gravity), but it took a massive amount of cryogeneically frozen hardware to do it, and that was using the magnet to push ''away'' from Earth's gravity, not push the object ''down''. Also, high magnetic field concentrations [http://star-www.st-and.ac.uk/~jrs/safety/magnetic.html are probably not very healthy]] in the long term.

If the writers have to dive back into the old fictionalized bag of tricks, you could consider these fanciful notions for keeping your deck crews on the deck:

* ''Use rotational gravity.''
:This variation of centrifugal gravity generation has been done in the movie ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' (the crew compartment inside the ''Discovery'' spun) and the venerable TV show "[[Wikipedia:Babylon 5|Babylon 5]]" (the cylindrical space station spun on its longitudinal axis).

* ''Simulate gravity with force fields.''
:The central spaceship in the TV show "[[Wikipedia:Andromeda|Andromeda]]" uses "gravity generators". The "Star Trek" saga has a similar idea. This concept seems also to be a slap in the face of realistic SF concepts since it's a completely fanciful concept with no basis in scientific plausibilty at present.

So, there are no definitive answers to this issue, and the concept of artificial gravity in the show has yet to be explained anytime soon by the writers. Maybe a Raptor will lose their gravity on a mission one day in an episode, and the writers will have to have the characters [[Frak|curse]] about the issue.

==Light-speed Travel==

The good news is that, from a theoretical point of view, the Re-imagined Series has this covered well by the use of ''wormhole'' theory, instead of grandiose methods such as in "Star Trek", through the use of fantastic energies. For more detail on how '''Jumps''' work and how the Colonial's manner of apparent faster-than-light travel differs from the more fanciful non-Einsteinian "warp drive" technology in "Star Trek", see the article on [[FTL|Faster Than Light travel.]]

===Why Didn't ''Colonial Heavy 798'' simply Jump to ''Galactica''?===

In the Miniseries, the starliner known as ''Colonial Heavy 798'' took its time and traveled 5.5 hours at sublight speeds to get to battlestar ''Galactica.'' Why did the starliner take its sweet time? Why didn't they simply Jump to ''Galactica'' to save time?

There are several possibilities.

* '''Discomfort.''' [[FTL]] travel is a very disconcerting sensation to most humans. Even trained military staff such as [[Cally]] hated the sensation caused by wormhole travel. And, if the Colonies are full of lawyers as the real-world Earth is, think of the litigation created by people who aren't prepared for Jumping, and sue the starliners. Starliners would rather not Jump if they can help it, and probably explicitly warn travelers when they book a Jumping flight.
* '''Scheduling.''' ''Galactica's'' decommissioning ceremonies were for a specific time and date. While [[Intersun]] could have created an FTL flight, passengers still need time (mentally or physically) to prepare for their trip. As humans without instantaneous travel ability, we may not realize that such travel may create issues of logistics for passengers (many who are late or procrastinate) who actually ''anticipate'' that they will get 5 hours to plan for their event, or to just sleep.
* '''Flight rules or protocol.''' It may be against Colonial flight protocols for any non-military vessel to Jump to the adjoining space of a Colonial Fleet vessel. This makes the most sense because ships such as battlestars are ''always'' on the lookout for a sudden appearance of any ship that approaches them; they ''are'' a warship, after all. An incident where Vipers are scrambled from a battlestar after a civilian ship Jumps too closely would be like a Lear Jet flying too closely to a United States aircraft carrier. If ''Colonial Heavy 798'' were to Jump straight to the battlestar, all kinds of alarms would go off in [[CIC]] until the battlestar could verify the incoming vessel was friendly. And, given that [[Tom Zarek|terrorism existed]] in the Colonies, even a "friendly" vessel may not be necessarily non-hostile (remember the events of September 11, 2001).

==The Tylium Question==

[[Tylium]] is a curious substance in the universe where the Twelve Colonies resides. Used by both Colonials and their foes, tylium has the properties of a mineral or fossil fuel in as that the substance is mined and refined. Like some fossil fuels, tylium isn't useable until refined. While the ore can't be detonated, its precursor (similar to refined crude oil before its refinement into gasoline and other products) is very explosive. The fuel itself isn't as explosive as precursor, however.

So, is tylium a made-up substance or would it have a counterpart or comparative substance to the elements we know of here on the real-world Earth?

One speculation is that tylium can possibly be similar to Helium-3{{ref|helium3}}. Helium-3 is a primordial component in the Earth's crust, is deposited via solar wind on moons and asteroids. But, while helium-3 has potention as an energy source, the amount of energy needed to ignite it (fusion) would be more than the energy it would expel for use as an energy by-product.

There is a problem with this speculation in that helium-3 is a gas, not a mineral or solid element. A tylium counterpart should be a solid, non-radioactive, and likely non-organic substance. Coal would fit the tylium concept were it not a fossil fuel, which would suggest that life forms existed and died on the celestial bodies where the substance is mined. Perhaps another element from the Periodic Table could be a counterpart of tylium.

==The Cancer Cure of Laura Roslin==

''This section was originally written from a layman's perspective. As such, the information in this section is speculative and with little professional background. Battlestar Wikipedians with more experience and training in biology, medical science, and genetics are strongly encouraged to correct and expand on this section.''

The episode "[[Epiphanies]]" showed dying President [[Laura Roslin]] receiving the fetal blood from [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii's]] and [[Karl Agathon|Helo's]] child, which dramatically annihilated the [[Wikipedia:Cancer|breast cancer]] and its subsequent metastasis (spreading) that almost kills Roslin.

The believability of this event is low given that viewers have seen, from the first moment we meet the character of Laura Roslin, that cancer in the Twelve Colonies is just as dire as it is on the real-world Earth.

Killing cancer cells is not inherently a problem in treatment. But killing cancer growths without damaging healthy tissue is the larger issue. As cancer spreads and grows, it infests itself in healthy tissue where surgery is made impossible (brain cancer is commonly inoperable because of the likelihood of damage to critical areas of the brain). Likewise, chemotherapy is less invasive, but can also leave nasty changes to body chemistry and highly undesireable side effects. Roslin mentions that her mother also had breast cancer that she had treated with [[diloxin]] therapy, which appears to be a form of chemotherapy. Roslin declined this treatment in favor of [[Chamalla]] extract, a treatment that led to [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I|interesting side effects]], but ultimately failed in slowing or stopping her cancer (as Dr. [[Cottle]] predicted).

The cancer cure seen in "Epiphanies" appeared to accomplish the following abiliities:

*Destroyed all cancerous and pre-cancerous cells in the bloodstream (to prevent relapsing)
*Destroyed all cancer cells in organ tissue while repairing damage to organs with tumors or other infection
*Differentiated between the host's healthy cells and the cancerous cells
*Be effective with a relatively small dose, since fetal blood volume is low and cannot be taken in large amounts
*Left few or no immediate side-effects

There could be some logic to the use of the Cylon hybrid fetal blood, but this requires some stretching of the imagination and perhaps genetics.

*Earth science has confirmed that [[Wikipedia:Stem cells|stem cells]], undifferentiated cells found in fetal tissue that change into any needed organ or body part, can be used to aid in cellular repair.
*Despite their appearance, [[Humano-Cylon|humanoid Cylon agents]] are not human, but created. Perhaps in their creation, Cylons designed the humanoid bodies to fight off or identify genetic malfunctions immediately, or may be created without any of the historic genetic abnormalities found in humans that could trigger cancer or other diseases.

==Sources==
#{{note|Jack}} In an early draft of the Mini-Series script, Laura speaks by [[wireless]] to "Jack", a fellow secretary or government official. Jack tells Laura of the devastation of Caprica City and Adar's speculated whereabouts and actions. The aired Mini-Series has this scene and does not give Jack's location, but the early draft indicates that Jack is very close to, or in Caprica City.
#{{note|vipers}} In the [[Mini-Series]], viewers see a preflight checkout and launch of the fighters. For launch, the [[Launch tubes|launch tube]] uses a magnetic catapult ("magcat") to hurl the Viper out. On landing, either magnetism or some blend of artificial gravity pulls Vipers to rest on the deck of the [[Flight pod|flight pod]]. This force doesn't appear to be very strong; note the bouncing that the fighters do as their landing skids hit the landing deck while they retreat to ''Galactica'' as it prepares to Jump from Ragnar Anchorage at the conclusion of the Mini-Series.
#{{note|helium3}} See [[Wikipedia:Helium-3|Wikipedia's article on Helium-3]] and [http://www.asi.org/adb/02/09/he3-intro.html this article]] by a private firm on the concept.

==See Also==

[[Naturalistic science fiction]]

[[FTL]]

[[Sublight Propulsion]]

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Technology]]
[[Category:Terminology]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Epiphanies

2006-01-30T03:17:32Z

Gmusser: /* Analysis */

{{Episode Data|
Image = [[Image:2BATejC05.jpg|300px]]
| Title= Epiphanies
| Series= [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|The Re-imagined Series]]
| Season= [[Season 2 (2005-06)|2]]
| Episode= 13
| Guests=[http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Colm+Feore Colm Feore] ([[Richard Adar|President Adar]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Aaron+Douglas Aaron Douglas] ([[Galen Tyrol]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Nicki+Clyne Nicki Clyne] ([[Cally]]) [[Bodie Olmos]] ([[Brendan Constanza|Hot Dog]]) [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm1382781/ Luciana Carro] ([[Louanne Katraine]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Leah+Cairns Leah Cairns] ([[Margaret Edmonson|Racetrack]]) David Richmond-Peck ([[Naylin Stans]]) Holly Dignard ([[Asha Janik]]) Paul Perri (Royan Jahee) Jennifer Kitchen (Marine)
| Writer=Joel Anderson Thompson
| Story=
| Director=[[Rod Hardy]]
| Production=2.13
| Rating=
| US Airdate=January 20 2006
| UK Airdate=
| DVD=
| Population=49,598
| Prev= [[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]
| Next= [[Black Market]]
}}




== Overview ==

: ''Admiral [[William Adama]] questions whether or not [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii]]'s pregnancy should be aborted. Meanwhile Roslin's health declines rapidly as a pro-Cylon peace group attempts to sow violence and discontent within the Fleet.''

== Summary ==

* President [[Laura Roslin]] is brought on board ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]''. She has days to live.
* Captain [[Kara Thrace]] and Lieutenant [[Louanne Katraine]] are conducting Viper tests. During a test of the Viper's projectile systems, Kat's port gun is destroyed and a piece of it impacts on Thrace's cockpit.
* [[Cally]] and CPO [[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]] discover that several rounds of ammunition from the damaged Viper are unusually light and fragile. These rounds break and misfire, leaving the projectile lodged in the barrel. When the next round fires, the overpressure destroys the gun. They determine the ammunition has been sabotaged.
*The sabotage investigation quickly leads [[Lee Adama]] and Kara Thrace to [[Asha Janik]], one of the recent civilian hirees in ''Galactica's'' armory. When they apprehend her, she declares her allegiance to an organization claiming to want peace with the Cylons.
*Vice President [[Gaius Baltar]] is given the presidential tour by [[Billy Keikeya]] in preparation for his assumption of the Presidency. Billy reveals a letter from Roslin, to be opened upon her death.
* The new peace movement, led by [[Royan Jahee]], gains momentum as the civilian population begins to realize that victory against the Cylons is impossible and questions the fleet's 'attack-and-retreat' tactics.
* An infusion of [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon's]] fetal blood ostensibly destroys the cancerous masses in Roslin's system. Sharon's pregnancy is allowed to continue for further research.

===On Caprica Prior to the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|Cylon Attack]]===
*Roslin finds out she has cancer.
*Roslin meets with President Adar to discuss a teacher's strike, and his response.
*Roslin meets with the leader of the educational alliance, [[Naylin Stans]], and strikes an agreement.
*Adar disagrees with Roslin's methods and results, and asks for her resignation.
*Roslin refuses to resign and departs for ''Galactica's'' decommisioning ceremony.
*Roslin sees [[Gaius Baltar]] with [[Number Six]] in her dream state. She then seems alarmed to see Dr. Baltar when she wakes up and tries to say something to him.

== Questions ==

*Kara Thrace is flying Mk. II vipers with Galactica's pilots again. Is she still the CAG of ''Pegasus''?
**According to interviews with RDM, Starbuck is still the ''Pegasus'' CAG. There's nothing to say she couldn't just continue flying joint missions with ''Galactica'', etc.
***Indeed, Kat remarks that Starbuck is "late" for flying the CAP, presumably the patrols are now a joint effort between the two Battlestars, possibly as an attempt to boost intraship morale after they nearly destroyed one another.
*Now that Roslin recalls Baltar's involvment with a Cylon agent on Caprica, what will she do about it?
*Will there be any consequences for Helo's near-mutiny?
*Will Roslin's attitude toward the Cylon fetus change following her recovery?
**Ronald D. Moore's podcast implies that her urgency was only prompted by her lack of faith in Baltar's ability to handle the situation. Will she be content to let to Sharon carry to term now that her survival is no longer in question?
*Roslin's recent series of machiavellian orders (Cain's assasination in "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]", and the forced abortion here) appear to have been faciliated by her belief that, given her impending death, she wouldn't have to deal with the ethical ramifications. Will this alter her relationship with Admiral Adama in the long term?
*Is security really so lax that Baltar (whom Adama does not consider especially trustworthy) would be able to smuggle one of ''Galactica's'' very few nuclear warheads off-ship?
**He didn't steal it from the armory, it's the one he used to build the Cylon detector; he's got 24 hours a day unrestricted access to it.
**Raptors are capable of detecting radiological devices. Why wasn't the bomb noticed in transit? If it's possible to effectively shield a nuclear device from detection, why don't the Cylons do this to their own warheads?
**Alternately, is the nuclear device actually functional?
**According to Ron Moore's podcast, the nuke storyline will be dealt with in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I" and "...Part II" to end the season.
**How much of the device was used for Baltar's "Cylon Detector"? Has it been dismantled to restore the explosive?
*Why aren't there posters of [[Gina]] scattered all over the fleet to inform everyone of her Cylon identity, making it difficult for her to hide, let alone lead a Cylon-sympathy movement?
**Ronald Moore did admit during his podcast that this was Gina's "Clark Kent" disguise and it was very shaky the way they played it off that nobody would recognize her. Will this loose end be tied-up in some future story line when they get further into the Colonial underground storylines that the next few episodes are supposed to follow?
**On the other hand, Gina does not appear to be leaving her room on ''Cloud 9'' that much, and the humans who do see her are Cylon sympathizers anyway.
*Does Gina "remember" Number Six's memories about having a relationship with Baltar on Caprica, or even after? In "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]", she did not seem to know him, as Baltar introduced himself to her and explained that he had a relationship with another Cylon copy of her model. Here, however, it sort of seems like she remembers having a physical relationship with him, but isn't "ready" to go back to that after her torture. Then again, her lines also be intrepretted to mean that she really never "knew" about him before she met him on ''Pegasus''. The process of Cylon memory-transfer and systematic updating isn't very well understood at this point.
*Why is it that in the last episode, "[[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]", Sharon is not noticably pregnant even when wearing a close-fitting tank top, but is now suddenly visibly quite progressed in her pregnancy?
**The same may be said of the physical condition of Gina. She now has no noticable scars or other markings from her ordeal on Pegasus. Baltar does comment when he sees Number Six in the corridor, however, that it has been several weeks since he saw her last. This could help explain the noticeably pregnant Sharon.

== Analysis ==

* The survivor count this episode is 49,598, a net loss of six since [[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]. [[Helena Cain|Admiral Cain]] and the ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'' marine killed by [[Gina]] account for two. Presumably the remaining were pilots or crew lost during the [[Battle of the Resurrection Ship|attack]] on the [[Resurrection Ship]].
** This seems to be extremely good fortune, as the two battlestars engaged in a major fleet action for an extended time.
* Roslin's affair with Adar was suggested by her comment in the [[miniseries]] that "he had a way about him... you just couldn't say 'no' to him."
*Naylin Stans implies that he believes the teacher's strike is a cause worth dying for. This claim is ridiculously hyperbolic.
**The fact that President Adar was willing to use the military to enforce a back-to-work order seems to indicate that the protest must've been more serious than simple wage issues.
*Roslin's medical chart showed her name and other information such as date of birth, but this information was too blurry for viewers to read.
*Roslin's recollections of Baltar on Caprica do not match the same scene in the Miniseries. For example: Baltar and Six did walk together and kiss, and she was carrying the same case in her left hand, but they did not "make out" against a wall. Each character did end the miniseries scene by saying they were meeting someone else, however.
**Logically, it wasn't the same scene. Baltar and Six were on Caprica for a while, and they could easily have been making at a different time on the same day. The episode actually makes no attempt to establish that Roslin is seeing the same scene of Baltar and Number Six (that we the viewers saw in the Miniseries), from a different angle.
*Watching closely during the early scene when Starbuck and Kat are flying the CAP, it seems probable that actress Luciana Carro (Kat) said the real "F word" instead of the ersatz "[[Frak]]", which was then dubbed over (it's a closeup so you can tell her lips don't quite correspond to it). She actually seems to have done this in the past on many occasions.

===Serious Technical and Storyline Issues===

*Roslin's cancer cure was pure "deus ex machina." While many viewers may find Roslin's cure a necessary one as she has become a pivotal character in the show, the method of her cure leaves too many medical mistakes and is too easy of a cure.
*Cancer is not a viral disease, like AIDS or the common cold, but an invasive destruction of tissue by mutated cells, which usurp the function of healthy cells. For the cure to work the way it did would require it not only to destroy free-floating cells and metastasized tissue, but to ''repair'' any organs with healthy tissue.
**The human immune system does have some ability to suppress tumors, so a biological cure is entirely plausible.
*As cancer is not curable here on Earth, for the show to invent a cure at the last minute may feel contrived by some.

Major plot elements that form a resolution in the show's past were generally introduced and left "in the air" for suspense over several episodes while both viewers and characters learned their significance.

*These include:
**The search for the [[Arrow of Apollo]] and the search for the [[Tomb of Athena]]
**The Experiment with Helo on Caprica (Season 1)
**Adama's survival after his shooting

The "epiphany" of Baltar's cancer cure could have been worked over at least two or three episodes while he and Cottle studied Sharon Valerii's child, which is a logical way to work a cancer cure. Baltar is a tinkerer--the miracle working viewers saw in this episode would be best left to other characters in science fiction where such "magical" inventiveness might be expected. In "Battlestar Galactica", this sudden resolution of the second major plot element in the series (we hear of Roslin's terminal cancer diagnosis when we first see Roslin in the Miniseries) that has dire ramifications for the Fleet should not be resolved with the proverbial swipe of a writer's pen in a single episode.

It should be noted that the cure might not be permanent and the cancer may return in the future (as hinted by Ronald D. Moore in the podcast for this episode).

For more analysis on this and other scientific matters of the Re-imagined Series, see the article, [[Science in the Re-imagined Series]].

Other technical issues abound in this episode.

*A nuclear warhead was smuggled from ''Galactica'' to ''Cloud Nine''. How would such a device possibly get past the various [[Radiological Alarm|radiological sensors]] throughout the Fleet? This was a plot complication used in "[[Flesh and Bone]]" as well when a copy of [[Leoben Conoy]] claimed that a nuclear device was hidden in the Fleet. The writing element was difficult to believe in that episode, and it far less believable in this episode. Both the battlestar and the [[Raptor]] on which the freed "freedom movement" member left the ship are military vessels ''designed'' to sniff out hostile devices.
**A significant dissent for Baltar's weapon contribution may be that the weapon he gave to the Demand Peace movement may not have ''any'' radioactive material inside it; Baltar gave them the warhead, but not the fissionable material inside. This reasoning has strong merit and precedence: (1) Baltar serves himself above all others. He wouldn't give away a weapon's plutonium which he is still personally accountable for, nor would he give such material away to people that could turn around and blow up the Fleet (and himself). (2) Baltar still needs the radiological material for his [[Cylon detector]] if a test is asked. (3) If [[Naturalistic science fiction|show creation principles]] hold true for this episode, conventional bomb materials (such [[G-4]] or sidearm ammunition) would NOT be detectable by radiological scanning. Either bomb types used on real-world Earth (fissionable-material bombs such as uranium or [[plutonium]] bombs, or fusion bombs such as hydrogen bombs) use conventional explosives to activate the trigger that creates a nuclear explosion. At best, the device that Baltar gave the Demand Peace movement may only be as dangerous as the makeshift explosive they used on the ''[[Daru Mozu]]''.
**Like any device, [[Radiological Alarm|radiological sensors]] are only effective when they are online. It is possible that these sensors are intelligent enough to ignore known radioactive sources, such as Galatica's existing stores of nuclear warheads.

*The explosion of the bomb on the refinery ship is powerful enough to create a sizable hole on the ship. While space is a vacuum and so shock waves do not carry as they would in an atmosphere, the Raptor that flew close to the ship and was not very far from the explosion should probably be damaged from flying debris.
**Raptors, being warships, presumably have some shielding against shrapnel.

== Notes ==

* This episode begins 189 days after the Cylon attack on the colonies. There is a 48 hour gap between Roslin's deathbed treatment and her conversation with [[Royan Jahee]]. The number 189 given in this episode, as well as "six months" in the previous one, contradict the [[Timeline (RDM)|timeline]] which ''BattlestarWiki'' has developed to track dates. See the [[Talk:Timeline (RDM)#6 months?|''Talk'' page on the Timeline]] for a full breakdown.
* [[Lee Adama]] is once again a Captain, and has been reinstated as ''Galactica's'' CAG. His authority apparently extends to the ''Pegasus'' squadrons as well. This is consistent with [[Cole Taylor]]'s authority over ''Galactica's'' air wing, when ''Pegasus'' was the flagship.
* [[Gina]] has joined the Cylon sympathizers. The other members of the resistance are apparently unaware she is a [[Humano-Cylon]].
* Roslin was in an intimate relationship with President Adar.
*Roslin now recalls witnessing [[Gaius Baltar]]'s affair with a copy of [[Number Six]] on Caprica, prior to the attack.
* The radiation symbol used by the colonials is different from the one used in reality, but is still easily recognizable.
*''Galactica'' has been recruiting civilians to handle "grunt work" on the hangar deck.
*Baltar was aware of the [[Demand Peace]] movement prior to this episode.
*At least three bodies can be seen being vented into space after the explosion onboard ''[[Daru Mozu]]''.
*The file photograph of Number Six is of [[Number Six#Shelly Godfrey|Shelly Godfrey]], seen in the episode "[[Six Degrees of Separation]]".
* The nuclear device Dr. Baltar gives the resistance is the same one he was given to create his [[Cylon detector]] in "[[Bastille Day]]".
* ''Pegasus'' is barely featured in this episode, and none of her crew or interior locations are seen, except in the pre-episode recap.
*Admiral Adama continues to wear his commander's [[uniform]] with new admiral's rank insignia at his collar.
**Adama is a pragmatist who tends to eschew ceremony.
*This episode, which contained the issue of abortion, was aired on January 20th, 2 days before the anniversary of the United States Supreme Court [[Wikipedia:Roe v. Wade|Roe v. Wade]] decision of 1973.
**The issue of abortion was not, however, directly addressed—very few, if any, real-life abortions happen because of the national security implications of giving birth to a human-robot chimera.

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

'''President Richard Adar:''' "One of the most interesting things about being President is that you don't have to explain yourself. To anyone."
*Roslin earlier attributed this saying to Adar in the episode "[[Flesh and Bone]]".

'''Secretary Roslin:''' "I am on my way to the ''Galactica'' to represent this administration. When I return, if you still want my job, be prepared to fight."

== Official Statements ==




{{Episode List}}

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Episode Guide (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Humanoid Cylon

2006-01-30T03:03:08Z

Gmusser: /* Ron Moore elaborates on the twelve models */

[[Image:Humano-cylon_group.jpg|thumb|350px|Cylon copies of Aaron Doral, Number Six, and Leoben Conoy at [[Ragnar Anchorage]] (c) Universal)]]
== Overview ==

Following the end of the [[Cylon War]], the Cylons withdrew from Colonial space to a planet of their own. For some 40 years, nothing was heard of them, and no apparent attempt was made by the Colonials to keep an eye on them. The only contact expected between the two was at annual meetings at [[Armistice Station]]. However, while the Colonials sent a repesentative to the station every year, the Cylons did not ([[Miniseries]]).

During their forty years of isolation, the Cylons developed or evolved a ''humanoid form'' that very closely mimics human form, down to the cellular level, excepting the molecular level.

'''Humano-Cylons'''{{ref|name}} have the capacity to emulate many human physical acts, including sex, as demonstrated by the Number Six and Sharon Valerii models.

Humano-Cylons can be programmed to believe that they are truly human. These are known as "sleeper" agents. Sleeper agents appear to have a low-level Cylon personality that can conduct operations while placing the human sleeper personality "on-hold". The [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|first copy of Sharon Valerii]], known by her callsign of "Boomer" on battlestar ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'', had little awareness of her true nature until her arrest for the attempted assassination of [[William Adama]] ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). This sleeper agent conducted or aided in sabotage operations within the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] ("[[Water]]", "[[Litmus]]"). Most agent copies, particularly versions of [[Aaron Doral]] and [[Number Six]], imitate human personalities, but are fully aware of their true nature.

[[Image:Valerii_optic_input.jpg|left|thumb|A [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|copy of Sharon Valerii]] interfaces with ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica's]]'' [[Computers|mainframe computer]] and communication systems by fiber-optic link. (c) Universal]]
Although they cannot do so remotely or wirelessly, humano-Cylons can interface with a computer system or computer network through subdermal physical contact with input cables connected to the devices. Caprica-Sharon connected to the ''Galactica'''s computers by this method in "[[Flight of the Phoenix]]" when she inserted a fiber-optic cable through her left palm and into her arm.

Like other [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]], humano-Cylons utilize a synthetic, silicon brain that is susceptible to damage from certain types of radiation. Upon the death of the "body," a Humano-Cylon transfers its consciousness into another copy of itself, though this is limited by distance and perhaps signal integrity (hindered by interference) ([[Mini-Series]], [[Flesh and Bone]]). Based on [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Caprica Sharon Valerii]]'s conversation with [[Kara Thrace]] in the episode, "[[The Farm]]", it appears that all humano-Cylons may share a ''collective knowledgebase'' of data from other active or deactivated humano-Cylons. Valerii spoke of a conversation between Thrace and a captured [[Leoben Conoy]] copy in the Fleet. This information would only be known to that now-dead Leoben copy if sharing were not possible. Kara Thrace's call sign, Starbuck, was also a likely bit of information gleaned from the collective knowledgebase that [[Simon]] knew of the Viper pilot, although Thrace never told him of her call sign and used it to strike back at her abductors ([[The Farm]]). Also, during "[[Flight of the Phoenix]]", Caprica-Sharon asked [[Anastasia Dualla]] if she still carried her pocket knife, a fact which would have been known only to the ''Galactica'' copy. When under duress, the copy of Sharon Valerii known as "Boomer" on ''Galactica'' was able to tell [[Gaius Baltar]] the number of remaining humano-Cylon agents in the fleet, information that would be impossible to gather without a collective knowledgebase ([[Resistance]]).

Some or all Cylon "female" models may have the capacity to bear children seeded by human males ([[33]], [[Flesh and Bone]], [[The Hand of God]], [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). The Cylons tested numerous methods of sexual reproduction, yet these failed due to a known flaw in the humano-Cylon design. Humano-Cylons cannot reproduce with each other biologically, and, attempting to subvert this deficiency, they have been trying to interbreed with humans to create hybrid offspring. "Farms" were apparently set up across all the occupied Colonies where survivors, specifically, young fertile women of child-bearing age, were rounded up, placed under heavy sedation and turned into "baby machines" through artificial insemination. However, this method has not met with success. Another drastically different approach was taken by attempting to conceive a child through a bond of love. It seems that [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] and [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii]]'s love-child is the lone success story of the relatively short history of Cylon sexual reproduction ([[The Farm]]).

== Known Humano-Cylon Models ==

There are twelve models of humanoid Cylons ([[Mini-Series]]). 
[[#Note|'''*''']]. Six models have so far been identified as humano-Cylons, although only five are actually known to the Colonials as Cylon agents as of the episode, "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]."

=== [[Number Six]] ===

This model utilizes the human need / desire for sexual relations to her advantage. She is religious and monotheistic. She desires to know what it is to be alive.

Typically she is the alpha female, as demonstrated on multiple occasions ([[Mini-Series]], [[33]], [[Water]], [[Six Degrees of Separation]]).

Copies of her have appeared under the names "Shelly Godfrey" and "Gina."

=== [[Leoben Conoy]] ===

Leoben Conoy was the fourth model witnessed by viewers (although viewers would not know until the end of the [[Mini-Series]] that they had already met the ''third'' humanoid Cylon, Sharon Valerii). The Conoy model has shown to be religiously oriented, using dogma and intermixing truth with falsehoods. It was first discovered on [[Ragnar Station]], claiming to be a scavenger / arms dealer ([[Mini-Series]]).

He can be likened to the serpent of the [[Wikipedia:Genesis|Genesis]] tale in the Earth [[Wikipedia: Christian Bible|Christian Bible]], taunting people with knowledge then watching as the negative consequences come into devastating fruition. Leoben copies have likely been encountered by the [[Resistance (movement)|Caprica Resistance movement]], as [[Samuel Anders]] recites in jest some comments made by another Leoben copy captured in [[The Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]] ([[Flesh and Bone]], [[The Farm]]).

=== [[Aaron Doral]] ===

This model attempts to sow the seeds of discontent or confusion, particularly during crucial life-threatening situations, and endeavors to undermine authority that threatens his objectives. ([[Mini-Series]]) Doral models are more covert, assuming an ordinary "everyman" appearance that's blended in what may seem to be insignificant behind-the-scenes issues (such as converting ''Galactica'' into a museum). Of all the models thus far, the Aaron Doral models are the most militant, fanatic and consistent in message and objectives to the Cylon objectives, whether he is dispassionately discussing the fate of humanity with his comrades or attempting to kill or maim Colonials in a suicide bomb attack ([[Litmus]]). Viewers first meet Doral during a tour of ''Galactica'' with other Colonial citizens (possibly the press) as we see the battlestar for the first time at the start of the [[Mini-Series]]. The viewers aren't sure of Doral's true identity as the second humano-Cylon they've seen until the end of the Mini-Series, however.

=== [[Sharon Valerii]] ===

The Valerii model is generally a saboteur designed to infiltrate Colonial military units and is likely programmed to use any Colonial munitions to cause havoc ([[Water]]). The Valerii model is the closest witnessed Humano-Cylon model to show its abilities as a soldier. This model has shown naiveté in many matters. She is apparently not as religious as other Cylon models, but has demonstrated that she can love, and is capable of being impregnated by a human ([[Six Degrees of Separation]], [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). She may be "defective", as the Cylon programming within the sleeper agent known as "Boomer" on ''Galactica'' conflicted multiple times with its human personality ([[Water]]). Also, the fully aware Sharon Valerii found by [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] on Caprica has fully switched alliances from Cylon to Colonial after falling in love with Helo and is now aiding the Colonials (several episodes, most notably "[[Flight of the Phoenix]]"). Valerii is the third humano-Cylon introduced during the [[Mini-Series]] but Viewers do not discover her true identity until the very end of the Mini-Series when a second copy appears at [[Ragnar Anchorage]] while retrieving the abandoned copy of Aaron Doral.

=== [[Simon]] ===

The Simon model was encountered by [[Kara Thrace|Kara "Starbuck" Thrace]] Cylon-occupied [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]]. Posing as a doctor, Simon was actually involved with the Cylon hybridization program. Simon resembles a tall, somewhat thin middle-aged black man who speaks in a comforting strong voice ([[The Farm]]) Unlike other models, Simon doesn't seem to have many military aspects to his physical or mental configuration, and was easily overcome by a wounded Thrace. Simon may be a model based primarily on human intellectualism.

=== [[D'anna Biers]] ===

This model was witnessed by viewers posing as a reporter from the [[Fleet News Service]] and was revealed to be a Cylon at the end of "[[Final Cut]]" when a second copy was shown living on Caprica. Of all the Humano-Cylon models revealed to viewers, the Colonials are not yet aware that D'anna Biers is a Cylon agent as of the mid-season 2 cliffhanger, "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]".

Part of Biers' mission within ''Galactica's'' fleet (which fits her work as a journalist) likely involves the relay of important intelligence within the Fleet, such as the status of the pregnant Caprica copy of Sharon Valerii.

== Speculated Infiltrators ==

=== Ellen Tigh? ===
In light of her statistic-defying survival of the Cylon holocaust and her manipulations of her husband during Commander [[William Adama]]'s incapacitation ("[[Scattered]]" through "[[Resistance]]"), Ellen Tigh's actions have demonstrated the possibility that she may be a Cylon agent. For someone who seems so intelligent and far-sighted, she should be well aware that pushing her husband to strong-arm the rest of the Fleet to conform with his (and her) views would only end in chaos. If she ''is'' a Cylon looking to destroy the Fleet from within, then the best weapon in her arsenal is the man she's married to.

In an October 2005 webcast, [[Ronald D. Moore]] indicated that the likelihood of Ellen Tigh being a Cylon was low. Essentially, this was due to the feeling that having her be a Cylon agent would not only be convenient, but unrealistic from a story point-of-view as well. Moore's comments don't eliminate Ellen Tigh from consideration, but reduces the likelihood of this speculation. Some viewers surmise that Moore may have meant that revealing Tigh as a Cylon in her [[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down|debut episode]] in addition to the character's many other complexities, would stretch the overall believability or integrity of the character at that point, but that he was not refering to her actual status as a Cylon or not at the time.

=== Gaius Baltar? ===
[[Gaius Baltar]]'s ability to see and communicate with a virtual Number Six was initially attributed to some kind of device implanted in his body. However, after tests performed on him by Dr. [[Cottle]] ([[Home, Part II]]), no devices were found, suggesting three possibilities: that the Cylon device in Baltar's brain is, like Cylon technology in general, indistinguishable from other tissue; that Baltar is a Humano-Cylon; or that his Six is a supernatural being, as she claims to be. How did Baltar survive the outer shockwave of a nuclear blast near his home on [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]], shielded only by Six's body, which is just as frail as a human's? Is the Baltar we see in fact, a copy? See the [[Gaius Baltar#Speculation: The Real Baltar?|Speculation]] section of Gaius Baltar's article for arguments for and against this possibility.

=== William Adama? ===

Of all the suspected infiltrators, the case against William Adama appears to be the weakest.

In the Mini-Series, Adama seems to know that the Humano-Cylons have "silica relays" in their brains, and that they would be affected by the storm around [[Ragnar Anchorage]]. In "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]", Commander Adama disappears mysteriously and returns with Ellen Tigh. Around the same time, a Cylon Raider shows up. However, this was all explained later in the same episode, when Adama reveals that he was reluctant to openly announce Ellen's sudden appearance because he was afraid she could be a Cylon.

Adama also has exhibited strange behavior, from expressing vague Cylon sympathies (both in his speech in the Mini-Series and in his discussion with Tyrol in "[[Home, Part I]]" where he seems to concede that Boomer was more than a machine). While not openly friendly to the Cylons, Adama seems to at least respect them as persons in that he does not treat the Caprica copy of Sharon Valerii inhumanely, despite what was done to him by the Valerii copy known as "Boomer".

William Adama is the father of two children, [[Lee Adama|Lee]] and [[Zak Adama|Zak]]. Before the conception of Valerii's hybrid child the Cylons have been unable to produce children through sexual reproduction. Further, Adama is a veteran of the well-documented [[Cylon War]], back at a time where Cylons were purely mechanical and not biosynthetic.

When the recent revelation by Ron Moore that Humano-Cylons are unique beings and not copies of existing humans is added to this, the likelihood of William Adama as a suspected infiltrator could be all but ruled out. This also throws the validity of Leoben Conoy's final words to Roslin accusing Adama as a Cylon in "[[Flesh and Bone]]" into question (which were almost certainly meant to just spread paranoia).

The strongest convincing evidence against Adama as a Cylon is that we have seen flashbacks of Adama and Saul Tigh in the years prior to the destruction of the Colonies, after the first Cylon War. Since humano-Cylons aren't copies of humans, it is not possible for Adama or Tigh to be Cylon operatives (at least of the type used thus far).

=== Lee Adama? ===

There is speculation that Lee Adama might actually be a Cylon. In "[[Flesh and Bone]]", a copy of [[Leoben Conoy]], a Cylon agent, grabs [[Laura Roslin]] and tells her Adama is a Cylon prior to his execution. If his statement is true, it leaves doubt on which Adama he is talking about, although Roslin's actions in the next episode, "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]", indicate\ that Roslin believes Conoy spoke of Commander Adama.

Humano-Cylons are not copies (clones) of existing people. Evidence from [[Sharon Valerii]]'s and [[Number Six]]'s conversations indicate that humanoid Cylon infiltration began no earlier than 2 years prior to the events of the [[Miniseries]], although their respective backstories may suggest they have been "alive" for many years. As Lee Adama was alive before this introduction, the probability that Lee Adama is a Cylon is as low as that of his father.

''There are reports of fan fiction with stories involving Lee Adama as a Cylon. ''Battlestar Wiki'' does not post fan fiction (whole or in excerpts), or speculation generated by these stories. An article's content must (with some [[Toaster|silly]], [[Numerology|non-sequitur]] [[Flashlight|exceptions]]) provide sufficient basis in fact or probability based on aired episode information or other official sources as described in the [[Battlestar Wiki:Citation Jihad]] project page.''

=== Felix Gaeta? ===

Lt. [[Felix Gaeta]] is in a good position for a Cylon—not conspicuous but nonetheless in a position where he can help the Cylons quite a bit. Gaeta arguably seems to hand something to Boomer in "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]" before she shoots Adama (a frame by frame analysis shows that their hands are not in frame, leaving the question unanswered). Gaeta can recognize Cylon devices, and is close to [[Gaius Baltar|Dr. Baltar]]. Gaeta has plotted coordinates to a water planet, a Cylon [[tyllium]] base, and [[Kobol]] with uncanny accuracy. He "forgot" to send updated coordinates to the fleet in "[[Scattered]]", leaving ''Galactica'' vulnerable to Cylon electronic attack after having to network the ship [[Computers|computer]] systems together.

Gaeta's recent behavioral changes from the stress of working at evading the Cylons shows by "[[Final Cut]]" as Gaeta is shown in his interview drunk, smoking, and wearing a new tattoo. By the following episode, "[[Flight of the Phoenix]]", Gaeta angrily snaps at Colonel Tigh for giving a difficult order, causing surprise throughout [[CIC]] since Gaeta is normally a calm, reserved officer even under the worst of conditions. Contrast this behavior with Boomer, the ''Galactica'' copy of Sharon Valerii, who still appeared quite alert after 5 continuous days of combat status. Note the following dialogue from the first regular series episode, "[[33]]":

::'''[[Lee Adama|Apollo]]''': Hey, how about you, Boomer? [[Cottle|Doc]] tells me you're holding up better than anybody in the squadron.
::'''Boomer''': I'm tired, like everybody else.
::'''Apollo''': You never seem it.
::'''[[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]]''': 'Cause she's a Cylon.
::'''Boomer''': You're just gonna make me come over there and kick your ass, aren't you?

While even Humano-Cylons develop severe behavioral and physiological issues after extended work and abuse ([[Number Six#Gina|Pegasus]]), Humano-Cylons appear to be more resilient than humans, which may limit the likelihood of Gaeta's possible Cylon connection. On the other hand, if he were a Cylon, Gaeta's human personality may have finally been overtaxed by that time, suggesting that an actual human might have snapped earlier in their exodus in contrast.

In the end, Gaeta's likelihood as a Cylon operative may be in doubt over one key element: The Cylons appear to have integrated human agents into the Colonies no earlier than 2 years before the events of the Mini-Series. Gaeta has served on ''Galactica'' with Commander Adama for three years ([[Miniseries]]). Since humanoid Cylons are not clones of actual humans, the likelihood of Gaeta as a Cylon agent would depend on the start of humano-Cylon introduction.

=== Jammer? ===

[[Jammer]] has exibited suspicious actions numerous times. Along with [[Cally]] and [[Socinus]], he serves under Chief [[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]] on the flight deck. Jammer consistently makes remarks that seem to be trying to divide the humans against each other. When it was revealed to the Fleet that Cylons now can look like humans in "[[Litmus]]", he kept arguing that everyone should stop trusting each other and that it was "every man for himself now", while Socinus said that if they didn't trust each other they wouldn't survive. Cally even pointed out that Jammer's kind of thinking is ''exactly'' what the Cylons want: for everyone to become suspicious and paranoid. Jammer keeps doing this through the second season: when Tyrol is accused of being a Cylon in "[[Resistance]]" he immediately yells at Cally that the Chief must be a Cylon. Whenever Jammer appears he seems to be trying to sow mistrust among the crew. Also, he told the emotionally unstable Cally that she should be angry at Galactica-Boomer, not himself, for Tyrol's being suspected, and that she should take it up with Boomer; thus Jammer can be seen as having manipulated Cally into killing Boomer (Cally need not be a Cylon; Jammer could tell she was suffering from post-traumatic stress after Kobol and that she would go after Boomer if he suggested it to her).

One of the biggest pieces of evidence against Jammer is that when the ''Galactica'' was boarded by Cylon Cenuturions in "[[Valley of Darkness]]", Apollo and his group of marines found him hiding in a small arms locker, completely unharmed, even though the room was littered with the corpses of crewmen the Cylons had killed. He claimed to have just hid then snuck inside, but perhaps he was already there and the Centurions spared him because they knew he was a Cylon as well. ([[Anastasia Dualla]] was also found alive in a room filled with dead crewmen, but she was just in the head (lavatory), which isn't a vital area of the ship, while Jammer was in a small arms locker. Further, Dualla was wounded; she had a light concussion and presumably a Centurion knocked her unconscious, assumed she was dead, and moved on. Jammer was just standing around inside of the weapons locker).

Jammer continues to exhibit pessimistic, counterproductive, and morale-draining behavior. When Chief [[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]] was trying to construct the [[Blackbird]], he vocally tried to convince the other deckhands that it couldn't be done and it wasn't worth trying. He may have done this to undermine the military assets of the Galactica: the Cylons may be hoping to wear down the Galactica's Viper numbers through gradual attrition, while because the Cylons have dedicated manufacturing capabilities for Raiders on the [[Cylon homeworld]] and possibly on Basestars, Raiders are easily replaceable. With this in mind, the last thing the Cylons would want is for ''Galactica'' to start constructing her own replacement fighters ([[Flight of the Phoenix]]).

=== Bell? ===

D'anna Biers' [[Bell|cameraman/assistant]] is another possible candidate for a Cylon infiltrator, as he has been shown willingly taking part in the same devious and manipulative activities as D'anna ([[Final Cut]]). Whether he is a Cylon working in tandem with D’anna, or just a nosy human journalist following his superior’s equally devious wishes has yet to be determined.

==Ron Moore elaborates on the twelve models==

In a 10/24/05 interview on "The Chase Show" on the SF webcast news site [http://www.thefandom.com/Article50.phtml TheFandom.com] with veteran "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" actress [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0557732/ Chase Masterson], Ron D. Moore is interviewed and directly answers two key questions in the Twelve Models debate and the origin of Sharon Valerii in particular. Here is a transcription of that interview segment.

:'''Chase''': ...I just have to ask something...is there one Boomer that's just human?
:'''Ron''': No, there's not. I mean, the idea is not there was one like an original human model that they were copied from. The idea was that these were...these models of Cylon were developed out of their own study of us. The Cylons on some level looked at humanity and said, "well, you know what, there's really only twelve of you...and these are the twelve." And then if you look at them, they kind of represent different archetypes of what humanity is. Um, Sharon, in particular--Sharon-Boomer, went through quite a trans-metamorphosis because in the original mini-series script, in the first draft, she wasn't a Cylon at all. She was going to be just--I wrote her just--I wanted a youngish pilot, who was the rookie, who was sort of vulnerable in ways, who made mistakes in ways that you're not used to seeing your heroes on TV shows do, and I was really interested in this idea of the officer, the female officer in love with the male deck chief in violation of all the rules and I kinda thought, going forward, that she and the [[Galen Tyrol|chief]], in combination with [[Boxey (RDM)|Boxey]], who's really only in the mini-series and one or two other episodes, would form sort of our family unit, that that was kind of a family...
:'''Chase''': OK...
:'''Ron''': ...and actually, after that first draft was written, it was [[David Eick]], my producing partner, who said, "you know what, if at the end of this thing, at the very end when all the Cylons walk into Armistice---into the [[Ragnar Anchorage|Ragnar station]] at the end...if you turn around and Sharon is one of the Cylons, he said, we're definitely gonna get picked up for a series.
:'''Chase''': (laughs) OK...that did make...that really did seal the deal...
:'''Ron''': ...and I just really went...that's a great idea and I realized that, because I'd had laid...I had written a story straight, I really hadn't cheated. There was no hint of who Sharon might be, and it really did suck you in, and really sort of, you believed her as a person first, and then we revealed her as a Cylon.
:'''Chase''': ...Right....
:'''Ron''': ...And so what happened after that was, I assumed going into the first season--well I didn't assume, I just planned...to slowly, over the course of the first year, peel back the layers--that Sharon would only start to sort of discover her Cylon nature by the end of the first year.
:'''Chase''': Oh, God...and it was heartbreaking, watching that unfold, because I loved her much as human, and she was just adorable, with him and then with the kid, it was like, oh, what a great girl, she's um...you know, young and cute, and--who's the actress--and that whole thing, and then you're like, WHAT?
:'''Ron''': Yeah...
:'''Chase''': ...She's the enemy...
:'''Ron''': I know then, she's the enemy, then she's the one that is your most worry, what's she gonna do next.
:'''Chase''': Yeah. You really took us on quite a journey there. I was still hoping for a human one running around somewhere, but no, huh?....
:'''Ron''': No.
:'''Chase''': Oh, well....

With this information from the show's main creative leader, it is established as canon that:

* There are precisely twelve ''human'' Cylon models. The other varieties of Cylon spacecraft or fighters are not factored into this count of 12 models.
* Sharon Valerii was ''never'' an actual human, and neither were the other Humano-Cylon models.
* The twelve models are based on on archetypes determined by the Cylons that form what they perceive were the specific kinds of human behavior and/or personality, distilled into twelve varieties.

==Note==
*{{note|name}}The term "Humano-Cylon" is ''Battlestar Wiki's'' popular descriptive term for the humanoid Cylons, and [[Canon|not a canonical name]] found in episodes or revealed in podcasts from [[Ronald D. Moore|Ron D. Moore]] or [[David Eick]] as yet. Other names are also used, such as "humanoid-Cylons" (which [[Tricia Helfer]] often uses in interviews, but apparently more for convenience than an official name), or "Bio-Cylons" which is sometimes used derisively by fans of the Original Series.
* Within show dialogue, the beings are usually just referred to as "Cylons", "Cylon agents", or "the human models" to distinguish them from the robotic [[Cylon Centurion]]s. The term "Cylon agent" is most commonly used as shown on a dossier on the models shown on [[Laura Roslin]]'s desk on ''[[Colonial One]]'' in the episode "[[Epiphanies]]."

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

Humanoid Cylon

2006-01-30T03:01:41Z

Gmusser: /* Jammer? */

[[Image:Humano-cylon_group.jpg|thumb|350px|Cylon copies of Aaron Doral, Number Six, and Leoben Conoy at [[Ragnar Anchorage]] (c) Universal)]]
== Overview ==

Following the end of the [[Cylon War]], the Cylons withdrew from Colonial space to a planet of their own. For some 40 years, nothing was heard of them, and no apparent attempt was made by the Colonials to keep an eye on them. The only contact expected between the two was at annual meetings at [[Armistice Station]]. However, while the Colonials sent a repesentative to the station every year, the Cylons did not ([[Miniseries]]).

During their forty years of isolation, the Cylons developed or evolved a ''humanoid form'' that very closely mimics human form, down to the cellular level, excepting the molecular level.

'''Humano-Cylons'''{{ref|name}} have the capacity to emulate many human physical acts, including sex, as demonstrated by the Number Six and Sharon Valerii models.

Humano-Cylons can be programmed to believe that they are truly human. These are known as "sleeper" agents. Sleeper agents appear to have a low-level Cylon personality that can conduct operations while placing the human sleeper personality "on-hold". The [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|first copy of Sharon Valerii]], known by her callsign of "Boomer" on battlestar ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'', had little awareness of her true nature until her arrest for the attempted assassination of [[William Adama]] ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). This sleeper agent conducted or aided in sabotage operations within the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] ("[[Water]]", "[[Litmus]]"). Most agent copies, particularly versions of [[Aaron Doral]] and [[Number Six]], imitate human personalities, but are fully aware of their true nature.

[[Image:Valerii_optic_input.jpg|left|thumb|A [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|copy of Sharon Valerii]] interfaces with ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica's]]'' [[Computers|mainframe computer]] and communication systems by fiber-optic link. (c) Universal]]
Although they cannot do so remotely or wirelessly, humano-Cylons can interface with a computer system or computer network through subdermal physical contact with input cables connected to the devices. Caprica-Sharon connected to the ''Galactica'''s computers by this method in "[[Flight of the Phoenix]]" when she inserted a fiber-optic cable through her left palm and into her arm.

Like other [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]], humano-Cylons utilize a synthetic, silicon brain that is susceptible to damage from certain types of radiation. Upon the death of the "body," a Humano-Cylon transfers its consciousness into another copy of itself, though this is limited by distance and perhaps signal integrity (hindered by interference) ([[Mini-Series]], [[Flesh and Bone]]). Based on [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Caprica Sharon Valerii]]'s conversation with [[Kara Thrace]] in the episode, "[[The Farm]]", it appears that all humano-Cylons may share a ''collective knowledgebase'' of data from other active or deactivated humano-Cylons. Valerii spoke of a conversation between Thrace and a captured [[Leoben Conoy]] copy in the Fleet. This information would only be known to that now-dead Leoben copy if sharing were not possible. Kara Thrace's call sign, Starbuck, was also a likely bit of information gleaned from the collective knowledgebase that [[Simon]] knew of the Viper pilot, although Thrace never told him of her call sign and used it to strike back at her abductors ([[The Farm]]). Also, during "[[Flight of the Phoenix]]", Caprica-Sharon asked [[Anastasia Dualla]] if she still carried her pocket knife, a fact which would have been known only to the ''Galactica'' copy. When under duress, the copy of Sharon Valerii known as "Boomer" on ''Galactica'' was able to tell [[Gaius Baltar]] the number of remaining humano-Cylon agents in the fleet, information that would be impossible to gather without a collective knowledgebase ([[Resistance]]).

Some or all Cylon "female" models may have the capacity to bear children seeded by human males ([[33]], [[Flesh and Bone]], [[The Hand of God]], [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). The Cylons tested numerous methods of sexual reproduction, yet these failed due to a known flaw in the humano-Cylon design. Humano-Cylons cannot reproduce with each other biologically, and, attempting to subvert this deficiency, they have been trying to interbreed with humans to create hybrid offspring. "Farms" were apparently set up across all the occupied Colonies where survivors, specifically, young fertile women of child-bearing age, were rounded up, placed under heavy sedation and turned into "baby machines" through artificial insemination. However, this method has not met with success. Another drastically different approach was taken by attempting to conceive a child through a bond of love. It seems that [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] and [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii]]'s love-child is the lone success story of the relatively short history of Cylon sexual reproduction ([[The Farm]]).

== Known Humano-Cylon Models ==

There are twelve models of humanoid Cylons ([[Mini-Series]]). 
[[#Note|'''*''']]. Six models have so far been identified as humano-Cylons, although only five are actually known to the Colonials as Cylon agents as of the episode, "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]."

=== [[Number Six]] ===

This model utilizes the human need / desire for sexual relations to her advantage. She is religious and monotheistic. She desires to know what it is to be alive.

Typically she is the alpha female, as demonstrated on multiple occasions ([[Mini-Series]], [[33]], [[Water]], [[Six Degrees of Separation]]).

Copies of her have appeared under the names "Shelly Godfrey" and "Gina."

=== [[Leoben Conoy]] ===

Leoben Conoy was the fourth model witnessed by viewers (although viewers would not know until the end of the [[Mini-Series]] that they had already met the ''third'' humanoid Cylon, Sharon Valerii). The Conoy model has shown to be religiously oriented, using dogma and intermixing truth with falsehoods. It was first discovered on [[Ragnar Station]], claiming to be a scavenger / arms dealer ([[Mini-Series]]).

He can be likened to the serpent of the [[Wikipedia:Genesis|Genesis]] tale in the Earth [[Wikipedia: Christian Bible|Christian Bible]], taunting people with knowledge then watching as the negative consequences come into devastating fruition. Leoben copies have likely been encountered by the [[Resistance (movement)|Caprica Resistance movement]], as [[Samuel Anders]] recites in jest some comments made by another Leoben copy captured in [[The Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]] ([[Flesh and Bone]], [[The Farm]]).

=== [[Aaron Doral]] ===

This model attempts to sow the seeds of discontent or confusion, particularly during crucial life-threatening situations, and endeavors to undermine authority that threatens his objectives. ([[Mini-Series]]) Doral models are more covert, assuming an ordinary "everyman" appearance that's blended in what may seem to be insignificant behind-the-scenes issues (such as converting ''Galactica'' into a museum). Of all the models thus far, the Aaron Doral models are the most militant, fanatic and consistent in message and objectives to the Cylon objectives, whether he is dispassionately discussing the fate of humanity with his comrades or attempting to kill or maim Colonials in a suicide bomb attack ([[Litmus]]). Viewers first meet Doral during a tour of ''Galactica'' with other Colonial citizens (possibly the press) as we see the battlestar for the first time at the start of the [[Mini-Series]]. The viewers aren't sure of Doral's true identity as the second humano-Cylon they've seen until the end of the Mini-Series, however.

=== [[Sharon Valerii]] ===

The Valerii model is generally a saboteur designed to infiltrate Colonial military units and is likely programmed to use any Colonial munitions to cause havoc ([[Water]]). The Valerii model is the closest witnessed Humano-Cylon model to show its abilities as a soldier. This model has shown naiveté in many matters. She is apparently not as religious as other Cylon models, but has demonstrated that she can love, and is capable of being impregnated by a human ([[Six Degrees of Separation]], [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). She may be "defective", as the Cylon programming within the sleeper agent known as "Boomer" on ''Galactica'' conflicted multiple times with its human personality ([[Water]]). Also, the fully aware Sharon Valerii found by [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] on Caprica has fully switched alliances from Cylon to Colonial after falling in love with Helo and is now aiding the Colonials (several episodes, most notably "[[Flight of the Phoenix]]"). Valerii is the third humano-Cylon introduced during the [[Mini-Series]] but Viewers do not discover her true identity until the very end of the Mini-Series when a second copy appears at [[Ragnar Anchorage]] while retrieving the abandoned copy of Aaron Doral.

=== [[Simon]] ===

The Simon model was encountered by [[Kara Thrace|Kara "Starbuck" Thrace]] Cylon-occupied [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]]. Posing as a doctor, Simon was actually involved with the Cylon hybridization program. Simon resembles a tall, somewhat thin middle-aged black man who speaks in a comforting strong voice ([[The Farm]]) Unlike other models, Simon doesn't seem to have many military aspects to his physical or mental configuration, and was easily overcome by a wounded Thrace. Simon may be a model based primarily on human intellectualism.

=== [[D'anna Biers]] ===

This model was witnessed by viewers posing as a reporter from the [[Fleet News Service]] and was revealed to be a Cylon at the end of "[[Final Cut]]" when a second copy was shown living on Caprica. Of all the Humano-Cylon models revealed to viewers, the Colonials are not yet aware that D'anna Biers is a Cylon agent as of the mid-season 2 cliffhanger, "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]".

Part of Biers' mission within ''Galactica's'' fleet (which fits her work as a journalist) likely involves the relay of important intelligence within the Fleet, such as the status of the pregnant Caprica copy of Sharon Valerii.

== Speculated Infiltrators ==

=== Ellen Tigh? ===
In light of her statistic-defying survival of the Cylon holocaust and her manipulations of her husband during Commander [[William Adama]]'s incapacitation ("[[Scattered]]" through "[[Resistance]]"), Ellen Tigh's actions have demonstrated the possibility that she may be a Cylon agent. For someone who seems so intelligent and far-sighted, she should be well aware that pushing her husband to strong-arm the rest of the Fleet to conform with his (and her) views would only end in chaos. If she ''is'' a Cylon looking to destroy the Fleet from within, then the best weapon in her arsenal is the man she's married to.

In an October 2005 webcast, [[Ronald D. Moore]] indicated that the likelihood of Ellen Tigh being a Cylon was low. Essentially, this was due to the feeling that having her be a Cylon agent would not only be convenient, but unrealistic from a story point-of-view as well. Moore's comments don't eliminate Ellen Tigh from consideration, but reduces the likelihood of this speculation. Some viewers surmise that Moore may have meant that revealing Tigh as a Cylon in her [[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down|debut episode]] in addition to the character's many other complexities, would stretch the overall believability or integrity of the character at that point, but that he was not refering to her actual status as a Cylon or not at the time.

=== Gaius Baltar? ===
[[Gaius Baltar]]'s ability to see and communicate with a virtual Number Six was initially attributed to some kind of device implanted in his body. However, after tests performed on him by Dr. [[Cottle]] ([[Home, Part II]]), no devices were found, suggesting three possibilities: that the Cylon device in Baltar's brain is, like Cylon technology in general, indistinguishable from other tissue; that Baltar is a Humano-Cylon; or that his Six is a supernatural being, as she claims to be. How did Baltar survive the outer shockwave of a nuclear blast near his home on [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]], shielded only by Six's body, which is just as frail as a human's? Is the Baltar we see in fact, a copy? See the [[Gaius Baltar#Speculation: The Real Baltar?|Speculation]] section of Gaius Baltar's article for arguments for and against this possibility.

=== William Adama? ===

Of all the suspected infiltrators, the case against William Adama appears to be the weakest.

In the Mini-Series, Adama seems to know that the Humano-Cylons have "silica relays" in their brains, and that they would be affected by the storm around [[Ragnar Anchorage]]. In "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]", Commander Adama disappears mysteriously and returns with Ellen Tigh. Around the same time, a Cylon Raider shows up. However, this was all explained later in the same episode, when Adama reveals that he was reluctant to openly announce Ellen's sudden appearance because he was afraid she could be a Cylon.

Adama also has exhibited strange behavior, from expressing vague Cylon sympathies (both in his speech in the Mini-Series and in his discussion with Tyrol in "[[Home, Part I]]" where he seems to concede that Boomer was more than a machine). While not openly friendly to the Cylons, Adama seems to at least respect them as persons in that he does not treat the Caprica copy of Sharon Valerii inhumanely, despite what was done to him by the Valerii copy known as "Boomer".

William Adama is the father of two children, [[Lee Adama|Lee]] and [[Zak Adama|Zak]]. Before the conception of Valerii's hybrid child the Cylons have been unable to produce children through sexual reproduction. Further, Adama is a veteran of the well-documented [[Cylon War]], back at a time where Cylons were purely mechanical and not biosynthetic.

When the recent revelation by Ron Moore that Humano-Cylons are unique beings and not copies of existing humans is added to this, the likelihood of William Adama as a suspected infiltrator could be all but ruled out. This also throws the validity of Leoben Conoy's final words to Roslin accusing Adama as a Cylon in "[[Flesh and Bone]]" into question (which were almost certainly meant to just spread paranoia).

The strongest convincing evidence against Adama as a Cylon is that we have seen flashbacks of Adama and Saul Tigh in the years prior to the destruction of the Colonies, after the first Cylon War. Since humano-Cylons aren't copies of humans, it is not possible for Adama or Tigh to be Cylon operatives (at least of the type used thus far).

=== Lee Adama? ===

There is speculation that Lee Adama might actually be a Cylon. In "[[Flesh and Bone]]", a copy of [[Leoben Conoy]], a Cylon agent, grabs [[Laura Roslin]] and tells her Adama is a Cylon prior to his execution. If his statement is true, it leaves doubt on which Adama he is talking about, although Roslin's actions in the next episode, "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]", indicate\ that Roslin believes Conoy spoke of Commander Adama.

Humano-Cylons are not copies (clones) of existing people. Evidence from [[Sharon Valerii]]'s and [[Number Six]]'s conversations indicate that humanoid Cylon infiltration began no earlier than 2 years prior to the events of the [[Miniseries]], although their respective backstories may suggest they have been "alive" for many years. As Lee Adama was alive before this introduction, the probability that Lee Adama is a Cylon is as low as that of his father.

''There are reports of fan fiction with stories involving Lee Adama as a Cylon. ''Battlestar Wiki'' does not post fan fiction (whole or in excerpts), or speculation generated by these stories. An article's content must (with some [[Toaster|silly]], [[Numerology|non-sequitur]] [[Flashlight|exceptions]]) provide sufficient basis in fact or probability based on aired episode information or other official sources as described in the [[Battlestar Wiki:Citation Jihad]] project page.''

=== Felix Gaeta? ===

Lt. [[Felix Gaeta]] is in a good position for a Cylon—not conspicuous but nonetheless in a position where he can help the Cylons quite a bit. Gaeta arguably seems to hand something to Boomer in "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]" before she shoots Adama (a frame by frame analysis shows that their hands are not in frame, leaving the question unanswered). Gaeta can recognize Cylon devices, and is close to [[Gaius Baltar|Dr. Baltar]]. Gaeta has plotted coordinates to a water planet, a Cylon [[tyllium]] base, and [[Kobol]] with uncanny accuracy. He "forgot" to send updated coordinates to the fleet in "[[Scattered]]", leaving ''Galactica'' vulnerable to Cylon electronic attack after having to network the ship [[Computers|computer]] systems together.

Gaeta's recent behavioral changes from the stress of working at evading the Cylons shows by "[[Final Cut]]" as Gaeta is shown in his interview drunk, smoking, and wearing a new tattoo. By the following episode, "[[Flight of the Phoenix]]", Gaeta angrily snaps at Colonel Tigh for giving a difficult order, causing surprise throughout [[CIC]] since Gaeta is normally a calm, reserved officer even under the worst of conditions. Contrast this behavior with Boomer, the ''Galactica'' copy of Sharon Valerii, who still appeared quite alert after 5 continuous days of combat status. Note the following dialogue from the first regular series episode, "[[33]]":

::'''[[Lee Adama|Apollo]]''': Hey, how about you, Boomer? [[Cottle|Doc]] tells me you're holding up better than anybody in the squadron.
::'''Boomer''': I'm tired, like everybody else.
::'''Apollo''': You never seem it.
::'''[[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]]''': 'Cause she's a Cylon.
::'''Boomer''': You're just gonna make me come over there and kick your ass, aren't you?

While even Humano-Cylons develop severe behavioral and physiological issues after extended work and abuse ([[Number Six#Gina|Pegasus]]), Humano-Cylons appear to be more resilient than humans, which may limit the likelihood of Gaeta's possible Cylon connection. On the other hand, if he were a Cylon, Gaeta's human personality may have finally been overtaxed by that time, suggesting that an actual human might have snapped earlier in their exodus in contrast.

In the end, Gaeta's likelihood as a Cylon operative may be in doubt over one key element: The Cylons appear to have integrated human agents into the Colonies no earlier than 2 years before the events of the Mini-Series. Gaeta has served on ''Galactica'' with Commander Adama for three years ([[Miniseries]]). Since humanoid Cylons are not clones of actual humans, the likelihood of Gaeta as a Cylon agent would depend on the start of humano-Cylon introduction.

=== Jammer? ===

[[Jammer]] has exibited suspicious actions numerous times. Along with [[Cally]] and [[Socinus]], he serves under Chief [[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]] on the flight deck. Jammer consistently makes remarks that seem to be trying to divide the humans against each other. When it was revealed to the Fleet that Cylons now can look like humans in "[[Litmus]]", he kept arguing that everyone should stop trusting each other and that it was "every man for himself now", while Socinus said that if they didn't trust each other they wouldn't survive. Cally even pointed out that Jammer's kind of thinking is ''exactly'' what the Cylons want: for everyone to become suspicious and paranoid. Jammer keeps doing this through the second season: when Tyrol is accused of being a Cylon in "[[Resistance]]" he immediately yells at Cally that the Chief must be a Cylon. Whenever Jammer appears he seems to be trying to sow mistrust among the crew. Also, he told the emotionally unstable Cally that she should be angry at Galactica-Boomer, not himself, for Tyrol's being suspected, and that she should take it up with Boomer; thus Jammer can be seen as having manipulated Cally into killing Boomer (Cally need not be a Cylon; Jammer could tell she was suffering from post-traumatic stress after Kobol and that she would go after Boomer if he suggested it to her).

One of the biggest pieces of evidence against Jammer is that when the ''Galactica'' was boarded by Cylon Cenuturions in "[[Valley of Darkness]]", Apollo and his group of marines found him hiding in a small arms locker, completely unharmed, even though the room was littered with the corpses of crewmen the Cylons had killed. He claimed to have just hid then snuck inside, but perhaps he was already there and the Centurions spared him because they knew he was a Cylon as well. ([[Anastasia Dualla]] was also found alive in a room filled with dead crewmen, but she was just in the head (lavatory), which isn't a vital area of the ship, while Jammer was in a small arms locker. Further, Dualla was wounded; she had a light concussion and presumably a Centurion knocked her unconscious, assumed she was dead, and moved on. Jammer was just standing around inside of the weapons locker).

Jammer continues to exhibit pessimistic, counterproductive, and morale-draining behavior. When Chief [[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]] was trying to construct the [[Blackbird]], he vocally tried to convince the other deckhands that it couldn't be done and it wasn't worth trying. He may have done this to undermine the military assets of the Galactica: the Cylons may be hoping to wear down the Galactica's Viper numbers through gradual attrition, while because the Cylons have dedicated manufacturing capabilities for Raiders on the [[Cylon homeworld]] and possibly on Basestars, Raiders are easily replaceable. With this in mind, the last thing the Cylons would want is for ''Galactica'' to start constructing her own replacement fighters ([[Flight of the Phoenix]]).

=== Bell? ===

D'anna Biers' [[Bell|cameraman/assistant]] is another possible candidate for a Cylon infiltrator, as he has been shown willingly taking part in the same devious and manipulative activities as D'anna ([[Final Cut]]). Whether he is a Cylon working in tandem with D’anna, or just a nosy human journalist following his superior’s equally devious wishes has yet to be determined.

==Ron Moore elaborates on the twelve models==

In a 10/24/05 interview on "The Chase Show" on the SF webcast news site [http://www.thefandom.com/Article50.phtml TheFandom.com] with veteran "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" actress [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0557732/ Chase Masterson], Ron D. Moore is interviewed and directly answers two key questions in the Twelve Models debate and the origin of Sharon Valerii in particular. Here is a transcription of that interview segment.

:'''Chase''': ...I just have to ask something...is there one Boomer that's just human?
:'''Ron''': No, there's not. I mean, the idea is not there was one like an original human model that they were copied from. The idea was that these were...these models of Cylon were developed out of their own study of us. The Cylons on some level looked at humanity and said, "well, you know what, there's really only twelve of you...and these are the twelve." And then if you look at them, they kind of represent different archetypes of what humanity is. Um, Sharon, in particular--Sharon-Boomer, went through quite a trans-metamorphesis because in the original mini-series script, in the first draft, she wasn't a Cylon at all. She was going to be just--I wrote her just--I wanted a youngish pilot, who was the rookie, who was sort of vulnerable in ways, who made mistakes in ways that you're not used to seeing your heroes on TV shows do, and I was really interested in this idea of the officer, the female officer in love with the male deck chief in violation of all the rules and I kinda thought, going forward, that she and the [[Galen Tyrol|chief]], in combination with [[Boxey (RDM)|Boxey]], who's really only in the mini-series and one or two other episodes, would form sort of our family unit, that that was kind of a family...
:'''Chase''': OK...
:'''Ron''': ...and actually, after that first draft was written, it was [[David Eick]], my producing partner, who said, "you know what, if at the end of this thing, at the very end when all the Cylons walk into Armistice---into the [[Ragnar Anchorage|Ragnar station]] at the end...if you turn around and Sharon is one of the Cylons, he said, we're definitely gonna get picked up for a series.
:'''Chase''': (laughs) OK...that did make...that really did seal the deal...
:'''Ron''': ...and I just really went...that's a great idea and I realized that, because I'd had laid...I had written a story straight, I really hadn't cheated. There was no hint of who Sharon might be, and it really did suck you in, and really sort of, you believed her as a person first, and then we revealed her as a Cylon.
:'''Chase''': ...Right....
:'''Ron''': ...And so what happened after that was, I assumed going into the first season--well I didn't assume, I just planned...to slowly, over the course of the first year, peel back the layers--that Sharon would only start to sort of discover her Cylon nature by the end of the first year.
:'''Chase''': Oh, God...and it was heartbreaking, watching that unfold, because I loved her much as human, and she was just adorable, with him and then with the kid, it was like, oh, what a great girl, she's um...you know, young and cute, and--who's the actress--and that whole thing, and then you're like, WHAT?
:'''Ron''': Yeah...
:'''Chase''': ...She's the enemy...
:'''Ron''': I know then, she's the enemy, then she's the one that is your most worry, what's she gonna do next.
:'''Chase''': Yeah. You really took us on quite a journey there. I was still hoping for a human one running around somewhere, but no, huh?....
:'''Ron''': No.
:'''Chase''': Oh, well....

With this information from the show's main creative leader, it is established as canon that:

* There are precisely twelve ''human'' Cylon models. The other varieties of Cylon spacecraft or fighters are not factored into this count of 12 models.
* Sharon Valerii was ''never'' an actual human, and neither were the other Humano-Cylon models.
* The twelve models are based on on archetypes determined by the Cylons that form what they perceive were the specific kinds of human behavior and/or personality, distilled into twelve varieties.

==Note==
*{{note|name}}The term "Humano-Cylon" is ''Battlestar Wiki's'' popular descriptive term for the humanoid Cylons, and [[Canon|not a canonical name]] found in episodes or revealed in podcasts from [[Ronald D. Moore|Ron D. Moore]] or [[David Eick]] as yet. Other names are also used, such as "humanoid-Cylons" (which [[Tricia Helfer]] often uses in interviews, but apparently more for convenience than an official name), or "Bio-Cylons" which is sometimes used derisively by fans of the Original Series.
* Within show dialogue, the beings are usually just referred to as "Cylons", "Cylon agents", or "the human models" to distinguish them from the robotic [[Cylon Centurion]]s. The term "Cylon agent" is most commonly used as shown on a dossier on the models shown on [[Laura Roslin]]'s desk on ''[[Colonial One]]'' in the episode "[[Epiphanies]]."

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

Epiphanies

2006-01-29T00:14:02Z

Gmusser: /* Analysis */

{{Episode Data|
Image = [[Image:2BATejC05.jpg|300px]]
| Title= Epiphanies
| Series= [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|The Re-imagined Series]]
| Season= [[Season 2 (2005-06)|2]]
| Episode= 13
| Guests=[http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Colm+Feore Colm Feore] ([[Richard Adar|President Adar]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Aaron+Douglas Aaron Douglas] ([[Galen Tyrol]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Nicki+Clyne Nicki Clyne] ([[Cally]]) [[Bodie Olmos]] ([[Brendan Constanza|Hot Dog]]) [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm1382781/ Luciana Carro] ([[Louanne Katraine]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Leah+Cairns Leah Cairns] ([[Margaret Edmonson|Racetrack]]) David Richmond-Peck ([[Naylin Stans]]) Holly Dignard ([[Asha Janik]]) Paul Perri (Royan Jahee) Jennifer Kitchen (Marine)
| Writer=Joel Anderson Thompson
| Story=
| Director=[[Rod Hardy]]
| Production=2.13
| Rating=
| US Airdate=January 20 2006
| UK Airdate=
| DVD=
| Population=49,598
| Prev= [[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]
| Next= [[Black Market]]
}}




== Overview ==

: ''Admiral [[William Adama]] questions whether or not [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii]]'s pregnancy should be aborted. Meanwhile Roslin's health declines rapidly as a pro-Cylon peace group attempts to sow violence and discontent within the Fleet.''

== Summary ==

* President [[Laura Roslin]] is brought on board ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]''. She has days to live.
* Captain [[Kara Thrace]] and Lieutenant [[Louanne Katraine]] are conducting Viper tests. During a test of the Viper's projectile systems, Kat's port gun is destroyed and a piece of it impacts on Thrace's cockpit.
* [[Cally]] and CPO [[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]] discover that several rounds of ammunition from the damaged Viper are unusually light and fragile. These rounds break and misfire, leaving the projectile lodged in the barrel. When the next round fires, the overpressure destroys the gun. They determine the ammunition has been sabotaged.
*The sabotage investigation quickly leads [[Lee Adama]] and Kara Thrace to [[Asha Janik]], one of the recent civilian hirees in ''Galactica's'' armory. When they apprehend her, she declares her allegiance to an organization claiming to want peace with the Cylons.
*Vice President [[Gaius Baltar]] is given the presidential tour by [[Billy Keikeya]] in preparation for his assumption of the Presidency. Billy reveals a letter from Roslin, to be opened upon her death.
* The new peace movement, led by [[Royan Jahee]], gains momentum as the civilian population begins to realize that victory against the Cylons is impossible and questions the fleet's 'attack-and-retreat' tactics.
* An infusion of [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon's]] fetal blood ostensibly destroys the cancerous masses in Roslin's system. Sharon's pregnancy is allowed to continue for further research.

===On Caprica Prior to the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|Cylon Attack]]===
*Roslin finds out she has cancer.
*Roslin meets with President Adar to discuss a teacher's strike, and his response.
*Roslin meets with the leader of the educational alliance, [[Naylin Stans]], and strikes an agreement.
*Adar disagrees with Roslin's methods and results, and asks for her resignation.
*Roslin refuses to resign and departs for ''Galactica's'' decommisioning ceremony.
*Roslin sees [[Gaius Baltar]] with [[Number Six]] in her dream state. She then seems alarmed to see Dr. Baltar when she wakes up and tries to say something to him.

== Questions ==

*Kara Thrace is flying Mk. II vipers with Galactica's pilots again. Is she still the CAG of ''Pegasus''?
**According to interviews with RDM, Starbuck is still the ''Pegasus'' CAG. There's nothing to say she couldn't just continue flying joint missions with ''Galactica'', etc.
***Indeed, Kat remarks that Starbuck is "late" for flying the CAP, presumably the patrols are now a joint effort between the two Battlestars, possibly as an attempt to boost intraship morale after they nearly destroyed one another.
*Now that Roslin recalls Baltar's involvment with a Cylon agent on Caprica, what will she do about it?
*Will there be any consequences for Helo's near-mutiny?
*Will Roslin's attitude toward the Cylon fetus change following her recovery?
**Ronald D. Moore's podcast implies that her urgency was only prompted by her lack of faith in Baltar's ability to handle the situation. Will she be content to let to Sharon carry to term now that her survival is no longer in question?
*Roslin's recent series of machiavellian orders (Cain's assasination in "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]", and the forced abortion here) appear to have been faciliated by her belief that, given her impending death, she wouldn't have to deal with the ethical ramifications. Will this alter her relationship with Admiral Adama in the long term?
*Is security really so lax that Baltar (whom Adama does not consider especially trustworthy) would be able to smuggle one of ''Galactica's'' very few nuclear warheads off-ship?
**He didn't steal it from the armory, it's the one he used to build the Cylon detector; he's got 24 hours a day unrestricted access to it.
**Raptors are capable of detecting radiological devices. Why wasn't the bomb noticed in transit? If it's possible to effectively shield a nuclear device from detection, why don't the Cylons do this to their own warheads?
**Alternately, is the nuclear device actually functional?
**According to Ron Moore's podcast, the nuke storyline will be dealt with in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I" and "...Part II" to end the season.
**How much of the device was used for Baltar's "Cylon Detector"? Has it been dismantled to restore the explosive?
*Why aren't there posters of [[Gina]] scattered all over the fleet to inform everyone of her Cylon identity, making it difficult for her to hide, let alone lead a Cylon-sympathy movement?
**Ronald Moore did admit during his podcast that this was Gina's "Clark Kent" disguise and it was very shaky the way they played it off that nobody would recognize her. Will this loose end be tied-up in some future story line when they get further into the Colonial underground storylines that the next few episodes are supposed to follow?
**On the other hand, Gina does not appear to be leaving her room on ''Cloud 9'' that much, and the humans who do see her are Cylon sympathizers anyway.
*Does Gina "remember" Number Six's memories about having a relationship with Baltar on Caprica, or even after? In "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]", she did not seem to know him, as Baltar introduced himself to her and explained that he had a relationship with another Cylon copy of her model. Here, however, it sort of seems like she remembers having a physical relationship with him, but isn't "ready" to go back to that after her torture. Then again, her lines also be intrepretted to mean that she really never "knew" about him before she met him on ''Pegasus''. The process of Cylon memory-transfer and systematic updating isn't very well understood at this point.
*Why is it that in the last episode, "[[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]", Sharon is not noticably pregnant even when wearing a close-fitting tank top, but is now suddenly visibly quite progressed in her pregnancy?
**The same may be said of the physical condition of Gina. She now has no noticable scars or other markings from her ordeal on Pegasus. Baltar does comment when he sees Number Six in the corridor, however, that it has been several weeks since he saw her last. This could help explain the noticeably pregnant Sharon.

== Analysis ==

* The survivor count this episode is 49,598, a net loss of six since [[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]. [[Helena Cain|Admiral Cain]] and the ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'' marine killed by [[Gina]] account for two. Presumably the remaining were pilots or crew lost during the [[Battle of the Resurrection Ship|attack]] on the [[Resurrection Ship]].
** This seems to be extremely good fortune, as the two battlestars engaged in a major fleet action for an extended time.
* Roslin's affair with Adar was suggested by her comment in the [[miniseries]] that "he had a way about him... you just couldn't say 'no' to him."
*Naylin Stans implies that he believes the teacher's strike is a cause worth dying for. This claim is ridiculously hyperbolic.
**The fact that President Adar was willing to use the military to enforce a back-to-work order seems to indicate that the protest must've been more serious than simple wage issues.
*Roslin's medical chart showed her name and other information such as date of birth, but this information was too blurry for viewers to read.
*Roslin's recollections of Baltar on Caprica do not match the same scene in the Miniseries. For example: Baltar and Six did walk together and kiss, and she was carrying the same case in her left hand, but they did not "make out" against a wall. Each character did end the miniseries scene by saying they were meeting someone else, however.
**Logically, it wasn't the same scene. Baltar and Six were on Caprica for a while, and they could easily have been making at a different time on the same day. The episode actually makes no attempt to establish that Roslin is seeing the same scene of Baltar and Number Six (that we the viewers saw in the Miniseries), from a different angle.
**True, it wasn't precisely the same scene, but nonetheless it was very close in time and location. We need to consider that Roslin was the person whom Six met in the miniseries and add her to the list of [[Humano-Cylon]] Speculated Infiltrators.
*Watching closely during the early scene when Starbuck and Kat are flying the CAP, it seems probable that actress Luciana Carro (Kat) said the real "F word" instead of the ersatz "[[Frak]]", which was then dubbed over (it's a closeup so you can tell her lips don't quite correspond to it). She actually seems to have done this in the past on many occasions.

===Serious Technical and Storyline Issues===

*Roslin's cancer cure was pure "deus ex machina." While many viewers may find Roslin's cure a necessary one as she has become a pivotal character in the show, the method of her cure leaves too many medical mistakes and is too easy of a cure.
*Cancer is not a viral disease, like AIDS or the common cold, but an invasive destruction of tissue by mutated cells, which usurp the function of healthy cells. For the cure to work the way it did would require it not only to destroy free-floating cells and metastasized tissue, but to ''repair'' any organs with healthy tissue.
*As cancer is not cureable here on Earth, for the show to invent a cure at the last minute may feel contrived by some.

Major plot elements that form a resolution in the show's past were generally introduced and left "in the air" for suspense over several episodes while both viewers and characters learned their significance.

*These include:
**The search for the [[Arrow of Apollo]] and the search for the [[Tomb of Athena]]
**The Experiment with Helo on Caprica (Season 1)
**Adama's survival after his shooting

The "epiphany" of Baltar's cancer cure could have been worked over at least two or three episodes while he and Cottle studied Sharon Valerii's child, which is a logical way to work a cancer cure. Baltar is a tinkerer--the miracle working viewers saw in this episode would be best left to other characters in science fiction where such "magical" inventiveness might be expected. In "Battlestar Galactica", this sudden resolution of the second major plot element in the series (we hear of Roslin's terminal cancer diagnosis when we first see Roslin in the Miniseries) that has dire ramifications for the Fleet should not be resolved with the proverbial swipe of a writer's pen in a single episode.

It should be noted that the cure might not be permanent and the cancer may return in the future (as hinted by Ronald D. Moore in the podcast for this episode).

For more analysis on this and other scientific matters of the Re-imagined Series, see the article, [[Science in the Re-imagined Series]].

Other technical issues abound in this episode.

*A nuclear warhead was smuggled from ''Galactica'' to ''Cloud Nine''. How would such a device possibly get past the various [[Radiological Alarm|radiological sensors]] throughout the Fleet? This was a plot complication used in "[[Flesh and Bone]]" as well when a copy of [[Leoben Conoy]] claimed that a nuclear device was hidden in the Fleet. The writing element was difficult to believe in that episode, and it far less believable in this episode. Both the battlestar and the [[Raptor]] on which the freed "freedom movement" member left the ship are military vessels ''designed'' to sniff out hostile devices.
**A significant dissent for Baltar's weapon contribution may be that the weapon he gave to the Demand Peace movement may not have ''any'' radioactive material inside it; Baltar gave them the warhead, but not the fissionable material inside. This reasoning has strong merit and precedence: (1) Baltar serves himself above all others. He wouldn't give away a weapon's plutonium which he is still personally accountable for, nor would he give such material away to people that could turn around and blow up the Fleet (and himself). (2) Baltar still needs the radiological material for his [[Cylon detector]] if a test is asked. (3) If [[Naturalistic science fiction|show creation principles]] hold true for this episode, conventional bomb materials (such [[G-4]] or sidearm ammunition) would NOT be detectable by radiological scanning. Either bomb types used on real-world Earth (fissionable-material bombs such as uranium or [[plutonium]] bombs, or fusion bombs such as hydrogen bombs) use conventional explosives to activate the trigger that creates a nuclear explosion. At best, the device that Baltar gave the Demand Peace movement may only be as dangerous as the makeshift explosive they used on the ''[[Daru Mozu]]''.
**Like any device, [[Radiological Alarm|radiological sensors]] are only effective when they are online. It is possible that these sensors are intelligent enough to ignore known radioactive sources, such as Galatica's existing stores of nuclear warheads.

*The explosion of the bomb on the refinery ship is powerful enough to create a sizable hole on the ship. While space is a vacuum and so shock waves do not carry as they would in an atmosphere, the Raptor that flew close to the ship and was not very far from the explosion should probably be damaged from flying debris.

== Notes ==

* This episode begins 189 days after the Cylon attack on the colonies. There is a 48 hour gap between Roslin's deathbed treatment and her conversation with [[Royan Jahee]]. The number 189 given in this episode, as well as "six months" in the previous one, contradict the [[Timeline (RDM)|timeline]] which ''BattlestarWiki'' has developed to track dates. See the [[Talk:Timeline (RDM)#6 months?|''Talk'' page on the Timeline]] for a full breakdown.
* [[Lee Adama]] is once again a Captain, and has been reinstated as ''Galactica's'' CAG. His authority apparently extends to the ''Pegasus'' squadrons as well. This is consistent with [[Cole Taylor]]'s authority over ''Galactica's'' air wing, when ''Pegasus'' was the flagship.
* [[Gina]] has joined the Cylon sympathizers. The other members of the resistance are apparently unaware she is a [[Humano-Cylon]].
* Roslin was in an intimate relationship with President Adar.
*Roslin now recalls witnessing [[Gaius Baltar]]'s affair with a copy of [[Number Six]] on Caprica, prior to the attack.
* The radiation symbol used by the colonials is different from the one used in reality, but is still easily recognizable.
*''Galactica'' has been recruiting civilians to handle "grunt work" on the hangar deck.
*Baltar was aware of the [[Demand Peace]] movement prior to this episode.
*At least three bodies can be seen being vented into space after the explosion onboard ''[[Daru Mozu]]''.
*The file photograph of Number Six is of [[Number Six#Shelly Godfrey|Shelly Godfrey]], seen in the episode "[[Six Degrees of Separation]]".
* The nuclear device Dr. Baltar gives the resistance is the same one he was given to create his [[Cylon detector]] in "[[Bastille Day]]".
* ''Pegasus'' is barely featured in this episode, and none of her crew or interior locations are seen, except in the pre-episode recap.
*Admiral Adama continues to wear his commander's [[uniform]] with new admiral's rank insignia at his collar.
**Adama is a pragmatist who tends to eschew ceremony.
*This episode, which contained the issue of abortion, was aired on January 20th, 2 days before the anniversary of the United States Supreme Court [[Wikipedia:Roe v. Wade|Roe v. Wade]] decision of 1973.
**The issue of abortion was not, however, directly addressed—very few, if any, real-life abortions happen because of the national security implications of giving birth to a human-robot chimera.

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

'''President Richard Adar:''' "One of the most interesting things about being President is that you don't have to explain yourself. To anyone."
*Roslin earlier attributed this saying to Adar in the episode "[[Flesh and Bone]]".

'''Secretary Roslin:''' "I am on my way to the ''Galactica'' to represent this administration. When I return, if you still want my job, be prepared to fight."

== Official Statements ==




{{Episode List}}

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Episode Guide (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Black Market

2006-01-28T23:59:02Z

Gmusser: /* Notes */

{{Episode Data|
Image = [[Image:Universal_logo.jpg|300px]]
| Title= Black Market
| Series= [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|The Re-imagined Series]]
| Season= [[Season 2 (2005-06)|2]]
| Episode= 14
| Guests=[[Richard Hatch]] ([[Tom Zarek]]) [http://imdb.com/name/nm0006419/ Claudette Mink] ([[Shevon]]) [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004886/ Bill Duke] ([[Phelan]]) Hayley Guiel ([[Paya]]) Unknown ([[Weller]]) Unknown ([[Beach]]) [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0065320/ Graham Beckel] ([[Jack Fisk|CMDR Fisk]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Leah+Cairns Leah Cairns] ([[Margaret Edmonson|Racetrack]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Amy+Ciupak+Lalonde Amy Lalonde] [[Gianne]] John Mann (Linden) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Brad+Mann Brad Mann] (Pegasus Marine) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+James+Ashcroft James Ashcroft] (Security Officer) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Gustavo+Febres Gustavo Febres] (Herbalist)
| Writer=
| Story=
| Director=
| Production=
| Rating=
| US Airdate=January 27 2006
| UK Airdate=
| DVD=
| Population=
| Prev= [[Epiphanies]]
| Next= [[Scar]]
}}



== Overview ==

: ''Captain [[Lee Adama]], battling haunting demons of his own from a spurned love lost on Caprica, investigates the murder of new ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'' commander [[Jack Fisk]], and uncovers a black market that strains the resources of the Fleet.''

== Summary ==

*The recovered Prsident [[Laura Roslin]], feeling behind in her work since her absence, discusses her plan to eliminate black market problems with internal trade of supplies within the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] in Adama's quarters with Admiral [[William Adama|Adama]], ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'' Commander [[Jack Fisk|Fisk]], and Dr. [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]].
*When he arrives back in his quarters on ''Pegasus'' (Cain's old quarters) Fisk is garroted by several black market gangsters. One in particular stands out as a well-dressed "businessman".
*[[Lee Adama]], severely depressed since his ejection from the [[Blackbird]], has apparently been nurturing a relationship on ''[[Cloud 9]]'' with a woman named [[Shevon]], who has a young daughter named [[Paya]].
*In a "morning after" talk, Lee and Shevon talk in tones that hint towards his wanting of a serious relationship. Shevon appears to dodge these, and requests 100 extra cubits as Lee is leaving since he "stayed the night".
*In flashback scenes, we see a past love of Lee Adama on Caprica. She's exceptionally pretty, and the scenes revolve around a rendevous between Lee and this girl, which resolves with her running away. The details and intensity of these flashbacks increase as the episode progresses.
*Unaware that Fisk was murdered, Baltar stumbles into Fisk's quarters to see him but finds Lee Adama on the scene. After stating (correctly) that he had nothing to do with Fisk's murder, he storms out. Apollo deduces correctly that Baltar was actually trading for a hard to find commodity: "Caprica Imperials" [[Fumarella leaf|fumerellos]] that Fisk had.
*Apollo finds a small fortune of luxury goods in Fisk's closet, including a gold bracelet with the monogram "E.T" on it. Apollo realizes it's [[Ellen Tigh]]'s, and confront's Col. [[Saul Tigh]] about it in his quarters. Tigh says that it was he and not his wife who traded it to Fisk for good liquor, fruit, etc. for Ellen and himself. Tigh explains that Fisk was deeply involved in using ''Pegasus'' as a hub to fence black market goods.
*Dr. [[Cottle]]'s autopsy finds cubits jammed in Fisk's mouth, perhaps as a warning. Adama realizes that Fisk was trying to undercut one of his black market suppliers, and they took revenge. Adama is angry that Tigh would use the black market, but Tigh counters that almost everyone does some trading with it to get things they need, even Adama, who responds that just because everyone does it doesn't mean it's right.
*On ''[[Colonial One]]'', President Roslin, piecing together her [[Epiphanies|near-death recollections of Caprica]], becomes aware of Baltar's pre-holocaust contact with a copy of the Cylon agent known to the Fleet as [[Number Six|"Shelly Godfrey" and "Gina"]]. She candidly asks Dr. Baltar, her vice president, to resign.
*Baltar's pride is wounded. While he never wanted any political power in his life or the office at first, he wants to stay VP now. Roslin tells him it's not an offer she'll make again, but he leaves anyway.
*Off duty, working out in ''Galactica's'' gym, [[Anastasia Dualla]] comes to [[Lee Adama]] to bravely ask if their flirtation while working out is leading somewhere. Adama has no idea what to say, and Dualla takes the quiet hint.
*Lee Adama rushes to Shevon's quarters on ''Cloud 9'' after she calls for help. He finds the bruised Shevon and Paya, and decides to take them to ''Galactica''.
*As Lee is packing things up to leave, he is ambushed by thugs, who nearly garrote him. As he is held within a breath of his life, he is confronted by a well-dressed, blunt "businessman", who warns him to back off of the investigation. A pistol-whip to the head knocks Lee out.
*Apollo awakens to find an empty room, and calls for a medic and security team. Only then does he notice the corpse of the man that garroted Fisk.
*[[Tom Zarek]] drops by the scene in Shevon's room later, and discusses the black market with Apollo. Zarek says that he's not actually not involved with it, because he needs to keep his hands clean, but he also won't help Apollo shut it down (giving ship names, contacts, etc.) because Zarek doesn't want it shut down; it's evidence that Roslin was unable to establish a utopian society in the Fleet, and successfully dismantling it would just prove her right.
*Zarek points out that the black market does gets supplies where they are needed. Nonetheless, Zarek mentions the central hub of the black market, ''[[Prometheus]]'', a ship so lawless it's practically "off the grid", where you can supposedly get anything. Zarek gives a name to the "businessman" -- [[Phelan]] -- and tells Apollo that he probably took Shevon there. Additionally, he points out that Phelan has given Lee the murderer -- the thug with a bullet in his head -- and that it should be considered "a way out."
*On ''Prometheus'', alone, Lee Adama searches and finds Paya and other children locked up.
*Apollo encounters Phelan in the ''Prometheus's'' bar. Apollo warns that ''Galactica'' is fully aware of his location, and that the battlestar would vent ''Prometheus's'' air into space unless he gets Shevon and Paya back, and the black market is shut down.
*Phelan counters that the Fleet needs the black market; it's like a pressure valve. Whenever a ship falls behind in the supply schedule, the black market fills the need. Phelan states that they sell all things to fill all wants, including ''child'' prostitution. Adama is horrified. Shevon is dragged out and admits to her work for Phelan as a prostitute.
*Phelan illustrates to Apollo that the only way Shevon was able to obtain life-saving antibiotics for Paya was the use of the black market. Taking a gun from one of Phelan's guards, Adama points it threateningly at Phelan. Surprisingly, two other guards behind Lee neither help or hinder him.
*Apollo says to Phelan that he may be right, maybe he shouldn't try to shut down the market, but that there are lines that should never be crossed, and Phelan has crossed them. When Phelan confidently tells Adama that he won't shoot him, because he's not a thug like Phelan, Adama contemplates. Lee then cycles through another series of flashbacks of his lost relationship on Caprica... and pulls the trigger. With a look of shock frozen on his face, Phelan slumps into his chair and dies.
*Apollo turns to Phelan's guards, also in shock, and tells them that he's not going to shut down all black market trade because the Fleet needs it for vital supplies whether he likes it or not. However, they continue their business at his whim only. If there are more killings, hold back essential medicines, or use children, he will annihilate them without restraint.
*In tears, Shevon refuses Adama. She rightly proports that Lee was trying to replace his lost Caprican relationship -- where the girl had either gotten pregnant or wanted to get pregnant, and Lee had become afraid and reserved -- with Shevon and Paya. In straightforward terms, Shevon states that she and Paya cannot replace that loss.
*Back on ''Colonial One'', the Adamas present their reports to the President. Roslin is upset that Apollo did not shut down the black market, but Apollo counters that they will never have a perfect system and there will always be a black market. At least this way, they know where and who they are, and can monitor it to keep a measure of control. Admiral Adama fully supports Lee, but Roslin isn't at all happy with this and dismisses them rudely.
*Tom Zarek is seen walking through a crowd on the ''Prometheus'' with one of Phelan's old henchmen in tow.
*Admiral Adama and Lee Adama sit casually in the admiral's quarters over a drink, discussing the results of the black market issue. Admiral Adama tells his son he is disappointed that he did not discuss the nature of his relationship with "that woman" to him earlier.

== Questions ==
*How were the black market gangsters able to penetrate ''Pegasus''' security, causing the death of its second commanding officer in a short period?
**It is likely that ''Pegasus'' draconian command structure allows for abuse, and Fisk's own use of the market led to tacit protection of it, including its figurehead, Phelan.
*At the end of the episode, Zarek is seen walking in a crowd on the ''Prometheus'', with one of Phelan's old men nearby. Is Zarek going to try to fill the power vacuum left in the wake of Phelan's death? Was it just showing how everyone needs to use the black market, even someone like Tom Zarek who claims to wash his hands of involvement with it?
**Did Zarek somehow set up the entire incident to get Apollo to kill Phelan for him, allowing him to take over control of the black market?
*The woman that William Adama (father) discusses with Lee Adama (son). Is it Shevon, the prostitute (the obvious, close-at-hand issue)? Or, is it the girl back on Caprica (the deeper-seated, much more affecting issue)?
*Why hasn't Roslin openly accused Baltar of collaborating with the Cylons after "[[Epiphanies]]"?
**Possibly it is because she has no actual "evidence", and she remembered seeing him when her mind was in shambles dying of cancer, so she may not feel confident enough in this revelation to act on it more openly. However, it does seem to have influenced her to the point that unnoficially, she no longer trusts Baltar.
*Did Apollo's pregnant former love on Caprica actually die, or is she perhaps one of the handful of survivors? Or worse, a prisoner in one of the Cylon [[Farms]]?
*Who will take command of ''Pegasus'' following Fisk's death?
**Answer in spoilers text box
{{spoiltext|An officer named [[Barry Trammel]] is promoted to replace Fisk as commander of ''Pegasus''. ("[[The Captain's Hand]]").}}

== Analysis ==

*Ron D. Moore admits in his podcast that this episode did not live up to his expectations. The long complaint about failed goals he made in his blog was actually about this episode, and not "[[Downloaded]]", as speculated by other unofficial sources.
*It may be that Moore was attempting to work the story as a detective mystery, but fell short of the goal.
*Apollo's recent angst may appear to some viewers as rather hastily added to the character, much like the issues involving [[Laura Roslin]]'s miraculously fast recovery from her cancer in the [[Epiphanies|previous episode]].
*The Apollo-Dualla relationship, a story thread running since "[[Resistance]]", appears to have been stopped very abruptly, with only Adama's angst as an excuse in ending their flirtation. The manner in which Dualla and Adama speak to each other appeared out of character. Dualla later appears with [[Billy Keikeya]], where he says little, and Dualla appears ready to give Adama up and continue things more seriously with Billy. Actor Paul Campbell (Billy) has been filming a lot of TV pilots and other projects, so he hasn't had much to do this season. But, in comparison to [[Cally]] or [[Kat]], who now seem better developed, Billy's character appears underused.
*Much of the regular cast, including [[Kara Thrace]], [[Sharon Valerii]],[[Helo]], [[Felix Gaeta]], [[Galen Tyrol]], and [[Cally]] do not appear in this episode. Baltar's virtual [[Number Six]] is seen in what some may feel was a distracting appearance, taunting Baltar on ''Pegasus'' and in the meeting with Roslin.
*Col. Tigh is merely a person to be interviewed in Apollo's investigation. Dr. [[Cottle]]'s screen time has increased in the last two episodes, although his character's contribution may be too short for some.
*Like many "pulp" murder mysteries, the episode appeared without a special point or purpose other than to unravel the mystery. Perhaps the writers were attempting to stress the ''realism'' of living in a "Rag Tag Fugitive Fleet" of civilians; yes, there would probably be gangsters carving out fiefdoms who would run drug, medicine, and prostitution rackets. The show took a really dark turn when it made mention of child prostitution. Once again, this isn't anything that several police-dramas airing at the same time of night as BSG haven't done, and nothing is "shown"; a character just mentions in dialog that he runs a ring of this, and the "good guy" promptly kills him and shuts it down. However, the entire idea of the drug rings, etc. is a little disturbing, even if entirely logical.
*The storyline of Apollo's pregnant girlfriend on Caprica was intriguing. However, confusion entered in with Shevon's line of Adama's old flame "want(ing) to give you a child". Many viewers may not have understood that Adama's old love was actually already pregnant. The repetitive flashback, which did not vary, did little to advance the plot and may have made viewing less comfortable.
*The plausibility of [[Jack Fisk]] being killed as easily as Cain was implausible. Admiral Adama is now escorted by marines at all times. With Cain's [[Number Six#Gina|killer still on the loose]], it would rational for Fisk to have some paranoia. \
**Phelan and his men clearly had access to Fisk already, so it may not be all that implausible.
*The scene between Baltar and Roslin was interesting in its scripting and acting. Roslin is determined to be ''extremely'' polite, forceful, and cheery despite the fact that she's making a power play and now ''knows'' Baltar has something to do with the fall of the Colonies. Viewers should probably expect this revelation to come to a head at the close of season 2.

== Notes ==
*Survivor count for this episode was 49,597. That's one less from last week's episode, "[[Epiphanies]]" in which a suicide bomber attacked the tylium refinery. However, bodies are seen blasted into space, and Adama actually says in dialog "people are dead", so more than one should have died. However, this number is occasionally offset by new babies born in the Fleet, which can account for some small discrepancies.
**On the other hand, a 2% population growth rate should mean ~80 babies per month. Alternatively, ~25000 women each bearing two children over the course of an 80-year lifespan means ~25 babies per month.
*Zarek notes that he is the representative of the ''Astral Queen'', although in "[[Colonial Day]]", he was elected to represent the colony of Sagittaron. Given the nature of the conversation, however, he may have been speaking of his responsibilities in a less-than-official capacity.
*Central characters [[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]] and [[Sharon Valerii]] do not appear in this episode.
*Jack Fisk's use of the term "cigar", as opposed to the normal term of [[fumarello]], was a curious find in the episode. Like the mistaken use of "RADAR" instead of [[DRADIS]] in a past episode, this is likely a problem involving writers who apparently missed doing their homework on terminology from the [[series bible]] and past episodes.
*As seen in [[Final Cut]], there are occasionally meetings off all the ships in the fleet.
*Bill Duke (Phelan) also appeared in the scifi film [[Wikipedia:Predator|Predator]], and will play Bolivar Trask in the upcoming [[Wikipedia:X-Men_3|X-Men 3]].
*Helo does not appear in this episode. This is only the second episode that he has not appeared in; the other was "[[Fragged]]".
*Tyrol does not appear in this episode. This is only the second episode he has not appeared in; the first was "[[Home, Part I]]".
*The "R&D Animation" skit during the credits is a parody of the scifi film "[[Wikipedia:The_Thing|The Thing]]": David Eick transforms into a horrific multi-tentacled monster from the film and attacks Ron Moore.

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

*"You're not gonna shoot."
:—''The last words of Phelan''

== Official Statements ==

*''In an interview in issue #197 of TV Zone, James Callis (Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]]) said'': "Mary and I had a great deal of fun doing a scene where the President tells Baltar in no uncertain terms that she doesn’t like him and wants him to resign. He’s not very happy about that."

== Statistics ==



{{Episode List}}

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Episode Guide (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Black Market

2006-01-28T23:53:41Z

Gmusser: /* Analysis */

{{Episode Data|
Image = [[Image:Universal_logo.jpg|300px]]
| Title= Black Market
| Series= [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|The Re-imagined Series]]
| Season= [[Season 2 (2005-06)|2]]
| Episode= 14
| Guests=[[Richard Hatch]] ([[Tom Zarek]]) [http://imdb.com/name/nm0006419/ Claudette Mink] ([[Shevon]]) [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004886/ Bill Duke] ([[Phelan]]) Hayley Guiel ([[Paya]]) Unknown ([[Weller]]) Unknown ([[Beach]]) [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0065320/ Graham Beckel] ([[Jack Fisk|CMDR Fisk]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Leah+Cairns Leah Cairns] ([[Margaret Edmonson|Racetrack]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Amy+Ciupak+Lalonde Amy Lalonde] [[Gianne]] John Mann (Linden) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Brad+Mann Brad Mann] (Pegasus Marine) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+James+Ashcroft James Ashcroft] (Security Officer) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Gustavo+Febres Gustavo Febres] (Herbalist)
| Writer=
| Story=
| Director=
| Production=
| Rating=
| US Airdate=January 27 2006
| UK Airdate=
| DVD=
| Population=
| Prev= [[Epiphanies]]
| Next= [[Scar]]
}}



== Overview ==

: ''Captain [[Lee Adama]], battling haunting demons of his own from a spurned love lost on Caprica, investigates the murder of new ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'' commander [[Jack Fisk]], and uncovers a black market that strains the resources of the Fleet.''

== Summary ==

*The recovered Prsident [[Laura Roslin]], feeling behind in her work since her absence, discusses her plan to eliminate black market problems with internal trade of supplies within the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] in Adama's quarters with Admiral [[William Adama|Adama]], ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'' Commander [[Jack Fisk|Fisk]], and Dr. [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]].
*When he arrives back in his quarters on ''Pegasus'' (Cain's old quarters) Fisk is garroted by several black market gangsters. One in particular stands out as a well-dressed "businessman".
*[[Lee Adama]], severely depressed since his ejection from the [[Blackbird]], has apparently been nurturing a relationship on ''[[Cloud 9]]'' with a woman named [[Shevon]], who has a young daughter named [[Paya]].
*In a "morning after" talk, Lee and Shevon talk in tones that hint towards his wanting of a serious relationship. Shevon appears to dodge these, and requests 100 extra cubits as Lee is leaving since he "stayed the night".
*In flashback scenes, we see a past love of Lee Adama on Caprica. She's exceptionally pretty, and the scenes revolve around a rendevous between Lee and this girl, which resolves with her running away. The details and intensity of these flashbacks increase as the episode progresses.
*Unaware that Fisk was murdered, Baltar stumbles into Fisk's quarters to see him but finds Lee Adama on the scene. After stating (correctly) that he had nothing to do with Fisk's murder, he storms out. Apollo deduces correctly that Baltar was actually trading for a hard to find commodity: "Caprica Imperials" [[Fumarella leaf|fumerellos]] that Fisk had.
*Apollo finds a small fortune of luxury goods in Fisk's closet, including a gold bracelet with the monogram "E.T" on it. Apollo realizes it's [[Ellen Tigh]]'s, and confront's Col. [[Saul Tigh]] about it in his quarters. Tigh says that it was he and not his wife who traded it to Fisk for good liquor, fruit, etc. for Ellen and himself. Tigh explains that Fisk was deeply involved in using ''Pegasus'' as a hub to fence black market goods.
*Dr. [[Cottle]]'s autopsy finds cubits jammed in Fisk's mouth, perhaps as a warning. Adama realizes that Fisk was trying to undercut one of his black market suppliers, and they took revenge. Adama is angry that Tigh would use the black market, but Tigh counters that almost everyone does some trading with it to get things they need, even Adama, who responds that just because everyone does it doesn't mean it's right.
*On ''[[Colonial One]]'', President Roslin, piecing together her [[Epiphanies|near-death recollections of Caprica]], becomes aware of Baltar's pre-holocaust contact with a copy of the Cylon agent known to the Fleet as [[Number Six|"Shelly Godfrey" and "Gina"]]. She candidly asks Dr. Baltar, her vice president, to resign.
*Baltar's pride is wounded. While he never wanted any political power in his life or the office at first, he wants to stay VP now. Roslin tells him it's not an offer she'll make again, but he leaves anyway.
*Off duty, working out in ''Galactica's'' gym, [[Anastasia Dualla]] comes to [[Lee Adama]] to bravely ask if their flirtation while working out is leading somewhere. Adama has no idea what to say, and Dualla takes the quiet hint.
*Lee Adama rushes to Shevon's quarters on ''Cloud 9'' after she calls for help. He finds the bruised Shevon and Paya, and decides to take them to ''Galactica''.
*As Lee is packing things up to leave, he is ambushed by thugs, who nearly garrote him. As he is held within a breath of his life, he is confronted by a well-dressed, blunt "businessman", who warns him to back off of the investigation. A pistol-whip to the head knocks Lee out.
*Apollo awakens to find an empty room, and calls for a medic and security team. Only then does he notice the corpse of the man that garroted Fisk.
*[[Tom Zarek]] drops by the scene in Shevon's room later, and discusses the black market with Apollo. Zarek says that he's not actually not involved with it, because he needs to keep his hands clean, but he also won't help Apollo shut it down (giving ship names, contacts, etc.) because Zarek doesn't want it shut down; it's evidence that Roslin was unable to establish a utopian society in the Fleet, and successfully dismantling it would just prove her right.
*Zarek points out that the black market does gets supplies where they are needed. Nonetheless, Zarek mentions the central hub of the black market, ''[[Prometheus]]'', a ship so lawless it's practically "off the grid", where you can supposedly get anything. Zarek gives a name to the "businessman" -- [[Phelan]] -- and tells Apollo that he probably took Shevon there. Additionally, he points out that Phelan has given Lee the murderer -- the thug with a bullet in his head -- and that it should be considered "a way out."
*On ''Prometheus'', alone, Lee Adama searches and finds Paya and other children locked up.
*Apollo encounters Phelan in the ''Prometheus's'' bar. Apollo warns that ''Galactica'' is fully aware of his location, and that the battlestar would vent ''Prometheus's'' air into space unless he gets Shevon and Paya back, and the black market is shut down.
*Phelan counters that the Fleet needs the black market; it's like a pressure valve. Whenever a ship falls behind in the supply schedule, the black market fills the need. Phelan states that they sell all things to fill all wants, including ''child'' prostitution. Adama is horrified. Shevon is dragged out and admits to her work for Phelan as a prostitute.
*Phelan illustrates to Apollo that the only way Shevon was able to obtain life-saving antibiotics for Paya was the use of the black market. Taking a gun from one of Phelan's guards, Adama points it threateningly at Phelan. Surprisingly, two other guards behind Lee neither help or hinder him.
*Apollo says to Phelan that he may be right, maybe he shouldn't try to shut down the market, but that there are lines that should never be crossed, and Phelan has crossed them. When Phelan confidently tells Adama that he won't shoot him, because he's not a thug like Phelan, Adama contemplates. Lee then cycles through another series of flashbacks of his lost relationship on Caprica... and pulls the trigger. With a look of shock frozen on his face, Phelan slumps into his chair and dies.
*Apollo turns to Phelan's guards, also in shock, and tells them that he's not going to shut down all black market trade because the Fleet needs it for vital supplies whether he likes it or not. However, they continue their business at his whim only. If there are more killings, hold back essential medicines, or use children, he will annihilate them without restraint.
*In tears, Shevon refuses Adama. She rightly proports that Lee was trying to replace his lost Caprican relationship -- where the girl had either gotten pregnant or wanted to get pregnant, and Lee had become afraid and reserved -- with Shevon and Paya. In straightforward terms, Shevon states that she and Paya cannot replace that loss.
*Back on ''Colonial One'', the Adamas present their reports to the President. Roslin is upset that Apollo did not shut down the black market, but Apollo counters that they will never have a perfect system and there will always be a black market. At least this way, they know where and who they are, and can monitor it to keep a measure of control. Admiral Adama fully supports Lee, but Roslin isn't at all happy with this and dismisses them rudely.
*Tom Zarek is seen walking through a crowd on the ''Prometheus'' with one of Phelan's old henchmen in tow.
*Admiral Adama and Lee Adama sit casually in the admiral's quarters over a drink, discussing the results of the black market issue. Admiral Adama tells his son he is disappointed that he did not discuss the nature of his relationship with "that woman" to him earlier.

== Questions ==
*How were the black market gangsters able to penetrate ''Pegasus''' security, causing the death of its second commanding officer in a short period?
**It is likely that ''Pegasus'' draconian command structure allows for abuse, and Fisk's own use of the market led to tacit protection of it, including its figurehead, Phelan.
*At the end of the episode, Zarek is seen walking in a crowd on the ''Prometheus'', with one of Phelan's old men nearby. Is Zarek going to try to fill the power vacuum left in the wake of Phelan's death? Was it just showing how everyone needs to use the black market, even someone like Tom Zarek who claims to wash his hands of involvement with it?
**Did Zarek somehow set up the entire incident to get Apollo to kill Phelan for him, allowing him to take over control of the black market?
*The woman that William Adama (father) discusses with Lee Adama (son). Is it Shevon, the prostitute (the obvious, close-at-hand issue)? Or, is it the girl back on Caprica (the deeper-seated, much more affecting issue)?
*Why hasn't Roslin openly accused Baltar of collaborating with the Cylons after "[[Epiphanies]]"?
**Possibly it is because she has no actual "evidence", and she remembered seeing him when her mind was in shambles dying of cancer, so she may not feel confident enough in this revelation to act on it more openly. However, it does seem to have influenced her to the point that unnoficially, she no longer trusts Baltar.
*Did Apollo's pregnant former love on Caprica actually die, or is she perhaps one of the handful of survivors? Or worse, a prisoner in one of the Cylon [[Farms]]?
*Who will take command of ''Pegasus'' following Fisk's death?
**Answer in spoilers text box
{{spoiltext|An officer named [[Barry Trammel]] is promoted to replace Fisk as commander of ''Pegasus''. ("[[The Captain's Hand]]").}}

== Analysis ==

*Ron D. Moore admits in his podcast that this episode did not live up to his expectations. The long complaint about failed goals he made in his blog was actually about this episode, and not "[[Downloaded]]", as speculated by other unofficial sources.
*It may be that Moore was attempting to work the story as a detective mystery, but fell short of the goal.
*Apollo's recent angst may appear to some viewers as rather hastily added to the character, much like the issues involving [[Laura Roslin]]'s miraculously fast recovery from her cancer in the [[Epiphanies|previous episode]].
*The Apollo-Dualla relationship, a story thread running since "[[Resistance]]", appears to have been stopped very abruptly, with only Adama's angst as an excuse in ending their flirtation. The manner in which Dualla and Adama speak to each other appeared out of character. Dualla later appears with [[Billy Keikeya]], where he says little, and Dualla appears ready to give Adama up and continue things more seriously with Billy. Actor Paul Campbell (Billy) has been filming a lot of TV pilots and other projects, so he hasn't had much to do this season. But, in comparison to [[Cally]] or [[Kat]], who now seem better developed, Billy's character appears underused.
*Much of the regular cast, including [[Kara Thrace]], [[Sharon Valerii]],[[Helo]], [[Felix Gaeta]], [[Galen Tyrol]], and [[Cally]] do not appear in this episode. Baltar's virtual [[Number Six]] is seen in what some may feel was a distracting appearance, taunting Baltar on ''Pegasus'' and in the meeting with Roslin.
*Col. Tigh is merely a person to be interviewed in Apollo's investigation. Dr. [[Cottle]]'s screen time has increased in the last two episodes, although his character's contribution may be too short for some.
*Like many "pulp" murder mysteries, the episode appeared without a special point or purpose other than to unravel the mystery. Perhaps the writers were attempting to stress the ''realism'' of living in a "Rag Tag Fugitive Fleet" of civilians; yes, there would probably be gangsters carving out fiefdoms who would run drug, medicine, and prostitution rackets. The show took a really dark turn when it made mention of child prostitution. Once again, this isn't anything that several police-dramas airing at the same time of night as BSG haven't done, and nothing is "shown"; a character just mentions in dialog that he runs a ring of this, and the "good guy" promptly kills him and shuts it down. However, the entire idea of the drug rings, etc. is a little disturbing, even if entirely logical.
*The storyline of Apollo's pregnant girlfriend on Caprica was intriguing. However, confusion entered in with Shevon's line of Adama's old flame "want(ing) to give you a child". Many viewers may not have understood that Adama's old love was actually already pregnant. The repetitive flashback, which did not vary, did little to advance the plot and may have made viewing less comfortable.
*The plausibility of [[Jack Fisk]] being killed as easily as Cain was implausible. Admiral Adama is now escorted by marines at all times. With Cain's [[Number Six#Gina|killer still on the loose]], it would rational for Fisk to have some paranoia. \
**Phelan and his men clearly had access to Fisk already, so it may not be all that implausible.
*The scene between Baltar and Roslin was interesting in its scripting and acting. Roslin is determined to be ''extremely'' polite, forceful, and cheery despite the fact that she's making a power play and now ''knows'' Baltar has something to do with the fall of the Colonies. Viewers should probably expect this revelation to come to a head at the close of season 2.

== Notes ==
*Survivor count for this episode was 49,597. That's one less from last week's episode, "[[Epiphanies]]" in which a suicide bomber attacked the tylium refinery. However, bodies are seen blasted into space, and Adama actually says in dialog "people are dead", so more than one should have died. However, this number is occasionally offset by new babies born in the Fleet, which can account for some small discrepancies.
*Zarek notes that he is the representative of the ''Astral Queen'', although in "[[Colonial Day]]", he was elected to represent the colony of Sagittaron. Given the nature of the conversation, however, he may have been speaking of his responsibilities in a less-than-official capacity.
*Central characters [[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]] and [[Sharon Valerii]] do not appear in this episode.
*Jack Fisk's use of the term "cigar", as opposed to the normal term of [[fumarello]], was a curious find in the episode. Like the mistaken use of "RADAR" instead of [[DRADIS]] in a past episode, this is likely a problem involving writers who apparently missed doing their homework on terminology from the [[series bible]] and past episodes.
*As seen in [[Final Cut]], there are occasionally meetings off all the ships in the fleet.
*Bill Duke (Phelan) also appeared in the scifi film [[Wikipedia:Predator|Predator]], and will play Bolivar Trask in the upcoming [[Wikipedia:X-Men_3|X-Men 3]].
*Helo does not appear in this episode. This is only the second episode that he has not appeared in; the other was "[[Fragged]]".
*Tyrol does not appear in this episode. This is only the second episode he has not appeared in; the first was "[[Home, Part I]]".
*The "R&D Animation" skit during the credits is a parody of the scifi film "[[Wikipedia:The_Thing|The Thing]]": David Eick transforms into a horrific multi-tentacled monster from the film and attacks Ron Moore.

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

*"You're not gonna shoot."
:—''The last words of Phelan''

== Official Statements ==

*''In an interview in issue #197 of TV Zone, James Callis (Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]]) said'': "Mary and I had a great deal of fun doing a scene where the President tells Baltar in no uncertain terms that she doesn’t like him and wants him to resign. He’s not very happy about that."

== Statistics ==



{{Episode List}}

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Episode Guide (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Black Market

2006-01-28T23:50:35Z

Gmusser: /* Questions */

{{Episode Data|
Image = [[Image:Universal_logo.jpg|300px]]
| Title= Black Market
| Series= [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|The Re-imagined Series]]
| Season= [[Season 2 (2005-06)|2]]
| Episode= 14
| Guests=[[Richard Hatch]] ([[Tom Zarek]]) [http://imdb.com/name/nm0006419/ Claudette Mink] ([[Shevon]]) [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004886/ Bill Duke] ([[Phelan]]) Hayley Guiel ([[Paya]]) Unknown ([[Weller]]) Unknown ([[Beach]]) [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0065320/ Graham Beckel] ([[Jack Fisk|CMDR Fisk]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Leah+Cairns Leah Cairns] ([[Margaret Edmonson|Racetrack]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Amy+Ciupak+Lalonde Amy Lalonde] [[Gianne]] John Mann (Linden) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Brad+Mann Brad Mann] (Pegasus Marine) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+James+Ashcroft James Ashcroft] (Security Officer) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Gustavo+Febres Gustavo Febres] (Herbalist)
| Writer=
| Story=
| Director=
| Production=
| Rating=
| US Airdate=January 27 2006
| UK Airdate=
| DVD=
| Population=
| Prev= [[Epiphanies]]
| Next= [[Scar]]
}}



== Overview ==

: ''Captain [[Lee Adama]], battling haunting demons of his own from a spurned love lost on Caprica, investigates the murder of new ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'' commander [[Jack Fisk]], and uncovers a black market that strains the resources of the Fleet.''

== Summary ==

*The recovered Prsident [[Laura Roslin]], feeling behind in her work since her absence, discusses her plan to eliminate black market problems with internal trade of supplies within the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] in Adama's quarters with Admiral [[William Adama|Adama]], ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'' Commander [[Jack Fisk|Fisk]], and Dr. [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]].
*When he arrives back in his quarters on ''Pegasus'' (Cain's old quarters) Fisk is garroted by several black market gangsters. One in particular stands out as a well-dressed "businessman".
*[[Lee Adama]], severely depressed since his ejection from the [[Blackbird]], has apparently been nurturing a relationship on ''[[Cloud 9]]'' with a woman named [[Shevon]], who has a young daughter named [[Paya]].
*In a "morning after" talk, Lee and Shevon talk in tones that hint towards his wanting of a serious relationship. Shevon appears to dodge these, and requests 100 extra cubits as Lee is leaving since he "stayed the night".
*In flashback scenes, we see a past love of Lee Adama on Caprica. She's exceptionally pretty, and the scenes revolve around a rendevous between Lee and this girl, which resolves with her running away. The details and intensity of these flashbacks increase as the episode progresses.
*Unaware that Fisk was murdered, Baltar stumbles into Fisk's quarters to see him but finds Lee Adama on the scene. After stating (correctly) that he had nothing to do with Fisk's murder, he storms out. Apollo deduces correctly that Baltar was actually trading for a hard to find commodity: "Caprica Imperials" [[Fumarella leaf|fumerellos]] that Fisk had.
*Apollo finds a small fortune of luxury goods in Fisk's closet, including a gold bracelet with the monogram "E.T" on it. Apollo realizes it's [[Ellen Tigh]]'s, and confront's Col. [[Saul Tigh]] about it in his quarters. Tigh says that it was he and not his wife who traded it to Fisk for good liquor, fruit, etc. for Ellen and himself. Tigh explains that Fisk was deeply involved in using ''Pegasus'' as a hub to fence black market goods.
*Dr. [[Cottle]]'s autopsy finds cubits jammed in Fisk's mouth, perhaps as a warning. Adama realizes that Fisk was trying to undercut one of his black market suppliers, and they took revenge. Adama is angry that Tigh would use the black market, but Tigh counters that almost everyone does some trading with it to get things they need, even Adama, who responds that just because everyone does it doesn't mean it's right.
*On ''[[Colonial One]]'', President Roslin, piecing together her [[Epiphanies|near-death recollections of Caprica]], becomes aware of Baltar's pre-holocaust contact with a copy of the Cylon agent known to the Fleet as [[Number Six|"Shelly Godfrey" and "Gina"]]. She candidly asks Dr. Baltar, her vice president, to resign.
*Baltar's pride is wounded. While he never wanted any political power in his life or the office at first, he wants to stay VP now. Roslin tells him it's not an offer she'll make again, but he leaves anyway.
*Off duty, working out in ''Galactica's'' gym, [[Anastasia Dualla]] comes to [[Lee Adama]] to bravely ask if their flirtation while working out is leading somewhere. Adama has no idea what to say, and Dualla takes the quiet hint.
*Lee Adama rushes to Shevon's quarters on ''Cloud 9'' after she calls for help. He finds the bruised Shevon and Paya, and decides to take them to ''Galactica''.
*As Lee is packing things up to leave, he is ambushed by thugs, who nearly garrote him. As he is held within a breath of his life, he is confronted by a well-dressed, blunt "businessman", who warns him to back off of the investigation. A pistol-whip to the head knocks Lee out.
*Apollo awakens to find an empty room, and calls for a medic and security team. Only then does he notice the corpse of the man that garroted Fisk.
*[[Tom Zarek]] drops by the scene in Shevon's room later, and discusses the black market with Apollo. Zarek says that he's not actually not involved with it, because he needs to keep his hands clean, but he also won't help Apollo shut it down (giving ship names, contacts, etc.) because Zarek doesn't want it shut down; it's evidence that Roslin was unable to establish a utopian society in the Fleet, and successfully dismantling it would just prove her right.
*Zarek points out that the black market does gets supplies where they are needed. Nonetheless, Zarek mentions the central hub of the black market, ''[[Prometheus]]'', a ship so lawless it's practically "off the grid", where you can supposedly get anything. Zarek gives a name to the "businessman" -- [[Phelan]] -- and tells Apollo that he probably took Shevon there. Additionally, he points out that Phelan has given Lee the murderer -- the thug with a bullet in his head -- and that it should be considered "a way out."
*On ''Prometheus'', alone, Lee Adama searches and finds Paya and other children locked up.
*Apollo encounters Phelan in the ''Prometheus's'' bar. Apollo warns that ''Galactica'' is fully aware of his location, and that the battlestar would vent ''Prometheus's'' air into space unless he gets Shevon and Paya back, and the black market is shut down.
*Phelan counters that the Fleet needs the black market; it's like a pressure valve. Whenever a ship falls behind in the supply schedule, the black market fills the need. Phelan states that they sell all things to fill all wants, including ''child'' prostitution. Adama is horrified. Shevon is dragged out and admits to her work for Phelan as a prostitute.
*Phelan illustrates to Apollo that the only way Shevon was able to obtain life-saving antibiotics for Paya was the use of the black market. Taking a gun from one of Phelan's guards, Adama points it threateningly at Phelan. Surprisingly, two other guards behind Lee neither help or hinder him.
*Apollo says to Phelan that he may be right, maybe he shouldn't try to shut down the market, but that there are lines that should never be crossed, and Phelan has crossed them. When Phelan confidently tells Adama that he won't shoot him, because he's not a thug like Phelan, Adama contemplates. Lee then cycles through another series of flashbacks of his lost relationship on Caprica... and pulls the trigger. With a look of shock frozen on his face, Phelan slumps into his chair and dies.
*Apollo turns to Phelan's guards, also in shock, and tells them that he's not going to shut down all black market trade because the Fleet needs it for vital supplies whether he likes it or not. However, they continue their business at his whim only. If there are more killings, hold back essential medicines, or use children, he will annihilate them without restraint.
*In tears, Shevon refuses Adama. She rightly proports that Lee was trying to replace his lost Caprican relationship -- where the girl had either gotten pregnant or wanted to get pregnant, and Lee had become afraid and reserved -- with Shevon and Paya. In straightforward terms, Shevon states that she and Paya cannot replace that loss.
*Back on ''Colonial One'', the Adamas present their reports to the President. Roslin is upset that Apollo did not shut down the black market, but Apollo counters that they will never have a perfect system and there will always be a black market. At least this way, they know where and who they are, and can monitor it to keep a measure of control. Admiral Adama fully supports Lee, but Roslin isn't at all happy with this and dismisses them rudely.
*Tom Zarek is seen walking through a crowd on the ''Prometheus'' with one of Phelan's old henchmen in tow.
*Admiral Adama and Lee Adama sit casually in the admiral's quarters over a drink, discussing the results of the black market issue. Admiral Adama tells his son he is disappointed that he did not discuss the nature of his relationship with "that woman" to him earlier.

== Questions ==
*How were the black market gangsters able to penetrate ''Pegasus''' security, causing the death of its second commanding officer in a short period?
**It is likely that ''Pegasus'' draconian command structure allows for abuse, and Fisk's own use of the market led to tacit protection of it, including its figurehead, Phelan.
*At the end of the episode, Zarek is seen walking in a crowd on the ''Prometheus'', with one of Phelan's old men nearby. Is Zarek going to try to fill the power vacuum left in the wake of Phelan's death? Was it just showing how everyone needs to use the black market, even someone like Tom Zarek who claims to wash his hands of involvement with it?
**Did Zarek somehow set up the entire incident to get Apollo to kill Phelan for him, allowing him to take over control of the black market?
*The woman that William Adama (father) discusses with Lee Adama (son). Is it Shevon, the prostitute (the obvious, close-at-hand issue)? Or, is it the girl back on Caprica (the deeper-seated, much more affecting issue)?
*Why hasn't Roslin openly accused Baltar of collaborating with the Cylons after "[[Epiphanies]]"?
**Possibly it is because she has no actual "evidence", and she remembered seeing him when her mind was in shambles dying of cancer, so she may not feel confident enough in this revelation to act on it more openly. However, it does seem to have influenced her to the point that unnoficially, she no longer trusts Baltar.
*Did Apollo's pregnant former love on Caprica actually die, or is she perhaps one of the handful of survivors? Or worse, a prisoner in one of the Cylon [[Farms]]?
*Who will take command of ''Pegasus'' following Fisk's death?
**Answer in spoilers text box
{{spoiltext|An officer named [[Barry Trammel]] is promoted to replace Fisk as commander of ''Pegasus''. ("[[The Captain's Hand]]").}}

== Analysis ==

*Ron D. Moore admits in his podcast that this episode did not live up to his expectations. The long complaint about failed goals he made in his blog was actually about this episode, and not "[[Downloaded]]", as speculated by other unofficial sources.
*It may be that Moore was attempting to work the story as a detective mystery, but fell short of the goal.
*Apollo's recent angst may appear to some viewers as rather hastily added to the character, much like the issues involving [[Laura Roslin]]'s miraculously fast recovery from her cancer in the [[Epiphanies|previous episode]].
*The Apollo-Dualla relationship, a story thread running since "[[Resistance]]", appears to have been stopped very abruptly, with only Adama's angst as an excuse in ending their flirtation. The manner in which Dualla and Adama speak to each other appeared out of character. Dualla later appears with [[Billy Keikeya]], where he says little, and Dualla appears ready to give Adama up and continue things more seriously with Billy. Actor Paul Campbell (Billy) has been filming a lot of TV pilots and other projects, so he hasn't had much to do this season. But, in comparison to [[Cally]] or [[Kat]], who now seem better developed, Billy's character appears underused.
*Much of the regular cast, including [[Kara Thrace]], [[Sharon Valerii]],[[Helo]], [[Felix Gaeta]], [[Galen Tyrol]], and [[Cally]] do not appear in this episode. Baltar's virtual [[Number Six]] is seen in what some may feel was a distracting appearance, taunting Baltar on ''Pegasus'' and in the meeting with Roslin.
*Col. Tigh is merely a person to be interviewed in Apollo's investigation. Dr. [[Cottle]]'s screen time has increased in the last two episodes, although his character's contribution may be too short for some.
*Like many "pulp" murder mysteries, the episode appeared without a special point or purpose other than to unravel the mystery. Perhaps the writers were attempting to stress the ''realism'' of living in a "Rag Tag Fugitive Fleet" of civilians; yes, there would probably be gangsters carving out fiefdoms who would run drug, medicine, and prostitution rackets. The show took a really dark turn when it made mention of child prostitution. Once again, this isn't anything that several police-dramas airing at the same time of night as BSG haven't done, and nothing is "shown"; a character just mentions in dialog that he runs a ring of this, and the "good guy" promptly kills him and shuts it down. However, the entire idea of the drug rings, etc. is a little disturbing, even if entirely logical.
*The storyline of Apollo's pregnant girlfriend on Caprica was intriguing. However, confusion entered in with Shevon's line of Adama's old flame "want(ing) to give you a child". Many viewers may not have understood that Adama's old love was actually already pregnant. The repetitive flashback, which did not vary, did little to advance the plot and may have made viewing less comfortable.
*The plausibility of [[Jack Fisk]] being killed as easily as Cain was implausible. Admiral Adama is now escorted by marines at all times. With Cain's [[Number Six#Gina|killer still on the loose]], it would rational for Fisk to have some paranoia.
*The scene between Baltar and Roslin was interesting in its scripting and acting. Roslin is determined to be ''extremely'' polite, forceful, and cheery despite the fact that she's making a power play and now ''knows'' Baltar has something to do with the fall of the Colonies. Viewers should probably expect this revelation to come to a head at the close of season 2.

== Notes ==
*Survivor count for this episode was 49,597. That's one less from last week's episode, "[[Epiphanies]]" in which a suicide bomber attacked the tylium refinery. However, bodies are seen blasted into space, and Adama actually says in dialog "people are dead", so more than one should have died. However, this number is occasionally offset by new babies born in the Fleet, which can account for some small discrepancies.
*Zarek notes that he is the representative of the ''Astral Queen'', although in "[[Colonial Day]]", he was elected to represent the colony of Sagittaron. Given the nature of the conversation, however, he may have been speaking of his responsibilities in a less-than-official capacity.
*Central characters [[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]] and [[Sharon Valerii]] do not appear in this episode.
*Jack Fisk's use of the term "cigar", as opposed to the normal term of [[fumarello]], was a curious find in the episode. Like the mistaken use of "RADAR" instead of [[DRADIS]] in a past episode, this is likely a problem involving writers who apparently missed doing their homework on terminology from the [[series bible]] and past episodes.
*As seen in [[Final Cut]], there are occasionally meetings off all the ships in the fleet.
*Bill Duke (Phelan) also appeared in the scifi film [[Wikipedia:Predator|Predator]], and will play Bolivar Trask in the upcoming [[Wikipedia:X-Men_3|X-Men 3]].
*Helo does not appear in this episode. This is only the second episode that he has not appeared in; the other was "[[Fragged]]".
*Tyrol does not appear in this episode. This is only the second episode he has not appeared in; the first was "[[Home, Part I]]".
*The "R&D Animation" skit during the credits is a parody of the scifi film "[[Wikipedia:The_Thing|The Thing]]": David Eick transforms into a horrific multi-tentacled monster from the film and attacks Ron Moore.

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

*"You're not gonna shoot."
:—''The last words of Phelan''

== Official Statements ==

*''In an interview in issue #197 of TV Zone, James Callis (Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]]) said'': "Mary and I had a great deal of fun doing a scene where the President tells Baltar in no uncertain terms that she doesn’t like him and wants him to resign. He’s not very happy about that."

== Statistics ==



{{Episode List}}

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Episode Guide (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]