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Sacred Scrolls

2007-02-01T16:19:17Z

Miraba: /* Kobol as the birthplace of mankind */ rewrote to remove sentence fragment, redundancy, non-existent word

[[Image:Pythia.jpg|right|thumb|A portion of the Sacred Scrolls, specifically, a portion of the Book of [[Pythia]].]]
The '''Sacred Scrolls''' are a set of writings the form the basis of [[Religion in the Twelve Colonies|Colonial religion]], a polytheistic faith resembling the legends of ancient Greece. The scrolls record much of the alleged history of humanity, including life on [[Kobol]] before the great exodus, and the legend of [[Earth]]. Portions of the scrolls are used in religious ceremonies, such as the Service of the Dead ([[Miniseries]], [[Act of Contrition]]).

Most notable among the Sacred Scrolls is the Book of Pythia, also referred to as the Pythian Prophecy. Written 3,600 years ago by the oracle [[Pythia]], they are believed by some to foretell the current exodus from the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]].

==Contents==
The contents of the Sacred Scrolls have only been revealed to us in glimpses, through brief quotes, paraphrases and explanations throughout the series. This section serves to catalog those snippets, and is followed by more detailed analysis.

===The Book of [[Pythia]]===
:'''Roslin:''' Who is Pythia?<br>'''Elosha:''' One of the [[oracle]]s in the Sacred Scrolls. 3,600 years ago. Pythia wrote about the exile and rebirth of the human race. ([[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]])

====The Cycle of Time====
:'''Leoben:''' ''"All this has happened before, and all of it will happen again."'' ([[Flesh and Bone]])

:'''Six:''' ''"All this has happened before, and all this will happen again."'' ([[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]])

:'''Roslin:''' If you believe in the gods, then you believe in the cycle of time that we are all playing our parts in a story that is told again, and again, and again throughout eternity. ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]])

====The Dying Leader====
:'''Elosha:''' ''"And the lords anointed a leader to guide the Caravan of the Heavens to their new homeland."'' ([[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]])

:'''Elosha:''' She also wrote that the new leader suffered a wasting disease and would not live to enter the new land. ([[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]])

:'''Roslin:''' The scriptures tell us a dying leader lead humanity to the promised land. ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]])

====A Vision of Serpents====
:'''Elosha:''' ''"And unto the leader they gave a vision of serpents numbering two and ten, as a sign of things to come."'' ([[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]])

====The Serpents Lead the People Into Battle?====
:'''Six:''' ''"Led by serpents numbering two and ten..."'' (fragment) ([[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]])

====A Confrontation at the Home of the Gods====
:'''Six:''' ''"Though the outcome favored the few, it led to a confrontation at the home of the gods."'' ([[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]])

====The Lower Demon====
:'''Elosha:''' The scrolls of Pythia do speak of a [[Sharon Agathon|lower demon]], who helped the people in a time of crisis. ([[Home, Part I]])

====The Blaze and the High Road====
:'''Elosha:''' ''"And the blaze pursued them, and the people of Kobol had a choice. To board the great ship, or take the high road through the rocky ridge."''<br>
:'''Valerii (continuing):''' ''"And the body of each tribe's leader was offered to the gods in the [[tomb of Athena]]."'' And the great ship was the [[galleon]] that departed from here, where we're standing. And it took the founders of the thirteen colonies to their destiny. And those that didn't board the galleon took the high road, a rocky ridge that lead to the tomb. ([[Home, Part I]])

:'''Elosha:''' The path is supposed to be marked by gravestones. ([[Home, Part I]])

====The Gates of Hera====
:'''Valerii:''' That's the spot where your god supposedly stood and watched Athena throw herself down onto the rocks below, out of despair over the Exodus of the thirteen tribes. Athena's tomb, whoever or whatever she really was, is probably up there. ([[Home, Part II]])

====The Arrow of Apollo====
:'''Roslin:''' ''"And the Arrow of Apollo will open the Tomb of Athena."'' ([[Home, Part II]])

:'''Elosha:''' The scriptures tell us that Kobol points the way to Earth. ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]])

:'''Roslin:''' According to the scriptures, if we had the arrow of Apollo we could take it down to Kobol and we could use it to open the tomb of Athena and find our way to Earth. ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]])

====Kobol and the Blood Price====
:'''Adama:''' ''"And [[Zeus, Lord of Kobol|Zeus]] warned the leaders of the twelve tribes that any return to Kobol would exact a price in blood."'' ([[Home, Part II]])

===History===

====Pre-Exodus====
:'''Elosha:''' This place is Kobol... birthplace of mankind, where the gods and men lived in paradise until the exodus of the thirteen tribes. ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]])

====The Exodus====
:'''Elosha:''' How old are the ruins?<br>'''[[Billy Keikeya]]:''' Well, we won't know for sure until we send a ground team, but the initial estimates have it on the order of approximately 2,000 years.<br>'''Elosha:''' That's around the time the thirteen tribes first left Kobol. ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]])

====The Thirteenth Tribe on Earth====
:'''Starbuck:''' The scriptures say that when the thirteenth tribe landed on Earth, they looked up into the heavens and they saw their twelve brothers. ([[Home, Part II]])

===Other verses from the Sacred Scrolls===
*'''Adama:''' "Life here began out there." These are the first words of the Sacred Scrolls… ([[Miniseries]])
*During a [[Salt Line Ceremony]] on ''Galactica'': "Their enemies will divide them. Their colonies broken in the fiery chasm of space. Their shining days renounced by a multitude of dark sacrifices. Yet still they will remain always together" ([[Exodus, Part I]]).

===Sayings===
:'''Commander Adama:''' ''"The gods shall lift those who lift each other."'' ([[Home, Part II]])
:'''[[Cavil]]:''' ''"The gods lift up those who lift each other."'' ([[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I]])
:'''[[Duck]]:''' ''"The gods help those who help themselves."'' ([[Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance|The Resistance]])

These sayings are similar to the [[Wikipedia:Algernon Sydney|Algernon Sydney]] quote "God helps those who help themselves".

==Notes==

* The Cycle of Time is apparently a key component of Colonial theology. The notion of a circular progression of time (also known as [[Wikipedia:Eternal return|eternal return]] or eternal recurrence) is foreign to the ancient Greek religion of which Colonial religion are largely based, but it is a common theme in other religions. Some Hindus believe in an endless cycle of ages called [[Wikipedia:Yuga|Yugas]]. The ancient [[Wikipedia:Maya|Maya]] people, as well as the [[Wikipedia:Inca|Incas]] and [[Wikipedia:Aztec|Aztecs]] also believed in the circular nature of time. In philosophy, the [[Wikipedia:Stoics|Stoics]], a movement originating in ancient Greece, held the doctrine. In the nineteenth century, the doctrine appears in the writings of [[Wikipedia:Friedrich Nietzsche|Friedrich Nietzsche]] as a method of life-affirmation.

* The book of Pythia, which contains or is identical to the Pythian Prophecy, was written 1,600 years before the exodus of the thirteen tribes from Kobol, and yet it apparently contains a detailed narrative of the events of the Exodus, and continues to be interpreted as a source of prophecy 2,000 years after its prophecies have (apparently) already been fulfilled. We may thus interpret the entire text as a prophecy, since the events it describes can be firmly dated to a point well after its text was written.

==Analysis==

===Correspondences===
Assuming the events following the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]] are a repetition of the events predicted by Pythia, and which came to pass centuries later, we can make use of the prophecy by first constructing a coherent historical narrative from them and then looking for correspondences with the events of the series.

*The Lower Demon is [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|the Caprica copy of Sharon Valerii]]
*The Dying Leader is President [[Laura Roslin]]
*The "serpents numbering two and ten" are the [[Viper (RDM)|Viper]]s of Strike Force Two in the [[Battle for the Tylium Asteroid]].
*The fleet defended by the [[Battlestar (RDM)|Battlestar]] ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'' is the "Caravan of the Heavens".
*The "price in blood" has been paid by various people including [[Crashdown]] and [[Elosha]].

===The "One Exodus" Interpretation===
This interpretation assumes that the timeline is recurring on a scale of 1,600 to 2,000 years, and the exodus from Kobol is a direct parallel to the exodus from the Twelve Colonies. It also makes some correspondences in addition to those above:

*The "Blaze" identified by Sharon Valerii is an earlier parallel to the Cylon attack. The hostile force is the "jealous God", the Lord of Kobol that tried to elevate himself over the others.
*The Home of the Gods is [[Kobol]], and the people of Kobol are the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]], in a somewhat metaphorical sense.

The timeline would proceed thus:

#The people of Kobol lived in divine utopia with their gods.
#A hostile force - of which "the blaze" and the "lower demon" were parts - moves against the people of Kobol.
#The gods appoint a leader afflicted with a wasting disease to lead a "caravan of the heavens".
#The leader, with the aid of twelve "serpents", wins a perilous battle.
#The people make their way to the "home of the gods".
#Athena despairs and commits suicide.
#The leaders of the people are taken to the Tomb of Athena to be sacrificed to the remaining gods.
#The body of the people depart in a "[[galleon]]" for the colonies.
#Instructions are left to open the Tomb of Athena.
#Zeus warns against a return to Kobol.
#The twelve tribes settle on the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]]. The thirteenth tribe settles on [[Earth]].

=== The Origin of Mankind ===

:There are two main theories as to the origin of mankind:

==== Kobol as the birthplace of mankind ====

This theory interprets the Sacred Scrolls as literal truth. Humans evolved on Kobol and left the planet in two groups. One group (perhaps the larger) settled on the planets and developed the civilization of the Twelve Colonies; the other left for Earth.

According to some, the Thirteenth Tribe would then arrive on Earth some time in our relative past and influence cultures such as the ancient Greeks and Romans. This would require some form of parallel evolutionary development to conform to modern science. Another possibility is that the show might take place in an alternate reality, and Earth as we known it does not exist.

==== Earth as the true origin of the human species ====

This theory states, that the Sacred Scrolls can't be be taken literally, and are in fact wrong in places. Mankind originated on Earth, and at some point in our future leaves it to settle on Kobol. The Thirteenth tribe might have known or suspected that they were originally from Earth and returned there. The other tribes leave for what will later be the Twelve Colonies. Either at that time or even sooner, mankind's true origins are forgotten and people believe that they developed on Kobol; Earth becoming a myth.

With this interpretation, there would be three exoduses, each of which might have been caused by a global catastrophe, with the final one bringing humanity full circle, back to its roots. It could also begin to explain the many parallels in culture and technology between the Colonials and today's Earth.

===The Form of the Scrolls===

The Sacred Scrolls have been seen as an actual, ornate scroll (similar to a [[Wikipedia:Torah|torah]], as shown in the [[Miniseries]]), as well as a book (Both Adama and Roslin read what appear to be identically-created books in "[[Home, Part II]]").

The total volume of the Scrolls has not been revealed, so it is possible (albeit improbable) that the scroll that [[Elosha]] holds in the [[Miniseries]] as she swears in President Roslin and holds during the service for the dead may make up only a portion of the total texts, or key readings from the works. A shortened volume may not be different from the Roman Catholic Church's use of [[Wikipedia:Missal|missals]]: A specialized volume containing prayers and readings specific to a celebrant's use during [[temple]] ceremonies, Services for the Dead, weddings, [[dedication ceremony|dedication ceremonies]] and the like.

Much of the Scrolls appear to be handwritten. While the technology of the Twelve Colonies obviously support electronic printing and reproduction, it may be that the most authentic copies of the sacred texts are either authentic reproductions from a handwritten copy, or genuine handwritten copies. This practice may be for reasons of authenticity, custom, or aesthetics. The practice is similar to the work and purposes of the [[Wikipedia:Scribes|scribes]] before the invention of the printing press in real-Earth history. For comparison, an extreme example of the tradition of handwritten sacred texts in real-Earth history are the [[Wikipedia:Sefer Torah|sefer Torahs]].

===The Service of the Dead===

The final rites to the dead offered by [[Elosha]] at the end of the of the [[Miniseries]] are Sanskrit verses from the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. Roughly translated, the verse says, "Lead us from Falsehood to Truth, from Darkness to Light, from Death to Immortality."

==General Questions==

*Who were the Lords of Kobol? Caprica-Valerii does not deny their existence, and the Tomb of Athena strongly attests to her life and death, but she does not believe they were gods. Could they be human leaders that were raised to a divine status later?
*Which god was the "jealous god" that sought to be raised above the others? Is he the same person as the Cylons' one true [[god]]?
*What was the nature of the "[[Galleon]]?" Was it a large [[Sublight Propulsion|sublight]] colony ship? Did it have an [[FTL]] drive?
*If Roslin is now cured of cancer, can she still be the leader of the Pythian prophecy?
**Official sources suggested that Roslin's cancer cure in "[[Epiphanies]]" may not necessarily be a permanent matter, so the prophecy may still hold true.
*Is it possible that the dying leader may be referring to someone besides Roslin? It could be Admiral Adama as at the beginning of the Miniseries, he was a man who was "wasting away" before the Cylons attacked. He could be possibly another route for the writers to go through as having Adama not being able to enter the land that he and Roslin are leading the fleet to.
*In "[[The Eye of Jupiter]]", the [[Hybrid]] is looking directly at [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] while repeating the words "sins revealed... only to the chosen one", referring to. Plus, he did much of the work mapping out the location of the Lion's Head Nebula. Could this indicate that Baltar may be actually responsible for showing the path to Earth, thus fulfilling the role of "the leader"? Given his situation of being distrusted and hated by both Cylon and human, it would appear unlikely that he would survive to reach earth.
*Since the entire [[Number Three]] line has been [[Boxing|boxed]], could one or all of the Threes be considered "dying leaders"? Is it possible that they, and not Roslin, will be instrumental in leading the humans as well as the Cylons to Earth?

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Colonial]]
[[Category:Colonial Religion]]
[[Category:Colonial Religion (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]

{{featured article candidate previous}}

Baltar as Cylon speculation

2007-02-01T16:11:11Z

Miraba: /* "Torn" renews speculation */ being picky - technically, they may not be lost; collapsed one sentence

:''This extended speculation thread discusses the probability of [[Gaius Baltar]] as a [[Cylon agent]]. This article is a special extension from the [[Cylon agent speculation#Gaius Baltar?|Cylon agent speculation]] article.''

For '''[[Gaius Baltar]]''' to survive the destruction of Caprica was no small matter, especially considering he was in the wake a nuclear shock wave and that the body of Six that he knew was apparently destroyed in trying to protect him in the events of the [[Miniseries, Night 1]].

A nuclear blast's shock wave is substantial (not unlike that from a [[Wikipedia:Pyroclastic flow|pyroclastic cloud]]). The shock wave would contain rocks, glass, metal, and other large debris that would bludgeon, pierce and lacerate human tissue with ease and at terrific speeds (at maximum, 1200 KPH, or 745 MPH). Such a debris-filled shock wave would obliterate Baltar's home and easily annihilate Six's body, which at those speeds would provide essentially no protection to Baltar's. (For comparison, note that, despite his superior strength, the head of the first [[Leoben Conoy]] copy encountered was bludgeoned by Commander Adama with a flashlight, and many other Cylon agent copies have been shot or killed as easily as a human.) However, it has to be kept in mind that the blast wave had dissipated greatly by the time it had reached Baltar's house some 26 seconds after the detonation that almost blinded him, probably no more than hurricane force, a wind speed of 74 mph. There are testimonies from Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors, two Japanese cities that were struck with nuclear bombs at the end of World War II, being in buildings and even in trams quite close to the epicentre and coming out of the ordeal surprisingly unharmed save for a few scratches.

Even if Baltar survived momentarily from Six's protection, either the remains of his home would have collapsed over him, likely trapping him if not killing him, or he and Six's body would also be carried away by the shock wave for some distance. Could the Baltar on ''Galactica'' be now, in fact, a Cylon agent?

==The "Many Copies" Theory==
Cylon agents are designed to be archetypes of human psyche. Biologically, Cylon agents are not and have never been actual humans.

One notable question would be ''why'' Six has spent so much time talking to Baltar and then thrown herself in front of the blast if she'd intended for him to die? If Baltar was already a Cylon agent, his consciousness from that moment would be thrown into a waking duplicate, already disheveled and scraped, where Baltar would merely think he was blown clear to safety where he could run to escape attacks with other survivors. Also, since Baltar appeared to be key in many Cylon plans, they would want to ensure that Baltar would reach any remaining humans to spy for them, and having only one copy might risk the success of such plans. Further, it is the ''psyche'' of Baltar that the Cylons may treasure most; few others in the Colonies may have the level of intelligence, arrogance, and neurosis that Baltar has that could prove as easily exploitable. The guise of the great Baltar gives the Cylons a huge natural tactical advantage in that he is well known and allowed access to almost any critical battlestar location. Baltar's slick-as-oil personality aids him with better finesse and stronger charisma than any Cylon agent personality yet seen.

Later events in the series appear to discount this notion of an elaborate plan to save Baltar. In "[[Downloaded]]", the Cylons are unaware that Baltar had survived, having received this information from the resurrected [[Sharon Valerii]].

==The Baltar-as-Father Argument==

Six has stated her desire to have a child with Baltar. Cylon agent couplings have failed to result in offspring prior to that point ([[The Farm]]). If Baltar and Six were both Cylon agents, it is likely that offspring would either be impossible or at least exceptionally unlikely. This point gives evidence against the Baltar-as-Cylon theory, but Six has repeatedly made it clear that she considers the hybrid human-cylon baby that Sharon is carrying to be "our" (as she puts it) baby. "Our" may in fact be inclusive of all cylons, which may just include Baltar.

In "[[Home, Part II]]", the virtual Six indicates that Baltar's and Six's child will be born in the isolation cage built for the [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|''Galactica'' copy of Sharon Valerii]]. The reality turned out different: The Caprica version of Valerii, pregnant by [[Karl Agathon|Helo]], now occupies the cage by the end of that episode, and virtual Six indicates that it is in fact '''Valerii's''' child that will become Baltar's. This gives some weight to the Baltar-as-Cylon theory since Baltar becoming a father by surrogate circumvents the need for him to do so naturally. While Caprica-Valerii shows that a female Cylon agent could conceive, no information is yet available on whether male Cylon agents could sire a child with human females. However, earlier in the first season, in "[[33]]", Six asked Baltar if he wanted to procreate with her, and at this point she may have meant an actual child of Baltar's. "Home, Part II" occurred much later in the timeline, and it is possible that the Cylons and Number Six had to alter their plans during this time. Number Six did mention in "Home, Part II" that she didn't consider Sharon "worthy" of bearing one of "God's new children" (the Cylon agents). Perhaps Sharon was not originally planned to be the first mother of a hybrid baby at all, and Number Six was going to have a child with the (necessarily human) Baltar, but had to shift plans when Boomer became pregnant first.

With the actual consciousness of the Cylon known as [[Caprica-Six]] returned (now with a [[Cylon-Related Hallucinations|virtual ''Gaius Baltar'']] that haunts her), the credibilty of the virtual Six, and her connection to some elaborate Cylon plan for procreation with Baltar, is specious at best.

==Inside Baltar's Head==

Baltar's brain scan in "[[Home, Part II]]" confirms that the virtual Six that only Baltar can see is '''not''' an actual ''artificial'' device in his brain. This leaves a number of possibilities, of which the strongest are:

# Baltar has a device elsewhere in his body. We're not given information on whether ''all'' of Baltar's body was scanned, or just his head.
# A portion of Baltar's body ''is'' the "chip" but fashioned in a way by the Cylons that is medically indistinguishable from a regular body part and may also function normally (say, a pituitary gland)
# Baltar's body is artificial, with his personality (complete with neuroses) placed in a Cylon agent construct. While Baltar's psyche itself may not be that of a Cylon, the addition of the virtual Six component compliments the arrangement for the Cylon's purposes.

Possibility #3 is interesting in that, based on Baltar's own research on the Six copy known as [[Gina]], Baltar's personality and guilt would continue to plague him either in Cylon agent or human form. But, if Baltar were reconstructed as a Cylon, the virtual Six aids Baltar by being, in effect, the conscience and "guardian angel" she claims to be, keeping his neuroses and guilt over the genocide from driving him completely insane--for now.

The episode "[[Torn]]" introduces the Cylon ability known as [[projection]]. This ability allows a Cylon to visualize a pleasing environment that also makes it easier to make their way through a basestar's corridors. At this point, Baltar, recalling the many times where he and his virtual Six have enjoyed time at his home in a mannery similar to projection, begins to question his own nature.

==But Cylons aren't human clones==

As Cylons aren't copies of humans, this would suggest either of two possibilities for Baltar: first, that he survived the blast and escaped, or second, that Baltar was a Cylon all along, even on Caprica.

The idea of Baltar being originally a Cylon has problems, however. If Baltar were a Cylon, it would be redundant and unnecessary for Number Six to "choose him" for her mission (unless the Cylons preferred Baltar to remain a "sleeper" throughout his mission to give "plausible deniability" in his mind as well as allow him to do what his personality is likely to do). Furthermore, from a story perspective, the idea of Baltar being a Cylon very much goes against the idea of Baltar as a traitor betraying humanity to the Cylons—as well as the idea of Baltar's relationship with Six being a true human/Cylon pairing. It should be noted, however, that Ron D. Moore's "Gaius Baltar" differs significantly from the [[Baltar (TOS)|"Baltar" of the Original Series]]. The Baltar of the Original Series was a true turncoat with megalomaniacal tendencies; Gaius, on the other hand, is not power-hungry but is driven by a strong sense of self, albeit to the exclusion and ignorance of the needs of everyone else.

Gaius is often treated by Six as a human--ultimately the only human who will be allowed to survive by the Cylons. But the human models of Cylon also behave with classically human qualities (not all of them perfect or utopian) and seem to see each other in varying emotions (admiration and contempt are prevalent when Six speaks of the pregnant Caprica Valerii). So, at the least, Gaius is treated with no less respect than any other Cylon agent by his virtual Six. If we assume Gaius is indeed human, Six's interaction with Baltar (given the hostilities of the Cylons) borders on admiration. Although we can't necessarily use Six's emotions as a ''de facto'' gauge of Baltar's genuine humanity, it does lend to the mystery.

The storyline possibilities do change somewhat if Baltar has ''always'' been a Cylon. Note that Baltar has never spoken of his family or other friends (other than President [[Richard Adar|Adar]]), strongly suggesting Baltar has been a "loner." If Baltar's parentage (or offspring--he is rather promiscuous) cannot be confirmed (as has been done with Commander Adama, also on the list of suspects), then the laws of physics (nuclear shock wave damage to human tissue) as well as the laws of procreation (Cylons can't quite procreate as humans do) continue to leave open the possibility that Baltar is model of Cylon, however reduced the odds are now, based on Moore's new information.

==Events from the episode "Downloaded"==

The episode "[[Downloaded]]" contains revelations that reduced the possibility that Baltar is a Cylon. In dialogue with each other, numerous Cylon characters distinctly refer to Baltar as human. Although it is possible that they might keep the information from Baltar, the nature of the Cylon thought collective would seem to make no sense to keep it a secret to each other. In addition, this episode introduced the unique idea of a Number Six copy with a virtual ''Baltar'' in her head. Through Six, Baltar pushes for the Cylons to be more human; for example, letting [[Samuel Anders]] go free despite his destruction of a building and many other Cylon agents. If Baltar were a Cylon, the events in the episode would make little sense.

The events in "[[Torn]]" all but toss the revelations of "Downloaded" on its ear, as the series writers directly tackle the Baltar-is-Cylon question in a story arc in season three.

=="Torn" renews speculation==

The episode "[[Torn]]" meanwhile contains certain revelations about the nature of the Cylons and some possible hints about Baltar's nature. While guiding Baltar through the interior of the basestar, Caprica-Six reveals the Cylon process of "[[projection]]"; the Cylon's ability to alter their perceptions and create a simulated reality of their choosing. Baltar immediately notices how similar that seems to his own visions of Six and begins to question if he is a Cylon because he can project as well. The question still remains, if he possibly is a Cylon, why do the other Cylons think he is a human?

When Baltar questions why he has seen only seven humanoid agents, despite the point that twelve Cylon agents exist, Caprica-Six is unwilling to answer. Apparently the Cylons have blocked or have lost all knowledge of the these five remaining agents. A [[Number Three]] copy, obsessed with regaining the knowledge, commits suicide to see visions of the so called "[[final five]]," but cannot remember what they look like when she regains consciousness after downloading, despite attempts to sketch her interpretations of them in order to retain her memory of them ([[The Passage]]). This is one explanation why Baltar could be a Cylon and yet not be recognized by the known seven models.

When the Cylons learn of the [[Eye of Jupiter]], they attempt to negotiate for it with the Colonials at the [[algae planet]] the home of the mysterious [[Temple of Five]]. While the Colonials believe the Temple of Five was dedicated to five human priests, Three and Gaius Baltar wonder if the temple (and the Eye) are connected to the five unknown Cylons ([[The Eye of Jupiter]]).

==Baltar as an "Agent of God"==
Baltar's actions when forced by his virtual Six to repent and worship the Cylon version of [[God]] leaves several significant questions as to the nature of both the virtual Six and Baltar's nature.

In the episode, "[[The Hand of God]]", Baltar makes an educated guess at the specific target to be destroyed on the [[tylium]] refinery without knowing any significant data on the site. Baltar only receives encouragement from his virtual Six to trust in her belief. In "[[Six Degrees of Separation]]," viewers see a stricken and nearly-criminally exposed Baltar repent to the virtual Six just as Lt. Gaeta arrives to confirm his innocence. In the same episode, the virtual Six disappears in anger just as the [[Shelly Godfrey]] copy arrives (with a suggestion that the virtual Six ''knew'' (or summoned) the Godfrey model to arrive. The Godfrey model disappears just as the virtual Six returns as Baltar is repenting.

The episode "[[Downloaded]]" strongly suggests that the virtual copies of [[Caprica Six]] and Baltar that [[Cylon-Related Hallucinations|haunt their opposite interests]] seem to be psychological remnants of the pair's intensive emotional connection. But what if there is more to this than psychology? Episode events surrounding the [[Sacred Scrolls]] and Laura Roslin's quest for the [[Tomb of Athena]] confirm that the Colonials have a spiritual or prophetic element that has guided them to the data that now places them in a true general path to Earth. What forces are driving Baltar beyond his own egotism? What is the nature of the virtual Six and Baltar? Neither Baltar nor Caprica Six know why they appear, and both virtual beings appear to have knowledge beyond that of what the living being they haunt should know. If Baltar is being influenced by the Cylon God (or some cybernetic influence known by neither Cylon or Colonial), there suggests a new thread to the Baltar-as-Cylon speculation that goes beyond the mere creation of a Baltar model. However, in the [[Podcast:Downloaded|episode's podcast]], Ron Moore speaks of the virtual Baltar as simply a hallucination, while in other interviews and podcasts, Moore consistently states that the origin of the virtual Six is supposed to be deliberately vague.

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

User talk:Miraba

2007-02-01T16:00:58Z

Miraba: /* Standards and Conventions */

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== Standards and Conventions ==

Please have a look at [[BW:SAC|Standards and Conventions]]. We write nearly all information on characters and episode in present tense. There are also some other conventions like putting ship names in italics or just saying "Galactica" instead of "''the'' Galactica". --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 09:55, 1 February 2007 (CST)
:Ok. It will be a bit of time before I automatically switch out of my other wiki habits, but I'll try to remember. [[User:Miraba|Miraba]] 10:00, 1 February 2007 (CST)

Gaius Baltar

2007-02-01T14:58:53Z

Miraba: updated with info through Taking a Break

:''This page discusses the unwitting betrayer of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol in the [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Re-imagined Series]]. For information on the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]] character that intentionally betrays the [[The Twelve Colonies (TOS)|Twelve Colonies of Man]], see [[Baltar (TOS)]].''

{{Character Data
|photo= Season 3 Baltar.jpg
|colony= [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]]
|birthname= Gaius Baltar
|seen= Miniseries
|marital status= Single, in a relationship with [[D'Anna Biers]] and a [[Cylon-Related_Hallucinations#Baltar.27s_Internal_Six|hallucination of Number Six]]. Previously involved with [[Caprica-Six|the "real" Number Six]] and [[Gina]].
|role= Former President of [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|the Twelve Colonies]]
|actor= [[James Callis]]
}}

Dr. '''Gaius Baltar''' is a brilliant scientist. Elegantly dressed and aesthetically handsome, with the affected humility of the truly arrogant, Baltar is a deeply flawed person and almost pathologically narcissistic. Beneath his outstanding abilities lurks a dramatic weakness of character that leads humanity to disaster.

Baltar is no longer president of the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]]. He had succeeded President [[Laura Roslin]] in an election 380 days prior to the Cylons' discovery of [[New Caprica]] ([[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]). Now viewed as a traitor by the Colonials, he is left behind on [[New Caprica]] in the aftermath of the [[Battle of New Caprica]] ([[Exodus, Part II]]).

Before the Cylons left New Caprica, he was taken to a [[Basestar]] and kept prisoner. To prove to the Cylons that he was worth keeping alive, he led them to the [[Lion's Head Nebula]], where they encountered a virus infected beacon from the 13th Colony. [[Number Three]] tortured Baltar for information and subsequently entered into a relationship with him and Caprica-Six. It was while on the Basestar that he heard about the [[Final Five]] Cylons and began to wonder if he was a Cylon himself.

Seeking answers to his questions about his identity, Baltar traveled with Number Three and [[Cavil]] to the [[Algae planet]] to visit the [[Temple of Five]]. After killing Cavil and watching the death of Number Three, he was captured and returned to the Galactica ([[Rapture]]). He attempted suicide and was questioned by [[Laura Roslin|President Roslin]] and [[William Adama]] under the influence of an [[interrogation drug]] ([[Taking a Break From All Your Worries]]).

__TOC__

== Background ==

* Dr. Baltar was formerly a lead defense systems developer working for the [[Colonial Ministry of Defense]] and came to prominence as a computer technology designer, having won three [[Magnate Prize]]s.
* He networks with others well, and became personal friends with President [[Richard Adar]]. However, Baltar is extremely arrogant at times.
* Baltar becomes responsible for the design of the critical [[Command Navigation Program]] (CNP) used throughout the [[Colonial Fleet]], but he could not fix it's shortfalls and asked his assistant ([[Number Six]]) to fix almost half of the base code and when she wrote the code, she got it up to 95% efficiency and she put in back doors to allow the [[Cylons]] to "shut-down" space craft fitted with (CNP).
* Baltar's scientific prowess seems strongest in the medical and biological fields ([[Epiphanies]]). As a result of his lesser (although still advanced) computer programming skills, he seeks the help (and as a byproduct, the affections of) a [[Caprica Six|young woman]] to aid him with the CNP.
* Baltar's two-year affair with the mysterious woman-- even to the extent of using code she herself wrote to overcome shortfalls in his CNP -- allowed her unrestricted access to some of the most sensitive systems of the Colonial defenses.
*Baltar's involvement with his blonde assistant does not stop him from dalliances with other women during this time, right up to when his assistant confronts Baltar and a lover in bed.

==Character History==
* Baltar learns that his "corporate spy" lover is in fact a new type of Cylon -- a [[Cylon agent|Cylon in human form]], able to mimic human beings down to the smallest detail, who altered his CNP with [[backdoor]]s to subvert any CNP-equipped ship.
[[image:Mini-Baltar_Six.jpg|thumb|left|300px|[[Gaius Baltar]] and [[Caprica-Six|Number Six]] kissing in the [[Miniseries]]. (C. SciFi Channel)]]
*Appalled by the fact that his sexual folly has led to the virtual holocaust of humanity, Baltar is nevertheless determined not only to survive but also avoid having his unintended treachery revealed.
* Baltar is rescued from Caprica following the forced-landing of a Colonial [[Raptor]] -- at the cost of [[Karl Agathon|one of the crew staying behind]] ([[Miniseries]])
* Baltar is plagued by visions of Number Six that only he can see and hear. He cannot be sure whether this is a result of his own guilt at his actions or whether -- as she initially claims -- she is part of a chip that has been implanted in his brain<ref name="chip">The idea that Six is an actual chip in Baltar's head was dismissed by Dr. [[Cottle]]'s image scan of Baltar's head. See [[Gaius Baltar#Speculation: The Real Baltar?|the section on alternate reasons for Six's existence]] for more.</ref>.
*Baltar is put to work trying to devise a means of detecting these humanoid Cylons. He luckily exposes [[Aaron Doral]] as a Cylon agent ([[Miniseries]]), using little more than invented [[technobabble]] to convince [[Saul Tigh|Colonel Tigh]].
*Baltar eventually develops a genuine detector. This, together with his survival of a foiled attempt to expose him as a traitor ([[Six Degrees of Separation]]), firmly establishes his credentials within the Fleet's hierarchy.
*With this new-found trust, and despite his willingness to deliberately conceal vital information, such as [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|"Boomer" Valerii's]] true status as a [[Cylon agent]] ([[Flesh and Bone]]), Baltar enters the realm of political leadership, first as the Representative for [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]] on the [[Quorum of Twelve]], and then as the newly-elected Vice President of the Colonies ([[Colonial Day]]).
* The virtual Six continues to help and hinder Baltar, gradually drawing him to a point of near-open acceptance and participation in Cylon plans and activities ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). Whether by coincidence or design, Six manipulates Baltar through repeated threats of exposing his involvement with the destruction of the Colonies ("[[33]],", "[[Six Degrees of Separation]]"), while also appearing to aid him by giving information that [[The Hand of God (RDM)|appears insightful or inspired]] to help the Colonials.
[[image:Scattered-Baltar_Six.jpg|thumb|[[Gaius Baltar]] and [[Number Six]] seeing "the shape of things to come" in "[[Scattered]]". (C. Universal Studios)]]
*Baltar is subjected to a final revelation of his role with the Cylons (as virtual Six sees it) when "the future" is revealed to him on [[Kobol]], in the form of the first of "God's new generation of children" ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]).
[[Image:Baltarixvalleydarkness.jpg|Number Six showing Baltar the clearing filled with human bones, telling him they were from human sacrifices.|thumb]]
* While stranded on Kobol after a crash landing, Baltar's virtual Six warns him that the Colonial religion is a falsehood to cover up atrocities of their nature.
*On Kobol, Baltar shoots [[Crashdown]] in the back, killing him instantly, to save [[Cally]] from a practically suicidal and unnecessary attack on a Cylon missile battery.<ref>The act of killing Crashdown appears to have led to a dramatic change in Baltar's attitude toward hurting anyone directly. When Cally tries to blackmail him after they return from Kobol, Baltar is somewhat rough with her. When he visits Tyrol and Boomer in the brig, he does not hesitate to inject Tyrol with fatal drugs to blackmail Boomer into giving Cylon secrets. Baltar's humanitarian acts to the Six copy known as Gina also suggests Baltar's attitude in the care of Cylons is further changing. More and more, Baltar appears to prefer direct intervention and is less cowardly in his attitude.</ref>. The group are eventually rescued by the Raptors. Baltar tells the [[SAR]] team that Crashdown died a hero in the fight, and Chief Tyrol reluctantly corroborates his story ([[Fragged]]).
*Back on ''Galactica'', Cally blackmails Baltar into making it a priority to prove that Chief Tyrol is not a Cylon, as Col. Tigh suspects, or Cally would reveal the truth of Crashdown's death.
* Incensed at this ingratitude, Baltar gambles that the [[brig|jailed]] Boomer knows of the number of Cylons in the Fleet, and blackmails her into doing so, using Tyrol's life.
[[image:brainscan.jpg|Baltar recieves his brain scan from Dr. Cottle, as Six watches on in amusement.|thumb]]
*Questioning his own sanity after his virtual Six claims that he was generally crazy, Baltar has a brain scan performed in [[sickbay]] by Dr. [[Cottle]] which confirms no "foreign objects" are present in his head.
*Baltar is ready to believe that he is truly insane until he hears [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] and [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Caprica-Sharon]] discuss Valerii's pregnancy with a Cylon/Human hybrid child from his observation room. Six tells Baltar earlier that "their child" would be born in that cell, and this leads Baltar to realize that Six ''must'' be real because his subconscious couldn't have known that ([[Home, Part II]]).
*When [[D'anna Biers]] films a documentary about life aboard ''Galactica'', Six urges Baltar to give an interview to try to win people over to thinking that he should be running the Fleet. Baltar performs badly as he begins his interview but, fortunately, his interview is interrupted by a Cylon attack that Biers chooses to film instead ([[Final Cut]]).
*Baltar aids in trying to overcome the Cylon [[logic bomb]] which devastates ''Galactica's'' [[computers]]. Tigh's dislike of Baltar's involvement in this problem makes the scientist edgy enough to retort, "I'm sorry. Do you want to survive this one or not, Colonel?" ([[Flight of the Phoenix]])
[[image:baltargina.jpg|Baltar with Gina, the Cylon prisoner from ''Pegasus''.|thumb]]

*[[Helena Cain|Admiral Helena Cain]] requests that Baltar examine ''Pegasus' '' own Cylon prisoner to see what information he could glean from it. Baltar is horrified to discover the Cylon was a terribly abused and tortured copy of Number Six named "[[Gina]]". Baltar vows to help her and begins by having her restraints removed and bringing food to her ([[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]).
*Over the course of his examination of Gina, he uncovers both her wish to die and the secret of the Cylon [[Resurrection Ship]]. He passes this information to Adama and Admiral Cain, who develop an [[Attack on the Resurrection Ship|operation to destroy it]] ([[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]).
*Baltar continues to spend time with Gina, eventually helping her escape from the brig. He tells Gina that he can hide her, and also that he loves her. Gina goes on to kill Cain and escapes from ''Pegasus'' through unexplained means([[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]).

*To many, Dr. Baltar appears to exhibit more odd behavior than what may be considered the expected eccentricity of a genius. Crewmembers on ''Galactica'' find him mumbling with himself or discovering him in places they do not expect, such as aboard battlestar ''Pegasus'' to see its new commander, [[Jack Fisk]].
*Torn between the "flesh and blood" copy of the [[Number Six]] copy, Gina, the demands of his internal Number Six, and his continuing attempt to cover his own multiple duplicities, Baltar becomes more aggressive and confrontational. With President Roslin's advice to abort the Cylon-hybrid fetus of the incarcerated [[Sharon Valerii]], Baltar reacts to defend it as if it were his own child. Admiral [[William Adama|Adama]] admonishes Baltar, telling him that, on Roslin's death, he will become President and that he needs to behave like one.
*Desperate to save Valerii's fetus, Baltar reviews Dr. [[Cottle]]'s medical tests and performs experiments of his own, learning a striking revelation: the blood of the fetus can destroy cancer and repair its damage to human tissue.<ref name="stemcells">According to the writer's original planning, this was due to the presence of Cylon [[Wikipedia:stem cells|stem cells]] in the fetus's blood. This explanation was absent in the final shooting script.</ref> With Admiral Adama's permission, he injects the dying President Roslin with some of the fetal blood, which works miraculously, saving both Roslin and Valerii's child by circumstance.
*After saving Roslin's life, Baltar reads the letter given to him in the event of her death, in which she says he lacks compassion and asks him to open his heart if he becomes president. Furious, and goaded on by Six who tells him that Roslin doesn't trust him, Baltar delivers the nuclear warhead used for the Cylon detector to Gina and her militant [[Demand Peace]] movement. ([[Epiphanies]]).
*Baltar keeps his [[fumarello]] supply fresh by trading in the [[black market (organization)|black market]] through new ''Pegasus'' Commander [[Jack Fisk]]. Not realizing that Fisk had been murdered, the scientist visits Fisk's quarters, only to meet Captain [[Lee Adama]], who has starten an investigation on the black market and Fisk's murder. Baltar truthfully tells Adama that he knows nothing of Fisk's murder, but Adama correctly deduces Baltar's association with Fisk and the black market since the "Caprica Imperials" fumarellos are a known favorite of Baltar's.
*Baltar is also unaware that his involvement in the destruction of the Colonies is partially revealed. In ''Galactica's'' sickbay, Laura Roslin recalled those final days on Caprica, and remembered Baltar in the company of a woman on Caprica who she knows now is a [[Number Six|Cylon agent]].
*Baltar is summoned to ''[[Colonial One]]'', where Roslin offers him, without explanation, the chance to resign from the Vice Presidency to return to his studies. Baltar becomes immediately suspicious (and frightened) in Roslin's succinct and direct vote of no-confidence in her vice president. Realizing that the Vice Presidency now has greater importance (if nothing other than to save his own hide), Baltar turns down what Roslin calls a "one-time offer" to save himself as he saved Roslin on her deathbed ([[Black Market]]).

[[Image:Baltarlaydownburdensii.jpg|Gaius Baltar as President, from ''Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II''.|thumb]]
*Dr. Baltar decides (with no small influence from Six and [[Tom Zarek]]) to run for President in the coming Colonial Elections ([[The Captain's Hand]]).

*Roslin is declared the winner of the elections, but is caught by Adama for manipulating the tally. Baltar is declared president. While Baltar demands an investigation initially, he backs down under Adama's glare.
*President Baltar orders the Fleet to return to the marginally habitable planet [[New Caprica]] seconds after his inauguration. Baltar shows incompetency as president a few days later, when he orders the colonization of the planet. In an attempt to cover up his role in giving Gina the nuclear warhead used to detonate ''[[Cloud Nine]]'', Baltar orders Adama to stop any further investigation into the destruction of ''[[Cloud Nine]]'' and two other ships (he correctly guesses that the conflagration was started by [[Gina]]).
*During his first year in office, Baltar indulges in women, wallows in the incompentence of his administration, and is callously unsympathetic to the supply and resource problems plaguing the new colony, whose inhabitants continue to live in tents. The public, including the labor union lead by [[Galen Tyrol]], is notably displeased with his administration.
*380 days after Baltar's ascention to the presidency, a Cylon armada finds the planet after discovering the radiation cloud left by the destruction of ''[[Cloud 9]]''. This event heralds the return of the dormant virtual Number Six noting to him that "judgement day" has come at last. Copies of a [[Number Five|Five]], [[Caprica-Six]] and [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Boomer]] meet with Baltar and his cabinet, recommending surrender; it is here that he is reunited with the Six he fell in love with on [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]] ([[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]).
*After four months of Cylon occupation, the citizens of New Caprica despise their president. Baltar fears for his life and turns down public appearances, such as the [[New Caprica Police]] Academy graduation, to avoid assassination attempts ([[Occupation]]). It is even commented by the Cylon occupiers while discussing the notion of public executions to discourage uprising that publicly executing Baltar would be counterproductive, since the populace would cheer his death.
*Baltar is finally deposed after Admiral Adama [[Battle of New Caprica|organizes and executes a daring rescue mission]] of New Caprica's occupied inhabitants. During the exodus of those willing to leave New Caprica, Baltar happens across the dead body of [[Maya]] and the Cylon hybrid [[Hera]], and apparently stays behind with the Cylons ([[Exodus, Part II]]).
*Once on board the Basestar, Baltar must prove his worth to the Cylons or be disposed of. He leads them to the [[Lion's Head Nebula]], where they recover an ancient beacon. The beacon is also a plague carrier. To further prove his worth, Baltar takes on a mission to the dying Basestar.
*Baltar is tortured by a Number Three for information on the viral plague. Misinterpreting his screams of love for the Internal Six as feeling for her, Number Three enters into a sexual relationship with Baltar and possibly Caprica-Six as well and starts to share a bed with both of them.

==Notes==
*There is speculation that Gaius Baltar could be a Cylon agent himself. See the [[Baltar as Cylon speculation]] article for the pros and cons of this theory.
*[[Ron Moore]] has stated in several episode commentaries that when the role of "Gaius Baltar" was originally written in the script, the writing team never intended Baltar to have a "funny" aspect, but James Callis himself decided to play up that aspect of the frantic predicaments Baltar finds himself in during the [[Miniseries]] (which although the writers never anticipated, they enjoyed, and started writing him with that in mind).
*According to "[[Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion]]", [[Edward James Olmos]] and [[Mary McDonnell]] were hand-picked for their roles, while the rest of the characters were cast by audition: among the actors in the running for the role of "Gaius Baltar" was ''Two and a Half Men''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[Wikipedia:Jon Cryer|Jon Cryer]], though the role ultimately went to [[James Callis]]. Callis was suggested by Angela Mancuso, who ran the studio at the time, who knew him from the ''Helen of Troy'' miniseries, in which he played Menelaus.

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

{{start box}}
{{succession box|before=''(unknown)''|title=Caprican delegate to the [[Quorum of Twelve]]|after=''(unknown)''}}
{{succession box|before=''(unknown)''|title=[[Government of the Twelve Colonies|Vice-President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol]]|after=[[Tom Zarek]]|}}
{{succession box|before=[[Laura Roslin]]|title=[[Government of the Twelve Colonies|President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol]]|after=[[Tom Zarek]]|}}
{{succession box|before=''unknown''|title=Chief Scientific Advisor aboard battlestar [[Galactica]]|after=''[[Felix Gaeta]]}}
{{end box}}

{{Characters}}

[[Category:A to Z|Baltar, Gaius]]
[[Category:Characters|Baltar, Gaius]]
[[Category:Characters (RDM)|Baltar, Gaius]]
[[Category:People from Caprica|Baltar, Gaius]]
[[Category:RDM|Baltar, Gaius]]

{{featured article}}

Taking a Break From All Your Worries

2007-02-01T14:41:40Z

Miraba: /* Bonus Scene */ Note that we don't know Roslin's actual thoughts, just what she said.

{{Episode Data
| title= Taking a Break From All Your Worries
| image=3x13-Taking a Break From All Your Worries-Apollo.jpg
| season= 3
| episode= 13
| guests=
| writer= [[Michael Taylor]]
| story=
| director= [[Edward James Olmos]]
| production= 313
| rating=
| US airdate= 2007-01-28
| UK airdate=
| dvd=
| population= 41,403
| prev= [[Rapture]]
| next= [[The Woman King]]
| itunes= http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=VWbyALbmqZY&offerid=78941&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fphobos.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewTVSeason%253Fi%253D213996261%2526id%253D200852806%2526s%253D143441%2526partnerId%253D30
}}

== Overview ==
: ''Baltar is rigorously questioned about his past and what the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]] know about [[Earth]]. Meanwhile, both [[Kara Thrace]] and [[Lee Adama]] struggle with their feelings for one another and are forced to make a decision about their respective marriages.''

== Summary ==
===Teaser===

*The episode begins as the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] moves past a small planetoid. Viewers hear a lullaby being sung as the shot moves past [[duty locker]]s as people sleep, to show [[Gaius Baltar]], in a [[brig]] on ''[[Galactica]]'', tearing strips of fabric.
*To pressure him into revealing any secrets or tactical knowledge of the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]], Baltar has been forced to stay awake. In turn, the prisoner has gone on a hunger strike, and believes that the Fleet's leadership will eventually kill him outright, rather than give him a fair trial.
*Baltar's virtual [[Number Six]] appears to question his actions, but only briefly. She soon begins to "aid" him in his task; he ties the fabric strips to form a hangman's noose.
*Elsewhere, Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta]] cannot sleep. He dresses and heads for the brig. A [[marine]] on guard stops his advance.
*The virtual Six "pushes" Baltar's cot, and the man begins to choke on his noose. Six tells him to take slow, deep breaths.
*Baltar appears to awake in a [[Cylon rebirthing tank]], surrounded by three Six copies. He shouts in celebration, believing that, at least, he knows his true nature as a Cylon.
*The Sixes' gentle touches suddenly become harsh scratches and lacerations. A Six tells Baltar that he is not, in fact, a Cylon, but a human about to die. All three push Baltar into the tank's gelatinous mixture. One Six enters the pool, lying above him and kisses him as he is held to drown.
*Baltar's mind was likely suffering from oxygen deprivation, as his marine guard cuts him down and successfully resuscitates him. Gaeta leaves to find Dr. [[Cottle]].

===Act 1===
*[[William Adama|Admiral Adama]], [[Saul Tigh]], Dr. Cottle, and President [[Laura Roslin|Roslin]] sit in Adama's quarters, discussing what to do to get information from Baltar. Acknowledging that his hunger strike and suicide attempt have soured his mood, Roslin suggests an alternative plan.
*When Lieutenant Gaeta is asked why he was at Baltar's cell so early in the morning, he tells the president that he couldn't sleep and wanted to speak with the former president.
*Elsewhere, [[Lee Adama]] treats his friend [[Galen Tyrol]] to a little surprise: A number of crew have created a bar, probably on the starboard [[hangar deck]], complete with a [[Pyramid (RDM)|Pyramid arcade game]], an old [[Viper Mark II]] hanging above for atmosphere. "[[Joe's bar]]" is filled with many people who have managed to put aside the troubles of the day. Tyrol and Adama have a drink as they discuss their marital problems; Tyrol and his wife [[Cally Tyrol|Cally]] have had an argument that has apparently left him "in the doghouse". Adama is reluctant to interact with his wife, [[Anastasia Dualla]], as his angst over his love of [[Kara Thrace]] continues to fight with him.
*Major Adama returns to his quarters, quite drunk, to find Dualla still awake and doing some work, apparently drinking some liquor or type of wine. She tries to confirm if they are still going to have dinner later that day as Adama dozes off, leaving Dualla disappointed.
*A similar conversation is occurring at Kara Thrace's bunk, as [[Samuel Anders]] resists an attempt by Thrace to get more intimate. Thrace darkly pokes fun at herself, calling herself a "two-timing bitch" of a spouse. Anders does not return Thrace's darkness, but asks if she is in love with Lee Adama.
*When Thrace hesitates to answer, Anders tells her to explore what she feels, believing that Thrace's [[Flesh and Bone|alleged destiny]] and her feelings about Anders may still be significant. The former resistance fighter leaves Thrace to herself in her bunk.
*President Roslin appears in Baltar's cell. Mirroring a similar event on [[New Caprica]] months before where Roslin is [[New Caprica Detention Center|incarcerated by the Cylons]] and Baltar arrives to speak with her, Roslin hands him his glasses. Baltar, realizing the reference, takes his glasses and puts them on.
*After lighting a cigar for him, she sits. Baltar complains of having been force-fed by Cottle's staff, to which Roslin is non-plussed. She asks him questions about his involvement with the Cylons. She questions him using [[Epiphanies|her personal knowledge]] of his interaction with a [[Caprica Six|known Cylon model]] before the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|Cylon attack]], asking if he allowed a Cylon access to the [[Colonial Defense Mainframe]].
*Baltar equivocates at first, then stands his ground about his involvement, calling Roslin's accusations a "rehash" of the same lies as she did prior to the [[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II|presidential election]].
*Roslin shakes her head, and escalates her questioning. She shows Baltar a series of pictures of the dead on New Caprica who were killed by Cylons for supposed insurrection. Uncharacteristically, Roslin's voice rises to a shrill, yelling at Baltar as she flings each of the pictures. She yells for Saul Tigh to have Baltar taken from his cell and carried to the airlock.
*Baltar shouts his innocence as the marines move him through the [[memorial hallway]] as Roslin tries to haunt the former president with faces of the Colonies' dead. Baltar stops his "executioners" to show one photo of a man he knew. After telling them that he would not do anything to harm his friend, his wife and Baltar's godchildren, the marines cart the scientist away.

===Act 2===
*The Fleet's leadership convene once more. Roslin's plan failed; Baltar called the bluff about being thrown in an airlock, and the marines have returned him back to his cell.
*When Roslin suggests a different, less aggressive approach, Admiral Adama suggests the use of a special [[Interrogation drug|hallucinogenic drug]] used experimentally by the [[Colonial Fleet (RDM)|Colonial military]]. Roslin's expression is a mixture of awe and surprise, but asks if ''Galactica'' has this drug onboard.
*Lee Adama and Dualla have an argument about Kara Thrace and the future of their marriage. Dualla says that she married Adama because she loved him, choosing to have him for as long as he or Kara Thrace would let him. She resigns herself to her marriage's failure and tells Adama that she will not stand in his way if he were to choose Thrace over her.
*Kara Thrace and Lee Adama meet privately. When Thrace asks Adama if he loves her and would be with her if she were to leave Anders, Adama equivocates, remembering Thrace's fickleness [[Unfinished Business|after he declared his love a year before]]. Thrace leaves him to think about the situation.
*Major Adama returns to the bar and drinks more, toying with his wedding band. He asks Chief Tyrol if he ever thought about what his future with [[Sharon Valerii|Boomer]] would have been like, or had any regrets. With a quick drink, Tyrol replies in the negative.
*Major Adama stumbles back to his quarters, losing his wedding band somewhere in ''Galactica's'' corridors.
*Baltar is strapped down in [[sickbay]] as Roslin authorizes the administering of the interrogation drug to Baltar. Adama warns not to make any loud noises and orders additional restraints on the prisoner's head.

===Act 3===
*Baltar finds himself floating in a nondescript dark body of water, with only a dim light shining from above.
*Adama and Roslin talk to Baltar in his hallucinogenic haze, asking him questions about the Cylon's knowledge of the whereabouts of [[Earth]], and his mission at the [[Temple of Five]].
*Baltar, genuinely believing that his life is in peril, tells how he believed that he was one of the [[final five]] Cylons and was seeking an answer.
*Medic [[Layne Ishay]] accidentally knocks over some equipment, creating a loud clang, which interrupts Baltar's interrogation momentarily.
*Adama warns Baltar to cooperate so that he would be able to "get out", then turns off the flashlight he was using to create the lighting effect in Baltar's illusory world.
*Baltar begins to talk about [[Caprica Six]] and her involvement, as a vision of Six appears and disappears next to him in the water.
*Baltar vision shifts to him in a Cylon rebirthing tank again, this time, however, he is surrounded by dark figures that are later revealed as the Colonial dead from the Colonies. As he tries to explain himself, the figures push him into the water, and a young girl hovers over him as he continues the dark descent.
*As Baltar sinks in his vision, in the real world, Baltar's vital signs begin to drop as well. Dr. Cottle calls off further interrogation and proceeds to revive Baltar.

===Act 4===
*A final attempt to gain information from Baltar uses Lieutenant Gaeta to lure Baltar into a sense of comfort by aiding the Colonial officer in his calculations to Earth, hoping that he will leak any information on Cylon tactics or technology.
*Initially, Baltar acquiesces and begins to correct Gaeta's work until he senses Gaeta's awareness of something else in the cell.
*Baltar realizes that his cell has a surveillance camera, and becomes belligerent, which begins to anger Gaeta.
*Realizing that Gaeta's anger could make things much worse, the Fleet leadership leaves their observation room to interdict Gaeta.
*Meanwhile, Baltar whispers something to Gaeta (See [[Taking a Break From All Your Worries#Notes|podcast information]]) who then uses the pen he brought into the room to stab Baltar in the neck.
*Adama manages to subdue Gaeta, and Cottle looks over Baltar, whose injuries are not serious.
*Meanwhile, Lee Adama and his wife meet in Joe's Bar.
*Adama, having since found his lost wedding ring, confesses that he has loved Dualla and how dedicated she has been to him, never realizing how much he needed her affection.
*As the two embrace, Adama tries to avoid looking across the bar at Kara Thrace and Anders. Thrace returns the glance before Adama breaks it off.
*Laura Roslin and Admiral Adama rest in the admiral's quarters, with Roslin reclining on a bunk and Adama sitting at the foot of the bunk. They debate, with the failure of both measures of interrogation on Baltar, what to do with him.
*When Adama suggests that there is still an opportunity to make Baltar "disappear," Roslin touches Adama's arm tenderly but briefly, reminding him of his humanity as she responds that they couldn't do that to him.
*Roslin suggests that one option is still on the table: Give Baltar a trial.

===Bonus Scene===
Part of a bonus scene was shown after the original airing of this episode on SciFi Channel and the full scene was made available on SciFi's website.

*Roslin talks with Caprica-Six after overseeing her transfer to a cell on ''Galactica'', saying that all the Colonials have surmised so far is that Baltar was not involved in the initial Cylon attack.
*Roslin tries to gain information by promising Six that she won't be executed, but Six counters that Roslin made the same promise to [[Leoben]] and broke it ([[Flesh and Bone]]).
*Roslin asks for Six's name and is given it ("Caprica"), and says that she recognizes the authenticity of Caprica-Six's feelings for Baltar.
*Caprica-Six wonders if the Colonials' justice system has withered away along with their conscience and adamantly states that she will not reveal any information unless she is assured that Baltar will receive a fair trial. If he does, she will be willing to be the primary witness and share all the information that Roslin wants to know.

== Questions ==
*Was something else at work behind Gaeta's interestingly-timed bout of insomnia?
* What is the nature of the Tyrols' marital problems?
* What is going to happen to Caprica-Six aboard ''Galactica''?
* What will the civilian reaction be once it is known that Baltar was captured?
* Will Apollo and Starbuck keep their vows to their respective spouses from this point on, or will there be another intimate encounter between the two?
* Why did ''Galatica'' have the experimental [[interrogation drug]] that Adama spoke about?
* Given shortages throughout the Fleet, where does the Fleet get its alcohol supplies?

== Analysis ==
* Baltar, despite extreme stress, various forms of torture, and attempted suicide, maintains a high degree of self-preservation. Even at moments when it appears he is about to confess all of his wrongs, knowing that his life might be in danger, he finds a way to circumvent the questions and redirect them to someone or something else that makes him look to be the victim - this is classic behavior of a sociopathic personality.
* Adama, during the interrogation session, seems to know more about the capabilities of the [[interrogation drug|hallucinogen]] than it initially appears when he mentions the drug to Roslin. He appears to have done this type of interrogation before.
* The episode draws connections between Baltar and Roslin and their respective roles, especially in how both have now switched places. Roslin almost word for word quotes Baltar when it comes down to the best interrogation method: using a stick versus a carrot. The same type of analogy Baltar used with Admiral Cain in "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]". Moreover there is a clear callback to Baltar visiting Roslin in her cell and handing her her glasses during the occupation of New Caprica.
* This episode displays the darker side of Adama as throughout the episode he is consistently the one to display a bitter streak towards Baltar. He cites many different options and choices that one would consider to be contradictory to his own stances of how humans were to treat each other before. For example, he directly opposed President Zarek when it became known that people were "disappearing" without given a trial ([[Collaborators]]). Yet, with Baltar, Adama suggests to Roslin that it is not too late to make him disappear.
* The hallucinogen appears to affect how an individual's brain interprets sound. Adama ordered that complete silence be kept as he and Roslin are the only ones allowed to speak to Baltar. However, once Layne Ishay is startled by Baltar's screams, she accidentally knocks over some equipment. The clanging and noise caused the hallucinated water to become turmoil and reach the brink of drowning Baltar.
* A substantial amount of time seems to have passed between "[[Rapture]]" and this episode as Kara Thrace's hands have recovered from the burns she received on the algae planet. Baltar's appearance has also more facial hair than he had when he was captured inside the Temple of Five.
*Roslin probably connects Caprica-Six's name to Baltar saying it during his interrogation, thus deepening her belief that he is guilty.
* Judging by the reaction of the patrons, the liquor being served is most likely recently manufactured moonshine of dubious quality. Whatever passes for "the good stuff" in the bar is likely whatever hasn't been appropriated by high ranking personnel and may have been made on [[New Caprica]].
*In "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I]]", Lee Adama promises the pilots to build them a bar should a habitable planet be found. However, given the time that has passed, this is probably unrelated to Joe's bar.

== Notes ==
*This is the second episode of the series to be directed by [[Edward James Olmos]]. The first was Season 1's "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]".
*With 30 characters, this episode has the longest title of any Re-imagined Series episode to date.
*The title is a partial quote from "Where Everybody Knows Your Name," the theme song to the television program ''[[Wikipedia:Cheers|Cheers]]'' written by [[Wikipedia:Gary Portnoy|Gary Portnoy]] & Judy Hart Angelo. — "Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got./''Taking a break from all your worries'', sure would help a lot."
*Information from the podcast:
**The episode was originally meant to be far lighter in tone and revolve mainly around Joe's bar, showing how people build it and fight to keep it. This explains the somewhat paradoxical episode title, given the dark tone it ultimately took.
**The bar was originally called the "Why not?" in early drafts of the script.<ref>{{cite_rdm_podcast|episode=Taking a Break From All Your Worries|act=1|id=whynot|timestamp=06:51|totalrunning=45:28}}</ref>
**The extra in the first bar scene in a wheelchair was a visitor (and a huge fan) on the set who the cast and crew took a liking to and adopted into the show for the couple of days that he was there.<ref>{{cite_rdm_podcast|episode=Taking a Break From All Your Worries|act=1|id=wheelchairextra|timestamp=07:07|totalrunning=45:28}}</ref>
**There was a larger subplot for [[Layne Ishay]] in which she can't stand Baltar being tortured anymore and leaks his presence and treatment to the Fleet. A remnant of this is present in her knocking over the instrument tray.
**There were discussions about a subplot that involved Baltar being guilty of an incident before the Cylon occupation in which many, already discriminated, Saggitarons were killed. Ron Moore relates that Baltar threatens to implicate Gaeta in that (the scene where Baltar whispers something inaudible in Gaeta's ear) and that this is what makes Gaeta snap and stab Baltar.
**[[Joe's bar]] will be featured again in future episodes.
*The songs heard as background music in the bar are original compositions. One is titled "Lord Knows I Would", composed and performed by [http://www.rayayarbrough.com/ Raya Yarbrough] - who is the voice of most vocals on the BSG soundtrack - and available on one her albums. "All That Remains" is also performed by her, but composed by [[Bear McCreary]] and is part of his [http://bearmccreary.com/html/blog/blog018.htm ''Rest Stop'' soundtrack].
*The secret experiments with hallucinogenic drugs for purposes of interrogation parallels the [[w:Project MKULTRA|CIA's MK ULTRA]] program from the 1960's and 1970's. In that program, [[w:LSD|LSD]] was investigated as a possible "truth serum".

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

* ''[[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]] and [[Lee Adama|Lee]] talking in Joe's Bar:''
: '''Lee''': You and [[Cally Henderson|Cally]] had a fight?
: '''Tyrol''': Didn't you hear us? We figured we could've sold tickets.
: (pause)
: '''Tyrol''': To marriage. Why we build bars.

* ''Roslin interrogating Baltar:''
: '''Roslin''': Just wondered if you recognized even one of these faces? Did any image get through to you on the rare occasion when you ventured out from behind your sandbags and your razor wires to see what was happening to your people?! YOUR PEOPLE! I need to know. NOW!

== Official Statements ==

== Guest Stars ==

*[[Kerry Norton]] as [[Layne Ishay]]

== References ==

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

{{Episode list (RDM season 3)}}

[[Category:Episodes written by Michael Taylor]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Edward James Olmos]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Rapture

2007-01-24T15:50:09Z

Miraba: /* Questions */ clarified, attempted to remove typos/errors

{{Episode Data
| title= Rapture
| image= Final Five.jpg
| season= 3
| episode= 12
| guests=
| writer= [[Bradley Thompson]] <br/> [[David Weddle]]
| story=
| director= [[Michael Rymer]]
| production=
| rating=
| US airdate= 2007-01-21
| UK airdate=
| dvd=
| population= 41,401
| prev= [[The Eye of Jupiter]]
| next= [[Taking a Break From All Your Worries]]
| itunes= http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=VWbyALbmqZY&offerid=78941&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fphobos.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewTVSeason%253Fi%253D212127611%2526id%253D200852806%2526s%253D143441%2526partnerId%253D30
}}

== Overview ==

: ''With an impending supernova, the Colonials and Cylons see their time running out as they endeavor to unlock the secrets of the [[Eye of Jupiter]]. Meanwhile, [[Number Three]] executes her plan to know the faces of the [[Final Five]] and [[Sharon Agathon]] tries to get [[Hera|her daughter]] back.''

== Summary ==

===Act 1===
*Others in ''[[Galactica|Galactica's]]'' [[CIC]], particularly Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] and President [[Laura Roslin|Roslin]], become increasingly agitated and shocked as Admiral [[William Adama|Adama]] continues issuing orders to arm and launch several nuclear missiles at the [[Temple of Five]]. He instructs Colonel Tigh to enter his launch codes as Adama does the same on his command console.
*In the [[The Eye of Jupiter|previous episode]], the Colonials warned that they would destroy the continent where the ancient [[temple]] resided if the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]] attempted any landing there. Six [[Heavy Raider]]s are now heading to the planet, and Adama is intent on showing the Cylons that he is not bluffing.
*The Cylon [[basestar command]] detect Adama's continued missile preparations and become visibly worried that Adama will indeed destroy the Temple. Each of the available models immediately agree to a recall, except for the [[Number Three]] models, who defies the command group's consensus, and refuses to recall the last Heavy Raider.
*''Galactica'' notices the recall of all but one of the Heavy Raiders, which gives Admiral Adama a moment to reconsider. After several tense moments, Adama rescinds the launch order and orders his battlestar to stand down.
*The Cylons are relieved as well, but after the Three in the command room leaves in satisfaction, the others realize that the Cylon, a race predicated on consensus and not defiance or distinctive personality clashes, have a serious problem. A [[Cavil]] voices that the Threes are out of control, and that a decision regarding their actions must be made, sooner or later.
*In their quarters, [[Helo]] is angry, saddened and unable to convince his wife, [[Sharon Agathon]] of another course of action by way of Raptor or other transport in her desire to rescue their daughter, [[Hera Agathon|Hera]], in the hands of the Cylons. In the end, both embracing, Helo shoots his wife to force her consciousness to [[Resurrection (RDM)|download and resurrect]] on the Cylon [[Resurrection Ship]] to attempt the rescue.

===Act 2===
*On the [[algae planet]], [[Lee Adama]]'s resistance movement is preparing. However, the Major and [[Samuel Anders]] are still fighting over saving [[Kara Thrace]] after her [[Raptor]] crashed from a Cylon missile attack. When Anders angrily proposes that he will shoot Major Adama if Thrace is dead, Adama responds that he would oblige Anders if Starbuck was killed, relating his feelings about the downed pilot. Their impasse ends when Adama calls his wife, Lieutenant [[Anastasia Dualla|Dualla]], and orders her to attempt reconnaissance and rescue of Starbuck.
*[[Galen Tyrol]] and his team continue deciphering the writings inside the Temple of Five for discerning the location of the [[Eye of Jupiter]], believed to be an important artifact that gives further data on the road to [[Earth]]. Their investigation does not go well, although Chief Tyrol believes he is close to understanding the writings.
*Admiral Adama and President Roslin meet with Helo and question his wisdom in the Agathon's rescue attempt of their daughter. Adama is concerned that the Cylons may gain critical tactical data from their defected former [[Cylon agent]]. When Roslin criticizes Helo, he angrily reminds her that, if she [[Downloaded|didn't steal their daughter]], the Agathons wouldn't be in this situation.
*Dualla and another civilian make their way to Starbuck's location, but are soon attacked by a Cylon sniper. After her partner is killed, Dualla scrambles, weaponless, along an alternate path to Starbuck's location.
*Starbuck has survived her crash relatively unhurt except for severe burns on her hands. The pain is so severe that Thrace hasn't sufficient dexterity to inject herself with a [[morpha]] shot for the pain. When she hears a noise outside, however, Starbuck suppresses the pain long enough to raise her sidearm at her Raptor's open door.
*Thankfully, Dualla appears at the entrance. After administering a morpha shot, Dualla proceeds to assess the Raptors damage. She tells Thrace that she was ordered to "bring Starbuck to Apollo," describing less of the actual rescue and more of her pain over the "secret" affair between Adama and Thrace.
*Sharon Agathon downloads successfully. Through fortune or design, it is [[Caprica-Six]] who greets her at the [[Cylon rebirthing tank]]. Agathon is truthful in her intentions, despite Six's concerns. In turn, Six tells Agathon that the child is ill and is worsening, to the confusion of the Cylons.
*On the planet, Major Adama's team have set a bomb kill zone in a ravine where any Cylon forces must walk through.

===Act 3===
*When the [[Cylon Centurion|Centurions]] spot the trap, [[Jean Barolay]] is forced to detonate it before the Cylons completely enter the blast radius.
*The explosion removes the lower torso of one Cylon, but it, along with the two undamaged units, return fire. The Colonials destroy the legless Cylon, but lose one of their own in the firefight. Having lost their only chance to hold back a Cylon advance, they begin a retreat to the highlands of the planet to await rescue.
*Major Adama calls Chief Tyrol and orders the immediately evacuation and destruction of the Temple of Five lest it fall in Cylon control. A reluctant Tyrol orders his team out and soon follows, with a detonation cord reel to the [[G-4]] packs in his hands.
*Dualla continues to repair the damaged [[Computers in the Re-imagined Series#Colonial Avionics|avionics]] from cannibalizing other datacord from the ship's communications system. When Thrace's pain increases, Dualla (with an apparently less-than-cordial "bedside manner") stabs Thrace's leg with another morpha injection. As she drifts into a sedated delirium, Thrace confesses to loving and hating Lee Adama and her husband. Dualla slaps the pilot both in annoyance and in an attempt to keep Thrace focused on a major problem: the former petty officer on ''Galactica'' is not flight-trained and cannot fly the Raptor, while Thrace's injuries make it impossible for her to fly.
*[[Gaius Baltar]], the "D'Anna" Three, and a [[Cavil]] prepare to enter the Temple. Baltar's virtual Six appears to remind him, despite Three's feelings, that Baltar himself and not Three is the "anointed one" who is meant to activate or access the Temple's secrets.
*Reunited with the other Colonials at a safe distance from the Temple, Tyrol is reluctant to detonate the Temple's explosives. When Major Adama wrestles the detonator away from Tyrol and activates it, nothing happens. Unknown to them, Cavil, Three, and Baltar have removed the detonator caps from the G-4 immediately after they entered the Temple.
*Chief Tyrol and the team see the atmosphere ripple and pulsate as the star begins its nova. The star's corona (or its effect on the atmosphere above the Temple) takes shape to form a likeness of the circular multicolored starburst-like [[w:mandala|mandala]] that decorated the Temple. Tyrol quickly realizes that the star itself ''is'' the Eye of Jupiter. The Colonial team goes to investigate.
*The algae planet's home star has made a helium burst of its outer atmosphere. The star is going nova. Everyone, Cylon and Colonial alike, have less than an hour to escape the system.
*Sharon Agathon and Caprica-Six arrive at Hera's room, where Agathon's ''Galactica'' predecessor, [[Sharon Valerii]], is tending the child. Valerii is visibly angered at Agathon's presence. When Agathon picks up her crying daughter, the child's cries cease momentarily. Caprica-Six curiously realizes that, while both Agathon and Valerii are biologically identical, Hera is able to recognize her mother.
*Agathon's human first-aid training recognizes that Hera's stomach is too firm, suggesting a possible intestinal blockage. When Valerii comments that the Cylon doctors detected no such problem, Agathon reminds her that the Cylons have no pediatric care experience, having medical experience only with the adult-sized humanoids of their kind.
*Agathon tries to have Valerii remember her love of Chief Tyrol and Admiral Adama, but the former "Boomer" denies her past and rescinds all possibility that humans and Cylons could co-exist, remembering the events on [[New Caprica]].
*Agathon pulls Caprica-Six from Hera's bedside and tells her that, for Hera to survive, she must return her to medical facilities on ''Galactica''. Complicating this, Valerii grows jealous of her inability to help Hera, appearing to become jealous, and physically threatens to break Hera's neck. Agathon pleads for Hera's life as Caprica-Six manages to knock out Valerii. To prevent Boomer from immediately calling for help, Six breaks the Cylon's neck.
*Agathon and Caprica-Six agree that Hera (and others that come after her) are crucial to the future of the Cylons (and, by implication, the Colonials). They make their way to ''Galactica'' by way of a captured Raptor.

===Act 4===
*Inside the Temple of Five, Baltar quietly notes a Colonial sidearm left behind while Cavil and Three example the structure. When the virtual Six points out the only mandala on a raised section of the floor, Baltar notes it, and Three gravitates to it as well.
*The nova's effect or light is being channeled through the central spire's crystalline mechanisms and activates a beam of light on the floor's sunburst.
*Cavil attempts to stop the Three from using the beam, questioning Three's intentions not to find Earth in as much as seeking the forbidden information of the [[Final Five]]. He points a gun to shoot Three, but Baltar shoots and kills the Cavil from behind.
*Three walks into the beam and immediately sees the vision of the five she's seen before. Unlike before, however, she is able to discern the specific faces. Three stands in front of one face (not visible to viewers) and immediately recognizes it, apologizing to the being for past transgressions before the vision abruptly stops.
*Dualla manages to fly the Raptor away to space, with Starbuck's guidance.
*Admiral Adama orders an immediate Raptor rescue of everyone on the planet after the Cylons [[Basestar (RDM)|baseships]] immediately retreat to escape the pending nova shockwave.
*Baltar holds Three, who apparently suffers mortal damage from the use of the Temple's vision mechanism. Baltar tries to get Three to tell her what she has seen; specifically, Baltar wants to know if she saw his face among the [[Final five|image of five beings]]. However, Three dies before he gets an answer.
*Baltar drops Three's body and stands in the starburst, attempting to see the vision himself. However, the Temple's illumination from the star has ceased, and so has the vision mechanism. As Baltar prays to God to help him, the barrel of a Colonial sidearm comes to rest at his head, and Chief Tyrol is holding it. The Chief sarcastically greets the deposed president and knocks him unconscious.
*Raptors are seen flying away from the planet and to ''Galactica''. The battlestar is under full sublight power, escaping from orbit while buying time for the Raptors to land and for the battlestar to prep for an [[FTL]] jump.
*''Galactica'' escapes the remains of the algae planet as the star<nowiki>'</nowiki>s shockwave tears through its system.
*Chief Tyrol and his group unload a body bag from his Raptor onto a gurney. He stops the gurney and discreetly shows Colonel Tigh that Baltar is inside, alive but unconscious. Tigh orders Tyrol to have Baltar taken to the [[brig]].
*Samuel Anders and Kara Thrace reunite. Lee Adama and Dualla, each on opposite sides of Thrace and Anders, see this as well. Adama moves to embrace his wife.
*In a briefing, Tyrol, Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta|Gaeta]], Roslin, Admiral Adama and Helo analyze the new nova and compare it to the Temple's mandala, realizing that the [[Thirteenth Tribe]] must have wanted anyone who followed after them to look for this symbol, or specifically, another nova. Gaeta finds a similar nova over 10,000 light years away, in the [[Ionian system]].
*Helo is fascinated over a picture of the temple's mandala. He makes his way to Kara Thrace's quarters and asks if she had any photos of her old apartment on [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]].
*He finds a painting that Thrace had made on one of her apartment's walls. It is virtually identical to the temple's mandala, which was created 4,000 years before. When Thrace sees this, her mood darkens. She tells Helo that she had doodled this symbol often as child because she liked it, having no prior source for the symbol. She relates something that a [[Leoben Conoy|Leoben]] Cylon told her [[Flesh and Bone|over a year before]]: Thrace had a destiny, and, according to Leoben, it was already pre-written.
*On the Resurrection Ship, D'Anna-Three downloads successfully to find a Cavil sitting next to her tank. Cavil notes curiously that at least Three will not have to go through the process of resurrection again, and explains why.
*The other Cylons believe that Three's delusions of messianic intentions have revealed her as an inherently flawed design. Three counters that it is not wrong to seek ones own purpose, that the search for who and why the Cylons were built is an important task.
*The decision has been made to [[boxing|box]] the entire model. Three tells Cavil that he and the others will see the faces of the final five one day, but with a press of a button by Cavil, Three and all of her kind are deactivated.

== Questions ==
* Why did D'Anna die?
* Who did D'Anna recognize as being one of the [[final five]]?
* Why are the identities of the final five kept a secret? Why would the other seven Cylon models not know the identities of the final five, and why would the [[Cavil]] model want to prevent the others from learning about them? Do some or all of the Cylons ''not'' want to know and why would this be so?
* Have we seen the last of [[Number Three]]?
* What will become of [[Sharon Valerii|Boomer]]?
* What is the connection between Starbuck and the [[Eye of Jupiter]]?
* What is Starbuck's destiny?
* What will President Roslin and Admiral Adama do with Baltar now they he is back in their custody?
* Has Roslin and Adama's relationship soured now that Adama knows of Roslin's involvement with hiding Hera?
* What will happen to [[Caprica-Six]] now that she is on ''Galactica''?
* Will there be any consequences to [[Sharon Agathon|Athena]]'s actions?
* Did the Cylons realize the significance between the mandala and the nova?
* With the [[Temple of Five|temple]] destroyed, what is the significance of Baltar being the "chosen one" rather than D'Anna?
* When Cavil told D'Anna to look at the damage that her convictions had done, was he referring to all of the other Threes who had been [[boxing|boxed]], to the Cylons as a whole, or to something else?
* Did all of the rebirthing tanks seen in the last scene contain other Number Threes to be boxed? Must they be resurrected in order to be boxed or are the tanks part of the boxing process?
* How did the crew of ''Galactica'' know that the Number Eight returning with Hera was the real Sharon?

== Analysis ==
* The [[Final five|five figures in white]] bear a striking resemblance to the occupants of the [[Ship of Lights]] from the [[Original Series]].
* The basestar command apparently does not require consensus of all models, or need not have them to have a representative at the command center. [[Simon]] and [[Number Five]] are not seen during this episode. Of course, since there were only seven models at the time, four models casting the same vote is decisive. This is exactly what happened when Six, Eight, Leoben and Cavil voted in favor of recalling the Raiders.
* Despite no longer being XO, Helo is still included in high-level briefings. This may reflect another facet to his current duties aside from mere Raptor jockeying (this may also be supported by the fact that he is more often seen in uniform rather than flight suit or fatigues currently).
* Battlestar Wiki contributors confirmed the similarity between the symbolic Eye-of-Jupiter image in the Temple of Five and the painting seen in Kara Thrace's old apartment ([[Valley of Darkness]]) prior to this episode (see [[Talk:The Eye of Jupiter#WTF_moment|this talk page]]).
* The tension between Athena and Boomer reaches a climax when Athena attempts to rescue her daughter. It has become clear that Boomer, like Athena, was presented with two choices, but unlike Athena, did not choose the path that led to forgiveness. Though both Eights had suffered persecution from the Colonials, but Athena, partly due to her love for Helo and Adama, chose to forgive, whereas Boomer allowed the failure of New Caprica to push her over to the Cylons' side.
* Caprica-Six continues her defiance against Cylon society by choosing to believe in a possible new future between Cylons and humans. This particular Cylon, ever since her deception that led to fall of humanity, has consistently shown increasingly human traits. Like her decision to save Anders by killing a [[Number Three|Three]] to pave the way for a possible new future between Cylons and humans, her decision to kill Boomer to save Hera echoes those same beliefs.
* The rescue of the people on the [[algae planet]] occurs in an extremely short amount of screen time. This is reminiscent of the short amount of screen time that was given to ''Galactica'' retrieving her fighters before jumping away from the [[Battle of New Caprica]]. As noted in prior podcasts, the producers may be conserving their special effects budget for later episodes. Furthermore there just isn't much time available in each episode, so not everything can be shown in detail, which makes it necessary to compress events.
* One person died between the end of "[[The Eye of Jupiter]]" and the beginning of "Rapture".
* [[Hera]] has inherited the Cylons' ability to differentiate between two copies of the same Cylon model.

== Notes ==
* Prior to the airing of this episode, [[James Callis]] revealed that [[Gaius Baltar]] returns to ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'' in this episode.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ifmagazine.com/feature.asp?article=1659 |title=Exclusive Interview: JAMES CALLIS SELLS iF MAGAZINE A BILL OF GOODS ON BATTLESTAR GALATICA SEASON 3 -PART 1 |date=2006-09-09 |accessdate=2006-09-09 |last=Elliot |first=Sean |format= |language=English }}</ref>

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==
*''Chief Tyrol finds Gaius Baltar standing alone in the Temple of Five:''
:'''Tyrol:''' Welcome home, Mr. President. (Pistol-whips Baltar, knocking him unconscious)

== Official Statements ==

== Guest Stars ==

*[[Michael Hogan]] as Colonel [[Saul Tigh]]
*[[Tahmoh Penikett]] as Captain [[Karl Agathon]]
*[[Aaron Douglas]] as Chief Petty Officer [[Galen Tyrol]]
*[[Nicki Clyne]] as [[Cally Henderson Tyrol]]
*[[Kandyse McClure]] as Lieutenant [[Anastasia Dualla]]
*[[Alessandro Juliani]] as Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta]]
*[[Brad Dryborough]] as Lieutenant [[Hoshi]]
*[[Michael Trucco]] as [[Samuel Anders]]
*[[Alisen Down]] as [[Jean Barolay]]
*[[Eileen Pedde]] as Gunnery Seargant [[Erin Mathias]]
*[[Diego Diablo Del Mar]] as [[Hillard]]
*[[Lucy Lawless]] as [[D'Anna Biers]] ([[Number Three]])
*[[Dean Stockwell]] as [[Cavil]]
*[[Callum Keith Rennie]] as [[Leoben Conoy]]
*[[Aleks Paunovic]] as Sergeant [[Omar Fischer]]

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

{{Episode list (RDM season 3)}}

[[Category:Episodes written by Bradley Thompson]]
[[Category:Episodes written by David Weddle]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Michael Rymer]]
[[Category:RDM]]

User:Miraba

2007-01-24T15:38:49Z

Miraba: first edit

==About Miraba==

Miraba is female.

Miraba has watched all episodes through [[Rapture]] and will continue to watch each episode as it
airs. She has watched all commentary through [[Epiphanies]].

Miraba does not like spoilers, though she seems to be unable to keep from tripping over them on a periodic basis.

Miraba has also edited at [http://en.wikipedia.org Wikipedia] (under a different name) and apologizes for any WP abbreviations she may use.

Talk:Sacred Scrolls/Archive 1

2007-01-23T20:58:38Z

Miraba: /* Cleanup Required */

Greetings, Jzanjani. I welcome you to the battlestar wiki and want you to know that I appreciate your desire to contribute here. However, your edits to this article baffle me. At present, it has been meticulously arranged to provide the most comprehensive information possible in an objective, well-cited manner with separate sections for interpretation and commentary. If you feel this layout is mistaken, or that there's information which needs to be incuded in this article which we've missed, I would like you to make your case here, on the talk page, before comitting another revision. Thank you for your consideration. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 05:03, 5 October 2005 (EDT)

==On the Format of Character Quotes==

I think we should agree on a standard format for character quotes. If you look up similar pages to this one on other Wiki databases, for example [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Babylon_5 this one] on Babylon 5, you can see they have a much more attractive quote format. Personally, I find the following quote format to be most attractive:

:"That thing put two rounds into my father's chest!" - ''[[Lee Adama|Captain Lee "Apollo" Adama]], "[[Home, Part I]]"''

or, more directly:

:<tt>Indent, Double Quote, QUOTATION, /Double Quote, dash, italic, NAME, comma, Double Quote, EPISODE, /Double Quote, /italic</tt>

I'm not sure if this comment should be somewhere else, but I think the Sacred Scrolls article in particular could definitely use some cleanup. [[User:Jzanjani|Jzanjani]] 16:08, 5 October 2005 (EDT)

:See [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions]]. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 17:31, 5 October 2005 (EDT)

:: I would be extatic if you'd post this comment for discussion on the [[Battlestar Wiki:Standards and Conventions|Standards and Conventions]] project page. That's really the best place to discuss such sweeping things.

:: As for using that format here, I don't think it would do for multiple-character exchanges, such as are seen in this article. That format would be fine, though, for, say, the Quote of the Day. That's under discussion at Standards and COnvention, too. --[[User:Day|Day]] 17:34, 5 October 2005 (EDT)

==Cycle of Time==
I'm just a little surprised that folks haven't made a correlation between the whole idea of the "Cycle of Time" and another popular science fiction series--<u>Lexx</u>! From the very first movie of that series, the Time Prophet played an important role. The Time Prophet says that the Universe goes through cycles, repeating itself endlessly. She sees the future, not by looking forward, but by looking back into the distant past to previous cycles (but "not clearly"). At one point, Stanley (the incredible loser who is the "hero" of <u>Lexx</u>) comes across a recording from thousands of years ago that the Time Prophet left for him, telling precisely how to get out of the terrible situation he was in at that moment. Likewise, the Time Prophet told the great warrior Kai that the last of his people would one day overthrow a tyrant (His Divine Shadow), but that he himself would be the last of them to fall, murdered by that same tyrant. Weirdly, that is precisely what happened. She says <i>"Time begins and then time ends, and then time begins once again.
It is happening now, it has happened before, it will surely happen again."</i> Sound kinda familiar? [[User:Zahir|Zahir]] 19:37, 28 January 2006 (EST)

:Actually a lot of shows do that, i.e. Bablyon 5, others, etc. and it's nothing new; Lexx wasn't very original with that.--[[User:Ricimer|Ricimer]] 20:13, 28 January 2006 (EST)

:: The idea of time in eternal cycles certainly is not an original one, as noted in the article. But where was that even hinted at on <u>Babylon 5</u>? Or, for that matter, any other science fiction show? Well, there was a hint of it on <u>Red Dwarf</u> once. Really, I'm curious. [[User:Zahir|Zahir]] 02:16, 29 January 2006 (EST)

:::Good question, Zahir. Time loops notwithstanding (say, in "Star Trek" or "Doctor Who"), I can't remember a SF TV show with a cyclical pattern. I know that "The Matrix" movies have a cyclical pattern (until Neo breaks it by its 6th cycle in "Reloaded."). Ricimer could be talking about Valen/Sinclair and his causality loop ("Babylon Squared" and "War Without End" two-parter). Again, that's a time loop more than a cyclical thing. There is also the Christian belief of Christ and resurrection and return (Catholic eucharistic prayer: "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again"). But still, "Matrix" is the closest to what constitutes a non-temporal repeating pattern. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 18:51, 29 January 2006 (EST)

::::Actually I was referring to Delenn's new age felgercarb and that for millions of years, every 1,000 years (give or take) the Shadows attack the galaxy yet again. --[[User:Ricimer|Ricimer]] 19:17, 29 January 2006 (EST)

:::::That's no "Cycle of Time" in the sense of history repeating itself, though, but rather a singular cyclical event that happens time and again to different people until someone finds a way to end it. The circumstances are quite different every time. It's not any different from solar activity cycles or cyclical weather patterns. --[[User:OliverH.|OliverH.]] 05:21, 26 February 2006 (EST)

==Removed==
(START)''"This really ought to be a seperate theory, but I don't know how to do that. I'll just put it here.
The two exodus theory -
This is similar to other theories in that there is a cycle of time which is played out again and again. However in this theory there are two seperate occasions which call for an exodus. The details of each itteration are different, but the overall events are very similar.
The humans leave the Kobol
They settle the colonies
They create AI
The AI rebels and departs
The AI encounters GOD (see below)
The AI returns to destroy humanity
The remnants of humanity flee
The Cylons place humans in situations where they can interact and eventually procreate as GOD commands.
The offspring of Humans and Cylon are elevated above others and worshiped as "Lords of Kobol"
A conflict occurs on Kobol and humanity leaves.
Humanity settles the colonies.
The series has covered most of this so I will pick up at the place where this theory steps off. The AI's leave and they encounter a VAST consciesness created by countless generations of AI that have come before it. The Cylon GOD. An entity that knows everything every cylon-AI has known since the beggining of the cylce. It waits in the Cylon Home world untill the time when the AI's leave the humans, then approaches them and guides them towards their role in the cycle.
One of those roles is to have Cylon-Human babies. These babies are more than human and more than cylon. They are elevated above normal humans and eventually worshiped. They become the "gods" of the humans and the Lords of Kobol.
As has been mentioned in the show for a time humans and gods lived together in peace but eventually something goes wrong. Human nature re-asserts itself and some kind of split takes place. The gods are perhaps too compasionate and man to violent. Or the gods too controlling and man too independent. The gods have conflict among themselves and humans leave to avoid it. maybe the humans have conflict with their gods and kill them. See the jealous god commentary for another possible cause of the split. Either way something necessitates a split. The humans leave to colonize new planets. The gods die out, are dead, kill each other . . .
The cycle begins again.
the cylon GOD continues to watch the cycle replay itself over and over in the hopes that whatever flaw causes the catastrophe on Kobol can be avoided. (notice the skulls on Kobol, the theme of violence when Six talks to Baltar, her claim that what happens there is not God's Will) The violence that continues to cause this conflict is bad, but the Cylon God doesn't want to interfere because what makes humans "human" is their non-determined nature. Their free will. If he meddled in that then they would be no different than cylons.
Eventually the problem is the same one modern religions face - God could create a perfect world with no killing, but there would be no free will and we would not be human any more. This seems to be an over-ridding message of the show. Free will and the flawed nature of humanity. what it finally means to be human. We can also see that the Cylon's only grow to have free will when around humans, but at the same time, they also only grow violent towards one another around humans, then on top of that, they only feel remorse and understand good and bad through that same contact. They become more alive by being around humans.
In fact that was the first line of the mini - Are you alive? Prove it.
The question: "What does it mean to be alive?" is one of the key focuses of the show."''(END)

I'm sorry but like you said you didn't know if this was the place for this: it's really not. If you wanted to debate it or something I guess you could have started it off on the Talk page here, I think that's the place for this, or maybe the Wikipedian Quorum or something. But we really shouldn't post just speculation on these pages, we do have analysis articles but they're really not a Forum, and we try to restrain ourselves in this kind of thing. Good luck around the wiki, and try to check out our Standards and Conventions stuff or lurk for a bit to get the feel of how things work.--[[User:The Merovingian|The Merovingian]] <sup>([[Special:Contributions/The Merovingian|C]] - [[Special:Editcount/The Merovingian|E]])</sup> 01:20, 3 May 2006 (CDT)

BTW, I don't have enough time to rewrite this article, but eventually I will and my own interpretation of the events which ''really'' happened (agree or disagree):

A) The humans of the Twelve Colonies ''believe'' that Kobol is the mother-planet, then the 13 Tribes left, 12 to the closely located Twelve Colonies, and one going to the distant Earth. For all we know, they could have had contact with Earth for a time (else how would they have known the name and location) or even had an idea of where the Twelve Colonies were (space exploration surveys in the past and such). Regardless, the Twelve Colonies grow for 2,000 years, then make the Cylons who rebel, and the Rag Tag Fleet led by Galactica runs and eventually finds Kobol again, but they're headed for Earth.

B) What I think ''actually'' happened: Earth is the mother planet. Humans fleeing some sort of cataclysm on Earth find Kobol and settle there. Who knows what the heck the Lords of Kobol were. Anyway, the war between the Lords of Kobol begins on Kobol, and it turns so ugly that according to Roslin "we weren't exiled, we CHOSE to flee". The 12 Tribes go to the Twelve Colonies....and the 12th Tribe goes '''BACK''' to Earth.

Meanwhile, "The Blaze" is just a term describing some stuff in the war between the Gods, it wasn't one particular event (sort of a descriptor for a nuclear war or something in general). The Cylon God is not some alien or person unknown: The Cylons weren't duped into having their own religion as stupid naive souless machines: anything that achieves sentience has claim to soul and to develop its own philosophical/metaphysical concept of a "God". While the humans claim that they have directly interacted with their deities (just as modern Earth religions do), the Cylons have actually never said "and God carved these 15 commandments into rock for us, to be our laws"; they speak of their "God" in the more metaphysical, inspirational sense.

So what I personally think is that it's Earth > Kobol, Kobol > Twelve Colonies AND Kobol > Earth, Twelve Colonies > Earth. And although time might repeat itself, it's not Kobol and Earth ''every'' time: humanity dies and is reborn and such, but it hasn't gone back to specifically Kobol a dozen times. Unless we want some bearded old Kentucky Colonel showing up and saying to us "Earth has actually been colonized SIX times in the past and this will be the SIXTH time have have destroyed it. We've become quite efficient at it". --[[User:The Merovingian|The Merovingian]] <sup>([[Special:Contributions/The Merovingian|C]] - [[Special:Editcount/The Merovingian|E]])</sup> 01:46, 3 May 2006 (CDT)

==IRPhydeaux's theory==

''Moved to talk for discussion and cleanup''

This really ought to be a seperate theory, but I don't know how to do that. I'll just put it here.

The two exodus theory -

This is similar to other theories in that there is a cycle of time which is played out again and again. However in this theory there are two seperate occasions which call for an exodus. The details of each itteration are different, but the overall events are very similar.

The humans leave the Kobol

They settle the colonies

They create AI

The AI rebels and departs

The AI encounters GOD (see below)

The AI returns to destroy humanity

The remnants of humanity flee

The Cylons place humans in situations where they can interact and eventually procreate as GOD commands.

The offspring of Humans and Cylon are elevated above others and worshiped as "Lords of Kobol"

A conflict occurs on Kobol and humanity leaves.

Humanity settles the colonies.

The series has covered most of this so I will pick up at the place where this theory steps off. The AI's leave and they encounter a VAST consciesness created by countless generations of AI that have come before it. The Cylon GOD. An entity that knows everything every cylon-AI has known since the beggining of the cylce. It waits in the Cylon Home world untill the time when the AI's leave the humans, then approaches them and guides them towards their role in the cycle.

One of those roles is to have Cylon-Human babies. These babies are more than human and more than cylon. They are elevated above normal humans and eventually worshiped. They become the "gods" of the humans and the Lords of Kobol.

As has been mentioned in the show for a time humans and gods lived together in peace but eventually something goes wrong. Human nature re-asserts itself and some kind of split takes place. The gods are perhaps too compasionate and man to violent. Or the gods too controlling and man too independent. The gods have conflict among themselves and humans leave to avoid it. maybe the humans have conflict with their gods and kill them. See the jealous god commentary for another possible cause of the split. Either way something necessitates a split. The humans leave to colonize new planets. The gods die out, are dead, kill each other . . .

The cycle begins again.

the cylon GOD continues to watch the cycle replay itself over and over in the hopes that whatever flaw causes the catastrophe on Kobol can be avoided. (notice the skulls on Kobol, the theme of violence when Six talks to Baltar, her claim that what happens there is not God's Will) The violence that continues to cause this conflict is bad, but the Cylon God doesn't want to interfere because what makes humans "human" is their non-determined nature. Their free will. If he meddled in that then they would be no different than cylons.

Eventually the problem is the same one modern religions face - God could create a perfect world with no killing, but there would be no free will and we would not be human any more. This seems to be an over-ridding message of the show. Free will and the flawed nature of humanity. what it finally means to be human. We can also see that the Cylon's only grow to have free will when around humans, but at the same time, they also only grow violent towards one another around humans, then on top of that, they only feel remorse and understand good and bad through that same contact. They become more alive by being around humans.

In fact that was the first line of the mini - Are you alive? Prove it.

The question: "What does it mean to be alive?" is one of the key focuses of the show.

== Sacred Scrolls vs Book of Pythia ==
Are they the same thing? Or are the Pythian prophecies a distinct work from the account of the exodus. If they are all/both referred to onscreen as "the Sacred Scrolls", then the way this article is written is fine. If they're treated separately, then we should have a separate "Book of Pythia" article. (And the pythia.jpg can live there.)--[[User:Steelviper|Steelviper]] 12:15, 7 July 2006 (CDT)

:I strongly suspect that the Scrolls are analogous to a sacred collection such as the Torah or the Bible, where the Book of Pythia is akin to the Book of Genesis, Mark, and so on. The context used throughout the series appears to support this. Does Baltar place his hand on anything as he is sworn in? (I know that Roslin didn't.) I'm sure scanning [[Elosha]]'s comments to Roslin may bring up the right context. Ngarnn might also have some insight if he has time. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 12:45, 7 July 2006 (CDT)

::Yes, I said this on the Pythia page: for all we know different "books" were written over different times. BTW, Roslin does put her hand on the scrolls, to complete the shot for shot remake of the famous LBJ on Air Force One. --[[User:The Merovingian|The Merovingian]] <sup>([[Special:Contributions/The Merovingian|C]] - [[Special:Editcount/The Merovingian|E]])</sup> 12:53, 7 July 2006 (CDT)

:::So... the Book of Pythia pic can move back here? This article deserves at least one pic. --[[User:Steelviper|Steelviper]] 12:58, 7 July 2006 (CDT)

::::Maybe one of the other pics of Elosha reading a scroll?--[[User:The Merovingian|The Merovingian]] <sup>([[Special:Contributions/The Merovingian|C]] - [[Special:Editcount/The Merovingian|E]])</sup> 13:02, 7 July 2006 (CDT)

== Hand-Written? ==

I just watched "Home: Part II" and I noticed something peculiar. It seems as though all of the copies of the Sacred Scrolls (at least in this episode) are hand-written, rather than printed on a press of some kind. Is that worth mentioning in the article?
[[User:CrimsonLine|CrimsonLine]] 20:42, 19 July 2006 (CDT)

:I thought about that; good catch there. We rarely get to see what Elosha read; this was one of the few times. It may be that the scroll copies are copied by hand from the originals as other real-world religions require of their sacred texts, thus the writing. Good enough speculation since we know this culture has modern electronic printing methods they would normally use. The drawings of Kobol could also be useful to this line of reasoning from the first season episode where Roslin has the visions of the Kobol city (I think it's [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]). --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 21:28, 19 July 2006 (CDT)

::I just assumed it was printed, in an archaic font. --[[User:The Merovingian|The Merovingian]] <sup>([[Special:Contributions/The Merovingian|C]] - [[Special:Editcount/The Merovingian|E]])</sup> 21:53, 19 July 2006 (CDT)

Thanks to whoever put the "Form of the Scrolls" section in. I think it accurately captures some interesting information about the show. Just what Doc Cottle ordered! :)
[[User:CrimsonLine|CrimsonLine]] 14:50, 24 July 2006 (CDT)
::That was me, with due credit given to you for inspiring the notion. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 09:08, 25 July 2006 (CDT)

== Cleanup Required ==

I've found this article to be confusing to read, perhaps not just due to length, but from the mix of information, both derived, plausible and factual. I'm going to go "[[User:Peter Farago|Peter]]" on this article soon to clean up the threads and verify their basis on aired content, using the [[Battlestar Wiki:Citation Jihad#Derived Content|Derived Content standards]] as a guideline. Knowing how so many have worked hard on this, however, I won't make outright deletions but will go nuts with the <nowiki>{{citation needed}}</nowiki> marker when I find items that don't fit the aired content or appears too much a stretch. Given that we know now that the virtual Six is NOT the actual [[Caprica Six]], much of what has been said by her alone may be in doubt. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 16:29, 19 September 2006 (CDT)

:In particular the "Three Exodii" theory could stand some revision. But to be honest, I can't be bothered to do it, since it's very complicared and I don't agree with it in the first place. --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 07:35, 13 January 2007 (CST)

:I think all of the "Three Exoduses" theory that follows the bare outline should be deleted. It has a higher word count than all of the quotes combined and is little beside a fan theory peppered with the occasional prophecy. My apologies to those that have worked on it, but I feel that it is entirely out of place and should be placed on a talk page. [[User:Miraba|Miraba]] 14:57, 23 January 2007 (CST)