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{{translation|[[Earth/ms:Bumi|Malay]]}}
[[Image:1stearth.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Earth, home of the Thirteenth Tribe, from orbit]]
'''Earth''' is the believed destination of the [[Thirteenth Tribe (RDM)|Thirteenth Tribe]] of {{RDM|Kobol}}, as attested in the [[Sacred Scrolls]]. Prior to its discovery, its existence is considered purely mythical and legendary within Colonial and Cylon societies. Earth is also the name of a planet Colonial survivors eventually settle after a long and arduous journey across space following the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]].


: ''For information on the Earth of the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]], see [[Earth (TOS)]].''
==Earth: Home of the Thirteenth Tribe==
: ''For information on the Earth of [[Galactica 1980]], see [[Earth (1980)]].''
===Beginnings===
[[Image:Earth_RDM.png|thumb|right|300px|Earth seen from space in [[Crossroads, Part II]]]]
[[Image:EarthBCH.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Earth, as it appeared before its destruction]]
{{mainarticle|History of the Twelve Colonies|Thirteenth Tribe (RDM)}}
The legend of Earth begins at least four thousand years ago on {{RDM|Kobol}}, where Scriptures tell of the exodus of a Thirteenth Tribe of humanity during a period of great turmoil across the planet. It is said that "''they traveled far and made their home upon a planet called Earth . . . which circled a distant and unknown star.''" While not many previously believed in Earth, there are [[Arrow of Apollo|artifacts]] rumored to point out the general direction to the planet. These rumors are later confirmed after the destruction of the Colonies ([[TRS]]: [[Miniseries]], "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]").


In the [[Re-imagined Series]] '''Earth''' is the believed destination of the [[Thirteenth Tribe (RDM)|Thirteenth Tribe]] of [[Kobol (RDM)|Kobol]], as attested in the [[Sacred Scrolls]]. The Thirteenth Tribe left for Earth nearly 4,000 years prior to the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]]. The remaining Twelve Tribes leave Kobol to form the Colonies approximately 2,000 years after the Thirteenth Tribe's departure.
{{clear}}


===A Cause for Hope===
===Settlement and Development===
For nearly two thousand years, the Thirteenth Tribe flourished on the planet, creating a civilization comparable to the Twelve Colonies before their fall, including development of [[Earth_Cylon_Centurion|their own robotics and artificial intelligence]]. Unbeknownst to Colonials or most Cylons, the Thirteenth Tribe was a flesh and blood race of artificial beings much like the [[humanoid Cylons]], which were created on Kobol thousands of years ago. They originally relied on [[Resurrection (RDM)|organic memory transfer]] technology to download into new bodies after their deaths. However, sometime after leaving Kobol, they gained the ability to reproduce sexually, and the technology fell out of use {{TRS|No Exit}}.


Earth is first mentioned by [[William Adama|Commander Adama]] during a speech after the battlestar's funeral services after escaping from [[Ragnar Anchorage]]. Adama claims that Earth was a top military secret that can now be revealed (see [[Miniseries]]).
:''The fact that the Tribe was artificial in nature is never fully revealed to the civilians of the fleet. To them, they were a society of humans that were destroyed by their robotic creations much like their society was four years prior.''


In a private conversation with new President [[Laura Roslin]] immediately afterward, Adama admits that he has not the slightest idea where Earth may be, if it exists.  His true motivation was inspirational; he intended to bolster the morale of the population (especially his beleaguered crew) in the aftermath of the [[Cylon attack|near-annihilation]] of humanity.
{{clear}}


===Tangible Faith===
===Apocalypse===
:''Main article: [[Final Five]]
Approximately two thousand years [[BCH]], the Tribe's robotic creations rebelled against their creators, in an act of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutually_assured_destruction mutually assured destruction]. The attack caught the population off guard, with many at work or enjoying leisurely activities. Evidence of people going about their lives is still visible on the remains millennia later. However, prior to the apocalypse, [[Final Five|five individuals]] started seeing visions of [[Messengers|strange people]] warning them of the upcoming cataclysm. The five worked hard to recreate the lost organic memory transfer technology, and built a ship in orbit to carry their experiments. After their deaths, the five were resurrected on this ship, and opted to follow the Tribe's original course back to Kobol, leaving Earth behind {{TRS|Revelations|Sometimes a Great Notion|No Exit}}.


While she is initially skeptical, going so far as to rebuke Adama for his dishonesty, Laura Roslin's faith grows perceptibly throughout the events of the first season. This transition is at least partly due to her use of [[chamalla]] as an alternative treatment to her terminal breast cancer.  These hallucinations are increasingly interpreted as prophetic vision by Roslin, which continue as the Fleet accidentally discovers the legendary homeworld of [[Kobol (RDM)|Kobol]] ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]).
{{clear}}


Eventually, a [[Arrow of Apollo|religious artifact]] is recovered which later aids in revealing the general location of Earth ([[Home, Part II]]).
===Earth's Fate===
[[Image:Earth Ruins.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Earth's ruins, two millennia after the Fall of the Thirteenth Tribe]]
At the conclusion of the war, no survivors remained on either side, and Earth was left burning and irradiated. Despite lingering radioactive contamination, plant life gradually returned, and whatever ruins remained succumbed to nature and time. A large city on the planet visited by both Colonials and rebel Cylons was largely submerged in water and partly buried in sand.  


In the activated [[Tomb of Athena]], the stars of the Twelve Colonies are represented in the twelve [[Wikipedia:Zodiac|Zodiacal]] constellations, as viewed from Earth, recognized by Roslin as the shapes of the original flags of the Twelve Colonies.  The chamber itself was intended by its builders to be a stylized replica of the night sky of the Earth, from which all twelve constellations could be seen.  This is corroborated by [[Kara Thrace]], who quotes [[Sacred Scrolls|scripture]], saying that Earth was the place where the people of the Thirteenth Tribe could look up into the sky and see their twelve brothers.<ref>Some viewers may question how information on Earth's location could be recorded in the Tomb before the Thirteenth Tribe left for Earth. Had the tribes already visited Earth? Did the tribes ''originate'' from Earth? For more information on the circular origins of humanity as it pertains to the Re-imagined Series, see the article on the [[Sacred Scrolls]].</ref>
Unable to support human life, the planet is abandoned days after its discovery, and is likely never visited again ([[TRS]]: "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]," "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]," "[[Revelations]]," "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]").


Morerover, [[Lee Adama]] recognizes the [[Wikipedia:Lagoon Nebula|Lagoon Nebula]], also represented in the night sky of the mystery chamber. This astronomical object is known to Fleet personnel, since [[William Adama|Commander Adama]] remarks that this celestial body would take some time to reach.
{{clear}}


===More Clues to Earth===
==A New Earth: The Promised Land==
[[Image:Earth, "Daybreak, Part II".jpg|thumb|right|200px|The Colonial's new home, as it appears from the moon's orbit]]
By an infinitesimal chance, a habitable planet is found by pilot [[Kara Thrace|Kara "Starbuck" Thrace]], after she is able to extrapolate [[FTL]] jump coordinates from a [[The Music|song]] she used to play as a child. Lt. Thrace inputs these FTL coordinates into ''Galactica''{{'|s}} FTL computer in a desperate attempt to escape from the Cylon [[The Colony|Colony]]. ''Galactica'', damaged from battle, limps into orbit of the planet.


Over a year later, the Fleet discovers a derelict [[Basestar (RDM)|Cylon baseship]] near the [[Lion's Head Nebula]], a celestial marker revealed by [[Felix Gaeta]] to Admiral Adama and President Roslin ([[Torn]]). The information is derived from [[Gaius Baltar]]'s research on the path to Earth. The derelict basestar finds an [[Lion's Head beacon|ancient beacon]] left by the Thirteenth Tribe. While a Colonial boarding party finds the probe, it also learns that the [[Humanoid Cylon]]s aboard the basestar are dead or dying, suggesting a deadly pathogen was released by the beacon. In their haste to leave and for the safety of the Fleet, the beacon is abandoned on the basestar, where it is destroyed when the basestar self-destructs ([[A Measure of Salvation]]).
:''As depicted in "[[Crossroads, Part II]]," this planet is located relatively close to the [[Ionian Nebula]].''


After the Fleet must gather needed foodstuffs from the [[algae planet]], believed previously uninhabited by humans, [[Galen Tyrol]] senses and finds the [[Temple of Five]], an ancient [[temple]] built by the Thirteenth Tribe, as told in the [[Sacred Scrolls]], apparently built during a stopover on this world. Believed to be hidden inside the Temple of Five is the [[Eye of Jupiter]], an artifact that may provide more clues to the location of Earth. However, a Cylon force arrives with the same intentions on the Eye, leading to a standoff between Adama and the [[basestar command]] ([[The Eye of Jupiter]]). The Eye is later revealed to be the algae planet's own star as it began to nova, taking the form of the circular starburst patterns throughout the Temple of Five. While the Colonials are not privy to the special holograph feature of the Temple that the Cylons witness in the early moments of the nova, the Colonials are later are able to discern the information of the new nova as a waypoint to the next marker, a nebula in the [[Ionian system]] ([[Rapture]]).
{{clear}}


When the Fleet arrives at the nebula, it is intercepted by four basestars.  Unable to escape due to a mysterious, crippling Fleet-wide power outage, ''Galactica'' is forced to prepare for attack and launches Vipers and Raptors. [[Lee Adama|Apollo]] breaks off from the attack to track an "Unknown" contact on [[DRADIS]]. The contact is Captain [[Kara Thrace|Kara "Starbuck" Thrace]], miraculously [[Maelstrom|returned from the dead]] with news that she has been to Earth, knows its location and how to take the Fleet there.
===Diverse Wildlife===
[[Image:Diverse Wildlife.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Earth's diverse wildlife]] 
After Colonial recon of the planet, Earth is discovered to have a diverse range of wildlife, more than the Twelve Colonies put together. It also features a race of primitive hunter-gatherer humanoids, having evolved here separately from those on Kobol. Upon further study, these humanoids are discovered to be compatible with Colonial DNA, which opens up the possibility of Colonials and Cylons interbreeding with them.  
{{clear}}


The episode "[[Crossroads, Part II]]" concludes with a sweeping zoom from the Fleet, the Cylons, the Ionian nebula and to an arm of the [[W:Milky Way|Milky Way]] and to a zoom in to Earth itself, confirming that Earth is an actual location (from the perspective of the viewers), showing Earth's North American continent.<ref>The depiction of Earth includes a geographically accurate landmark: the Balize lobe of the [[w:Mississippi River Delta|Mississippi river delta]], a feature formed between the 16th and 20th Centuries of the real-world Earth. However, no further conclusions should be inferred as the series creators deliberately avoid confirming whether ''Battlestar Galactica'' occurs in the real-world Earth's past, present, or future.</ref>
===Colonial/Cylon Settlement and Future Evolution===
[[Image:Settlement.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Survivors heading for shelter]]  
With ''Galactica'' in pieces, and the Colonial Fleet not fairing any better, it is decided that the planet will be settled, with the remaining Cylons soon joining them. Plans begin for new cities to be built, but those plans are soon abandoned in favor of starting fresh in an attempt to break the historical cycle of violence. Colonial units scout the planet, and eventually determine the best possible chance for survival is to split the survivors into groups, and spread them across different sites around the globe. These locations are documented, and presented to each of the groups for future use. After the survivors set up their camps, the fleet and any remaining advanced technology are scuttled. The settlers christen this new planet "Earth," in honor of the promised land they have been chasing for four years.
 
The surviving Colonial and Cylon settlers and their descendants begin interbreeding with the indigenous humanoids, creating a new race, with [[Hera Agathon|the first human-Cylon hybrid]] becoming "Mitochondrial Eve," the most recent common matrilineal ancestor of all living humans. Her fossilized remains are uncovered nearly one hundred fifty thousand years later, around the time that another advanced human society is on the brink of major breakthroughs in robotics - much like the Twelve Colonies, the first Earth, and Kobol before them {{TRS|Daybreak, Part II}}.  
 
{{clear}}


==Notes==
==Notes==
* [[Gaeta]] comments in "[[Revelations]]" that the constellations seen from orbit of the Earth they had just found match those seen in the [[Tomb of Athena]]. This was later proven incorrect, as those constellations are actually visible from a different Earth over one hundred centuries later {{TRS|Daybreak, Part II}}. It would have been extremely improbable that the constellations visible from the Earth found in "[[Revelations]]" would have looked the same as those of New Earth.  That being said, while on the first Earth, all of the constellations of Zodiac could all be seen at once-this is not possible on the current Earth.


*In one of the ''extras'' included on the five-disc DVD release of the first season of ''[[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Battlestar Galactica]]'', [[Edward James Olmos]] ([[William Adama]]) remarks in a very jocular fashion that they will never reach EarthMary McDonnell ([[Laura Roslin]]) covers his mouth and tries to hush him while laughing. Although loyal fans may question the trustworthiness of this statement, it is known that the creators keep a "[[Series bible|Bible]]" to the show, to which the actors presumably have access.
*From what is known of the nature of navigation in FTL jumps, the odds of the coordinates used by Kara Thrace to jump ''Galactica'' from the Colony to the new Earth and actually achieving the end they did are no less than infinitesimalOne of the elements in FTL navigation is the point of origin. A point of origin is a necessary factor in many navigational forms in order to plot direction and distance to a required destination, and FTL navigation is no different. Essentially, what this means is that the coordinates entered by Kara Thrace into the FTL computer aboard Galactica would only jump the ship to its new Earth destination from the precise astral location of ''Galactica'' when it initiated the jump from the Colony. Given the coordinates' origins in the Music and the revelation that a divine entity is in some way shaping the events which have taken place in the series, as seen by Pythia, it could be suggested that the attack on the Colony and the resulting success and retreat were in some way destined. While this may seem logical, it is purely conjectural. The way these events have took place cannot be explained by rational means.
 
*Several clues point to Earth as the true homeworld of humanity. As the Fleet approaches Earth, the artifacts they encounter are more recent. The ruins on Kobol are 2,000 years old, the Lion's head nebula beacon is 3,000 years old, and the Temple of Five is dated to 4,000 years old.


== Official Statements ==
== Official Statements ==
 
* ''[[Edward James Olmos]] jokingly describes how he thinks the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] could find Earth:''
* ''[[Edward James Olmos]] describes how he thinks the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] will find Earth:''


:I personally — this is not [from] any of the writers, but my thing — I wanted to come into [the present day], find Earth, cruise on top of it, see it for what it is, and as we're coming down to it, we're blown up, we're nuked. And then [someone says to] the [[w:President of the United States|President of the United States]], which is [[w:George W. Bush|[George W.] Bush]], "They've been taken care of. Thank God you saved the world again." And you turn, and you see who told him that, and it's one of the Cylons. [''Laughs'']<ref>{{cite_web|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20015932_2,00.html|title=Four-ward, Cylons: Edward James Olmos|date=23 March 2007|accessdate=22 June 2007|last=Vary|first=Adam B.|format=|language=}}</ref>
:I personally — this is not [from] any of the writers, but my thing — I wanted to come into [the present day], find Earth, cruise on top of it, see it for what it is, and as we're coming down to it, we're blown up, we're nuked. And then [someone says to] the [[w:President of the United States|President of the United States]], which is [[w:George W. Bush|[George W.] Bush]], "They've been taken care of. Thank God you saved the world again." And you turn, and you see who told him that, and it's one of the Cylons. [''Laughs'']<ref>{{cite_web|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20015932_2,00.html|title=Four-ward, Cylons: Edward James Olmos|date=23 March 2007|accessdate=22 June 2007|last=Vary|first=Adam B.|format=|language=}}</ref>
== See also ==
* [[Sacred Scrolls#The Origin of Mankind]] - For a brief outline on two competing theories about the nature of Earth in the Re-imagined Series.


==References==
==References==
<div style="font-size:85%"><references/></div>
{{reflist}}
 
{{RDM Planets}}
[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Planets]]
[[Category:Planets]]
[[Category:Planets (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]
[[Category:RDM]]
[[de:Erde (RDM)]]

Latest revision as of 05:00, 21 February 2024

Earth, home of the Thirteenth Tribe, from orbit

Earth is the believed destination of the Thirteenth Tribe of Kobol, as attested in the Sacred Scrolls. Prior to its discovery, its existence is considered purely mythical and legendary within Colonial and Cylon societies. Earth is also the name of a planet Colonial survivors eventually settle after a long and arduous journey across space following the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.

Earth: Home of the Thirteenth Tribe

Beginnings

Earth, as it appeared before its destruction
Main articles: History of the Twelve Colonies and Thirteenth Tribe (RDM)

The legend of Earth begins at least four thousand years ago on Kobol, where Scriptures tell of the exodus of a Thirteenth Tribe of humanity during a period of great turmoil across the planet. It is said that "they traveled far and made their home upon a planet called Earth . . . which circled a distant and unknown star." While not many previously believed in Earth, there are artifacts rumored to point out the general direction to the planet. These rumors are later confirmed after the destruction of the Colonies (TRS: Miniseries, "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I").


Settlement and Development

For nearly two thousand years, the Thirteenth Tribe flourished on the planet, creating a civilization comparable to the Twelve Colonies before their fall, including development of their own robotics and artificial intelligence. Unbeknownst to Colonials or most Cylons, the Thirteenth Tribe was a flesh and blood race of artificial beings much like the humanoid Cylons, which were created on Kobol thousands of years ago. They originally relied on organic memory transfer technology to download into new bodies after their deaths. However, sometime after leaving Kobol, they gained the ability to reproduce sexually, and the technology fell out of use (TRS: "No Exit").

The fact that the Tribe was artificial in nature is never fully revealed to the civilians of the fleet. To them, they were a society of humans that were destroyed by their robotic creations much like their society was four years prior.


Apocalypse

Main article: Final Five

Approximately two thousand years BCH, the Tribe's robotic creations rebelled against their creators, in an act of mutually assured destruction. The attack caught the population off guard, with many at work or enjoying leisurely activities. Evidence of people going about their lives is still visible on the remains millennia later. However, prior to the apocalypse, five individuals started seeing visions of strange people warning them of the upcoming cataclysm. The five worked hard to recreate the lost organic memory transfer technology, and built a ship in orbit to carry their experiments. After their deaths, the five were resurrected on this ship, and opted to follow the Tribe's original course back to Kobol, leaving Earth behind (TRS: "Revelations", "Sometimes a Great Notion", "No Exit").


Earth's Fate

Earth's ruins, two millennia after the Fall of the Thirteenth Tribe

At the conclusion of the war, no survivors remained on either side, and Earth was left burning and irradiated. Despite lingering radioactive contamination, plant life gradually returned, and whatever ruins remained succumbed to nature and time. A large city on the planet visited by both Colonials and rebel Cylons was largely submerged in water and partly buried in sand.

Unable to support human life, the planet is abandoned days after its discovery, and is likely never visited again (TRS: "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I," "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II," "Revelations," "Sometimes a Great Notion").


A New Earth: The Promised Land

The Colonial's new home, as it appears from the moon's orbit

By an infinitesimal chance, a habitable planet is found by pilot Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, after she is able to extrapolate FTL jump coordinates from a song she used to play as a child. Lt. Thrace inputs these FTL coordinates into Galactica's FTL computer in a desperate attempt to escape from the Cylon Colony. Galactica, damaged from battle, limps into orbit of the planet.

As depicted in "Crossroads, Part II," this planet is located relatively close to the Ionian Nebula.


Diverse Wildlife

Earth's diverse wildlife

After Colonial recon of the planet, Earth is discovered to have a diverse range of wildlife, more than the Twelve Colonies put together. It also features a race of primitive hunter-gatherer humanoids, having evolved here separately from those on Kobol. Upon further study, these humanoids are discovered to be compatible with Colonial DNA, which opens up the possibility of Colonials and Cylons interbreeding with them.


Colonial/Cylon Settlement and Future Evolution

Survivors heading for shelter

With Galactica in pieces, and the Colonial Fleet not fairing any better, it is decided that the planet will be settled, with the remaining Cylons soon joining them. Plans begin for new cities to be built, but those plans are soon abandoned in favor of starting fresh in an attempt to break the historical cycle of violence. Colonial units scout the planet, and eventually determine the best possible chance for survival is to split the survivors into groups, and spread them across different sites around the globe. These locations are documented, and presented to each of the groups for future use. After the survivors set up their camps, the fleet and any remaining advanced technology are scuttled. The settlers christen this new planet "Earth," in honor of the promised land they have been chasing for four years.

The surviving Colonial and Cylon settlers and their descendants begin interbreeding with the indigenous humanoids, creating a new race, with the first human-Cylon hybrid becoming "Mitochondrial Eve," the most recent common matrilineal ancestor of all living humans. Her fossilized remains are uncovered nearly one hundred fifty thousand years later, around the time that another advanced human society is on the brink of major breakthroughs in robotics - much like the Twelve Colonies, the first Earth, and Kobol before them (TRS: "Daybreak, Part II").


Notes

  • Gaeta comments in "Revelations" that the constellations seen from orbit of the Earth they had just found match those seen in the Tomb of Athena. This was later proven incorrect, as those constellations are actually visible from a different Earth over one hundred centuries later (TRS: "Daybreak, Part II"). It would have been extremely improbable that the constellations visible from the Earth found in "Revelations" would have looked the same as those of New Earth. That being said, while on the first Earth, all of the constellations of Zodiac could all be seen at once-this is not possible on the current Earth.
  • From what is known of the nature of navigation in FTL jumps, the odds of the coordinates used by Kara Thrace to jump Galactica from the Colony to the new Earth and actually achieving the end they did are no less than infinitesimal. One of the elements in FTL navigation is the point of origin. A point of origin is a necessary factor in many navigational forms in order to plot direction and distance to a required destination, and FTL navigation is no different. Essentially, what this means is that the coordinates entered by Kara Thrace into the FTL computer aboard Galactica would only jump the ship to its new Earth destination from the precise astral location of Galactica when it initiated the jump from the Colony. Given the coordinates' origins in the Music and the revelation that a divine entity is in some way shaping the events which have taken place in the series, as seen by Pythia, it could be suggested that the attack on the Colony and the resulting success and retreat were in some way destined. While this may seem logical, it is purely conjectural. The way these events have took place cannot be explained by rational means.

Official Statements

I personally — this is not [from] any of the writers, but my thing — I wanted to come into [the present day], find Earth, cruise on top of it, see it for what it is, and as we're coming down to it, we're blown up, we're nuked. And then [someone says to] the President of the United States, which is [George W.] Bush, "They've been taken care of. Thank God you saved the world again." And you turn, and you see who told him that, and it's one of the Cylons. [Laughs][1]

References

  1. Vary, Adam B. (23 March 2007). Four-ward, Cylons: Edward James Olmos (backup available on Archive.org) (in ). Retrieved on 22 June 2007.