Cylon History

For information on the Original Series Cylons, see Cylons (TOS).

Part of the series on The Cylons (Re-imagined Series)

History Culture & Religion Religion Models Humanoid Cylons Spacecraft Psychology Tactics

Over 52 years prior to the destruction of the Colonies, the humans of the Twelve Colonies reveled in their advanced technology, from which came their most unique creation, the Cylons. A race of sentient machines, the Cylons were constructed for the purpose of performing tasks no human desired to do. The Cylons were used in hazardous work, including wars between the colonies (before the Articles of Colonization, most or all colonies were sovereign states).

The Cylon War

Then the day came when the servants turned against their masters, and the Cylon War began. Humans responded by unifying their Colonies into a federal republic (with the Articles of Colonization) and building battlestars and fighter craft named Vipers to combat the Cylons. To date, no reason has been offered as to how or why the Cylons rebelled.

The war lasted nearly 12 years, with the Colonies close to a fall. But an armistice was declared, and the Cylons departed the Colonial worlds in search of a home of their own.

The Transition

While absent from human observation during the armistice, Cylons eventually evolved or created new models of Cylons that were organic in nature and essentially identical to humans. The evolution is most likely a result of learning capabilities incorporated into the early Cylons. Without examining for very specific biological characteristics, it is nearly impossible to determine the difference between a humanoid Cylon and a human (Miniseries).

Twelve humanoid models were created (Miniseries). However, for reasons unknown, only seven humanoid Cylon models were actively functioning within the Cylon populace at the time of the genocidal attack on the Colonies. The remaining five models appear to have been intentionally ignored and forgotten to the extent of their discussion becoming taboo between other models (Torn).

As well, the Cylon revised the original Cylon robotic soldier, the sentient Cylon Centurion Model 0005, into a more agile and dangerous version. Unlike the original version, however, the new Centurion is not sentient by design, as the humanoid Cylons wanted to prevent these updated creations from forming an intra-Cylon uprising that mirrored their war with the humans (Exodus, Part I).

The originator or creator behind the new humanoid and Centurion models is unclear.

Returning Home

The Cylons, realizing that the Colonial forces would likely too strong to engage in a direct military action, devise an elaborate plan to infiltrate the Colonial ships' operating system software, leaving a backdoor that could be exploited to disable any Colonial ship with its own programming. The plan is successful; the Colonial Fleet is destroyed, the Colonies themselves subjected to nuclear bombardment, and humanity is all by wiped out, except for a handful of survivors on the Colonies in outlying areas as well as caravan of spaceborne humans that eventually escape the Colonial star system.

The Cylons continue to pursue the remnants of the Colonies, believing that humans will always seek vengeance against them (Exodus, Part II).

The Faith and Reproduction

Main article: Cylon Religion

The Cylons now follow a monotheistic religion of their own devising. Among other tenets, their faith calls for the Cylons to reproduce biologically as part of their mandate to replace humanity. However, Cylon-Cylon reproduction was impossible, so, after the destruction of the Colonies, the Cylons occupy many of the worlds, killing any surviving humans they find, or pressing them into service in Farms, centers that harvested genetic material and fertilized humans with Cylon DNA in the hopes of creating Cylon-human hybrid children (The Farm). The Farms have been, to date, unsuccessful, so the Cylons attempted to emotionally bond a humanoid Cylon with a human, hoping that love would generate the desired result.

The experiment was successful, but is soon out of the Cylon's control for a time. The conception and birth of a Cylon-human hybrid, Hera Agathon, the child of a rebellious Number Eight and Lt. Karl "Helo" Agathon was born in the safety of the Colonial fleet.

Mixed Successes

The Cylons almost succeed in sending the Colonials into chaos when one agent nearly succeeds in killing Commander William Adama (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II). For reasons unknown, the Cylons do not press their tactical advantage at Kobol, either underestimating Kobol's importance to the Colonials and their search for information on the path to Earth.

Cylon forces continued to track and attack the Colonial fleet for months, keeping what few Humanoid Cylons in the human fleet reinforced with a Resurrection Ship, used to resurrect the consciousnesses of killed agents and gain vital intelligence on the humans. Complicating their plans, the Colonials gain sufficient water and fuel resources ("Water," "The Hand of God") and reunite with a second battlestar, Pegasus (which had conducted hit-and-run operations against Cylon installations and forces before discovering Galactica). The Cylons suffer a major setback when the Colonial battlestars combine for an offensive action that all but destroys a Cylon fleet, including a Resurrection Ship. Without the Resurrection Ship, the Cylon battle tactic changes for a time to ambushes and traps ("Scar," "The Captain's Hand").

Benevolent Dictators

Two Humanoid Cylons, both heroes in the Cylon ranks for their work in the fall of the Colonies but now influenced by their affection for humanity, convince the Cylon majority for a time that the genocide and occupation of the Colonies was wrong. With this strange change in philosophy (the Cylons normally work in a collective, collaborative fashion that resemble the behavior of a bee colony more than a republic or democracy), the Cylons abandon the Colonies and go out in search of the Colonials.

The Colonials elude the Cylons for over a year by finding a hidden habitable world and colonizing it. The Colonials escape detection as the planet was located inside a nebula that masked its presence, but a nuclear detonation within the Colonial fleet left a marker for the Cylons to follow. The Cylons later find New Caprica and, in overwhelming numbers, make themselves as "caretakers" of the trapped colonists, occupying the colony and forcing the Colonials to surrender any weapons or resistance.

For approximately 138 days, the Colonials are subject to Cylon rule. But Galactica and Pegasus, which escaped New Caprica as the Cylon fleet arrived, devise a plan to rescue the approximately 38,000 humans on New Caprica. After retrieving the needed launch keys back from Cylon lockup, Galactica goes at the attempt alone, initially, in the final battle. While the old battlestar succeeds in allowing the New Caprican colonists to escape, is nearly destroyed itself where it not for Pegasus's entry into the fray. The advanced battlestar draws fire away from Galactica long enough for it to escape, then sacrifices itself, severely damaging one basestar and destroying at least two others as the battlestar and its remains collide with the Cylon attackers.

The Race to Earth

Main article: Earth (RDM)

The Cylons abandon New Caprica as well, retrieving the Cylon-hybrid baby from the planet by happenstance, and turn their attention to the same objective as the Colonials: finding Earth. Using Gaius Baltar's research (who resides with the Cylon fleet at the time), the Cylon locate the Lion's Head Nebula. A scouting basestar finds an ancient beacon in the area, reinforcing that the Thirteenth Tribe did pass through the area on their way to Earth. But the Cylon scout ship meets with disaster; the probe is contaminated with a pathogen that, while benign to humans, infects, deactivates or kills all Cylons, their ships, and their entities (Torn).

The Cylon fleet, which also includes a second Resurrection Ship, abandons the scouts and cuts off further communication, believing that the virus can replicate through their resurrection process. The Cylon scout ship eventually self-destructs and the Cylons manage to prevent the infection from spreading, although, unknown to the Cylons, the Colonials gain a critical biological warfare option (A Measure of Salvation).

The Number Three units exhibit strange behavior in attempting to ascertain the identities of the final five Cylon models, as they have seen in visions prior to a model being resurrected. At the algae planet, while the Cylon majority attempt to gain information on the location of Earth by way of the Eye of Jupiter, the Threes' ulterior motive to seek knowledge of the final five so disturbs the collective status quo and command consensus of the Cylon majority to the point where all Three models are boxed for their aberrant behavior (Rapture)

The Final Five

Main article: Final five

Unknown to either the Cylon or Colonial commanders and leaders, four Colonials exhibit strange behavior that ultimately brings them to believe that they are Cylons. Saul Tigh, Galen Tyrol, Samuel Anders and Tory Foster are the only crewmembers that can hear a strange melody that draws them to meet each other in a room on Galactica, shortly after the Fleet arrives at the Ionian nebula. The nature of these particular Cylon models, especially given Saul Tigh's existence as a decorated veteran of the Cylon War, is unclear and likely fundamentally different from other humanoid Cylons.

The Parent Trap

In the Re-imagined Series, an Oedipus theme exists between the creations (Cylons) turning on their creators (Colonials). The humanoid Cylons themselves draw the analogy of children murdering their parents:

"But parents have to die. It's the only way children come into their own."

• Miniseries: Number Six: "Humanity's children are returning home... today."
• "Bastille Day": Number Five: "But parents have to die. It's the only way children come into their own."

In Greek mythology, Oedipus was the tragic character of Sophocles' play Oedipus Rex. Without realizing it until much later, Oedipus murdered his father Laius, married his mother Jocasta, and had several children with her, as the Cylons have been trying to do in the Farms.

Also, a Six once referred to Sharon Valerii as "little sister" and Cavils have been called "brother" by each other and by D'Anna, implying that all Humanoid Cylons see each other as siblings.

Notes

• The retaliatory nature of sentient machines against humanity is a popular theme in science fiction.
• Writer Philip K. Dick's Second Variety and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep are strong examples of this man-machine conflict. The movie Blade Runner was based on Dick's Do Androids... novel. (Coincidentally, actor Edward James Olmos (William Adama) co-starred in Blade Runner.)
• Other popular man-machine conflicts in popular theatrical science fiction include The Terminator and The Matrix trilogies.