Cylon Centurion Model 0005

This article discusses the robotic Cylons seen in the Cylon War of the Re-imagined Series. For information on the robotic Centurions from the Original Series, see Centurion (TOS). For information on the advanced successor to Model 0005, see Cylon Centurion.

Cylon Centurion during the First Cylon War (Razor).

The original Cylon Centurion, created and designed by scientists of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, is a model of Cylon used in various heavy to light labor and military applications. Before the Cylon War, the model earned the nickname of "walking chrome toasters" due to their physical appearance (Miniseries).

Design

The armour of a Centurion in Galactica's museum.

The original Model 0005 (henceforth referred to as a "Centurion") are bipedal androids, with an average height of 6'6" and composed of silver-chrome plating. Their upper body panels act as protective armor for the complex machinery that makes up the basic endo-skeleton of the Centurion. On the back, the Centurions have a backpack-like power cell, as well as a piece of flexible armor which further protects the internal mechanisms. Physically stronger than a human, the Model 0005 is designed with sufficient dexterity for using weapons as well as tools, and possess retractable blades in its left forearm (present at least in some variations of the model). There are little pinholes over the brow of the Centurion's head, which serve as ventilation for the brain/CPU, located in the Cylon's cranium.

Unlike their successors, Centurions do not possess built-in projectile weapons and thus use chrome-plated sub-machine guns. There are indications that Centurions also used bladed weapons such as swords, at least in the early years of the Cylon War, for such weapons were absent during the final days of that war. More than likely, such weapons were outmoded in favor of the retractable blades in the left forearm. Centurions are also capable of electronic speech, by which they primarily communicate, although this feature was apparently never transferred to their successors.

The Colonials do not consider this model neither fast nor extremely efficient, but Centurions are still deadly in close quarters.

Its two iconic features are the one Cylon "eye" that glows red and pulsates back and forth in a visor-like slot, a feature that is transferred over to the post-war Raider and Centurion, in addition to the chrome plating. The chrome plating earned the Cylons the reputation of being "walking chrome toasters".

Variations

Centurions (including a gold-coloured variation) pilot a Cylon War-era Raider.

There are at least four variations of this model. It is not known if they are all considered 0005, or whether they are separate models altogether.

Early versions of the Centurion, seen in the Galactica museum and the Armistice Officer's specification, had their joints and servos covered by tubes of black material, and their internal mechanisms covered by a "skirt" of flexible armor, while in versions used in the late stages of the Cylon War, the mechanisms are more visible. At the end of the War, aside from the basic, "Pilot" Centurion, there is also a bigger, tougher version known as the "Soldier", which took part in the invasion of Tauron at the end of the Cylon War. The key differences between the "Pilot" and the "Soldier" are a slightly redesigned head, additional flexible armor and a belt of ammo clips.

Gold-colored Command Centurions resembling the Command Centurions of the Original Series are seen as commanders of Raiders. While the only Command Centurion seen was a gold-colored late-War "Pilot" model, counterparts for both the early models and the "Soldiers" might also exist. It is not known whether they differ from other Centurions in any way other than color and function.

A similar model existed on Earth among the humanoid Cylons of the Thirteenth Tribe two millennia ago (Sometimes a Great Notion). Only the head of this Centurion variant is shown. In place of the horizontal "eye" recess (the "toaster" slot) of colonial Colonial counterpart, this Centurion has curved eye recesses which meet in the middle. Whereas the "mouth" area of the 0005 model is a trapezoid, the variant has an inverted teardrop shape.

Demeanor

An old style Centurion fires a weapon aboard Galactica.

The Colonial-designed Centurion used artificial intelligence, and was designed as sentient. By the time the war ended, they were already practitioners of a religion centered around a single loving God.

Sometime, 52 years prior to the Fall of the Colonies, the Model 0005 rebels against humanity. For twelve years, the Cylon War pits the Colonial's constructs against them. Eventually, these models accept an armistice and leave the Colonies to form their own homeworld. The reason for this was the arrival of Earth-born humanoid Cylons Saul, Ellen, Samuel, Tory, and Galen, who promised to develop further humanoid models for the Centurions if they would stop the war. The Centurions accepted this arrangement, having so far managed only to produce Hybrids in their attempts to evolve into a humanoid form.

The five Earth Cylons were encouraged by the Centurions' belief in a single loving God. Ellen Tigh believed it changed everything; if the Cylons embraced love and mercy, then the cycle of violence could end.

Centurion aiming its gun in free fall.

Saul Tigh, who has false memories of being a veteran of the Cylon War, recalls the Cylon boarding of the Brenik, and how he could sense the hatred that the Cylons had for humanity, despite the physical inability for the Cylons to show emotion on their faces (deleted scene from "Scattered"). This reflection of animosity and intensity is also apparent in the stylized Monclair painting in William Adama's quarters, which shows Model 0005s fighting using relatively primitive weapons.

Before the second Cylon conflict, this original Cylon model was the only Cylon design confirmed to be known to the Colonials. With the destruction of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, the Model 0005 is apparently no longer in use, as the Cylons have evolved themselves to the enhanced, agile, non-sentient Centurion version and the sentient humanoid Cylons.

Unlike the modern Centurions, the old Centurions speak among each other to give and acknowledge orders. In addition, they use the phrase "By your command" when issued an order by a superior Centurion (Razor).

Guardians

Guardian Cylons protect their Hybrid.

The Guardians are a group of original Centurions who somehow escaped from being scrapped when the newer humanoid models replaced the sentient Centurions with their non-sentient successors. They still use Raiders from the First Cylon War and appear to operate entirely from a single basestar, a model which represents an intermediate between the Cylon-war era and current design. Their existence is somewhat of a Cylon legend, suggesting they have no contact with the modern Cylons.

The Centurions guard the original Hybrid, who is still alive over 40 years after its creation. They seek to further their evolution, and to this end they capture and experiment upon a human civilian science team from Galactica. This triggers a battle in which the Guardians' basestar and the Hybrid are destroyed (Razor). It is unknown whether all of the Centurions are aboard the basestar when it is destroyed.

The Colony

Cylon War-era models battle modern Centurions.

Some of these models were kept active on the Cylon Colony. These older Centurions served as guards along side their modern counterparts. Colonial forces and Rebel Centurions engaged these models in the Battle of the Colony. The Colony Centurions were equipped with bigger guns than those carried by the Guardians. They were also somewhat harder to destroy than the Guardians. It is unknown if these Centurions had free will or were non-sentient like their modern counterparts.

All of these older models were destroyed when the Colony was knocked into a black hole.

Connection to the Original Series

Armistice Officer's paper work on the original Cylon Centurion model. (Miniseries)

The readable text of the Armistice Officer's Cylon Specifications sheet shows:

CYLON SPECIFICATIONS

Cylon Centurian [sic] Model 0005

The Cylon:

A Cylon is a bipedal robot. They are self-aware, and usually quite logical. They are not especially fast, but they are quite strong. They are artificial in nature, and are larger than a human, around 6' 6" (2m), although this varies with their type. Cylon eyes glow red, and pulse back and forth. A Cylon is powered by internal powercells which allow it to function without outside aid for around nine to ten yahrens.

Related imagery

• 
  A view of the world as seen by a Centurion (Razor Flashbacks).
• 
  Destroyed Centurion (Razor).
• 
  Cylon Centurion (Armor) on display (Miniseries).

Notes

• Centurions in "Razor" and the Razor Flashbacks move with greater agility and speed than their Original Series counterparts, and utilize projectile weapons instead of a laser pistol or laser rifle.

• A built-in switchblade knife is part of the left hand/forearm. The blade is approximately 8 inches long and is used in close combat (Razor Flashbacks).

• In a scene in the Miniseries, some children can be seen running around in costumes which are patterned after this model.

• The typical catchphrase of the Cylons in both series is the iconic statement "By your command."

Behind the scenes

The Centurion models for "Razor" were designed by Pierre Drolet, who had, among other things, previously designed the Viper Mark II, which is also a homage to the Original Series. Drolet said: "I always thought it was a great design. My goal was not to redesign it from scratch, but to work with the original and make subtle additions."