Cylon History

Humanity's Children, Spurned

More than half a century before the attack, the humans of the Twelve Colonies reveled in their advanced technology, from which came their most unique creation, the Cylons. A race of intelligent machines, the Cylons were constructed for the purpose of performing tasks no human desired to do, which in time included the arduous and violent job of waging war.

Then the day came when the servants turned against their masters, and the Cylon War began. Humans responded by 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. As they are machines with elaborate programming, it can be assumed that safeguards and security protocols would have been a fundamental design characteristic.

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.

Returning Home

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. With the exception of a glowing red spine, it is quite difficult to determine the difference between a humanoid Cylon and an actual human (Miniseries).

Another significant difference is the presence of silica pathways, a technology used in Cylon design, which are vulnerable to a specific type of radiation found at Ragnar Anchorage (Miniseries). Dr. Gaius Baltar is able to successfully build a Cylon detector based on the subtle differences between Cylon and human tissue with the help of his virtual Number Six. however, he has determined it is simpler for everyone "if all the results are green."

After rebelling, the Cylons now follow a monotheistic religion of their own devising.

An interesting new step in the evolution came about with the conception of a Cylon-human hybrid, the child of a copy of Sharon Valerii and Lt. Karl Agathon.

The Parent Trap

In the Re-imagined Series, there is an Oedipus-like theme of 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."
(c) Universal

• 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."

Greek Mythology

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, Six once referred to Sharon Valerii as "little sister" and one Cavil called another "brother", implying that all Cylon agents see each other as siblings.

External links

• Wikipedia's Oedipus and Oedipus Complex pages

Note

The show's creators expressed that the glowing red spine was, in retrospect, a continuity error that was visually appealing at the time, as viewers have rarely seen the glowing-spine effect in later shows since it was first introduced in the Miniseries.