Number Six

Number Six
[[Image:|200px|Number Six]]
Human Name	{{{name}}}
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Colony
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Birth Date	{{{birthdate}}}
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Nickname	{{{nickname}}}
Introduced	[[{{{seen}}}]]
Death
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Family Tree	View
Role	Cylon Infiltrator, Overseer
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Portrayed by	Tricia Helfer
Number Six is a Cylon
Number Six is a Final Five Cylon
Number Six is a Human/Cylon Hybrid
Number Six is an Original Series Cylon
Related Media
		@ BW Media
Additional Information
[[Image:|200px|Number Six]]

"Number Six" is a stunning blonde who plays several key roles in the Cylon military. She is the first Humano-Cylon that viewers witness in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica saga, and is apparently the sixth of twelve models of Humano-Cylon.

Armistice Station Copy

She is a portent of doom for the peoples of the Twelve Colonies; she arrives on Armistice Station shortly before it is destroyed in what are the opening shots of the Cylon attack in the Mini-Series.

Natasi

Prior to the attack, Natasi [nə.ˈtɑ.si] was a a copy of Six who played an important role in preparing the way for a Cylon victory. Seducing the ambitious, self-obssessed, arrogant Gaius Baltar, she fooled him into believing she was a corporate spy, seeking to gain advantage over her competitors in order to secure a lucrative defence contract (Mini-Series). Over the course of two years, she used Baltar to gain access to his work -- even to the extent of re-writing many of his own algorithms -- in order to subvert his own Command Navigation Program so that it could be used in the forthcoming Cylon attack to cripple Colonial forces.

In addition to this work, she performed a second role -- one which is potentially as important to the Cylons, but one in which she may not be fully capable of performing: trying to make Gaius Baltar fall in love with her and, possibly, have a child by her. This is a role that she admits to him is not an official part of her assignment, but it is in keeping with the apparent aims and goals of the Cylons -- for whom "love", expressed through the concept of their God, is a motivating factor behind some of their later actions.

The fact that she is unable to become pregnant in her time with Baltar (assuming she would try, and he would be willing) is suggestive that the humano-Cylons are physically, as well as mentally, configured for specific roles. Six is designed as a seducer not a child-bearer, a fact apparent in all her incarnations.

With the opening of the Cylon attack, Baltar's Six is apparently destroyed protecting him from the effects of a nuclear blast shockwave on Caprica.

Notes

• According to the novelization of the Mini-series by SF novelist Jeffrey A. Carver, the name that Baltar called Six before she revealed she was a Cylon during the attack was "Natasi." This name appears to be Polish in origin. Since this name has never been mentioned in the events of the screenplay or regular episodes, its canonical value is debatable, although nothing else has been proposed.
  • Carver stated that he pronounces "Natasi" as "Nuh-TAH-see", though fans could really pronounce it any way they want.
  • Some fans have pointed out that "Natasi" spelled backwards makes "I, Satan". When this was brought to Carver's attention he said it was an unintentional coincidence. (Source: Ragnar Anchorage forums)

Baltar's Internal Six

Number Six and Gaius Baltar in his lab aboard Galactica. (C. Universal Studios)

Fleeing the city and then the planet itself, Baltar is shocked to discover that the copy of Six he knew as Natasi lives on - inside his head.

At first he tries to dismiss her presence as a manifestation of his own guilt over what has happened to his people, and his role in it. However, Six suggests that she is in fact the result of a chip inside his head. However, while some of her actions - such as terrifying Baltar into constructing a genuine Cylon detector (Bastille Day) - very much suggest she is a part of his own psyche, this is countered by her underlying actions and deeds, all of which represent a furtherance of those aims and goals she expressed as a corporeal entity, giving added weight to the idea that she is most likely a personality download contained within a chip in Baltar's head. Some of these are characteristics never witnessed by Baltar himself - such as her jealous reaction to Boomer's visit with Baltar in his lab (Flesh and Bone), which closely mirrors the jealousy she shows towards the Valerii copy on Caprica ("Litmus", "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down").

Certainly, this seems to be the view Baltar himself comes to hold, as he relies more and more on her for guidance and insight into Cylon ways - so much so that she deliberately suggests that her presence within him is something of which other Cylons have no knowledge. However, in her relentless drive to get Baltar to fully accept the Cylon concept of God, it would appear that not only are other Cylons in the fleet aware of her "existence", they are in communication with her: hence the arrival of "Shelly Godfrey" onboard Galactica with her accusations of treachery at the precise time Six ceases to communicate with Baltar.

When Baltar begins to deny Six's actual existence, she turns the tables by changing her appearance and telling him that he was, indeed, "crazy" (Home, Part II). Baltar asks Dr. Cottle to perform a brain scan to check for anything unusual. "Nothing, nothing, more nothing" is the gruff diagnosis from Cottle. However, later in the same episode Baltar realizes that the Six he sees could could not possibly be a hallucination caused by him going "crazy", because she knows things (such as that Caprica-Sharon Valerii was pregnant) that his subconscious mind has no way of knowing. When confronted with this, Six agrees that she is not a product of Baltar's mind, although scans show no chip in his brain. When Baltar asks her what she really was, Six only replies that "I'm an angel of God sent here to protect you". While Baltar may not have a conventionally visible chip in his head, it could be organically-based (like the humanoid Cylons) and indistinguishable from other tissues in his brain or central nervous system. There is a remote chance that Baltar could be a Humano-Cylon himself (see the Cylon agent speculation article for arguments for and against Baltar as a Cylon agent).

Shelly Godfrey

A copy of Number Six that physically appears on board Galactica to try to discredit Baltar as a traitor, using evidence which was flawed, so that he ended up being more popular than before. For more, see the article, "Shelly Godfrey."

Gina

A copy of Number Six captured aboard the battlestar Pegasus and repeatedly tortured, before escaping with Baltar's help.
For more, see the article, "Gina."

Caprican Overseer Copies

On Caprica, Six performs the role of a Cylon overseer, working with Aaron Doral to ensure their experiment involving the stranded Karl Agathon and Valerii either reaches its desired conclusion, or is suitably terminated (Litmus, Secrets and Lies).

In this, she shares the same seductive characteristic as shown by her "sisters" at Armistice station and with Baltar - her first act on "freeing" the captured Agathon is to kiss him. Following the destruction of this particular Six (shot by Valerii, in order to enable her to "rescue" Agathon), her "sister" on Caprica demonstrates a certain vindictiveness towards Valerii when giving her a beating that goes far beyond the needs of the experiment (Litmus), thus revealing she may well be experiencing resentment for being shot (remembering that experiences and knowledge are passed from body to body among the various types of humano-Cylon), as well as jealousy at Valerii's chosen role in proceedings.

A further "overseer" Six is present at the Cylon's established base at Delphi, and is briefly seen by Helo when he attempts to gain access to the base in order to steal a ship and get off the planet (Colonial Day).

An overseer-Six surprised Starbuck in the Delphi Museum when she returned to Caprica to retrieve the Arrow of Apollo. They engaged in an all-out brawl, and just as Six appeared to be winning Starbuck rushed her, knocking both of them off of a ledge. This Number Six fell underneath Starbuck, breaking Kara's fall, and was impaled on building debris, killing her (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II).

Another "overseer" Six was present at the "farm" where Starbuck was taken after she was incapacitated by the Cylons. While the Cylon doctor Simon operated on her, Six was there to relay orders and see that everything was proceeding smoothly. She was definitely the controlling figure of the operation. This copy was later bashed over the head with a fire extinguisher by Kara Thrace as she made her escape (The Farm).

Caprican Warrior Leaders

At least 3 additional variants of Six have been operational on Caprica, and appear to lead Cylon Centurion squads and have a subservient role to the "overseer" Six variants. This variant of Six is distinguished by the white raincoat it wears.

One of these variants distracted Helo, enabling him to be captured (33), and was subsequently shot by Valerii.

The second acted as an observer to Helo's "escape", and this same variant may have been leading the Warrior troop into the Caprican farm Helo was hiding in (The Hand of God).

The third was present at Delphi, taking orders from an "overseer" Six.

Notes

• The name "Number Six" is, according to Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion (Titan Books, 2005), written by David Bassom, an indirect tribute to Patrick McGoohan's cult 1967 television series The Prisoner - a series that addressed topics such as personal freedom and identity, mind control, illusionary experiences and the infiltration of society's supposed guardians (secret agents) by a nefarious force (those behind The Village).

Original Series definition: an all-purpose term for Colonial soldier and Viper pilot (see: Warrior)