Humanoid Cylon speculation

See also: Characters eliminated from suspicion

The Cylons' transformation into humanoid form introduces serious problems for the remnant of humanity known as the Fleet to identify Cylon operative from human.

This article details plausible speculation on central and supporting characters in Battlestar Galactica who, based on their behavior, motive, and background, could be a Cylon agent. As of the second half of Season Three, seven Humanoid Cylons have been revealed both to the population of the Fleet and to the audience. Five Cylons remain unaccounted for.

Needed Qualifiers for Speculation

For a character to be logically considered a possible Humanoid Cylon, there are a few established parameters to meet:

• The suspect must not have any adult children or siblings. For purposes of this article, a pregnancy can be generally established as a disqualifier. With one exception, Humanoid Cylons have extreme difficulty with human sexual reproduction to the point of effective infertility. If a character has adult, biological children, it automatically excludes them as being a Humanoid Cylon as the procreation of the child and the age of the child both violate the 2nd qualifier. Although Humanoid Cylons have, eventually, proven to be capable of reproduction with humans, the birth of the hybrid child Hera was considered such a seminal event by the Cylons that it seems safe to conclude that no Cylon ever had a child before that point.
• The suspect must not have a verifiable family history (other than marriage). A parent would have known their child from birth (unless otherwise specified), and Cylons are not copies of preexisting humans. This is an expansion of the "confirmed character history" point below.
• The suspect must not have been exposed to the lymphocytic encephalitis virus. The virus is lethal to Cylons (although Athena received special immunity due to her pregnancy). Therefore, any member of the boarding party in "A Measure of Salvation" (excluding Athena) cannot be a Cylon. This qualifier is absolute since, while Dr. Cottle was preparing a vaccine, it was never given to the incarcerated Cylons in that episode. Else, the Battle of NCD2539 would have been pointless; the Cylons had to remain infected for the mission objective. No aired information supports a notion that a "supply of vaccine" or Athena's own immunity (when she downloaded to a baseship in "Rapture") was obtained or transferred to the Cylons.
• The suspect does not have a reliable history involving direct association (i.e. working or personal relationship) with a confirmed human character prior to the Cylon War.

Humanoid Cylons were never genuine humans

According to Ron D. Moore, the twelve humanoid models are based on human behavior and personality archetypes distilled into twelve varieties. Cylon agents are NOT copies or clones of any pre-existing humans, living or dead.

Death

As only a humanoid Cylon can "return" from the dead, any human character that dies is instantly disqualified from suspicion. If the character returns in a manner other than being seen in a "flashback" scene or episode, then it is probable that the character is a Cylon. See the article, "Characters eliminated from suspicion", for more information.

Suspected Cylon infiltrators

Moderate probability of being a Cylon

Kara "Starbuck" Thrace

• Known siblings or adult children: No
• Known family members: Yes (alluded to in "The Farm" by Simon)
• Confirmed to have lived during the Cylon War: No
• Three-year or longer association with disqualifing character: Yes, with qualifier (the Adama family, Karl Agathon)
• Chances of being a Cylon: Moderate

Starbuck was apparently disproved as being a Cylon: Simon wanted to use Starbuck's egg cells in Cylon/human hybrid experiments (The Farm). It would be illogical to take genetic material from another Cylon agent (unless Simon is unaware that Thrace is another Cylon agent).

Thrace's association with Zak Adama occurred over two years prior to the Cylon attack (Miniseries). Helo notes that he and Thrace have known each other for a "long time" but the actual length of their friendship isn't defined (Scattered).

Thrace's painting (Valley of Darkness)

The symbol in the Temple of Five (The Eye of Jupiter)

A strange connection between Thrace, the Cylons, or the ancient Thirteenth Tribe may exist based on the Temple of Five. A significant similarity exists between a symbol painted by Thrace that's found in her apartment in "Valley of Darkness" and the symbol in the Temple of Five, found over a year later. When informed of the similarity between her painting and the temple symbol by Helo, Thrace mentions that the symbol was something that she has drawn since childhood almost subconsciously some times.

The events of the second half of season 3, particularly rumors of Thrace's demise or destiny in the episode "Maelstrom", and the revelation of her drawing the Eye of Jupiter mandala subconsciously return this character's suspicion from "none" to "moderate." Supporting this tenuous level of suspicion is the fact that the five missing Cylons are not known to the seven revealed agents, leaving characters with strong levels of direct Cylon interaction (Thrace and Gaius Baltar, particularly) with strange associations that cannot be fully defined, particularly her interactions with the Leoben Conoy model and his prophetic indications of Thrace's destiny (Flesh and Bone).

Though clearly meant as a joke, Katee Sackhoff claims in the Season Three gag reel that Starbuck is a Cylon and that she dies. Given the rumors surrounding the character and the confirmation that a major cast member will be departing after the episode "Maelstrom" , there may be more truth to Sackhoff's claim than there seems.

Before her apparent death in Maelstrom, she had a hallucination or vision of a being that looks like Leoben Conoy but suggests that he isn't, along with a number of other visions, including one of a raider.

Kara Thrace appeared in a Viper in Crossroads, Part II, raising the question of how (or if) she survived the events in Maelstrom.

Gaius Baltar

See also: Baltar as Cylon speculation

• Known siblings or adult children: None
• Known family members: None
• Confirmed to have lived during the Cylon War: No
• Three-year or longer association with disqualifying character: Unknown (described as a close personal friend of President Adar)
• Chances of being a Cylon: Moderate

Gaius Baltar's odds of being a Cylon are not good, but not impossible either. The miniseries establishes him as a prominent public figure for years. Cylons talking amongst themselves in "Downloaded" continually referred to Baltar as a human. In "Torn" Caprica-Six mentions that she was (and possibly still is) considering to have a child with Baltar, which would appear impossible if he was a Cylon. However, when learning of the Cylon's "projection" abilities in "Torn" and how they may be related to his vision of Number Six, Baltar himself begins to question whether or not he is a Cylon.

Recent information from cast members that portray Cylons confirmed a season 3 storyline that indicates that the revealed agents do not know the identity of the five remaining Cylon agents. This storyline is introduced in the episode, "Torn."

Under extreme psychological duress Baltar confesses to President Roslin and Admiral Adama that he is not a Cylon, however the veracity of his confession is questionable (Taking a Break From All Your Worries).

Anastasia "Dee" Dualla

• Known siblings or adult children: No
• Known family members: No
• Confirmed to have lived during the Cylon War: No
• Three-year or longer association with disqualifying character: Unknown
• Chances of being a Cylon: Moderate

Dualla seems to have a fairly well developed backstory regarding her past; she is a Sagittaron (Bastille Day), her father disapproved of her joining the military (Final Cut), but upon closer inspection none of this can be confirmed by a third party: the only source of information about Dualla's past in the series has been Dualla herself. Dualla's position in charge of Galactica's communications puts her in an ideal position for subversion. In "Valley of Darkness", Dualla is found in the enlisted head, having suffered a blow to the head from Cylon Centurions that passed through, the only survivor in the compartment. Cylon agents have often demonstrated the ability to physically damage themselves for a cause, including self-destruction. Dualla could have feigned injury to avoid suspicion. Dualla's relationships with members of both government and military command (Billy Keikeya and Lee Adama) increase her involvement with secrets in the Fleet. Dualla's contraction of Mellorak infection in "The Woman King" would seem to decrease the possibility of her being a Cylon, as the hybrid Hera's blood seemed to have disease (cancer) resistance. However, Hera has herself been sick before and during the episode, and Cylons are also subject to infectious diseases (Torn).

Felix Gaeta

• Known siblings or adult children: No
• Known family members: No
• Confirmed to have lived during the Cylon War: No
• Association with known disqualifying character: Yes (William Adama)
• Chances of being a Cylon: Moderate

As tactical officer, Felix Gaeta, being technically minded, is initially fond of Dr. Baltar's work. He admitted to ignoring the Cylon device found below the DRADIS console in the Miniseries, believing it to be part of the new museum. Gaeta neglects an update to emergency jump coordinates to the Fleet (Scattered), and proposes creating a computer network to fix the matter, leaving the ship vulnerable (and compromised twice).

Gaeta's recent behavioral changes from the stress of working at evading the Cylons shows by "Final Cut" as Gaeta is shown in his interview drunk, smoking, and wearing a new tattoo. By the following episode, "Flight of the Phoenix", Gaeta angrily snaps at Colonel Tigh for giving a difficult order, causing surprise throughout CIC as Gaeta is normally a calm, reserved officer even under the worst of conditions. Contrast this behavior with "Boomer" Valerii, who still appeared quite alert after 5 continuous days of combat status. Note the following dialogue from the first regular series episode, "33":

Apollo: Hey, how about you, Boomer? Doc tells me you're holding up better than anybody in the squadron.

Boomer: I'm tired, like everybody else.

Apollo: You never seem it.

Starbuck: 'Cause she's a Cylon.

Boomer: You're just gonna make me come over there and kick your ass, aren't you?

While even Cylon agents develop severe behavioral and physiological issues after extended work and abuse (Pegasus), Cylon agents appear to be more resilient than humans, which may limit the likelihood of Gaeta's possible Cylon connection. On the other hand, if he were a Cylon, Gaeta's human personality may have finally been overtaxed by that time, suggesting that an actual human might have snapped earlier in their exodus in contrast. Boomer, however, was unaware of her Cylon nature and thus would not have hidden her enhanced physique. An aware infiltrator would presumably feign more ordinary levels of endurance.

The seven known Humanoid Cylons appear to have integrated human agents into the Colonies no earlier than 2 years before the events of the Miniseries. No information is available on dates of infiltration by the Final Five, whose activities are unknown to the seven. Gaeta has served with Commander Adama for three years (Miniseries). Saul Tigh confirms that he has worked with Gaeta for 4 years (Collaborators).

Gaeta chose to stay with Baltar's puppet administrator on New Caprica to feed inside information to the resistance, which Galen Tyrol confirms ("Occupation", "Precipice", "Collaborators"). Since humanoid Cylons are not clones of actual humans, the likelihood of Gaeta as a Cylon agent would depend on the start of Final Five's infiltration into Colonial society.

Diana Seelix

• Known siblings or adult children: None
• Known family members: None
• Confirmed to have lived during the Cylon War: No
• Three-year or longer association with disqualifying character: Unknown
• Chances of being a Cylon: Moderate

Diana Seelix's odds of being a Cylon were, in retrospect, always somewhat moderate. The only circumstantial disqualifier would be that there were probably many opportunities for her to aid the Cylon cause that she didn't take, particularly when she fought in the resistance under Galen Tyrol. However, the fact that she took up arms is interesting considering that she stated on Kobol that she hadn't used a gun "since basic" (Fragged). Finally, in "A Day in the Life", Seelix was in a position where she conceivably could have caused the inner airlock doors to close with Galen and Cally Tyrol inside. Cinematically, extra attention was given to her relatively indecipherable operation of the controls in the airlocks's observation room.

Low probability of being a Cylon

Romo Lampkin

• Known siblings or adult children: No
• Known family members: Parents described as "missing"
• Confirmed to have lived during the Cylon War: No
• Association with known disqualifying character: Allegedly (Joseph Adama)
• Chances of being a Cylon: Low

Defense attorney Romo Lampkin claims to have been a student of Joseph Adama's, but this claim cannot be independently verified. His desire to be the attorney for Gaius Baltar is unexplained.

Cally Tyrol

• Known siblings or adult children: No
• Known family members: Yes (Nicholas Tyrol)
• Confirmed to have lived during the Cylon War: No
• Three-year or longer association with disqualifying character: Unknown
• Chances of being a Cylon: Low to None

Cally Henderson shoots "Boomer" Valerii in a "Jack Ruby-style" assassination, preventing the Fleet from interrogating her further. While this might benefit the Cylon agenda, Henderson had a perfectly understandable reason for doing it, which she has openly stated: she hates Boomer for her association with Chief Tyrol and for her betrayal in shooting Adama.

Henderson is married to Galen Tyrol and has a son, Nicholas as of season 3. Given the magnitude of problems in creating Cylon or Cylon/human offspring, Cally Tyrol's pregnancy is a substantially powerful disqualifier as an agent. At the very least, it is impossible for them both to be Cylons.