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Number Six

From Battlestar Wiki, the free, open content Battlestar Galactica encyclopedia and episode guide
Number Six
[[Image:|200px|Number Six]]

Human Name

{{{name}}}
Age Late 20s
Colony First witnessed on Caprica
Birth place {{{birthplace}}}
Birth Name See Notes
Birth Date {{{birthdate}}}
Callsign
Nickname {{{nickname}}}
Introduced [[{{{seen}}}]]
Death Copies have been destroyed in several episodes
Parents
Siblings
Children
Marital Status
Family Tree View
Role Cylon Infiltrator, Overseer
Rank
Serial Number {{{serial}}}
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)
Spoiler follows, highlight to read.
The upcoming episode "Epiphanies" may shed some light on the matter.


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 Gaius Baltar article for arguments for and against this concept).

Shelly Godfrey

Commander Adama and an apparently distraught Ms. Godfrey.

"Shelly Godfrey" is the pseudonym adopted by an incarnation of Number Six that arrives on board the Galactica with a mission to apparently expose Gaius Baltar as a traitor (Six Degrees of Separation). Her real aim, however, is to further push Baltar to a point where his only hope of salvation appears to be his complete acceptance of the Cylon concept of "God". Indeed, once he has reached this point, she rapidly goes into hiding (possibly unwittingly helped by Sharon Valerii on the Galactica?) and later probably removes herself from the ship - or destroys herself.

During her time on the Galactica, "Godfrey" very much reveals her underlying nature is very similar to that of her "sisters" as she attempts to seduce William Adama.

Her appearance on the Galactica gives the clearest indication of all that Baltar's Six is an independent intelligence implanted in his head - and that, for all its statements to the contrary - it is somehow in contact with other humano-Cylons within the fleet (or at least in communication with any of its "sisters" which may be in the fleet). The appearance of "Shelly Godfrey" and the "disappearance" of Six from Baltar's mind is otherwise too coincidental to be believable.

Notes

  • The last name Godfrey means God's Peace in the Germanic language.

Gina

File:GinaPromo.jpg
Gina, Cylon Prisoner of War

Gina [ˈʤi.nə] is a Cylon agent who posed as a crewmember aboard the battlestar Pegasus (Resurrection Ship, Part I). She was identified by the crew of that ship and apprehended (killing seven crewmen in the process). She was incarcerated, brutally interrogated and systematically gang-raped by many of the crew.

When Pegasus encounters Galactica and her fleet, Gina is examined by Gaius Baltar. He is heartbroken by her state, and resolves to help her in any way he can. He convinces Admiral Helena Cain to permit her to be fed, and recounts to Gina a story of his love for her copy on Caprica, before the Cylon attack (Pegasus).

Gina begs for Baltar to kill her and put an ultimate end to her suffering. When Baltar reminds her that she would just be revived in another Number Six body somewhere else, Gina reveals to him that it wouldn't happen if the unknown Cylon ship that Pegasus had been tracking is destroyed. She calls the vessel a Resurrection Ship, and that it was used to collect the consciousnesses of Cylons who die too far away from the Cylon homeworld and download them into new bodies. With no Resurrection Ship to download her consciousness, Gina would truly die if she were killed (Resurrection Ship, Part I).

With Baltar's help, Gina escapes from her cell, makes her way to Cain's quarters and shoots Cain with a pistol, killing her. Then, through as yet unexplained means, she manages to escape the Pegasus (Resurrection Ship, Part II).

Spoiler follows, highlight to read.
According to an interview with Ron D. Moore, Gina's storyline will not be resolved in "Resurrection Ship", but she will go on to form a sort of love triangle between Gina, Baltar, and Baltar's internal Six. Baltar's relationship with her will "continue throughout the season", so she will be around for some time.


Notes

Gina is a reference to some fans' derisive nickname for the Re-Imagined series, GINO - "Galactica In Name Only" (itself an allusion to RINO, a political term) (Source: "Pegasus" podcast)

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 C. 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

  • It has been claimed that the name "Number Six" may be 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).