Lucifer (TOS-RH)

This article has a separate continuity. This article is in the Richard Hatch Novelizations separate continuity, which is related to the Original Series. Be sure that your contributions to this article reflect the characters and events specific to this continuity only.

For the canonical depiction of this character, see: Lucifer.

Lucifer is a Cylon cogitator—a diplomat and advanced thinker—who serves as chief advisor to the Imperious Leader and later rises to command a basestar. He is distinguished by his transparent skull dome containing a visible brain that constantly sparks with electrical charges, and his tendency toward amusement and mockery in his dealings with humans.

Biography

Early Service

Lucifer initially serves as aide to Baltar when the traitor commands a Cylon base star. During this period, he displays a distinctly amused tone when speaking to Baltar, particularly when saying the phrase "By your command"—words that sound absolute when spoken by other Cylons but carry an undertone of mockery from Lucifer. Baltar despises Lucifer intensely, recognizing the cogitator's contempt for him.

When the Imperious Leader relieves Baltar of command, Lucifer is promoted to commander of the base star, with Baltar demoted to mere advisor. This reversal of their positions represents one of the Imperious Leader's many betrayals of Baltar.

Ambitions for Leadership

Lucifer harbors significant ambitions, hoping to one day be chosen to replace the current Imperious Leader. Each Imperious Leader has a specific reign equivalent to three-quarters of a century in human terms, and each Leader chooses his own successor from among the cogitators.

The key to succession lies in the Cylon brain structure. Lucifer possesses two brains: the first serves as the body's guidance system ensuring efficiency of task, while the second brain contains skills necessary for Cylon officers, such as analyzing and interpreting facts. These two brains working in tandem ensure Lucifer's rise to executive officer level. However, only Imperious Leaders possess a third brain, which is implanted as an award and grants, according to Cylon belief, the capacity for limitless knowledge and the ability to deal in abstracts rather than mere facts.

With the gifting of the second brain, true hunger begins—the cogitator's transparent skull flashes constantly with sparking thoughts, revealing ambitious scheming for higher places. The Imperious Leader recognizes Lucifer's many thoughts as evidence of one who sees himself in higher places and schemes to achieve that position.

Physical Characteristics

Lucifer is entirely synthetic except for the brain that "sizzles" inside the clear dome of his skull. He wears long robes as an homage to the Imperious Leader, though he has very little body to speak of. Unlike Cylon warriors, Lucifer is a thinker—a cogitator whose voice sounds "lively, almost amused."

When Lucifer moves through corridors, he appears to glide, his long cloak hiding the motion of his legs in ghostly fashion. Inside the transparent dome comprising the top half of his skull, electrical charges spark constantly, flashing off corridor walls in a kaleidoscope of shadows and light.

Command Authority

Aboard the Imperious Leader's base star, Lucifer is granted unique privileges. While other cogitators and Centurions are restricted in their movements—Centurions are not permitted in certain sectors unless specifically summoned by the Imperious Leader—only Lucifer is allowed complete freedom of movement. This special status intrigues Lucifer, who constantly seeks to understand why he has been granted such access, theorizing it may be due to his knowledge of and experience with humans, or perhaps his familiarity with Baltar.

Lucifer's command authority includes overseeing the development of new Cylon technologies and warriors. He presents Baltar with a new breed of Cylon Centurions equipped with advanced capabilities, including a "Human Logic Function" brain implant designed to make them superior to standard Centurions. These dark Centurions are armored in gleaming ebony shrouds and represent a crowning achievement in Cylon development. However, this innovation proves flawed in practice—the Human Logic Function, based on Baltar's lack of decency, courage, or loyalty, only confuses the Centurions and slows them down in combat, making them less effective than their predecessors.

Intelligence Gathering

Lucifer demonstrates considerable skill in intelligence operations. He acquires information about the location of the human fleet through careful observation and information gathering, learning what the Imperious Leader apparently already knows but has not shared with him. When the fleet is sighted by Cylon outriders, Lucifer experiences immense pleasure at the prospect of seeing Baltar again—and even greater relish at the thought of finally receiving the Imperious Leader's blessing to kill the arrogant human he was made to serve for so long.

Despite this success, Lucifer remains troubled by unanswered questions, particularly regarding how the Imperious Leader knew the fleet's location, wondering if it was genuine knowledge or merely a ruse to perpetuate the Leader's image of omnipotence.

Witness to Darkness

On at least one occasion, Lucifer enters the Imperious Leader's chamber to find his master speaking to a mysterious entity—a swirling, oily black maelstrom floating in the air. The Imperious Leader speaks to this churning darkness, saying "...will soon be at an end. Our enemies have fled as far into the heart of the galaxy as we will allow. Soon, you will have what you have always dreamed of..." So entranced is Lucifer by the boiling black mass that he barely notices the Imperious Leader has ceased speaking and is staring down at him.

When Lucifer questions what he has witnessed, the Imperious Leader offers him a chilling lesson: "Centurions are mindless. Cogitators were given minds as a gift. But some things, it is better not to know."

Later, Lucifer witnesses even more disturbing evidence of the Imperious Leader's connection to dark forces. Standing in the shadows of the Imperious Leader's chamber above the Chitain homeworld in the Xerik system, he listens in astonishment to a conversation in Kobollian—the language of humans. His master speaks to the pool of blackness that swirls like a maelstrom high above the chamber floor, with whatever exists on the other side beseeching the Imperious Leader's aid. Most shocking of all, the darkness addresses Lucifer's master by a name that transforms his understanding of the Cylon Empire: it calls him Iblis.

Relationship with the Imperious Leader

Lucifer's interactions with the Imperious Leader follow ancient Cylon tradition. Upon entering the Leader's presence, he formally petitions with the phrase "By your command," a ritual as old as the Cylon race itself. The Leader's chamber is kept in near-total darkness, lit only by small fires burning in braziers in the corners, with the Imperious Leader seated on a tall platform nine steps above the floor.

When reporting information, Lucifer experiences the Leader's chilling reptilian smile, which unsettles even the calculating soul of an advanced cogitator. The Imperious Leader acknowledges Lucifer's service but also reminds him of the boundaries of knowledge appropriate for a cogitator.

The Leader demonstrates confidence in Lucifer's abilities, instructing him to accompany the Leader on missions specifically because "your expertise in galactic affairs ought to be quite helpful," to which Lucifer responds, "You honor me, Imperious Leader," and receives the reply, "Yes. I do." This exchange is followed by the Leader's horrible laughter—"a sound not often heard on a planet of swamps and insects, where the creatures of the mud had risen to become the scourge of the galaxy."

Tactical Command

During military operations, Lucifer provides tactical reports to the Imperious Leader. When narrow-vector sub-space communication is established with Cylon outposts, Lucifer reports on fleet movements and engagements, including a space battle between the humans and the Chitain. His reports follow the formal structure of beginning with "By your command," maintaining the hierarchical protocols of Cylon military organization.

Plans Against Humanity

When the Imperious Leader confirms plans regarding an unknown adversary, Lucifer absorbs this information while maintaining his role as faithful advisor. However, his discovery that the Imperious Leader is actually Count Iblis—or at least connected to that ancient evil—raises profound questions about the true nature of the Cylon Empire's leadership and its ultimate goals.

Lucifer's ambitions to replace the current Imperious Leader position him as a potential usurper, something Count Iblis recognizes as a "nettlesome situation."

Death

Lucifer meets his end during the catastrophic battle at Kobol. When the planet self-destructs in a massive explosion, the resulting force—comparable to a mini-nova—spreads out in an ever-widening ring, vaporizing Cylon and Chitain fighters before slamming into Lucifer's basestar like a flaming tsunami. The destructive wave washes through the ship, reducing the forward-facing hull to slag and causing the superstructure to collapse inward upon itself.

Word of Lucifer's death reaches the Chitain homeworld in the Xeric star system as part of the larger report of the Cylon and Chitain defeat at Kobol. The fiery armageddon that claims Lucifer also destroys the alliance armada and kills Lord Schikik. The Cylons recognize that another will replace Lucifer, just as another will replace Lord Schikik, demonstrating the cyclical nature of Cylon leadership succession.

Count Iblis himself witnesses Lucifer's destruction and finds amusement in it, noting that the cogitator "had been planning to usurp Iblis's place in the Cylon empire, and this fortuitous turn of events spared Iblis the bother of ridding himself of a nettlesome situation."

Personality

Lucifer displays a sophisticated and calculating personality unusual among Cylons. His tendency toward amusement when speaking to Baltar suggests an understanding of irony and superiority that sets him apart from mindless Centurions. He demonstrates pride in his position and achievements, particularly when presenting new Cylon innovations to Baltar.

Despite his ambitions, Lucifer shows appropriate deference to the Imperious Leader, following ancient protocols and accepting the hierarchical structure of Cylon society. However, his constant scheming and desire for the third brain reveal a hunger for power that drives his actions.

Lucifer possesses considerable intelligence and observational skills, constantly seeking to understand the reasoning behind decisions and events. His ability to acquire information through careful analysis and his expertise in galactic affairs make him a valuable asset to the Cylon Empire.

The cogitator demonstrates a capacity for pleasure—particularly at the prospect of killing Baltar—suggesting that Cylons with second brains experience emotions more complex than simple programming would allow.

Notes

• Lucifer's name choice may be intentional, echoing the fallen angel who sought to usurp God's throne, paralleling his own ambitions to replace the Imperious Leader.
• His transparent skull serves both aesthetic and practical purposes, allowing others to witness the constant electrical activity of his advanced brain while also revealing his thought processes to the observant Imperious Leader.
• The revelation that the Imperious Leader is connected to or actually is Count Iblis transforms understanding of Lucifer's true master and the Cylon Empire's origins.
• Lucifer's pride in the Human Logic Function technology proves tragically misplaced, as the innovation based on Baltar's corrupted nature actually weakens rather than strengthens Cylon combat effectiveness.