Humanoid Cylon
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Overview
Following the end of the Cylon War, the Cylons withdrew from Colonial space to a planet of their own. For some 40 years, nothing was heard of them, and no apparent attempt was made by the Colonials to keep an eye on them. The only contact expected between the two was at annual meetings at Armistice Station. However, while the Colonials sent a repesentative to the station every year, the Cylons did not (Miniseries).
During their forty years of isolation, the Cylons developed or evolved a humanoid form that very closely mimics human form, down to the cellular level, but not completely at a molecular level.
Cylon agentsTemplate:Ref have the capacity to emulate many human physical acts, including sex, as demonstrated by the Number Six and Sharon Valerii models.
Cylon agents can be programmed to believe that they are truly human. These are known as "sleeper" agents. Sleeper agents appear to have a low-level Cylon personality that can conduct operations while placing the human sleeper personality "on-hold". The first copy of Sharon Valerii, known by her callsign of "Boomer" on battlestar Galactica, had little awareness of her true nature until her arrest for the attempted assassination of William Adama (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II). This sleeper agent conducted or aided in sabotage operations within the Fleet ("Water", "Litmus"). Most agent copies, particularly versions of Aaron Doral and Number Six, imitate human personalities, but are fully aware of their true nature.
(c) Universal
Although they cannot do so remotely or wirelessly, Cylon agents can interface with a computer system or computer network through subdermal physical contact with input cables connected to the devices. Caprica-Sharon connected to the Galactica's computers by this method in "Flight of the Phoenix" when she inserted a fiber-optic cable through her left palm and into her arm.
Cylon agent brains are human in appearance, but are apparently still susceptible to damage from certain types of radiation. Upon the death of an agent's body, a Cylon agent transfers its consciousness into another copy of itself. This ability is limited by distance, signal integrity, and proximity to a resurrection node or, in space, a Resurrection Ship (Miniseries, "Flesh and Bone." "Resurrection Ship, Part II"). Based on Caprica Sharon Valerii's conversation with Kara Thrace in the episode, "The Farm," it appears that all Cylon agents may share a collective knowledgebase of data from other active or deactivated Cylon agents. Valerii spoke of a conversation between Thrace and a captured Leoben Conoy copy in the Fleet. This information would only be known to that now-dead Leoben copy if sharing were not possible. Kara Thrace's call sign, Starbuck, was also a likely bit of information gleaned from the collective knowledgebase that Simon knew of the Viper pilot, although Thrace never told him of her call sign and used it to strike back at her abductors (The Farm). Also, during "Flight of the Phoenix," Caprica-Valerii asked Anastasia Dualla if she still carried her pocket knife, a fact which would have been known only to the Galactica copy. When under duress, the copy of Sharon Valerii known as "Boomer" on Galactica was able to tell Gaius Baltar the number of remaining Cylon agent agents in the fleet, information that would be impossible to gather without a collective knowledgebase (Resistance).
Some or all Cylon "female" models may have the capacity to bear children seeded by human males (33, Flesh and Bone, The Hand of God, Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II). The Cylons tested numerous methods of sexual reproduction, yet these failed due to a known flaw in the Cylon agent design. Cylon agents cannot reproduce with each other biologically, and, attempting to subvert this deficiency, they have been trying to interbreed with humans to create hybrid offspring. "Farms" were apparently set up across all the occupied Colonies where survivors, specifically, young fertile women of child-bearing age, were rounded up, placed under heavy sedation and turned into "baby machines" through artificial insemination. However, this method has not met with success. Another drastically different approach was taken by attempting to conceive a child through a bond of love. It seems that Helo and Sharon Valerii's love-child is the lone success story of the relatively short history of Cylon sexual reproduction (The Farm).
Known Cylon Agent Models
There are twelve models of humanoid Cylons (Miniseries). Thus far, six models have been revealed to viewers as Cylon agentsTemplate:Ref. However, only five models are actually known to the Colonial characters as agents as of the episode, "Pegasus."
Number Three
This model was witnessed by viewers posing as a reporter from the Fleet News Service and was revealed to be a Cylon at the end of "Final Cut" when a second copy was shown living on Caprica. Of all the Cylon agent models revealed to viewers, the Colonials are not yet aware that D'anna Biers is a Cylon agent as of the mid-season 2 cliffhanger, "Pegasus".
Part of Biers' mission within Galactica's fleet (which fits her work as a journalist) likely involves the relay of important intelligence within the Fleet, such as the status of the pregnant Caprica copy of Sharon Valerii.
A copy of this model has appeared under the name "D'anna Biers".
Number Five
This model attempts to sow the seeds of discontent or confusion, particularly during crucial life-threatening situations, and endeavors to undermine authority that threatens his objectives. (Miniseries) Doral models are more covert, assuming an ordinary "everyman" appearance that's blended in what may seem to be insignificant behind-the-scenes issues (such as converting Galactica into a museum). Of all the models thus far, the Aaron Doral models are the most militant, fanatic and consistent in message and objectives to the Cylon objectives, whether he is dispassionately discussing the fate of humanity with his comrades or attempting to kill or maim Colonials in a suicide bomb attack (Litmus). Viewers first meet Doral during a tour of Galactica with other Colonial citizens (possibly the press) as we see the battlestar for the first time at the start of the Miniseries. The viewers aren't sure of Doral's true identity as the second Cylon agent they've seen until the end of the Miniseries, however.
Copies of this model have appeared under the name "Aaron Doral".
Number Six
This model utilizes the human need / desire for sexual relations to her advantage. She is religious and monotheistic. She desires to know what it is to be alive.
Typically she is the alpha female, as demonstrated on multiple occasions (Miniseries, "33," "Water," "Six Degrees of Separation").
Copies of this model have appeared under the names "Shelly Godfrey" ,"Gina", and (possibly) "Natasi."
Number Eight
The Valerii model is generally a saboteur designed to infiltrate Colonial military units and is likely programmed to use any Colonial munitions to cause havoc (Water). The Valerii model is the closest witnessed Cylon agent model to show its abilities as a soldier. This model has shown naiveté in many matters. She is apparently not as religious as other Cylon models, but has demonstrated that she can love, and is capable of being impregnated by a human ("Six Degrees of Separation," "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II"). She may be "defective", as the Cylon programming within the sleeper agent known as "Boomer" on Galactica conflicted multiple times with its human personality (Water). Also, the fully aware Sharon Valerii found by Helo on Caprica has fully switched alliances from Cylon to Colonial after falling in love with Helo and is now aiding the Colonials (several episodes, most notably "Flight of the Phoenix"). Valerii is the third Cylon agent introduced during the Miniseries. However, viewers do not discover her true identity until the very end of the Miniseries when a second copy appears at Ragnar Anchorage while retrieving the abandoned copy of Aaron Doral.
Copies of this model have appeared under the name "Sharon Valerii".
Leoben Conoy
Leoben Conoy was the fourth model witnessed by viewers (although viewers would not know until the end of the Mini-Series that they had already met the third humanoid Cylon, Sharon Valerii). The Conoy model has shown to be religiously oriented, using dogma and intermixing truth with falsehoods. It was first discovered on Ragnar Station, claiming to be a scavenger / arms dealer (Miniseries).
He can be likened to the serpent of the Genesis tale in the Earth Christian Bible, taunting people with knowledge then watching as the negative consequences come into devastating fruition. Leoben copies have likely been encountered by the Caprica Resistance movement, as Samuel Anders recites in jest some comments made by another Leoben copy captured in the Fleet ("Flesh and Bone," "The Farm").
Simon
The Simon model was encountered by Kara "Starbuck" Thrace Cylon-occupied Caprica. Posing as a doctor, Simon was actually involved with the Cylon hybridization program. Simon resembles a tall, somewhat thin middle-aged black man who speaks in a comforting strong voice (The Farm) Unlike other models, Simon doesn't seem to have many military aspects to his physical or mental configuration, and was easily overcome by a wounded Thrace. Simon may be a model based primarily on human intellectualism.
Speculated Infiltrators
See the Cylon agent speculation article for analysis on characters and their likelihood of being a Cylon agent, based on episode information.
Ron Moore elaborates on the twelve models
In a 10/24/05 interview on "The Chase Show" on the SF webcast news site TheFandom.com with veteran "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" actress Chase Masterson, Ron D. Moore is interviewed and directly answers two key questions in the Twelve Models debate and the origin of Sharon Valerii in particular. Here is a transcription of that interview segment.
- Chase: ... I just have to ask something... is there one Boomer that's just human?
- Ron: No, there's not. I mean, the idea is not there was one like an original human model that they were copied from. The idea was that these were... these models of Cylon were developed out of their own study of us. The Cylons on some level looked at humanity and said, "Well, you know what, there's really only twelve of you... and these are the twelve." And then if you look at them, they kind of represent different archetypes of what humanity is. Um, Sharon, in particular — Sharon-Boomer, went through quite a trans-metamorphosis because in the original mini-series script, in the first draft, she wasn't a Cylon at all. She was going to be just — I wrote her just — I wanted a youngish pilot, who was the rookie, who was sort of vulnerable in ways, who made mistakes in ways that you're not used to seeing your heroes on TV shows do, and I was really interested in this idea of the officer, the female officer in love with the male deck chief in violation of all the rules and I kinda thought, going forward, that she and the chief, in combination with Boxey, who's really only in the mini-series and one or two other episodes, would form sort of our family unit, that that was kind of a family...
- Chase: OK...
- Ron: ... and actually, after that first draft was written, it was David Eick, my producing partner, who said, "You know what, if at the end of this thing, at the very end when all the Cylons walk into Armistice — into the Ragnar station at the end... if you turn around and Sharon is one of the Cylons, he said, we're definitely gonna get picked up for a series.
- Chase: (laughs) OK... that did make... that really did seal the deal...
- Ron: ... and I just really went... that's a great idea and I realized that, because I'd had laid... I had written a story straight, I really hadn't cheated. There was no hint of who Sharon might be, and it really did suck you in, and really sort of, you believed her as a person first, and then we revealed her as a Cylon.
- Chase: ... Right....
- Ron: ... And so what happened after that was, I assumed going into the first season — well I didn't assume, I just planned... to slowly, over the course of the first year, peel back the layers — that Sharon would only start to sort of discover her Cylon nature by the end of the first year.
- Chase: Oh, God... and it was heartbreaking, watching that unfold, because I loved her much as human, and she was just adorable, with him and then with the kid, it was like, oh, what a great girl, she's um... you know, young and cute, and — who's the actress — and that whole thing, and then you're like, WHAT?
- Ron: Yeah...
- Chase: ... She's the enemy...
- Ron: I know then, she's the enemy, then she's the one that is your most worry, what's she gonna do next.
- Chase: Yeah. You really took us on quite a journey there. I was still hoping for a human one running around somewhere, but no, huh?....
- Ron: No.
- Chase: Oh, well...
With this information from the show's main creative leader, it is established as canon that:
- There are precisely twelve human Cylon models. The other varieties of Cylon spacecraft or fighters are not factored into this count of 12 models.
- Sharon Valerii was never an actual human, and neither were the other Cylon agent models.
- The twelve models are based on on archetypes determined by the Cylons that form what they perceive were the specific kinds of human behavior and/or personality, distilled into twelve varieties.
Note
- Template:NoteViewers initially lacked an authentic term to call the humanoid Cylons during season 1 of the series. Here on the Battlestar Wiki, the descriptive term "Humano-Cylon" was used for a time. Dialogue in several episodes throughout season 2 have consistently used "Cylon agent" to describe the humanoid Cylons. Other names are also used, such as "humanoid-Cylons" (which Tricia Helfer often uses in interviews, but apparently more for convenience than an official name), or "Bio-Cylons" which is sometimes used derisively by fans of the Original Series.
- Template:NoteThe term "Known Cylon agents" is shown on a dossier on the models shown on Laura Roslin's desk on Colonial One in the episode "Epiphanies."