Cogitator

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.

A cogitator is a Cylon diplomat and advisor, representing an elite class within the Cylon Empire. The most notable cogitator is Lucifer, who serves as chief advisor to the Imperious Leader.

Physical Characteristics

Cogitators possess a distinctive appearance that sets them apart from standard Centurions. They feature a transparent dome atop their skull, within which a living brain is housed. Inside this clear dome, electrical charges spark constantly, flashing with particular intensity when the cogitator is engaged in heavy thought. These sparks illuminate surrounding areas in a kaleidoscope of shadows and light as the cogitator moves.

Unlike the heavily armored Centurions, cogitators wear long robes, an homage to their leaders that also serves to hide their movements, creating a ghostly, gliding appearance. They possess very little body mass compared to warrior models, as their design prioritizes intellectual capacity over physical strength.

Function and Role

Cogitators serve as diplomats, advisors, and strategic thinkers within Cylon society. They are executive officers who possess analytical and interpretive capabilities far beyond those of ordinary Centurions. Where Centurions are mindless and execute orders without question, cogitators were given minds as a gift, enabling them to analyze complex situations and advise leadership.

Within the rigid hierarchy of the Cylon Empire, cogitators occupy restricted sectors of base stars, generally forbidden from moving freely except by direct summons from the Imperious Leader. Lucifer is a notable exception, granted freedom of movement aboard the Imperious Leader's base star, though the reasons for this privilege remain unclear even to Lucifer himself.

Cogitators gain power through observation, the possession of information, and the identification and resolution of vital questions. This intellectual approach allows them to rise to positions of significant influence within the Empire.

Neurological Structure

Cylons employ a three-tier brain system, with cogitators possessing two brains. The first brain functions as the body's guidance system, ensuring efficiency of task. The second brain, which distinguishes cogitators from basic Centurions, contains the necessary skills for analyzing and interpreting facts, enabling them to rise to executive officer positions.

Working in tandem with the first brain, the second brain grants cogitators their superior cognitive abilities. However, cogitators perpetually hunger for a third brain, which would elevate them to the status of Imperious Leader. The third brain allows its possessor to transcend mundane facts and deal in abstracts, granting what Cylon belief holds to be the capacity for limitless knowledge.

The second brain's hunger for a third creates natural ambition within cogitators, leading many to scheme for advancement to the highest position in Cylon society. This ambition is readily visible to Imperious Leaders, who recognize that a cogitator with many flashing thoughts is one who sees himself in higher places.

Limitations

Despite their advanced cognitive abilities, cogitators possess inherent limitations. When Count Iblis performed his genetic experiments that created the Cylons, he provided them with a form of neo-cortex, but ensured it was more limited than that of humans. While superior to the reptilian brains of basic Cylon warriors, cogitator brains lack the full capacity of human neo-cortexes, which are responsible for memory, planning, and learning.

The Imperious Leader maintains control over cogitators through information restriction, reminding them that while Centurions are mindless and cogitators were given minds as a gift, there are some things it is better not to know. This policy ensures that cogitators, despite their intelligence and ambitions, remain subordinate to the supreme authority of the Imperious Leader.

Known Cogitators

• Lucifer - Chief advisor to the Imperious Leader, granted unprecedented freedom of movement aboard the Imperious Leader's base star