Cylon Models

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Centurion Model 0005

Cylon Centurion (armor) on display (Miniseries)

Model Name: Cylon Centurion

Main article: Cylon Centurion Model 0005

The Centurion Model 0005, glimpsed briefly in two scenes of the Miniseries, was apparently the latest Cylon model to have been extensively documented by Colonial authorities after the Cylon War. It is a primitive model, resembling a short, clumsy humanoid with a single red eye - or as some of the Colonials contemptuously referred to them, "chrome toasters". According to Saul Tigh, they had a distinctive "stink" of machine oil.

These models were apparently the instigators of the Cylon rebellion, or their immediate descendants. They fought in all the major engagements of the Cylon War, including the boardings of Brenik and Galactica. A painting by Monclair depicts a massive melee between early-model Cylons and joint Aerelon-Caprican ground forces.

Not only were these models sentient, they were far from emotionless — in his recollection of the Brenik, Saul Tigh recalls their vicious tactics in hand-to-hand combat: "The first one was Duncan Raverty. I found him in the corridor. His guts were strewn around on the floor. Y'know, at first I couldn't figure out why the Cylons would bother doing something like that [...] You had to look into their red eye-slit. They hated us. They hated us so much it wasn't enough just to kill us" ("Scattered", deleted scene).

While remarks by Number Six in the miniseries state that "those [walking chrome toaster] models are still around. They have their uses," it is most likely that she is referring to the modern Centurions (below), which seem to have replaced the Model 0005 entirely.

Modern Centurion

A deadly Cylon Centurion, upgraded from its predecessors

Main article: Cylon Centurion

The current mainstay of Cylon ground forces, the modern Centurion is a taller, swifter and more agile unit than the Model 0005. Its "fingers" serve as edged weapons in close-quarters combat, and can retract to make way for projectile weapons built into its forearms.

There are apparently two armor configurations - the Centurions encountered by Lt. Karl Agathon on occupied Caprica were susceptible to normal small-arms fire, while a boarding party dispatched to Galactica in a boarding action could only be impeded by explosive rounds (Valley of Darkness).

While the earlier Centurion models presumably took a leadership role in their war against the Colonials, modern Centurions appear completely mute and are subservient to the human models. To prevent an uprising of their own, the human models did not design the modern Centurion with any sentience.

Cylon Spacecraft

Kara Thrace cuts her way through the biomechanical muscles of the Cylon Raider in order to get in (You Can't Go Home Again).

Main article: Cylon Spacecraft

The current model Cylon Raider is an autonomous craft (Miniseries), apparently capable of operating at fair distance from any command vessel (Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down; Final Cut). Capt. Jackson Spencer, encountering the newer model Cylon Raider for the first time, expresses shock that "nobody's flying these things." Lt. Kara Thrace later discovers that the Raider she has shot down was, after a fashion, "alive." She removes most of its organic parts before returning with it to Galactica. There, Sharon Valerii, a Cylon sleeper agent, guesses that the Raider is a Cylon in its own right, although "More of an animal, maybe, than the human models... like a pet" (Six Degrees of Separation).

Another Sharon copy confirms that Raiders 'download' and reincarnate. In addition, the former Cylon operative reinforces the earlier statement about the animal-like nature of Raiders, saying, "A raider's much like a trained animal, with the basic consciousness and survival instinct."

The basestars also makes extensive use of organic parts (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II). The ship is commanded by a group of Humanoid Cylons, and has a living humanoid computer, known as a Hybrid, that manages ship functions and takes orders from other agents. Hybrids do not function autonomously.

Human Models

Main article: Humanoid Cylon

At some point at least two years prior to the miniseries, Cylon forces in exile on their homeworld deploy to the Colonies in secret an organic model that's almost completely indistinguishable from a human being. These were used to quietly and effectively infiltrate the Colonial defense forces, with agent models such as Number Six gaining access to secret military technology, and sleeper agents such as Sharon "Boomer" Valerii being planted within the Colonial Fleet itself. These sleeper agents are programmed with false memories and appear genuine. Unplanned discovery of their true nature can be extremely disturbing for these units, and their behavior is not always predictable.

Only slight chemical differences reveal human from Humanoid Cylon. Humanoid Cylons also apparently differ from humans in two significant ways.

Sharon Valerii conceives a child with Karl Agathon (Six Degrees of Separation).

Reproductive Difficulties

With a single exception, no human-model Cylon has been able to conceive a child (The Farm). It is impossible for two Cylons to reproduce with each other, and as result the Cylons began cross-breeding experiments with humans (who can reproduce easily), which so far has only resulted in the pregnancy of the Caprica-copy of Sharon Valerii. Cylon beliefs attribute this to the apparent inability of Cylons to feel love, which they believe to be a crucial element of the process.

Cybernetics

Number Six's spine glows during intercourse

On two occasions, the vertebrae of human-model Cylons have been seen to emit a red glow visible through the skin during sexual intercourse (Miniseries, "Six Degrees of Separation").

Other elements of Cylon humanoid physiology are light-sensitive. Tissues disguised in their forearms behave as a data link that can be interfaced, after a fashion, to Colonial fiber-optic networks (Flight of the Phoenix), but is primarily used in accessing the Cylon optical network known as the datastream ("Torn," "A Measure of Salvation").

Cylon brains are imbued with a vaguely described technology called silica pathways. This legacy technology existed in the original Centurion Model 0005, but some of this technology remains in the human models, although the technology appears to have been integrated at the molecular level since the brains of Humanoid Cylons and humans are visually identical. Silica pathways are possibly key in the maintenance or transfer of thoughts, memories and consciousness of a Cylon to be downloaded and transferred into a new body when the agent dies. Silica pathways in Humanoid Cylons, as in Centurions, remain susceptible to certain forms of radiation, as found in the storm surrounding Ragnar Station and the Plutonium used as the active element of Dr. Gaius Baltar's Cylon Detector. It normally takes several hours of prolonged exposure for this radiation to have a visible effect (Miniseries, "Bastille Day"). Cylons are exceptionally resilient to other forms of radiation, as seen in "The Passage".

Known Models

In the miniseries, somewhat ambiguous comments by Caprica-Six and a note left for William Adama (presumably by Gaius Baltar) indicated that there were only twelve humanoid models at the time of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. Of the twelve human models, seven have been revealed as of the episode "Rapture."

• 

  Number Three (Boxed)

• 

  Number Five

• 

  Number Six

• 

  Number Eight

• 

  Leoben Conoy

• 

  Simon

• 

  Cavil

The "final five"

The Final Five
NOTE: This picture is in no way indicative of the identities of the final five, the figures in this photo are merely stand-ins.

The existence or knowledge of the five remaining models appear to be something of a taboo in Cylon society. When Baltar mentions their absence to Caprica-Six he is told not to talk about them. The identities of these five models appear to be suppressed or missing from the Cylons' collective knowledgebase.

A Number Three model believes that the five silhouetted figures she sees in a vision of Kobol's ancient Opera House while she is in the "space between life and death" prior to resurrection are images of the final five.

Inside the Temple of Five, Number Three manages to return to the "space between life and death" and sees the faces of the five and retains her memories of them for the first time. She recognizes one of the five while she was in their presence but when her consciousness returned to the temple she promptly died before she could reveal who it was she saw. Her consciousness, and the consciousnesses of all other Three models has been boxed by the other Cylons and all the knowledge of the five has been boxed with her, for the time being (Rapture). Since only the Threes have seen these figures, and because the Temple itself was designed for descendants of the twelve tribes and not the Cylons, the actual nature of the final five remains a mystery.

Hybrids

Main article: Hybrid

A Hybrid speaking "nonsense".

In addition to the Humanoid Cylons, there is a second type of humanoid Cylons, known as the Hybrids. Not to be confused with the Cylon/human hybrid child, Hera Agathon, the Hybrids aboard basestars resemble Humanoid Cylons, but are another type of Cylon similar to the autonomous bio-mechanical pilots within Raiders. They are specially constructed living computers that manage the autonomic functions of the basestar. The Hybrids are so integrated into the basestar's functionality that they are, for all practical purposes, the basestar.

Organizational Relationships

The exact nature of the Cylon hierarchy remains unclear. The humanoid models, as the most evolved form of Cylon, are definitely in charge of the Centurions and Raiders. Caprica-Six's statement in "Downloaded" that Cylon culture is based on unity and that celebrities such as herself are something new implies that there is no single "Imperious Leader" as there was in the Original Series. Instead, each model appears to be equal in terms of power and authority and the Cylons appear to make critical decisions based on consensus, or failing that, majority opinion. One or two representatives from each available model gather and discuss matters in a forum-like environment then hold a vote on what course of action to take. Each model gets one vote that appears to represent the opinion of every copy of that model (except in one known instance where Caprica-Six disagreed with the other Number Sixes). The Centurions, Raiders and the Baseship Hybrids are not permitted a vote in the decision making process ("Occupation" through "A Measure of Salvation"). In Rapture a Number Three refers to "who programmed us" while speaking to one of the Cavil models before being boxed.