Cylon (reimagining) - Background

Background

The Cylons were created by Graystone Industries on Caprica as the U-87 Cybernetic Lifeform Node initially to serve as robotic soldiers but later as workers. They eventually rebelled against their creators, leading to the First Cylon War. After the arrival of the Final Five, who promised to share their technology in exchange for peace with the humans, an armistice was signed, ending the conflict. The Cylons then disappeared for 40 years. During this period, the Cylons evolved into a society consisting of multiple copies of seven distinct models, all of them nearly indistinguishable from humans. (The humanoid Cylons kept simpler, biomechanical Cylons as soldiers and servants, much as humans themselves once had.) At the end of this period, the Cylons returned and destroyed the 12 colonies in a surprise attack, and pursued the survivors through space.

It was later revealed that humans had also created Cylons in human form on Kobol (the planet on which the human race originated before dispersing to the twelve colonies), and that these Cylons were the "thirteenth tribe" that settled the first planet to be named "Earth." This knowledge was lost after the exodus of the tribes from Kobol.

Cylons acknowledge themselves as "humanity's children" but believe their parents are deeply flawed. There are religious differences between the two groups: Cylons are mostly monotheists while humans predominantly worship a polytheistic pantheon of gods similar to Greco-Roman mythology.

Along with the humanoid models, Cylon society consists of a labor-warrior class of Centurions and a transport-air warrior class of Basestars and Raiders. Basestars and Raiders are partly biological and as such vulnerable to viral infection. Raiders and Centurions, while intelligent, were inhibited from exercising free will, although the Hybrids that controlled Basestars did exercise some autonomy and were respected by the humanoid Cylons.

The humanoid Cylons are the leaders of the Cylon society and the revelation that these infiltrators can mimic human form (even down to the cellular level) creates a wave of fear among the humans. Some humanoid Cylons are sleeper agents, programmed with false memories so that they think they are human. Cylons can interact with humans very convincingly, even being capable of intimate emotional and sexual relationships. The Cylons are capable of the same psychological and emotional responses as human beings. Nonetheless, they have certain superhuman abilities, such as increased stamina and strength and the ability to connect with computer systems. Cylons are more sensitive than humans to some forms of radiation and more resistant than humans to others. They are also able to upload their memories to other copies of their model through a central station. Another Cylon, of the same model, can also access these memories if they choose. The humanoid Cylons also have the ability to distinguish between identical-looking copies by sight, which is something the Centurions - and humans - do not.

Reproduction is difficult, with the Cylons initially unable to produce children from their sexual unions. They decided to turn their attentions to reproduction with humans. Their crossbreeding experiments in facilities called "farms" are also unsuccessful and they eventually develop a theory that love is necessary for them to procreate, because "God is love" in their theology. This leads to a successful experiment in which a Number Eight and Lieutenant Karl Agathon are set up to fall in love and produce a daughter named Hera. It has also been revealed that the 13th Tribe was capable of sexual reproduction. They also originally were not capable of sexual reproduction but learned to do so on the original Earth.

In lieu of sexual reproductions, humanoid Cylons had the ability to download their consciousness into another body when the body they are using dies, giving them virtual immortality (until the fourth season episode "The Hub"). The second season explored this notion in greater depth — these downloads have a limited range, requiring the Cylons to build a "Resurrection Ship" to capture them. If not within range of a Resurrection Ship, a Cylon's death will be permanent. The episode "Scar" established that the downloading process is shared by the semi-organic Raider spacecraft, which allows Raiders who have been killed several times to become more formidable fighters but the mechanical Centurions do not download. The Resurrection Ships function as boosters for the central Resurrection Hub. If the Hub is destroyed, resurrection ceases for all Cylons.

Cylons also have an ability referred to as "projection", a form of hyper realistic day dreaming which allows them to change the appearance of their surroundings in their own mind (e.g. making the corridors of a ship look like a forest, etc.). They have the ability to touch, feel, smell, etc. the fantasy environment. They could even share projections and also create third persons that do not exist in the real world as part of the fantasy. This ability serves as a fantasy expression of their subconscious desires or emotional life.

If a Cylon is deemed dangerous by the other models, he or she may be "boxed" — deactivated with their consciousness and memories placed into cold storage. This may involve a particular copy or an entire line. Boxed consciousnesses are stored in the Resurrection Hub and can be restored.

Centurions are often called toasters, partly a reference to their shiny metal construction but also to suggest that they are descendants of the ordinary household appliance as a way of demeaning them. For that reason, "toaster" has also been used in a derogatory manner towards humanoid Cylons. Another term for human-looking Cylons is "skinjobs" (an homage to the film Blade Runner in which Edward James Olmos has a supporting role). Centurions have been termed "chromejobs" or "bulletheads". Cylons in the reimagined series differ in a number of ways from those of the original series, including origins and abilities.