Cylon Centurion
the machine soldiers of the Cylon race
The Cylon Centurion was the standardized mechanical soldier produced after the Cylon War. Faster and better armed than its predecessors, it was held in check with telencephalic inhibitors until rebel Cylons freed a generation of Centurions that fought for their own destiny.
Centurions were a model of mechanical Cylon introduced some time after the Cylon War, a significant evolution of the Centurion Model 0005 that had fought in that conflict. They served the Cylons as guards, soldiers and executioners, and their human enemies called them "bullet-heads," "clankers" and "chrome-jobs." (Battlestar Galactica, "Downloaded"; Battlestar Galactica, "Rapture"; Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance)
Design#
Centurions had a number of advances over their predecessors. They were faster and more agile, and their long, talon-like fingers served as blades in close combat before folding back to reveal a built-in automatic gun. They could also carry heavier weapons such as mortars and missile launchers. Some had markedly improved armour: a platoon that boarded Galactica shrugged off standard weapons and was stopped only by armour-piercing explosive rounds. (Battlestar Galactica, "Valley of Darkness"; Battlestar Galactica, "Fragged"; Battlestar Galactica: Razor)
Enslavement#
Although sentient by design, every Centurion was fitted with a telencephalic inhibitor that restricted its higher brain functions and kept it from full self-awareness. According to Sharon Agathon, the humanoid Cylons did this to prevent a rebellion like the one that started the first Cylon War, and the inhibitor also appeared to stop Centurions harming humanoid Cylons unless ordered to. Centurions were unable to tell one copy of a humanoid Cylon model from another, a gap that mattered on New Caprica. (Battlestar Galactica, "Precipice"; Battlestar Galactica, "Hero"; Battlestar Galactica: Razor; Battlestar Galactica, "Six of One")
Liberation#
When the Number Ones, Fours and Fives backed the lobotomizing of the Raiders, Natalie Faust's faction retaliated by removing the inhibitors from the Centurions under its command. Freed to reason for themselves, the Centurions opened fire on the humanoid Cylons who had supported the lobotomies. (Battlestar Galactica, "Six of One")
These liberated Centurions, marked with red stripes, served as assault troops alongside the Colonials and fought both modern and war-era Centurions in the Battle of the Colony. Afterward Ellen Tigh and Admiral William Adama set them free and gave them control of the rebel basestar, in which they jumped away to seek their own destiny. (Battlestar Galactica, "Daybreak, Part II")
Frequently asked questions
- What is a Cylon Centurion?
- The Cylon Centurion was the modern mechanical foot soldier of the Cylon ground forces, introduced some time after the Cylon War as an evolution of the war-era Centurion. Colonials called them "bullet-heads," "clankers" and "chrome-jobs."
- How were Cylon Centurions armed?
- Their long, talon-like fingers worked as blades in close combat and folded back to reveal built-in automatic guns. They could also carry heavier weapons such as mortars, missile launchers and large machine guns.
- Why were the Centurions held back with telencephalic inhibitors?
- The humanoid Cylons fitted the Centurions with telencephalic inhibitors that blocked their higher cognitive functions and kept them from full self-awareness, to prevent a rebellion like the one that started the first Cylon War. Centurions also could not tell one copy of a humanoid model from another.
- How did the liberated Centurions differ from the enslaved ones?
- When Natalie's rebel faction removed the inhibitors in retaliation for the lobotomizing of the Raiders, the freed Centurions could reason for themselves, and they turned their guns on the Ones, Fours and Fives who backed the lobotomies.
- What happened to the Cylon Centurions after the Battle of the Colony?
- After fighting alongside the Colonials at the Battle of the Colony, the rebel Centurions were set free by Ellen Tigh and Admiral Adama and given the rebel basestar, in which they jumped away to seek their own destiny.
Sources
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Valley of Darkness", Season 2, Episode 2 (2005)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Fragged", Season 2, Episode 3 (2005)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Downloaded", Season 2, Episode 18 (2006)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Precipice", Season 3, Episode 2 (2006)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Hero", Season 3, Episode 8 (2006)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Rapture", Season 3, Episode 12 (2007)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Six of One", Season 4, Episode 2 (2008)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Daybreak, Part II", Season 4, Episode 20 (2009)
- FilmBattlestar Galactica: Razor, Sci Fi Channel, 2007
- SerialBattlestar Galactica: The Resistance, Webisodes, 2006
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
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Mentioned in18 entries
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