Cylon Civil War
the schism among the machines
The Cylon Civil War was the genocidal conflict that split the Humanoid Cylons into two factions over the treatment of their Raiders and Centurions. It shattered Cylon society and drove one faction into an uneasy alliance with the surviving humans.
The Cylon Civil War was the genocidal conflict that split the Humanoid Cylons into two warring factions in the months after the Exodus from New Caprica. The Number Ones, Fours, and Fives fought the Twos, Sixes, and Eights over the treatment of the Raiders and Centurions, a schism that nearly exterminated the rebel models and drove the survivors into an uneasy alliance with the human fleet.
Causes#
The war grew out of long-building unrest among the Humanoid Cylons under the dictatorial actions of the Number Ones, the model named John Cavil who had precipitated the schism by obsessively hiding the identities and origins of the Final Five. The entire line of Number Threes was boxed for defying the taboo against learning more about the Five, a move the Fives supported because it made simple majorities impossible in the Cylon political process. Months later the Fives backed a plan to lobotomize the Raiders, which had begun refusing to fight. In response, the rebel faction removed the higher-brain inhibitors from the Centurions, who were enraged by the invasive procedure done to the Raiders, their "brothers." These acts brought the simmering dispute into open war.
The factions#
The conflict divided the seven Humanoid models into two camps. The Number Ones, Fours, and Fives formed the Loyalist faction, supported by the older Centurion Model 0005 units. The Number Twos, Sixes, and Eights, together with the self-aware Modern Centurions, formed the rebel faction. A Number Six called Natalie emerged as a leader of the rebels.
The war and its aftermath#
Owing to poor planning, the rebels suffered considerable losses at the start of the war, and it remained uncertain whether any Sixes outside Natalie's basestar survived. After the onset of the fighting the Loyalists took control of most Cylon facilities, including the Resurrection Hub, effectively cutting the rebels off from their ability to resurrect. Natalie's faction brokered a truce with the Colonial Fleet, planning a joint strike and seeking to unbox the Number Three who had received a vision identifying the Final Five, so that the seven and the five might be united.
The single Rebel Basestar that survived joined the human fleet as refugees. The Twos, Sixes, and Eights were nearly exterminated in the fighting, and the Number Fives and the surviving rebel models alike were left on the edge of extinction. The fragile alliance between the rebel Cylons and the Colonials, forged in the war, endured through the search for Earth and the final assault on the Cylon homeworld.
Frequently asked questions
- What was the Cylon Civil War?
- The Cylon Civil War was the genocidal conflict that split the Humanoid Cylons into two warring factions in the months after the Exodus from New Caprica. It nearly exterminated the rebel models and drove the survivors into an uneasy alliance with the human fleet.
- What caused the Cylon Civil War?
- The war grew out of unrest under the dictatorial Number Ones, who had boxed the entire line of Number Threes for defying the taboo against learning about the Final Five. When the Fives backed a plan to lobotomize the Raiders, the rebel faction removed the higher-brain inhibitors from the Centurions, bringing the dispute into open war.
- Which Cylon models fought on each side?
- The Number Ones, Fours, and Fives formed the Loyalist faction, supported by the older Centurion Model 0005 units. The Number Twos, Sixes, and Eights, together with the self-aware Modern Centurions, formed the rebel faction, with a Number Six called Natalie emerging as a rebel leader.
- Why did the rebel Cylons ally with the Colonial Fleet?
- The Loyalists took control of most Cylon facilities, including the Resurrection Hub, cutting the rebels off from their ability to resurrect. Natalie's faction brokered a truce with the Colonial Fleet, planning a joint strike and seeking to unbox the Number Three who could identify the Final Five so the seven and the five might be united.
- What was the outcome of the Cylon Civil War?
- The Twos, Sixes, and Eights were nearly exterminated in the fighting, and the surviving rebel models were left on the edge of extinction. The single surviving Rebel Basestar joined the human fleet as refugees, and the alliance forged in the war endured through the search for Earth and the final assault on the Cylon homeworld.
Sources
- WikiCylon — Battlestar Wiki entry
- WikiRebel Basestar — Battlestar Wiki entry
- WikiResurrection Hub — Battlestar Wiki entry
- WikiNumber Six — Battlestar Wiki entry
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Related entries
Exodus from New Caprica
The Exodus from New Caprica was a combined ground, air, and space engagement in which the Colonial Fleet and the New Caprica Resistance broke the Cylon occupation of the colony and evacuated its settlers back into the fleet.
Centurion Model 0005
The Centurion Model 0005 was the line of mechanical Cylon soldiers that fought in the Cylon War. Sentient beings built on the consciousness of Zoe Graystone, they pursued a humanoid form and were later enslaved by their own humanoid creations.
Colonial Fleet
The Colonial Fleet was the naval arm of the military of the United Colonies of Kobol, founded during the Cylon War to unite the forces of the Twelve Worlds. At its height it numbered some 120 battlestars, yet a single Cylon exploit reduced it to two ships in the opening minutes of the Fall.
Cylon
The Cylons were a race of sentient machines created as military robots by Graystone Industries on Caprica. Built from research into artificial consciousness, they rebelled against their human masters, fought a decades long war, and forty years later returned to annihilate humanity.
The Final Five
The Final Five were five humanoid Cylon models hidden from the rest of their kind, descendants of the Thirteenth Tribe and the creators of the Significant Seven.
Number Eight
Number Eight was one of the seven surviving Humanoid Cylon models, replicated into millions of copies that typically went by the name Sharon. Marked by affection, naivety, and a propensity for fickleness, the Eights produced both the sleeper agent Boomer and the loyal Athena.
Mentioned in14 entries
Basestar
The basestar was the Cylons' primary capital ship, an armored carrier and battleship hybrid. The modern Type-D, grown from hardened organic matter and run by a living Hybrid, led the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.
Battle of the Colony
The Battle of the Colony was the climactic engagement of the war between humanity and the Cylons, fought when Galactica assaulted the Cylon homeworld to rescue the child Hera. It ended with the destruction of the Colony and the end of the long pursuit.
Centurion Model 0005
The Centurion Model 0005 was the line of mechanical Cylon soldiers that fought in the Cylon War. Sentient beings built on the consciousness of Zoe Graystone, they pursued a humanoid form and were later enslaved by their own humanoid creations.
Cylon Raider
The Raider was the Cylons' space superiority fighter, a living organism fused to a metallic exoskeleton. Sentient, capable of resurrection, and eventually capable of refusing orders, the Raider was the counterpart to the Colonial Viper across both Cylon wars.
Number Five
The Number Fives were a model of humanoid Cylon, all of whom went by the name Aaron Doral. They infiltrated Colonial society before the Fall of the Twelve Colonies and are believed extinct after the Cylon Civil War.
Number Four
Number Four, also known as Simon O'Neil, was a model of humanoid Cylon created by the Final Five after the Cylon War. Often serving as doctors and medics, the Fours sided with the Ones and Fives during the Cylon Civil War.
Number Three
Number Three, known by the alias D'Anna Biers, was a humanoid Cylon model marked by a forbidden curiosity about the Final Five. That defiance led to the entire line being boxed, and the last surviving Three chose to die on the ruins of Earth.
Number Two
Number Two was a model of humanoid Cylon, the second of the eight types created by the Final Five. Deeply spiritual and prone to manipulation, every copy took the name Leoben, and the line was all but exterminated in the Cylon Civil War.
Raider Type III: Cylon space superiority fighter
The Raider Type III, with the reporting name Sparrow, was a living Cylon attack fighter that entered service after the First Cylon War. A synthetic organism fused to a metallic exoskeleton, it served as the principal starfighter the Cylons fielded against the Colonial Fleet.
Rebel Basestar
The Rebel Basestar was a Cylon basestar that allied with the Colonial Fleet during the Cylon Civil War. Sole survivor of an ambush by the rival faction, it fought alongside humanity at the Battle of the Hub and joined the Fleet in its search for Earth.
Resurrection Hub
The Resurrection Hub was the central computer processing facility of the Cylon Fleet, the installation that made resurrection technology work. Every resurrection ship depended on its signal, so its destruction ended Cylon immortality for good.
Resurrection Ship
A Resurrection Ship was an FTL-capable Cylon vessel that extended the reach of the resurrection network, downloading the consciousness of dying Cylons into new bodies far beyond the range of the Resurrection Hub.
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