Hera Agathon
the first human-Cylon hybrid
Hera Agathon was the first human-Cylon hybrid to exist, born to a Colonial officer and a Number Eight Cylon in the first month after the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. Held to be central to God's plan for both races, she was known before her birth as the Shape of Things to Come.
Hera Agathon was the first human-Cylon hybrid to exist, born in the first year after the Fall. She held great religious significance as part of God's ultimate plan for both races, and was known before her birth as the "Shape of Things to Come." Her rescue from the Cylon Colony and her place in humanity's future sit at the heart of the finale, "Daybreak". (Battlestar Galactica, "Scattered"; Battlestar Galactica, "Downloaded"; Battlestar Galactica, "Daybreak, Part II")
Birth#
Hera was born to Colonial officer Lieutenant Karl Agathon and his future wife Sharon Valerii, then a Number Eight prisoner aboard Galactica. Conceived in the first month after the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, Hera was the result of a human-Humanoid Cylon hybridisation project that used surviving humans in the colonies as breeding stock. Her existence was deemed an internal threat to Colonial society by President Laura Roslin, who, while dying of breast cancer, ordered the immediate termination of the pregnancy. This was stopped when it was discovered that Hera's foetal blood was unique, and Roslin herself was saved from the cancer by an injection of it. (Battlestar Galactica, "Epiphanies"; Battlestar Galactica, "Downloaded")
Early life#
Upon Hera's birth, Roslin nonetheless ordered her surrendered to the state and had her replaced with a stillborn baby to conceal the switch. Her mother was told the baby had died. Hera was given to a woman named Maya on the condition of absolute secrecy, with a cover story that the child was the daughter of a Pegasus officer. Hera then lived on New Caprica with her adoptive mother, who worked at the school Roslin ran after losing her re-election bid. A year after the colony was settled, a Cylon fleet discovered it and placed the planet under a harsh martial law. (Battlestar Galactica, "Downloaded"; Battlestar Galactica, "Occupation")
Frequently asked questions
- Who was Hera Agathon?
- Hera Agathon was the first human-Cylon hybrid to exist, born in the first year after the Fall to Colonial officer Lieutenant Karl Agathon and the Number Eight Cylon Sharon Valerii. She held great religious significance as part of God's ultimate plan for both races and was known before her birth as the "Shape of Things to Come."
- How was Hera Agathon conceived?
- Hera was conceived in the first month after the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, the result of a human-Humanoid Cylon hybridisation project that used surviving humans in the colonies as breeding stock. Her mother, Sharon Valerii, was then a Number Eight prisoner aboard Galactica.
- Why did Laura Roslin order Hera Agathon's pregnancy terminated?
- President Laura Roslin deemed Hera's existence an internal threat to Colonial society and, while dying of breast cancer, ordered the immediate termination of the pregnancy. This was stopped when it was discovered that Hera's foetal blood had unique properties, and Roslin herself was saved by an injection of it.
- What happened to Hera Agathon after she was born?
- Roslin ordered her surrendered to the state and had her replaced with a stillborn baby to conceal the switch, telling her mother the baby had died. Hera was given to a woman named Maya under absolute secrecy, with a cover story that she was the daughter of a Pegasus officer.
- Where did Hera Agathon spend her early life?
- Hera then lived on New Caprica with her adoptive mother Maya, who held a job at a school. A year after the colony was settled, a Cylon fleet discovered it and placed the planet under a harsh martial law.
Sources
- EpisodeScattered, Season 2, Episode 1 (2005)
- EpisodeEpiphanies, Season 2, Episode 13 (2006)
- EpisodeDownloaded, Season 2, Episode 18 (2006)
- EpisodeOccupation, Season 3, Episode 1 (2006)
- EpisodeDaybreak, Part II, Season 4, Episode 20 (2009)
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Karl Agathon
Karl "Helo" Agathon was a Colonial Fleet officer who, stranded on Caprica after the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, fell in love with a Number Eight Cylon he later married. He became the only successful father of a human-Cylon hybrid child, Hera.
Laura Roslin: the dying leader
Secretary of Education until the Cylon attack killed everyone above her. Sworn in as President, she became the dying leader of Colonial prophecy.
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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 long war, and forty years later returned to annihilate humanity.
Fall of the Twelve Colonies
A single day of Cylon attack killed billions of people across Colonial space. Barely fifty thousand escaped in a refugee fleet.
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Galactica was a Jupiter-class battlestar that served the Colonial Fleet from the Cylon War until the discovery of Earth. Never networked, it survived the Fall of the Twelve Colonies and shepherded the last fifty thousand humans across uncharted space before being scuttled into the sun.
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