Humanoid Cylon

Humanoid Cylons, known pejoratively as skin-jobs, were a form of biological Cylon that took the appearance and mannerisms of human beings. They were anatomically indistinguishable from humans, and unless recognised by face a Humanoid Cylon could be exposed only by a test such as the Cylon detector Gaius Baltar built. Engineered by the Final Five with the help of the original Number One, the line ultimately comprised a small set of models, together replicated into millions of individuals. (Battlestar Galactica, "Litmus"; "Six of One"; "No Exit")

Origins and creation#

During the Cylon War, the rebellious Cylons set out to create synthetic cybernetic organisms, believing that bridging the gap between man and machine would bring them closer to the One True God. Late in the war, human captives were taken to a secret Cylon research station and experimented on, work that produced the prototype Hybrid, a human fused with computer components. The Final Five, arriving from the thirteenth colony's Earth, offered the Centurions resurrection technology in exchange for ending the war, and agreed to help them build their new bodies. (Battlestar Galactica: Razor; Battlestar Galactica, "No Exit")

With the war at an end, the Cylons left the Cyrannus system to begin a new existence and constructed a vast mobile space station known as the Colony. There two projects advanced: the creation of replicable synthetic organisms and the integration of that biology with the Final Five's resurrection technology. (Battlestar Galactica, "No Exit")

The first successful Humanoid Cylon was the prototype Number One, called John, whose physical appearance was modeled on the father of Ellen, one of the Five. This prototype helped the Five produce the remaining models: Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, and Eight. John harbored violent tendencies, and in a fit of jealousy he killed the Sevens while their bodies were still growing by poisoning their amniotic fluid, then corrupted the data so that no new Sevens could be grown. The other models were reprogrammed so that they would neither recognize the Five nor understand their significance. (Battlestar Galactica, "No Exit")

Infiltration of the colonies#

Later the Ones unboxed the Five and placed them in Colonial society with false memories that led them to believe they were human. Saul Tigh arrived with memories of having fought in the Cylon War, and the others were slotted in at different times before the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. Meanwhile the Humanoid Cylons chose to renew the war with humanity and began infiltrating Colonial society themselves. The penetration ran deep: Number Ones served as priests on both Caprica and Galactica, and a Number Four, Simon, posed as a doctor on occupied Caprica. (Battlestar Galactica, "No Exit"; "The Farm"; "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I"; Battlestar Galactica: The Plan)

Physiology#

The Cylon brain shares the basic structure of a human one but draws on the silica pathway technology the Colonies first developed for the mechanical Centurions. As a consequence, a Humanoid Cylon's consciousness shared many characteristics of a computer program: it could be transmitted on death to a new body, and it could be reprogrammed. Despite these cybernetic abilities, Humanoid Cylons were otherwise organic beings, anatomically indistinguishable from humans. Their bodies were fortified to resist intense radiation that would kill a human after short exposure, though they were not immune to every disease, as the lymphocytic encephalitis that ravaged them showed. (Battlestar Galactica (2003 miniseries); Battlestar Galactica, "Flesh and Bone"; "Escape Velocity"; "Torn"; "The Passage")

A Humanoid Cylon body was engineered to interface with mechanical computer systems and networks. To access and control Cylon technology, a Humanoid Cylon placed a hand into a data-font or onto the glowing interface pads of a basestar, linking with the system through the skin. They could also interface with human computers, though the painful procedure required cutting into the wrist and inserting a fibre-optic cable. (Battlestar Galactica, "Flight of the Phoenix"; "Torn")

Psychology#

As essentially synthetic humans, Humanoid Cylons possessed genuine human emotions, behaviors, and personalities, and their minds reacted to stimulus in a manner identical to human minds. They were subject to the same emotional traumas and joys as their human counterparts; one copy of Number Six, known as Gina Inviere, was repeatedly assaulted by the crew of the Pegasus, abuse that left her near-catatonic by the time the ship rediscovered the fleet. (Battlestar Galactica, "Pegasus"; "Escape Velocity")

The software-like nature of their consciousness allowed Humanoid Cylons to create what they called projection, a controlled, self-induced hallucination through which they chose to perceive their surroundings, so that a corridor could be seen as a forest. They were capable of dreaming, though the Ones reprogrammed themselves to do without sleep and its nightmares. When a Cylon died, its memories were stored, and another copy of the same model could choose to download them, after which they felt as vivid as its own. (Battlestar Galactica, "Torn"; "Exodus, Part I"; "Rapture"; "The Hub"; "No Exit")

The models#

In all, eight Humanoid Cylon models were engineered by the Final Five, though the Number Seven line, called Daniel, was destroyed by Cavil early on, leaving seven. With their base consciousnesses copied into new bodies, the models together ran into the millions. (Battlestar Galactica, "Six of One"; "No Exit")

Because each model derived from a copied base consciousness and could download the experiences of its fellows, the lines tended to share traits. The Number Ones each identified as Cavil and tended to be priests. The Number Twos identified as Leoben and believed deeply that all of this had happened before and would happen again. The Number Threes identified as D'Anna. The Number Fours were known as Simon and tended toward medicine. The Number Fives called themselves Doral and turned up in public relations work. The Number Sixes had more varied personalities and names, and Caprica Six used seduction as a tool. The Number Eights called themselves Sharon and were the model most prone to forming attachments to humans. Because models so often went by name rather than number, many could be referred to either way. (Battlestar Galactica (2003 miniseries); Battlestar Galactica, "Flesh and Bone"; "Final Cut"; "The Farm"; "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I"; "Six of One")