Hybrid
the living mind of the basestar
The Hybrid was a model of Cylon created in the final days of the Cylon War. A biological body fused into a computer, it served aboard Basestars in place of a conventional crew, often speaking in fragments of poetry that its makers could not agree how to interpret.
The Hybrid was a model of Cylon created in the final days of the Cylon War. A cybernetic being made from a biological body fused into a computer, it served aboard Basestars in place of traditional computers. (Battlestar Galactica: Razor; Battlestar Galactica, "Torn")
The prototype#
The Hybrids were developed by the Cylons at the close of their mutually genocidal war with mankind. The Cylons desired organic bodies, believing they would be closer to the One True God if they resembled one of His creations. By attacking civilian transports and abducting their occupants, they secured a supply of subjects for experimentation, and William Adama later glimpsed the results: captives vivisected and taken apart for testing. (Battlestar Galactica: Razor)
A Colonial Fleet strike hit the Cylon laboratory on the last day of the war, with a young William Adama flying his first combat mission. At the same time, the Cylons' bargain with the Final Five led them to abandon these experiments and accept an armistice, in exchange for help building fully organic bodies with resurrection. (Battlestar Galactica: Razor; Battlestar Galactica, "No Exit")
The prototype, an aging man wired into a Basestar, survived the end of the war. The Cylons wrote it off as a failed experiment, and it stayed aboard an old Basestar crewed by Centurions known as the Guardians. When Kendra Shaw boarded the ship after the Fall, the Hybrid told her that its children believed it was their god, and she destroyed the ship and the Hybrid with a nuclear device. (Battlestar Galactica: Razor)
Later models#
Though the prototype was abandoned at the end of the Cylon War, Basestars still needed Hybrids to run them, so more were made. They were humanoid in form, though they were not counted among the humanoid Cylon models. (Battlestar Galactica, "Torn"; Battlestar Galactica: Razor)
This later variety had a young female appearance and lay in an immersion tank, running the ship's functions. Owing to a tendency to speak random words and strings of poetry, there was debate among the humanoid models as to their mental state. A Number Three suggested they had seen the place between life and death and been driven mad by it, while Leoben and the Number Twos believed they heard the voice of God. (Battlestar Galactica, "Torn"; "Rapture"; "Six of One")
Frequently asked questions
- What is a Hybrid in Battlestar Galactica?
- The Hybrid was a model of Cylon created in the final days of the Cylon War, a biological body fused into a computer. It served aboard Basestars in place of traditional computers, running the ship in place of a conventional crew.
- How was the first Hybrid created?
- The first Hybrid looked like an old man wired into a Basestar, and it came out of experiments on human captives taken in raids on civilian transports, part of the Cylons' effort to attain organic bodies and grow closer to the One True God.
- What happened to the Cylon laboratory at the end of the war?
- A Colonial strike hit the laboratory on the last day of the Cylon War, with a young William Adama among the pilots. At the same time, the Cylons' bargain with the Final Five led them to abandon the Hybrid experiments and accept an armistice in exchange for help building organic bodies.
- What happened to the prototype Hybrid?
- The prototype survived the war but was written off as a failed experiment. It stayed aboard an old Basestar crewed by Centurions called the Guardians until Kendra Shaw destroyed the ship with a nuclear device after the Fall.
- Why did the Cylons disagree about the Hybrids' sanity?
- The mass-produced Hybrids tended to speak random words and strings of poetry, prompting debate among the humanoid models about their mental state. Some believed the Hybrids had been driven mad by being wired into their ships, while others, such as the Number Twos, believed they were the voice of God.
Sources
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Torn", Season 3, Episode 6 (2006)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Rapture", Season 3, Episode 12 (2007)
- FilmBattlestar Galactica: Razor, Television film, 2007
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Six of One", Season 4, Episode 2 (2008)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "No Exit", Season 4, Episode 15 (2009)
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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