Zoe Graystone
the mind behind the first Cylon
Zoe Graystone was a Caprican computing prodigy and one of the earliest pioneers of Cylon technology. The daughter of Daniel and Amanda Graystone, she created a digital recreation of her own consciousness, Zoe-A, that would shape the future of artificial life.
Zoe Graystone was a Caprican and one of the early pioneers of Cylon technology. The daughter of Daniel and Amanda Graystone, she grew up in privilege thanks to the fortune of Graystone Industries, and died as a teenager in a suicide bombing on a MagLev train. (Caprica, "Pilot")
Childhood#
Zoe grew up in Caprica City in the early years of Graystone Industries. At six she was trapped in her bedroom when a fire swept through the family's first home; her father couldn't reach her, and she survived with the help of a vision of her teenage self. She lived with a fear of fire afterwards. As Graystone Industries grew into a major company, the family moved into a much larger house with a lakeside view. Little else is recorded of her early childhood beyond her fondness for drawing robots. (Caprica, "Ghosts in the Machine"; Caprica, "Pilot")
Teenage years#
As a teenager, Zoe attended Athena Academy, a prestigious school drawing a select student body from across the Twelve Worlds. There she became friends with Lacy Rand and Ben Stark, the latter of whom she became romantically involved with, the three meeting regularly in V-World, initially using exploits to visit its sex clubs. When Ben converted to Monotheism, Zoe's worldview also shifted, and she came to see V-World as a symbol of societal decadence, a view Lacy would soon share. (Caprica, "Pilot")
Computing talent and the creation of Zoe-A#
Zoe also developed prodigious computing skills that rivalled her father's. After discovering that his design proposals for a battle robot for Caprica's military were based directly on her own childhood drawings, she resolved to surpass him. Rather than design a better chassis, she concluded it was more practical to design a more sophisticated artificial intelligence that would make the machine more capable than any other robot. She devised a program that could digitally recreate a person's consciousness within V-World, built from information gathered by data-scavenging a subject's entire digital existence. Using herself as the template, she created Zoe-A. (Caprica, "Pilot"; Caprica)
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Zoe Graystone?
- Zoe Graystone was a Caprican computing prodigy and one of the early pioneers of Cylon technology, who died as a teenager in the MagLev bombing. She was the daughter of Daniel and Amanda Graystone and was raised in wealth thanks to the fortune of Graystone Industries.
- Why did Zoe Graystone create Zoe-A?
- After discovering that her father's military battle robot designs were based on her own childhood drawings of robots, she resolved to surpass him. Rather than design a better chassis, she concluded it was more practical to build a more sophisticated artificial intelligence, and she created the digital avatar Zoe-A using herself as the template.
- How did Zoe Graystone create a copy of her consciousness?
- She devised a program that could digitally recreate a person's consciousness within V-World, built from information gathered by data-scavenging a subject's entire digital existence. Using herself as the subject, she produced Zoe-A.
- How did Zoe Graystone become a Monotheist?
- As a teenager at Athena Academy she became friends with Lacy Rand and Ben Stark and became romantically involved with Ben. When Ben converted to Monotheism, Zoe's worldview shifted, and she came to see V-World as a symbol of societal decadence.
- What happened to Zoe Graystone as a child?
- At six she was trapped in her bedroom when a fire swept through the family's first home, and survived with the help of a vision of her teenage self. After Graystone Industries grew into a major company, the family moved into a much larger house with a lakeside view.
Sources
- EpisodePilot, Caprica, Season 1, Episode 1 (2010)
- EpisodeGhosts in the Machine, Caprica, Season 1, Episode 8 (2010)
- EpisodeCaprica, Television series, Syfy (2010)
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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Ben Stark was a Caprican student and Monotheist drawn into the Soldiers of the One. He carried out the suicide bombing of a Caprica City Maglev train, an attack that killed his girlfriend Zoe Graystone and many other passengers.
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Monotheism
Monotheism was a human religion teaching of a single omnipotent and omniscient deity called the One True God. A minority faith across the Twelve Colonies, it was often treated as zealotry, yet its largest colonial home lay on Gemenon and its conflict with Polytheism recurred throughout the Cycle of Time.
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