~ ENCYCLOPEDIA ~

G41L4CTllC4
From the Fleet Library aboard
the Dattlestar Galactica

Windmill Books and E. P. Dutton I New York I

• o trademark of ond liC~rued by Un1ve~ City S1ud~ Inc
1> 1979 Un1vel'Sdl City Srudios. loc All nghts rt-wrwd
Copyright 0 1979 Universal City Studios, Inc. All rights reserved. BATILESTAR GAU\CTICA"' •a trademark of and licensed
by Universal City Studios, Inc. I No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any fonn or by any means, elec-
tronic or mechank:al, Including photocopy, recording, or any lnfonnatlon storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented,
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I ISBN. 79-88410 I Published in the United States by Windmill Books and E.P. Dutton, 2 Park Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016 I
Published simultaneously In Canada by Clarke, Irwin & Company Limited, Toronto and Vancouver I Designed by The Etheredges
I Printed in the U.S.A. I First Edition I 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The Encyclopedia Galactica was compiled under the Human Archaeology from the Tauron Cent~r for
editonal supervision of Bruce Kraus. P.A.. He.. VI J Science and the Arts.
Dr Kraus holds degrees in Galactic H1Story and

Honor above all the Truthseekers among ye,

for they shall be the saviors of humankind.
-THE BOOKS OF THE LORDS OF KOBOL

T he Truth lies not in the scribblings of scholars:

therefore seek its reflection
in the tranquil pools of the soul.
-THEBOOKOFTHEWORD
In their fifth year of training,
Academy cadets master the
precision formation tactics
necessary for victory in
deep-space combat.
 .Academy
For over two thousand yahren, the Academy on
Caprica produced the finest Wamors in the known
universe. Its course of study included not only train-
ing in the use of advanced weaponry, but also a full
academic program Each entenng cadet made a
seven yahren commitment to a program that pushed
his or her mental, physical and moral capacities to
their limits. But despite the difficulty of the training.
the Academy attracted thousands of applicants from
every comer of humandom For each cadet accep-
ted. one hundred were turned away.
The Academy was founded in Yahren 4479 to
train the sons of Caprican buriticians for military
service. It graduated its first class of nine Warriors in
Yahren 4483 Their training emphasized the strat-
egy of intercontinental warfare, and hand-to-hand
martial arts that were obsolete even then. Academic
training was limited to study of the dead languages of
the Elders of Kobol and the memorization of the
ancient texts
With time, the institution grew both in size and
scope Courses in history and the natural sciences
soon developed into impressive departments whose
facuities advanced the frontiers of knowledge in their
fields Courses in political theory eventually
spawned a separate Institute of Diplomacy dedicat-
ed to the peaceful resolution of the conflicts of the
peoples and beings of the Galaxy.

Since Warriors are •odetal leaden as well a.

•oldlers, cadet. receive a broad general
education. Here Lt. Boomer aid• aurvivors of
the Flnal Destruction.
 In Yahren 4868. the Academy was opened to
students not of ruling buritician class and to women.
In 4920. students from other Colonies were admit-
ted. The changes greatly improved the average qua
lity of the student body. so that by Yahren 5000. the
Academy graduated 10,000 In each class and had
become the leading university of the Colonies. Dur-
ing the Long Peace that followed. its original military
mission was gradually forgotten, and by the t1me
of the commencement of the Great Cylon War in
5547. there was little to distinguish the Academy
from such institutions as the Center for Science and
the Arts at Tauron or the University of Picon.
With the outbreak of hostilities against the Cy-
lon Empire and the Alliance. all humankind quickly
recognized the need for a first rate institution for the
development of military science. Although the
Twelve Great Colonies were separate nations with-
out an effective central government. it was clear that
cooperation was needed to develop a military force
capable of repelling the Cylon attack. The Caprican
Praesidium ceded the vast reserve on which Aca-
demy stood to the Quorum of the Twelve. Each
Colonial Government supplied experts and resour
For over two thousand years the Academy produced the finest WiUriors in humandom .
ces to transform the Academy into a battle-ready
factory for the production of Warriors. A greatly
expanded Department of Engineering and Applied
Science produced such advances as the turbo-laser
and the liquified solium propulsion systems.
The core of the Academy was an expanded
cadet training program The best qualified young
men and women were transformed into Colonial
Warriors through seven yahren of strict discipline.
physical training and instruction in battle skills. From
the beginning of the Great War. cadets conducted
their own defense. It is some measure of their excell-
ence that in countless attacks only once during the
1000-yahren war did Cylon forces inflict substantial
damage to the Academy itself.
Later in the War. as the humans began to con-
tain the Cylon offensive. the academic departments
reasserted themselves. At the time of the Final Des
!ruction in 6570. Colonial Warriors were well-versed
in Ethics, Galactic Literature. Music. Exobiology. the
human and nonhuman social sciences and astro-
physics as well as purely battle-related skills.
The fate of the Academy during the Great Des-
truction is unknown.
 Adamo (6440-

Both in his role as Commander of the Battlestar

Galactica and as President of the Quorum of the
Twelve after the death of Adar. Adama emerges as
the greatest human leader of the post Destruction
penod. His initiative in assembling the Oeet of sur-
vivors of the Final Destruction not only saved thou-
sands of lives from the Cylon planetary extermina-
tion squads, but also may lead to the discovery of a
new home for humankind.
Adama was born to one of the oldest, most
distinguished buritician families in the Colony of
Caprica: his line is said to extend to one of the
Houses of the Lords of Kobol themselves, although
some scholars dismiss this as mere legend. It is clear,
however, that one of Adama's ancestors was a
founder of the Academy, and thus from early child-
hood Adama was under intense pressure to prepare
for the competitive examinations in admission to the
Academy. His success seemed assured, but on the
eve of the test, the young Adama Oed to a remote
retreat on Gemon. There, under the tutelage of a
mystic seer, he devoted several yahren to intense
scrutiny of the Books of the Lords of Kobol. hoping
to unlock some new, hidden meaning from the
cryptic texts The reasons for his return to Caprica
and the Academy are unclear. Could it have been
the command of the Books, at last deciphered. or
was it the discovery that there was no meaning to be
found?
After his return to the Academy, Adama com-
bined his studies of the occult with advances on the
frontiers of science. He led a top secret attempt to
harness the mental powers of tel.ekinesis (influencing
the motion of matter using the direct power of the
mind) and telepathy (mind-reading) for military pur-
poses Although the study produced nothing of im-
mediate usefulness. it did demonstrate a huge
untapped potential in the human brain that to this
day remains to be fully exploited.
Adama served with distinction in a dozen maior
engagements during some of the most desperate
hours of the Great War. He returned to Carillon a
hero. and soon assumed leadership of the ruling
Colonist regiment of the Caprican Praesidium. His
common sense instinct that survival is best assured
through diversity and independence may have been
re-enforced by a belief that the separation of hu-
A. Commander of the Battlestar G alactica,
Adama leads the human survivors of Cylon
terror on a quest for a world of peace and safety.
H ere, A dama seals i n marriage his son
Apollo and Serina. Serina's son, Boxey,
Adama' s daughter, Athena. and C olonel Tigh
look on.
mankind into thirteen Colonies was the intent of the
Lords of Kobol.
Under the leadership of Adama, Caprica long
pursued a military policy Independent of the guide
lines set by th!:! Quorum of the Twelve. Later. as a
Councilor himself. Adama opposed the Cylon-pro-
posed armistice. but. fearing the total isolation of his
Colony from the rest of humankind. he was ul-
timately forced to support the Quorum in its de-
c1s1on.
Adama's abiding susp1c1on of Cylon intentions
during the armistice was a key to the survival of his
Battlestar. the Galactica. during the Final Destruc-
tion. As Quorum President. he seems at times more
the mystic than the military man. Abandoning hope
of any strategic recapture of occupied territory, he
leads the fleet in search of the legendary thirteenth
Colony. Earth It may be that Adama himself actual
ly believes in this mystic planet, but in any case. the
idea of a destination has been crucial in maintaining
the morale of the survivors.

As a Councillor on the Quorum of the Twelve,
Adama opposed acceptance of the false Cylon
peace offe r.
ated settlement of the Cylon War. After many years
of tireless work, this small party became the Pan-
Colonial Unification Movement, which ultimately
swept Adar into power first in his own Colony, and
then to the Presidency of a greatly strengthened
Quorum of the Twelve.
From a military standpoint, the Unification
Movement was a clear success. Inter-Colonial co-
ordination of production, supply and command
functions led to major Cylon retreats on broad
fronts. Colonial advances just prior to 6570 made
the false Cylon peace initiative believable to a major·
ity of the Council.
Adar perished on the Battlestar Atlantia in the
first wave of the Cylon attack.
A selfless, ascetic, driven man, Adar lived only
for his work. He never married, never touched Am-
brosa, and was indifferent to all recreational plea-
sures. His lofty idealism and intense personal
magnetism held great hope for humankind, but. in a
cruel turn of fate, both played central roles in the
destruction of Colonial civilization.

Adama's personal life has been marked by tra-

gedy. His wife. Ila, bore him three children* before
her death in the Cylon attack on Caprica in 6570.
Agro Ships
Agro ships are self-contained deep-space farms that
convert artificial sunlight into raw foodstuffs at an

Adar (6368-6570)
average efficiency of eighty-four percent. Further

Adar was a great political leader whose dreams

of peace ironically led to the destruction of
Colonial civilization.
A great political leader, diplomat and statesman,
Adar is of course best remembered for his disastrous
role in the armistice that opened the door to the Final
Destruction of the Colonies in 6570. A brilliant child
born to a peasant family in the Colony of Virgon.
Adar took First Honors from the lnstitute of Diplo-
macy. Hoping to realign the human forces into a
more effective political union, he became a staff
assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve in 5997, but
soon became frustrated by the internal bickering that
characterized the Council at that time. Disillusioned,
he returned to his native world and entered politics,
rising to the leadership of a small party favoring a
central government for all humankind and a negoti·

"'See also the separate biographies of Adama's children, Apollo.

Athena and Zaccariah.
 Agro ships produce food for the survivors &om recycled waste products.

processing is required to add variety and taste ap-

peal. which reduces overall efficiency of, for exam-
ple. hydronic mushies. to sixty-two percent All plant
nutrients and water are continuously reprocessed
and recycled under the supervision of ecological
Ambrosa
engineers. The reburning of solium wastes from the
main drive engines of the fleet, produces the artificial
sunlight. Thus, as long as the fleet continues to fly. Ambrosa is a rare and delicate drink. Its happy ef-
the nutritional needs of the people can be met fects on the human spirit have been celebrated by
indefinitely. poets since the Era of Darkness: Ambrosa warms the
The technology of space agriculture was de- heart. opens the mind and brings love into flower.
veloped on the crowded world of Aeries. When the Ambrosa improves with age. At less than one
population of their small crowded world surpassed yahren it is almost undrinkable, but after one hun-
the capacity of its conventional farming lands, the dred it is sublime. It is best distilled and purified
Aerians developed huge, orbiting space stations that under low-gravity conditions, making the output of
produced foodstuffs from the intense light of the small heavenly bodies, such as the Proteus Asteroid,
Aerian sun. With time. special food crops were de- especially valued.
veloped. adapted to growth in weightless space.
The Aerians developed the first Agro ships to
nourish interstellar space crews on the long journey
between the stars before the invention of faster-
than-light drive. The solium afterburner provided
light in the dark reaches between the stars; genetic
.Apollo (6525-
engineering produced new plants that could use the
solium light spectrum efficiently. Because of the high
cost of ultra-light travel, sub-light freight carrier con- Apollo is the eldest child of Adama, Councilor of
voys continued to require Agro ship support up to Caprica, and Commander of the Battlestar Galac-
the time of the Final Destruction. tica. After graduation from the Academy in 6560, he
ApoUo' s bride, Serina, was killed by the Cylons
on the planet Kobol.

stayed on as a Viper pilot instructor until his transfer

to the Battlestar Galactica. He served with distinction
during the Great War, rising to the rank of Captain,
commanding the Blue Squadron. He was awarded
the Golden Cluster for extraordinary heroism during
the First Destruction.
Captain Apollo was briefly married to Serina, a
telecaster widowed during the Destruction. She was
killed by the Cylons on the planet Kobol shortly
thereafter. and is survived by Boxey, her son from
her first marriage. Boxey was legally adopted by
Apollo, and is therefore entitled to all the rights and
privileges to which a member of his illustrious family
is entitled.

Apollo is the commander of the Galactica' s

famed Blue Squadron.

Astralon armored battle craft can pass through Astralon

Astralons are high-velocity particles found in deep
space. They range in size from microscopic diame-
ters up to several metrons in width. Although
clouds unharmed, unshielded civilian vehicles can
be severely damaged by them. The smallest Astra-
Ions are in many ways the most dangerous since
they cannot be detected by low-power scanners, but
may cause hull leakage and lead to loss of on-board
atmospheric pressure.

Apollo is the adoptive father of Bosey, the

son of Serina.

Athena (6532-

As the youngest child of Commander Adama,

Athena seemed destined for a Warrior's career. Her
interest in telecommunications, however. led her to
pursue advanced degrees in ether p hysics at the
Academy, where she developed a number of im-
provements computerized in long-range scanning
equipment. (See Scanners). During her studies, she
also published several widely acclaimed essays on
the philosophy of science.
Though a battle-qualified Viper pilot. Lieute-
nant Athena serves principally in the controVcom-
mand section of the Battlestar Galactica where her
particular expertise is put to its highest use.

Athena is Commander Adama's only daughter.

Athe na, the daughter of Adama, is a trained

Viper pilot, and is skilled in
telecommunications and deep-space scanning
techniques.

Daltar (6453-
Baltar is without a doubt the most hated human in
Colonial history. His greed and lust for power led
him to deceive his fellow Councilors into relaxing
their defenses, opening the door to the massive
Cylon offensive in which at least seventy billion hu-
mans perished. The Cylon Imperious Leader prom-
ised BaJtar safety for his own Colony, Picon, and
personal rulership over the rest of humankind. Bal-
tar. in return. persuaded the Quorum of the Twelve
that the Cylons were sincerely interested in peace.
and that they had already shut down most of their
attack forces in a gesture of friendship. The humans
then disabled most of their weapons. For an account
of the attack that followed, see Final Destruction,
below Ballar, himself. was betrayed by the Cylons,
who attacked all Twelve Colonies equally. Further-
more. their goal was not the enslavement of the
human race under the dictatorship of Baltar. but
Lust for personal power led Baltar to betray hi• fello w humans to the CyIons.
rather the elimination of every human being from
the Galaxy. It was too late then for Baltar to return to
the humans. The Cylons gave Baltar a choice be-
tween helping them complete their mission against
the humans or slow death under torture. Baltar cast
his lot with the Cylons. and appears now to enjoy his
new rank of Commander of a Cylon Baseship Al-
though Baltar is not an inspired strategist by human
standards, his imagination and knowlege of human
nature make him indispensible to the Cylon Empire.
Baltar was born on the asteroid Cygnus, a pro·
vincial outpost of the Picon Colony, where his family
operated a small Tylium mine. Cygnus was taken by
the Cylons in 6470. and the young Baltar lived as a
prisoner for five yahren. He later blamed his brutal
captivity on the Aerians and Capricans who. he
claimed, were bound by treaty to come to the aid of
Cygnus in the event of enemy invasion. After htS
liberation. Baltar studied political economy at the
University of Picon. and returned to Cygnus to man-
age the family business. In ten yahren he trans-
formed the small mine into the largest intercolonial
Tylium trading firm in the Galaxy. Baltar's generous
contributions helped bring the Pan-Colonial Unifica-
tion Party into power in Picon. Bored with his ac-
Baseships transport Cylon Raiders at ultralight speeds across the Galaxy.

complishments in business, Baltar entered politics. high-speed Raiders with a formidable capacity for
He was a persuasive speaker. and told the people battle in its own right. Although Baseships are cap-
what they most wanted to hear. that the Cylons able of super-light speed. they are not highly man-
could be reasonable. and that peace was at hand. euverable, relying for defense upon high-energy
He was selected to the Quorum of the Twelve in deflector shields. These shields, however. cannot
6560. and soon began working for his infamous withstand repeated direct hits from Colonial Laser
armistice proposal. Torpedoes. and therefore a Baseship can fall prey to
Baltar remains a mysterious figure. Some scho- a single Viper squadron that penetrates the first de-
lars believe that the Cylons made him their pawn as fense of Cylon Raiders.
a young boy. and that they were behind all of his The core of each Baseship is a specially sealed
financial and political successes. Others feel that his and shielded command chamber, usually housing
unreasonable ambition led him to feel that he could
use and manipulate the Cylons to his own advan
!age. It is clear. however, that Baltar's early experi-
Nutron-cased laser torpedos launched from a
ences left him with a Cylon-like indifference to the baseship to destroy a human battles tar.
destruction of life.
In 6573 Baltar was lured aboard the Battlestar
Galactica by the mysterious Count lbley. Baltar ar
rived under an interstellar sign of truce, apparently
expecting to negotiate as an equal wtth the humans
he had betrayed. This sort of warped arrogance is
typical of the distorted reality to which he has fallen
prey Baltar was tried and convicted of High Treason
against the State before the Quorum of the Twelve.
His sentence was life imprisonment aboard a prison
barge.

Daseship
Cylon military attack strategy is built around the
Baseship. Modeled after the human Battlestars. the
Baseships combine the transport of short-range.
one or more Cylons of the advanced 1-L series (See
Cylons). Monitor and communication relays link the
chamber to all parts o f the ship, but in the event of
severe damage to the outer hull, the chamber can be
blasted free, and can travel up to ten light-yahren
under its own power.
Repair and maintenance facilities for Cylon
Centurions occupy over one third of each Base-
ship' s operational space. Routine adjustments to dif-
ferent environmental conditions, replacement of
worn parts and repair of battle damaged units ac-
count for most of the work of this section. Badly
damaged Centurions are cannabalized by Cylon
maintenance workers for spare parts, who melt
down the most shattered components to forge all
new parts. Baseships manufacture whole Centuri-
ons only in emergencies since mass production fa -
cilities on their own planets are much more efficient
Baseships' armaments include turbo-lasers and
laser torpedoes for deep space warfare, wide-angle
space-to-ground laser generators for the wholesale
destruction of civilian populations and a full comple-
ment of armored landing craft used for planetary
subjugation. One of the most feared Cylon weapons
is the nutron cased L aser Torpedo. which not only
inflicts immediate damage from its explosion, but
also emits rays that break down the cellular structure
of food and human tissue.

(From top to bottom)

Battlestar The Galactica 's ready-room is bathed in red light so

that pilot' s eyes will be ready for the darkness of space.

Laser canon defend key areas on shuttlecraft.

Prior to the Final Destruction, twelve battlestars

The Battlestars formed the backbone of the human
defended the Colonies from Cylon attack.
defense against the Cylons during the last 500
yahren of the Great War. They are deep space craft. Battlestars launch shuttlecraft to transport personnel
assembled in planetary orbit. Unable to land, they and equipment to and from planetary surfaces.
depend on shuttles for contact with planetary sur-
faces. Their maximum range before refueling is 500
light-yahren, although evasive maneuvers, espe-
cially high speeds and use of weapons can shorten
this range considerably.
A Battlestar's major armament consists of four
to eight squadrons of Vipers, one pilot fighters of
fantastic speed and attack power (See Vipers). The
Battlestar itself is armed with banks of turret-mount-
ed laser cannon, strategically mounted to defend the

TyUu.m thrusters accelerate the battlestars to
ten times the speed of light.
most vital areas of the ship from head-on attack. It
also boasts several launch platforms for long range
space-to-space torpedoes, capable of destroying
large-scale enemy vehicles. A powerful radiation
field can deflect most laser attacks, and attacking
impact explosive weapons are dampened by heavy
armor plating. Each segment of a Battlestar can be
separately sealed airtight, so that a hit in one area will
not jeopardize all.
Battlestars are powered to sub-light speeds by
twin solium energizers that convert matter directly
into propulsive force. Tylium thrusters boost the ship
past the light barrier: on full power, speeds of light
times ten have been attained.
These massive ships have full facilities for their
crews of 500, including a 100 bed life-station, a fully
equipped rejuvenation center and a variable-gravity
gymnasium.
Only two of the twelve Battlestars are known to
have survived the Final Destruction. The Galactica
gathered under its protection 220 ships of survivors
and began a desperate quest for a haven from the
Cylons; the Pegasus under Commander Cain con-
tinued to war against the Cylons and has not been
heard of since it challenged three Baseships during
the Battle of Gomoray in 6577.
Belloby 16435-
Siress Belloby is a Caprican buritician who was one
of the Galaxy's leading dealers in recycled parts and
equipment. Born to a distinguished, but impover-
ished family, Belloby once seemed to be the likely
bride of the young Adama. After Adama's marriage
to Ila, she pursued her business interests whole-
heartedly. and her financial support was of great
help to Adama later in his political career.
Bio-Pulse Line
Viper pilots are subjected to great stress while nying
both due to acceleration g-forces and enemy attack.
For this reason. the Warriors body functions are
continuously monitored by Bio-Pulse Lines. This
data is fed to an on-board computer that compares it
with stored records of the Warriors natural respons-
es. The computer can then make instantaneous cor-
rections by adjusting the pressure in the Warriors
g-suit, changing the mix of the breathing solution, or
by injecting needed hormones and enzymes directly
into the bloodstream.
Books of the
Lords of Kobol
The Books of the Lords of Kobel are a semi-mystic
chronicle of the exodus of the humans of Kobel from
their dying world. They were composed during the
Age of the Philosophers during the Second Millen-
nium. Their style is uneven and various. Beautiful
poems telling of the loss and separation of the final
days are interdispersed with stark lists of individuals
and their possessions. In contrast to the simple, dir-
ect moral teachings of the Book of the Word. the
meaning of the proverbs and parables of the later
Books is often difficult to determine. Indeed, the
same passage can often be pointed out to favor both
sides of the same agreement This ambiguity cannot
be held to be a flaw. It simply reflects the greater
uncertainty about the universe and the fate of hu-
mankind felt during the last days of Koba!.
After the establishment of the Colonies, hu-
mans turned against science and technology, and
looked toward mystical and spiritual experiences.
The Books of the Lords of Kobol played an essential
role in many of the sects that flourished during this
period. Their very difficulty gave them great appeal.
Sects devised elaborate mathematical interpreta-
tions of particular words, even particular sequences
of symbols. It was commonly thought that the entire
fate of the Universe was encoded in the Books and
that the mission of humankind was simply to de-
cipher them.
The importance of these sects declined after the
scientific renaissance, but many persist up to the
present day. (See Adama).
Dookof the
Word
The Book of the Word is the oldest and most sacred
of the Books of the Lords of Kobol. Its sources are
three thousand yahren of ancient Kobol oral tradi-
tion. but our present version was set down in writing
long before the exodus from Kobol to the Colonies.
Despite its diverse origins, the Book possesses a
stylistic unity of surpassing beauty, and its lofty moral
precepts continue to speak with authority down to
the present day.
The Book begins with a mythic tale of the cre-
ation of the Universe. demonstrating the remarkable
insight of the ancient humans in an age before inter-
stellar travel. The book taught that they were but one
of many intelligent life-forms among the stars. The
physical harmony of the motions of the planets and
the stars was to be reflected in harmony among men,
and when that was achieved, in harmony with the
beings from the stars. This basic faith in the benign
nature of the universe was one factor that led the
Lords of Kobol to seek refuge for their people in the
unknown reaches of space. when their own planet
began to die.
The War between Good and Evil is the central
theme of the Book of the Word. Simple stories dra-
matize the central ethical conflicts of life in terms
even the youngest child can understand. But these
tales all have hidden complexities that have in-
trigued, delighted and guided even the most pro-
found ethicists of humankind. In these legends. the
humans of Kobol were visited in the remotest past by
a race of Angels, always pictured garbed in white.
who not only gave the humans the beginnings of
their science, but also handed down to them the
Word of God, immutable laws for living a righteous
life. A falien Angel, known variously as Diaboles or
Mephistopheles. repeatedly attempts to lead the hu-
mans astray. but is bested always by the intervention
of the benevolent spirits from the stars. The Angels
give various human prophets brief glimpses of the
Light of Good and Truth that inspire them and their
disciples from that time forth. In later folk tales. quite
apart from the sacred texts of the Book of the Word.
Oiaboles degenerates into a comic prankster. half
man and half beast.
Throughout history, many have bied to flnd
some literal truth in these ancient morality tales.
Some have suggested that the sudden appearance
o f the pyramids on Kobol is itself evidence of contact
Boomer is a valued Viper pilot in the Galactica •s
Blue Squadron.
with a superior civilization. The weight of evidence,
however, supports the contrary view. The humans
of Kobol were fully capable of achieving their high
civilization on their own. During the Great Cylon
War, the figure of Mephistopheles became popular-
ly associated with the Cylon enemy. an understand-
able feeling in light of the ruthless cruelty of the foe.

Boomer (6527-

Boomer is a Warrior serving as a Viper pilot in the

Battlestar Galactica•s famed Blue Squadron. He was
awarded the Golden Cluster for extraordinary hero-
ism during the Final Destruction. He grew up in
Caprica City. and graduated from the Academy with
honors in electromagnetic science in 6562.

The Cylons transformed the human spaceport

into a well-defended base for their
Supreme Star Force.

Dorallians
The Borallians are a fierce. nomadic people whose
cruel tribal customs have survived into the Interstel-
lar Age. Since their principle contacts with Humans
have been violent ones, our knowlege of them is
correspondingly limited to their military customs.
The Borallians do not distinguish clearly between
wars, feuds and criminal punishments. Because
tribes based on kinship are their unit of social organi-
zation (rather than nation-states or planetary federa-
tions) every war is in some sense a family feud.
 Crimes against Borallians comitted by outsiders are
not tried and punished in any lawfully principled
way. Rather. a group of Borallian Warriors is called
to undertake a blood-hunt. Each warrior swears to
pursue the criminal to the ends of the Galaxy if need
..r be. Death is the only sanction meted out by blood-
hunting parties. Borallian Wars are direct extensions
of the blood-hunt: the "criminal" is then the entire
enemy people In both types of hunt the Borallian
Warriors readily lay down their lives in the fulfillment
of their oaths.
The ethic of the ancient Borallian Warrior ... cen-
tered around the long knife that was their principle
weapon. For an outsider even to see such a knife
meant certain death, for the Warrior would prefer
death by suicide to allowing his long knife to return
to its sheath unbloodied. The Boralhan's present-
day weapon. the Laser-Bolt. has similar properties.
Once drawn, It must be promptly hurled at the en-
emy, for otherise it will explode in the hand of the
user The ritual of the long knife-carried forward
into the design of the Laser-Bolt-stems from a
respect for naked violence and a belief that it is not to
be employed or threatened lightly.

DoralIus
Borallus is a rich agricultural world. first settled by
humans soon after the rediscovery of space travel.
(See Colonies) . As population pressures grew in the
Colonies. farms on Borallus began to export food A
vast space-port grew up to service the grain trade. a
port that became a military prize during the Great
War After the fall of the Colonies. Borallus became
the home of the Cylon Supreme Star Force.

The Borays blindly followed their leader,

Nogow, shown here astride his homed stallio n .

Dorays
The Borays are intelligent pre technological beings.
inhabiting the planet Equellus. They live in herds.
under the absolute leadership of one dominant Bo-
ray. Prior to the arrival of human settlers. the Borays
were peaceful farmers living by simple agriculture.
With the arrival of human farmers, the Borays began
to ride their homed stallions in raids on the human
settlements. By the light of the full moon, they took
what grain they wanted, killing and kidnapping hu-
mans in the process.
A landing party from the Battlestar Galactica
negotiated a truce between the two groups, under
which the humans voluntarily supplied grain in re-
turn for guarantees of peace. It is not known whether
this solution has proven a permanent one.
Doxey
Boxey is the son of Serina and the adopted son of
Captain Apollo. (See Apollo and Serina)
Duriticians
Buriticians are the hereditary nobility of the Twelve
Colonies. The original buriticians were the families
Buriticians dominated the Quorum of the
Twelve for millennia.
appointed by the last Lord of Kobol to rule over each
Colony. Over the millennia. however, many of the
original families died out, and new buritician families
were founded by great military and political leaders
in each Colony. During the great economic growth
that followed the scientific renaissance, anyone
whose business success reached intercolonial im-
portance could be called sire or siress, the traditional
title of the buritician class.
The buriticians never held complete political
power after the exodus itself. During the antiscien-
tific period, the mystics of the Books of Kobol had
considerable control over the day-to-day lives of the
people. Military leaders, too, shared power at this
time and, much later, during the Great Cylon War.
Although such leaders were given buritician titles,
they usually kept their military rank and never identi-
fied fully with the older nobility. After the scientific
renaissance, the buriticians faced repeated populist
challenges from the common people who sought to
 govern themselves. By the time of our Great War.
the more flexible buritician families shared power
with the commoners and with the rising industrial
classes. Those who could not adapt to the new
reality were either violently overthrown. or else re-
tired to their luxurious vast estates to dream about
the glories of the past.
The strength of the greatest buriticians has been
their strong sense of family unity, and their code of
honor and self-sacrifice strengthened by an aware-
ness of a tradition stretching across the millennia.
extennination squads, Cain retreated watchfully,
waiting for the moment to strike. Over the yahren
that followed. the crew of the Pegasus. believing
themselves to be the last surviving human Warriors,
harrassed Cylon forces throughout the Galaxy.
In 6572. the Pegasus and Galactica discovered
one another, and JOined in a vital and successful raid
on the solium reserves of the Cylon outpost. Go-
moray. As the Battlestar Galactica and its fleet col
lected fuel. Cain executed a danng head on
confrontation with three Baseships In what may
have been Cain's last battle. at least two of the

- --
_-_ - - - -=- --=-- • .........
- -- -.---- - - A magnificent pleasure palace on Carillon
lured visitors &om all corners of the Galaxy.

Buzzer
Buzzer is the name given to a wide variety of crude
intoxicating drinks consumed in the outer Colonial
provinces. Buzzer is made from whatever local plant
life is available, and is usually aged less than one
yahren. Excessive consumption of Buzzer is a seri-
ous medical and social problem in these lonely out-
posts. though no cure for it has ever been found.

Cain (6470-6572?)

Commander Cain of the Battlestar Pegasus was the

greatest military genius of the modem age. He do-
minated the lntercolonial Strategic Council in the
final years of the Great War. and much of the credit
for the striking human advances during the period
belongs to him. His tactical brilliance as a Battlestar
Commander is legendary. Always outnumbered. al-
ways outgunned, Cain always managed to win the
victory of the day. Several advanced courses at the
Academy were solely devoted to study of his battle
tactics.
At the time of the Final Destruction, the Pe-
gasus. like most of the Colonial forces, was on idle
status. The wary Cain, however, had his Battlestar
on ready alert. and so survived the surprise attack,
inflicting heavy damage on the Cylon forces. Too far
from the Colonies to defend them from the Cylon

The insectoid Ovions mined Tylium for the
Cylo ns, and fed visitors to Carillon to
their young.
Baseships were destroyed. The fate of the Pegasus
remains unknown.
Cain graduated number one in the Academy
class of 6495. He first gained intercolonial fame as
leader of the legendary Eagle Squadron, flying from
the Battlestar Prometheus. Twice court-martialed
for insubordination, Cain returned each time,
cleared, to his cheering, fanatically loyal troops. (See
also Sheba).
Carillon
Carillon is a small planet, very rich in Tylium de-
posits, first discovered by humans in 6392. Lacking
a soil that can support plant life, settlers on Carillon
depend on supplies brought from other worlds. A
mining colony was established there in 6450, and its
human population reached 50.000 at its peak in
6465. As the Great War intensified, lines of supply
were impossible to maintain over the vast reaches of
space between Carillon and the Colonies, and the
mining operation was abandoned. Whether any
humans remained on Carillon is unknown.
Carillon was recolonized by the Cylon allies. the
Ovions, at some time prior to the Final Destruction.
The gruesome ecology established under the Cylon
regime is discussed under Ovions.
Cassiopea (6519
On her homeworld of Scorpio. Cassiopea was a
Socialator, one of a caste whose function was to
entertain and give pleasure to others. Socialators
were skilled in music and the dance, and could speak
with intelligence on nearly any subject.
Since her arrival on board the BattJestar Ga-
lactica, Cassiopea has been trained as a medical
corpsman and now pursues that profession ex-
clusively.
Cassiopea is a former sociolator who is now a
medical corpsman.
During the Long Peace. Colonial humans made peaceful contact with many intelligent species
throughout the Cyranus Galaxy.
Colony
The Twelve Colonies were the next home of hu·
manity after the death of the first homeworld. Kobol.
The settlement ships went forth. seeking out un-
inhabited worlds to claim for their own Twelve such
worlds were found, worlds that would in time
become the Great Colonies of the Humans.
Once they had cleared the land and provided
for themselves the basic necessities of life. the early
settlers turned againsr the high technology that had
destroyed their former home. During the Era of
Darkness that followed. interstellar travel and com-
munication ceased; nuclear technology was slowly
forgotten; humans returned to a simpler. agricultural
way of life.
Separated for two millennia. the different Co-
lonies developed sharply contrasting cultures. The
Aerians quickly separated into a number of hostile
groups, and their Colony was tom by petty wars
among them for hundreds of yahren The Scorpios.
blessed with a fertile planet and a gentle climate.
devoted their lives to the pursuit of art, music and
pleasure. On cold Geinon, pleasure was con-
demned as temptation to evil: the Otori sect carried
this ethic to extremes. permitting contact between
the sexes only during the religious holidays of the
Worship of the Sunstorm. The Sagitanans became a
contemplative people. and through the modem era
produced humankind's greatest philosophers. while
the practical Capricans retained much more of the
ancient scientific learning than the other Colonies.
Consequently, it was the Capricans who led human-
kind into the scientific renaissance during the fifth
millennium.
h this age in intergalactic travel. it is difficult to
recreate the intense emotions of awe. shock and
wonderment that the first intercolonial explorers
must have inspired. The tiny sub-light ships from
Caprica made the yahren-long journeys with the
most primitive propulsion and navigation equip-

AU twelve colo nies were laid to waste in the
m assive Cylon attack known as the Final
Destrucdon.
ment imaginable; it was miraculous that any of them
survived the long journey. In each Colony they
touched, the reaction was one of overwhelming joy
at the rediscovery of their brothers and sisters be-
yond the sky. On every Colony, all resources were
thrown into the development of practical interstellar
transports, and the practical application of the new
technology brought 500 yahren of unparalleled
prosperity. During this period, most Colonies estab-
lished new settlements on other planets and aster-
oids, and made peaceful contact with intelligent spe-
cies on other worlds. This happy time is remem-
bered as the Long Peace.
By the time of first contact with the Cylon Al-
liance, the Colonial humans technology had ad-
vanced beyond that of their ancestors of Kobol.
They held their attackers at bay for 1000 yahren, but
in the end, the Colonial civilizations were totally
destroyed.
Cora
Some of the Battlestar Galactica's high-speed recon
Vipers are equipped with the CORA computerized
guidance system. All spaceworthy craft of course
have automatic piloting systems, but CORA is
uniquely able to derive and execute ultralight eva-
sive maneuvers through instantaneous analysis of
up to five hundred attackers. CORA interacts with
the Viper pilot by two-way voice communication, a
feature that has led many pilots to coment that the
system has a "personality" of its own.
Cryogenic
Suspension
Cryogenic suspension-the technique of slowing
life functions to a minimum through exposure to
intense cold-has been common medical technique
since the Scientific Renaissance. Its most common
use is in cases where the necessary antidote is tem-
porarily unavailable, or where elaborate diagnostic
tests must be completed prior to the commencement
of treatment.
Cryogenic suspension was also used on healthy
subjects in the early days of sub-light space travel to
keep a ship's passengers alive on their yahren-long
voyages with minimal consumption of food and
oxygen.
Cylon
The original Cylons were a technologically ad-
vanced reptilian race from a far comer of the Galaxy.
As they died out many millennia ago, little is known
of their society. They must have been warlike and
imperialistic since at the time of their extinction they
had already conquered hundreds of other worlds.
The key to the success of the early Cylon's con-
quests was their development, first of sophisticated
robots, and then of fully intelligent androids. These
machines were built to withstand enormous stress,
to have great strength and powerful computational
capacity. Armies of them swept through sector after
sector of the Galaxy. But ultimately, the machines
became the superiors of their creators, and the Cy-
Ions themselves were destroyed by their own mach-
ines.
The Cylon androids, reptilian in form like their
masters. continued the mission of destruction to
which they had been assigned. Machines that they
were, they swept through the Galaxy even more
ruthlessly than their masters. The directives of their
programming crystallized into a single Edict of Ex-
termination, that called for the destruction of all
intelligent life forms in the Galaxy.
The Cylons have occasionally combined forces
with beings like the Ovions, but few creatures are
more useful to the Cylons alive than dead. There-
fore, the number of members of the Cylon Alliance is
likely to remain small. Cylons have no concept of
friendship or loyalty, and are programmed to ex-
terminate their living allies at the earliest convenient
date.
Modem Cylons are basically humanforrn. The
most common type is the Centurion, a heavily ar-
mored soldier capable of operating a Raider and
piloting a Baseship or Dreadnought, and also adapt-
able to planetary invasion and extermination. They
are not of high intelligence, but can be cheaply
mass-produced. A common Cylon strategy. there-
fore, is to overwhelm the enemy with large numbers The most common Cylon soldiers are known as
of Centurions, many of whom will be destroyed, centurions.
leaving a sufficient number of survivors to carry the
day. The most advanced Cylons are from the 1-L
Series. Both Lucifer, aide to Commander Baltar,
and the Imperious Leader itself are of this type. 1-L
series Cylons have acute reasoning abilities, and can
directly monitor electronic telemetry from up to fifty
sources simultaneously. Much more than simple au-
tomatons, the I-L 's at times exhibit humanlike drives
for power. Human cylonologists speculate that this
ambition response was deliberately programmed in-
to the I-L's to insure prompt replacement of in-
competent leadership.
The first human-Cylon contact occurred in
5547, when combined human forces came to the
defense of their amphibious allies, the Hasaris (See
Hasarisl. The humans were unprepared for the mas-
sive Cylon offensive, and their fleet was soon forced
back to the outer defense perimeters o f their own
Colonies. T his was the beginning of the thousand-
yahren Great Cylon War.
The humans proved to be the most formidable
foes the Cylons had ever faced. Lacking the imagi-
nation to respond to human advances creatively, the
Cylons adapted in the only way they could: by imita-
tion. Their Centurions were designed to resemble
humans more and more, and their weapons were
redesigned accordingly. Human weapons advances
were quickly met by Cylon copies, so that the war
remained in stalemate for hundreds of yahren. The
Colonial Unification Movement and the military ge-
nius of Commander Cain had pushed the Cylons to
the breaking point, when the treachery of Baltar led Cylons of the gladiator class perform
intermediate command functions.
to the near-fir.al destruction of humanity. (See also
Imperious Leader).

Sophistic.a ted androids of the 1-L series rule the CyIons, and are programed to strive for power with
one another.
Cylon Centurions exist only to obey and destroy. Each series is manufactured so precisely that even
their delicate computer brain units are interchangeable from one Centurion to another.

An 1-L Series Cylon.

D aggits are a mong the humans' oldest friends; they survive i n the Galactica's fleet only in robot form.

with the advance of civilization, they became be-

Cyranus loved pets to humans. Each of the Colonies de-

veloped its own varieties of Daggits, so that by the
time of the Final Destruction, over two thousand
different breeds were officially recognized by the
lntercolonial Kennel Association. (See Robots).
The galaxy of the twelve Human Colonies destroyed
by the Cylons in the Final Destruction. (See Colony
and Final Destruction)

Daggit
Since the mythical days of humanity on the planet
Kobol. the Daggit has been man's friend and com-
panion_ A warm-blooded quadruped, related to
such wild species as the Equellan lupus, the Daggit
has been domesticated for thousands of yahren.
Daggits were probably first used for hunting_ but

Cylon dreadnoughts
specia.l ize in planetary
destruction.
Dreadnought
Dreadnoughts are vast Cylon warships packed with
weapons systems and landing troops, whose sole
function is planetary destruction. They have no
counterparts in the Colonial fleet. Dreadnoughts are
neither highly maneuverable nor well-armed defen-
sively. They are usually brought up from the rear
after a sector's space defenses have been entirely
subdued by previous attack. The defense of a
Dreadnought in hostile space requires two Cylon
Baseships.
Drones are compact, pilotless spacecraft. first de-
veloped by the human for dangerous reconnais-
PUotless drones can be
operated by on-board
computers or by remote
control. Drones perform
surveillance functions
in areas too dangerous
for human pilots.
sance missions deep inside Cylon territory. They
may be controlled from a remote base and can also
be entirely controlled by flexible-logic. on-board
computers. Drones packed with powerful short-
range scanners give a much more detailed picture of
enemy operations than can be gained from long-
range scanners operating at a distance.
Drones packed with explosives can also be ef-
fective weapons, since they can be programmed to
lie dead in space for yahren, and then to track and
destroy approaching enemy spacecraft.
Earth is the name given to the legendary thirteenth
planet colonized by the humans fleeing their dying
homeworld of Kobel. The Books of the Elders at one
point refer to it as the Third Planet of Nine, circling a
yellow star at the edge of the Frodian Galaxy. It
seems most unlikely that a group of the Kobollian
survivors would undertake so long a journey so far
from the other Colonies. The reference may be no
more than a literary echo of the famous passage
from the Book of the Word:
The many shall go forth in time
And many long shall search.
And one shall find a gdrden
in the rolling hills of Earth.
The passage, long taken to be a simple reference to
spiritual renewal through contact with nature. has
also been thought to indicate that humans were
destined for a planet called Earth from the most
ancient of days.
Numerous tales and legends of Earth abound,
many of which are retold to entertain children. In
some stories. Earth is said to be a placid paradise,
inhabited by benevolent, playful spirits. In others,
Earth is a dangerous planet of savage beasts and
huge pits of molten rock. Since the Final Destruc-
tion. the "rolling hills of Earth,·· whether legend or
reality, have become the shining hope that sustains
the human survivors in their flight from the Cylon
terror.
Equellus
Equellus is a minor farming and ranching planet with
few human settlements. Its original inhabitants. the
Borays, a primitive but intelligent species, have had
a hostile relationship with the human settlers. Grain
is Equellus' s principal export, but its economy is
mainly geared to subsistence. There are no large
cities. The small, widely scattered towns must be
largely self-sufficient to survive. (See also Borays)
Final
Destruction
The Final Destruction is the name given to the mas-
sive Cylon attack on the twelve human Colonies that
ended the Great Cylon War. With the human Oeets
idled, and all of mankind expecting its first peace in
one thousand yahren, massed Cylon forces ap-
peared, as though from nowhere. and blasted the
defenseless Colonial civih;,n populations out of ex-
istence.
Major population centers were vaporized in-
stantly. Nutron-cased missiles spread deadly radia-
tion that guaranteed a slow. painful death for billions
more. Cylon extermination squads. shielded from
the deadly rays, hunted down the survivors like
animals. Ninety-eight percent of the seventy billion
humans inhabiting the Great Colonies were killed in
a matter of months. The survival rate in the outer
provinces may have been much higher, but only
because the Cylons have not yet given these remote
areas their direct attention
From each Colony. a handful of ships escaped
to join the Battlestar Galactica on its quest for the
mythical planet. Earth. In their hasty flight. the re-
fugees left behind not only dozens of loved ones. but
also the great cultural richness that marked the Co-
lonial civilizations.
The focus of human concerns has narrowed to
the primal need for survival. But even if a sanctuary
is found, it will be a very different life from the one
left behind.
The Borays are herd creatures who preyed on
the produce of the human farmers of EqueUus.
Space freighters hauled goods and food supplies at sub·Ught speeds.
Force Nitron
Field-Farming
Growing plants take nitrogen from the soil and com-
bine it into plant structures in order to grow. On
many planetary surfaces, there is no natural way to
replace the lost nitrogen in less than twenty yahren
even though nitrogen may be present as a gas in the
atmosphere. When growing populations made it im-
possible to shift cultivation to different fields each
year, the Colonists developed various fertilizers. The
type still in use today is the forced nitron pipeline that
delivers nitrogen in a usable compound directly to
the roots of each growing plant along with water and
other essential nutrients.
Freighters
Prior to the Final Destruction , space freighters ac-
counted for over two-thirds of all intercolonial travel.
They hauled heavy loads of minerals, manufactured
goods and even food in times of need, among the
Twelve Colonies and to their distant provinces. The
surviving freighters, now under the protection of the
Battlestar Galactica. have been largely converted
into living space for the refugees.
Freighters are sub-light vehicles, powered by a
single solium energizer. Low thrust applied for quat-
rons in the vacuum of space eventually accelerate
them to a cruising speed of . 998 of the speed of light.
As a freighter nears its destination, it must apply its
thruster in reverse for several quatrons more in order
to slow it down.
G-Suits
The tremendous acceleration produced by Vipers
upon takeoff and during maneuvers is so strong that
it could cause the pilot to black out. Pilots therefore
wear G-Suits (acceleration is measured in G's or
gravities). which surround the entire body and in-
flate at the arms and legs to force blood to the brain
during maximum acceleration. G-Suits are compu-
ter controlled and connected to the Bio-Pulse Line
Computer to insure maximum pilot alertness at all
times.
Gambling
Chancery
Gambling Chanceries have grown up wherever hu-
mans are found. The urge to risk all in the hope of
gaining something for nothing is apparently a uni-
versal human trait. Even on the stem Colony of
Gemon, where all forms of gambling were officially
banned. back-room gaming houses flourished
throughout the ages. Chanceries range from the
luxurious casinos aboard luxwy liners like the Rising
Star, or on the Ovion planet, Carillon to rough-and-
ready Chancery bars on frontier planets like Equel-
lus. The card game Pyramid is played universally. Its
origins are lost in antiquity. but it seems certain that it
was played in the days of the Lords of Kobol them-
selves.
Gomoray
Gomoray was a prosperous industrial world whose
population and economy swelled with Colonial mili-
tary demands during the Great War. The Final Des-
truction took a particularly brutal fonn on Gomoray
Since the Cylons wished to take the planet's sophis-
Cylon death squads exterminated Gomorray' s human population, bat preserved its indu•tries Intact.
ticated industrial plant intact its human population o f
over fifty million was exterminated entirely by Cylon
death squads. As a Cylon outpost. Gomoray's sol-
ium refineries became a target of the harassment
tactics of the Pegasus. In 6572. the Battlestars Galac
tica and Pegasus combined to destroy the Cylon
presence there and sack its vast solium refinery of its
reserves. The fuel obtained in that raid was sufficient
to power the fleet of survivors for yahren.
Hasaris
The Hasaris were an amphibious race first contacted
by humans in Yahren 5225. shortly after the rein-
vention of faster-than-light drive. The Hasaris were
civilized and peaceful, though not as technically ad-
vanced as the humans. Many yahren of friendship
and cooperation followed. Human science aided the
Hasaris in raising their standard of hving; delicate
Cylon lasers are large and powerful. Among humans, only Colonial Warriors carry
laser pistols.
 lntercolony buses brought the humans of the scattered Colonies together.

mistrust that Adama and his family had for him, they duced the cost of deep space travel and knit the
reason, lbley decided to withdraw rather than pro· human community together again after millennia of
voke grave dissention, leaving the humans the guide isolation.
to Earth he had promised them. Another theory.
advanced by supporters of Adama. hold that the
coordinates were transmitted by the glowing ships.
This view has very little factual support in its favor.
The third theory is that the same shock that caused
amnesia in the three Warriors also produced a joint
Imperious
wish-fulfilling hallucination in them. Only time can
provide answers to the vast mysteries surrounding
Count fbley.
Leader
An 1-L series Cylon known as the Imperious Leader
commands the vast Cylon Empire. Although the

Inter-Colony Cylons are totally obedient to commands of

their leaders.

Dus
The rediscoveries and advances of the scientific
renaissance made intercolonial travel possible. True
re-unification of the Colonies, however, had to await
the development of regular passenger service. Early
sub-light space lines made the trips in a matter of
quatrons and transported only the very rich in great
luxury. The ultra-light intercolony bus greatly re-
i
and dazzling Hasari works of art were valued by
humans for generations. The Hasaris never devel-
oped an advanced military organization and easily
felJ prey to Cylon invasion in 5547. Despite valiant
defense by the combined human forces. the Hasaris
were all exterminated or enslaved within two
yahren.
lbley
Count lbley is one of the most enigmatic figures ever
encountered by the human survivors. He was dis-
covered amid the wreckage of a large spacecraft on a
lonely asteroid, and brought aboard the Battlestar
Galactica. He claimed to be of a higher degree of
being than the humans, and demonstrated this
through his powers of telekinesis. telepathy, and a
direct power over the will of others. This last power
brought Ballar to the Quorum of the Twelve to stand
trial for High Treason. He is also sometimes credited
with greatly increasing the output of the Fleet's Agro
Ships.
These feats greatly impressed the Quorum of
the Twelve and gained Count lbley a large popular
The Hasaris are a peaceful species enslaved by
theCylons.
following among the people of the Fleet as well. His
offer to lead the Fleet to the legendary planet Earth
excited one and all. lbley was in fact on the verge of
election to leadership of humanity at the head of the
Quorum when he mysteriously disappeared Count
lbley was last seen on the asteroid on which he was
first discovered in a violent confrontation with Apol-
lo, which is only sketchily recalled by those present.
Another mystery is the connection (if there is one)
between lbley and the appearance of the bright.
ultrafast spacecraft that dogged the Fleet during this
period. These craft intercepted and held a number of
Warriors, although all were eventually returned safe-
ly. They, too. seemed to have had their memories of
the recent past wiped clean. Some credit these craft
with the contemporaneous improvement in agro-
yields.
Perhaps most puzzling of all is the fact that the
three witnesses to the disappearance of Count lbley.
Apollo, Starbuck and Sheba, all returned with a
memory of explicit time/ space coordinates that they
claimed were those of the mythical planet Earth.
None of the three could explain the source of these
coordinates: in fact, they felt as though they were
blurting them out without conscious control. as
though another was speaking through them. There
are three schools of thought concerning this. Many
of Count lbley' s followers (and he still has many
admirers in the Fleet) argue that this knowledge is
the Count's final gift to humankind. Realizing the
Humans defended the Hasaris from Cylon
invasion. beginning the Great Cylon War.
 Of all the Cylons only the Imperious Leader
ret•ins the reptilian form of their aeators.

The rediscevay of Kobol by the Galactic• unlocked

many secrets of humanity's past.

other 1-L series Cylons treat the Leader with great
respect, all secretly aspire to its role No orderly
means of succession has been developed: if a Lea-
der shows weakness. it is replaced by whatever Cy-
lon unit has the power to eliminate it
The first Imperious Leader engineered the
overthrow of the first reptilian Cylons. Today, of all
the Cylons, only the Imperious Leader retains rep-
tilian form. (See also Cylons)
common today. But before the great exodus, the
humans of Kobol had developed a civilization that
pressed the planet's resources beyond the breaking
point: the inhabitants who could not Oee to the outer
stars perished amid their own refuse.
Near the ancient capital city of Eden lie the
pyramid shaped tombs of the Lords of Kobol where
the ancient rulers of humankind were buried amid
rich treasures.

Kobol Landram
The planet from which humankind came to the
Twelve Colonies was remembered as Kobol, long
after its location was lost and its very existence was
forgotten. Hidden behind a vast magnetic sea. it was
rediscovered only when the Battlestar Galactica was
in desperate flight from the Cylons.
Little is known of the original culture of this
long-dead world. The ruins that survive speak of an
early, prescientific time. Legend has ii that on Kobol
humans lived lives of five, six and seven hundred
yahren. instead of the two hundred yahren lifespans
The Landram is an all-terrain surface transport vehi-
cle designed for medium-range transport on plane-
tary surfaces. A shuttle from a Battlestar or other
interstellar spacecraft can be equipped with up to
two Landrams. These vehicles come equipped with
emergency supplies lo support a crew of five for two
weeks, a variety of currencies and valuable metals
and medical supplies for all known natural poisons
and diseases. Landrams travel slowly but with spe-
cial traction gear and gyroscopic stabilizers. they can
travel across the steepest and most uneven terrain.
Landrams are 119ed for transport on planetary surfaces and can function in a wide variety
of environments.

Lucifer U. an 1-L Series

Cylon Roder the
command of Baltar.

Lucifer
Lucifer is an exceptional Cylon 1-L computer of the
1-L series that rules the Cylon Empire. His particular
villainous duty is to aid the treacherous Baltar. (See
Baltar and Cylon)

Lupus
The Lupus is a fur-bearing four-legged predator and
scavenger found on the plains of Sectar. Its natural
prey are small rodents and the carcasses of larger
game. and it will attack domesticated poultry as well.
The Lupus is dangerous to humans only if it or its
young are attacked.

Magnetic Sea
Magnetic seas are an unusual interstellar phenom-
enon, highly dangerous to navigation. They are
often ten parsecs in all dimensions and consist of
widely spaced, highly charged particles. The attrac-
tion and repulsion of the particles themselves keeps
the sea's structure stable. These same forces make
scanner probing of the sea and beyond impossible.
Light rays, too, are unable to penetrate it.
The best-known magnetic sea protected the
planet Kobol from rediscovery by humans for over
four millennia.
Muffey
Muffey is a robot daggit designed and created by Dr.
Wilder of the Battlestar Galactica especially for
Boxey (Apollo's adopted son) to replace a beloved
real daggit that he had to leave behind on Caprica.
A hero in his own right, Muffey was instrumen-
tal in saving the lives of Boomer. Boxey and other
members of the Blue Squadron from a terrible fire
within the Battlestar Galactica that was wrought by a
devastating Cylon raid. (See Oaggit and Robots)
The Nova of Madagon is a space corridor near the
heart of the Cyranus Galaxy densely packed with
small, bright stars. The stars' brilliance and their
complex gravitational interactions make navigation
through the Nova extremely dangerous. The Nova
was thought to be wholly impassible after being
mined by the Cylons, but a path was cleared by
three members of the Galactica's Blue Squadron:
Apollo, Starbuck and Boomer.

Numo
The Numa is a primitive hand weapon that uses
compressed air to propell a small projectile. It can
injure or kill small game or unshielded humans at
short ranges. Numa guns were common during the
Late Era of Darkness, but they are found in common
use only on backward planets like Equellus.

Ovines
Ovines are four-legged grazing animals raised by the
humans of Sectar for food. Their meat is the planet's
The Ovions are intelligent, burrowing insects
major export. Thousands of Ovine carcasses are
brought to Carillon to mine Tylium for the Cyloos.
loaded into the hold of a small freighter several times
each year. They are flash-frozen by exposure to the
chill of space to preserve them on the long journey to
the Colonies.

Ovions
The Ovions are a race of intelligent, burrowing
insects, exploited by the Cylons because of their
mining abilities. In the course of constructing their
elaborate burrows, the Ovions transport to the sur-
face tons of nearly pure mineral ore.
Worker Ovions stand 2.2 metrons tall and have
six legs, one pair to each body segment. All the
individuals in an Ovion nest are closely related, and
therefore act cooperatively. Most of the females are
Lotay, Chosen Leader of the Ovions, ruled Carillon for the Cylons.
skilled workers who gather food and construct the tainment, gambling and luxury were available in vast
hive under the direction of their Chosen Leader. quantities. H umans flocked in from around the gal-
This leader, larger than the others, is the only fertile axy. Life was so intense that no one noticed the
female in the nest. The dying Leader lays a number percentage of the "guests" harvested each day.
of special eggs, which develop into larvae. The These poor souls were killed and brought to sub-
nursemaid workers then "choose" their new Lea- terranean nurseries where their bodies fed the grow-
der- the largest and most healthy-by destroying ing larvae of the Ovion young.
all the others. The nest also contains a few males The CariJlon pleasure palace was destroyed by
whose only function is to mate with the Leader and the Battlestar Galactica in 6570.
produce the next generation.
On their homeworld, the Ovion workers scav-
enge the forests for small animals to nourish their
growing young. When the Cylons brought them to
the lifeless world of Carillon to mine Tylium, a means
of nourishment had to be found. The Cylons es-
tablished a glittering pleasure palace for humans and
other beings on Carillon, where food, drink, enter-
Pluton
A poisonous substance generated from fall-out of
While life is con•tant, •leepless toil for Ovion Nutron Elements which contaminates food.
workers, the Chosen Leader has time for
cultural pursuits out.side of the mating season.

Praesidium
The Praesidium was the central governing body of
the Colony of Caprica. During the Era of Darkness, it
was an annual meeting of the Caprican buriticians
where disputes were settled and taxes were set amid
great festivities and revelry. As the scientific renais-
sance progressed, government by the elite was no
longer tolerated. The Praesidium was progressively
expanded until its members represented all seg-
ments of society. The privileges of the buriticians
were gradually reduced until, by the time of the
Great War, they had an automatic right to only three
out of 300 seats.
In time of war, however, the power of the buri-
ticians was effectively enhanced. For the duration of
such crisis. three-leader ruling councils wielded the
power of the entire Praesidium. These were com-
posed of a commoner. a military leader and a buri-
tician. Since the buritician class also provided many
military leaders, it effectively controlled the Colony
in wartime. Because of the length of the Great Cylon
War, this system was abandoned, and after 5 770 the
300-member Praesidium was reinstated.
 Preciptum
Layer
This term refers to any mass of heavy-element mat-
ter in deep space. A Preciptum Layer can be the
result of such natural processes as the gravitational
decay or an asteroid, or may be the waste product of
certain kinds of primitive space drive engines. They
do not present a major hazard to navigation since
(although light cannot pass through them) scanners
can analyze them fully.
Proteus Prison Quorum of the
Twelve
This prison on the asteroid Proteus was established
by the Aerians in 5220. In its heyday in the 5300s, it
housed over one hundred thousand. Its brutality
made it infamous throughout the Colonies. The
harshness of which the Aerians were once so proud
eventually became an embarrassment during the
enlightened days of the Long Peace. And so. early in
the Cylon War, the majority of the prisoners were
released. The Proteus Prison was then gradually
forgotten.
Also forgotten were a few hundred prisoners
and their guards, the Enforcers. Whether they chose
to remain behind or whether they were simply over-
looked by the evacuation teams is unknown. These
men and women remained to form a strange society
that lasted for generations. The children of Enforcers
took their parent's place: the children of the prison-
ers took as names the crimes or their parents, the
crimes of their ancestors.
The prisoners on Proteus manufactured Am-
brosa. the finest in the Galaxy. After the asteroid was
cut off from humanity by the Cylons, however, no
further shipments could be made. and centuries of
production piled up on the loading docks. The En-
forcers, anxious to keep their power, kept up the
pretense that the Ambrosa was going to the Col-
onies. When their lie was exposed by the arrival of
The le aders of the Colonies formed the Quorum
of the Twe lve.
the Battlestar Galactica. the Enforcers were quickly
overthrown.
The Quorum of the Twelve is the governing body of
humankind and is composed of one representative
of each of the Great Colonies. The Quorum first met
in 4998. shortly after the rediscovery or interstellar
travel. Throughout most of its history. the Quorum
remained an august, dignified body with little prac-
tical power. Each of the Colonies had its own
deeply-rooted traditions and concerns and was un-
willing to submit any important questions for reso-
lution by the group.
For centuries, Councilorship on the Quorum of
the Twelve was limited to buriticians. It is ironic that
the Quorum attained real power only under the
leadership of its first peasant member. Anton. Near
the end of the Great Cylon War, the Quorum not
only controlled all human military operations
through the lntercolonial Strategic Council, but also
directed all economic production and transport as
well Improved communications led to exchanges of
literature and entertainment that were beginning to
reunite humankind into one people once again.
T he Quorum continues to govern the survivors
of the Final Destruction in the Battlestar Galactica·s
fleet under the leadership of Councilor Adama.
Quotara was a favored destination of luxury liners.
Quotara
The Quotara cluster is one of the most beautiful
areas of the Cyranus Galaxy. It consists of seven red
stars orbiting near a single blue star. The cruise to
Quotara was a favorite trip from nearby Colonies
aboard such luxury liners as the Rising Star.
Raider
Cylon Raiders are small, ovoid short-range attack
craft, launched into deep space from Baseships.
Raiders are deadly. but less maneuverable than
Colonial Vipers .
They require a crew of three. Because the Cylons
consider their Centurion pilots wholly expendable,
very little of the Raiders' equipment is for their own
defense. Their armor is thin and they carry no radia-
tion shields. Raiders are packed with turbo-lasers
and nutron-cased laser torpedoes, but their targeting
systems are slow and can be confused by high-
energy transmission of false scanner data.
The Raiders are modeled after the obsolete
human space fighters. They are nearly as fast as the
latest Colonial Vipers, but not as maneuverable.
Cylon Raider tactics are crude. Since their re-
sources are vast and their pilot skills are inferior. they
favor a mass attack on an outnumbered enemy. To
penetrate shields that would deflect radiation. Cy-
Ions have been known to ram their Raiders directly
into their targets, destroying the pilot, but inflicting
heavy damage as well.
Cylon·Raiders require crews of three.

Baseships require
Raider protection
for their
own defense.
Ravishol Laser Robots
Ravishol. the brooding genius of the Physics Depart-
ment of the Tauron Cemer for Science and the Arts,
was an idealist and a pacifist whose research nearly
gave the Cylons the key to intergalactic domination.
Ravishol' s work in intergalactic communication was
fueled by an intense faith in the legendary Thirteenth
Colony, Earth. which he believed had been estab-
lished outside our own Cyranus Galaxy. On the
lonely asteroid Arcta, he designed and constructed a
supremely powerful communication device pow-
ered by the direct fusion of tritium and deuterium
that he dubbed the Pulsar. The Pulsar was to trans-
mit intense, electromagnetic waves in a simple but
unmistakable ordered pattern to catch the attention
o( distant alien beings who were monitoring or ob-
serving deep space. Ravishol' s plan was to gradually
increase the complexity of his message to form a
code that his unseen beings would in time decipher.
eventually leading to full-fledged two-way commu-
nication.
Dr. Ravishol's dream was never realized, how-
ever. The Cylon Empire seized the Arcta laborator-
ies shortly after the Final Destruction and converted
the Pulsar's vast energy-conversion systems into an
Ultimate Weapon that could deliver utter destruction
to any comer of the Cyranus Galaxy. The BattJestar
Galactica fortunately destroyed the Pulsar. and in
that raid many of Ravishol's breakthroughs in en-
ergy conversion and transmission were lost. perhaps
for all time.
Rising Star
A luxury liner that was designed and created for the
entertainment and pleasure of the Colonists. Since
the Final Destruction it is used for the fleet members
and the Warriors on leave. It is particularly famous
for its expensive gambling-chancery and its beautiful
dance area (See Gambling-Chancery)
The dividing lines between simple tools, ordinary
machines and intelligent robots or androids are not
always clear ones. Even the simplest measurement
or repair device contains micro-circuits that continu-
ously monitor its function and feed back the infor-
mation to its user. At the beginning of the Scientific
Renaissance. human scientists developed multi-pur-
pose machines that clearly were robots. Many
looked forward to a Golden Age when all of society's
boring, repetitive jobs could be done by intelligent
machines. That dream was shattered in 5160. how-
ever, during the Cybernetic Revolt that paralysed
the Colonial economy for over a yahren. The Colo-
nial Code was swiftly modified to prohibit the in-
tegration of sophisticated artificial intelligence with
mobile mechanical devices. Thus the humans were
spared the grim fate that befell the first Cylons:
destruction by their own creations.
The android daggit. Muffey. was one of the first
exceptions to this rule, built out of sympathy for the
loss of Muffey's namesake. a real daggit lost in the
destruction of Caprica. Since no biological daggits
were permitted to board the fleet, Muffey provides
many of the survivors with the warmth and friend-
ship they miss from their ancient companions. (See
Cylon; Daggit).
 Sectar is a remote ranching
planet in the Hatari
sector.

Scanners gather and analyze information from surrounding space and guide the fleet through space.
 tion began. After losing her husband during the raid
on Caprica, she and her son Boxey were taken

Scanner aboard the Battlestar Galactica as refugees.

Captain Apollo and Serina had known each
other previously but it was their mutual affection for
Boxey that turned their acquaintance into love.
The broad-spectrum cybernetic Scanner is at the Eventually, they were sealed and solemnized during
heart of the Colonial attack system. A sensitive a joyous ceremony and for a time were very happy.
antenna receives heat, light and all other frequencies In the midst of a Cylon ambush on the planet
of radiation from a 360° sphere, and feeds it into a Kobol. Serina was mortally wounded She died in
computer for analysis. Long-range Scanners can Apollo's arms aboard the Battlestar Galactica (See
match most bodies within a range to objects recor- Apollo)
ded in the computer's memory in a millicenton. The
identified object may then be visually displayed,
along with data on rate of travel, armaments, and
crew. If the object remains unknown, the Scanner
emits a broad spectrum of radiation, and analyzes
the echoes that return.
The Scanners and their associated computers
Sheba (6525-

on board each Viper can take over attack and eva-

sive functions if the pilot loses consciousness. The
computer's automatic battle decisions, however,
cannot match the skill of a trained Colonial Warrior.
Sheba is the only daughter of the great war hero,
Commander Cain. She graduated from the Acad-
emy in 6560 with highest honors in Strategic Sci-
ences and went on to become one of the most
decorated Viper pilots in the fleet. She led a squad-
ron on the Battlestar Pegasus until its disappearance

Sectar in Yahren 6577, (see Cain ) when she was cut off
escorting personnel to the Battlestar Galactica. Now
a member of the Battlestar Galactica's famed Blue
Squadron, she has established close ties with the
family of Commander Adama.
Sectar is a remote planet in the Hatari sector dotted
with fewer than twenty small human settlements.
Large Ovine ranches once exported large quantities
of meat to the Colonies; orbiting freighters loaded up
from small shuttles and froze their cargos by expo-
sure to the chill of space for the long journey home.
Today the Oviners raise small herds for subsist-
ence that provide them with milk products and cloth-
ing as well as meat. Cut off from Colonial civilization,
technology on Sectar has reverted to a primitive
level. Its population is largely defenseless; their most
powerful weapons are simple Numo guns. Sectar
would be an easy prey for any hostile, advanced
race. It remains undisturbed only because it is so
poor that no conqueror would waste time or energy
on it.

Serina
As a newscaster, Serina was broadcasting the prog-
ress of the Cylon peace talks when the Final Destruc-
 ner display. All conditions of battle and formation
flying can be created. The pilot is free to learn from
his or her beginner mistakes without endangering
life in the process.

Snow Ram
A Landram that has been converted for use on
sub-zero planets and asteroids. (See Landram )

Since battlestars are too large to land. shuttles

provide their only link with planetary surfaces.
Socialator
A socialator is a woman who is dedicated to the
entertainment and pleasure of others. They are
skilled in music and the dance and can speak easily

Shuttle and with intelligence on nearly any subject. On the

planet Scorpio, members of this caste are looked
upon with especial respect and admiration.

Battlestars and other large spacecraft are too large

ever to land or even to dock easily with other ships of
similar size. Each. therefore, carries a number of
small shuttles to transport personnel and equipment
from ship to ship or ship to planet. Shuttles are
relatively defenseless and must be escorted by Vip-
ers through hostile territory. They can carry up to
Solenite
two Landrams and a crew of forty-five.
Selenite is a high explosive refined from Solium fuel.
It has many peaceful uses in the construction indus-
try and also forms the warheads of impact torpedoes

Simulator
used by both human and Cylon forces.

Before student Viper pilots can be trusted with one

of these expensive and dangerous craft, they must
develop special skills and instantaneous responses
to the stimuli of ultra-light speed combat. They
Solium
therefore spend many hours in Simulators. These
devices consist of a Viper cockpit with full instrumen- Solium is the liquid fuel that powers deep-space
tation connected to a computerized visual and scan- vehicles.

Lt. Starbuck ls a member of the Galactica •s
famed Blue Squadron.
Starbuck enjoys life, but is one of the
most valued Warriors of the Oeet.
Starbuck (6523-)
Lieutenant Starbuck is a Viper pilot of Warrior grade
in the Battlestar Galactica's Blue Viper Squadron.
He was orphaned at a very early age during a
Cylon raid on his home. But despite early adversity
he went on to graduate with honors from the
Academy in 6562 although he was nearly expelled
in his fourth yahren for gambling in the cadet's
barracks.
ln 6570, he was awarded the Golden Cluster
for his heroism in the Final Destruction.
Aboard the Battlestar Galactica he is known for
his proficiency in Triad as well as his courage and
dedication. He is un-married.
Fairly recently, Starbuck became involved with
an elderly con-man, who. while trying to escape
from Borallian Bloodhunters. claimed to be his
father. As a result. Cassiopea had them undergo a
test of genetic inheritance that was publically an-
nounced as negative.

Tigh (6498·
Colonel Tigh is the Executive Officer of the Battlestar
Galactica. Beginning his military career as a simple
soldier, he was commissioned a Warrior on the field
of battle for outstanding heroism during the Tauron
campaign in 6525. He rose steadily through the
ranks, serving with distinction on board the Beller-
ephon and the Atlantia before his transfer to the
Galactica in 6560.
Colonel Tigh is the Executive Officer
of the Galactica.
Triad
Triad is a game that pits two members of any two of
the fleet's Viper Squadrons against each other in a
grueling, physical contest that requires the teams to
throw, bounce or otherwise place a medium-sized
silver ball into their opponents goal. The goals are
located above the normal reach of most players in
two of the court's three walls.
Triad is perhaps the single most important so·
cial event that takes place aboard the Battlestar Ga-
lactica. During the hopeless times following the Final
Destruction this game gave the survivors something
to root for, something to look foward to, saving
many from the despair and an intense depression
known as the Cylon Madness.
Tribunal
A fundamental Human liberty recognized in the
Books of the Lords of Kobol themselves is the right
of the criminally accused to a fair trial before an
impartial tribunal. The exact nature of tribunals has
varied from Colony to Colony over time, but certain
basic elements are essential to a valid conviction.
The judge must be a highly-trained state official with
no prior knowledge of the defendant and no other
interest in the case than that the law be faithfully
executed. A trial must follow procedures set out
carefully in advance, and if the accused is once
acquitted, he or she may never again be tried for the
same crime. In some Colonies, the ultimate ques-
tions of fact- for example, is the accused the one
who committed the crime-are determined by a jury
of citizens untrained in law and unfamiliar with the
facts of the case. This peculiar system seems guaran-
teed to . produce less accurate results than, for
example, the Scorpian system in which a panel of
professional investigators aided by physiological
truth detectors and probability-calculating comput-
ers determine the facts of each case.
The State's case against the accused is presen-
ted by an Opposer, usually a law-trained State offi.
cial. The accused has a right to speak in his own
 defense, and in most systems has the right to a
Protector to conduct his defense. Early irt Human
history, the Protector was simply the head of the
accused' s clan, an Elder who represented his people
in all matters. In some Colonies this role developed
into a profession, with specially-trained lawyers hir-
ing themselves out regardless of clan lines. The in-
justice of this system for those who could not afford
to pay soon led to the requirement that the State
provide legal counsel to those who cannot afford
their own.
In highly political trials like the tribunal of Baltar,
many of the normal procedures expected in criminal
cases will not be followed. Obviously, no judge
could ever be found who had never heard of the
notorious traitor Baltar, but justice would hardly be
served if, for this reason alone, Baltar had been set
free.

Tucan
Tucan is a planet inhabited by intelligent humanoids
who have long been friendly to the Colonial hu-

The Toucana's broad visual range protected

their forest-dwelling ancestors from the large
Many T oucana a.r e gifted performers. hostile predators of prehistoric Toucan.

Colonial Vipers are the fastest ships in the
Galaxy and the turbolaser is the Viper's main
weapon.
mans. The Tucana are a sophisticated people who
export high technology throughout the Galaxy.
Several T ucana musicians have also gained great
popularity in the Colonies.
The Tucana are hermaphrodites, that is, each (
individual has the attributes of two sexes. In fact,
they have two sets of eyes and two mouths, each
controlled by a distinct part of the brain. In a very real
sense. each Tucana is not one person. but two.
Viper
The Colonial Viper is the fastest spacecraft in the
known Universe. Its maneuverability, too. is un-
matched, enabling a skilled pilot to loop around
enemy fire and attack from the blind side. High-
energy turbo-lasers are the main Viper weapon. One
hit can destroy a Cylon Raider, and a full payload
correctly targeted can inflict severe damage on a
Bases hip.
The Viper's ultra-light drive puts severe stress
on the pilots, and in the event of pilot blackout. the
Viper can be fully controlled by its on-board Scanner
Computer System.
Vipers fty in strict formation for mutual defense.
 The details of Viper squadron tactics are classi-
fied Their goal, however, is mutual defense. The
precision coordination of the best human squadrons
!. is so great that Vipers have commonly taken on
Cylon Raiders at four-to-one-odds and emerged vic-
torious.

Warrior
From the dimly remembered days of the Era of
Darkness. the finest and most able soldiers among Colonial Warriors are famed throughout the
the humans have been given the title of Warrior. Galaxy.
Whether fighting with iron swords or turbo-lasers,
Colonial Warriors have maintained a tradition of
courage, chivalry and loyalty unexcelled in history.
to the study of the Book of the Word and the Books
Training begins during childhood with demanding
of the Lords of Kobel. whose sternest injunctions
physical exercise and long hours of study. A lucky
they obeyed strictly and literally. Dressed always in
few go on to the Academy, where seven yahren of
black, the Gemonese led a joyless existence. Per-
strict discipline await them.
haps responding to a need to hold down their popu -
Warriors are given the respect and admiration
lation in the face of limited resources. or perhaps out
of humans and their allies in every comer of the
of a peculiar interpretation of one passage of the
Galaxy. The Cylons and the other enemies of hu-
Book of the Word, the Gemonese came to outlaw all
mankind have learned to fear them.
contact between the sexes. The only exception
came during the celebrations that had always ac-
companied the spectacular annual sunstorms. As
Gemonese life during the rest of the yahren became

Worship of more and more repressive, the festivities surround-

ing the Worship of the Sunstorm became more and
more extravagent.

the Sunstorm The celebration on the planet Gamoni. during

which. for the first time in a yahren, the genders are
permitted to relate. Needless to say. it is a very
joyous occassion.
The Human settlers who first arrived on Gemon
found before them a rocky, barren and inhospitable
planet Gemon's winters are brutally cold. so much
so that half of the original group of Humans did not
survive the first one. There is no season of spring on
Gemon. Winter ends abrubtly each yahren with the
coming of the magnificent three-day sunstorm. a
Zaccariah (6535-6570)
display of colorful atmospheric electrical discharges
that lights up the heavens day and night. The sun-
storrn signals the start of Gemon's short growing Zaccariah was the youngest child of Commander
season. Adama. After graduating from the Academy, he was
These harsh conditions shaped the Gemons' stationed on board the Galactica as a pilot-in-
cultural evolution. Of necessity they became a spare training during the Armistice. He was killed by the
and frugal people, given to economy of action as Cylons on his first Viper reconnaissance mission, the
well as words. Their long winter nights were devoted first death of the Final Destruction.
 ~\
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A CHRONOLOGY OF MAJOR EVENTS lN HUMAN HISTORY

YAHRfN EVENT

Prehistory of Kobol

circa 1000? Oral traditions of the Thirteen Tribes

wntten down to form the Book of the Word

1000-2100 Age of the Philosophers

Books of the Lords of Kobol composed.

circa 2200 Industrial Age begins on Kobol

2705 Exodus from Kobol

2710 Colonies founded.

Era of Darkness begins.

4479 Academy at Capnca founded

Space travel reinvented.
Scientific renalSSance begms

4808 Contact between the Twelve Colonies re-established.

4980 Ultra-light drive invented.

The Long Peace begins

4998 Quorum of the TweIve established

5160 Cybernetic revolt

Colonial Code passed limiting
artificial intelligences.

5225 First contact with the Hasans.

5547 Great Cylon War begins.

6250 First Battlestar comm1SS1oned

6392 Discovery of Carillon

6440 Birth of Adama

6570 Final Destruction of the Colonies by

Cylon forces

6572 Successful raid on Cylon Gomoray base.

Destruction of battlestar Pegasus?