Email from Michael:
I know you guys like theories, so here’s one I cooked up based on the biblical meaning of numbers in relation to the Cylon models. (With the explicit religious ties to the Cylons, and Baltar looking more and more like a Christ-figure, it’s not unreasonable to think some thought has gone into the numbers.)
This is obviously the hyper-condensed summary of what numbers are used to mean in the bible.
1 – Unity – Cavil
One is used to represent God alone, the rejection of all that is different. Cavil is unwilling to listen to others, and won’t even consider the existence of God or a soul, anything beyond his own existence.
2 – Division – Leoben
Two represents the separation of opposites, both harmony and discord, the Earth and the Heavens, the Light and the Dark. Leoben causes divisions and mistrust in the fleet, spreads lies with truth, and believes the Hybrids speak the voice of God.
3 – Divine Unity – D’anna
Three is the number of the holy trinity, the father, son, and holy ghost. Just as God is only complete when all facets are combined in harmony, D’anna believes the Cylons can only be complete when all twelve models are united.
4 – Creation – Simon
Four is the number of Creation by the divine. Simon’s main role has been to create a new race of human/Cylons in the farms.
5 – Man’s sin, God’s Grace – Doral
Five is the number of man’s corruption, and God’s gift of forgiveness for that corruption. Doral is one of more militant Cylons, using coercion and force to achieve his goals, some of the most sinful traits of man. The relation to divine grace may point towards a change for him in the future.
6 – Man – Caprica Six
Six is the number of man (humanity, not just men). Caprica Six, and her line are by far the most concerned with the preservation of humanity for their own sake, not just Cylon purposes. She’s arguably the most human of the Cylons.
7 – Completion, Perfection – Unknown
Seven is the number of completion, the day God rested after his Creation was perfect. Model 7 is unknown, but this may mean that 7 is the final unknown model.
8 – New Beginnings – Sharon
Eight is the number of New Beginnings, moving past the initial Creation. This seems to relate very closely to Sharon’s role as the mother of the first Human/Cylon child.
9 – Judgement – Unknown
Nine is the number of diving judgement, often associated with placement in the afterlife. Tigh seems quick to judge, and sentenced his own wife to death.
10 – Responsibility – Unknown
Ten is the number used when man is held accountable by God. Anders may be a fit here, though there may be more to come. He takes as much responsibility as he can for Starbuck and her destiny.
11 – Discord and Revelation – Unknown
Eleven has a positive and negative meaning, both destruction and revelation, or protecting. 11 is sometimes associated with women, especially in its positive meaning. Tory seems a strong candidate for this model, as she has proven to be willing to murder, but in the name of protection.
12 – Government – Unknown
Twelve is the perfection of government, a harmonious rule of man. Tyrol is a strong posibility for this model. He inspires fierce loyalty among his deck crew, and wields power well as the union leader on New Caprica.
Comments 6
Interesting theory. Did you write this before or after Guess what’s coming to dinner when Hera drew the pics of 6 surrounded by 666’s? I can’t wait to see how it all plays out but I think you might be on to something.
I was right on this track too, looking for some information on the significance of biblical numbers. Im glad I stumbled across this! It makes an excellent addition to my research.
Number Six is actually 666. Remember one of the Cylon leaders, who led above Baltar in the original series. His name was Lucifer, and his ambition was to be human. He was the one who was nearest to Baltar and nearest to mankind. There is also an occult mythology regarding Lucifer, the most beautiful angel, who dared to compare himself to God. It relates him to Prometeus, the one who gave fire to mankind, but also defied the gods. So, if six is the number of mankind, it is also the number of Prometeus, the titan who defended mankind — and also the number of Lucifer, the triple six.
So there is no denying what is actual: sixes all along mean triple six, the number of man. And also the doom of mankind, because triple six means 18. And 18 means both “the moon†— which is primarily the bearer of confusion in the tarot cards — and the last of the eighteen laws from Kabbalah, the 18 laws derived from the 1st law of the Universe, the Law of the Universal Equilibrium. The eighteenth law is the first to get manifested at every generation, every greater round comprising billions of years (make no mistake, when we talk about galactic events we are talking billions of years), the one that makes the first manifestation of the individual, and it is also the manifestation of the primeval darkness. It is hate. From hatred comes war. So number six is the bearer of war, the destruction of mankind. Remember what six did on the twelve colonies originally.
So six is Lucifer reimagined, like “Battlestar Galactica†is the original series “reimaginedâ€.
There is no point, actually, in trying to find an excuse for what is actually the Beast of the Apocalypse. It is what it is, numbers closer or a little apart between themselves, separated by what is beautiful, so beautiful that it can, childishly one should say, fool us. Well, those were my two coins, there they are.
Oh well. In English, the correct spelling is Prometheus, I believe. Sorry for that.
Something else just came to my mind. The name of the Six leading the rebel Cylons is Natalie — which comes from Christmas. Well if you shoot Christmas what do you have?
Another point. Somewhere else, in another post, commenting the episode where Natalie got shot from Athena — out of a moment of clairvoyance, one could say, from the goddess of wisdom — someone said that the Cylons are a teenage race, more or less 40 years old. Well. A lot to think here. Those 40 years are really very meaningful between the original series and this “reimagined†one.
You are full of it about this bible stuff, unless you are talking purely hypothetically as a story because that is all the bible is, just a story book. I have discovered that people want to find meaning in things so they look for any far fetching ideas they can to put meaning into happenings. Example: my cousin praised god for all of the lives being saved when Sully landed the plane safely in the water. I said it was because Sully had years of experience that kept his wits about him and did just as his experience and training told him to do. If there was such a thing as god then did god hate the people on the plane that crashed into the ocean off the coast of S. America a few weeks later or were the circumstances just bad for them. I have read the bible through many times and studied religion for years and I discovered that there are many contradictions but people overlook them. Moses brings the law to the people, one of the commandments of the law is thou shalt not kill then he kills a bunch for worshiping a golden calf.
So if you want to find meaning in the numbers remember number seven was Daniel and he and his entire line was killed by number one. Which makes sense to me because you associate the number one with god and it is a known fact that for years religious people have killed countless people in the name of god.