Battlestar Galactica: "The Hand of God"

The episode “The Hand of God” really helps to illustrate some of the various feelings a person can feel when they are thrust into a leadership position they were not seeking or had no intention of accepting. The three main characters we’ve seen thrust into leadership positions during this episode are Laura Roslin, Starbuck, and Baltar (whose storyline is really an extension of previous episodes).

We saw Roslin nervously accept the role of President of the Twelve Colonies at the beginning of the Battlestar Galactica series and now we see her having to be educated about another role she has been thrust into—that of a religious leader. This new calling came to a head during a press conference when she hallucinated some twelve snakes wrapped around the podium and her hands. Following the press conference, she met with the Priestess Elosha. “I’ve been taking chamalla for a medical condition,” she tells her and she explains that she had dreams of Leoben, before they captured him:

Roslin: The images were…
Elosha: Prescient?
Roslin: Uncanny. And now I’m seeing things while I’m awake….There were snakes crawling all over my podium during the press conference.
Elosha: How many?
Roslin: About a dozen.
Elosha: You’re kidding me, right? You read Pythia and now you’re having me on?
Roslin: No. Who is Pythia?
Elosha: One of the oracles in the sacred scrolls 3600 years ago, Pythia wrote about the exile and rebirth of the human race: ‘and the Lords anointed a leader to guide the caravan of the heavens to their new homeland, and unto the leader they have a vision of serpents numbering two and ten as a sign of things to come.’ She also wrote the new leader suffered a wasting disease and would not live to enter the new land. But you’re not dying, are you?

Of course, we all know the answer to that question and we now know that not only was Roslin thrown into the political role of President leading her people to safety, she has been thrown into the theological role of leading her people to the Promised Land. It seems just as she has become fairly comfortable with the political role, a role she at least has observed President Adar filling in Caprica, she has a completely new role thrown onto her shoulders, one that she does not seem to be at all familiar with, as she was unfamiliar with the Pythian prophecies, literature we find out later that was apparently common enough that Baltar read while in the sixth grade.

Similarly, Starbuck is thrown into a new role as a military strategist, coming up with a new, fresh, “out-of-the-box” perspective on battlefield tactics as they decide to do a surprise attack on the Cylon controlled tylium enriched asteroid, a resource that would give them fuel and ammunition for the next couple of years. The Galactica launches their strike force heading towards the base. Starbuck all along has struggled with wanting to be in the cockpit, rather than working behind the scenes with the Commander. However, her knee injury prevents her from flying a viper. During the strike, she still wishes she were with the other viper pilots in the field. Adama tells her, “I had to go through the same transition. When you’re in the cockpit, you’re in control. It’s hard to give it up.” She replied, “I never wanted this kind of responsibility.” “The Cylons never asked what we wanted. Welcome to the big leagues,” is Adama’s consolation. Starbuck’s struggle is with releasing control. While she admits that she “lives outside of the box,” she also wants to be the one fulfilling the orders. She stands with one foot in leadership and one foot in being a follower—it’s up to her to decide where to put her weight and right now it seems that she is trying to shift it to being a follower, being in the cockpit, instead of calling the shots for the fleet.

Baltar, on the other hand, seems to seek leadership; rather, he seems to seek the fame and prosperity that can come with leadership. In his seeking, he has been thrown into a religious position, a new recruit in the Church of the Cylon God, a position that holds certain responsibilities to the Cylon God. Once again, Baltar has interesting conversations throughout the episode with Six about God. He questions why the Cylon God would help him destroy the Cylon base. Six explains that “God doesn’t take sides. He only wants your love. Open your heart to him and he will show you the way….You must remember to surrender your ego. Remain humble.” As discussed in previous episodes, these divine attributes of the Cylon God sound very similar to those described about the Christian God in the Gospels. It seems that Six understands Baltar’s hubris and warns him that it can/will get in the way of a relationship with God, a trap that some hypocritical religious leaders in the Second Testament got in trouble for.

At the end of the episode, Baltar imagines he’s back on Caprica and the Pythian prophecy is further discussed:

Six: Have you read the Pythian prophecy, Gaius?
Baltar: Not since the sixth grad. I can’t say ancient history was my favorite subject.
Six: Six: You should have paid closer attention....”All of this has happened before. All of this will happen again.’
Baltar: Everyone knows that verse. What are you getting at?
Six: Remember this one? “Led by serpents numbering two and ten.”
Baltar: The Vipers! They’re the serpents.
Six: There’s a later verse, Gaius. You should read it. “Though the outcome favored the few, it led to a confrontation at the home of the gods.”
Baltar: Are you telling me that God guided my finger to that target for some arcane scriptural purpose?
Six: You did well. You gave yourself over to him.
Baltar: Yes, I suppose I did. Yes, there’s really no other logical explanation for I was…
Six: Am…
Baltar: …I am an instrument of God.

Baltar and Six discuss the same passage Roslin and Elosha discussed toward the beginning of the episode. However, each couple comes to a different interpretation of the same passage, each thinking s/he is the leader described in the passage. Sometimes Scripture can be interpreted in various ways to suit the situation or interpretation the reader wants. This is why Scripture should be read in context of itself—try to let Scripture interpret itself. How do certain images play out throughout Scripture and how can those other instances inform the passage in question. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the series. The part of the passage that Six does not mention that we did hear earlier in the episode is that this “instrument of God” is supposedly dying of a wasting disease. Roslin is dying of terminal breast cancer; we do not know of anything Baltar is afflicted with (other than hallucinations).

Battlestar Galactica: "Flesh and Bone"

The theme of evangelism continues in “Flesh and Bone,” as Leoben Conoy and Starbuck discuss the nature of God(s) and what it means to be human. While in the previous episode, “Six Degrees of Separation,” we see bedroom evangelism, the tactics of evangelism change in this episode by taking place in an interrogation room. At base level, however, the Cylons’ attempts at evangelism are the same—meet the humans where they are, meet them where they feel comfortable. Baltar’s comfortable place is in his bedroom; Starbuck’s comfortable place is in a military setting where she feels more in control. The Cylons demonstrate that in order to evangelize, we should know the other person, have a relationship with that person. Six knows that Baltar responds to physical relationship and it seems that Six is almost desperate for physical contact and relationship. Leoben knows Starbuck’s past and knows that she is faithful to the human polytheistic religion. Both Six and Leoben are able to evangelize by appealing to the growing relationships with their human counterparts.

After hiding for some time, Leoben Conoy, a duplicate Cylon of the one Adama encountered and fought on Ragnar Anchorage, is caught. Starbuck is called to interrogate him. After observing how human Leoben seems at first glance, Starbuck enters the interrogation chamber:

Starbuck: Sleeping?
Leoben: Praying.
Starbuck: I don’t think the gods
answer the prayers of toaster.
Leoben: God answers everyone’s prayers.

Leoben begins his relationship with Starbuck through a discussion of faith. Their discussions further show that the Cylons believe in a monotheistic religion, while the humans believe in a pantheon. An all-loving, all encompassing God seems very much like how God is described of the Gospels.

Later, Leoben tries to play mind games with Starbuck, and she is unsuccessful in getting information from him, he gives more information about the Cylon God:

Leoben: It’s funny, isn’t it? We’re all God, Starbuck. I see love that bonds
everything together.
Starbuck: Love? You don’t even know that the word
means.
Leoben: I know that God loved you more than all other living
creatures and you repaid his divine love with sin, with hate, corruption, evil,
so then he decided to create the Cylons.
Starbuck: The gods had nothing to
do with it. We created you. Us. It was a stupid and fracked up decision, and we
are paying for it. You destroyed my entire race! That is sin! That is what you
are.

Leoben wants to not only educate Starbuck about the god he believes in, but wants to convert her to believe in his god, as well. Interestingly, it seems that the Cylon race is very similar to paths that some Christian groups have taken. While Christians have read the Gospels, have read some of the Pauline letters, have heard that God loves humanity, that God forgives, that God is compassionate, there are still some Christians that attempt genocide through brute mob mentality and force, while other Christians will harm on a more personal level through one-on-one violence, gestures, and words. In this view, it seems that the Cylons are allegoric for the Nazis and other Christian groups, even the historic Church, who sought to destroy others who did not believe the way they did.

Leoben continues to compare his monotheistic faith to Starbuck’s polytheistic faith:

Leoben: See, our faiths are similar but I look to one god, not to many.
Starbuck: I don’t give a damn what you believe.
Leoben: To know the face
of god is to know madness. I see the universe. I see the patterns. I see the
foreshadowing that precedes every moment of every day. It’s all there. I see it
and you don’t. And I have a surprise for you. I have something to tell you about
the future.
Starbuck: Is that so?
Leoben: It is. But we have to see this
through to the end. What is the most basic article of faith? This is not all
that we are. See, the difference between you and me is, I know what that means
and you don’t. I know that I’m more than this body, more than this
consciousness. A part of me swims in the stream but in truth, I’m standing on
the shore. The current never takes me downstream.

Moses’ encounter with Yahweh on Mount Sinai reveals that God will not show humanity God’s face. Moses asks God: “Show me your glory, I beg you.” God replies, among other things: “You shall see the back of me, but my face is not to be seen.” Interestingly, studies have been done of epileptic and schizophrenic patients and it seems that God appears to them face to face, and the patient describes God, Jesus, or the Virgin Mary in intimate detail, inevitably in an everyday setting. Such studies track with Leoben’s understanding of God.

Just before President Roslin comes to interrupt the interrogation, Leoben gives Starbuck a “gift.” He tells her that “each of us plays a role; each time a different role. Maybe the last time I was the interrogator and you were the prisoner. The players change, the story remains the same. And this time—this time—your role is to deliver my soul unto God. Do it for me. It’s your destiny. And mine.” He continues to tell her that she will find Kobol, birthplace of the Gods and the map to Earth. It is interesting that he, a Cylon android, believes that he not only has a soul, but that he will go to God, though he has admitted that when his body is destroyed, his consciousness will simply be uploaded into another body someplace else. The Cylons have added a mystical, faithful layer on top of the logical hard wiring of their make-up, deifying their upload and download processes.

Battlestar Galactica: "Six Degrees of Separation"

In church growth circles there’s a phrase that is sometimes used: “Bedroom Evangelism.” It usually refers to when churches grow because their member families are growing, more children are being born into the church than new, unchurched people are joining the congregation. In the Battlestar universe, Six is adding a new twist to bedroom evangelism. She seems to fully understand that Baltar acts on the most basic, primal, carnal level in his own best interests. So, at least in his head, Six likes to evangelize in Baltar’s boudoir, or at the very least when she gets his carnal urges revved. This theological tone is set with the beginning of the episode “Six Degrees of Separation.”

“I don’t see the hand of God in here,” a frustrated Baltar exclaims in his lab while examining some cells under his microscope. Six needles him, pushes him to contemplate God some more. Baltar wonders if he’ll find “evidence of His divine hand” in one of the blood samples. Six asks why Baltar is driven to blaspheme and she theorizes that he has a “need to tempt fate.” Baltar says it’s because of boredom.

The next thing we know we are in Baltar’s sex-fantasy domicylon with him in bed and Six sitting astride him. She suggests that he would find peace if he gave himself over to God’s love. Six understands Baltar. He knows he acts on the carnal level, whatever his physical urges tell him and whatever is in his best interests. So, Six mixes the carnal with the theological, gets Baltar’s primal urges pulsing while encouraging him to believe in the Cylon monotheistic God. While lovers tend to whisper “sweet nothings” in each others’ ears, Six whispers theological points in Baltar’s ears. As Baltar fumbles around with her dress, Six moves his hands away and insists that God has a plan for them. “If you would give yourself over to God’s will, you’d find peace in his love like I have. He has a plan for us.” Baltar is surprised not by the statement that God has a plan, but at Six’s use of a masculine pronoun. Six becomes testy and responds, “There is only one true God,” and she leaves Baltar’s bed.

Baltar says that she’s been repeating the same thing. Standing behind Six, he adds, “I’ve accepted your God and all that.” Baltar refers back a couple of episodes (“33”) to his conversation with Six about seeking forgiveness of his sins as the Olympic Carrier threatened the fleet and Baltar’s reputation. With an eye roll, Six says, “He’s not my God; he is God.” Baltar humors her: “He’s big enough for all of us, isn’t he?” Baltar tries to woo Six back into bed. Six insists that Baltar needs to give himself over to God’s love. “Oh for God’s sake,” Baltar snaps back and turns away from her. Six says that she’s trying to save his soul.

But, according to Baltar, all she is doing is boring him. He rants that her beliefs are “metaphysical nonsense, which to be fair to [Six], actually appeals to the half-educated dullards that make up most of human society,” and adds that no rational human would share her beliefs. Six gets off the bed and heads for the door as Baltar smugly adds, “Which leads me to the inescapable conclusion that Cylons are, in the final—“ He turns to face Six, and discovers that she’s gone. While trying to follow her, he raises his voice to finish his thought: “In the final analysis, little more than toasters.” He opens the bedroom door and looks downstairs, but she is nowhere to be seen. “With great-looking legs,” he concludes his thought. He closes the door and sits on the bed, pouting that at least this time there will be no conclusion for his carnal urges. In this scene no one gets what they want—he doesn’t have his primal urges sated and she hasn’t been able to convert a new believer.

The theological discussions, the bedroom evangelism, in this episode play out very similarly to “33” when Baltar finally confessed his sins and his belief in the Cylon God. In “33” when things were getting bad for Baltar, he confessed and things cleared up for him and his good reputation remained in tact. In “Six Degrees of Separation, “ after Baltar was thrown in the brig, (he was caught trying to destroy the computer that had rendered his image as the one who allowed Cylon access to the defense mainframe before the attack) Baltar gets down on his knees and prays: “Please, dear God…and I acknowledge you are the one true God…deliver me from this evil, and I will devote the rest of what is left of my wretched life to doing good, and to carrying out your divine will.” Baltar cries through the rest of his declaration. “Grant me grace. Grant me forgiveness.” Then Six appears and consoles him. “Shhhh. I’m here now. I’m here. All will be well. It will be as God wants it to be.” Gaeta arrives and gives him the good news that he’s to be freed.

Not only is Baltar exonerated, he becomes a hero as a result of all of this. At the end of the episode, Baltar and Six are back in his home in Caprica and Six continues to play to Baltar’s primal/carnal urges by building up his ego (and libido). “You’re a hero,” Six tells him. “You’re even more popular and powerful than ever before. You’ve had your trial by fire, so now they truly believe in you. Hard for them to accuse you of treason again.” “Was that the plan all along. Build me up in the public mind by first tearing me down…Right. Who am I to question the plans of almighty God.” He asks her, “Was there ever a woman really called Shelly Godfrey? Did she ever exist, was she ever really here?” There is no answer, and Six ascends the stairs and undresses, with Baltar following after her. “God’s will be done.” Unlike the opening scene of the episode, both people get what they want—a new convert and carnal urges sated.

Battlestar Galactica: "You Can't Go Home Again"

Starbuck is shot down by a Cylon Raider and abandons ship on a hostile planet. She seeks shelter in the downed raider and discovers that it is a living organism. She figures out how to fly it and makes her way back to Galactica. Meanwhile, a father-son drama unfolds on Galactica as Adama and Apollo have launched a dangerous rescue mission and are trying to find Starbuck. When Roslin finds out that they are risking the rest of the fleet and the survival of humanity, she takes them to task guiding to realize that they are obsessed with clinging onto the last connection they may have to Zak Adama.

After this conversation with Roslin, on their way to CIC, Apollo continues his thoughts with his father:

Apollo: I want you to know, I think she’s wrong. I think we have
some to terms with what happened to Zak.
Adama: I
haven’t.
Apollo: I need to know something: Why did you do
this? Why did we do this? Is it for Kara? For Zak? For
what?
Adama: Kara was family. You do whatever you have to
do. Sometimes you break the rules.
Apollo: And if it was me down
there instead?
Adama: You don’t have to ask that.
Apollo: Are
you sure?
Adama: If it were you…we’d never leave.

While this conversation, in fact this entire episode, doesn’t have an overt religious references, this scene is a good one for sermon illustration of God never leaving us alone, never abandoning us. At times we may feel abandoned, but actually we may have been the one doing the abandoning. God will not leave us, but will keep searching for us.

What Adama seems to be doing in this continuation of the previous episode is an Act of Contrition. His last conversation with Starbuck did not end well, as she admitted putting his unqualified son in the cockpit of a viper that ultimately killed him. Understandably, Adama was angry…furious. He basically kicked Starbuck out of his quarters. Now, seemingly sorry for how he left things with this sort of adoptive daughter, he looks for her, risking everything and everyone to find her.

As the fleet is about to leave, a lone raider appears. Lee tries to engage it but it outmaneuvers him until he is able to see its underbelly—Starbuck has written her name on it. Adama and Starbuck reconcile.

Battlestar Galactica: "Act of Contrition"

When I go on vacations, especially when I am in Europe, I have a habit of visiting churches. I picked up a card in one cathedral (I don’t know which one). On one side is a copy of a painting of Jesus holding a lamb on his lap with one hand and holding a staff with his other hand. On the other side, it is printed:

Act of Contrition—O My God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I
detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell,
but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all-good and deserving
of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess
my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.

The Act of Contrition is a prayer, recited by the penitent during the Latin Rite Roman Catholic sacrament of Confession. This prayer (and various forms of this prayer) is used throughout not only the Catholic Church, but in some Protestant churches and denominations, as well.

The title of the fourth episode of Battlestar Galactica is appropriately “Act of Contrition” and largely deals with Starbuck’s grappling with the accidental death of her fiancé, who also happened to be Commander Adama’s son and Lee Adama’s brother. She is left in charge of training some new “nuggets,” recruits to become sort of replacement pilots after a terrible accident killed a dozen or so on the flight deck. This training task surfaces painful memories of Zak Adama’s death, for which Starbuck feels responsible since she had passed him for Basic Flight despite knowing he didn’t have the chops to be a Viper pilot. She is overly harsh and critical of the nuggets’ first day performance and flunks them all. A mix-up in communication between Commander Adama and Apollo leads to the Commander to calling Starbuck to his cabin to discuss Zak’s death and ultimately finding out what she did for Zak, resulting in a seriously strained relationship.

Adama’s cabin becomes a confession booth and this conversation becomes one of confession:

Adama: He said something else. That you might have been feeling
guilty about something you did for Zak. What did you do for
him?
Starbuck: I don’t know. You’d have to ask
Lee.
Adama: I’m asking you.
Starbuck: Well I don’t kn-…I, ah…I
don’t really know what he was talking about, so…
Adama: Don’t fence
with me, Kara. I love you like a daughter. I don’t deserve
that.
Starbuck: Ummm…Zak…failed…Basic Flight. He wasn’t a bad
pilot; he just had no feel for flying…and, um, when it came to his final check
ride he…busted…three of the test maneuvers, and I should have flunked him, but I
didn’t. The bottom line is your…son…didn’t have the chops to fly a
Viper…and it killed him.
Adam: (following a flashback) You did it
because you were engaged.
Starbuck: (breaking down) Because I made a
mistake…because I was just…I was so in love with him…and I let that get in the
way of doing my job…and um, and he um, he just wanted it so much, and I…I didn’t
want to be the one who crushed him…
Adama: Reinstate the trainees to
flight status.
Starbuck: I will…but I just want you to understand…that
I…
Adama: Do your job.
Starbuck: Yes sir…
Adama: And
walk out of this cabin…while you still can…

Adama receives her confession with clear anger in his eyes, but pushes her forward, forcing her to reinstate the nuggets and train them for flight status, forcing her to move past her deep feelings of guilt into penance. When Starbuck is dismissed, her reaction is as that of one who has lost heaven, who has offended her father figure. It seems that she needs to forgive herself in order to move on in her life and what she does to forgive herself, what she does to move on in her life, is her job correctly—be a good teacher for the new recruits. It’s an opportunity to start new as their teacher.

During a training exercise with the nuggets, a Cylon Raider shows up and attacks Starbuck and the nuggets. She orders everyone back to Galactica, while she stays to face the entire patrol by herself. However, one of the nuggets, “Hot Dog,” stays to help her. Starbuck’s viper is damaged during the dog fight and sent hurtling towards a nearby planet out of power and out of control, along with the last surviving raider that was damaged.

Another interesting theological point during this episode happens when Roslin consults with Dr. Cottle about her cancer. He tells her that her cancer has advanced beyond surgery and suggests a traditional treatment that is similar to our chemotherapy and radiation. She asks him if he has heard of an alternative treatment. “You mean prayer?” he asks rather sarcastically. She suggests an herbal treatment. When he acquiesces, he still suggests to her as he leaves her partition that she consider prayer as part of her treatment. I find it interesting and very real that the doctor/scientist is the one who suggests a faith avenue.

Battlestar Galactica: "Water"

Sharon Valerii, a.k.a. “Boomer,” awakens in a tool room, but has no idea of how she got there. Dripping wet and disoriented, she finds explosives in her duffle, a discovery that chills her later with the explosion of Galactica’s water tanks, a devastating set back for the whole fleet, all of which depends on Galactica for its water supply. President Roslin and Commander Adama work to keep order on the ship and in the fleet, try to figure out just what may have happened, and put the rest of the fleet on a smaller supply functionality until balance is restored; however, Sharon still has no idea what happened to her. The crew (mainly Chief) has some differing opinions on her role, or lack thereof, in the explosions.

The interesting issue that begins to unravel in this episode is not necessarily an overtly theological one—no high concept theological discussion about the nature of God. But Sharon begins to realize that she has had some blackouts and that she possesses explosive devices. While she finds these devices in her possession and evidence points to her having been in the water tanks, she hides this knowledge. Later, after she sees the one unaccounted explosive device on her raptor next to her seat, she still does not report it to anyone except her boyfriend, the Chief, who protects her.

The most interesting part of this plotline is her struggle to turn from the “dark side” of her soul in the raptor. It seems like there are two parts of Sharon: the Cylon killer robot, who is programmed to destroy the human fleet; the human sympathizer, who at the very least wants peace for humanity. Interestingly, she pilots a raptor whose mission is to find water and restore the water supply, rectify the wrong she did. When they do find water, her computer notes it, but she has trouble announcing its findings. Instead, it seems that she is programmed to destroy their raptor, rather than share her findings. The struggle is intense, but the sympathizer part of Sharon wins and she is able to pull away from the explosive device and announce her findings, thereby in a sense rectifying part of her earlier wrong by replenishing the fleet’s water supply.

The scene with her struggling to do what is right is poignant, showing how excruciating it can be to go against what we have been perhaps “programmed” to do. I think of the times when I have been in the minority speaking out against an issue or decision. It would be so easy to just go with the mob; to not really have to think and to be a part of a club. But, how easy would it be to live with that decision to go against your conscience, go against what you think is right? Tomorrow or years from tomorrow that decision to go against your scruples will eat at your heart and, like that ancient fig tree, your heart will wither and not bear fruit.

Sharon’s character (for that matter, all of the Sharon models) is interesting to watch through the series.

Battlestar Galactica: "33"

Survivors: 50298 (Billy's statements about how there were "some over counts" make this number's accuracy questionable.)

Basically, this episode is about endurance, surviving on no sleep. The Cylons appear every thirty three minutes to attack the fleet; the fleet is prepared to spin up their FTL drives and runs away before the Cylons can destroy them; the clocks are then reset for thirty three minutes, when the Cylons will appear and the cycle starts over, again. So, no one is getting any rest, as everyone is on high alert to engage their enemy every 33 minutes.

On board Colonial One, Gaius Baltar has waking dreams of Number Six back at his house on Caprica. It’s these dreams that are loaded with theological baggage, that gave me pause and I had to sit back and think about them. “God has a plan for you, Gaius. He has a plan for everything and everyone.” What a statement! Something that I hear over and over from some who do not understand the ramifications of what they are saying. It’s something that at times I wish I could believe—it would be easy to blame God if something doesn’t go the way I hoped it would, easy to find refuge in an organized plan in a seemingly irrational universe; but, this is a statement I have seen destroy some who cannot understand why God would “take” their child who drowned in the family pool, or the young, brilliant mother who died from cancer and left her four children , or the baby who was shot in his mother’s arms in a drive-by shooting, or the earthquake that buried thousands of people in Central America, or the tsunami that wiped away whole towns, or the hurricane that destroyed several cities, not to mention human against human atrocities, such as the Holocaust—how can we explain that these terrible things were part of God’s plan, according to the Christian Gospel?

Baltar tells Number Six that he believes in a world he can understand, “a rational universe, explained through rational means.” Number Six then tells Baltar, “I love you. That’s not rational.” “No, but you’re not rational. You’re also not really here. Neither am I.” Baltar takes the opposite view of Number Six. Being the scientist, his “god” is reason, a collection of theorems and equations that all balance together and make sense of the universe. Isn’t this what we look for in our world? When things don’t go as we think they should go, when we’re fired from our job of 40 years, when we’re stuck in a traffic jam, when our child dies, when we hit financial crisis, we try to find some solace in a rationalization of why these terrible things happen to us and around us. So often there are no rationalizations that can explain these events. And it doesn’t seem right that a compassionate, loving God would make such horrible things part of a divine plan.

After the next jump, Baltar experiences another waking dream with Number Six. “Do you want children, Gaius? Procreation is one of God’s commandments. I want us to have a child.” He wakes up from this dream/hallucination when he hears Billy mention the name Dr. Amarak. Billy says Amarak has “uncovered important information regarding how the Cylons were able to defeat Colonial defenses.” An alarmed Baltar says that he used to work with him at the Ministry of Defense. He is noticeably worried and suggests that he speak to him instead of Billy, but Billy replies, “I think he wanted to speak directly with the President. Sounded urgent.” Roslin instructs Billy to bring him on board after the next cycle.

Unfortunately, it is with the next cycle, the late-to-arrive Olympic Carrier is thought to have been infiltrated in some way by the Cylons, is loaded with nukes and headed directly towards the fleet. The conversation Baltar has with Number Six when he learns this news is compelling:

“God’s watching out for you….” Number Six tells Baltar, “Dr. Amarak posed a
threat to you. Now he’s gone. Logic says there’s a
connection.”
“A connection, maybe, but not God. There is no God or
gods, singular or plural. There are no large invisible men (or women for
that matter) taking a personal interest in the fortuned of Gaius Baltar.”
“Be
careful. That which God gives he can also take away.”

In the meantime, the Olympic Carrier continues to head toward the fleet with its nukes. Roslin hesitates to make the call to destroy the ship, while Number Six taunts Baltar, demanding he confess his sins and repent to the Cylon God. After Baltar tells Number Six “I repent,” Roslin gives the order to destroy the Carrier. Its destruction means the destruction of Amarak. Baltar, who has repented of his sins and, consequently, proclaimed a sort of loyalty to the Cylon God, feels safe from being connected with the Cylon attack and destruction of the 12 Colonies. The Cylons arrive and the fleet makes a final jump, leaving the Cylons behind, along with the brutal 33 minute cycle.

It seems that Number Six is trying to make the Cylon God into a sort of rational God, one of patterns and results. If you do this, then this will be the result, according to God’s will. The Christian Gospel describes a God of compassion and love, one who embraces all people and gives forgiveness. The God described in the Gospels doesn’t hold a threat of taking away blessings, but promises to be a bulwark for the weak, love for the disenfranchised, hope for the desperate. In this sense, the God of the Gospels seems to be the opposite of logic and, therefore, the opposite of the Cylon God.

Interesting facts about this episode:

• This episode won the 2005 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.This episode received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Series. (2004)


• This episode received a Visual Effects Society nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Animated Character in a Live Action Broadcast Program. (Cylon Centurions) (2005)


• Number Six says that procreation is God’s command; the episode ends with Roslin finding out that she can add one person to the census count because there was a birth in the fleet.