Life aboard a Basestar...

[Cylon-Knight]

I had a random thought today driving home from work... life aboard a Basestar... as in... WHY?

Why would a Cylon Basestar (and Raiders for that matter) have life support systems? Sure you can say for Baltar, but I'm sure he wasn't in the thought process when the Empire designed and constructed them. For the Leader's pet lizard? Seems unlikely, maybe the throne room for him to live in, but every support ship?

I could see a case they had some areas with life support for prisoners to be "cared" for. But again, every Raider, landing bay, computer core, full on throne room and little one later for Baltar? Seems odd. Why all the effort and energy for O2, heat, and such that machines do not need?

My best retcon explanation is the original Cylons designed the Basestars, Raiders, everything. Clearly they were living beings. As such the Centurions, IL Series and Leaders were just used to being in it, and the systems being up and running all the time since everything the Cylon Empire makes is super advanced and just THE BEST darn space stuff, ever.

What do my fellow Centurions think? Let me know.

[bishopdonmiguel]

If there were no life support systems on a Basestar, how would Colonials sneak aboard and reek havoc?

An effort by the Cylon Empire to prevent humans from sabotaging their military equipment using such a logical and nearly foolproof defense system would risk an official judgment from the Galactic Community Council. Just an educated guess but this would likely qualify for the often threatened but rarely issued moniker of “Really Rude,” which is just one step above “Sour Grapes” and just slightly below the ultimate disgrace of “Meany Pants.”

It seems very unlikely that our friendly neighborhood Cylon Empire would risk being labeled so distastefully.

[Cylon-Knight]

EXACTLY!

[Specter]

The Centurions communicate by auditory means, so they need some kind of atmosphere to hear each other, and maybe standard air is cheaper than any other gas. As for climate, maybe some of their working parts use fluids that have an ideal temperature range to function in.

[137th Gebirg]

A TV conceit, requiring a healthy suspension of disbelief, much like almost every alien species knowing English without a translator (except the Ovions). In-universe, it could be a holdover from the ancient days when Cylons were more cybernetic and still had organic parts requiring an atmosphere to survive before they became entirely robotic.

[Croft2014]

This is a perfectly legit question, unless of course the Cylons only died out relatively recently as a flesh and blood species so all of their technology is designed for having atmospheres etc.

I reckon with these space operas, criticising them for scientific implausibility or illiteracy is a fools game. Back in 1977-78 shows like this made in the USA were more old fashioned adventure fiction, rather than genuine scifi with loads of well thought through high concepts etc.

I mean, BG took as it’s story basis westerns, war films, espionage tales and WWII dogfights. Space seems to be seen as more a giant ocean with a level plane running through rather than a full 3-dimentional space with no up and down, hence why The Gun on Ice Planet Zero asks us to believe the fleet has no option but to pass by the specififc side of the planet with the big gun on it. It’s just The Guns of Navarone in outer space with the Aegean sea repurposed as space.

The only high concept scifi ideas expoused in BG were artificial intelligence, the Von Daniken-like Chariots of the Gods concept, and physical trappings like space ships, lazer guns and planets etc.

[johnnybear]

That is a great question!!! When Baltar is on the Basestar he needs oxygen, warmth and food so they would have to supply it for him and when they captured Starbuck as well in Lost Planet of The gods but in The Hand of God when Starbuck and Apollo sneak onboard the Basestar there should be no air at all or warmth as that Basestar was not the one that Baltar was on or Lucifer commanded! So you've pointed out a great error unless there is something still living inside that armour that needed oxygen and heat to survive!
JB

[Specter]

Or maybe the Imperious Leader isn’t the only one with a pet lizard...

[Cylon-Knight]

Another retcon idea I had that seems to settle this cosmic question is that Centurions can not operate in a vacuum / no atmosphere. We're all assuming they can.

I doubt my car or TV, lawnmower, etc. could run in the vacuum of space (for long, if they could at all) they were not designed to. They are made to serve me, in my climate, with my oxygen around, etc. Same as Centurions built by Cylons. Why bother make them "space safe."

So the robotic Cylon still all have oxygen due to their original reptilian owners, gravity and pressure are all intermixed ~ "life support" ~ just can't turn off one bit (oxygen). And, again - as per their creators' lead, why bother.

[bishopdonmiguel]

Lots of great theories but I have the answer. Without air you can’t have air conditioning. If there is one thing I know about Cylons, they like their A/C. You try to save a few bucks and things get sweaty & stinky real quick. Pretty soon they start complaining about working conditions and calling their SAG representative.

[Specter]

Another retcon idea I had that seems to settle this cosmic question is that Centurions can not operate in a vacuum / no atmosphere. We're all assuming they can.

I doubt my car or TV, lawnmower, etc. could run in the vacuum of space (for long, if they could at all) they were not designed to. They are made to serve me, in my climate, with my oxygen around, etc. Same as Centurions built by Cylons. Why bother make them "space safe."

So the robotic Cylon still all have oxygen due to their original reptilian owners, gravity and pressure are all intermixed ~ "life support" ~ just can't turn off one bit (oxygen). And, again - as per their creators' lead, why bother.

I know my toaster wouldn’t be very useful in the cold of space.

[GoldCylon]

Free life support with the purchase of each Baseship during the Colonial War. Hurry before the SNEAK attack begins and the sale ends.

[johnnybear]

Whether it was the writer's error or not I don't know but the Cylon Centurians in the series and even Lucifer himself all seem to regard each other as living beings with rights and the like. A couple of shows talk about them suffering from rust while serving on swampy planets and Cy relates to Starbuck the what shall we do now moment in the Raider before the ground came up and hit them in Return of Starbuck! One even interrupts Baltar's gloating over Adama's apparent defeat at his hands in the Raider to tell him about the approaching Battlestar (The Pegasus) before Baltar looks up shocked! Lucifer even explains to Baltar that his assumption that they are only machines isn't actually correct and that even humans are a machine of a type!
JB

[oneofbaltarsfewfans]

Is it canon that Cylons actually have a biological brain? They are not 100% machine?

[Cylon-Knight]

I've only read that the Cylons use a biological skin on the Imperious Leader. Underneath is all machine, some say with three brains(the leader), I.L. Series have two, and Centurions have one.