Wow, you raise some fascinating questions. And these have frequently been raised by good sci-fi. Humans may feel completely justified in exterminating their non-human enemies, especially when the enemies have no compunctions about wiping out humanity itself. It becomes trickier when dealing with individuals though- just how "human" does the enemy have to be before it merits some sort of human rights?
This is also mirrored in current reality in the debate over what sort of soldier merits human rights protection- members of a "legitimate" military, supposedly; "terrorists" and mercenaries, apparently not. So it's almost less a question of what qualifies as human, as what qualifies as playing fair, or playing by the rules. Or maybe it's simply a question of what benefits the powers that be at any given time.
Another thing that's been nagging at me, more because of Boomer's rather than Six's behavior, is whether the cylons have outsmarted themselves much like the humans did with them. Were the cylons so successful in creating human-like models that they've lost control over them? For now, it appears that Six is more or less toeing the party line, but her religious fanaticism seems strong enough that at some point, I wonder if she will refuse to go along with Cylon directives if they seem to counter her beliefs. As far as Boomer is concerned, I wonder how deeply she can be embedded in human society without her sympathies remaining there. Just how controllable is she? It's obvious that she lacks some human perception, but if it's possible for Cylons to fall in love, where will their loyalties lie when push comes to shove?
I just love the endless questions this show raises!
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2005-02-27 12:52 am (UTC)This is also mirrored in current reality in the debate over what sort of soldier merits human rights protection- members of a "legitimate" military, supposedly; "terrorists" and mercenaries, apparently not. So it's almost less a question of what qualifies as human, as what qualifies as playing fair, or playing by the rules. Or maybe it's simply a question of what benefits the powers that be at any given time.
Another thing that's been nagging at me, more because of Boomer's rather than Six's behavior, is whether the cylons have outsmarted themselves much like the humans did with them. Were the cylons so successful in creating human-like models that they've lost control over them? For now, it appears that Six is more or less toeing the party line, but her religious fanaticism seems strong enough that at some point, I wonder if she will refuse to go along with Cylon directives if they seem to counter her beliefs. As far as Boomer is concerned, I wonder how deeply she can be embedded in human society without her sympathies remaining there. Just how controllable is she? It's obvious that she lacks some human perception, but if it's possible for Cylons to fall in love, where will their loyalties lie when push comes to shove?
I just love the endless questions this show raises!