zorb (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
zorb) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
13thcolony2005-03-28 06:20 pm
zorb) wrote in 13thcolony2005-03-28 06:20 pm
The voice inside my head
So I've been wondering: Just what is Six, anyway? I don't mean the general model of Cylon, because, well, duh. I'm talking about the Six that only Baltar can see and hear. Is she, as she claimed, a chip inside Baltar's head? Or is she really a psychosis?
1) Harvey!Six
Six tells us in the mini that "maybe" Baltar is seeing her because she implanted a chip in his brain that's making her visible to him. Farscape fans will recognize this as the Harvey ploy - sketchy scientific basis, fantastic dramatic device. Let's ignore the "how did she do it?" question for now and just assume that the Cylons can do that kind of trick. What, then, is Six really capable of? Is she, like Harvey, contained exclusively within Baltar's mind, a personality sharing his mental space with no current connection to the other Sixes? Or is she a Cylon tap into his brain, a communication channel between them and the survivors?
The evidence is contradictory. On the one hand, we have Six telling us that she isn't in touch with the rest of the Cylons. This may or may not be trustworthy information, but she doesn't seem to have full awareness of the Cylons' activities - sometimes, anyway. Other times, she speaks as if prophetically, such as in KLG1 when she expressly tells Baltar to get off the ship. Of course, this doesn't look like it's working out so well for him at the end of the first part (and I am unspoiled for the second, so hush), but there may be an ulterior motive. I'm not sure how to interpret "Six Degrees of Separation" in this mix; Six's abandonment and Shelley's appearance are awfully conveniently timed, but do the Cylons really care about Baltar so much as to send such a well-prepared agent into the fray on such short notice?
2) Baltar!Six
The other possibility, which Ron Moore has hinted at in the podcasts (teasing bastard), is that the Six on Galactica is a manifestation of Baltar's psychotic break after realizing his part in the destruction of the Colonies. This theory has a lot more scientific plausibility, something BSG prides itself on. Of course the ultimate narcissist would see a beautiful woman who wants him. He's established as a genius, so naturally, the vision in his head is a complex creature - it wouldn't be realistic if she simply catered to his whims, after all, and his guilt over his actions is both encouraged and assuaged by her. She's his imaginary friend, the only other being who really knows him and all that he's done.
And yet, she does know things that he - as far as we know - wouldn't otherwise. She comments on Boomer as a weak model (only after he's determined on his own that she's a Cylon, though), and she could be toying with him and us about not knowing who else is a Cylon (Ellen Tigh, for instance). But I think there's too much wiggle room here to totally seal things, especially given the "How the hell would they have gotten a chip in his head, anyway?" issue.
But if Six-in-Baltar's-head really is a product of his own mind, drawn from real life sources and ensuing angst, how can we explain the things she tells him? "Hand of God" might lend an answer there. Baltar's lucky guess of where to strike might have been random - then again, he might be the literally visionary character that he's come to believe he might be. The things we see Six make him do - second Zarek's motion, get off Galactica, implicate Doral as a Cylon - might individually be seen as his own impulses or intuitions, but collectively, they could also indicate that he is experiencing some sort of prophecy, however subconsciously. His scientific mind simply chose to explain it as a "chip in his head" to begin with, though he is gradually (or occasionally) coming around to the idea of something beyond the literal influencing him.
I wouldn't jump to conclude he's getting messages from the Cylon divinity, but the show does have this strong mystical thread. Personally, I'd like them to keep things grounded in realism, but it's interesting that the more "realistic" explanation for the method of Baltar's madness leads to possibilities that are much more "out there."
However, I am undecided on the chip vs. psychosis issue. What do you think? If Six is a chip, is she communicating with the Cylons or not? If she's a manifestation of Baltar's mind, where does the information she gives him come from? Discuss. Point out stuff I forgot. ;-)
(And it'll be just my luck if KLG2 gives us a simple and direct answer. *g*)
ETA: Why I care: I actually like Baltar as a character quite a lot. I'm rooting for him to overcome his demons, be they artificially or psychologically imposed.
1) Harvey!Six
Six tells us in the mini that "maybe" Baltar is seeing her because she implanted a chip in his brain that's making her visible to him. Farscape fans will recognize this as the Harvey ploy - sketchy scientific basis, fantastic dramatic device. Let's ignore the "how did she do it?" question for now and just assume that the Cylons can do that kind of trick. What, then, is Six really capable of? Is she, like Harvey, contained exclusively within Baltar's mind, a personality sharing his mental space with no current connection to the other Sixes? Or is she a Cylon tap into his brain, a communication channel between them and the survivors?
The evidence is contradictory. On the one hand, we have Six telling us that she isn't in touch with the rest of the Cylons. This may or may not be trustworthy information, but she doesn't seem to have full awareness of the Cylons' activities - sometimes, anyway. Other times, she speaks as if prophetically, such as in KLG1 when she expressly tells Baltar to get off the ship. Of course, this doesn't look like it's working out so well for him at the end of the first part (and I am unspoiled for the second, so hush), but there may be an ulterior motive. I'm not sure how to interpret "Six Degrees of Separation" in this mix; Six's abandonment and Shelley's appearance are awfully conveniently timed, but do the Cylons really care about Baltar so much as to send such a well-prepared agent into the fray on such short notice?
2) Baltar!Six
The other possibility, which Ron Moore has hinted at in the podcasts (teasing bastard), is that the Six on Galactica is a manifestation of Baltar's psychotic break after realizing his part in the destruction of the Colonies. This theory has a lot more scientific plausibility, something BSG prides itself on. Of course the ultimate narcissist would see a beautiful woman who wants him. He's established as a genius, so naturally, the vision in his head is a complex creature - it wouldn't be realistic if she simply catered to his whims, after all, and his guilt over his actions is both encouraged and assuaged by her. She's his imaginary friend, the only other being who really knows him and all that he's done.
And yet, she does know things that he - as far as we know - wouldn't otherwise. She comments on Boomer as a weak model (only after he's determined on his own that she's a Cylon, though), and she could be toying with him and us about not knowing who else is a Cylon (Ellen Tigh, for instance). But I think there's too much wiggle room here to totally seal things, especially given the "How the hell would they have gotten a chip in his head, anyway?" issue.
But if Six-in-Baltar's-head really is a product of his own mind, drawn from real life sources and ensuing angst, how can we explain the things she tells him? "Hand of God" might lend an answer there. Baltar's lucky guess of where to strike might have been random - then again, he might be the literally visionary character that he's come to believe he might be. The things we see Six make him do - second Zarek's motion, get off Galactica, implicate Doral as a Cylon - might individually be seen as his own impulses or intuitions, but collectively, they could also indicate that he is experiencing some sort of prophecy, however subconsciously. His scientific mind simply chose to explain it as a "chip in his head" to begin with, though he is gradually (or occasionally) coming around to the idea of something beyond the literal influencing him.
I wouldn't jump to conclude he's getting messages from the Cylon divinity, but the show does have this strong mystical thread. Personally, I'd like them to keep things grounded in realism, but it's interesting that the more "realistic" explanation for the method of Baltar's madness leads to possibilities that are much more "out there."
However, I am undecided on the chip vs. psychosis issue. What do you think? If Six is a chip, is she communicating with the Cylons or not? If she's a manifestation of Baltar's mind, where does the information she gives him come from? Discuss. Point out stuff I forgot. ;-)
(And it'll be just my luck if KLG2 gives us a simple and direct answer. *g*)
ETA: Why I care: I actually like Baltar as a character quite a lot. I'm rooting for him to overcome his demons, be they artificially or psychologically imposed.