Battlestar Galactica

Episode #107 - "Six Degrees of Separation"

This document is ©2005, John Larocque. All rights reserved.

The Cylons were created by man. They evolved. They look human. Some are programmed to think they are human. There are many copies. And they have a plan.

Synopsis

When Baltar arrives, he sees Shelly Godfrey, a virtual lookalike for Number Six. and is surprised that Adama and Tigh can also see her. Adama informs him, "Miss Godfrey has brought some very disturbing accusations to my attention. I think you should have the chance to answer them in person." Godfrey then levels her charges against Baltar. "You're the one who let the Cylons into the defence mainframe. You've betrayed your entire race. You're the man responsible for the holocaust, and I'm here to see you exposed, and sentenced to death as the traitor you really are." "I've never seen this woman before in my life." "I'm not surprised you don't remember me, I was just a lowly systems analyst at the defence ministry. Dr. Amarak was my associate... Dr. Amarak told me he had evidence that Dr Baltar was involved in the sneak attack. He was trying to reach the President and give her the information when he was killed." "Well, it's a pity he's no longer with us. How convenient we only have your word for that." "There's also this." Godfrey shows them an octagon-shaped computer disc. "It's I.D. coded. Colonial Defense Ministry."

In the lab, she explains, "Dr. Amarak gave the disc to me before he died. Amarak gave the disc to me for safekeeping. On the disc is a photo. It was captured from the security camera in the defence mainframe on Caprica. It shows the Doctor entering the mainframe without permission the day before the attack. As you can see, the man in the photo is carrying an explosive device. Just before the Cylon attack, the entire defence mainframe was destroyed by this device." "Honestly, that is not me. I wasn't there, it's somebody else... I'm not the man in the photograph." Adama replies, "I see a man, same height, same build, but that's a long way from proof, Miss Godfrey." "I agree, Commander, but look here. In the faceplate of the computer terminal is the reflection of the man's face. With the right equipment, the image could be enlarged and sharpened. We could see his face." Enlarging the image should be no problem, but Gaeta says it could take a day. Adama instructs Gaeta to let him know when he has an image, and he suspends Baltar's work on the Cylon detector as well as his security privileges.

In the hangar bay, Cally is reading Starbuck's notes on the Cylon raider to Tyrol, who is inside the ship. "She said the engine power-up sequence began by squeezing something that looks like a red ligament with blue veins on the right side coming out of a sack of gooey fluid, shaped like a dog." "Are you kidding me? This whole thing is a bunch of veins and ligaments and sacks of goo." Tigh arrives and asks him how it's going. "Haven't quite figured out all of the tricks, but I'm getting there." In sickbay, Kara is trying to walk with a set of crutches. Lee is playing cheerleader. "Come on, Starbuck, you can do it." Dr. Cottle tells her, "It's gonna hurt like hell, but it's supposed to." "I swear to the gods, I'm gonna beat the crap out of both of you as soon as I get better." Cottle retorts, "You're not going to get better lying on your back" "Oh, frak off." Apollo tells her, "Just take a break for five minutes. We'll try again." "I don't want to do it again. I want a pill, now, please." "Sorry, we're weaning you off the magic pills, starting today. And besides, I need 'em for myself." "You son of a bitch."

Baltar phone calls Laura and requests to go back to Colonial One because he left some of his things there. She informs him he's been put on a no-fly list for security reasons. "I need to get off Galactica. I need to get away from this Shelly Godfrey woman in particular. I have reason to believe that she may be a Cylon." On the other end of the line, Laura collapses and misses the last sentence. Billy transmits an emergency call to Dr. Cottle, which is overheard and forces Billy to call a quick press conference. Laura admits to Cottle she took three times the recommended dose. "You are lucky you didn't laspe into a coma. You can't cure cancer by overdose." As damage control, she tells Billy she will need to get back on her feet and have a press conference before the end of the day. Cottle warns her, "I could give you a shot, but you wouldn't like the side effects." "Just do it." "You know, the time is going to come when you're not going to be able to hide what you're going through." She starts rolling up her sleave, but he stops her. "It's not that kind of a shot."

Godfrey sitting next to Adama on his couch in his quarters. He tells her,"Baltar's correct about the convenience of it all. Amarak just happens to bring you the key piece of evidence just before he dies." She replies, "Something was going on. He was almost paranoid. Kept saying the Olympic Carrier had been infiltrated by the Cylons. He wanted me to take some things off the ship for safekeeping." She reveals that she and Amarak were lovers and then gets physically closer to Adama. "There are times when I just feel so alone now. Times when I want so much to be held again." She asks him if he's felt the same way sometimes and he says yes. She comments, "There must be times when you feel alone. When the thought of another body next to yours seems like something out of a dream." She then gives Adama a kiss. After she leaves, an alarmed Adama gives Tigh a phone call on CIC. "Do not, under any circumstances, allow Shelly Godfrey to leave this ship. Put her under surveillance, discretely. I want to know everybody she's talked to and everywhere she's been."

Gaeta enters the bathroom, followed by Baltar. Both are sitting in adjacent stalls, and Baltar starts to flatter him. "I know this is an awkward time, but it occurs to me that I never really told you how invaluable your assistance has been to me the past few weeks." He asks about the photograph and Gaeta says he has a few hours to go. "Has it ever occurred to you that the photograph, the disc itself, could be fake?" "I've already authenticated the disc." Baltar then requests that he spend a few minutes in the lab with him, and Gaeta tells him it's not a good idea. "For God's sake, Gaeta, my life is on the line, my reputation is at stake." "Yeah, so is mine, Doctor." Godfrey enters and walks into a stall. Gaeta flushes and leaves quickly without washing his hands. Baltar leaves his stall and pushes open her door, demanding answers. "I didn't plant any bomb, anywhere, at any time, and you know that... Let's just entertain the notion, just for a moment, that you are not the woman that I see everywhere. You are not Shelly Godfrey either. You're a fake. You're just a copy. Another Cylon copy." She shuts the door. "Get. Out." "Stuck a nerve, have I? ... You think this is over? This is not over. You have not heard the last. No more Mr nice Gaius!" A security guard escorts him out.

Sharon is visiting Tyrol and he tells her, "I have no idea how Starbuck got this thing to move, much less fly." She gets up close to the ship and touches the front. "It's not really a thing, you know. It's probably a Cylon itself. More of an animal, maybe, than the human models. Maybe they genetically design it to perform a task. To be a fighter. Can't treat it like a thing and expect it to respond. You have to treat it like a pet. At least, that's my guess." "Your guess?" Tigh visits Starbuck in sickbay and gives her a request. "The Chief wanted me to kick your ass out of bed so you could help figure out that raider of yours, but clearly you still need the rest. Take your time, no rush." She's playing with a deck of cards and responds, "Do you actually think that reverse psychology crap is gonna work on me?" "I really don't care what you think, Lieutenant. All I know is that every day you spend in that bed is another day that I have my opinion of you confirmed."

Baltar tries to convince Adama that Godfrey is a Cylon agent. "In my opinion, she should be locked up before she can do more damage. Work on the Cylon detector is nearly complete. With a few tweaks here and there, I'll have a test regime up and running. All I need is a tissue sample from this woman for analysis." "I can't allow you access to your equipment... Let me be frank with you, Doctor. If your picture's on that photograph, every piece of equipment in that lab will be dismantled and quarantined. And every person that you met will be questioned and investigated." He also tells him, "The President hopes your're innocent and so do I. Because if you're not, then you've made fools of both of us. And I don't like to be made a fool of." "And I don't like being accused of participating in the genocide of the human race, based solely on the word of a woman whom, I have already indicated to you, may be a Cylon agent. I did not conspire with the Cylons. I am an innocent man who is being convicted in the court of public opinion without trial." While he's talking with Adama, he imagines he's in his house on Caprica, looking for Number Six. "Where are you? ... I thought we had something. Something special." Finally he confesses he loves her, and begs for her help.

Gaeta finishes, and it is indeed Baltar's reflection in the computer monitor. In the hallway on the way to the lab, a desperate Baltar pushes a red button resulting in a false fire alarm, and Gaeta vacates the lab. Baltar enters the lab and starts hammering the disc drive and pulling out plugs. He picks up a chair to smash the monitor when Adama and Tigh arrive. "Take him to the brig." Baltar demands an attorney and shouts, "She's got in for me, that Shelly Godfrey!" Laura pays him a visit in the brig, and he tells her, "I didn't do it. It wasn't me. I'm being framed." "Why would she do that?" "She's a Cylon." Laura reveals that she doesn't trust Baltar and this incident confirms it. "If anyone can be a Cylon, and it's hard to tell us apart, then we have only one thing left to trust, our instincts, our feelings. And the moment they told me it was your face in the photo, I knew I believed it. I believe you were involved in the attack, somehow. I feel it." "You'll forgive me, Madam President, if I don't wish to be executed based solely on your gut feeling." "May the gods have mercy on your soul."

Starbuck arrives in the hangar bay on crutches, and Tyrol remarks, "Your new boyfriend's a bit of a jerk, sir." "It's a girl." Tyrol advises her, "Take it for a ride." "Ride it?" "Treat it like a horse." She steps inside and starts up the engine. On Caprica, it's day 24 and Sharon #2 and Helo are being pursued by two mechanical Cylons near a river and a bridge. In the evening, he makes a confession to her. "Truth is, if something happened to you, I wouldn't know how to deal with it... Back on the ship, I knew what was going on between you and the Chief. And I respected it, your feelings, but... I would have given anything to be him." Thunder sounds and it's raining when they kiss and make love. On the Galactica, Sharon #1 looks in the mirror of her locker and sees the word "Cylon" written in yellow chalk. "It's not true!"

In the brig, Baltar gets down on his knees and starts praying. "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." He is now crying. "Grant me grace. Grant me forgiveness." Then Number Six appears and consoles him. "Shhhhh. 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 -- he's to be freed. "The photograph was a fake... I went back, I re-ran all the security checks. This time I found markers which pointed to photo manipulation. They weren't apparent until the photo was fully resolved." Baltar thanks him and gives him a hug, and Gaeta tells him, "I just knew that you could never have anything to do with that attack. I mean, you're not that kind of man." He also comments, "Once the photos were fully resolved, it was almost too easy, like she wanted to be found out."

Shelly Godfrey is gone and Adama is upset. "How did she get off of the ship?" "Got me. There's been no ships coming or going." "I gave you an order." "I had two Marines tailing her. They said they went around a corner, and she was gone." Dualla reports there's no sign of her on every ship in the fleet. "That's unacceptable. She was here, she was right here. This woman existed, she didn't just vanish." He orders them to check every ship again, including the Galactica. He looks at one of the tables and notices her glasses are still there.

At the press conference, Laura explains that Baltar has been a victim of treachery and deceit. "Clearly the Cylons wanted to discredit Dr. Baltar because of his work on the Cylon detector. Dr. Baltar, it gives me great pleasure to exonerate you publically, and to recognize you once again among us, as a scientist, a leader and a friend." He imagines he's on Caprica, and Number Six tells him, "You're a hero. 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 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 exists, was she ever really here?" There is no answer, and she ascends the stairs and undresses, with Baltar following after her. "God's will be done."

Ron Moore's Commentary

Commentary

In "33," Number Six convinces Baltar to repent of his sins, but he's back to his atheist, freethinking ways in this episode, openly mocking her religion. This time, the consequences of his "blasphemy" are much worse, as well as his psychological torment. Somehow, Number Six manages to become visible as Shelly Godfrey, and on behalf of Dr. Amarak, expose Baltar as a traitor.

In Baltar's mind, he may have also connected Number Six's disappearance, and the appearance of Shelly Godfrey, to his lack of enthusiasm for completing the Cylon detector. In "Water" she says Baltar will be found out and beheaeded if he doesn't co-operate, and in "Litmus," she threatens him with her anger when he considers destroying his work to protect himself against a potential Cylon attack.

Who is Shelly Godfrey? Where did she come from? What is her connection to Dr. Amarak? How was she able to become visible to the Galactica? How did she get the image from the defence mainframe? Where and how did she disappear? And why were her glasses the only thing left behind?

Godfrey's story is that she was a lowly assistant to Amarak as well as his lover. She also said that Amarak aboard the Olympic Carrier was almost paranoid with the thought they had been infiltrated by Cylons. Now, contrast and compare to Number Six and Baltar. Number Six was an assistant to Baltar on the CNP project as well as his lover. Through her influence, Baltar becomes paranoid aboard Colonial One with the that the Olympic Carrier had been infiltrated by Cylons.

Baltar's paranoia in "33" centered around the possibility of him being exposed. Here, paranoia combines with desperation, resulting in him accepting Number Six as never before. In the pilot episode she asked him if he loved her and he replied that "you had me worried there for a minute." Here, in his hour of need he says yes without equivocation. "I thought we had something, something special," is a line Number Six told Baltar in one of her earliest visions to him aboard Colonial One. Here, Baltar repeats it back. He's accepted her love, and embraced her religion.

Prior to his exoneration, Laura says that her gut feeling tells her she doesn't really trust Baltar, and that he's somehow connected to the Cylon attack on the homeworlds.

Shelly Godfrey may have been invented for a more important purpose than Baltar's conversion, repentence and co-operation. As Number Six has said several times, God has a plan for Baltar. Baltar theorises that the real plan all along was to build him up by first tearing him down. Number Six said that it's going to be hard for people to accuse Baltar of treason a second time. Also, Gaeta said that Godfrey's evidence was easily proven to be a fake. It was as if she wanted to be found out.

According to Baltar, the Cylon detector is nearly finished and ready for testing.

Tyrol is at wit's end trying to get the Cylon ship to function. Sharon told Tyrol to treat it as a living object, or a pet. She also described it as a genetically modified life form that has been designed to perform the task of a fighter. Later Tyrol instructs Kara to "treat it like a horse."

Kara is having a hard time recovering from her injuries in "You Can't Go Home Again." She takes painkillers and is unwilling to become mobile again. Tigh takes issue with Kara's professionalism, accusing her of wanting to stay in bed rather than help Tyrol. In the end, she drags herself down to the hangar bay.

On Caprica, Helo confesses to Sharon #2 that he wanted to be her lover, and consumates with her.

Who wrote Cylon on Sharon's mirror aboard the Galactica? And why?

Gaeta is whistling the theme of the original 1978 Battlestar Galactica series in the unisex bathroom.

In the UK version of the broadcast, Sharon's back does not glow.

Deleted Scenes