Mistress Monologues - Nina's Known Universe Blog

At first disappointing, after watching it for a 2nd time, I realized that they revealed a good deal more in the subtext than was apparent the first time through. Still, there was even more that they did not reveal or even get to, such as what prompted the Cylons to seek out Earth 1 before discovering the truth about the Final Five being from there.

We already knew from Sam Anders memory recovery prior to becoming The Galactica's own Hybrid, that the Cavil model was behind the genocide of humanity. What we did not know, however, was that even those cylons hiding in the fleet had been touched by humanity. So much so that 'The Plan' unraveled long before the attacks on the colonies ever took place.

For me, the most disappointing reveal was that of Shelley Godfrey. Besides the fact that I was wrong, had she been Angel Six in solid form instead of just another cylon, it would have helped explain part of Kara's storyline at the end. Athena had told Adama there were 8 other cylons known to have survived in the fleet at the time of the attacks, Shelley was among them.

We now have confirmed those 8 fleet cylons to be, 1 Cavil, 1 Leoben, 1 Deanna, 1 Doral, 1 Simon, 2 Sixes (including Shelley), and Boomer. Since the Leoben seemed surprised about Boomer being in place - it is possible that Athena meant Gina Six on the Pegasus as the eighth skin to survive and be living among the humans.

By the time they airlocked the Cavil's 10 months into humanity's escape, the only cylons left unrevealed in the fleet (of these first 8 not counting the final five) were Deanna and Biker Six, both of whom were never exposed until the Occupation on New Caprica.

And of all those mentioned above, the only one who did not resurrect, according to Biker 6, was the Simon who had taken a human wife and adopted her daughter from a prior marriage. He could not bear to live without her. "You can't declare war on love" the Six told Cavil.

"Love outlasts Death." said Simon in his suicide letter to his wife, coincidentally the same comment was made by the Hybrid during the attack on the colonies.

Thus their PLAN was doomed from the get go. Their plan, was to eradicate humanity, show their parents how weak humanity was and then wait to be embraced, thanked, and at last appreciated the way the Cavil's believed they deserved.

The Cavils had obviously altered the memories of the others to cover up the true plan. The others seemed to think it was for the Centurions, even asking if they (the Centurions) realized what they (the skinjobs) were doing for them. Doral felt they were grateful in their own way, while an Eight suggested that she would be (grateful) as well.

Grateful that the Skins took revenge on humanity for attempting to enslave the Centurions 40 years prior.

As I said before, we already knew it was Cavil. This movie simply confirmed that he acted alone as far as the final five were concerned. That he took on a role of supreme leader to his fellow skin jobs; and that every single Cylon skin job who had interacted with humans in a positive way ended up not wanting to eradicate them.

Much like Harry Potter and Star Wars, just about every aspect of what transpired in the course of BSG was all about love. Love given, love desired, love lost.

Just look at the 2 Cavils featured. The one on Galactica kept to himself, stayed focused on finishing what they started. The one down on Caprica however, became a part of the team, interacting with Father Sam, gaining unique insight into the heart of his creator.

It was not until Sam told him that you don't stop loving someone just because they are dead, that Caprica Cavil realized their mistake. If it was all about getting the love and approval of the Final Five, destroying humanity was going to have the exact opposite affect.

The story line of Galactica Cavil and the little boy is also a bit telling. Though they make no claims to his existence one way or another, the fact that the boys name was John leads me to believe that child only existed in Cavils head. Like the remnant of humanity programmed into him by the Five, the same remnant Boomer claimed she lost when she shot Adama.

So his killing of the child was his subconscious killing his own humanity and compassion. Not to say he was not capable of killing a real child, on the contrary. It is just that the boy was only around other people that one time in the hall and even the Six didn't seem to notice him despite Cavil staring right at him. Plus, the boy was not an orphan, his parents just didn't want him. Much like Cavil felt his parents no longer wanted him.

The Doral model is probably the most useless. A middle management crap stirrer who finds manual labor demeaning. Suicide Bomber Doral did have a funny line though; "But his was burgundy, this is teal." In response to Cavil's issues with his jacket and face being that of tour guide Doral from the Ragnor Station.

It was also very apparent that while these other skin jobs seemed beholden to Cavil, perhaps something he tossed into their program to ensure they would see him as their leader, they all managed to 'frak up' their assignments. Even Doral the bomber could have pushed that button much sooner when he was surrounded by people instead of waiting until he was in an empty junction.

The Simon models were all doctors. Mad scientists if you will. It was only he who fell in love that changed. Had that Simon from Galactica resurrected, he most likely would have shared his love algorithms with the rest of the line thus adding another model to the future rebellion.

Did anyone else think of Saul and Ellen when Cavil and Biker Six were getting drunk and talking about all the failures of their comrades? The sixes definitely got their sex appeal from Ellen.

We also learned via the Hybrid's babbling that the colonies were comprised of 12 worlds and 3 stars. A meaningless fact in the grand scheme yet still one of those things fans want to know.

Other less than relevant things we can assume would be that Cavil took over the Cylon Colony Ship within a few years of all the models being 'born'. We can assume that the final five attempted to teach them to love humans and to aspire to be just like them, something the Cavils found insulting.

We could also assume that initially all the models were children, based on Cavils presumed hallucination of his child self, with all their copies aging at the same rate as they did out of the tub. And that there were only so many copies of each model made...though as Ellen told Saul, they had 'millions' of children.

Which also lends to the idea that there are many more cylons still out there - perhaps exploring deep space. There were way more basestars involved in the first wave of attacks than were ever destroyed during the course of the show. Perhaps Caprica Cavil did not get boxed and instead took half the fleet away?

After the Cavils betrayed the five and brainwashed/reprogrammed the others, they then went about dropping the five at different times among the humans. Starting with Saul, then eventually the others at different times.

He used the same technique on Boomer planting a trigger in her mind that he could then bring her out of her 'cover' any time. That carved elephant looked like one that one of the five had been carving in a flashback, or someone else, but we have seen it before.

Leoben did not have his obsession with Kara until he first heard her voice on the wireless after the attacks. He envisioned that Mandala. He later touched her in the brig having a very detailed vision of their future...obviously mistaking Kara's 'dreams' for his role in her future. We all learned at the end that he was wrong.

Kara did have a destiny but Leoben misread his own visions along with the babblings of the Hybrid. When he was airlocked he took his vision to the others, explaining how Athena knew that Kara was special when they were fleeing Caprica together with Sam.

All of these revelations do little to the outcome of the story other than to suggest that Baltar, Caprica and Leoben were not the only ones being influenced by a higher being determined to prevent either side from wiping out the other. We even know that Deanna eventually felt the pull to know, ultimately discovering the truth about the Final Five.

It is the things they did not reveal that leaves me wanting. It is with high hopes that I wait for Caprica to premier this coming January 22, 2010. For it is possible that many details of the cylon past, the parts where Cavil takes over, have been reserved for that show's inherent future plot.

The one thing they did not get to, that would have been so simple, was to explain how the peace movement by Caprica 6 and Boomer 8 on Planet Caprica, that lead to the Cylons leaving the colonies, turned into the Occupation on New Caprica. Including Baltar giving Gina that bomb.

My assumption is that when the Cavils resurrected, Galactica Cavil had Caprica Cavil boxed before he could taint the others with the truth about the five. He then convinced the Deannas, Dorals and Simons that the only way to have peace with the humans was to oppress them, thus keeping them from taking revenge.

I suspect that Baltar didn't really give Gina that bomb...that it was Angel Baltar who gave it to the guy who gave it to Gina. Because God needed to stall humanity for a year so they would not miss the Nova. Or Angel Caprica told Baltar to do it. Either way...it suited Gods plan if no one elses.

In a deleted scene from the DVD The Plan, Caprica Cavil convinces several of Sam's people to surrender to the Cylons assuring him that while their would be forced labor, they would be fed and given medical care. The people are greeted by smiling missionaries, Caprica Six and Boomer Eight, arms wide, only to be executed by Centurions, who we can assume were ordered to do so by that Cavil. Caprica and Boomer are seen completely devastated falling to the ground in tears.

It is not clear if that scene was cut for time or if it was to be replaced by the aired scene where Cavil sneaks off to ask a six why the cease fire and is told they voted for peace even though his model was against it. I think it was cut for time. Because this scene indicates the mindset of those skins on New Caprica - at least the Sixes and Eights who always maintained they were just trying to help the humans. While the aired scene occurred later when Kara returned to rescue Sam.

The Cavil Plan was a bust out the door. Besides all the love involved in it's failure, another factor is that of God. In the new series Caprica, God plays heavily on the entire plot. The final five miraculously surviving this holocaust (thus not resurrecting as Cavil planned), the fleet of humans surviving to get away with The Galactica, the effect of humanity on those Cylons who became emotionally involved and the eventual birth of Hera were all apart of God's plan.

A plan not put into place until after the Cylons betrayed humanity. The Final Five were saved from Earth 1 by God to prevent these events from happening, but they were too late and failed; ultimately causing the future holocaust by giving the Centurions Res Tech and by letting Cavil get the better of them.

Kara's role was that of predestination. Like a sleeper agent of God, she was only called to duty because she was needed. Had the Cylons never attacked, it is likely her destiny would never have come to pass. Or would have but with different intentions and outcome. Just like Boomer's mission was altered as needed by Cavil - so Kara's would have been altered as needed by God.

If you figure Adama had known Saul for at least all of Kara's young life, you could also assume that she was created by God - chosen - as a result of Cavils betrayal and the events he set into motion so many years ago.

In the end the most important lesson we can take from Battlestar Galactica the Reimangined Series, including those lessons learned by the Cylons in this movie 'The Plan', is that when you pit God against Cavil...God wins. At least on TV.

Thank You For Reading!! ~99

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It doesn't seem fair in some respects. When you weigh the emotional, possibly physical or financial pain caused by another against their words of apology, a clearly unbalanced scale presents itself. Then again, if you add to their apology years of friendship or love iced with any deeds they surely did on your behalf, the scale begins to level out. Unfortunately not all requests for forgiveness come from first time offenders.

So where do we draw the line in dealing with what amounts to an emotional vampire? Be it an old friend or relative who has repeatedly hurt you despite your best efforts to never hurt them, or the partner who never seems to put your feelings above their own, in many ways they are slaves to their own issues. They don't know how to take responsibility for their own actions.

They are not insincere. Perhaps more people are bipolar than ever get diagnosed. Perhaps they are just emotionally immature and selfish. If someone wrongs you, assuming you have never wronged them, you may be better off not accepting their apologies. If there is nothing about your time with that person worth reminiscing over, then by all means, cut the cord. Just be sure.

I guess in the end it boils down to ones tolerance. Personally, I believe that in 'most' friendships, there is plenty of room for forgiveness and letting go of the past for the sake of the future. Simply because it really does not effect my day to day to let another off the hook for some past hurt. I may not jump at the chance to let them back into my heart or ever depend on them, but we really need all the friends we can get. The more the merrier.

Everyone has something to offer that we can all learn from. So where is the harm in being civil, even friendly to someone, even if they have hurt us in the past? Assuming they want to be friends that is. Any one sided relationship is not a relationship...it's stalking. If you are seeking forgiveness from someone who is not interested, don't demean yourself by begging and absolutely don't turn their lack of forgiveness into some sort of personal attack against you. If you truly want their forgiveness, earn it by respecting their right to not give it.

Couples are another story. It's not to say we shouldn't be forgiving to our spouses or significant others depending on what they have done. Simply that there is no other relationship so doomed to fail from the start as two humans attempting to share an existence together and thus requires a tad more effort to maintain...by both parties. However, if your spouse refuses to be there for you...if your relationship is so off balance that you feel as if being alone would be less traumatic, the first thing you should do is sit them down and tell them that.

Spelling it out before you bail often leads to reconciliation. Only if both parties truly do not want it to end of course. Quite often is it a lack of speaking up that is the problem. Bring in a third party to help you see each others points of view. Focus on what was great about your relationship, use it to make compromise over the bad stuff worth the effort. Be honest. At this point you have nothing to lose by clearing the air.

Then, after you have weighed in your years together, your memories and your achievements as a couple, you have to then decide if your issues are really worth the price. Our lives are not infinite. Time invested in a relationship has value that must be considered before liquidating. Just because the performance is down now, doesn't mean there is no way to re-stimulate growth.

Even if ultimately you decide to make a break, be careful how you go. Somethings are unforgivable to some people. Whether a friendship or a relationship, which should first be a friendship anyway, think long and hard before you burn all your bridges, make sure you really have no intention of every going back. Lastly and most importantly, in the immortally profound words of Abe Lincoln {from the movie Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure}:

"Be Excellent to Each Other...And Party On Dudes!!"

What was I thinking? True, it was always supposed to just be emotional ravings to release pressure and stress, and yet, as always, I had hopes that I would say the right thing or make the right point, causing light bulbs to go off all across the country.

That is never going to happen. People will agree or disagree as they always have. No one will ever change their point of view for that implies they were once wrong...or misguided. And yet I persevere.

Reality is a cruel Mistress. She stands back laughing while well meaning citizens cheer that the Government wants to provide 'free' healthcare...excuse me, 'affordable' healthcare for all while ignoring the fact that the Government is not a self-sustaining entity. It isn't even the care they are providing, it is insurance to pay for care that may or may not be needed.

Americans who work pay taxes. Tax dollars fund all of these programs as well as the salaries of all the politicians who push for them...programs largely utilized by Americans who don't work or are not working right now or who lack the education or motivation for a better paying job.

If our Government wants us to be charitable, let us pick the charity and make all donations to the benefit of another fully deductible on our tax return. This includes supporting family members, our pets and the funds we pay to support school programs.

Reality also rolls on the floor when rural Conservatives cry for the good old days, forgetting that until 911 they all thought Bush Jr was an idiot that only got elected because of his daddy; always pointing out that he was no George Sr.

Short term memory loss is typical in politics. Whomever is in command today is to blame for it all. They also forget that while Bush cut taxes to amazing lows, he followed up by spending billions on a war that would normally be funded by tax dollars. Those tax cuts should have been reversed once the war began but he didn't want to upset his party.

Ironically many of these die hard right wingers now bitching about Obama's spending are currently enjoying benefits that the Democrats pushed into existence. Benefits they need because the company they worked for was Republican so naturally they laid everyone off so the managers could still get their summer bonuses.

All the while neither side takes any blame for anything always blaming the other guy. Bailout money for corrupt financial institutions was put into effect at the tail end of Bush's term, subsidies for healthcare this year is Obama's baby. SSDD.

Don't cry to me about this party or that one. Don't cry to me about this president or that one. THEY ARE ALL THE SAME. If you funded their election you will get your way at the expense of everyone else. No matter who is in power – someone is going to get screwed. Hello? Is this on?

THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE. If you talk down this admin you will have 1000 conservatives singing your praises ignoring their own parties contribution to the problem. If you talk down the last admin you will have 1000 liberals cheering you on, also denying that their party is doing anything adverse currently.

Sure, helping big business helps the economy in theory. The theory being that they will use their extra money to make more jobs...only they don't...they buy cars and go on vacations that you and I will never afford. If it was really their money it would be fine.

But don't use my tax dollars to bail them out thinking they will reimburse all those drained IRA's (which is not the taxpayers responsibility either) when the reality is that they need that bailout money to pay bonuses already earned by their employees.

After 6 years working for an investment adviser, I can tell you that no one ever read their contracts or prospectuses, and no matter how many times we told them, INVESTMENTS ARE NOT GUARANTEED, they would still whine at every dip in the market. Investing in any financial product not guaranteed by the FDIC comes with RISK.

Not only that, but an investment with 1 million shares that was worth $1 million dollars but is now only worth $500k still has 1 million shares. If investors sit on those shares, eventually the value will come back – assuming it was a mutual fund and they are willing to wait at least 5 years maybe 10. It's called speculation for a reason.

And in theory, those who have been blessed with success should want to help those less fortunate, but who wants to be forced to do that? Especially when those being forced to help are feeling like the charity should be coming their way not the other way around.

Like the time I didn't have the extra money for some charity I had donated to the year before. The callers attitude that I was some how beholden to donate again annoyed me. I gently informed them that due to my financial situation I should be on their list of needy and to feel free to send us a food basket in lieu of the funds we donated the year before which we now needed back.

They never called me again.

Additionally, I have recently read the US Constitution in full, it isn't as long as you might think. And while it does have a lot of vague language about powers of Government that can easily be 'interpreted' to allow them to do anything they want with congressional support, it does not say that healthcare, insurance, or even having a retirement fund is a guaranteed right to us citizens.

In fact it is so vague in regard to the specifics of the Commerce Clause, the one that allows them to require we have car insurance, that the mandate attached to the new healthcare bill will likely be over ruled at the state level as being outside the scope of our Federal Governments powers. So why bother?

What it comes down to is this; The Federal Government is supposed handle the Military which protects our country from outside influence along with Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Trade, etc. They are supposed to regulate the industries that have the potential to cheat all of us, but they are not supposed to manage those industries.

Federal Tax Dollars should not be spent on any program that is not directly related to the good of this nation as an entity. State funds are for the management of non private services, like Fire, Police, Teachers, EMS, Roads and other items which benefit the whole state thus being worthy of tax dollar investment.

Mandatory insurance will not guarantee any one will be healthier or that they will not spread disease, unlike car insurance, where reckless driving with out insurance is actually a threat to another life and livelihood.

No...if they really want to guarantee a healthy country the solution is so simple and far less expensive than the $894 billion dollars this new healthcare bill is going to cost us. Instead of this stupid plan, take a tiny bit of that money and use it to vaccinate the entire country from birth for FREE along with all the annual flu shots.

Inoculations are supposed to be the best prevention after all. If they truly want anyone to believe it is for the good of the entire country, that they want to prevent a pandemic, then they shouldn't charge for the cure.

As for everyone else, I am sorry, but America is, in fact, a Capitalist nation. While I personally would love to live in an Utopian Society based on brotherhood, pitching in, neighbors caring for neighbors, and doctors healing just for the pleasure of saving lives, that is not going to happen any time soon.

There are too many folks taking advantage and too many that just don't care either way.

Medicine is a business. Yes, the prices are too high for basic care as far as I am concerned. $700 for a band aid without stitches in the ER is outrageous, and I never would have bothered had I known the cost up front.

That is issue one, non disclosure of prices until the bill comes. Non itemized bills. General ER my ass. But business is business. Supply and Demand.

Not to mention the fact that hospitals and doctors already offer financial aide to the uninsured (which also explains the $700 bandaid) for which they are compensated for by the Federal Government in the way of tax write offs.

And don't forget the millions if not billions of dollars that are collected in the way of tobacco tax and alcohol tax, funds supposedly dedicated to paying for tobacco and alcohol related illnesses. How do this dollars factor into this new plan? Will universal health care eliminate those taxes? NOT

The next step, after the vaccines are done, is that we need to allow Americans to order medicines online from any source they choose. Let the individual decide if FDA approval is worth the extra $400 on an Rx. This will never happen mind you...there is way too much cash to be made by big pharmeceutical companies to ever allow that.

Beyond all these things, people simply have to stop wanting it both ways. We want to have the best doctors, the best research, the best drugs and the best service but dammit we don't want to pay for it...yet we do via our taxes every single day with more cost yet to come.

We want to have a home business and make lots of money on our own services, crying that we have to pay any taxes on that income, but that doctor who spent 12 years in school so he could carve the cancer out of your body without nicking a lung is not worth his fee.

If our Government, both Federal and State, truly wanted to save this country money, wanted to trim the fat and wanted to put tax dollars back in the pockets of working Americans, they would eliminate 50% of their personnel. All those committees being paid to find ways to save money or to implement the money already spent.

Lastly – I imagine a Government ultimately ran by volunteers. Someone not getting paid for their effort has nothing to gain by screwing us. Imagine all those politicians having day jobs? No time for lobbying, no time for deal making, they work, pay taxes, and feel the sting of coupon day at the local market...just like the rest of us.

Our military would be comprised of those volunteer citizens in favor of fighting, they can even bring their own guns and ammo. Think of the savings! Remember volunteer means unpaid.

Meanwhile those in favor of giving more than receiving can take to the streets as good neighbors, painting, sweeping, beautifying, serving, caring etc. They can bring their own supplies and their own gloves, goggles and masks...and of course their very own hard earned dollars. Think of that savings!!

Like the old saying goes...”If you want something done right...or at all...you should probably get off your ass and do it yourself.”