Gaius Baltar

:For others with the same first name, see: Gaius (disambiguation).
Doctor Gaius Baltar is a brilliant scientist, legally-elected President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, and, later, a revered religious figure for the remnants of humanity. An amoral person who has always had his self-interests above all else, Baltar's actions have both saved and imperiled the Fleet and its survivors on numerous occasions throughout their exodus from the Colonies — an event that that he is ultimately responsible for allowing to occur.
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== Background ==
* Dr. Baltar is from Aerilon. He was born and raised on a dairy farm outside of the town of Cuffle's Breath Wash. Finding the local dialect to be unpleasant, starting at the age of ten he trained himself to speak without the Aerilon accent in hopes that one day he might be considered as not coming from Aerilon. He left Aerilon after his 18th birthday turning his back on his family and his heritage.
* He was formerly a lead defense systems developer working for the Colonial Ministry of Defense and came to prominence as a computer technology designer, having won three Magnate Prizes.
* He is very charismatic, and became personal friends with President Richard Adar. However, Baltar is also extremely arrogant.
* Baltar becomes responsible for the design of the critical Command Navigation Program (CNP) used throughout the Colonial Fleet, but could not fix all of its shortfalls himself and asked his lover (Number Six) to fix almost half of the base code. When she rewrote the code, she got it up to 95% efficiency but also put in back doors to allow the Cylons to "shut-down" space craft fitted with the CNP. It's shown that he was somewhat aware of what she was doing, but he did it for her, not the company she supposedly worked for, as he truly fell for her after she helped his father out.
* Baltar's scientific prowess seems strongest in the medical and biological fields . As a result of his lesser (although still advanced) computer programming skills, he seeks the help (and as a byproduct, the affections of) a young woman to aid him with the CNP.
* Baltar's two-year affair with the mysterious woman-- even to the extent of using code she herself wrote to overcome shortfalls in his CNP—allowed her unrestricted access to some of the most sensitive systems of the Colonial defenses.
*Baltar's involvement with his blonde assistant does not stop him from dalliances with other women during this time, right up to when his assistant confronts Baltar and a lover in bed.
==Character History==
=== The Attack on the Twelve Colonies ===
* Baltar learns that his "corporate spy" lover is in fact a new type of Cylon—a Cylon in human form, able to mimic human beings down to the smallest detail, who altered his CNP with backdoors to subvert any CNP-equipped ship. 
*Even though Baltar is appalled that it was his sexual folly that led to a holocaust, he is nevertheless determined to survive and keep this unintended treachery hidden. He only survives the following attack because the Cylon agent sacrifices herself to protect him from a nuclear blast.
* Baltar is rescued from following the forced-landing of Colonial Raptor 312—at the cost of one of the crew staying behind 
* Baltar is plagued by visions of Number Six that only he can see and hear. He cannot be sure whether this is a result of his own guilt at his actions or whether—as she initially claims—she is part of a chip that has been implanted in his brainThe idea that Six is an actual chip in Baltar's head was dismissed by Dr. Cottle's image scan of Baltar's head. See the section on alternate reasons for Six's existence for more..
*Baltar is put to work trying to devise a means of detecting these humanoid Cylons. He luckily exposes Aaron Doral as a Cylon agent , using little more than invented technobabble to convince Colonel Tigh.
=== Gaining trust ===
 
*Baltar eventually develops a genuine detector. This, together with his survival of a foiled attempt to expose him as a traitor , firmly establishes his credentials within the Fleet's hierarchy. As the Cylon, Shelly Godfrey looked like his mental Number Six and appeared after she mysteriously disappeared, Baltar came to believe Godfrey was a physical manifestation of his inner Six especially when Godfrey's deception was revealed after he accepted the Cylon God and repented and Godfrey disappeared mysteriously and Messenger Six reappeared at the same time. It was revealed, however, that Godfrey was in fact another copy of Number Six who had the job of discrediting him due to his Cylon detector and disappeared due to another Cylon killing her by secretly blowing her out an airlock .
*With this new-found trust, and despite his willingness to deliberately conceal vital information, such as Sharon Valerii true status as a Cylon agent , Baltar enters the realm of political leadership, first as the Representative for on the Quorum of Twelve, and then as the newly-elected Vice President of the Colonies .
* Messenger Six continues to help and hinder Baltar, gradually drawing him to a point of near-open acceptance and participation in Cylon plans and activities (TRS: "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II"). Whether by coincidence or design, Six manipulates Baltar through repeated threats of exposing his involvement with the destruction of the Colonies (TRS: "33,," "Six Degrees of Separation"), while also appearing to aid him by giving information that appears insightful or inspired to help the Colonials.
=== A greater purpose or insanity? ===
*Initially an atheist, Baltar is slowly converted to the Cylons' monotheistic faith: first he repents his sins (TRS: "33" ), then he prays to the Cylon God and devotes his life into serving his divine will , and finally, he is led to believe that he is an instrument of God .
*Baltar is subjected to a final revelation of his role with the Cylons (as Messenger Six sees it) when "the future" is revealed to him on , in the form of the first of "God's new generation of children" (TRS: "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II"). 
* While stranded on Kobol after a crash landing, Baltar's Messenger Six warns him that the Colonial religion is a falsehood to cover up atrocities of their nature.
*On Kobol, Baltar shoots in the back, killing him instantly, to save Cally from a practically suicidal and unnecessary attack on a Cylon missile batteryThe act of killing Crashdown appears to have led to a dramatic change in Baltar's attitude toward hurting anyone directly. When Cally tries to blackmail him after they return from Kobol, Baltar is somewhat rough with her. When he visits Tyrol and Boomer in the brig, he does not hesitate to inject Tyrol with fatal drugs to blackmail Boomer into giving Cylon secrets. Baltar's humanitarian acts to the Six copy known as Gina also suggests Baltar's attitude in the care of Cylons is further changing. More and more, Baltar appears to prefer direct intervention and is less cowardly in his attitude.. The group are eventually rescued by the Raptors. Baltar tells the SAR team that Crashdown died a hero in the fight, and Chief Tyrol reluctantly corroborates his story .
*Back on Galactica, Cally blackmails Baltar into making it a priority to prove that Chief Tyrol is not a Cylon, as Colonel Tigh suspects, or Cally would reveal the truth of Crashdown's death.
* Incensed at this ingratitude, Baltar gambles that the jailed Boomer knows of the number of Cylons in the Fleet, and blackmails her into doing so, using Tyrol's life.
*Questioning his own sanity after his Messenger Six claims that he was generally crazy, Baltar has a brain scan performed in sickbay by Dr. Cottle which confirms no "foreign objects" are present in his head.
*Baltar is ready to believe that he is truly insane until he hears and Caprica-Sharon discuss Valerii's pregnancy with a Cylon/human hybrid child from his observation room. Six tells Baltar earlier that "their child" would be born in that cell, and this leads Baltar to realize that Six must be real because his subconscious couldn't have known that . However, Hera is actually neither conceived, nor born in that specific cell. Instead, Messenger Six could actually be hinting at Tigh's and Caprica-Six's future baby, that most likely is conceived in that particular cell.
=== Many talents ===
*When D'Anna Biers films a documentary about life aboard Galactica, Six urges Baltar to give an interview to try to win people over to thinking that he should be running the Fleet. Baltar performs badly as he begins his interview but, fortunately, his interview is interrupted by a Cylon attack that Biers chooses to film instead .
*Baltar aids in trying to overcome the Cylon logic bomb which devastates Galactica's computers. Tigh's dislike of Baltar's involvement in this problem makes the scientist edgy enough to retort, "I'm sorry. Do you want to survive this one or not, Colonel?" 
*Admiral Helena Cain requests that Baltar examine Pegasus' own Cylon prisoner to see what information he could glean from it. Baltar is horrified to discover the Cylon was a terribly abused and tortured copy of Number Six named "Gina Inviere". Baltar vows to help her and begins by having her restraints removed and bringing food to her .
*Over the course of his examination of Gina, he uncovers both her wish to die and the secret of the Cylon Resurrection Ship. He passes this information to Adama and Admiral Cain, who develop an operation to destroy it . 
*Baltar continues to spend time with Gina, eventually helping her escape from the brig. He tells Gina that he can hide her, and also that he loves her. Gina goes on to kill Cain and escapes from Pegasus through unexplained means .
*Torn between the "flesh and blood" copy of the Number Six copy, Gina, the demands of his internal Number Six, and his continuing attempt to cover his own multiple duplicities, Baltar becomes more aggressive and confrontational. With President Roslin's advice to abort the Cylon-hybrid fetus of the incarcerated Sharon Valerii, Baltar reacts to defend it as if it were his own child. Admiral Adama admonishes Baltar, telling him that, on Roslin's death, he will become President and that he needs to behave like one.
*Desperate to save Valerii's fetus, Baltar reviews Dr. Cottle's medical tests and performs experiments of his own, learning a striking revelation: the blood of the fetus can destroy cancer and repair its damage to human tissue.According to the writer's original planning, this was due to the presence of Cylon stem cells in the fetus's blood. This explanation was absent in the final shooting script. With Admiral Adama's permission, he injects the dying President Roslin with some of the fetal blood, which works miraculously, saving both Roslin and Valerii's child by circumstance .
*Baltar keeps his fumarella supply fresh by trading in the black market through new Pegasus Commander Jack Fisk. Not realizing that Fisk had been murdered, the scientist visits Fisk's quarters, only to meet Captain , who has started an investigation on the black market and Fisk's murder. Baltar truthfully tells Adama that he knows nothing of Fisk's murder, but Adama correctly deduces Baltar's association with Fisk and the black market since the "Caprican Imperial" fumarellos are a known favorite of Baltar's .
=== Increasing political ambitions ===
*After saving Roslin's life, Baltar reads the letter given to him in the event of her death, in which she says he lacks compassion and asks him to open his heart if he becomes president. Furious, and goaded on by Six who tells him that Roslin doesn't trust him, Baltar delivers the nuclear warhead used for the Cylon detector to Gina and her militant "Demand Peace" movement.
*Baltar is also unaware that his involvement in the destruction of the Colonies is partially revealed. In Galactica's sickbay, Laura Roslin recalled those final days on Caprica, and remembered Baltar in the company of a woman on Caprica who she knows now is a Cylon .
*Baltar is summoned to Colonial One, where Roslin offers him, without explanation, the chance to resign from the Vice Presidency to return to his studies. Baltar becomes immediately suspicious (and frightened) in Roslin's succinct and direct vote of no-confidence in her vice president. Realizing that the Vice Presidency now has greater importance (if nothing other than to save his own hide), Baltar turns down what Roslin calls a "one-time offer" to save himself as he saved Roslin on her deathbed .
*Dr. Baltar decides (with no small influence from Six and Tom Zarek) to run for President in the coming Colonial Elections .
=== New Caprica ===
*Roslin is declared the winner of the elections, but is caught by Adama for manipulating the tally. Baltar is declared president. While Baltar demands an investigation initially, he backs down under Adama's glare.
*President Baltar orders the Fleet to return to the marginally habitable planet New Caprica seconds after his inauguration. Baltar shows incompetency as president a few days later, when he orders the colonization of the planet. In an attempt to cover up his role in giving Gina the nuclear warhead used to detonate Cloud 9, Baltar orders Adama to stop any further investigation into the destruction of Cloud 9 and two other ships (he correctly guesses that the conflagration was started by Gina Inviere).
*During his first year in office, Baltar indulges in women, wallows in the incompetence of his administration, and is callously unsympathetic to the supply and resource problems plaguing the new colony, whose inhabitants continue to live in tents. The public, including the labor union led by Galen Tyrol, is notably displeased with his administration.
*380 days after Baltar's ascension to the presidency, a Cylon armada finds the planet after detecting the radiation signature caused by the destruction of Cloud 9, which took that long to reach them. This event heralds the return of the dormant Messenger Number Six noting to him that "judgment day" has come at last. Copies of a Five, Caprica-Six and Boomer meet with Baltar and his cabinet, recommending surrender; it is here that he is reunited with the Six he fell in love with on (TRS: "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II)". 
*After four months of Cylon occupation, the citizens of New Caprica despise their president. Baltar fears for his life and turns down public appearances, such as the New Caprica Police Academy graduation, to avoid assassination attempts . It is even commented by the Cylon occupiers while discussing the notion of public executions to discourage uprising that publicly executing Baltar would be counterproductive, since the populace would cheer his death.
*Baltar is deposed after Admiral Adama organizes and executes a daring rescue mission of New Caprica's occupied inhabitants. During the exodus of those willing to leave New Caprica, Baltar happens across the dead body of Maya and the Cylon hybrid Hera, and stays behind with the Cylons .
=== Among the Cylons ===
*Once on board the basestar, Baltar must prove his worth to the Cylons or be killed. He seeks help from the basestar's Hybrid, and gleans information which leads the Cylon fleet to the Lion's Head Nebula, where they recover an ancient beacon. The beacon is also a plague carrier. To further prove his worth, Baltar takes on a mission to the dying basestar .
*Baltar is tortured by a Number Three for information on the viral plague. Misinterpreting his screams of love for the Internal Six as feeling for her, Number Three enters into a sexual relationship with Baltar and possibly Caprica-Six as well and starts to share a bed with both of them .
* Learning more about Cylon culture among them, he develops doubts about his identity, starting to believe that he might be one of the final five Cylons.
=== Return to the Fleet ===
* Seeking answers to his questions about his identity, Baltar travels with Number Three and Cavil to the surface of the algae planet in order to visit the Temple of Five. After killing Cavil and watching the death of Number Three, he is unsuccessful in finding answers, and is captured and returned to Galactica . 
* He attempts to commit suicide and is tortured by President Roslin and Admiral Adama under the influence of an interrogation drug. While offering no substantial information, Roslin's belief that he played a role in the attack on the Twelve Colonies is strengthened. She and Adama decide to give Baltar a public trial instead of quietly executing him .
* Baltar, in an attempt to curry favor with the fleet concerning his trial, secretly publishes a book called "My Triumphs, My Mistakes". This book causes a labor strike, led by Galen Tyrol, but instead of bringing the Fleet to a screeching halt, it actually helps Tyrol and President Roslin stop a problem that was beginning to form in the Fleet .
* Before his trial begins, Baltar's lawyer, Alan Hughes, is killed by sabotage, and is replaced by Romo Lampkin. Security for both Lampkin and Baltar is high, as many people believe fervently that Baltar should not be given a trial at all. Major is placed in command of this security detail, and eventually becomes Lampkin's aide for the trial .
*Baltar's trial becomes a frenzied media circus. Lampkin manages to keep mob rule from overwhelming the proceedings, but it is Lee Adama's testimony that ultimately acquits Baltar. The son of William Adama notes many, many abuses of justice, crimes and mistakes committed by himself and other leadership in the Fleet that were ignored or punished lightly. Baltar's only distinction, in comparison, was that he was unlikeable and thus more useful as a scapegoat for the problems of the Fleet that stemmed from colonizing New Caprica.
*With the end of the trial, Baltar finds his acquittal bitter-sweet, with no home, no work, and no allies.
*When the Fleet jumps into the Ionian nebula, the confusion caused by a power outage allows the homeless Baltar to be secretly carried off by several women who claim they are leading him to his new life .
===Cult Leader ===
*The women lead Baltar to an used storage compartment, where he learns that a cult has arisen around him, likely starting with the publication of his book condemning the perceived suppression of the Fleet's poor. The cult is composed of many young, athletic women and some men. Headed by Jeanne, they view Baltar as a messianic figure and have been building a shrine for him. Baltar initially thinks of them as crazy and wants to have nothing to do with them. When one of the women watches him interact with his Messenger Six, she thinks that he is praying and draws him into a religious discussion. Baltar tells her that Colonial Religion is empty and false, and that there is only one true God. Captivated by Baltar, she kisses him. His standing among his followers is further increased when he prays for a sick child, who miraculously recovers soon after .
*To his amazement, Baltar begins to see a Messenger version of himself. At the same time he begins a relationship with Tory Foster, who is drawn to him due her awakened Cylon nature and Baltar's apparent understanding of it . The situation with his cult escalates when a militant religious group vandalizes the commune. In retaliation, Baltar and some of his followers disrupt a temple service and denounce the Colonial gods. President Roslin takes this as an excuse to curtail the cult's religion freedom by forbidding large assemblies. When encountering a Marine trying to enforce this order, Baltar makes a defiant stand, allowing himself to be beaten up in front of his followers. The display ends when shows up to announce that the Quorum has decided to rescind Roslin's proclamation and restore their freedoms. Following this, Baltar holds a speech telling everyone that he thinks that someone in the universe loves him and that people have to love themselves in order to love others . Over the next weeks, his sermons are broadcast per wireless throughout the ship and likely the whole Fleet .
* When a baseship with rebel Cylons joins the Fleet, Roslin summons him. She tells Baltar that he has been in her visions and wants him to accompany her to the Hybrid to find out what they mean. However, when the rebel leader is unexpectedly killed, the Hybrid panics and jumps away. Drawing on his previous experience with the Hybrid, Baltar manages to calm it down somewhat. In the following battle to destroy a critical Cylon facility, Baltar is critically wounded when missiles hit the ship while he tries to evangelize to a Centurion. While his wounds are dressed by Roslin Baltar confesses his role in downfall of humanity. Roslin initially removes the bandages she applied, letting him bleed out, but decides to save him after all (TRS: "Guess What's Coming to Dinner?," "The Hub"). 
* After Number Three's unboxing, the Final Four are revealed and Tory Foster willingly joins the Cylons. Upon learning this, Baltar claims that he "always subconsciously knew" that she is a Cylon. Later, he is part of the first landing party to set foot on Earth, being as dismayed at its state as everyone else .
*When Gaeta and Zarek start a coup against Adama and Roslin, Baltar and his cult support Adama and Roslin, working with Galen Tyrol in efforts to retake the ship and protect the two. Baltar is convinced by Roslin to let her use his wireless radio to communicate with the fleet about the mutiny and she is able to make a short broadcast before being jammed. Roslin convinces him to leave with her sure that he is going to be a target of the mutineers and they make their way to the Secondary Storage Airlock where while waiting, Baltar tries to convince Gaeta to stop to no avail. Baltar escapes Galactica with Roslin to the Cylon baseship and supports Roslin there. He also sleeps with another Six and chats with her about his cult saying that while he doesn't like them, he feels responsible for them and decides he has to go back to Galactica and them after having a nightmare where a firing squad executes Adama. He returns to Galactica with Roslin once the coup is ended by Adama and his men who retake Galactica with help from military support from Roslin and the Cylon baseship. Afterwards he and Gaeta have a civil chat about what happened indicating that they have forgiven each other for what they did and when Gaeta makes a statement that he hopes someday people understand who he was, Baltar says he understands who Gaeta was. 
*When Caprica-Six apparently has a falling out with Tigh after her failed pregnancy, Baltar runs into her and offers her a home with him again, but she refuses saying that while she's changed he hasn't.
*At the suggestion of Paulla, Baltar tries to get his cult, now numbering in the thousands, representation in the government, but Lee Adama refuses asking him to name one time he acted selflessly. Baltar admits he can't but is disappointed Adama is holding that against his movement before leaving.
*Baltar is among those that attend Adama's speech and call for volunteers to crew Galactica to rescue Hera Agathon. While many other people including Caprica-Six volunteer, he doesn't although he does seem to almost volunteer but decides not to.
*When his cult evacuates on the last Raptor, Baltar hesitates then decides to stay to help telling Paulla that the cult merely appropriated him and he was never one of them. Baltar is clearly nervous about this decision, but sticks to it. Lee Adama tosses him a gun, clearly happy with his choice.
*During the battle, Baltar is assigned to the reserve team that protects Galactica alongside Caprica-Six. Caprica-Six is finally proud of him and the two kiss, only to be interrupted by Messenger Six and Baltar who say that they will hold the fate of both races in their hands. Both are shocked that the other can see them.
*During the battle, Baltar fights alongside Caprica-Six and the other marines against several Centurions. Baltar takes out one by himself but gets over-enthusiastic and nearly takes out the returning rescue team too but is stopped by Caprica-Six. Adama tells him he did good, but they are forced to retreat when more Centurions show up.
*Baltar and Caprica-Six end up in a room together with him down to a sidearm and her down to two bullets left in her machine gun. The two are shocked to find Hera there with him and leave carrying her in a fulfillment of the Opera House Prophecy. As they leave, they close the door on Roslin and Athena, never realizing they're there. The two ultimately reach a door and Caprica-Six from her shared vision and Baltar from his vision on Kobol realize they have to go in. The two find themselves in CIC with the Final Five on the balcony just like in the vision. Cavil takes Hera hostage, but Baltar manages to defuses the situation revealing that Messenger Baltar and Six are angels of God who Baltar describes as a force of nature neither good nor evil. Baltar and Tigh convince Cavil to end the war right there with peace with the Five giving resurrection back to Cavil so he and his forces can survive while he lets them take Hera and agrees to stop pursuing them. Cavil accepts the deal and orders his forces to stand down. Baltar later witnesses Tory's death at Tyrol's hands and the breaking of the truce that results in the destruction of Cavil and his forces.
*Later, on the new Earth, Baltar and Caprica-Six watch Hera, and are visited one last time by the Messengers, who reveal that their destiny was always to protect Hera. While God's plan is never over, Messenger Baltar promises that their lives will be a lot less interesting from that point on, and the two disappear for the last time. Baltar and Caprica-Six set off to start a new life together as farmers, using Baltar's knowledge from growing up on a farm on Aerilon.
==Notes==
*There was speculation that Gaius Baltar could be a Cylon himself. However, his presence in the now-infamous "The Last Supper" picture discounts this, as confirmed by Ron D. Moore. As of "Sometimes a Great Notion," all known humanoid Cylons have been accounted for (although "No Exit" references still another humanoid Cylon, there is no indication given that this is Baltar).
*Ron Moore has stated in several episode commentaries that when the role of "Gaius Baltar" was originally written in the script, the writing team never intended Baltar to have a "funny" aspect, but James Callis himself decided to play up that aspect of the frantic predicaments Baltar finds himself in during the Miniseries (which although the writers never anticipated, they enjoyed, and started writing him with that in mind). In series 4, however, Baltar's demeanor becomes noticably more serious, though still with occasional moments of dry wit.
*While Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell were hand-picked for their roles, the rest of the characters were cast by audition: among the actors in the running for the role of "Gaius Baltar" was Two and a Half Men Jon Cryer, though the role ultimately went to James Callis. Callis was suggested by Angela Mancuso, who ran the studio at the time, knew him from the Helen of Troy miniseries where he portrayed Menelaus.
*Baltar currently holds the record for most number of Cylons romantically involved with in the series: six. Four of these are Number Sixes, beginning (and, eventually, ending) with Caprica-Six, Gina Inviere, Messenger Six and lastly, Lida. The fifth is Number Three. The sixth is Tory Foster.
*Baltar's first name, Gaius, is taken from Gaius Julius Caesar. Likewise, his father's name is Julius. The character of Baltar derives many characteristics from the Roman emperor which he is named after, most notably, his hubris.
==References==
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