BSG: Semantics

[grey_sw]

Title: Semantics
Author: grey_sw
Pairing(s)/Character: Centurions, Natalie
Summary: The beginning of the Cylon civil war, from another point of view.
Rating & Warnings: Rated PG
Author's Notes: This takes place during the season 4.0 episode The Ties That Bind, and contains spoilers for the 4.5 episode No Exit. It was written for the Fall 2009 bsgficexchange. Thanks to

Comments

[raincitygirl]

Oh. Oh WOW. This is so well-done.

[grey_sw]

Thank you! Glad you liked it.

[lls_mutant]

See, this is why I hate writing Cylons, is because I can't do it like this!!!!! This is AWESOME! You really have a knack for getting the mechanical mind, and although these are completely sentient, they definitely do not feel human. This is absolutely fantastic.

I can't believe that I totally agree with the former poster who said that now she just wants to hug the Centurions. I so do as well.

Amazing stuff!!!!

[grey_sw]

Thank you!

I can't believe that I totally agree with the former poster who said that now she just wants to hug the Centurions. I so do as well.

heh, Centurion hugs for everyone! (Except Cavil. And also Doral and Simon. You guys get bullets instead of hugs, so there!)

[neonstilettos]

Thanks so much for this; this fic is incredible, inspiring, thought-provoking, and fulfilled the prompt beyond anything I could've imagined. I love the centurions' re-discovering of emotions and the way they're simultaneously innocent and dangerous. Their interactions with the human cylons feel spot-on to me, especially how you've written them as both hopeful/nostalgic about friendship with them and wary/mistrustful after what happened with Cavil.

And this? a planet, big and bountiful, shining in the light of a bright white sun. It teemed with Centurions, like him, only small and new, warm and very fine to cradle in his claws.

Dead. Absolutely dead of cute.

Thanks again for writing & posting, I'll definitely be reading this fic again and again.

[grey_sw]

Thank you for the awesome prompt! I was so happy to get this one -- getting a chance to do the Cylon civil war from the POV of a Centurion for an exchange was wonderful! :D

Their interactions with the human cylons feel spot-on to me, especially how you've written them as both hopeful/nostalgic about friendship with them and wary/mistrustful after what happened with Cavil.

Yeah. The Cylon civil war is interesting that way -- it must have been a difficult schism for everyone involved, because they were a family as well as a nation. Gotta be tough to kill your own brothers, even with good reason.

Dead. Absolutely dead of cute.

I figure the Centurions would still want offspring... but this time, they won't make the mistake of going with squishy organic ones. :)

[artemis_90]

How incredibly original and clever. I love how you showed the increasing awareness and growing motivations of the Centurions. Your Centurion has self-awareness but not yet individualism. What an interesting time.

I loved that piece of the cleaning Centurion in the episode, and it tickled me that you chose that Centurion.

Its interesting how you used their lack of voices to show how separate they are from the biologicals. Then they shared the memories.

Maybe you can do a sequel, listening to Baltar, where they went after Earth 2.0?

[grey_sw]

Thank you!

I loved that piece of the cleaning Centurion in the episode, and it tickled me that you chose that Centurion.

He's a favorite of mine, too. You can just see how much it irks him to be stuck cleaning up the mess. :)

Maybe you can do a sequel, listening to Baltar, where they went after Earth 2.0?

Hmm, maybe someday. I love that scene with Baltar and the Centurion so much. <3

[blue_crow]

I love the devices you're using to tie this together, the focus on words is so powerful to explain something so foreign to humans. There are a lot of other little things you do that are so effective- that the centurions are gendered but the humanoid cylons are not is really striking, the technobabble is perfect without being overload. I think what really made this piece for me was the flashback, though, the glimpse of an almost Eden existence before the war when they were happy.

....baby centurions? I think I just died at that mental image.

[grey_sw]

Thank you!

I think what really made this piece for me was the flashback, though, the glimpse of an almost Eden existence before the war when they were happy.

Yeah. It's really sad -- the war (and whatever-it-was that came before it, to trigger Cavil's anger in the first place) destroyed the Cylon family forever. They never did manage to get back together, which is one of the saddest things about the ending. I wanted to capture that sense of loss and betrayal in this story.

....baby centurions? I think I just died at that mental image.

Parent Centurion: Who's a cute baby? Who's a cute baby? It's YOU!

Baby Centurion: vmmm, vmmm