Yesterday I had an idea to incorporate "The Beginning" into the main story line. Doing this makes a complete number of 50 episodes in total which I like a lot. The original draft of the episode was supposed to be a hommage to the Deep Space Nine episode "Far beyond the Stars":
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Far_Beyond_the_Stars_(episode)
The Galactica version looks like this: It's a calm day aboard Galactica. Boxey is preparing an essay for school. The topic he chose: The beginning of the Cylon / human War. In order to know some facts which have not been recorded in the history books he asks Commander Adama to tell the story from what he remembers from his days at the academy. While listening to his granddad's story Boxey visualizes the events by putting the people he knows into the roles of the protagonists of the historic events, similar to what the DS9 episode did (President Adar is the President of the Colonies, Starbuck is a fighter pilot who has crash-landed on Hazar, Dr Wilker is the technician who has invented the Cylon Centurions and so on; you get the meaning
).
The original version was supposed to be a two-part-episode. Part one deals with the Cylon attack on Hazar and the Colonials trying to find a diplomatic solution with the last sentence being "We are at War." Part 2 starts with a major battle sequence between Cylons and humans which leads to the decision of the Cylons to build more Centurions in order to overcome the growing support the Hazari are getting from the Colonials. The Cylon ruler demands to boost their intelligence, too, in order to make them deal with surprise attacks better. The Cylon technician warns the ruler but his objections remain unheard. After finishing work on a new kind of Command Centurion he finds out that the Centurions begin to ask questions about their purpose which is highly disturbing. He tries to shutdown the production, destroys all of his notes and thus is killed by the ruler. The ruler activates the Command Centurion and meets his demise at his own hands. Since the technician has destroyed all data on his projects he also took with him the key to deactivate the already working Centurions. The Command Centurion kills the ruler, takes his place and calls himself the "Imperious Leader". He orders to exterminate all organic life forms which are a threat to his order. The episode ends with Adama bringing Boxey to his quarters and a shot of Galactica leading the fleet in space.
This is a very interesting stand-alone story, a mix of facts and fiction and a few "what if" moments. However, this is exactly what made it difficult to incorporate into the existing time line of Galactica 6551. That's why I was not sure to finish and release it. It simply does not add anything to the main plot of the season. It is just an episode on Adama telling a bed-time story. Nothing more. So I put it on the back burner. Till yesterday.
I went through the draft one last time before putting it away for the time being. However, while reading I noticed something: There was no mention of Iblis and his connection to the Cylons. Weird. We do know that the Imperious Leader has Iblis' voice and it was hinted at that Iblis was somehow involved in the creation of the Leader. So Iblis met the Cylons 1000 yahrens ago. But why? What did he want from the Cylons? Leadership? Well, to be honest, I don't think so. If he wanted to be their leader he would be it still today, because the Cylons would not change their attitude toward a supreme being. Why? Because they are programmed to obey. The only ones capable of personal initiative are the IL series Cylons who have a second and a third data node inside their main circuitry. This is what the old novels call a second or a third "brain". If Iblis had been their leader it would not have been necessary to replace him with a mechanical Imperious Leader. So Iblis wanted something else. Something which would give him more than leadership over one single alien race. And he left the Cylon Empire, for whatever reason, to return later one day...
So I went back to the storyboard and altered the episode to fit in the main plot. I left the key elements intact but chose to concentrate everything. The first step was to turn it into a single part episode. All redundance and personal adventures of the protagonists were killed which would have unnecessarily dragged the story. The fact that the draft consisted of ideas and several fleshed out scenes only made this task very easy. Then I put the episode directly before the final four parter which turns it into a prelude now, especially the final scene. And this scene contains a very special clue which is important for the grande finale (and what a GRANDE FINALE it is, oh boy!) . And to give you a hint on what's going on I give you a little part of the first draft of said scene (not the complete one though in order to keep the tension and not to spoil too much
). Enjoy!
Cylon.
CYLON: Imperious Leader, we are receiving a transmission from Ficus sector.
IMPERIOUS LEADER: Put it through.
CYLON: By your command.
The view screen activates. Count Iblis appears.
IBLIS: Greetings, Imperious Leader. I am Count Iblis.
IMPERIOUS LEADER: What do you want? I do not negotiate with humans.
IBLIS: Oh, you are mistaken. I am not human. I am the one who programmed you.
IMPERIOUS LEADER: Explain!
IBLIS: 1.000 yahrens ago your kind asked me to create your base programme. Please consult your historic data base. I am the one who created what you are now. Listen to my voice..!
IMPERIOUS LEADER: Interesting. What is thy bidding?
IBLIS: I have come to demand the reward of my hard work. 1.000 yahrens ago the first Imperious Leader promised something to me. He promised to take care of a certain artifact until I would return to take it. That time has finally come.
IMPERIOUS LEADER: What is it that you want?
IBLIS: Oh, nothing of importance. Something you do not require. It is a stone that had stranded on Cylon aeons ago. Give it to me and your debt is paid.
IMPERIOUS LEADER: So it shall be.
IBLIS: Thank you very much.
...
Baltar's Base Star.
BALTAR: So it indeed was you who led the Cylons to ruin?
IBLIS: They did that themselves. I only did what they asked me to do.
BALTAR: But you did know they would destroy themselves? You could have prevented that.
IBLIS (smiles): Old friend, I'm unable to make a society think. If they want it to be done I can only comply. Or not, depending on the reward I am offered. I'm not responsible for the consequences of their own wishes.
BALTAR: And so you are always off the hook. Clever!
...
IBLIS: So you finally trust me?
BALTAR: No. But for now it is logical to benefit from your presence. Your knowledge in particular. In order to achieve our common goal.
IBLIS: How true, my friend. I assure you, you will not regret your decision..!
TO BE CONTINUED
