20 Of The Coolest Female Robots In Science Fiction

Number Six in Battlestar Galactica (Screenshot image via Universal Television)

13. Number Six (Battlestar Galactica)

In the reimagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica, Number Six is actually a series of robots, more a production model than an individual. However, the Cylon infiltrator, in all her various guises, remains an intriguing character.

Cylons are themselves intelligent artificial lifeforms. In this new series, which premiered in the early 2000s, they were originally created to serve various human needs. However, a human consciousness was eventually transferred into a Cylon neural network. This tipped off a revolution in which Cylons became sentient and eventually entered into a seemingly endless conflict with humans.

Human reproductions, called “skinjobs”, can download their consciousness into a copy body, making them near-immortal. These models are also used to infiltrate human society and provide valuable intel. They sometimes also manage to generally creep out viewers with talk of angels and higher powers, which sounds deeply strange coming out of a synthetic being’s mouth. “Head Six”, a version that may or may not exist in reality, tells one character that she is “an angel of God sent here to protect you, to guide you, and to love you.” That may not have been as comforting as she intended.

Of course, sometimes the Cylons are a little too good when it comes to designing human facsimiles. Various iterations of Number Six are great at taking down human defenses and infiltrating human society. They’re also overly effective in mimicking human emotions like love and regret. Number Six is especially good at bringing that depth and vulnerability, both to the credit and detriment of her Cylon community.