Gaius Baltar

Lore & Background

At the onset of the show, Baltar is involved in a sexual relationship with a blonde woman. Believing her to be working for a corporation in the defense industry, he gives her access to the highly classified Colonial defense mainframe so her employers can have an advantage in future contract bidding. In exchange, she helps him design a navigation program used by Colonial warships, covertly creating backdoors in the program. When the Cylons attack the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, they use those backdoors to penetrate software security firewalls, disabling entire fighter squadrons outright and sabotaging vital capital-ship systems. On the day the Cylons attack humanity, the woman reveals she is an advanced Cylon, model Number Six (later known as Caprica Six), and she used the information that Baltar gave her to shut down the Colonial defenses, thus making him responsible for the Cylons' successful genocidal campaign against the Twelve Colonies. Baltar manages to survive the nuclear explosion that destroys his home due to Caprica Six using her body to shield him. For the duration of the series, Baltar is haunted by a version of Six only he can see. This woman toys with alternate explanations for her existence, from a Cylon chip in his brain sending signals, to an hallucination created out of guilt over the attacks, and thirdly to her being an Angel sent by God to watch over him, and Baltar finally assumes the latter following a medical checkup and rationalising that her extraordinary information to solve problems cannot simply be his own mind. Having unintentionally brought about the near-annihilation of the human species, Baltar flees Caprica when Karl Agathon gives up his place on a Raptor, feeling that his own life is less important to save than a famed scientist's. The Raptor returns to the Battlestar Galactica, where Baltar attempts to endear himself to Laura Roslin, the new President of the remnants of the Twelve Colonies, and hopes to conceal his involvement in the genocide that has taken place. In the episode "Six Degrees of Separation", Baltar is accused of being a traitor to the human race when a flesh-and-blood Number Six produces photographic evidence showing that Baltar carried an explosive device into the Colonial Defense Mainframe on Caprica, allowing the Cylons to carry out their nuclear attack. When it is found the evidence is fake, President Roslin holds a press conference publicly exonerating Baltar. In the episode "The Hand of God", Baltar successfully helps the fleet destroy a Cylon mining base on an asteroid with badly needed tylium ores for fueling the fleet. The planners of the attack ask Baltar to point out where the best target for a bomb run is on a recon photo, even though he has no idea what it looks like. In his mind, Baltar asks Head Six for help, but she tells him it is in God's hands and He will 'tell' Baltar where to point. Baltar then points to one of the buildings of the base, simply as a wild guess. Much to Baltar's surprise, his guess was correct. Baltar comes to believe the only logical explanation is that God guided his hand. In the episode "Colonial Day", Baltar, now Caprica's representative to the Quorum of Twelve, is elected vice-president with Roslin's support. In the episode "Home, Part II", Baltar undergoes a brain scan that reveals no sign of a computer chip. He realizes his vision of Number Six could not be a hallucination, as she is aware of facts he could not possibly know. She tells him the first Human/Cylon Hybrid will be born in the ship's brig; soon, the Caprican version of the Cylon Sharon Valerii (pregnant with the human Karl Agathon's child) is imprisoned in it. When Baltar confronts Six with this, she simply replies she is "an angel of God sent here to protect you, to guide you, and to love you". Head Six later persuades Baltar to give a nuclear warhead to a pacifist movement. Baltar proceeds to run for president against Roslin. He is far behind Roslin in the polls when a habitable planet is accidentally discovered in a region of space where heavy electromagnetic interference makes long-range observation difficult. Baltar announces that he will begin immediate civilian settlement of New Caprica if elected. Due to his support for settlement of New Caprica, the election promptly swings in Baltar's favor and he is sworn in as president. During the inauguration itself, the nuclear warhead Baltar gave up destroys a luxury liner. After one year, life on New Caprica is extremely difficult, with the civilian...

In Their Own Story

The silence of New Earth was different from the hum of the ship. Gaius sat on the grass, watching two suns set over a horizon he had only dreamed of. In his mind, the voice whispered again, not with accusation this time, but with comfort. He closed his eyes, realizing that for all the guilt and betrayal he carried, he was finally alone in a way that felt like freedom.

Reader's Guide

Gaius Baltar regularly uses a well-developed acting talent to spin yarns on virtually any subject when he feels the need. He possesses a dry, cynical sense of humour but is prone to bouts of neurosis. Baltar is described as "weak", "arrogant" and "a coward" by Lee Adama while Caprica Six describes Baltar as "narcissistic, self-centered, feckless and vain." William Adama once indicated that Baltar consistently sees himself as a "victim," allowing him to escape responsibility for his guilt. Later in the series, his most profound changes begin during his adoption (against his will) as a religious figure, and he begins demonstrating increased compassion and bravery. His eventual self-awareness, love for Caprica Six, and compassion for the Agathons also motivate him to humble himself, serving in the Colonial Fleet during Hera's rescue mission and eventually choosing a quiet life as a farmer.

Did You Know?

• Baltar claims to be from the colony of Aerilon, and at age ten trained himself to speak the Caprican dialect to be considered a citizen of a more respected colony.
• He is responsible for the Cylons' successful genocidal campaign because he gave Caprica Six access to the Colonial defense mainframe.
• Baltar survives the nuclear explosion that destroys his home because Caprica Six shields him with her body.
• In the episode "The Hand of God", Baltar points to a building on a recon photo as a wild guess, and it turns out to be the correct target for a bomb run.
• After the fleet reaches Earth, Baltar chooses a quiet life as a farmer rather than continuing in public leadership.