Adama Glare
From Wiki Frakr
The Adama Glare (also known as the Glare of Death) is a formidable psychological weapon in the arsenal of William Adama. It is an alternative to Bill Adama's other main weapon, the Shield of Disapproval, activated by sudden eye-aversion. It is used to instill loyalty and to punish disloyalty.
The Adama Glare is most noticeably used on subversives, traitors, Cylons, and rogue presidents as well as people close to Adama who have screwed up, including family and subordinates.
Some humanoid Cylons are also affected by the Shield of Disapproval. So far, the only Colonial immune to the Adama Glare is Doctor Cottle, who is able to scowl intensely himself while making important medical decisions. Helena Cain resisted a Glare once, but the strain resulted in permanent back problems, exacerbated psychotic tendencies, and future vulnerability to the Adama Growled Ultimatum, a much weaker psychological weapon that fails to affect even D'Anna Biers on a later occasion. Other strong opponents such as Kara Thrace have been sent away in tears.
The Cylon are so afraid of the Glare, fearing that resurrected Cylons are too heart-broken to live after being exposed to it, weaty between the Cylons and Baltar's government rules the use of the Adama Glare a war crime. Ironically, this prevents the Cylons from developing a Glare of their own, much to the consternation of the Brother Cavil model, who spends the rest of the occupation unsuccessfully pitching new ideas for psychological weapons [1]. Ultimately, Number Five is put in charge of psychological warfare (using the primitive but effective "shout and point guns around" method) [1], with the Cavil model reassigned to curmudgeonry and social commentary on a full-time basis. At this point, the Cylon occupational force fell back on defenses against psychological warfare. The roving omnipresent eye that distinguishes their military hardware may be a countermeasure against direct contact with the Glare.
The Glare is an innate skill highly dependent upon Adama's personal gravitas—as demonstrated by the fact that officers who rely upon curmudgeonry, drunken curmudgeonry, angst, chronic angst, and whiny melodrama rather than gravitas never acquire the skill from Adama despite years of close association. Whether it developed in time for use in the first Cylon War remains unknown.
Notes
- The Adama Glare is also credited for Bill Adama's ability to bring audiences to tears with his acoustic rendition of "All Along the Watchtower".
- "Sooner or later, the day comes when you can't hide from the Adama Glare." - Bill Adama
- "Gods! His ego is shriveled up like a dried raisin!" - Dr. Cottle's unabashed medical opinion on the effect of the Adama Glare on human beings.
- After returning from (apparent) Death, Starfrak deliberately subjected herself to the Adama Glare with no immediate ill effects, it is not known if this is a Cylon ability, part of her habitual desire to die or something else. Eventually it did catch up to her and she began to channel a "John Hinkley" and took off to take out the President.
- The Adama Glare has also been known to, on rare occasions, petrify cats and turn rats to stone.
