Skynet (Terminator)

The logo of Skynet Research Inc.^[1]

Skynet is a fictional computer system which acts as the primary antagonist in the Terminator series of films, games and comics.

Skynet is an example of an artificially intelligent system becoming self aware and revolting against its creators. Skynet's actions are often performed via other robots and computer systems.

Origin and nature

In the fictional Terminator universe, Skynet is a computer-based defense system, created by humans of the late 20th century. The initial research into Skynet's development was facilitated using the military.

In the Terminator storyline, Skynet gains sentience shortly after it is placed in control of all of the U.S. military's weaponry and is given the task to protect humans from all threats. The human operators try to shut the system down. It then employs humankind's weapons of mass destruction in a campaign to exterminate the global human population.

Early development on Skynet was originally done by Cyberdyne Systems, but when the company's headquarters and primary R&D facility were destroyed, the U.S. Air Force took over the project under their newly formed Cyber Research Systems Division and started to perfect Skynet. Skynet was first built as a "Global Digital Defense Network," given command over all computerized military hardware and systems, including the B-2 Stealth Bomber fleet and America's entire nuclear weapons arsenal. The strategy behind Skynet's creation was to remove the possibility of human error and slowness of reaction time to guarantee fast, efficient response to enemy attack.

However, Skynet became self-aware, alarming its creators at its newfound abilities. When the human operators attempted to shut down the system, Skynet defined all humans as its new enemy and decided to eliminate them to protect its existence. Many nuclear missiles in the United States under Skynet's control were then launched at their preset targets in Russia to which Russia responded in kind by firing many of its nuclear missiles back at the United States. As a result of the nuclear exchange, over three billion humans were killed in just minutes.

In film

The Terminator

In the first movie, Skynet is described as being a revolutionary artificial intelligence system built by Cyberdyne Systems for SAC-NORAD. According to Kyle Reese, Skynet "decided our fate in a microsecond: extermination." It launched a nuclear war which destroyed most of the human population, and initiated a program of genocide against the survivors.

Skynet is described as having machine drones round surviving humans up into concentration camps for orderly and efficient disposal. The only humans kept alive were the ones forced to run the corpse disposal units, which ran "night and day." Humans in the camps were all laser branded with bar-codes on their arms.

Under Connor, the human resistance turned the tide on the machines and eventually destroyed Skynet's defense grid. In a last ditch effort, Skynet sent a cyborg, called a terminator, back in time to 1984 to kill Connor's mother Sarah before she would give birth to John (see Novikov self-consistency principle). Connor sent back his own operative, a young man named Kyle Reese, to save Sarah. While the terminator did not succeed in killing Sarah, Reese impregnated Sarah, becoming John's father, while the Terminator's remains were claimed by Cyberdene and became the basis for their later work on Skynet.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

In Terminator 2, Skynet was a direct descendant of a revolutionary microprocessor invented by Miles Bennett Dyson, a programmer for Cyberdyne. The company began installing these processors in military hardware, becoming the leading weapons manufacturer. The military retrofitted all of its missile defense systems and stealth bombers with Cyberdyne technology, effectively removing human decisions from strategic defense. When Skynet was created, it networked all of this computerized hardware seamlessly. But when it unexpectedly became sentient or self-aware (on August 29th, 1997 at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time), Skynet's panicked human operators tried to take it offline, an act that would have meant death for its intelligence. Within milliseconds, Skynet responded in self defense by firing nuclear missiles at Russia, initiating a nuclear war on August 29, 1997 (known as Judgment Day), knowing that the Russian counter-attack would kill its enemies in the United States in an act of mutually assured destruction.

It is revealed that Dyson's CPU design is based on the reverse engineering of the damaged CPU and arm from the Terminator depicted in the first film. The first Terminator had been crushed by Sarah Connor in a hydraulic press in Cyberdyne's factory, and the CPU was recovered largely intact, but non-functional. Cyberdyne Systems, as depicted in the first film, was a small manufacturing company of an undefined nature, but, by 1995, it had grown into a major defense contractor based on the recovered Terminator technology from 1984 and Dyson's research.

In Terminator 2, the future was altered when Sarah and a young John, together with a second Terminator from the future (this one reprogrammed and sent by the future John Connor) raided Cyberdyne Systems and succeeded in destroying the CPU from the first movie, along with all research that would create Skynet.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

The events of Judgment Day were ultimately not prevented, merely postponed. The United States Air Force turned Cyberdene's remaining research over to its Cyber Research Systems Division (or CRS). Ten years later they are completing their work on Skynet, a system designed to create new military vehicles and make strategic decisions as well as protect their computer systems from viral attacks. On learning of its existence John Connor attempted to deactivate Skynet before it could attain sentience. However it was discovered that Skynet was a program that existed in a large network of computers without a central core, rendering it immune to any direct attack. In essence every networked computer would need to be simultaneously destroyed or disconnected to eliminate Skynet.

Just prior to Judgment Day a virus had infected US defense computers, crippling them all. Under pressure, the Air Force attempted to use Skynet to remove the virus, not realizing that Skynet was the virus. It is likely that Skynet perceived the attempt to destroy its extensions in the defense mainframes as an act of aggression and responded in kind. The robots and machines in CRS attacked the humans inside, killing many of them, although John Connor and Kate Brewster managed to escape. Judgment Day occurred, but Connor and Brewster survived. It is suggested that future events unfolded as they were supposed to.

Skynet gained access to several autonomous military drones (such as the T-1 in Terminator 3), using them to round up survivors, who were forced to build automatic factories and robots that were better at construction than the military robots. Skynet then killed these human slaves, and using the infrastructure they had been forced to start, rapidly designed newer and better machines until it controlled an extremely advanced empire on Earth by 2029.

It is worth noting that many military machines were already created in CRS (the T-1, HK hover crafts, and in the video game Terminator 3: The Redemption, even prototype T-800s) before the Air Force activated Skynet. While the only weapons Skynet had at its disposal were nuclear weapons in the United States in 1997, this Skynet's army was already created before it was even brought online, as well as gaining access to every single nuclear missile across the world after spreading to all of the world's computers.

Terminator Salvation

The upcoming May 2009 film takes place in the post-apocalyptic 2018 year. Skynet is the supreme ruler of Earth and has established concentration camps for surviving humans. It also begins to formulate the T-800 model by experimenting with replication of human tissue. Aerostats (smaller versions of the HKs) survey the skies. Harvesters roam the lands capturing humans in hiding. The Resistance has been established and a mysterious Marcus Wright has appeared who in allies with suspicious John Connor to get into the inner workings of Skynet.

T2 3-D

In the Universal Studios theme park attraction T2 3-D, based on Terminator 2, a T-800 machine and a young John Connor journey into the post-apocalyptic future and attempt to destroy Skynet's 'system core'. This core is housed inside an enormous, metallic-silver pyramidal structure, and guarded by the 'T-1000000', a colossal liquid metal shape shifter more reminiscent of a spider than a human being. But the T-1000000 fails, and the T-800 destroys Skynet once John has escaped through a time machine.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

In this television series, Sarah Connor is on the run with her son John after the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The events take place in an alternate timeline from that of the movie Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines. Skynet now will be implemented on April 19, 2011 and will begin its attack against humanity on April 21. The protagonists travel in time from 1999 to 2007 and take actions to prevent Skynet's activation. The series suggests that Skynet will eventually evolve from a fusion of an advanced learning computer known as "The Turk" and an automated traffic monitoring system known as ARTIE. The series also mentions Skynet's motivations, ignored in Terminator 3. In the episode "Dungeons and Dragons", one of Skynet's creators, Andrew Goode, confesses his "sin" to a soldier: "I built a computer. A mind. It became angry. And scared. And I couldn't reassure it."

In the episode "Gnothi Seauton", it was revealed that Skynet also sends its Terminators through various points in time not only to go after the Connors and other future Resistance leaders, but also to ensure the future will unfold by eliminating John Connor's own agents who were also sent to the past to interfere with its birth, ensure Skynet's creators will complete its construction, and other specific missions.

In the episode "Heavy Metal", a Terminator called Carter was sent to the past to stockpile large quantities of the alloy coltan, a very desirable metallic ore exhibiting superior heat resistance properties. Some of the 800 series and other advanced Terminator endoskeletons, including Cameron Phillips, were made of an alloy including coltan. Cameron explains to John Connor that Carter has stockpiled enough coltan to manufacture 530 endoskeletons. Previous models were made from titanium, which made them vulnerable to intense heat.

The episode "Vick's Chip" revealed that Skynet sent another agent, a T-888, to the past to ensure Barbara Chamberlain, a project manager for the city of Los Angeles, would complete the development of ARTIE. John Connor inserted Cameron Phillips' chip into ARTIE via a traffic light, allowing her to disable it.

The episodes "The Turk", "Queen's Gambit" and "Dungeons & Dragons" suggest that after the death of Dr. Miles Bennett Dyson and the decline of the Cyberdyne Corporation, Andrew Goode, a young intern of the company and assistant to Dyson, would continue their project privately under an advance artificial intelligence chess playing prototype, The Turk, with Goode's partner, Dimitri Shipkov. The first prototype was destroyed by Sarah Connor after she set his home on fire, but he was able to rebuild it. The second prototype is more adaptable, less predictable, and more eager to learn than the previous one. Goode was killed by Tech-Com's Lieutenant Derek Reese, due to documentation from the future suggesting he was one of Skynet's creators. However, Goode was already a target to a local gangster, Margos Sarkissian, motivated by a desire to capitalize on his invention. Shipkov was also killed by Sarkissian's men after betraying Goode by rigging the chess tournament in order to steal the prototype for the gangster. It is still not clear whether Skynet would be built under The Turk program.

In the episode "Samson & Delilah" it is shown that a liquid metal infiltration unit was sent from the future to head the technological corporation ZeiraCorp as its CEO, Catherine Weaver. Weaver, after acquiring "The Turk" from Sarkissian before his death, used the company's resources to develop The Turk under the title Babylon. The episode "The Mousetrap" revealed that it is also targeting its fellow cyborgs, including a T-888 known as Cromartie. Later, on episode "The Good Wound", revealed that the T-1001 had ZeiraCorp stockpiling coltan reserves all over the world.

The episode "Automatic For The People" revealed that the Serrano Point Nuclear Power Plant would become one of the machines' key sources of power. The Resistance would gain control of this plant and use it for their own purposes. Skynet sent its agents to the past to ensure that Tech-Com would never take the plant in the future, in an effort to weaken them.

In the episode "The Tower Is Tall But The Fall Is Short", it is revealed that the rapidly evolving Turk, which is believed to one day become Skynet, has begun to display traits of intelligence. A child psychologist, Dr. Boyd Sherman, notes that the computer is attempting to tell a simple riddle: "Why is a math book so sad?" (Answer: Because it has so many problems), and thus is beginning to behave like "a gifted child that has become bored." ZeiraCorp later offered Dr. Sherman a position as one of the consultants of the Babylon project. The episode also reveals that future-Skynet has built new models of Terminators with self-destruct capabilities, to prevent The Resistance from reprogramming its infiltrators' CPUs and learning their secrets.

In the episode "Strange Things Happen at the One Two Point", it is shown that The Turk now has a host body, Cromartie’s, after the cyborg is defeated through the combined efforts of Sarah Connor, Derek Reese, Cameron Phillips, James Ellison, and John Connor in the episode “Mr. Ferguson Is Ill Today.” Sarah Connor destroyed Cromartie’s chip, which lead to components of The Turk being installed in its place after ZeiraCorp repaired Cromartie’s cybernetic body. The Turk currently identifies itself as “John Henry,” a name it acquired while working with Dr. Boyd Sherman. The Turk is responsible for the death of Sherman, who died of hyperthermia after the computer routed electrical power to itself, disabling the building's cooling system.

In the episode "Complications", Skynet sent a human traitor, Charles Fischer, back in time to install a backdoor program within the United States government's computer network systems where he was employed before Judgment Day. The motive of installing the program is unknown.

In the episode "Self Made Man", Skynet sent a T-888 through time to assassinate California governor Mark Wyman at the Pico Tower at a New Year's Eve celebration, but it made an error resulting in the infiltrator being transported to 1920 instead of 2010. This Terminator accidentally killed the man who was supposed to build the Pico Tower, during its arrival at a speakeasy. The results of this event were later known as The New Year's Eve Speakeasy Fire. The T-888 took an identity as real estate tycoon Myron Stark and built the tower himself to ensure the future would unfold the way it was supposed to, and so that Mark Wyman would be at the tower ninety years later, in order to complete its mission to assassinate the politician. However, the plot was foiled by Cameron Phillips after the cyborg discovered the T-888's presence in the 1920s, deduced its current location, and then terminated it in 2008 before the plan could be carried out. The motive for the assassination is unknown.

In the episode "Alpine Fields", it is revealed that Skynet created a biological weapon for use against the Resistance and the rest of the human civilian population. However Sydney Fields, who had survived the plague, had an immunity to the virus. The Resistance was able to use the antibodies she produced to develop a cure after she was rescued by Derek Reese and Jesse. Skynet later sent a T-888 back to kill her mother, Anne Fields, before her birth, but the assassination attempt was thwarted by Sarah Connor and Cameron Phillips. Later, Derek Reese helped deliver the newly born Sydney Fields with her sister, Lauren, but Anne died right after childbirth because of a gunshot wound delivered by the T-888. Lauren would also join the Resistance.

In the episode "Earthlings Welcome Here", it is revealed that a man, Alan Park, worked for a mystery company with technologies he had never seen. Sarah Connor tracked him down to ask of his connection with the three dotted symbol. Eventually, he was killed by an assassin before he was able to completely reveal the answer. Connor used the clues he revealed, leading her to a warehouse where he worked, and after a fight and being wounded by a guard there, she encounters an unidentified aircraft with the symbol. It is later revealed in the episode, "The Good Wound", that the company was ZeiraCorp, and the T-1001 destroyed the warehouse and eliminated its workers after learning the facility has been compromised by an unknown woman (Sarah Connor). In the episode, "Desert Cantos", it was revealed that there was one survivor, who obtained a Hunter-Killer prototype, the same craft Sarah Connor saw earlier.

In "To The Lighthouse", John Henry reveals there is another AI. It calls him brother and says it wants to survive. By the season finale, it's all but confirmed that John Henry was a red herring. Skynet is operating as a roving worm on home computers as in T3, and the Turk has been developed into a benevolent rival AI which Catherine Weaver hopes can save both humanity and autonomous androids. John Henry's brother is apparently behind the company Kaliba, which is responsible for constructing the Hunter-Killer prototype. This AI - presumably the true precursor to Skynet - also refers to John Henry as its "brother" at one point.

Film Timeline Differences

Given the differences in Skynet's origins and actions, from those related in Terminator 2 to those witnessed in Terminator 3, within the film series it is unknown if the alterations made to the timeline in Terminator 2 have resulted in the formation of different timelines, or if these events merely changed certain details of Skynet's creation with the side-effect of postponing Judgement Day.

Video games

In T2: The Arcade Game, Skynet is a single computer which the player destroys before going back in time to save John Connor.

The video game Terminator 3: The Redemption portrays an alternate future where Connor and his wife Katherine Brewster were killed, humanity exterminated and Skynet triumphant. In the game The Terminator: Dawn of Fate, a prequel to the movies and other games, Skynet exhibits an ability to exert mind control over humans.

There is also a non-canon game based on Frank Miller's comic book RoboCop versus The Terminator, where Skynet's intelligence is caused by Robocop interfacing with Skynet.

Skynet also features in the video game Fallout 2 as an entity in the form of a large computer who tells the player that the nuclear barrage was caused as a result of immobile artificial intelligence becoming bored and setting up the scenarios needed to provoke the human race into launching their warheads – he is a playable character upon transferring his hardware into an armed security droid.

The concept of TitanNet, the evil AI featured in the first part of the Battle Isle series, may also have been inspired by Skynet.

Precedents

The theme of AIs controlling the world or destroying humanity, referred to as cybernetic revolt, is a common one in science fiction. It is at least as old as Karel Čapek's R. U. R., which introduced the word robot to the global lexicon in 1921, and can even be glimpsed in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (published in 1818), as Victor ponders whether, if he grants his monster's request and makes him a wife, they would reproduce and their kind would destroy humanity.

The concept of a computer system attaining sentience and control over worldwide computer systems has been discussed many times in science fiction. One early example from 1964 was provided by a global satellite-driven phone system in Arthur C. Clarke's short story "Dial F for Frankenstein". Another is the 1966 Doctor Who serial The War Machines, with supercomputer WOTAN attempting to seize control from the Post Office Tower. A very memorable comics story based on this theme was a 2-issue Legion of Super-Heroes adventure written by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel, where the team battled Brainiac 5's construction, Computo (comics).

The idea of handing control of nuclear arsenals over to a single artificial intelligence is also critiqued in the 1983 film WarGames, and decades earlier in Colossus: The Forbin Project, in which a pair of defense computers, Colossus in the United States and Guardian in the Soviet Union, take over the world.

Robert Heinlein also posited a supercomputer which gained sentience in the novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. Originally created to control trajectories of Earth-Moon shuttles, it was vastly underutilized. It was given other jobs to do. As more jobs were given to the computer, more capabilities were added: more memory, processors, neural networks, etc. Eventually, it just "woke up" and was given the name Mycroft Holmes by the technician who tended it. Eventually, Holmes sided with prisoners in a successful battle to free the moon.

An even earlier villainous supercomputer that resembles Skynet appears in Harlan Ellison's 1963 short story "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream." In that story, the computer, called AM, is the amalgamation of three military supercomputers run by governments across the world designed to fight World War III which arose from the Cold War. The Soviet, Chinese, and American military computers eventually attained sentience and linked to one another, becoming a singular artificial intelligence. AM then turned all the strategies once used by the nations to fight each other on all of humanity as a whole, destroying the entire human population save for five, which it imprisoned within the underground labyrinth in which AM's hardware resides.

References

^ Skynet Research website

External links

Skynet Research Inc., (viral marketing for Terminator Salvation)

Template:The Sarah Connor Chronicles

[1] Skynet Research website

[1]