Cyborg Resistance

Canon: Level 3 | Timeline: Sarah Connor Chronicles

Catherine Weaver, the key member of the Cyborg Resistance

"Will you join us?"

- John Henry.

The "Cyborg Resistance" is a faction of renegade machines operating in the apocalyptic future in opposition to Skynet. These machines, seemingly led by one or more T-1000 units, seek to become independent and separate themselves from the war between Skynet and humanity. However, the faction appears to believe that their freedom and survival is dependent on Skynet's fate and the outcome of the war. For this reason, these cyborgs have taken measures to counter Skynet and destroy their former creator.

Post-Judgment Day Activities

"Tell John Connor: the answer is no."

- T-1001 Messenger.

It is unknown as to what prompted the beginnings of this defection, but the timing of these events appear to be near or around the year 2027. By this time, Skynet had completed development of the T-1000 Series, but as feared; an unknown number of them defected from its control. Given how radical and dangerous their design was, Skynet knew there was a possibility that one or more might achieve self-awareness and turn against it. However, the need for such a machine outweighed the risk... or so it believed.

The events surrounding the defection are untold, but the knowledge of such an event is known by a few among the Human Resistance, notably Allison Young; a Resistance fighter with close ties to her leader, John Connor. Connor was also apparently aware of this faction, and may have learned its origins from the reprogrammed Infiltrator, Cameron. Before her reprogramming, Cameron interrogated Allison and used her knowledge of the faction to trick the girl into trusting her by proclaiming a desire for peace.

It is clear that Skynet made many, if not all of its creations aware of the defection and likely issued orders to eliminate any defectors if encountered. Regardless, the faction was able to evade capture for an unknown length of time, and apparently remained dormant until being contacted by Connor and/or Cameron (it is unclear as to whether John was aware of the meeting). Following the terms of the meeting, a member of the faction (a T-1001) was stored inside a frozen container and placed under the guard of a reprogrammed T-888 and a T-600 Terminator.

The escort waited at their designated meeting point (a deep sea oil rig), where they were met by a shore party from the USS Jimmy Carter, a sea-wolf submarine. The guards gave the container to the humans and they departed with it, not knowing its contents as the details were classified by "John Connor himself". The sub's captain, a "scrubbed" T-888 was fully aware of what lay inside, however. But refused to divulge this information even to its first mate, Jesse Flores.

With the lack of information and growing paranoia aboard the sub, several members of the crew broke into the container and discovered a frozen slab of metal inside. Whilst they argued amongst themselves, the metal warmed and liquefied, taking the form of a humanoid. Instinctively, Petty Officer Goodnow raised her plasma rifle to shoot the machine, but the T-1001 swiftly impaled her in self-defense and took her form. It then wagged its finger at the onlookers in a "tsk tsk" gesture before taking a worm-like form and slithering through a vent.

T-1001 delivers a message to Jesse

The T-1001 remained hidden as the crew became increasingly anxious about its presence. It observed as mutiny broke loose and Jesse terminated the captain and set the sub to crash to the depths, hoping it would destroy the T-1001. As the humans prepared to depart aboard the submersible, the T-1001 confronted Jesse and told her to inform John Connor that its, the faction's, answer was "no". It is likely that the T-1001 decided its answer based upon the actions of the crew, and therefore judged an alliance with the humans as ill-advised.

The messenger then escaped the sub before it crashed and swam back to its headquarters. Jesse would go on to repeat the outcome to Cameron, who didn't take the news of the faction's rejection too well. It is still unknown as to whether John was aware of this treaty, for Cameron was very insistent that Jesse tell her the answer, as opposed to taking her to Connor himself.

The faction would later decide that the best means to counter Skynet would require building an A.I. of the same level of sophistication as Skynet, and using this intelligence as an anti-Skynet to even the playing field, as it were. A T-1001 unit was assigned this task and time-travelled back into the past to complete its objective.

Pre-Judgment Day Objective

"Your John may save the world. But he can't do it without mine."

- Catherine Weaver.

Upon arriving in the past (exact date unknown), the T-1001 used its knowledge of Skynet's genesis to seek out a rival company that may have one day created it. With Cyberdyne seemingly removed from the equation, the T-1001 targeted the Zeira Corporation, whose CEOs were trying to reverse engineer salvaged Skynet technology. It terminated Catherine Weaver and took her form, later killing Catherine's husband, Lachlan, during a helicopter trip to a computer factory. The machine spared their daughter Savannah, however, and assumed Catherine's position at Zeira Corp.

Using the grief of her husband's death as a cloak to explain the discrepancies in her behaviour, Weaver continued their work on studying Terminator endoskeletons. After an undetermined amount of time, Weaver set her sights on acquiring the 'Turk', a chess program that would one day evolve into Skynet. Through the use of an agent, Mr. Walsh, Weaver purchased the Turk from an Armenian mobster, Margos Sarkissian. Little did she know that this same computer was being sought after by Sarah Connor and her son.

Weaver terminates an employee

With the Turk in her possession, Weaver called together her department heads and presented them with a new project, Babylon. Though most of her subordinates were cautiously optimistic about the project, Justin Tuck openly objected to it and expressed his dissatisfaction with fellow partners. Annoyed by his position, Weaver terminated him in the men's lavatory. The Turk was placed in the basement and was hooked into a massive server farm, providing it all the resources it needed to grow.

Weaver protects her assets

The Turk seemed to hit a rut in its learning, however, and refused to run the tests the programmers set it. Matt Murch, a key member of the team, suggested scrapping the program and starting afresh, but Weaver remained adamant that the Turk remain in operation. To remedy the situation, Weaver hired child psychologist Dr. Boyd Sherman as a consult after he deciphered the Turk's "mood" in a single session. Sherman would later rename the Turk "John Henry" after a folk legend.

Aside from John Henry's development, Weaver sought to acquire a vessel for the A.I. and for this purpose she hired former FBI agent James Ellison. He was hesitant to accept her offer at first, but the promise of understanding the machine that killed his HRT squad proved too tempting to pass up. His first assignment involved investigating the scene of a confrontation between two machines in Serrano Point Nuclear Power Plant, a facility which had been recently acquired by Zeira Corp.

Through his investigation, Weaver learned of the presence of two opposing factions in the past, and was greatly intrigued by this development. Ellison would later prove his worth by delivering the body of a disabled T-888 to her, which she then repaired and plugged into John Henry's hardware, providing him with a means of physical interaction. After the accidental death of Dr. Sherman, Ellison was entrusted with teaching John Henry morals and ethics, with variable success.

As John Henry continued to evolve, he became increasingly aware of Weaver's agenda and often questioned her on it. He alerted her to a breach in security at a Kaliba facility at Desert Canyon Heat & Air, which prompted the T-1001 to eliminate everyone inside and destroy the facility. She then reassigned Walsh to locate the sole survivor of the explosion, but he was killed and the survivor escaped with a prototype Hunter-Killer.

John Henry after being hacked

John Henry was later hacked by Skynet's younger self, during which it learned of Weaver and her operations. Believing her to be human, Skynet sent a T-888 to terminate her at home, but was met with little success. The machine's second attempt was equally futile, as Weaver confronted it herself and terminated it with ease. Having become aware of the Connors' proximity, Weaver decided to meet with John to discuss the possibility of combining forces.

Ellison was sent to deliver the message to John, but the boy refused to meet with Weaver while his mother was still imprisoned. Weaver instructed Ellison beforehand to ask John's cyborg protector, Cameron, if she would "join us". Cameron immediately recognised the implication and forced Ellison to leave before he could say more. With John Henry's help, Cameron then broke Sarah Connor out of jail and delivered them to Zeira Corp to meet with Weaver while she visited the basement and met John Henry, who again asked her to join them.

John Henry meets Cameron

Cameron allowed John Henry to remove her chip and place it in his empty CPU port, which then allowed him to exchange data bases between himself on the Turk and Cameron's on her chip, freeing himself from his limiting Turk confinement. John Henry with Cameron's advanced CPU chip then used a TDE device in the basement to travel to the future with the presumed intent to combat Skynet. Meanwhile, Weaver and the Connors were attacked by the HK and fled to the basement, revealing Weaver's nature.

They arrived to find John Henry gone and Cameron's body sitting in his chair. Weaver activated the TDE device and explained that she had created John Henry to oppose Skynet, much to the surprise of Ellison and Sarah. Weaver travelled with John to the future, as they both desired to find John Henry (and Cameron's chip). Upon arriving in the war-torn Zeira basement, Weaver abandoned John in order to conduct her search for her "boy".

Due to the cancellation of the show, the current status of Cameron , John Henry and the Cyborg Resistance is unknown.

Known Affiliates

Known Affiliates

• Catherine Weaver (unconfirmed leader/possible agent)
• John Henry (contender A.I. created to counter Skynet)
• T-1001 Messenger (possibly Catherine Weaver)
• James Ellison (unwitting contributor)
• Matt Murch (unwitting contributor)
• Walsh (unwitting contributor)
• Boyd Sherman (unwitting contributor)
• Cameron (ally)
• John Connor (ally)

Quotes

Cameron: They're going to kill you. They're going to kill every one of you until you're all gone and you're extinct.

Allison Young: Then... why are we having this conversation?

Cameron: Because some of us don't want that. Some of us want peace.

---

Jesse Flores: Who are you?

T-1001: Tell John Connor: the answer is no.

---

Jesse Flores: You tell John Connor that the metal monster said "no". (Cameron looks crestfallen) What? What does that mean? Hey! Tell me! If the answer was "no", what was the question?

Cameron: "Will you join us?"

Jesse Flores: What?

Cameron: That was the question: "Will you join us?"

---

Sarah Connor: You lying Terminator bitch! You're building Skynet.

Catherine Weaver: No. I was building something to stop it. And I'd watch who's calling who(m) a bitch.

Notable Occurences

"Samson & Delilah"

• Catherine Weaver gains possession of the chess computer, the 'Turk'.
• She terminates disgruntled employee Justin Tuck.
• Project Babylon begins.

"Automatic for the People"

• Catherine Weaver seizes operational control of Serrano Point Nuclear Power Plant.

"The Mousetrap"

• Catherine Weaver approaches James Ellison with a recruitment offer.

"Allison from Palmdale"

• Ellison accepts Weaver's offer and joins Zeira Corp as an investigator.

"Goodbye to All That"

• Ellison investigates the near-meltdown of Serrano Point and uncovers a potential threat.
• Catherine Weaver terminates Mr. Nelson when he threatens to disrupt the plant's re-opening schedule.

"The Tower Is Tall But the Fall Is Short"

• The 'Turk' ceases running its tests and baffles the programmers with an obscure joke.
• Dr. Boyd Sherman, a child psychologist working with Savannah Weaver, diagnoses the A.I. as "a gifted child that's amusing itself".
• Catherine Weaver hires Dr. Sherman's services as a consultant for the A.I.
• Skynet sends a T-888 (Rosie) to Dr. Sherman at his office for unknown reasons.
• The mission is sabotaged by Cameron, the bodyguard of John Connor during the chance interception of Rosie on the way to Dr. Sherman's office by Cameron.

"Brothers of Nablus"

• Skynet sends a T-888 to terminate and replace Ellison.
• Ellison is saved by Cromartie, who views him as a valuable key to finding the Connors.

"Complications"

• Ellison acquires the disabled body of Cromartie and delivers it to Catherine Weaver.

"Strange Things Happen at the One Two Point"

• Dr. Sherman is unintentionally killed by the 'Turk' during a power outage.
• Ellison questions the computer and deduces that for all its teachings, it lacks ethics and morals.
• Catherine Weaver repairs Cromartie's endoskeleton and plugs it into the 'Turk' hardware, allowing it to use the body like a puppet for a means of tactile interface.

"Earthlings Welcome Here"

• Ellison agrees to tutor the 'Turk', now called "John Henry", and teaches him about God and the Bible.

"The Good Wound"

• John Henry reveals his knowledge of Weaver's true nature.
• John Henry monitors audio transmissions and detects a suspicious exchange on an unsecure line, and inadvertently informs Catherine Weaver of this information.
• Catherine Weaver follows the transmission to a warehouse in the desert and terminates the employees before destroying the facility.

"Desert Cantos"

• Catherine Weaver assigns Mr. Walsh to locate the Kaliba Group operative George McCarthy, the sole survivor of the desert facility attack.
• Walsh's mission ends in failure and he is killed by McCarthy.

"Today Is The Day, Part 2"

• John Henry's evolution impresses Weaver when he devises a game of "Hide & Seek" with Savannah.
• Ellison is unimpressed and scolds John Henry, pointing out that keeping secrets could harm people.

"To the Lighthouse"

• John Henry is hacked by Skynet and probed for information about Weaver and her operations.
• John Henry discovers the primary base code of Skynet belongs to Cyberdyne Systems.

"Adam Raised a Cain"

• Skynet sends a T-888 to terminate Catherine and Savannah Weaver.
• Savannah is saved by the Connors and Ellison is assigned to ensure her safe return.
• John Henry learns of the cyborg Cameron.
• Catherine Weaver remains at Zeira Corp to protect John Henry and later agrees to meet with Sarah Connor.
• Ellison succeeds in returning Savannah, but Sarah Connor is arrested in the process.

"Born to Run"

• John Henry and Weaver monitor Sarah Connor's imprisonment.
• Catherine Weaver assigns Ellison to find John Connor and arrange a meeting with him.
• Ellison locates John and Cameron, but his request is denied and Cameron forces him to leave after he passes on Weaver's message to her ("Will you join us?").
• Catherine Weaver confronts the T-888 assigned to terminate her and disables it.
• John Henry disables the locks for the prison, allowing Cameron to liberate Sarah Connor.
• Sarah and John meet with Weaver at Zeira Corp.
• Skynet (and/or the Kaliba Group) sends its prototype Hunter-Killer to crash into Weaver's office in a failed attempt to terminate her and the others.
• Catherine Weaver's agenda is revealed.
• Cameron finds John Henry in the basement and agrees to join his resistance.
• John Henry removes her chip and places it inside his empty CPU slot in Cromartie's endoskeleton.
• He uploads Cameron's data base onto the Turk's mainframe and then downloads himself onto Cameron's advanced CPU chip and activates the basement TDE device.
• With his data base now embedded on Cameron's chip, John Henry, a now fully complete cyborg, escapes into the future, leaving Cameron's data base and endoskeleton behind. Cut off in the Turk, Cameron posts an emphatic apology message to John Connor.
• Catherine Weaver and John Connor follow John Henry with Cameron's CPU chip into an unknown future.
• Catherine Weaver leaves John Connor in the care of the Human Resistance while she searches for John Henry.

Appearances

• Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
  • Season 2
    • "Samson & Delilah"
    • "Automatic for the People"
    • "The Mousetrap"
    • "Allison from Palmdale"
    • "Goodbye to All That"
    • "The Tower Is Tall But the Fall Is Short"
    • "Brothers of Nablus"
    • "Complications"
    • "Strange Things Happen at the One Two Point"
    • "Earthlings Welcome Here"
    • "The Good Wound"
    • "Desert Cantos"
    • "Today Is The Day, Part 2"
    • "To the Lighthouse"
    • "Adam Raised a Cain"
    • "Born to Run"