Misaki appeared to be a housekeeper hired by Malcolm Lee to look after his children. She had a mysterious past that even she herself didn't know anything about.
History[]
Beautiful[]
In 2040, during the War Against the Machines, a Resistance specialist called Malcolm came to believe that the course of the war could be altered only by changing the very nature of the machines. Malcolm started reprogramming a Terminator processor, turning it into a blank slate. In 2045, this machine prototype was activated, initially just a bust. Malcolm began to educate the prototype, allowing it to develop its own identity instead of imposing programmed directives. After many years, the machine evolved to claim a feminine persona, aspiring to be a creator rather than a destroyer. It chose the name Misaki, which meant beautiful, ocean, and sand, and that was the name of a guiding spirit from Japanese folklore. She also started thinking that her and Malcolm's destiny was to create a new god, similar to Skynet but with different objectives. Malcolm gave her a whole body and a flesh sheath.[1]
Unfortunately, Malcolm's superiors discovered Misaki, considering her an aberration, and ordered her to be destroyed. When one of the soldiers opened fire on Misaki, and she resigned to that being the end, Malcolm grabbed a gun and killed all the Resistance effectives in the area. Realizing that there was no longer a place for him and Misaki within the Resistance, Malcolm remembered the stories about Skynet's Time Displacement Equipment and the ongoing battles between Terminators and Resistance fighters attempting to alter the course of history by either protecting or eliminating future Resistance leaders. Malcolm and Misaki began constructing their time machine. Eventually, both prepared to leave their own time to hide and plan.[1] Before departing, Malcolm uploaded the schematics of the time machine itself into Misaki.[2]
Housekeeping Messiah[]
Malcolm and Misaki arrived in a Tokyo alley in 1983, fourteen years before Judgment Day. By 1987, Malcolm had established a new identity as "Malcolm Lee" and had managed to create forged identity documents for both of them, beginning to build a life. With a clear plan in mind, they arranged for Malcolm to secure a position at Cortex Industries, where he could start work on developing Kokoro, an AI designed to challenge and rival Skynet. To activate Kokoro, Misaki gave up her processor, once again returning to a blank slate and uttering the words "hello, world." She became a housekeeper for Malcolm and the family he had built in the past.[1] The new Misaki remembered some false details about her past, such as having grown up in a fishing village.[3] She also remembered being shaken by the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack.
Misaki's Secret[]
On a rainy August 29th, 1997, Misaki went shopping in Tokyo, searching for a Koneko robot cat for Malcolm's children. She couldn't quite understand why she found the 1NNO robot assistant in the store so unsettling. When she returned home, Malcolm was unhappy about the Koneko and coldly told Misaki to get rid of it before heading to work.[4] While Misaki was getting dinner ready, she accidentally cut herself with a knife and overreacted to the sight of blood. As she went to take care of her unexpectedly deep wound, Reika sneaked out with the Koneko, followed by her two brothers. Distraught, Misaki called Malcolm and filled him in on the situation. Malcolm picked her up in her car, but they soon got stuck in a traffic jam, where a Terminator attacked them.[3]
After a semitrailer ran over the Terminator, Malcolm told a confused Misaki their enemies had found them. He ordered her to find the children as he had to return to Kokoro, warning that their enemies would use them against him. Malcolm fled before the semitrailer's driver, a woman named Eiko, could get to him. Misaki ran from Eiko, seeking refuge in a nearby warehouse, but the woman caught up to her. Holding her at gunpoint, Eiko explained that she would stop at nothing to thwart Malcolm Lee and his creation, Kokoro. Eiko deduced that the Terminator would soon target the children.[3] Misaki, now a captive, took Eiko to the underground tunnels beneath Tokyo, suspecting Reika had escaped there. When she realized that Eiko was injured, Misaki managed to patch up the wound despite her aversion to blood. Eiko told Misaki that Malcolm was unaware of how dangerous Kokoro truly was, upsetting her.[5]
Misaki and Eiko found the Terminator just in time, as it was confronting the children. Misaki fled with the children while Eiko again faced the machine, allowing them to escape. The Terminator caught up with them, but Eiko saved them, taking Reika with her as Misaki led the remaining children away.[5] Misaki took the children, Kenta and Hiro, to a nearby police station and frantically recounted the day's events to two detectives. As they looked into Misaki's background, they were stunned to find no records or history. Before they could dig any deeper, the Terminator attacked the police station. The Terminator killed all the agents in the building, again intent on capturing the kids, so Misako faced him armed with just a fire extinguisher. During the struggle, the Terminator ripped off Misaki's arm, and to Misaki's horror, she realized it was cybernetic. Misaki quickly hotwired a police car and escaped with the kids, assuring them with newfound confidence that she wouldn't let the Terminator harm them. As they fled, Judgment Day began, and nuclear missiles started raining down worldwide.[6]
What Lies Beneath[]
But the nukes never exploded. Kokoro had prevented that, but what came next was equally horrifying: she had taken control of the 1NNO robots, directing them against humanity. Misaki and the children witnessed a battalion of armed 1NNO robots clashing with the Japanese army. Amid this chaos, Kenta, filled with anger, accused Misaki of being one of them. Misaki and the children continued searching for Reika on foot, their vehicle running out of fuel. However, Kenta's trust in Misaki was gone, suspecting her of being a sleeper agent and even suggesting deactivating her. Hurt and confused, Misaki found herself questioning her own identity. Persuaded by his brother that Misaki could be their father's creation, Kenta replaced Misaki's damaged arm with the arm of a fallen 1NNO. Together, the three of them set out for Cat Town.[7]
As they approached the park, they noticed a malfunctioning 1NNO robot hanging from wires. Misaki, feeling compassion for the robot, attempted to pull him down, inadvertently setting off a trip mine that had been placed by a group of armed men. The resulting explosion partly exposed Misaki's endoskeleton, frightening the men. When one of them attempted to shoot her in the head, something was triggered: Misaki's expression turned blank, and she swiftly and gracefully started killing all the attackers with incredible dexterity. Misaki snapped out of her trance as the last of the men took Hiro hostage. The man was about to kill Hiro, but Kenta shot him in the arm, making him run away. Having witnessed Misaki's massacre, Kenta had her at gunpoint as Misaki tried to explain that she was different from the 1NNO and the Terminators and expressed her love for him. Hiro intervened just in time to stop Kenta from shooting her, punching, and yelling at his brother. A moody Kenta set off for Cat Town alone.[8]
Misaki and Hiro followed Kenta, and hearing a gunshot, they ran into a ride. Misaki was suddenly attacked by who turned out to be Eiko, who was still with Reika. It looked like the Terminator had abducted Kenta.[8] Several 1NNOs tried approaching them, but Eiko started shooting them down. Misaki thought they wanted to communicate with them, but Eiko was not ready to listen to her now that she knew Misaki was a cyborg. Misaki was right: Kokoro, through a 1NNO, asked for all of them to join them at Cortex Industries. Arriving in the hall, Eiko armed herself with the weaponry left by the dead cops, handing Misaki a rifle despite her misgivings. Arriving outside Kokoro's chamber, Eiko and Misaki had a brief shootout with the Terminator, who took Kenta and escaped to a nearby server farm again. Misaki chased the Terminator and again fought it, now jumping and fighting it hand to hand. The Terminator was too strong and brutally defeated her, but as he was about to end her, Eiko saved her. Eiko herself was saved by Malcolm, who was unable to stop the Terminator from taking Kenta and was mortally wounded by it. Malcolm died saying sorry to Misaki for her many unanswered questions, asking her to keep protecting the children, and telling her that everything she needed was already in her mind. Elsewhere, Kokoro finally defeated the Terminator and told Kenta that she had decided to be a protector for humanity, making him not fire the EMP. Knowing that Skynet would continue fighting Kokoro, they decided to hide from both people and machines, heading underground and toward an unclear future.[2]
Personality[]
Misaki is first introduced as a soft-hearted, tender teenage girl who works as a housekeeper and doesn't know anything about herself or where she came from. However, she sometimes seems to have flashbacks and feels an aversion to blood.
Notes[]
- Misaki shares the ability to cry and shed tears with Cameron.