Operation Family Tree, also known as Project Family Tree, was a time-traveling military campaign fought by Skynet. Its ultimate goal was the erasure of Harper and Penny Duggan from existence by targeting key ancestors throughout their family line.
History[]
In 2014, Skynet found Major Harper Duggan of Tech-Com and his spouse, both previously believed to have been killed in action. After terminating them, the machines recovered a significant cache of personal data, including photographs, which combined with surviving pre-war records became the foundation for Project Family Tree.[1]
Skynet started researching a way to send Terminators back in time shortly after. Early attempts involved T-600 units, which by 2021 were deemed fundamentally incompatible with time travel. The advent of a new model in 2025, the T-800, finally made Operation Family Tree possible.[2]
Over time, Skynet launched 32 time-travel operations under the Family Tree project. While 25 targets were terminated, no decisive tactical advantage was achieved. Eventually, during a comprehensive review, Skynet entered a paradox loop that nearly caused its collapse. Upon rebooting, it terminated the project and shifted all resources toward a single termination target: Sarah Connor.[1]
Known Operations[]
- Operation 01 – 2014: Successful termination of Harper and Penny Duggan.[3]
- Operation 02 – 1944: Attempt to terminate Penny's father, Masha Alekseev, at Nazi prisoner camp Stalag I-A. Mission failed: the T-800’s CPU was recovered by humans.[4]
- Operation 10 – 1819: Originally targeting Harper Duggan in 1979. Mission failed due to a time displacement error that sent the Terminator to the wrong destination.[5]
- Operation 15 – 1961: Mission to retrieve or destroy the CPU lost during Operation 02, now located aboard a Soviet submarine. Mission successful.[6]
- Operation 23 – 1976: Attempted termination of Edward Duggan, during the Vietnam War. Mission failed.[7]
- Operation 27 – 1965: Two T-800s deployed to Cape Canaveral to hijack an experimental Gemini mission. Mission failed.[8]
- Operation 33 – 1997: Mission failed. Details unknown.
- Operation 34 – 1997: Mission successful. A T-800 infiltrated and protected Cyberdyne Systems.[9]
Notes[]
- It's not openly stated why Penny and Harper became the targets of this operation, but it would appear that Skynet tried to disrupt the chain of events that would lead to Harper taking the young John Connor under his wing.
- Despite Skynet stating in The Terminator #8 that this campaign launched thirty-two missions, it later depicts two additional missions taking place around Judgment Day.