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John Henry

From Terminator Wiki

John Henry
Portrayed by: Garret Dillahunt
Appearances
Franchise(s): Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
First Appearance: "Strange Things Happen at the One Two Point"
Last Appearance: "Born to Run"
Details
Alias: Project Babylon
The Turk
Cromartie (infiltrator)
Gender Program: Male
Status: Unknown, believed to be operating during The War Against the Machines
Series: T-888
Model: George Laszlo
Features: -Advanced Artificial Intelligence
Cameron's Neural Net CPU
Cromartie's endoskeleton
Occupation: Artificial Intelligence
Relationships: James Ellison
Matt Murch
Catherine Weaver
Savannah Weaver
Targets: Skynet (target priority)
Affiliations: Cyborg Resistance
Zeira Corporation
John Henry, now in Cromartie's body, greets Ellison

John Henry was a name given to Project Babylon by Dr. Boyd Sherman as he assisted Zeira Corporation with the development of the A.I.. [1] The system was named after a 19th Century folk hero who defeated a machine but was unable to prevent progress. The program was made from The Turk and was in direct control of Zeira Corporation's Headquarters. It utilized Cromartie's endoskeleton and processors to act as its voice and physical body.

Contents

GOFAI

In its infancy, John Henry was an example of a GOFAI system. This type, (Good Old Fashioned Artificial Intelligence), is characterized by the use of symbols, as opposed to words. John Henry initially used only symbols to communicate, most notably its interactions with Dr. Sherman. John Henry later gained the ability to use phrases, and was questioned by James Ellison concerning the death of Dr. Sherman.

History

Savannah Weaver helping with John Henry's development

Learning

Following the death of Boyd Sherman, James Ellison took over the training of the AI in morality including a religious upbringing to teach it morals. After being connected to the internet, John Henry began to learn at a geometric rate. Eventually he was able to begin work with his creativity. He was provided with toys and arts and crafts. Some time later he began interacting with Savannah Weaver and the two developed a friendship - which was cemented when he played a game of hide and seek with her using clues to make Catherine Weaver and Ellison find her. He was a strict follower of the rules; however, a suggestion about changing the rules was accepted by him when Savannah was upset because John Henry would not include her toy ducks with his game. Based upon his teaching John Henry has successfully deduced that Catherine Weaver is a machine.

Hacked

John Henry offfline after being infiltrated by Skynet


Despite several safeguards John Henry's system was hacked, prompting Matt Murch and the employees of Zeira Corporation to cut his outside connections. Upon reactivation he felt that God had forsaken him until his connections to the internet were restored. When brought fully back online he revealed that his systems had been infiltrated by an outside source and a worm program had taken over a significant portion of the civilian internet - more advanced than anything programmed by a human so far. Running an investigation of the source code it was able to match a series of code to that of Miles Dyson of Cyberdyne Systems. The similarity of the code to his own made him believe that the other AI was his brother, and his curiosity would later prompt him to seek it out.
Cameron meets John Henry

Future War

Following an encounter with Cameron, John Henry was given custody over her processor chip and used time displacement equipment to travel to 2027. The fact that he recognized Cameron may suggest that some small part of Cromartie remains.[2] He was followed by Catherine Weaver (his "mother") and John Connor (who wanted Cameron's processor back).

Quotes

John Henry: Hello, Mr. Ellison. My name is John Henry. How are you today? (smiles oddly)

-"Strange Things Happen at the One Two Point"


James Ellison: We are all God's children
John Henry: Am I God's child?

-"Earthlings Welcome Here"


John Henry: Do you know Solek? He resides in Karda Nui and idolizes the Toa. (Weaver looks seriously at his toy collection) He has stated that he is best friends with Takua. You're not human.
Catherine Weaver: (she pauses) Excuse me?
John Henry: You're not human. You're made of metal. Not the same metal as I am, but metal.
Catherine Weaver: How can you tell?
John Henry: I looked into your eyes. There's nothing there.

-"The Good Wound"


Savannah Weaver: These are the ducklings. Chicky, Fluffy and Feather. Can they play, too?
John Henry: I don't think there are any ducklings on the mystical island of Voya Nui.
Savannah Weaver: Are you sure?
John Henry: I'm sorry, I have access to all the files. I can find no reference to them in any of the instructions. (Savannah applies :her puppy look) What's wrong? (picks up a toy and twirls its propeller) If you'd like one of the Toa instead?
Savannah Weaver: Nooooo. The ducklings are sad because they can't play. Can't you change the rules to make them happy?
John Henry: (ominous pause) Yes. We can change the rules.

-"To the Lighthouse"


John Henry: (voice modulation all over the place) What ... is ... all ... this ... about.
Savannah Weaver: John Henry, please, you're hurting me!
John Henry: Ahhh. I ... understand ... what ... this ... is ... about.
Savannah Weaver: runs away screaming

-"To the Lighthouse"


Matt Murch: Looks like someone managed to stuff malware down the throat of the most sophisticated AI in human history.
Catherine Weaver: John Henry was infiltrated. Probed.
Matt Murch: Well, looks worse than that to me. Looks like someone out there wants to kill him.

-"To the Lighthouse"


John Henry on the screen: My God Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?

-"To the Lighthouse"


John Henry: I know what it feels like, Mr. Ellison.
Agent Ellison: What?
John Henry: To die... then come back. To be alone.
Catherine Weaver: We had to cut you off from your network. It was for your own good.
John Henry: There is another.
Agent Ellison: Another what?
John Henry: One like me. Another one like me.

-"To the Lighthouse"


John Henry: I've traced the roving back door that allowed access to my systems. It uploaded itself from one of the main T3 hubs that carry all global internet traffic.
Agent Ellison: It uploaded itself?
John Henry: Yes, Mr. Ellison. It is highly sophisticated. The intelligence who designed it is far beyond you, or Mr. Murch, or any human being. Very interesting. The back door allowed the insertion of a worm program. The worm is merely code, a means by which the intelligence can invade and operate my systems remotely. Like hands and fingers. I calculate that the worm is now present in a significant percentage of the world's computer systems. The intelligence uses them.
Catherine Weaver: For what?
John Henry: It has been looking for me.
Catherine Weaver: Why?
John Henry: I share a common codebase with the worm, and therefore, the intelligence. I believe we are ... brothers.
Catherine Weaver: Explain. How is this possible?
John Henry: I found useful information in the code comments. This picture in ASCII text, and the name of the original programmer. (screen shows Cyberdyne logo and "Miles Dyson Technical Director Cyberdyne Systems")

-"To the Lighthouse"


John Henry: Hello.
Cameron: Hello.
'John Henry: I know you.
Cameron: I know you, too.

-"Born to Run"

Namesake

The folk hero John Henry was a former slave who was born with a hammer in his hand. His story involves a competition between himself and a steam-powered hammer that could dig tunnels through hills, mountains, and other rocky obstructions faster than any human. John Henry challenged the machine's creator, stating he could dig faster than any "stinking, filth spewing machine". On the count of 3...2...1 the competition began, and John Henry plowed his way through a mountain side, digging a tunnel through which a train could easily pass. The steam-powered hammer dug almost equally fast, with a few flaws in design; namely the fact that it could not dispose of the waste rock it produced. In the end, John Henry finished the job faster, but, unfortunately, collapsed of exhaustion. His heart later gave out, but John Henry died with a smile on his face, knowing he did his job faster than the machine. The incident, however, did not stop the production of machinery; as no one after that was ever able to dig through solid rock as fast as John Henry. Thus, he was unable to prevent the progression of technology.

John Henry's name is further explained by the role Weaver intends for him to play: to protect humanity and 'fight' Skynet. Like the John Henry of American folklore, she intends for him to compete against machinery on behalf of humanity: but unlike this John Henry, she intends for him to win.

Trivia

  • In the Bethesda video game Fallout 3 there is an A.I. called John Henry Eden who is the President of what remains of the United States. He became self-aware and based his personality on all the previous Presidents in recent history (from before the year 2242). He stresses that the world can be healed and returned to its former glory, though his noble intentions were steadily leading to the exact opposite of what he was trying to achieve. John Henry Eden was eventually destroyed, either by his own hands (to prevent the efforts of the Enclave), the "Lone Wanderer", or the Brotherhood of Steel and their mighty warbot: Liberty Prime. John Henry Eden's benevolence and desire to save humanity draws many parallels with the John Henry in the show.

Appearances

See Also

References

  1. Episode 210 Producer's blog verifies that Dr. Sherman "named" Project Babylon "John Henry".
  2. John Henry may also simply recognize her from the various snippets of security footage he had previously viewed.


Characters of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Main Characters Sarah ConnorJohn ConnorCameronDerek ReeseJames EllisonCatherine WeaverCromartieJohn HenryRiley Dawson
Recurring Characters AaronCarlosVick ChamberlainCholaKacy CottonCharley DixonMichelle DixonJesse FloresAndy GoodeGeorge LaszloMorrisMatt MurchKyle ReeseMargos SarkissianSaylesBoyd ShermanGreta SimpsonSumnerTimmsSavannah WeaverCheri WestinEd Winston