Judgment Day

From Terminator Wiki

Judgment Day, also known as J-Day, refers to the day that the computer system Skynet becomes self aware and started nuclear attack on the USA, Russia, and China, killing over a billion. Sarah Connor first learned about Judgment Day in 1984 from Kyle Reese, a soldier sent from the future to protect her from a terminator (The Terminator). Kyle told Sarah about how the war between humans and machine came to be, and about how Skynet became self aware. Almost every city in The USA, Russia, and China was vaporised, burnt, blown up, smashed, and otherwise destroyed.

Contents 1 Date of Judgment Day 1.1 1997 1.2 2003 1.3 2004 1.4 2005 1.5 2011 2 Quotes 3 References

Date of Judgment Day

Due to the the impact of time travel on the Terminator timelines, the date of Judgment Day has moved back several times.

1997

The first specific date of Judgment Day as described by both Sarah Connor and the T-800^[1] occurs on August 29, 1997 Skynet^[2] becomes self-aware at 02:14 am Eastern Time and launches nuclear missiles at Russia to incite a counterattack against the humans who, in a panic, tried to disconnect it. Since Sarah^[3] and the Terminator both share the same information^[4], this date has not changed as a result of Cyberdyne managing to reconstruct and create the terminators from the remaining parts of the T-800 from The Terminator. At this stage, quality may have improved, but the timing has not yet changed.

2003

In Russia, a routine day at sea turns into a nightmare when it seems the US has launched a massive nuclear attack on the rest of the world. Terminator Salvation: Dark Sky

2004

After Sarah Сonnor, her son John and the T-800 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day destroy Cyberdyne headquarters and all backups of the research, the date for Judgment Day is moved back to July 25, 2004 6:18 pm Eastern Time. This is mentioned in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. This event is not prevented, and occurs as predicted with the T-850 indicating "Judgment Day is inevitable".

The date "July 25, 2004" is also mentioned as the Judgment Day in the novel Terminator Salvation: From the Ashes.

2005

After John Connor and Wendy Dorset inadvertently participate in the creation of Skynet while attempting to stop Clea Bennet in 2002 concluding the events of T2: Rising Storm, the date for Judgment Day is altered into a progressively developing scenario of machine based homicidal mania that takes years to develop until the full fledged nuclear strikes of Judgment Day now occurs sometime in 2005. This is detailed in T2: The Future War. This sequence of events is directly attributable to the temporal intervention by Skynet and the deployment of the I-950 infiltrator Serena Burns to insure Skynet's creation.

2011

In the alternate timeline of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Cameron Phillips tells Sarah that Judgment Day (with its nuclear holocaust) is now set to occur on April 21, 2011. Skynet is destined to go online a few days earlier, 20:11 on April 19, 2011. The opening scene of the first season finale, "What He Beheld", takes place on this Judgment Day. This deviation from the timeline that would have led to the events of T3 is directly relatable to the extended series of multiple temporal missions undertaken by both Skynet and the Resistance that is showcased in the events of TSSC. Both organizations are actively seeking to interfere with the timeline and are having unforeseen effects. Due to ongoing temporal alterations these events are probably still being altered...

Quotes

T-800: The Skynet Funding Bill is passed. The system goes on-line August 4th, 1997. Human decisions are removed from strategic defense. Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th. In a panic, they try to pull the plug.

Sarah Connor: Skynet fights back.

T-800: Yes. It launches its missiles against the targets in Russia.

John Connor: Why attack Russia? Aren't they our friends now?

T-800: Because Skynet knows the Russian counter-attack will eliminate its enemies over here.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

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Cameron: The Skynet missile defense system goes online April 19, 2011. Declares war on mankind and triggers a nuclear apocalypse two days later.

Sarah: Miles Dyson?

Cameron: Someone else built Skynet.

Sarah: Who?

Cameron: I don't know.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, "Pilot"

References

1. ↑ Terminator 2: Judgment Day
2. ↑ Activated on August 4, 1997
3. ↑ Informed by Kyle Reese
4. ↑ Which it would in any case if both it and Kyle were sent back at the same time to different destinations, as in T2: The Future War