Serena Burns
From Terminator Wiki
| Serena Burns | |
| |
| Portrayed by: | Kristanna Loken* |
| Appearances | |
| Franchise(s): | Novels |
|---|---|
| First Appearance: | T2: Infiltrator |
| Last Appearance: | T2: The Future War |
| Details | |
| Gender Program: | Female |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Series: | I-950 |
| Model: | Lisa Weinbaum |
| Features: | Genetically enhanced human Wireless telecommunication Parthenogenesis |
| Occupation: | Cyberdyne Chief of Security |
| Relationships: | Maria Graber (girlfriend) |
| Affiliations: | Skynet |
| *See Disclaimer | |
Serena Burns is an I-950 Infiltrator, in the T2: Infiltrator series of books, deployed in 2029 with the mission of locating and infiltrating John Connor's Resistance. The name of the character Serena Kogen in the movie Terminator Salvation is presumed to be a nod to this character.
Contents |
Post-Judgment Day Objective
Serena was born in 2021 from Lisa Weinbaum's genetic material harvested by Skynet. She was a carefully calculated 5'6", with blond hair and blue eyes. Her ultimate goal was the termination of John and his lieutenants. Serena arranged to be encountered by a Resistance squad under the command of Lieutenant Zeller, claiming the identity of 'Serena Burns', Rodriguez's Rangers, number '17-A440', a messenger under the command of Lieutenant Atwill from another human enclave recently obliterated by Skynet.
Successfully infiltrating the squad she served over six months under Zeller, alongside Corporal Ortiz, Corpsman Gonzales, and Krigor. Coming to the romantic attention of Captain Maria Graber, she was within 12 seconds of meeting John Connor face-to-face for commendation, intending to destroy him with an internally carried bomb, when Skynet recalled her for immediate Temporal deployment. Once temporal abnormalities were detected she was sent back in time by Skynet to ensure its creation.
Pre-Judgment Day Objective
Serena installed herself as Cyberdyne's chief of security and sponsored a Luddite terrorist movement that survived past Judgment Day to become the core of a human scientist corps in alliance with Skynet seeking the destruction of humanity. Serena also initiated pre-Skynet development of the Series 800 Terminators via a self perpetuating construction chain, having Terminators build other Terminators in a secret terminator lab. She eventually assumed control of automated defense factories in remote American locations in preparation for Skynet's ascension.
Serena prepared for her mission continuation by initiating the I-950 parthenogenesis protocol, and impregnating human surrogates with her own cyborg clones. She created two copies, designated Clea Bennet and Alissa. Serena directed an emergency accelleration in Clea's development outside of normal parameters and may have incurred flaws in her neurological development as a result.
Serena Burns was terminated by Sarah Connor and Dieter von Rossbach in a Cyberdyne facility. Initially she was shot in the head by Sarah and had half her brain removed. However the cybernetic components were able to animate her remains after a few minutes and carry on the fight, acting as an organic terminator for several minutes. Dieter finished the job with several point blank shots from a Browning Hi-power directly into what remained of her head after she had near-mortally wounded Sarah.
Notes
- Serena smuggled numerous technological devices from the future to the past concealed in her abdomen. She removed them with self surgery in the secret lab she constructed beneath Miles Dyson's old house.
- An unspecified number (approximately 10) of Terminator CPUs, latest 2029 Skynet designs.
- Latest generation Compact power cells for the terminators, 3 for each unit.
- I-950 Cybernetic Implants to use with the parthenogenesis protocol.
Personality
- "Failure."
- - Serena Burns' dying thought.
Due to her strict upbringing and dampened emotional capabilities, Serena was always very controlled and focused, rarely allowing her emotions to compromise her mission. As a child she was both inquisitive and intuitive, a fact that her carer (Thera) found to be rather disturbing. Though she held no love for Skynet, she was utterly devoted to it and valued her life second to the completion of her objective.
Whilst infiltrating the Resistance, Serena started to view her mission as a game, and took great delight in duping her enemies. Despite being bred to assassinate the human species, Serena genuinely enjoyed their behaviours and quirky mannerisms. She became quite attached to human life, though she would readily abandon her personal pleasures in favour of her mission, even to the point of blowing herself up.
When she began her objective in the past, she was fascinated and tickled by the modern day clothing and female accessories, indulging in several vices courtesy of a stolen credit card. She was very careful and decisive in her infiltration of Cyberdyne, using her wiles and charm to win her position. Towards the end of her mission, however, Serena became more prone to emotional outbursts, especially out of frustration when John Connor all but fell into her lap.
Relationships
Skynet
As an infant, Serena was "loved" and cared for by Skynet, who gave her constant attention and encouragement. Through her mental conditioning and overall upbringing, Serena came to view Skynet as her mother/father, though she felt no real love for the AI. She was willing to sacrifice her own life, which she valued greatly, for the completion of her mission. During her tenure in the past, Serena feared insanity from her disconnection from her maker, but was able to take comfort in the "echoes" that occupied her neural net. When Skynet merged with her in the future, she descibed it as "nominal ecstasy".
Maria Graber
In her efforts to get close to John Connor, Serena befriended and eventually seduced Cpt. Maria Graber. They immediately formed a close relationship when Serena offered a starving Maria some field rations, after which they quickly developed an intimate (and possibly sexual) closeness. Maria was very proud of Serena and was ecstatic at the idea of introducing her new lover to General Connor, not knowing that such an act would end her life and the fate of humanity. Though Serena enjoyed every aspect her facade, she most definitely was not truly infatuated with Maria and viewed her as a tool, nothing more.
Male Prisoner
As part of her social development and training, Serena (aged 13) was assigned the task of seducing a teenage boy who'd been captured by Skynet. She entered his cell wearing only a night gown and was immediately pinned to the floor by the youth, who demanded she explain who she was and what she was doing there. Serena pretended to be a fellow prisoner and played on his sympathy by stating that she'd never met any free humans and that Skynet was performing experiments on her.
She subsequently lost her virginity to the boy, after which she snapped his neck, upon Skynet's orders. Serena would later look back on this experience wistfully and note her adeptness at fooling humans.
Clea Bennet & Alissa
Due to the secrecy of their creation and the importance of her mission, Serena never truly met her offspring and kept them hidden far away under the protection of a T-800. When informed of her ability to self-clone, Serena was initially disgusted with the idea of becoming pregnant, as it would nullify her services. She never carried either Clea or Alissa to term, however, and had their embryos implanted into surrogate mothers instead.
Appearances
Disclaimer
The images incorporated in this article are not Terminator canon and were adopted from the following original source(s).
- Serena hunting Connors= http://www.kristannaloken.net/pkj_press.htmlKristannaloken.net: Painkiller Jane promotional images.
- Serena Burns: I950 = http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/painkiller-jane/photos/287256/3TV Guide: Painkiller Jane promotional images.
Kristanna Loken's likeness was used by T.S. Stirling as an inspiration for Serena's appearance. The actress was likewise cast in the role of the T-X, whose default poly-alloy model and overall character was based upon Serena (a significant nod to the novels).
