T-1000

The term "T-1000" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see T-1000 (disambiguation).

The Prototype T-1000

The Cyberdyne Systems Series 1000 Terminator, or T-1000 Advanced Prototype, is a Terminator series produced by Skynet in 2029. Unlike previous Infiltrator models that used rubber skin — and then finally living tissue over a metallic endoskeleton, the T-1000 is entirely made of a liquid metal called "mimetic polyalloy", meaning it can reform into any shape it touches of the approximate size. It can impersonate other people (even their voices) as well as morph it's limbs into blades.

Specification

Physics

One of the fundamental prime directives of the T-1000 was "recovery of essence"; as the more it lost, the less effective it became. Also, the default command in the mimetic polyalloy's molecular memory was to find the main mass and rejoin it.

Glitch of a T-1000 unit

As this trait was encoded at a very basic level, it was this emergency camouflage programming that was normally exhibited when a T-1000 was critically damaged, showing itself as a malfunction or "glitch". A damaged T-1000 may have, for example, begun to "meld" into floor coverings or other objects that it was in physical contact with, against its own will, due to its particles undergoing this form of self preservation.

Construction

The Series 1000 Terminator is constructed deep within Skynet's main complex. Within a large heavily guarded room, the mimetic polyalloy was poured into a massive machine press that fills floor to ceiling. Feeder pipes emerging from the walls and centering on the press like a hub, poured the mimetic polyalloy between two 20-ton plates. These plates were then hydraulically pressed together and met, forming the indentation of a man. The mimetic polyalloy then filled this indentation and solidified, setting its default molecular structure.

The T-1000 was constructed using a new technology developed by Skynet. Each molecule of the T-1000 was a primitive, miniaturized version of the total machine, and every molecule had programmed into it the blueprints for all the parts needed for the construction of the whole T-1000.

Physics

One of the fundamental prime directives of the T-1000 was "recovery of essence"; as the more it lost, the less effective it became. Also, the default command in the mimetic polyalloy's molecular memory was to find the main mass and rejoin it. Each molecule had a range of 14 km. If a piece of mimetic polyalloy was out of range from the main body of superfluid, it could mimic something locally as camouflage (for example, a rock or a piece of pipe) until the T-1000 came back into range again and detected it. The T-1000 is able to use a small part of its body as tracking device.

As this trait was encoded at a very basic level, it was this emergency camouflage programming that was normally exhibited when a T-1000 was critically damaged, showing itself as a malfunction or "glitch". A damaged T-1000 may have, for example, begun to "meld" into floor coverings or other objects that it was in physical contact with, against its own will, due to its particles undergoing this form of self preservation.

Self-recovering

Due to its "liquid metal" construction, the T-1000 is capable of extensive regeneration. Ballistic penetration could hydrostatically shock the T-1000, but only for a few seconds.

Separating the "parts" of a T-1000 was not enough to stop it from regenerating, as the individual pieces would seek each other out and re-form to become a complete, fully functional battle unit again, at least over short distances. The smaller the volume of particles, the less intelligent each piece became.^{[citation needed]} Combined, the T-1000 was incredibly capable; however, when in pieces, it merely tried to get back to the whole again.

Shape

The Series 1000 Infiltrators, as with other mimetic polyalloy equipped units, are initially deployed with an individualized default humanoid shape, which it remains in for most of its active service. It is thought that this form was kept as it was more energy efficient than mimicking others and reduced the stress caused to its ability to molecularly expand when it mimicked more obese subjects. Due to the conservation of mass, when the T-1000 mimicked a human subject of greater volume than its default form, its density decreased. It therefore compensated for illogical mass constitutions for the subject it replicated. For example, the T-1000 may have had to step down more heavily to give the appearance of a greater mass.

Memory

A T-1000 features a liquid, molecular brain gathered by mimetic polyalloy. The molecular brain gains the T-1000 with the ability of advanced thinking with more logic, emotion such as humor, and even self-awareness. As a result, a T-1000 can make its own decisions contrary to that of Skynet. Thus in order to protect itself from its own creation, Skynet did not mass produce the T-1000.Later, Skynet discontinued Series 1000 for this reason.<

Sensor

The T-1000's auditory sensors could be situated anywhere upon its body.

Advantage

The T-1001 before selecting a physical template

The mimetic polyalloy construction of the T-1000 allows it to replicate any object or person of similar volume that it molecularly sampled by physical contact. It appears that the T-1000 could use a medium to do this without actually touching the subject's skin. Composed entirely of mimetic polyalloy, the Series 1000 Terminator is a metallic mass, thus making it electrically conductive. However, unlike endoskeleton-based Terminators, the T-1000 can withstand a high-voltage charge without being knocked offline. Catherine Weaver demonstrated this ability by impaling the Water Delivery Guy with one hand and stabbing the other into a circuit breaker box, allowing the current to flow freely through her to terminate her victim. Likewise, the Series 1000 Terminator is unable to generate body heat and is cool to the touch just as any ordinary metal. The 1000, having the ability to be gelatinous or liquid, can enhance its speed and its ability to become completely solid increases its strength, especially when it is not mimicing tissue or clothing, making it completely metal, as seen when only being in humanoid shape but being made of metal. The polyalloy could also be utilized by a T-1000 battle unit to repair damaged machines and restore them to operational capability or to track a fleeing target.

Voice imitation

The T-1000 could lip read and was also able to synthesize the speech pattern of any human that it replicated. This did, however, require a sufficient sample of the subject's voice.^{[citation needed]}

Shape

The Series 1000 Infiltrators, as with other mimetic polyalloy equipped units, are initially deployed with an individualized default humanoid shape, which it remains in for most of its active service. It is thought that this form was kept as it was more energy efficient than mimicking others and reduced the stress caused to its ability to molecularly expand when it mimicked more obese subjects. Due to the conservation of mass, when the T-1000 mimicked a human subject of greater volume than its default form, its density decreased. It therefore compensated for illogical mass constitutions for the subject it replicated. For example, the T-1000 may have had to step down more heavily to give the appearance of a greater mass.

Analyze environment

The T-1000 was also capable of registering its environment in a dozen subtle ways using its entire body, could directly read magnetically encoded information, and could run at a speed of at least 40 mph.

Combat

The T-1000 was not issued with any weapons, but was capable of fashioning any solid metal form, such as knives and other stabbing weapons. The T-1000 could not form any complex systems which may have had moving parts or chemicals, like guns or explosives. However, the T-1000 was capable of concealing and carrying weapons, such as guns, inside itself. In order to form a weapon from a limb, the T-1000 had to convert that particular section to a liquid metal state before reconfiguring it, while keeping the rest of its body in a solid metal state. To do this, the T-1000 had to, the Resistance had hypothesized, be able to micro-manage its internal temperature at a molecular level.^{[citation needed]} In conjunction with the flexibility given by its form, the T-1000 series has demonstrated a superior repertoire of Martial Arts abilities programmed into into its subroutines, making it more capable than the T-800 series in close combat.

The Series 1000 could also convert a limb into a blade and throw it like a javelin at an enemy in some situations, with sufficient force to impale a T-800 and knock it backwards at least a few dozen feet.

Additional function

The T-1001 and T-XA are able to separate parts of its body to act as independent units. In addition, a T-XA is able to control humans by injecting their nervous system with small amounts of itself.

T-1000 units can also deploy a small drip of mimetic polyalloy from their bodies to reactivate machines. The T-1000 was able to reactivate the damaged T-800 with a single drop of its mimetic polyalloy so it could assist him in combat by attacking Kyle Reese.

Weakness

See also: Mimetic polyalloy

Heat

The T-1000's that had been met in battle were notoriously difficult to destroy; even feared invincible by some Resistance members. This highly resilient battle unit was able to withstand a wide variety of temperatures, ranging up to at least 300 degrees Celsius. Extremely low temperatures of about -196 degrees Celsius (such as those produced by liquid nitrogen) could freeze a T-1000. If the T-1000 is shattered after freezing, it could cause damage to a T-1000, however they would not stop it. The T-1000 Series could, however, be destroyed. Temperatures in excess of 1535 degrees Celsius, such as those needed to smelt iron, could physically alter the bonding of the mimetic polyalloy. The molten iron (or any other element) could then mix with the elements of the alloy and physically alter its molecular structure, thus rendering it inoperative.

Upon contacting flame, the impersonation or camouflage can be temporarily disabled, possibly due to the heat.

Corrosive reagent

Corrosives, such as concentrated Hydrochloric Acid were also known to damage T-1000's and could destroy the unit if prolonged exposure could be achieved. The Resistance also hypothesized that when it hardened its structure to make weapons or enter combat, the T-1000's molecular structure became brittle. This then made it vulnerable to a concussive shock wave.

Plasma

The Series 1000 battle unit T-1002 was unable to withstand a direct hit from the plasma cannon of the T-X. This may be due to the advanced nature of the plasma used in the T-X's weapon, as T-1000s are capable of withstanding phased plasma attacks without permanent damage.

Firepower

Immersive saturation attacked is able to keep T-1000 from reforming.

Hardness

The T-1000 after being shot with a grenade.

As a T-1000 is completely made of liquid metal, it is relatively soft compared to an Endoskeleton-based Terminator, such as a T-800. Thus, upon taking direct hit with a grenade launcher, a T-1000 can be temporarily disabled. However the metal can harden as solid as steel.

Imbalance

Due to the lack of Hyperalloy Endoskeleton, the T-1000 have less shock-absorbing buffer ability to counter the momentum from bullet than a T-800.

The T-1000 also has difficulty to keep the weight balance if its shape is heavily deformed, such as getting shot in the head with a shotgun, or hit by a grenade.

Freezing

When contact with extremely low temperature, such as liquid nitrogen, a T-1000 can be frozen. If shattered, a T-1000 will suffer from glitches after all the fragments gather and restore into original mass as it begins to randomly sample nearby objects, such as a safety railing, a diamond-plated surface.

Energy consumption

Shape-shifting can consume much energy if a T-1000 emulating objects/people other than its default form which was slim and energy-sufficient.

The T-1000 can also last a long time while infiltrating. A T-1000 sent back in 1973 remained active until its termination in 1984. During its battle in 1984, it showed no signs of aging or glitches, unlike the T-800 sent back in 1973 developed glitches due to aging.

Variants

Series 1001

See also: T-1001

Beyond the capabilities of the standard T-1000, the T-1001 could morph into a roughly slug/snake-like silver metallic form capable of moving at high speeds through air vents, performing high jumps, and swimming by propelling itself through water.

Rather than automatically seeking out the primary mass, the detached parts of the T-1001 could operate independently, demonstrated by Weaver keeping a part of herself separate in the form of a pet eel. This element was kept separate as a security key required for operation of the T-1001's time displacement equipment.

The T-1001 was extremely adept at terminating multiple fleeing targets with deadly efficiency. It chased down a dozen employees in a secret warehouse, extending blades to at least 10ft to impale the escaping workers. The T-1001 could extend a blade and retract it again with amazing speed, suggesting a remarkable level of control over the structure of its design.

At least one unit possessed more advanced interpersonal skills than other Terminator units.

Series 1002

See also: T-1002

The Series 1002 Terminator is able to develop stabbing weapons all across its body, even transform into a weapon of its body size, which shows that it has greater control over the structure of its design then its predecessor.

Series 1000000

Main article: T-1000000

Series XA

Main article: T-XA

Known units

T-1000
Terminator 2: Judgment Day

T-1000
T2 3-D: Battle Across Time

T-1000
Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Cybernetic Dawn

T-1000
Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Nuclear Twilight

T-1000
Terminator Genisys

T-1001
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

T-1002
Terminator 3: Eyes of the Rise

T-Meg
T2 3-D: Battle Across Time

PKvT2

T-XA
Terminator 2: The New John Connor Chronicles

Notes

• The novel series Terminator 2: The New John Connor Chronicles is by far the only Terminator fiction mentioned that a T-1000 Terminator is able to be reprogrammed.
• It's worth noting that the Series 1000 Terminator is cool to touch as mentioned in the Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles episode "Desert Cantos". What's interesting is that the machine is cool to the touch even when it's active — which may suggest either its power source is well heat-proofed, or its power source and general activity may not be generating any heat.
• It is explained in the novelization of Terminator 2: Judgment Day and the text commentary from Terminator 2: Judgment Day DVD Extreme Edition, the T-1000 is wrapped in a cocoon made of living tissue that will allow an inorganic such as the T-1000, which is completely made of mimetic polyalloy, to travel via Time Displacement Equipment.
  • However, this would contradict the events shown at the end of "Born to Run".
  • Van Ling, creative supervisor of Terminator 2: Judgment Day suggests that in addition to the living tissue cocoon, another theory is that T-1000 could mimic the field generated by a living organism, or Kyle Reese really does not know much technology stuff.

Appearances

Film

• Terminator 2: Judgment Day
• T2 3-D: Battle Across Time
• Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (Mentioned only)
• Terminator: Genisys

Comics

• Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Cybernetic Dawn
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Nuclear Twilight
• Terminator 2: Infinity (Hologram simulation; in a flashback)
• Terminator 3: Eyes of the Rise
• Painkiller Jane vs. Terminator: Time to Kill
• Terminator/Robocop Kill Human

Novels

• Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Frakes novel)
• T2 Trilogy
  • T2: Infiltrator (Mentioned only)
  • T2: Rising Storm (Mentioned only)
  • T2: The Future War
• Terminator 2: The New John Connor Chronicles
  • Dark Futures
  • An Evil Hour
  • Times of Trouble
  • Hour of the Wolf
• Terminator Hunt (Mentioned only)

Video games

• Terminator 2: Judgment Day (arcade game)
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Gameboy)

Television series

• The Sarah Connor Chronicles
  • "The Demon Hand" (Mentioned only) (The T-1000)
  • "Samson & Delilah" (The first appearance of the T-1001)
  • "Automatic for the People"
  • "The Mousetrap"
  • "Allison from Palmdale"
  • "Goodbye to All That"
  • "The Good Wound" (Mentioned only)
  • "Today Is The Day, Part 2"
  • "To the Lighthouse"
  • "Adam Raised a Cain"
  • "Born to Run"

External links

• T1000 Technical Data (containing information from novelization of Terminator 2: Judgment Day by Randall Frakes)
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day FAQ (containing information from novelization of Terminator 2: Judgment Day by Randall Frakes and Q&A with T2 staff)
• Misc. Data from Terminator 2: Judgment Day

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