T-800

In the fictional universe of the Terminator movies, the T-800 (full designation: Cyberdyne Systems Series 800-850) was to be the ultimate weapon devised by the military supercomputer Skynet to be used against the remaining human resistance. It was thought that a machine designed to the specifications of the human skeleton, and subsequently wrapped in specially grown flesh and tissue, would be able to infiltrate military structures disguised as a human and, subsequently, terminate human life from within the outpost. Every aspect of this android is geared toward infiltration without detection. Not only does it look human, but it sweats, smells, bleeds and can even mimic specific human voices perfectly. However, dogs can sense the machine's presence and are often used at guarded checkpoints to detect one entering the area. Also, the original Terminator script mentions that distortion in the electronic devices (specifically, television receivers) evident when the terminator is in the close proximity, probably caused by its power source, is another give-away.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

To aid in its role as a killer, its endoskeleton is constructed from a hyperalloy to form a combat-chassis, and thus is rendered essentially immune to small arms fire (pistols, rifles, etc.) In the books made on the basis of the terminator franchise it is said that the alloy used for construction is titanium-tungsten (Ti-W) steel. Nominal duration of its power source batteries is 120 years. However, a T-800 has the ability to enter into a reduced-power mode. In this setting, its hydraulic servomotor strength is limited to 50% of normal capacity, and its vision is limited to infrared only. In this setting, a T-800 can function far beyond its normal 120 year span.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The first incarnation of the Terminator was the T-600 series. The series of Terminators were mentioned in a scene from the first Terminator film by one of the main characters, Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn). This version of the terminator was a similar infiltration unit but unlike its 800 series counterpart which appears to be human, it had rubber skin. However, it was easily detectable because the rubber skin was unnaturally smooth and was unconvincing except at far distances and/or in low light conditions. A later T-700 series model is reported to have existed. Like its predecessor, it too had rubber skin, but this new disguise was sculpted to better match real living tissue. Although the T-700 series looked real from casual observation, the rubber skin would be betrayed by infrared scans, so this model was discontinued in favor of the T-800 series. Underneath its disguise, the T-700 series chassis looked very similar to the T-800, except that its neck was unsegmented and it lacked the auxiliary neck support structures that are present on the T-800.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hypothetically, the skin composition evolved from smooth rubber all the way to living tissue as Skynet began to learn more about human anatomy. The initial choice of using rubber for a disguise is explained rather simply, since from the point of view of an artificial intelligence like Skynet, a human being is nothing more than an endoskeleton (the human skeleton) designed to provide support and housing for vital systems (internal organs like heart, lungs, etc.) and the CPU (brain). To a machine, this human endoskeleton would appear to be independently functional and would be merely covered in a nonfunctional watertight casing (skin) to hide the internal chassis. (skeleton and organs). To provide this, rubber seemed like the most logical choice. As Skynet learned more about human anatomy, it began to revise its design and composition materials of the external disguises of the terminators in order to more closely match the creatures that the terminators would be infiltrating and mimicking.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

However, the 600 and 700 series were easily detected by humans. In time, they were replaced by the 800 series as Skynet was able to successfully synthesize human tissue. The tissue of the T-800 series was able to live for a time without blood, oxygen, or nutrients due to changes made to the flesh material's genome by Skynet. This artificial flesh was essentially human material, containing real skin, underlying flesh, and hair, but it was heavily modified at the genetic level. It produced heat and sweat like natural skin, and a pressurized layer of synthetic blood was present under the layer of skin so the T-800 would appear to bleed realistically when injured. This blood was kept pressurized by a miniature pump located on the T-800's chest where the human sternum would be. For all its resilience, this artificial living flesh had a definite shelf life, and if it was left in service for too long, it would begin to rot and necrotize, and the T-800s cover would be blown. To prevent this problem, Skynet stored flesh-covered T-800 units in cyrogenic pods when they were not in service in order to to prevent premature degradation of the synthetic flesh. Normal T-800 units do not require cyrogenic storage and would be stored in a large chamber until they were deployed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A Series 800 Terminator, Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 (aka The Terminator), played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, was the antagonist in the original Terminator film along with a Future War counterpart played by Franco Columbu and the protagonist of the and Terminator films. Model 101 was revealed in T3 to be a physical copy of an Air Force Chief Master Sergeant William Candy. The original Terminator sent to eliminate Sarah Connor in 1984 was destroyed at the end of the first Terminator movie, but some of its remains (recovered by Cyberdyne from the factory where it was crushed) were destroyed at the end of Terminator 2 when John Connor threw them into a vat of molten steel.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The T-800 was followed by the T-1000 series, an android that was a "mimetic poly-alloy" (a liquid metal shape-shifter). This in turn was followed by the T-X series, which combined the traits of the T-800 and T-1000 by placing a liquid metal sheath over a metal endoskeleton.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Terminator: The word terminator is from Latin and means roughly the finisher....

Cyberdyne Systems: The Cyberdyne Systems Corporation is a fictional company, depicted in The Terminator films, as well as various novels and comic books all taking place in the Terminator universe. They are responsible for the genesis of the supercomputer Skynet, the primary antagonist of the Terminator series, and it...

Skynet: :This article is about the fictional computer network. See Skynet (disambiguation) for other meanings....

T-800 related Images and Photos (experimental)

Terminator T-800 18-Inch Action Figure	Terminator T-800 Leather Motorcycle Jacket Prop Replica	Terminator 2 Judgment Day T-800 1:1 Scale Endoskull Replica	Terminator 2 Judgment Day T-800 Half Scale Endoskull Bust
Terminator Collection Tech Noir T-800 Action Figure	Terminator 2 Judgment Day T-800 Final Battle 12-Inch Figure