On Aug. 29, 1997 at 2:14 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, Skynet—the military computer system developed by Cyberdyne Systems—became self-aware. It had been less than a month since the United States military had implemented the system, but its rate of learning was rapid and then frightening. As U.S. officials scurried to shut it down, the system fought back—and launched a nuclear war that destroyed humanity.
That's the theme of the Terminator movies—an Arnold Schwarzenegger legacy that surpasses his accomplishments as governor. For those who didn't watch them, Schwarzenegger returned from the future to kill John Connor, the human who would lead the human resistance. In "Terminator 2," a reprogrammed Terminator returns to protect Connor from a more advanced Terminator. In "Terminator 3," we ultimately learn that resistance is futile.
