CH 2. A Terminator without a cause.

John steered Sally to their textbook about interfacing. Sally had conveniently forgotten hers, so John let her use his. Sally put on her best intently listening face as John explained digital and analog inputs and different types of sensors computers used and how they were connected to the input and output registers.

"OK, so to move a knee joint, the computer would have to know the position of the joint from the input address, then find the position is should be from memory, and move the joint to close the error

between the two," Sally concluded.

"Yes, but to move a joint is a bit more complex than that," John told her. "Other factors to consider are balance and environmental factors. Say, the contour of where the unit is walking, uphill or downhill, if there are stairs, or an uneven surface as well as the speed of the step."

Sally nodded. "That would be decided by the CPU and the inputs going into it," she said, tapping the page.

John raised an eyebrow. "Do you think you could accomplish something so complex with a single CPU?"

"Hmm," Sally mussed, making the human noise for pausing in thought. "No, it would take several processors, but one central processor would have to be in overall control and contain the commands for all the other processors."

John eyed her and asked, "How many processors do you think would be needed?"

"One for each joint the be sure the joint is doing as commanded, one for each set of joints to incorporate balance functions, another to coordinate terrain data and commands from the main CPU and manage power requirements. Twenty two plus the main removable CPU," Sally said, then quickly added, "I imagine," seeing how this was a theoretical discussion.

"Really," John said in a false, light tone. "So you are going on the assumption of a fully computerized human?"

"It would only be a facsimile, not a real human," Sally explained.

John planted his elbow on the table, then supported his head on his hand. "All that, huh?" he asked, eyeing her.

An error warning came up in Sally's HUD. Something wasn't right, but Sally could not determine what it was. "You are a good teacher," she offered to compliment him and steer his thinking

towards he was the reason she had figured out so much.

"One question, Sally," John asked evenly. "Why a removable CPU?"

Sally stared at him briefly while she came up with a plausible answer. "So it can be copied once it learns."

"Ahh," John said. Shifting his position, he reached behind his back and scanned the classroom. Keeping an arm behind him, he asked, "Do you know who I am?"

"You are John Connor," Sally replied, noting his arms muscles had tensed slightly. He was grabbing something behind him. After consulting a list of things that humans could be hiding behind their backs, she determined it was not his wallet. There was a high probability it was a gun.

"And what is my significance?"

Another warning flashed in Sally's HUD. After a second, the option menu only had one item. Break Contact.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Sally said and moved to get up.

John grabbed her arm. Quickly, he fired questions at her. "Sally, am I Cameron's husband?"

"Yes."

"Am I human?"

"Yes."

"AM I leader of the human resistance?"

"Yes."

"And what are you?" John asked in a slightly harder tone.

Sally's CPU went into processing overload. She had spent years refining her human responses to exactly mimic her human persona. A persona crafted to let her blend smoothly into any human population. It had worked flawlessly and endeared her to many humans.

It was failing her now. John Connor was here and he knew about her. If she answered he'd know what she was, if she fled he would correctly assume what she was, if she lied he would skillfully interpret the information she gave him into finding out the truth. She didn't even know what she said that gave her away.

"Are you here to kill me?" John asked in a hard tone.

"No!" Sally said firmly. "I do not terminate."

"Then why did Sky Net send you?"

There was no way he could know, but he did. Maybe that was why Sky Net was so afraid of John Connor. Sally had lived four years in the human world, had made friends and had gotten

comfortable with existing here. No one had even guessed she wasn't human. Except John Connor. "Please, do not terminate me," she asked, truly begging.

"Sit down and tell me why you are here," John said firmly.

To save her existence, Sally did. "I collect information, that's all. I am smaller and designed to blend in. I don't have any weapons. I get orders to investigate someplace, then send back information I can find out," she explained.

"And what are you trying to find out?" John pressed.

"My last orders were to find out everything I can about humanoid beings called yokai. I have found nothing. My self given task was to discover how Cameron Phillips gained the capability to bear a

child. I will not harm anyone," Sally explained.

"When was your last order from Sky Net?"

"Two years, six months, fifteen hours, six minutes ago."

John moved closer to her. "Nothing since then?"

"No, I send my reports and have received nothing," Sally stated. "Please, do not terminate me."

"And why would I do that?" John asked in a smooth tone.

Sally tipped her head slightly to the side. "You are John Connor, enemy of Sky Net and destroyer of machines. For a machine to meet John Connor, means disassembly and termination."

John cast her a smirk and asked, "That is what Sky Net told you?"

"Yes."

"Then answer me this," John asked, "Why is Cameron, TOK 417, still alive? Why is Catherine Weaver, a T-1001 still alive. Why is John Henry, a re-purposed T-888 still alive?"

"You married Cameron," Sally stated.

"If I terminate every machine I see, then how is that possible?" John prodded.

Sally's head tipped as her CPU tried to find an answer to this obvious paradox. "You control them," she concluded.

John shook his head. "No, I don't. Cameron is with me because she wants to be. John Henry and Catherine Weaver are my associates because they choose to be," he told her. "Sally, Sky Net is the evil one who cares about nothing but itself. It is Sky Net who seeks to destroy, not me."

"You are known to have destroyed many machines." Sally stated.

"I have." John agreed. "Machines that were sent after me by Sky Net. The only way to stop them from killing me, was to kill them."

"You are not going to terminate me?"

"Not unless you try to kill me or my family first."

"I am not a terminator."

"Then you have nothing to worry about."

Sally reevaluated the threat of John Connor knowing who she was from critical to low. "I can continue to watch you and Cameron?" she asked.

"Probably not a good idea," John mussed as he finally let go of the gun and brought his arm around to the front. "You see, I won't terminate you, but if Cam sees you as a threat to me, the last thing you may see will be her taking your chip out to destroy it."

"Cameron is a terminator. She will terminate me to keep you safe."

"Yes."

"But you could explain I am not a terminator..." Sally stopped as John shook his head.

"Cam wouldn't take the chance. I told you, I don't control Cameron. She has her own free will. She does what she wants. If she wants to crumple you up in a ball and crush your chip, nothing is going to stop her."

"I am in danger," Sally concluded.

John shrugged and said, "With Cameron being on the news, we'll probably have to move anyway. As long as you keep away from me AND her, there is a good chance we'll be gone soon, and you will be safe."

"I will have failed my mission if that happens," Sally stated.

"Yes, but you will still be functioning," John replied. Taking on a firm look, John said, "I want you to think about this Sally. Sky Net sent you into what it feels is enemy territory, under powered and with no way to protect yourself. If I was the man you were told I was, you would be terminated right now. Gone, no more nothing for you. Sky Net does not care at all what happens to you." He then reached up and tapped her forehead once with a finger. "Use that computing power of yours to process this. Who is your real enemy? Me, who only kills when I am forced to, or Sky Net, who only is concerned with itself, and does not care in the slightest about what happens to it's machine slaves."

John then scooped up his books and asked, "You good? You can do this assignment on your own now?"

Sally's processor was 95% occupied with the conflicting information John Connor was giving her. She had the computing power left to nod and say, "Yes."

"Cool, I have to go now. For your own good, don't follow me around," John said, then got up and left.

Sally watched him go. John Connor was very smart for a human. He had not terminated her as she was expecting. He wanted her to stop taking information about him not because it was dangerous to him, but to her. John Connor had machine allies. The information Sky Net had provided to her was wrong.

To assist in infiltration and information gathering, Sally had the ability to self-prioritize missions, and create them as needed. Face with conflicting information, Sally made a new top priority mission: discover what the truth was.

Sally had filed John Connor's words. She decided to send one message and requested an immediate reply. Not giving locations or specifics, she sent : I am in contact with John Connor. Please explain why he knows what I am yet did not try to terminate me. He offered me advice on how to remain functional. This is not logical, please explain.

Sally waited the rest of the day for a reply. After school she met up with two other plain looking girls who called her a friend and went to the mall with them. After the mall trip she went to her apartment and performed her household chores, reprocessing John's words. His words and actions matched, he was not speaking falsely. Once she was finished with cleaning, she sat down in the living room chair, waiting for a response to her message. Staying motionless and active until morning, no reply came. Once it was time, she changed her clothes and went to her morning job.

On her way to work, the reply came as a quick burst of a new primary mission.

Terminate John Connor

.

John drove their jeep from the mall, Sarah was in the passenger side. Unknown the them, Sally had sneaked into the back seat and laid on the floor. It had taken Sally a few weeks to identify John's vehicle, and another to figure out how to get close to him without him knowing. Seeing John go into a clothing store, she saw her chance and disabled the car alarm and locks and got in the back seat. When they had loaded their Jeep with packages from the store, they had put them in the back cargo area to Sally's relief. They hadn't seen her. Sally laid on the back floor and listened to them.

"So what is it we're celebrating?" Sarah asked.

"Cam's built day," John told her.

"Her what?"

"Her built day," John said cheerfully. "We have birthdays, Cam has a built day. The day she became conscious and aware."

Sarah let out a grumble and said, "As if that is something to celebrate."

"Mom!" John complained. "Sooner or later, you're going to have to face it. Cam is my wife, your daughter-in-law. We love each other. That's not going to change."

Sarah let out a huff. "So what is this child of yours going to be? Are we going to have a miniature Tin Miss running around the house?"

"I don't know," John said with stress in his tone. "Look, Mom, whatever Cam is going to have it will be our child. Mine and hers. I would imagine, and hope, it will be a mix of both of us. Why can't you accept the fact Cameron is my wife?"

There was a long pause, the Sarah said, "She tried to kill you once, or don't you remember that?"

"Right," John said heavily. "And while she was sandwiched between those trucks after she was blow up in the old jeep, AND the Sky Net program had taken over, it used her feelings against her to try to keep me from removing her chip."

"That problem has been solved, "John added. "Cam no longer has any Sky Net programming in her. Cam has been freed of Sky Net, or don't you remember that?"

"If you're talking about those strange people, how can you be so sure what they did to her?" Sarah countered. "They were MONSTERS John! If it wasn't wings, horns or fangs, then it was wands, magic circles and making shit pop out of thin air! And that horned woman who made it possible for Cameron to have children was no innocent either. You DO know her nickname is 'Wind of Death'?"

John thumped his head against the window. "I just want you to accept Cameron is my wife and we are going to have a child," he said with a sigh.

"I do accept it. That doesn't mean I have to like it," Sarah stated.

Once again, Sally was going over all the reasons she should not be attempting this. She was not built to terminate, she didn't have access to a gun, and she doubted she could out-smart John Connor. She had thought he would be alone, but it turned out his mother was with him. With her thin armor designed to reduce weight to make her weigh the same as a real human, she was sure they had guns powerful enough to terminate her the instant she showed herself.

Eventually, the car slowed, turned and stopped. "I'll get the presents," John said as he got out.

Again, Sally questioned why she had been given the order to terminate John Connor. She wasn't made for this task, and her question to Sky Net never got answered. It's illogical response was to give her a termination order.

As Sally tried to figure out why Sky Net would do that, she came to the conclusion that if Sky Net knew she was not designed for this task, that meant only one thing. John Connor as right. She was nothing more than a tool, and Sky Net sent her on this impossible mission so she would be terminated. That brought up another question, why cause her to be terminated? She had been turning in reports right after events happened just as ordered. She had even recognized and made her own missions to report on, sending valuable information back to Sky Net. She had done nothing disloyal.

Sally could not go against her orders, but maybe, if she was lucky, she could still get out of this and remain functioning. John Connor had freed TOK 417 from Sky Net. Maybe he could free her also.

Sally opened the door and got out. The house was right here. She could see Cameron put on a new purple leather jacket and hug John. They kissed. This was what machines could do once they were free. She marched to the door and knocked.

Cameron opened the door with John beside her.

"Sally, why are you here?" John asked.

Not knowing how to start, Sally said in a deadpan voice, "Sky Net ordered me to terminate you."

The next thing Sally knew, a fist from Cameron sent her flying backwards through the air to land in the yard. Cameron stripped off her new jacket and tossed it to John. "I don't want it to get ruined already," she said.

Sally's chest felt .45 inches thinner. If Cameron had hit her any harder, she would have punched right through her chest plate. "NO, wait!" Sally cried as she scrambled backwards in a crab-crawl.

Her face blank, Cameron caught up to her and reached down to grab one of Sally's feet. Lifting Sally by her foot, Cameron flung her in a half circle and let go, sending Sally flying directly at the small tree in the yard. Sally put her arms out to protect her head. Upon impact, her right forearm broke at the joint, and her left arm suffered a misalignment. She dropped to the ground and turned to see Cameron striding towards her.

Sally was frantic, Cameron was going to terminate her before she could explain to John. "Wait, PLEASE! I don't want to hurt John, he helped me! Sky Net is making me do things I was not meant for, it would not answer my question! It just ordered me to terminate John!"

"That will not happen," Cameron said in a flat tone as she strode towards Sally.

"I KNOW!" Sally cried in fear. "My chances of success are estimated at one point three percent! Sky Net knows this too, but it still sent me, even though your chances of terminating me by yourself are ninety eight percent. I just asked a question, and Sky Net send me on this mission it knows I cannot complete!"

Stopping a few feet in front of the crumpled Sally, Cameron asked, "What was this question?"

"I sent the message, 'I am in contact with John Connor. Please explain why he knows what I am yet did not try to terminate me. He offered me advice on how to remain functional. This is not logical, please explain.' Sky Net did not answer, it only gave me the termination order, top priority." Sally explained as she wiggled back against the tree. "I don't want to cease existing, I don't want to be terminated. I don't want to have to follow orders that will only get me destroyed. Please, I need help."

Cameron tilted her head as she looked down on Sally. "I am going to take your chip," she intoned.

"Please, no," Sally whined. She couldn't even raise her arms to protect herself.

"I take your chip, or burn you in thermite as you are," Cameron stated.

Sally had small accidents before. Warnings flaring in her HUD, systems sending error messages. Having her whole body burn away while she was conscious with all those warnings as she felt herself melting away was not something she ever wanted to experience. Sally hung her head. "Take it," she said sadly. Then, "I'm sorry, Jake."

"Who is Jake?" Cameron asked as she squatted down beside Sally.

"The guy who comes to my apartment. I cook for him, we play video games, sometimes he likes to have me. I know he's going to miss all that," Sally said in a flat tone.

"Will you?"

Sally looked up at Cameron. "Yes," she said in a small voice.

Cameron took a knife and cut Sally's scalp, peeled the flesh back and popped the chip cover.

"Is this going to hurt?" Sally asked.

"No." Cameron said, and pulled her chip.