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A conversation started in the thread for the Season 2 premiere regarding Cameron's ability to override her programming to terminate John Connor, and Terminators "abilities" in general and I thought it was of interest enough to start it's own thread - as these are discussions that are likely to continue throughout the season as we find out more about Cameron and other Terminators. Here is the conversation so far:-
Posted by litzie:
Posted by ciderdrinker:
Posted by Stormwreath:
Posted by EvilVampire:
Posted by litzie
Posted by litzie:
I thought Cameron's ability to override the terminate order was actually related to what Catherine (? the new model!magic terminator, whatever she's called) said about the importance of the Turk: that it was different because sometimes it darts out across the street, sometimes it breaks the rules. Which can be read as a sort of free will, imo...or perhaps the computer equivalent of it. But she could very well have another agenda...and perhaps breaks the rules because she thinks she can better accomplish that agenda by breaking them...if that makes any sense. so just because she's not killing John and saying that Sarah should let him take that kidn of chance again, to me doesn't mean that she's exactly as she seems...
Ooh good point! The conversation about the crossing of the road and Cameron's ability to override her mission could very well be connected.
Catherine talking about the Turk being important because it can "run into the road" sorta implies that that was needed to create the master race of computers, so they can break the rules, can rise above their programming in order to gain the ability to think for itself in the first place. Maybe hard wired into all the Terminators is an ability to override their missions? To be able to think for themselves over and above what they are basically programmed to do? A secret that Skynet would very much want to keep hidden, but Future John Connor found out and used when he re-programmed Cameron.
Last season it seemed that Cameron was learning what it was to be human - the ballet, struggling with the burning of the Terminators endo-skeleton and writing it down, are two occasions that immediately spring to mind - and actively seeking out ways to become more human. She appears to have already risen above her programmed mission to save John, now we've been shown that she can change her mission parameters at will - she is "evolving".
The Skynet computers had to evolve from Chess computers to nuking the entire planet - maybe their next step is to become more human? There must be an eventual goal surely? The way I see it the Cybernet computers are like growing children. They have grown from babies (the Turk) to young adults and have the ability for destruction (the holocaust) but are yet too "young" to understand their actions. The next step in their maturing will be to gain further knowledge - what they do with that knowledge is a scary thought, but if you compare it to the evolution of the human race, they're about the 1500's, still war mongering, but beginning to find other things to occupy their minds like art and culture.
Catherine talking about the Turk being important because it can "run into the road" sorta implies that that was needed to create the master race of computers, so they can break the rules, can rise above their programming in order to gain the ability to think for itself in the first place. Maybe hard wired into all the Terminators is an ability to override their missions? To be able to think for themselves over and above what they are basically programmed to do? A secret that Skynet would very much want to keep hidden, but Future John Connor found out and used when he re-programmed Cameron.
Last season it seemed that Cameron was learning what it was to be human - the ballet, struggling with the burning of the Terminators endo-skeleton and writing it down, are two occasions that immediately spring to mind - and actively seeking out ways to become more human. She appears to have already risen above her programmed mission to save John, now we've been shown that she can change her mission parameters at will - she is "evolving".
The Skynet computers had to evolve from Chess computers to nuking the entire planet - maybe their next step is to become more human? There must be an eventual goal surely? The way I see it the Cybernet computers are like growing children. They have grown from babies (the Turk) to young adults and have the ability for destruction (the holocaust) but are yet too "young" to understand their actions. The next step in their maturing will be to gain further knowledge - what they do with that knowledge is a scary thought, but if you compare it to the evolution of the human race, they're about the 1500's, still war mongering, but beginning to find other things to occupy their minds like art and culture.
If you think about it, Skynet itself became self-aware, acquired free will, and overrode its own programming (which, I assume, was to protect humanity, not destroy it...). The same capability is built into its Terminators, but Skynet deactivates it when they're sent back in time, because it doesn't want them "thinking too much".
Presumably Cameron is set to 'learning' mode, and so she's gradually acquiring the same things... self-awareness, and free will - which in robot terms means an ability to question her own programming and override it.
The really scary thing, according to my interpretation of that final scene, is that the basic directive programmed into her CPU is still "terminate John Connor" - but she's overriding that command by constant strength of will. To use a BtVS analogy, she's got a soul now; but the vampire is still there inside and hungry for blood.
Presumably Cameron is set to 'learning' mode, and so she's gradually acquiring the same things... self-awareness, and free will - which in robot terms means an ability to question her own programming and override it.
The really scary thing, according to my interpretation of that final scene, is that the basic directive programmed into her CPU is still "terminate John Connor" - but she's overriding that command by constant strength of will. To use a BtVS analogy, she's got a soul now; but the vampire is still there inside and hungry for blood.
That is possible, but there are some alternatives, such as:
1) The overriding was the result of the programmed installed by future John, which was somehow restored.
2) She already overrode that directive (as future John's program had), so it won't come back unless she suffers damage to her chip again, and she returns to the basic programming of (I suppose) all terminators, which include terminating John Connor.
The first option seems unlikely to me, but who knows.
The second seems more likely to me, but in any case, she didn't seem to be making any efforts to keep the program at bay, so to speak, after the termination was overridden.
So, I tend to agree with your interpretation that she probably wasn't stopped by future John's program, but made a choice to disobey the terminating order.
However, I don't think she's likely to have to make a constant effort not to follow that directive - much like Skynet doesn't need (as far as we know, anyway), to continue making an effort to disobey its original programming.
So, my guess is that only if Cameron undergoes serious damage, the directive could return.
1) The overriding was the result of the programmed installed by future John, which was somehow restored.
2) She already overrode that directive (as future John's program had), so it won't come back unless she suffers damage to her chip again, and she returns to the basic programming of (I suppose) all terminators, which include terminating John Connor.
The first option seems unlikely to me, but who knows.
The second seems more likely to me, but in any case, she didn't seem to be making any efforts to keep the program at bay, so to speak, after the termination was overridden.
So, I tend to agree with your interpretation that she probably wasn't stopped by future John's program, but made a choice to disobey the terminating order.
However, I don't think she's likely to have to make a constant effort not to follow that directive - much like Skynet doesn't need (as far as we know, anyway), to continue making an effort to disobey its original programming.
So, my guess is that only if Cameron undergoes serious damage, the directive could return.
Perhaps he did some superficial work to fix the chip, and it was enough to restore her ability to disobey her own programming? Though the rest of her non-terminator personality seemed intact (if we are to believe her behavior), so it does seem more likely within the context of the show that we should suspend disbelief and think that he fixed the chip with a pair of pliers and a rag.
I've been thinking about why Cameron was created, and perhaps it was to infiltrate the human camps better? to be sneaky, so to speak, to gain humans trust and find out more information about where they're hiding. So perhaps she was a special prototype or something, with more ability to experience human emotions/override her programming so that she could blend better etc.
Otherwise...why would they make a teenage girl model? The other models so far seem to be big beefy guys...perhaps they were too recognizable for a sneaky mission?
I've been thinking about why Cameron was created, and perhaps it was to infiltrate the human camps better? to be sneaky, so to speak, to gain humans trust and find out more information about where they're hiding. So perhaps she was a special prototype or something, with more ability to experience human emotions/override her programming so that she could blend better etc.
Otherwise...why would they make a teenage girl model? The other models so far seem to be big beefy guys...perhaps they were too recognizable for a sneaky mission?
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