Cameron
Cameron is a fictional character in the television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, portrayed by Summer Glau.
She is a Terminator, a cybernetic organism. She is composed of cloned, living flesh covering a coltan alloy endoskeleton.
Character History
Cameron is constructed by the malevolent artificial intelligence system SkyNet to infiltrate and destroy the scattered human settlements of the post apocalyptic world. She is assembled in a Terminator factory in the ruins of McGuire Gunnery Range in Nevada. She is first activated on September 2nd, 2027. At an unknown date she is captured and reprogrammed by the TechCom resistance, at which point she is deployed to the year 1998 to complete her mission.
Characteristics
Strength
Like all Terminators, Cameron's physical strength is an order of magnitude greater than a human being. Her petite frame conceals actuators that allow her to destroy a cinderblock wall with her fists, stop a running generator turbine with her bare hands, bend metal bars and easily lift large objects. Cameron may have greater physical strength than 800 series Terminators; she has been seen to defeat individuals of that model on at least five separate occasions.
Endurance
Another shared Terminator trait, Cameron is extremely difficult to harm. Her organic skin can quickly heal most wounds, and her endoskeleton is virtually indestructible. Small arms fire is therefore useless against her, and the impacts from a six-story fall or being run over by a high speed car appear to have no adverse effect on her. Severe electrocution causes no permanent damage, but forces her into a 120 second reboot cycle where she is temporarily left helpless and vulnerable.
Intelligence
Cameron's neural net processor is enabled in read-write mode, allowing her to learn from her surroundings. She has prodigious calculation ability but great difficulty understanding simple concepts like grief or sarcasm. When detached, her CPU can be used to overwhelm an entire modern city's infrastructure computer system.
Personality
Cameron behaves like a machine, cold and efficient. She has no discernible morality, lying, killing, and stealing without hesitation or remorse. However, she sporadically demonstrates more human traits. She occasionally uses stilted humor, enjoys ballet, and in the season finale decided to spare the life of a woman that she logically should have killed.
Designation
Cameron has been mysteriously unwilling to state her numerical designation. When directly asked by John Connor, she merely said she was "different" and demonstrated it by eating a potato chip. When scanned by a T-888 unit, she was identified as "Unknown cyborg". Therefore, despite having many design similarities, she is clearly not an 800 series unit. However, her use of cloned organic flesh instead of the more advanced polymimetic alloy seems to preclude her being as advanced as a T-1000 or T-X.