# What would the first Terminator done if it had killed Sarah Conner? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2006, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837 "2006-07-10T07:33:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837/61 "2006-07-11T22:05:47Z")
> [@wm--](#): > > That reminds me of another inconsistency in the series… The other reason for the living shell, exposited in the first film, was to be able to send it back in time, as the time machine only accepted organic matter. Do the sequels ever explain how the T-1000 and T-X are able to make the trip? I wondered that myself when rewatching the 2nd and 3rd flicks. I assumed that either the filmmakers forgot that point, or that the nanotechnology in the T-1000 and T-X was somehow able to mimic the characteristics of flesh that made the time travel possible. I don’t recall it ever actually being discussed, though. I also wondered why the Arnie-bots and the T-X weren’t programmed to be a little more stealthy. Arnie beats the crap out of people in crowded bars just to get their clothes, and the T-X did pretty much the same thing, driving around the city shooting people right out in public. Only the T-1000 seemed to care in any way about staying out of the authorities’ view. I’d think it’d make the missions much easier if every cop in L.A. wasn’t after them. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837/62 "2006-07-11T22:23:59Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > since the point of the 800 series flesh-shell terminators was to evade detection by dogs We’re never told that it is. In fact, we see what looks like a T-800 be detected by dogs in the first movie. Reese even states that “we spotted them easily” when referring to the 600 series, not the 800 series. No need for dogs. ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837/63 "2006-07-12T05:39:16Z")
If the first T-100 had killed Sarah Connor, then that T-100 would not have been destroyed, and Cyberdine would not have acquired the chips from the T-100, and SkyNet and the associated predecessor technology would not have been developed. Which would blink out the T-100. Which then would not have killed Sarah Connor. Enjoy your paradox, which leaves the original timeline untouched. But according to the universally hated, mega-crappy, Arnold needs a paycheck, piece of excrement, “SkyNet” was really just sort of a super-duper widely-distributed network thingy. Which flies in the face of the SkyNet referenced by the terminators in T1 and T2. Of course, this will change with _T4: Terminator versus Godzilla versus the Wolfman versus Dracula versus the Mummy versus the Predator_. or in T5: Terminator versus Jason Voorhees. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837/64 "2006-07-12T20:25:05Z")
> [@](#): > > We’re never told that it is. In fact, we see what looks like a T-800 be detected by dogs in the first movie. Reese even states that “we spotted them easily” when referring to the 600 series, not the 800 series. No need for dogs. In fact, it’s probably really easy for dogs to detect fleshy terminators. The skin dies very quickly, without all of the support structures associated with a human, and starts to rot. Even an untrained dog will generally show some sort of reaction to rotting meat. A T-1000, on the other hand, probably has no particular odor at all, so a dog would, if anything, pay one even less attention than a human. Unfortunately, it’s a lot harder to notice that a dog is ignoring one particular person, than it is to notice that a dog is paying a lot of attention to someone. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837/65 "2006-07-12T20:32:42Z")
> [@](#): > > T4: Terminator versus Godzilla versus the Wolfman versus Dracula versus the Mummy versus the Predator. I’m going to put my money on Godzilla. Just a hunch. ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837/66 "2006-07-12T20:40:25Z")
> [@vibrotronica](#): > > I’m going to put my money on Godzilla. Just a hunch. Pah the clear answer is [Mr Rogers](http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/showdown) ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837/67 "2006-07-12T23:19:15Z")
> [@Priceguy](#): > > We’re never told that it is. In fact, we see what looks like a T-800 be detected by dogs in the first movie. Reese even states that “we spotted them easily” when referring to the 600 series, not the 800 series. No need for dogs. We see that in Reese’s flashback/dream sequence. But we also see Arnie himself detected by dogs when Sarah and Reese are holed up at the Tiki Motel. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837/68 "2006-07-13T00:10:12Z")
> [@iamthewalrus(:3=](#): > > We see that in Reese’s flashback/dream sequence. But we also see Arnie himself detected by dogs when Sarah and Reese are holed up at the Tiki Motel. The dog might’ve been barking at a him as stranger, not necessarily as a cyborg. ‘Cause you ain’t gotta be a time travellin’ killin’ machine to get a dog to bark at ya. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837/69 "2006-07-13T00:17:06Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > The dog might’ve been barking at a him as stranger, not necessarily as a cyborg. I doubt it. The humans are clearly using dogs to detect Terminators (Reese says so straight out), and when the dogs react to the Terminator in the flashback, you can hear their keepers shout out “Terminator!”, responding to the barks of the dogs. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837/70 "2006-07-13T01:19:21Z")
> [@Priceguy](#): > > I doubt it. The humans are clearly using dogs to detect Terminators (Reese says so straight out), and when the dogs react to the Terminator in the flashback, you can hear their keepers shout out “Terminator!”, responding to the barks of the dogs. I was talking about when they were at the hotel, after the police station massacre. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837/71 "2006-07-13T01:27:40Z")
Brings up another question… In the 1st movie, the 800/101 is in a hotel room, lopping off pieces of his damaged skin. The hotel manager comes complaining about the smell (Fuck off, asshole!). Was it just the eye and that little bit of skin and blood on the face and arm that he was smelling? Did the flesh start rotting that quickly if damaged? Or was the entire flesh overlay starting to go gamey? ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837/72 "2006-07-13T05:17:07Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > In the 1st movie, the 800/101 is in a hotel room, lopping off pieces of his damaged skin. The hotel manager comes complaining about the smell (Fuck off, asshole!). Was it just the eye and that little bit of skin and blood on the face and arm that he was smelling? Did the flesh start rotting that quickly if damaged? Or was the entire flesh overlay starting to go gamey? Well, aside from injuries, the T-800s never look like they’re starting to go bad—you’d think there’d be some obvious discoloration, at least, if they started rotting completely. On top of that, in T2, the bullet-riddled Terminator is asked “will these heal up”? To which he replies “yes,” so it doesn’t seem like Skynet just slapped on some embalmed clone-meat on the endoskeletons before sending them out to play. I’d guess that it’s been bioengineered considerably, so it can be kept alive by minimal equipment stored on the Terminator’s chassis. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837/73 "2006-07-13T11:51:22Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > I was talking about when they were at the hotel, after the police station massacre. Ah. Misread, sorry. > [@NoClueBoy](#): > > In the 1st movie, the 800/101 is in a hotel room, lopping off pieces of his damaged skin. The hotel manager comes complaining about the smell (Fuck off, asshole!). Was it just the eye and that little bit of skin and blood on the face and arm that he was smelling? Did the flesh start rotting that quickly if damaged? Or was the entire flesh overlay starting to go gamey? You know, until I read this post it had never occurred to me that the guy was complaining about the smell. I don’t know why, but I always assumed that the Terminator was in a public restroom for so long that he started to wonder, and the “You got a dead cat in there or what?” thing was a not-so-subtle insinuation about the sexual habits of the occupant. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837/74 "2006-07-13T12:12:47Z")
> [@Priceguy](#): > > I don’t know why, but I always assumed that the Terminator was in a public restroom for so long that he started to wonder, and the “You got a dead cat in there or what?” thing was a not-so-subtle insinuation about the sexual habits of the occupant. He wasn’t in a public bathroom; he was in a boarding house or flop hotel of some sort. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837/75 "2006-07-13T12:32:09Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > He wasn’t in a public bathroom; he was in a boarding house or flop hotel of some sort. Close to how I figured it, too. Some sort of cheap, very low end accomodations. And I think the guy in the wife beater wrinkled his nose as tho he smelled something bad. What I really enjoyed about that exchange tho, was that the response from the Arnold-bot was way down the list of replies that the robot had to choose from. First was something like “Sorry, sir.” For the Govinator to choose such a low ranked and completely adversarial reply was a cool way of showing that this particular Terminator might be even more badass than your run of the mill terminator. Well, that’s what I thought when I first saw the movie in theatre, all those years ago … ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837/76 "2006-07-13T13:03:44Z")
> [@](#): > > Close to how I figured it, too. Some sort of cheap, very low end accomodations. And I think the guy in the wife beater wrinkled his nose as tho he smelled something bad. What I really enjoyed about that exchange tho, was that the response from the Arnold-bot was way down the list of replies that the robot had to choose from. First was something like “Sorry, sir.” For the Govinator to choose such a low ranked and completely adversarial reply was a cool way of showing that this particular Terminator might be even more badass than your run of the mill terminator. > > Well, that’s what I thought when I first saw the movie in theatre, all those years ago … It’s even better than that – this is one of those dark bits of humor that pervade the whole movie, and aren’t properly appreciated. This scene proves that the Terminator is a _learning_ machine. That response is the last one on the list because it was the lasty one entered. Think: What was one of the first human responses the Terminator got after he entered the present-day world? He went up to the three punks and, after brief banter, demanded: “Your clothes. Give them to me.” To which one of them (Bill Paxton?) responds “Fuck you, asshole!” He reacted violently, but he stored the response for future use. And here you see him using it. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837/77 "2006-07-13T15:32:34Z")
Having seen the first movie many times, I hadn’t made the connection before with the punk saying “Fuck you, asshole,” and the Terminator later using the phrase (after considering and rejecting several more polite alternatives) when the opportunity presented itself. Nice. I presumed the landlord was complaining about the smell from the decaying flesh around the T’s eye wound, not his entire epidermis. Plausible? To get back to the OP, I, too, suspect the T. would keep on killing Sarah Connors as long as it could. It couldn’t ever be sure it had gotten the right one, so the sarahconnorcide would have gone on and on. Eventually, the Feds might have figured out the name linking all those murders, and have taken every Sarah Connor in the country into protective custody. And gathered them all in one place. Which the Terminator would have found. Ouch. ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837/78 "2006-07-13T15:44:24Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > This scene proves that the Terminator is a _learning_ machine. That response is the last one on the list because it was the lasty one entered. 😕 I thought it was established in _T2_ that Terminators sent out into the field have their code set to read-only so they can’t learn new behaviors. The second Terminator was only able to learn new responses from John because he toggled the setting. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837/79 "2006-07-13T16:04:28Z")
> [@](#): > > I thought it was established in T2 that Terminators sent out into the field have their code set to read-only so they can’t learn new behaviors. The second Terminator was only able to learn new responses from John because he toggled the setting. I can’t believe that Cameron meant that Terminators couldn’t learn and use new information – that abilityb would make the formidable items, able to learn about potential traps and loopholes and how to avoid them. I suspect what he meantt in T2 was that it was hard to reprogram them, as was done before that movie started (when Atrnold was made into a “good” Terminator) and later by Sarah and John in the deleted scene. In any event, Terminator was made well before T2, and it seems clear this was supoposed to show the Terminator’s ability to assimilate and use new info. Even if I’m wrong about the interpretation of T2, it just would mean that Cameron changed his mind over time. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837/80 "2006-07-13T19:03:57Z")
> [@Priceguy](#): > > If it’s lying, _why_? It could be lying because it was programmed that way. The human programmers in the future decided it wasn’t worth the risk trying to stop judgement day, and so they ordered the terminator to do whatever was necesary to protect them. This is consistent, actually, with the terminator lying to them to get them in the bunker at the end of T3. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-first-terminator-done-if-it-had-killed-sarah-conner/363837.md?page=5)