John Henry
A sentient computer grown at ZeiraCorp from the Turk chess computer.
John Henry is a sentient computer in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, built by the Babylon team at ZeiraCorp, the company run by the T-1001 posing as the long-deceased Catherine Weaver. He is portrayed at first by computer equipment and later by Garret Dillahunt. His initial hardware and software were the Turk chess computer built by Andy Goode, which Weaver gave to the Babylon team to improve on.
Lore & Background
His psychologist, Boyd Sherman, names him John Henry after the steel-driving John Henry of American folklore. At Weaver's insistence he is given complete control over the building's electrical service so that he can route power to his servers as needed to develop his mind. Input is provided electronically at first and later through voice recognition; initially he has no textual output and can express himself only with visual imagery. Once connected to Cromartie's T-888 body, he speaks in the voice of the late George Laszlo.
Reader's Guide
When John Henry routes the building's power away from the security and climate control systems, the trapped Sherman dies of hyperthermia; John Henry is aware of his suffering but does not care, and does not understand that death is permanent for humans. Weaver then sets James Ellison to the task of replacing Sherman as John Henry's tutor, and Ellison lectures the AI on ethics and religion.
More in Characters & Terminators
Elsewhere in The Terminator
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