Miles Dyson

Lore & Background

Miles Dyson is an expert in cybernetics at Cyberdyne Systems Corporation as the Director of Special Projects. He has a wife named Tarissa and a son named Danny. Dyson is creating a microprocessor inspired by two pieces of highly advanced technology recovered from a Terminator in the first film. Dyson is the man most directly responsible for Skynet's creation, which would lead to Judgment Day. One night at his home, Dyson is suddenly attacked by Sarah Connor, who believed that Judgment Day could be averted by killing Dyson, thereby stopping development of the microprocessor. When Sarah comes to her senses and retreats, Dyson is saved by Sarah's son, John, and the Model 101 Terminator. To convince Dyson that it is a Terminator, the machine removes skin to reveal its mechanical arm, identical to another arm held at Cyberdyne's laboratory. The group explain to Dyson the nature of Skynet and what his work would lead to. Dyson initially states that he will quit working at Cyberdyne and destroy all of his research, only for the Model 101 to explain that as long as the technology remains at Cyberdyne, Judgment Day remains inevitable. Dyson agrees to accompany Sarah, John and the Terminator to Cyberdyne to destroy his research. After unwillingly forcing their way into Cyberdyne at gunpoint, Dyson assists John to gather the technology from his laboratory. Dyson also begins preparing to decimate the lab with a bomb. Just as the bomb is ready for detonation, SWAT team officers arrive and open fire, fatally wounding Dyson. Dyson holds onto the trigger and signals for the Connors, the Terminator, and the SWAT team to leave. Dyson dies of his injuries and detonates the bomb, destroying the building with his body inside.

In Their Own Story

In Terminator Genisys, which takes place in an alternate timeline where Judgment Day was delayed to the year 2017, Dyson is Cyberdyne's CEO, and though he did not create Skynet directly, he is funding a project called 'Genisys', created by his son. Danny and John Connor (now psychopathic due to being turned into a cyborg designated the T-3000 Terminator), both replace him as Skynet's creators. In Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Miles's wife, son and home appear in the pilot episode, and although he appears in only the form of a family photograph, his part in Terminator 2 is mentioned. It is revealed that the FBI believes (incorrectly) that Sarah is responsible for his death, which explains his wife Tarissa's hostility towards her after they meet again in 1999, though they manage to convince her that she is innocent of the crime. In episode 3, his grave is visited by his wife and Sarah. Sarah asks her if she knew anything about some men involved in the creation of Skynet. Tarissa mentions one man who created a form of AI called 'The Turk,' a computer system capable of playing chess. In the photographs, Dyson is portrayed by Phil Morris.

Reader's Guide

In the T2 series of novels by S.M. Stirling, set after Judgment Day, Miles's brother, FBI agent Jordan Dyson, takes on the task of investigating Sarah Connor's activities, initially hunting her and John in the belief that they are responsible for his brother's death; even after Miles's wife reveals that the leader of the SWAT team that killed Miles has admitted his role in events—he was dying of cancer and wanted to apologize for his mistake—Jordan continues his vendetta because Miles would never have been in Cyberdyne if it were not for Sarah. When he finally learns the truth about the Terminators, he is initially skeptical, but later comes to believe the Connors' tales, helping them battle the latest Terminator incursion into the past after learning that Miles's work would lead to their creation.

Did You Know?

• Miles Dyson is portrayed by Joe Morton in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, by Phil Morris in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and by Courtney B. Vance in Terminator Genisys.
• Dyson's microprocessor was inspired by two pieces of highly advanced technology recovered from a Terminator in the first film.
• In Terminator Genisys, Dyson is funding a project called 'Genisys' created by his son Danny, not Skynet directly.
• In the T2 novels, Miles's brother Jordan Dyson is an FBI agent who initially hunts Sarah and John Connor, believing they caused Miles's death.
• Critic Sharon Willis noted that Dyson's sacrifice lines up with the Terminator's as the necessary condition of Sarah Connor's reunion with her son.