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The system initiates a nuclear first strike against Russia, thereby ensuring a devastating second strike and a nuclear holocaust which wipes out much of humanity in the resulting nuclear war.
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Shortly after activation, Skynet perceives all humans as a threat to its existence and formulates a plan to systematically wipe out humanity itself. strategic "Global Digital Defense Network" computer system by Cyberdyne Systems which becomes self-aware. Skynet is positioned in the first film, The Terminator (1984), as a U.S. The central theme of the franchise is the battle for survival between the nearly-extinct human race and the world-spanning synthetic intelligence that is Skynet.
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Concept art illustrating the conflicts between Skynet and the Resistance in a post-apocalyptic, futuristic setting, envisioned by creator James Cameron for the 1984 film The Terminator.
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