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##Citations##

Citations

1. Skynet is created by Cyberdyne, and it wipes out most of humanity.
2. A human resistance is formed, John Connor becomes a successful leader in it.
3. In a hail mary move, Skynet sends the Terminator back in time to prevent John Connor from being born.
4. The resistance takes over the time travel facility shortly thereafter, John sends his father, Kyle Reese, back in time.
5. John is conceived.
6. The Terminator is destroyed in a Cyberdyne facility, Skynet is created based on the advanced technology salvaged from the Terminator's remains. See step 1.

The film plays out half of this, with the other half being flashbacks and exposition from Kyle. In this film, it's a clear causal loop, there's no mention of 'no fate but what we make', there's no mention of any other terminators traveling through time. When it came time for a sequel, those elements were added to this universe.

1. Skynet is created by Cyberdyne, and it wipes out most of humanity.
2. A human resistance is formed, John Connor becomes a successful leader in it.
3. In a hail mary move, Skynet sends the Terminator back in time to prevent John Connor from being born.
4. The resistance takes over the time travel facility shortly thereafter, John sends his father, Kyle Reese, back in time.
5. John is conceived.
6. The Terminator is destroyed in a Cyberdyne facility (revealed in a deleted/extended version of the scene with the climactic battle in the factory), Skynet is created based on the advanced technology salvaged from the Terminator's remains. See step 1.

The film plays out half of this, with the other half being flashbacks and exposition from Kyle. In this film, it's a clear causal loop, there's no mention of 'no fate but what we make', there's no mention of any other terminators traveling through time. When it came time for a sequel, those elements were added to this universe.

##Citations##

• At the start of Terminator, the opening text states that "the final battle would not be fought in the future. It would be fought here, in our present. Tonight." Final battle.

• Kyle says, "Connor sent me to intercept, and they blew the whole place," where 'the place' is the time travel facility. He also says, "Nobody else comes through; it's just him and me."

• Kyle tells Sarah John's name. Kyle only knew that John's father died before the war. John was raised by Sarah being taught how to fight, how to organize. And prior to the war, they were in hiding. The Sarah we see at the start of the film, isn't tough or organized; she mentions not even being able to balance her checkbook.

• During the war, John gave Kyle a picture of Sarah. This picture is the one taken at the end of the film. He does this far enough prior to the time travel for Kyle to fixate on the picture.

• Sarah's mother is killed and impersonated by the Terminator.

The Sarah of The Terminator has some horrific stuff happen to her. This radically changes her and allows her to prepare John for the bleak, inevitable future. If we were to hypothesize an 'original' timeline where Kyle isn't John's father, then this is what we would have:

1. Sarah is a normal person without foreknowledge of the dark future.
2. She fathers John with some other normal person.
3. John is raised normally.
4. Skynet is built. Judgement Day happens, John survives.
5. He eventually rises to become a successful leader of the human forces.
6. He decides to tell everyone that his mom raised him to be a soldier, and that his dad died before the war.
7. He gives Kyle a picture of Sarah.
8. The humans start to beat Skynet due to John. Skynet enacts its plan to kill John Connor before he's born by killing Sarah.
9. The humans storm the time travel facility. John decides that the best course of action is to send a lone human back in time after the terminator, and he picks Kyle.
10. The film begins in the present with the terminator and Kyle arriving.

The italicized parts make no sense unless the Sarah and John of Kyle's future-past had foreknowledge of the future. Specifically that Skynet would nearly wipe out humanity, that John would become a leader in the battle against Skynet, that Skynet would develop time travel, Kyle would go back in time to stop the terminator, and Kyle is John's father.

The premise of the original film The Terminator, is not that changes are happening as time travel occurs. In that film, a straightforward causal loop plays out.

• Skynet is created by Cyberdyne, and it wipes out most of humanity.
• A human resistance is formed, John Connor becomes a successful leader in it.
• In a hail mary move, Skynet sends the Terminator back in time to prevent John Connor from being born.
• The resistance takes over the time travel facility shortly thereafter, John sends his father, Kyle Reese, back in time.
• John is conceived.
• The Terminator is destroyed in a Cyberdyne facility, Skynet is created based on the advanced technology salvaged from the Terminator's remains. See step 1.

The film plays out half of this, with the other half being flashbacks and exposition from John. In this film, it's a clear causal loop, there's no mention of 'no fate but what we make', there's no mention of any other terminators traveling through time. When it came time for a sequel, those elements were added to this universe.

So in the original timeline, Cyberdyne created Skynet, based on advances in tech they developed from salvaging the remains of the Terminator that was left in their facility at the end of the film. In addition, Kyle was always John's father.

The premise of the original film The Terminator, is not that changes are happening as time travel occurs. In that film, a straightforward causal loop plays out.

1. Skynet is created by Cyberdyne, and it wipes out most of humanity.
2. A human resistance is formed, John Connor becomes a successful leader in it.
3. In a hail mary move, Skynet sends the Terminator back in time to prevent John Connor from being born.
4. The resistance takes over the time travel facility shortly thereafter, John sends his father, Kyle Reese, back in time.
5. John is conceived.
6. The Terminator is destroyed in a Cyberdyne facility, Skynet is created based on the advanced technology salvaged from the Terminator's remains. See step 1.

The film plays out half of this, with the other half being flashbacks and exposition from Kyle. In this film, it's a clear causal loop, there's no mention of 'no fate but what we make', there's no mention of any other terminators traveling through time. When it came time for a sequel, those elements were added to this universe.

So in the original timeline, Cyberdyne created Skynet, based on advances in tech they developed from salvaging the remains of the Terminator that was left in their facility at the end of the film. In addition, Kyle was always John's father.