Miles Dyson

Miles Bennett Dyson
File:Miles Dyson.jpg Miles Dyson in his final moments and just before he blows up the Cyberdyne building
First appearance	Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Last appearance	Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Portrayed by	Joe Morton Phil Morris
In-universe information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Title	Doctor
Occupation	Scientist
Spouse	Tarissa Dyson
Children	Daniel "Danny" Dyson, Blythe Dyson

Doctor Miles Bennett Dyson is a character in the sci-fi series Terminator. He was the original inventor of the neural-net processor which would lead to the development of Skynet, a computer A.I. intended to control and defend the United States, but which would later seize control of the world and launch a global war of extermination against humanity. He is the man most directly responsible for Judgment Day.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Dr. Dyson was a cybernetics scientist and Director of Special Projects of Cyberdyne Systems Corporation. He was tasked to create a new neural-net processor from two pieces of unknown-sourced advanced technology. The technology actually came from a ten year old crime scene from another Cyberdyne facility (The Terminator's arm and CPU from the first film). Miles worked on the project around the clock with his colleagues at the main Cyberdyne office, where he was one of the few people who were given access to the original Terminator arm and CPU chip. He also worked on the project at home. Miles truly believed in the potential of his work, as the processor could lead to a revolutionary new brand of automated systems, a more advanced form of artificial intelligence which would make other existing computer systems obsolete by comparison. The project eventually reached the point where he nearly completed a prototype of the processor. Had the project been completed and distributed to the nation, the processor, named Skynet, would have gained self-awareness and waged a genocidal war on mankind beginning with a nuclear holocaust.

This was averted, however, when Sarah Connor, who wished to stop Skynet's attack before it began, used files from another Terminator from the future to track down Miles at his home in the hope of killing him. Sarah initially tried to kill Miles with a CAR-15 sniper rifle, but Miles evaded the bullet when he was momentarily distracted by his son, Danny. Sarah opened fire again but Miles took cover behind his desk, where the bullets, though critically damaging his computer and prototype, failed to reach him. With her rifle empty, Sarah ran into the house with a .45cal side-arm and began shooting at Miles at close-range, eventually hitting him in the shoulder and cornering him, his wife, and son. Sarah broke emotionally and could not bring herself to kill Miles in front of his wife and children. Sarah's son John and the Terminator T-800 arrived at that moment in response to the attack, and Terminator cut off the outer-flesh of his arm and hand exposing his cybernetic arm and hand. Miles was shocked to discover it was identical to the one in the laboratory and realized the connection to him at this point.

After Miles's wound was partially healed and the shock of the attack had died down, Sarah, John and the T-800 explained Skynet's future and its true effects on humanity to Miles and his wife. Miles was convinced to quit Cyberdyne and said he would destroy his prototype unit, computers, disk drives, optical drives, files, notes and any other contents of his office. However, the Terminator made him realize that as long as the laboratory and technological artifacts at Cyberdyne were intact, Skynet could still exist as others would use his research and continue to create Skynet. Miles then planned to go with the Connors and the Terminator to destroy the research in the Cyberdyne building and send his family into hiding. Before leaving, Tarissa agreed with Miles that Skynet had to be destroyed above all else and bade him good luck.

Miles initially hoped to enter the building undeterred and destroy the contents of the lab without opposition, but the guard refused him entry due to the late hour of the night and lack of proper paperwork. Instead, the group forced their way in at gunpoint. Miles helped John gather the advanced technological artifacts of the original Terminator from the high-security lab and they began preparing to destroy the entire laboratory with a massive polydichloric euthimal bomb. Just as the bomb was ready, multiple SWAT teams arrived in response to the break-in and one unit stormed the building. The team opened fire and Miles was riddled with bullets before he took cover.

Knowing his injuries were fatal, Miles bid the others to escape and stayed behind to trigger the bombs' remote, which would be flipped by a large piece of the Neural Net Processor model in Miles's hand; which would drop when he died. The SWAT team realized this when they cornered him at gunpoint as he lay on the ground, and promptly panicked and ran away. Miles succumbed to his injuries with a heartfelt and slow death noted by shallowed labored breathing and died a few seconds later. His lifeless hand dropped the model on the trigger, destroying the lab and a sizable portion of Cyberdyne Headquarters.

In the end, Miles's brave selfless act and sacrifice was only a delay of the inevitable. Though it was enough to bankrupt Cyberdyne and end any possible reconstruction of the Skynet Project by them, it was rebuilt by Cyber Research Systems, a subsidiary of the United States Air Force who bought out Cyberdyne's remaining patents and projects; including Skynet. The final version of Skynet was ultimately created and activated by the head of CRS; General Robert Brewster, who used Miles's original research to create it, which was reconstructed and finished by Miles's oldest child; Daniel.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Miles's wife, son and home appear in the pilot episode of this series, and although he appears in only a family photograph, his part in Terminator 2 is mentioned. In episode 3 his grave is visited and Sarah asks his wife if she knew anything about some men involved in the creation of Skynet. She mentions one man who creates a form of AI called "The Turk," a computer system that plays chess. It is unknown whether this link will continue any further into the series. In the photographs, Dyson is portrayed by Phil Morris.