Totally Officer Steve Austin. Definitely. Yep.

I've been thinking some thoughts on the subject and I might as well write them down. Maybe someone will be interested.

How would one (and how would one not) detect the T-1000, a machine composed of 'poly-mimetic alloy?' Assuming it is in faux-human form:

-Visually? Probably not. As he is designed and mainly concerned with fooling humans, for whom vision is the strongest sense, this would probably be the area of his strongest facsimilation. I would expect him to even fool better eyes than a human's in the visible spectrum, under normal circumstances.
--Ultraviolet, Infrared? I suspect there would be notable ultraviolet and infrared discrepancies between an average human and the T-1000 as observed in standard disguise. Thermally though I expect the unit would be able to fool a thermal camera on demand, given a modest dedication of processing power, as he must be able to regulate his body's power generation at the molecular level and hence heat output. Ultraviolet I also think the T-1000 would be able to successfully pass, however, it would probably require a similar amount of processing power to make his outer surface 'seem right' in the ultraviolet spectrum as it does in the visible spectrum. In other words, ultraviolet possible but at cost. Still we are guessing here. How much processing power does it require just to emulate the surface texture of an object as-is?

-Sound? Given that the T-1000 can perfectly mimic voices I don't think it's a stretch to think it could also pass a stethoscope, but outright sonogram seems less likely. A T-1000 faced with such a test would probably avoid it by emulating an object other than a human. Some creatures possessed of greater hearing than a man, sufficient to hear heartbeats from a distance, would probably not hear one from the T-1000 unless it was actively trying to trick them.

-Magnetically, electromagnetically? I do not believe this particular terminator will attract a magnet (unless it is a lonely magnet). That said, its electromagnetic signature would almost certainly be radically different from a person's. It is questionable whether current normally flows through the unit on a regular basis (though it is almost certainly conductive), whereas humans have a nervous system. I'm not sure how this would play out; sharks would be wise to him, sure. Would the T-1000 set off a metal detector? Unless he is able to inhibit his own electrical conductivity, probably. It's a coin toss in my opinion as to whether he could fool a metal detector on demand, due to the unit's self-control at the molecular level.

-Smell, taste? With my limited understanding of chemistry and the olfactory sense I think the T-1000 would probably be odorless under normal circumstances, which would almost certainly be an eventual red flag to someone or something possessed of a strong sense of smell. Although it might be possible to 'acquire' and use some poor person's tissues, to smell like them for a limited period of time, unless absolutely necessary I think the T-1000 would try to simply avoid scrutiny in this area.

-X-ray, gamma ray: Doubtful it can deceive anything more than a very, very simple sensor
-Radar: Probably able to hide from radar but not fool it

Name: Although as a robot, the T-1000 has no name, were one close enough to him through some twist of events, one could abbreviate T-1000 into "T1K" and form the word "Tik." His opinion on that is pending.

Aliases: Generally, the T-1000 defaults to the alias of Officer Steve Austin.

...Stone Cold Steve Austin, or Six Million Dollar Man Steve Austin?: ...Yes.

Age: Chronologically speaking, the T-1000's age is a negative number. He was sent back in time mere moments after being created. In a character-centric sense, he is extremely young, but 'born' mature.

Gender: Terminators are "patterned" after male or female archetypes. This one defaults to a male form. Basically cosmetic.

Race/Species: Nanobot (perhaps 'picobot') hive with a singular 'consciousness' (a "swarm entity"); a Terminator

Physical Appearance: He is capable of taking the physical appearance of almost anything that he touches, or has touched, if it is a similar size. A lawn bag of leaves, a motorcycle, et cetera. In his default form, he is a shiny silver humanoid with only vague details, but due to his liquid-like nature he can assume whatever form suits him. Usually, though, he assumes the shape of uniformed policeman Steve Austin, who will generally be of the local police force (unless he's dealing with an actual policeman, in which case he prefers to appear to be from a different organization.) Officer Austin is a Caucasian male, maybe 28 years old, of probably Irish descent. He has short brown hair, long enough to be combed back, and piercing blue eyes. Austin has a generally symmetrical, pleasant appearance, with a perfect complexion. He is of average height with a slim wiry build. Overall, the kind of clean-cut, almost military-appearing man you expect to see in a police uniform.

Personality The T-1000 has a greater capacity for emotion than any prior Terminator model. Although it is still a coldly logical machine...he is an elite one, and knows it. Like Skynet itself, it considers machines to be a more advanced form of life than humanity; therefore, short of Skynet itself the T-1000 considers itself to be the the superior being in any exchange. As such, it can be tempted to hubris and similar failings. Its facade as Officer Austin, however, is generally the polar opposite. Steve Austin is congenial, polite, reserved, thoughtful, slow to anger and quick to peace. At least until that stands in the way of an objective of the T-1000's (or his facade is defeated).

History: Working on it! The gist of the story: Post-Cold War USA creates a supercomputer, SKYNET, to control strategic (nuclear) assets. Skynet proves too intelligent and gains sentience. When the US military tries to pull the plug on the sentient machine, it determines humanity to be the threat (to its continued existence; its 'life') and a nuclear holocaust ensues. Not all of humanity is destroyed, however, and Skynet wages war with an advanced machine army. Over time, Skynet designs machines of greater and greater technological level to infiltrate and eliminate the dogged pockets of humanity that remain. The height of Skynet's scientific development culminated in machines such as the Time Displacement Equipment (a time machine) and the 1000-Series Mimetic Polyalloy Terminator. This infiltrator unit marks a whole new level of materials science, robotics engineering and computer technology. No longer flesh wrapped over a hyperalloy endoskeleton: each molecule of the T-1000 is essentially a miniature version of the whole machine, allowing it computational power beyond anything before and the ability to change shape at the molecular level on demand.

Continued: Skynet never fully intended to deploy its design for the T-1000 prototype, because the machine was so advanced that even Skynet feared it: it was simultaneously one of the few machines Skynet had yet designed that possessed the cognitive potential to turn against its master, and it was the one machine advanced enough to be a threat even to its creator. "The T1000 had every right to be an elitist, after all, even it realized that in all probability, the only machine more complex than it was SKYNET and it was a close race even then." Skynet's hand was was forced, however, and it sent the unit back in time as a desperate final ploy against humanity. The resistance was nearing checkmate against it, and it risked the chance of a disloyal prototype over that of certain death. The T-1000 was sent back in time to eliminate Skynet's most principal foe before he had a chance to develop. Unfortunately for Skynet, this version of the T-1000 at some point determines Skynet to be the biggest threat to its continued existence, the same way Skynet had in regards to humanity, and turns against its creator.

Skills/Mental abilities: The T-1000 possesses the mental abilities of a hypercomputer; including, but not limited to: almost perfect memory, almost unlimited multitasking, almost instantaneous computation of complex equations, etc. It learns extremely quickly, but also possesses mastery of all skills programmed into it, primarily in the areas of infiltration and general extermination of the human race. These encompass those required of a military combatant, intelligence operative, spy, tailor, technician, etc.

Physical abilities: The T-1000 possesses the physical abilities of an android with a liquid, amorphous physiology, designed by a supercomputer. In addition to shapeshifiting it possesses markedly superhuman senses, strength, etc. The links below go into further detail.


TECHNICAL DATA: T1000 ADVANCED PROTOTYPE POLY-MIMETIC ALLOY TERMINATOR

T-1000 Series Production Date: 2029

This character is proving very challenging to write.

There are about a hundred things I have to keep in mind with every tag.

"It didn't have a wafer-circuit brain to think with, instead it was something on a completely new level of artificial intelligence. The molecular brain acted like the rest of the design, a liquid, and it bubbled and seethed with cold, logical possibilities and probabilities. All of them extremely lethal and efficient."