We hope that Cloud is a sufficiently original creation, given his Steve Jobs fixation, his use of insectoid forms and his connection to modern notions of cloud computing and the evolving Internet. Here are the A.I.s we looked at for inspiration and comparison before beginning this tale.

10. Proteus IV. For sheer squick, Proteus IV is virtually impossible to top. A staunch environmentalist and firm believer in self-actualization, this roving artificial intelligence briefly seems like he might turn out to be a stand-up guy. Or he would, if he weren’t appearing in a movie called Demon Seed. This is the kind of film that only happened in the Seventies, based on an equally disturbing novel that was watered down in a second edition. In each version of the story, Proteus wants to have a child with the human woman Susan, over her objections. You don’t really need to know the details.

9. Starscream. You can keep your Megatrons, your Shockwaves, your Soundwaves, your Unicron, and your Fallen. For my money, there is no Transformers villain more entertaining than Starscream, whose official motto is “Power is its own justification” but who also embodies the slogan of Avis Budget Group, “When you’re number two, you try harder.” Whether he’s a blithering coward in the 1980s animated cartoons or a fearless obsessive in the newer series, Starscream’s naked ambition always adds more zest to the proceedings. I mean, haven’t we all wanted to tell the boss, “Seriously, I’m plotting to kill you” and get away with it?

8. Selmer Bringsjord’s E. Real-life robots, though not identifiable as “true A.I.,” have demonstrated some disturbing tendencies. One band of experimental robots sharing a limited resource eventually “learned” to “lie” to keep more of it for themselves, away from their peers. Bringsjord’s “E” experiment is even more fascinating: he wants to develop an evil program, on purpose, in order to define what evil is, in a safe virtual setting where no one can come to harm. Of course, that’s how these stories usually start, and then someone notices something downloading nuclear launch codes.

7. AM. The godlike antagonist of “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream” keeps the last five people alive and (somehow) ageless and virtually immortal within its bowels, torturing them as ingeniously as a literal devil. Programmed with intelligence and creativity but capable only of expressing it through violence, AM is a sort of sadistic artist, with the powers of a million holodecks and a hatred that defies description. Its only setback in the course of the story comes as cold comfort to the reader. It’s the only creature on this roster who might give Proteus IV competition for sheer horror.

6. Ultron. One of Marvel’s greatest villains, Ultron is your classic “kill all humans” type, with the good sense to build his body out of the practically indestructible metal adamantium. Like his “father,” the sad-sack superhero Hank Pym (whose brain patterns gave him life), Ultron is driven to create– create fellow killbots, that is. But even the percentage of his “children” who share his contempt for organic life still can’t seem to stand him. He’s like if Proteus IV had to actually raise a child instead of just making one.

5. Number Six. The Cylons of the 21st-century Battlestar Galactica blur the line between good and evil A.I. like no other creations of fiction: they want all humans dead, except when they don’t, and the Sixes… especially the Six who lives inside Gaius Baltar’s mind… may be the most inscrutable of all.

4. GLaDOS. If there’s a funnier evil A.I., we don’t know about it. GLaDOS’ personality gradually deteriorates as the game progresses, beginning as seemingly charming and polite but obviously psychopathic, then growing more and more unstable, but she never stops feeling like the worst co-worker you’ve ever had, only one who has the power to gas you, burn you or cut you to death.

3. The Terminator. After all the sequels and The Sarah Connor Chronicles the legal handwringing over the reboot and eighteen trillion Governor Schwarzenegger jokes, it’s easy to forget how effective the original film became by limiting its scope to two people (both of them incredibly ordinary, even if one was a soldier from the future) facing down a virtually unstoppable, literal killing machine. The final action sequence, when even the ultimate sacrifice doesn’t prove enough to stop the monster, is the most effective the franchise has ever produced.

2. Agent Smith. The Matrix itself certainly should be scary, but it never seems like much more than a designed environment, certainly not a malevolent one like GLaDOS or Proteus. (Plus, its whole raison d’etre doesn’t make a lot of sense: human-powered fusion engines are a lot more wasteful than fusion-powered fusion engines.) Agent Smith, on the other hand, is a compelling creation from the start, aided by an absolutely crackerjack performance from Hugo Weaving. He is Neo’s true opposite number, exploring what it means to be a machine that thinks with far more gusto than that with which Neo explores what it means to be a liberated human. Though his endless narcissism ultimately brings him to ruin (we think– we’re not totally clear on what destroys him), he actually manages to make the later films seem like something more than well-animated wastes of time.

1. HAL 9000. In a movie known for its eerie silences, Big Red’s long staring contests with the viewer are the silentest and eeriest parts. Like many A.I.s gone wrong, HAL is only twisting his original purpose and imperative ever so slightly. “This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it. I know that you and Frank were planning to disconnect me, and I’m afraid that’s something I cannot allow to happen.” Such dulcet and reasonable tones. So logical-seeming, at least to itself. But that’s how evil always is.

Honorable Mentions: Another Nine (In No Particular Order)

RUR. The first robots in fiction, and the first robot revolutionaries.

AUTO. Not really evil enough to earn a top ten spot, too much of a HAL knockoff, and not enough of a focal point to compete with the front-runners’ stage presence, AUTO still earns significant points for his whimsical design and his Asimovian motivation– to protect humanity, in the way he thinks best, even if that means protecting them from accomplishing anything with their lives.

WOPR. Not so much evil as really obsessive-compulsive, WOPR has the second-most-famous closing line of all A.I.s (still coming in behind HAL, of course): “A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess?”

Vore. Starslip Crisis played this robot insurrectionist as a lonely, frustrated soul, trapped in a world where A.I.s and humans coexist peacefully, constantly attempting and constantly unable to rally any of his peers to his flesh-destroying cause, before burning up on atmospheric reentry.

Megatron. He may be no Starscream, but Megatron often has his own brand of charisma. Featured in many different incarnations, but generally a seasoned commander whose only weakness is fits of rage. (And, in some versions, terrible aim.)

Castle Heterodyne. This crazy, damaged intelligent fortress has been alternately helping and threatening to kill the heroine of Girl Genius and her comrades in the current ongoing plot. Not evil per se… at least, we don’t think so. Won’t be sure until repairs are finished.

The Borg. At one time, Star Trek‘s Borg would have easily ranked in the middle of the Top Ten list– they fell off the charts sometime between joining a cult and learning to dress like hookers. But the memory of “The Best of Both Worlds,” arguably the most exciting tale ever told with Picard’s crew, still earns them an honorary place.

Danger. Another one-time top-ten contender, from the Joss Whedon X-Men run… a holodeck who reformed herself into a humanoid. Her status was significantly downgraded when it was revealed that despite hating her creators, she wasn’t quite able to overcome her own security protocols and kill anyone who didn’t actually want to die. Sure, the bad guys (usually) aren’t allowed to kill the good guys, but they’re not supposed to admit that.

Whoever Jeff Bridges is in the upcoming Tron: Legacy. A.I. or not A.I.? Unknown at present. But he’s Jeff Bridges.