Cortex (location)

Cortex is a replika connected to a quantum Supercomputer created by Professor Tyron, the secondary antagonist in Code Lyoko Evolution. It is located in Switzerland.

Like all virtual worlds, it is located somewhere within the depths of the Digital Sea that can only be breached by the Skidbladnir submarine.

Description

The ground of this territory is made of modulator elements that plug into each other to form the global landscape. Each module moves separately, therefore the area is in constant motion with traps that to keeps intruders at bay. It has always-active communication towers under the control of X.A.N.A., which allow it to act in the real world. The Cortex is made up of a tangle of hubs and pipes which surround a small replika world.

The Cortex also has a "sky" with clouds and a sun. This is notable as other Replikas and sectors don't feature this. Interestingly, in the concept art, there is a hologram screen in the "sky" of the replika where a man is looking in.

The Core of the Cortex is a giant black ball which is located in the middle of the sector. There is a bridge leading up to its entrance, which is a spiral like door, which can only be opened via Aelita's Creativity. Once entering, the Lyoko Warriors are transferred inside a ball-shaped room with many platforms and walls filled with obelisk-shaped parts, which acts as a traps that can stab intruders or shake the platforms to make them fall. One of the platforms near the bottom contains a computer-like interface. In the middle of the room, there is a blue glowing orb similar in design to Franz Hopper's virtual form whose purpose has yet to be revealed.

Due to the unstable nature of the Cortex, Team Lyoko keeps the Skidbladnir close to the sector's edge and uses the MegaPod for moving within. So far walking, driving a vehicle other than the Megapod, or (in Aelita's case) flying, have resulted in instant de-virtualization because of the sector's seismic activity. William's Super Smoke ability has allowed him to easily avoid the traps. In Ultimate Mission, Tyron updates the Cortex so as to stop the tremors, ending their threat to the Lyoko Warriors and allowing them to use their normal means of transportation.

Appearances

Code Lyoko: Evolution

Cortex Security System and Functionality

Unlike the majority of X.A.N.A.'s replikas, the Cortex contains a broader Security System. Said system shares similarities with Carthage.

There is a time delayed security system.
The Sector begins to change as soon as the Lyoko Warriors enters the Replika. However, this seems to be more of a side-effect of the coding of the Cortex being incomplete, as after Tyron upgrades his system in the season finale, the automatic changes stop.
There is a System Terminal in the interior of the Core zone which allows for access to the files in Tyron's Supercomputer, though unlike Carthage, this terminal appears more as a traditional computer interface, as opposed to the holographic interface in Carthage.
The shell in the Digital Sea has multiple protrusions, which can make navigating around the shell rather difficult, and may play a part in fortifying the Cortex from virus attacks launched into the Digital Sea.
- This function could be a possibility as to why Jeremie's Multi-Agent Program did not destroy the Replika.
- However, since the Cortex was not of X.A.N.A.'s creation in the first place, it is more likely that the Multi-Agent Program was simply unable to detect it.
A Surveillance Web Cam is probably used to Monitor the interior of the Cortex's Core, which explains the timing for when Tyron sends his Ninjas to attack the Lyoko Warriors.

Trivia

The Cortex is the only replika that isn't a copy of Franz Hopper's designs of Lyoko's five sectors, and as such, it is difficult to determine whether or not it could even be considered a replika to begin with. However it seems to be rather similar to Sector 5 because of the moving platforms. In fact, the Cortex's interior design looks to be a sort of inverted layout of Sector 5, albeit with a more detailed and advanced design.
Only one tower's location is known. It is unknown if the Cortex has any other towers located within it.
The name could've been derived from the part of the human brain known as the Cerebral Cortex. Aelita is the one who came up with the name, but there is nothing to indicate on Tyron's end that he conceived that name to begin with, as he refers to his system simply as a supercomputer. As such, it is unknown whether or not Tyron either bothered to name the Cortex in the first place, or if the virtual world has a different name that is kept secret for unknown reasons.