The Triple-Zero protocol personality matrix, also knowns as 0-0-0 Personality Matrix, was a droid personality matrix that was created during the time of the Old Republic. The matrix was considered incredibly dangerous when placed into its designed droid body: a protocol droid as it turned it into an assassin droid that specialized in torture.
The Triple-Zero protocol personality matrix was created centuries before the rise of the Galactic Empire by an unknown alien scientist during the era of the Old Republic. The scientist was horrified by the discovery, as he was in fact attempting to create a normal protocol droid personality matrix and asked his droid assistant to destroy it in a garbage compactor. The matrix however autonomously commandeered the droid assistant's body and managed to overwrite its personality with its own, killing its creator and roaming the galaxy wreaking havoc in its path, before being stopped and having the matrix removed and contained in quarantine.
Hundreds of years later, during the late era of the Galactic Republic, Techno Union foreman Wat Tambor acquired the personality matrix and became obsessed by it, intensely studying its memory core to learn more about it. Eventually, the Skakoan became terrified of the uncontrollable personality module and sent it to be quarantined on Quarantine World III in Kallidahin Space, but kept the core in his possesion. During the time of the Empire, the Tarkin Initiative began to experiment with the matrix for their own purposes as well, keeping the matrix and its host separated from the memory core which they transferred to Hivebase-1. In order to overcome its uncontrollable nature the Initiative scientists bulked up the protocol droid host's ethical systems and hard-coded a sense of affiliation to the droid. However the droid proved to be too smart for them and shot a hole trough its own head to destroy the circuitry containing the limitations to its original programming. The scientists failed to notice this before they put it into the field and the newest triple-zero once more killed its creators and went rogue, going into a murder spree for three years before it was once more stopped.
The matrix was again quarantined on Quarantine World III, where it was kept for a long time before it was stolen by the rogue archaeologist Doctor Aphra during the Galactic Civil War. Aphra, with the help of the Sith Lord Darth Vader, placed the matrix into a protocol droid, turning it into 0-0-0. The newest addition to the triple-zero line would also have a number of limitations imposed upon it, having Vader and Aphra imprinted to it as its masters, but would eventually go on to become a master of itself when Aphra became indebted to it and was forced to work for its own causes.
The Triple-Zero matrix possessed unique qualities which led its creator to describe it as "the most perfectly psychotic personality" he had ever created. According to him, learning and directive-based subroutines in the chip multiplied in a dizzying speed, but every cooperative algorithm including empathy, morality, equitability and loyalty were subverted as fast as they developed. This led to its hosts being homicidal, sadistic assassins with a tendency towards extreme violence against organics, which they passionately hated. They however exhibited sympathy towards fellow droids, going out of their way not to hurt them even if they had to.
- Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition
- Star Wars: Timelines