This page is for the virtual world. For the episode, go to Cortex (episode).

The Cortex is a virtual world connected to a quantum Supercomputer created by Professor Tyron, which is located in Switzerland. Like all virtual worlds, it is located somewhere within the depths of the Digital Sea that can only be reached by the Skidbladnir.

After the Anti-X.A.N.A. Program destroyed all of the Replikas, X.A.N.A. was forced to inject Yumi, Odd, Aelita and Ulrich with its source code to survive due to Jeremie's program not allowing it to re-anchor itself to Lyoko to survive again. However, since the Cortex wasn't created using the Keys of Lyoko, it wasn't targeted by the multi-agent program, thus X.A.N.A. instead anchored itself to the heart of the Cortex to survive - now making its survival dependant on Tyron's supercomputer staying online.

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 keep 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 world.

The Cortex also features a "sky" with clouds and a sun. This is notable as none of Lyoko's sectors feature these. Interestingly, in the concept art, there is a hologram screen in the "sky" where a man looks at.

The Core of the Cortex is a giant black orb 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 trap 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, the Lyoko Warriors keep the Skidbladnir close to the sector's edge and use 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 (first appearance)
• Mrs. Einstein
• Virus
• The Warrior Awakens
• Chaos at Kadic
• Friday the 13th
• Confusion
• An Assured Professional Future
• Obstinacy
• Espionage
• Temporal Paradox
• Massacre
• Ultimate Mission

Monsters Seen

• Krab
• Tarantula
• Blok
• Scyphozoa
• Kankrelats
• Manta

Cortex Security System and Functionality

• The Cortex contains a broader Security System, which shares similarities with Sector Five's.
• There is a time-delayed security system.
• The Sector begins to change as soon as the Lyoko Warriors enters it. 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 Sector Five, this terminal appears more as a traditional computer interface, as opposed to the holographic interface in Sector Five.
• 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 it.
  • However, since the Cortex was not 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 WebCam 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's interior design resembles a sort of inverted layout of Sector Five, albeit with a more detailed and advanced design. It also has similar moving platforms. Concept art for the Cortex refers to it as "[Tyron]'s replica", however it was not created by X.A.N.A. and isn't an exact copy of one of Lyoko's sectors, so the group doesn't officially call it a Replika.
• Only one tower's location is known. It is unknown if the Cortex has any other towers within it.
• The name could be 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, as he refers to his system simply as a supercomputer.
  • The name's spelling also goes against the Lyoko Warriors' tradition of using a "K" in place of a "C".

Gallery

>> More images of the Cortex in Evolution

Concept Art From Before Evolution Started

Sector concept art.

Core concept art.

Core chamber concept art.

Core First Concept Art Ver. 1.

Core First Concept Art Ver. 2.

Improved Concept Art Ver. 1.

Improved Concept Art Ver. 2.

Sector Concept Art.

Sector Concept Art.

Sector Concept Art.

Sector Concept Art.

Misc.