»Why couldn't they just do it? (EMP)«

Zion's future depended on the ship making it into Zion so that they could trigger an EMP and destroy all the machines. But if alot of ships were still docked, why could Zion just activate those ship's EMPS? Why did they have to wait for Niobie's ship?

the Hammer was the last available ship, besides the Logos which neo and trinity used to get to the machine city

all the other ships were destroyed, remember Bane? the end of Reloaded?

the docks were empty, desolate. Those 3 captains aboard the hamer were the last 3 left alive.

In Reloaded, they planned a big attack outside of Zion, with all of the ships dropping their EMP to kill the drillers. Bain/Smith blew the EMP on their ship early, broke the defense line, and all of the ships of the fleet were destroyed by the sentinels in the slaughter described by the crew of the Hammer when they picked up Morphious, Link, Trinity and Neo after the Neb blew up and Neo went postal on the Sentinels at the very end of Reloaded.

So, the Hammer and Logos were the last of the ships.

If you recall, all of the ships were sent to intercept the Sentinels. That's when Bane (human-Smith) triggered the EMP blast from his ship, which disabled all of the other ships. The EMP disables any electrical components, which includes humans' ships. Usually, ships trigger the EMP when the ship is shut off, like in M1 at the end.

So the only ships left were the one Niobe drove, and the one Trinity drove, and as you know, only one of those was heading back to Zion.

What puzzles me is that with all that technology, they decide to only equip ships with EMPs. Why not keep some handy within Zion. I realize that under normal circumstances, they wouldn't let an EMP blast inside Zion, because it would fry computers, etc. But it would be nice in case of emergency...

my post seems redundant now... shouldn't have taken so long to write it...

Marc: in response to your 1 question: They didn't want to EMP in Zion because all of their defenses would be killed by it. Then, the machines need only send more Sentinels and thehumans = dead.

We even witnessed this in the movie, the 2nd wave of sentinels came just behind the 1st, and the EMP killed all remaining defenses.

I see now. I didn't understand what the guy was saying at the end... about the slaughter. I simply thought it was a ship or two. Didn't know it was the whole fleet. Thanks for the answer.

Cedric wrote:

Marc: in response to your 1 question: They didn't want to EMP in Zion because all of their defenses would be killed by it. Then, the machines need only send more Sentinels and thehumans = dead. We even witnessed this in the movie, the 2nd wave of sentinels came just behind the 1st, and the EMP killed all remaining defenses.

Yes, I realize that it actually happened in the movie. That's why I brought up the "any electrical components". But if they had kept an EMP in Zion, they wouldn't have had to wait for Niobe et al. to arrive. They almost didn't make it.

I agree that an EMP blast disabled their computers... but without it, they would have persihed sooner. I know the EMP only delayed the strike, because the machines had more waves ready.

Assuming that one EMP blast doesn't disable all the other EMP machines (if they're off), then a stock of EMPs would have been useful, using one for every wave of machines. After the first EMP blast (disabling Zion's computers), the subsequent ones wouldn't cause more damage to the computers, they'd be down.

This may be a big assumption, but I was just saying that I was surprised that they didn't have a spare EMP or two lying around in Zion.

Given that they had several days advance notice, I think they would have had a EMP ready to go in the dock. They must burn out occasionally, and it makes sense for Zion to have replacements ready.

Also, they would have the essential equipment of the dock shielded in case of accidental triggering or attack.

Also the machines would use EMPs.

Lysander wrote:

Also, they would have the essential equipment of the dock shielded in case of accidental triggering or attack.

if that was the case, you'd think that the machines would shield from EMP's also. or, it's possible that the EMP's used in the movies were of the FCG type, that emit the pulse in microwaves. you can't shield from those.

Lysander wrote:

Also the machines would use EMPs.

suicide machines?

The machines don't need to shield themselves from EMP. Its all about another level of control. It was the machine's plan to let the humans in Zion think that they actually have a chance against the machine.

And besides, once the machines know that Zion has an unlimited supply of EMP, they would just throw them bogies (and I don't mean just a couple of bombs) from a distance. So there really is no winning over the machines.

Grendelvs wrote:

that was the case, you'd think that the machines would shield from EMP's also.

Presumably the machines' stationary equipment is shielded. They are apparently unaffected by nuclear detonations.

Grendelvs wrote:

or, it's possible that the EMP's used in the movies were of the FCG type, that emit the pulse in microwaves. you can't shield from those.

You can block microwaves. That's what the mesh in the window of your microwave is for. In fact, you can block any type of EM radiation.

Grendelvs wrote:

suicide machines?

Why not?

Lysander wrote:

You can block microwaves. That's what the mesh in the window of your microwave is for. In fact, you can block any type of EM radiation.

FCG's (Flux Compression Generators) are already known to get through the most effective types of EMP shields we have today (the Faraday Cage). FCG's produce a ramping current pulse, which breaks before the final disintegration of the device. published results suggest ramp times of tens of hundreds of microseconds and peak currents of tens of millions of amps. the pulse that emerges makes a lightning bolt seem like a flashbulb by comparison.

FCG's also create a late-time EMP effect, around fifteen minutes after the primary EMP. the EMP that surged through electrical systems creates localized magnetic fields. when these magnetic fields collapse, they cause electric surges to travel through the power and telecommunication infrastructure. this string-of-firecrackers effect means that you don't have to use your EMP directly on the targets you wish to destroy.