»Oracle did her job: Machines win, humans subdued.«

I have a Theory which I'll try to explain at length. I want people to poke holes in it, because it is not altogether pleasant.

I think the machines have won the war more or less for good with humanity in a semi-permanent slave role; that's what this "peace" really means.

It seems to me that the Oracle-program's job, simply put, was to learn things and use things about unpredictable human nature to make the Matrix-prison (that's what it is) function properly (which it wasn't). Some things she/it obviously learned: humans desire free will, humans need choice or the illusion of choice, humans are capable of something called "love", humans build religions.... overall let's say that humans possess instincts that can't be modeled well by the Architect-program's equations (i.e. they lead to "remainders").

So, the Oracle invented a Prophecy-myth and injected it into the Matrix, to shape and control these "remainder" instincts of the humans better: people so inclined would be attracted to the Prophecy-myth (rather than some other myth of their own making which could prove harmful to the Matrix/machines), which she could then guide to her/the Matrix's advantage. As everyone knows, this worked in a less-than-satisfying way: 99% of the humans stayed inside just fine, those who rebelled were kept quarantined in Zion, so far so good; but the "remainders" still built up from time to time so that it led to a kind of cycle in which occasionally the Matrix had to be rebooted and Zion wiped clean, using the "The One" program.

In this iteration of the Matrix, then, apparently the Oracle saw something "different" about this version of "The One" - he could love, he progressed quickly, he surprised her, made different choices, whatever - and when Neo's takeover of Smith turned Smith into a virus, the Oracle decided to take a chance. (The Architect says as much as the end.) She decides that this endless cycle-sequence isn't good enough (because her job as a program was to end the rebelling and war, not just make it periodically switch on-and-off). And the way she hits upon is to get Neo (Smith's mirror) to blackmail the machines with Matrix-failure (via the Smith virus) unless they stop attacking Zion. It works, they agree, the Zionites see the Prophecy as fulfilled, the end.

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Q: Why will this end the war and fulfill the Oracle's mission?

1. The humans in Zion will have no further reason to rebel. They have seen the Prophecy fulfilled. The war is over. There is "peace". In other words, they will now be happy where they are - in Zion. Underground. Dancing to techno and such.

2. The machines have made a promise. They will keep it. They're machines. What do they know about "tricking" people or "lying"? The Oracle sub-program has engineered a solution for them, which requires them to not attack Zion anymore and to let people who want to leave the Matrix. They're machines, so they won't, they'll do what the output of the Oracle/The One programs say they should do. They will trust the calculations of these programs, whatever they are. As of now, those calculations say: "no more Zion wipeouts, no more reboots".

Q: Why does this mean the machines have won?

1. Remember that we are told multiple times that less than 1% of humanity even questions the Matrix in the first place. 99% of humanity thus stays in their jail and powers the machines, which is all they ask for.

2. The 1% of humanity who do question the Matrix won't rebel any further after that. Yes, they will (after careful surveillance and questioning to see if they're "ready") be freed by teams from Zion who put them through Morpheus's red pill/blue pill routine and all that. The Zionites will gladly perform these "awakenings" when they can. But it's not a war anymore - no agents chasing them, no future Prophecy to fulfill, and (most importantly) no reason whatsoever to hope for freeing all the humans. The Prophecy was fulfilled, and this is what it looks like: an entente. 99% of humanity still in jail. What are ya gonna do, apparently that's what the Prophecy meant. (Of course, the Oracle invented the Prophecy and made it come about this way.)

3. Notice that the AIs are evolving and getting better. Safi is an AI "love" offspring of two other programs. She represents beauty and love, she creates a beautiful rainbow-sunrise, in the Matrix. She'll be there and she's hanging around, even through a reboot. In other words, the Matrix AIs have learned how to make the Matrix more beautiful, not by performing better and better calculations (as perhaps the Architect would try to do), but through love and reproduction and evolution and all that good stuff. Mostly love. So keep in mind, the Matrix will get better as it fills up with love-child AIs who perform such (pointless from the machines' point of view, but beautiful to humans) tasks. Instead of renegade "ghost"/"werewolf" programs, the Matrix-world is now populating with Safis and rainbows. Maybe this means the Matrix will become a truly acceptable human world. Maybe those 1% of humans who rebel will turn into .5% and then .1% and so on.

Q: Why was it a risk?

A: Neo could have chosen the "wrong" thing and Smith could have ended up simply killing everyone in the Matrix. The machines, including the Oracle, lose their power source. Eventually all die.

Q: Why was it a safe bet?

A. Neo is still "The One". Therefore he still has the "The One" programming inside him, whatever you think that means. (Even if it only means: "he Believes he is The One" and nothing more.) So Neo is "The One", and he also knows the type of choice "The One" was supposed to make (because the Architect told him): choose love, or choose to save humanity. He is given this choice twice. The first time is in the Matrix (in Reloaded), and he chooses love. The Oracle thinks: why not get him to make this choice again, in the real world? Send him to 0-1 (rather than "the source"), put Trinity at risk (as in Reloaded) cuz you know and he knows she's going with him, but maybe this time he'll choose the "right thing", only, in a way which was never intended for "The One" program. In short Neo fulfills his "The One" programming in the real world. The result is better than in the previous Matrices, because those times, it led to the reboot/Zion destruction. This time it could end the war.

Q: So what are you saying?

A: Just this. The machine AIs are evolving and the Matrix has been rebooted in a more beautiful way. The rebel Zionites have convinced themselves the war is over and the Prophecy fulfilled. Matrix-humans will still be freed but 99% of them (or more!) stay put. Think about this state of affairs: the machines WIN. The city of Zion now functions as little more than a harmless occult secret society; some tiny number of humans whom they decide are worthy of "enlightenment" will be freed, but you're not going to convince them to fight the machines to free all of humanity anymore. The Zionites saw the Prophecy fulfilled and this is the result: 99% Matrix / 1% satisfied (not rebelling anymore) Zionites who saw the Prophecy fulfilled / "peace".

This seems to be a stable solution which can last and last and last. The Oracle did her job.

Possible objections:

O: But didn't the Oracle say she expects "The One" to come back someday? Doesn't that mean the solution is still unstable so the machines didn't win for good?

A: Yes, she did. But I would suggest that here is where the Jesus Christ parallel is apt. To Christians, Jesus Christ fulfilled Biblical prophecy and was the Messiah. Yes, they do expect he'll come back. Some day. But they have been saying this for 2000 years, and the expectation that he'll come back, like, tomorrow does not inform anyone's thinking, except in a very abstract way. Now translate this back to the Zionites: they saw the Prophecy fulfilled. Do they/the Oracle expect "The One" to come back soon and save humanity? No, that has happened already. Maybe someday he'll "return"... but for now, it's time to live their lives in this peace. As with Christianity, the expectation of a "messiah" to come save everyone has been, more or less permanently, put on indefinite hold. It is in that state in which they will live their lives - idly thinking and dreaming "maybe all humanity will be saved some day", but they are not expecting it any time soon (like Morpheus did) or looking for it. This set of beliefs is not especially conducive to rebellious behavior. That is the genius of the Oracle's solution.

O: You didn't address any of the standard Matrix questions, like: how can humans really be used as batteries? how can Smith upload into a human? how can Neo stop squids or see the machine-code in the real world?

A: That is correct, I didn't. I take those things at face value, as being simply the way the W. bros intended, a kind of "poetic license". In other words: humans can indeed be used as batteries: in the Matrix-universe this (like the hovercraft ships, flying squids, "you die in the real world if you die in the Matrix", and everything else which is a bit wacky) makes scientific sense somehow. Smith can upload into a human brain because he can, under certain circumstances Matrix programming can reprogram the human brain, and this was one of them. (For basically the same reason that the human Thomas Anderson's brain can be given the "The One" program at birth, or whenever it happened. Note, if the cookies/candy are programs, then, them too. You shouldn't be shocked that Smith can re-program Bane's brain if you simultaneously think that Thomas Anderson's brain was reprogrammed by cookies and candy inside the Matrix.) And Keanu can see the golden fire of machines because he's a super-duper "The One", is in contact with the machine-life on the electromagnetic spectrum (somehow - chip in brain, secret back-door Matrix ports, take your pick), and his brain is able to interpret what he sees/feels/hears coming from programmed-machines and render it visually as yellow fire/code in the shape those programs "think" they have (including a human taken over by Smith, whose program "looks like" Smith). These things happen in the Matrix universe, which means they can happen. So there.



O: I don't get it, this is very long but you haven't said very much.

A: I'll make it shorter and easier to understand by simply saying: First, there is an obvious Christianity parallel. In both Matrix and Christianity, there was prophecy of a "messiah", he appeared (according to Believers), and did his thing. This is a Singular event; all which came after is different from all which came before. Nobody in Zion (or, Christianity) can really say urgently "we need a savior" any more, because dude, that already happened. And so in both cases there is a kind of peace.

Neo fulfilled the prophecy and made peace.

Now, the other part of what I'm saying is that in the Matrix (though not necessarily Christianity, although I suspect the W. bros might say so), if you really think about that "peace", it remains a kind of slavery for 99% of the human race. There are no more squid attacks or Zion-destructions, but 99% of humanity is still in the Matrix, and this state of affairs will continue. (There is no good reason for it not to continue.) So my personal suspicion is that the W. bros wanted the movie to have both: (1) a "surface" meaning, where it looks like a straight "messiah/savior" story; *AND* (2) a "deeper" meaning, where the fulfillment of that "savior" story results in human slavery.

If I'm right, there are two basic intended meanings to the Matrix trilogy: on the surface, 99% of people who watch it are supposed to cheer at the end of Revolutions, with the Kid and the Zionites (although - notice - not the old guy) and think that the humans won because there's now "peace" through Neo's sacrifice. But 1% of the audience, those who "get it" or are "smart enough", are supposed to walk away seeing the "deeper" meaning, that the fulfillment of the Prophecy results in keeping 99% of humanity in permanent stasis.

This (the double-meaning intent of the trilogy) is pure speculation based on what I seem to have read about the W. bros and their beliefs and the symbolic undertones in these movies.

But even if the double-meaning was not intended, I still say that the machines have won. The Oracle is a program; all programs have a purpose. Hers was to end the rebellion against and repeated failure of the Matrix by learning about human nature and using it to her advantage. She did: she invented a Prophecy/religion and used the resulting "religion" to better enslave humanity. There were some risks but it worked in the end, and the machines win.

Have a nice day!

you have put forth a theory that is logically sound - and you have tested it with your own questions.

opinon:
your outlook is a bit bleak. it requires that no progress were to come of the peace. this suggests that the peace would realy be a cease fire.

as an optimist, i beleive the human race will honor the prophecy of the one that has brought about peace and eventually work with the machines to cleanse the sky and truly free each other from simbiosys of course this is based on opinion and not fact.

- drumcode -

drumcode:

I agree that my outlook is bleak. (That's partially why I'd like to see holes poked in it.) However, I believe that's how the W. bros intended it, to some extent. Or rather, I believe that they intended the films to work on multiple levels, where you could walk away with a positive outlook if that's how you see it - but the bleak outlook was in their minds as well, and is thus an undercurrent to the film (the "deeper" meaning).

I believe it is clear that the "peace" is a cease fire, but it is a lasting cease fire. Peace occurs when both sides have been deprived of the willingness to fight. The Zionite humans have been deprived of the willingness to fight by seeing the Prophecy fulfilled and themselves saved. They will tell this story to their children and their children's children. Future Zionites won't be too keen on taking up arms against squids for quite some time. They will be happy with how things are even though 99% of humanity is still "inside". After all, they have been saved. They are chosen to know the truth. I believe that they will be comfortable with that, like any secret society. They will not cause problems to the machine-Matrix symbiosis.

Meanwhile, the machines have been deprived of the willingness to fight simply because the sub-program they tasked with "subduing the humans" has returned with the answer: "I've engineered a solution: they saw a messianic Prophecy fulfilled and will chill out from now on. Now just don't attack anymore, and don't prevent those who want, from going to Zion". So they Promised not to, and thus won't. In practice this is a cease-fire, and true, it is peace, the only problem (from the human point of view) is that the Matrix still exists. (If you think that is a problem. There is a conversation one could have about whether all humans trapped in the Matrix forever would actually be so bad, if it got better due to AI evolution, i.e. Safi.)

I believe you're right that working with the machines in a kind of symbiosis (to cleanse the sky, and whatever else) is the best that humans can hope for. Unless/until that happens, 99% or more will live in the Matrix. Meanwhile, what has happened is that through their "Oracle" experiment, the machines have learned about many human qualities, including love and beauty and free will. The AIs have gained the ability to reproduce. In brief, the machines have "become more human".

Even when the sky clears and the machines can wean themselves off of human power completely (which seems to me like a long way away), the humans will have no choice but to respect the basic "humanity" of the machines. This is good because it means the original scenario in the Animatrix shorts need never take place. But for the time being, humanity will and must remain in a subservient role to the machines. Eventual symbiosis where both groups respect each other is the best-case scenario; perhaps Safi creating the rainbow sunrise, and all the maneuverings of the Oracle, mean that there is indeed hope that the machine AIs are capable of compassion for the humans and will find a way to free them.

But the ball's in their court. The machines' court. It's up to them, for now. The humans aren't going anywhere.

I think you're onto something my man. My favorite line is "Dancing to techno and such"

You're funny

To be honest, I only skimmed through your essay. But a few thoughts or random ramblings:

As the Achitect walks away from the Oracle in the final scene, the Oracle asks "What about the others?" (I interpret this to mean humans since the Architect controls the Matrix and not the mainframe where "other" programs may want out). The Architect replies, "They will be freed" and the Oracle asks "I have your word?" Now this sounds like genuine concern for humans.

It's quite obvious that Oracle went to great lengths to help Neo and even lost her previous "shell" helping him. Also, the Oracle is caring for Sati who she believes will change the world. I guess my point is that the Oracle possesses very human traits including caring and love and a genuine want for peace.

Also, just because 1% questions the Matrix when it is pulled over their eyes does that mean that only 1% will stay in the Matrix. If 100% knew the Matrix wasn't realy, I would figure more than 1% would leave.

Lastly, I don't think the W. bros. wrote a movie with such profoundness just to say "Machines our enemies, we lose war, we live in cave". Doesn't make sense.

Beethoven,

You raise good points which allow me to elaborate.

First, the Oracle's asking for the Architect's word that rebel-humans will be allowed to leave could be interpreted as a straightforward mechanical concern that the solution she's devised be implemented properly. If the Architect is too "rational" to see the genius of the Oracle's plan, he could screw up that plan (by sending Agents/squids after everyone, after all, causing rebellion or mass murder once again), and the Oracle will have failed. The Oracle is a program. All (pre-Safi-era, and non-"renegade") programs have a purpose. I am assuming that the Oracle's primary drive is to fulfill that purpose.

That said, I agree with you that she displays concern, or a capacity for concern, or a facsimile of concern, for humans. The Oracle is a program but at the same time she has learned about "remainder" aspects of human nature, and it's only natural if she has taken on some of those traits herself. Along these lines I refer you to my second post above; I do agree that there is room for hope for the humans' future, based on the possibility that the Oracle and programs she liberates have a fully developed compassion. And then maybe they'll try to work on ways to wean themselves off human batteries. One day.

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It's quite obvious that Oracle went to great lengths to help Neo and even lost her previous "shell" helping him.

I don't know that "great lengths" is the way to put it. She took a calculated risk. Possibly she decided that the possibility of the Matrix Revolutions solution was worth the risk, because the current status quo was unacceptable to her. In taking this risk she indeed risked even her own death (through Matrix failure -> machine starvation) but maybe she decided this was a chance she had to take. Because the alternative was the periodic Zion-destruction solution, which was no good; sticking with this alternative forever made her a failure as a program.

So I am not sure that she did it purely out of compassion for the humans. Remember first of all that the solution involved Smith (as far as we can tell) either taking over the Matrix or at least a large section of it. What happened to all the humans he took over? I am not saying that "compassion" could not have been present but her motives in fulfilling her programming would have been just as strong.

The losing of her "shell" was obviously a plot device forced upon the W.'s by the death of the previous actress. Even ignoring that, it's difficult to say how much of a sacrifice, if any, this (changing how she appears as a human in the Matrix) would be to a program. There was some dialogue about her sacrifice or her change but I am almost tempted to disregard it.

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I guess my point is that the Oracle possesses very human traits including caring and love and a genuine want for peace.

I don't doubt it. And peace is what she has engineered. I am merely examining the nature of that peace, and any way I slice it I'm forced to conclude that 99% of humans are still trapped in the Matrix. I agree that this is better than the alternative "all humans dead" but what I am putting forward here is that it appears that the Oracle's solution here will *also* have the effect of preventing the Zionites from fighting any further. There are positive and negative results.

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Also, just because 1% questions the Matrix when it is pulled over their eyes does that mean that only 1% [here you meant 99% probably] will stay in the Matrix. If 100% knew the Matrix wasn't realy, I would figure more than 1% would leave.

First, the fact that only 1% questions the nature of the Matrix means that at least 99% stay in it. Some of those 1% who "question" it could take the blue pill after all (or whichever color keeps you in the Matrix).

Second, to address your real point, if 100% of the Matrix is told that it isn't real, basically everything I wrote above does not apply. I am assuming that the current peace terms still do not mean that some kind of announcement is made over the Matrix's public-address system that "ladies and gentlemen, this place is fake. Just so you know." I find the prospect of such an announcement untenable (I believe in the first movie we're told that some people can't take the "shock"), and I believe that the way it would really work is something like I wrote above - prospective Zionites are identified, surveilled, questioned to see if they're "ready", and then offered the red (blue?) pill. You're right that if the Matrix system is revealed to everyone over the P.A. system then all bets are off. In fact I reckon that nearly 100% of humans would choose to leave in that case. But I just can't picture it.

For one thing, the sky is still black, and the machines still need human-batteries (according to Matrix-science). They would not agree to such terms because they are suicide; they may as well have taken their chances against Smith.

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Lastly, I don't think the W. bros. wrote a movie with such profoundness just to say "Machines our enemies, we lose war, we live in cave". Doesn't make sense.

I don't believe that "machines are our enemies" was the W's purpose either. I do believe that some important themes are (1) the troubling aspects of symbiotic relationship with machines, and (2) the use of human faith systems for control. The fact that my outlook is bleak does not mean that I think the W. bros just wanted to bum us out. Rather, I think they wanted the bleak undercurrent to be *there*, but not for everyone to see it. It's clear that they wanted the symbolism and allegory of these movies to function on multiple levels.

best,

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A: Just this. The machine AIs are evolving and the Matrix has been rebooted in a more beautiful way. The rebel Zionites have convinced themselves the war is over and the Prophecy fulfilled. Matrix-humans will still be freed but 99% of them (or more!) stay put. Think about this state of affairs: the machines WIN. The city of Zion now functions as little more than a harmless occult secret society; some tiny number of humans whom they decide are worthy of "enlightenment" will be freed, but you're not going to convince them to fight the machines to free all of humanity anymore. The Zionites saw the Prophecy fulfilled and this is the result: 99% Matrix / 1% satisfied (not rebelling anymore) Zionites who saw the Prophecy fulfilled / "peace".

I do not agree with this.

The free humans would not stand around with 99% of the human race locked up in the matrix prison. Its not going to happen like that.

diemkai:

What exactly are they going to do? Any efforts they could make to free the 99%, would "restart the war".

They won't want to do that. Now there is "peace". Will they want to screw that up?

I am not saying they will be happy with the continued existence of the 99% in the Matrix. But, the Prophecy has been fulfilled - no more "Ones" coming anytime soon, so this situation is really the best they can hope for. (Remember that they were all almost slaughtered; they feel lucky and Chosen just to have escaped that fate.) And when they jack into the Matrix, and go visit the Oracle in her kitchen, here's what she tells them over cookies: "Be happy. You got what you wanted, just like I did: The end of the war. The machines have agreed to free anyone who wants to." It just so happens that at most 1% ever want to be freed. If the Zionites try to free the other 99%, it seems clear that this would "restart the war" because the machines would have no choice but to interpret this as a violation of the cease-fire, and so would have to break their Promise. (Remember, the machines still need human power!)

I suppose you could be right that some of the Zionites would try, anyway. Certainly I believe there would always be a vocal "pro-war" movement within Zion: "what the hell are we doing hanging around here and dancing to techno? the 99% are still in prison!". Personally, I think that given human nature and the way the Prophecy was "fulfilled", it would be politically impossible to mobilize Zion against the Matrix for quite a long time. However, even if they do try to free the 99%, it means the end of the "peace", it means that Neo's sacrifice was in vain, and it means that the trilogy changed nothing at all. That is not a pleasant theory either (IMHO).

Best,

I posted this elsewhere...but it really belongs here... Its my understanding of how an ending where humans are still enslaved could still somehow be seen as some kind of victory for humans.

qrius wrote:

Many have mentioned religious and biblical parallels...well heres a take on that... When Jesus came, folks who were expecting a savior/messiah, thought that the role of the messiah was to rescue or deliver the Jewish people from the domination and rule of the Romans. Jesus did not do that and there was major disappointment. A bit how I felt when Neo's sacrifice did not deliver all the humans from control of the machines. That's what I thought the One was going to do. What Jesus DID do was show people the truth of what really mattered, and that physical enslavement will always be a part of this world, but a person's spiritual life in such a world can set them free. .. with belief in hope, LOVE, and free will as the keys. Neo's sacrifice set up a truce wherein those in the Matrix who wished to, could be released from it...but it is still each ones choice. The big salvation is that he made it so people could have a choice. I was really unhappy and mad that the matrix wasnt destroyed and humanity released from the pods until I began thinking about this particular religious parallel. Now I guess I can stomach it.

So basically as the original poster said...humans aren't really freed at all...at least not in the physical sense. Not much different from the world we live in. Any savior or messiah can't take us out of our world...he/she can only offer some sort of spiritual tools enabling us (at least the receptive ones) to deal with our condition.

qrius:

Exactly!

That is exactly the parallel I had in mind. Neo, like Jesus, was a messiah who saved his followers, and even saved humanity (in a sense), but in not quite the way everyone in the movements who followed them had hoped for. The people who accept this truth stop rebelling in the temporal sense of literally trying to fight against whatever bad guys they think are oppressing them. (This is precisely why I believe Zion won't make serious efforts to free the 99% but will resign themselves to the symbiosis, and be content with their Chosen status.)

I suppose that I would say there's an important difference between the two. The salvation/truth offered by Jesus is real (if that's what you believe) because it actually comes from God (if that's what you believe), and so obviously trivial worldly stuff like Fighting Against The Romans really does pale in comparison with the eternal spiritual salvation offered.

Meanwhile, the salvation/truth offered by Neo is phony and hollow, in the sense that by following it you "save" yourself not spiritually or eternally at all, but just by getting zapped to Zion, a grungy city underground. If the Zionites are content to "save" themselves in that way, like Christians certainly would be to save themselves spiritually, it means the other 99% of humanity is still enslaved.

It's possible to argue that there isn't really a difference between the two situations, because there's an exact (not just approximate or symbolic) parallel between the two. Indeed I suspect the W bros. may have intended, and believe, as much, if these films are any indication.

Here are some loose ends (in my mind) which could destroy my interpretation of everything, depending on what they mean. I list them here because I don't understand them completely, and some explanations could indeed force me to change my views:

1. "absorbing the sentinel"

I didn't address this but I see it come up now and again on this board: How did Neo "absorb the sentinel"? If that's indeed what really happened, then I have no good way to understand it. (Remember I take most Matrix-science at face value, and I also don't resort to Matrix-within-Matrix stuff.) The problem here is that I've only seen the film once and I'm not sure whether "absorbing the sentinel" is the correct way to describe what happened in that scene. I remember a yellow-code, sentinel-shaped object going through the ship and Neo's body, obviously. What I wonder is whether this yellow-code object ever actually corresponded to a real-world sentinel object, in the first place. Maybe it's just code. More particularly: maybe Neo physically blew-up the real-world sentinel right before it got to the ship; but then its yellow-code "spirit" (for lack of a better term) continued on flying right through Neo's body. The problem is that I don't know exactly what happened, it was too fast; I'd probably need to watch the film again unless someone here knows and tells me.

2. The old elder's reaction, and who was he?

Much of my theory began to form when I saw the old elder's reaction to the Kid's joy that "the war is over". I thought to myself "hmmm he doesn't seem too happy, what does he know?" I think this reaction may be a big key to understanding the whole trilogy: if you look at the Kid, "the war's over! Neo did it!" If you look at the old man, something else has taken place, and the Kid's reaction looks exaggerated and forced. Cuz the old man looks sad. Why? Well, you know what theory I have. But maybe there is some other explanation for the old man's sober response; maybe he's just a tired old man, maybe it was just bad acting, or whatever. This also depends on who he was exactly, and what his speech to Neo in Matrix2 meant. Was he a previous "The One", who chose the 16/7 proto-Zionites? I don't know. The answer could force me to change my views.

3. Who was that on the ground?

This one may just be my bad eyesight. But after Neo's big Superman II fight against Agent Smith with all the other Smiths watching, and Smith takes over Neo, and all the Smiths explode from within, there's a brief glimpse of a lone solitary figure lying on the ground.

Who is that guy?

I couldn't see who he was when I was watching the movie. He didn't look like either Keanu, or Smith. He looked a little bit chubbier. Perhaps like a younger version of the old elder from Zion. I just don't know. Maybe I'm over-analyzing or just confused; but I could swear that at the moment the Smiths are killed and the Matrix is re-booted, there's one guy lying on the ground and it's not Keanu or Smith. Obviously, if I'm right, then "who is that guy?" is a very important question to answer. Maybe it's the Architect? I just don't know.

Any answers are welcome, of course. Even just: "you're an idiot, that was obviously _____".

i saw him too but its impossible to say who he is... (its dark and we dont see a close-up)

a movie error very possibly...

I'm just glad I'm not the only one who saw him.

Actually it's kind of surprising to me that the "guy on the ground" issue isn't discussed more. It seems rather important to determine who or what he is; he seems to be the only humanoid figure in the Matrix right before (or while?) it's being rebooted.

(EDIT: And it seems very unlikely to me, given the meticulous symbolism and dialogue of these films, that the guy on the ground's identity is obscured to "movie error".)

I thought of one more loose end that needs tying up:

4. Who's in the Matrix now?

By the end of Revolutions, Smith seems to have taken over all humans in the Matrix. Don't all those humans die? Or not? Furthermore, we have no evidence post-reboot that any humans are in the Matrix; we only see the Architect, Oracle, and Sati (sp?).


But if that were true (Smith took over everyone, all humans dead) then Neo would have had nothing to offer the Machine God; if the Matrix is already screwed, why cut a deal? So, I have to assume that one way or another, most or all humans survived the Smith virus and so after reboot there are still humans in the Matrix now. I would welcome disagreements however.

see Laura's post for a cool theory on that last bit.

I like your theory. I wish you mentioned purpose, though, because it seems to be the one driving force throughout all three (two for the purists) movies.

boris_G:

Laura's post seems to be mostly about how the human-Matrix interface can work, physically. I am sure there is good stuff there but I have taken such an interface for granted; it is not my primary concern here.

"Purpose" is indeed a big theme of the films, but (notice) only for the machines/AIs. The humans have something called "choice" (or free will) which machines can't quite understand; why does Neo fight Smith? There is no good purpose Smith can discern. Just because Neo chooses to. Why does Neo choose the "wrong" door? The Architect can't possibly fully understand the "love"/"hope" thing which makes him do something so apparently irrational.

So, we know that "purpose" is crucial for machines/AIs but humans (and the AIs in the train station) can rise above it through "love" etc. Smith also becomes detached from Matrix control and loses his "purpose" too. The key is that "purpose" is a big separator between machines/AIs, and humans/"evolved AIs". The former only know about their purpose; it guides them. The latter can rise above it and do things for "no reason".

Now, the main part where "purpose" enters my essay is in my interpretation of the Oracle. It goes this way: 1. The Oracle, however "intuitive" she has become, is still a program. (And not a "renegade" program! The Architect knows all about her and invited her in, she's a crucial part of the Matrix.) 2. She must have a purpose. 3. Everything she does must be designed to fulfill that purpose. So.... 4. what is that purpose?

That is the question I asked myself at the start of my essay, and you can see the conclusions I drew. Her purpose was to "bring peace" by resolving the unresolvable remainders that arise in the Matrix-prison. She did this by guiding human "remainders" into a religion of her creation. It worked.

kpucok wrote:

I think the machines have won the war more or less for good with humanity in a semi-permanent slave role; that's what this "peace" really means.

This reminds me a bit of the ending to Fritz Lang's Metropolis.

In that film, the ruler of the city has tried to replace the workers with robots, the first one having gone horribly wrong and caused a revolt. The workers work and live underground, while the upper class cavorts above ground. The final scene shows (via the ruler's son, who acts as a mediator) the ruler shaking hands with the foreman, leader of the workers.

Looks good, but the ruler has really won, because the revolt achieved nothing but the deaths of lots of workers.

Anyway, that does shed a different light on things, as far as The Matrix goes. Maybe all the machines ever wanted was a reliable energy source and peace enough to enjoy it. I suspect though, if there are more films in the offing, they'll deal with the outbreak of a new war.

Wow! I think Metropolis is an extremely apt comparison. Both contain a strong theme which I would summarize as "symbiosis is necessary". The last words of Metropolis are (as I recall) "the leaders must work hand in hand with the workers" or something along those lines. They sound corny to today's ears because we are not influenced as much by the political philosophies going around back then and which influence Fritz Lang (which I won't name), but despite that corniness, if you break it down, it seems to me that at its core the W. bros are pushing something similar, if not identical. I will have to think about it more, however.

Thanks for the comment. Food for thought!

IMO ...

The oracle and the architect is very similar to left brain and right brain functions. (Maybe the 'brain' of the source. I'll let others explore this theory.)

left being the architect. Analytical, structured, hence a mathematician.

right being the oracle. artistic, imaginative and creative.

The right brain oracle 'stumbles' upon the answers to the anomalies.
The left brain architect tries to develop solutions to these anomalies.

The right brain oracle knows the left brain architect's everymove. And is also able to understand that it is not a good long term solution. With numbers being infinite, the equations simply keeps going on without an end. Hence never ever being solved.

The architect simply cannot understand that 'everything that has a beginning has an end' becuase it is not mathematically possible. To the oracle it is.

So the oracle does all that she does and ends up with Safi. A program created out of love or in other words, an anomaly. This program is perfect for simulating or understanding human emotions. Why is she important? The left brain and the right brain function is somewhat predictable. It defines thought processes and characteristics.
It is the emotions that makes humans irrational and unpredictable.

The left brain architect cannot readily accept human emotion characteristics hence cannot accept the oracle's Safi.

Neo, the anomaly strongest infected by Love should have done enough to convince the left brain architect otherwise by defeating against all odds Agent Smith.

Hence the birth of the new matrix. Not because the Architect has gotten further in his calculations this time round, but more like the Oracle has put in alot of thoughts in what she stumbled upon in finding the answers to the anomalies.
Left brain, right brain and now throw in a heart(Safi) all working together to simulate human behaviour. This new matrix will ensnare humans better than before.
It will be able to better cope with anomalies much better than previous versions. And as to those anomalies that still do appear (no such thing as perfect), simply let them be free. But not every mind is ready to be unplugged. With the new matrix, even lesser minds can be unplugged.

So summing up, I tend to agree that the oracle did her part and it looks bleak for the human race.