»Previous Versions of the Matrix«

What were they like? It's clear from the movies that the first one was paradise but what about since then? Is it possible that rather than immediately moving to the "1999" matrix shown in the films there were other versions based on other myths and legends. This could in fact be where many of our myths come from. For example the first matrix was paradise but wasn't accepted by humans until choice was introduced (humanity was forced to leave Eden when Eve ate from the tree of knowledge - choice?). What about other myths. Was there a matrix based on vampires/werewolves etc. What about the Norse Gods - Odin/Thor?

Who really say, the Architect said that many failed and that he only counts the working ones that didn't have any systematic failures. So the ones that worked were probably all exactly like the Matrix we saw as they all had the anomaly and were all set in the 1999 modern world. I want to see an Animatrix film on all the failing Matrixes, that'd rule.

The first Matrix was a paradise (as you say).

The second Matrix (and all subsequent versions) were based on 1999.

Architect: Thus I redesigned it, based on your history, to more adequately reflect the grotesquerys of your nature

Smith: Did you know that the first Matrix was created to be a perfect world...it was a disaster. Thus the Matrix was redesigned to this; the peak of your civilisation

"...based on your history"

Human History begins when the man learns writing, before that it was prehistory, when the Architect says this line, he could mean from the beggining of documented facts that the machines assimilated, this has basis on Matrix Reloaded, exactly in theArchitect´s room and exactly when he says that, there a lot of documented historical videos showing on the screens, Hitler, Luther King, etc. I believe that each one has his/hers own "Ones"; Jesus, Noah, Martin Luther King, Alezander the Great, etc. and that´s when the new version is reloaded to continue history.

No. The Matrix is always set in 1999. The peak of our civilization.

Then how do you explain the Luther king (between others) images playing in the monitors?

irot wrote:

Then how do you explain the Luther king (between others) images playing in the monitors?

the machines had access to the whole of humanity's history through images in people's minds and through the computers that they controlled. why can't they have an image of anything that occured in the modern era?

Ok, so if the other Matrix were all 1999, then it kinda sucks, doesn´t it? i mean, people in The Matrix will be waiting forever for Matrix reloaded abd revolutions P.

I still have my thoughts, but that´s is a good observation of yours ;o)

If the matrix is always set in 1999 and it was last reloaded 100 years ago. Was it reloaded as 1899 and time passed until 1999. Or was it set to 1999 (1998 at the beginning of the first movie) and no time passes?

i think that 01 occasionally resets time in the Matrix. say, they go for a ten year span from 1996 to 2005. then, they roll back the clock and undo whatever progress has been made.

they have direct access to every brain in the system, so i don't see why they wouldn't be able to access memories, or for that matter, manipulate them.

i also think that they have control over how fast time goes and how often they can re-run something, but AG disagrees with this. even though it was in a story in a compilation that the W. Bros have their stamp of approval on.

Well Grendy, I agree that they can do it but I just cant see them doing it a hundred times. Maybe once in a year or something. That just gives them too much power. Because then they could do it whenever the rebels are in the Matrix and make it hard for them to communicate with the operators. Maybe they can only do it when there is no outside intereference in their system- meaning when no rebels are plugged into the Matrix.

Turns out Irot was right, wasn't he. The "based on your history" bit means just that. That the matrix was redesigned to replay the periods of human history. SEE PANDORA'S BOXES IN MXO.

nomad wrote:

If the matrix is always set in 1999 and it was last reloaded 100 years ago. Was it reloaded as 1899 and time passed until 1999. Or was it set to 1999 (1998 at the beginning of the first movie) and no time passes?

That's something I've always wondered as well. My assumption right now is that the 1999 version of the Matrix stays at that level for 100 years. This isn't something that would occur naturally, but with the kind of control the Machines have over the Matrix, I'm sure it's completely possible.

One of the reasons I think this is possible is the very beginning of M1. Agents show up and speak to policemen. The policemen regard the agents as offical authorities, and don't think anything of it. That scene made me realize that without any idea of how things are "supposed" to be, humanity could simply be taught to accept that agents are the ones who are in authority, and that's just how it is. Perhaps agents are placed in all sorts of key positions within Mega City, such as large corporations, governmental agencies, and patent offices. If this was the case, they could effectively stave off the progress of technology enough to keep the entire Matrix at a 1999-level.

In The Matrix Online, there is a corporation called the Kalt Corporation whose CEO is an Exile. The Machines work with her often and do not perceive her as an enemy--at least not as far as I can tell. There's a recent storyling going on in the game where the Machines actually go to Kalt Corporation to have them build something for them. For all we know, ALL the higher positions of authority in the Matrix belong to programs who keep their thumb on humanity. That sounds exactly like the thinking of a machine to me.

Grendelvs wrote:

i think that 01 occasionally resets time in the Matrix. say, they go for a ten year span from 1996 to 2005. then, they roll back the clock and undo whatever progress has been made. they have direct access to every brain in the system, so i don't see why they wouldn't be able to access memories, or for that matter, manipulate them. i also think that they have control over how fast time goes and how often they can re-run something, but AG disagrees with this. even though it was in a story in a compilation that the W. Bros have their stamp of approval on.

In the Matrix comic 'Goliath' we see they can manipulate people, access memories, and make time [in the Matrix] slow down and or speed up. It also would seem that time in the Matrix goes alot quicker than in the Real world [I think]. So a hundred years in the Matrix may be less than ten for that matter in the Real world easily. This alone puts a new spin on things. Imagine your entire life going by in less than thirty minutes or seconds. Yeah, now that redefines the word 'freaky'.

AgentDragon wrote:

Grendelvs wrote: i think that 01 occasionally resets time in the Matrix. say, they go for a ten year span from 1996 to 2005. then, they roll back the clock and undo whatever progress has been made. they have direct access to every brain in the system, so i don't see why they wouldn't be able to access memories, or for that matter, manipulate them. i also think that they have control over how fast time goes and how often they can re-run something, but AG disagrees with this. even though it was in a story in a compilation that the W. Bros have their stamp of approval on. In the Matrix comic 'Goliath' we see they can manipulate people, access memories, and make time [in the Matrix] slow down and or speed up. It also would seem that time in the Matrix goes alot quicker than in the Real world [I think]. So a hundred years in the Matrix may be less than ten for that matter in the Real world easily. This alone puts a new spin on things. Imagine your entire life going by in less than thirty minutes or seconds. Yeah, now that redefines the word 'freaky'. whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com... Here are some instructions for newbies who may come across this site so they all can read it. If you have a good connection and click 'High Bandwidth' than go to the Mainframe and click on the upper left TV screen. After that click on 'Goliath' under Series 1. I need to read Goliath again to refresh my memory banks. It is my favorite out of them all next to 'Run Saga, Run!'

Hm.. then what if a RedPill jacks into the Matrix.. if time passes faster inside the Matrix than the Real World it would be impossible to communicate with operators, etc.

Comics and other storries are very cool, but are they cannon? We don't know for sure..

I assume it does not happen all the time. Just when something in the Matrix needs to be fixed.

And yes, not everything in the movies, games, and comics go together perfectly.

In the movies it all goes perfectly! In EtM most of it, in PoN the general idea and in MxO well.. I don't have an idea!

th3 p4th wrote:

In the movies it all goes perfectly! In EtM most of it, in PoN the general idea and in MxO well.. I don't have an idea!

In M1 after Neo freaks out Brown and Jones by deleting Smith the two of them 'run away'. It is then assumed that they are upgraded to become the Agents we see in Reloaded but in MXO they are still alive and people to this day are being chased by them. In the Matrix Path of Neo after Smith is not the head of the two anymore, Agent White [who appeared in a Matrix comic 'Day in, Day out'] then it seems becomes the leader of the two. Agent Jones has more authority than Brown and is his leader when White is not around I assume because Jones gives him [Brown] orders. In the comic 'Day in, Day out' White is the head of Agents Bird and Ash as they fight against the rebels. In the Matrix comic 'A Path Among Stones' there is an Agent called Finn and he is with [guess] an Agent who goes by the name Jones.

Now all of this got me wondering. Brown and Jones probably did not get deleted after all. It also let me to believe that maybe the Arch-Agents [leader Agents] might switch places with other Agents and or take over a group if the head is deleted or unavailable [Smith for instance]. Here is a link to the page of where this was discussed:

Hm.. I see you've read all the Matrix comics. I did too and I liked them a lot. I also played PoN so I understand what you are talking about...

But I think that the Matrix is: The Matrix Trilogy + 4 episodes of the Animatrix that were written by the Ws + Enter the Matrix. All the other comics, games,etc. are not cannon for me because the Ws do not pay attention to them and they don't use them in their movies. I also think that MxO is not cannon as long as the brothers have not written it.

th3 p4th wrote:

Hm.. I see you've read all the Matrix comics. I did too and I liked them a lot. I also played PoN so I understand what you are talking about... But I think that the Matrix is: The Matrix Trilogy + 4 episodes of the Animatrix that were written by the Ws + Enter the Matrix. All the other comics, games,etc. are not cannon for me because the Ws do not pay attention to them and they don't use them in their movies. I also think that MxO is not cannon as long as the brothers have not written it.

Well not all of them. Just about 75% of them. I have, however, read all the ones with the Agents in them. *winks*
It is all a matter of opinion as to whether you consider certain things canon or not.

Back to the main topic. Lets see..what would the paradise be like? The first version of the Matrix would be like the Garden of Eden. A perfect world. It probably would have looked something similar to what Hawaii is today. Lush green rainforest with singing birds, no mosqitoes. It probably would have been very hot and because of this they would not need any body hair and because of the sunlight they would need to have more melatonin and thus become darker. There might be no need to hunt for food becuse you can just pick it off of trees [fruit]....okay then...everyone needs protein so maybe they did kill some little fuzzy critter. I am just trying to imagine what the 'paradise' the Architect and Smith described might look like.

th3 p4th wrote:

But I think that the Matrix is: The Matrix Trilogy + 4 episodes of the Animatrix that were written by the Ws + Enter the Matrix. All the other comics, games,etc. are not cannon for me because the Ws do not pay attention to them and they don't use them in their movies. I also think that MxO is not cannon as long as the brothers have not written it.

Just a bit of nitpicking, but it's "canon" not "cannon". Anyway, all of Paul Chadwick's storylines for MxO have to be approved by the Wachowski Brothers, who either give it the green light or suggest changes. They are very much involved in the continuing storyline of the game and have even been rumored to play it now and then.

Thanx for correcting me, and that forum is the only way I can practice my English!

Maybe you are right but all of these things that have happened at MxO (Morpheus death etc).. I don't know.. but I think the Ws wouldn't agree with them!

th3 p4th wrote:

Maybe you are right but all of these things that have happened at MxO (Morpheus death etc).. I don't know.. but I think the Ws wouldn't agree with them!

I understand your hesitation, but let me put your mind at ease. Here's a quote from Paul Chadwick himself during an interview with him by Matrix.stratics.com at

And EtM was written and directed by the Wach's as well. And since they agreed to release the 5 animes that they did not write along with the 4 they did, I guess its safe to include them in the canon as well.

I think it's my desire to adhere to canon that makes it difficult for me to truly get into the MxO game and do the whole roleplaying thing. There are lots of players who like to create their own stories and play them out within the game. For instance, even though all players are human redpills, some players pretend that one of their characters is an Exile. While this is interesting and all, I'm far more interested in where the "official" story is headed. From what I hear, Paul Chadwick has several years' worth of story ideas in his head, and they're only halfway through the first story arc right now (the story just started chapter 5, and I heard there will be 12 chapters). Not only that, but many of the roleplayers like to give their characters a backstory that inevitably includes some reason as to why they're so important (raised by the Oracle, destined to kill the Merovingian, etc. etc.). That kind of stuff just makes me roll my eyes.