»My take on things or Taffer's Rambling Babble«

This is how I see things. Stop me if it’s been said a million times before. If not, I’d like to dub it the ‘Perfectly Imperfect Equation Theory’ :p.

Neo is not a program, but a real human, through and through. He is, however, the “anomaly in the equation”. The way I look it is like this. The Matrix is basically ruled over by one giant equation. This equation accounts for everything, including the people who can’t accept the matrix (and hence the machines created zion for said people) and rogue programs (and hence they can be ‘exiled’, rather then just being deleted). I suspect the Architect views this as a stable equation; the Matrix is started, a few people disbelieve it, zion is build, the One is born, he chooses to start things again, zion is destroyed, and things all start again. However, this ‘Master Equation’ is not, in fact, stable, but dynamic. It is slowly changing over time. Perhaps the Architect cannot see this happening, because he is within the Matrix himself, or perhaps he sees it happening but knows there is nothing he can do to change it. Whatever the reason, it seems the Architect thinks things will continue going in a nice little circle forever; at least, he tries to convince Neo that’s how it’s going to be.

So the Equation is slowly changing, trying to equalize things out as it were. Every ‘iteration’ the One is produced, and he is slowly gaining more power, until finally Neo. He is the anomaly, for he is the imperfect part of an otherwise perfect equation. He is the unforeseen consequence in the Architects ‘Master Equation’. However, it is only imperfect in the eyes of the Master Equation’s creator, let’s say the Architect. Due to its very nature, however, the equation is in fact perfect. It’s just not quite what the Architect had in mind . “But how can he be an equation if he is human?” I hear you cry. The way I see it, the Master Equation governs all rules and laws (physical and otherwise) within the matrix. Every Iteration, there is one ‘space’ available for the One (as well as, for example, the Oricle). Additionally, as predicted by the equation, ever Iteration of the Matrix there is one man who will rise to become the One. Think of it like this: there is a chance of (for sake of argument) 1 in a 100 chance (there are only 100 people in this example matrix, per Iteration) of someone being born to be able to be the One. If we consider Neo the ‘ultimate’ One, then there is (again, for sake of argument) a 5 in 100 chance of the ultimate One being born. That way (on average, yadda yadda) it would take 5 Iterations before the ultimate One is born. See?

So now we have an explanation to where the One comes from, and why Neo isn’t the same as the ones before him. But what about the other ‘anomalous’ characters in the movie. The Ghost Twins, Agent Smith, et al. What if the equation is actually even less perfect then the Architect believes? What if there is a program version of the One? Let’s call him the antiOne. Perhaps the exact same situation I’ve put forward for the One above happens for the programs? Perhaps, every iteration an antiOne program is created, a program with greater the usual abilities. This could explain the Ghosts, and other ‘anomalous’ characters we see (including werewolves and other nasties). However, they would be retained within the Matrix between Iterations, unlike the One (see below for why ), because they simply are a part of the Matrix. They are code, just like it. Think of it like the way DNA is replicated from cell to cell, from generation to generation, while the outside environment is not. Now remember how I mentioned that the Master Equation could be trying to equalize itself (like all things in the universe). It is not implausible that the ultimate One and the ultimate antiOne turn up in the same Iteration. Thus we get the final ‘Boss Battle’ between Neo (the One) and Agent Smith (the antiOne).

I can take this further. Consider the quote that goes something like this (I believe it was Morpheus) “at first there was one born into the Matrix, able to change things at will. It was he who freed the first of us”. This is all very nice and ‘magical’, with the one true prophet and all, but it can be explained simply. Since we know that the Matrix runs in cycles (Iterations), and that zion is destroyed and rebuilt and the end of every Iteration, then how could they know what happened right back at the beginning? They couldn’t. It is my belief that this prophet they are talking about is, in fact, the One from the previous Iteration. We are told that all the One’s before Neo chose to be the one who takes a small number of people and rebuild zion (this seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it?). Similarly, the Oracle is probably a program that either has been around since the first Iteration, and thus knows that will happen each time but understands the Imperfection in the equation better then the architect, or simply understands the Imperfection in the equation, and can thus predict what will come.

And this brings me to the oft asked question of Neo’s abilities in the real world. While I hold no explanation to explain this, I must say I really like one of the possible twists that the admin of this site put forward in his introductory rant on the intro page. That the Matrix, and in fact the real world ‘outside’ the Matrix, are all in fact another Matrix like construct, with all the people simply being AI, created by humans to develop AI further, or for some kind of study. Kinda makes you think, dunnit?

But if I had to make any kind of guess, I’d have to go with the Matrix inside a Matrix view. It seems to me to be the only explanation to Neo’s Matrix like abilities outside the Matrix. And I believe this is even hinted at by the Brothers even in a simple thing like the name. Why, except for ‘cool-ness factor’ would people who have been brought into the real world still use their hacker alias, unless they were still inside the Matrix?

Kinda running out of steam here. So what do y’all think? Been done before? Silly and stupid? I have way too much time on my hands?