»Basic sentinel question«

I watched a few minutes of The Matrix on TBS with my brother the other night. We watched the scene where Neo first encounters the sentinels on the Neb (Squiddy?.... A sentinel. Killing machine designed for one thing....Search...and destroy). My brother asks..."why cant the sentinel see them sitting there in the ship?"

I came up with a few things: I suppose that the Sentinels can only see the "light" of the machines as Neo saw the fields and 01. But also that the machines don't want to interrupt the searching for "The One". The machines are dependent upon the people of Zion the find the one and lead him through the path which will eventually lead him to the Architect....yada yada. So I think it's possible that the sentinel was aware of there presence but over looked it for that reason.

Man....this is like basic Matrix 101....but I guess after over analyzing a movie for 5 years ....anyway, am I overlooking something here or is this correct?


BTW: Whats up all my MxO friends? Long time to read. Good to see some familiar names around here still.

Spinak wrote:

So I think it's possible that the sentinel was aware of there presence but over looked it

I seriously doubt it

Hi Spinak. Good to see you

Spinak wrote:

why cant the sentinel see them sitting there in the ship?"

This does make for an interesting point. It reveals that sentinels/machines are 'looking' in a particular way -because the obvious visible presence of the ship right in front of its 'eyes' would surly cause it to investigate further. Just another one of those scenes that tell us that "appearances can be deceiving" and the originators of the movie are looking at it from a different perspective.

Another one to think about is the EMP that we are told is "the only weapon we have against the machines." Obviously on the surface of it this is not true as we see from later battles.

*Thats it Mr Anderson, look beyond the surface... look behind these dull cow eyes*

Ahhh. Just like old times.

Whats up guys. It's great to see you both.

Gotta be honest...I'm still a bit confused. Inev, your reply does help a bit, but I am looking for a more technical reason....or maybe a more simple explanation.

Quote:

sentinels/machines are 'looking' in a particular way -because the obvious visible presence of the ship right in front of its 'eyes' would surly cause it to investigate further. Just another one of those scenes that tell us that "appearances can be deceiving"

The machine sees the ship but does not recognise it as such. Kinda like those in the matrix and other systems of control see them but not as they are. Like Neo not recognising Bane. And like Smith not recognising the importance of Neo when he has him in custody. And like the Architect doesn't see the solution because of perspective.

I like the way Inev posts. When he answers a question, he provides principles that apply to so much more than what is being asked. Look for this aspect when you read his words.

He seems to be posting from a broader perspective, himself. This is esp. apropos considering many of the topics discussed lately deal with this theme from the 9/11 thread to the MWaM thread(s) - PERSPECTIVE!

quite possibly an error so to speak in continuity, but a rather small one, and really it is just part of the narative. Things need to happen a certain way to tell the story, if the sentinal kills everyone right then, the movie would have sucked no?

I think that maybe there are several reasons:

1. They cant see heat.

2. They only sense elctric impulses.

3. The ships have some kind of shield that makes it invisible to the machines.