»License Plates«

I think one thing which hasn't exactly been discussed here are those infamous license plates.

The Twins’ truck on the freeway: DE2852. Deutronomy 28:52 — They shall besiege you in all your towns, until your high and fortified walls, in which you trusted, come down throughout all your land. And they shall besiege you in all your towns throughout all your land, which the LORD your God has given you.

Trinity and Morephus’ Cadillac on the freeway: DA203. Daniel 2:03 — I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.

Agent Smith’s Audi at the beginning: IS5416. Isaiah 54:16— Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

Now the main one here that interests me is indeed Agent Smith's. In this passage, God is the "I", so does this essentially equate to Neo? It makes sense up to the point, as it would indeed fit inline with the fact that he created him. Smith is what he is now because of Neo. The bloweth the coals in the fire could mean Smith is fueling the flames of war. At this point I try to consider what this adds up to with Morpheus's "He fights for us" in the Revolutions trailer.

It does seem Agent Smiths name has a fantastic double meaning. Smith is the most common name, tons of them, just like agents. Tons of anonymous people (sorry to all the people with last name Smith out there). Smith is also a blacksmith, one who creates, and more specifically one who creates weapons (amoungst other things, although weapons are specified in this passage). So is Smith creating a weapon for humans without knowing it? Perhaps he does know it? How does this all fit in with his talk with Morpheus, "Once Zion is destroyed there is no more reason for me to be here." It seems in Reloaded he is aware of the fact that things are in a bit of a loop ("its happening exactly as before.."), so what makes this time different? Why is he now all of a sudden so worried?

In the revolutions trailer we certainly see Agent smith flying at Neo, so it seems that Smith has become somewhat of a carbon copy of Neo. It has been said that Smith is a virus. The best kind of virus I can associate with him is a bit of a trojan virus. Trojan in the fact that those viruses attach themselves to normal exe's which work and all, but then infect other exe's, etc. They keep spreading and spreading and spreading. Very similar to Bane, who looks all the same, talks the same, but in him is some nasty code which is gonna do some damage.

Could we then translate the entire concept of Smith being a trojan virus back into the original story where the virus got its name? The trojan horse was a weapon which allowed the Greeks to get right into the heart of their base nice and good and destroy it from the inside. Obviously the parrell here is the base is the Matrix.

So what happens if Neo properly defeats Smith and gains control of him and all his lackys? What happens if all the people in Zion might be able to control one "smith" each? Suddenly they're controling thousands of people in the matrix, and they might all have a substantial amount of power (if when controling the Smiths they inherit the properties as well, which would include the powers of Neo which we see Smith might have since he's flying and dishing out punches equivilant to Neos). Now we've got a serious systemic anamaly. Tons of people attacking it from the inside.

This is just a bit of babbling and connecting dots a 1am in the morning when I should be sleeping, so I might be off my rocker, but looking at this I think its a really cool idea which might just work. I definitely belive Smith is a trojan virus. The verse says he's creating a weapon, although if Smith himself knows it or not I myself don't know. The Matrix is full of twists, as this site says. I think this twist is a plausible one, unlike the Matrix within a Matrix things or Neo isn't actually The One ideas, etc.

Tell me what you think! Lets figure these license plates out!

I have collected other translations for Isaiah:

Quote:

Isaiah 54:16 :: New International Version (NIV) See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc; Isaiah 54:16 :: New American Standard Bible (NASB) Behold, I Myself have created the smith who blows the fire of coals And brings out a weapon for its work; And I have created the destroyer to ruin. Isaiah 54:16 :: The Message (MSG) I create the blacksmith who fires up his forge and makes a weapon designed to kill. I also create the destroyer-- Isaiah 54:16 :: Amplified Bible (AMP) Behold, I have created the smith who blows on the fire of coals and who produces a weapon for its purpose; and I have created the devastator to destroy. Isaiah 54:16 :: New Living Translation (NLT) I have created the blacksmith who fans the coals beneath the forge and makes the weapons of destruction. And I have created the armies that destroy. Isaiah 54:16 :: King James Version (KJV) Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. Isaiah 54:16 :: English Standard Version (ESV) Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and produces a weapon for its purpose. I have also created the ravager to destroy; Isaiah 54:16 :: Contemporary English Version (CEV) Don't forget that I created metalworkers who make weapons over burning coals. I also created armies that can bring destruction. Isaiah 54:16 :: New King James Version (NKJV) Behold, I have created the blacksmith Who blows the coals in the fire, Who brings forth an instrument for his work; And I have created the spoiler to destroy. Isaiah 54:16 :: 21st Century King James Version (KJ21) Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. Isaiah 54:16 :: American Standard Version (ASV) Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the fire of coals, and bringeth forth a weapon for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. Isaiah 54:16 :: Darby Translation (DARBY) Behold, it is I who have created the smith that bloweth in the fire of coal, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the destroyer to ravage. Isaiah 54:16 :: New International Version - UK (NIV-UK) See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc;

Wow, that's some cool stuff guys.
It's the little things that really throw this movie past the next level.
Can I get an amen?

care to figure out the real one,, the plate on the matrix website.

LA887


anyone??

i've been trying ot figure out this one since they posted the pic ages ago

Maybe
L-A-8-8-7
L-A-R-R-Y

When I first read the biblical reference / licence plate theory, I decided to check it out.

I was surprise how few licence plates are actually visible in the films. In fact some look almost intentionally unreadable. Kinda fuzzed out.

The few I found included in the underground garage (fight with twins)

CK880
CK239
A0428

Now to stretch the biblical refernces to breaking point, ACTS 4:28 is;

"For to do whatever thy hand and thy councel determined before to be done". Hey I did say it was stretching it.

The other thing I noticed was that the cars in the garage are from different time periods, cars you would expect in a museum. Maybe nothing, but I had to mention it.

Anyway, if the licence plates ARE refernces, then what about Naomi's plate "BO231".

Since none of the books of the bible begin with 'B', it can't be from there. Unless you count the word "Bible" itself.

Hmmm, it's a pickle...

marl64 wrote:

The other thing I noticed was that the cars in the garage are from different time periods, cars you would expect in a museum. Maybe nothing, but I had to mention it.

Maybe because they filmed in Australia?

Quote:

Anyway, if the licence plates ARE refernces, then what about Naomi's plate "BO231".

Niobe's plate shows that and don't understand it, too.

Very interesting, and there are a lot of good points. Now I have some questions for YOU to answer.
What about the exceptions, like mentally unstable, mentally ill, conjoined twins?
Are mentally unstable people unstable because their system can't take the Matrix, but no one believes them when they say they're seeing ghosts and stuff?
Are mentally ill people mentally ill when they go OUTSIDE of the Matrix?
And conjoined twins. Are they a malfuntion of a pod machine? Or are they SUPPOSED to be like that to make people in the matrix believe that the world isn't perfect? Are they in the same pod, or in different pods? If they were to ever be freed, would (let's say it's morpheus) Morpheus give them 2 sets of blue/red pills, or just one? Would they die if one chose a blue pill and one chose a red pill? Would they be conjoined in real life?

Were all of these things above done ON PURPOSE by the machines, or accidental?

What's going to really burst your bubble is, are they even IN this world called the Matrix?

Reply what you think. So far, no one has any theories.

This the wrong Topic. Please post that in the "Ask" forum

Here are more license plates, mainly from highway chase. Some were fuzzy from motion blur and may not be completely correct.
CK 229
BD 224
BE 435
CL 002
TX 729
C 2788 (or maybe CZ 788?)
CR 255? (last digit unreadable)

and some plates from police cars: 73955, 35529

strife wrote:

Agent Smith’s Audi at the beginning: IS5416. Isaiah 54:16— Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

Other point of interest; Why did Agent Smith arrive with Audi? Especially when W bros had Cadillac as a sponsor. Could this come from latin? Audi means "Listen!"

Now I am just waiting that somebody drives Volvo (=I roll)

do you think it might be a reference to Ob vs. 1-3 (backwards BO321)

..."An envoy was sent to the nations to say,
"Rise, and let us go against her for battle"-

2 "See, I will make you small among the nations;
you will be utterly despised.
3 The pride of your heart has deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rocks
and make your home on the heights,
you who say to yourself,
'Who can bring me down to the ground?'

Isn't the car Morpheus rides in on the freeway have the plate DA023?

Daniel 2:3
And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.

knnknn wrote:

marl64 wrote: The other thing I noticed was that the cars in the garage are from different time periods, cars you would expect in a museum. Maybe nothing, but I had to mention it. Maybe because they filmed in Australia?

I believe all the car chase scenes were filmed in Oakland, CA.

GmcG wrote:

Isn't the car Morpheus rides in on the freeway have the plate DA023? Daniel 2:3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.

Didn't you read the first post in the thread?

Probably Larry, but also, the year 887 was the end of the Merovingian kings (Charles the Fat)

sum1 wrote:

Probably Larry, but also, the year 887 was the end of the Merovingian kings (Charles the Fat)

It is not LA887 but AL887

BO321 - Niobe's license plate
Seems obvious. 321 is like saying 'something's backwards." BO backwards is OB. Niobe is Neo + OB. Maybe Niobe likes Neo or something.

AL887 - the Matrix.com website
Maybe AL887 means the year "After Life" 887? Don't know about that.

I read many suggestions on a dvdtalk.com forum. I'm most interested in the fact that the 7 looks like an L upside down, looks like [88]. The significance of 88 that they never mentioned is that 8 is the eternity symbol (sideways). AI is immortal, basically, its primary distinction over humans. A + infinity ~ something to do with AI.

Conversely, Neo = New One, another pesky mortal who comes along every now and then bugging the agents (moreso than the Architect). Neo is not only a cool sounding name but maybe a 3 letter abreviation that the computers assigned the anomolies. Sorry about the tangent, but maybe there is something more to 3-letter abbreviations specifically.

Did anyone catch the liscense plate on their car after they picked up Neo?

was it AA0314

? I tried to see.

Having spent some time in the past studying the use of numerology in classical music (particularly the composers J.S. Bach and D. Shostakovich), I think I may have a lead on the numbers 123 (seen in the car park just before the chase) and Niobe's license plate 231.

Concerning the number 123, it is well-known that this particular number has traditionally been seen as symbolic of the Trinity. It is not difficult to see why; in the ONE number, the digits 1-2-3 enumerate the persons of the Trinity; hence giving the idea of three-in-one. Another number often used in this way is 111, for obvious reasons. Ludwig van Beethoven is believed to have used 123 in his greatest religious work the "Missa Solemnis", to which he assigned the opus number 123. Normally the opus numbers would have been assigned in chronological order of composition, but this was not the case for this work, as Beethoven's Op 122 was in fact composed later than this. The opening bars of the "Credo" movement of the Missa Solemnis comprise 123 bars. (Beethoven often appeared to rig his opus numbers, and assigned them himself, rather than the usual practice of leaving it to the publisher).

In the light of this, and given that (I think) the glimpse of the licence plate 123 is in the car park, when Trinity is the only person visible in the shot, then I think this may just be deliberate. Not that it has any particularly deep meaning; more like a bit of "garnish" added by the writers.

Niobe's number 231 is more subtle. 231 is a so-called "triangular number", being the sum of the integers 1+2+3+ .... + 21. Triangular numbers are immensely important in the history of maths, and have been revered by differing traditions since ancient Egyptian times. The ancient Egyptians were believed to have revered the number 55 because it is the 10th Triangular number (1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10), and 10 is itself a Triangular number (1+2+3+4). The reason we count in base 10 may not, in fact be due to us having 10 fingers and thumbs, but down to the fact that the Ancient Greeks revered to the point of worship the number 10 represented as a triangle, which they called the "Tetratkys". Triangular numbers also figure prominently in the New Testament; in fact all the numbers between 100 and 1000 that are reported as an exact figure are triangular; these are:

153 (the 17th Triangular) in John 21:11 (the fishes in the net)
276 (the 23rd) in Acts 27:37 (the number of survivors of Paul's shipwreck)
666 (the 36th) in Revelation 13:18 (the infamous "number of the beast").

The 231 of Niobe's license plate is a kind of mega triangular number, being the 21st Triangular, which itself is the 6th Triangular which in turn is the 3rd Trangular, which in turn is the second triangular (1+2=3). By convention, 1 is considered a "degenerate" triangular number.

Does it mean anything more apart from drawing attention to itself as a triangular? Here's a speculative idea. Given that many other number plates are biblical references, it MAY be the case that the 231 refers to the famous 153 (which crops up in "Revolutions". This is because 231 may be written as 21x11, and John 21:11 is the verse about the 153 fishes in the net. Does this have an interpretation in the context of the film? Well ... this is stretching it a bit, but the 153 fishes are often thought to be a reference to those who are "saved" (as in "I will make you fishers of men" - Mark 1:17). In the light of this it may be related to the fact that Niobe "saves" Morpheus by catching him on the bonnet of the car when he falls from the truck.

How's that for a convoluted theory?

[Aside: in Revolutions, the passage number 153 is mentioned in close proximity with the number 21, again possibly linking the two, or maybe referring to John 21 where it occurs].

GmcG wrote:

Isn't the car Morpheus rides in on the freeway have the plate DA023? Daniel 2:3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.

I know someone said to you "did you not read the first post" but this quotation is obviously from a different version of Daniel 2:3, ie the words say the same thing but are different.

This version intrigues me as it strikes a remarkable resemblence to what Morpheus himself says when the Neb is destroyed at the end of Reloaded. "I have dreamed a dream... [and although it is hard to make out what he said next it sounds something like] and now that dream is gone from me" Whatever he actually says, perhaps this mirrors the version of Daniel 2:3 the Wachowski's were reading from, and as such may have more significance

strife wrote:

I think one thing which hasn't exactly been discussed here are those infamous license plates. The Twins’ truck on the freeway: DE2852. Deutronomy 28:52 — They shall besiege you in all your towns, until your high and fortified walls, in which you trusted, come down throughout all your land. And they shall besiege you in all your towns throughout all your land, which the LORD your God has given you. Trinity and Morephus’ Cadillac on the freeway: DA203. Daniel 2:03 — I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means. Agent Smith’s Audi at the beginning: IS5416. Isaiah 54:16— Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. Now the main one here that interests me is indeed Agent Smith's. In this passage, God is the "I", so does this essentially equate to Neo? It makes sense up to the point, as it would indeed fit inline with the fact that he created him. Smith is what he is now because of Neo. The bloweth the coals in the fire could mean Smith is fueling the flames of war. At this point I try to consider what this adds up to with Morpheus's "He fights for us" in the Revolutions trailer. It does seem Agent Smiths name has a fantastic double meaning. Smith is the most common name, tons of them, just like agents. Tons of anonymous people (sorry to all the people with last name Smith out there). Smith is also a blacksmith, one who creates, and more specifically one who creates weapons (amoungst other things, although weapons are specified in this passage). So is Smith creating a weapon for humans without knowing it? Perhaps he does know it? How does this all fit in with his talk with Morpheus, "Once Zion is destroyed there is no more reason for me to be here." It seems in Reloaded he is aware of the fact that things are in a bit of a loop ("its happening exactly as before.."), so what makes this time different? Why is he now all of a sudden so worried? In the revolutions trailer we certainly see Agent smith flying at Neo, so it seems that Smith has become somewhat of a carbon copy of Neo. It has been said that Smith is a virus. The best kind of virus I can associate with him is a bit of a trojan virus. Trojan in the fact that those viruses attach themselves to normal exe's which work and all, but then infect other exe's, etc. They keep spreading and spreading and spreading. Very similar to Bane, who looks all the same, talks the same, but in him is some nasty code which is gonna do some damage. Could we then translate the entire concept of Smith being a trojan virus back into the original story where the virus got its name? The trojan horse was a weapon which allowed the Greeks to get right into the heart of their base nice and good and destroy it from the inside. Obviously the parrell here is the base is the Matrix. So what happens if Neo properly defeats Smith and gains control of him and all his lackys? What happens if all the people in Zion might be able to control one "smith" each? Suddenly they're controling thousands of people in the matrix, and they might all have a substantial amount of power (if when controling the Smiths they inherit the properties as well, which would include the powers of Neo which we see Smith might have since he's flying and dishing out punches equivilant to Neos). Now we've got a serious systemic anamaly. Tons of people attacking it from the inside. This is just a bit of babbling and connecting dots a 1am in the morning when I should be sleeping, so I might be off my rocker, but looking at this I think its a really cool idea which might just work. I definitely belive Smith is a trojan virus. The verse says he's creating a weapon, although if Smith himself knows it or not I myself don't know. The Matrix is full of twists, as this site says. I think this twist is a plausible one, unlike the Matrix within a Matrix things or Neo isn't actually The One ideas, etc. Tell me what you think! Lets figure these license plates out!

I think it is almost as if we are trying to make the Bible fit the MAtrix movie as well as the Matrix fit the Bible.

What are we trying to see in the correlations between the seens and the verses?

scmia wrote:

I think it is almost as if we are trying to make the Bible fit the MAtrix movie as well as the Matrix fit the Bible. What are we trying to see in the correlations between the seens and the verses?

I tend to agree here. It is important not to try to draw too deep conclusions from the dense web of allusions that are present in the movie. It's fun to spot the allusions, but if we try to make that distort the meaning of the movie to fit our deductions then we've "lost the plot" somewhat. I wrote in an earlier post about the number plate 123 and the possible allusion to the Trinity (with Trinity being visible in the same shot with the number plate). As I suggested, this was probably no more than "garnish" that was added at the time; a fun thing to spot. In a way such things are a bit like similes; a poetic device suggesting a parallel. But that doesn't mean that every aspect of the parallel should be explored.

For example, there has been much discussion as to whether Neo is supposed to be Christ. All the signs and allusions are there; the prophecy of the One; the name Anderson meaning "Son of Man", the Mark 11 number 3 in the Nebuchadnezzar. But all these are just highlighting the fact that Neo dies to save people and to free their minds. But most stories are built up on a number of "story patterns" and a common story pattern (because it makes a good story), is what you could call the "Saviour" pattern, when the good guy, or superhero saves people. It was even suggested by British film critic Barry Norman that in The Terminator, the name John Connor was deliberately chosen because the initials are the same as Jesus Christ & that Connor was the one who led the resistence against the machines and thereby was the only hope to save humankind. I don't know if the J-C is a coincidence here, but it's clear that this is where the parallel ends.

Unlike the John Connor example I've no doubt at all that Neo's allusions are quite deliberate, and a parallel is drawn with Christ. And yet again there is a very significant difference between any of these "Saviour pattern" stories and the biblical pattern. (Call it a legend, a myth or the truth according to your own beliefs). The significant difference is that in "Saviour pattern" stories, the super hero always rescues the innocent from some peril & in some the Saviour has to die in order to accomplish this.

However, in the New Testament, Christ dies to save the guilty, not the innocent, as in (e.g.) I Peter 3:18 which says "For Christ died for since once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring you to God".

Note two things; Christ dies ONCE; Neo has to do it twice. Secondly those who are being saved are "the unrighteous"; whereas in The Matrix, those being saved (unplugged) are completely innocent victims of the machines.

Therefore I think it is wrong to try to push the parallels too far. Neo is NOT Christ & I don't think the Wachowskis intended to push a message of salvation for sinners in the film. To push the analogy too far is to distort the writers' intent. Neo is a bit like Christ ie. has certain attibutes in common (ie setting people free by showing them the truth). But that's as far as it goes.

what if al887 is just an innocuous reference to the 3 thing again like this.

A = 1
L = 12 = 1 + 2 = 3
8
8
7

add them (1+3+8+8+7) and you get 27 which comes down to 3 at base.

or you could just add them again making 9 which is 3 x 3.

or i could just be clutching at straws here lol either way it is frustrating with that plate.

If Niobe's plate number truly is BO231, then I believe it is refering to this: Bible, on [page] 231, which is about a gathering in the first part, like the gathering of captains in reloaded. Which is where Niobe splits off from the others to find Morpheus, which is kind of what the bible is saying on pg 231. Heres a link, go to search: page number and type in 231