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Here is a Theory about The Matrix which I stumbled upon... it is a ball of ideas and beautiful explanation.
Quote: | Hi there, long time Matrix philosopher  I hope nobody minds the (spoilers) in the title, because this is a theory, but i'd hate to influence anyone who wants to keep an open mind about where they think Revolutions and the Matrix trilogy will end up.
I will begin by attempting to explain the nature of the Matrix, it's goals, how humans connect to it and how this impacts upon Neo. I also intend to explain what I percieve Smith's role to be and where this is all going to end. But first, let me hit you with my idea of how this is all going to end up.
Humanity is going to lose.
What I mean by "lose", well, i'll get to that.
The Matrix is, and has always been (through each of it's iterations) a system of control. It is designed to perpetuate the imprisonment of humanity as a source of power for the machines. Humans are implanted from birth with cybernetics which allow the uploading (and downloading) of their conciousness into the Matrix. They are also fitted with cybernetics and placed in special containers that harness their naturally generated heat and electricity.
The machines have no intention of giving up such a wonderful source of power and thus, have developed an elaborate system of control to ensure the perpetuation of their power source. What is IMO frequently misunderstood is how layered this system of control actually is.
There are no boxes within boxes. Zion is not another matrix. It is another means of control, yes, but it is not a matrix in and of itself. It IS constructed by machines - who must give each new Zion iteration a running start to ensure it's survival.
The entirety of the human involvement in the matrix can be likened to a long steam pipeline. Within this pipeline flows superheated steam, that is, the energy of humans. The pipeline, no matter how well the machines construct it, can never fully withstand the pressure of the steam flowing within it. There always MUST be a leak somewhere, no matter how minor, otherwise the entire pipe will buckle and all of the pressure will be lost.
Such is Zion - the deliberate flaw in a seal between two sections of the "pipe". It is designed to let out enough "steam" - that is, dissatisfied humans who do not accept the Matrix program - in order to perpetuate the continued flow of high pressure at minimum loss. Unfortunately, by it's very nature, this "leak" grows over time, representing an unacceptable risk to the pipe. Periodically the leak must be sealed over and a NEW leak DELIBERATELY created somewhere else in the pipeline. This is the destruction of Zion and the creation of a new "systemic anomaly", that is, a new "leak" of "steam" out of the pipe "to Zion".
I'll now discard the steampipe analogy
The machines are always researching newer and better ways to encapsulate humanity, even given their rebellious, unaccepting nature. The first attempts at the Matrix were a disaster, a perfectly formed structure that buckled instantly under the weight of disbelief. The machines realised quickly that humans are not perfect creatures and will not accept a perfect world - that the world around them must reflect, in it's on way, the flaws of humanity. But in doing so the machines also realised that in understanding the flaws of humanity they can construct a better Matrix so that the number that rejects it is reduced to a figure that approaches zero and that the time between Matrix reloads - the emergence of a new systemic anomaly - is lengthened.
Perhaps some of you can see where I am going with this. The last Zion was not necessarily around for as long as this one. The program has been getting better with each iteration, and as a result, less minds are freed, Zion grows slower, and the systemic anomaly does not need erasure until later. Perhaps the last Zion survived for 75 years, and this one has improved to the point where it lasts a full century. We may never know if this particular speculation is true, but I think it's likely.
Regardless, a result of this desire to understand and perfect the manipulation of the systemic anomaly - CHOICE - was the birth of the concept of "the One". The One is a deliberate creation by the machine world - an artificial intelligence downloaded (via cybernetics) into the body of a human - who personifies humanity's desire to disbelieve "fate" and other similar concepts and reject the matrix in it's entirety. The Oracle is perpetual and plays the role of assisting Neo in coming to realise the "truth" of the Matrix and rebel against it. Note that this does not make Neo in any way less "human" - he is every bit the individual as Trinity and Morpheus - but his origin is machine and he was created with specific predispositions designed to facilitate the functioning of The One.
(Very late EDIT to add the following)
Quote: | What? He's a program? NO WAY.
Yes way. Although he may not *entirely* be an AI, I believe that his conciousness was altered (the Architect says as much) and that some AI/influencing was written onto him, with the abilities activated by his death and rebirth. That additional code must be able to be downloaded into his real world body, and it is this download ability that Smith inherits by accident (or design).
Look at what the Oracle says to Neo in Matrix 1- it has many meanings.
Neo: I'm not the one.
Oracle: Sorry kid. You got the gift - but it looks like you're waiting for something.
Neo: What?
Oracle: Your next life, maybe.
The "gift" was the AI augmentation. Neo simply hadn't died to kickstart it off. Neo had to believe that he was The One - strongly enough to fight Smith in the subway, something that would lead to his death. But it is only after he dies that we feel that Neo truly has become "The One" - it's almost like a switch got thrown, isn't it. |
Every time the program plays out the same way. The Oracle selects a "Morpheus" figure to act as the identifier of this instatiation of the one and guide him/her to the realization. The Oracle selects a "Trinity" figure to act as the love interest. The Oracle gives this instatiation of "The One" the final quest, leading to his meeting with The Architect and The Source.
The Architect is not, and was never intended as the end. The Architect is a form of test for the "Neo" software, where the machines validate their creation. The Architect's dialogue hints at this in a number of places, by specifically stating the outcome and by stating that Zion HAS been destroyed five previous times. But if Neo chose the source door the other times.. why bother to complete destroying Zion? The truth is that Neo has never chosen the door to the Source, ever. If he had, he would have been revealed to have been imperfect and the "code" he carries would be analysed so that the flaws contained therein can be discovered. But the machines AI creation is so close to a human that it experiences love, emotion, and picks the door to save Trinity every time.
This is supported by The Oracle's dialogue to Neo just before The Burly Brawl. The Oracle specifically states that Neo has already made his decisions - quite a number of them in fact - but cannot see past the decision Neo does not understand. So the question is: what does Neo not understand?
In my mind the answer to this question is simple. Neo does not understand his own beliefs. He rejects the Matrix. He rejects control. He rejects manipulation, destiny, fate. He rejects ALL of it in the blind faith - HOPE - that humanity can forge their own path independant of the one laid out by the machines. The Architect makes a comment about how Hope is simultaneously humanity's best and worst thing - or similar. In this case, hope is being used to bring about our downfall.
Neo is WRONG because the machines have already taken his rejection into account. They designed him to reject everything - the whole enchilada - and then designed their system, their prophecy, so that he would accomplish what is intended by rejecting it.
Neo saved Trinity because he believes he can ALSO save Zion. He believes he can have his cake and eat it too. He does NOT accept that the destruction of Zion is a foregone conclusion, just like he did NOT accept that the death of Trinity is a foregone conclusion. (To reiterate: If he HAD, he would have been more logical than human, and the machine's AI would have therefore been defective, returned to the source and disseminated itself for improvement in the next iteration.)
Explaining the other players:
Merovigian: I believe he is the original systemic anomaly. The FIRST one. He was totally manipulated, his free will totally turned against him, and his rejection of the Matrix and the path laid before him shown to be his (and humanity's) undoing. Now he has rejected free will - he has rejected choice - and serves the role the Machines wish him to serve, perpetuating the functioning of The One. Persephone is a recreation of his "Trinity", or perhaps she is the original also. She makes too many comments directly to Trinity, and about Trinity's connection to Neo and the inevitability of their fate (and the fading of their love - "such a thing is never meant to last") that I can't believe she is a simple program. Either the Merovingian wrote her, or she is the original Trinity as he is the original Neo.
This validates the Merovigian's comment that he survived Neo's "predecessors" - his "successors" - and it explains why he takes such a dim view of choice, seeing it as a simple illusion between "those who have power and those who do not". Given what he must have been through, he is, in many respects, exactly right. He now spends his time as a trafficker of information, which also ties in with his belief in that knowing how the system works is, in essense, power. He also asserts that underneath our seemingly logical, mathematical causality humanity is as a whole is "out of control". To him, the only power is knowing what effect is desired in advance of the cause, as that is the power he NEVER had until far too late.
The Oracle: Perhaps not the original identifier of the systemic anomaly - we might never know for sure - but certainly one of the key players in perpetuating it. Everything she says is specifically designed to set Neo on his path.
Smith: Here is where it gets interesting.
I think Agent Smith is not a static player - his identity changes from Matrix iteration to iteration - but essentially plays the same role each time. Smith represents the agent of the matrix who is inevitably defeated in Neo's "resurrection" (an event that occurs each and every time a systemic anomaly emerges - perhaps it is the emergence event itself). In doing so, a crucial peice of Neo's code is written onto Smith.
As I said before Neo is a machine creation - a machine AI that is imprinted onto a human body. When Neo defeated Smith he passed onto Smith the ability to imprint himself permanently onto a human body - except that Smith is not tied to a specific single human body as Neo is. Smith can imprint himself on ANY human body, and goes about copying himself everywhere. This is how Smith gets "out" of the Matrix. I predict that Neo, too, will be freed of this restriction and imprint himself on many humans to combat the incredibly large numbers of Smiths in a final titanic battle.
Smith also plays a crucial role in that he now represents the threat to the Matrix from inside the Matrix. The coming sentinel army is the real world threat - Smith is the Matrix threat. Each threatens to destroy humanity in their own way - one, through murder, and the other through erasure. Smith is the final tool by which the reloading of the Matrix will be achieved. But I'll get to that.
Neo's "real world abilities": No, there's not a Matrix within a Matrix. After going to The Source and meeting The Architect, Neo's mind has been opened to further facilitate the functioning of The One. The line between human and cyborg in The Matrix must be nonexistant - every freed human MUST have some level of cybernetics implanted within them to facilitate connecting to the Matrix and the uploading their conciousness (which in Neo's case is an AI). I believe that Neo's abilities have been expanded so that he may draw on the energy of his body and emit an EMP-level blast - but in doing so, he drains himself of physical energy and collapses into a coma. But why? Well, that's a question that I can't currently answer. I suspect the next movie will tell us.
Wrapping it all up:
Neo did not choose to reboot the Matrix because he was not READY to. He does not believe that the destruction of Zion is inevitable - he also does not believe that the machines are destined to win or that Trinity is going to die. Yet all of these things WILL happen.
Neo must be made to realise the obviousness of the truth. He must be pushed into rebooting the matrix of his own free will. The choice with the Architect was simply a test - there was never any intention that he would reboot it then. He wasn't ready to make that decision at that time. The Architect simply introduced him into the decision he will make in the future, and in essense, tested his fitness as an AI/human.
Before Neo chooses to reload the matrix he must first see what his faux decision (at The Source) costs - the destruction of Zion, the death of Trinity, and the spread of the Smith virus throughout the Matrix overwriting the rest of humanity. Faced, on one hand, with an infinite number of Smiths to defeat, and on the other with the devastation of Zion and everything in the real world, I predict the final act of Neo in Revolutions will be to reboot the Matrix of his own free will. He will willingly choose to save everyone after seeing them lose everything because THAT is what is necessary to make him understand his decision - exactly what The Oracle stated he must do. He MUST choose to save them at the very end, when he realises there is no other option but to reboot for the greater good. Neo does not yet understand / accept the decision he must make.
This way, the Matrix is still around for "The Matrix Online" and other video games. Neo used his power to reboot the matrix, and everyone's waiting for the emergence of the next systemic anomaly - the seventh Neo, dying at the hands of the seventh Smith only to be resurrected by the AI code within him that prevents his death. I wonder what would have happened if Cypher HAD pulled the plug on Neo in the first Matrix movie?
The Matrix has played out the exact same way for each of it's five previous iterations. After all: how could the machines have gotten so efficient at destroying Zion if Neo hadn't turned down the Architect's offer to save Zion each and every time?? The video screens in the Architect scene confirm this - each and every Neo walks towards the door on the right.
The Architect has already told Neo everything he must do after reloading the matrix: establish a new Zion (probably with some help from the 250,000 sentinel force, they can build something really fast). Pick 23 people from the Matrix. Indoctrinate them in the "truth" of the Matrix and control... and finally, die of old age, whereupon The Oracle will reiterate the Prophecy for a seventh time. The Architect isn't going to be around to tell him what to do; if you notice, The Architect already told him everything he needs to know BEFORE asking him whether he was going to do it or not! And then The Architect said he knew which door Neo was going to pick!!
Everything is a control mechanism - even Neo's rejection of control - even the destruction of Zion. The Architect was telling the truth in every aspect except one - there will not be a cataclysmic system crash unless Neo chooses NOT to reboot the matrix at the very end of Revolutions (in this eventually, the Smith virus will corrupt the Matrix beyond even Neo's ability to remake it).
Humanity will lose, and the final scene of Revolutions will be the old Neo using his power, the screen goes black and then fades in again.. with a new Neo in a dingy apartment, asleep in front of his PC.
Addendum:
Just to clarify something: if you all remember back to what Morpheus said about the prophecy in Matrix 1. "There was a man born inside who could change whatever he wanted.. remake the matrix as he saw fit.. it was he who freed the first of us, taught us the truth". This line of dialogue fits in perfectly with the above theory, in that Morpheus would know the story of the previous Neo iteration who had remade the matrix as he saw fit and freed the first (23?) of the Zionites. I don't believe Morpheus met the previous Neo iteration; but I do believe the Zion people remember the previous Neo, and their legends speaks to him remaking the Matrix on his own and not by going into a doorway of light or anything like The Source.
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