»NOT A JOKE: My Matrix Story was written in 1989«

All this stuff about theft etc. was bound to come out. The Matrix was very successful and thought provoking but I have to say that there is really little in the film (with regards to the story) that is truly original. The Greeks over 2000 years ago pondered reality as did the French philosopher Descartes several hundred years ago. There have been many films such as Dark City, Existenz and so on which pre-dated the matrix and had similar themes. Just to give you an example heres my own story..

About 14 or so years ago (1989?) I pondered reality as a teenager and started to philosophise about it. I figured that everything I know to be real was arriving at my brain by my senses using electrical signals. Thus, the questions of what is real, what is not , and how would I know the difference came apparent to me. THese things could indeed be simulated! This idea intrigued me so I wrote a short story about it. The story was called Alien Plane.

In a nutshell it's about an ordinary guy working in the software business (yep) that one day witnesses a strange event where space and time seem to be manipulated. He basically sees Deja Vu type phenomena (ala Matrix). Watching what happens from a hidden vantage point he sees the classic Men In Black silencing a witness (that I incorporated from my other interest at the time : UFOs .. yes it is really sad isnt it!). The inevitable happens.. he gets spotted and paid a visit by the MIBs. He ends up on the run with his girlfriend but is helped by a small group of people that claim to know what is going on. The plot thickens a bit here where the reader isn't quite sure whether or not this group are telling the truth. To cut a long story short the MIBs are virtually indestructable and his only option is to covertly follow the MIBs back through a "doorway" to find where they are coming from and perhaps destroy them before they kill him. {There is a lot leading up to this which makes this his only choice} This is now the Matrix moment where Neo wakes up in the pod! Except, I didn't bother with all the fluid and heat exchanger stuff. Our reluctant hero is disorientated and confused as comes around and sees a massive underground labyrinth of pods in a futuristic setting. Eventually he finds his way to a control room (yes - even with loads of monitors showing what is happening in the world he has just come from). He then pieces together that this futuristic underground place is the real world and passing through the "doorway" has awoken him - where as the MIBs had some how been re-absorbed into the simulation (you discover later that they are in fact programs). All sounding a little familiar?

He ends up fighting a load of robots / machines etc. that are running this sim (and maintenance etc.) with people enslaved but finds out that the whole thing had been created by humans and that a council were alive and living quite happily in this real world whilst other humans were enslaved into the system.

He ends up getting caught by the robots and has a one on one with yes you guessed it - The Architect (named exactly as per Matrix) who is head of the council. He then explains more..

Unlike the Matrix movies the humans are not there to keep the boiler water hot or something like that but originally volunteered themselves into the system when the earth above ground was destroyed by a comet impact.

THere is a lot more explanation and justification in the story about why their brains needed to be active, multiple lives - reincarnation etc. to account for time passing, and why it was the 20th century in the sim etc. etc. but too much to go into now!

Up shot is that the Earth has recovered and all is well above ground but the evil councilors want to select who will live in the real world and who won't! The naughty blighters!

Hero escapes and then kills off the councillors.

He then goes looking for the pod with his love (girlfriend) in but can't find it on the system. Nor can he find his family and friends! Finally, though he tracks them down to a remote part of this facility only to discover they are a rack of computers! Yep, you guessed it - they are A.I.s that only exist inside the Sim (Matrix or whatever). Heartbroken and confused he sees no other alternative but to plug himself back in to the system forever.

End of Story

It was never officially published but I still have it and many people read it. It was incomplete in parts too. THere were many other co-incidences between my story and The Matrix.. too many to go into now.

Point of this post is that the Matrix is not original but its not a copy either. They've simply weaved together lots of stuff already out there into 3 interesting movies.

Just for the record I thought that the Matrix Trilogy was brilliant except they need a forth with a twist .. e.g. Matrix in a Matrix, Neo is a program, Smith is actually Human - somehow, Architect is human and alive somewhere in the real world etc. etc.

Nick C

uhhhh....ok....

Just remembered:

There was a Twilight Zone episode (one of the modern colour ones) that predates the matrix by many years that had similarity with the matrix concept. Essentially there is this guy who is sitting in a field with his wife / girlfriend and everything is perfect. They're both in love and everything is great but every now and again there is a sort of glitch in the space-time (or whatever) and he can smell burning. He keeps saying "can you smell burning?" but his other half can't smell it. It goes on for a while and suddenly the viewer is shown a futuristic VR type facility with hundreds of pods (like the matrix) and the one with the guy in is on fire! Hence the burning smell. I think he dies. End of Story.

See also my other post in the forums about how we are probably existing in a matrix now. This is a view held by many major world thinkers and physicists! It's all to do with Time Travel.

Hey, I haven't read your other article man, but I don't think we are in a matrix because of time travel, first off, then what would time be outside of this matrix? I think that time itself is just a concept moreso, and that the reason physics has such a hard time explaining it is because it is nothing like what they think it is. There is a book on this by Julian Barbour called, "The End of Time."

Time does not exist within our dimension. The thing we think of as time is nothing more than a measure of the rate at which things occur and their order. The true essence of time is null in our dimension. Every day is not truly an individal day. There's no true linear structure to the way things unfold in our world, we have just made the illusion that this linear pattern exists. The sun comes up one time, get covered by clouds the next moment, but it doesn't mean you can reverse it all and make the sun come back up...it is just part of the programming of our universe.

And ya, I used the word programming, because ultimately that is what the laws of physics are, natural programming interwoven with our universe.

Anyone ever see that 80's movie where everyone puts the monitor cords in the back of their necks? The world is blown up and now everyone submits to a Matrix they created themselves? It was pretty twisted, and has Bruce Campbell in it (the guy from Evil Dead and Army of Darkness).

What is interesting is that it took the same concept and came to some very different conclusions. When I first saw it I thought it sucked, but re-evaluating some of the things that happen it's really wild. It really is The Matrix in reverse.

That was the name of the movie: Mindwarp. It's worth a rent just for the discussion on this site.

er yeah... look at me that matrix is real. do u really think u can stick a big needle in the back of your head right into the brain? I that would kill you. Besides if this was the matrix its pretty pothetic having you here!

no...its pretty pathetic not being able to grasp basic english

Broadsword2004 wrote:

Hey, I haven't read your other article man, but I don't think...

I thinks that's enough right there.

So you decided to counter a theory you haven't read. Nice.

I suggest you find out what it is you're not agreeing and you might see why a lot of what you say is not relevant.

It's not about time travel in the typical sense, it's about the future use of complex computer simulations to recreate the time we live in now.

You'll find a thread on the subject matrix-explained.com...

Cool story, might wanna read it.

sophia stuart has NO case. no case, she stole word for word from the bible GO F YOURSELF SOPHIA

Ah Agent Zero, cool and composed, as always.

Yaldaboath

Quote:

Ah Agent Zero, cool and composed, as always.

Of Course he is.

the anomaly

Quote:

no...its pretty pathetic not being able to grasp basic english

Good one there.

You acctually think someones gona believe that

nickgrc:

Yes, I remember that Twilight Zone episode! At the end, it turns out that the woman is in a VR situation and I think her equipment malfunctions and she gets her brain tied into the VR forever.

As for the original post, it's a shame you didn't put together a script and submit it to Hollywood. That is a great story. In fact, I'm willing to support you in a lawsuit against the Wacko Bros.

nickgrc wrote:

All this stuff about theft etc. was bound to come out. The Matrix was very successful and thought provoking but I have to say that there is really little in the film (with regards to the story) that is truly original. The Greeks over 2000 years ago pondered reality as did the French philosopher Descartes several hundred years ago. There have been many films such as Dark City, Existenz and so on which pre-dated the matrix and had similar themes. Just to give you an example heres my own story.. About 14 or so years ago (1989?) I pondered reality as a teenager and started to philosophise about it. I figured that everything I know to be real was arriving at my brain by my senses using electrical signals. Thus, the questions of what is real, what is not , and how would I know the difference came apparent to me. THese things could indeed be simulated! This idea intrigued me so I wrote a short story about it. The story was called Alien Plane. In a nutshell it's about an ordinary guy working in the software business (yep) that one day witnesses a strange event where space and time seem to be manipulated. He basically sees Deja Vu type phenomena (ala Matrix). Watching what happens from a hidden vantage point he sees the classic Men In Black silencing a witness (that I incorporated from my other interest at the time : UFOs .. yes it is really sad isnt it!). The inevitable happens.. he gets spotted and paid a visit by the MIBs. He ends up on the run with his girlfriend but is helped by a small group of people that claim to know what is going on. The plot thickens a bit here where the reader isn't quite sure whether or not this group are telling the truth. To cut a long story short the MIBs are virtually indestructable and his only option is to covertly follow the MIBs back through a "doorway" to find where they are coming from and perhaps destroy them before they kill him. {There is a lot leading up to this which makes this his only choice} This is now the Matrix moment where Neo wakes up in the pod! Except, I didn't bother with all the fluid and heat exchanger stuff. Our reluctant hero is disorientated and confused as comes around and sees a massive underground labyrinth of pods in a futuristic setting. Eventually he finds his way to a control room (yes - even with loads of monitors showing what is happening in the world he has just come from). He then pieces together that this futuristic underground place is the real world and passing through the "doorway" has awoken him - where as the MIBs had some how been re-absorbed into the simulation (you discover later that they are in fact programs). All sounding a little familiar? He ends up fighting a load of robots / machines etc. that are running this sim (and maintenance etc.) with people enslaved but finds out that the whole thing had been created by humans and that a council were alive and living quite happily in this real world whilst other humans were enslaved into the system. He ends up getting caught by the robots and has a one on one with yes you guessed it - The Architect (named exactly as per Matrix) who is head of the council. He then explains more.. Unlike the Matrix movies the humans are not there to keep the boiler water hot or something like that but originally volunteered themselves into the system when the earth above ground was destroyed by a comet impact. THere is a lot more explanation and justification in the story about why their brains needed to be active, multiple lives - reincarnation etc. to account for time passing, and why it was the 20th century in the sim etc. etc. but too much to go into now! Up shot is that the Earth has recovered and all is well above ground but the evil councilors want to select who will live in the real world and who won't! The naughty blighters! Hero escapes and then kills off the councillors. He then goes looking for the pod with his love (girlfriend) in but can't find it on the system. Nor can he find his family and friends! Finally, though he tracks them down to a remote part of this facility only to discover they are a rack of computers! Yep, you guessed it - they are A.I.s that only exist inside the Sim (Matrix or whatever). Heartbroken and confused he sees no other alternative but to plug himself back in to the system forever. End of Story It was never officially published but I still have it and many people read it. It was incomplete in parts too. THere were many other co-incidences between my story and The Matrix.. too many to go into now. Point of this post is that the Matrix is not original but its not a copy either. They've simply weaved together lots of stuff already out there into 3 interesting movies. Just for the record I thought that the Matrix Trilogy was brilliant except they need a forth with a twist .. e.g. Matrix in a Matrix, Neo is a program, Smith is actually Human - somehow, Architect is human and alive somewhere in the real world etc. etc. Nick C

And you sent your script to someone else who made a billion off of it?