After having rewatched The Matrix recently in anticipation of seeing Reloaded, I realized that we never found out why Morpheus was so sure that Neo was the one in the prophecy. The only thing I can think of is that The Oracle pointed him out and say, “There he is, go get him.”
Anyone out there able to shed some light on this? If not, at least pop in with your own hairbrained theory.
His hacker skillz. As Agent Smith pointed out, Neo had committed every computer crime they had a law for, and they didn’t have enough actual evidence to arrest him for anything.
Plus, there’s the name. Neo = anagram for One.
insignificant spoiler: in Reloaded, some characters in Zion feel that Morpheus relies too much on his faith in the Oracle. I’m guessing that’s where it all started. Especially since in the first movie, they said Neo wasn’t the first guy he thought was The One, I’m guessing faith is really all Morpheus was going on at that point.
Morpheus does tell Neo that the Oracle told him he’d find the One. He never mentions how he knows that the Neo is, in fact, the One, so we assume he just knows, because he’s Morpheus and he rocks.
That’s kind of what I figured. Although, I think Ethilrist may be on to something here with the hacker skills. That’s something I had never considered. Maybe this will be explained in the third movie?
Near as I can tell - here’s what we know:
In the first movie:
Based on what Agent Smith had to say, we know that the first version of the Matrix was too “perfect”, so that a more gritty, “bad-things-CAN-happen” Matrix was created because human psyches depended on it.
Building on that, in the second movie:
[spoiler]During the conversation between Neo and the Architect, we learn that the essential ingredient to this violent new Matrix was a program called the Oracle, who can inspire hope in people. This combination of hopeless world and inner Oracle-inspired hope is what sustains humans to carry own - thus being able to fuel the machines.
But - probably due to chaos theory - I don’t recall how it is phrased in the movie - the hope spins out of control, creating rebellion - which is why there have been 6 (IIRC) Zions over the rule of the machines. In each case, the machines destroy Zion before humans can re-take control.[/spoiler]
So, from this we can conclude:
That on one hand, the fact that there is a genuine human, Neo, that might be the One may just be random generation - there have been 5 previous iterations where either there was no real One, or the One still got defeated.
Further:
We don’t know what triggered Neo to be the one this time - could it be that the Oracle manufactured hope in Morpheus, his hope focused on Neo - potentially at random - and Morpheus’ belief that there would be a One and his passionate belief in Neo that enabled Neo to believe himself? Not knowing what led to Neo being the One is central to the point of the Matrix - to comment on philosophical concepts like predestination or individual freedom and the power of faith. The cause and effect ambiguity between Neo’s One-ness and Morpheus’ belief is the inherent concept this series is exploring. If belief can actualize potential, then we are truly not pre-destined and capable of choosing our own path.
Do you mean, “Anyone can be the One?”
What if he’s not The One? What if Morpheus is wrong? What if the Oracle lied?
What if Trinity is really The One?
I think it’s kind of like Clarke’s The City And The Stars.
Neo is the clone, copy, gentic double, what have you of the founder of this whole machine society. (It had to be started by someone). And Morpheus is like the Jester, he was geneticly programed to recognize “The One” when he came about.
But, just like Clarke’s story, many, many generations could have passed before any two meeting the needed parameters actually coexisted and could be realized.
Then again, I drink a lot.
btw, the thread title is a little bit of a spoiler. Doesn’t bother me, but I wonder if anyone just now getting into to Matrix would see it as such.
My impression was that this was part of the plan and not a problem. Hence the line “We’ve gotten very good at it.”
They WERE the One(s). Thing is that the Matrix has adjusted for human choice such that they can defeat the humans and get The One to choose as they see fit (that is, the repopulating thing).
It was in the script.
I don’t think so, since the whole Neo = The One thing gets revealled early on in the movie, and even if you don’t find out that Neo is The One until the end, it’s kinda easy to figure out that’s how the movie’s gonna wind up. 
Besides, it’s been four fucking years already. Now, if the title were “How did Neo know that the Oracle was a pr–” oops better not say that w/o a spoiler box. 
I don’t remember this part. Who says it?
Anyway, an earlier version of the script had an exchange similar to this:
Morpheus: I’ve seen what you can do inside computers. It’s magic.
Neo: It’s not magic.
Morpheus: But it is.
So yep, it’s his mad skillz.
Thread title changed at OP’s request.
Morpheus knows what–where I can get the latest Brittany Spears single? Since when is Oracle in the P2P business? And what the hell is this Neo thing, ANOTHER music download service?
You people have me very confused.
Morpheus is the master of dreams, simple as that.
Thanks, Ike. Wouldn’t want to be breaking any rules about spoilers or anything.
I think there’s definitely (or hopefully) more to Trinity than being the lone female & the chick who will fall in love with The One.