The main Matrix Reloaded plot discussion thread has gotten rather long and is in danger of causing the system to crash (well, maybe not, but it is getting hard to read), so I thought I would “reload” the discussion if nobody minds.
Oh – and as with the previous thread, there are sure to be spoilers galore with few, if any, spoiler boxes, so be warned…
Anyway, I’m still trying to figure out how Neo, who the architect claims is human and not a program, can be the inevitable result of a flaw in the Matrix? Or, to quote the movie:
The Architect also tells Neo that:
Presumably, humans (even within the Matrix) still have free will. And presumably, the ability to manipulate the Matrix the way “The One” can, is genetic and not something downloaded into a person’s brain by the Architect. How, then, can a person be the “sum of a remainder of an unbalanced equation” or “the eventuality of an anomaly”? And how can a person be “based on a predication”?
Here’s my theory, for what it’s worth…
How much of who we are (especially how we think and what we feel) is based on some absolute, unalterable essence (which we could call a “soul” I suppose), and how much is based on our experiences in life? Yes, we all have free will, and maybe our DNA influences the way we excercise that free will, but if two people are born into the exact same situation, have the exact same upbringing, and experience the exact same experiences, there’s probably a high likihood that the two people would end up thinking and feeling the same way regardless of differences in their individual genetic makeup.
And who, of course, controls what experiences somebody within the Matrix has during his or her life? The software running the Matrix, of course. So maybe, when the Architect talks about people being based on a particular predication “by design” he simply means that they were given the exact experiences necessary to cause them to think and feel a certain way.
The “flaw” in the Matrix means that certain people will inevitably be given the experiences that will enable them to perceive and control the Matrix and want to rebel against it. It may happen in 10 years, or it may happen in 500 years, but eventually the right person will have the right experiences. It’s a major flaw, but still better than the flaw in the original Matrix, wherein the majority of people rejected the Matrix outright and woke up. In other words, the only way to prevent someone like Neo becoming “The One” would be to eliminate choice from the Matrix, which would lead to an almost immediate system faliure.
Of course, I still don’t get the whole bit about The One needing to return to the Source, “allowing a temporary dissemination of the code you carry, reinserting the prime program.”
Regards,
Barry