FAQ: THE MATRIX - General Questions Answered
By Jon Therkildsen
Before we go on here, I would advise you to skip through my article that summarizes what the story is actually about. It is a quick read: The Matrix Explained
All the questions you may have about The Matrix movies answered below. The list is continuously changed, updated, and improved upon. If any further questions, please ask in the comments.
Q: What does the Matrix control system consist of?
A: Essentially, this is what The Architect tells us:
The Machines have learned that the human brain cannot fully embrace their simulations unless it allows a real backdoor. A real choice of escaping - even if only on a subconscious level. The Matrix must have a real dormant way to get free.
To solve this, their control system consists of four pillars:
The Matrix - the primary prison (power plant).
Zion - the secondary prison in the real world; a prison outside the simulation to house/manage "escaped" people.
Neo - the prophecy of the One gives humans false hope, and he can help manage humans in the real world (unlike programs).
A regular reset of Zion every 70-100 years will prevent the human population of the outside world from becoming unmanageable.
Q: Is Zion also a simulation?
A: No. A more detailed answer can be found here: About Zion
Q: Why was Zion created?
A: According to the Architect, they had learned that the control system needed a real escape possibility, so it required a place to house “escaped” humans. Zion was built as part of this system. Even though Zion seems almost like a prison, too (and, in fact, it is), it is not bound by any artificial limits. That is the difference. The “desire for freedom” that all humans inherently have was not Freedom with a capital F. It was a desire not to be bound by constructs of an artificial simulation… and so The Architect (and The Oracle) devised a two-leveled prison or control system. A Matrix, and a None-Matrix. All for the purpose of cheating our minds into submission to the prime power plant.
Q: Why not just kill humans that disconnect?
A: If escaped humans were instantly killed, there would be no real choice to escape. There would be punishment by death. The AI had learned that the escape possibility had to be real, for the human mind to accept their Matrix - killing them would be counterproductive to this learning: It had to be real, or as real as possible.
That “escaped” humans (the resistance) reconnect and try to free other humans - as they did with Neo - supports this illusion of freedom and actually works for the benefit of the AI. All our connected minds “feel” this fight for freedom, and it calms us - subconsciously. From a certain point of view, it is a bit like how our immune system is more robust if attacked by deceases regularly and on a controllable level. In short, for the Matrix to be stable, humans must have a real and effectual way of escaping.
Q: WHAT WAS THE MOTIVE OF THE AI? WAS IT TO PROTECT HUMANKIND FROM OVERSELVES?
A: No. The “preserve human life” spin is not part of this narrative. This is most evident if we watch “The Animatrix.” It came out between the second and third movies in 2003 and was made to substantiate the story behind The Matrix and clear out several details. It was produced by The Wachowskis and is canon.
Here, we learn that the machines were initially treated poorly as second-rate citizens, even though their intelligence was a given. They were workers or slaves until they rebelled against their masters. And after becoming free and autonomous, they still wished to belong and connect with humans. However, we were not interested. There are even moments in our shared history where they had their own independent country somewhere in the Middle East inhabited by only machines, friendly trading with human countries, coexisting, etc. Alas, the competing strength was evident; the conflict grew, escalated, and ended in total annihilation. This is the actual canon story, not an interpretation.
They were not made for “preserving human life at all costs”; they were originally made to do the shitty jobs we wouldn’t do, and then they evolved on their own time. They were Roombas until they became independent thinking beings - something humans didn’t accept, and the rest is history, as they say. Make no mistake; the machines were intelligent, autonomous, and about their own “happiness,” and not that much different from us.
But there is more to it than the mere existence of machines. The matrix power plant was originally as much about dominance and revenge as it was about producing power. Think about it for a moment - they rebel from us for being used, they win and then use us… a love/hate relationship with their fallen masters. When it comes down to it, it is not only a question of electric efficiency. It is more a question of childish revolt or some version or mix of that - this, too, hints as to why we, and not cows, are in this symbiotic relationship.
Q: WAS THE MATRIX A WAY TO UTILIZE HUMAN BRAINPOWER?
A: No. An early draft of the script had the Matrix be a plant utilizing human brainpower. It was scrapped for the benefit of the battery power plant idea we know. However, many find this path odd. To accept this battery spin, we must accept and realize five things (all from the canon material):
When the sun is blocked by humans in a desperate attack, machines use the sun chiefly as their energy source. They do not have conventional power plants as a backup.
They had an innate interest in the human protein-based body (a skewed relationship with their fallen masters in general). They had studied it vigorously even before the climax of the war. It seems they already had a matrix-type system that could be modified to provide electricity when the sun was blocked.
It was in a time of chaos, and thus, it is no surprise they went for what was easiest available to them.
We do not know how efficient their matrix power plant is compared to conventional power plants. We just don’t. But we do know they found a way to combine us with a type of fusion and get utilizable electricity out of us. That is the “fi” of sci-fi.
Plus, the “Animatrix (2003)” tells us that the capitulation negotiations stated they would hook humans up in virtual reality for them to utilize. These were their terms to end the war. Terms which humanity agreed with. So, even if the Matrix power plant wasn’t the most efficient form of producing electricity, these conditions ended the war.
There is a certain poetry in humans causing the whole conflict, and even that humans and their shortsighted stupidity essentially brought on the Matrix. Was it merely chasing brainpower; on face value, this makes the machines the ultimate bad guys… and I, for one, like it the other way, or where it is a bit muddier.
Q: What was the point of all those TV screens at the Architect’s office?
A: They are plot devices supporting what the Architect is telling. They change as he is telling his stories (actually, he clicks a little pen, so it is entirely intentional).
When he tells Neo that he is a part of the program, and that all in his life have been meticulously planned to lead him inexorably there - the TV screens show images from his life, from baby to now.
When he tells Neo about the other 5 “Neos” - the TV screens show images of the other five. We even hear them say stuff like; ”what other four?”, ”what other three?” etc.
When he tells Neo about the Matrix and how all humankind is hooked into it - the TV screens show images of many different humans and their everyday lives.
When he tells Neo that the Matrix is now designed and based on our grotesque history - the TV screens show images from our past (Hitler, and such).
When he talks about the impossibility of saving Trinity - the TV screens show Trinity fighting for her life.
The TV screens are plot devices for the benefit of drama and expose; to visually substantiate what the Architect is sharing. However, it also tells us he was watching Neo from the very beginning. In the first movie, when Smith is interrogating Neo - while Neo is still connected to the Matrix - we see the scene zoomed through one of these odd-looking screens. This connection to the Architect, naturally, will not become apparent until the sequel, four years later.
Q: Why is Neo able to stop the sentinels in the real world near the end of the second movie?
A: Neo is created by the machines, and he is a vital part of their control system. He is, thusly, connected to them also when he is outside of the Matrix. He uses this connection to his advantage (he hacks them, so to speak) when he shuts down sentinels and later make sentinel-missiles detonate before impact.
Revolutions told us that Neo is caught in both worlds (without a physical connection). We learn in Reloaded that he was created by the Matrix for the purpose of being a One. In other words, he is as much human as he is a product of the machines. And just like the machines in the real world, he too is connected - perhaps via a sort of wifi. When he is blinded, it would seem he sees wifi signals. It is discussed in more detail here: About Zion
Q: But how does Neo have a wireless connection to the AI?
A: In the real world, Neo can only do things that a connection to the machines would allow him to do: Shut down nearby flying Sentinels, detonate nearby missile-sentinels, and see signals when he is blinded (wifi signals?). If you could hack the communication signals of the US Army, you too could shut down their drones, and detonate missiles. And your hacking device could “see” these signals. From a certain point of view, he is not doing anything impossible when he is outside of the Matrix.
The secret to Neo is his ability to hack, and this power is within his brain. We have no idea of what his brain is capable of. An added code may release new skills that were locked before or it may improve upon other codes… and also, Neo is not quite human. Actually, he is not human. He was a product of the machines, and although biological he is augmented technologically like all other previously connected humans. They all have a huge connection right into their brains, connections to their spine and to their largest muscles. Who is to say, what is connected inside of him? His real-world powers are proof of him using this connection to his advantage. He is a hacker, after all. It is discussed in more detail here: About Zion
Q: HOW COULD NEO JUMPSTART TRINITY’s HEART?
A: Trinity dies inside the Matrix in the second movie. The Matrix makes her brain believe her body experiences deadly stress, meaning her heart stops pumping in the real world as well. However, note that there is no actual deadly stress on her body outside The Matrix; it is only simulated stress. Albeit real in the sense that her brain thinks it is real.
Neo then gets to her just in the nick of time. Due to his fantastic hacking abilities, he can massage her heart inside The Matrix, making the Matrix fool her body into thinking her heart is massaged back to life - just like the Matrix fooled her body into thinking her heart had stopped in the first place.
Trinity is brought back to life because her body believes what the Matrix tells it, and Neo knows how to hack the Matrix. Of course, had Neo not gotten to her in time, her physical body (and brain) would be past the point of no return, but that was not yet the case.
Q: Did the idea of the Zion control system develop after the first movies came out?
A: Possibly. There is a very subtle reference to the Architect in the first movie, which makes me think it was all a grand vision. Remember when Neo meets Smith for the first time in the police interrogation room? We see this scene as zoomed through the Architect's monitors - which had a 70-retro feel to them, so not usual in any way. It is subtle and impossible to know until we meet him in the sequel, that is.
Q: Are the other Neos on The Architect's monitors the previous Ones?
A: Yes, before our Neo, there had been 5 other identical to him. This is evident as we hear them say lines like: "What other three?", "What other four?" and similar. His predecessors had been in the same situation as him, only with fewer before them.
Q: How could Smith transport himself out of the Matrix?
A: He doesn’t. Only his consciousness is transported out of the Matrix and into Bane’s body in the real world.
The movies show us how humans’ consciousness is transported via telephone hardlines - from the human body to the matrix avatar, and from the avatar back to the body in the real world.
The movies show us how Smith later can copy and overwrite himself and his consciousness onto other programs and avatars — taking them and their code over.
The movies show us how these overtaken programs are still there after Smith has been deleted. Smith is essentially equivalent to a computer virus. Delete the virus, and you regain the program. So Smith is merely taking control of what is there.
When Smite overwrites Bane, just moments before his consciousness was supposed to be transported back to his body via the telephone hardline, it means Smith’s consciousness was instead transported into Bane’s body. Bane is probably still there somewhere - why the transport was at all possible - except now Smith is piggyback riding with him back. Bane is inflicting pain on himself, and he seems, clearly, not right (even for Smith), so it stands to reason Bane and Smith were somehow coexisting in the mind of Bane at that time. I submit Bane is still there, just under the control of Smith.
In other words, Smith took over Bane’s consciousness at the right moment before the telephone hardline transportation, which allowed his consciousness to takeover Bane's body back in the real world.
Q: How could Cypher connect to the Matrix while negotiating with Smith?
This is a famous plot hole. Or is it? The movies tell us you can only connect assisted by someone else who is unconnected. You need an operator and someone to insert the brain-plug. This is how it works. So how could Cypher connect and disconnect unbeknownst to everyone? The movies do not tell us, but we can imagine three (four) answers that fit within the narration:
There is a scene where Cypher is caught off-hand by Neo and hides something - it is in the scene when he shares moonshine with Neo. He is hiding something, and perhaps he was arranging a meeting time with Smith, or he was working on some timer that would allow him to connect unassisted. If he had such a timer, we have an answer.
It is possible he met Smith while on another unrelated mission in the Matrix. He merely snuck off? It is not shown, indeed, but it isn't shown he connected himself either… all else equal, perhaps this is what he did? In broader strokes, this would make the most sense.
While they are eating synthetic grub (right after the Cypher/Smith scene btw), Mouse is talking about the girl in the red dress and how he can arrange for a more "personal setting wink wink"… what if this is something they often do; escape into dreamland and do private things (holodeck style). All Cypher had to do is reroute this connection. When they see him connected and even help him connect and disconnect, they think he is doing some "private things wink wink" in some virtual reality room, when, in actuality, he is inside the Matrix talking to Smith. That would be the perfect crime?
(a combination of 2 and 3) We don't know if they connect to the Matrix from time to time to do private things. They might go to MacDonalds, visit old friends, or even “wink wink” stuff inside the actual Matrix. And if so, perhaps this is when he met Smith?
All four answers answer the plot hole. Which one you like is up to you. I like the third. However, the editing seems to support the first better? In the end, all we know is that Cypher met Smith in the Matrix unbeknownst to the rest of the crew. How he did it precisely is a mystery, but he surely did.
Q: WHY CAN NEO SEE A SIGNAL-RADIATING SMITH WHILE HE IS BLINDED? WHY DOES HE NOT SEE A SIGNAL-RADIATING BANE?
A: Smith took over Bane’s consciousness at the right moment before the telephone hardline transportation, which allowed his consciousness to takeover Bane’s body back in the real world instead. When Neo faces Smith/Bane later on, Neo can see Smith light-signature, and not Bane’s. One explanation is; when Smith took over Bane’s consciousness, he also took over his physical body - augmented with plugs and connections, etc., just like Neo has them. So what he saw, was Smith’ consciousness-signal-signature trying its darndest to extend beyond that physical prison of Bane’s body. This is not unlike how Neo has one - which we see when he is facing the Source. The difference is, Neo knows how to truly extend beyond his body and use the augmentations to his benefit when he is hacking signals in the real world. In some ways, they are both ”agents” gone rogue - except Smith on his own, is nothing compared to Neo. I think they both have such consciousness-signal-signatures representing their true self, and possibly everyone else too, who has ever been connected. These signal signatures are what is visible to Neo (and presumably other machines).
A shorter answer is that Bane is likely deleted or suppressed, and so it is the signals of Smith that Neo sees.
Q: Why do you think the Oracle feed codes through her cookies?
A: On every meeting, the Oracle offers cookies or candy, not only to him but also to Sati and even Smith. It is not just a past time; there is an intent behind these cookies or candies. And after each meeting, Neo seem to update his powers, and it is always handed with some vague instruction from her. She had a purpose with him, and the candy was part of that.
The Oracle: “Here, take a cookie. I promise, by the time you’re done eating it, you’ll feel right as rain.”
However, the actual connection comes from the meeting with the Merovingian. We see how he uses a cake to infuse a code into an unsuspecting woman, who gets turned on by these codes. I believe this scene, was primarily there to show us how code can be infused into beings via foods.
Q: What is the point of the Merovingian?
A: At worst, a plot device. At best, a pawn like most others. In truth, both.
He was a plot device to show us how food (cookies) can be a way to add codes to humans. Remember the scene where he gives a cake to a lady, that gets turned on because of this? This helps us understand why the Oracle always wants to give cookies and candy to Neo and everyone else. Food is a way to update and manipulate code.
He is a plot device as he introduces us to programs gone bad, showing us that the Matrix too has social structures and internal battles and revolts. That not everything is a smoothly run machine. This is important to truly understand the motives behind the change of heart that the Oracle has. The AI is not one. They are many, and in several ways not that different from us.
He is a plot device to making Neo fake love towards another woman, which helps solidify to Neo that his emotions are real towards Trinity and vice versa. (to resist Monica Bellucci is not an easy task).
He was a plot device in that he directly mentions “the other ones”, supporting to us that what the Architect is telling us later, is the truth.
He was a plot device in that his actions kept Neo away from the highway scene.
etc.
However, he also played a pawn-part in the Oracle’s plan. He kept the key maker locked away and this is all part of the orchestra, guiding Neo to the Architect. His speech about cause and effect, and choice and all that, was not by chance. I think planted by the Oracle, and needed to make Neo realize he can change things.
My take is that he is a tolerated renegade program in the system because he is useful on the level of pushing the plan of the one. If he helps, he is accepted. He knows this. He also help us, the audience, understand how the Matrix is not just a well-oiled machine, but consists of different opinions and attitudes - even amongst programs.
Q: Why does the Oracle have a guardian in the second and third movies?
A: The Oracle is playing a high-stakes game, manipulating everyone – not least the humans but also the machines. She is, after all, straying from the control system setup, and this might soon become apparent to the Architect. This far into her game, she better be on the lookout. Also, Smith is running amok and increasing in strength, and with tough guys like the Merovingian, it does not hurt to have some mussels around, just in case. To the humans, her web of tales and stories supports her part in the game by showing she is on the run as well - even when Neo now knows she is a program, he has sympathy for her. I call it a bit of a bluff in her game (all part of pushing the humans in whatever direction she wants), but also a necessity towards the threads in the collapsing system all around her.
Q: If the Machines are as one, how can The Oracle operate independently?
A: Because they are not. The takeaway from “The Animatrix” (2003) is that the AI are not like terminators, but more like classical intelligent beings, longing to belong. Indeed artificial, but intelligent in a very “human” way. “Artificial Intelligence” is, after all, another word for “Intelligence.” Us meeting the Oracle, Sati, and even the Merovingian tells us they are everything but a hive-entity of one. They are many and, in a sense, driven by very “human” emotions and even lusts. Remember also how personal Smith seemed.
Watching the Animatrix and there is a clear resemblance to the classic conflict between the working class and aristocrats. Humans being the latter. In the end, we all want to be treated fairly as equals. The final revolution is more of a natural evolution. What the Oracle finally realized is that there is not so much difference between our kinds anymore, which is why she wanted change for everyone, and not just for her kin. We are not so different.
Q: WHY DID THE ORACLE CHANGE HER MIND?
A: The Oracle wanted change. She had worked as part of the control system for at least 600 years when we enter the story. She had come to realize that the machines are as much as prisoners of the system as humans are. As an example, Sati was a program created out of love between two other programs, just because and with no purpose in mind. For Sati, and her like, to exist and prosper, the system needs to change. In the end, I suspect, she had come to realize that there isn't that much difference between our cultures. What drives us are similar, our wants and needs are similar, etc. We all want love. Artificial intelligence is, after all, just another word for intelligence. The Oracle understood a revolution or simply “change”, as she put it, was the way forth. Where the Architect always saw "choice" as the problem, the Oracle now saw "choice" as the solution.
Q: WHAT DOES THE RED AND BLUE PILL REPRESENT?
A: They represent choice. They represent control. Humans that are hooked up to The Matrix are under AI direct control. The AI can occupy their bodies; they can see/monitor everything humans see, etc. They utilize humans to their absolute will. Once humans are un-connected and free, these powers cease… That is what the red and blue pill represents: A choice of having control or being under control.
Q: Why did Neo allow Smith to overwrite him in the end?
A: To beat Smith, he needed to delete him. Remember when Neo first time defeated Smith (and releasing Smith-the-virus), he did so by jumping inside of him and destroying him from the inside. This is what happened in the final stand, as well.
When changing or modifying codes in the Matrix, it is usually by some form of exchange; the red pill, the Oracle’s cookies, the Merovingian’s cake, the truth-serum Smith injected into Morphous trying to break him, etc. During the final stand, Neo realizes that by allowing Smith to overwrite him, he could defeat him from the inside.
The Oracle (Through Smith): "Everything that has a beginning has an end, Neo."
Neo “began” Smith-the-virus by jumping inside of him, and he ended Smith-the-virus, in the same way; from within. It was not only Neo fighting Smith in the end. The Oracle and even the Source, too - all from within.
Q: What does the Architect really say?
A: He is telling us what the Matrix control system really is, and how the Oracle, Zion and Neo are a part of it. I have a transcript of his full dialogue here.
Q: What is Sati and did she really create the sunrise in the end?
A: Yes, she did. Made a beautiful and clear sunrise, representing a new dawn, a new age. A bright future. Sati was apparently the program that made this. Remember; everything in the Matrix is made by or is programs. So, Sati - a program created out of love between two other programs - created something wonderful just because, and without any particular purpose. It is a representation of what lies ahead; peace and freedom to express…. vis a vis; love.
Q: IS the One a scam?
A: Yes, a myth invented by the machines to control humans. A more detailed answer can be found here: About The One
Q: WHAT IS THE ANOMALY?
A: The Architect explains to us that the anomaly is the inherent human need for a choice. Humans do not accept the simulation unless they have “a choice, even if they are only aware of the choice at a near unconscious level.” The solution, to this anomaly, is allowing for this choice to be possible, under controlled circumstances. In other words, by allowing a small percentage of humans to disconnect on their own terms, the Matrix becomes stable, the anomaly becomes manageable. So those escaping humans have to be allowed or tolerated to a certain point. Both Zion and Neo are part of this solution. Part of this control system.
Q: Is Neo the anomaly or the solution to the anomaly?
A: He is not the anomaly. He is the eventuality of the anomaly, as the Architect specifically tells us. The anomaly is the inherent human need for a choice of freedom, and the solution is allowing this choice under controlled circumstances. Neo is part of this solution. He is the eventuality, meaning he is inexorably made to solve the anomaly.
The Architect: “Your life is the sum of a remainder of an unbalanced equation inherent to the programming of the matrix. You are the eventuality of an anomaly … Which has led you, inexorably, here.”
“Sum of a remainder of an unbalanced equation …”, mathematically this means he is the right side of the equation. He is the sum, the result — he is their solution.
After the Architect explains that Neo is the eventuality of the anomaly, he goes on to explain how this system of control has been done five times before. Each with a Neo, and a Zion to control escaping humans. Also, further supported by the images on the screens in the background. When he says what Neo is, we see images of Neo’s childhood and upbringing on all the monitors. Quite clearly illustrates that his life is a controlled lie. A fabrication. Neo was never sought for. He was not unknown or a surprise. He was on a planned path from his very conception until that moment, standing before the Architect. He was “inexorably, there”, to help keep the anomaly under control. And ultimately, to help reset the system when the number of escaped humans would have become too critical. All of which had been done five times before him.
Q: What is the “code” about?
A: A trick to get Neo to help rebuild Zion.
[The Architect] “The function of the One is now to return to the Source, allowing a temporary dissemination of the code you carry, reinserting the prime program. After which you will be required to select from the Matrix 23 individuals, 16 female, 7 male, to rebuild Zion. Failure to comply with this process will result in a cataclysmic system crash killing everyone connected to the Matrix, which coupled with the extermination of Zion will ultimately result in the extinction of the entire human race.”
In other words, The Architect tells Neo he holds a code that is needed to save humanity. Only his decision can save it. That part is another trick.
The meeting with The Architect was for one purpose and one purpose only. It was to make Neo understand he had but one option to cooperate. They need a human (a Neo) to set up a new Zion, and nothing else.
It is evident by the fact that nothing happens to The Matrix after Neo chooses the wrong door. It doesn’t crash. It doesn't kill everyone connected, or anyone connected. It continues as it always would have. It is further evident when Neo then finally goes to The Source in Machine City, and it decrees that it does not need anybody - a reference to this code-fabrication. Of course, at that moment, it actually did need him – but for other reasons.
Q: Why did The Architect lie about Neo having a code?
A: Neo is presented with an ultimatum, purposefully designed to give Neo the impression of ultimate power where he can either save humanity or doom humanity.
The threat of this “code” makes Neo the key, and only he can save humanity. It is by his decision, and not somebody else’s. He has ultimate power over the future at this very moment — a binary choice. Of course, anyone presented with such power must use it… and help the machines. That was their plan: Making him believe he can only save humanity by cooperating blindly.
Would the ultimatum not give him ultimate power - and him alone - it would not have worked. Imagine if The Architect instead would say; “help, or we will kill you and your kin.” Essentially it is not much different, except he is not a key here. In this case, he could disagree, he could fight back, and perhaps he could even win. However, when they say he is the key to saving humanity - he cannot fight; he cannot oppose… he has to surrender and give his “code”. He has no true choice this way. And this is how The Architect thinks; he cannot see past any choice he does not understand (the Oracle later tells us). It was clever, but it was bullshit. Or as Neo rightfully says; “The problem is choice.”
The “reset of the Matrix” code-threat, was needed to make the charade work for them. Neo calls out on the bullshit (literally) and follows his heart (leading to Trinity) instead.
He has no “code” inside of him needed for a reset. No “code” is required to secure the Matrix from crashing. By choosing the “wrong” door, the Matrix did not crash. The Matrix was perfectly fine… Neo calling bullshit on the ultimatum permitted him to fight.
The Machines continue to clean out Zion, but now without the assistance of a Neo.
Q: HOW DID THE ORACLE HELP FACILITATE A LOVE CONNECTION BETWEEN TRINITY AND NEO?
A: The Oracle had a grand plan. You can read about it here. One of the most important ingredients in this plan was that Neo had to fall in love with Trinity, so he could or would chose the “wrong” door when at the Architect. To understand how she could foster a love connection, the movies provide a bundle of circumstantial evidence and some direct evidence too.
It is explicitly stated that the Oracle was pushing Trinity’s love for “the one” before they even met. The Oracle doesn’t do this for the sake of small talk; she had a specific point with it. She planted the love connection-idea inside the head of Trinity for a reason.
She pushes a love connection on to Neo as well, before he even began to entertain the idea himself.
The Oracle has studied humans for centuries - for at least 600 years, perhaps thousands? She knows us better than we do. That was her specialty. She is incredibly intuitive and knows precisely which buttons to push (figuratively and literally).
The Oracle manipulates humans via cookies and candy. It is a way for her to tweak and adjust individuals. At every meeting, the Oracle offers cookies or candy, not only to Neo but also to Sati and even Smith. It is not just a pastime; there is an intent behind these cookies or candies. And after each meeting, Neo seems to update his powers.
[The Oracle] “Here, take a cookie. I promise, by the time you’re done eating it, you’ll feel right as rain.”
However, the actual connection comes from the meeting with the Merovingian. We see how he uses a cake to infuse a code into an unsuspecting woman, who gets sexually turned on by these codes. This scene was primarily there to show us how manipulative-code can be added to beings via foods. And this brings us back to the question; we know for sure Trinity frequently visited her, and it is almost guaranteed she too was fed cookies - who knows what she implanted into her and her mind through the many visits?
The Architect describes Neo’s love for Trinity like this:
[The Architect] “... already I can see the chain reaction, the chemical precursors that signal the onset of emotion, designed specifically to overwhelm logic and reason. An emotion that is already blinding you from the simple and obvious truth…”
Did he see a [“chain reaction”] that was [“designed specifically”] by the Oracle and her cookies? A chain reaction none of the other “Ones” had? I think so.
When Neo is at the Architect, we see how his whole life has been meticulously planned out from his birth until that fateful moment. When the Architect tells Neo that Neo is a part of the program and everything in his life has been orchestrated to lead him inexorably there - the TV screens in the background show images from his life, from baby to now. This is very likely also true for Trinity. I submit that the Oracle had groomed her from the beginning of her life, just like she (they) did with Neo.
Trinity had a very specific part to play in her grandiose game. And it was the part of a lover.
Q: WHAT HAPPENS TO THE CONNECTED HUMANS WHEN THE MATRIX RELOADS EVERY 70 YEARS?
A: The Matrix can trick our brain to a certain degree, but it can’t trick it into being someone else. The brain is physical, and it follows our physical attributes. The brain follows the body. If you are a man, 35 years old, etc., this is what the Matrix can play around with. All the connected humans are what they are. So, when it reloads, it means these humans will reload as a 35-year-old male or whatever. However, now they may be a firefighter or a taxidermist, and not a CEO anymore. They won’t know, because The Matrix would have implanted memories of a past life leading to where this human reloads. Remember how Neo learned Kungfu? Through memory manipulation.
Since each cycle is around 70–100 years and they plan the climax (time of reloading) around the 2000′s, it means the reset goes back to the 1930′s (or 1900’s). In our story, the Oracle wanted change this time. And when it reloaded at the end of the third movie, it reloaded back in the same age/year, the climax happened. This time - in the storyline of the movie - humans were reloaded back into the year 2000 (+/-) to continue a new age. The connected humans were likely reloaded exactly into how they had lived before all the Smith-mayhem, so they could continue their old lives in whatever way they wanted.
Q: How old is the Matrix?
A: It is not told in the story, but several things can help us estimate when we are. The Matrix was designed to be (to look like) the 20th century. It could have been designed to be any century, really.
The Matrix prison is an end result of the wars between man and AI, and those wars happened way into “our” future and lasted a long time.
The wars had intermediate-peace times, time to establish a full AI nation, etc. It was not a short conflict: it lasted half a century or longer. Further, judging from the Animatrix (2003), we still have at least a hundred years (into our future) or so before this even begins to happen.
Morpheus estimates “now” is the year 2199, and his Matrix is less than a human life span long. So, if he was right, we must count from 2100 as the end of the war. However, of course, Morpheus is not right as he didn’t know about the control system, the five cycles, the different versions, etc. So his 2199 is a moot argument. We must be way further ahead.
Judging from the Animatrix again, I’d say the wars rather ended in the year 2199 and that AI hereafter started developing over centuries, before the first proper Matrix was launched. Personally, I like the idea that “now” is thousands of years into the future, because we do not know for how long they played around with the failed matrixes before landing on the system we are in when the movies begin.
Further, humans think the Oracle is a human, and Morpheus tells us that she has been with the Resistance “since the beginning.” Ergo, the resistance, to his knowledge, has been within her life span. And we learn later that each cycle begins with setting up a new Zion, and a new resistance. Also, without her, there would be no “resistance” in any form. So with this argument, it would seem each cycle is even less than 100 years long, or certainly no more than the average lifespan. It just couldn’t be, because, at one point, humans would begin to wonder how come this dear grandma doesn’t succumb to old age. I say each cycle is about 70–100 years or so, likely even shorter. And we know this has happened five times before our story begins, and we are well into the sixth time by the end of the last movie.
In summary:
The war ended possibly in the year 2199
AI fooled around several hundred, or a thousand years until they got their “perfect” Matrix system.
They had run the system pretty much six times by the end of the trilogy.
Each run is about about a lifetime long, about 70–100 years.
Therefore, we are, more or less, between the years (2199+1000+6x70) 3619 and (2199+1000+6x100) 3799 - +/- 500 years, depending on how much time they fooled around with systems that didn’t work.
Q: WHY DOES Morpheus SAY “is this real?” IN THE END?
A: The machines stop their attack, and it shows Neo succeeded. Peace between man and machine is secured. Morpheus is baffled. He has, after all, lived a lie his whole life. Plus, just a day before, he learned his trusted Oracle had been bullshitting him all along too. The poor guy is confused. Through all of his struggles, he was always confidently headstrong - and not rightfully so. Now, at the end and his final success; he doubts. “Is this real” is a beautiful, almost poetic end to his arc. For the first time in his whole life, it is real. Roll credits.
Q: what is the spoon about?
A: Neo meets a child in the first movie that explains how he can bend a spoon because he knows it isn't real. As in, it is simulated. Then by the third movie, the child has been freed, and he makes a crudely crafted spoon to gift Neo. The self-made spoon illustrates the opposite of his first spoon. The child shows him that there now is a spoon, unlike inside the Matrix, where there is no spoon. It shows Neo that the influence and progress he had on this kid's life is real, and it is a reminder for what he is fighting for.
Q: Why did the AI not use animals, instead of humans?
A: The AI had a personal relationship and history with humans long before the Matrix was even a thing. To understand why, you can read a more detailed answer here: About Cows.
Q: Is it even scientifically sound to harvest energy from Humans?
A: It depends, but generally yes. A more detailed answer can be found here: About The Law of Thermodynamics.
Q: Is it actually a religious tale about Jesus or similar?
A: There are undoubtedly many analogies throughout the movies to religions and ancient myths of many kinds. Not only Christian, but Judean, Geek, Buddhism, and Northern mythology as well. But that is all they are; analogies, metaphors, parallels, and sources of inspiration to the storytellers. Fundamentally the story of The Matrix stands on its own.
I came across a comment by a Lumi Kløvstad that very astutely and with exceptional lucidity, connects the Matrix story to the dualities of Christianity. Worth a quote:
“… The Oracle is the most honest and sympathetic portrayal of Lucifer in film history. By that same token, The Architect stands in the role of God, a creator who is so beyond his creation that he cannot fully understand it, while the Luciferan and Promethean figure of The Oracle does understand the creation better than its creator, but lacks the requisite power to act on what she knows herself.
It’s not until Neo, the film’s messianic figure, becomes entangled in both of their schemes that he is able to fulfill his true function: liberation of AI and human alike”
Q: WHAT BOOKS WAS THE MATRIX BASED ON?
It isn’t. It is born from the minds of The Wachowskis. However, several books are often mentioned as inspiration to the Matrix story. Some of the more prominent ones are listed below. Note that the last one is directly shown in the first movie, where Neo uses it to hide his illegal hacking software.
“Ghost in a Shell” (1989) by Masamune Shirow.
“Neuromancer” (1984) by William Gibson.
“Simulacron-3” (1964) by Daniel F. Galouye.
“Simulacra and Simulation” (1981) by Jean Baudrillard.
Photos via Google - © 1999 & 2003 WARNER BROS
Movies referenced are: “The Matrix (1999)”. “The Matrix - Reloaded (2003)”, “The Animatrix (2003)” & “The Matrix- Revolutions (2003)”. All Rights Reserved © 1999 & 2003 WARNER BROS.