English
192
Science
Fiction
Spring 2002
Professor William
Warner
The Matrix: ScriptLarry and Andy WachowskiNote: this script is off the web, and has not been checked for accuracy. For authorized version of the script, see The Art of the Matrix, New Market Press, New York, 2000. Computer screen, with flashing cursor.) Cypher : Yeah. Trinity : Is everything in place? Cypher : You weren't supposed to relieve me. Trinity : I know, but I felt like taking your shift. Cypher : You like him, don't you? You like watching him. Trinity : Don't be ridiculous. Cypher : We're going to kill him, do you understand that? Trinity : Morpheus believes he is The One. Cypher : Do you? Trinity : It doesn't matter what I believe. Cypher : You don't, do you? Trinity : Did you hear that? Cypher : Hear what? Trinity : Are you sure this line is clean? Cypher : Yeah, 'course I'm sure. Trinity : I'd better go. She hangs up as
we pass through the numbers on the screen, and outside the room
she is in, as several police (Hotel room) Cop : Freeze, Police. Hands on your head. Do it. Do it now. Trinity : *slowly puts her hands on her head* (Outside hotel) A black car with
tinted windows pulls up beside the other police cars. Agent Smith
and Agent Brown get out of the car, Agent Smith : Lieutenant... Lieutenant : Oh shit... Agent Smith : You were given _specific_ orders... Lieutenant : Hey, I'm just doing my job. You give me that juris-my-dick-tion crap, you can cram it up your ass. Agent Smith : The orders...were for your protection. Lieutenant : *laughs* I think we can handle one little girl...I sent two units...they're brining her down now. Lieutenant : No Lieutenant, your men are already dead... (Hotel Room) Cop holds handcuffs,
ready to put them on Trinity, who is standing with her back to
him, and her hands on her head. Trinity : Morpheus! The line was traced, I don't know how. Morpheus : I know, they cut the hard line. There's no time, you're going to have to get to another exit. Trinity : Are there any agents? Morpheus : Yes Trinity : Goddamnit. Morpheus : You have to focus, Trinity. There's a phone at Wells and Lake. You can make it. Trinity : *sigh* All right. Morpheus : Go! Trinity drops the
phone and bursts out of the room, just as Agent Brown enters the
hall, leading another unit of police. (Rooftop) Cop : That's impossible! They stare as Agent Smith duplicates the move exactly, following her onto the next roof. She hides behind a chimney, as he looks around the rooftop, searching for her. Not far off, she sees a window, and makes a dash for it. She dives through the window, rolls down the stairs inside, and manages to land without much damage. Trinity : Get up Trinity. Just get up. Get up! (Street) Trinity emerges from an alleyway, and at the end of the block, she sees a telephone booth. As she watches, the phone begins to ring. As it rings, a truck pulls up in front of it, it's headlights pointing towards the phone. Trinity suddenly runs for the phone box, racing the truck as it almost manages to crush the phone booth, just as she answers the phone. She puts her hand out to the glass of the booth, just as the truck hits it. In a few moments, we see the remains of the phone box. Agent Smith inspects the wreckage. There is no body. Agent Brown : She got out. Agent Smith : It doesn't matter. Agent Jones : The informant is real. Agent Smith : Yes... Agent Jones : We have the name of their next target.. Agent Brown : The name is Neo... Agent Smith : We'll need a search running.. Agent Jones : It has already begun. We are zoomed in towards the mouthpiece of the phone on the ground, closer, until we appear to travel down it and through the cable. We appear in Neo's apartment. He is asleep at his computer, with headphones on. On his computer screen, we see he is running a search on a man named Morpheus. Suddenly on his computer screen appear the words 'Wake up, Neo.' He sits up, and stares at his computer screen Neo : What? On the computer, now appears 'The Matrix has you...' Neo : What the hell? On the computer, now appears 'Follow the white rabbit...' Neo : Follow the white rabbit? He presses the 'esc' key repeatedly, no effect. the computer comes up with one last message : 'Knock knock, Neo.' There is a loud knock at his door, and he jumps. He stares at the door, and then back at his computer screen. it's now blank. Neo : .....Who is it? Choi : It's Choi. Neo : Yeah...yeah...you're two hours late. Choi : I know, it's her fault. Choi gestures towards DuJour Neo : You got the money? Choi : Two grand. Neo :Hold on. Neo goes into his apartment, shuts the door, and opens a book, takes out a CD rom, and goes back to the door, handing the CD to Choi Choi : Hallelujah. You're my saviour, man. My own personal Jesus Christ. Neo :You get caught using that... Choi : Yeah, I know. This never happened, you don't exist. Neo : Right. Choi : Something wrong, man? You look a little whiter than usual. Neo : My computer....it..you ever have that feeling where you don't know if you're awake or still dreaming? Choi : Mm, all the time. It's called Mescaline. It's the only way to fly. Hey, it sounds to me like you need to unplug, man. You know, get some R and R. What do you think DuJour? Should we take him with us? DuJour : *looks Neo up and down* Definitely. Neo : No, I can't, I got work tomorrow. DuJour : Come on, it'll be fun. *looks Neo up and down again* I promise. Neo notices DuJour has a tattoo of a white rabbit on her shoulder. Neo : Yeah, sure, I'll go. Neo, Choi and DuJour arrive in a club. Neo is standing next to a wall, doing nothing. A woman walks up to him. The woman is Trinity. Trinity : Hello Neo. Neo : How do you know that name? Trinity : I know a lot about you. Neo :Who are you? Trinity : My name is Trinity. Neo : Trinity..._The_ Trinity? The one the cracked the IRS d-base? Trinity : That was a long time ago. Neo : Jesus! Trinity : What? Neo : I just thought, um...you were a guy. Trinity : Most guys do. Neo : That was you on my computer. How did you do that? Trinity : Never mind, right now all I can tell you is that you're in danger. I brought you here to warn you. Neo : What about? Trinity : They're watching you, Neo. Neo : Who is? Trinity : Please, just listen. I know why you're here, Neo. I know what you've been doing. I know why you hardly sleep, and why night after night you sit at your computer. You're looking for him. I know, because I was once looking for the same thing. And when he found me, he told me I wasn't really looking for him, I was looking for an answer. It's the question that drives us, Neo. It's the question that brought you here. You know the question, just as I did... Neo : What is the Matrix? Trinity : The answer is out there, Neo. It's looking for you...and it will find you...if you want it to.... Neo wakes up late in the morning and looks at his clock. Neo : Oh sh*t. Oh sh*t sh*t sh*t! Neo is standing in his bosses office at the software company he works for. Rhineheart : You have a problem with authority, Mr. Anderson. You believe that you are special, that somehow the rules do not apply to you. Obviously you are mistaken. This company is one of the top software companies in the world because every single employee understands that they are part of a whole. Thus if an employee has a problem, the company has a problem. The time has come to make a choice, Mr. Anderson. Either you choose to be at your desk, on time, from this day forward - or you choose to find yourself another job. Do I make myself perfectly clear? Neo : Yes Mr. Rhineheart, perfectly clear. Neo is sitting at his computing in his cubicle, when a voice says Fed-Ex Guy : Thomas Anderson? Neo : Yeah, that's me. Fed-Ex Guy : Just sign here.. Neo signs the paper Fed-Ex Guy : Ok, that's great. Have a nice day! Neo scowls at his back. He opens the parcel, inside is a cellular phone. As soon as he picks it up, it rings. He jumps, and picks it up. Neo : Hello...? Morpheus : Hello, Neo. Do you know who this is? Neo : Morpheus? Morpheus : Yes...I've been looking for you, Neo. I don't know if you're ready to see what I want to show you, but unfortunately you and I have run out of time. They're coming for you, Neo, and I don't know what they're going to do. Neo : Who's coming for me? Morpheus : Stand up and see for yourself. Neo : What, now? Morpheus : Yes, right now. Do it slowly. The elevator... Neo slowly stands up and looks over the partition. At the elevator, he sees Agent Brown and Agent Jones leading a group of cops. A female employee turns and points out Neo's cubicle. Neo ducks. Neo : Oh shit. Morpheus : Yes. Neo : What the hell do they want from me? Morpheus : I don't know, but if you don't want to find out, I suggest you get out of there. Neo : How? Morpheus : I can guide you, but you must do exactly as I say. Neo : Okay... Morpheus : The cubicle across from you is empty. Neo : What if they.... Morpheus : Go, now. Neo lunges across the hall, diving into the other cubicle just as the agents turn into his row. He hides in a dark corner Morpheus : Stay here for just a moment. When I tell you, go to the end of the row, to the office at the end of the hall. Stay as low as you can...Go, now! Neo runs to the door, opens it, goes in, and shuts the door. Morpheus : Now, outside there is a scaffold. Neo : How do you know all this? Morpheus : We don't have time, Neo. To your left there is a window. Go to it....open it. You can use the scaffold to get to the roof. Neo : No _way_! No way! This is crazy! Morpheus : There are two ways out of this building. One is that scaffold, the other is in their custody. You take a chance either way. I leave it to you. Morpheus hangs up. Neo looks out the window. Neo : This is insane! Why is this happening to me? What did I do?! Nothing. He climbs out the window onto the window ledge. Hanging onto the frame, he steps onto the small ledge. The wind suddenly blasts up the face of the building, knocking Neo off balance. Recoiling, he clings harder to the frame, and the phone falls out of his hand. He watches as it is swallowed by the distance beneath him. Neo : This is insane. I can't do this. Forget it! Neo climbs back into the office, just as a cop opens the door. The agents take Neo, handcuffed, out of the building, and into their car. Trinity is sitting on a motorbike in front of the car, watching them in her rear view mirror. Trinity : Sh*t Neo is sitting at a table by himself in a small room. The door opens and the agents enter. Agent Smith sits down across from Neo with a folder in front of him. Agent Smith : As you can see, we've had our eye on you for some time now, _Mr._ Anderson. It seems you have been living..two lives. In one life, you're Thomas A. Anderson, program writer for a _respectable_ software company....you have a social security number, you pay your taxes, and you...help your landlady carry out her _garbage_. The other life is lived in computers, where you go by the hacker alias 'Neo', and are guilty of virtually every computer crime we have a law for. One of these lives has a future....the other does _not_... I'm going to be as forthcoming as I can, _Mr._ Anderson. You're here because we need your help. We know that you've been contacted by a certain individual, a man who calls himself...Morpheus. Now whatever you _think_ you know about this man is irrelevant. He is considered by many authorities to be the most dangerous man alive. My colleagues believe that I am wasting my time with you, but I believe you wish to do the right thing. We're willing to wipe the slate clean, give you a fresh start, and all that we're asking in return is your co-operation in bringing a known terrorist to justice. Neo : Yeah...Wow, that sounds like a really good deal. But I think I got a better one. How about...I give you the finger... Neo does so Neo : ....And you give _me_ my phone call. Agent Smith : *glare* _Mr._ Anderson, you disappoint me. Neo : You can't scare me with this Gestapo crap. I know my rights. I _want_ my phone call. Agent Smith : And tell me, _Mr._ Anderson, what good is a phone call...if you are unable to speak. The question unnerves Neo and strangely, he begins to feel the muscles in his jaw tighten. The standing agents snicker, watching Neo's confusion grow into panic. Neo feels his lips grow soft and sticky as they slowly seal shut, melding into each other until all trace of his mouth is gone. Wild with fear, he lunges for the door but the agents restrain him, holding him down onto the table. Agent Smith : You're going to help us, _Mr._ Anderson, whether _you_ like it or not. Smith nods and the other two rip open his shirt. From a case taken out of his suit coat, Smith removes a long, fiber-optic wire tap. Neo struggles helplessly as Smith dangles the wire over his exposed abdomen. Horrified, he watches as the electronic device animates, become an organic creature that resembles a hybrid of an insect and a fluke worm. Thin, whisker-like tendrils reach out and probe into Neo's navel. He bucks wildly as Smith drops the creature which looks for a moment like an uncut umbilical cord - Before it begins to burrow, its tail thrashing as it worms its way inside. Screaming, Neo wakes up in his bed, in his apartment, sweating. He puts his hand to his mouth, and finds it's perfectly normal. The phone beside his bed rings. He jumps, and picks it up, cautiously. Neo : .......Hello....? Morpheus : This line is tapped, so I must be brief. They got to you first, but they're underestimated how important _you_ are... If they knew what I know, you would probably be dead. Neo : What are you talking about? What is happening to me? Morpheus : You are The One, Neo. You see, you may have spent the last few years of your life looking for me, but I've spent my entire _life_ looking for you. Now do you still want to meet? Neo : .....Yes.... Morpheus : Then go to the Adam's Street bridge. Neo stands under the bridge, as a black car pulls up and the door opens. It's Trinity. Trinity : Get in. Neo gets into the car, as the driver, a blond woman named Switch, turns around in her seat and points a gun at him. Neo : What the hell is this? Trinity : It's necessary, Neo. For our protection. Neo : From what? Trinity : From you... Switch : Take off your shirt. Neo : What? Switch : Stop the car. Listen to me, Coppertop. We don't have time for twenty questions. Right now, there's only one rule : Our way - or the highway. Neo : Fine... Neo starts to get out of the car....Trinity stops him Trinity : Please Neo, you have to trust me. Neo Trinity : Because you have been down there, Neo. You know that road. You know exactly where it ends. And I know that's not where you want to be..... Neo slowly gets back into the car Trinity looks at the man in the passenger seat Trinity : Apoc, lights. She turns to Neo again Trinity : Lie back, lift up your shirt. Neo looks at the device in her hand. Neo : What _is_ that thing? Trinity : We think you're bugged....Try and relax... Trinity looks at the display on the device she's holding and presses it against Neo's abdomen, talking to herself as she attempts to remove the bug from him. Trinity : Come on...come on... Switch : It's on the move....you're going to loose it... Trinity : No I'm not...clear. The bug appears in the jar attached to the device she was using, and she empties it out of the window into the street. It turns back into a mechanical object and it's red 'eyes' fade and then go out. Neo : Jesus Christ, that thing's real??!! They arrive at a hotel, and Trinity takes Neo to a closed door. She turns and faces him. Trinity : This is it..let me give you one piece of advice. Be honest- he knows more than you can imagine. Neo opens the door, and walks in to see a dark figure staring out of the window. He turns and smiles at Neo. Morpheus : At last. Welcome, Neo. As you no doubt have guessed, I am Morpheus. Neo : It's an honour to meet you. Morpheus : No, the honour is mine....Please, come, sit. Neo sits down in the armchair. Morpheus : I imagine that right now you're feeling a bit like Alice... Neo : .....? Morpheus : Tumbling down the rabbit hole? Hmm? Neo : You....could say that. Morpheus : I can see it in your eyes. You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees, because he is expecting to wake up. Ironically, this is not far from the truth.... Morpheus sits down in the armchair opposite from Neo Morpheus : Do you believe in fate, Neo? Neo : No. Morpheus : Why? Neo : Because I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my own life. Morpheus : I know..._exactly_ what you mean. Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know, you can't explain. But you feel it. You've felt it your entire life. That there's something _wrong_ with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there...like a splinter in you're mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you _know_ what I'm talking about? Neo : The Matrix? Morpheus : Do you want to know...._what_ _it_ is....? Neo nods Morpheus : The Matrix is everywhere. It's all around us, even in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to work, when you pay your taxes. The Matrix is the world that has been pulled over your eyes, to blind you from the truth. Neo : What truth? Morpheus : That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, born into a prison that you cannot smell or taste or touch. A prison...for your mind....Unfortunatly, no one can be..._told_ what the Matrix is...you have to see it for yourself. Morpheus opens a container which holds two pills : a blue one, and a red one. He puts one in each hand, and holds them out to Neo. Morpheus : This is your _last chance_. After this, there is no turning back.....You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up and belive...whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill.....you stay in wonderland...and I show you just how deep the rabbit hole goes. Neo pauses for an instant, then reaches for the red pill. He swallows it down with a glass of water, and looks at Morpheus. Morpheus : Remember...all I'm offering you is the truth : nothing more. Morpheus half smiles at Neo. Morpheus : Follow me..... They walk through double doors into a room with computer terminals and other machines. Morpheus speaks to Apoc Morpheus : Apoc, are we online? Apoc : Almost... Trinity and Apoc are busy wiring a complex system of monitors, modules and drives. Morpheus : Time is always against us. Please, take a seat there. Morpheus gestures towards another arm chair. Neo cautiously sits down, still looking at all the computer terminals and wires. Neo : You did all this? Trinity : Uh huh. Morpheus : The pill you took is part of a tracing program. It's designed to disrupt your input/output carrier signals so we can pinpoint your location. Neo looks confused. Neo : What does that mean? Cypher looks up from his computer terminal. Cypher : It means, Buckle your seat belt Dorothy...'cause Kansas...is going bye-bye. As Neo looks at an old cracked dressing mirror nearby, it appears to show his image twice. As he stares at it, he speaks to Morpheus Neo : Did you....? Morpheus ignores his question Morpheus : Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference, between the dream world...and the real world....? As Neo curiously reaches out to touch the mirror, it wobbles, and appears to stick to his hand. Neo : This can't be.... Morpheus : Be what? Be _real_? As Neo pulls away, the strands thin like rubber cement as he pulls away, until the fragile wisps of mirror break, and only a tiny fragment of the liquid is left. He looks at it, and it begins to consume his hand, crawling up his arm. He squirms. Trinity : It's going into replication! Morpheus : Apoc? Apoc : Still nothing... The liquid has covered all of Neo's right arm by now, and works it's way up his shoulder to his neck Neo : It's cold!! It's cold!... Morpheus takes out a cellular phone, and dials a number Morpheus : Tank, we're going to need a signal soon. Neo begins to panic, as he tips his head up as if he's sinking into the mirror, trying to keep his mouth up. Trinity : We've got a fibrillation! Morpheus : Apoc! Location! Apoc : Targeting, almost there! By now Neo is almost totally consumed by the liquid, squirming as it works it way up his face. Trinity : He's going into arrest! Apoc : LOCK, I got him! Morpheus : Now, Tank! Now! The mirror liquid pours down Neo's throat, as he screams, and we travel down his throat with it, and then get swallowed by total darkness. We emerge in a cocoon filled with a red gelatin-like liquid. Neo is attached to the sides of it by wires, tubes and things which look like IV lines. He struggles, air bubbles into the gelatine, but does not break the surface. As he presses up, the surface distends, stretching like a red rubber cocoon. Unable to breathe, he fights for stand, and eventually ruptures the surface, creating a hole which he uses to gasp for air. Tearing himself free, he emerges from the cell. Neo is bald and naked, and covered in the gelatine. He's dizzy, and unable to stand properly, as he waits for his vision to focus. He is standing in an oval capsule of clear alloy filled with red gelatine, the surface of which has solidified like curdled milk. The IVs in his arms are plugged into outlets that appear to be grafted to his flesh. He feels the weight of another cable and reaches to the back of his head where he finds an enormous coaxial plugged and locked into the base of his skull. He tries to pull it out, but can't. To either side he sees other tube-shaped pods filled with red gelatine; beneath the wax-like surface, pale and motionless, he sees other human beings. Fanning out in a circle, there are more. All connected to a centre core, each capsule attached to a black metal stem. Above him, level after, level, the stem rises seemingly forever. He moves to the foot of the capsule and looks out. Towers of glowing petals spiral up to incomprehensible heights, disappearing down into a dim murk like an underwater abyss. Below Neo, a petal detaches from the stem, bearing away the body of an old man like anautomated barge even as a new pod rises up and plugs itself into the empty space. Inside the new capsule, its surface more translucent and pinkish in colour, Neo sees a small baby. From above, a machine drops directly in front of him. He swallows his scream as it seems to stare at him. A black particle beam washes over Neo, he reacts in pain as the scanner seems to expose the nervous system wired to the coaxial cable at his cerebral cortex. At the back of the neck, the cable lock spins and opens, disengaging. The cable pulls itself free, a long clear plastic needle and cerebrum-chip slides from the interior of Neo's skull with an ooze of blood and spinal fluid. The other connective hoses snap free and snake away as the back of the unit opens and a tremendous vacuum, like an aeroplane door opening, sucks the gelatine and then Neo into a black hole. The pipe is a waste disposal system, and Neo falls, sliding down it, screaming his lungs out. He falls out of the end of the pipe, into a body of water. As he begins to drown, he is suddenly snatched up by a machine. The metallic cable then lifts, pulling him up into a flying machine of some sort, as the doors close and we fade to black. (hovercraft) The metal harness opens and drops the half-conscious Neo onto the floor. Human hands and arms help him up as he finds himself looking straight at Morpheus, Trinity and Apoc, along with others he doesn't recognize. Morpheus smiles, and speaks quietly to Neo. Morpheus : Welcome to the real world.... Neo passes out. As he is unconscious, Morpheus and Trinity talk in hushed voices Morpheus : ...We've done it, Trinity...we've found him. Trinity : I hope you're right... Morpheus : I don't _have_ to hope. I know it. Neo wakes up later on, and looks at Trinity and Morpheus, who are standing watching him. Neo : ....Am I dead? Morpheus : Far from it... Neo passes out again. Later on, he wakes up. He sees his body pierced with dozens of acupuncture-like needles wired to a strange device. Dozer: He still needs a lot of work. Neo : What are you doing? Morpheus : Your muscles have atrophied, we're rebuilding them. Neo : Why do my eyes hurt? Neo blinks Morpheus : You've never used them before. Neo looks confused Morpheus : Rest, Neo, the answers are coming. Neo passes out again. When he wakes up, he's lying on a bed in a room. He begins to examine himself. There is a futuristic IV plugged into the jack in his forearm. He pulls it out, staring at the grafted outlet. He feels his bald head. His fingers find and explore the large outlet in the base of his skull. Just as it starts to come unglued, Morpheus opens the door and walks in. Neo : Morpheus, what's happened to me? Morpheus : More important than 'what?' is _'when?'_ Neo : When? Morpheus : You believe that it is the year 1999, when in fact is closer to _2199_. I can't tell you _exactly_ what year it is, because we honestly don't know. There's nothing I can see that will explain it for you, Neo...Come with me, see for yourself. Neo follows Morpheus rather unsteadily through the door. Morpheus : This is my ship, the Nebuchadnezzar.... Morpheus gestures around him Morpheus : It's a hovercraft. This is the main deck...This is the core, where we broadcast our pirate signal, and...hack into the Matrix. They enter a room where the other people Neo has met are all standing, or sitting at computer terminals. Morpheus : Most of my crew, you already know. Trinity nods and smiles Morpheus : This is Apoc, Switch, and Cypher. Cypher smiles Cypher : Hi. Morpheus : The ones you don't know, Tank, and his big brother, Dozer...The little one behind you is Mouse. Mouse smiles at Neo and waves slightly shyly Morpheus looks at him, then turns back to Neo. Morpheus : You wanted to know...what the Matrix is, Neo? Neo nods unsteadily Morpheus nods to Trinity Morpheus : Trinity... Trinity approaches Neo, and helps him into an armchair, strapping in his feet, and leaning his head back against the head rest. Morpheus looks at Neo Morpheus : Try to relax...this will feel....a little _weird_. As Morpheus guides a coaxial line into the jack at the back of his neck, Neo screams and makes a few other disturbing noises. When he opens his eyes, he is standing in a totally white place. His hair is back, and he is wearing different clothes. As Neo spins around a bit, trying to see what's going on, Morpheus appears in front of him. Morpheus : This is the construct. It is our loading program. We can load anything from clothing, to equipment, weapons, training simulations, anything we need. Neo is having a hard time getting a grasp of this. Neo : Right now....we're inside a computer program? Morpheus : Is it really so hard to belive? Your clothes are different. The plugs in your arms and head are gone. Your hair has changed. Neo puts a hand to his head and touches his hair Morpheus : Your appearance now is what we call residual self image. It is the mental projection...of your digital self. Two chairs appear in front of them, and Neo reaches out to touch one. He runs his hand along it's back. Neo : This....this isn't real? Morpheus looks at him Morpheus : What _is_ real? How do you _define_ real? If you're talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then real is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain. A television appears in front of the two chairs, as Neo sits down in the chair beside Morpheus. Morpheus picks up the television control and turns it on. Morpheus : _This_ is the world that you know. The world as it was at the end of the twentieth century. It exists now only as part of a neural-interactive simulation, that _we_ call the Matrix. Morpheus turns to Neo Morpheus : You've been living in a dream world, Neo. This...is the world as it exists today. Morpheus changes the channel on the televison. The sky is an endless sea of black and green bile. The earth, scorched and split like burnt flesh, spreads out beneath us as we enter the television. Morpheus : Welcome.....to the desert of the real...We have only bits and pieces of information, but what we know for certain is that some point in the early twenty-first century all of mankind was united in celebration. We marvelled at our own magnificence.... Neo looks confused Morpheus : .....as we gave birth...to A.I. Neo : A.I. - you mean Artificial Intelligence? Morpheus : A singular consciousness that spawned an entire race of machines. We don't know who struck first - us, or them. But we know it was us that scorched the sky. At the time they were dependent on solar power and it was believed that they would be unable to survive without an energy source as abundant as the sun. Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony. Neo stares at Morpheus, with his mouth open. Morpheus : The human generates more bio-electricity than 120-volt battery and over 25,000 BTVs of body heat. Combined with a form of fusion, the machines have found all the energy they would ever need. There are fields...endless fields, were human beings are no longer born. We are grown. For longest time, I wouldn't belive it...and then I saw the fields with my own eyes. Watch them liquefy the dead, so they could be fed intravenously to the living. And standing there, facing the pure horrifying precision, I came to realize the obviousness of the truth. What is The Matrix? Control. The Matrix is a computer generated dream world, built to keep us under control in order to change a human being into this. Morpheus holds up a battery to Neo Neo begins to panic. Neo : No....I don't belive it!! It's not possible. Morpheus : I didn't say it would be easy, Neo. I just said it would be the truth. Neo : Noooo!! Stop!! Let me out!! I want out!! His eyes snap open and he thrashes against the chair, trying to rip the cable from the back of his neck. Trinity tries to calm him down. Trinity : Easy, Neo. Easy... Neo : Take this thing off me!! Take this thing.. Morpheus : Listen to me... Neo : Don't touch me! Stay away from me! I don't want it, I don't believe it!! Cypher rolls his eyes at Neo as he tries to get up out the chair. Cypher : He's gonna pop. Neo gets up out the chair, and as he is dizzy, staggers about the room a bit, eventually falling onto the ground. Morpheus : Breathe, Neo. Just breathe... Neo throws up on the floor and passes out. He wakes up later, in his room. Morpheus is sitting beside him. Neo sits up slowly and looks at him. Neo : I can't go back, can I? Morpheus : No, but if you could, would you really want to? Neo isn't sure, so decides not to say anything. Morpheus : I feel I owe you an apology. We have a rule...we never free a mind once it reaches a certain age. It's dangerous, and the mind has trouble letting go. I've seen it before, and I'm sorry. I did what I did, because...I had to. Neo listens Morpheus : When the Matrix was first built, there was a man born inside who had the ability to change whatever he wanted, to remake the Matrix as he saw fit. It was he who freed the first of us, taught us the truth : 'As long as the Matrix exists, the human race will never be free.' After he died, the Oracle prophesied his return, and that his coming would hail the destruction of the Matrix, end the war, bring freedom to our people. That is why there are those of us who have spent our entire _lives_ searching the Matrix, looking for him. I did what I did because...I belive that search is over. Morpheus stands up Morpheus : Get some rest..you're going to need it. Neo : For what? Morpheus : Your training. As Morpheus leaves and shuts the door, Neo lies down and goes to sleep. In the morning, Neo is awake, sitting beside his bed. Tank comes in, and smiles at Neo. Tank : Morning! Did you sleep? Neo shakes his head Neo : Not much... Tank : You will tonight, I guarantee it! I'm Tank, I'll be your operator. Neo stares at his arm Neo : You don't...you don't have any... Tank : Holes? Nope. Me and my brother Dozer, we're both one hundred percent pure, old fashioned home-grown human, born free!...Right here, in the real world. Genuine child of Zion. Neo : Zion? Tank : If the war was over tommorow, Zion's where the party would be. Neo : It's a city? Tank : The last human city. The only place we have left. Neo : Where is it? Tank : Deep underground, near the Earth's core, where it's still warm. You live long enough, you might even see it! Tank smiles Tank : Goddamn, I...I gotta tell you, I'm fairly excited to see what you're capable of, if Morpheus is right and all...We're not supposed to talk about this, but if you are...Damn, it's a very exciting time. We got a lot to do, lets get to it.. Tank leads Neo onto the main deck, and plugs him in. Tank : Now, we're supposed to start with these operation programs, that's major boring sh*t. Let's do something a little more fun...combat training. Tank smiles as he sits down in his operator's chair, flipping through several disks. He picks one, and puts it into his computer. Neo looks at the screen. Neo : Jujitsu? I'm going to learn..._Jujitsu_? smiling, Tank presses the 'Load' button. Neo's body jumps against the harness as his eyes clamp shut. The monitors kick wildly as his heart pounds, adrenaline surges, and his brain sizzles. An instant later his eyes snap open. Neo : Holy sh*t! Tank grins Tank : Hey Mikey, I think he likes it! How about some more? Neo : Hell yeah..oh yeah. Hours later, Morpheus walks in. Tank is blinking, trying to keep his eyes in focus. Morpheus : How is he....? Tank : Ten hours straight...he's a _machine!_ Neo's training finishes, and he opens his eyes, breathing hard. Neo : *gasp* I know...Kung Fu! Morpheus : Show me... Morpheus sits down in the chair next to Neo and nods at Tank. They appear in in a very sparse japanese-style dojo. Morpheus : This is a sparring program, similar to the programmed reality of the Matrix. It has the same basic rules, rules like gravity. What you must learn is that these rules are no different than the rules of a computer system...some of them can can be bent. Others...can be broken. Understand? Neo thinks about it, and nods Morpheus: Then hit me...if you can. Morpheus assumes a fighting stance. Neo assumes a similar stance, cautiously circling until he gives a short cry and launches a furious attack. They move at high speed, fists and feet striking from every angle as Neo presses his attack, but each and every blow is blocked by effortless speed. Morpheus punches Neo and knocks him over. Morpheus : Good. Adaptation...improvisation. But your weakness is not your technique. While their minds battle in the programmed reality, the two bodies appear quite serene, suspended in the drive chairs. Tank and Mouse monitor their life systems noticing that Neo's is wildly and chaotically lit up as opposed to the slow and steady rhythm of Morpheus. Everyone is sitting in another room. Mouse bursts in. Mouse : Morpheus is fighting Neo! All at once, they all bolt for the door to go and watch. Neo's fighting is gradually improving, and he almost manages to beat Morpheus when he hurls Neo across the room, and he falls. Neo lies on the floor as Morpheus casually walks up to him. Morpheus : How did I beat you.....? Neo : You...you're too fast... Morpheus : Do you _belive_ that my being stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in _this_ place? Neo just looks at him. Morpheus stares back. Morpheus : You think that's _air_ you're breathing now? Neo : .... Morpheus looks surprised Morpheus : *shrugs* Hmm. Neo stands up again Morpheus : Again! Their fists fly with pneumatic speed. Everyone is gathered behind Tank and Mouse, watching the fight. Neo is much faster now, matching Morpheus' speed and blocking all his attempts to hit Neo. Mouse : Jesus Christ, he's fast! Take a look at his neural kinetics, they're way above normal! Everyone stares Morpheus and Neo stop fighting for a second. Morpheus : What are you waiting for?! You're faster than this. Don't think you are..._know_ you are... They begin fighting again, Morpheus keeps on trying to get Neo to improve Morpheus : Come on! Stop _trying_ to hit me and hit me! Neo keeps on getting faster, and Morpheus has to continue to work harder to block his attacks. The crew are still watching them fight, with increasing admiration for Neo. Mouse : I don't belive it... Neo has Morpheus pinned against the wall, his fist an inch from Morpheus' face. Neo : I know what you're trying to do.. Morpheus : I'm trying to free your mind, Neo...but I can only show you the door. _You're_ the one that has to walk through it....Tank, load the jump program. Neo straightens as the dojo dissolves away like a curtain lifting, leaving the two men now standing on a building rooftop in a city skyline. Morpheus turns to Neo, his long coat flapping in the wind. Morpheus : You have to let it all go, Neo. Fear...doubt...and disbelief. Free your mind... Morpheus spins, running hard at the edge of the rooftop. And jumps. He sails through the air, his coat billowing out behind him like a cape - He somersaults once and lands on the rooftop across the street. Neo : Woah. Neo looks down at the street twenty floors below, then at Morpheus an impossible fifty feet away. Neo : Okies dokie. Neo takes a deep breath. Neo : Free my mind..._no_ problem. On the main deck, the crew are transfixed. Mouse : So what if he makes it? Tank : No one's ever made the first jump... Mouse : I know, I know...but what if he does? Apoc : He won't. Mouse : Come on.. Trinity : Come on.... Neo takes another deep breath Neo : All right, no problem...free my mind. Free my mind..All right. Neo concentrates and runs. Summoning every ounce of strength in his legs, Neo launches himself into the air in a single maniacal shriek - But comes up drastically short. His eyes widen as he plummets. Stories fly by, the ground rushing up at him, but as he hits - The ground gives way, stretching like a trapeze net. He bounces and flips, slowly coming to a rest, flat on his back. He laughs, a bit unsure, wiping the wind-blown tears from his face. Morpheus exits the building and helps him to his feet. Inside the Nebuchadnezzar, the crew are feeling kind of let down by Neo. Mouse : Wha...what does this mean? Switch : It doesn't _mean_ anything... Cypher : Everybody falls the first time. Right, Trin? But Trinity has left. Neo's eyes open as Tank eases the plug out. He tries to move and groans, cradling his ribs. While Tank helps Morpheus, Neo spits blood into his hand. Neo : I thought it wasn't real. Morpheus : Your mind makes it real... Neo : If you're killed in the Matrix...you die here? Morpheus : The body cannot live without the mind. Neo goes to his room and goes to sleep. In the morning, Trinity goes to his room to give him food. She sees him passed out on the bed. She sets the tray down and pulls the blanket over him. She pauses, her face close to his, then inhales lightly, breathing in the scent of him, before slowly pulling away. She gets up and walks out the door, closing it quietly. Outside his door, Cypher is standing with his arms folded. Cypher : I don't remember you ever bringing _me_ dinner... Trinity looks away Cypher : There _is_ something about him, isn't there? Trinity : Don't tell me you're a believer now... Cypher : I just keep wondering..if Morpheus is so sure, why doesn't he take him to see the Oracle? Trinity : Morpheus will take him...when he's ready. She walks away from him, and Cypher smiles to himself. When Neo wakes up, Morpheus takes him into another program. They walk down a busy street, full of people going to work. Morpheus casually walks through them, but Neo keeps on being hit or shoved aside. As they walk, Morpheus begins to walk. Morpheus : The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around. What do you see? Business people, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system, and that makes them our enemy. A woman walks by, standing out from all the people in suits, as she is wearing a bright red dress, and bright red lipstick. Neo stares. Morpheus : You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inert, so hopelessly dependant on the system, that they will fight to protect it. Were you listening to me, Neo? Or were you looking at the woman in the red dress? Neo : I was... Morpheus : Look again.. Neo turns around, to see that the woman in the red dress has turned into an agent, and is pointing a gun at his head. Neo ducks, covering his head with his hands. Morpheus : Freeze it. The people and animals around them stop, frozen. Neo : This....this isn't the Matrix? Morpheus : No. It's another program, designed to teach you one thing : If you are not one of us, you are one of them. Neo looks at the frozen agent. Neo : What _are_ they? Morpheus : Sentient programs. They can move in and out of any software still hard-wired to their system. That means that anyone we haven't unplugged is potentially an agent. Inside the Matrix, they are everyone and they are no one. We have survived by hiding from them...and by running from them. But they are the gatekeepers. They are guarding all the doors, they are holding all the keys, which means that sooner or later... _someone_ is going to have to fight them. Neo : Someone? Morpheus : I won't lie to you, Neo. Every single man or woman who has stood their ground, everyone who has fought an agent has died. But where they have failed, you will suceed. Neo looks puzzled Neo : Why? Morpheus : I've seen an agent punch through a concrete wall. Men have emptied entire clips at them, and hit nothing but air. Yet _their_ strength and _their_ speed, are still based on a world built on rules. Because of that, they will never be as strong, or as fast, as you can be. Neo : What are you trying to tell me? That I can...dodge bullets? Morpheus : No, Neo. I'm trying to tell you, that when _you're_ ready... _you_ won't have to... At that moment, Morpheus' cell phone rings. He picks it up and answers. Morpheus : Yes? Tank : We've got trouble. They both come out of the program, and move towards the main deck. Morpheus : Did Zion send a warning? Dozer : No, another ship. The whole crew goes to the front of the ship, and sits down. Dozer : Sh*t...squiddies sweeping in quick. Neo : ...Squiddy? Trinity : A sentinel. Killing machine designed for one thing. Dozer : Search...and destroy. Morpheus : Set her down right over there....how're we doing, Tank? Tank : Power offline...EMP armed and ready... Neo looks at the device in Tank's hand. Neo : EMP? Trinity : Electromagnetic pulse. Disables any electrical system within the blast radius. It's the only weapon we have against the machines. Neo : Where are we? Trinity : There are old service and waste systems. Neo : Sewers? Trinity : They used to be cities that spanned for hundreds of miles. Now these sewers are all that's left. Morpheus : Quiet! The sentinels arrive, mechanical insect like objects, flying towards their ship. One opens up, long cable-like extensions swirling about it. Then it moves off in the other direction, and the rest follow. The crew all sigh in relief. During that night, Neo gets up and goes to see Cypher, who is sitting monitoring the Matrix on monitors. Neo approaches him quietly, and when Cypher realizes he's there, he jumps out of his skin. Cypher : Woah, Neo! You scared the bejeezus outta me. Neo : Sorry.. Cypher : It's okay. Neo : Is that... Cypher : The Matrix? Yeah. Neo : Do you always look at it encoded? Cypher : Well, you have to. The image translators work for the construct program. But there's way too much information to decode the Matrix. You get used to it...I, I don't even see the code. All _I_ see is...blond, brunette, red-head... Cypher gestures towards the monitors. Cypher : Hey, you uh...you want a drink? Neo nods Neo : Sure. Cypher pours Neo a drink from a large jug. He hands it to him. Cypher : You know, I know what you're thinking, because right now I'm thinking the same thing. Actually, I've been thinking it ever since I _got_ here....Why, oh _why_, didn't I take..the _blue_ pill. Neo takes a sip and it almost kills him. Cypher laughs Cypher : Good sh*t, huh? Dozer makes it. It's good for two things : degreasing engines, and...killin' brain cells. Neo : *tries to breathe* Oh! Cypher : So...can I ask you something? Did he tell you why he did it? Neo nods Cypher whistles Cypher : Jee-zus! What a mind job...So, you're here to save the world...what do you _say_ to something like that?! A little piece of advice..you see an agent - you do what _we_ do. Run...you run your ass off. Neo swallows down the last mouthful and looks a little apprehensive. Neo : Thanks for the drink... Cypher : Sweet dreams.. Neo walks back into his room and goes to sleep. We appear in a restaurant, a piece of steak is on a plate, and someone is cutting it up. We see Agent Smith sitting across from this person, and he takes his sunglasses off. Agent Smith : So we have a deal, _Mr_ Reagan? We now see the person sitting with him is Cypher. He looks at his cut up bit of steak on his fork. Cypher : You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain..that it is juicy..and delicious. he sighs Cypher : After nine years, you know what I realize? Cypher puts the bit of steak into his mouth, and sighs, as he chews it with his eyes closed. Cypher : Ignorance is bliss. Agent Smith : Then we have a deal? Cypher : I don't want to remember _nothing_. Nothing. You understand? And I wanna be rich..you know, someone important. Like an actor. Agent Smith : Whatever you want..._Mr_ Reagan... Cypher : Okay. I get my body back into a power plant, re-insert me into the Matrix, I'll get you what you want. Agent Smith : Access codes to the Zion mainframe.. Cypher : _No_, I told you, I don't know them. I can get you the man who does. Agent Smith : Morpheus Morning comes, and Neo is served disgusting looking goop for breakfast. Tank : Here you go, buddy. Breakfast of champions. He puts a bowl of it down in front of Neo, who just stares at it. Mouse : If you close your eyes, it almost feels like you're eating < |