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Friday, March 25, 2005

Okay, I'll try to Clarify

There has arisen some confusion about The Matrix.
Bob, the answer to your question is found in Neo's encounter with the Architect in Matrix Reloaded.

Neo: Why am I here?
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, despite my sincerest efforts, I have been unable to eliminate from what is otherwise a harmony of mathematical precision. While it remains a burden assiduously avoided, it is not unexpected, and thus not beyond a measure of control. Which has led you, inexorably... here.

You see, the Architect originally wanted everything to work out perfectly, without contradiction. Unfortunately, this didn't work out for him.

The Architect explains,
Continue reading...



The first Matrix I designed was quite naturally perfect, it was a work of art-flawless, sublime. A triumph equaled only by its monumental failure. The inevitability of its doom is apparent to me now as a consequence of the imperfection inherent in every human being. Thus, I redesigned it based on your history to more accurately reflect the varying grotesqueries of your nature. However, I was again frustrated by failure. I have since come to understand that the answer eluded me because it required a lesser mind, or perhaps a mind less bound by the parameters of perfection. Thus the answer was stumbled upon by another - an intuitive program, initially created to investigate certain aspects of the human psyche. If I am the father of the matrix, she would undoubtedly be its mother....As I was saying, she stumbled upon a solution whereby nearly 99% of all test subjects accepted the program, as long as they were given a choice, even if they were only aware of the choice at a near unconscious level. While this answer functioned, it was obviously fundamentally flawed, thus creating the otherwise contradictory systemic anomaly, that if left unchecked might threaten the system itself. Ergo those that refused the program, while a minority, if unchecked, would constitute an escalating probability of disaster.

Due to the inherent logical propositions endemic in the Matrix, some people saw the strings of the puppeteer and rejected the foundationalism of that system. They started a conversation about the control of the matrix and, subsequently, started a revolution that sought to topple the system and its control over their lives.

Bob, I know that this has confused you in the past, and I know what you are probably thinking. No, no, no! Don't forget what Morphius told Neo in the first Matrix:
The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around. What do you see. Business men, 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....You have to understand that most of these people are not ready to be unplugged and many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on that system that they will fight to protect it.
That is why some people committed themselves to offering an alternative to the system's ontic and epistemological controls. One would infer that once people realized that the system they associated with reality was nothing but a construct, they would seek another system that is free of such controlling authoritarianism. Yet, even at the end of Revolutions, the battle is not over. Do you remember the scene?

(Matrix: a lake. a bench)
Oracle: Well, now, ain't this a surprise.
Architect: You've played a very dangerous game.
Oracle: Change always is.
Architect: Just how long do you think this peace is going to last?
Oracle: As long as it can.
{Architect starts walking away}
Oracle: What about the others?
Architect: What others?
Oracle: The ones that want out.
Architect: Obviously, they will be freed.
Oracle: I have your word?
Architect: What do you think I am? Human?

I hope this helps to clear up some of the confusion. Peace.

posted by Jake at 3/25/2005 02:55:00 PM

1 Comments:

Blogger JohnLDrury said...

It just hit me after reading your blog that if one chooses to use the Matrix as a parable for the Christian story of redemption, the Redeemer-figure has a certain necessity within the world-system, resulting in a sort of Hegelian soteriology. There has to be a redeemer from within because the system requires it. I just never realized that, despite the obvious Gnostic contours of the movie. So thanks for the post.

2:28 PM  

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That's Okay...Emergent is not for you anyway;)
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