Lots of spoilers ahead...

Well, I finally got around to seeing The Matrix: Reloaded and I have to
say, from what The Architect tells Neo, there's no doubt in my mind that
Zion and the rest of what they consider the "real" world is all part of the
Matrix.

The Architect says that The Oracle came up with a method of making 99% of
those connected to the Matrix accept it as reality, by offering them a
choice at a near-unconscious level. Ok, great, but that still leaves
1%. I think that when a mind connected to the system makes the unconscious
choice to reject the reality of the Matrix, it's removed from the main
illusion (through the process of being "rescued" by the rebels) and
presented with a new one, one in which they've escaped and returned to the
real world. Which is all well and good, the machines can continue
harvesting the minds that choose to accept their alternate reality (oops)
and allow the troublemakers to believe that they're free, while in reality
they're STILL in the Matrix, producing just as much energy as ever for the
machines. If Zion were still part of the Matrix it would explain how Smith
could leave the Matrix by taking over another's body. It would also
explain why Neo can affect the Sentinels in the "real" world.

Now, as time goes on the rebels must reach a critical mass, at which point
they present a threat to the existence of the entire system. So along
comes The One, who goes to The Architect, chooses his 23 people, 7 men and
16 women to found a new Zion when the system is rebooted. As a side note,
did anyone notice how many people were on the Zion Council? Someone said
it was 23, 7 men and 16 women. I didn't happen to notice while I was
watching the movie, but it would be very interesting if true. Want to bet
that the old councilor who Neo meets late at night was The One of his
generation? Only time will tell. Anyway, as I was saying, critical mass
is reached, The One is found and causes the reboot of the system. How can
The One be found at exactly the right time, just when he is needed? Well,
who would tell the rebels of the existence of The One? The Oracle. And
during the course of the movie we learn that the Oracle is not an actual
person, but a program. So of course she would be aware of when the
population of rebels threatens the system and could plant the idea of a
savior right when he was most needed. So that takes care of that.

But one problem remains. Certainly the Oracle could prophesy the existence
of The One at any time. But how can she (or the machines in general)
ensure that a mind is ready to become The One? Could it be that Neo is
more, or perhaps less, than he seems? We've seen the machine create
personalities when needed for the well-being of the Matrix, perhaps Neo is
nothing more than another program! I'm sure you've noticed, or had it
pointed out to you how many times "101" shows up in both movies. It's
almost certainly a reference to Neo being The One. But it is also a small
bit of binary code, possibly linking the concept of The One with that of
him being of binary, rather than biological origins. It would explain the
whole Neo/Agent Smith melding thing. Some of Smith's code got overwritten
with some of the Neo code. And of course, "Neo" is an anagram of
"One". But it also means "new". Perhaps Neo truly is new, only having
been recently created as necessary for the continued survival of the
Matrix. At the beginning of the first movie, when we first see him he is
asleep. Or is he? Maybe he has just been created, but not yet
"activated". Ok, that might be stretching it a bit, but it's still
something to think about.

In any event, we'll have to wait until November to learn the truth. But if
Zion is really part of the Matrix, then the reasons for humanity being in
the Matrix as told by the rebels may not reflect the actual truth. The
reason for the existence of the REAL Matrix (the one containing both the
Matrix as we know it, plus the "real world" as experienced by the rebels)
may be entirely different, and perhaps not even malevolent.


Going back and reading over what I've just written, I'm struck by how much
I sound like a conspiracy theorist. Well, at least my conspiracies only
exist in the movies. I hope this makes at least a little sense to someone
besides me.