Blue Pill or Red Pill? (Part 2)

In our first article, we mostly covered the story up to where the first movie of the Matrix series started.

If you wish, let's take a look at the architectural structure of the Matrix Program in this article.

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Why The Matrix?

The formal definition of a matrix is a set of numbers arranged in rows and columns to form a rectangular array. We call a set of vectors as n-dimensional matrix space if there are enough of the right vectors in the Set, while they are linearly independent and there are no redundancies.

Furthermore, the word “matrix” means “a substance, situation, or environment in which something has its origin, takes form, or is enclosed.” (grin.com)

"Matrix" seems to refer to the structure and complexity of the system in that mankind is trapped in that array of numbers that controls all their inputs and outputs.

On the other hand, human beings are born in the Matrix, so is “an environment where something has its origin”. (grin.com)

The Architecture of the Matrix Program

“If you want to build your software you must build your Hardware.”

-- Steve Jobs.

Robots developed great hardware called Pod. A pod is a receptacle where synthetically created humans are inserted and hardwired into becoming part of the power plant and virtually integrated into the Matrix. Central to the control of a human in the pod is a data probe that is firmly and permanently attached to the head jack, which provides connectivity of the human's mind into the Matrix. (For some reason, this reminds me of Alon Musk’s Neuralink Project. ha-ha ??) Each human pod can be compared to a radio station; a carrier signal for each human mind transmits and receives data from the Source to process the information needed to form the neural-interactive world of the Matrix. (matrix.fandom.com). To understand the power of Pods we can refer to another quote from the film.

We are nothing but hopeless slaves to this powerful system, which will eventually turn us all into mere “batteries” to serve as its sole source of power.

―Morpheus

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The most effective technique used by free Zion People against machines is EMP (Electro-Magnetic Pulse). EMP can be an article itself but shortly is a burst of electromagnetic energy that creates an electromagnetic field around itself, which disrupts electronic devices, causing them to shut down within range.

Virtual or Augmented Reality?

Let us dive into the simulation world of the Matrix. The Platform offers a virtual reality rather than an augmented one as the environment in the Matrix was fully designated by the Architect (the developer of Matrix Program, also another computer program) and it has nothing in common with the real!!! World. (Again, what was real by the way ??)

The Architect is a highly specialized, humorless program of the Machine world as well as the creator of the Matrix. It was constructed by other machines resembling a human to understand the nature of humans. (https://matrix.fandom.com/wiki/The_Architect) When the film was unrevealed in 1999, it would be surrealistic that a program develops another program. However, today we know that computer programs can do a variety of creative tasks such as composing a new song or writing an original scenario.

The name of the virtual city where Neo lived once is Mega-City. The environment in the city is an almost perfect reflection and the technology level of the World of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, a time before the war between humanity and machinery. Hence while in the Matrix, Neo as all others thought it was 1999. When he first opened his eyes in Nebuchadnezzar he asked where he was. However, Morpheus claimed that the question should be when rather than where. He mentioned it should be 2199 without being sure.

By the rebellions, two different preparation environments were developed for the Matrix. In programming terminology, if we accept the Matrix as the production environment, these environments can be considered as UAT (User Acceptance Testing) and Pre-Production. So, in there they test every kind of development and application to the Matrix unofficially by leaking into it. During the training, our main character is installed necessary programs like martial arts and extraordinary skills like limitless jumping.?As mentioned by Morpheus, the training is more about developing their brains rather than muscles. What they do in these development environments is nothing but programming exercises.

Above it was mentioned that the third version of Matrix has become successful and sustainable thanks to two intuitive programs: Agent Smith and Oracle.

Oracle is a program with such insight into human psychology. It is a machine learning algorithm that learns, applies, and develops itself over time. During the trilogy, Oracle seemed to be in favor of humanity, and even so in a way.

She was added to interpret aspects of human psychology and enhance the Matrix program that people cannot differentiate from real life. Oracle found out that provides human beings are given or think that they are given a chance to make choices, they would accept outcomes of their choices with all conditions and circumstances.

However, what do choices mean in the Matrix? According to Agent Smith, it is nothing but an illusion created between powerful and powerless. Maybe another famous quote summarizes this situation best.

For the people prisoned to the Matrix Program, there is little reality in their dreams and there is little dream in their reality.

Agent Smith is another computer program running in the Matrix as a misbehaving Intrusion Detection System. Smith's role is to police and maintain the Matrix by eliminating potential threats (such as Red pills and defective programs) to the stability of the system.?It tries to detect malicious activities or policy violations. It has artificial intelligence to discover such activities and threads.

However, have been initially destroyed Neo by the end of the first film, he became an Exile program and manifested as a computer virus that tries to destroy the Matrix.

In this writing, I tried to summarize the basics on which the series was built on as well as to explain the technical aspects of the inside and outside of the Matrix Program. When we consider all the technology used in the Matrix, with the technological level humanity reached by today, it does not seem as impossible as it once seemed to me when I watched the film for the first time.