In the whole story of Matirx, the most incomprehensible thing at the beginning was the relationship between Neo, Smith and the Prophet. Although in the second Neo interview with the architect, the architect gave Neo a brief introduction to the identity and function of the prophet, but it was still vague, and there was no mention of Smith who accidentally appeared in the mysterious layer. I think that only when you understand this problem can you truly understand Matirx.
A large part of the answer to this question is in the section where Neo meets the architect. This section can also be said to be the most informative section in the entire Matirx. From now on, let us parse this paragraph word by word.
- "Although the process changed your consciousness, you are still an unchangeable human being"
What process? The architect’s opening statement is often overlooked, but it points out an important fact: there is a process, or a program that has a profound impact on Neo. It is impossible for the architect to refer to Trinity or the Prophet, because the way Trinity and the Prophet influence Neo can be said to be perceptual and "human". If the architect refers to their influence on him, Then it is impossible to say "you are still human". Then, what the architect meant is obvious: he was talking about Smith. As an agent of Matrix, Smith acted completely in accordance with the system's instructions. He did not have his own independent thinking. It could also be said that he was completely devoid of "humanity". In the process of killing him in the first homicide of Neo and Neo, he and Neo's code exchanged a part of each other, and Smith's self-consciousness awakened, and it began to be a virus that copied wantonly; and this effect was also mutual. Neo also carried a part of Smith's code, but this part of the code did not affect Neo as a human being. Nature.
The architect mentioned Smith here, obviously he knew Smith's existence. That being the case, it is impossible for him to know that Smith will be a big deal in the future. So, why doesn't the almighty architect just erase the Smith program from Matrix? Moreover, what is the function of the Smith code left in Neo's body? No hurry, we will talk about it later.
- "You are the sum of the remainder of the system anomaly... You have undoubtedly analyzed it. This anomaly is systematic and can even cause fluctuations in the simplest equation."
This explains why Neo has so many superpowers, and why Neo has such a big impact on Smith's program. In short, Neo is a collection of all the bugs of this system. For all systems, he can use system vulnerabilities to "open".
- "If I were the father of the mother body, then she would undoubtedly be the mother of the mother body.... She accidentally found a solution. Nearly 99% of the subjects accepted the mother body as long as they were given a choice, although this choice may be unconscious of."
When describing the prophet, the architect used the term "mother of the mother" and placed the prophet in a position of equal importance to him. Why does he say that? In the world of Matrix, he is God, God, but there are also aspects that he cannot control, that is, the mind and mind of all human beings connected to the matrix. According to the architect’s description, we also know that the previous two generations of maternal bodies failed because they did not take into account the human spirit. Therefore, an intuitive program (that is, a prophet) accidentally discovered that the maternal body cannot use coercive methods to guide human thoughts. It is necessary to provide an environment with less control and more freedom so that humans will not have problems.
The prophet's tricks are very clever. The key is "choice", yes, but what to choose? Many other film critics have already said it very clearly, that is, Zion, like Matrix, is a virtual world! From here, humans are mainly divided into three batches. The first group are people who don’t know that Matrix is a virtual world. They still live ordinary lives happily every day, that is, “unconsciously” choosing the mother body; the second group are those who feel something is wrong with Matrix. At this time The prophet appeared, and she provided a channel for them to come to the seemingly "real" world of Zion. From then on, these people have honestly built Zion to avoid trouble; the third group is like the traitor in the first part of the movie. I felt it on both sides like a bald head, but in the end I still felt that Matrix was too cool, and voluntarily erased the memory and returned to Matrix, which is "choice". This is equivalent to giving people's thinking a buffer space, so that everyone thinks that they have understood the truth, and there is hope in life, but the true truth is far from being revealed.
Of course, for the second group of people, they believe that they need to liberate the vast number of compatriots who are still suffering in the Matrix, so from time to time, some people shuttle back and forth between the two systems to make trouble. Although the system is stable, it can't help the disturbance. Therefore, the system still has to make small interventions from time to time. The agents are here to solve these social instability factors.
- "The function of the savior is to return to the source of the code at this time, allowing the code you carry to spread temporarily, and re-enter the data on your body into the main program. After that, you will be asked to select 23 individuals from the mother body …To rebuild Zion"
However, no matter what you do, the number of people in Zion will continue to rise, threatening the safety of Matrix step by step. Therefore, every once in a while, the architect will "cut the wheat", clear the Zion system, and let the savior start a new file, and the cycle repeats itself again and again.
- At the end of the conversation between Neo and the architect, the architect gave Neo two choices: pursue love to save Trinity, or "save humanity".
This is the main content of the dialogue between Neo and the architect. In summary, we can draw at least three conclusions:
① The architect clearly knows Smith's existence, and it is useful to keep him.
② The purpose of the prophet and the architect are the same, both are to better control humans
③ The relationship between Neo and Trinity is within the grasp of the architect
Why give a fool who knows what Neo will choose? The only reasonable explanation is that in fact, it is the original intention of the system (or prophet) to let Neo save Trinity. If Neo chooses to save humans, then all reincarnation will be regarded as invalid. Next time let Neo Choose again on the second.
Coupled with Smith’s phrase "You should have known, mother" in the third book, one sentence broke the relationship between the prophet and Smith: Smith’s appearance was purely accidental, but the prophet had detected this by the system. The BUG program was retained, allowing him to "get a new life."
In the final analysis, all of this is a trap set by the architect and the prophet, or a rather risky "experiment". The purpose is to test human emotions and reactions when facing major decisions, and the content of the decisions must be related to the machine, otherwise it will be of no reference value for computer people. In fact, Neo knew that when he killed a mechanical octopus with his bare hands and looked blindly at things, he knew that all this was just another bureau set up by a computer person. He was the only person among all humans who understood the layout of architects and prophets, but for the sake of Love, in order to keep the names of all the people he knows in Zion, he had to accompany the computer to continue playing this game.
As for Smith's demise, it was almost doomed. Smith's essence is to rewrite the code of all creatures he comes into contact with into his own. Once his source code is obtained by the system, the system will use the source code to kill all Smith at once. And the code previously covered by Smith can also be restored, which explains the reappearance of Serif, Shadi, and the Prophet at the end of the film. Neo is the only one who is not completely covered by Smith but still carries the Smith source code, so it is inevitable that the architect will use him to eliminate Smith. But Neo's code and part of Smith's code have already been fused, so in the end his thinking as a carrier was destroyed by excessive information, tragic.