Yeah right. I do have imagination but it is so complicated. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

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Bardan...ever think that maybe they only tie up Neo's story and leave theselves room for another trilogy?
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The Machines should have used Sheeps as battery's, rather then humans ;) That way, the Matrix would have been one large rural area with agents being Wolves :D

Sorry to resurrect this topic but I went to see the film again the other day and wanted to bring up a few more things about it I noticed.

First off I realised when watching it for the second time that they give you many clues all the way through the film that Neo is not the first One. The exchange between two Smith's at the beggining:

"Its happening exactly as before.".
"Well...not exactly..." they grin smugly at each other

And the Merovingian talking about Neo not understanding why he really needs the Keymaker, and also mentioning that he has survived Neo's predecessors. Also the Oracle tells Neo that he didn't see her to make his choice, just to understand why he made it. The Architect reiterates alomst those exact words towards the end of the film when he remarks that Neo has already chosen Trinity.

My main problem, as before, concerns the Oracle. She's easily the most enigmatic person in both films because even with the Architects admission I am no closer to understanding her motives, or even how she knows what she does. The first point concerning this is that she remarks to Neo that he has made a "believer" out of her. A believer in Neo himself, but in what exactly about him. She already knows he is the One, I think she has something a little bit more planned for Neo than simply the path of the One. The Matrix may not be as cyclical as it seems, Neo is certainly very different from the other Ones - we know this from the Architect. I have a feeling that the Oracle is not acting in tune with the Architect any more. Consider also that the Merovingian states that the her time is "almost up", I think the powerful programs are aware of the emergence of a systemic anomaly and attempt to use this for their own gain.

The other point backing this up is more idle speculation than anything. The Oracle's bodyguard (I forget his name) is quite clearly a very powerful program. Bearing in mind how easily Neo can beat agents now, even upgraded ones, and the fact that the bodyguard actually gives Neo a run for his money in their fight. Neither of them seem to gain the upper hand at all, is Neo able to beat him? Exactly what powers does this guy have? Anyway, its clear he is very powerful and for some reason he is protecting the Oracle. He explains this by saying "I protect that which matters most", a line which will hopefully be explained in Revolutions. My feeling is that possibly the Oracle wants to see an end to the cycle within the Matrix and the bodyguard shares that dream. This would tie in with Neo and Trinity's love for each other, the differentiating factor between Neo and the other Ones. The Oracle is inextricibally linked to the love story, and that in turn is linked to Neo possibly breaking the cycle.

And finally I return to the start of my post and that genius character: Smith. He is the other factor that differentiates this cycle from the previous ones, as he remarked himself. Does Smith have any connection to the Oracle? On the face of it no, but then again Neo mixed himself with Smith and released him, whereas presumably the other Ones didn't. Azred was speculating earlier that that might be due to the Oracle somehow, possibly due to the ingestion of code. Also the bodyguard warns the Oracle to leave (in Reloaded) at the precise moment Smith arrives at the playground. This may be for dramatic effect, but after watching it again I'm not so sure. The bodyguard whispers to her as if they had an expected time to leave by, possibly a time they expected Smith to arrive at? Maybe Smith is one of the Oracle's pawns to. Who knows.

Very interesting theory. And yes Neo really had problems while wighting the program how protected The Oracle.

His name was Seraph. [img]smile.gif[/img] In other words, an Angel.

[ 06-11-2003, 03:21 PM: Message edited by: Bardan the Slayer ]

The Oracle's motives seem much more clear-cut to me... all due to that one statement of hers:

"We do what we are supposed to do."

The Architect, we know, seems to have realised that this time around, things are not going to plan. The Matrix System is trying to shut down the Prophecy. For example, during the car chase, the Matrix Agents state to themselves, "The Exile is the primary target," meaning the Keymaker - and the Keymaker tells them, just like the Oracle told Neo, "We do what we are supposed to do."

The Oracle was created as an intuitive program to investigate the human psyche. Later, she becomes one of the cogs in the machine of the Prophecy. Now, the impression I get is that this function is all she knows; it's what she was made for. Same as the Keymaker, who was made as the ultimate source of knowledge on the hidden pathways of the Matrix. But the key thing to remember is that these are PROGRAMS - not humans.

The Oracle and the Keymaker seem to me like those irritating program holdovers you sometimes get in a computer system that, although doing what they are supposed to, are messing something else up while doing it - a program conflict. Ideally, these programs should be removed to ensure the System works perfectly, but your computer isn't able to remove them by itself - you personally have to track down the problem and delete them yourself.

So it is here. The Oracle is determined (compelled?) to complete her purpose, and because she is a complex AI-driven program, she is making decisions to enable her to continue doing so - going into hiding and enlisting a bodyguard (the enigmatic Seraph, who I am sure we'll see more of - there's a clip of him in the short Revolutions trailer). The Keymaker instead is kidnapped, but note his single-minded devotion to duty. He runs from the Twins, stating "I cannot go back!" knowing that he has to fulfil his function.

Following that train of thought, I don't think it's possible for the Oracle to have a motive - she's only doing what she was meant to do. Possibly, meeting Neo and talking to him then, she has realised what the Architect realised - that this time things are different - and at last understands why the System is suddenly hostile to her. Hence her comment, "You've made a believer out of me, kiddo." She knows that if the Architect is so worked up about it, then there is reason to believe the cycle is at last about to be broken.

As for the Seraph, it's possible that he just detects the approach of the Smiths and warns the Oracle to leave. Neither of them warn Neo, but then why should they? He's the One! The Oracle doesn't have any fear for him, and as for the Seraph, he's not Neo's bodyguard. He's got a job to do, and he's doing it. After all, he is a program too.

Can anyone explain to me what was the coulour(or fire) around Seraph when Neo first saw him?

This is a guess.

Every now and again we see things in Neo's Code-O-Vision. The first time we see it is at the end of the first movie, when he percieves the world around him in Code. That's all part of being the One - he can percieve the Code, hence he can control it.

Now, certain things are brighter, more intense, in that code-o-vision. The Agents at the end of the first movie are easily picked out, because they seem to glow bright green with the many many layers of code inside them. Same with the Merovingian's cake - an intensely complex piece of code appears brighter within the Matrix.

We can assume the people watching on the Operator's monitors are also seeing this code-o-vision - that's what they're seeing on the screen. Smith, as a very unusual piece of code, is described as 'not reading like an agent - some encryption I've never seen before.'

We can assume, then, that the luminous, bright body of the Seraph must mean he is incredibly, incredibly special indeed... that luminous body is a representation of his code, his programming. It looks so unusual and different, you might have to think he is possibly not even part of the Matrix at all. This seems to coroborate what we see of him - he is able to fight Neo on equal terms, which must mean he is not part of the Matrix System. If he was, Neo could defeat him easily, just as he does Agents.

I get the feeling this is only going to be explained in Revolutions, if it's explained at all.

<font color = lightgreen>Wonderful expositions by everyone. Don't forget the central themes of the movie(s): choice/freedom versus control.

The Architect wants perfection and total control, but since perfection is not attainable he will tolerate a modicum of freedom, as long as he can control what kind and how much freedom exists.

The Oracle is designed to understand choice or free will, which seems to be something that machines do not possess for themselves, as they are run by programs. On the other hand, we realize in this movie that some machines can reprogram other machines or even themselves. Thus, some machines can approximate free will but don't understand it or what to do with it.
She knows what she does because she has been studying human psychology for decades.

The Seraph isn't that complex--he guards the Oracle. Whether he does so by his own choice or by programming isn't that important; he is simply a bodyguard. His glow means that he is in the Matrix but not necessarily of the Matrix.

Smith is a Free Agent. (ugh...bad joke) No longer constrained by programming, he can choose his own path. However, he doesn't possess the wisdom to understand his choices because I am not certain he really knows what he wants to do, besides kill Neo. I suspect he wants to assimilate Neo so that he can become the next Architect and control everyone. Smith, as I have said before, is the key to everything.

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There is no difference between the machines and the people in the Matrix are almost the same: they are both just tools, do what they are told, and don't question enough. Smith and Neo are almost twins; both have great power and free will. When they joined in the first movie, they did something that broke the normal cycle and have both become something more that either man or machine. Together they will become the next step in the coexistence of both humanity and machinekind.</font>