> If the Matrix trilogy were to have happened in real life, then that could have been very plausible. But I think that to have *three* levels of existence would have to get too confusing for most moviegoers. Besides, prior to Reloaded coming out, it was already confirmed that while Reloaded would be set mostly in the Matrix, and Revolutions would mostly be set in Zion. If that is the case, then the *real* real world would have to come near the very end, and I don't see how the trilogy could have any sort of closure if that happened. So, I'm going to dismiss that particular theory.

I still think this is the theory that makes the most sense. It explains how Smith/Bane and Neo can stop the sentinels, it explains why they're in a coma -- though not entirely. Remember, when you unplug from the Matrix, you no longer have a presence in it. If the Zion-World is a simulation, does it have *different* rules than the Matrix? Gah.

> > > On another note, the "original AI" that you
> > refer to is still the single, dominating
> > intelligence that governs the vast majority of
> > the machines. The machine race is like an ant
> > colony, and the intelligence that the Architect
> > represents is like the queen. Barring Smith, all
> > machines and agents are controlled by this
> > one consciousness.
> >
> > I'm not sure I understand what you're saying.
> > Do think the Artichect *is* that original AI, or do
> > you think he is subservient to it?
>
> I believe that the Architect is the original AI, in control of most of the "machine system", and most of the machines and programs are subservient to him.

The recently released Animatrix DVD seems to deny the theory that there was a single A.I. that starts everything. The two-part "Second Renaissance" short explains the rise of the machines, and it makes it sort of clear that the machines developed a bunch of artifificial intelligences. I don't think there is a single Skynet-type A.I. running things for the machines, nor do I think that the machines are a hive mind or a collective. I think the Architect is a singular sentient program that was probably built by the machines with the express purpose of building the Matrix. I see no reason to believe that the Architect rules all the machines, though.

That rogue and independent programs exist, and indeed that programs are *capable* of going rogue suggests to me that the Architect doesn't control them so much as he helps design them and then lets them go. Think of it as the god-as-watchmaker philosophy rather than the active, controlling god.

> The only programs that rebel against the system are the ones whose connection to it are severed. It's like if an ant's connection to the colony was severed and it developed its own consciousness. This happens when the program hides in the Matrix when it faces deletion. It is not supposed to exist, so the system does not acknowledge it, so it is no longer subservient to it. Of course, this doesn't happen with most programs, only the most rebellious sentient ones, or sentient ones with the most will to survive, like Smith. Most programs just return to the Source.

I don't know where any of this comes from. How do you know that The Merovingian was supposed to be deleted? He's clearly rogue but we know nothing about him. Was the Oracle supposed to be deleted? I think she's acting independently of the system, as well.

I think sentient programs are, well, sentient and independent of the system. This is why Seraph and the Oracle look different than the rest of the Matrix to Neo -- they're not part of the background code that runs things. The machines/programs are *not* as united as they initially appeared in the first film.

> Thinking about this had led me to consider another theory. What if it's the agents that control the sentinels, and not the main AI?

Another theory: the sentinels all act independently of any central control. I do not believe the machines are one large centralized organism. The machines seem to specialize, which makes sense for machines to do. Sentinels (I think in the first movie they're called hunter/seeker robots, too) have one very specific function that wouldn't require much centralized control. It seems a waste of resources to have agents (another specialized program: they exist to destroy rebellious humans in the Matrix) bothering with controlling sentinels, which seem to be non-sentient creatures. The sentinels smash stuff; this doesn't require a ton of intelligence.

Also, something that I want to mention: I think that the reason Smith doesn't return to the Source is because Neo has corrupted him. In the first movie, Smith seems to be pretty willing to be deleted (he wants to leave the Matrix, at least), so I assume the reason he stays around is because of his synthesis with Neo.

Stephen