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Date Posted: 12:09:12 06/09/03 Mon
Author: Grizlas
Subject: Determinism and the Matrix (sidenote)
In reply to: Grizlas 's message, "Determinism and the Matrix" on 11:09:06 06/09/03 Mon

Just wanted to add that "reloading" or "rebooting" the Matrix seems impossible without altering people's memories.

And I just remembered that the Agent's promised Cypher that he would be able to forget everything. This shows that they have the power to atleast manipulate the brains of those connected with regards to memory, even if it's unclear wheter you have to be "hardwired" to the matrix for this to be possible or not.

So maybe the architect has the power to make everyone connected to the matrix forget and maybe he has power to implant false memories as well. but even so, my age argument is still partly valid. If cypher said: "I want to be inserted as a 5 year old..I want to experience kindergarden again" then he would not live any longer.

The same age problem can be used with regards to reloading and rebooting. When Smith interrogates Morpheus, he says that they modelled the new matrix that the humans accepted after the "peak of your civilization". This is an era of some years, maybe 100, maybe 50 or 20, that is supposedly optimal for the illusion to work. What happens when the Matrix passes beyond this optimal era? Eventually, the specifications that make it optimal will change, either for the better or worse. If the architect intends for us to be in this optimal stage of development forever, then he needs to reload or reboot the matrix to do so.

There are only two ways I can think of that lets him do that. Either he has complete control of the natural life and death of those connected to the matrix, meaning that he can make them physically younger or older in the real world at will. The other way is by switching everybody around so their real world bodies get connected with a persona in the matrix that's their age. So if he turns time back 50 years, or reloads a savefile from 50 years back, Frank the 78 year old general has to be replaced with Bill the judge, who's 78 years old in the savefile, while some 28 year old guy has to be found to take the place of frank the army recruit and so on throughout the matrix, and then kill whatever he can't match up.

I believe that both of these events are unlikely, and that the matrix cannot be rebooted or reloaded without killing everyone in it and starting over. I dont think that the machines have control of life and death and I dont think they can modify the brains of anyone connected extensively without killing them. This is my subjective oppinion and I might be wrong because of the following heavy arguments :

1. Agent Smith can occupy a human host that that isn't connected to the matrix, and only was connected briefly through a wireless connection.
2. In the "enter the Matrix" game, I remember one human that had been occupied by an agent saying "I dont remember what just happened", suggesting that within the matrix, agents are able to occupy humans and leave them oblivious afterwards.

I feel like i'm taking this movie too seriously and overanalyzing, but I can't help it :)

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