WHY ZION IS STILL NOT REAL...  

Save the last reason, most of the reasons on this list are, admittedly, conjecture on my part. Take it with a grain of salt people.

1. Neo's blindness

In the first movie he can see while in the Matrix, but when he leaves the Matrix into Zion, his eyes won't open initially because they hurt. Morpheus explains, "because you've never used them." Morpheus suggests that while in the Matrix, Neo has been blind. Later, in Revolutions, he is blinded in the world of Zion, but can still see in the Matrix. This juxtaposition with the first movie suggests that perhaps Zion is a constructed world as well. 

2. The color scheme of the trilogy

Borrowed by the Wachowskis from Alice in Wonderland, blue represents fake while red is real. In the first movie, they don't even use these colors (except for the pills) because the audience is not meant to know what is or is not real. As we see the next 2 movies, more is understood. Neo wears blue while in Zion, as does Trinity and Bane, whereas Morpheus wears red. [* see Trinity, Neo and Smith below for their roles as programs *]. When Morpheus makes the big cave speech in Reloaded, he is in bright red while the elder Councilman Hamann who introduces him is in blue. This same councilman speaks to Neo when neither of them can sleep (note that this is right after Morpheus says "Goodnight Zion", and that Neo is never really sleeping in any of the movies) and leads him to the engineering level where there are only machines and they feel more comfortable. Note the interesting and purposeful way red light is only seen on half of Neo's face, as if he's not completely human. In Revolutions, the color logic continues in spades. Look for it.

When Trinity breaks through the literal/figurative clouds of her world in Zion, she sees the bright blue sky above her. Right after this symbolic recognition of the limits of her world, she dies and knows that Neo cannot bring her back this time, because she no longer has a purpose, having finally guided Neo since the very beginning of The Matrix to the Source. As she says at the end of Revolutions, "You saved me once before, but this time you cannot bring me back Neo." The sky is shown in the daylight with a moon in the background. It could have been any color: it didn't actually have to be blue as it is a world the audience has never seen. Blue was chosen to represent its falsity. Obviously, something as abstract as color choice is wide open to interpretation by the audience, so don't take this point too literally.

3. Morpheus's last line in the film

The last shot of Morpheus shows him looking upwards toward the clouds and asking "Is this real?" Morpheus's name is from the Greek god of dreams, and his ship is named after Nebuchadnezzar, a Babylonian king mentioned in the bible who is haunted by bad dreams.

4. There is a shuttle system between the two worlds, controlled by the Merovingian.

[* read more on this transport system below *]

5. Smith can transport himself to Zion through Bane.

As a program, and on at least this point there should be no debate, Smith would not be able to transport into Zion unless it were a computer construct as well. I have heard 2 unfounded possibilities how he can do this without Zion being simulated. First, he somehow "hacks the brain" of Bane and implants himself inside his head. This is unsubstantiated by the science fiction "rules" of the movie. Second, that he has gained the power from Neo as a result of their encounter in The Matrix. But then how does Neo get this power to go to Zion in the first place? There is no other explanation other than Zion being another matrix.

6. It would be highly improbable that Zion is physically being built over and over again after it is destroyed.

If Zion was real, then by the first time the machines had destroyed it, they would have likely dug through most of the world to reach it. How could another 5 Zions have been created under their noses unless they allowed it to be as a simulation to house those that would not accept their former construct of the matrix world. Furthermore, it is to the benefit of the machines that Zion be a simulation. When the Architect saw that certain matrix inhabitants didn't accept their world, he had to put them somewhere where they would accept it. This way, the Architect and the machines could still harness Zion's inhabitants as batteries.

7. Neo retains his powers in Zion

There are numerous examples of this. At the end of Reloaded, this phenomenon was first realized when he stopped the sentinels. As he says, "Wait... something is different." He realizes that this world is not real as well, so its rules can be broken the same as in the Matrix. The shock of this connection collapses Neo who is sent to Limbo [* More on the reasons for this collapse later *]. Again, by the science fiction "rules" of the movie, it wouldn't be reasonable to say he somehow can "bend reality."

8. Programs die once they've served their purpose in Zion, just like in the Matrix.

Specifically, Trinity dies after guiding Neo to his destiny, and Neo dies after defeating Smith. But when both Neo and Trinity die earlier in the Matrix (at the end of The Matrix and Reloaded, respectively), they both come back to life because a program cannot be deleted until it completes its purpose. If they were real and Zion were real, when they die in the Matrix, that should be it. As Morpheus says, "the body cannot live without the mind."

9. The architect reveals that all the previous Zions were created by the system

During the speech in Reloaded, the Architect tells Neo he is meant to rebuild Zion with 23 people from the Matrix. Why would the Architect along with Neo's help bother to physically build Zion unless it was part of their plan? Having built Zion, the System would undoubtedly know its location, so the machines would never have to look for it. Indeed, Zion is built as a another simulated reality to house and continue to utilize all those who don't accept the first Matrix.

10. The people of Zion are religious.

It is interesting how people who are freed from the calculated world of the Matrix set up a Zion where religious belief is common and strong. The Wachowski brothers conclude the movie (as I'll show by the end of this essay) with a very negative view of religion, and specifically of Christianity. When Neo goes to fight Seraph, there is a shot of different religious objects (frame of Jesus, statue of Buddha, etc.) being sold to the public. In Zion, as Neo and Trinity get off the elevator, Neo is bombarded by many religious figures that want his help. Some have brought gifts, a woman approaches him to cure her sick child as Jesus did, and there are even Buddhists in the background - but Neo cannot help any of them. The rave party is called the 'temple gathering' and Hamann's speech 'opening prayer'. During this Hedonistic party, you see women dressed in Muslim or Hindu (anyone specifically know?) religious dress - which is all blue. Further Hamann, the councilman of Zion, is named for the despot "Haman" who ruled over the ancient Jews and is today reviled during the Jewish holiday Purim. Councilor Hamann even says to Neo, "I think about all those people still plugged into the Matrix and when I look at these machines, I... I can't help thinking that in a way, we are plugged into them."

11. THE MOST CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE: There is a picture of Neo in Zion on one of the monitors in the background during the speech with the Architect.

I'm trying to somehow take the picture from the DVD, but it is at 1:51:17 on the top left monitor in the frame. It is certainly brief, but you can definitely notice Neo's blue sweater and shaved head - his costume attributes while in Zion. For the Architect to have a picture of this, that world must be another simulation constantly monitored by the Architect.

            That Zion is not real doesn't necessarily mean there is a world higher than it where humans still exist. Consider that in this highest world The Machines are God, who after a war with humans, have banished them all to both these lower worlds. In fact, the Source in Revolutions is named Deus Ex Machina in the credits, which is Latin for "god from the machine." [Incidentally, it is also used to poke fun at the contrivances of all formulaic movies and this movie itself. In movie-speak, Deus Ex Machina refers to any resolution to a story which does not pay due regard to the story's internal logic and is so unlikely it challenges suspension of disbelief, and presumably allows the author to end it in the way he or she wanted]. Despite what happens with Neo, humans may always be trapped here. This explains the phrase "perception defines reality". Both of the worlds are constructs, created by the perceptions of its members. When one doesn't accept the world they are in, they shuttle back to the other (i.e. Cypher back to the Matrix, Morpheus to Zion, and in the Animatrix The Kid goes directly from one to the other).

            It is not necessarily a matrix-within-a-matrix. Think of it more like the bottom of a triangle. Both worlds are the bottom corners, connected to each other through the Train System. At the top is a world these humans have never seen, or rather have been banished from. Humans might have once existed on this top plane of reality, equal to the Machines and even the creator of those machines. After a war in that world, humans were forced into the first version of the Matrix, a Utopia designed to store them for their bioelectrical energy. [Or maybe there was no war, and humans themselves went willingly into the Matrix. They may have done it to create a perfect world to avoid the harsh reality of their physical world.] But in the end, they couldn't get away from their base tendencies - when the utopian simulation failed, Zion was created to house any dissidents who wouldn't accept their world as it was. These rebels, though, are not being wasted by the Machines: their natural energy is harnessed as well. The goal of the Machines is to keep as many people alive as they can. When those in Zion grow strong enough to disrupt both worlds, they must be destroyed and it is the role of Neo to recreate this world with 23 people from the Matrix, with 7 males and 16 females. As it says in Genesis 7:16 (NIV): "The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in." [The movies often reference Bible verses with random numbers. See the license plate section for that]. Some will inevitably ask, "Why do they need humans, can't they just use nuclear power?" One possible explanation is simply this: why not? Even if the power from humans is marginal, it is no harm to the real-world machines to run this illusion. The humans can never escape, or so The Machines think...  [If the reason humans are in the Matrix is by their own accord, then maybe the higher-level machines are just following their program.]

NEO'S ROLE AS THE ONE AND HIS FAILURE TO FULFILL THAT ROLE IN THIS VERSION

Lets go over most of the architect's important speech in Reloaded:

Neo went to the door on the left and made the choice to fail to comply with this process and it indeed led to the "cataclysmic system crash" killing everyone connected to the matrix. This is what happened at the end in Revolutions: everyone in the Matrix was killed because Smith - the cataclysmic system crash - took over everyone in that world. When Neo destroyed Smith, all the crops of humans he had taken over were lost, but those in Zion were spared by the machines.

            In fact, it is so ingrained in Neo to make the choice to go to the door to the right that this is played upon humorously in the first movie. At the end of The Matrix, Neo is running from the agents to get to a phone in Room 303, and he makes a mistake that seems like a joke to the audience at the time. 

Neo (running in the corridor): "Need a little help."
Tank: "Door on your left."
Neo takes the door on his right
Tank: "No, the other left"

IS NEO A HUMAN OR A PROGRAM?

Architect: I've been waiting for you. You have many questions, and although the process has altered your consciousness, you remain irrevocably human.

            Neo is a program that is the "eventuality of an anomaly" due to the predication of free will in the Matrix, created by the Oracle. But the Oracle was "initially created to investigate certain aspects of the human psyche." Consequently, the result of her input into the Matrix is "irrevocably human."  If he were truly human, he would actually die when shot repeatedly at the end of The Matrix. Neo is instead the representation of all humanity, as conceived and designed by the Source as a system of control. As a program, he never sleeps or has to. This is how he is able to have dreams that envision the future (Trinity dying, etc.), because his and her fate are already programmed to happen.

WHY DO THE MACHINES EVEN NEED ZION?

Architect: As I was saying, she stumbled upon a solution whereby nearly 99.9% of all test subjects accepted the program, as long as they were given a choice, even if they were only aware of the choice at a near unconscious level.

According to the Architect, without choice the matrix collapses. With choice, there are always some who cannot accept their reality (.1%) and must have a reality to accept, so Zion is created for them. Without Zion, those still in the Matrix who don't accept their world can lead to a systemic failure as they convince others to the truth (as Agent Smith says in The Matrix, "entire crops were lost" in the first perfect world that was created because there was no Zion). As Zion grows too powerful (in this case it is when they are "freeing more minds in the last 6 months than ever before," as Morpheus says in Reloaded), it is destroyed by Bane and then repopulated by his alter-ego The One, and the process continues anew. The machines prefer this, because they at least retain the majority of human power cells in the Matrix construct even though they lose the sparsely-populated Zion construct.

In the other possibility, the matrix batteries die and Zion batteries live. This option is not desired by the machines, but as the architect says in Reloaded, "There are levels of survival we are prepared to accept."  The goal, however, is to keep as much of the population alive as possible.

Neo: You won't let it happen, you can't. You need human beings to survive.  

The Architect: There are levels of survival we are prepared to accept. However, the relevant issue is whether or not you are ready to accept the responsibility for the death of every human being in this world."

WHO IS SMITH?

Architect: [To Neo] You are the eventuality of an anomaly.

...

Architect: she [Oracle] stumbled upon a solution whereby nearly 99.9% of all test subjects accepted the program, as long as they were given a choice, even if they were only aware of the choice at a near unconscious level. While this answer functioned, it was obviously fundamentally flawed, thus creating the otherwise contradictory systemic anomaly, that if left unchecked might threaten the system itself. 

The architect speaks of 2 anomalies. Neo is the first, but Smith is the second. The Oracle created choice but this also created the "otherwise contradictory systemic anomaly" that is Smith. In every version of the matrix that allows choice, the systemic Smith virus is created and it causes an "increasing probability of system crash". As the Oracle says in Revolutions, Smith and Neo are the same, with respect to being an anomaly caused by the free will allowed to humanity in the Matrix. 'Choice' is in contradiction to "a harmony of mathematical precision" and thus causes the anomaly of Neo and Smith.

Specifically, why is Smith a virus? In The Matrix, he correctly categorizes humans not as mammals, but as viruses during his speech to Morpheus. When Neo - the Son of Man (translation of "Anderson") and the representation of humanity - is spread through him at the end of the first movie, Smith is imbued with this aspect of humanity, the one he hates the most.

HOW DID NEO KILL SMITH?

The blinded Neo was plugged back into the Matrix through the Source (at the end of Revolutions, when the machine head plunged the large cable in his head). A rogue program, according to the Oracle in Reloaded, is either deleted or goes into exile. At this point, Smith is in exile. His earpiece is removed in Reloaded (he symbolically gives it as a gift to Neo) and he is now banished from the Source's control. His newfound powers realized when Neo "disseminated his code" in The Matrix by jumping into him, Smith is now a virus and has taken over everyone in the Matrix. When Smith absorbs Neo at the end of Revolutions, Smith is once again connected to the Source and can finally be deleted directly. Neo acts as the conduit between Deus Ex Machina and Agent Smith. But all the people that he absorbed in the Matrix must die. This is the "cataclysmic system crash" the Architect referred to in Reloaded, if Neo was to make the choice to go to the door on his left.

How does Neo figure out how to destroy Smith? Had he chosen the door on the right in Reloaded, he would have destroyed him right then and there by "disseminating his code." By going through the left door, he is not guided in killing Smith. At the end, when Neo faces Smith in the rain, he wrongly believes he can fight him and defeat him. The Oracle allows herself to be absorbed by Smith to tell Neo what to do. When Neo is getting beaten by Smith - in fact the particular Smith that had absorbed the Oracle - Smith/Oracle tells Neo, "Everything that has a beginning has an end." This was the Oracle's line earlier. Thus, the Oracle communicates through Smith a message to Neo, who understands now what he must do and lets Smith taking him over. His disseminated code spreads through all the Smiths, which are now directly connected to the Source and can be deleted by Deus Ex Machina.

THE ROLE OF TRINITY

            Trinity is meant to guide Neo to the Source, so he can complete his designed mission. As the Oracle tells Trinity in The Matrix, "[Trinity to Neo] She told me I was meant to fall in love with the One." Trinity follows her purpose first by seeking Neo out in the Matrix, over Cypher's objections. In Reloaded, she actually does lead Neo to the Architect, the representation of the Source in the Matrix world. Trinity gets shot by an Agent and is ready to die, her purpose having been completed, but Neo makes the wrong choice to the door on the right, and she comes back to life in a kind of 'reboot.' Her purpose once again is to guide Neo to the Source, but this time she must do it in Zion. This last meeting with the Source allows her to finally die, as a program no longer with a purpose. Trinity is like Eve guiding Neo/Adam to the apple. This implies, and is most definitely conjecture on my part, that perhaps the Wachowskis believe God took the form of Eve to convince Adam to willingly leave his sacred garden of Eden, that Man was unwanted in this world.

HAMANN IS THE PREVIOUS NEO. HE IS ANOTHER ONE.

Councilor Hamann: Care for some company?
Neo: Councilor Hamann.
Councilor Hamann: I don't want to intrude if you prefer to be alone.
Neo: No, I could probably use some company.
Councilor Hamann: Good, so could I. It's nice tonight. Very calm. Feels like everyone's sleeping very peacefully.
Neo: Not everyone.
Councilor Hamann: I hate sleeping. I never sleep more than a few hours. I figure I slept the first 11 years of my life, now I'm making up for it. What about you?
Neo: I just haven't been able to sleep much.
Councilor Hamann: It's a good sign.
Neo: Of what?
Councilor Hamann: That you are, in fact, still human. Have you ever been to the engineering level? I love to walk there at night, it's quite amazing. Would you like to see it?
Neo: Sure.
*Neo and the Councilor walk out onto the engineering level.*
Councilor Hamann: Almost no one comes down here, unless, of course, there's a problem. That's how it is with people - nobody cares how it works as long as it works. I like it down here. I like to be reminded this city survives because of these machines. These machines are keeping us alive, while other machines are coming to kill us. Interesting, isn't it? Power to give life, and the power to end it.
Neo: We have the same power.
Councilor Hamann: I suppose we do, but down here sometimes I think about all those people still plugged into the Matrix and when I look at these machines, I.. I can't help thinking that in a way, we are plugged into them.
Neo: But we control these machines, they don't control us.
Councilor Hamann: Of course not, how could they? The idea's pure nonsense, but... it does make one wonder just... what is control?
Neo: If we wanted, we could shut these machines down.
Councilor Hamann: Of course... that's it. You hit it! That's control, isn't it? If we wanted, we could smash them to bits. Although if we did, we'd have to consider what would happen to our lights, our heat, our air.
Neo: So we need machines and they need us. Is that your point, Councilor?
Councilor Hamann: No, no point. Old men like me don't bother with making points. There's no point.
Neo: Is that why there are no young men on the Council?
Councilor Hamann: Good point.
Neo: Why don't you tell me what's on your mind, Councilor?
Councilor Hamann: There is so much in this world that I do not understand. See that machine? It has something to do with recycling our water supply. I have absolutely no idea how it works. But I do understand the reason for it to work. I have absolutely no idea how you are able to do some of the things you do, but I believe there's a reason for that as well. I only hope we understand that reason before it's too late.

            It is my belief Hamann was the previous One before Neo. Neither of them can sleep. When Neo says he is unable to sleep, Hamann notes that it's "a good sign" and shows that Neo is "in fact, still human." Both Hamann and the Architect know that "although the process has altered [Neo's] consciousness, [Neo] remains irrevocably human" (from Reloaded). Hamann, unlike Neo, has fulfilled his role as the One. He has created Zion with 23 people from the Matrix, 7 male and 16 female, and then remains to lead Zion's council. As it says in Genesis 7:16 (NIV): "The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in."

            Hamann feels comfortable with the machines. He even subtly shows that Zion is not real when he says, "I think about all those people still plugged into the Matrix and when I look at these machines, I... I can't help thinking that in a way, we are plugged into them." More importantly, Hamann aids Neo by allowing him the opportunity to fulfill his mission, as if he knew what that mission was. When Commander Locke tells the Council to divert all ships to the frontlines, it is Hamann that overrules Locke and allows the Nebuchadnezzar to leave so that Neo can meet with the Architect/Source. Hamann, the previous One, is named after the despot Haman who abused the Jews over 2000 years ago. He now runs the simulated world of Zion, still keeping his people under a vast illusion.

PERSEPHONE IS THE FIRST VERSION OF TRINITY AND THE QUEEN OF HELL, AS THE MEROVINGIAN IS HADES.

            First, Persephone from the perspective of Greek mythology... The Titan Kronos had six children: Demeter, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia and Zeus. The beautiful daughter of Demeter and Zeus, Persephone is the focus of the story resulting in the division of the seasons. Persephone is kidnapped as part of a secret agreement between Zeus and Hades; Zeus gave up his daughter to placate Hades. Hades abducted her and took her to his underground kingdom. After much protest, Persephone came to love the cold blooded king of the underworld but her mother, Demeter (the mother of the earth's seasons), was consumed with rage and sorrow. She demonstrated her anger by punishing Earth's inhabitants with a bitter and cold winter. Unless Persephone was returned of to her mother's side, Earth would perish.

            In the trilogy, Hades is really the Merovingian, who keeps Persephone at his side. That the Merovingian is Hades helps relate why he controls the Train Station, symbolic of the river Styx [* more on the Train Station below *].  The Oracle is really Demeter, who is Persephone's mother, and the Architect is Zeus, who has given  Persephone/Trinity as the Eve to the Merovingian/Neo's Adam. [* read more about Trinity's specific role above *]. He uses Persephone by forcing her to stay with the Merovingian. This way, she can guide Neo back to him (she leads Neo to the Keymaker) when Neo is rejected by the Merovingian.   

The Architect says in Reloaded that before the appearance of the One, there were 2 failed worlds. The first was a utopian hell, where no complex system of control existed. When that world failed, the Architect created a dystopian hell, based on the "grotesqueries" of human history. My speculation is that in this second failed world, the Architect/God created his order of angels - Seraph (hebrew for 'angel'), the Merovingian/Devil (in the Bible the devil was a fallen angel), etc. But when this second world failed and was altered to include choice, the Merovingian escaped deletion (he himself says there is a "bounty" on his head) and stayed on through to the creation of the One, symbolically and figuratively taking control of the Keymaker, the key back to God. Persephone was secretly given to Merovingian without the Oracle's knowledge, as a system of control over the undeletable Merovingian. When the future One must find his way to the Source, she guides him past the Merovingian's unsuspecting eye. Her updated version, Trinity, has the same goal: find the One, make sure it is him through a kiss, and lead him to the Source so he can make his fateful decision.

The Dystopian world created by the Architect didn't allow for choice. Consequently, the Merovingian believes in causality (the existential view, which incidentally was a predominantly French philosophical movement) rather than choice. The Oracle, who wants to end the war (as she says in Revolutions to Neo), is the "intuitive" program that came up with the idea of choice (as the Architect says in Reloaded). Thus, the Merovingian wants her dead as he hates choice and profits from the war, relishing his lavish existence in the Matrix. The Merovingian's restaurant La Vrai (The Truth) is on floor 101. Neo's apartment in The Matrix was 101. The number 101 is from the Orwell classic 1984, and is the room where people were brainwashed and controlled. The Merovingian never had to make the choice posed by the Architect to Neo. As such, he never had to save Persephone and their love was not put in jeopardy, so it withered away. They only still remain together forcibly by their very natures as programs, but the love is gone. This is why Persephone wants to kiss Neo, to remember that passion she once had, and to verify that he is indeed the One. Trinity's last words before she dies in Reloaded are "Kiss me, once more. Kiss me." This is the final parallel between her and Persephone, who also is fixated on kissing the One and having him fall in love with her. This is the function of the Trinity/Persephone program.

As the first and only superpower in the "grotesquery" Matrix (he did not have Smith as an enemy), the Merovingian is able to take control of the Keymaker and the Train Station [* read further for Merovingian's specific role *]. The train station is like purgatory, or limbo. Note that "Mobil" Ave. - the sign in the train station - is an anagram for Limbo, which is why Neo cannot escape no matter where he runs. This realm is akin to the river Styx, the Greek's portal between the Earth surface and the underworld, and controlled by Hades. The dirty bum that conducts the trains is akin to Charon, the vile boatman of Styx, who ferries souls across the river. Despite Neo's powers granted to him in the Zion and Matrix worlds, here Neo can do nothing. In Greek mythology, no one could cross Styx without Charon's permission. That the Merovingian controls the Keymaker, possessor of the key to Heaven, is symbolic of needing to go through hell to get to heaven.

WHAT  IS MEROVINGIAN'S ROLE IN "DEALING WITH [NEO'S] PREDECESSORS?"

            The other previous Ones were meant to die in Zion. After they "temporarily disseminate their code" to destroy Smith and create Zion with 23 people, they are denied access back to the Matrix by the Merovingian.  The Merovingian, who controls the ultimate transport between the 2 worlds (the Train Station) denies Neo the right to go back in. This is how, as the Merovingian states to Neo, "I have dealt with your predecessors before." As it says (used as reference to 7 males, 16 females) in Genesis 7:16 (NIV): The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in."

            In every other version before Neo (including Councilor Hamann), Merovingian waits for the time when the One connects to the Source, and then banishes him/her from the Matrix construct through the train system. He even does it again, as he is supposed to, to Neo in Revolutions. He traps Neo there after Neo connects with the machines in Zion. But Neo does this prematurely, when he goes through the wrong door in Reloaded and then stops the Sentinels in Zion. With this connection made by Neo that Zion can bend to his powers now (Neo: "Something is different"), he collapses and is sent to Limbo (more accurately, he emits a 'virtual EMP' that knocks out both himself and the sentinels; similarly, Bane is unconscious because he sets off an EMP on the ship). The Merovingian expects that Neo has defeated Smith and is ready to banish him to Zion, as the Merovingian had done with Neo's predecessors. Accordingly, he doesn't expect Trinity to walk in the door of his Club Hel (more Hades symbolism) in Revolutions, as her character was dead by this point in the previous versions of the Matrix.

What exactly did the Oracle do that 'changed the game'?

Oracle: Mmm, I love that smell. I sure am gonna miss it.
Seraph: Oracle.
Oracle: I know, I know. Sati, honey! Take a few cookies and go with Seraph.
Sati: Can I come back? I would like to come back!
Oracle: I would like that too.
Sati: So I'll see you tomorrow.
Oracle: I hope so, honey, I hope so.
(Matrix: inside the building on the floor of the Oracle's apartment)
Sati: I'm scared, Seraph.
Seraph: Come.

            The oracle changed the game that the "real, real" Machines setup. When Neo made the choice to go to the door to the left, this was supposed to lead to the destruction of Zion as well as the Matrix. While the humans of the Matrix couldn't be saved once this decision was made, the Oracle made a cunning attempt to save those in Zion. How? She allowed herself to be absorbed by Smith, hoping this would end the war, "one way or another." Her interference might have led to the death of all humanity. Right before Smith comes to absorb her, the Oracle tells Seraph to leave her and guard Sati instead. Seraph is the Oracle's only protection, but she gets rid of him. She is well aware that she will be taken over by Smith and actually allows it, hoping that this will allow her to later relay a message to Neo when Neo fights Smith. Fortunately, she is able to do this, when she speaks through Smith: "Everything that has an end has a beginning." As Smith suspects, she must already know he's going to "kill" her, but he does it anyway. [Note that both Smith and Neo knock over something in the Oracle's apartment - Smith a plate of cookies and Neo a vase. They really are born of the same anomaly. In both cases though, the Oracle knows that its going to happen].

How did Revolutions explain the Oracle's new appearance?

THE ULTIMATE CATCH-22...

            The lives of the humans in the trilogy are caught in a catch-22. The more successful Zion is in freeing minds, the more imminent its doom is. Further, if the One becomes significantly attached to Zion (via Trinity) over the Matrix construct, then the more imminent the doom of the Matrix world is. One of them has to be destroyed, though, along with its population.

YIN AND YANG

            The destruction by Bane and repopulation by Neo is akin to this Japanese philosophy. It is similar to how the human body operates by catabolism and anabolism; neither character is the 'good' one and there is no such thing as evil. Furthermore, Bane is part of the crew of the Caduceus, which refers to the symbol of the medical profession - a winged staff with two serpents twined around it. It is fitting that as both Neo and Bane lie across each other in a coma, they are treated by the ship's doctor.

The trilogy also parallels the Yin and Yang with Rama Kandra/Kamala [names given in the credits] (as Sati's parents; Rama Kandra, as seventh version of Vishnu is regarded as the Preserver while Brahma/Kamala is the Creator), and the Architect and the Oracle (calculating and pragmatic versus the Oracle's "intuition").

Why is Morpheus ignored so obviously in Revolutions? 

As the 2nd and 3rd movies progress, Morpheus comes to the revelation that the One in which he has invested a life's worth of faith is merely another system of control invented by the architects of the Matrix. Morpheus, the only "human" in the movies given any importance, is seen to have been fooled. He is asleep, like all other humans, and as smart as he is, his humanity still hinders his vision. I guess the Wachowskis purposely phased him out to show his insignificance, and to play another trick on the audience by making them invest so much in him in the first movie. Let it be said, though, that I still wanted to see Morpheus kick some ass in the last movie.

CONCLUSIONS:

Neo may be Jesus, but not the Jesus typically envisioned.

Neo is Jesus, but this does not allow for a traditional happy ending. Like the biblical coming of Jesus, Neo's final choice kills all the nonbelievers of the matrix world and frees the enlightened of Zion. It may be hard to conceive of a messiah that would allow so many deaths, but that is what Jesus is prophesized to do in the New Testament. The people of Zion (the 'believers') achieve salvation through Neo. They are the ones freed when the Architect tells the Oracle in the last scene of Revolutions, "They will be freed.' But are they really better off? Morpheus and the rest of the rebels' purpose was to free as many trapped minds as they could. Now, they have no one else to free, and no purpose left. The viewer is never allowed to see the real world they go to, and their ascension to it, as it is Heaven. [The Wachowskis have a habit of trying to integrate the audience into the movie like this. At the end of The Matrix, for example, Neo flies into the audience itself as if he is 'liberating' us, as he does to Agent Smith]. This may be yet another reason why Neo becomes blind in Revolutions, although this one is very much my own guesswork. From Leviticus 21:20, anyone with a defect in their sight was forbidden to enter the Holy Temple. The previous Ones stayed with the people of Zion. Neo, however, frees those people but cannot go with them into the "real, real" world.

In every previous version of the Matrix, the people of Zion were destroyed and the majority of humanity, still in the Matrix, were preserved. In this version, the exact opposite happens. All people still in the Matrix perish and Zion lives. The Wachowski brothers would have you believe Neo is a Jesus figure. But it is an entirely different take on Jesus. Neo does die for humanity, as Jesus does, but he doesn't save the world. Instead, he saves a select few humans of Zion selfishly because of his love of Trinity. 

The implication of Neo dying for Trinity rather than humanity (and this of course is pure speculation on my part) says that the Wachowskis believed Jesus sacrificed himself for the glory of his father god (the symbolic reason for choosing the name Trinity), rather than for the salvation of humanity. The purpose of this whole trilogy, other than to entertain on a massive scale, was devised to give the Wachowski's opinion of Jesus Christ. As another note on this, in Reloaded, when the Architect speaks of modeling the Matrix on the "grotesqueries" of human history, there is a picture of a cross on one of the monitors (as well as an image of Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, Kim Jong Il, a figure I don't recognize, George Bush, Sr., and George Bush, Jr., to give you an idea of their political views). Further, they make a comment on the free will, or choice, that is characteristic of humanity. Free will can lead to greed and selfishness when it is abused. As the Architect says, "the relevant issue is whether or not you [Neo] are ready to accept the responsibility for the death of every human being in this world," which is what Neo causes.

* The manipulation of free 'WIL'

Perhaps the only happy ending is in the matrix world.

At a cursory glance, the movie might make you think it was a corny, happy cop-out ending where everyone was freed, complete with a rising sun as the last image. This duplicity is the ending's genius. The movie is really only a happy ending for those computer programs still in the matrix - Seraph (the wingless angel), Oracle, the mother of the world, the Architect, the father of the world, and Sati, the future of the world. It is purposeful that these are the only characters the viewer sees in this world.  The only character revived from the dead Smiths destroyed around Neo is the Oracle. If every vanquished Smith reverted to whomever he absorbed, surely you would see anyone else get up besides the Oracle. The only reason these characters survive is that they are programs who are yet to complete their purpose. Sati cannot be deleted, having previously been given a special reprieve by the Merovingian. And the Oracle, Architect and Seraph are eternal programs as the originators of this simulated world, so their purposes are never completed as long as the Matrix exists. [Incidentally, these 3 characters can be related to the Hindu Trinity - the three deities of Vishnu the Preserver (Seraph, the "protector of that which matters most"), Brahma the Creator (the Oracle), and Shiva/Mahesha the Destroyer (the Architect)].

It would be a drab existence for them had not Sati been born - the first program born of other programs. Eventually, the Matrix will be repopulated - not with humans, but rather with the creation of other programs. Remember, the sun rises in the Matrix, not in Zion. Zion is still covered in dark clouds. And as the oracle wakes up after Smith is destroyed, the black cat appears as in The Matrix (when Cypher betrays Morpheus and company) and represents déjà vu, the recurrence of something (note from Alice in Wonderland that Alice believes she is an animal called "Deja Vu" and must ask the Cheshire Cat for help). In this case, the Matrix is being renewed. While this Neo was the 6th version of the One - representing the 6th day of god's work - the 7th day of rest is only found in the Matrix. Sati's father in the movie is credited as Rama Kandra, who is in Buddhism regarded as the 7th avatar of the god Vishnu, which drives home the point.

The Merovingian and Persephone die at the end.

            Smith has taken over the Merovingian, as he has taken over all other programs, and humans alike. Merovingian's purpose is complete, having shut Neo out of the Matrix. He doesn't come back like the Oracle does. Similarly, Persephone has no purpose left either, dying with her husband. This means that the Merovingian and Persephone are destroyed at the end of the movie, and is why they are unseen in the new version of the Matrix.

This particular cycle of matrices is finally over, but are there more to come?

            The real world will eventually see more bloodshed once the peace ends. Note the Architect says "this" peace, when he could have said "the" peace. I know I'm a stickler for words, but to me this implies "this peace" is one of many peace agreements, which all last "as long as it can" until it is broken and the Machines once again put humans into the Matrix and Zion for another 6 versions. Then, this whole sequence will be renewed with the humans in bondage.

Evidence of possible 'ultimate' revolution:

            Bane fighting Neo is unique in the 6th version of the Matrix compared to the other versions, but apparently has happened before in the previous versions of the 6th version (if that makes sense...). This whole thing is starting to hurt my head more than figuring out time-travel plots. Similarly, in the previous versions of the One in this specific cycle, Smith did not absorb the Oracle and was defeated by the One well before taking over everyone in the Matrix. But, as Smith says, he knows that he is "supposed to say something" and has said Oracle's line before, and even knows exactly where to stand and that "this is the end." He has done this before, but not at any point in this specific cycle. Instead, he has done this several times before right before the ultimate 'ascension' of the Zionites to the "real, real world." Finally, even though the humans are freed, Neo will return, according to the Oracle. He will once again become the One in the next cycle. In addition, "Sati" is the ancient Indian ritual that a wife performs after her husband dies. Before being banned in India in the 19th century, it was sometimes the practice that a widow would voluntarily (and sometimes involuntary) kill herself on the funeral pyres of her husband. So perhaps Sati is the next Trinity/Persephone, meant to die with her future soulmate (the next One when the next cycle of Matrices begins). I suppose the Wachowskis thought of the name because the last reported case of an actual "Sati" performed in the last 20 years occurred 2 years ago. Sati is also Sanskrit for "honorable woman." However, her father does say she has no purpose. Maybe she has no purpose in this cycle of the Matrix, and must be maintained until the next cycle and the next One, when her purpose is specifically programmed for her. With her daughter Persephone back (actually Sati), the Oracle/Demeter can finally be at peace. This is the reason she wants to end the war; it is not because of a love of humanity, but a mother's love for a daughter. She had seen her daughter Trinity die in every cycle of the Matrix, and could no longer stand to see it.

            To me, this is the ultimate blend of Buddhism and Christianity: Neo is Jesus, but the world he exists in happens over and over again for all time, and he is reincarnated each time. Time is circular rather than Christianity's teleological view of time as linear and goal-oriented. There is the Judeo-Christian story of God's work being done in 7 days, but this 7-day week is recurring. The creation of light - God's work on the 1st Day - happens at the end, as if the cycle is starting anew. Also, In Hinduism, it is especially important to note that divine pairings are often distinguished by gender, among other qualities. The Oracle is female, the Architect is male; Kamala is with Rama Kandra; Morpheus is with Niobe; Link has Zee (anagram of the 2 names = "Zen-Like"); and Neo has Trinity.

UPDATE: 11/12/03

I stupidly wrote the "Chestershire Cat" instead of the "Cheshire Cat". I've corrected it but what an idiot I am. I appreciate any further comments/insults on my pseudo-academic analysis. More to come...

UPDATE:  11/13/03

Well, from what I understand, Neo made a deal with the Source that Neo would go into the Matrix and destroy Smith. In return, the people of Zion would not only have peace, but would actually be freed into the higher world. As the Architect says at the end, he is not lying when he says they will be freed because "afterall, I'm not human". The audience doesn't get to see this world, perhaps its left for later cash-guzzling movies. But this supports why Morpheus asks, "Is this real?" at the end of the film. Of course, it also means that Neo really is the biblical Jesus, bringing the 'enlightened' to the higher plane with God. It also makes for a better ending, in my opinion. But then this begs the question: why would the machines make this deal when they would have no humans left to use as batteries? Apparently, they must need the Matrix regardless of whether humans reside in it or not. Perhaps they have a real necessity for Sati, and she would not exist without removing Smith, who absorbed her and Seraph in Revolutions. The Oracle does say in Enter the Matrix (the videogame) that this girl will be invaluable one day. It also seems that the Architect did not anticipate this outcome when they designed the Matrix. The Architect speaks to the Oracle as if he's surprised. Any comments on this subject would be much appreciated...

UPDATE:   11/15/03

I have changed my main essay to reflect my belief that the humans of Zion really do ascend to the real world at the end of Revolutions, rather than continue under the illusion of Zion. Honestly, though, not much was changed besides a few sentences in the conclusion. I've also added a new section on Trinity's purpose as a program and added new links.

To respond to the following comment I received:

"I have a comment on your thinking that zion is another "simulated reality." If that were true that would mean all the machines shown in reloaded and revolutions would also exist inside this "simulated reality." As we saw in revolutions zion is connected to the machine world through sewers, which eventually lead to the machine city. You can then make the asumption that the machine world and zion are one continous world and one "simulated reality." Is this what you are implying?"

Yes, this is what I'm saying. All the machines ('squiddies' etc.) and the Source shown in Revolutions are indeed simulated in Zion, much as the Agents and the Architect are simulated as the machines/Source in the Matrix world. The entire world of Zion is an illusion, and these humans have never seen the real world. 

At the end of Revolutions, after the Architect tells the Oracle that "the others will be freed" and the movie ends, the Architect proceeds to free the humans of Zion and sends them to the actual real world, which is the Earth we the audience and they the characters have never seen. This Earth is akin to the Heaven Christians speak of in the sense that Jesus (Neo in the movie) brings a select few humans that "believe" to ascend to Heaven, while leaving the rest of the world to die. Maybe the idea that in Revolutions the 'ascension' of Zionites is to the real-world Earth reflects the proverb "Heaven is on Earth." With this type of conclusion, it seems to me the story is really over and they can no longer make another sequel, unless it dealt more with Sati in the Matrix or the humans in the real world.

If you'd like to email me directly, try skyline_10@lycos.com ...  I swear this email address works, unlike the last one I put up. Sorry guys.

UPDATE:   11/19/03

I've added some things here and there, including a section on the Oracle. I actually have a lot more to add, but am haunted by pangs of laziness. I'll put it all up soon.

To respond to the  following email I received:

> >Great job on your Matrix analysis. The way you spotted
> >subtle things like Neo's choice of choosing the right door
> >is eye-opening.
> >
> >As you may know there is a Matrix Online that is being
> >developed which is supposed to be a continuation of the
> >films. This does seem to point that the Matrix exists
> >after the real humans are released into the "real, real" world.
> >
> >What's your thoughts on this? :)

I checked it out, and he was right. The game takes place after Revolutions, according to the website. First of all, I will definitely be playing this game. But second of all, if they can't give me a good reason how this can be possible considering, as I believe, the people of the Matrix are dead, then I will really be disappointed with the movies. I can't see any other way they make sense other than the Matrix population being destroyed. 
My guess to how they'll do this:
Assuming I'm right, now there are only humans in the "real, real" world. These humans have a tentative peace with the "real Machines". Either the peace is broken and some of them are forced back into the lower worlds, or they go in willingly to help the Machines deal with untamable exiled programs that reside in the Matrix world (my favorite explanation), or they go because they no longer want to accept their reality. As we now know, programs have the ability to reproduce in the Matrix, which by the time this game takes place may be teeming with new "offspring." Perhaps some of these become unruly and the Source can't delete them, like Smith. This probably will explain the NPCs (non-player characters) in the game.
Some lines from the website about the game that corroborate this theory:
"A secret war is being waged for the survival of humanity and machine alike."
"Players receive missions from familiar organizations in the Matrix, such as Zion and the Machines." (Don't know how or why they would still get missions from Zion, hopefully they'll explain that).
But if they show that everyone in the Matrix is still alive and one of your roles will be trying to "free more minds," then everything I thought can be thrown out the window...

The emails I'm getting are a great contest between letters of praise and hate-mail. I love it all, though, so keep it coming.

UPDATE:   11/20/03

Well, I added a hell of a lot. I was thinking about it, and I believe I realized the ultimate reason they called it Revolutions. I've added it at the end of the Conclusions. This may turn my head inside-out the more I think about it. Tell me what you think. I've also added more on Sati, Morpheus and all types of things throughout the essay.

UPDATE:   12/11/03

I changed everything I wrote about the Merovingian. I had previously described him as the first One, thrown off partly by the number 101, which appears both over his restaurant La Vrai and over Neo's apartment in The Matrix. I now see him as the representation of the Devil. Obviously, anyone who watched the movies can see the Merovingian as the Devil, but what does that really mean? I've given my take on it here. I see now that the number 101 is used to indicate that both characters are under the control of the Architect (101 is the room in 1984 where people were brainwashed). Finally, I've added more to each of the other sections on the site, such as movie references and literature references.

By the way, some of my many other favorite 'cerebral' movies are Adaptation, Being There, The Player, 2001: Space Odyssey, Truman Show, and Goodfellas. All of these movies have many layers to them as well. Check them out if you haven't yet.