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The
Architect
Scene:
Architect:
Hello Neo.
Neo: Who are you?
Architect: I am The Architect.
I created The Matrix. I’ve been waiting for you. You have many questions,
and though the process has altered your consciousness, you remain irrevocably
human. Ergo, some of my answers you will understand, and some of them
you will not. Concurrently, while your first question may be the most
pertinent, you may or may not realize it is also the most irrelevant.
Neo: Why am I here?
Architect: Your life is the sum
of a remainder of an unbalanced equation inherent in the programming of
The Matrix. You are the eventuality of an anomaly which, despite my sincerest
efforts, I have been unable to eliminate from what is otherwise a harmony
of mathematical precision. While it remains a burden, assiduously avoided,
it is not unexpected, and thus not beyond a measure of control. Which
has led you, inexorably… here.
Neo: You haven’t answered my question.
Architect: Quite right. Interesting,
that was quicker than the others.
(Neo’s potential responses are seen on
the wall of screens)
Architect: The Matrix is older
than you know. I prefer counting from the emergence of one integral anomaly
to the emergence of the next, in which case this is the sixth version.
Neo: There are only two possible
explanations. Either no one told me… or no one knows.
Architect: Precisely. As you are
undoubtedly gathering, the anomaly is systemic, creating fluctuations
in even the most simplistic equations.
Neo: Choice. The problem is choice.
Architect: The first Matrix I designed
was quite naturally perfect, it was a work of art. Flawless, sublime.
A triumph equalled only by its monumental failure. The inevitability of
its doom is apparent to me now as a consequence of the imperfection inherent
in every human being. Thus I redesigned it, based on your history, to
more accurately reflect the varying grotesqueries of your nature. However,
I was again frustrated by failure. I have since come to understand the
answer eluded me because it required a lesser mind, or perhaps a mind
less bound by the parameters of perfection. Thus the answer was stumbled
upon by another. An intuitive program, originally created to investigate
certain aspects of the human psyche. If I am the father of The Matrix,
she would undoubtedly be its mother.
Neo: The Oracle.
Architect: Please.
Architect: As I was saying, she stumbled upon a solution whereby
nearly 99% 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 an yet 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. Ergo, those that refuse the
program, while a minority, if unchecked, would constitute an escalating
probability of disaster.
Neo: This is about Zion.
Architect: You are here because
Zion is about to be destroyed. Its every living inhabitant terminated,
its entire existence eradicated.
Neo: Bullshit.
Architect: Denial is the most predictable
of all human responses. But, rest assured, this will be the sixth time
we have destroyed it. And we have become exceedingly efficient at it.
Architect: The function of The
One is now to return to The Source, allowing a temporary dissemination
of the code you carry, reinserting the prime program. After which, you
will be required to select from The Matrix 23 individuals, 16 female 7
male, to rebuild Zion. Failure to comply with this process will result
in a cataclysmic system crash, killing everyone connected to The Matrix.
Which, coupled with the extermination of Zion, will ultimately result
in the extinction of the entire human race.
Neo: You won’t let it happen, you
can’t. You need human beings to survive.
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.
Architect: It is interesting, reading
your reactions. Your five predecessors were, by design, based on a similar
predication, a contingent affirmation that was meant to create a profound
attachment to the rest of your species, facilitating the function of The
One. While the others experienced this in a very general way, your experience
is far more specific. Vis-a-vis, love.
Neo: Trinity.
Architect: Apropos, she entered
The Matrix to save your life at the cost of her own.
Neo: No.
Architect: Which brings us, at
last, to the moment of truth, wherein the fundamental flaw is ultimately
expressed, and the anomaly revealed as both beginning and end.
Architect: There are two doors.
The door to your right leads to The Source and the salvation of Zion.
The door to your left leads back to The Matrix, to her, and to the end
of your species. As you adequately put, the problem is choice. But we
already know what you are going to do, don’t we? Already, I can see the
chain reaction. The chemical precursors that signal the onset of an emotion,
designed specifically to overwhelm logic and reason. An emotion that is
already blinding you from the simple and obvious truth. She is going to
die, and there is nothing you can do to stop it.
(Neo walks toward the door to his left)
Architect: Hope. It is the quintessential
human delusion, simultaneously the source of your greatest strength and
your greatest weakness.
Neo: If I were you, I would hope
that we don’t meet again.
Architect: We won’t.
(Neo walks through the door on his left
and enters The Matrix)
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