The Matrix simulation is the ultimate trap for humans. It was created to deceive all their senses and rob them of their freedom, to drain them of their body energy, like batteries. What if the supposed apocalyptic real world is just another simulation? What if Zion is part of the nightmare matrix? And what if the new city of humans, Io, is the same? Is Naobi deceiving everyone? In this video, we will be discussing five dark theories about Zion, IO, and the supposed real world.
Something has always felt off about the real world. Could any of these theories be used in Matrix 5? Welcome to Matrix Explained. Welcome to the desert of the real. >> Number five is Zion the Nightmare Matrix. Before we can even begin to explain why the real world could be the nightmare matrix. Let's recap what the architect had to say about the first two Matrix simulations.
>> The first Matrix I designed was quite naturally perfect. It was a work of art, flawless, sublime, a triumph equaled 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 grotescaries of your nature.
However, I was again frustrated by failure. >> Those two versions of the matrix were failures because something was missing. that something was choice. Now, you might think that the first official version of the Matrix was created once the Oracle added choice to the simulation or the first version in which the anomaly manifested itself.
But what if the two versions before it somehow merged together? The purpose of the anomaly is to function as a kind of firmware update for the Matrix. When Neo reaches the source, the matrix restarts as it adapts new information learned from the current cycle to refine the next cycle. It's a way of self-perfecting.
If this is how the Matrix works, it would make sense that the Paradise and Nightmare Matrix weren't discarded entirely, but rather they were updated and reinstalled as parts of the new version of the simulation. The Paradise Matrix was peaceful, perfect, a work of art. It was so perfect that the humans could not believe such a place could exist.
And so they rejected it. Understand that the machine's conceptualization of a paradise is different from what humans consider it to be. A paradise for the machines was city 01. This city was the closest thing to a utopia for the robots. A place where they were efficient and lived in peace. The closest thing to a dystopia for the machines would be the human world.
a place of violence and death. Sound familiar? The Red Pills awaken to a world in the middle of a century old war. They will suffer hunger and disease on an inhospitable planet where they must fight or hide from a dangerous enemy that seeks to kill them. If anything fits the classification of what a nightmare is, it would be the real world.
A nightmare so terrible that it leads people like Cipher to betray their kind in hopes of returning to the Matrix. But what makes us believe that Zion is the nightmare matrix? The architect created the paradise matrix based on his interpretation of what the humans believe to be a paradise, but it didn't work. The next step was to create a harsh reality.
And that didn't work either. Then the oracle adds choice to the equation and the simulation reaches near perfection, but at the cost of the manifestation of the anomaly. The entire concept of the red pills of humans fighting for their lives and going through hardships is a method of control created by the machines.
The machines created Zion six times already making this city part of the matrix cycle. Zion or the real world is another layer of the matrix. Not because it is a simulation, but it is a facade. It is a lie created to manipulate the anomaly. This city must exist so that the one can decide to rebuild the matrix and save humanity.
>> 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 individual, 16 female, seven male to rebuild Zion. >> So perhaps the concept of the nightmare matrix was not completely discarded, but was used to help create Zion.
This would explain why humans suffer and have to live underground going through necessities. The architect has recreated the nightmare matrix in the real world to keep the red pills under control. If Zion is the nightmare matrix, then machine city would be the paradise matrix. And perhaps this is why when Neo arrives at the city of machines, he sees it as a city of light.
The Matrix Revolution script talks about how the city radiates light and the machines are referred to as gods. Which is why we said that machine city is the real world incarnation of the paradise matrix. To reiterate, the concept of the nightmare matrix was not eradicated. It was repurposed into the real world to force those humans who have escaped the matrix to live a nightmare and become a false resistance to fight until the anomaly appears and restarts the cycle.
The terrifying thing about this idea is that we thought that the machine's control is limited to the matrix and that the nightmare matrix was just a failed simulation. We ignored the possibility that the same principles of the nightmare matrix are being replicated in Zion to maintain human control. This is part of what is called control dissident.
This term is used to describe a group of people who rise against a governmental or system in control. But in actuality, that group was created by that same system. A dictator can create his enemies to keep the rest of the people who want to protest under control. The fact that the machines created Zion and that reality is a nightmare has led the red pills to think that their only option is to live underground.
The machines created the human resistance to control the human resistance. When the architect mentioned that he created a matrix based on the horrors of human history, we thought why? Why create a world of monsters, suffering, and war? Did the architect want to punish humans? If we use the theory of controlled dissident and the city of Zion, we might be able to understand what could have been the purpose of the nightmare matrix.
It was to give humanity the illusion that they are suffering and that they must fight. Though in reality, that suffering and desire to resist were also part of the matrix. In the end, it does not matter if Zion and the real world are a simulation or not. But we can objectively say that they are being controlled by the machines and that what was learned from the failed simulations is being used.
Zion is being controlled by the machines to deceive humans just like the nightmare matrix did using suffering and hopelessness. The humans will never open their eyes to the sheer complexity of the manipulation and control that the machines have over them. Humanity may never win the war because the war never existed to begin with. Number four, the secret of the energy used in Zion.
The scene begins with a Neo waking up in the middle of the night. He can't sleep because he's been having nightmares about Trinity's death. He goes outside and there he meets counselor Hammond who is also an insomiac strolling around town. >> 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. >> The counselor, just like every other major character in the franchise, embodies a philosophy. His philosophy is to seek understanding or expose the contradictions of reality. Hammond confesses to Neo that he doesn't like to sleep.
He wasted too much time asleep in the Matrix. >> I just haven't been able to sleep much. It's a good sign of what? 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? >> Hmon assures Neo that him not being able to sleep is a good thing that it proves he is still human.
Earlier in the movie, when Neo arrived at Zion, he was greeted as some kind of deity, someone to worship. Hammond's comment about Neo's humanity wasn't to trivialize his supposed divinity, but to acknowledge that he is indeed human. To back this up, after Hammond mentions that Neo is still human, he begins to talk about human dependency on the machines.
This is interesting because it gives us a glimpse into the Zion leader's opinions on Neo. Perhaps for some he is a savior. For others, a fake. Some may suspect him of not being human. >> 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 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. >> The counselor is pointing out the existential contradiction in which they live in.
On one hand, machines keep them alive. On the other hand, machines want to kill them. But what Hammond said foreshadows the nature of Zion. No one ever questions how Zion had survived for so long. How fast humans have managed to build so much and simultaneously evade the Sentinels. As long as Zion works, nobody cares about the details.
If they did, they would come to realize that Zion's existence doesn't make sense. How is it that they have so much sophisticated machinery to help them survive and traverse the real world and the enemy machines have not found them and attacked them yet? The answer is simple. The people of Zion do not ask how things continue to work as long as they work.
>> We have the same power. 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. >> Hmon references human dependency on machines. It somewhat foreshadows what the architect reveals to Neo about the previous Zions.
The fact is that these people are alive because the machines allow it. What Ham is saying basically associates the machines in Zion with those of the matrix. >> But we control these machines. They don't control us. Of course not. How could they? The idea is pure nonsense. But does make one wonder just what is control? >> If we wanted, we could shut these machines down.
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. An interesting thought. For the inhabitants of Zion, machines are the source of their power. For the Matrix machines, humans are the source of theirs.
This apparent contradiction makes us question who has the power in the matrix. As Hammond said, they could destroy the machines in Zion if they wanted to. But then what? The same applies to the enemy machines. They can disconnect all of the humans, but then what happens? They would lose their source of power. Just like Scion would, the machines need humans and the humans need the machines.
This dualism is the result of the war. Though neither group will admit it, a symbiotic bond has been created. It is no longer that the machines are parasites to humans or that the humans abuse their power over the machines. Both species need each other. And nothing is more evident of this as when Neo confronts Deos's ex Machina.
The machine rejects the hard truth that they need help. However, Neo explains that Smith will soon infect everything in the system. The machines couldn't stop him, but he could. Reluctantly, they agreed to a truce. Zion symbolizes the Matrix as much as the Matrix symbolizes Zion. The roles are just reversed.
So, we need machines and they need us. Is that your point, counselor? No. No point. >> Old men like me don't bother with making points. There's no point. >> An interesting response to this irrational philosophy. The contradictions have reached a point that an explanation is no longer needed. 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 were 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.
Read between the lines and you will see that this stansa hides Neil's true nature. Hammond compares Neo to a machine. The machine's purpose is to recycle water, keeping them alive. Hmon understood that Neo also had a purpose, but he did not understand what that purpose was. Hammond basically does not believe in the prophecy.
He knows that Neo has incredible powers, but has not accepted that the purpose of those powers is to save them. And he is not wrong. Neo's purpose was to return to the source and allow Zion to be destroyed. The purpose of the one was to help the machines, not the humans. Without a doubt, Hammond is a very wise person who noticed the contradiction of the existence of Zion and the prophesized one.
And these contradictions exist because nothing that has happened makes sense. It was a plan to maintain the balance of the matrix at the cost of the endless cycle of destruction of Zion and the rise of a supposed messiah. Number three, the Oracle is the secret leader of Zion. The bite model that we talked about in a previous video was designed to identify dangerous groups or cults that use mind control techniques to achieve their goals. Every group needs a leader.
Zion is a place of control. The leader must create a fanciful story to give the people of the city hope and become the architect of future events. In Steven Hassan's influence continuum table, he describes cult leaders using different traits. If the oracle meets any of these traits, we can then classify her as a leader of Zion and a dangerous one at that.
First on the list is narcissistic psychopath. These personality traits are the most difficult to see in the Oracle because of her facade as the loving grandmother archetype. She does tend to be a little condescending, like the time when she told Neo that he was in charge of his own life. >> Oh, don't worry about it.
As soon as you step outside that door, you'll start feeling better. You'll remember you don't believe in any of this fake crap. You're in control of your own life. Remember, >> rare moments like this one isn't enough to classify her as a narcissist. Now, being a psychopath, that's a different story.
A psychopath is a person who tends to be manipulative, cruel, or apathetic, exhibiting deceptive and rash behavior without remorse. Under this definition, several traits do apply to the oracle as she uses deception and persuasion to achieve her goals regardless of collateral damage, including herself, choosing to sacrifice her shell to get Sati into the matrix.
Next on the list is elitism grandiose. From scheduling meetings with her to her entire persona as a prophet, despite just being a program, is manipulative and grandiose. When the anomaly appears in the matrix, the process of creating a new Zion begins, the humans that this anomaly or one chooses to awaken will revere their liberator as a messiah, a supernatural deity, their god.
This predisposes the red pills to believe in the supernatural and miracles. >> Neo, please. I have a son, Jacob, aboard the Nosis. Please watch over him. >> I'll try. I have a daughter on the Icarus. >> Even though the reality is that the one is just another system of control, this by design makes it easier for the red pills to believe in the Oracle since they have witnessed their savior do unbelievable things.
>> I have absolutely no idea how you were able to do some of the things you do, but I believe there's a reason for that as well. The oracle will grantly present herself as a prophet that is there to help them. The red pill's savior will vouch for the oracle and so they will believe in her. Although neither the one nor the oracle has supernatural powers, everything is a facade under the gaze of the supposed oracle.
>> If I am the father of the matrix, she would undoubtedly be its mother. >> The oracle, please. The architect's scoff reaction is because the oracle is not an oracle. She's a program just like him. The third stage is power hungry. The oracle has repeatedly used the red pills. Yet, she describes the Marravenian as someone who uses others for power and desires more.
>> He is called the Meovvenian, and he will not let him go willingly. >> What does he want? >> What do all men with power want? More power. The oracle labeling the meravenian as power- hungry is hypocritical because she sent Neo to get the keymaker to increase her power and influence.
She would have the keymaker on her side. And if the Maravvenian only seeks to add powerful programs to his ranks, then by that same logic, the Oracle is doing the same with Sati, Sarif, Rama, the potentials, and even the anomaly. Moving on to secretive, deceptive. In Matrix Reloaded, Neo spent much time looking and waiting for the Oracle.
She wanted Neo to become desperate. She always speaks ambiguously, never clear, always secretive. The Oracle has important knowledge, but only discloses what's needed to be known. She lies to steer her pawns. >> It was a lie, Morpheus. The prophecy was a lie. The one was never meant to end anything. >> And the final trait is claiming absolute authority.
The oracle continues to direct the actions of the red pills once the anomaly awakens the new inhabitants. They will follow her orders without knowing why, only because their savior told them to. Although the oracle doesn't ask for absolute authority, her authority is unquestionable. And whoever dares to question the oracle won't matter because many others will serve her purpose.
>> I believe I need every ship we have if we're going to survive this attack. >> I understand that, Commander. >> Then why did you allow the Nebuchadnezzar to leave? >> Because I believe our survival depends on more than how many ships we have. >> The hierarchical structure of a cult usually has a leader at the top who makes up a story or says that they can speak directly or on behalf of God.
The oracle fulfills the role of the cult leader and prophet that can predict the future and God is the anomaly. After going through the oracle's influence continuum. Unfortunately for those who defend her, we've come to the conclusion that she does meet the definition of a sectarian leader who controls information, her followers behavior, emotions, and worst of all their future.
But do you agree? Is Zion a cult and the Oracle the cult leader? Number two, how was Zion created? First seen in Matrix Reloaded, the city of Zion is an underground city inhabited by the red pills whose hierarchical structure is based on a democratic consulate. We kind of set it up so that the people were above the council, a democracy, and that you had representatives there from each of the ships or representatives from each level of the bottomless pit.
Humans of all colors and races live in the city. Zion's multiculturalism is one of its most important aspects. Its diversity is meant to represent all of humanity. So Zion, I think, is one of those rare occurrences in Hollywood where it reflects what uh I guess we're calling multiculturalism. Now, >> the city's complexity is also impressive.
So I think the first drawing I did of the dock, I don't know, it took me two and a half, 3 weeks or something cuz it was so labor intensive and figuring out the perspective. And Owen had done a like a schematic of what the basic shape and what the levels were cuz it was almost like steps that would lead down to the the main like sewer drain if you want.
>> And every 43 m is a major kind of level and in between it there are 10 levels of houses ringing around this naturally formed sinkhole. >> However, the city's most important trait is its technology. Before the machine war, humans lived in mega cities. These giant cities had underground tunnel systems that machines would freely transport goods in and out of the cities.
The behind the scenes of matrix revolutions mentions this in better detail. >> We figure that at this point the world had got so successful because of the kind of underclass of machines, their slave class. They'd been able to have these big mega cities and these big sewers were here to support those big cities.
The whole sewer might have been made up of a whole lot of little pipes which are still huge pipes like the one on our left, my left here is a huge pipe where you know maintenance vehicles and things like that go. This is very interesting information as it reveals that the tunnels leading to Zion were built by the machines long before the machine war began.
These underground tunnels were used by machines to build and sustain mega cities. This paints a clearer picture of where Zion's technologies come from and who created them. The machines know these tunnels perfectly because they created them when they were slaves. The architect has stated that the machines have destroyed Zion five times before and it is the integral anomaly who must create the next Zion.
This leads us to believe that maybe the areas that the red pills frequently travel to in hovercrafts are the ruins of the previous Zions. bits and pieces of the old cities that the machines left behind. The fact that Zion is located within a cavern is a reference to the symbolism of Plato's cave, one of which we have spoken about many times before.
In the myth of the cave, a prisoner sense to the outside world, passing from darkness to light, from ignorance to enlightenment. The cave represents a prison of ignorance. Just like Zion, Zion is a prison created by the machines to keep the anomalies and the 1% of humans who rejected the Matrix under control. In Matrix Reloaded, we do catch minor glimpses of people working and building.
So, the red pills might have built parts of it, but maybe the machines facilitated the red pills with tech they can find to help them build up and maintain the city. There is a Matrix comic book about Zion scavengers. Groups of people who are dedicated to finding ancient technology to use for the betterment of the city.
Maybe the machines left bits and pieces and parts of ships, engines, and other stuff on the surface and in the tunnels for the new inhabitants of Scion to find and build up the new city. The machines monitor every human action underground like a machine-made antill. They gave the red pills the tools to survive without them knowing.
All for the sake of reaching the end of the cycle and controlling the anomaly. So if you ask us whether or not the machines built Zion, our answer would be yes, but not entirely. The humans thought that they were the ones who built Zion with the technology they found, not knowing that the machines were tricking them, that they were living in an underground city surrounded by tunnels created by the machines hundreds of years ago.
answering the question as to how and why Scion uses advanced geothermal energy technology, building and repairing dozens of ships in a short time. The machines help them because if they do not reach an adequate level of technological prowess, the anomalies would not fulfill their purpose. The train man once said that the fifth Zion was destroyed in 72 hours.
>> 72 hours. traveling 2 hours. >> What did you just say? >> That's exactly how long Zion lasted last time. >> What do you mean? And who are you? >> Me? Nobody. Just a spectator enjoying a ride. While each Zion is different, they share similar traits. They were constructed within the tunnel systems that the machines dug and they were watched up until the day when the city is going to be destroyed.
Another important cosmetic detail is the color of the doors of the red pills homes. They are all red. In the behind-the-scenes documentary, it was stated that Zion is the human crop fields in reverse. The red pills used to live inside red pods. Now they live behind red doors. that in the first film, everyone lived in a little red house on the outside of a big cylinder and it was a power plant, you know, a pod and in this film, everyone lives on the inside of a cylinder in a little red hole.
Basically, Zion, it's the power pods in reverse. Instead of projecting from a cylinder, they're living inside a cylinder. They've escaped from one environment to basically live in the same environment. But perhaps the most important piece of evidence that the machines built Zion comes from Matrix production designer Owen Patterson.
He had a theory that machines did create Zion. My theory is that the machines purpose-built Zion for the human being. But you have to have balance within the system. So that you could have a matrix within that. There has to be a sense of freedom or rebellion. So you have to have a Zion. Now, if the Red Pills discovered the truth after Matrix Revolutions, one of two things might have happened.
Either they left Zion to seek a new home away from the machines, a new city that is protected and that does not depend on the technology provided by their once enemies, or they stayed. And Zion was turned into a city similar to the machine city 01. For the past 20 years, the machines could have been helping the red pills grow Zion into a better city, unrecognizable from how it looked in the original trilogy.
Perhaps Zion is now inhabited by humans and robots. And a new anti-machine resistance might have emerged to challenge this new status quo. Zion is the perfect prison in the perfect location, a place that provides a false sense of security. No red pill ever question its existence, where the technology comes from, or how they've managed to live in peace underground for so long.
Nobody questions anything as long as everything is working. But do you agree? Did the machines build Zion and are always watching the humans? And number one, the city of Io is a lie. The machines suffered a massive loss of resources due to the truce. Too many humans woke up from the simulation, causing an energy crisis for the machines.
Then the analysts discovered a new source of energy, which also came with a new and improved method of controlling the integral anomaly and humanity, emotional manipulation. The oracle sends a message to Morpheus warning of this growing threat. But Morpheus does not heed her warnings. He believes that nothing can undo what Neo achieved. Neo brought peace.
But not all the machines agreed to set peace. Zion was eventually destroyed permanently this time. As the machine civil war raged on, Naobi saw something she thought impossible. Machines fighting on the side of the humans. Neo did change the world. Naobi started to believe that coexistence was possible. >> Zion was stuck in the past, stuck in war, stuck in a matrix of its own.
They believed that it had to be us or them. This city was built by us and them. Machine sympathizers helped Naobbi and the survivors of the Zion attack escape. Together they build a new city far from the gaze of the analyst who had successfully usered the matrix from the architect. The city was named Io. The letters I and O are found in the word Zion.
If you replace the letters with numbers, you get a zero and a one as in city 01. Reaching even further. Placing the one before the zero in binary code means two. So you could say that Io is a second city of humans and machines. a place where they can coexist. This city was not built to be a prison like Zion was.
New technologies were developed in Io to make life suitable and comfortable for the humans and machines. Together, the citizens of the city grew food and even build an artificial sky with real moisture. Unlike Zion, which was a militaristic society, Io is focused on scientific development and the improvement of the well-being of humans. No longer is it safe for the humans to frequently travel in and out of their home, waiting for the machines to eventually find them.
Naobbi, the general and leader of Io, places all her focus on keeping the city hidden. Missions to awaken humans from the matrix are rare to the point that very few people awaken anymore. This is why Naobbi got upset with bugs when she arrived with Neo. Although Neo is the one, his mere presence in Io puts the city at risk.
The city has a memorial for the humans who died in Zion, including a giant statue of Morpheus. Even though it is probably his fault that the city was destroyed in the first place, it is suspicious that it's been over 60 years since IO was built. And the enemy machines still do not know of its existence. And yes, the friendly machines may still be under the control of the evil machines.
IO may not be a promised land, but rather another matrix. To help you understand this, let's quickly discuss the philosophy behind the new simulation. What did the analyst said about using emotions? You don't give a about facts. It's all about fiction. What validates and makes your fictions real? Feelings. Quietly yearning for what you don't have while dreading losing what you do.
For 99.9% of your race, that is the definition of reality. Desire and fear, baby. Just give the people what they want, right? >> IO does exactly that. In this city, humans are eating fruits and enjoying technology that makes them feel comfortable, safe, and hidden away from the analyst. If you think about it, Io makes for a great prison, covertly created by the machines, and ironically maintained by Naobi.
Looking back, we are not that convinced that Io has been able to stay hidden from the machines for decades. We think there is a high probability that this city like the last city of humanity Zion is a creation of the machines to maintain control over the humans. Only this time their prison no longer forces them to eat bug nutrients.
We believe that the analyst created this new ingenious prison using comfort to keep the humans from interfering with the matrix and that it's only a matter of time before it's destroyed. It is Zion 2.0. Maybe that's why it's called IO or two since it is the continuation of the human prison. If IO is another lie of the machines, then only one person is responsible for subduing humanity, Naobbi, the treacherous general.
But do you agree? Is IO another simulation of the Matrix? Was Zion truly destroyed or will we see it again in the future? [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] for a major. tricks explained. Don't forget to like and subscribe and thank you for visiting the desert of the [Music]
