The Matrix Resurrections (2021) | Transcript

Return to a world of two realities: one, everyday life; the other, what lies behind it. To find out if his reality is a construct, to truly know himself, Mr. Anderson will have to choose to follow the white rabbit once more.

 

* * *

[suspenseful music playing]

[device beeping]

[phone line ringing]

[woman] Seq, I’m in.

[Seq] Captain.

[woman] You were right. The skylight was a window pane.

[Seq] I’ve got serious interference.

[woman] Weird. It’s some kind of Modal.

[Seq] Looks like old code.

[woman] It feels really familiar.

[Seq] Drop a pin. I’ll signal for backup.

[woman] I’m gonna check it out.

[Seq] Bugs? If the general finds out we’ve been fishing…

[Bugs] A quick peek can’t hurt.

[static]

[Seq] Did you hear that? Shit. I think our signal was traced. Bugs, this feels like a trap.

Bugs!

[suspenseful music playing]

[SWAT officer] Freeze! Do not move! We will shoot!

Very slowly, raise your hands.

[suspenseful music playing]

[lieutenant] Here we go.

Hey, where are you going?

You were warned, Lieutenant.

I think we can handle one little girl. You’re wasting your time! My men are bringing her down now.

No, Lieutenant, your men are already dead.

[gasps slowly]

Seq, you with me?

This old code keeps crashing.

Your projection’s breaking up. Switch to audio.

[Seq] Bugs, this is a direct violation of the general’s protocols.

I know, I know. But something is happening here. Something important. [Bugs] Oh, fuck. We know what happens next. She kicks their ass.

[all grunting]

[groans]

Now she makes a call.

[woman] The line was traced.

And then…

Then she runs for her life.

[woman] Are there any agents?

We know this story. This is how it all began. God damn it. This is where he began.

You’re thinking this Modal is a loop? Or a treadmill? Some sort of sequencer evolving a program to do what?

I don’t know. But I’m going to find out.

All right.

[dramatic music playing]

[grunts]

[panting]

[woman grunts]

[woman groaning]

So deja vu and yet it’s obviously all wrong.

Why use old code to mirror something new?

I don’t know.

[all grunting]

[panting]

If that’s supposed to be Trinity, that’s not what happens.

Maybe this isn’t the story we think it is.

Bugs, you have to get out of here. It’s gotta be a trap.

[helicopter whirring]

Shit.

[ominous music playing]

[Bugs grunting]

[Bugs growls]

[both grunting]

[Bugs screaming]

[agent screaming]

[both grunting]

[Bugs] Uh… You all carry on. As you were. I’m just gonna… see myself out.

Kill her.

[grunts]

[yells]

[sirens approaching]

[brakes screech]

[gasps]

[exclaims] Oh, Seq!

[tires screech]

[brakes screech]

[panting]

[gun cocks]

[Bugs straining]

[dramatic music builds]

Why did you save me?

You first. Who are you? Where did you come from?

Okay. My name is Bugs. As in “Bunny.” And tech that listens. Do you know this is a Modal?

What’s a Modal?

It’s a simulation used to evolve programs. Do you understand that you are… digital sentience?

I know what I am. Just like I know my job is to hunt down and destroy synthients. Like you. And yet…

Here we are.

Here we are.

The other agents don’t know about this room? How’d you find it?

No one was ever in the key shop, so I started looking.

More you looked, the more you found. Story of my life.

What?

I feel like I know this room.

Holy shit. This is his apartment.

[gasps]

You mean Thomas Anderson’s? I searched everywhere. He doesn’t exist.

He stopped being Thomas a long time ago, but maybe you know him by his real name. Neo.

You do. Oh, okay. Uh… I can’t believe this, after all these years. You see, most people think that Neo is dead. But I know he’s not. Because I’ve seen him.

Where?

It’s not something I can explain easily, but… But the moment he looked at me, I felt something… unlock my mind.

Okay. Something like that happened to me. I saw this pattern… and it was everywhere. We can’t see it, but we’re all trapped inside these strange, repeating loops. Somehow I saw it in the mirror. Just a flicker, but it was like you said. And suddenly I understood.

This is not the real world.

[agent] For the first time, I felt real purpose. I knew who I was and what I had to do.

Who are you? What do you have to do?

I am… Morpheus. And I have to find Neo.

[Bugs gasping]

Morpheus. Okay. Okay. Oh, my God! I have to get you out of here. I need to figure out who built this Modal. Okay, come with me. You have to be ready to leave. You have to be really ready. And if you’re not, if you think that this is where you belong…

You call this a choice?

Oh, honestly, when somebody offered me these things, I went off on binary conceptions of the world and said there was no way I was swallowing some symbolic reduction of my life. And the woman with the pills laughed ’cause I was missing the point.

What point?

The choice is an illusion. You already know what you have to do.

Truth.

Okay. There’s an old building with a skylight and lots of stairs.

The Lafayette. One of the four back doors leads there.

[Morpheus] Oh.

Don’t fight it.

Whoa, what’s happening?

Keep breathing. Extraction works pretty much the same for humans and programs.

Ouch. Ah.

Okay.

Hey.

Hey.

I’ve never worn different glasses before.

Yeah, looks good. Which door?

It’s gotta be…

Okay.

Agent White.

Agent Smith?

[laughs]

[Bugs grunts]

[Bugs] Go!

[grunts]

[men grunting]

Seq! Can you hear me?

Bugs! I thought I lost you.

Can you get us to the window pane?

Bugs! Bugs! He’s an agent!

[Morpheus exclaims, grunts]

That window! Go hard!

[both screaming]

[screaming fades]

[keyboard clacking]

[fast-paced music playing on speakers]

[computer buzzing]

What the… What the hell?

[suspenseful music playing]

Something wrong?

Uh… Just a little crash.

Morning, Bobbi. Morning, dude. What a beautiful day to be alive. Am I right? Problemo?

He lost something.

Is this old Matrix code?

A little Modal experiment.

For Binary?

[cell phone chimes]

I need a coffee.

Coffee. Yes, stat! I’m buying.

[man] I’m not trying to blow smoke up your ass, but the first time I played the trilogy, I was shook. The paradox between free will and destiny. Are we all just algorithms doing what we’re supposed to do or can we escape our programming? Genius, inside the context of the game, BT dubs. Hey, did I tell you it took over my life? Yeah. I failed the seventh grade. [chuckles] Your game almost ruined me.

So you’ve said.

Yet here we are.

[cups clink]

You tell me, Mr. Anderson, is it free will or destiny?

Oh, yeah. There she is. Total f-ing MILF. Daggers. Look, I’m sorry. I’m a geek. I was raised by machines.

Maybe you should go.

No, please. I… I promise, best self. Best self.

Sure.

You ever talk to her? Tell you what. For all you’ve done for me, let me do this for you.

Jude, no. Stop.

Excuse me. Excuse me.

Thanks.

Hi. Um… I know this is all a bit extemporaneous. I’m Jude Gallagher. I work for a game company called Deus Machina.

Hi, Jude, I’m Tiffany.

Tiffany. Wow. Didn’t see that coming.

Mom loved Audrey Hepburn.

Jude.
Oh, and this is my very good friend, Thomas Anderson. He is a bona fide famous person and considered by most to be the greatest game designer of our generation.

I’m sorry about this.

Jude…

[softly] Just talk to her.

Hi, Thomas. Everyone calls me “Tiff.”

Hi.

Have we met?

Uh, we both come here.

Can I have your morning bun?

[boy] Hey! Are you trying to ball my mom or what?

Brandon!

[chuckles]

[boy 2] Can I have one bite?

Babe! What’s going on? We’re gonna be late.

This is my husband, Chad.

Nice to meet you.

Hey.

Babe, we gotta get Callie to practice.

Right. Sorry. [chuckles] Come on, kids. Let’s move out.

[soft music playing]

What?

[keyboard clacking]

[ominous music playing]

Sorry. Uh, it’s the boss.

“Billions of people just living out their lives… oblivious.” I always loved that line. You wrote that one, yeah? Every time I stand here, I mean, O-M-G. It’s so perfect, it’s gotta be fake. Right?

[chuckles softly] Yeah. Sure.

Have a seat.

[man sighs]

Smoke?

I thought you quit.

I quit calling it a habit. Now it’s just a guilty pleasure.

Oh. Maybe I can make this easy for you. I know Binary is over budget.

This is not about Binary, Tom. It’s bigger than that. This is about our future, which is a sticky subject, given our past.

What do you mean?

How’s the therapy?

Good.

Any… episodes?

No.

That’s terrific. Look, Tom, I know we’ve always had our differences. What did you say about our first meeting? We had all the chemistry of an FBI interrogation.

[muffled yell]

[scoffs]

But look at this place. We did this. Together.

Yeah.

Now what? Things have changed. The market’s tough. I’m sure you can understand why our beloved parent company, Warner Bros., has decided to make a sequel to the trilogy.

What?

They informed me they’re gonna do it with or without us.

I thought they couldn’t do that.

[exhales] Oh, they can. And they made it clear they’ll kill our contract if we don’t cooperate.

Really?

I know you said the story was over for you, but that’s the thing about stories. They never really end, do they? We’re still telling the same stories we’ve always told, just with different names, different faces and I have to say I’m kind of excited. After all these years, to be going back to where it all started. Back to The Matrix. I’ve spoken to Marketing…

[sinister music playing]

[distorted voice]

[in normal voice] Tom?

Yeah.

Are you all right?

[exhales nervously] Yeah.

[analyst] What were you feeling at that point?

What was I feeling? I felt either I’m having a mental breakdown again or I’m living inside a computer-generated reality that has imprisoned me… again. [laughs]

[chuckles softly]

Not much of a choice.

No.

Maybe it’s not as binary as that. Maybe there are other ways to understand what happened.

Yeah.

Thomas, you are a suicide survivor gifted with a powerful imagination. Those facts have combined to create dangerous fictions in your life. Yesterday, you walked into a meeting with your business partner and he ambushed you, demanding you make a game you said you would never make. This attack effectively took away your voice. His violence triggered you and your mind fought back. You did to him what he was doing to you. We’ve talked about the value of adaptive anger in healing trauma. Far from suggesting a repeat of your initial breakdown, I believe this episode demonstrates healthy self-protection. And more importantly, I remember how hard it was for you to share something like this. Which tells me just how far we’ve come.

[chuckles softly]

Do you need a refill on your prescription?

[sighs] Yeah.

[pills rattle]

[mysterious music playing]

[grunts softly]

First of all, I know I speak for everyone when I say that I’m so, so excited to be working on a game that was such a… well, game changer. Now, the packet in front of you has our focus group research. Inside, you’ll find the breakdown including keyword association with the brand. The top two being “originality” and “fresh,” which I think are great things to keep in mind as you begin working on Matrix 4. And who knows how many more?

[alarm buzzing, stops]

[singing indistinctly]

What made Matrix different? It effed with your head.

On point. People want us up in their grey space, switching their synaptic “WTF” light on.

[“White Rabbit” playing]

[man laughing]

What made Matrix different? It effed with your head.

People want us up in their grey space, switching their synaptic “What the hell is going on here?” light on.

[panting]

[shower running]

I didn’t love the first one, like some of you.

And, frankly, I’ve got zero tolerance

for anything that requires a syllabus and a highlighter.

I like my games big, loud and dumb.

We need guns! Lots of guns.

Matrix means mayhem.

[grunting]

Mindless action is not on-brand.

[man] She’s right. Matrix is mind-porn. Philosophy in shiny… tight PVC.

Yeah. Ideas are the new “sexy.”

[“White Rabbit” continues playing]

Obviously The Matrix is about…

…trans-politics.

Crypto-fascism.

It’s a metaphor…

…of capitalist exploitation.

This cannot be another reboot, retread, regurgitated…

Why not? Reboots sell.

We are so far down the wrong rabbit hole, here, people.

You say Matrix to anyone… You say Matrix…

[echoing] Matrix… Matrix… Matrix…

…this is what they see. [mimics explosion]

[guns firing]

[bullets whizzing]

[clicks tongue]

Allow me to sum up our goal in a single word.

Bullet time! Bullet time!

That’s two words.

We need a new “bullet time.” [echoing]

[laughs maniacally]

We need to revolutionize gaming again.

Revolutionize gaming again! [echoing]

[“White Rabbit” continues]

[barista] Afternoon, Tiff.

The ushe?

You know what, Skroce? I’m going wild. I’ll have a cortado today.

Fly that freak flag.

Mind if I get that?

Oh, hi.

Hi.

[Tiffany] I remember wanting a family, but was that because that’s what women are supposed to want? How do you know if you want something yourself or if your upbringing programmed you to want it?

Mmm. I pay my analyst a lot of money to answer such questions for me.

Smart. I should get more therapy but honestly, I’m too goddamn tired. Kids are exhausting, you know?

No. Never had kids.

Oh, right, I knew that. Sorry. I googled you.

[chuckles]

So, what’s it like being a world-famous game designer? Must be amazing.

Uh… A lot of hours. Sometimes it is amazing. Most times… I don’t know.

But you made The Matrix. Even I’ve heard of that.

Yeah. We kept some kids entertained.

So, worth it?

[chuckles]

Can I ask something about your game?

Sure.

Did you base your main character on yourself?

There is a lot of me in him.

[indistinct shouting]

Maybe a little too much.

Can I ask you something else?

Please.

There’s a woman in your game.

Trinity.

Which is a weird coincidence also, right?

God, yeah.

I like her. I like Trinity.

Ah.

And I dig her Ducati. Another coincidence. I love motorcycles.

[engine revs]

My friend Kush and I actually build them.

Really?

You have your analyst, I have my bikes. So, I was looking at images from your game. At Trinity. Well, I showed Chad a scene, and I was like, “So, what do you think?”

He didn’t get it until I said, “Don’t you think she looks like me?”

You know what he did? He laughed. And I laughed too, like it was a joke. How could it not be, right? Made me so angry. I hated myself for laughing. I wanted to kick him so hard. Not too hard. Maybe just hard enough to break his jaw off.

[chuckles]

And right now, you’re probably regretting sitting down with me.

This is the best thing I’ve done in a long time.

[chuckles]

[cell phone ringing]

[gasps]

I have to take this.

Hi, this is Tiff. Oh, God, no. [gasps] I’ll be right there.

My, uh, youngest stuck a Lego up his nose.

Oh.

I gotta go. I hope I see you again.

[alarm blaring]

[announcer on speaker] There has been a report of an emergency. Proceed calmly to the nearest exit and leave the building immediately.

What’s going on?

We probably just got swatted by some 14-year-old.

Yeah, someone pissed about the latest update.

Or they’re just a dick.

Please move to the exits. Building’s being evacuated.

[cell phone buzzes]

[suspenseful music playing]

[security guard] Sir, this way.

Jude? Jude!

At last. [chuckles] Ah. I wasn’t too sure about the callback, but, you know, it was hard to resist.

What?

Morpheus Uno. Reveal at the window. Lightning, thunder and theater. At last. All these years later, here’s me, strolling out of a toilet stall. Tragedy or farce?

I know you.

Not every day you meet your maker.

This can’t be happening.

Oh, most definitely is.

You can’t be a character I coded.

100% natural.

[gasps softly]

How?

All the explanation you need.

Oh. No. No, no, no.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. What do you mean, “no”? You wanted this, you did this. This was your idea.

[hesitating] It was a test. An experiment.

An experiment? You put me in a tiny-ass Modal, left me to bang my head till I nearly lost my shit searching for you as an experiment.

The exit’s breaking down.

He hasn’t taken the pill.

What? There’s no time.

I know, I know. He’s having a moment.

Does he know how hard it was to hack that mirror?

[tense music playing]

Still open.

This… This can’t be real.

[SWAT officer] Target acquired. We got him.

[grunting]

This isn’t happening. It’s in my mind. It’s in my mind.

[SWAT officer 2] Hey, you! Stop! Hold it!

[all screaming]

[groaning]

This can’t be happening.

[gunshots]

[gasps]

[SWAT officer 3] Freeze! Don’t move!

[gun firing]

Neo!

[tense music playing]

[gun firing]

Oh, my God!

[distorted gunfire]

[men groaning]

[grunting]

[tense music continues]

Neo!

[tense music builds]

[shouts] Mr. Anderson!

No! It can’t be.

I’ve missed you.

[cat meows]

[bell tinkling]

It’s in my mind. It’s in my mind.

[cup clinking]

[analyst] Can you hear me, Thomas? Follow my voice. Feel the tips of your fingers. What are they touching?

[bell tinkling]

The bell. Do you hear the bell? Do you remember what happened? How you got here? You must have walked. I heard Deja Vu outside, opened my door, and there you were.

[Thomas Anderson exhales]

You feel like you can talk about it? When we started working together, you had lost your capacity to discern reality from fiction. You came to me after trying to jump off a building. You said you wanted to fly away.

[indistinct chatter]

[people shouting]

We have made a lot of progress since then, but you seem particularly triggered right now. Can you tell me how it started?

He texted me.

Who?

Morpheus.

Ah. So, he’s back.

It wasn’t actually him. It was a program I coded for a Modal.

And this “Modal,” Morpheus, came to help you escape from a virtual reality called The Matrix.

Am I crazy?

We don’t use that word in here.

What word should I use? What word explains what is happening to me?

Can I see the texts?

[exhales] They were erased.

If we got in my car and drove to your office, what do you think we’d find there?

Nothing. Because there was no attack. No one was killed. No one texted. My mind made it all up. Is that what I’m supposed to say?

Is that what you believe?

It felt real.

Of course. It was your great ambition to make a game that was indistinguishable from reality. To achieve this goal, you converted elements of your life into narrative. Your sublimated anger toward your business partner cast him as your nemesis. A married woman named Tiffany became the “Trinity” of a doomed romance. Even your dislike of my cat made it into your Matrix. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s what artists do. But it becomes a problem when fantasies endanger us or other people. We don’t want anyone to get hurt, do we, Thomas?

Hi, Thomas. Everyone calls me “Tiff.”

Who are you?

My name is Trinity.

[Oracle] No one can tell you you’re in love. You just know it, through and through. Balls to bones.

[Trinity whispers] You feel this? I’m never letting go.

[yells]

[both grunting]

[Morpheus] You have to let it all go, Neo. Free your mind.

[cell phone buzzing]

[buzzing stops]

[sighs]

[pigeon cooing]

Huh. Looks easy enough.

[exhales]

“Free my mind.” Shit.

[suspenseful music playing]

Okay. Free my mind.

[grunts]

I fly… or I fall.

[suspenseful music builds]

[grunts]

[both grunting]

Who the hell are you?

You won’t remember me, but a long time ago, you changed my life when you leapt off another roof. Back then, I was just like any other coppertop, pretending my life… until I looked up and I saw you. It was a different you, but I saw the real you, just a second before… you leapt.

[people shouting]

And you never fell.

Are you the one that hacked my Modal?

Yeah.

[cell phone buzzing]

That’ll be Jude. He’s not your friend. He’s a handle, a program used to control you. He’s on his way here, and he’s bringing Agents with him.

Jude.

Bro, I’ve been calling you all night. We have a major problemo.

Are you alone?

That’s kind of a sexy question, dude.

[Bugs] They don’t look like typical Agents. They use bots now, skinned as normal people, which means they’re everywhere and you never know who to trust.

Why should I trust you?

Because if they open that door, we lose our hack. I will be caught and killed and you will be put right back on that treadmill they designed for you, just like they did the last time you tried to leap your way out.

I know why you left your Modal open. You needed someone else to free Morpheus. And it’s because of him that we were able to get to you. I know these things the same way that I knew one day I would find you. And that when I did, you would be ready for this. If you want the truth, Neo, you’re going to have to follow me.

Okay.

[dramatic music playing]

[upbeat music playing]

Where are we?

Tokyo. A moving portal makes it harder to track us. Seq is the best of them.

[Seq] Portal’s clean. Reading our shadows.

I don’t remember this.

We don’t have to run to phone booths anymore, either.

[upbeat music playing]

Door’s on your right.

[door opens]

Set and setting, right?

Oh, no.

It’s all about set and setting.

After our first contact went so badly, we thought elements from your past might help ease you into the present.

Nothing comforts anxiety like a little nostalgia.

This is footage from your game.

[Morpheus] Time is always against us, etcetera, etcetera. No one can be told what the Matrix is, blah, blah, blah.

You gotta see it to believe it. Time to fly.

[suspenseful music playing]

Wait. If this is real, if I haven’t lost my mind, does that mean this happened?

[soft music playing]

But if it did… then we died.

Obviously not. Why the Machines kept you alive and why they went to such lengths to hide you are questions we don’t have answers to.

Hide me? I’ve been at a company making a game called The Matrix. Doesn’t seem like they were trying to hide anything.

We’ve been tracking that company for years. We screened every Thomas Anderson we found. What we didn’t understand was that they could alter your DSI. Pods generate your digital self-image through a feedback system called Semblance. This is how you look to yourself. Somehow they were able to alter your DSI loop. This is how everyone else sees you.

[suspenseful music playing]

Twenty years? Why did it take 20 years to find me?

It took a lot longer than that.

It’s been over 60 years since you and Trinity flew to one of the Machine Cities.

What?

There’s so much we don’t know. Like why you’ve barely aged, or how many times they’ve altered your DSI.

[Morpheus] But based on what we do know, it appears no one found you because you didn’t want to be found.

That’s not true.

[Morpheus] Maybe it isn’t. Maybe there’s no foundation to the rumors that you disappeared, because you were working with the Machines from the beginning.

Morpheus, stop.

All I’m saying is this is the moment for you to show us what is real. If you want out, you’ll take this pill. But if you are where you belong, you can go back to this. Every day. Over and over forever.

Fuck.

[dramatic music playing]

[Seq] Keep the loop tight.

[Bugs] Cybebe needs that tower pin.

I got a signal. It’s faint.

It’s definitely off-grid.

Captain. I’m tracking a whole lot of weird.

What?

It’s some kind of graft.

Thomas?

Oh, God.

Oh, no.

We got company.

How’d they find us?

Thomas, none of this is real. You are in the midst of a serious psychotic break.

Lexy?

Almost there.

Thomas? Thomas, please. This is not a game. Feel my hand. This is what is real. Stay with me.

[Thomas Anderson] No. No.

[analyst, distorted] Stay with me.

[distorted grunts]

Neo!

Morpheus!

[Morpheus] Let’s go, let’s go!

[people screaming]

[woman screaming]

Bots are being activated.

It’s a swarm.

[grunting]

[yelling]

[woman screams]

[Bugs] Come on!

[Morpheus grunting]

[grunting]

[whimpers]

[shrieking]

I got a hack in the bathroom. Hurry!

Yes.

Come on!

Seq, where?

That mirror.

What? We’ll never fit.

You gotta fit, ’cause I don’t have another way off this train.

[groans]

[Morpheus] Whoa, whoa, whoa.

No, no, no.

Think “perspective.” Closer you are, bigger it gets.

Okay, come on. In you go.

[suspenseful music builds]

[grunts]

[groaning]

[tense music builds]

[ominous music playing]

[haunting music playing]

[ominous music playing]

[metal clicking]

[grunts]

[yells, straining]

[groaning]

[whirring]

[screams]

[yelps, grunts]

[warbling]

[groaning]

[soft music playing]

[softly] Trinity. No!

[suspenseful music playing]

[sentinels chittering]

[thunder crashing]

[dramatic music playing]

[electricity crackling]

[echoing] Welcome back to the real world.

Trinity.

What’s up, Doc?

[woman] His vital systems have been meticulously maintained, but it doesn’t look good.

[EKG beeping]

We’re losing him.

Cold boot could shock him.

Do it.

[computer buzzing rapidly]

[groans]

[exhales]

I remember this.

The Construct. In between everything and nothing. Welcome to the Crib. I’ve been chilling here in the ship network… learning all about you.

[TV static]

And me.

Careful. It’ll do your head in. Are memories turned into fiction any less real? Is reality based in memory nothing but fiction? As to my role in all this, my best guess is that you wrote me as an algorithmic reflection of two forces that helped you become you, Morpheus and Agent Smith. A combo pack of counterprogramming that was… [inhales] Let’s just say, more than a little bit crazy-making. But it worked because here we are. Now, for the bad news. Your brain is hooked on this shit the Matrix has been force-feeding you for years. Hooked bad. You’re going through major withdrawals. Docbots are giving you crap odds for surviving. But, see, they don’t know you like I do. I know exactly what you need.

[lively music playing]

You gotta be kidding.

Uh-uh. No joke. Could be this is the first day of the rest of your life. But if you want it…

[water splashing]

…you gotta fight for it.

No. I’m done fighting.

Are you?

[traditional battle music playing]

[Neo grunting]

[groans]

[gasps]

[grunts]

[music resumes]

[groaning]

What the hell is he doing?

Oh, yeah. They taught you good.

[Neo grunting]

Made you believe their world was all you deserved. But some part of you knew that was a lie. Some part of you remembered what was real.

You don’t know me.

No?

[both grunting]

[groans]

Ooh.

[yelling]

[panting]

[Neo grunting]

[Morpheus grunting]

[both grunting]

I know you, because I know the only thing that still matters to you. I know it’s why you’re here, why you’re still fighting and why you will never give up.

[both grunting]

[Neo groaning]

[whimpering]

[EKG beeping]

Come on, Neo! This is it. This is your last chance.

[Neo groaning]

[emotional music playing]

[groaning]

You gotta fight for your goddamn life if you want to see Trinity again.

[Neo groaning]

Come on, Neo! Fight for her!

Holy shit.

Fight for her!

[yelling]

[explosion]

[gasps]

[sighs]

Hey.

Hey.

Mind if I…

How are you doing?

If this plug is actually real, that means they took my life… [scoffs] and turned it into a video game. How am I doing? I don’t know. I don’t even know how to know.

That’s it, isn’t it? If we don’t know what’s real… we can’t resist. They took your story, something that meant so much to people like me, and turned it into something trivial. That’s what the Matrix does. It weaponizes every idea. Every dream. Everything that’s important to us. Where better to bury truth than inside something as ordinary as a video game?

That sounds like the Oracle.

[Bugs chuckles]

Heard so much about her. She was gone before I was free.

Gone?

When this new version of the Matrix was uploaded, there was a purge.

[sighs] They promised peace and they gave us purge.

No. No, there was peace. You made it possible, and it changed everything.

Doesn’t feel like it changed anything. The Matrix is the same or worse. And I’m back where I started. It feels like everything I did, everything we did…

[both grunt]

…like none of it mattered.

All of it mattered. I can show you.

This is my crew. Our operator, Seq.

Sequoia. But everybody calls me Seq.

Nice to meet you.

Dad loved redwoods. When he escaped the Matrix and found out they no longer existed, it almost killed him. Lucky, he met Mom and here I am.

This is Lexy, Berg and Ellster.

Hi.

You knew my grandfather, Captain Roland.

Roland was your grandfather?

He always laughed, joking how he never believed in you. But, in private, he said that you freed his mind a second time.

Uh, not to fanboy out here, but this is kind of a huge moment for me.

Berg is our resident Neo-ologist.

A what?

There’s a lot of people out there like me who are a little bit obsessed with your life.

I would never have recognized your Modal if it weren’t for him.

Whenever you’re feeling up for it, I’ve got, like, a million questions.

Me too. Starting with them.

[Bugs] It’s okay. Come meet him. This is Cybebe. That’s Octacles. That’s Lumin8.

[chittering]

Machines are on our side now?

They are synthients. It’s a word they prefer to “Machines.”

Your contact with the Synthient City had a huge impact on their world.

[Bugs] That’s what I meant. What you changed that nobody believed could ever be changed. The meaning of “our side.”

[Cybebe warbling softly]

Cybebe and Octacles risked their lives to help get you out.

Thank you. But why?

[Morpheus] Not all seek to control. Just as not all wish to be free.

What is that?

An exomorphic-particle codex. It’s pretty new.

It gives programs access to this world. Within limits.

Limits are the domain of the limited.

Morpheus. Thank you.

It was my honor.

[chuckles] Wow.

[crew chuckles]

How does it work?

Paramagnetic oscillation.

If you want, I can download the codex manual for you.

Sure.

Downloading used to be fun. Now it’s all manuals and diagnostics.

Can I ask them something? When you unplugged me, there was another pod?

[warbling softly]

Yes. We’ve analyzed the data. It could be Trinity.

It’s her.

I figured we were going to have this conversation. Look, you were not a typical flush-and-grab. You were in this weird tower that Cybebe had never accessed, and she’s now exiled. We burned our one shot for you. Even if it were Trinity and she wanted to be free, we have no idea how to do it.

Yet. Nobody believed we’d ever find him, but we did.

Okay. We don’t know how to get her out… yet.

Captain, we’re approaching security clearance.

We’re here.

Zion?

Have a seat. This is Hanno. Best pilot in our fleet.

Quite a few synthients deserve that title before me.

[Control on radio] Mnemosyne, you are cleared for landing. Welcome home.

[Hanno] Thank you, Control. Um, we’re about to crash.

[dramatic music playing]

[chuckles]

General realized we were never going to beat the Sentinels, so… we just got better at hiding from them. Welcome to Io.

Io.

[sweeping music playing]

Wow. That looks real.

Bio-sky. Works kind of like grow lights.

It’s way more complex than that. It pulls water from the crust, hydronating the air. It balances the ECO and our SRI cycles. Plus… [sighs] it is pretty to look at.

As opposed to that.

I guess the general sent us a welcome party.

God damn. It is you.

Niobe?

A few more wrinkles and a few less teeth, but wise enough to know I don’t know anything. I sure as shit never saw this coming.

Neither did I.

I told you he was alive.

Captain, you and your crew have been grounded.

General, if you’d just let me explain.

The protocols are put in place for everyone’s protection.

I’m sorry. I saw an opportunity and I was afraid we’d lose him. But, General, people have been waiting for so long. We found The One.

I don’t believe in The One. I never did.

No? Me neither. But there was a time when you trusted me with your ship, against the Council’s orders.

The world was different then. We were different. Report to the docks. Scrub down the Mnemosyne. Transfer your access codes. You are done, Captain.

[gasps softly]

We need to talk.

[Niobe] When word first came that it actually might be you… I didn’t know how I would feel in this moment. It is nice to see you.

It’s good to see you too.

[glasses clink]

A long way from Dozer’s paint stripper.

[chuckles] Yes. A lot has changed. Except maybe you. You remember this? … It’s so easy to forget how much noise the Matrix pumps into your head until you unplug.

[Neo sighs] Yeah.

Something else makes the same kind of noise. Takes over every damn thing, just like the Matrix. War. I stood at the barricade of the Temple. Staring at the army of Sentinels, waiting for them to kill every one of us. But then, they left. They said you saved us. I didn’t believe it. Every night I would dream of attack sirens. But then, I would wake up to this… silence. I’m ashamed of it now. My pessimism of how long it took me to believe a world without war was possible. You gave me that. You gave that gift to us all. And it is the gift that continues to bear fruit. Come help me get up. Let’s take a walk.

[mysterious music playing]

[elevator door opens]

Oh! Beautiful.

This is Freya, head of botany. And this is Quillion, our lead digitologist.

I presume our guest needs no introduction.

Nothing travels faster than light, except gossip.

[Freya chuckles]

Welcome to the Garden, Neo.

A strawberry?

Using digital code from the Matrix, we retro-convert it into DNA sequences.

And they grow here?

It’s not easy augmenting the genome to photosynthesize Bio-sky, but…

We’re getting there.

[chuckles]

Go ahead. Try it.

[Niobe chuckles]

We’re quite excited about the blueberries.

You remember that shit we used to eat? That slop that tasted like rust. Zion could have never made something like this.

Why?

Because we needed synthients and DI like him. 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.

What happened to Zion?

I’ve been waiting for you to ask that question. All of the troubles started in the Machine Cities. Power plants were unable to produce enough energy. Nothing can breed violence like scarcity. For the first time, we saw machines at war with one other. We got word from the Oracle of a new power rising. That was the last we heard from her.

Morpheus.

[Niobe] After the siege, he was elected unanimously. High Chair of the Council. Oh, how he loved that. [scoffs] But as rumors of this new power spread, he ignored them. He was certain what you had done could not be undone. All of these people never stopped believing in miracles, believing in you.

I’m sorry. How could I know this would happen?

We didn’t understand all of it back then. No more than we do now.

I didn’t come here to cause you problems, Niobe, but I need your help. Trinity is alive.

Then there is another question. Why did they keep her alive?

I can’t answer that. But if there’s a chance I can free her, I have to try.

Even if it means endangering everyone in this city? I’m sorry, Neo. I won’t let what happened to Zion happen to Io. I hope you’ll forgive an old woman for asking you to go with Sheperd, here, till we have better understanding of what’s going on.

You’re going to imprison me after I just got free?

I know it doesn’t seem fair, but neither does growing old. But you don’t hear me complaining.

[elevator whirring]

Sorry. I’ve never met a legend before.

Neo.

Sheperd. [breathes shakily]

[chuckles in disbelief]

Crazy. You’re real.

“Real.” There’s that word again.

[Sheperd] People talk a lot about the old days. About you, the viral Agent. The siege of Zion. Everything was simpler back then. People wanted to be free. It’s different now. Sometimes it feels like people gave up. Like the Matrix won.

[unlocks door]

This is you. And I gotta ask you one thing. Is it true you could fly?

Cool.

[locks door]

[trickling]

[Morpheus grunts]

Morpheus.

Oh. General stuck you in the Rapunzel tower.

[Morpheus exhales]

On the upside, it’s a nice view.

What happened to Bugs and the others?

They’re supposed to be sterilizing the Mnemosyne with a toothbrush.

“Supposed to be”?

Well, I could tell you that they’re standing by, waiting for you to make the choice to remain meekly incarcerated or bust the hell out of here and go and find Trinity. But that ain’t a choice.

[dramatic music playing]

[Sheperd] General, what should we do?

[Freya] Bugs has the same independence of mind she had the day you freed her.

This is not independence of mind. It’s mutiny.

[Freya] Come on, ‘Be. I know how much you hated locking him up. Just like I know there’s a part of you that’s relieved now that he’s gone.

We’ve worked so hard to keep Io safe. This scares me.

That’s her.

[Seq] On the bridge. Got her.

[engine revving]

It’s sick how the Semblance works.

You see flashes of the real her, but… the way she reads…

Code-wise, she’s pure bluepill.

This is a tough question, Neo, but it has to be asked. What if she’s happy where she is?

How did I read?

Exactly like her.

Take us to broadcast depth.

[suspenseful music playing]

Thank you for helping me.

Most of us are here because of you. I also admit our only chance to get out of the general’s doghouse is for you to find your mojo.

What if I can’t be what I once was?

Then we’re all fucked.

[signal beeps]

[Hanno] Two minutes. Two minutes to broadcast.

[Seq] I slipped you in through a hotel room.

[Seq chuckles]

Should be safe.

Portal’s open. Closest I could get you is the warehouse near her garage.

Whole zone’s crawling with bots.

Let’s go.

So, what do you think of him?

I was kinda worried at first because he’s so much older. The beard, the hair… Oh. No, totally works for me.

[scoffs] You idiot. I mean “The One” thing. You know, everyone that shipped with him died.

Oh, yeah. He’s gonna get us all killed, for sure.

[guns cocking]

Predictable as ever.

Smith.

Smith? As in, “the” Smith?

[chuckles]

This is so insane. There’s so many theories about the two of them and they’re standing right there.

This code is freaky! He’s like an Agent, but not.

An appeal to reason.

How did you find us?

You never appreciated our relationship. Not like The Analyst.

The what?

My doctor.

He used our bond and turned it into a chain. It’s so obvious once you see it, right? But this whole altered-code update really blew my mind. I still don’t know how he did it. You, as a balding nerd. Hilarious. And me… [sighs] even more perfect. Maybe a little too far on the piercing blue eyes. What do you think?

What do you want, Smith?

I have such dreams, Tom. Big dreams. Well, mostly just extremely violent revenge fantasies, but in order for me to pursue mine, I need to dissuade you from pursuing yours.

Hmm. Sounds like conflict.

Inevitable? Doesn’t have to be. All you have to do is stay out of the Matrix, and leave the good doctor to me.

You can have him. I’m here for Trinity.

That’s the trouble, Tom. He knew you’d come, just like I did.

[scoffs]

Trust me. You’re not ready for him.

Captain, I’m reading portals from the lower frequencies.

I won’t have his leash on my neck again.

I found some old acquaintances of yours.

Bugs!

[growling]

[ominous music playing]

[snarls]

Exiles.

I thought they were all purged.

[man] You? [excitedly] Oh! It is you!

[man speaking French]

All these years. I can’t believe it.

Oh, God.

You stole my life!

[speaking French]

[in English] What the Merv is trying to say, is that their situation is a little bit like mine. To have their lives back, yours has to end.

[bullet whizzing]

Kill him!

[tense music playing]

[blade slicing]

[all grunting]

You ruined every suck-my-silky-ass thing! We had grace. We had style! We had conversation! Not this… [mimics text message sound]

[all grunting]

[bone cracks]

[yells]

Art, films, books were all better! Originality mattered! You gave us Face-Zucker-suck and Cock-me-climateyWiki-piss-and-shit!

[screams]

[screaming]

[ominous music builds]

[man groans]

I still know kung fu.

Neo!

[Smith yells]

[both grunting]

Just like old times.

[tense music playing]

[Neo groaning]

[woman shrieks]

[man yelling]

Neo.

I’ve been thinking about us, Tom. Look how binary is the form, the nature of things. Ones and zeros.

[grunting]

Light and dark. Choice and its absence.

[Smith grunts]

Anderson and Smith.

[dramatic music playing]

[gasps]

You’ve lost something, Tom. You’re not what you used to be. It’s true.

[grunts]

[jaw cracks]

Nice one.

Thanks.

Come on, Neo.

[Neo groaning]

[panting]

[gasps]

Captain. You okay?

Yeah. Where’s Neo?

Smith is killing him.

[Bugs] Where?

[Neo groaning]

I feel bad about this, Tom. After all, you are the one who set me free… again. So, you, more than anyone, understands why I can’t go back.

[grunts]

You should have listened to me. Now you’ll never see her again.

[grunts]

[yells]

[energy explodes]

What was that?

That was Neo. Mojo rising.

[Lumin8 chittering]

[Seq exclaims]

[Bugs] You all right?

Yeah.

It’s gonna trigger a response.

I got multiple exits ready.

[The Merovingian] This is not over yet! Our sequel franchise spinoff!

[speaking French]

[spits]

[Bugs] We should go.

I can’t. I have to talk to her.

Neo, those Exiles were older than you, and we barely handled them.

[sighs]

You really wanna do this now? I mean… you look like shit.

[buzzing]

Oh, my God. What? What happened?

An accident.

[Tiffany] Kush! Call a doctor.

It’s fine. I don’t have a lot of time.

I wasn’t sure I’d see you again.

After we spoke, I realized… my life wasn’t a life. At some point, I think I gave up searching for something real.

Wait.

Something happened.

I looked for you at the coffee shop. I began to wonder if I imagined you. And then last night I had a dream. In the dream, you were surrounded by police, then they started chasing us.

Us?

You were on my bike with me.

How did it end?

Not good.

I’ve had dreams that weren’t just dreams.

You mean a dream that came true?

[bell tinkling]

[suspenseful music playing]

Finally, we can talk like adults. I hate lying. I do. It exhausts me. Tiff and I have been waiting for you… like, forever.

[distorted rewinding]

Deja vu, right? Oh, no use. You can’t beat time. This rewind is happening faster than you can blink. You gave me the idea. Allow me to sum up our goal in a single word. “Bullet time.”

[grunts in slow motion]

I know. Kind of ironic, using the power that defined you to control you. [chuckles] I kept such a close eye on you and still you found a way out. Clever monkey, using that Modal. Call me an optimist, but this could all be for the best. The skin’s not looking too bad this time. I know some of this will be difficult for you to hear, after everything you went through. All that pain and suffering, only to learn the world doesn’t end when you do. Surprise.

[Neo grunts]

I was there when you died.

[Neo screaming]

I said to myself, “Here is the anomaly of anomalies.” What an extraordinary opportunity. First, I had to convince the Suits to let me rebuild the two of you. Why her? Getting there. And don’t worry, she can’t hear me. Resurrecting you both was crazy expensive. Like renovating a house. Took twice as long, cost twice as much.

[gasps]

I thought you’d be happy to be alive again. So wrong.

[machine whirring]

[screaming]

Did you know hope and despair are nearly identical in code?

[screaming]

We worked for years, trying to activate your source code. I was about to give up, when I realized…

Trinity.

…it was never just you. Alone, neither of you is of any particular value.

[Trinity screaming]

Like acids and bases, you’re dangerous when mixed together. Every sim where you two bonded… Let’s just say bad things happened.

Neo!

However, as long as I managed to keep you close, but not too close, I discovered something incredible. Now, my predecessor loved precision. His Matrix was all fussy facts and equations. He hated the human mind. So he never bothered to realize that you don’t give a shit about facts. It’s all about fiction. The only world that matters is the one in here. And you people believe the craziest shit. Why? What validates and makes your fictions real? Feelings. Allow me. Kush, here, is one of my handlers. They’re everywhere. Such a pain, cloning Agents over a coppertop. Far more effective just to saturate a population. And, bonus, swarm mode is sick fun.

[chuckles]

[gun fires in slow motion]

Ooh! Nicely done. You ever wonder why you have nightmares? Why your own brain tortures you? It’s actually us, maximizing your output. It works just like this. Oh, no! Can you stop the bullet? If only you could move faster. [chuckles] Here’s the thing about feelings. They’re so much easier to control than facts. Turns out, in my Matrix, the worse we treat you, the more we manipulate you, the more energy you produce. It’s nuts. [chomps] I’ve been setting productivity records every year since I took over. And, the best part, zero resistance. People stay in their pods, happier than pigs in shit. The key to it all? You. And her. 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?

[squelches]

She’s the only home you have, Thomas. Come home before something terrible happens.

[tense music playing]

[Neo grunts]

[keyboard clacking]

Bugs!

I hear him.

[sirens approaching]

[tires screech]

Trinity!

You shouldn’t call me that.

I’m sorry. I have to go. But I’ll be back.

Neo! Time to go.

[gasps]

[alarm blaring]

Sentinels?

Worse.

[Sheperd on radio] General ordered me to look after the ship.

So you shadowed us?

Check your long-range scans. Squids are combing this area.

He’s right.

You can stay here and die, or come back and face a court-martial.

And you call that a choice?

[Niobe] Sheperd should have left you to the Squids. I’m too damn old to sit through some boring-ass trial.

Niobe, don’t blame Bugs.

Do shut your mouth. Do address me as General. And do not rob my ex-captain of her agency, which she exercised with her own particular brand of shortsighted stupidity.

Shortsighted? You care more about growing fruit than freeing minds.

We are not going to have this argument again.

It’s not an argument. It’s a fact. You gave up on people.

I tell you what I’m going to give up on and it’s you!

Sheperd, get her out of my sight!

General…

Disarm! Kujaku’s a friend.

[Kujaku warbling]

Hello, friend.

[chittering softly]

Okay. Him?

General. Thank you for seeing me.

I figured if there was anyone who could make sense of this mess, it would be you.

Hello, Neo.

I know you.

I tried to keep my eye on you.

[clicks tongue]

Why?

We met a long time ago.

Good morning.

Sati.

My father knew we’d meet again, though he would have wished for happier circumstances. His inadvertent role in what happened to you was the greatest regret of his life.

I don’t understand.

My father was the chief engineer at the Anomaleum.

[Niobe] The what?

My father designed the resurrection pods where Neo and Trinity were imprisoned.

[Niobe] I’m sorry. You knew what happened to him? You knew that he and Trinity both were alive… and you didn’t tell me?

There were times I doubted my decision, Niobe. But Io needed you. This city needed to be built for your people as well as mine. If I would have told you everything, you would have had a very difficult choice to make.

My friends let me make my own choices.

If it was a mistake, you have my deepest apologies.

Why are you here now?

Neo’s escape has destabilized the Matrix. The Anomaleum draws its current from Trinity alone now. A fail-safe has been triggered to reset the Matrix back to the previous version. But The Analyst halted the reset. He’s convinced the authorities that you will soon return voluntarily.

And why would he say that?

Because if I don’t go back, he’ll kill Trinity.

Faced with returning to your pod or enduring Trinity’s death again. What would you choose, Neo?

I’ll go back.

Well, The Analyst knows you well, but that knowledge has made him incautious. After you escaped, he should have accepted his losses and devacuated Trinity. But that would have prevented this extraordinary opportunity that now exists before us.

A few hours ago, no one would have been able to convince me that I would be standing here, trying to explain a mission as crazy as this one. What are you doing?

Volunteering.

Oh, no. You are the one captain that I am ordering to go.

Now you don’t have to order me, General, ’cause I’m volunteering.

I need two more. Are you out of your minds? You don’t even know what it is.

General, we know you. If you say this is important, none of us is choosing to stay home.

Thank you. Knuckle up, and good luck.

[dramatic music playing]

[Kujaku chittering]

[Sati] Trinity is held in the Anomaleum, which is in this transmission tower. The passages used to rescue Neo are now sealed and a legion of Sentinels patrols the tower. So, stealth will be paramount. As long as we raise no alarms, this first part of the mission should be the easiest.

You mean crossing the Fetus Fields, sneaking across an entire power plant, climbing a two-kilometer tower guarded by thousands of Sentinels? That’s the easy part?

Exactly so. Because all we have to do is convince someone who does this every day to take one of us along.

[electricity crackling]

[dramatic music continues]

Fifty meters below the Anomaleum is a stratum of amniotic filters. Hidden along this edge is a small hexagonal vent. This vent feeds the air intake into the corpuscular modifier, which oxygenates the bio-gel used in Neo’s pod.

I get it. The exomorph slinkies up Neo’s old umbilicus. What could go wrong?

[tense music playing]

[grunts]

[straining]

[Sati] Once inside, Morpheus will use the System Operator to open the devacuator line and disengage the macerators.

[machinery clanking]

In order to unplug Trinity’s body, while her mind still remains connected to the Matrix, I’m gonna need a second human brain to implement the bypass. And since Neo must be with The Analyst, the only available mind that’s a near-enough match is yours.

Figures.

[tense music playing]

Thanks, Cybebe.

[grunts]

Does Trinity still have to take the red pill?

Since Kujaku and I are transferring her consciousness onto the ship, it’s not strictly necessary. But what matters is that this is her choice. Extracting a confused or an uncertain mind will, in all probability, kill her.

But even if it is what she wants, won’t The Analyst just order the Sentinels to stop you?

He will. But if my plan works, it won’t matter.

Why?

Because we’ll already be gone.

Somebody thinks this hard about a plan, there has to be a reason why.

When my father realized how the Anomaleum was going to be used, he covertly transferred the designs to me. The Analyst discovered his betrayal and had my parents purged. [inhales sharply] I would have been murdered too if it wasn’t for Kujaku. Not a day goes by that I don’t grieve them. I’ve been praying for this day for a very long time.

[door unlocks, opens]

We’re coming up on broadcast. I thought you should know that I’m here because of her. All I ever wanted was to be as fearless as Trinity. But I saw how she reacted in the garage, and I…

You’re wondering if I’m wrong.

What if we’re too late? What if she’s not Trinity anymore?

[sighs] I never believed I was The One. But she did. She believed in me. It’s my turn to believe in her.

[sighs]

[suspenseful music playing]

[Sati] This is where it gets tricky.

Have you ever done an operation like this?

Not yet.

[suspenseful music builds]

Here we go.

[suspenseful music continues]

Welcome home.

All I want is to talk to her.

Do you mean Tiff? Come back, and you can talk to her as often as you like. I mean, handsome Chad may have something to say about it.

If she tells me this is what she wants, you win.

Really?

But if she wants me, then you’ll let us go free.

And why would I do something as stupid as that?

Right now, I’m on a ship full of people who will unplug me before they’ll let you take me back. If you want this Matrix, this is your only chance.

But how do I know they won’t unplug you anyway?

Same way I know you’ll let us walk out of here.

[suspenseful music playing]

Okay. I like tests. We’ll let Tiff decide.

[electricity crackling]

[Sati breathing heavily]

That’s it. Bypass is ready.

Now what?

We wait.

Doesn’t it seem crazy to come all this way and leave her here?

We must abide by her decision.

And if she says no, what happens to Neo?

At this time, the most important choice of Neo’s life is not his to make.

[slow suspenseful music playing]

I saw this in my dream.

If I was the Oracle, maybe I could explain it.

The Oracle. From your game?

It’s not a game.

Oh, God. [Tiffany sighs] After you left, I went home and I played it. I kept thinking, why does this story feel like a memory? There’s a part of me that feels like I have been waiting my whole life for you. And that part is like, “What the hell took you so long?” [sniffles]

I don’t have an easy answer. Maybe I was afraid of this. Afraid of what might happen. Afraid of hurting the only person I ever loved.

I wish I was who you think I am. But look at me. I can’t be her.

[Donnie] Mom!

[Brandon] Mom! Come on.

Mom!

It’s Callie.

Is this real?

[Donnie] You have to come with us.

[Brandon] Come on, we gotta go.

Tiff, hey. Don’t know what’s going on here, but I’m glad we found you.

She got hit by a car!

I know, it’s crazy. She was chasing after you.

They’re casting her arm. We gotta go.

[Chad] Doctor said she’s gonna be fine.

[Donnie] You have to come with us to the hospital.

It’s too late.

I understand.

Tiff, come on, let’s go.

[Donnie] Come on.

What’s happening?

Neo was wrong.

[somber music playing]

Tiffany.

Tiffany, you have to come with us.

Tiffany! [echoing]

I wish you would fucking stop calling me that. I hate that name. My name is Trinity and you better take your hands off of me.

[Trinity grunting]

Neo!

Trinity!

Oh, shit.

Get her out. Get her out!

[grunts, yells]

Aye-yi-yi, what a mess. I own that mistake. Shouldn’t have pressed. Women used to be so easy to control. You know there’s no way I can let you two go free. Cannot happen. So, I guess it’s deja vu all over again. She dies and it’s all your fault.

Lies, lies and more lies.

Smith?

What has the world come to when you can’t even trust a program?

How…

[gun clatters]

Tom and I have more in common than you know. Once he got out, let’s just say, I was free to be me.

[grunts]

Yeah!

Trinity?

[tense music playing]

[bell tinkling]

[all grunting]

[Trinity groaning]

[breathes shakily]

You ready?

Yeah.

[Bugs groans, yells]

[bell tinkling]

[cat yowls]

[grunting]

[distorted screaming]

[yells]

[Sati grunts]

[screaming]

[screaming]

Oh, no. Destroy her. Destroy her! No.

[Neo and Trinity straining]

Stop them.

[both yelling]

[explosion]

You think this is over? Lockdown. Initiate swarm.

Here, our unexpected alliance ends. You know the difference between us, Tom? Anyone could have been you. Whereas I’ve always been anyone.

[grunting]

What just happened?

What?

[alarm blaring]

Oh, no! Move! Move! Get the hell out of there!

[tense music playing]

How bad?

Like, all the bad.

Yeah, this is bad. I don’t suppose you can still fly?

[grunting]

Yeah, that’s not happening.

[ominous music playing]

[all screaming]

Neo! Get on.

[engine revving]

Calliope! Take the wounded! Everyone else, we stay with them!

How is she?

Life signs are good.

Her signal’s strong, Captain.

[Kujaku squawks]

Well done, Captain. All we need is a miracle.

[tense music playing]

[siren wailing]

[Neo grunts]

[tires screech]

I hate bots.

Get us out of here!

I’m trying!

The lockdown is tracking. Swarm is everywhere.

Never seen anything like this.

[grunts]

[siren wailing]

[tense music playing]

[engine revving]

Seq, what is that?

What’s wrong? What are you… [screams]

[grunts]

He’s turning bots into bombs.

[glass shattering]

[bodies thudding]

[tires screeching]

[tires screeching]

Shit! [grunts]

Lexy?

[gunfire]

[tires screeching]

[tram bell ringing]

Sheperd’s in trouble.

[Lexy grunting]

Jack me in.

I can get you in. I don’t know if I can get you out.

No!

[tires screeching]

[motorcycle revving]

What are they doing?

Herding them into a kill zone.

[both groaning]

[Neo groaning]

Captain, you gotta hurry.

[Lexy groaning]

Hang on, Lex.

[Lexy screaming]

Lexy!

[grunting]

[tense music playing]

[SWAT officer] There they are!

[Neo straining]

[all grunting]

Morpheus!

Lex.

Bugsy.

Hell yeah!

Seq, where’s Neo?

It’s bad. They’re pinned.

Heading to a roof.

[dramatic music playing]

[Neo grunting]

[Neo yelling, grunts loudly]

[both grunting]

[machine beeping rapidly]

Nodal fibrillation is critical.

She’ll die if we don’t extract.

[soft dramatic music playing]

[inhales deeply]

[exhales]

It’s so beautiful.

I remember this.

I remember us.

My dream ended here.

We can’t go back.

We won’t.

[evocative music playing]

Can they make the jump?

[music stops]

[slow evocative music playing]

[grunting]

I’m not doing this.

Are you doing this?

[dramatic music playing]

[helicopter hovering]

Bye.

[soft music playing]

[bell tinkling]

[meows]

[crumbling in distance]

[suspenseful music playing]

How dramatic.

“Tiffany”?

[chuckles] It was a private joke.

An amusement, that’s all.

An amusement? Hmm.

[flesh tears]

[softly] Whoa.

[groaning]

Kind of like that?

[chokes]

[gulps]

Okay. Ow.

If you hated the name so much, why did you heel like a good little bitch so long?

[Trinity grunts]

[blade slices]

[body thuds]

Yeah. Definitely asked for that.

[snaps fingers]

[The Analyst groaning]

[shudders] Can’t you control her?

[groaning]

That was for using children.

We have a few questions.

You tried to activate the fail-safe.

The Suits tried.

Obviously, without control of your source code, I knew that was impossible.

So, why haven’t the Suits purged you?

Because I know the system.

I know human beings.

And I know you.

[bones crack, sighs]

Right now, you’re feeling good about what you’ve done.

You should. It was a victory. Bravo.

Now what?

You’ve come here to negotiate some kind of deal?

You think you hold all the cards, because you can do whatever you want in this world.

I say, go for it.

Remake it. Knock yourselves out.

Paint the sky with rainbows.

But here’s the thing.

The sheeple aren’t going anywhere.

They like my world.

They don’t want this sentimentality.

They don’t want freedom or empowerment.

They want to be controlled.

They crave the comfort of certainty.

And that means you two, back in your pods, unconscious and alone, just like them.

[both chuckle]

We’re not here to negotiate anything.

We were on our way to remake your world.

Change a few things.

I kind of like the “paint the sky with rainbows” idea.

Just remind people what a free mind can do.

I forgot. It’s easy to forget.

He makes it easy.

That, he does.

Something he should think about.

Before we got started, we decided to stop by to say thank you.

You gave us something we never thought we could have.

And what is that?

Another chance.

[punk rock music playing]

Face reality, people. Movies are dead.

Games are dead.

Narrative? Dead.

Media is nothing but neuro-trigger response and viral conditioning.

Wait, what are you two talking about?

Cat videos.

What we need is a series of videos that we call “The Catrix.”