Would you really take the Red-pill?

Erythnul · 01/27/2008 02:09:15

I have been wondering this for a while now ever since I held a long conversation about all of the organizations in the Matrix. Lets say this whole Matrix Franchise was real. We do live in the Matrix. Everything you know and everything around you is a simulation. If you were able to see what lies before you if you took the red pill and if you would able to not remember anything once you too took the blue pill. As a bluepill right now in your RL lives.

What pill would you take?

Think about your actually lives. Wither you be a wife or husband with kids, a teenager still living with your parents, a kid still looking up to your parents, or a college student.

Would you take the red pill or the blue pill?...

GypsyJuggler · 01/27/2008 02:23:37

I'd take the red.

Erythnul · 01/27/2008 02:27:48

GypsyJuggler wrote:

I'd take the red.

Explain why though.

GypsyJuggler · 01/27/2008 03:37:08

Because I'm the type of person that would in every way I can think of.

CrimsonKiller01 · 01/27/2008 03:43:40

Depends really who is offering really but for the sake of argument I will answer yes. If my old faction leader Dukelive was to offer me the red pill I would take it as I know he would have a convincing enough argument to do it. I would also take the red pill because although I have family I would want to see more beyond this reality (and technically speaking my family isn't really my family, if we are going by the Matrix universe.)

MotorZ · 01/27/2008 09:31:55

I think it would depend on how it was presented to me. I'd think I'd probably take the red pill no matter what, because I'd be mad about living in a fake world and I'd also want to be able to bend the rules once I got out. I'd complain a lot about the Real, but I think I'd rather be out than in.

GamiSB · 01/27/2008 09:52:07

I got no complaints about this world. Blue pill thank ya.

*edit to further explain.

I'm blue in the since that I have no beef with the world although I do have questions and would love to have the answers. But I don't believe that these answers are to such an extreme that I would have to abandon everything in order to fully grasp them. My perspective might change but nothing to such an extreme as the awakening in the Matrix displays.

Cervacius · 01/27/2008 10:39:39

That depends. I'm not normally the type of person who takes pills from strangers so I'd probably storm out of there without taking any.

Then I'd still be in wonder about the Matrix so I'd spend my time digging into it and maybe finally coming to a red pill conclusion. But by then it might be too late.

Erythnul · 01/27/2008 11:17:58

GamiSB wrote:

I got no complaints about this world. Blue pill thank ya.

I am with you GamiSB. Despite me being a Cypherite in the game, I would take the blue pill anyway.

Alot of people have to take into consideration that a stranger that you have never met would be selling you what they call "Their Truth". Would you really trust a stranger out of the blue. Nevertheless, I am sure many of you don't even trust your neighbor let alone your fellow employee at work.

Really think about this because this seriously could get into a deep conversation.

I'll paint a small picture for you using my character, Erythnul a.k.a "Erin" :

    Erin Paine Thomas was a Doctor for the Morrell Hospital in Downtown. Saving people was his job. Dr. Thomas' life was a practically normal with an exceedingly balanced income from his steady professional job. He was married to Jasmine Thomas for six years with two kids. During an average dinner time with his family, Dr. Thomas received a page from the hospital about a coma patient suddenly missing.

    Dr. Thomas' mental connection stability percentage with the simulation then slowly decreased from looking at the surveillance tapes of the patient, "Sarah Edmonton," walk out of the hospital. News clippings and television broadcasts of this strange mysterious miracle affected Dr. Thomas severely. He seemed to question the world around him. However, even though Dr. Thomas wasn't fully aware of absolutely everything about this and sometimes miracles do happen in the eyes of a professional Doctor, Agents were still spawned to meet with Dr. Thomas to find out exactly how much Erin knew.

    Dr. Thomas cooperated with the Agents procedures, and they left him be. Things seemed to go back to normal for a bit. Well, the normal being the strange clans, gangs, and organized crime in the mist of all the street violence. Dr. Thomas' life wasn't in any harm and nor was his family's. Him, his wife and his two boys seemed to be well protected away from the street violence and continued to do just as they did six years ago; pay the bills.

    Dr. Thomas' job went back to its normal sick patients, ER emergencies, and some loss lives, however the evening he received a strange message on his Hospital Alert PDA was when his life changed. The message read:"Erin, the Matrix Has You. Meet me at the hospital." Late that evening as his children went to sleep and he told his wife a well thought up lie to not come to bed, he made his way out to the hospital. Therefore making the choice he soon regretted.

Now see there. My character has close to what seemed to be a perfect life. Perfect balanced income, perfect loving wife and two kids. Everything was straight.

Therefore, of course I will definitely take the blue pill all because I wouldn't buy into anything that a stranger would say to me thus losing everything that I loved and desired in my life.

Pyraci · 01/27/2008 11:45:46

Although my life is nowhere near as bad as it could be, or as bad as it is for some people I know, but there was a point when I began to question the reality and the authenticity of the world around me. I hold those questions to this day, and I think they make me a wiser, more observant person because of it. I do have a problem with this world, or at the very least our understanding of it. I don't think our understanding as humans grasps what is really going on. After all, we either write off the things we don't understand, demon-ize them, or make faerie tales out of them. That's my splinter. That's what makes me lean towards red.

Also, we're (in general)taking the prospect of some guy just walking up to you one day and giving you a choice of two gel-caps as the whole story from the bluepill perspective. When Neo found Morpheus in "The Matrix", he had been researching him and seeking him out in IRC chat rooms and other places around the internet. This wasn't an accident or a fluke. This was something he wanted the answer to for a long time, years even.

Morpheus: "...you may have spent the last few years looking for me, but I have spent my entire life... looking for you."

A lot of that concept gets lost in the way the game is presented, or at least how most of the player population takes it. Another thing I would like to point out in this discussion is the fact that those of us old enough to play this game are older than what Zion would consider awakening as the original film suggests. With that said, I think the majority of us at this age and level of societal assimilation would be quicker to choose blue.

I'm still red though.

Erythnul · 01/27/2008 12:06:48

Wow that is really deep in all shapes and sizes. I did completely forget about the specific age Zion awakens people anyway. What age is it again?

Anyway, however there are of course probably a lot of "Scientist" Fiction book writers that do perhaps have the same mind set as you do Pyraci, that probably wont take the red pill.

However, one thing I would like to know though is why did Neo search for Morpheus specifically. I could understand him searching for answers but why Morpheus' answers?

GamiSB · 01/27/2008 12:11:55

Erythnul wrote:

Wow that is really deep in all shapes and sizes. I did completely forget about the specific age Zion awakens people anyway. What age is it again?

Anyway, however there are of course probably a lot of "Scientist" Fiction book writers that do perhaps have the same mind set as you do Pyraci, that probably wont take the red pill.

However, one thing I would like to know though is why did Neo search for Morpheus specifically. I could understand him searching for answers but why Morpheus' answers?

Getting off topic so I'll keep it short. Age limit is unknown thought to be 16-17. Why Neo looked for Morpheus was because Morpheus was and is the most well known redpill.

Pyraci · 01/27/2008 15:06:02

Yep. I think in a version of one of the scripts for the first movie, Cypher was about 9? or so when he got out. I may be off though...

What's interesting is if it is around the age of 16-17, it sounds like they stop around the time when humans start having commitments things to be accountable for in the Matrix; Much to what was said about family(spouses, children), larger material possessions, and things of that sort.

And you're right, Erythnul. Baudrillard, who was one of the biggest influences on this story, said later in Simulacra and Simulation that in the end, you can't really do anything to stop the procession of simulacra and the idea of living on the "map" and not the "territory", just find your place in the current more or less. I think that chapter was "On Nihilism", the same chapter Neo turns to when he opens that book and gets the disk for Choi. SMILEY

Aquilae · 01/27/2008 15:19:02

Depends on the situation. I don't want to wake up and have the guy say to me 'Oh forgot to tell you...We're at war with the machines and it's not going exactly well...'.

On the other hand, If there was a truce, hopefully we get some family time in the matrix. And doing kung fu and leaping across buildings sounds like fun and a chance to make a difference

PS10N · 01/27/2008 16:37:34

This is a difficult question to answer. Back in 1999, when the Matrix was released, I wouldn't have believed that there really was no hope in what I then perceived as reality. With the events between 1999-2008, it's easy to believe that all of humanity is being deluded by illusion, subjugated and controlled by mechanical maniacal oppressors. Once again the "always 1999 in the Matrix" stipulation makes the hypothetical question "would you take the red pill?" very complicated, because am I to consider myself as I am now in 2008 or look back as I was in 1999? It's especially personal for me because back in 1999 I was 31 and so only a couple years out of the still contentious tweens. (Those of you well past your Saturn Return will understand, those younger won't have the context to relate.) It happens that right now, in 2008, I'm 39 years old, the same age as Neo when he was Awakened. If the Red Pill were offered today, I'd take it and then Awaken those crucial ones who were close to be because they were ready to be Awakened type.

Croesis · 01/28/2008 07:25:14

As MotorZ said it depends on the way it was presented to me. I'm talking about the 'we want to tell you a truth, but we can't until you take this pill'

If I were one of the 1% then there'd be something about the place nagging at me and probably had done for a while which could make me think the guy or girl offering the thing wasn't completely mad but I'd still want an explanation no matter how farfetched it seems. Then you have personal circumstances... I have my family and friends that I'd be leaving behind, probably with no word about what had happened. They may be living the fantasy but it'd still cause them great distress (I'd hope anyway)

I'd probably be blue unless something changed....

TonicLove · 01/28/2008 08:49:32

what would happen if u took both 0_o ?

<<<<<would u fall down the stairs?

aracher · 01/28/2008 09:42:00

Yeah id take the red pill hands down.

Why? Becasue if someone told me the truth and the matrix was real id find myself unable to stay within the system becuase of what im missing out in the real, sure id be hunted down like a dog but i wouldn't care id be able to die happy if it was in the real.

Phrack · 01/28/2008 10:35:49

Red.

Because every day I find more things wrong with this world, and our society... and they make me pretty bitter/misanthropic. I'd like answers. I'd like to know what the hell the underlying problem is, and why it can't be identified/fixed.

I want to know why we're all vying for the almighty dollar, when all money has ever done is hurt people. Why our children are considered dollar bill signs by their educators, and not minds that need molding. Why everything is falling apart at the seams, and why nobody seems to care/notice.

Marias · 01/29/2008 16:51:04

Red, simply because I'm power hungry. While the thought of being dominated by my own race's creation doesn't tickle me too much, the red pill would be a way to instantly ascend beyond 'normal' boundaries. Fanatic Self Improver all the way. That's not to say that the life of a blue pill is without merit, or that I would even want to do away with the Matrix. It's just an entirely new ballgame after taking the Red Pill.

Tenshi · 01/30/2008 05:21:45

Yes, then I can cyber IRL! wait...>.>

Mobyias · 01/31/2008 09:42:18

to be honest, i most definantly would take the red pill.

if there was some way out of this reality, then i would go for it.

Raviola · 02/02/2008 15:30:05

I would become a Redpill. Because I would figure, what the heck, couldn't be worse than a Bluepill. I'd have already experienced Blue dreams, so why not Red ones?

TheShickle · 02/02/2008 21:35:52

I believe Zion only contacts you if you are searching for the true meaning of The Matrix. So when they offer you the answer to all of your questions, is blue really an option? Therefore, I would take the red pill if the offer would present itself. I would take it to help Zion and also fight crime.

PhantasosOneiroi · 02/08/2008 15:59:20

TheShickle wrote:

I believe Zion only contacts you if you are searching for the true meaning of The Matrix. So when they offer you the answer to all of your questions, is blue really an option? Therefore, I would take the if the offer would present itself. I would take it to help Zion and also fight crime.

Dude crime is soooo overrated. The only reason why laws were created is to gain control over people. All people.

And thats what was Matrix movies were all about. Control.

For me, red pill would make one heck of a adventure.

Siepher · 02/14/2008 01:59:03

I'd take the red pill.

Why? We all want to be heroes, don't we?

Aquatium. · 02/14/2008 06:43:11

I've been a redpill since I was school. Me and one of my friends used to actually discuss the whole theory of what we see through our eyes was actually what was really there, and this was before the Matrix was ever out, so I've always though in that manner from a young age. On that basis I know if Zion was real and had offered me the choice at that age I would easily go with Red, it's just the type of person I was/am, just the way I have always thought about the world. Even now I truly believe there is a unlocked potential in man, but were fara from intelligent enough to grasp it.

Yasamuu · 02/14/2008 06:47:00

I'd probably take red...

...and regret it.

I think I'd miss too many things that we have in this world if I was awoken to a barren world where we're practically hunted down both in and out of the Matrix. Thats if I stayed with Zion, I suppose.

9mmfu · 02/14/2008 07:34:26

Erythnul wrote:

I have been wondering this for a while now ever since I held a long conversation about all of the organizations in the Matrix. Lets say this whole Matrix Franchise was real. We do live in the Matrix. Everything you know and everything around you is a simulation. If you were able to see what lies before you if you took the red pill and if you would able to not remember anything once you too took the blue pill. As a bluepill right now in your RL lives.

What pill would you take?

Think about your actually lives. Wither you be a wife or husband with kids, a teenager still living with your parents, a kid still looking up to your parents, or a college student.

Would you take the red pill or the blue pill?...

Definately Red, then never return to the matrix.

ZaneZavin · 02/14/2008 08:18:08

Hmm, but doesn't reality suck? Who I am in mxo is who I would really be.

ShiXinFeng · 02/14/2008 09:07:21

"The Matrix cannot tell you who you are."

I used to wonder what that meant, because it was one of those phrases that's difficult to wrap your head around, right? I thought it meant that the Matrix was a lie, but now I think I understand it a little more profoundly, especially in the context of this thread.

The Matrix is the lie; the mother of all lies. That makes everything that happens in the Matrix a lie, a sham, fake, unreal, staged. Every relationship, every feeling, every flavor you every tasted, all contrived to convince your mind that you are somewhere you're actually not, doing something you're not really doing, and being someone you actually can't possibly be. If our whole existence in the Matrix were a part of that lie, then there really wouldn't be a choice, as far as I'm concerned.

Red pill, please.

9mmfu · 02/14/2008 09:12:33

ZaneZavin wrote:

Hmm, but doesn't reality suck? Who I am in mxo is who I would really be.

Only if you think it does.

The point which I think is mostly left out is that ultimately "in the real" is the only way your are going to make long term change happen. What is the Matrix really? IMO a giant battery so complex that you can get inside of it and that its for the most part the heart of another sentient being.

What would have happened if after Neo's truce Zion simply agreed to remove any newly awakened humans from the simulation and not allow them to return to it, all the while they simply stayed away from the Matrix and because of a sizable genetic diversity could, with careful effort, rebuild the human race from those already freed? The untimate goal being to clear the sky to restore solar power or develop a more efficient method of power generation in cooperation with the Machine to ween them off the Matrix as a power source and let them go about their way.

We go about our way they go about theirs. Perhaps pie in the sky as far as ideas go but one that doesn't bring the human race towards extinction.

my thoughts on the matter.

GoDGiVeR · 02/14/2008 09:47:41

If it has never happened to you, you can never say how'd you decide. I'm sorry if it sounds ... bad or something, but it's the same about Nazi Germany. Would you have really joined them or would you have gone into the resistance? You weren't there, you can't decide just based on stories. Of course, all people nowadays would say "Of course not" "Don't be ridiculous".

It's not a choice you can decide upon if it doesn't happen right in front of you.

machete · 02/14/2008 09:52:07

9mmfu wrote:

ZaneZavin wrote:
Hmm, but doesn't reality suck? Who I am in mxo is who I would really be.
Only if you think it does.
The point which I think is mostly left out is that ultimately "in the real" is the only way your are going to make long term change happen. What is the Matrix really? IMO a giant battery so complex that you can get inside of it and that its for the most part the heart of another sentient being.
What would have happened if after Neo's truce Zion simply agreed to remove any newly awakened humans from the simulation and not allow them to return to it, all the while they simply stayed away from the Matrix and because of a sizable genetic diversity could, with careful effort, rebuild the human race from those already freed? The untimate goal being to clear the sky to restore solar power or develop a more efficient method of power generation in cooperation with the Machine to ween them off the Matrix as a power source and let them go about their way.
We go about our way they go about theirs. Perhaps pie in the sky as far as ideas go but one that doesn't bring the human race towards extinction.
my thoughts on the matter.

Then we share similar visions 9mmfu. I myself have always known that this world is merely a shadow of a bigger world or worlds. If I had the choice to take the red pill I would do so with pleasure. I seek truth, and if I found that the veil could be lifted away, and I had a chance to help save those who still slumber, I would do so.

Synapse777 · 02/14/2008 11:48:39

Red. It's the smell...

Pyraci · 02/14/2008 12:41:40

ShiXinFeng wrote:

"The Matrix cannot tell you who you are."
I used to wonder what that meant, because it was one of those phrases that's difficult to wrap your head around, right? I thought it meant that the Matrix was a lie, but now I think I understand it a little more profoundly, especially in the context of this thread.
The Matrix is the lie; the mother of all lies. That makes everything that happens in the Matrix a lie, a sham, fake, unreal, staged. Every relationship, every feeling, every flavor you every tasted, all contrived to convince your mind that you are somewhere you're actually not, doing something you're not really doing, and being someone you actually can't possibly be. If our whole existence in the Matrix were a part of that lie, then there really wouldn't be a choice, as far as I'm concerned.
Red pill, please.

Amen, well-said.

Also, 9mm and Machete have bring up a good point. Ezechiel(like myself) Would detest the Matrix for the lie it represents and would want to stay out of it. I'll also point out that the majority of people in Zion aren't all that unhappy in Zion itself. It's being away on a cold ship near the surface that people complain about. The only thing that would keep he and Serenity in the tunnels would be the prospect of freeing the people that want out.

To what GodGiver said, no we can't truly say unless or until that scenario plays out before us, but this is still a valid discussion if for nothing else than for all of us to get a better idea of the situation we are in as redpills. Seeing some of the assumptions and far-fetched theories brought up in some of the recent live events threads and regarding the war, I think a realistic look at what's going on is in order.

As far as the Nazi Germany analogy, I'd be either in the resistance or a casualty of war because of my ethnicity more so than choices. SMILEY

NightTrace · 02/14/2008 14:03:01

.....

I'd take the redpill, if only to well....mow down alot of people without an actual negative effect ....

*cough*

ChloeAnn · 02/14/2008 16:04:08

I'd say if someone explained it to me, I'd probably take the redpill just because of my curiosity. Then, as Yas said, I would regret it, and wanna go back to being a blue.

Travi · 02/14/2008 20:27:18

Red.

Nothing could be worse than living a lie, and when you know that, unlike a blue, when in trouble, you can bend the rules and get out of trouble.
Provided it followed MxO's path, I'd probably do like my character and work for the Machines.

NightTrace · 02/15/2008 14:56:11

How is it that I'm the only sob that would just take it for the power? SMILEY

CrimsonKiller01 · 02/15/2008 15:02:20

Cause you're a Merv in Mech clothing?

Pyraci · 02/15/2008 15:03:18

Marias said he would too. SMILEY

TheShickle · 02/15/2008 18:57:04

Aquatium. wrote:

I've been a redpill since I was school. Me and one of my friends used to actually discuss the whole theory of what we see through our eyes was actually what was really there, and this was before the Matrix was ever out, so I've always though in that manner from a young age. On that basis I know if Zion was real and had offered me the choice at that age I would easily go with Red, it's just the type of person I was/am, just the way I have always thought about the world. Even now I truly believe there is a unlocked potential in man, but were fara from intelligent enough to grasp it.

Yeah, it's called The Allegory of the Cave.

Plato, and Socrates have discussed this before the movie too. I believe Neo even had the book in his apartment in the first movie.