Insomnia

It's 3 in the morning and I can't sleep. I don't know why, but my brain is going sixty miles an hour and I can't seem to still myself long enough to fall asleep. Since all I can think about is the Matrix, and how Zion can win the war, I'm gonna try to capture some of these ideas here. No particular order. They probably won't even make sense in the morning. Feel free to ignore me.

1. What is control? The ability to destroy something isn't control; it helps, but it isn't. But without POSSESSION, the ability to destroy something is very difficult. Humans must possess the Matrix if they are to control. That means from the outside -- the Matrix servers themselves, and the means to program it.

2. New Zion defense. What Neo gave Zion is a [i]second chance [/i]at defending the city. A second attack is inevitable now. What we have learned from the last battle is

• Bullets and conventional weapons are all but useless against the size of the invading force.
• The machines have no defense against EMPs.

Therefore the best defense of Zion is to offer no defense at all. Seal the dock gates and let the machines in through their freshly dug tunnel. When the bulk of their invading force has arrived, light off EMPs by remote. Alternatively, if drones carrying EMPs can be flown in above or alongside the machines as they were still digging, but before breaching the Dock walls, the drones could light off their EMPs interrupting the flow of sentinels down the machines' tunnelled path, the bodies of the fried sentinels will plug the tunnel up and the machines will have to dig them out to get back down .. or start afresh. This defense can be repeated as often as necessary until the Machines come up with a new attack method. As long as all computer systems within the dock are powered off, the EMP cannot affect them (the Neb could still fly after discharging its own EMP, because its systems were rendered safe first). The biggest problem with this method is not loss of life or equipment, but what to do with 250,000 sentinel carcasses littering the dock floor. (And one bigass digger.)

Don't build Zion Command in the dock tower crane. That tower can clearly be destroyed by the armada of machines. The Dock must be completely evacuated of personnel once the machine army arrives.

3. The power lines from the fields above ground to the Machine City are undefended. What happens if we cut them or otherwise render them inoperable? What happens to the Machine's power grid if an EMP is set off over the fields? Over the power lines? How many such power lines exist?

4. Has it been attempted so far to capture a sentinel "alive"? What could we learn from it? How does it communicate with other sentinels? How autonomous is it? Can it be reprogrammed to return to the Machine city and act as a spy, gathering information on defenses, mainframe locations, possible vectors of attack? (Is it capable of FEAR??? Muahaha!)

5. If Neo's mind successfully penetrated the Matrix without being jacked in, would it have been possible to jack out into another body in a totally different location? Could it be possible for Neo to successfully "transplant" his mind into the body of a machine, such as a sentinel? Could someone invade the Machine city this way?

6. Why didn't the EMPs of nuclear weapons affect the machines during the initial (above ground, pre-sky-scorching) wars?

7. Would Niobe be prepared to sacrifice most of the people jacked into the Matrix if it meant victory over the Machines was thus made possible? Ultimately, this war will not be over until one side or the other is defeated. If it is impossible to control the Matrix from the outside (i.e. direct control of the servers and reprogramming of the matrix environment), then it must be destroyed and all those minds unfreed would be killed.

8. Crazy-*CENSORED* ideas: Tunnel under the machine city. Set off enough nukes to either open up spaces for magma to erupt from beneath, or nuke a canal from the nearest major body of water. See if a tectonic event could be triggered which could decimate the machine city, or at least set them into chaos. Could magma be harnessed as an effective weapon against the Machines from beneath? Could it be used to defend New Zion?

9. If Smith could find a way to inhabit the body of a human, could an exiled program like Merv?

10. Ultimately, Zion would have had a much better chance of surviving the machine attack had it not been for the Kid. Think about this. As the crew of the Neb were on their way back into the Matrix to answer the Oracle's call (M2) Bane was about to attack Neo with a knife from behind. The Kid called out, and Bane was saved from being discovered as a threat. Had he attacked Neo, it's possible Neo would have been killed or severely injured, but Bane would have been subdued and he would NOT have later set off the EMP which crippled the whole of Zion's fleet of EMP-bearing hovercraft, resulting in the slaughter of their crews. In short, if the Kid wasn't such a Neo-worshipping zealot determined to deliver a meaningless trinket to his idol, Zion could have successfully defended their city without such overwhelming loss of life.

11. Does everybody eat that goop in Zion? There's no sunlight, so plants don't grow, and there was no sign of animal stocks in Zion that we were shown. Does this mean that only pod-born humans, capable of being plugged into an artificial simulation, can enjoy the taste and tactile sensation of eating real (albeit simulated) food? Does pigging out in such a simulation make you less hungry when you're unplugged? Does it effect your real body's metabolism? (If not, OMG! I'd never stop eating EVER!!! I'd *LIVE* at Coldstone Creamery!! Do they have Coldstones in the matrix??)

12. Obviously, there is a way from within the matrix to access the machine mainframe. (Neo used it and the Architect was waiting to receive him.) Is that the only way? Could other access points be hacked from within? Could life in the machine city be disrupted resulting from such hacks? Could control of the matrix servers be compromised from within?

What time is it? going on 4am ..... sigh.

/as

Still it does not account for jury rigging systems and the sociological decay Cypherite elements provide.

It's beyond me why our leaders don't clear political assassinations food supply tainting. It's obvious they still need mechanical systems much like the ones Hammond and Neo were talking about.

If these systems were needed to provide clean air and water for Zion's population I believe they would be even more imperative at this time. One bomb.. one EMP even and you can suffocate an entire city or keep its water from being distilled.

nexus2revolution wrote:

o we wake up all 300 million of em, in a single day!

the problem is, how in the universe do we accomplish such a feat without getting our axxes kicked?

Actually, the problem is that Zion is not large enough to support 300 million refugees from the Matrix.

Also, most adult minds are not capable of accepting the truth. They'll "pop". Like Neo almost did in the first movie. It's too late for those people. So we don't have to wake up everybody .. just those minds ready and able to make the transition.

UNLESS the Matrix itself, and control of the fields, could be liberated from the Machines. Then, if it could be steadily reprogrammed to slowly and gradually change the environment to more closely match living conditions in the real, people could be given the time they need to adjust.

That would be the ideal salvation of all of the human race. Of course this sounds to me like the single most difficult objective in the whole war.

/as

Asna wrote:

nexus2revolution wrote:

o we wake up all 300 million of em, in a single day!

the problem is, how in the universe do we accomplish such a feat without getting our axxes kicked?

Actually, the problem is that Zion is not large enough to support 300 million refugees from the Matrix.

Also, most adult minds are not capable of accepting the truth. They'll "pop". Like Neo almost did in the first movie. It's too late for those people. So we don't have to wake up everybody .. just those minds ready and able to make the transition.

UNLESS the Matrix itself, and control of the fields, could be liberated from the Machines. Then, if it could be steadily reprogrammed to slowly and gradually change the environment to more closely match living conditions in the real, people could be given the time they need to adjust.

That would be the ideal salvation of all of the human race. Of course this sounds to me like the single most difficult objective in the whole war.

/as

Although I may be wrong complete iteration reconstruction is not possible without a complete system wipe most notably achieved through the destruction of Zion. This was heavily covered in Pandora's box which went into detail about the multiple iterations.

Although I agree with the fact that humanity should be given a transitional period because I am one of a few Cypherite's who do not believe in full special submission what would scare me are the sociological and economical side effects within the simulation from such a vast transitional period.

For instance even if 33% of the simulation could handle the truth.. and again thats a very broad brush you paint given Zion's political landscape I hardly find their opinion law on that subject.. well within theory it would result negatively for those still plugged in. Let me try to break it down on a more personal level. Three out of ten of these people could handle the simulation. Heres a list of them.


1. Sarah Sutherland

Sarah has a family two children and is a single mother working two jobs right now. One of which is working as an RN at a Nursing Home where she has responsibilities that include medication distribution. Filing paperwork and essentially watching over those that could not watch over themselves. Her second job is house cleaning.

Sarah is deemed by New Zion ready to see the truth.. she is a strong single mother very determined.

However after being awakened Sarah's two children are placed into foster care. One of her residents went into cardiac arrest due to her not calling in and him missing his morning medications for heart complications.

This man who went into cardiac arrest eventually dies and therefore his family all of which have jobs have to call off of work. This results in economic destabilization although small. I hope you can see a pattern here Asna that on a higher scale even at 33% of 10% for that matter it would cause serious negative side effects.

2. Joey Patron

Joey is in third grade. He attends classes at Hammervile school district. Joey is gifted and can read at a 10th grade level. He is in advanced classes and feels a bit out of place with his peers because while most children are interested in sporting events Joey enjoys a good book. New Zion deems Joey a perfect candidate especially by your standards bright a free thinker and young untainted mentally.

Joey however has two loving parents both of which are strict faith based people that attend Camon Church on a weekly basis. The idea of a matrix goes against the very foundation of their faith structure they are deemed impossible even by the most optimistic to become productive members of society in the real. After Joey is awakened his mother automaticly panics. She contacts local authorities which are forced to simulate a kidnapping or missing childs case due to the fact that she is simply not capable of hearing the truth.

The mother has to come to terms that her son is dead and goes into a deep depression eventually quitting her job and becoming a shut in. The father however continues to search refusing to give up hope. Eventually he is confronted by authorities within the system and brainwashed. This results in permanent brain damage. Between the mother and her depression and his run in with the system the family can no longer support itself financially and is forced to seek refuge in a homeless shelter.

3. Tito Zimbya

Tito is a volunteer fire fighter. After a near death experience Tito begins to start questioning the meaning of life and eventually finds himself under the scope of a Zion recruiter. Tito however is on duty when Zionite recruitment contacts him. This results in the force being short and eventually reaching a call to late to save a building. Tito although saved makes a choice which results in four people dying due to a collapsing building.


--
Ok dark I know.. probably not what everyone wants to think about when their "freeing the world!" and all that good stuff but its food for thought.. If the simulation is a direct emulator of 1999 this would suggest that these things could easily happen if not much more. These are just three examples. Imagine when political leaders.. law enforcement and other pillars of society are removed from the simulation. It would cause complete chaos. Anarchy to say the very least.

It's a tough thing to have to navigate around and make solutions for.. how do you save one world and condemn another?

Illyria22 wrote:

One of my factionmates suggested magma as a weapon against New Zion, since it's underground and in what sounds like a tectonically active area.  But I doubt it would would against the Machines, unless their main city is sitting on top of Yellowstone or some other hot spot.

Illyria

That's underestimating how hot magma truly is, to suggest that it could be harnessed into a weapon like that. It's extremely poisonous to humans, usually because the amount of magma that's actually molten lead, amongst other things.

privaron0 wrote:

Joey however has two loving parents both of which are strict faith based people that attend Camon Church on a weekly basis. The idea of a matrix goes against the very foundation of their faith structure they are deemed impossible even by the most optimistic to become productive members of society in the real.

This is the reason why 'faith structure' is flawed. Faith is actually hope in disguise. Both are irrational ideologies presented by your desired expectations.

privaron0 wrote:

This man who went into cardiac arrest eventually dies and therefore his family all of which have jobs have to call off of work. This results in economic destabilization although small. I hope you can see a pattern here Asna that on a higher scale even at 33% of 10% for that matter it would cause serious negative side effects.

Yes I see the pattern. That's a very enlightening point of view: pulling people out will have a cascade effect on those still tied to the "reality" of the Matrix, which will ultimately cost lives.

But I still contend that the inevitibility of collateral loss of life is worth the effort. As long as the machines control the Matrix, they control the pod-born human population and this must end.

If you look at the language in M2 and M3 you will find that nobody seems interested in winning the war. All the Oracle's flowery talk about "one way or another, this war is going to end" is really sidestepping, and watering down, the real question: who is going to WIN? It is simply not enough for hostilities to cease. One side must unconditionally dominate, if not eradicate, the other. Zion has a fighting chance, if very small, to beat the machines but so far this hasn't been discussed in concrete terms since the very first movie.

Anyway thanks for indulging me in my unpoetic ramblings.

/as

Zerotolerance wrote:

This is the reason why 'faith structure' is flawed. Faith is actually hope in disguise. Both are irrational ideologies presented by your desired expectations.

I would counter that faith is the mast that hope ties its sail to. One can lose hope and still have their articles of faith. Although this tends to result in some illogical sophistic rationalization in order to KEEP one's faith.

/as