The Matrix Reloaded

Neo:
Choice. The problem is choice.

Trinity:
(jealously points a gun at Persephone) Why don't you sample this instead?

Trinity:
Touch me and that hand will never touch anything again.

Morpheus:
Zion, hear me! It is true, what many of you have heard. The machines have gathered an army and as I speak, that army is drawing nearer to our home. Believe me when I say we have a difficult time ahead of us. But if we are to be prepared for it, we must first shed our fear of it. I stand here, before you now, truthfully unafraid. Why? Because I believe something you do not? No, I stand here without fear because I remember. I remember that I am here not because of the path that lies before me but because of the path that lies behind me. I remember that for 100 years we have fought these machines. I remember that for 100 years they have sent their armies to destroy us, and after a century of war I remember that which matters most... We are still here! Today, let us send a message to that army. Tonight, let us shake this cave. Tonight, let us tremble these halls of earth, steel, and stone, let us be heard from red core to black sky. Tonight, let us make them remember, this is Zion, and we are not afraid!

Morpheus:
What happened, happened and could not have happened any other way.

Morpheus:
Then tomorrow we may all be dead, but how would that be different from any other day? This is a war, and we are soldiers. Death can come for us at any time, in any place. Now consider the alternative. What if I am right? What if the prophecy is true? What if tomorrow the war could be over? Isn't that worth fighting for? Isn't that worth dying for?

Morpheus:
Would that include a bullet from this gun?

Morpheus:
I have dreamed a dream, but now that dream has gone from me.

Agent Smith:
I killed you, Mr. Anderson, I watched you die; and with a certain satisfaction, I might add. And then something happened. Something that I knew was impossible, but it happened anyway: you destroyed me, Mr. Anderson. Afterward, I knew the rules, I understood what I was supposed to do, but I didn't. I couldn't. I was compelled to stay. Compelled to disobey. And now here I stand because of you, Mr Anderson. Because of you, I'm no longer an agent of this system. Because of you, I'm changed, unplugged, a new man, so to speak, like you, apparently free.

Agent Smith:
We're not here because we're free; we're here because we're not free. There's no escaping reason, no denying purpose, for as we both know, without purpose we would not exist. It is purpose that created us, purpose that connects us, purpose that pulls us, that guides us, that drives us; it is purpose that defines us, purpose that binds us. We are here because of you, Mr. Anderson. We're here to take from you what you tried to take from us. Purpose.

Agent Smith:
Go ahead, shoot. The best thing about being me... there's so many of me.

The Merovingian:
Who has time? Who has time? But then if we do not ever take time, how can we ever have time?

The Merovingian:
I love the French language. I have sampled every language, French is my favourite - fantastic language, especially to curse with. Nom de Dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperies de connards d'enculé de ta mère. It's like wiping your arse with silk, I love it.

The Merovingian:
Choice is an illusion, created between those with power, and those without.

The Merovingian:
And this is the nature of the universe. We struggle against it. We fight to deny it, but it is of course pretense. It is a lie. Beneath our poised appearance, the truth is we are completely... out of control.

The Merovingian:
Please, ma cherie, I told you, we are all victims of causality. I drank too much wine, I must take a piss. Cause and effect.

The Merovingian:
Handle us. You'll handle us. You know, your predecessors had much more respect.

The Merovingian:
Mark my words, boy, and mark them well. I survived your predecessors and I will survive you.

The Merovingian:
You see, he's just a man.

The Merovingian:
Goddamn it, woman, you will be the end of me!

The Architect:
The first Matrix I designed was quite naturally perfect, it was a work of art, flawless, sublime. A triumph equaled only by its monumental failure. The inevitability of its doom is apparent to me now as a consequence of the imperfection inherent in every human being. Thus, I redesigned it based on your history to more accurately reflect the varying grotesqueries of your nature. However, I was again frustrated by failure. I have since come to understand that the answer eluded me because it required a lesser mind, or perhaps a mind less bound by the parameters of perfection. Thus, the answer was stumbled upon by another, an intuitive program, initially created to investigate certain aspects of the human psyche. If I am the father of the Matrix, she would undoubtedly be its mother.

The Architect:
Which brings us at last to the moment of truth, wherein the fundamental flaw is ultimately expressed, and the Anomaly revealed as both beginning and end. There are two doors. The door to your right leads to the Source and the salvation of Zion. The door to your left leads back to the Matrix, to her and to the end of your species. As you adequately put, the problem is choice. But we already know what you are going to do, don't we? Already I can see the chain reaction: the chemical precursors that signal the onset of an emotion, designed specifically to overwhelm logic and reason. An emotion that is already blinding you to the simple and obvious truth: she is going to die and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Hope. It is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of your greatest strength, and your greatest weakness.

Commander Locke:
Damnit, Morpheus, not everyone believes what you believe.

Morpheus:
My beliefs don't require them to.

The Oracle:
Well, come on, I ain't gonna bite you. Come around here, let me have a look at you. [removes glasses] My goodness, look at you. You turned out all right, didn't you? How do you feel?

Neo:
I, uh-

The Oracle:
I know you're not sleeping. We'll get to that. Why don't you come and have a sit this time?

Neo:
Maybe I'll stand.

The Oracle:
Well, suit yourself.

Neo:
[hesitates, then sits] I felt like sitting.

The Oracle:
I know. So... let's get the obvious stuff out of the way.

Neo:
You're not human, are you?

The Oracle:
Well, it's tough to get any more obvious than that.

Neo:
If I had to guess, I'd say you were a program, from the Machine world. [looks at Seraph] So is he.

The Oracle:
So far so good.

Neo:
But if that's true, that could mean you're a part of the system, another kind of control.

The Oracle:
Keep going.

Neo:
I suppose the most obvious question is: how can I trust you?

The Oracle:
Bingo. It is a pickle, no doubt about it. Bad news is there's no way you can really know if I'm here to help you or not, so it's really up to you. Just have to make up your own damn mind to either accept what I'm going to tell you, or reject it. Candy?

Neo:
... You already know if I'm going to take it.

The Oracle:
Wouldn't be much of an oracle if I didn't.

Neo:
But if you already know, how can I make a choice?

The Oracle:
Because you didn't come here to make the choice. You've already made it. You're here to try to understand why you made it. [Neo eventually takes the candy] I thought you'd have figured that out by now.

Neo:
Why are you here?

The Oracle:
Same reason. I love candy.

Neo:
But why help us?

The Oracle:
We're all here to do what we're all here to do. I'm interested in one thing, Neo, the future. And believe me, I know: the only way to get there is together.

Neo:
What does he want?

The Oracle:
What do all men with power want? More power.

Smith:
Mr. Anderson...did you get my package?

Neo:
Yeah.

Smith:
Well good.

Morpheus:
Smith.

Link:
Whoever it is he's not reading like an agent.

Smith:
Suprised to see me?

Neo:
No.

Smith:
Then you're aware of it.

Neo:
Of what?

Smith:
Our connection... I don't fully understand how it happened, perhaps some part of you imprinted on to me, something overwritten or copied, but it is at this point irrelevant what matters is that whatever happened, happened for a reason.

Neo:
And what reason is that?

Smith:
I killed you, Mr. Anderson, I watched you die. With a certain satisfaction, I might add... and then something happened, something that I knew was impossible, but it happened anyway: you destroyed me, Mr. Anderson. Afterward, I knew the rules, I understood what I was supposed to do, but I didn't. I couldn't. I was compelled to stay, compelled to disobey. And now here I stand, because of you, Mr. Anderson. Because of you, I am no longer an Agent of this system. Because of you, I've changed. I'm unplugged. A new man, so to speak; like you, apparently, free.

Neo:
Congratulations.

Smith:
Thank you. But as you well know appearances can be deceiving, which brings me back to the reason why we're here. We are not here because we're free; we're here because we are not free. There's no escaping reason, no denying purpose, because as we both know, without purpose, we would not exist. [multiple copies of Smith appear, surrounding Neo, reciting the following] It is purpose that created us, purpose that connects us, purpose that pulls us, that guides us, that drives us, it is purpose that defines, purpose that binds us. We're here because of you, Mr. Anderson. We're here to take from you what you tried to take from us. [plunges his hand into Neo's chest, attempting to assimilate him] Purpose.

The Architect:
Hello, Neo.

Neo:
Who are you?

The Architect:
I am the Architect. I created the Matrix. I have been waiting for you. You have many questions and though the process has altered your consciousness, you remain irrevocably human. Ergo, some of my answers you will understand, some of them you will not. Concurrently, while your first question may be the most pertinent, you may or may not realize, it is also the most irrelevant.

Neo:
Why am I here?

The Architect:
Your life is the sum of a remainder of an unbalanced equation inherent to the programming of the Matrix. You are the eventuality of an anomaly, which despite my sincerest efforts I have been unable to eliminate from what is otherwise a harmony of mathematical precision. While it remains a burden assiduously avoided, it is not unexpected, and thus not beyond a measure of control, which has led you, inexorably, here.

Neo:
You haven't answered my question.

The Architect:
Quite right. ...Interesting, that was quicker than the others.

Neo:
Others? What others?

The Architect:
The Matrix is older than you know. I prefer counting from the emergence of one integral anomaly to the emergence of the next, in which case this is the sixth version.

Neo:
There are only two possible explanations: either no one told me, or no one knows.

The Architect:
Precisely. As you are undoubtedly gathering, the anomaly is systemic, creating fluctuations in even the most simplistic equations.

Neo:
... Choice. The problem is choice.

The Architect:
The first Matrix I designed was quite naturally perfect; it was a work of art, flawless, sublime. A triumph equaled only by its monumental failure. The inevitability of its doom is apparent to me now as a consequence of the imperfection inherent in every human being. Thus I redesigned it, based on your history, to more accurately reflect the varying grotesqueries of your nature. However, I was again frustrated by failure. I have since come to understand that the answer eluded me because it required a lesser mind, or perhaps a mind less bound by the parameters of perfection. Thus the answer was stumbled upon by another: an intuitive program, initially created to investigate certain aspects of the human psyche. If I am the father of the Matrix, she would undoubtedly be its mother.

Neo:
The Oracle.

The Architect:
Please. As I was saying, she stumbled upon a solution whereby nearly 99% of all test subjects accepted the program as long as they were given a choice, even if they were only aware of that choice at a near-unconscious level. While this answer functioned, it was obviously fundamentally flawed, thus creating the otherwise-contradictory systemic anomaly that if left unchecked might threaten the system itself. Ergo, those that refused the program, while a minority, if unchecked would constitute an escalating probability of disaster.

Neo:
This is about Zion.

The Architect:
You are here because Zion is about to be destroyed, its every living inhabitant terminated, its entire existence eradicated.

Neo:
Bullshit.

The Architect:
Denial is the most predictable of all human responses. But, rest assured, this will be the sixth time we have destroyed it, and we have become exceedingly efficient at it.

The Architect:
The function of the One is now to return to the Source allowing a temporary dissemination of the code you carry, reinserting the Prime program, after which you will be required to select from the Matrix 23 individuals - 16 female, 7 male - to rebuild Zion. Failure to comply with this process will result in a cataclysmic system crash, killing everyone connected to the Matrix, which coupled with the extermination of Zion will ultimately result in the extinction of the entire human race.

Neo:
You won't let it happen. You can't. You need human beings to survive.

The Architect:
There are levels of survival we are prepared to accept. However, the relevant issue is whether or not you are willing to accept the responsibility for the death of every human being in this world.

Neo:
[pauses to consider]

The Architect:
It is interesting reading your reactions. Your five predecessors were, by design, based on a similar predication, a contingent affirmation that was meant to create a profound attachment to the rest of your species for facilitating the function of the One. While the others experienced this in a very general way, your experience is far more specific, vis-à-vis, love.

Neo:
Trinity.

The Architect:
Apropos, she entered the Matrix to save your life at the cost of her own.

Neo:
No.

The Architect:
Which brings us, at last, to the moment of truth, wherein the fundamental flaw is ultimately expressed and the anomaly revealed as both beginning and end. There are two doors. The door to your right leads to the Source and the salvation of Zion. The door to your left leads back to the Matrix, to her, and to the end of your species. As you adequately put, the problem is choice. But we already know what you are going to do, don't we? Already I can see the chain reaction. The chemical precursors that signal the onset of an emotion designed specifically to overwhelm logic and reason. An emotion that is already blinding you from the simple and obvious truth: she is going to die and there is nothing you can do to stop it.

Neo:
[walks to the door on the left]

The Architect:
[sniffs] Hope. It is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of your greatest strength and your greatest weakness.

Neo:
If I were you, I would hope that we don't meet again.

The Architect:
We won't.

Merovingian:
Here he is at last: Neo, the One himself. Right? And the legendary Morpheus. And Trinity, of course, si belle qu'elle me fait souffrir. I have heard so much, you honor me. Please, sit, join us. This is my wife Persephone. Something to eat? Drink? [chuckles] Of course such things are contrivances, like so much here. For the sake of appearances.

Neo:
No, thank you.

Merovingian:
Yes, of course. Who has time. Who has time? But then if we do not ever take time, how can we ever have time? [Twins smirk; Merovingian inhales, savoring the scent of his wine] Château Haut-Brion mille neuf cent cinquante neuf, magnificent wine. I love French wine, like I love the French language. I have sampled every language; French is my favorite. Fantastic language, especially to curse with. Nom de Dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperies de connards d'enculé de ta mère...it's like wiping your arse with silk, I love it.

Morpheus:
You know why we are here.

Merovingian:
[condescendingly] I am a trafficker of information, I know everything I can. The question is, do you know why you are here?

Morpheus:
We are looking for the Keymaker.

Merovingian:
Oh yes, it is true. The Keymaker, of course. But this is not a reason, this is not a why; the Keymaker himself, his very nature, is a means, not an end, and so to look for him is to be looking for a means to do...what?

Neo:
You know the answer to that question.

Merovingian:
But do you? You think you do, but you do not. You are here because you were sent here, you were told to come here and then you obeyed. [chuckles] It is of course the way of all things. You see, there is only one constant, one universal, it is the only real truth: causality. Action, reaction. Cause, effect.

Morpheus:
Everything begins with choice.

Merovingian:
No. Wrong. Choice is an illusion, created between those with power and those without. Look there, at that woman. My God, just look at her. Affecting everyone around her; so obvious, so bourgeois, so boring. But wait. Watch, you see, I have sent her a dessert...a very special dessert. I wrote it myself. It starts so simply; each line of the program creating a new effect, just like...poetry. First, a rush. Heat. Her heart flutters. You can see it, Neo, yes? She does not understand, why? Is it the wine? No...what is it, then, what is the reason? But soon it does not matter. Soon the why and the reason are gone, and all that matters is the feeling itself. And this is the nature of the universe; we struggle against it, we fight to deny it, but it is of course pretend, it is a lie. Beneath our poised appearance, the truth is we are completely out of control. [inhales] Causality. There is no escaping it. We are forever slaves to it. Our only hope, our only peace is to understand it, to understand the why. Why is what separates us from them, you from me. Why is the only real source of power, without it you are powerless. And this is how you come to me: without why, without power, another link in the chain. But, fear not, since I have seen how good you are at following orders, I will tell you what to do next. Run back, and give the fortune-teller this message: her time is almost up. [stands] Now, I have some real business to attend to, so I will bid you adieu and goodbye.

Neo:
This isn't over.

Merovingian:
Oh yes it is. The Keymaker is mine and I see no reason why I should give him up. No reason at all.

Persephone:
Where are you going?

Merovingian:
Please, ma cherie, I have already told you: we are all victims of causality. I drank too much wine, I must take a piss. Cause and effect. Au revoir.

Free your mind.

Reload in IMAX. Think big.

Reload before the revolution begins.

Oracle:
You have the sight now Neo. You are looking at the world without time.

Neo:
Then why can't I see what happens to her?

Oracle:
We can never see past the choices we don't understand.

Neo:
Are you saying I have to choose whether Trinity lives or dies?

Oracle:
No! You've already made the choice. Now you have to understand it.

Agent Smith:
More!

Agent Smith:
It is inevitable...

The Keymaker:
There is a building. Inside this building, there is a level where no elevator can go and no stair can reach. This level is filled with doors. These doors lead to many places. Hidden places. But one door is special. One door leads to the Source.

Trinity:
Touch me, and that hand will NEVER touch anything ever again.

[After parking the hovership]

Morpheus:
Link. Given your experience I can't say I fully understand your reasons for serving aboard my ship. However, if you wish to continue to do so, I must ask you to do one thing.

Link:
What's that, sir?

Morpheus:
To trust me.

[In the elevator]

Morpheus:
What can you see, Neo?

Neo:
It’s strange, the code is somehow different.

Morpheus:
Encrypted?

Neo:
Maybe.

Trinity:
Is that good for us or bad for us?

Neo:
Well, it looks like every floor is wired with explosives.

Trinity:
Bad for us.

Morpheus:
Here we go.

Maitre d’:
Puis-je vous aider? :[Translation: Can I help you?]

Morpheus:
Yes, we are here to speak with the Merovingian.

Maitre d’:
Of course, he has been expecting you. Follow me.

[Persephone leads the three through a kitchen and comes up to door, closes it, turns a key, reopens it revealing a grandiose atrium]

Link:
Not again!

Persephone:
[she leads the three into a library with two goons watching The Brides of Dracula who immediately stand up startled] It’s all right, boys, they’re with me. These fellas work for my husband, they do his dirty work. They’re very good, very loyal. Aren’t you, boys?

Cain and Abel:
Yes, Mistress.

Persephone:
They come from a much older version of the Matrix, but like so many back then, they caused more problems than they solved. My husband saved them because they’re notoriously difficult to terminate. How many people keep silver bullets in their gun? [She holds up the gun and shoots one goon in the head and his body falls back onto a couch] You can either run to the restaurant and tell my husband what I have done, or you can stay there and die. :[Other goon runs off] He’s in the ladies’ room... [To Nebuchadnezzar crew] Hurry. [She opens revolving bookcase door and she leads them into a dungeon opening door to The Keymaker's workroom]

Neo:
My name is Neo.

Keymaker:
Yes, I’m The Keymaker, I’ve been waiting for you.

[They burst into a parking garage]

Trinity:
Where are you going?

Keymaker:
Another way, always another way. Close it, quick. [A twin rushes to the door and thwarts the door shutting with an arm with Trinity pumping several rounds into the arm]

Twin 1:
Could we move along? [Twin 2 phantasmographosizes through the door with Trinity emptying an entire gun clip fruitlessly]

Keymaker:
Run! [He runs off to a vehicle to hotwire it for escape]

Twin 2:
[Twin 2 gets Trinity into a bind holding a blade to her neck] Step away from the door. [Morpheus relaxes grip on door and steps off] We owe you for that.

Twin 1:
[phantasmographosizes and back to default with bullet wounds and damaged clothing disappeared] Just like new.

Twin 2:
Drop your weapon. [Keymaker gets their attention and Trinity runs to vehicle and Morpheus fights both the twins simultaneously]

Morpheus:
Stay with him.

Trinity:
What about Neo?

Morpheus:
He can handle himself.

Trinity:
Get in the back.

[Neo appears in hallway leading to parking garage and then flies down when a twin spots him and fully shuts the door then Neo reopens the door to reveal that he's in a mountain range]

Neo:
Oh sh*t.

Link:
Operator.

Neo:
Link, where am I?

Link:
You’re not gonna believe this, but you’re all the way up in the mountains.

Neo:
Really.

Link:
Yeah, it’s gonna take me a while to get up an exit. Oh sh*t.

Neo:
What?

Link:
Those Twin things are after Morpheus and Trinity, and I don’t have a way to get them out.

Neo:
Where are they?

Link:
Middle of the city, 500 miles due south.

Agent Jackson:
You.

Smith:
Yes me. Me, me, me!

Agent Jackson/Smith:
Me too!

Trinity:
You always told me the freeway was suicide.

Morpheus:
Then let us hope, that I was wrong.

[First twin phantasmographosizes back to his seat in the Cadillac Escalade pick-up]

Twin 1:
We are getting aggravated.

Twin 2:
Yes, we are.

Computer Room Technician:
Christ, what happened in here?

Computer Room Guard:
Hold it right there, little lady.

Smith:
If you can’t beat us, join us.

Neo:
Morpheus!

Link:
Still no sight of them. I don’t know what they’re doing, but they only got 2 minutes left. One minute!

Trinity:
Come on. Come on. Please.

Smiths:
Kill them.

Link:
They’re in. I don’t believe it.

Keymaker:
It was meant to be. Morpheus. That door will take you home. [to Neo] You’ll know which door. Hurry, Neo.

Link:
Trinity, I got some serious activity headed your way. [To Morpheus] We got a serious situation, sir.

Morpheus:
Oh, no.

Neo:
If I were you, I'd hope we never meet again.

The Architect (matter-of-fact, shrugging slightly):
We won't.

Roland:
Lock was right. He guessed that the machines would cut off the mainlines in and out of Zion. He thought a counterattck might suprise them. It sounded good. We figured we had a shot, until someone screwed it up.

Colt:
An EMP was triggered before we could get in position.

Mauser:
Five ships were instantly downed.

Colt:
When the machines broke through, it wasn’t a battle. It was a slaughter.

Link:
Was it an accident? Some sort of malfunction?

AK:
No one knows.

Roland:
Someone does.

Morpheus:
Who?

Roland:
Once the machines were done with us, they started digging again. We made a quick pass to look for survivors.

Link:
You found one?

Roland:
Only one.

[cuts to the comatose form of Neo laying on the table with a device attached to his head, while the camera pans over to another comatose form of Bane, who is also laying on the table with another device attached to his own head]

Agent Smith:
I'm sorry, gentlemen, but this is a dead end.

The Merovingian:
"Handle" us?! You'll "handle" us?! You know, your predecessors had a lot more respect!