Friday, February 27, 2004

   RPGs & Stuff

I wanted to use this post to specifically answer a few people, who commented on my last post. But before I do that, I just want to reiterate that I couldn't be more happy with the quality on V7 right now. One look at Adventure Arena, and you'll see a host of amazing RPGS being played out. You'll also see some fantastic new RPGs, which have popped up in recent days. Very cool. Congrats to everyone who has put in work on these stories. I particularly want to congratulate Sage for his new Final Fantasy RPG. The detail he went into on that is absolutely stunning. It's well worth a look. Anyway, on with the show. ~_^ Lea: Well, as you know, The Matrix carries a lot of religious symbolism. I think Shy really had his finger on the button when he labled Neo as Jesus, The Architect as God and The Oracle as Satan. The Neo/Jesus thing is pretty obvious. Not only are there a million Jesus-references in The Matrix, but Neo himself ends up "dying to save the people". Of course, he isn't the savior that Morpheus expects, but the end result is still the same. Before I finish talking about Neo, I just want to mention some of the foreshadowing that goes on in the first movie. The following quote comes from the guy who visits Neo at his apartment. When you read it after watching the trilogy, it slaps you in the face like a frozen fish. "Hallelujah. You're my savior, man. My own personal Jesus Christ. Yeah, I know, this never happened. You don't exist. It's called mescaline. It's the only way to fly. Hey, it just sounds to me like you might need to unplug, man." You're my savior? My own Jesus Christ? This never happened and you don't exist? Flight? You might need to unplug? Consider yourself slapped! In terms of The Oracle, we have to look at her role. Shy mentioned to me that The Architect is there to "balance the equation", while The Oracle is there "to unbalance it". The Architect is a purely logical program, The Oracle is an intuitive program. The Oracle also acts as a kind of "temptation" for Neo. That is, she is using her intuitive design to guide him to the source, where the path of The One ends. Remember that the machines want Neo to go to the source. That's his role. His role isn't to be a savior (ostensibly, as far as the machines are concerned). The whole idea of The One being a savior is something that the machines created, to fuel this idea of a prophecy. The One is unique and he is obviously special. This is not because he's a supernatural figure or anything like that. It's simply because he is really a personification of the highest level of subconscious resistance to The Matrix. It's like Neo is a built-up resistance, or "vaccine", but in computer terms. This is why a portion of code that he carries must be re-inserted into The Matrix, so that it can refresh. Once this is done, the probability of subconscious rejection diminishes slightly. Obviously, the machines have to keep this process going over and over again, in order to ensure that the unavoidable resistance does not grow out of control. So, back to The Oracle. The Oracle is like Satan, because she's the pleasant form...she's the temptress, guiding Neo to his final destination. She cannot read the future, nor can she really extend herself beyond her purpose. Remember, she says to Neo "we're all here to do what we're all here to do". Meaning, of course, "I'm here to guide you to the source, because that is my job" and "you are supposed to go to the source, because this is your job". She also says that if Neo doesn't go to the source, Zion will fall. This implies that Neo can save Zion if he reaches the source. But this is a lie. The machines intend to destroy Zion regardless. Zion only exists because it facilitates the function of The One; it gives Neo an inherent attachment to his own species. And so, when he learns the truth from The Architect, he will be compelled to do as he is told (to enter the source), as a result of his attachment to the people of Zion. All of the previous versions of Neo did this, as the machines expected. The most recent version of Neo, in the Sixth Matrix, does not do this, because of Trinity. So his experience is fundamentally different from the others, as The Architect points out. Anyway, I'm getting off track a little there. It's hard not to, because there are so many issues related to one another. But it's interesting to note that The Oracle really isn't what we think. She herself is another form of control. Even the way that she "guides" Neo in Revolutions (by showing him how to defeat Smith), is ultimately only done to aid the machines. So, The Oracle is compared to Satan for these reasons. She tells the truth to Neo for the most part, but she also deliberately manipulates Neo, for the machines' collective benefit. If you have any other questions, I'd certainly be happy to try and answer them. It definitely took me quite a while to actually start to understand the ins-and-outs of the plot...simply because there's such extraordinary detail there. Boba: Yeah, you're absolutely right about that. I am currently thinking about doing a Matrix RPG, that is set after Revolutions. But that requires a lot of research and time on my part. So I'm not sure. If I do it though, you can expect it to be something very unique. Specific to The Second Renaissance...I think there's a lot of potential to explain specific things in our own way. If you read my latest post, you'll definitely see what I'm trying to say. It's really obvious. But that's okay; I didn't want to be cryptic just for the sake of it, even though there are possibly some cryptic messages involved there. It's cool that you and Raiha are posting in the RPG again, also. I hope Sara joins in. ~_^

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