The Matrix and the Media

A strange thought occurred to me while re-watching the Matrix for the umpteenth time today. Its all good for Morpheus, Neo, Trinity, the Agents, and Smith to go cavorting about the world, wreaking havoc, and leaving chaos in their wake because, lets face it, the world isn’t real.

So at the end of the night (if they survive) they can comfortably tuck themselves into their Zionist beds, or binary programming sleeping chambers or the equivalent and not worry about the impact they may have had upon “the false reality.”

But what about the billions to which the Matrix is reality who are forced to live in the wake of cataclysmic car crashes, impossible breaches of physical law, and a manical doppelganger bent on world destruction. Truth, as Morpheus so adequately puts it, can only be inferred to the point of our senses abilities. And in this regard that Matrix is their only reality.

So I found myself wondering how their news outlets would report the horror they saw all around them. What would be the headlines? The timeline?

Of course we could argue that the machines would reprogram everything so no one could experience each horrible event. But lets assume, just for one second, that even above the confines of their own programming, the machines believe in one thing absolutely—freedom of the press

“High Profile Breakout Leaves 30 Dead: Morpheus Involvement Questioned” The City Herald, May 1999.

A breakout from a high security government facility today left upwards of 30 people dead, with countless more injured and an estimated $500,000 in property damages. Inside sources say the Federal building in downtown New City was infiltrated by a male and female terrorist in an attempt to rescue a prisoner. Government officials have yet to confirm, but sources indicate the prisoner may have been elusive internet terrorist Morpheus.

The terrorist duo killed over 30 highly trained security guards before piloting a stolen Black Hawk helicopter into the 89^th floor of the building. The helicopter destroyed several floors of the building and hospitalized numerous office workers. All buildings within 5 city blocks remain closed until city officials can determine whether the building structure will remain supported.

Jeffery Garrison, a security guard who survived the break in, told CNN that the terrorists “moved like Marionettes under the puppettering of a twisted and evil God. A complete perversion of physical law.” Mr. Garrison was later taken into questioning by government officials. Police commissioner Jaffe has put the city on alert, advising the citizens to be on the lookout for these skilled and highly dangerous terrorists.

“Doppelgangers Stole My Husband,” Super Mega World Supermarket Enquirer, January 2000

Elma Marie Black told SMWSE Thursday that doppelganger aliens from the planet Matrix have transformed her husband into one of their kind. She told reporters that she and her husband were enjoying a walk in the City Park at dark, when a thin man with a deep voice approached them in a brown tweed suit and dark sunglasses. Her husband stepped in front to defend her, but the mysterious alien thrust his fist inside her husband’s chest and filled him with a silvery reflective liquid that she described as “metal come alive.” She gasped in horror as she saw her husband morph into an exact replica of the humanoid alien. When asked if the doppelganger said anything to her she responded, “it is inevitable.”

Ms. Black is currently being treated for severe mental exhaustion at St. John’s Medical Center. She is also being charged by officials with the disappearance and potential murder of her husband.

“Study Finds Local Increases in Déjà vu; Study Finds Local Increases in Deja vu,” Daily Entertainment Section, May 2000

Feeling like you’ve had a lot of Déjà vu Lately? You may not be alone. A recent study conducted by the City University has found that in the past 4 months, City inhabitants have experienced 3 times the regular level of Déjà vu. “Its so weird,” one subject was quoted as saying. “I mean everybody feels Déjà vu at one point in their life, its like karmic reincarnation or something. But lately I feel like it happens on a daily level. I’m just glad I’m not the only one.” Test Results and Description of Experiment on Page 2B.

“911 Calls Abuzz with Reports of Mysterious Doppelganger,” The City Herald, June 2000.

Reports are issuing from all over the city of a “doppelganger” dressed in a brown blazer and black sunglasses who injects unsuspecting people with a copy of himself. Numerous reports bearing similarity to these claims were dismissed at earlier dates; however, due to the high influx of 911 calls, city officials have decided to stage a full investigation into the culprit. More developments will follow.

“Highway to Hell: “Automobiles” and “Conventions of Reality” Left Smashed in Wake,” The City Herald, July 2000

Three separate incidences along route 101 today left numerous people dead and miles of highway in ruin.

The first case involved a car chase that spilled over from the Winslow Overpass. Two Cadillac’s fired at one another across several miles of highway, leaving several dead and a 10 car pile up in their wake.

Later, in a horribly miscalculated attempt at vigilante justice, a police officer in a brown tweed suit was reported jumping from his cruiser onto a nearby Saturn, crushing the automobile and precipitating another devastating pile up. Police chiefs have not returned any comment concerning the officer’s identity or whereabouts.

Several miles up the road, eyewitnesses report that a Caucasian woman and Korean male leapt from another overpass onto a semi-truck and proceeded to steal a Ninja motorcycle. The woman then turned the motorcycle around and drove against traffic, causing several more accidents before she disappeared. Police are still looking for her whereabouts.

Several more miles up the road, two males were spotted standing atop of another semi. They were later joined by a Caucasian male who began fighting with one of them. One eyewitness describes the fighting as a mix between “aerobics” and “everything they teach you isn’t possible in physics class.”

For unknown reasons, a truck half a mile ahead suddenly pulled a u-turn and drove head first into the truck that carried the men on top. Eyewitness accounts say truck that carried the men didn’t try to divert its course, and appeared intent on colliding with the other truck. The explosion destroyed over 200 yards of highway and killed upwards of 50 people. Route 101 has been temporarily closed for investigation and all traffic is being re-routed through route 89.

Police are currently investigating the possibility of a connection between the three incidences. Police commissioner Jaffe had this to say. “My rational mind cannot believe that six unrelated individuals randomly decided to create mayhem and destruction within 10 miles of one another with no aggregate agenda. We will discover the culprits, and they will be brought to justice.”

“Physics Defiled,” Special Reports Bulletin, ABA News, July 2004

Just hours after a horrific accident left 20 miles worth of destruction on route 101, a large Federal building known colloquially as the Midnight Tower, exploded tonight sometime after midnight. The explosion was of cataclysmic proportions. The blast somehow created a back-draft unlike anything ever witnessed outside of nuclear technology. A powerful wind tunnel was ejected from the building, and continued linearly with impeccable speed, creating a vortex in its wake that sucked up any automobiles, person, or loose object, and emitted powerful shockwaves that leveled all buildings in its path.

Estimates place the number dead in the thousands, and destruction to downtown is beyond belief. But even more puzzling then the destruction left in its wake, is the phenomenon itself. Scientists from all over the City and beyond are hard at work to determine the mysterious cause of the blast and the back-draft that followed.

The Mayor is expected to make a press release shortly.

The incident comes in the wake of an even more harrowing problem. It has now been confirmed that some kind of organism or machine is cloning itself from the bodies of human beings. Once cloned, these highly dangerous doppelgangers become obedient minions to the Alpha subject—a creature calling itself Smith.

Government officials believe there may be some connection between the explosion and the “Smith Organism,” citing potential involvement of terrorist forces from China, North Korea, or Al Qaeda. White house officials and pentagon staff are meeting currently to discuss the problem.

The president has issued a state of emergency and advised civilians to remain in their homes and barricade their doors. If you cannot get to your room, we advise you seek shelter. Your local news station will now broadcast a list of local shelters as we continue our coverage of these mysterious events.

“The End?” Emergency Broadcast Report, Daniel Nelson.

The life of a reporter is a difficult one. People have forgotten in our world of corporate buyouts and in your face streaming media, that a reporter is not a mindless automaton but a human being. Perhaps our greatest curse is that to serve our country and uphold the values of the Fourth Estate, we must sheath our own opinions and biases for the sake of total objectivity.

So now, in what is surely one of the Earth’s last remaining broadcasts, this reporter is faced with an ethical dilemma. In the absence of any governing structure, and facing an unprecedented and apocalyptic danger, do I still remain true to my charge of objectivity? Or do I use these final remaining minutes to express the feelings long quarantined in my head.

To answer, I propose a question. Is there really a difference anymore? Objectivity is a reflection of reality. It is defined by what we can see, smell, taste, hear, and feel. We react immediately to these senses, letting them process no deeper into our psyche then what’s necessary to deliver them to the public.

But what happens when what we see and feel is what we’ve always been taught isn’t real? What happens when what we see all around cannot be explained by any science, logic, or reason? But only by our own beliefs and interpretations?

The Apocalypse, whatever that means to you, has arrived. And he is wearing sunglasses. At first, we could rest assured in the belief that this “thing” was nothing more than a high-tech weapon from enemy insurgents, and that our government would deal with it swiftly. Now, reports from our suspected enemies, China, North Korea, and Al Quadea, confirm that they too are engaged in battle with this mysterious doppelganger.

And then the more harrowing detail. Other enemies, Venezuela and the Congo, have issued no confirmation. In fact they have issued no reply at all. And we fear the worst. Plunged irrevocably into a sea of this “Smith.”

How do you kill a thing that cannot be killed? How do you kill a thing that only adds to its army for subtraction it inflicts upon you? Perhaps this is God’s cosmic sense of irony, that we were all born into this world as one and we shall leave it as such.

And now in the late hours of our specie’s twilight, when the very fabric our existence peels back to reveal the horrific, I find myself sitting alone, my colleagues all gone, broadcasting to an audience who may very well already be dead. And I am overcome with the strange desire to have Smith assimilate me. I long to taste the silvery liquid as it trickles down my throat and consumes my body until I awake as him.

Why? Despair? Perhaps. Forfeit? Perhaps as well. But when it all buckles down I believe the reason is this. I just want to feel something new. I want the horror to stop, the tears to ceases, and the shaking to abide. I want to put down the microphone and smash the radio and scream, TAKE ME SMITH, TAKE ME.

But alas, the curse of the newsman is that I shall not. I cannot, while the possibility still remains that some of you are out there, alone, confused, frightened longing for one last connection before the long, and silent repose.