Alles Ist Miteinander Verbunden (German) = Everything is connected.


14. Alles Ist Miteinander Verbunden

"There's a building," the Keymaker began as everyone listen. Her, Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, Niobe, Ghost, Vector, Soren, and Binary. "Inside this building, there's 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."

Enigma sees much vision. A large building destroys, followed by something that moves fast then she ever see. Trinity falling. An older woman speaks, "The path of The One is made by many," followed by an older man in a white suit, staring emotionless.

"This building is protected by a very secure system. Every alarm triggers the bomb," he continued, focusing Enigma back to reality.

"Bomb? Did he say bomb?" Vector repeated.

"But like all systems, it has a weakness. The system is based on the rules of a building. One system built on another."

"Electricity," Morpheus guessed.

The Keymaker nods. "If one fails, so must the other."

"No electricity, no alarms," Niobe understood.

"But you'd have to take out a whole city block to kill the power to a building like that," Ghost argued.

"Not one, 27," the Keymaker clarified.

Vector gaped. "27 blocks?"

"There is a power station. it must be destroyed."

"There must be some kind of failsafe," Niobe pondered.

"Yes, there is an emergency system. The core network of the grid must be accessed. The emergency system must be deactivated."

"Then what do you need us for?" Soren frowns. "Neo could take 'em both out easier than we could. Hell, even his daughter might do that easily."

"There's no time," Enigma disagreed, somehow knowing about that.

Niobe looks at her. "Why?"

"Once the door is unprotected, the connection will be severed," the Keymaker answered. "But another connection must first be made."

"How long will that take?" Ghost inquired.

"Exactly 314 seconds."

"Just over 5 minutes," Soren mumbled.

"That is the length and breadth of the window. Only The One can open the door, and only during that window can the door be opened."

"How do you know all this?" Niobe wondered.

"I know because I must know. It's my purpose. It's the reason I'm here. Same reason we're all here. All must be done as one. If one fails, all fail."

"'The path of The One is made by many,'" Enigma muttered, recalling that sentence from another vision.

"At midnight, there's a shift change in the security of both buildings. At midnight, we will strike," Morpheus spoke. " All of our lives we have fought this war. Tonight I believe we can end it. Tonight is not an accident. There are no accidents. We have not come here by chance. I do not believe in chance when I see 3 objectives, 3 captains, 3 ships. I do not see coincidence, I see providence, I see purpose. I believe it is our fate to be here. It is our destiny. I believe this night holds for each and every one of us the very meaning of our lives.

Niobe looks uncertain.

"What is it, Niobe?"

"I can't help it, Morpheus, I can't help thinking... what if you're wrong?" She admitted. "What if all this, the prophecy, everything, is bullshit?"

"Then tomorrow we may all be dead," Morpheus replied, "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?"

▪︎1001▪︎

"It is time."

Enigma snaps back to reality. She finds the Keymaker has already finished his key. Morpheus nods as he, Enigma, and Neo follow the Keymaker into a corridor that is similar to the one Seraph used before.

"How much further?" Neo asked, his hand feels stiff even while holding Enigma's shoulder. The girl looks around as if sensing something but is unable to pinpoint what.

"Here, just here," the Keymaker gestures to one corridor. As they turn the corner, they find Smith standing, blocking their path.

"I'm sorry, this is a dead-end," Smith declared, steps closer. "You look surprised to see me again, Mr. Anderson, that's the difference between us. I've been expecting you."

Like their last encounter, Neo stands behind Enigma. "What do you want, Smith?"

"Oh, you haven't figured that out? Still using all the muscles except the one that matters. I want exactly what you want. I want everything."

Morpheus points his gun. "Would that include a bullet from this gun?"

"Go ahead, shoot," Smith dared. "The best thing about being me... there's so many me."

From many doors, Smiths step inside, ready to attack.

"Come on," the Keymaker entreated while Neo and Morpheus fight Smiths. He opens a door and lets Enigma enter first. After he enters, he picks another key and inserts it inside the keyhole, where they return to the corridor, albeit much closer to their destination.

He opens their destination door, which alarms some Smiths. "Kill them!"

In hurry, Enigma enters the room first, followed by the Keymaker before Neo and Morpheus finally enter and the Keymaker closes it. Enigma's mouth falls open upon finding so much blood coming out of the Keymaker's body. "No!" She cried, holding his hand as Neo and Morpheus rushes to him.

The old man smiles, accepts his fate. "It was meant to be," he reassured. "Morpheus. That door will take you home," he gestures at one door. "Enigma. You'll know which door," he spoke, grabbed a key from his necklace, and put it on Neo's palm. "Hurry, Neo."

He closes his eyes as death took him.

"Good luck," Morpheus said, looking strong to Neo and Enigma before moving into the exit door.

Enigma gently stands up as she and Neo step into a door from their dream. Neo stands behind Enigma, holds her shoulders. "Ready?" He asked, rubbing her shoulders to lessen her nervousness.

"No," she admitted.

Neo inserts the key and the door shines brightly, cutting their vision into pure light.

▪︎1001▪︎

When Enigma's vision gets clear, she realizes she and Neo stand inside a circle room, fill with many screens. One door at left and one at right. An older man in a white suit sits in a high-backed leather swivel chair. The same man Enigma saw from her vision. "Hello, Neo. Hello, Enigma," he greeted them.

"Who are you?" Neo asked.

"I am the Architect. I created the Matrix. I've been waiting for you two."

Enigma frowns. So he's expecting Enigma to come as well.

"You two have many questions, and though the process has altered both of your consciousness, you remain irrevocably human," the Architect spoke. "Ergo some of my answers you will understand, and some of them you will not. Concordantly, while your first question may be the most pertinent, you may or may not realize it is also the most irrelevant."

"Why are we here?" Enigma inquired, turning her head at the screens in wonder. Oh dear, her head might start fuzzy while looking at her and Neo's face at those screens.

"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."

"You haven't answered our question," Neo noticed.

"Quite right." The Architect denoted. "Interesting. That was quicker than the others."

The screens display Neo's variety of reactions. From confusion, anger, demand, and many more.

"The Matrix is older than you two know. I prefer counting from the emergence of one integral anomaly to the emergence of the next, in which case this is the 6th version."

A chill run down into Enigma's body. Sixth. He said sixth. This situation, this moment... already happen 5 times inside the Matrix.

"There are only two possible explanations," Neo assumed, "either no one told us, or no one knows."

"Precisely. As you are undoubtedly gathering, the anomaly - or in this case, the anomalies, are systemic, creating fluctuations in even the most simplistic equations."

"Another part of control," Enigma summarized. "Which indicate..."

"Choice," Neo finished, holdings Enigma's hand, slowly understanding their situation now. "The problem is choice."

The Architect plays with his pen. "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."

The screens show humanity's history through each year.

"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 Oracle," Neo and Enigma imparted.

"Please," he scoffed as if mocking her. "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 the 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 probablility of disaster."

So what he means is that the Oracle found a solution so humanity won't resist and accept Matrix as their reality. Not a perfect one, since there's 1% of resistance. This 1% is the anomaly, an imbalance of Matrix's system. In other words, The One.

But if that's the case...

Enigma gulps. If the Oracle had a thing in this system... does that mean she somehow purposely getting parts of The One inside her? For what? And why?

No. Right now, there's something important to mention first. This can wait until later.

"This is about Zion," Neo stated, glances Enigma, already hearing her thoughts. He can see how her mouth trembles.

"You two are here because Zion is about to be destroyed. Its every living inhabitant terminated, its entire existence eradicated."

"Nonsense," Enigma blurted as Neo (and the screens) censured, "Bullshit."

"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."

Neo and Enigma study him. Unlike the Oracle, the Architect is pure logic and precision. His words are pure with that.

"The function of The One is now to return to the Source," the Architect continued his explanation, "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."

"You won't let it happen," Neo pointed out. "You can't. You need human beings to survive."

"There are levels of survival we are prepared to accept."

The blonde girl gets another vision. Machines firing against each other as remaining humanity fighting as well, carrying their remaining weapons. She can see Niobe among many people, looks several years older as her face expresses stunned and disbelieves with what she sees with her own eyes.

"However, the relevant issue is whether or not you are ready to accept the responsibility of the death of every human being on this world," the Architect finished, looking between him and Enigma for a minute. "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, facilitating the function of The One. While the others experienced this in a very general way, your experience is far more specific. Vis a vis, love."

Now the screens show Trinity.

"Mom," Enigma whispered.

"Trinity," Neo realized.

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

Oh no. Nonono. She promised Neo not to enter the Matrix!

"No," Neo breathed, clearly sounding scared as she's now. Their nightmare won't be just a nightmare now.

"Which brings us at last to the moment of truth, wherein the fundamental flaw is ultimately expressed, and the anomalies 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 two are going to do, don't we?"

Choose Zion or Trinity. Choose starts the cycle or saves the woman they both love, either romantic or platonic.

"But then, why can't neither I nor Enigma see what happens to Trinity?"

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

"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 two from the simple and obvious truth. She is going to die, and there is nothing you two can do to stop it."

"Are you saying we have to choose whether Trinity lives or dies?"

"No. You've already made the choice, now you have to understand it."

She understands now. Why do they get that vision. They know they will do anything for her safety.

They won't let Trinity die. As if both of them ever let that happen in the first place.

With that conclusion, Neo and Enigma walk into the left door. The Architect gives a mockery smile. "Hope. It is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of your greatest strength and your greatest weakness."

Neo's left hand clenches into a fist. "If I were you, I would hope that we don't meet again."

"We won't," he affirmed.

"Hop at my back," Neo said to Enigma as he opens the door. "It will be a bumpy ride."