The Architect Hello, Neo.
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 you will not. Concordantly, though your first question may be the most pertinent, you may or may not realize, it is also the most irrelevant.
The Architect Your life is the sum of the 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 my question.
The Architect Quite right. [Pauses] Interesting, that was quicker than the others.
The Architect [The Neos on the TV monitors begin shouting for an explanation.]
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.
[The Neos on the TV monitors exclaim various statements of protest, before closing in on Neo's current reaction.]
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.
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.
The Architect Please. As I was saying, she stumbled upon a solution whereby nearly 99% of all test subjects accepted the program, provided they were given a choice - even if they were only aware of it at a near-unconscious level. While this solution functioned, it was also fundamentally flawed, creating the otherwise contradictory systemic anomaly that, if left unchecked, might threaten the system itself. Ergo, those who refused the program, while a minority, if unchecked, would constitute an escalating probability of disaster.
The Architect You are here because Zion is about to be destroyed. Its every living inhabitant terminated, its entire existence eradicated.
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.
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 ready to accept the responsibility for the death of every human being in this world.
The Architect [The Architect activates the monitors, showing various people in the Matrix.]
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-à-vis: love.
[The monitors show Trinity.]
Trinity.
The Architect Apropos, she entered the Matrix to save your life at the cost of her own.
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.
The Architect [Neo turns and walks to his left.]
Hope. It is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of your greatest strength, and your greatest weakness.
If I were you, I would hope we don't meet again.
The Architect We won't.
