THE MATRIX

Written by Larry and Andy Wachowski

April 8, 1996

FADE IN ON: COMPUTER SCREEN So close it has no boundaries. A blinking cursor pulses in the electric darkness like a heart coursing with phosphorous light, burning beneath the derma o black!neon glass. A "#$%& begins to '(%), we hear it as though we were making the call. *he cursor continues to throb, relentlessly patient, until !! MAN (V.O.) #ello+ ,ata now slashes across the screen, in ormation aster than we read. lashing

SCREEN -all trans opt. recei/ed. 0!19!96 11.02.18 '&-.Log3 (4m inside. WOMAN (V.O.) Anything to report+

We listen to the phone con/ersation as though we were on a third line. *he man4s name is -5"#&'. *he woman, TRINITY. Let4s see. 5:01 PM. CYPHER (V.O.) *arget le t work at SCREEN running.

*race program.

*he entire screen ills with racing columns o numbers. Shimmering like green!electric ri/ets, they rush at a 16! digit phone number in the top corner. CYPHER (V.O.) #e caught the northbound #oward line. )ot o at Sheridan. Stopped at 7!11. "urchased si8! pack o beer and a bo8 o -aptain -runch. 'eturned home. *he area code is identi ied. *he irst three numbers suddenly i8ed, lea/ing only se/en lowing columns. We begin 9$:(%) *$WA', the screen, -L$S(%) (% as each digit is matched, one by one, snapping into place like the wheels o a slot machine. TRINITY (V.O.) All right, you4re relie/ed. ;se the usual e8it. CYPHER (V.O.) ,o you know when we4re going to make contact+ Soon. $nly two thin digits le t. CYPHER (V.O.) <ust between you and me, you don4t belie/e it, do you+ 5ou don4t belie/e this guy is the one+ TRINITY (V.O.) ( think 9orpheus belie/es he is. ( know. CYPHER (V.O.) =ut what about you+ TRINITY

TRINITY (V.O.) ( think 9orpheus knows things that ( don4t. CYPHER (V.O.)

5eah, but i *he

he4s wrong !!

inal number pops into place !! TRINITY (V.O.) ,id you hear that+ CYPHER (V.O.) #ear what+ *race complete. #312-555-0 !0 SCREEN -all origin.

TRINITY (V.O.) Are you sure this line is clean+ CYPHER (V.O.) 5eah, course (4m sure. We 9$:& S*(LL -L$S&', the &L&-*'(- #;9 o numbers )'$W(%) (%*$ an $9(%$;S '$A'. ( better go. 5eah. 'ight. CYPHER (V.O.) See you on the other side. the green

TRINITY (V.O.)

She hangs up as we "ASS *#'$;)# the numbers, entering the netherworld o the computer screen. Where gradually the sound o us. a police radio grows around

RADIO (V.O.) Attention all units. Attention all units. Suddenly, a lashlight cuts open the darkness and we oursel/es in !! INT. CHASE HOTE" - NI#HT ind

*he hotel was abandoned a ter a ire licked its way across the polyester carpeting, destroying se/eral rooms as it spooled soot up the walls and ceiling lea/ing patterns o permanent shadow. We >$LL$W our armed "$L(-& o icers using lashlights as they creep down the blackened hall and ready themsel/es on either side o room 161. *he biggest o them /iolently kicks in the door !!

*he other cops pour in behind him, guns thrust be ore them. "olice? $I# COP >ree@e?

*he room is almost de/oid o urniture. *here is a old! up table and chair with a phone, a modern, and a powerbook computer. *he only light in the room is the glow o the

computer. Sitting there, her hands still on the keyboard, is *'(%(*5A a woman in black leather. $I# COP )et your hands behind your head? *rinity rises. $I# COP #ands behind your head? it? %ow? ,o

She slowly puts her hands behind her head. EXT. CHASE HOTE" - NI#HT

A black sedan with tinted windows glides in through the police cruisers. A)&%* S9(*# and A)&%* ='$W% get out o the car.

*hey wear dark suits and sunglasses e/en at night. *hey are also always hardwiredA small Secret Ser/ice earphones in one ear, its cord coiling back into their shirt collars. A#ENT SMITH Lieutenant+ $h shit. "IEUTENANT

A#ENT SMITH Lieutenant, you were gi/en speci ic orders !! "IEUTENANT (4m Bust doing my Bob. 5ou gimme that <uris!my dick!tion and you can cran it up your ass. *he orders were *he Lieutenant laughs. "IEUTENANT ( think we can handle one little girl. Agent Smith nods to Agent =rown as they start toward the hotel. "IEUTENANT ( sent two units. *hey4re bringing her down now. A#ENT SMITH %o, Lieutenant, your men are dead. INT. CHASE HOTE" A#ENT SMITH or your protection.

*he =ig -op licks out his cu s, the other cops holding a bead. *hey4/e done this a hundred times, they know they4/e got her, until the =ig -op reaches with the cu and *rinity mo/es !! (t almost doesn4t register, so smooth and ast. ast, inhumanly

*he eye blinks and *rinity4s palm. snaps up and the nose e8plodes, blood erupting. *he cop is dead be ore he begins to all. And *rinity is mo/ing again !! Sei@ing a wrist, misdirecting a gun, as a startled cop FIRES -A head e8plodes. (n blind panic, another airs his gun, the barrel, a black hole !! And >('&S !! *rinity twists out o the way, the bullet missing as she re/erses into a roundhouse kick, knocking the gun away. *he cop begins to scream when a Bump kick crushes his windpipe, killing the scream as he alls to the ground. She looks at the our bodies. TRINITY Shit. EXT. CHASE HOTE" or i8ed

Agent =rown enters the hotel, while Agent Smith heads the alley. INT. CHASE HOTE" *he other end is

*rinity is on the phone, pacing. answered. $perator.

MAN (V.O.)

TRINITY 9orpheus? *he link was traced? don4t know how. ( know. MORPHEUS (V.O.) Stay calm.

TRINITY Are there any agents+ MORPHEUS (V.O.) 5es. TRINITY

)oddamnit? MORPHEUS (V.O.) 5ou ha/e to ocus. *here is a phone. Wells and La8e. 5ou can make it. She takes a deep breath, centering hersel . TRINITY All right !! )o. She drops the phone. INT. HA"" MORPHEUS (V.O.)

She bursts out o the room as Agent =rown enters the hall, leading another unit o police. *rinity races to the opposite end, e8iting through a broken window onto the ire escape. EXT. FIRE E5CAPE

(n the alley below, *rinity sees Agent Smith staring at her. She can only go up. EXT. ROOF

$n the roo , *rinity is running as Agent =rown rises o/er the parapet, leading the cops in pursuit. *rinity begins to Bump rom one roo to the ne8t, her mo/erents so clean, gliding in and out o each Bump, contrasted to the wild Bumps o the cops. Agent =rown, howe/er, has the same unnatural grace. *he 9&*AL S-'&A9 o an &L *'A(% is heard and *rinity turns to it, racing or the back o the building. *he edge alls away into a wide back alley. *he ne8t building is o/er 26 eet away, but *rinity4s ace is per ectly calm, staring at some point beyond the other roo . *he cops slow, reali@ing they are about to see something ugly as *rinity dri/es at the edge, launching hersel into the air. >rom abo/e, the ground seems to hangs in light low beneath her as she

*hen hitting, somersaulting up, still running hard. COP 9other ucker !! that4s impossible? *hey stare, slack!Bawed, as Agent =rown duplicates the mo/e e8actly, landing, rolling o/er a shoulder, up onto

one knee. <ust below the building are the runbling tracks o ri/eted steel. *he *'A(% S-'&&-#&S beneath her, a rattling blur o gray metal. *rinity Bunps, landing easily. She looks back Bust as Agent =rown hurls through the air barely reaching the last car Agent =rown stands, yanking out a gun. *rinity is running hard as =;LL&*S W#(S*L& past her head. Ahead she sees her only chance, C6 eet beyond the point where the train has begun to turn, there is !! A windowA a yellow glow in the midst o building. a dark brick

*rinity @eroes in on it, running as hard as she can, her speed compounded by the train. *he S-'&A9 o the S*&&L rises as she nears the edge where the train rocks into the turn. *rinity hurtles into the empty night space, her body le/eling into a di/e. She alls, arms co/ering her head as !! *he whole world seems to spin on its a8is !! And she crashes with an &D"L$S($% o )LASS and W$$,, then alls onto a back stairwell, tumbling, bouncing down stairs bleeding, broken !! =ut still ali/e. *hrough the smashed window, she glimpses Agent =rown, still on the train, his tie and coat whipping in the windA stone! aced, he touches his ear piece as the train slides him past the window. *rinity tries to mo/e. &/erything hurts. ine.

TRINITY )et up, *rinity. 5ou4re )et up !! Bust get up? She stands and limps down the rest o EXT. STREET

the stairs.

*rinity emerges rom the shadows o an alley and, at the end o the block, in a pool o white street light, she sees it. *he telephone booth. $b/iously hurt, she starts down the concrete walk, ocusing in completely, her pace Euickening, as the "#$%& begins to '(%). Across the street, a garbage truck suddenly u!turns, its *('&S S-'&A9(%) as it accelerates.

*rinity sees the headlights on the truck arcing at the telephone booth as i taking aim. )ritting through the pain, she races the truck !! Slamming into the booth, the headlights blindingly bright, bearing down on the bo8 o "le8iglas Bust as !! She answers the phone. *here is a ro@en instant o silence be ore the hulking mass o dark metal lurches up onto the sidewalk !! =arreling through the booth, bulldo@ing it into a brick wall, smashing it to "le8iglas pulp. A ter a moment, a black loa er steps down rom the cab o the garbage truck. Agent Smith inspects the wreckage. *here is no body. *rinity is gone. #is Baw sets as he grinds his molars in A)&%* <$%&S walks up behind him. rustration.

A#ENT SMITH ,id you get anything rom the room+ A#ENT %ONES *heir ne8t target. *he name is %eo. *he handset o the pay phone lays on the ground, separated in the crash like a se/ered limb. A#ENT SMITH We4ll need a search running. A#ENT %ONES (t4s already begun. We are S;-F&, *$WA',S the mouthpiece o the phone, -L$S&' and -L$S&', ;%*(L the smooth gray plastic spreads out like a hori@on and the small #$L&S W(,&% until we all through one !! Swallowed by the darkness that becomes !! A computer screen. We are on!line, inside a chat room called G*he 9atri8.G (t is an e8klusi/e web!site where hackers hang out. SCREEN <A-F$%. ( heard 9orpheus has been on this board. S;"&'AS*(-. 9orpheus doesn4t e/en e8ist and the 9atri8 is nothing but an ad/ertising gimmick 2 a new game. *(9AD&. All ( want to know is *rinity really a girl+ L$,(((. 87H o all women on line are really men. I;A'F. *he 9atri8 is a euphemism

or the go/ernment. S;"&'AS*(-. %o, *he 9atri8 is the system controlling our li/es. *(9AD&. 5ou mean 9*:. S;"&'AS*(-. ( mean Sega. FOS&: A"" HAI" SE#A''' We dri t back INT. rom the electric con/ersation entering !!

NEO(S APARTMENT

(t is a studio apartirent that seems o/ergrown with technology. Weed!like cables coil e/erywhere, duct!taped into thickets that wind up and around the legs o se/eral desks. *abletops are illed with cannibali@ed eEuipment that lay open like an autopsied corpse. We turn towards the center o this rat!nest o technology, ollowing the slurping and crunching o cereal. We pass an open bo8 o -apln -runch as we

ind !!

%&$, a younger man who knows more about li/ing inside a computer than li/ing outside one. NEO >uckin4 idiots don4t know shit. #e inishes his cereal and is about to disconnect when an anonynous message slices onto the screen. SCREEN ,o you want to know what the 9atri8 is, %eo+ %eo is ro@en when he reads his name. SCREEN S;"&'AS*(-. Who said that+ <A-F$%. Who4s %eo+ )(=S$%. *his is a pri/ate board. ( you want to know, white rabbit. NEO What the hell... SCREEN *(9AD&. Someone is hacking the hackers? >$S2. (t4s 9orpheus????? <A-F$%. (denti y yoursel . Fnock, knock, %eo. A chill runs down his spine and when someone F%$-FS on his door he almost Bumps out o his chair. #e looks at the door, then back at the computer but the message is gone. ollow the

#e shakes his head, not completely sure what happened. Again, someone knocks. -autiously, %eo approaches the door. #ey, *ommy!boy? VOICE (O.S.) 5ou in there+

'ecogni@ing the /oice, he rela8es and opens it. A%*#$%5, who li/es down the hall, is standing outside with a group o riends. NEO What do you want, Anthony+ ANTHONY ( need your help, man. ,esperate. *hey got me, man. *he shackles o ascism. #e holds up the red notice that accompanies the ,en/er boot. NEO 5ou got the money this time+ #e holds up two hundred dollars and %eo opens the door. Anthony4s girl riend, ,;<$;', stops in ront o %eo. DU%OUR 5ou can really get that thing o right now+ ANTHONY ( told you, honey, he may look like Bust another geek but this here is all we got le t standing between =ig =rother and the %ew World $rder. EXT. STREET rom the ,

A police o icer unlocks a yellow metal boot wheel o an enormous oldsmobile. INT. NEO(S APARTMENT

*hey watch rom the window as the cops, silently, robotically, climb into their /an. ANTHONY Look at 4em. Automatons. ,on4t think about what they4re! doing or why. -omputer tells 4em what to do and they do it. *hc banality o >'(&%, Jl e/il.

#e slaps the money in %eo4s hand. ANTHONY

*hanks, neighbor. DU%OUR Why don4t you come to the party with us+ ( don4t know. tomorrow. -ome on. NEO ( ha/e to work

DU%OUR (t4ll be un.

#e looks up at her and suddenly notices on her black leather motorcycle Backet do@ens o pins. bands, symbols, slogans, military medals and !! A small white rabbit. *he '$$9 *(L*S. 5eah, yeah. INT. APARTMENT NEO Sure, (4ll go.

An older -hicago apartmentA a series o halls connects a chain o small high!ceilinged rooms lined with hea/y casements. Smoke hangs like a /eil, blurring the are. ew lights there

,ressed predominantly in black, people are e/erywhere, gathered in cliEues around pieces o urniture like Bungle cats around a tree. %eo stands against a wall, alone, sipping rom a bottle o beer, eeling completely out o place, he is about to lea/e when he notices a woman staring at him. *he woman is *rinity. She walks straight up to him.

(n the nearest room, shadow!like igures grind against each other to the pneumatic beat o (%,;S*'(AL 9;S(-. TRINITY #ello, %eo. NEO #ow did you know that !! TRINITY ( know a lot about you. (4/e been wanting to meet you or some time. NEO Who are you+ TRINITY 9y name is *rinity. *rinity+ NEO *he *rinity+ *he

*rinity that cracked the (.'.S. Fansas -ity ,!=ase+ TRINITY *hat was a long time ago. )ee!@us. What+ NEO ( Bust thought... you were a guy. TRINITY 9ost guys do. %eo is a little embarrassed. NEO ,o you want to go sorewhere and talk+ TRINITY %o. (t4s sa e here and ( don4t ha/e much time. *he 9;S(- is so loud they must stand /ery close, talking directly into each other4s ear. NEO *hat was you on the board tonight. *hat was your note, wasn4t it+ TRINITY ( had to gamble that you would see and they wouldn4t. NEO Who wouldn4t+ TRINITY ( can4t e8plain e/erything to you. (4m sure that it4s all going to seem /ery strange, but ( brought you here to warn you, %eo. 5ou are in a lot o danger. NEO What+ Why+ TRINITY *hey4re watching you. Something happened and they ound out about you. %ormally, i our target is e8posed we let it go. =ut this time, we can4t do that. NEO ( don4t understand !! TRINITY 5ou came here because you wanted to know the answer to a hacker4s NEO TRINITY

Euestion. *he 9atri8. NEO What is the 9atri8+ man, a no one to that to see

TRINITY *wel/e years ago ( met a great man, who said that could be told the answer Euestion. *hat they had it, to belie/e it.

#er body is against hisA her lips /ery close to his ear. TRINITY #e told me that no one should look or the answer unless they ha/e to because once you see it, e/erything changes. 5our li e and the world you li/e in will ne/er be the same. (t4s as i you wake up one morning and the sky is alling. *here is a hypnotic Euality to her /oice and %eo the words like a drug, seeping into him. TRINITY *he truth is out there, %eo. (t4s looking or you and it will ind you, i you want it to. She takes hold o him with her eyes. eels

TRINITY *hat4s all ( can tell you right now. )ood!bye, %eo. And good luck. Wait. man+ NEO Who was it+ Who was the

She leans close, her lips alrost touching his ear as she whispers. 5ou know who. TRINITY

She turns and he watches her melt into the shi ting wall o bodies. A S$;%, '(S&S steadily, growing out o the music, pressing in on %eo until it is all he can hear as we !! CUT TO: INT. NEO(S APARTMENT

*he sound is an ALA'9 -L$-F, slowly dragging %eo to consciousness. #e strains to read the clock ace. !:15 A.M. NEO

Shitshitshit. EXT. S)YSCRAPER ice o -or*echs, a so tware de/elopment

*he downtown o company. INT.

CORTECHS OFFICE

*he main o ices are along each wall, the windows o/erlooking downtown -hicago. '#(%&#&A'*, the ultimate company man, lectures %eo without looking at him, typing at his computer continuously. %eo stares at two window cleaners on a sca olding outside, dragging their rubber sEueegees down across the sur ace o the glass. RHINEHEART 5ou ha/e a problem, 9r. Anderson. 5ou think that you4re special. 5ou belie/e that somehow the rules do not apply to you. #e stops, glancing o/er his glasses at %eo, who turns in time. RHINEHEART $b/iously, you are mistaken. #is long, bony ingers resume clicking the keyboard. RHINEHEART *his company is one o the top so tware companies in the world because e/ery single employee understands that they are a part o a whole. *hus, i an employee has a problem, the company has a problem. #e turns again. RHINEHEART *he time has come to make a choice, 9r. Anderson. &ither you choose to be at your desk on time rom this day orth, or you choose to ind yoursel another Bob. ,o ( make mysel clear+ NEO 5es, 9r. 'hineheart. clear. INT. NEO(S CU$IC"E "er ectly

*he entire loor looks like a human honeycomb, with a labyrinth o cubicles structured around a core o ele/ators.

%eo slumps down into his chair. A *ALL &9"L$5&& stands up in the adBacent cubicle, leaning o/er the partition. TA"" EMP"OYEE What did he say+ NEO ( ( was late again, (4m going to be ired. #e smirks. TA"" EMP"OYEE Well, it was nice working with you. %eo glares at him, as he sinks down. VOICE (O.S.) *homas Anderson+ %eo turns and door. inds a >&,&'AL &D"'&SS 9A% at his cubicle NEO *hat4s me.

5eah.

%eo signs the electronic pad and the >ede8 guy hands him the so tpak. FEDEX #a/e a nice day. #e opens the bag. (nside is a -&LL;LA' "#$%&. (t seems the instant it is in his hand, it '(%)S. ;nner/ed, he lips it open. NEO #ello+ #ello, %eo. %eo4s knees gi/e and he MORPHEUS (V.O.) *his is 9orpheus.

alls into his chair.

MORPHEUS (V.O.) ( had hoped or this con/ersation to take place under less ad/erse conditions, but you can ne/er count on hope, can you, %eo+ NEO ... no. MORPHEUS (V.O.) (4/e been watching you, %eo, and ( want to meet you. ( don4t know i you4re ready to see what ( want to show you, but un ortunately, we ha/e run out o time. *hey4re coming or you, %eo. And (4m not sure what they4re going to do. Who4s coming NEO or me+

MORPHEUS (V.O.) Stand up and see or yoursel . 'ight now+ 5es. %eo starts to stand. ,o it slowly. MORPHEUS (V.O.) Slowly. *he ele/ator. %ow. NEO MORPHEUS (V.O.)

#is head slowly peeks up o/er the partition. At the ele/ator, he sees Agent =rown and Agent <ones leading a group o cops. A emale employee turns and points out %eo4s cubicle. %eo ducks. #oly 5es. NEO uckin4 shit? MORPHEUS (V.O.) ollow the

$ne cop stays at the ele/ator, the others agents. What the me+?

NEO uck do they want with

MORPHEUS (V.O.) (4m not sure. =ut, i you don4t want to ind out, you better get out o there. NEO #ow+? MORPHEUS (V.O.) ( can guide you out, but you ha/e to do e8actly what ( say. *he agents are mo/ing Euickly towards the cubicle. MORPHEUS (V.O.) *he cubicle across rom you is empty. =ut what i ...+ )o? %ow? NEO MORPHEUS (V.O.) %eo lunges across the hall, di/ing into the other cubicle Bust as the agents turn into his row. %eo crams himsel tightly to him. into a dark corner, clutching the phone

Stay here

MORPHEUS (V.O.) or a moment. A cop is sent to

*he agents enter %eo4s empty cubicle. search the bathroom.

9orpheus4 /oice is a whisper in %eo4s ear. MORPHEUS (V.O.) A little longer... =rown is talking to the tall employee. MORPHEUS (V.O.) When ( tell you, go to the end o the row to the irst o ice on the le t, stay.as low as you can. Sweat trickles down his %ow. %eo rolls out o the cubicle, his eyes popping as he ree@es right behind a cop who has Bust turned around. Staying crouched, he sneaks away, down the row, S#$$*(%) across the opening to the irst o ice on the le t. *he room is empty. MORPHEUS (V.O.) )ood. %ow there is a window. $pen it. NEO #ow do you know all this+ 9orpheus laughs Euietly. MORPHEUS (V.O.) *he answer is coming, %eo. #e opens the window. *he window howls into the room. orehead. MORPHEUS (V.O.)

MORPHEUS (V.O.) $utside, there4s a sca old. 5ou can use it to get to the roo . Leaning out the window, he sees that the sca se/eral o ices away. %o? (t4s too NEO ar away. old is

MORPHEUS (V.O.) *here4s a small ledge. (t4s a short climb. 5ou can make it. %eo looks downA the building4s glass wall /ertigos into a concrete chasm. NEO %o way, no way, this is cra@y.

MORPHEUS (V.O.) ,on4t be controlled by your ear, %eo. *here are only two ways out o this building. $ne is that sca old. *he other is in their custody. 5ou take a chance either way. ( lea/e it to you. -L(-F. #e hangs up. the sca old. %eo looks at the door, then back at

NEO *his is insane? Why is this happening to me+ What did ( do+ (4m nobody. ( didn4t do anything. >uck? >uck? >uck? #e climbs up onto the window ledge. #anging onto the rame, he steps onto the small ledge. *he sca old seems e/en arther away.

NEO (4m going to die. *he W(%, suddenly =LAS*S up the ace o the building, knocking %eo o balance. 'ecoiling, he clings harder to the rame, and the phone alls out o his hand. #e watches as it is swallowed by the distance beneath him. *his is insane. >orget it? #e climbs back into the o door. NEO ( can4t do this?

ice Bust as a cop opens the

NEO ( didn4t do anything? EXT. S)YSCRAPER

*he agents lead a handcu ed %eo out o the re/ol/ing doors, orcing his head down as they push him into the dark sedan. *rinity watches in the rear /iew mirror o motorcycle. Shit. INT. TRINITY her

INTERRO#ATION ROOM - C"OSE ON CAMERA MONITOR a white roon, where %eo is sitting at the

A wide angle /iew o a table alone.

We 9$:& (%*$ the monitor, &%*&'(%) the room as i monitor were a window.

At the same moment, the door opens and the agents enter.

Smith sits down across rom %eo. A thick manila en/elope slaps down on the table between them. %eo glances at the name on the A.* ile. GAnderson, *homas

A#ENT SMITH As you can see, we4/e had our eye on you or some time now, 9r. Anderson. #e opens the ile. "aper rattle marks the silence as he lips se/eral pages. %eo cannot tell i he is looking at the ile or at him. A#ENT SMITH (t seems that you ha/e been li/ing two li/es. (n one li e, you are *homas A. Anderson, program writer or a respectable so tware company. 5ou ha/e a social security number, you pay your ta8es and you help your land lady carry out her garbage. *he pages continue to turn. A#ENT SMITH *he other li e is li/ed in computers where you go by the hacker alias %eo, and are guilty o /irtually e/ery computer crime we ha/e a law or, including the unauthori@ed use o the ,.9.:. system or the remo/al o automobile boots. %eo eels himsel sinking into a pit o shit.

$ne o $ne o #e closes the ile.

A#ENT SMITH these,li/es has a uture. them does not.

A#ENT SMITH (4m going to be as orthcoming as ( can be, 9r. Anderson. 5ou are here because we need your help. #e remo/es his sunglassesA his eyes are an unnatural ice! blue. A#ENT SMITH We know that you ha/e been contacted by a certain indi/idual. A man who calls himsel 9orpheus. Whate/er you think you know about this man is irrele/ant to the act that he is wanted or acts o terrorism in more countries than any other man in the world. #e is considered by many authorities to be the most dangerous man ali/e.

#e leans closer. A#ENT SMITH 9y colleagues belie/e that ( am wasting my time with you, but ( belie/e you want to do the right thing. (t is ob/ious that you are an intelligent man, 9r. Anderson, and that you are interested in the uture. *hat is why ( belie/e you are ready to put your past mistakes behind you and get on with your li e. %eo tries to match his stare. A#ENT SMITH We are willing to wipe the slate clean, to gi/e you a resh start and all we are asking in return is your cooperation in bringing a known terrorist to Bustice. %eo nods to himsel . NEO 5eah. Wow. *hat sounds like a real good deal. =ut ( think ( ha/e a better one. #ow about ( gi/e you the inger !! #e does. NEO And you can cram that ile up your Secret Ser/ice sphincter. Agent Smith puts his glasses back on. A#ENT SMITH 5ou disappoint me, 9r. Anderson. NEO 5ou ain4t seen nothing yet. A#ENT SMITH *he irony o your situation is that you ha/e no choice. NEO 5ou can4t scare me with this gestapo crap. ( know my rights. ( want my phone call. Agent Smith smiles. A#ENT SMITH And tell me, 9r. Anderson, what good is a phone call iy you are unable to speak+ *he Euestion unner/es %eo and strangely, he begins to eel the muscles in his Baw tighten. *he standing agents snicker, watching %eo4s con usion

grow into panic. %eo eels his lips grow so t and sticky as they slowly seal shut, melding into each other until all trace o his mouth is gone. Wild with ear, he lunges or the door but the agents restrain him holding him in the chair. A#ENT SMITH 5ou are going to help us, 9r. Anderson, whether you want to or not. Smith nods and the other two rip open his shirt. >rom a case taken out o his suit coat, Smith remo/es a long, iber!optic wire tap. %eo struggles helplessly as Smith dangles the wire o/er his e8posed abdomen. #orri ied, he watches as the electronic de/ice animates, become an organic creature that resembles a hybrid o an insect and a luke worm. *hin, whisker!like tendrils reach out and probe into %eo4s na/el. #e bucks wildly as Smith drops the creature which looks or a moment like an uncut umbilical cord !! =e ore it begins to burrow its, tail thrashing as it worms its way inside. INT. NEO(S APARTMENT - NI#HT

Screaming, %eo bolts upright in bed. #e reali@es that he is home. Was it a dream+ #is mouth is normal. #is stomach looks ine. #e starts to take a deep, e/erything!is!okay breath, when !! *he "#$%& '(%)S. (t almost stops his heart. (t -$%*(%;&S '(%)(%), building pressure in the room, orcing him up out o sucking him in with an almost gra/itational orce. #e answers it, saying nothing. MORPHEUS (V.O.). *his line is tapped, so ( must be brie . *he agents !! NEO bed,

MORPHEUS (V.O.) *hey got to you irst, but they4/e underestimated how important you are. ( they knew what ( know, you would probably be dead. %eo eels sick. MORPHEUS (V.O.) ( don4t know what you are thinking

right now but ( want you to understand that ( will not gi/e up on you until you gi/e up on me. %eo4s throat cracks, dry as the Sahara. MORPHEUS (V.O.) ,o you still want to meet+ NEO ... 5es. MORPHEUS (V.O.) *ake the #oward line south. -L(-F. EXT. #e closes his eyes, unsure o E" TRAIN what he has done.

An &L *'A(% 'A)&S against its metal rails. INT. TRAIN

(t is three a.m., and the train carries the usual urban night crawlers. %eo sits alone, eyes shi ting, watching e/erything ner/ously. *here is a 9&*AL =A%) and *'A(% -LA**&' the door is opened. ills the car as

%eo turns and sees a large man enter. #e is wearing sunglasses and a black leather Backet. #is name is A"$and he walks straight at %eo. -ome with me. APOC

%eo stands Bust as the door at the opposite end opens and two police o icers rush in, drawing their guns. Apoc grabs %eo, muscling him to the nearest e8it. is no upcoming station. *here

Apoc yanks the emergency brake and the train buckles against its own speed. *he cops are thrown back. %eo slams against the metal rail. *he doors open onto nothing and Bust when %eo regains his balance, Apoc sho/es him backwards !! #e lies out rom the train, arms windrilling as he rom, the raised tracks !! #urtling towards a busy city street when, out o a truck races under him and !! #e crashes into a large dumpster!bed bo8es. INT. TRUC) $ED A alls

nowhere,

illed with empty

Still shaking his head, %eo reali@es he is not alone.

man named -abie is aiming a big gun at him. ne8t to him, talking into a cellular phone. We got him. She hangs up.

*rinity is

TRINITY -all the chop!shop.

TRINITY Listen to me, %eo. 5ou ha/e to, trust us. She tears o a long strip o or his ace. black duct!tape and reaches

NEO What are you doing+ TRINITY *his has to be done or your protection and ours. She seals his eyes shut with the tape. TRINITY 5ou can4t understand right now, but i you4re not one o us, you4re one o them. EXT. "OWER WAC)ER

A eatureless black /an glides up to a staircase that curls down rom the city4s sur ace. trinity guides the blind %eo down the steps. *he back o the /an slaps open, re/ealing a young, skinny man who looks to be still in his teens, wearing an out it that is a cross between a surgeon and a telephone repair man. #is name is )(K9$ and he smiles lewdly at *rinity, e8posing his teeth that are wired with weird!looking braces. #I+MO :a /a /a /oom. Still the hottest so tware around. #ello, )i@mo. TRINITY

%eo hears the /oices around him. #I+MO *his is really the guy+ that 9orpheus thinks !! TRINITY 5eah. #I+MO =ut he4s so old. TRINITY Are you going to help us or aren4t *he guy

you+ #I+MO #acksaw. Load up the copper!top and let4s get the hell outta here. #acksaw is a huge man in a leather welder4s apron. shoulders %eo and hauls him into the /an. #e

A moment later the green lights o Lower Wacker cur/e o/er the tinted windshield as the /an rushes through the underworld. INT. VAN

*he chop!shop is illed with electronic gadgets, wired to meters and monitors. *here are shel/es lined with medical supplies and rows o hanging tools, kni/es, clea/ers, and stainless steel clamps. %eo is strapped down to an ambulance cart, listening ner/ously as )i@mo gets to work. #I+MO $kay, irst we take a little look under the hood. #e pulls up the goggles hanging at his neck and they blink to li e with tiny halogen lights and lenses irising to /arying le/els o magni ication. 5ou4re going to prick. #I+MO eel a little

#e inserts acupuncture!like needles into %eo4s lower abdomen. *he needles are wired to /ideo monitors. #acksaw pilots the iber!optic lens. NEO What are you doing+ TRINITY We think you4re bugged. We can4t take you to 9orpheus until you4re clean. *here it is. #I+MO

$n a monitor, we see the bug nestled in among %eols large intestines. #I+MO #it him with 16 ccs o local.

#acksaw loads a hypodermic needle and pumps an anesthetic around %eols na/el. ;sing a de/ice that looks like a miniature speculum, )i@mo inserts a knuckled dental pick. *yping into a calculator keypad wired to the pick, he automates the tip.

$n the monitor, we watch it telescope out and the end separate into a tiny hooked, metal claw. #I+MO #ere, kitty, kitty, kitty. *he claw snags hold o )otcha? the bug. #I+MO

=ut the bug reacts /iolently. %eo screams as it wraps itsel around the so t tissue web o intestine. Shit. #I+MO

TRINITY What4s happening+ ( don4t know. that be ore. %eo writhes in pain. #old him down. <esus? )od? TRINITY #I+MO NEO #I+MO *hey4/e ne/er done

,o something? ( got it?

#I+MO 9aybe we can stun it. TRINITY *hat will kill

Are you cra@y+ him.

We watch %eo, who can4t see what they are talking about. #I+MO (t4ll work. -ome on, do it or #acksaw will. ,o what+ NEO

*he instant he hears the word, he knows. TRINITY -lear. $h, shit !! NEO

*he cry is ro@en in his mouth as the paddles hit his chest. )i@mo wrestles with the bug. #it him again? #I+MO

Again, the electricity con/ulses through him as )i@mo yanks the speculum out. #I+MO )ot it? *rinity touches %eo, who is Bust beginning to breathe. She eases the tape o his eyes. TRINITY %eo, are you okay+ #e nods. (t4s o/er. #anging tap. TRINITY We got it.

rom the claw pick is the inanimate metal wire! #I+MO %asty little bugger, ain4t it+

INT.

HOTE" "AFAYETTE

*he /an stops in a deserted alley behind a orgotten hotel. *he doors open and *rinity helps %eo get out. *hanks TRINITY or your help, )i@mo.

#I+MO ( Bust hope the man knows what he4s doing. She nods then climbs out o tight leather pants. the /an. )i@mo ogles the

#I+MO )oddamn, what ( wouldn4t gi/e a copy o that so tware. *rinity turns around.

or

TRINITY )i@mo, you don4t ha/e the hardware to handle this so tware. #e howls with adolescent laughter as the /an pulls away. *rinity turns to %eo. Let4s go. INT. HOTE" "AFAYETTE putre ying elegance, a rotting host o rom the stairwell down the hall o *hey stop outside room 1111. TRINITY the TRINITY #e4s waiting.

(t is a place o urban maggotry. *rinity leads %eo thirteenth loor.

*his is it. %eo can hear his own heart pounding. TRINITY Let me gi/e one piece o ad/ice. =e honest. #e knows more than you can possibly imagine. INT. ROOM 1313

Across the room, a dark igure stares out the tall windows /eiled with decaying lace. #e turns and his smile lights up the room. At last. MORPHEUS

#e wears a long black coat and his eyes are in/isible behind circular mirrored glasses. #e strides to %eo and they shake hands. MORPHEUS Welcome, %eo. As you no doubt ha/e guessed, ( am 9orpheus. (t4s an honor. "lease. #e nods to *rinity. MORPHEUS *hank you, *rinity. She bows her head sharply and e8its through a door to an adBacent room. *hey sit across leather chairs. rom one another in cracked, burgundy! MORPHEUS ( imagine, right now, you must be eeling a bit like Alice, tumbling down the rabbit hole+ NEO 5ou could say that. MORPHEUS ( can see it in your eyes. 5ou ha/e the look o a man who accepts what he sees because he is e8pecting to wake up. A smile, ra@or!thin, curls the corner o his lips. -ome. NEO MORPHEUS Sit.

MORPHEUS (ronically, this is not ar rom the truth. =ut (4m getting ahead o mysel . -an you tell me, %eo,

why are you here+ NEO 5ou4re 9orpheus, you4re a legend. 9ost hackers would die to meet you. MORPHEUS 5es. *hank you. =ut ( think we both know there4s more to it than that. ,o you belie/e in ate, %eo+ %o. Why not+ NEO =ecause ( don4t like the idea that (4m not in control o my li e. MORPHEUS ( know e8actly what you mean. Again, that smile that could cut glass. MORPHEUS Let me tell you why you are here. 5ou are here because you ha/e the gi t. What gi t+ NEO NEO MORPHEUS

MORPHEUS (4/e watched you, %eo. 5ou do not use a computer like a tool. 5ou use it like it was part o yoursel . What you can do inside a computer is not normal. ( know. (4/e seen it. What you do is magic. %eo shrugs. (t4s not magic. NEO

MORPHEUS =ut it is, %eo. (t is. #ow else would you describe what has been happening to you+ #e leans orward. MORPHEUS We are trained in this world to accept only what is rational and logical. #a/e you e/er wondered why+ %eo shakes his head. MORPHEUS

As children, we do not separate the possible rom the impossible which is why the younger a mind is the easier it is to ree while a mind like yours can be /ery di icult. NEO >ree rom what+ MORPHEUS >rom the 9atri8. %eo locks at his eyes but only sees a re lection o himsel . MORPHEUS ,o you want to know what it is, %eo+ %eo swallows and nods his head. MORPHEUS (t4s that eeling you ha/e had all your li e. *hat eeling that something was wrong with the world. 5ou don4t know what it is but it4s there, like a splinter in your mind, dri/ing you mad, dri/ing you to me. =ut what is it+ *he L&A*#&' -'&AFS as he leans back. MORPHEUS *he 9atri8 is e/erywhere, it4s all around us, here e/en in this room. 5ou can see it out your window, or on your tele/ision. 5ou eel it when you go to work, or go to church or pay your ta8es. (t is the world that has been pulled o/er your eyes to blind you rom the truth. NEO What truth+ MORPHEUS *hat you are a sla/e, %eo. *hat you, like e/eryone else, was born into bondage... ... kept inside a prison that you cannot smell, taste, or touch. A prison or your mind. $utside, the W(%, =A**&'S a loose "A%& o glass.

MORPHEUS ;n ortunately, no one can be told what the 9atri8 is. 5ou ha/e to see it or yoursel . NEO #ow+

MORPHEUS #old out your hands. (n %eo4s right hand, 9orpheus drops a red pill. MORPHEUS *his is your last chance. A ter this, there is no going back. (n his le t, a blue pill. MORPHEUS 5ou take the blue pill and the story ends. 5ou wake in your bed and you belie/e whate/er you want to belie/e. *he pills in his open hands are re lected in the glasses. MORPHEUS 5ou take the red pill and you stay in Wonderland and ( show you how deep the rabbit!hole goes. %eo eels the smooth skin o the capsules, with the moisture growing in his palms. MORPHEUS 'emember that all ( am o ering is the truth. %othing more. %eo opens his mouth and swallows the red pill. -heshire smile returns. MORPHEUS >ollow me. #e leads %eo into the other room, which is cramped with high!tech eEuipment, glowing ash!bliie and electric green rom the racks o monitors. *rinity, Apoc and -ypher look up as they enter. Shit. CYPHER *he

TRINITY ( knew he would. -ypher saddles up to 9orpheus, talking in a hushed tone away rom, %eo. CYPHER 9orpheus, ( know what you belie/e but ( think this is a mistake. We4re rushing him. #e4s old. (4m a raid he might pop. MORPHEUS #a/en4t ( always told you, -ypher, not to let ear control your li e. Apoc, are we on!line+ %eo recogni@es the large man rom the &l train.

APOC Almost. #e and *rinity are working Euickly, hardwiring a comple8 system o monitors, modules and dri/es. NEO Apoc+ 5ou wrote the >our #orsemen :irus. APOC *hat4s right. MORPHEUS %eo, time is always against us. Will you take a seat there+ (n the center o the room sits a chair. %ear the chair is an old o/al dressing mirror that is cracked. MORPHEUS ( imagine you know sonething about /irtual reality. %eo sits and *rinity begins gently i8ing white electrode disks to his head, arns, and the back o his neck. A little. NEO

MORPHEUS *ell me about it. NEO &ssentially, it4s a hardware system that uses an apparatusA headgear, glo/es and whate/er to make you eel that you are in a computer program. MORPHEUS ( the /irtual reality apparatus, as you called it, was wired to all o your senses and controlled them completely, would you be able to tell the di erence between the /irtual world and the real world+ NEO 5ou might not, no. MORPHEUS %o, you wouldn4t. %eo whispers to *rinity. NEO 5ou did all this+ She nods, placing a set o headphones o/er his ears. *hey are wired to an old hotel phone. MORPHEUS *he pill you took is part o a

trace program. (t4s going to make things eel a bit strange. ,istantly, through the ear phones, he hears Apoc "$;%,(%) on a F&5=$A',. Sweat beads his ace. #is eyes blink and twitch when he notices the mirror. Wide!eyed he stares as it begins to heal itsel , a webwork o cracks that slowly run together as though the mirror were becoming liEuid. NEO Shit... -ypher works with Apoc checking reams o phosphorescent data. *rinity monitors %eo4s electric /ital signs. %eo reaches out to touch the mirror and his disappear beneath the rippling sur ace. ingers

Iuickly, he tries to pull his ingers out but the mirror stretches in long rubbery strands like mirrored!ta y stuck to his ingertips. What is this+ NEO 9escaline+

MORPHEUS <ust rela8, %eo. *he strands thin like rubber cement as he pulls away, until the ragile wisps o mirror thread break. With the *(%FL(%) o )LASS, shimmering snow lakes o electric!blinking mercury all, hit the ground, and ade. #e looks at his handA ingers distended into mirrored icicles that begin to melt rapidly, dripping, running like wa8 down his ingers, spreading across his palms where he sees his ace re lected. ;h!oh... NEO

TRINITY (t4s going into replication. Apoc+ Still nothing. 9orpheus takes out a cellular phone and dials a number. MORPHEUS *ank, we4re going to need the signal soon. Stay calm, %eo. *he mirror gel seems to come to li e, racing, crawling up his arns like hundreds o insects. NEO (t4s cold. MORPHEUS APOC

*he mirror creeps up his neck as %eo begins to panic, tipping his head as though he were sinking into the mirror, trying to keep his mouth up. NEO (t4s all o/er me !! 9orpheus is right ne8t to him, with the phone. ( got a TRINITY ibrillation?

CYPHER ( knew it, ( knew it... Shit? Streams o mercury run Apoc+ MORPHEUS

rom %eo4s nose.

APOC *argeting... almost there. An ALA'9, on *rinity4s monitor &';"*S. TRINITY #e4s going into arrest? CYPHER #e4s gonna pop? Lock? APOC ( got him? MORPHEUS %ow, *ank now? #is eyes tear with mirror, rolling up and closing as a high!pitched &L&-*'(- S-'&A9 &';"*S in the headphones !! (t is a piercing S#'(&F like a computer calling to another computer !! %eo4s body arches in agony and we are pulled like we were pulled into the holes o the phone Sucked into his S-'&A9 and swallowed by darkness. INT. POWER P"ANT - C"OSE ON MAN(S $ODY

>loating in a womb!red amnion. #is body spasms, ighting against the thick gelatin.

9etal tubes, surreal /ersions o hospital tubes, obscure his ace. $ther lines like (:s are connected to limbs and co/er his genitals. #e is struggling desperately now. Air bubbles into the <ell!$ but does not break the sur ace. "ressing up, the sur ace distends, stretching like a red rubber coccon.

;nable to breathe, he ights wildly to stand, clawing at the thinning elastic shroud !! ;ntil it ruptures, a hole widening around his mouth as he sucks or air. *earing himsel ree, he emerges rom the cell. (t is %eo. #e is bald and naked, his body slick with gelatin. ,i@@y, nauseous, he waits or his /ision to ocus. #e is standing in an o/al capsule o clear alloy illed with red gelatin, the sur ace o which has solidi ied like curdled milk. *he (:s in his arms are plugged into outlets that appear to be gra ted to his lesh. #e eels the weight o another cable and reaches to the back o his head where he inds an enormous coa8ial plugged and locked into the base o his skull. #e tries to pull it out but it would be easier to pull o a inger. *o either side he sees other tube!shaped pods illed with red gelatinA beneath the wa8!like sur ace, pale and motionless, he sees other human beings. >anning out in a circle, there are more. All connected to a center core, each capsule like a red, dimly glowing petal attached to a black metal stem. Abo/e him, le/el a ter, le/el, the stem rises seemingly ore/er. #e mo/es to the oot o the capsule and looks out. *he image assaults his mind. *owers o glowing petals spiral up to incomprehensible heights, disappearing down into a dim murk like an underwater abyss. #is sight is blurred and warped, e8aggerating the intensity o the /ision. *he sound o the "LA%* is like the sound o the ocean heard rom inside the belly o Le/iathan. =elow %eo, a petal detaches rom the stem, bearing away the body o an old man like an automated barge e/en as a new pod rises up and plugs itsel into the empty space. (nside the new capsule, its sur ace more translucent and pinkish in color, %eo sees a small baby. >rom abo/e, a machine drops directly in ront o %eo.

#e swallows his scream as it seems to stare at him. (t is almost insect!like in its designA beauti ul housings o alloyed metal co/ering organic!like systems o hard and so t polymers.

A black particle beam washes o/er %eo, he reacts in pain as the scanner seems to e8pose the ner/ous system wired to the coa8ial cable at his cerebral corte8. At the back o disengaging. the neck, the cable lock spins and opens,

*he cable pulls itsel ree, a long clear plastic needle and cerebrum!chip slides rom the anterior o %eols skull with an oo@e o blood and spinal luid. *he other connecti/e hoses snap ree and snake away as !! *he back o the unit opens and a tremendous /acuum, like an airplane door opening, sucks the gelatin and then %eo into a black hole. INT. WASTE "INE alls,

*he pipe is a waste disposal system and %eo sliding with the clot o gelatin.

=anking through pipe spirals and elbows, lushing up through grease traps clogged with cily clunps o cellulite. %eo begins to drown when he is suddenly snatched low o waste. rom the

*he metallic cable then li ts, pulling him up into the belly o the uturistic lying nachine, ho/ering inside the sewer main line. INT. HOVERCRAFT

*he metal harness opens and drops the hal !conscious %eo onto the loor. #uman hands and arms help him up as he looking straight at 9orpheus. *rinity and Apoc. tech combat gear. 9orpheus smiles. MORPHEUS Welcome to the real world, %eo. %eo passes out. $"AC). We ha/e no sense o time. We hear :$(-&S whispering. FADE TO inds himsel

And others, dressed in bi@arre, high!

MAN (O.S.) ,o you think 9orpheus is right+ ,o you think he could be the $ne+ WOMAN (O.S.) (t doesn4t matter now. =ut i he4s wrong...

FADE IN: NEO(S POV %eo4s eyes lutter open. We see *rinity4s ace abo/e us, angelic in the luorescent glow o a light stick. AN#"E ON NEO ... am ( dead+ >ar $"AC). FADE IN: AN#"E ON NEO #e opens his eyes again, something tingling through him. #e ocuses and sees his body pierced with do@ens o acupuncture!like needles wired to a strange de/ice. DO+ER #e needs a lot o work. ( know. MORPHEUS rom it. FADE TO NEO TRINITY

,o@er and 9orpheus are operating on %eo. NEO What are you doing+ MORPHEUS 5our muscles ha/e atrophied. We4re rebuilding them. >luorescent light sticks burn unnaturally bright. NEO Why do my eyes hurt+ MORPHEUS 5ou4/e ne/er used them be ore. 9orpheus takes his sunglasses o %eo lays back. 'est, %eo. coming. INT. NEO(S ROOM #e is and puts them on %eo.

MORPHEUS *he answers are

%eo wakes up rom a deep sleep, eeling better. wearing a black tank top and shorts.

#e begins to e8amine himsel . *here is a uturistic (: plugged into the Back in his orearm. #e pulls it out, staring at the gra ted outlet. #e eels his bald head. #is ingers ind and e8plore the large outlet in the base o his skull. <ust as he starts to come unglued, 9orpheus opens the door. NEO 9orpheus, what4s happened to me+ What is this place+ MORPHEUS 9ore important than what is when+ NEO When+ MORPHEUS 5ou belie/e the year is 1997 in act it is much closer to ( can4t say or certain what it is because we honestly do know. *he wind is knocked rom %eo4s chest. when 0197. year not

NEO *hat4s not possible. MORPHEUS ( promised you the truth, %eo, and the truth is that the world you were li/ing in was a lie. NEO #ow+ (4ll show you. INT. HOVERCRAFT ollows 9orpheus through the ship. MORPHEUS

Like a sleepwalker, %eo

MORPHEUS *his is my ship, the %ebuchadne@@ar. (t4s a ho/ercra t. Small like a submarine. (t4s dark. (t4s cramped and cold. =ut it4s home. *hey climb a ladder up to the main deck. INT. MAIN DEC)

&/eryone is there. MORPHEUS *his is the main deck. 5ou know most o my crew.

*rinity smiles and nods. MORPHEUS *he ones you don4t know. *hat4s 9ouse and Switch. *he two big guys are *ank and ,o@er. *he names and aces wash meaninglessly o/er %eo. MORPHEUS And this, this is the -ore. *his is where we broadcast our pirate signal and hack into the 9atri8. (t is a swamp o bi@arre electronic eEuipment. :ines o coa8ial hang and snake to and rom huge monolithic battery slabs, a black portable satellite dish and banks o little systems and computer monitors. At the center o the web, there are si8 ectoskeleton chairs made o a poly!alloy rame and suspension harness. %ear the circle o chairs is the control console and operator4s station where the network is monitored. MORPHEUS #elp him, *rinity. %eo allows himsel to be helped into one o the chairs.

MORPHEUS ,o you remember when ( asked you about an apparatus that could turn a /irtual reality into reality+ %eo nods. MORPHEUS (t4s right here. #e touches %eo4s head. MORPHEUS And it4s accessed here. %eo eels 9orpheus guiding a coa8ial line into the Back at the back o his neck. *he cable has the same kind o cerebellum chip we saw inside the plant. *his will MORPHEUS eel a little weird.

*here are se/eral disturbing %$(S&S as he works the needle in. We 9$:& (% as %eo4s shoulders bunch and his ace tightens into a grimace until a loud -L(-F ires and his ears pop like when you eEuali@e them underwater. #e rela8es, opening his eyes as we pull back to a o weightlessness inside another place !! INT. CONSTRUCT eeling

%eo is standing in an empty, blank!white space. MORPHEUS *his is the -onstruct. Startled, %eo whips around and room with him. inds 9orpheus now in the

MORPHEUS (t is our loading program. We can load anything rom clothes, to weapons, to training simulations. Anything we need. 9orpheus walks past %eo and when %eo turns he sees the two leather chairs rom the hotel set up in ront o a large!screen tele/ision. MORPHEUS Sit down. %eo stands at the back o the chair as 9orpheus sits.

NEO 'ight now, we4re inside a computer program+ Wild, isn4t it+ MORPHEUS

%eo4s hands run o/er the cracked leather. NEO *his isn4t real+ MORPHEUS What is real+ #ow do you de ine real+ ( you4re talking about your senses, what you eel, taste, smell, or see, then all you4re talking about are electrical signals interpreted by your brain. #e picks up a remote control and clicks $% the *&L&:(S($%. We dri t through the Windy -ity circa 1996. MORPHEUS *his is the -hicago you know. -hicago as it was at the end o the twentieth century. *his -hicago e8ists only as part o a neural!interacti/e simulation that we call the 9atri8. We )L(,& A* the tele/ision as he changes the channel. MORPHEUS 5ou ha/e been li/ing inside =aulliaurd4s /ision, inside the map, not the territory. *his is -hicago as it e8ists today. *he sky is an endless sea o black and green bile. *he earth, scorched and split like burnt lesh, spreads out

beneath us as we &%*&' the tele/ision. 4*he desert o MORPHEUS the real.4

(n the distance, we see the ruins o a uture -hicago protruding rom the wasteland like the blackened ribs o a long!dead corpse. MORPHEUS We are, right now, miles below the earth4s sur ace. *he only place humans can sur/i/e outside the 9atri8 is underground. Still 9$:(%), we *;'% and ind %eo and 9orpheusA the chairs now sitting in the middle o the black desert. ,i@@y, %eo holds onto the chair. NEO What happened+ MORPHEUS (t started early in the twenty! irst century, with the birth o arti icial intelligence, a singular consciousness that spawned an entire race o machines. (n his sunglasses, we see storm clouds gather. MORPHEUS At irst all they wanted was to be treated as eEuals, entitled to the same human inalienable rights. Whate/er they were gi/en, it was not enough. (n the circular window o the glasses, &D"L$S($%S light up a bloody battle ield. MORPHEUS We don4t know who struck irst. ;s or them. =ut sometime at the end o the twenty! irst century the battle was Boined. We 9$:& (%*$ his glasses and the war surrounds us. MORPHEUS *he war raged or generations and turned the ace o our planet rom green and blue to black and red. At last we see the SentinelsA killing machines that are at once terri ying and beauti ul. *hey ha/e an organic architecture like a microbiotic organism, that is perpetually in motion. *he Sentinel cracks the body armor o a soldier, splitting open the so t, stearing meat inside. MORPHEUS (t scorched and burned the sky.

Without the sun, the machines sought out a new energy source to sur/i/e. *he Sentinel locks up, as heat lightning o black ink bursts against the sky, spreading into a permanent cloud o stain. MORPHEUS *hey disco/ered a new orm o usion. All that was reEuired to initiate the reaction was a small electric charge. *hroughout human history we ha/e been dependent on machines to sur/i/e. >ate, it seems, is not without a sense o irony. We return to the power plant that %eo escaped rom where we see human beings looking almost bliss ul in their gelatin cocoons. MORPHEUS *he human body generates more bio! electricity than a 106!/olt battery and o/er 0C,666 =.*.;.4s o body heat. $utside, spreading all around the power plant, beneath a breathing greenhouse, are the growing ields. MORPHEUS We are, as an energy source, easily renewable and completely recyclable, the dead liEui ied and ed intra/enously to the li/ing. #uge arm!like reapers are har/esting the crop. MORPHEUS All they needed to control this new battery was something to occupy our mind. We see inside a clear tubular husk. >loating in /iscous luid, there is a human etusA its so t skull already growing around the brain!Back. MORPHEUS And so they built a prison out o our past, wired it to our brains and turned us into sla/es. We ";LL =A-F to ind the image is now on the tele/ision and we are again inside the white space o the -onstruct. NEO %o? ( don4t belie/e it? possible? (t4s not

MORPHEUS ( didn4t say that it would be easy, %eo. ( Bust said that it would be the truth.

*he room without walls begins to spin. Stop? INT. MAIN DEC) NEO Let me out? ( want out?

#is eyes snap open and he thrashes against the chair, trying to rip the cable rom the back o his neck. NEO )et this thing out o &asy, %eo. me?

TRINITY &asy.

,o@er holds him while *rinity unlocks it. $nce it4s out, he tears away rom them, alling as he trips ree o the harness. ,on4t touch me? NEO )et away rom me?

$n his hands and knees, he reels as the world spins. Sweat pours o him as a pressure builds inside his skull as i his brian had been put into a centri uge. CYPHER #e4s going to pop? :omiting /iolently, %eo pitches INT. NEO(S ROOM *he room is dark. orward and blacks out.

#e blinks, regaining consciousness. %eo is stretched out on his bed.

NEO ( can4t go back, can (+ 9orpheus sitting like a shadow on a chair in the corner. MORPHEUS %o. =ut i you could, would you really want to+ %eo isn4t sure o that answer. ar

MORPHEUS ( eel that ( owe you an apology. *here is a rule that we do not ree a mind once it reaches a certain age. (t is dangerous. *hey ha/e trouble letting go.. *heir mind turns against them. (4/e seen it happen. ( broke the rule because ( had to. #e stares into the darkness, con essing as much to himsel as %eo. MORPHEUS

When the 9atri8 was irst built there was a man born inside that had the ability to change what he wanted, to remake the 9atri8 as he saw it. (t was this man that reed the irst o us and taught us the secret o the warA control the 9atri8 and you control the uture. #e pauses. MORPHEUS When he died, the $racle at the temple o Kion prophesied his return and en/isioned an end to the war and reedom or our people. *hat is why there are those o us that ha/e spent our entire li/es searching the 9atri8, looking or him. %eo can eel his eyes on him. MORPHEUS ( did what ( did, because ( belie/e we ha/e been brought here or a reason, %eo. 5ou are here to ser/e a purpose, Bust as ( am here to ser/e mine. NEO ( told you ( don4t belie/e in ate. 9orpheus smiles, leaning towards hin. =ut ( do, %eo. #e stands up. )et some rest. need it. >or what+ 5our training. MORPHEUS 5ou4re going to NEO MORPHEUS MORPHEUS ( do.

INT.

HOVERCRAFT

*here is no morningA there is only darkness and then the luorescent light sticks licker on. INT. NEO(S ROOM *he

%eo is awake in his bed, staring up at the lights. door opens and *A.%F steps inside.

9orning. %o.

TAN) ,id you sleep+ NEO

TAN) 5ou will tonight. ( guarantee it. (4m *ank. (4ll be your operator. #e o ers his hand and %eo shakes it. *ank doesn4t ha/e any Backs. NEO 5ou don4t ha/e... TAN) Any holes+ %ope. 9e and my brother ,o@er, we are 166 percent pure, old ashioned, home!grown human. =orn ree. 'ight here in the real world. )enuine child o Kion. Kion+ NEO #e notices that

TAN) Kion is the place, man. 5ou4ll see it one day. Last human city. All we got le t. *ank smiles. TAN) )oddamn, ( got to tell you (4m airly e8cited to see what you are capable o . ( mean i 9orpheus is right and all. We4re not supposed to talk.about any o that, but i you are, well then this is an e8citing time. We got a lot to do so let4s get to it. INT. MAIN DEC) the suspension

%eo is plugged in, hanging in one o chairs.

TAN) We4re supposed to load all these operations programs irst, but this is some maBor boring shit. Why don4t we start something a little un+ *ank smiles as he plops into his operator4s chair. #e begins lipping through a tall carousel loaded with micro discs. TAN) #ow about sore combat training+ %eo reads the label on the disk.

<iuBitsu+ BuBitsu+

NEO (4m going to learn

*ank slides the disk into %eo4s supplement dri/e. NEO %o way. Smiling, *ank punches the GloadG code. #is body Bumps against the harness as his eyes clamp shut. *he monitors kick wildly as his heart pounds, adrenaline surges, and his brain si@@les. An instant later his eyes snap open. #oly shit? NEO

TAN) #ey, 9ikey, he likes it? or more+ NEO #ell yes? INT.

'eady

MAIN DEC) - C"OSE ON COMPUTER MONITOR - "ATER

as grey pi8els slowly ill a small, hal !empty bo8. (t is a meter displaying how much download time is le t. *he title bar reads. G-ombat Series 16 o 10,G ile categories lashing beneath it. Sa/ate, <uBitsu, Fen "o, ,runken =o8ing... 9orpheus walks in. #ow is he+ MORPHEUS

*ank looks at his watch, rubs his eyes. TAN) *en hours straight. machine. #e4s a

%eo4s body spasms and rela8es as his eyes open, breath hissing rom his lips. #e looks like he Bust orgasmed. #e locks at 9orpheus. NEO *his is incredible. >u. ( know Fung #e nods to

9orpheus sits in the dri/e chair ne8t to hin. *ank. MORPHEUS Show me.

INT.

DO%O

*hey are standing in a /ery sparse Bapanese!style doBo. MORPHEUS *his is a sparring program, similar to the programmed reality o the 9atri8. -onsider this your irst lesson. #e assumes a ighting stance. Attack me. MORPHEUS

%eo assumes a similar stance, cautiously circling until he gi/es a short cry and launches a urious attack. (t is like a <ackie -han mo/ie at high speed, ists and eet striking rom e/ery angle as %eo presses his attack -=ut each and e/ery blow is blocked by e INT. MAIN DEC) ortless speed.

While their minds battle in the programmed reality, the two bodies appear Euite serene, suspended in the dri/e chairs. *ank monitors their li e systems noticing that %eo is wildly and chaotically lit up as opposed to the slow and steady rhythm o 9orpheus. INT. MESS HA""

,inner is up. &/eryone is eating bowls o single!cell protein. (t has a cottage cheese consistency. 9$;S& bursts in the room. 9orpheus is All at once they bolt INT. DO%O MOUSE ighting %eo?

or the door.

%eo4s ace is knotted, teeth clenched, as he hurls himsel at 9orpheus. MORPHEUS )ood. Adaption. (mpro/isation. =ut your weakness isn4t your techniEue. 9orpheus attacks him and it is like nothing we ha/e seen. #is eet and ists are e/erywhere taking %eo apart. >or e/ery blow %eo blocks, i/e more hit their marks until !! %eo alls.

"anting, on his hands and knees, blood spits mouth speckling the white loor o the ,oBo. MORPHEUS #ow did ( beat you+ NEO 5ou !! 5ou4re too ast.

ror, his

MORPHEUS ,o you think my being aster, stronger has anything to do with my muscles in this place+ %eo is rustrated, still unable to catch his breath. MORPHEUS ,o you belie/e that4s air you are breathing now+ %eo sEuints at him. MORPHEUS ( you can ree your mind, the body will ollow. %eo stands, nodding. Again. *heir INT. ists ly with MORPHEUS pneumatic speed.

MAIN DEC) ight,

&/eryone is gathered behind *ank, watching the like watching a game o 9ortal -ombat. <ee@us Feerist? CA$"E *hat boy is ast

ast?

MOUSE 5ou e/er seen anyone that that soon, *ank+ %e/er. TAN)

APOC 9orpheus is right. #e4s got to be the one. INT. DO%O

*he speed o the blows rises like a drum solo that seems impossible to sustain. %eo4s ace sheds its mask o calm with a scream. #e wants to beat 9orpheus bad. >inally a single blow catches 9orpheus on the side o head, knocking his glasses o . the

INT.

MAIN DEC)

*here are se/eral gasps. MOUSE ( don4t belie/e it? INT. DO%O ace.

9orpheus rubs his

MORPHEUS 5ou are angry with me. %eo pants. (, uh... maybe. (t4s all right. ( eel better. NEO MORPHEUS (t4s natural. NEO

MORPHEUS )ood, good. Anger is a gi t, %eo, but it4s a hea/y one. 9orpheus smiles. MORPHEUS *ank, load the Bump program. %eo straightens as the doBo ,(SS$L:&S away like a curtain li ting, lea/ing the two men now standing on a building roo top in a city skyline. MORPHEUS 5ou ha/e to learn to let go o that anger. 5ou must let go o e/erything. A W(%, #$WLS, whipping 9orpheus4 long coat to the side. MORPHEUS 5ou must empty yoursel to your mind. ree

9orpheus spins, running hard at the edge o the roo top. And Bumps. #e sails through the air, his coat billowing out behind him like a cape !! Somersaults once and lands on the roo top across the street. Shit. NEO

%eo looks down at the street twenty loors below, then at 9orpheus an impossible i ty eet away. NEO

$kie dokie. #e takes a deep breath. NEO 5eah. >ree my mind. problem. #e concentrates. INT. MAIN DEC) 'uns. 'ight. %o

*hey are trans i8ed. CA$"E #e4s gonna make it. %o way. APOC %ot possible. irst

MOUSE %o one4s e/er made their Bump. What i SWITCH he does+ APOC

#e won4t.

TAN) (t4s ne/er been done. *rinity stares at the screen, her whispers. -ome on. EXT. ROOFTOP ists clenching as she

TRINITY

Summoning e/ery ounce o strength in his legs, %eo launches himsel into the air in a single maniacal shriek -=ut comes up drastically short. #is eyes widen as he plummets. Stories ly by, the ground rushing up at him, but as he hits !! *he ground gi/es way, stretchinp like a trape@e net. #e bounces and his back. lips, slowly coming to a rest, lat on rom

#e laughs, a bit unsure, wiping the wind!blown tears his ace. 9orpheus e8its the building and helps him to his &/eryone MORPHEUS alls the irst time. eet.

%eo nods Euietly. MORPHEUS ( you ne/er know ailure, how can you know success+ INT. MAIN DEC)

*hey break up. MOUSE What does it mean+ CA$"E (t doesn4t mean anything. &/eryone =ut *rinity has le t. %eo4s eyes open as *ank eases the plug out. mo/e and groans, cradling his ribs. #e tries to CYPHER alls, right, *rinity+

While *ank helps 9orpheus, %eo spits blood into his hand. NEO ( thought it wasn4t real. %eo stares at the blood. NEO ( you are killed in the 9atri8, you die here+ MORPHEUS *he body cannot li/e without the mind. INT. NEO(S ROOM rom the hall, carrying a try o TRINITY %eo, ( sa/ed you some dinner !! She sees him passed out on the bed. She sets the tray down and pulls the blanket o/er him. She pauses, her ace close to his, then inhales lightly, breathing in the scent o him, be ore slowly pulling away. (t seems the moment she closes the door, he wakes with a start, unsure o where he is. A ter a moment, he gets out o bed. INT. HA"" &/eryone is asleep. ood.

*rinity enters

*he ship is Euiet and dark. INT. MAIN DEC)

*he core glows with monitor light. -ypher is in the operator4s chair as %eo cones up behind him. CYPHER Whoa? Shit, %eo, you scared the beBee@us out o ne. Sorry. NEO

CYPHER %o, it4s all right. NEO What are you doing+ CYPHER 9idnight watch. %eo4s eyes light up as he steps closer to the screens that seem ali/e with a constant low o data. NEO (s that... + *he 9atri8+ CYPHER 5eah.

*he monitors are packed with bi@arre codes and eEuations. CYPHER 5ou want a drink+ #e pours %eo a drink rom a large plastic Bug.

CYPHER (4ll tell you, ( eel or you, man. ( really do. 9ost o us were still young, Bust punks, when 9orpheus Backed us. =ut you, you had a real li e. %eo takes a sip and it almost kills him. on his back. -ypher pounds

CYPHER )ood shit, huh+ ,o@er makes it. (t4s good or two things. degreasing engines and killing brain cells. 'ed! aced, %eo inally stops coughing. CYPHER ,id he tell you why he did it+ %eo nods. CYPHER, (4ll be the didn4t tell you that this wasn4t the irst time he thought he ound the $ne. %eo shakes his head as -ypher ills his cup and laughs.

CYPHER Let me gi/e you a piece o ad/ice. =etween you and me, i 9orpheus says you can ly, ( wouldn4t go Bumping out any windows to ind out i he4s right. ;nderstand+ -ypher raises his drink. scorching mouth ul. %eo swallows another throat!

CYPHER Welcome to the real world? INT. RESTAURANT (MATRIX) - NI#HT

-#A9=&' 9;S(- and the ambiance o wealth soak the room as we watch a serrated kni e saw through a thick, gorgeous steak. CYPHER *hat4s what he said to me nine years ago. *he meat is so per ect, charred on the outside, oo@ing red Buice rom the inside, that it could be a dream. *he real world. CYPHER #a, what a Boke.

We recogni@e the grating /oice, the insidious laugh. CYPHER 5ou know what real is+ you what real is. A ork stabs the cube o ace o -ypher. (4ll tell

meat and we >$LL$W it ;" *$ the

CYPHER 'eal is Bust another our!letter word. #e laughs, sho/ing the steak into his mouth. *he restaurant is located on the top loor o a -hicago skyscraper where the /iew is breathtaking and the menu has no prices. Sitting across rom -ypher is Agent Smith. A#ENT SMITH ,o we ha/e a deal, 9r. 'eagan+ -ypher chews the steak loudly, smacking it between his teeth. 9mm, so, so CYPHER ucking good. meat into his

Smith watches him sho/el another hunk o mouth. CYPHER

5ou know, ( know that this steak doesn4t e8ist. ( know when ( put it in my mouth, the 9atri8 is telling my brain that it is Buicy and delicious. A ter nine years, do you know what (4/e reali@ed+ "ausing, he e8amines the meat skewered on his ork. #e pops it in, eyes rolling up, sa/oring the tender bee melting in his mouth. CYPHER (gnorance is bliss. A#ENT SMITH *hen we ha/e a deal+ CYPHER ( don4t want to remember nothing. %othing? 5ou understand+ And ( want to be rich. Someone important. Like an actor. 5ou can do that, right+ A#ENT SMITH Whate/er you want, 9r. 'eagan. -ypher takes a deep drink o wine.

CYPHER All right. 5ou get my body back in a power plant, reinsert me into the 9atri8 and (4ll get you what you want. A#ENT SMITH Access codes to Kion. CYPHER ( told you, ( don4t know them. =ut ( can gi/e you the man who does. A#ENT SMITH 9orpheus. INT. MAIN DEC) the construct

Sweat dapples his lip as %eo snaps out o coma.

NEO <ee@, ( was wondering about that. TAN) What+ NEO Why ( was bald here but not in the 9atri8. R.S.I. TAN)

'esidual sel )ood. #e points to one o

NEO image.

TAN) %ow what4s this+

%eo4s monitors.

NEO Li e systems monitor, glucose le/els. What4s that+ TAN)

NEO 9ain power supply to the core. #e ollows *ank to the operator4s station where he points to a red key!switch. TAN) #ow about this+ NEO 9ain rame sel !destruct. ;ses all remaining power to generate an... E.M.PTAN) &lectromagnetic pulse. $ur best weapon against the machines. *he problem is i someone is still in the 9atri8 when that thing goes o , they4re not coming back. %eo nods as 9orpheus comes up behind them. #ow4s he doing+ MORPHEUS

TAN) We Bust inished the operation programs and he4s showing great retention. MORPHEUS )ood. ( want e/eryone alerted to 10!hour stand!by. We4re going in. %eo, it4s time or you to know why you4re here. 9orpheus walks away. NEO What4s he talking about+ TAN) #e4s taking you into the 9atri8 to see her. NEO See who+ TAN)

*he $racle. %eo looks down at the monitor teeming with 9atri8 data that seems to coalesce, eEuations gi/ing way to images as a 9&*AL S-'&A9 '(S&S =&-$9(%) !! EXT. CHICA#O (MATRIX) - DAY

An &l train. INT. HOTE" "AFAYETTE (MATRIX) - DAY

*he room is empty, hea/y curtains co/ering windows. (t looks as i it hasn4t been touched in years. (n the bedroom with the cracked o/al mirror an old black "#$%& begins to '(%). (n the mirror, we *;'%(%), the room irst glimpse them and as we keep ills with eEuipment and the team.

9orpheus answers the phone. We4re in. #e hangs up. MORPHEUS 9ouse and -able hold the e8it. Let4s go. INT. STAIRWE"" (MATRIX) - DAY MORPHEUS

%eo ollows the others down the stairwell that winds around an antiEue ele/ator sha t. NEO ,id you ha/e to do this+ 5eah. TRINITY

NEO What did she tell you+ Lots o Any o things. TRINITY

NEO them true+

*rinity looks at him, then looks away. Some o them. TRINITY

#I+MO Were they good or bad+ TRINITY *here4s no point in worrylng. Whate/er is going to happen is

going to happen. *hey cross the old lobby. doors. Switch and Apoc stop at the

MORPHEUS We should be back in an hour. EXT. HOTE" "AFAYETTE (MATRIX) - DAY

%eo sEuints into the sun that seems unnaturally bright. #e is the only one without sunglasses. MORPHEUS ,o you now understand what it means when we say, i you4re not one o us, you4re one o them+ NEO *he agents. *hey4re sentient programs. *hey can commandeer any so tware hardwired to the main rame. MORPHEUS Anyone that is still in a power plant. *hat is why we try to be in/isible in the 9atri8. NEO *he best hacking is always traceless. -ypher and *rinity mo/e away rom them, securing the perimeter. As -ypher passes a garbage can, he surreptitiously drops something inside. (t is a cellular phone and we watch the blue display as the L(%& -$%%&-*S. An early 1976s, black Lincoln -ontinental emerges rom a corrugated roll!up garage. 9orpheus and %eo get in. INT. "INCO"N CONTINENTA" (MATRIX) - DAY

An enormous man is waiting or them. A wad o chewing tobacco bulges his cheek. #e spits into a -oke can. MO%O 9orpheus, been a long time coming. MORPHEUS 5ou4re looking well, 9oBo. 9oBo coughs a brown, cankerous laugh, Buice speckling his chin and shirt. #e stares at %eo. MO%O 5ou bringing us geriatrics now. 9orpheus+ #e spits and laughs again.

MO%O )uess you are locking miracle. EXT. $AR (MATRIX) - DAY

or a

*he -ontinental pulls up to a bar in the kind o neighborhood where e/ery corner has a pair o eyes. INT. $AR (MATRIX) - DAY %o one enters that is not

A lightless, lower!class bar. e8pected.

*he ront doors open in a brilliant burst o sunlight as 9oBo leads 9orpheus and %eo inside. %eo looks around, his eyes adBusting to the darkness. 9oBo talks to the bartender, then looks o/er. MO%O All right, it4s cool. *hey wea/e their way to the back o >L$$' S%A""(%) under their >&&*. A monolith o a man rises )o on back.

the bar, the S*(-F5

rom his stool as they walk up. REX

5ou4re late.

#e mo/es to the side, opening the hea/y iron door behind him. *hey descend the basement staircase toward the single bare bulb at the bottom, hanging abo/e the only door. INT. $ASEMENT (MATRIX) - DAY

A high!tech laptop and modem are set up on a stack o milk crates. %eo waits as 9orpheus types in a series o access codes. A ter a moment the screen blinks, GWelcome 9orpheus.G 9orpheus walks back to the same door they entered, but it now leads into !! INT. TEMP"E OF +ION (MATRIX) - DAY %eo ollows,

*he walls and loors are polished marble. his mouth agape. NEO What !! what happened+

MORPHEUS *his is the temple. (t is a part o Kion4s main rame. (t4s hidden inside the 9atri8 so that we can access it. *wo "'(&S*&SS&S are waiting in the antechamber.

PRIESTESS #ello, 9orpheus. We4/e been e8pecting you. MORPHEUS $kay, you4re on your own. them. )o with

*hey take %eo by the arm, leading him down a hall into another room. PRIESTESS Wait here. Among the other "otentials. INT. ROOM OF POTENTIA"S (MATRIX) - DAY

%eo enters and inally understands the attention gi/en to his age. *he "otentials are all little children. *he room eels at once like a =uddhist temple and a kindergarten class. *he children4s heads are either sha/ed or thick with dreadlocks. Some are playing, others meditating or practicing their gi t. %eo watches a little girl le/itate wooden alphabet blocks. A skinny =$5 holds a S"$$% which sways like a blade o grass as he bends it with his rnind. %eo crosses to him, sits. *he =oy smiles as %eo picks up a spoon and tries to imitate him. ,espite his best e orts, %eo cannot make it bend. SPOON $OY 5our spoon does not bend because it is Bust that, a spoon. 9ine bends because there is no spoon, Bust my mind. %eo watches as it curls into a knot. SPOON $OY Link yoursel to the spoon. =ecome the spoon and bend yoursel . %eo nods, again holding up his spoon. NEO *here is no spoon. 'ight.

#e concentrates. *he spoon begins to bend Bust as the "riestess touches his shoulder. PRIESTESS *he $racle will see you now. Spoon =oy smiles. INT. SHRINE (MATRIX) - DAY

%eo enters ner/ously. =eneath his eet is a path o the @odiac leading to marbled stairs that rise to a dais and a three!legged throne. *he throne is empty. NEO #ello+ A ,(S*A%* >&9AL& :$(-& calls to him and he ollows it up the stairs. At the top o the dais, he smells something cooking. >ollowing the scent, he mo/es behind the pillars where he inds an open door. VOICE (O.S.) <ust come on in. #e walks through a /estibule where he sees a abulous moonstone headdress and /el/et robes. A second door leads into !! INT. ORAC"E(S CHAM$ERS (MATRIX) - DAY

(t looks like a suburban tract house. *here is a lot o co@y urniture, a dining roon hutch illed with china, shel/es and tables crowded with doilies, knick!knacks and ceramic brick!a!brack. %eo ollows the plastic carpet runner to the kitchen.

A W$9A% is huddled beside the o/en, peering inside through the cracked door. #ello+ NEO

ORAC"E (WOMAN) ( know. 5ou4re %eo. =e right with you. NEO 5ou4re the $racle+ ORAC"E =ingo. ( got to say ( lo/e seeing you non!belie/ers. (t4s really a relie . All that pomp and circumstances Bust plain tucker me out. Almost done. Smell good, don4t they+ 5eah. NEO

ORAC"E (4d ask you to sit down, but you4re not going to anyway. And don4t worry about the /ase. NEO

What /ase+ #e turns to look around and his elbow knocks a :AS& the table. (t ='&AFS against the linoleum loor. ORAC"E *he /ase. NEO Shit, (4m sorry. She pulls out a tray o chocolate chip cookies and turns. She is an older woman, wearing big o/en mitts, com ortable slacks and a print blouse. She looks like someone4s grandma. ORAC"E ( said don4t worry about it. (4ll get one o my kids to i8 it. NEO #ow did you know...+ She sets the cookie tray on a wooden hot!pad. ORAC"E What4s really going to bake your noodle later on is, would you still ha/e broken it i ( hadn4t said anything. Smiling, she lights a cigarette. ORAC"E 5ou4re cuter than ( thought. see why she likes you. NEO Who+ ORAC"E %ot too bright, though. She winks. ORAC"E 5ou know why 9orpheus brought you to see me+ NEO ( think so. ORAC"E So+ What do you think+ you4re the one+ ( don4t know. NEO 5ou think ( rom

She gestures to a wooden plaEue, the kind e/ery grandma has, e8cept that the words are in Latin. ORAC"E 5ou know what that means+ (t4s Latin. 9eans, 4Fnow thysel .4

She puts her cigarette down. ORAC"E Well, let4s ha/e a look at you. She widens his eyes, checks his ears, then glands in his neck. eels the

ORAC"E $pen your mouth. Say, 4ahhh.4 She nods then looks at his palms. ORAC"E #mmm. 5ou sure got the gi t, but it4s tricky. (4d say the bad news is, you4re not the one. Still got a lot to learn. 9aybe ne8t li e. NEO What4s the good news+ ORAC"E Same as the bad news, you4re not the one. NEO (s that it, then+ %o. #ere. ORAC"E

She picks up the tray o

cooling cookies. )ot a

ORAC"E 5ou better take a cookie. big day ahead o you. #e eyes her, then takes a cookie. ORAC"E 9ake a belie/er out o INT. ANTECHAM$ER (MATRIX) - DAY

you yet.

9orpheus rises rom a bench as the "riestess escorts %eo out. When they are alone, 9orpheus puts his hand on %eo4s shoulder. MORPHEUS 5ou don4t ha/e to tell me anything, %eo, because ( already know what she said. 5ou do+ NEO

MORPHEUS ( brought you so that you could hear it or yoursel . ( knew it would help. %eo inishes his cookie.

MORPHEUS %o one will e/er ask you because it is a gi t rom her. (t is or you and you alone. EXT. CITY STREET (MATRIX) - DAY

Storm clouds shroud the streets as the sky turns Baundice. -ypher ner/ously glances down the surrounding streets. #e notices se/eral unmarked white /ans. #e mops the sweat rom his the black Lincoln. orehead, when *rinity sees TRINITY

#ere they come. INT. MAIN DEC)

(n the ho/ercra t, we see the sweat rolling down -ypher4s ace and neck. *ank is typing rapidly at the keyboard. TAN) Weird. *his area ne/er has this much acti/ity. EXT. HOTE" "AFAYETTE (MATRIX) - DAY

Apoc opens the side door and they enter the hotel. INT. ROOM 1313 (MATRIX) - DAY

9ouse4s -&LL;LA' '(%)S. MOUSE Welcome to 9o/ie!"hone. TAN) (V.O.) *hey4re on their way. MOUSE 'ight. *he phone lips shut as he Bumps up. MOUSE Let4s get to work. INT. HOTE" "AFAYETTE (MATRIX) - DAY

Light ilters down the throat o the building through a caged skylight at the top o the open ele/ator sha t. >our igures glide up the dark stairs that wind around the antiEue ele/ator.

%eo notices a black cat, a yellow!green!eyed shadow that slinks past them and pads Euickly down the stairs. A moment later, %eo sees another black cat that looks and mo/es identically to the irst one. Whoa. ,eBa /u. NEO

*hose words stop the others dead in their tracks. INT. MAIN DEC)

*he monitors suddenly glitch as though the 9atri8 had an electronic sei@ure. $h, shit? INT. TAN) $h, shit?

HOTE" "AFAYETTE (MATRIX) - DAY ace tight.

*rinity turns around, her

TRINITY What did you Bust say+ %othing. /u. NEO <ust had a little deBa TRINITY What did you see+

What happened+

NEO A black cat went past us and then ( saw another that looked Bust like it. TRINITY #ow much like it+ Was it the same cat+ NEO (t might ha/e been. (4m not sure.

*rinity looks at 9orpheus, who listens Euietly to the rasping breath o the old building. What is it+ NEO

TRINITY A deBa /u is usually a glitch in the 9atri8. (t happens when they change something. She also listens as the staccato =&A* o =LA,&S )'$W ominously L$;,&'. INT. MAIN DEC) #&L(-$"*&'

*ank sees what was changed.

TAN) (t4s a trap? INT. STAIRCASE (MATRIX) - DAY

9orpheus looks up the stairs as a helicopter shadow passes o/er the clouded glass. -ome on? INT. ROOM 1313 (MATRIX) - DAY MORPHEUS

-able goes to the draped windows. ,id you Bust 5eah... *he -&LL;LA' '(%)S. INT. $ASEMENT (MATRIX) - DAY CA$"E eel something weird+ MOUSE

#ea/y bolt!cutters snap through the main phone cable. INT. ROOM 1313 (MATRIX) - DAY

9ouse answers the phone. MOUSE What4s going on+ TAN) (V.O.) *hey cut the hard!line? (t4s a trap? )et out? -able yanks open the curtain. CA$"E $h, no. *he windows are bricked up. INT. HA"" (MATRIX) - DAY

*he door to the roo e8plodes open as hea/ily!armed rnen rush towards room 1111. INT. MAIN DEC)

*ank watches helplessly. TAN) %o, no, no.

INT.

ROOM 1313 (MATRIX) - DAY

*he door slams open and the police orce pours in, do@ens o assault ri les surrounding 9ouse and -able who are armed with only handguns. 9orpheus? INT. CA$"E (t4s a trap !!

STAIRS (MATRIX) - DAY

9orpheus stops as the scream is drowned by the '&"$'* o 9A-#(%& );%S illing the building with a terrible ury. TRINITY $h, )od. INT. MAIN DEC)

9ouse4s body thrashes against its harness as !! INT. ROOM 1313 (MATRIX) - DAY

=;LL&*S "$;%, him against the blood!splattered brick window. )un smoke thickens the room, -able blasting and mo/ing until !! *he #A99&' -L(-FS empty. >('&, ripping him apart. INT. MAIN DEC) #e screams as a ,$K&% );%S $"&%

=lood spits rom -able4s mouth, his body spasming, then lying per ectly still. *he lat!line ALA'9 so tly cries out 9$%(*$'S o the two dead men. EXT. HOTE" "AFAYETTE (MATRIX) - DAY rom the li e

9ore police cars arri/e as cops break open the lobby doors. INT. STAIRWE"" (MATRIX) - DAY

>lying downstairs, 9orpheus stops, hearing the police swarming below. #e turns and rushes down the hall o the eighth loor. At the end o it, he inds the bricked!up windows. CYPHER *hat4s what they changed. We4re trapped. *here4s no way out. *he sound o hea/y =$$*!S*&"S close around them with the mechanical sureness o a /ice. MORPHEUS )i/e me your phone.

TRINITY *hey4ll be able to track it. MORPHEUS We ha/e no choice. INT. MAIN DEC)

*ank answers the call. MORPHEUS (V.O.) *ank, ind a structural drawing o this building and ind it ast. #is INT. ingers pound the keyboard. "AFAYETTE (MATRIX) - DAY

>lashlights probe the rotting darkness as the police search e/ery loor. INT. MAIN DEC)

*he diagram windows onto the screen. TAN) )ot it. MORPHEUS (V.O.) ( need the main wet!wall. INT. HA"" (MATRIX) - DAY

Agent Smith pauses, his hand going to his earpiece. INT. ROOM .0. (MATRIX) - DAY

9orpheus is guided by *ank. TAN) (V.O.) %ow le t and that4s it in ront o you. MORPHEUS )ood. #e cuts o INT. the phone.

HA"" (MATRIX) - DAY

Agent Smith hears the L(%& -L(-F dead. &ighth eighth INT. loor. loor. A#ENT SMITH *hey4re on the

HA"" (MATRIX) - DAY

Agent =rown hears Smith on his earphone. &ighth INT. -ops INT. loor? A#ENT $ROWT% 9o/e?

STAIRWE"" (MATRIX) - DAY lood the eighth loor, rushing e/erywhere.

ROOM .0. (MATRIX) - DAY

Se/eral cops sweep through the room. (t is empty. As they pass the bathroom, we see a man!si@ed hole smashed through the plaster and lathe. INT. WA"" (MATRIX) - DAY

*hey are inside the main plumbing wall, slowly worming their way down the greasy, black stack pipes. Abo/e them, light INT. ills the hole they made to get inside.

HA"" (MATRIX) - DAY

=rown turns to Smith. Where are they+ INT. ROOM 0. (MATRIX) - DAY A#ENT $ROWN

*he cops search in silence, straining or a clue, when one hears S$9&*#(%) S*'A%)& near the bathroom. INT. WA"" (MATRIX) - DAY

-ypher has slipped and is wedged between the wall and se/eral thick supply pipes. INT. ROOM 0. (MATRIX) - DAY

*he -op leans in, his ear almost against the thin membrane o plaster separating them. #e can hear W#(S"&'S, #(SS&S and a )';%* when !! *he WALL suddenly bulges, S#A**&'!-'A-F(%) as the -op reali@es !! COP *hey4re in the walls? INT. WA"" (MATRIX) - DAY ree Bust as the -op $"&%S >('& !! light like swords into the bo8

%eo pulls -ypher

=;LL&*S ";%-#(%) sha ts o o soot!black space.

INT.

ROOM

0. (MATRIX) - DAY

*he -op keeps >('(%), his lashlight strapped to his gun barrel, lighting up the wall until !! A =;LL&* spits out his =$,5 all with a *#;,. orehead. Agent Smith watches the

A#ENT SMITH Are orders that hard to ollow+ (4ll say it again. 9orpheus must be taken ali/e. ;nderstand+ INT. WA"" (MATRIX) - DAY alling, they4re climbing so ast.

*hey4re almost

Abo/e them, plaster is smashed open as crunbling bits shower down on them, illing the crawlway with dust. INT. ROOM 0. (MATRIX) - DAY

Agent Smith looks into the open wall, at the e8posed intestines o the building, and reali@es where they are going. A#ENT SMITH #ow like a rodent. INT. WA"" (MATRIX) - DAY

<ust below, a '(>L&!=;** S9AS#&S open the WALL, light raking across the lathe. ( got him? COP ( got him?

*rinity inds her gun irst. =;LL&*!#$L&S "$" out the WALL as she S*'A>&S the room, sending cops di/ing or co/er. *hey continue, *rinity e8posed or a roment, when a creeping cop smashes a ist through and grabs a ist ul o her hair. #e starts to yank her out when %eo kicks, his boot bursting through plaster and splintering lathe, knocking the -op out. *hey then Euickly sink out o INT. $ASEMENT (MATRIX) - DAY sight.

*his part o the basement, a dark concrete ca/ern, was the main mechanical room. *here are our enormous boilers, dinosaur!like technology that once pumped hot water like arteries. =lack and bloody, they sEuee@e out rom the ceiling into

the tangled web o

pipes. or them.

*heir enemies are waiting

=linding lights cut open the darkness as gas!masked igures >('& )'&%A,& LA;%-#&'S. Smoke blossoms rom the green!metal canisters.

9orpheus ne/er stops mo/ing. Searching the loor, he inds what.he needsA the co/er o the catch basin. -ypher watches him pry open the grate, when a gas can bounces near him. MORPHEUS -ome on? -ypher seems to trip as the cloud en/elops him. INT. MAIN DEC)

-ypher4s body begins to shi/er uncontrollably. TAN) %er/e gas. INT. $ASEMENT (MATRIX) - DAY

9orpheus watches -ypher disappear into the smoke then ollows the others down the wet!black hole. INT. CATCH $ASIN (MATRIX) - DAY oot

*hey crawl through greasy black water in a three diameter pipe that eeds into the sewer main. INT. $ASEMENT (MATRIX) - DAY ind the open hole.

)as!masked apparitions EXT.

HOTE" "AFAYETTE (MATRIX) - DAY

-ypher is carried out, hand!cu ed, his body still shaking, mucus bubbling out his nose. As he is led past Agent Smith, it almost seems that both men smile. A#ENT SMITH We ha/e them now. INT. SEWER MAIN (MATRIX) - DAY

%eo punches out the screen and then spills down into the main water trough. $ily water orms around them as they wade across the man! made underground ri/er, towards the ser/ice catwalk. %eo is about to pull himsel out when he sees them coming.

>lashlights and laser sites sweep at them as cops in helmets and hea/y armor, looking more nachine than human, ill both ends o the tunnel. *here is a single manhole co/er abo/e them. 9orpheus whispers to *rinity. MORPHEUS 5ou ha/e to get %eo out. ;nderstand+ *hat4s all that matters now. TRINITY 9orpheus, don4t !! MORPHEUS #e must get out. ,o you understand me+ She nods. A ont o water erupts as 9orpheus leaps or the manhole ladder, his coat lying open like the wings o a manta ray. *here he is? COPS *hat4s him? to the

"ools o light wash o/er him as he hauls himsel sur ace. #e4s heading COP or the street?

*rinity urges the others to ollow her. they wade Euietly away rom the chaos. EXT. STREET (MATRIX) - DAY

)rabbing %eo,

9orpheus shoots out o the sewer but the police are waiting or him. *he closest cop is armed with a tranEuili@ed gun. #e ires !! =ut 9orpheus4 is too ast, using the manhole co/er as a shield, blocking the darts, then !! >risbee!ing it into the cop4s armored chest, knocking him o his eet. *he cops lunge at him but e/ery part o his body is a deadly weapon mo/ing with impossible speed. (t seems he might ight his way out when he throws a spinning back ist that is caught by !! Agent Smith. A#ENT SMITH So, we meet at last. MORPHEUS And you are+

Smith.

A#ENT SMITH ( am Agent Smith.

MORPHEUS 5ou all look the same to me. A#ENT SMITH (4/e been waiting or this noment. >aster than a snake spits, 9orpheus cracks Smith with a Baw!breaking right. MORPHEUS $h, so ha/e (. Agent Smith smiles. INT. SEWER MAIN (MATRIX) - DAY

*rinity leads the others, ading into the darkness o the tunnel, lit only with sha ts o lights streaming through the street drains as we '(S& *$WA',S them !! *#'$;)# a grate (%*$ the EXT. ight.

STREET (MATRIX) - DAY

Smith and 9orpheus e8change a urious serious o blows that is witnessed but not belie/ed by the surrounding police. Agent Smith deli/ers a punishing kick that staggers 9orpheus. A#ENT SMITH 5ou can4t win. 9orpheus smiles. ( already ha/e. #e stands up and drops his eyes. *ake him. -ops swarm o/er 9orpheus. INT. MAIN DEC) reaching or MORPHEUS

istsA a steely resol/e in his A#ENT SMITH

*ank reaches out to the screen as i 9orpheus. TAN) %o? EXT. HOTE" "AFAYETTE (MATRIX) - DAY

-u ed and beaten, 9orpheus is thrown into a caged transport /ehicle. *he ,$$' -LA%)S shut. Agent <ones inds Agent Smith. A#ENT %ONES *he others were lost. A#ENT SMITH 5ou4/e taken care o 'eagan+ Agent <ones nods. A#ENT SMITH *hen the others do not matter. EXT. STREET (MATRIX) - DAY

A manhole co/er cracks open. *wo eyes peek out Bust as a *';-F 'A**L&S o/er it. *he *#;%,&' ,$""L&'S AWA5 and the co/er opens. %eo, *rinity, Switch and Apoc climb out. water!logged phone rom her pocket. TRINITY We need a phone. INT. MAIN DEC) *rinity pulls a

*ank is again at the monitors, searching the 9atri8. TAN) We gotta ind the others. still ali/e. *he "#$%& '(%)S. $perator. ( need an e8it? -ypher+ EXT. TAN) CYPHER (V.O.) >ast? *hey4re

TAN) ( thought they had you+

STREET (MATRIX) - DAY

-ypher is standing at a public phone. Across the street is the burning paddy wagon that appears to ha/e collided witli an oncoming car. CYPHER *here was an accident. A ucking car accident. All o a sudden. =oom. *hey4re all dead. ( still got the shakes but, <esus, someone4s going to make a belie/er out o me.

INT.

MAIN DEC)

,o@er spots the wreck. *here he is. ( got you. CYPHER (V.O.) <ust get me outta here. EXT. STREET (MATRIX) - DAY TAN) (V.O.) %earest e8it is >ranklin and &rie. An old appliance store. -ypher hangs up and smiles as the An actor. INT. MAIN DEC) *ank answers. TAN) TRINITY (V.O.) *ank, it4s me. EXT. STREET (MATRIX) - DAY *rinity has a new cellular. ire trucks arri/e. DO+ER TAN)

CYPHER ,e initely.

*he "#$%& '(%)S.

$perator.

*hey are outside a pawn shop.

TRINITY We need an e8it? )otcha. -ypher. TAN) (V.O.) 5ou4re not ar rom

TRINITY -ypher, ( thought !! TAN) (V.O.) So did we. *hat boy4s got nine li/es. ( sent him to >ranklin and &rie. )ot it. She hangs up. EXT. STREET (MATRIX) - DAY TRINITY

'unning, -ypher turns onto &rie.

INT.

APP"IANCE STORE (MATRIX) - DAY

,ead machines, e/iscerated and shrouded with dust lay on metal shel/es like bodies in a morgue. "lywood co/ering a small window is ripped o crawls inside. and -ypher

,eep in the back room, a "#$%& that has not rung in years begins to '(%). INT. MAIN DEC)

*ank punches the emit command. )ot him. TAN)

-ypher4s body twitches in its harness, Berking itsel awake. #is eyes blink open. ,o@er unplugs him. DO+ER System check looks ine. -ypher stands, a raspy cough spewing EXT. STREET (MATRIX) - DAY rom his lungs.

*rinity sees the appliance shop. INT. MAIN DEC)

-ypher holds his chest. DO+ER 5ou okay+ )oddamn gas. me. CYPHER 9y lungs are killing

#e crosses to an o/erhead bin. CYPHER We got any pain killers+ *he DO+ER irst aid kit4s o/er here.

As ,o@er stoops or a cabinet, -ypher pulls back a hea/y blanket e8posing a plasma ri le. INT. APP"IANCE STORE (MATRIX) - DAY

%eo crawls through the window that -ypher opened. INT. MAIN DEC)

*ank inishes loading the e8it programs as -ypher rises behind him, swinging the weapon at his back. #e looks o/er as ,o@er turns with the look o ro@en disbelie crossing his %o? DO+ER irst aid kit, a ace !!

*ank spins as red hot wads o "LAS9A &D"L$,& through his chair and into his back. ,i/ing, a second =;'S* tears up his side !! As ,o@er shoots a look at the monitor where *ank was working. #e stabs the enter command acti/ating the e8it seEuence and ducks under a =A''A)& o "LAS9A >('&! INT. APP"IANCE STORE (MATRIX) - DAY

*he "#$%& begins to '(%) as the others crawl in. SWITCH )od, ( lo/e that sound. INT. MAIN DEC) rom a bo8 o the

,o@er rolls up, grabbing a hea/y crowbar tools.

-ypher circles the dri/e chairs as the sights o plasma ri le ind ,o@er4s ace.

,o@er charges, screaming, and the "LAS9A '(>L& S-'&A9S back. INT. APP"IANCE STORE (MATRIX) - DAY

*he "#$%& is still '(%)(%). 5ou irst,.%eo. TRINITY *here is no

%eo answers the phone when there is a -L(-F. signal. %othing but silence. What happened+ ( don4t know. TRINITY

NEO (t Bust went dead.

*rinity listens to the dead line and takes out the cellular. INT. MAIN DEC) *he operator "#$%& begins to '(%)! -ypher steps o/er the body o *ank and looks at the monitor. INT. APP"IANCE STORE (MATRIX) - DAY

*rinity can almost eel him watching them. &/ery unanswered '(%) wrings her gut a little tighter, until !! #ello, *rinity. -ypher+ CYPHER (V.O.)

TRINITY Where4s *ank+

CYPHER (V.O.) #e had an accident. TRINITY An accident+ What about ,o@er+ (s ,o@er there+ INT. MAIN DEC)

#e walks o/er to *rinity4s body, staring down at it hanging in its coma!like stillness. CYPHER 5ou know, or a long time, ( thought ( was in lo/e with you, *rinity. ( used to dream about you... #e nu@@les his it. ace against hers, eeling the so tness o

CYPHER 5ou are a beauti ul woman. *oo bad things had to work out like this. We (%*&'-;* =&*W&&% the appliance store and the main deck. TRINITY 5ou killed them. APOC What+? $h )od. SWITCH

Wearing *ank4s operator headgear, -ypher mo/es among the silent bodies. CYPHER (n a way you4re /ery lucky. 9ost people ne/er know why they die. $ne minute they4re ali/e, the ne8t they4re dead. %o warning. %othing. *hat4s why ( thought maybe ( should tell you. (t seemed the least ( could do. #e stands o/er the body o up out o him. 9orpheus, as his anger boils CYPHER

5ou see, the truth, the real,truth is that the war is o/er. (t4s been o/er or a long time. And guess what+ We lost? ,id you hear that+ We lost the war? TRINITY What about Kion+ CYPHER Kion+ Kion is a part o this delusion. 9ore o this madness. *hat4s why this has to be done. (t has to end. %ow and ore/er. She suddenly sees the entire dark plan. TRINITY $h rny )od. *his is ab@ut Kion. 5ou ga/e them 9orpheus or the access codes to Kion. -ypher walks away Apoc4s body. rom 9orpheus and bends down ne8t to

CYPHER 5ou see, *rinity, we humans ha/e a place in the uture. =ut it4s not here. (t4s in the 9atri8. TRINITY *he 9atri8 isn4t real? CYPHER $h, ( disagree, *rinity. ( disagree. ( think the 9atri8 is more real than this world. ( mean, all ( do is pull a plug here. =ut there, you watch a man die. #e grabs hold o yanks it out. the cable in Apoc4s neck, twists it and CYPHER 5ou tell me which is more real. Apoc seems to go blind or an instant, a scream caught in his throat, his hands reaching or nothing, and then alls dead. Switch screams. CYPHER Welcome to the real world, right+ #e laughs. TRINITY Somehow, some way, you4re going to pay or this. CYPHER "ay or it+ (4m not e/en going to remember it. (t4ll be like it ne/er happened. *he tree alling in the orest. (t doesn4t make a

sound. #is hand slides around the neck o hold o her plug. She suddenly is murdered. eels her body se/ered Switch as he takes rom her mind as she

TRINITY )oddamn you, -ypher? CYPHER ,on4t hate me, *rinity. (4m Bust the messenger. And right now (4m going to pro/e that the message is true. #e stands o/er %eo. CYPHER ( 9orpheus was right, then there4s no way ( can pull this plug, is there+ She turns to %eo, eyes wide with ne8t. ( ear, and he knows he is

CYPHER he is the $ne, then in the ne8t ew seconds there has to be some kind o miracle to stop me. =ecause i he dies like the others that means 9orpheus was wrong. #ow can he be the $ne i he4s dead+ #e takes hold o the cord when !!

She hears an &D"L$S($% and a scream. -ypher is on the ground, his le t leg blown o at the knee. #e rolls o/er and inds *ank on the ground, and the sights o the plasma ri le. TAN) #ow4s it eel, -ypher+ you4re about to die+ (t4s *ank? -ypher lunges o . INT. NEO #e4s ali/e. Fnowing

or %eo4s plug Bust as *ank =L$WS his head

APP"IANCE STORE (MATRIX) - DAY

*hey4re both listening, trying to igure out what is happening when the store "#$%& starts to '(%). *rinity smiles, tears moistening her eyes as %eo throws his arms around her. >or a moment, it looks as i they might kiss be ore *rinity lets go. TRINITY

We should, we should hurry. 5eah. INT. MAIN DEC) 'ight. NEO

*rinity4s eyes open, a sense o relie surging through her at the sight o the ship. As *ank unplugs her, she sees his charred wounds. TRINITY *ank, you4re hurt. TAN) (4ll be all right. ,o@er+ *ank4s ace tightens. TRINITY (4m sorry, *ank. EXT. NI)O HOTE" (MATRIX) - DAY TRINITY

A <apanese lu8ury hotel in downtown -hicago. A military helicopter sets down on the roo . armed 9arines begin to deploy. #ea/ily

Agent <ones gets out o the helicopter, lanked by columns o 9arines. *hey open the roo access door and enter the top! loor maintenance le/el o the hotel. INT. TOP F"OOR (MATRIX) - DAY

*hey get in the ele/ator. At e/ery door, at least two 9arines stop and post guard. INT. HA"" (MATRIX) - DAY

*hey e8it the ele/ator and walk to the "residential suiteA the inal two 9arines post guard. INT. PRESIDENTIA" SUITE (MATRIX) - DAY inds Agent Smith. A#ENT %ONES *here is a problem. 'eagan has ailed to secure the hardware. Agent Smith stares out the window. A#ENT SMITH %e/er send a human to do a machine4s Bob.

(nside, he

A#ENT %ONES =ut i 'eagan has ailed, why ha/en4t they pulled the plug+ A#ENT SMITH #a/en4t you learned by now, that it is impossible to understand why they do the things they do+ #e turns. A#ENT SMITH -ontinue as planned. *race his signal to locate their position and deploy an e8termination unit. 9orpheus is handcu ed to a chair, stripped to the waist. #e is bleeding rom numerous wounds and is pumped ull o serum, alternately shi/ering and sweating. #e is hooked up to /arious monitors with white disk electrodes. Agent =rown begins running a trace program. INT. MAIN DEC)

%eo looks at 9orpheus whose body is co/ered with a cold sweat. NEO What are they doing to him+ TAN) *hey4re cracking his mind. NEO #ow+ TAN) *hey inBect /irus!like serums to break down the system. (t4s like cracking a computer. All it takes is time. #ow much time+ NEO

TAN) ,epends on the mind. =ut e/entually, it will crack and his alpha pattern will change rom this to this. *ank punches se/eral commands on 9orpheus4 personal unit. *he monitor wa/es change rom a chaotic pattern to an orderly symmetrical one. TAN) When it does, 9orpheus will tell them anything they want to know. NEO *he access codes to Kion. TAN)

( an agent got inside Kion4s main rame he could do anything. ,isable the de ense system. (t would be the end o us. #e looks up at *rinity who is pacing relentlessly. TAN) We can4t let that happen. We ha/e to do it, *rinity. Kion has to be protected. *rinity sees -ypher4s dead body. she starts kicking hin. )oddamnit? 'age o/ertakes her and

TRINITY )oddamnit?

TAN) We ha/e to pull the plug. TRINITY %o? TAN) We don4t ha/e any other choice. *hose words are like using gasoline to put out a we watch the pain in her eyes burn into a bla@e. walks past him and gets into her chair. TAN) *rinity, what are you doing+ TRINITY (4m going in a ter him. TAN) 9orpheus could con orm at any minute !! TRINITY ( he does (4m sure you4ll do what has to be done. TAN) 5ou saw that place. She glares at him. TAN) ( know what 9orpheus means to you !! TRINITY %o. %o, ( don4t think you do. ( you did, then you would know that (4m not letting him go. %ot without a ight, *ank. She yanks her harness tight. %ot without a TRINITY ight. (t4s suicide. ire and She

INT.

PRESIDENTIA" SUITE (MATRIX) - DAY

Agent Smith stands in the bedroon o the enormous suite, staring out the windows at the city, below, shimmering with brilliant sunlight. A#ENT SMITH #a/e you e/er stood and stared at it, 9orpheus+ 9ar/eled at its beauty. (ts genius. =illions o people Bust li/ing out their li/es... obli/ious. Agent =rown sucks a serum hypodermic needle. rom a glass /ial, illing a

A#ENT SMITH ,id you know that the irst 9atri8 was designed to be a per ect human world+ Where none su ered, where e/eryone would be happy. (t was a disaster. %o one would accept the program. &ntire crops were lost. Agent =rown Bams the needle into 9orpheus4 shoulder, and plunges down. A#ENT SMITH Some belie/ed we lacked the programming language to describe your per ect world. =ut ( belie/e that, as a species, human beings de ine their reality through su ering and misery. Agent =rown studies the screens as the li e signs react /iolently to the inBection. A#ENT SMITH *he per ect world was a dream that your primiti/e cerebrum kept trying to wake up rom. Which is why the 9atri8 was re!designed to this. the peak o your ci/ili@ation. #e turns rom the window. A#ENT SMITH ( say 4your ci/ili@ation4 because as soon as we start thinking or you, it really becomes our ci/ili@ation, which is, o course, what this is all about. #e sits down directly in ront o 9orpheus.

A#ENT SMITH &/olution, 9orpheus. &/olution. #e li ts 9orpheus4 head. A#ENT SMITH Like the dinosaur. Look out that

window.

5ou had your time.

9orpheus stares hard at him, trying hard not to show the pain racking his mind. *he *he INT. MAIN DEC) A#ENT SMITH uture is our world, 9orpheus. uture is our time.

%eo goes to his chair and begins strapping in. TRINITY What do you think you4re doing+ 5ou need help. you. NEO (4m coming with

TRINITY %o. %o way. 9orpheus sacri iced himsel so you could escape. *here4s no way you4re going back in. NEO 9orpheus did what he did because he belie/ed that (4m something that (4m not. What+ TRINITY

NEO (4m not the $ne, *rinity. $racle told me. *rinity is stunned.

*he

NEO She said ( had a gi t but ( still had a lot to learn. She told me maybe ne8t li e. TRINITY ,id you tell 9orpheus+ NEO Why+ (t wouldn4t mean anything. #e4d still belie/e what he wanted to belie/e. =ut 9orpheus is the one that matters. #e4s more important than me and we both know it. #e straps in. NEO ( may not be what 9orpheus thinks ( am, but i ( don4t try to help him, then (4m not e/en what ( think ( am.

What are you+ #is INT. riend.

TRINITY NEO

PRESIDENTIA" SUITE (MATRIX) - DAY

Agent Smith sits casually across rom 9orpheus who is hunched o/er, his body leaking and twitching. A#ENT SMITH (4d like to share a re/elation that (4/e had during my time here. (t came to me when ( tried to classi y your species. (4/e reali@ed that you are not actually mammals. *he li e signs continue their chaotic patterns. A#ENT SMITH &/ery mammal on this planet instincti/ely de/elops a natural eEuilibrium with the surrounding en/ironment. =ut you humans do not. 5ou mo/e to an area and you multiply and multiply until e/ery natural resource is consumed and the only way you can sur/i/e is to spread to another area. #e leans orward. A#ENT SMITH *here is another organism on this planet that ollows the same pattern. ,o you know what it is+ A /irus. #e smiles. A#ENT SMITH #uman beings are a disease, a cancer o this planet. 5ou are a plague. And we are... the cure. INT. MAIN DEC)

*rinity and %eo hang motionless in the suspension unit. *ank is at the operations station. $kay. need+ )uns. TAN) Store4s open. What do you

Lots o

TRINITY (V.O.) guns.

TAN) -oming right up. #e loads the weapons disk.

INT.

CONSTRUCT

'acks o weapons appear and %eo and *rinity arm themsel/es. TRINITY %o one has e/er done anything like this. 5eah+ #e snap cocks an ;@i. NEO *hat4s why it4s going to work. INT. PRESIDENTIA" SUITE (MATRIX) - DAY NEO

Agent Smith is again at the window. A#ENT SMITH Why isn4t the serum working+ A#ENT $ROWN "erhaps we are asking the wrong Euestions. A#ENT %ONES $r he doesn4t know. A#ENT SMITH $ course he knows. #e4s resisting. #ow+ ( don4t know. A#ENT $ROWN A#ENT SMITH ( ( knew...

Agent Smith hides his knotting ist. #e is becoming angry. (t is something that isn4t supposed to happen to agents. A#ENT SMITH Lea/e me with him. Agent =rown and <ones look at each other. A#ENT SMITH %ow? INT. MAIN DEC) ace is ashen like his hand.

*ank sits down beside 9orpheus whose someone near death. #e takes hold o

TAN) #old on, 9orpheus. *hey4re coming or you. *hey4re coming. EXT. NI)O HOTE" (MATRIX) - DAY

A dark wind blows. INT. NI)O HOTE" (MATRIX) - DAY

(n long, black coats, *rinity and %eo push through the re/ol/ing doors. %eo is carrying a du el bag. *rinity has a large metal suitcase. *hey cut across the lobby drawing ner/ous glances. ,ark glasses, game aces.

Se/eral plainclothes cops try to stop them. *hey are met by the 9;*&, S"(* o a S(L&%-&, );% and the 'AK$'&, W#(S*L& o *#'$W(%) S*A'S. *he cops slump down to the marbled *rinity do not e/en break stride. INT. loor while %eo and

PRESIDENTIA" SUITE (MATRIX) - DAY

Agent Smith leans close to 9orpheus, whispering to him. A#ENT SMITH -an you hear me, 9orpheus+ (4m going to be honest with you. #e remo/es his earphone, letting it dangle o/er his shoulder. A#ENT SMITH ( hate this place. *his @oo. *his prison. *his reality, whate/er you want to call it, ( can4t stand it any longer. (t4s the smell, i there is such a thing. ( eel saturated by it. ( can taste your stink and e/ery time ( do, ( ear that (4/e somehow been in ected by it. #e wipes sweat rom 9orpheus4 orehead, coating the tips o his ingers, holding them to 9orpheus4 nose. A#ENT SMITH 'epulsi/e, isn4t it+ #e li ts 9orpheus4 head, holding it tightly with both hands. A#ENT SMITH ( must get out o here, ( must get ree. (n this mind is tlie key. 9y key. 9orpheus sneers through his pain. A#ENT SMITH $nce Kion is gone, there4s no need or me to be here. ,o you understand+ ( need the codes. (

ha/e to get inside Kion. to tell me how. #e begins sEuee@ing, his *ell me?

5ou ha/e lesh.

ingers gouging into his A#ENT SMITH *ell me?

*he skull is about to shatter when Agents <ones and =rown burst into the room. Agent Smith releases 9orpheus. A#ENT $ROWN What were you doing+ Agent Smith reco/ers, replacing his ear piece. 5ou don4t know. Fnow what+ Agent Smith listens to his earphone, not belie/ing what he is hearing. INT. E"EVATORS (MATRIX) - DAY A#ENT %ONES A#ENT SMITH

*hey get in. *rinity immediately drops and opens the suitcase, wiring a plastiEue and napalm bomb. =eneath their trench coats is an arsenal o rom climbing harnesses. weapons slung

%eo hits the emergency stop. #e pulls down part o the alse ceiling and inds the ele/ator sha t access panel. INT. PRESIDENTIA" SUITE (MATRIX) - DAY

Agent <ones looks at 9orpheus. A#ENT %ONES ( think they4re trying to sa/e him. INT. E"EVATOR SHAFT (MATRIX) - DAY

%eo ratchets down a clamp onto the ele/ator cable. =oth o them lock on. #e looks up the long, dark throat o the building and takes a deep breath. NEO *here is no spoon. %eo whips out his gun and presses it to the cable, lower than where they attached themsel/es. =$$9? *he -A=L& S%A"S.

*he counter!weights plummet, yanking *rinity and %eo up through the sha t as !! *he ele/ator alls away beneath them, distending space,

illing it with the sound o to the top. INT. "O$$Y (MATRIX) - DAY

W#(S*L(%) 9&*AL as they soar

*he &L&:A*$' hits the botton. $A-$OOM' *he massi/e &D"L$S($% blows open the doors, ire clouds engul ing the ele/ator section o the lobby. INT. PRESIDENTIA" SUITE (MATRIX) - DAY

*he Agents hear the =LAS* A%, >('& ALA'9S. Lower le/el !! A#ENT %ONES

A#ENT $ROWN *hey are actually attacking. INT. E"EVATOR SHAFT (MATRIX) - DAY or the

#anging by a rope, *rinity hot!wires the panel door. INT. TOP F"OOR (MATRIX) - DAY

%er/ous, the 9arines watch as the &L&:A*$' G,(%)SG so tly and slides open. =lack smoke rises out o the e8posed sha t.

*he nearest 9arine eases to the edge, peering down at the churning bla@e engul ing the lower le/els. #e does not see *rinity and %eo abo/e him until it is too late. Frack? %eo kicks, knocking the 9arine the sha t. lying down into

=e ore the others can react, *rinity lips out into the hall, decking the nearest 9arine. %eo cracks another. *he INT. ight is o/er be ore it begins. PRESIDENTIA" SUITE (MATRIX) - DAY

An enormous &D"L$S($% *#;%,&'S abo/e them, shaking the building. *he ALA'9 S$;%,S, emergency sprinklers begin showering the room. Agent Smith smashes a table. A#ENT SMITH >ind them and destroy them? Agent <ones nods and touches his ear piece.

EXT.

ROOF (MATRIX) - DAY

*he roo !access tower is now engul ed in lames as %eo and *rinity lay waste to a do@en more 9arines. )uns and kni/es, like e8tensions o their bodies used with the same deadly precision as their eet and their ists. Across the roo , the pilot inside the army helicopter watches the erocious onslaught. PI"OT ( repeat, we are under attack? Suddenly his ace, his whole body dissol/es, consumed by spreading locust!like swarm, o S*A*(- as !! Agent <ones emerges. <ust as she drops the last 9arine, *rinity sees what4s coming. %eo sees her, the behind him. ear in her ace, and he knows what is

Screaming, he whirls, );%S thought!speed.

illing his hands with

>ingers ";9"(%), S#&LLS eBecting, dancing up and away, we look through the sights and gun smoke at !! *he Agent blurred with motion !! ;ntil the #A99&'S -L(-F against empty metal. *rinity? Agent <ones charges. NEO ... help. #is );% =$$9S as we enter the liEuid space o =ullet!time. *he A(' S(KKL&S with wads o lead!like angry twists, bends, ducks Bust between them. lies as %eo !! NEO

Agent <ones still running, narrows the gap, the =;LL&*S coming aster until !! %eo bent impossibly back, one hand on the ground as a spiraling gray ball shears open his shoulder. #e starts to scream as another digs a red groo/e across his thigh. #e has only time to look up, to see the barrel when Agent <ones, standing o/er him, pulls the *'())&' the inal time.

-L(-F.

&mpty. or another gun when around!house Agent <ones grabs the gun and le/els A#ENT %ONES $nly human...

%eo rolls, reaching kick snaps his Baw. it at %eo.

Suddenly Agent <ones stops. Something is wrong. scans the roo . *rinity is gone.

#e

(mmediately, he whirls around and turns straight into the mu@@le o her .2C !! <ammed right into his head. TRINITY ,odge this, mother ucker? =$$9? =$$9? =$$9? *he body lies back with a mercurial light and when it hits the ground !! (t is the pilot. *rinity helps %eo up. *hanks. 5ou4re hit !! (4m ine. NEO NEO TRINITY lash o

%eo is already looking at the helicopter. -an you %ot yet. NEO ly that thing+ TRINITY

She pulls out a cellular phone. INT. HOVERCRAFT

*ank is back at the controls. $perator. TAN)

TRINITY (V.O.) *ank, ( need a pilot program or a military 9!169 helicopter. *ank is immediately searching the disk drawers. TRINITY (V.O.) #urry? #is ingers lash o/er the gleaming laser disks, inding

one that he eeds into *rinityls supplement dri/e, punching the GloadG cormands on her keyboard. EXT. ROOF (MATRIX) - DAY

*rinity4s eyes lutter as in ormation surges into her brain, all the essentials o lying a helicopter absorbed at light!speed. Let4s go. INT. HA"" (MATRIX) - DAY TRINITY

9arines, trying to communicate with the men on the roo , are beginning to panic when Agent <ones comes around the corner. SER#EANT Sir? Sir? *here was gun ire !! we4/e lost communication with the roo ? A#ENT %ONES 'emain at your posts. =ut, sir !! the e/acuate? SER#EANT ire !! we should

A#ENT %ONES 5ou will do as you are ordered? SER#EANT 5es, sir. Agent <ones marches into the "residential Suite. INT. PRESIDENTIA" SUITE (MATRIX) - DAY

Agent <ones throws open the bedroom door and enters, walking through the puddles pooling in the carpet. $/er the ';S#(%) WA*&' and the ALA'9S, Agent Smith hears a S$;%, and understands the seriousness o the attack. #e turns to the wall o INTO VIEW -windows as the helicopter drops

%eo is in the back bay, aiming the mounted .C6 machine gun. A#ENT SMITH %o. *he );% Bumps and =;LL&*S &D"L$,& through the W(%,$W in a cacophony o -'AS#(%) )LASS !! As the Agents go or their weapons.

=ut %eo is too close, the .C6 -AL(=&' too ast and =;LL&*S are e/erywhere, per orating the room.

Agent Smith is hit irst, his body Back!kni ing back, blood arcing out with a sudden lash o light !! *hen Agent =rown, his );% still >('(%) as his body And inally Agent <ones. alls.

%eo stares at 9orpheus, trying to will him into action. NEO )et up, 9orpheus? )et up? 9orpheus sits unmo/ing, his head still down. %eo grabs the climbing rope Bust as marines burst into the adBoining room. #e attaches only one end to his harness when they $"&% FIRE. Iuickly he swings the );%, S"'A5(%) the other room, W(%,$WS S#A**&'(%), >;'%(*;'& &D"L$,(%), marines di/ing or co/er. INT. HA"" (MATRIX) - DAY

<ust outside the "residential Suite, three marines blister with snow!static. INT. PRESIDENTIA" SUITE (MATRIX) - DAY

9orpheus li ts his ace into the room4s rain. #is eyes, still white, begin to blink, twitch, then close. And when he opens them, they are again dark and with ire. lashing

*he Agents kni e into the room, >('(%) e/en as %eo4s =;LL&* *'A(LS chase them. 9orpheus strains at his handcu s.

*he Agents and the marines turn the tide, =LAS*(%) L&A,, '(-$-#&*(%), "$-F!9A'F(%) the -$"*&'. >('(%) wildly, %eo turns to see 9orpheus rising, snapping the handcu s, starting or the window. Agent Smith stops and sees 9orpheus run past the open bedroom door. %ooo? A#ENT SMITH

#e >('&S, sweeping across the sheetrocked wall in a per ect line. >or an instant, we see the =;LL&*S S#'&,, ";%-*;'(%) the WALL, searing through the wet air with Bet trails o chalk. And as 9orpheus starts to di/e or the window, a bullet

buries itsel Fnocking him o

in his leg !! balance. NEO #e won4t make it.

9orpheus lunges, out o

control !!

As %eo spins, e/ery mo/e a whip crack !! Snapping the other rope!end onto a bolted bar. 9orpheus begins to all when %eo hurls himsel wide blue empty space !! >lying or a moment. into the

*he rope snaking out behind himA an umbilical cord attached to a machine. As their two bodies, set in motion, rushing at each other on a seemingly magnetic course until !! *hey collide. Almost bouncing ree o each other, arms, legs, scrambling, hands searching in urious desperation, inding hold and clinging. ;ntil the line ends, snapping taut, cracking their ragile embrace. 9orpheus tumbles, legs lipping o/er, alling down !! *he ground deliriously distant !! As %eo snatches hold o wrist. )otcha? *rinity is already pulling the copter up and away. As Agent Smith grabs the 9!16 rom the nearest marine. his mentor4s still handcu NEO ed

#e4ll bring them all down. *argeting the helicopter, he aims at something only he can see. the oil line. "$%F. "$%F. "$%F. *he rear #;LL is ";%-#&, ull o holes and smoke and oil pours out like black blood. Shit!shit!no? TRINITY

%eo is pulling 9orpheus up to him when he hears the HE"ICOPTER $E#IN TO DIE. $h uck. NEO o the

*rinity throws the helicopter towards the roo nearest building.

9orpheus and %eo cling to one another as they and the

machine abo/e them begin to

all.

*he &%)(%& )'(%,S, the -#$""(%) =LA,&S start to slow while !! *he Agents stand in the open shattered window, watching the helicopter disappear behind taller buildings. -arried by its nomentum, *rinity guides the parabolic all o/er the nearest roo where !! %eo and 9orpheus drop sa ely, rolling ree as the rope goes slack. %eo gets to his eet, trying to detach himsel but !! *he helicopter is alling too like a setting sun !! *he coils o ast, arcing o/er the roo

slack snap taught !! erocious

5anking %eo o his eet, dragging him with speed towards the edge e/en as !!

*rinity lunges or the back door, her gun in one hand, grabbing or the rope with the other !! %eo lies like a skipping stone, hurtling straight A* us, when his eet hit the rain gutter !! A ulcrum that le/ers him up Bust as !!

*rinity >('&S, se/ering the cord rom the #&L(-$"*&', alling ree o it as it S9AS#&S, blades irst into a glass skyscraper. #olding onto the rope she swings, connected to %eo, who stands on the building4s edge watching her arc beneath him as the #&L(-$"*&' &D"L$,&S !! She bounces against a shatterproo window that spider! cracks out while >LA9&S &';"* behind her. INT. MAIN DEC)

*ank stares at the screen, his mouth agape. #e4s the $ne. EXT. ROOFTOP (MATRIX) - DAY =oth shaking, they TAN) #e4s got to be...

%eo pulls *rinity up into his arms. hold each other again. ( knew it? 9orpheus?

MORPHEUS ( goddamn knew it? TRINITY

She runs at him, throwing her arms around him. MORPHEUS

,o you belie/e me now+ #e4s the $ne? Who else could ha/e done this+ NEO 9orpheus, ( know you won4t belie/e me but the $racle told ne (4m not the $ne. MORPHEUS (t doesn4t matter i ( don4t belie/e you !! #is eyes light up. MORPHEUS What matters is that you don4t belie/e her. INT. MAIN DEC)

*he "#$%& '(%)S. TRINITY (V.O.) *ank, get us out o here. TAN) )ot one ready. An underground &l station. State and =albo. TRINITY (V.O.) See ya soon. L(%& )$&S ,&A,. *ank looks at the bodies and smiles. See ya soon. EXT. ROOFTOP (MATRIX) - DAY Agent Smith can barely TAN)

*he rope is all that remains. control his anger.

A#ENT $ROWN *he trace was completed. A#ENT %ONES We ha/e their position. A#ENT $ROWN *he e8termination unit is in place. A#ENT %ONES $rder the strike. Agent Smith can4t stand listening to them. #e mo/es to the edge o the building, looking out at the surrounding city. A#ENT SMITH *hey4re not out yet.

INT.

*E"* STATION (MATRIX) - DAY

A metal gate is locked, the sign reading, GStation -losed.G %eo looks around, takes out a );% and =L$WS $>> the L$-F. (n the moist underground distance they hear the 9;*&, '(%) o a *&L&"#$%&. *he "#$%& is '(%)(%) inside a gra iti!co/ered booth.

Across rom it, sitting hunched against the red concrete wall, is an $L, 9A%. #e stares at the '(%)(%) "#$%&, taking a inal pull o his *!bird. %o one is around. (t continues to '(%). ,etermined, he stands and walks to the booth. about to answer the phone, when %eo sees him. ,on4t? NEO #e is

*he $ld 9an stops, %eo rushes at hin, gliding smoothly o/er the turnstiles. O"D MAN (4m sorry !! ( didn4t mean? *he $ld 9an is shaking, terri ied. %eo looks at his gun. #e glances o/er his shoulder, then eases back the hammer. )et outta here. NEO $kay+ 'un? )o?

*he $ld 9an nods, turns and hurries deeper into the urban ca/e, disappearing into the shadows as *rinity and 9orpheus arri/e. What happened+ (t was nobody. TRINITY Was that !! NEO

%eo turns to the '(%)(%) =$$*#. Let4s go? 5ou NEO irst, 9orpheus.

9orpheus gets in and answers the phone. Lost in the shadow, the $ld 9an turns back and watches as 9orpheus disappears, the phone dropping, dangling by its cord. #is eyes grow wide, glowing white in the dark. EXT. ROOFTOP (MATRIX) - DAY #e will

Agent Smith stares, his ace twisted with hate. ne/er be ree o the 9atri8. #e starts to turn rom the edge o

the building when he

suddenly hears it, his head whipping back around, staring !! INT. *E"* STATION (MATRIX) - DAY

As the $ld 9an stares. *rinity hangs up the phone. close enough to kiss him. She turns to %eo, standing

TRINITY 9orpheus is right, you know. (t doesn4t matter what he belie/es or e/en what the $racle belie/es. What matters is what you belie/e. NEO ( belie/e... #e stares at the ullness o her lips.

NEO ( want to kiss you. She smiles. TRINITY ( want to kiss you too... *he "#$%& begins to '(%). TRINITY =ut ( want it to be real. She pulls hersel away and gets into the booth when something catches %eo4s eye and he looks to where the $ld 9an had been. She hears him S-'&A9 and sees Agent Smith emerge as i ormed by congealing darkness, charging with a ist ul o metal. *he );% >('&S, the =;LL&* lying at her, =;'S*(%) through the plastic W(%,$W Bust as !! *rinity disappears. *he handset hanging in the air as the =;LL&* #(*S, S#A**&'(%) the &A'!"(&-&. INT. HOVERCRAFT

*rinity blinks, shi/ering as her conscious e8its the -onstruct. TRINITY %eo? TAN) What the hell Bust happened+ An Agent? TRINITY 5ou ha/e to send me

back? ( can4t? INT. TAN)

*E"* STATION (MATRIX) - DAY

);% '&"$'* *#;%,&'S through the underground, both men =LAS*(%), mo/ing at impossible speed. >or a blinking noment we enter =;LL&*!*(9&. )un lash tongues curl rom %eols gun, bullets loat orward like a plane no/ing across the sky, cartridges cartwheel into space. An instant later they are nearly on top o each other, rolling up out o a mo/e that is almost a mirrored re lection o the other !! &ach Bamming their gun tight to the other4s head. *hey ree@e in a kind o embraceA %eo sweating, panting, Agent Smith machine!calm. Agent Smith smiles. 5ou4re empty. %eo pulls the *'())&'. -L(-F. NEO So are you. *he smile C"IC). Agent Smith4s ace warps with rage and he attacks, lying at urious speed, blows and counters, %eo retreating as !! A kni e!hand opens his orearm, and a kick sends him slamming back against a steel column. Stunned, he ducks Bust under a punch that crunches into the beam, S*&&L -#;%FS &D"L$,(%) like shrapnel. =ehind him, %eo leaps into the air, deli/ering a neck! snapping re/erse round!house. Agent Smith4s glasses ly o and he glares at %eoA his eyes, ice blue. 5ou can4t win. ( already ha/e. #e attacks with a /icious series o blows but the Agent seems to absorb them, waiting or his opening. And this time Agent Smith4s attack is too much, an unrelenting ury, ists pounding like Backhammers. A#ENT SMITH NEO ist alls. Agent Smith yanks his *'())&'. A#ENT SMITH

INT.

HOVERCRAFT

*rinity watches %eo as his body Berks, mouth coughing blood, his li e signs going wild. TRINITY <esus, he4s killing him? INT. *E"* STATION (MATRIX) - DAY

Agent Smith grabs hold o him, li ting him into the air, hurling him against the cur/ed wall o the train tunnel, where he alls inches rom the electri ied third!rail. *he Agent is about to Bump down, and press his attack when he hears sonething. >rom deep in the tunnel, like an animal cryA a burst o high!speed 9&*AL )'(%,(%) against 9&*AL. *he sound o INT. an $%!-$9(%) *'A(%.

HOVERCRAFT ind another entrance.

*ank is trying to

TRINITY Send me back, *ank? Anywhere? TAN) (4m looking, *rinity? looking? (4m

>rom the cockpit, an ALA'9 sounds. 9orpheus hurries to the ront console, typing, bringing up the radar. *rinity ollows him. TRINITY What is it... oh no. (n e/ery pipe surrounding them, they see the &8termination ;nit. TRINITY Sentinels. INT. SEWER MAIN

*he killing machine we saw in the #istory "rogram blister by us like tracer bullets shot down the throat o the abyss. INT. *E"* STATION (MATRIX) - DAY

%eo tries to get up. Agent Smith Bumps down onto the tracks and drop!kicks him in the ace. *he world begins to shake, ';9=L(%) as the *'A(% %&A'S.

A#ENT SMITH ,o you hear that, 9r. Anderson+ Agent Smith grabs %eo in a choke!hold, orcing him to look down the tracks, the train4s headlight burning a hole in the darkness. A#ENT SMITH *hat is the sound o ine/itability. %eo sees it coming and he starts to ight.

A#ENT SMITH (t is the sound o your death. *here is another 9&*AL S-'&&-#, 9;-# L$;,&', closer, as Agent Smith tightens his hold. %eo is unable to breathe. A#ENT SMITH )oodbye, 9r. Anderson. *he *'A(% '$A'S at them, swallowing Agent Smith4s words. *he /eins bulge in %eo4s head, as he grits through the pain. #e is not ready to die. NEO 9y name is %eo. (mpossibly, he hurls himsel straight up, smashing Smith against the concrete ceiling o the tunnel. *hey all as the sound and (%*$ the station. %eo back! lips up o ury o the *'A(% &D"L$,&S

the tracks Bust as !!

*he train barrels o/er Agent Smith. %eo stands, knees shaking, when the train slams on its emergency brake. With an ear!splitting S#'(&F o *$'*;'&, 'A(LS, the train slows, part o it still in the station. %eo turns, limping, starting to run, racing escalator !! or the

As the train comes to a stop and the doors o the last car openA Agent Smith bursts out in urious pursuit, his glasses again intact. INT. HOVERCRAFT destruct key.

9orpheus checks the ship4s sel

TRINITY 5ou can4t use that until %eo is out? ( know. MORPHEUS ,on4t worry, he4ll make

it. EXT. CITY STREET (MATRIX) - DAY

A man sits in his 9ercedes, talking on his car phone when his door is thrown open. %eo yanks him out and Bumps in. >urther down the street, Agent Smith slows, calmly touching his ear!piece. %eo throws the car across tra street. INT. CAR (MATRIX) - DAY ic, rocketing down a side!

,ri/ing like a demon with one hand, he grabs the car phone and dials long distance. INT. HOVERCRAFT

*ank answers. $perator. TAN)

NEO (V.O.) 9r. Wi@ard, )et me the uck out o here? INT. CAR (MATRIX) - DAY

Looking o/er his shoulder, watching the mirrors, %eo dri/es almost unconsciously. #urry, *ank? pursuit? INT. HOVERCRAFT or an e8it. NEO ( got some serious

*he keyboard clicking, *ank searches *rinity screams into the headset.

TRINITY %eo, you better get your ass back here? INT. CAR NEO (4m trying, *rinity. ( got one? %eo glances to his right and sees Agent =rown, now dri/ing the car beside his. Agent =rown swer/es, slamming into him. TAN) (V.O.) (4m trying.

TAN) (V.O.)

Wabash and Lake.

A hotel.

%eo ights the steering wheel as Agent =rown pushes the car up o/er the median. TAN) (V.O.) 'oom 161. %eo drops the phone as his car bucks into the opposing lane !! ,irectly into the charging path o dri/en by Agent Smith. an enormous truck

%eo di/es rom the 9ercedes as the truck plows into it, rending metal and )LASS, crushing through, totaling other cars, as it &D"L$,&S. %eo is up and running e/en as orange and black clouds billow up behind hin. EXT. CITY STREET (MATRIX) - DAY

*hree igures silhouette by the burning wreckage become the three agents. >urther down the street, %eo hauls his broken, bleeding ass. Agents =rown and Smith slow, touching their ear!pieces as Agent <ones continues chasing ull!bore. %eo spins around a corner, racing toward a hotel called. the #eart o -hicago #otel. $nly Agent <ones is behind him now. %eo di/es into the alley. At the ar end he sees Agent =rown charging. %eo leaps or the ire escape and begins to climb. INT. SEWER MAIN

Sentinels open and shi t like killer kaleidoscopes as they ready their weapons, swarming around the %ebuchadne@@ar. INT. HOVERCRAFT

*he ho/ercra t booms as machines drop onto it. TAN) (4m going to make the call. MORPHEUS ,o it? INT. *HEART OF CHICA#O* HOTE" (MATRIX) - DAY

Agent Snith is in the ele/ator when he hears the ,(S*A%* '(%) o a "#$%&.

EXT.

A""EY (MATRIX) - DAY

*he agents chase him, >('(%), =;LL&*S S"A'F(%) and '(-$-#&*(%) e/en as %eo Bumps or the third! loor plat orm. %eo kicks in the window, Bumping into the hall. doors count backwards. 116... 169... INT. HOVERCRAFT ind. *he lasers *he

9orpheus grabs the biggest gun he can begin to slice through the hull. TRINITY Where is he+ Almost there. TAN)

MORPHEUS #e4s going to make it. #urry, %eo. INT. HA"" (MATRIX) - DAY TRINITY

%eo can hear the "#$%& '(%)(%). 305... 30&...

Agent =rown reaches the broken window behind him Bust as %eo grabs the handle o 161, throwing open the door to ind !! Agent Sniith, waiting, .2C cocked. %eo can4t mo/e !! can4t think !! $OOM. INT. HOVERCRAFT

%eo4s body Berks, and e/eryone hears it as the li e monitors snap lat!line. *rinity screams. INT. 9orpheus is ro@en in disbelie .

HA"" (MATRIX) - DAY

*hree holes in his chest, %eo alls to the blue shag carpeting, blood smearing down the wallpaper. Agent Smith stands o/er him, still aiming, taking no chances. A#ENT SMITH -heck him.

INT.

HOVERCRAFT

*hrough the lasered opening, 9orpheus screams, blasting away at the machinesA comet!wads o plasma burning holes in their armored housings. *rinity collapses onto %eo4s body. TRINITY %o!no!no? %eo, you4re not dead? 5ou can4t be dead? INT. HA"" (MATRIX) - DAY

Fneeling beside him, Agent =rown checks his /ital signs. A#ENT $ROWN #e4s gone. Agent Smith smiles, standing o/er him. A#ENT SMITH ( told you, you couldn4t win. INT. HOVERCRAFT or

*ank is hit, a laser bolt knocking him to the ground. *hey can4t hold them o any longer. 9orpheus lunges the sel destruct !! As *rinity whispers in %eo4s ear. TRINITY 5ou4re right here. (4m holding you, %eo. (4m not letting you go. ,o you hear me+ ( won4t let you go. INT. HA"" (MATRIX) - DAY

*he agents walk to the ele/ator, lea/ing %eo4s body behind. INT. HOVERCRAFT the sel !

9orpheus licks the "le8iglas shield o destruct. )oddamnit, %eo? %ot now? She pounds on his chest. %ot now? INT. TRINITY

TRINITY ,on4t gi/e it up?

HOTE" HA"" (MATRIX) - DAY

*he =L$W &-#$&S deep in his mind. #is eyes snap open. INT. HOVERCRAFT *ank

*rinity screams as the monitors Bump back to li e. and 9orpheus stare, unbelie/ing. (t is a miracle. TRINITY %ow get up? INT. HA"" (MATRIX) - DAY

%eo struggles, holding his chest, sitting up. hall, he sees the ele/ator closing and !! Agent Smith staring at him as i -ypher. %eo gi/es him the inger. A#ENT SMITH %ooooo? Agent Smith pounds on the ele/ator door. INT. HOVERCRAFT

,own the

he were looking at a

A sentinel =L$WS a hole in 9orpheus4 right arm and he screams, re using to let go o the detonator. INT. ROOM 303 (MATRIX) - DAY or the '(%)(%) "#$%&.

%eo di/es INT.

HOVERCRAFT

9achines split open the cra t, pouring in, lasers targeting e/erywhere. A beat inds the center o screams, ready to die. %ow? #e turns the key. INT. OVERF"OW PIT 9orpheus4 TRINITY orehead and he

A blinding shock o white lights lood the chamberA sentinels blink and all instantly dead, illing the pit with their cold, metal carcasses. INT. HOVERCRAFT

(n the still darkness, only the humans are ali/e. TRINITY %eo+ #is eyes open. *ears pour reaches up to touch her. rom her smiling eyes as he ore/er. FADE TO $"AC). FADE IN: ON COMPUTER SCREEN as in the opening. *he cursor beating steadily, waiting.

And she kisses hinA it seems like it might last

A "#$%& begins to '(%). (t is answered and the screen ills instantly with the trace program. A ter a long beat, we recogni@e %eo4s /oice. NEO (V.O.) #i. (t4s me. ( know you4re out there. ( know you4re working as ast as you can to catch me. We -L$S& (% $% the racing columns o across the screen. numbers shimmering

NEO (V.O.) ( thought ( should call and let you know how things stand. We ,(:& *#'$;)# the numbers, surging ;" *#'$;)# the darkness, sucked *$WA',S a tight constellation o stars. NEO (V.O.) ( know you4re real proud o this world you4/e built, the way it works, all the nice little rules and such, but (4/e got some bad news. We reali@e that the constellation is actually the holes in the mouthpiece o a phone. Seen rom inside. NEO (V.O.) (4/e decided to make a ew changes. We S#$$* *#'$;)# the holes as %eo hangs up the phone. #e steps out o the phone booth and starts walking, wearing a long black coat and dark glasses. #e passes a mother dragging her little =$5, who cranes his neck as !! %eo takes o , lying up into the air. $OY

9ommy? What+

9ommy? MOMMY $OY *hat man

*hat man?

lies? 9en don4t

MOMMY ,on4t be silly, honey. ly.

*here is a ';S# o A(' as the =oy stares up as %eo shoots o/erhead. #is coat billowing like a black leather cape as he soars up, up, and away. FADE OUT.

THE END