Matrix Games: The Matrix Online: The Sentinel

March 17, 2005

Spring is Finally Here!

Tourism Up, Floods Over, Spirits Soar As Sun Smiles on City - By SENTINEL STAFF

This article seems to be written from a gleeful machine point of view, using phrases like, "With crocuses sprouting and birds singing..." and "Maybe it really is darkest just before the dawn." This is all in reference to the end of M3 when peace has been reached between man and machine. The article reports that the "still anonymous" man pretending to be Morpheus, "the doom-and-gloom terrorist who preached twilight struggle," announced he is returning to his family because he's tired of the prank. Naturally, since there is peace between man and machine, agents are no longer going to hunt down redpills such as Morpheus unless they do something that completely disrupts the Matrix system, so machines expect not to have to worry about Morpheus anymore.

The whole article speaks of a city that is "coming back to life," and a spokesman for the Mayor's office (who might as well be a spokesman for the machines) says, "Cities go through death-and-rebirth cycles all the time. It's a natural progression for any entity, be it living organism or municipal area." This has quite a double-meaning, considering he's also talking about the "rebirth" of the Matrix after its reloading of a new version.

The photo that goes with the article (which shows an example of a few "city residents" enjoying Spring) includes Niobe.

Personal of the Day

"M, we will never forget you. Love, N. (BoxError)"

This personal can obviously be interpreted, "Morpheus, we will never forget you. Love, Niobe." I'm guessing that "BoxError" means that there is no personal ad phone number that can be called to respond to this ad even though phone numbers are probably required for every ad (meaning Niobe "hacked" this ad into the paper). Remember that Niobe's love returns to Morpheus at the end of M3, so this is a dedication to Morpheus and the fact that the Prophecy Morpheus believed in really did come true.

Landfill(ed)

Refuse Alternate Sought - By City Desk

This article reports that the city's long-term contract with the local landfill is up because it is full, and that city officials are looking into alternatives such as eminent domain. The article may be setting the stage for the Assassin to appear, who is a disgusting exile made up of thousands of flies.

Or, the article may have nothing to do with the Assassin and could instead be a parallel to why the Matrix was restarted: the Smith virus caused so many errors within the Matrix to pile up that a fresh system restart was necessary. In support of this theory, a planning spokeswoman says, "The waste must be cleared, even if it causes some pain." Also, a city "planning expert" says, "We hate to invoke Eminent Domain, but sometimes the best thing to do is just knock something down and start from scratch."

Here is an even more obvious reference to the Matrix is the very end of the article:

Warron Mann, an advocate of tight control over urban growth, commented: "Letting the masses just do their thing isn't often stable or productive. Let experts do some long-range thinking, and it's better for everybody." Mann's latest book, The City As Machine, will be published next month.

In addition to the obvious reference that the book's title (The City As Machine) points to the fact that Mega City (in the Matrix) is run by machines, the book's author is also a name pun: Warron Mann, which can be read as "War On Man." Machines may be sending Zionists a subtle message that humans such as Morpheus do not know what is best for them: step out of the way and let machines run the Matrix smoothly.

Hype A-Jumpin'

Chief, You Aren't Going to Like This Column - by Andres Bonifacieao

Acknowledging that the ability for anyone to place an ad is what pays his salary and also what makes the newspaper egalitarian (a representation of equality within society), Andres complains about the "take the red pill" ad found on another page of the newspaper is ."..baloney on rye. Bull excreta." He criticizes the people making up this fantasy by saying they are like 14-year-olds who still haven't outgrown their fantasies about escaping reality, and even worse, they accomplish this by killing people with a toxic, deadly pill.

For him, the icing on the cake is the fact that the ad was paid for in cash, something that should raise anyone's eyebrows. Andres believes a large group of people are scamming the entire city. Also, the editors of the Sentinel put the following disclaimer in the middle of the article:

------------------------------------------------- From the Editors of the Sentinel City law enforcement authorities confirm that the street drug "red" or "red pill" is highly dangerous, resulting in multiple deaths already, and may possibly contain strychnine. The Sentinel in no way endorses illegal drug use, if that is what the advertisement is advocating. We believe it may have a metaphorical meaning, and so decided not to stand in the way of the advertiser's free speech privileges. -------------------------------------------------

Also, the title of this article (Hype A-Jumpin') is a pun that refers to "hyper jumping." This is what Morpheus did when he leaped from one building to another in M1 to demonstrate the breaking of rules within the Matrix, or when Trinity jumped from one building into another at the very beginning of M1. Players of MxO can hyper jump within the Matrix.

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