This scene reinforces the previous interview Mr. Rhineheart. It has the same structure as Neo’s reprimand, the same comply or suffer rules. It’s just a bit further up the pyramid, on a higher level. Both these scenes set the framework for the authoritative, hierarchical structure of the Matrix. A shift from corporate level to government level.

At government level though, things get a bit more serious. It’s not just a question of losing a job, it’s more about losing everything. Neo is given an ultimatum. Not only to cease and desist his current course of enquiry, but to also hand over Morpheus, the mentor he has yet to meet, who represents his higher self and the source of this behaviour.

Also in this scene is a reference to Neo’s duality, having two lives. One as a respectable citizen, the socially responsible and boring picture of normality. The other as a hacker, rising to exciting challenges, pitting his knowledge and creative abilities against those above him.

Ultimately, there is only one single truth, the rest are illusions created by a dream-state induced and maintained by society. But, when you are in that dream-state, believing that illusion, how would you know whether what you believe is the real truth?

What if you were unable to wake from that dream, Neo?

How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?

 

- Morpheus

…a prison that you cannot smell, taste, or touch. A prison for your mind.

 

Morpheus

However, unlike the Matrix in the movie, it is not a computer system, it is a social one. A complex network of rules, regulations, dogma and belief that shapes our understanding, our reality, our abilities and our expectations. It creates a false reality, that bears little relation to our true humanity.

It’s a story that somehow tugs at something deep within our collective psyche. Somehow, we know that it represents something much more real (or perhaps non-real) in the nature of our lives. We do, indeed, live in a Matrix, and as Morpheus says:

What you know you can’t explain but you feel it. You’ve felt it your whole life, felt that something is wrong with the world. You don’t know what, but it’s there like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad.

Which is, of course, why you are here.

The Matrix is everywhere, it’s all around us, here even in this room. You can see it out your window or on your television. You feel it when you go to work, or go to church or pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.

Morpheus – The Matrix

Even for those who are not computer geeks, the Matrix story resonates on psychological or spiritual level. It asks a fundamental question that somehow connects deep in our psyche.

For some, it may be the Cartesian philosophical question, for others it may be the idea of an interconnectedness that binds us to each other and the universe. For others still, it may be about a hidden organisation that secretly controls the world. Of course, there’s always those that like it because it’s a kick-ass action movie with superhuman characters and cool martial arts scenes.

He is a typically militaristic, left brain thinker, only capable of thinking in straight lines. He is a total control freak, and resents Morpheus’ disobedience. He really doesn’t get right brain thinking at all and although he has essentially won the prize (Niobe), he is very insecure around Morpheus, who is completely unphased, by his authourity. Secretly, he knows Morpheus is the better man and a better leader (as indicated by his speech at the beginning of the Zion party).

Niobe is a stereotype.  A skilled and very capable woman attracted to powerful and influential leaders, they make a good team. She believes in him, but not enough to stay by his side when he stops giving her the attention she needs, in order to pursue his goals.

“They can move in and out of any software still hardwired to their system. That means that anyone that we haven’t unplugged is potentially an Agent. Inside the Matrix, they are everyone and they are no one.”

 

Morpheus – The Matrix

They appear in old ladies wielding carving knives, tramps and truck drivers. They all have innocuous, common names that give them an ambiguous identity… as if their identity (or who they are) isn’t important.

As such, the agents are not representative of any physical entity. They are more like an idea.

As an archetype, they represent the law. The upholding of law is not just limited to police, anyone with a strong sense of righteousness will welcome the opportunity to become a hero for a day. The law is undefeatable, everywhere, but nowhere and protects the system at all costs.

A leader, though not through force or status, but through respect. Someone who recognises and believes in the abilities of those under his command.

Morpheus is the father figure in the Holy Trinity.

This trinity: Neo, the masculine mind; Trinity the feminine mind and Morpheus, the higher self, the product of the cooperation between the masculine and feminine.