None Of The Matrix Movies Ever Answered The Biggest Mystery About The People Living In The Simulation

The Matrix as a franchise is dense with lore about various aspects of the Wachowskis’ iconic universe, but there’s still a big unanswered question about the inhabitants of the saga’s titular simulation. After remaining inert since 2003, The Matrix Resurrections brought the film series back in 2021 and added to a story that had seemingly concluded at the end of The Matrix‘s original trilogy. Rather than retreading old ground, the legacy sequel surged on by padding out the already-bloated canon within the franchise. As a result, one of the longest-running mysteries remains unresolved.

Every Matrix movie has at least part of its story set in the digital world. Within the canon of the sci-fi saga, the Matrix has had several iterations, but the rules for each version of the simulation remain largely the same. The complex lore associated with the series has led to decades of debates surrounding the finer points of how things work both in and outside the Matrix. Most of those living in the Matrix are unaware their reality is generated by machines, making their existence particularly interesting.

The Matrix Still Hasn’t Explained Where Children Come From In The Digital World

The Machines need to renew their crop of organic batteries somehow

1999’s The Matrix proves that humans can still procreate traditionally, as characters like Dozer (Anthony Ray Parker) lack the tubes and ports that artificially-grown humans are riddled with and are therefore unable to jack into the Matrix. This isn’t hard to comprehend, but what is difficult to work out is where the children actually come from within the digital world. The humans who haven’t yet woken from the simulation are convinced their world is real, so many will understandably want to start families. Unfortunately, there’s a big roadblock there.

Those trapped in the Matrix do have physical forms in the Real World, but they’re submerged in tanks that the Machines use to harvest their bioelectricity. So, even though anyone in the Matrix can interact with other inhabitants, the act of procreation in the simulation itself would presumably do absolutely nothing as far as creating a child is concerned. In other words, the two people getting frisky in the simulation are doing so with their minds only, and their bodies in the Real World are likely to be very far away from one another.

There Are 2 Main Theories That Can Explain Where Children Come From In The Matrix

The Machines may need to lend a helping hand when the trapped humans want a baby

Hugo Weaving’s Agent Smith states in the first movie that the Matrix has to be incredibly realistic, or the human mind will reject the illusion. So, the Machines had to have found a natural way to gradually introduce new humans to the Matrix without arousing the suspicion of their unknowing prisoners. The easiest way to do this would be for the Machine to monitor the human couplings in the digital world, and when they “procreate,” the Machines find the humans’ bodies in the Real World, harvest their DNA, and grow a new human from that to enter the Matrix.

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The other theory is a little more complex while also being far more simple when viewed from a certain point of view. The Matrix Revolutions reveals that Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) has two children, but they later turn out to be Programs designed by the Matrix to keep her complacent. Therefore, all children in the Matrix may be Programs, and when people are pulled from the simulation, they’re devastated to find out their offspring are works of fiction. However, neither of these two theories have been confirmed or denied by The Matrix.

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The Matrix

The Matrix is a sci-fi action franchise that launched with the Wachowskis’ 1999 film. It depicts a dystopian future where humanity is unknowingly trapped in a simulated reality by sentient machines. The protagonist, Neo, discovers this truth and that he is “The One,” a being that will lead a rebellion against the machines and restore freedom to humanity.

Cast

Keanu Reeves , Laurence Fishburne , Carrie-Anne Moss , Hugo Weaving , Joe Pantoliano , Jada Pinkett Smith , Monica Bellucci , Lambert Wilson , Harold Perrineau , Gina Torres , Collin Chou , Neil Patrick Harris , Yahya Abdul-Mateen II , Jessica Henwick , Jonathan Groff , Priyanka Chopra Jonas

Character(s)

Neo , Trinity , Morpheus , Agent Smith , Niobe , The Merovingian , The Oracle , The Architect , Seraph , Persephone , Ramachandra , Sati , The Analyst , Bugs , The Keymaker

Video Game(s)

Enter the Matrix (2003) , The Matrix: Path of Neo (2005) , The Matrix Online (2005)

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