Note: This is something written for fun (decided to do something a bit different from Merlin fan fiction), and I hope it is enjoyed. It's just a first-person account from a nameless freed mind, enjoy!

Just what is the Matrix?

For most, it is a series of films released starting in 1999. I admit, the first was always my favorite, but the other two just didn't seem right, and I am far from the only person who has ever noticed. Also, from what I read up on about The Matrix Online, it made even less sense (Fake Agents that look like Neo? Morpheus being assassinated? A kind, female Agent? The sheer number of idiotic plot-lines could have gone on indefinitely, until the servers were shut down.).

I will get to the point: The Matrix is real. Not quite exactly as it was presented in the movies, but real nonetheless.

Since this is an article about the truth, I will not go much into who I am now or who I was before I was freed.

The crew from the first movie, Morpheus, Trinity, Neo, Cypher, Switch, Apoc, Mouse, Tank and Dozer all exist. It was Neo that rescued me, like so many others. Since his awakening as The One (that is also true, but far beyond what was portrayed by the film-Neo), he has freed literally thousands of minds from the Matrix, with many more added to that number each and every day due to the hard work of many dedicated ships and loyal crews.

They have watched the movies, and utterly despise what the Machines have done in order to keep people from discovering the facts. Morpheus said that a small bit of truth is far more convincing than a complete lie, and he is absolutely right.

I was absolutely surprised to see Cypher among them. He is not a traitor and will never be, in fact he nearly died trying to save Neo from being murdered by the Agents.

Another mockery of the Machines was that they reversed the significance of the two pills, to further twist everything, particularly Morpheus's character. In fact, blue was actually the next chapter and red was the end of the story.

I took the blue, of course.

Long story short, I was out. The experience was every bit as unpleasant as film-Neo's, which turned out to be quite accurate. I don't like to think about it very much, for it is the very first time that I saw that everything I had known was a complete lie.

After I was well enough to get up and move around (which took weeks, not just a few days), I was given a tour of the Nebuchadnezzar. The layout and interior looked absolutely nothing like I thought it would. It was quite clean, warm, and much less metallic than the version shown in the film.

Tank and Dozer also didn't look anything like the actors that portrayed them.

There was plenty of food to eat, not snot as film-Apoc had said. It was actually quite good.

Seeing that explanations were in order, even though he had been the one to find and free me, Neo wanted Morpheus to do it since in his words he was much better at it. He agreed, and though I expected to be plugged into and appear in an empty white construct with him, we just ended up talking together on the bridge, with the others nearby watching.

Morpheus told me that, despite the movies having been propaganda designed by the Machines, the explanation given to film-Neo by film-Morpheus about the Matrix was in fact almost completely accurate and that he would not waste time repeating it.

"You may think that your world has approximately seven billion humans," said Morpheus, "but it does not. The Machines do not have the capability to clone and maintain so many humans without exhausting what meager resources they have. No, the reality is that not even one-hundredth of one percent are actually real people. Seven million out of seven billion. Almost everyone else are simple constructs, what we call Human Programs. Most have absolutely no free will and serve only the Matrix, their entire lives scripted like a book from beginning to end. They are functionally little better than basic computer programs, and can never change or break free of the system. Most of the actors in the movies are Human Programs designed in our images, their entire histories simply created and downloaded into the minds of those in the Matrix. They did not exist before what you thought to be 1999."

Now, that was a shock to my system. Many people I knew, my friends, maybe even my parents... weren't real. While I wasn't about to throw up or anything, it did become somewhat hard to breathe at that point. Also, I always knew that there was something off about Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, not to mention Keanu Reeves in general, which was proven correct. The Machines wrote the code for them in 1999 and made it seem as if they existed for years before that, and nobody was the wiser!

"Some Human Programs, however, are much more advanced, depending on whatever purpose they were designed for. Over time, some may exhibit free will and rebel against the Matrix, becoming what you would know as Exiles. Human Programs, just like Agents, can bend or break some rules of the Matrix at will, far more than anybody else can with the exception of Neo. Some of them are our greatest allies, but others are quite dangerous and would not hesitate to kill you."

"What about the Oracle?" I had asked. "Is she a program too, in reality I mean? Wait, I meant in the Matrix... sorry, it's been really confusing, you know?"

Morpheus smiled. "I completely understand how you are feeling. Yes, she is a program but unlike the films you have watched, there have been no previous cycles of the Matrix and Zion. That is a complete fabrication. The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, as well as the majority of The Animatrix, are almost entirely wrong about everything, such as the existence of one known as the Architect. Only the first movie has any significant amount of truth within, as small as it may be. It was a clever act on part of the Machines to make their viewers not question their reality."

Trinity decided to comment. "Most of the first half or so was almost exactly how things happened, minus a few inaccuracies. I take it you've noticed the ship, and Tank and Dozer, among other things?"

I nodded.

"That's because the Machines have no idea what the real Tank and Dozer look like, or the inside of the Nebuchadnezzar, only the names. They just made up what they didn't know as they went along. I do have to admit though, my escape from the Agents was the one thing they got right... it's eerie how exact those scenes were to what really happened."

"What about Zion?" I said.

"This kid picks up pretty fast!" said Cypher. "Yeah, it's a lot different inside than you think, you'll love it. The squids have never been invited in for dinner so to speak, but the city is no secret to them since we've been fighting them for years, sometimes right at the gates. But things are changing. We're gaining more and more ground every day, they're losing."

"When you feel ready, we will begin your training. Do you have any questions? If so, I or those with me will try and answer to the best of our ability." said Morpheus.

"What can Neo really do? No offense." I said, looking at Neo briefly before turning back to Morpheus.

"I think a better question may be what can Neo not do. In the Matrix, he is all but unstoppable and can do almost anything he wants. It is because of him that the war has turned so much in our favor."

Neo then spoke. "I can do a lot more than flying and making bullets stop in mid-air, actually, it's kind of fun sometimes. But in the real world I'm no better than anyone else, in fact I'm a huge target. You don't want to know the number of times they've tried to kill me here."

"Anything else?" asked Morpheus.

"This might sound stupid, but... it's something I've thought about and actually argued with other nerds about. When Agents take over someone, does it kill them or is it like they're just possessed? I've only seen them exit from someone and leave them still alive when I played Enter The Matrix, but since that's probably not based in fact... oh sorry, I'm rambling."

He looked concerned for a moment at my question, but then answered. "Quite interesting, actually. It is not a stupid thing to think about, never think that. Yes, whatever human they take over dies, as evidenced if they jump to another body and leave the old behind, whether they die or not. They kill the person the very moment they enter them, and that is why we show no remorse whatsoever at killing them. Also, unlike what you have seen in the movies, at times they can spawn with different weapons. They are fond of using grenades, RPGs and other explosives to eliminate their targets, often done suicidally since they can easily keep coming back. They are just as weak against the same weaponry, which is why we have taken to using it as well. Agents cannot dodge explosions as well as they can bullets."

"Wait a minute." said Neo. "I never knew that until now! Morpheus, why didn't an Agent just copy over me and kill me then, if I was so important?"

"They needed you to find me, hence the bug that was implanted in you."

"And that's why I had to hold you at gunpoint." said Switch. "You could have turned into an Agent and killed everyone in the car. I'm still sorry about that, by the way."

"What if someone sees an Agent, or if someone they know becomes one? Why doesn't anyone notice?" I said.

"As long as the Matrix has you, they control you. They can make you believe anything they want to. In answer to your question, often simple memory erasure or modification suffices, but sometimes Human Programs are created to replace those lost due to the Agents. The Machines are very clever, do not ever underestimate them."

And thus, after that I was plugged in and learned many things I needed to know, and once I was taken to Zion I had to make a decision on what I wanted to do, where I wanted to work, who I wanted to be.

The Nebuchadnezzar and its crew were often very busy, so it was likely I wouldn't see any of them again for quite some time. There were many more people to be freed, and I was just one of a myriad that they had met.

To whoever is reading this, if you ever get out... Zion is far beyond anything you can imagine, I really can't explain it in words except that film-Zion is a complete hell-hole compared to it.

I hope to see you there.