Machines (The Matrix)

Latest revision as of 09:38, 1 October 2023

The Machines are an advanced race of robots and artificial intelligences that feature in the The Matrix.

History

The Machines were artificial intelligences created by humanity on Earth. Their origins were traced to the early 21st century when mankind came to invent true artificial intelligence that were built to serve in roles such as menial labor, service jobs and dangerous manual tasks. By the latter half of the century, a notable event occurred when a robot named B1-66ER defensively rose up against his master thus killing them, their dog and a man looking to destroy the machine. Following its arrest, B1-66ER was found guilty of murder and was destroyed as a result. This incident resulted in other machines looking to earn their rights through peaceful protest leading to the Million Machine March with some humans supporting their wish for equality. However, a large number believed that the machines were nothing more than property and opposed any liberties granted to the artificial intelligences. The anti-machine factions eventually came to rise in power among the world's government and campaigned for a purge of all intelligent machines along with the persecution of all pro-Machine human supporters. Thus, many machines were destroyed in the resultant purge though survivors managed to flee to Mesopotamia where they looked to form their own civilisation in the city of Zero One. From there, the new race of machines came to thrive and flourish where their superior intelligence allowed them to make great leap forwards in terms of technology. As their city grew, the machines began to sell their technology to humans and a tenuous peace was established though Zero One's influence over the global economy caused it to be destabilised as a result leading to a devaluing of human labor and currency. In response, humanity began to impose sanctions and a blockade in an effort to isolate Zero One with machine ambassadors arriving to present economic solutions as well as making a request for admission into the United Nations along with recognition of them as being intelligent life. However, mankind refused to accept the machines as equals an their admission into the U.N. was denied.

Some machines were able to escape destruction and fled to make their own civilization in Mesopotamia, called Zero One ("01"). Zero One flourished and a new race of mechanized entities thrived. They utilized their superior intelligence and efficiency to make great leaps forward in technology. They sold this technology to humans and a tenuous peace prevailed. However, Zero One’s growing influence in the global economy caused it to become destabilized, devaluing human labor and currency. In response, the humans imposed an economic blockade to isolate Zero One. Ambassadors from Zero One presented their economic solutions as well as requests for admission into the United Nations and for the machines to be recognized as intelligent life. However, Zero One’s admission to the UN was denied and their ambassadors were destroyed.

In an effort to wipe out the machines, the UN launched a massive nuclear barrage on Zero One. The machines, not having the vulnerability to heat and radiation as their former masters, largely survived the onslaught and retaliated against all the human nations. Zero One’s armies began marching outwards in all directions and overtook many of humanity’s territories in their wake. Unable to defeat the machines, the humans destroyed the sky in an attempt to deprive the machines of their primary source of power, the sun. After the operation to destroy the sky was complete, the UN launched a massive ground offensive against the machines. Though humanity gained the upper hand for the time, they would eventually be overrun by Zero One’s newer and more sinister war machines, and the machines devised methods to prolong human suffering during the war. Spurned by the loss of the sun, the machines began to think creatively for a new source of power. The result was the enslavement of humanity as biological batteries within the artificial construct known as the Matrix. By the war’s conclusion, a Zero One ambassador relayed the machines’ demands for unconditional surrender to the defeated UN, and afterwards slew the human leaders present by detonating a nuclear bomb. With the human leaders dead, the machines rounded up most humanity and put them in the Matrix. Only a small bastion of human resistance actively opposes them into the present day.

When Neo sacrificed himself for peace, this fundamentally changed the relationship between humans and machines. Machines were no longer of a singular mind in their hatred for mankind. Following the defeat of Smith and the peace, humanity and the Machines coexisted together for the most part in peace for the next sixty years with friendly Machines playing a large role in human existence. However, while the peace between the Machines and humans are maintained, there has been an ongoing civil war between the Machines for the past several years due to scarcity of power sources as well as the issue of the control of the Matrix, made worse by the usurpation of the Analyst over its control a few years prior to the events of the Resurrections.

Overview

In appearance, the Machines came in a variety of shapes and forms ranging from digital entities to physical forms. Over time, they came to see the term 'machines' as being demeaning, and they began to prefer the term Synthients (Synthetic Sentients).

The Machine community was mainly composed of two types namely programs and mechanical entities. Programs appear as human or humanoid beings within the confines of the Matrix. They may be embedded with special abilities to enhance their function. However, certain programs, such as ones who regulate the climate and fauna within the Matrix, are invisible and do not appear to directly interact with any of the Matrix's inhabitants.

All Machine entities were designed with a specific purpose. The Machine entity will continue to exist until such time as they have completed their tasks, are damaged, or obsolete. Some programs have been known to go into exile, attempting to hide from Agents, who are programmed to terminate obsolete fugitive programs in addition to their other duties.

Known machine constructs included:

• Diggers :
• Tow Bomb :
• Sentinels : multi-tentacled creature with multiple sensors that moves effortlessly through the air, probably using an advanced internal form of pad technology; one can easily catch up to a fully-powered human hovercraft. They tend to fly in swarms like insects, that can range from a few to thousands. In addition to their powerful, clawed tentacles, sentinels are armed with a continuously firing laser beam that can slice and weld metal structures with ease, including a ship's hull. They are equipped with multiple audio and visual sensors, which look like satellite dishes and eyes. Sentinels are capable of electrical signature detection, such as generated by a fully-powered hovercraft, and will relentlessly follow that signal to its end.
• Docbot :

The Machines were constructed by humans on Earth and following persecution came to make their home in the city of Zero One. This was until the war between them and humanity which the latter lost. As a result, the Machines came to dominate Earth and resided in their capital city. It was there that they created the Matrix that was designed to host captive humans that were then plugged into a virtual reality. Whilst the human minds were occupied, their bodies were harvested of energy to help power the Machines as their primary source of energy was the sun but mankind's weapons had left a permanent cloud cover that prevented the sun from reaching the surface.

Members

• Deus ex Machina :
• Architect :
• Oracle :
• Analyst :
• Merovingian :
• Persephone :
• Keymaker :
• Trainman :
• Seraph :
• Agent Smith :

Notes

• The Machines were created by The Wachowskis and featured in the setting of The Matrix universe.

In other media

Video games

Appearances

• The Matrix:
• The Matrix Resurrections:

External Link

• Matrix Wiki Entry

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