SCENEGGIATURA DI

System Failure

FADE IN:

INT. COMPUTER SCREEN

On a computer screen; so close it has
no boundaries.

A blinking cursor pulses in the electric
darkness like a heart coursing with
phosphorous light, burning beneath the
derma of black-neon glass.

A phone begins to ring, we hear it as
though we were making the call. The
cursor continues to throb,
relentlessly patient, until --

MAN (V.O.)
Yeah?
Data now slashes across the screen,
information flashing faster than we
can read:
SCREEN
Call trans opt: received.
2-19-98 13:24:18 REC:Log>.

WOMAN(V.O.)
Is everything in place?

SCREEN
Trace program: running.

We listen to the phone conversation as
though we were on a third line. The
man's name is Cypher. The woman,
Trinity.

TRINITY (WOMAN)
(V.O.)
I said, is everything in
place?

The entire screen fills with racing
columns of numbers. Shimmering like
green-electric rivers, they rush at a
10-digit phone number in the top
corner.

CYPHER (MAN) (V.O.)
You weren't supposed to
relieve me.

TRINITY (V.O.)
I know but I felt like
taking a shift.

The area code is identified. The
first three numbers suddenly fixed,
leaving only seven flowing columns.

CYPHER (V.O.)
You like him, don't you?
You like watching him?

We begin moving toward the screen,
closing in as each digit is matched,
one by one, snapping into place like
the wheels of a slot machine.

TRINITY (V.O.)
Don't be ridiculous.

CYPHER (V.O.)
We're going to kill him.
Do you understand that?
He's going to die just
like the others.

TRINITY (V.O.)
Morpheus believes he is
the One.

Only two thin digits left.

CYPHER (V.O.)
Do you?

TRINITY (V.O.)
I... it doesn't matter
what I believe.

CYPHER (V.O.)
You don't, do you?

TRINITY (V.O.)
If you have something to
say, I suggest you say it
to Morpheus.

CYPHER (V.O.)
I intend to, believe me.
Someone has to.

The final number pops into place--

TRINITY (V.O.)
Did you hear that?

CYPHER (V.O.)
Hear what?

SCREEN
Trace complete. Call
origin: #312-555-0690.

TRINITY (V.O.)
Are you sure this line is
clean?

CYPHER (V.O.)
Yeah, 'course I'm sure.

We move, still closer, the electric
hum of the green numbers growing into
an ominous roar.

TRINITY (V.O.)
I better go.

She hangs up as we pass through the
numbers, entering the netherworld of
the computer screen. Suddenly, a
flashlight cuts open the darkness and
we find ourselves in--

INT. HEART O' THE CITY HOTEL - NIGHT

The hotel was abandoned after a fire
licked its way across the polyester
carpeting, destroying several rooms as
it spooled soot up the walls and
ceiling, leaving patterns of permanent
shadow.

We follow four armed POLICE OFFICERS
using flashlights as they creep down
the blackened hall and ready
themselves on either side of Room 303.

The biggest of them violently kicks in
the door. The other cops pour in
behind him, guns thrust before them.

BIG COP
Police! Freeze!

The room is almost devoid of
furniture.
There is a fold-up table and chair
with a phone, a modem, and a Powerbook
computer. The only light in the room
is the glow of the computer.

Sitting there, her hands still on the
keyboard, is TRINITY; a woman in black
leather.

BIG COP
Hands behind your head!
Now! Do it!

She slowly puts her hands behind her
head.

EXT. HEART O' THE CITY HOTEL - NIGHT

A black sedan with tinted windows
glides in through the police cruisers.
AGENT SMITH, AGENT BROWN, and AGENT
JONES get out of the car.

They wear dark suits and sunglasses
even at night. They are also always
hardwired; small Secret Service
earphones in one ear, the cord coiling
back into their shirt collars.

AGENT SMITH
Lieutenant?

LIEUTENANT
Oh shit.

AGENT SMITH
Lieutenant, you were given
specific orders--

LIEUTENANT
I'm just doing my job.
You gimme that Juris-my-
dick-tion and you can cram
it up your ass.

AGENT SMITH
The orders were for your
protection.

The Lieutenant laughs.

LIEUTENANT
I think we can handle one
little girl.

Agent Smith nods to Agent Brown as
they start toward the hotel.

LIEUTENANT
I sent two units. They're
bringing her down now.

AGENT SMITH
No, Lieutenant, your men
are already dead.

INT. HEART O' THE CITY HOTEL

The Big Cop flicks out his cuffs, the
other cops holding a bead. They've
done this a hundred times, they know
they've got her, until the Big Cop
reaches with the cuffs and Trinity
moves --

It almost doesn't register, so smooth
and fast, inhumanly fast.

The eye blinks and Trinity's palm
snaps up and the nose explodes, blood
erupting. Her leg kicks with the force
of a wrecking ball and he flies back,
a two-hundred-fifty pound sack of limp
meat and bone that slams into the cop
farthest from her.

Trinity moves again, bullets raking
the walls, flashlights sweeping with
panic as the remaining cops try to
stop a leather-clad ghost.

A gun still in the cop's hand is
snatched, twisted and fired. There is
a final violent exchange of gunfire
and when it's over, Trinity is the
only one standing.

A flashlight rocks slowly to a stop.

TRINITY
Shit.

EXT. HEART O' THE CITY HOTEL

Agent Brown enters the hotel while
Agent Smith heads for the alley.

INT. HEART O' THE CITY HOTEL

Trinity is on the phone, pacing. The
other end is answered.

MAN (V.O.)
Operator.

TRINITY
Morpheus! The line was
traced! I don't know how.

MORPHEUS (MAN)
(V.O.)
I know. They cut the
hardline. This line is not
a viable exit.

TRINITY
Are there any Agents?

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Yes.

TRINITY
Goddamnit!

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
You have to focus. There
is a phone. Wells and
Lake. You can make it.

She takes a deep breath, centering
herself.

TRINITY
All right--

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Go.

She drops the phone.

INT. HALL

She bursts out of the room as Agent
Brown enters the hall, leading another
unit of police. Trinity races to the
opposite end, exiting through a broken
window onto the fire escape.

EXT. FIRE ESCAPE

In the alley below, Trinity sees Agent
Smith staring at her. She can only go
up.

EXT. ROOF

On the roof, Trinity is running as
Agent Brown rises over the parapet,
leading the cops in pursuit.

Trinity begins to jump from one roof
to the next, her movements so clean,
gliding in and out of each jump,
contrasted to the wild jumps of the
cops.

Agent Brown, however, has the same
unnatural grace.

The roof falls away into a wide back
alley. The next building is over 40
feet away but Trinity's face is
perfectly calm, staring at some point
beyond the other roof.

COP
That's it, we got her now.

The cops slow, realizing they are
about to see something ugly as Trinity
drives at the edge, launching herself
into the air.

From above, the ground seems to flow
beneath her as she hangs in flight,
then hits, somersaulting up, still
running hard.

COP
Jesus Christ-- that's
impossible!

They stare, slack-jawed, as Agent
Brown duplicates the move exactly,
landing, rolling over a shoulder up
onto one knee.

It is a dizzying chase up and over the
dark plateaued landscape of rooftops
and sheer cliffs of brick.
Ahead she sees her only chance, 50
feet beyond the point where her path
drops away into a paved chasm, there
is--

EXT. WINDOW

A window; a yellow glow in the midst
of a dark brick building.

Trinity zeros in on it, running as
hard as she can and--

Hurtles herself into the empty night
space, her body leveling into a dive.
She falls, arms covering her head as
the whole world seems to spin on its
axis--

INT. BACK STAIRWELL

And she crashes with an explosion of
glass and wood, then falls onto a back
stairwell, tumbling, bouncing down
stairs bleeding, broken--

But still alive.

She wheels on the smashed opening
above, her gun instantly in her hand,
trained, waiting for Agent Brown but
is met by only a slight wind that
hisses against the fanged maw of
broken glass.

Trinity tries to move. Everything
hurts.

TRINITY
Get up, Trinity. You're
fine. Get up-- just get
up!

She stands and limps down the rest of
the stairs.

EXT. STREET

Trinity emerges from the shadows of an
alley and, at the end of the block, in
a pool of white street light, she sees
it--

The telephone booth.

Obviously hurt, she starts down the
concrete walk, focusing in completely,
her pace quickening, as the phone
begins to ring.

Across the street, a garbage truck
suddenly turns U- turns, its tires
screaming as it accelerates. Trinity
sees the headlights of the truck
arcing at the telephone booth as if
taking aim.

Gritting through the pain, she races
the truck, slamming into the booth,
the headlights blindingly bright,
bearing down on the box of Plexiglas
just as--

She answers the phone.

There is a frozen instant of silence
before the hulking mass of dark metal
lurches up onto the sidewalk--

Barrelling through the booth,
bulldozing it into a brick wall,
smashing it to Plexiglas pulp.

After a moment, a black loafer steps
down from the cab of the garbage
truck. Agent Smith inspects the
wreckage. There is no body. Trinity is
gone.

His jaw sets as he grinds his molars
in frustration. Agents Jones and Brown
walk up behind him.

AGENT BROWN
She got out.

AGENT SMITH
It doesn't matter.

AGENT BROWN
The informant is real.

Agent Smith almost smiles.

AGENT SMITH
Yes.

AGENT JONES
We have the name of their
next target.

AGENT BROWN
The name is Neo.

The handset of the pay phone lays on
the ground, separated in the crash
like a severed limb.

AGENT SMITH
We'll need a search
running.

AGENT JONES
It's already begun.

We are sucked towards the mouthpiece
of the phone, closer and closer, until
the smooth gray plastic spreads out
like a horizon and the small holes
widen until we fall through one--

Swallowed by darkness.

The darkness crackles with
phosphorescent energy, the word
'searching' blazing in around us as we
emerge from a computer screen.

The screen flickers with windowing
data as a search engine runs with a
steady relentless rhythm.

We drift back from the screen and into--

INT. NEO'S APARTMENT

It is a studio apartment that seems
overgrown with technology.

Weed-like cables coil everywhere, duct-
taped into thickets that wind up and
around the legs of several desks.
Tabletops are filled with cannibalized
equipment that lay open like an
autopsied corpse.

At the center of this technological
rat-nest is NEO, a man who knows more
about living inside a computer than
outside one.

He is asleep in front of his PC.
Behind him, the computer screen
suddenly goes blank. A prompt appears.

SCREEN
Wake up, Neo.

Neo's eye pries open. He sits up, one
eye still closed, looking around,
unsure of where he is. He notices the
screen.

He types 'CTRL X' but the letter 'T'
appears.

NEO
What... ?

He hits another and an 'H' appears. He
keeps typing, pushing random functions
and keys while the computer types out
a message as though it had a mind of
its own.

He stops and stares at the four words
on the screen.

SCREEN
The Matrix has you.

NEO
What the hell?

He hits the 'ESC' button. Another
message appears.

SCREEN
Follow the white rabbit.

He hits it again and the message
repeats. He rubs his eyes but when he
opens them, there is another message.

SCREEN
Knock, knock, Neo.

Someone knocks on his door and he
almost jumps out of his chair.
He looks back at the computer but the
screen is now blank.

Someone knocks again. Neo rises, still
unnerved.

NEO
Who is it?

CHOI (O.S.)
It's Choi.

Neo flips a series of locks and opens
the door, leaving the chain on. A
young Chinese MAN stands with several
of his friends.

NEO
You're two hours late.

CHOI
I know. It's her fault.

NEO
You got the money?

CHOI
Two grand.

He takes out an envelope and gives it
to Neo through the cracked door.

NEO
Hold on.

He closes the door. On the floor near
his bed is a book, Baudrillard's
Simulacra and Simulations. The book
has been hollowed out and inside are
several computer disks. He takes one,
sticks the money in the book and drops
it on the floor.

Opening the door, he hands the disk to
Choi.

CHOI
Hallelujah! You are my
savior, man! My own
personal Jesus Christ!

NEO
If you get caught using
that--

CHOI
I know, I know. This never
happened. You don't exist.

NEO
Right...

Neo nods as the strange feeling of
unrealness suddenly returns.

CHOI
Something wrong, man? You
look a little whiter than
usual.

NEO
I don't know... My
computer...

He looks back at Choi, unable to
explain what just happened.

NEO
You ever have the feeling
that you're not sure if
you're awake or still
dreaming?

CHOI
All the time. It's called
mescaline and it is the
only way to fly.

He smiles and slaps the hand of his
nearest droog.

CHOI
It sounds to me like you
need to unplug, man. A
little R and R. What do
you think, Dujour, should
we take him with us?

DUJOUR
Definitely.

NEO
I can't. I have to work
tomorrow.

DUJOUR
Come on. It'll be fun. I
promise.

He looks up at her and suddenly
notices on her black leather
motorcycle jacket dozens of pins:
bands, symbols, slogans, military
medals and--

A small white rabbit. The room tilts.

NEO
Yeah, yeah. Sure, I'll go.

INT. APARTMENT

An older apartment; a series of halls
connects a chain of small high-
ceilinged rooms lined with heavy
casements. Smoke hangs like a veil,
blurring the few lights there are.

Dressed predominantly in black, people
are everywhere, gathered in cliques
around pieces of furniture like jungle
cats around a tree.

Neo stands against a wall, alone,
sipping from a bottle of beer, feeling
completely out of place, he is about
to leave when he notices a woman
staring at him.

The woman is Trinity. She walks
straight up to him.

In the nearest room, shadow-like
figures grind against each other to
the pneumatic beat of industrial
music.

TRINITY
Hello, Neo.

NEO
How do you know that name?

TRINITY
I know a lot about you.
I've been wanting to meet
you for some time.

NEO
Who are you?

TRINITY
My name is Trinity.

NEO
Trinity? The Trinity? The
Trinity that cracked the
I.R.S. D-Base?

TRINITY
That was a long time ago.

NEO
Gee-zus.

TRINITY
What?

NEO
I just thought... you were
a guy.

TRINITY
Most guys do.

Neo is a little embarrassed.

NEO
Do you want to go
somewhere and talk?

TRINITY
No. It's safe here and I
don't have much time.

The music is so loud they must stand
very close, talking directly into each
other's ear.

NEO
That was you on my
computer?

She nods.

NEO
How did you do that?

TRINITY
Right now, all I can tell
you, is that you are in
danger. I brought you here
to warn you.

NEO
Of what?

TRINITY
They're watching you, Neo.

NEO
Who is?

TRINITY
Please. Just listen. I
know why you're here, Neo.
I know what you've been
doing.I know why you
hardly sleep, why you live
alone and why, night after
night, you sit at your
computer; you're looking
for him.

Her body is against his; her lips very
close to his ear.

TRINITY
I know because I was once
looking for the same
thing, but when he found
me he told me I wasn't
really looking for him. I
was looking for an answer.

There is a hypnotic quality to her
voice and Neo feels the words, like a
drug, seeping into him.

TRINITY
It's the question that
drives us, the question
that brought you here.
You know the question just
as I did.

NEO
What is the Matrix?

TRINITY
When I asked him, he said
that no one could ever be
told the answer to that
question. They have to see
it to believe it.

She leans close, her lips almost
touching his ear.

TRINITY
The answer is out there,
Neo. It's looking for you
and it will find you, if
you want it to.

She turns and he watches her melt into
the shifting wall of bodies.

A sound rises steadily, growing out of
the music, pressing in on Neo until it
is all he can hear as we cut to--

INT. NEO'S APARTMENT

The sound is an alarm clock, slowly
dragging Neo to consciousness. He
strains to read the clock-face:
9:15AM.

NEO
Shitshitshit.

EXT. SKYSCRAPER

The downtown office of Meta CorTechs,
a software development company.

INT. META CORTECHS OFFICE

The main offices are along each wall,
the windows overlooking downtown.
RHINEHEART, the ultimate company man,
lectures Neo without looking at him,
typing at his computer continuously.

Neo stares at two window cleaners on a
scaffolding outside, dragging their
rubber squeegees down the surface of
the glass.

RHINEHEART
You have a problem with
authority, Mr. Anderson.
You believe that you are
special, that somehow the
rules do not apply to you.
Obviously, you are
mistaken.

His long, bony fingers resume clicking
the keyboard.

RHINEHEART
This company is one of the
top software companies in
the world because every
single employee
understands that they are
part of a whole. Thus, if
an employee has a problem,
the company has a problem.

He turns again.

RHINEHEART
The time has come to make
a choice, Mr. Anderson.
Either you choose to be at
your desk on time from
this day forth, or you
choose to find yourself
another job. Do I make
myself clear?

NEO
Yes, Mr. Rhineheart.
Perfectly clear.

INT. NEO'S CUBICLE

The entire floor looks like a human
honeycomb, with a labyrinth of
cubicles structured around a core of
elevators.

VOICE (O.S.)
Thomas Anderson?

Neo turns and finds a FEDERAL EXPRESS
GUY at his cubicle door.

NEO
Yeah. That's me.

Neo signs the electronic pad and the
Fedex Guy hands him the softpak.

FEDEX GUY
Have a nice day.

He opens the bag. Inside is a cellular
phone.
It seems the instant it is in his
hand, it rings. Unnerved, he flips it
open.

NEO
Hello?

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Hello, Neo. Do you know
who this is?

Neo's knees give and he sinks into his
chair.

NEO
Morpheus...

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
I've been looking for you,
Neo. I don't know if
you're ready to see what I
want to show you, but
unfortunately, we have run
out of time. They're
coming for you, Neo. And
I'm not sure what they're
going to do.

NEO
Who's coming for me?

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Stand up and see for
yourself.

NEO
Right now?

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Yes. Now.

Neo starts to stand.

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Do it slowly. The
elevator.

His head peeks up over the partition.
At the elevator, he sees Agent Smith,
Agent Brown, and Agent Jones leading a
group of cops. A female employee
turns and points out Neo's cubicle.

Neo ducks.

NEO
Holy shit!

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Yes.

One cop stays at the elevator, the
others follow the Agents.

NEO
What the hell do they want
with me?!

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
I'm not sure, but if you
don't want to find out,
you better get out of
there.

NEO
How?!

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
I can guide you out, but
you have to do exactly
what I say.

The Agents are moving quickly towards
the cubicle.

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
The cubicle across from
you is empty.

NEO
But what if...?

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Go! Now!

Neo lunges across the hall, diving
into the other cubicle just as the
Agents turn into his row.

Neo crams himself into a dark corner,
clutching the phone tightly to him.

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Stay here for a moment.

The Agents enter Neo's empty cubicle.
A cop is sent to search the bathroom.

Morpheus' voice is a whisper in Neo's
ear.

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
A little longer...

Brown is talking to another employee.

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
When I tell you, go to the
end of the row to the
first office on the left,
stay as low as you can.

Sweat trickles down his forehead.

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Now.

Neo rolls out of the cubicle, his eyes
popping as he freezes right behind a
cop who has just turned around.

Staying crouched, he sneaks away down
the row, shooting across the opening
to the first office on the left.

INT. EMPTY OFFICE

The room is empty.

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Good. Outside there is a
scaffold.

NEO
How do you know all this?

Morpheus laughs quietly.

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
The answer is coming, Neo.
There is a window in front
of you. Open it.

He opens the window. The wind howls
into the room.

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
You can use the scaffold
to get to the roof.

NEO
No! It's too far away.

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
There's a ledge. It's a
short climb. You can make
it.

Neo looks down; the building's glass
wall vertigos into a concrete chasm.

NEO
No way, no way, this is
crazy.

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
There are only two ways
out of this building. One
is that scaffold. The
other is in their custody.
You take a chance either
way. I leave it to you.

Click. He hangs up. Neo looks at the
door, then back at the scaffold.

NEO
This is insane! Why is
this happening to me? What
did I do? I'm nobody. I
didn't do anything.

He climbs up onto the window ledge.
Hanging onto the frame, he steps onto
the small ledge. The scaffold seems
even farther away.

NEO
I'm going to die.

The wind suddenly blasts up the face
of the building, knocking Neo off
balance. Recoiling, he clings harder
to the frame, and the phone falls out
of his hand.

He watches as it is swallowed by the
distance beneath him.

NEO
This is insane! I can't do
this! Forget it!

He climbs back into the office just as
a cop opens the door.

NEO
Shit!

EXT. SKYSCRAPER

The Agents lead a handcuffed Neo out
of the revolving doors, forcing his
head down as they push him into the
dark sedan.

Trinity watches in the rear view
mirror of her motorcycle.

TRINITY
Shit.

INT. INTERROGATION ROOM

Close on a camera monitor; wide angle
view of a white room where Neo is
sitting at a table alone. We move into
the monitor, entering the room as if
the monitor was a window.

At the same moment, the door opens and
the Agents enter. Agent Smith sits
down across from Neo. A thick manila
envelope slaps down on the table. The
name on the file: 'Anderson, Thomas
A.'

AGENT SMITH
As you can see, we've had
our eye on you for some
time now, Mr. Anderson.

He opens the file. Paper rattle marks
the silence as he flips several pages.
Neo cannot tell if he is looking at
the file or at him.

AGENT SMITH
It seems that you have
been living two lives. In
one life, you are Thomas
A. Anderson, program
writer for a respectable
software company.
You have a social security
number, you pay your taxes
and you help your landlady
carry out her garbage.

The pages continue to turn.

AGENT SMITH
The other life is lived in
computers where you go by
the hacker alias Neo, and
are guilty of virtually
every computer crime we
have a law for.

Neo feels himself sinking into a pit
of shit.

AGENT SMITH
One of these lives has a
future. One of them does
not.

He closes the file.

AGENT SMITH
I'm going to be as
forthcoming as I can be,
Mr. Anderson. You are here
because we need your help.

He removes his sunglasses, his eyes
are an unnatural ice- blue.

AGENT SMITH
We know that you have been
contacted by a certain
individual. A man who
calls himself Morpheus.
Whatever you think you
know about this man is
irrelevant. The fact is
that he is wanted for acts
of terrorism in more
countries than any other
man in the world. He is
considered by many
authorities to be the most
dangerous man alive.

He leans closer.

AGENT SMITH
My colleagues believe that
I am wasting my time with
you but I believe you want
to do the right thing. It
is obvious that you are an
intelligent man, Mr.
Anderson, and that you are
interested in the future.
That is why I believe you
are ready to put your past
mistakes behind you and
get on with your life.

Neo tries to match his stare.

AGENT SMITH
We are willing to wipe the
slate clean, to give you a
fresh start and all we are
asking in return is your
cooperation in bringing a
known terrorist to
justice.

Neo nods to himself.

NEO
Yeah. Wow. That sounds
like a real good deal. But
I think I have a better
one. How about I give you
the finger--

He does.

NEO
And you give me my phone
call!

Agent Smith puts his glasses back on.

AGENT SMITH
You disappoint me, Mr.
Anderson.

NEO
You can't scare me with
this Gestapo crap. I know
my rights. I want my
phone call!

Agent Smith smiles.

AGENT SMITH
And tell me, Mr. Anderson,
what good is a phone call
if you are unable to
speak?

The question unnerves Neo and
strangely he begins to feel the
muscles in his jaw tighten. The
standing Agents snicker, watching
Neo's confusion grow into panic.

Neo feels his lips grow soft and
sticky as they slowly seal shut,
melding into each other until all
traces of his mouth are gone.

Wild with fear, he lunges for the door
but the Agents restrain him, holding
him in the chair.

AGENT SMITH
You are going to help us,
Mr. Anderson, whether you
want to or not.

Smith nods and the other two rip open
his shirt. From a case taken out of
his suit coat, Smith removes a long,
fiber-optic wire tap.

Neo struggles helplessly as Smith
dangles the wire over his exposed
abdomen. Horrified, he watches as the
electronic device animates, becoming
an organic creature that resembles a
hybrid of an insect and a fluke worm.

Thin, whisker-like tendrils reach out
and probe into Neo's navel. He bucks
wildly as Smith drops the creature
which looks for a moment like an uncut
umbilical cord--

Before it begins to burrow, its tail
thrashing as it worms its way inside.

INT. NEO'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

Screaming, Neo bolts upright in bed.

He realizes that he is home. Was it a
dream? His mouth is normal.
His stomach looks fine. He starts to
take a deep, everything-is-okay breath
when--

The phone rings.

It almost stops his heart. It
continues ringing, building pressure
in the room, forcing him up out of
bed, sucking him in with an almost
gravitational force. He answers it,
saying nothing.

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
This line is tapped so I
must be brief.

NEO
The Agents--

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
They got to you first, but
they've underestimated how
important you are. If they
knew what I know, you
would probably be dead.

NEO
What are you talking
about? What the hell is
happening to me?

MORPHEUS
You're the One, Neo. You
see, you may have spent
the last few years looking
for me, but I've spent
most of my life looking
for you.

Neo feels sick.

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Do you still want to meet?

NEO
...yes.

MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Go to the Adams Street
bridge.

Click. He closes his eyes, unsure of
what he has done.

EXT. CITY STREET - NIGHT

It is just beyond the middle of the
night; that time when it seems there
are no rules and everything feels
unsafe. Neo's boots scrape against the
concrete. Every pair of eyes he passes
seems to follow him. Rain pours from a
black sky.

As he reaches the bridge, headlights
creep in behind him. He turns just as
the car slides quickly to a stop
beside him. The back door opens.

TRINITY
Get in.

INT. CAR

A large man named APOC is driving.
Beside him is a beautiful androgyne
called SWITCH, aiming a large gun at
Neo. Window wipers beat heavily
against the windshield.

NEO
What the hell is this?!

TRINITY
It's necessary, Neo. For
our protection.

NEO
From what?

TRINITY
From you.

She lifts a strange steel and glass
device that looks like a cross between
a rib separator, speculum and air
compressor.

SWITCH
Take off your shirt.

He looks at the strange device and the
gun still trained on him.

NEO
What? Why?

SWITCH
Stop the car.

Apoc does.

SWITCH
Listen to me, coppertop.
We don't have time for
‰twenty questions.' Right
now there is only one
rule. Our way or the
highway.

NEO
Fine.

Neo opens the door.

TRINITY
Neo, please, you have to
trust me.

NEO
Why?

TRINITY
Because you've been down
there, Neo. You already
know that road. You know
exactly where it ends.

Neo stares out into sheets of rain
railing against the dark street beyond
the open door.

TRINITY
And I know that's not
where you want to be.

He closes the door.

EXT. DARK STREET

A moment later the green street lights
curve over the car's tinted windshield
as it rushes through the wet
underworld.

INT. CAR

Neo grudgingly strips off his T-shirt.

TRINITY
Lie back.

Trinity aims the device at Neo, its
glass snout forming a seal over his
navel. Switch snaps a cable into the
front seat cigarette lighter.

NEO
What is this thing?

TRINITY
We think you're bugged.
Try to relax.

She turns a dial and the machine bears
down on Neo's midsection, the cylinder
sucking hard at his stomach.

Neo screams, squinting in pain as
Trinity watches the needle on a
pressure gauge climb steadily.

TRINITY
Come on, come on...

On a small monitor that projects an
ultrasound-like image, we see Neo's
insides begin to slither and churn. He
gasps as something wiggles beneath his
skin inside his stomach.

SWITCH
It's on the move.

TRINITY
Shit.

SWITCH
You're gonna lose it.

TRINITY
No I'm not. Clear.

The forboding word hangs in Neo's ear
for a moment when Trinity squeezes a
trigger. Electric current hammers into
Neo and rigid convulsions take hold of
him beneath the flickering car lamp
until--

Something finally rockets wetly out of
Neo's stomach through the extractor's
coils.

NEO
Jesus Christ! It's real?!
That thing is real?!

Trinity lifts a glass cage at the end
of the tubing. Inside the small fluke-
like bug flips and squirms, its
tendrils flapping against the clear
walls.

She unrolls the window and dumps it
out.

EXT. CAR

It hits the pavement with a metallic
tink, reverted back into a common wire
tap, as the car disappears into the
rainy night.

EXT. HOTEL LAFAYETTE

The car stops in a deserted alley
behind a forgotten hotel.

INT. HOTEL LAFAYETTE

It is a place of putrefying elegance,
a rotting host of urban maggotry.

Trinity leads Neo from the stairwell
down the hall of the thirteenth floor.
They stop outside room 1313.

TRINITY
This is it.

Neo can hear his own heart pounding.

TRINITY
Let me give one piece of
advice. Be honest. He
knows more than you can
possibly imagine.

INT. ROOM 1313

Across the room, a DARK FIGURE stares
out the tall windows veiled with
decaying lace. He turns and his smile
lights up the room. A dull roar of
thunder shakes the old building.

MORPHEUS
At last.

He wears a long black coat and his
eyes are invisible behind circular
mirrored glasses. He strides to Neo
and they shake hands.

MORPHEUS
Welcome, Neo. As you no
doubt have guessed, I am
Morpheus.

NEO
It's an honor.

MORPHEUS
No, the honor is mine.
Please. Come. Sit.

He nods to Trinity and she exits
through a door to an adjacent room.
They sit across from one another in
cracked, burgundy-leather chairs.

MORPHEUS
I imagine, right now, you
must be feeling a bit like
Alice, tumbling down the
rabbit hole?

NEO
You could say that.

MORPHEUS
I can see it in your eyes.
You have the look of a man
who accepts what he sees
because he is expecting to
wake up.

A smile, razor-thin, curls the corner
of his lips.

MORPHEUS
Ironically, this is not
far from the truth. But
I'm getting ahead of
myself. Can you tell me,
Neo, why are you here?

NEO
You're Morpheus, you're a
legend. Most hackers would
die to meet you.

MORPHEUS
Yes. Thank you. But I
think we both know there's
more to it than that. Do
you believe in fate, Neo?

NEO
No.

MORPHEUS
Why not?

NEO
Because I don't like the
idea that I'm not in
control of my life.

MORPHEUS
I know exactly what you
mean.

Again, that smile that could cut
glass.

MORPHEUS
Let me tell you why you
are here. You have come
because you know
something. 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. It is
this feeling that brought
you to me. Do you know
what I'm talking about?

NEO
The Matrix?

MORPHEUS
Do you want to know what
it is?

Neo swallows hard and nods.

MORPHEUS
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.

NEO
What truth?

MORPHEUS
That you are a slave, Neo.
Like everyone else, you
were born into bondage,
kept inside a prison that
you cannot smell, taste,
or touch. A prison for
your mind.

The leather creaks as he leans back.

MORPHEUS
Unfortunately, no one can
be told what the Matrix
is. You have to see it for
yourself.

Morpheus opens his hands. In the right
is a red pill. In the left, a blue
pill.

MORPHEUS
This is your last chance.
After this, there is no
going back. You take the
blue pill and the story
ends. You wake in your
bed and you believe
whatever you want to
believe.

The pills in his open hands are
reflected in the glasses.

MORPHEUS
You take the red pill and
you stay in Wonderland and
I show you how deep the
rabbit hole goes.

Neo feels the smooth skin of the
capsules, the moisture growing in his
palms.

MORPHEUS
Remember that all I am
offering is the truth.
Nothing more.

Neo opens his mouth and swallows the
red pill. The Cheshire smile returns.

MORPHEUS
Follow me.

INT. OTHER ROOM

He leads Neo into the other room,
which is cramped with high-tech
equipment, glowing ash-blue and
electric green from the racks of
monitors. Trinity, Apoc, Switch and
Cypher look up as they enter.

MORPHEUS
Apoc, are we on-line?

APOC
Almost.

He and Trinity are working quickly,
hard-wiring a complex system of
monitors, modules and drives.

MORPHEUS
Neo, time is always
against us. Will you take
a seat there?

Neo sits in a chair in the center of
the room and Trinity begins gently
fixing white electrode disks to him.
Near the chair is an old oval dressing
mirror that is cracked. He whispers to
Trinity:

NEO
You did all this?

She nods, placing a set of headphones
over his ears. They are wired to an
old hotel phone.

MORPHEUS
The pill you took is part
of a trace program. It's
designed to disrupt your
input/output carrier
signal so we can pinpoint
your location.

NEO
What does that mean?

CYPHER
It means buckle up,
Dorothy, 'cause Kansas is
going bye-bye.

Distantly, through the ear phones, he
hears Apoc pounding on a keyboard.
Sweat beads his face. His eyes blink
and twitch when he notices the mirror.

Wide-eyed, he stares as it begins to
heal itself, a webwork of cracks that
slowly run together as though the
mirror were becoming liquid.

NEO
Did you...?

Cypher works with Apoc, checking reams
of phosphorescent data. Trinity
monitors Neo's electric vital signs.
Neo reaches out to touch the mirror
and his fingers disappear beneath the
rippling surface.

Quickly, he tries to pull his fingers
out but the mirror stretches in long
rubbery strands like mirrored-taffy
stuck to his fingertips.

MORPHEUS
Have you ever had a dream,
Neo, that you were so sure
was real?

A flash of lightning flickers white
hot against Neo.

NEO
This can't be...

MORPHEUS
Be what? Be real?

The strands thin like rubber cement as
he pulls away, until the fragile wisps
of mirror thread break.

MORPHEUS
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?

Neo looks at his hand; fingers
distended into mirrored icicles that
begin to melt rapidly, dripping,
running like wax down his fingers,
spreading across his palm where he
sees his face reflected.

NEO
Uh-oh...

TRINITY
It's going into
replication.

MORPHEUS
Apoc?

APOC
Still nothing.

Morpheus takes out a cellular phone
and dials a number.

MORPHEUS
Tank, we're going to need
the signal soon.

The mirror gel seems to come to life,
racing, crawling up his arms like
hundreds of insects.

The mirror creeps up his neck as Neo
begins to panic, tipping his head as
though he were sinking into the
mirror, trying to keep his mouth up.

NEO
It's cold.

TRINITY
I got a fibrillation!

MORPHEUS
Shit! Apoc?

Streams of mercury run from Neo's
nose.

APOC
Targeting... almost there.

An alarm on Trinity's monitor erupts.

TRINITY
He's going into arrest!

APOC
Lock! I got him!

MORPHEUS
Now, Tank, now!

His eyes tear with mirror, rolling up
and closing as a high-pitched electric
scream erupts in the headphones. It is
a piercing shriek like a computer
calling to another computer--

Neo's body arches in agony and we are
pulled like we were pulled into the
holes of the phone, sucked into his
scream and swallowed by darkness.

INT. POWER PLANT

Close on a man's body floating in a
womb-red amnion. His body spasms,
fighting against the thick gelatin.

Metal tubes, surreal versions of
hospital tubes, obscure his face.
Other lines like IVs are connected to
limbs and cover his genitals.

He is struggling desperately now. Air
bubbles into the Jell-O but does not
break the surface. Pressing up, the
surface distends, stretching like a
red rubber cocoon.

Unable to breathe, he fights wildly to
stand, clawing at the thinning elastic
shroud, until it ruptures, a hole
widening around his mouth as he sucks
for air. Tearing himself free, he
emerges from the cell.

It is Neo.

He is bald and naked, his body slick
with gelatin. Dizzy, nauseous, he
waits for his vision to focus.

He is standing in an oval capsule of
clear alloy filled with red gelatin,
the surface of which has solidified
like curdled milk. The IVs in his arms
are plugged into outlets that appear
to be grafted to his flesh.

He feels the weight of another cable
and reaches to the back of his head
where he finds an enormous coaxial
plugged and locked into the base of
his skull. He tries to pull it out but
it would be easier to pull off a
finger.

To either side he sees other tube-
shaped pods filled with red gelatin;
beneath the wax-like surface, pale and
motionless, he sees other human
beings.

Fanning out in a circle, there are
more.
All connected to a center core, each
capsule like a red, dimly-glowing
petal attached to a black metal stem.

Above him, level after level, the stem
rises seemingly forever. He moves to
the foot of the capsule and looks out.
The image assaults his mind.

Towers of glowing petals spiral up to
incomprehensible heights, disappearing
down into a dim murk like an
underwater abyss.

His sight is blurred and warped,
exaggerating the intensity of the
vision. The sound of the plant is like
the sound of the ocean heard from
inside the belly of Leviathan.

From above, a machine drops directly
in front of Neo. He swallows his
scream as it seems to stare at him. It
is almost insect-like in its design;
beautiful housings of alloyed metal
covering organic-like systems of hard
and soft polymers.

The machine seizes hold of Neo,
paralyzing him as the cable lock at
the back of his neck spins and opens.

The cable disengages itself. A long
clear plastic needle and cerebrum-chip
slides from the anterior of Neo's
skull with an ooze of blood and spinal
fluid. The other connective hoses snap
free and snake away as the machine
lets Neo go.

Suddenly, the back of the unit opens
and a tremendous vacuum, like an
airplane door opening, sucks the
gelatin and then Neo into a black
hole.

INT. WASTE LINE

The pipe is a waste disposal system
and Neo falls, sliding with the clot
of gelatin. Banking through pipe
spirals and elbows, flushing up
through grease traps clogged with oily
clumps of cellulite.

INT. SEWER MAIN

Neo begins to drown when he is
suddenly snatched from the flow of
waste.

The metallic cable then lifts, pulling
him up into the belly of the
futuristic flying machine hovering
inside the sewer main.

INT. HOVERCRAFT

The metal harness opens and drops the
half-conscious Neo onto the floor.
Human hands and arms help him up as he
finds himself looking straight at
Morpheus.

He smiles.

MORPHEUS
Welcome to the real world,
Neo.

Neo passes out.

FADE TO BLACK.

INT. HOVERCRAFT

We have no sense of time. We hear
voices whispering.

MORPHEUS
We've done it, Trinity. We
found him.

TRINITY
I hope you're right.

MORPHEUS
I don't have to hope it. I
know it.

Neo's eyes flutter open. We see
Morpheus' face above us, angelic in
the fluorescent glow of a light stick.

NEO (O.S.)
... am I dead?

MORPHEUS
Far from it.

FADE TO BLACK.

INT. HOVERCRAFT - INFIRMARY

He opens his eyes again, something
tingling through him. He focuses and
sees his body pierced with dozens of
acupuncture-like needles wired to a
strange device.

DOZER
He still needs a lot of
work.

DOZER and Morpheus are operating on
Neo.

NEO
What are you doing?

MORPHEUS
Your muscles have
atrophied. We're
rebuilding them.

Fluorescent light sticks burn
unnaturally bright.

NEO
Why do my eyes hurt?

MORPHEUS
You've never used them
before.

Morpheus closes Neo's eyes and Neo
lays back.

MORPHEUS
Rest, Neo. The answers are
coming.

INT. NEO'S ROOM

Neo wakes up from a deep sleep,
feeling better. He begins to examine
himself. There is a futuristic IV
plugged into the jack in his forearm.
He pulls it out, staring at the
grafted outlet.

He runs his hand over the short hair
now covering his head. His fingers
find and explore the large outlet in
the base of his skull.

Just as he starts to come unglued,
Morpheus opens the door.

NEO
Morpheus, what's happened
to me? What is this place?

MORPHEUS
More important than what
is when?

NEO
When?

MORPHEUS
You believe the year is
1997 when in fact it is
much closer to 2197. I
can't say for certain what
year it is because we
honestly do not know.

The wind is knocked from Neo's chest.

MORPHEUS
There is no reason for me
to try to explain it when
I can simply show it. Come
with me.

INT. HOVERCRAFT

Like a sleepwalker, Neo follows
Morpheus through the ship.

MORPHEUS
This is my ship, the
Nebuchadnezzar. It's a
hovercraft. Small like a
submarine. It's cramped
and cold. But it's home.

They climb a ladder up to the main
deck.

INT. MAIN DECK

Everyone is there.

MORPHEUS
This is the main deck. You
know most of my crew.

Trinity smiles and nods.

MORPHEUS
The ones you don't know.
That's Mouse, Cypher, and
Switch. Those two guys are
Tank and Dozer.

The names and faces wash meaninglessly
over Neo.

MORPHEUS
And this, this is the
Core. This is where we
broadcast our pirate
signal and hack into the
Matrix.

It is a swamp of bizarre electronic
equipment. Vines of coaxial hang and
snake to and from huge monolithic
battery slabs, a black portable
satellite dish and banks of life
systems and computer monitors.

At the center of the web, there are
six ecto-skeleton chairs made of a
poly-alloy frame and suspension
harness. Near the circle of chairs is
the control console and operator's
station where the network is
monitored.
MORPHEUS
You want to know what the
Matrix is, Neo? The answer
is right here.

He touches the back of Neo's head.

MORPHEUS
Help him, Trinity.

Neo allows himself to be helped into
one of the chairs. He feels Morpheus
guiding a coaxial line into the jack
at the back of his neck. The cable has
the same kind of cerebrum chip we saw
inside the plant.

MORPHEUS
This will feel a little
weird.

There are several disturbing noises as
he works the needle in.

We move in as Neo's shoulders bunch
and his face tightens into a grimace
until a loud click fires and his ears
pop like when you equalize them
underwater.

He relaxes, opening his eyes as we
pull back to a feeling of
weightlessness inside another place--

INT. CONSTRUCT

Neo is standing in an empty, blank-
white space.

MORPHEUS
This is the Construct.

Startled, Neo whips around and finds
Morpheus now in the room with him.

MORPHEUS
It is our loading program.
We can load anything from
clothes, to weapons, to
training simulations.
Anything we need.

Morpheus walks past Neo and when Neo
turns he sees the two leather chairs
from the Hotel Lafayette set up in
front of a large-screen television.

MORPHEUS
Sit down.

Neo stands at the back of the chair as
Morpheus sits.

NEO
Right now, we're inside a
computer program?

Morpheus smiles.

MORPHEUS
Is it so hard to believe
Your clothes are
different, the plugs in
your arms and head are
gone. Look at your hair,
you were bald a moment
ago.

Neo touches his head.

MORPHEUS
It's what we call residual
self image. The mental
projection of your
electronic self. Wild,
isn't it?

Neo's hands run over the cracked
leather.

NEO
This-- This isn't real?

MORPHEUS
What is real? How do you
define real? If you're
talking about what you
feel, taste, smell, or
see, then real is simply
electrical signals
interpreted by your brain.

He picks up a remote control and
clicks on the television. On the
television, we see images of the
twentieth century city where Neo
lived.

MORPHEUS
This is the world you
know. The world as it was
at the end of the
Twentieth Century. It
exists now only as part of
a neural-interactive
simulation that we call
the Matrix.

He changes the channel and we see a
very different city as we enter the
television.

MORPHEUS
You have been living
inside a dreamworld, Neo.
As in Baudrillard's
vision, your whole life
has been spent inside the
map, not the territory.
This is the world as it
exists today.

In the distance, we see the ruins of a
future city protruding from the
wasteland like the blackened ribs of a
long-dead corpse.

MORPHEUS
The desert of the real.'

Beneath us, the water is gone.

We turn and descend, spiraling down
toward the lake bed which is scorched
and split like burnt flesh, where we
find Morpheus and Neo. Neo clings to
the chair, trying to get his bearings.

MORPHEUS
We have only bits and
pieces of information.
What we know for certain
is that, at some point in
the early Twenty-first
Century, all of mankind
was united in celebration.
Through the blinding
inebriation of hubris, we
marveled at our
magnificence as we gave
birth to A.I.

NEO
A.I.? You mean artificial
intelligence?

MORPHEUS
Yes. A singular
consciousness that spawned
an entire race of
machines.
I must say I find it
almost funny to imagine
the world slapping itself
on the back, toasting the
new age. I say almost
funny.

He looks up and his sunglasses reflect
the obsidian clouds roiling overhead.

MORPHEUS
We don't know who struck
first. Us or them. But we
do know it was us that
scorched the sky. At the
time, they were dependent
on solar power. It was
believed they would be
unable to survive without
an energy source as
abundant as the sun.

As we descend into the circular window
of his glasses, there is a flash of
lightning.

MORPHEUS
Throughout human history,
we have been dependent on
machines to survive. Fate,
it seems, is not without a
sense of irony.

EXT. FETUS FIELDS

On the flash, we pull back from the
darkness which reveals itself to be
the black eye of a fetus.

MORPHEUS
The Machines discovered a
new form of fusion. All
they needed was a small
electrical charge to
initiate the reaction.

The fetus is suspended in a placenta-
like husk, where its malleable skull
is already growing around the brain-
jack.

MORPHEUS
The human body generates
more bioelectricity than a
120-volt battery and over
25,000 B.T.U.'s of body
heat.

The husk hanging from a stalk is
plucked by a thresher- like farm
machine.

MORPHEUS
There are fields, endless
fields where human beings
are no longer born; we are
grown.

We rise up, the field stretching in
every direction to the horizon,
lightning tearing open the sky as a
harvester sweeps past us.

INT. POWER PLANT

From the yawning black of the waste
port, we begin to pull back as it
snaps shut. Red amniotic gel flows
into the pod below us, pooling around
a tiny newborn that suckles its feed
tube.

MORPHEUS
For the longest time, I
wouldn't believe it. But
then I saw the fields with
my own eyes, watched them
liquify the dead so they
could be fed intravenously
to the living and standing
there, facing the
efficiency, the pure,
horrifying precision, I
came to realize the
obviousness of the truth.

Still pulling back, we see the image
of the power plant now on the
television as we return to the white
space of the construct.

INT. CONSTRUCT

Morpheus steps into view as he clicks
off the television.

MORPHEUS
What is the Matrix?
Control.

He opens the back of the television
remote control.

MORPHEUS
The Matrix is a computer-
generated dreamworld built
to keep us under control
in order to change a human
being into this.

He holds up a coppertop battery.

NEO
No! I don't believe it!
It's not possible!

MORPHEUS
I didn't say that it would
be easy, Neo. I just said
that it would be the
truth.

NEO
Stop! Let me out! I want
out!

INT. MAIN DECK

His eyes snap open and he thrashes
against the chair, trying to rip the
cable from the back of his neck.

NEO
Get this thing out of me!

TRINITY
Easy, Neo. Easy.

Dozer holds him while Trinity unlocks
it. Once it's out, he tears away from
them, falling as he trips free of the
harness.

NEO
Don't touch me! Get away
from me!

On his hands and knees, he reels as
the world spins. Sweat pours off him
as a pressure builds inside his skull
as if his brain had been put into a
centrifuge.

NEO
I don't believe it! I
don't believe it!

CYPHER
He's going to pop!

Vomiting violently, Neo pitches
forward and blacks out.

INT. NEO'S ROOM

He blinks, regaining consciousness.
The room is dark. Neo is stretched out
on his bed.

NEO
I can't go back, can I?

Morpheus is sitting like a shadow on a
chair in the far corner.

MORPHEUS
No. But if you could,
would you really want to?

Deep down, Neo knows that answer.

MORPHEUS
I feel that I owe you an
apology. There is a rule
that we do not free a mind
once it reaches a certain
age. It is dangerous. They
have trouble letting go.
Their mind turns against
them. I've seen it happen.
I'm sorry. I broke the
rule because I had to.

He stares into the darkness,
confessing as much to himself as to
Neo.

MORPHEUS
When the Matrix was first
built there was a man born
inside that had the
ability to change what he
wanted, to remake the
Matrix as he saw fit. It
was this man that freed
the first of us and taught
us the truth; as long as
the Matrix exists, the
human race will never be
free.

He pauses.

MORPHEUS
When he died, the Oracle
prophesied his return and
envisioned that his coming
would hail the destruction
of the Matrix, an end to
the war and freedom for
our people. That is why
there are those of us that
have spent our entire
lives searching the
Matrix, looking for him.

Neo can feel his eyes on him.

MORPHEUS
I did what I did because I
believe the search is
over.

He stands up.

MORPHEUS
Get some rest. You're
going to need it.

NEO
For what?

MORPHEUS
Your training.

INT. HOVERCRAFT

There is no morning; there is only
darkness and then the fluorescent
light sticks flicker on.

INT. NEO'S ROOM

Neo is awake in his bed, staring up at
the lights. The door opens and TANK
steps inside.

TANK
Morning. Did you sleep?

NEO
No.

TANK
You will tonight. I
guarantee it. I'm Tank.
I'll be your operator.

He offers his hand and Neo shakes it.
He notices that Tank doesn't have any
jacks.

NEO
You don't have...

TANK
Any holes? Nope. Me and my
brother Dozer, we are 100
percent pure, old-
fashioned, home-grown
human. Born free. Right
here in the real world.
Genuine child of Zion.

NEO
Zion?

TANK
If this war ended
tomorrow, Zion is where
the party would be.

NEO
It's a city?

TANK
The last human city. The
only place we got left.

NEO
Where is it?

TANK
Deep underground. Near the
earth's core, where it's
still warm. You live long
enough, you might even see
it.

Tank smiles.

TANK
Goddamn, I got to tell
you, I'm fairly excited to
see what you are capable
of. I mean if Morpheus is
right and all. We're not
supposed to talk about any
of that but if you are,
well then this is an
exciting time. We got a
lot to do, so let's get to
it.

INT. MAIN DECK

Neo is plugged in, hanging in one of
the suspension chairs.

TANK
We're supposed to load all
these operations programs
first, but this is some
major boring shit. Why
don't we start with
something a little fun?

Tank smiles as he plops into his
operator's chair. He begins flipping
through a tall carousel loaded with
micro discs.

TANK
How about some combat
training?

Neo reads the label on the disk.

NEO
Jujitsu? I'm going to
learn jujitsu?

Tank slides the disk into Neo's
supplement drive.

NEO
No way.

Smiling, Tank punches the "load" code.
His body jumps against the harness as
his eyes clamp shut. The monitors kick
wildly as his heart pounds, adrenaline
surges, and his brain sizzles. An
instant later his eyes snap open.

NEO
Holy shit!

TANK
Hey, Mikey, he likes it!
Ready for more?

NEO
Hell yes!

INT. MAIN DECK

Close on a computer monitor as grey
pixels slowly fill a small, half-empty
box. It is a meter displaying how much
download time is left. The title bar
reads: "Combat Series 10 of 12," file
categories flashing beneath it:
"Savate, Jujitsu, Ken Po, Drunken
Boxing..."

Morpheus walks in.

MORPHEUS
How is he?

TANK
Ten hours straight. He's
a machine.

Neo's body spasms and relaxes as his
eyes open, breath hissing from his
lips. He looks like he just orgasmed.

NEO
This is incredible. I know
kung fu.

MORPHEUS
Show me.

INT. DOJO

They are standing in a very sparse
Japanese-style dojo.

MORPHEUS
This is a sparring
program, similar to the
programmed reality of the
Matrix. It has the same
basic rules. Rules like
gravity. What you must
learn is that these rules
are no different than the
rules of a computer
system. Some of them can
be bent. Others can be
broken. Understand?

Neo nods as Morpheus assumes a
fighting stance.

MORPHEUS
Then hit me, if you can.

Neo assumes a similar stance,
cautiously circling until he gives a
short cry and launches a furious
attack.

It is like a Jackie Chan movie at high
speed, fists and feet striking from
every angle as Neo presses his attack,
but each and every blow is blocked by
effortless speed.

INT. MAIN DECK

While their minds battle in the
programmed reality, the two bodies
appear quite serene, suspended in the
drive chairs.

Tank monitors their Life Systems,
noticing that Neo is wildly and
chaotically lit up as opposed to the
slow and steady rhythm of Morpheus.

INT. MESS HALL

MOUSE bursts into the room,
interrupting dinner.

MOUSE
Morpheus is fighting Neo!

All at once, everyone bolts for the
door.

INT. DOJO

Neo's face is knotted, teeth clenched,
as he hurls himself at Morpheus.

MORPHEUS
Good. Adaptation.
Improvisation. But your
weakness isn't your
technique.

Morpheus attacks him and it is like
nothing we have seen. His feet and
fists are everywhere, taking Neo
apart. For every blow Neo blocks, five
more hit their marks until--

Neo falls.

Panting, on his hands and knees, blood
spits from his mouth, speckling the
white floor of the dojo.

MORPHEUS
How did I beat you?

NEO
You-- you're too fast.

MORPHEUS
Do you think my being
faster, stronger has
anything to do with my
muscles in this place?

Neo is frustrated, still unable to
catch his breath.

MORPHEUS
Do you believe that's air
you are breathing now?

Neo stands, nodding slowly.

MORPHEUS
Again.

Their fists fly with pneumatic speed.

INT. MAIN DECK

Everyone is gathered behind Tank
watching the fight, like watching a
game of Mortal Kombat.

MOUSE
Jeeezus Keeerist! He's
fast! Look at his neural-
kinetics! They're way
above normal!

INT. DOJO

Morpheus begins to press Neo,
countering blows while slipping in
several stinging slaps.

MORPHEUS
Come on, Neo. What are you
waiting for? You're faster
than this. Don't think you
are. Know you are.

Whack, Morpheus cracks Neo again.
Neo's face twists with rage as the
speed of the blows rises like a drum
solo.

MORPHEUS
Come on! Stop trying to
hit me and just hit me.

Wham. A single blow catches Morpheus
on the side of the head, knocking off
his glasses.

INT. MAIN DECK

There are several gasps.

MOUSE
I don't believe it!

INT. DOJO

Morpheus rubs his face, then smiles.

NEO
I know what you're trying
to do--

MORPHEUS
I'm trying to free your
mind, Neo, but all I can
do is show you the door.
You're the one that has to
step through. Tank, load
the jump program.

INT. HOVERCRAFT

Apoc and Switch exchange looks as Tank
grabs for the disk.

INT. CONSTRUCT - ROOFTOP - DAY

Morpheus and Neo are again in the
white space of the Construct. Beneath
their feet, we see the jump program
rush up at them until they are
standing on a rooftop in a city
skyline.

MORPHEUS
Let it all go, Neo. Fear.
Doubt. Disbelief. Free
your mind.

Morpheus spins, running hard at the
edge of the rooftop. And jumps. He
sails through the air, his coat
billowing out behind him like a cape
as he lands on the rooftop across the
street.

NEO
Shit.

Neo looks down at the street twenty
floors below, then at Morpheus an
impossible fifty feet away.

NEO
Okie dokie. Free my mind.
Right. No problem.

He takes a deep breath. And starts to
run.

INT. MAIN DECK

They are transfixed.

MOUSE
What if he makes it?

APOC
No way. Not possible.

TANK
No one's ever made their
first jump.

MOUSE
I know but what if he
does?

APOC
He won't.

Trinity stares at the screen, her
fists clenching as she whispers.

TRINITY
Come on.

EXT. ROOFTOP

Summoning every ounce of strength in
his legs, Neo launches himself into
the air in a single maniacal shriek-

But comes up drastically short.

His eyes widen as he plummets. Stories
fly by, the ground rushing up at him,
but as he hits, the ground gives way,
stretching like a trapeze net. He
bounces and flips, slowly coming to a
rest, flat on his back.

He laughs, a bit unsure, wiping the
wind-blown tears from his face.
Morpheus exits the building and helps
him to his feet.

MORPHEUS
Do you know why you didn't
make it?

NEO
Because... I didn't think
I would?

Morpheus smiles and nods.

INT. MAIN DECK

They break up.

MOUSE
What does it mean?

SWITCH
It doesn't mean anything.

CYPHER
Everyone falls the first
time, right, Trinity?

But Trinity has already left.

Neo's eyes open as Tank eases the plug
out. He tries to move and groans,
cradling his ribs. While Tank helps
Morpheus, Neo spits blood into his
hand.

NEO
I thought it wasn't real.

MORPHEUS
Your mind makes it real.

Neo stares at the blood.

NEO
If you are killed in the
Matrix, you die here?

MORPHEUS
The body cannot live
without the mind.

INT. NEO'S ROOM

Trinity enters from the hall, carrying
a tray of food.

TRINITY
Neo, I saved you some
dinner--

She sees him passed out on the bed.
She sets the tray down and pulls the
blanket over him.

She pauses, her face close to his,
then inhales lightly, breathing in the
scent of him before slowly pulling
away.

INT. HALL

Trinity steps out of Neo's room to
find Cypher watching her.

CYPHER
I don't remember you ever
bringing me dinner.

Trinity says nothing.

CYPHER
There's something about
him, isn't there?

TRINITY
Don't tell me you're a
believer now?

CYPHER
I just keep wondering if
Morpheus is so sure, why
doesn't he take him to the
Oracle? She would know.

TRINITY
Morpheus will take him
when he's ready.

She turns and he watches her walk
away.

EXT. CITY STREET - TRAINING PROGRAM - DAY

Morpheus moves effortlessly through a
crowded downtown street while Neo
struggles to keep up, constantly
bumped and shouldered off the path.

MORPHEUS
The Matrix is a system,
Neo, and that system is
our enemy. But when you
are inside and look
around, what do you see;
businessmen, lawyers,
teachers, carpenters. The
minds of the very people
we are trying to save. But
until we do, these people
are still a part of the
system and that makes them
our enemy.

A cop writing a parking ticket stares
at Neo from behind his glasses.

MORPHEUS
You have to understand
that most of these people
are not ready to be
unplugged and many of them
are so inured, so
hopelessly dependent on
the system that they will
fight to protect it.

A beautiful woman in a red dress
smiles at Neo as she passes by.

MORPHEUS
Were you listening to me,
Neo? Or were you looking
at the woman in the red
dress?

NEO
I was...

MORPHEUS
Look again.

Neo turns just as Agent Smith levels a
gun at his face. Neo screams.

MORPHEUS
Freeze it.

Everything except Morpheus and Neo
freezes.

NEO
This-- This isn't the
Matrix?

MORPHEUS
No, it's another training
program designed to teach
you one thing; if you are
not one of us, you're one
of them.

NEO
What are they?

MORPHEUS
Sentient programs. 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.

Neo stares at the Agent.

MORPHEUS
We've survived by hiding
from them, running from
them, but they are the
gatekeepers, they're
guarding all the doors,
holding all the keys which
means that sooner or later
someone is going to have
to fight them.

NEO
Someone?

MORPHEUS
I won't lie to you, Neo.
Every single man or woman
who has stood their
ground, who has fought an
Agent, has died. But where
they failed, you will
succeed.

NEO
Why?

MORPHEUS
I've seen an Agent punch
through a concrete wall.
Men have emptied entire
clips at them and hit
nothing but air.
Yet their strength and
their speed are still
based in a world that is
built by rules. Because of
that, they will never be
as strong or as fast as
you can be.

Neo scratches his head.

NEO
What? Are you trying to
tell me that I can dodge
bullets?

MORPHEUS
No, Neo. I'm trying to
tell you that when you're
ready, you won't have to.

Morpheus's cell phone rings and he
flips it open.

TANK (V.O.)
We got trouble.

EXT. SEWER MAIN

The Nebuchadnezzar blisters by,
trailing a swirling, supercharged,
electromagnetic wake.

INT. COCKPIT

Morpheus slides into the co-pilot's
chair next to Dozer.

MORPHEUS
Did Zion send the warning?

DOZER
No. Another ship. Big
Brother I think, they're
running a parallel
pipeline. </