© Danny Bowman
Life after the Matrix. Morpheus called it “the desert of the real”. I should have taken the blue pill and stayed in wonderland. No, then I’d be lost. We won. We defeated the machines, removed all those people from the power source. They died to free humanity.
We didn’t murder them, they just didn’t want to live without the simulated reality of the Matrix. I don’t want to live without it, without her.
Trinity died fighting the machines. I’m blind. We still won. We have reality, but it’s a desert. Now that I look back, the fantasy was much better.
Written for the Rochelle Wisoff-Fields Friday Fictioneers photo writing challenge. The idea is to use the image above as the inspiration for creating a piece of flash fiction no more than 100 words. My word count is 100.
Obviously, I’m referring both to the 1999 film The Matrix and the third film in the trilogy The Matrix Revolutions (2003). Yes, I’ve changed how the trilogy ends. I let Neo live, but to prove a point. Sometimes the fantasy is more interesting than the reality, and the cost of facing reality is high.
To read more stories based on the prompt, go to InLinkz.com.
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There’s always the sequel to look forward to!
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Sequel?
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I remember the first film,which was magnificent. The sequels on the other hand were a massive letdown. I liked your ending better.
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Thanks. Actually, the way I would have ended the trilogy was to load Neo and Trinity back into the Matrix permanently, sort of like how the sentient computer programs such as Agent Smith exist there. They could finally have a life together as a couple. No adventures, just life.
The only way to defeat the machines would be to kill millions, maybe billions of people. Depends on whether or not you think it’s worth it. Sometimes the simulated fiction is better than the harsh reality.
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Ah, so the grass isn’t always as green on the other side. Excellent take here. Really enjoyed it.
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Thanks, Jelli.
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Dear James,
I think they should’ve left well enough alone with Matrix. The first was stunning. The second wasn’t terrible. The third? Not so much. I love what you did with this retrospective.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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As long as the studio thinks they’ll make money off of a franchise, they’ll keep churning out movies. Sad and I totally agree with you.
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This is great and I too prefer this ending. I once heard a buddhist nun say that our perceived reality is like the calm, reflective surface of a deep lake. Who know’s what’s underneath? I wonder if you’ve ever heard of ‘World on a wire’ by the german director Rainer Werner Fassbinder? That was made in the seventies and is still my favourite virtual reality fiction. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_on_a_Wire
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Never heard of it but it looks fascinating. I found out that my local library system has the DVD so I just reserved it. Looking forward to watching. Thanks for the tip.
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I hope you like it. 🙂
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Me too. Maybe I’ll write a review.
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Thought-provoking take.
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Thanks.
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What is the point of flash fiction?
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I suppose the point might be different for different people. For me, it’s the challenge of creating a tale from a visual prompt and being limited to a certain word count. Additionally, it’s a chance for social interaction with a wide variety of other authors from all over the world and to see how our imaginations operate differently. Your mileage may vary.
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I’ll check it out. Thanks.
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Btw: no way I’d stick Neo and Trinity back into the Matrix. Anti-climatic and defeats the entire point of the trilogy. It would feel as if they simply “gave up…” Just sayin…
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In the end, the Matrix still exists anyway, so why not give them a chance at a semi-normal life? Just my opinion.
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Reading your offering and the comments leads me to wish that I had seen the Matrix.
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It’s never too late, Michael. I first saw it on DVD but besides hearing it was a good movie, I had no idea what it was about. It was a terrific experience. I highly recommend it.
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To hell with Neo! Agent Smith all the way for me 😀 All kidding aside, this was a fantastic piece of retcon, James. Well done.
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Thanks, Varad. You’re probably not the only Agent Smith fan out there.
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Sometimes being a prisoner is preferable to freedom… loved that you brought me back to Matrix.
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Glad you liked it, Björn. Thanks.
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There’s such a strong assumption that we’ll root for the “truth” over the deception, but I think the other side deserves a good hearing too: sometimes the reality really sucks, and some good escapism is perfectly reasonable.
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Some fantasies are far better than reality, Joy.
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Always, always, always fantasy and fiction are better than reality. Thats why there are writers, of whom we all are part. May our tribe increase!
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Thank you, “spiced”.
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👍
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Spoiler alert 🙂
First film, amazing. The other two – rubbish 😦
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Am I the only person around here that’s not seen Matrix? I’m curious now!
Click to read my FriFic
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Just about, Keith.
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No, I haven’t seen it either!
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I have only seen the first one.
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It’s really the only one you need to see in my opinion.
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In the end, there is no reality, just perspective. My perspective of reality will always be different from everyone else’s. Very imaginative take. I could never think of sci-fi from that prompt 🙂
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That’s kind of the point of The Matrix. Reality is only electrical impulses interpreted by your brain.
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So, how can the fantasy be better? If you change your perspective, you change your reality.
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Potentially. A friend of mine suffers from ALS. His attitude is pretty good considering, but he still suffers from ALS.
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What a philosophical teaser of a comment! I would love to debate it, but I guess FF is neither the time nor the place!
I can’t resist saying though, that if reality is defined as a consistent response to stimuli, then there is an objective reality. If there weren’t, then aeroplanes would fall out of the sky.
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Yes there’s an objective reality that doesn’t depend on our existence, thus if a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one there to hear it, it still makes a sound.
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This is a fascinating little story, James, bringing a human, emotional, dimension to an existential debate which stretches back at least to Plato. It also has immediate and direct relevance to how we live our lives today. Have we reached the point when some people wouldn’t want to live without their TV, smartphone, VR headset? How will the increasing development of the smart home affect that?
Thank you for writing it, James.
All the best
Penny
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Both Larry Niven and Spider Robinson have written stories about “wireheads,” people who receive continuous electrical stimulation to the pleasure centers of their brains, some to the degree that they let themselves starve to death because they can’t make themselves shut off the current. The ultimate addiction.
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…which is why people play computer games. Well written, James!
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Thanks, Sascha.
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Loved where you took the prompt. Also loved the introspection in this.
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Thanks, Life Lessons.
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sometimes reality stinks. it causes pain. but then again to feel pain is to know that we’re alive.
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I’m sure we’d all like to feel something besides pain. too. 😉
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I think we all love fantasy. We can weave our own adventures. With reality, you have to play the cards life deals you.
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This is true, Russell.
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Seems like maybe there just isn’t a good outcome when it’s man vs. virtual intelligence. Maybe we should have left well enough alone!
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Too late. We have AI with us today. So far, it hasn’t tried to take over, but it might be plotting and scheming even now.
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🙂
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Now I need to rewatch them!!!
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Please do.
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I loved this. Sometimes reality is too much, so we prefer a fantasy world…
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Agreed. Thanks.
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I like what you did here.
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Thanks, Dawn.
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Good job!
Concerning the comment on reality and whether or not it’s best, I read a rabbinic story in which the angels were debating the Creation of Humanity. Truth said, “Let him not be created, for he will tell lies”, so God cast Truth to the earth. The other angels then urged God to bring Truth back.
While this was written centuries ago, it seems particularly relevant in our post-modern era.
Your story makes me think of this.
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