Who wouldn’t want to be Trinity? She can hack. She can do kung fu. She can wear tight black leather suits and look good.

Yet life as Trinity isn’t my destiny. I can’t hack. I can’t even hack through the html book I started a few months ago. Last time I checked, my kung fu skills were lame. Not lame as in Carrie Anne Moss’ broken leg. Lame as in non-existent. And last time I looked in my closet, the number of outfits that were black leather, tight-fitting and flattering on me totalled zero.

But I think I’ve got a better shot at being The Oracle. All I’ve got to do is have love beads hanging in my kitchen (just got to get Ted to approve it!), bake lots of cookies and invite young children to bend spoons in my living room. Hmmm…two of the three are happening already….

I like Trinity. She’s sexy, sure. She’s powerful. She’s got brains and a guy. I wouldn’t mind being able to wear black leather like that and get away with it. Or do those kung fu kicks.

But life as The Oracle appeals to me too. I like prophecy. The effect of faith. The idea of destiny mixed with the mystery of free will. That there is plan and purpose for your life. But it also depends on your interpretation, understanding and implementation.

Wouldn’t it be cool to know which man is the one to marry, what you should do with yourself next year or that if you stand at 12th and Elm at 3 pm on Sunday something wonderful will happen?

Providing guidance, helping people find purpose, who they were meant to be and what they were destined to do, appeals to me. Seeing beyond the visible, the here and now. Having discernment to know what to say to whom. Telling others only what they need to know, nothing more or less. I wish for such wisdom and insight!

I’ll never pass for Gloria Foster but I can find an apron or two, and I can hope to be an oracle of sorts in my own way, as wisdom and time allow. I’d like to be able to give out cookies and encouragement in my kitchen. It’s a bit of an ambitious aspiration for thirtysomething, but maybe by sixty or so I’ll have my love beads and prophecy all in place.

But for now I have cookies. Piles of them for tomorrow’s neighborhood spring-cleaning. Too many cookies.

Here, have one.

Yeah, we’re behind the times: I think Revisited has been out now for at least a couple years. But it is different to watch it after seeing the other two movies in the trilogy. We probably had a different perspective than we would have had watching it a few days earlier, before “Revolutions”. And I think it helped me understand what happened to the last two films.

For an image-conscious crowd, the look is obvious disheveled. It’s funny to see the too-cool cast looking like they need haircuts and shaves. Carrie-Ann wore a knit hat and a blanket. Keanu looked like he hadn’t seen a mirror in days. Hugo Weaving had a ponytail – which I didn’t remember in the movies – was that his Elrond hair for his LOTR role? Perhaps the point is to prove how hard they are training? There are a lot of scenes of the crew practicing their fighting.

It’s worth watching the DVD to see some sights: Keanu babbling about Baudrillard. (I had heard he had to read the book, but I didn’t know he had to read it BEFORE he read the script.) Seeing Woo-ping in action, hearing his commentary (translated) and watching his blocking tapes. I was intrigued to see the detailed original drawings. Watching Kym Barrett describe her work on the costumes inspired me to imagine the fun of experimenting with fabric, textures, shapes and sheens. Insight into some of the special effects was cool too: for example, I had just assumed that Neo’s mouth melt was completely done on a computer – I didn’t realize that Keanu had to spend five hours with his mouth covered up (writing notes instead of talking) in order to act that interrogation scene…

It’s probably worth watching Revisited just to see the directors. I was surprised that the elusive won’t-give-interviews Wachowski brothers, Andy and Larry, participated. There’s lots of footage of the two of them talking, and there’s also footage of how the two directed, in a very involved way, often one of them acting and demonstrating while the other explained the scene. (Was it me, or is there a bit of a Tweedledum/Tweedledee feel to the two brothers?:) )

Even after seeing Reloaded and Revolutions, it was great to see the original film again. Keanu’s confusion and Weaving’s evil were classic. I find too that Trinity’s action-feminity was the strongest in that film also. Morpheus, well I felt something’s happened to him in the sequels – like a hit in the head? – and he’s never been the same charismatic leader since. While watching the DVD, Ted sighed, “This movie was a masterpiece compared to the two sequels.”

And in Revisited, I found clues to explain the dramatic differences between the first and subsequent films. Laurence Fishburne explained that in the Matrix Morpheus is “masculine” while he is more feminine in the real world. Well, that explained some things.

The DVD discussed the Wachowski brothers history, how they made comic books first, then films. How much they loved comic books. That explained some things too. Instead of thinking about the trilogy as some kind of cosmic philosophy, maybe I should just think of it as one gigantic cinematic comic book. Comic book, yeah, that fits better.

There’s talk about how the Wachowskis at first wanted to do all three films, but had to settle for making one, The Matrix. One of the brothers, I think it is Larry, said something like “all the ideas we’ve had in our entire lives” were put into the The Matrix. Yeah, that explained a lot. Like what was left to put into #2 and #3…..?

Hype aside – and not even Ghandi (the move or the man) could live up to all of it! -, I think the movie does have some merit. I was skeptical going in to see it, and I was even more skeptical this morning, when I saw the Seattle Times review’s headline , quoting Macbeth’s soliloquy of “sound and fury, signifying nothing”

I won’t reveal much of the plot. And it’s not as if this is a movie that people need to be persuaded to see. Either you know you’ll see it, or you won’t. So I’ll write a few of my thoughts below in a vague review.

I was reluctant to see the first film – we literally waited years to see it – because of the R rating. I’m just not keen on seeing graphic sex and violence in films, I always used to close my eyes during fighting scenes, as a kid and adult. After recently reading the books Exploring the Matrix and Hey Nostradamus! , I was beginning to feel more uncomfortable about the violent aspects. This film still has plenty of violence, but it didn’t seem as intense as the first film, to me. Maybe it has to do with the machines. Or maybe I’m just numbed now. The words “terrorist” and “guerilla” – even thoughts of Iraq – did come to mind – probably because of my readings. Need I say that the ending fighting scenes are over the top? The big battles to me felt a lot like tooth pulling (get it over with!), but that’s just me. I just don’t like watching those. There’s plenty of special effects, for sure. (Ted and I both smiled to see Yuen Woo-ping in the credits – again, a great chapter in Exploring on that!)

The big questions are still there: What will you do for what you believe? How much will you sacrifice? What is the power of belief? What is the difference between knowing and believing? These questions are why I like these Matrix films: the movies speak to me about spiritual truths. What is the power of prophecy? (Considering the original actress died, they did a pretty good job accommodating the new Oracle.) What does it mean to be human? What will you do for love? What is Fate? There are still great illustrations, one particularly powerful one involving Neo’s sight. And of course: What is reality?

Free will versus choice is still a big theme. Although the Seattle Times review mocked this emphasis on choice, I appreciated it. I think it is because choice is an issue I am discovering deeper in my own life, and wrestling in a spiritual way. As Ted and I have been making some decisions recently in our lives, we’ve been learning more about what it means to have free will, how God made us with the ability to choose (Adam and Eve), and how we exercise that choice. And like the characters in the movie who often wanted the Oracle to tell them exactly what to do, at times we’ve wanted to lean on specific advice from others also rather than making a choice. Most of the time we can’t see past the decision, the bend in the road and the uncertainty is scary, requiring faith. Ah, to be human! And the Matrix movies provoke the question: how much is determined and how much is our choice? The unfolding of the trilogy, including what happens with the prophecies, speaks to me now in a new way about choice.

The plot as a whole, looking at it now through the three films, or even in just this one, seems a bit like spaghetti – maybe I missed some details or moments? Or like a puzzle with missing pieces, picture incomplete. In the middle of it, while watching, I felt “this movie is a mess.” Some of it got resolved and explained and some didn’t. Questions remain. I’m trying to put it all together and wondering…and wondering…feeling a bit disappointed, a bit mystified, a bit baffled, and a bit relieved at the finality of it all.

Some fun tidbits from the first film are included, images and references, cute and cool. One thing I am sure of is that the Wachowski brothers – and their crew too – had a lot of fun making all these movies!
Yet in some ways the plot of the third one is still a bit predictable, simple with some surprises. To me, there are too many cultural and racial stereotypes. I felt that way about the second film as well. But I do like how the women characters lead (although I don’t know why one of them had to wear a tank top to do it!).

If they ever make re-make of the Matrix, I hope they’d consider hiring writers to do new dialogue. Sometimes the flat and silly speech almost made me laugh, even in the tense scenes. I kept hearing Bruce Sterlings’s words in my mind, imagining what he will write about this one….

Instead of P.O.D., Marilyn Manson and others, the closing music was more classical and dramatic, one blend of operatic plus Indian plus techno (best way I know how to describe it – Ted argues with me about the Indian/Eastern, saying it was just the voice/singing style) I wish we had opera in more of our culture rather than just movie soundtracks.:)

I liked the last line of the film. It made me think.

When I showed up at the theater, I asked what times the movie would be showing on Wednesday. I was surprised to learn that even Bainbridge Island would be having a 6 AM showing. I had read about the Matrix Revolutions Zero Hour Global Premiere on the Matrix web site (and blogged about it ) weeks ago but it amazes me that even in this small town the film will be showing at that hour. L.A. is one thing, but Bainbridge?! As I joked with Ted, people could see it at 6 AM and still make the 8:40 AM boat – wouldn’t be too late to work! Or, as I joked, I could sneak out in the morning and be back by the time the girls get up! A night owl, he wasn’t too keen on that idea. Even the cinema employees weren’t sure who would be there that early in the morning. But the 6:45 PM showing on Wednesday – in time for all the commuters to come home – is sold out already!

Now, despite all my posts about various Matrix books, I confess I’m not that excited about it. Yes, despite our plans to go opening day, I don’t have that high expectations. In some sense, I told Ted, I feel it will be like getting a tooth pulled. I just want to get it over with. Get to the end of this trilogy. Maybe it will be better than I expect. I liked the first film but felt disappointed by the second. Maybe #3 will make it up to me.

To get in the mood, I swung by the library and picked up The Matrix Reloaded soundtrack – I put it on hold four months ago but it was finally available for me this past week. I have to say the music is a bit intense for my typing right now. Pulsing beats, forceful lyrics, lots of tension. A bit distracting. Not the best background music for blogging. Makes me remember the movie – what did I expect from Matrix soundtrack music?!

The cover says “Parental Advisory Explicit Content”. Well, I don’t plan to be listening to Marilyn Manson much. I had to skip through that track already. I was mostly interested in the album because it came up on my “matrix” library search , and because it features P.O.D. “Sleeping Awake”. I had not yet heard of P.O.D., I confess, until I saw on the Web that they had recorded Revolutions theme song. Once I learned a little more about the band, I became intrigued, especially by their inclusion in Matrix movies. At the end of Reloaded, as I listened during the credits, I could tell their song from the others; there is a different tone and lightness to it. As Enoch mentioned in a recent post, they are one of many Christian groups finding acceptance in mainstream now. Looking at the P.O.D. website, I see that their latest single is #1 on MTV TRL.

We won’t be seeing the movie at 6 AM but you can bet Ted and I will be blogging sometime Wednesday at least a little of what we think, how we reacted to Revolutions….

The authors in this collection appear to be science fiction writers and artists. Red Pill seemed to be mostly professors and scientists, while the other collection seemed to be philosophy professors. The writers in this collection also seemed to have received more room to write. A few essays were focussed on particular perspectives, but the collection as a whole was not as narrowly defined in subsets as the Red Pill essays. For example, Exploring is the only collection that didn’t have a “Buddhism” essay or a “Christianity” essay. Many of the pieces mention these aspects though. The writers seemed more free to simply offer individual perspective, and as artists, they both overlapped each other and varied in their writings. They painted similiar themes but did their own strokes. I liked the lighter air of the essays, how fun they were to read, yet also challenging in ideas.

Now I’m no cyperpunk or sci-fi fan. So I felt a bit intimidated at the beginning, picking up this black and green book. And sure this collection talks a lot about science fiction and sci-fi (skiffy). There’s Philip K.Dick, Blade Runner, electric sheep, cyberpunk and Gibson’s Neuromancer (quoted multiple times!)…..but there’s also Baudrillard and the Bible, Johnny Mnemonic, Chinese Opera, comic books and super heroes, grimy tile bathrooms and black leather to boot. Even a great essay on kung fu films that taught me a lot. There’s much mention of the irony of science defeating science with science, computers with computers. While not as deep or thorough perhaps as the Red Pill essays, there are hints and highlights of those issues.

I appreciated too that this is the first collection, I think, to address the aspect of violence in the film. In one essay – I couldn’t find the exact quote when I flipped through it again – the writer pointed out “here we are 18 months from 9/11 and we are applauding terrorists” or something to that effect. I’ve never been comfortable with the violence in The Matrix or in any movie. But I’d never quite thought about it as “terrorism” as in September 11th or made that connection. There’s a whole essay refuting the responsibility of Hollywood for Columbine. I’m not sure I agree completely with it, but I am grateful for the discussion of violence in the film.

Rather than write much more, I thought I’d share some of my favorite quotes from the book:

Bruce Sterling in “Every Other Movie is the Blue Pill”:
“You can’t be dead because I love you. That is the emotional core of The Matrix and that is not an adult statement. That is the statement that a six-year-old girl would say to a dead kitten…..”

Stephen Baxter in “The Real Matrix”
…the main thing to do is figure out the purpose of the simulation and then work out how to avoid being deleted. If it’s entertainment, you should be as dramatic as possible; if it’s a moral fable, you should lead a blameless life; if the simulation is designed as a playground for the creators themselves, you should get as close as possible to rich, famous and powerful celebrities – or better yet, become one yourself….

Mike Resnick in “The Matrix and the Star Maker”
I am an atheist. You show me a bearded old man – or an unbearded young woman, for that matter – who can perform the godly miracles of the Old Testament and I’ll convert so fast it’ll make your head spin. I am an atheist only because I have not yet seen proof of my creator’s existence; that’s not going to be a problem for the self-aware AI machines.

We’re not talking religion here. Religion is just a bunch of customs created to bring spiritual and emotional comfort to a mass of people who have no direct contact with their creator. No, we’re talking the real McCoy here – Olaf Stapledon’s non-denominational Star Maker. Once you confront your creator in the flesh, you no longer need the trappings of religion to help you communicate with him or even worship him.

Walter Jon Williams in “Yuen Woo-ping and the Art of Flying”

But aside from the science-fiction ideas, there was another element of The Matrix that dazzled…..That element goes by the name wuxia pian. And Yuen Woo-ping is its master.

“The Matrix as Sci-Fi” by Joe Haldeman taught me the difference between science fiction, Sci-fi, fantasy and “respectable literature” (nice diagram!)

Karen Haber (also editor) in “Reflections in a Cyber Eye”
The blackest joke of all is that The Matrix is using computer tech to beat up on computer tech. Talk about ungrateful.

David Brin in “Tomorrow May Be Different”
Indeed, try to come up with even one example of a recent film you enjoyed in which the hero did not bond with the audience in the first ten minutes by resisting or sticking it to some authority figure.

Now, after reading/skimming through three essay collections on the original Matrix movie, one question I have – on today, one week away from the release of the final film – is whether the completed trilogy will inspire as much thought, creation and writing as the first one did.

Little more than 3 weeks to go until the final movie, Matrix Revolutions. Time to start looking for a babysitter. Ted showed me the trailers a few weeks ago. Intriguing…! The Matrix web site also features news about the release on November 5 Matrix Revolutions Zero Hour Global Premiere which involves simultaneous release around the world and on IMAX (quotes below):

Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures will unveil THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, the final explosive chapter in the blockbuster MATRIX trilogy, at the exact same moment in time in every major city around the world on November 5. This unprecedented distribution scenario will make the highly anticipated film available to fans simultaneously at 6 a.m. in Los Angeles, 9 a.m. in New York, 2 p.m. in London, 5 p.m. in Moscow, 11 p.m. in Tokyo and at corresponding times in over 50 additional countries worldwide.

In conjunction with the REVOLUTIONS worldwide distribution event, THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS: The IMAX Experience will debut at IMAX Theatres in the United States on November 5. This marks the first time a major Hollywood live-action event film is released concurrently in 35mm and IMAX’s revolutionary 15/70 format.

Think we can find a babysitter to come over at 6 am?! Thanks to Slashdot ( I spied over Ted’s shoulder this morning)

A few weeks ago, Peter B. Lloyd, who wrote the “Glitches” essay wrote me a comment about my review of Taking the Red Pill . On his site I found a chapter-by-chapter brief review of Taking the Red Pill with links to author web sites. There I learned that two chapters from the book are available on the web. For those of you who don’t want to wait for the library book to come, look here for Lloyd’s original Glitches essay . After the second film, Lloyd wrote another essay called Glitches Reloaded . I enjoyed reading this one also. It’s a bit long, it seems to me longer than the first essay, but I especially liked his speculations about Persephone’s lipstick and the Oracle’s candy….Also I appreciated reading his postscript at the end of the essay.
Kurzweil’s chapter The Human Machine Merger: Are We Headed for the Matrix? is also available on line at Kurzweil’s site along with many other interesting essays and dialogues, including his take on the second Matrix film The Matrix Loses Its Way: Reflections on ‘Matrix’ and ‘Matrix Reloaded’

Speaking of Taking the Red Pill authors, Ted posted an entry recently about Bill Joy’s new adventures after leaving Sun… What’s Next for Bill Joy?

The latest book I read about the Matrix was The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real . This book is part of the “Popular Culture and Philosophy” series, including books about Simpsons and Seinfeld with William Irwin as editor. I only had time to skim through the first 80 pages before I had to return it to the library where others had it on hold.

So far, I was most interested in the essay by Carolyn Korsmeyer titled “Seeing, Believing, Touching, Truth” While the focus in Red Pill seemed to be Tasty Wheat and the Woman in Red issues, the scene of focus in this book seemed to be the club scene where Neo and Trinity meet: “It’s the question that drives us….”

“Why write about pop culture like the Matrix? Because that’s where the people are.” This quote from the book reveals the attitude behind the writings. On the one hand, there is truth that the Matrix is a popular movie, and writing where culture is can be a powerful way to speak with people. From skimming through the book, I got a sense that these professors would much rather write about more obscure and intellectual topics; there is a feel of condescension in writing about this movie. Unlike Red Pill authors who seemed serious about their subject, really “into it”, there is instead in this book, a sense of tolerating popular culture. The writing seems either dry and flat or else cutsie and suggestive, such as “Eliminative Materialism: Why Your Spouse Can Never Complain that She has a Headache”. Some essays seemed even offensive to me, such as “Penetrating Keanu” and “The Matrix or the Two Sides of Perversion”. While I wish I had had some more time to read this collection’s essay on Buddhism ( Michael Brannigan’s There is No Spoon: A Buddhist Mirror) and religion (Gregory Bassham), I decided that it wasn’t worth trying to get this book back from the library .

Now on my desk stack is Exploring the Matrix; Visions of the Cyber Present by Karen Haber. I left it out on the kitchen countertop one afternoon and I even caught Ted on a break spending some time flipping through it, reading essays here and there….so this one so far seems more promising to me…Peter Lloyd seems to have a good opinion of it too ….I’ll let you know mine….

I was just curious – but in a moment of spontaneity I decided to put nearly every item relating to the movie on hold – including the Animatrix, the movie soundtrack CD, a number of new-circa-2003-Matrix-books and Desiring God.

Earlier that morning, while in downtown Seattle by myself for an annual dr. appt., I had some spare time while I waited, and wandered into a bookstore near the hospital. After I asked about a book in the window sill – I think it was intriguingly titled, probably Exploring the Matrix – visions of the Cyber Present – I found myself launched into a conversation about the Matrix with the store’s two employees who were planning to see Matrix Reloaded at the IMAX that night.

“Are you a Matrix aficionado?” they asked me immediately. While I liked the first movie, “aficionado” is not a title I would claim. But I do appreciate the themes of faith, reality, prophecy, perception, freedom, truth, choice….lots of interesting ideas. Ted and I resisted seeing the movie for a while but when we finally gave in, a couple years ago, we were both surprised at how much we enjoyed it. It is a powerful story: we often find ourselves quoting it as illustration and allegory. We now own the DVD – a requested Christmas gift last year – and I think I have watched the movie now 3 times, a record for me and any movie. After the conversation I had at the bookstore, I came home and went on-line to the library to find that book and others….

So far. the only items to arrive from my hold list have been the Animatrix DVD, Desiring God and Taking the Red Pill . Desiring God I think only appears in the list because Piper uses the word “matrix” to describe his chapter on marriage or something like that. But this trio – particularly the two books – got me thinking…what do all these items have in common? (Like a Sesame street ditty, yes, I know…)

I started thinking about the common themes, the common scenes mentioned in “Red Pill” and the core of Desiring God. The common questions and issues.

The two big themes to me appeared to be
1)passion and
2) the nature of reality.
What does it mean to have desire?
Is there another reality? Is there more to life than this daily dreary grind?

These two questions also appear in Animatrix shorts in different ways. And these two questions together ask a bigger one: What does it mean to be human?

In the Matrix, as Mouse describes, desire is what it means to be human. “To deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human”
Yet as Agent Smith says to Morpheus : “But I believe, as a species, human beings define their reality by suffering and misery…” Passion for steak, for women in red, for answers, for love shapes the story.

And these issues of passion, reality and life are also issues Piper addresses in Desiring God, agreeing that we humans are indeed defined by desire, made for desire, and that this desire can lead us to a new reality.

Below in my blog are reviews of both books….I wanted to give a little introduction and explanation here first …

Whew, glad I got all that written up….wanted to be sure to get it all done in time…it’s taken me quite a few days of typing this all in “draft” mode… and now there’s only 56 days or so left until Matrix Revolutions …

The instant cult status of The Matrix, is, I believe, due to the subtext of exile, restoration and the fulfillment of eschatological hope, which in a roundabout way, speaks to its audience.

What is essential to realize about the concept of restoration is that the point is not to make things as they were, but to make them as they are meant to be. The hope of getting things back as they were is reactionary – like Jay Gatsby’s dream of reliving his past. The eschatological hope for restoration is for radical newness, a complete reversal of the evil present – this is the scenario that Isaiah and Revelation predict. Moreover, this is the hope of the exiles.

This applies to the Matrix because its target audience, the 18-35-year-old moviegoing middle class are the members of Generation Exile. The idea that there is another way that things can be resonates well with us…We have tried dyeing our hair, piercing our bodies and moving to California, but nothing seems to endure. We long for something meaningful, whole and new…….”

Taking the Red Pill: Science Philosophy and Religion in the Matrix showed up at my house, after I did a library catalog search for the word “matrix” and – in a moment of spontaneity and curiousity – put a hold on all the items that appeared in the list: books, CDs, DVDs. I’m not a “Matrix aficionado” necessarily but I do like the movie and enjoy the opportunity for dialoguing and discussing the ideas that come from it. This was the first book to become available and it will be a hard act for others to follow. I had fun reading this collection of essays. Not only have I learned more about the Matrix movie itself – like the fact that the Wachowski brothers directors had planned to play a cameo as the window washers (giving it up due to safety concerns – must have been real skyscraper heights!), but I’ve also learned more about science fiction, philosophy and religion, as well as science.

The book is a collection of mostly-independent essays – on topics from “AI, Sci Fi and the Matrix” by Robert Sawyer, to “Paradigm of Post-Modernism” (two essays: Dino Felluga and Andrew Gordon) “Glitches in the Matrix and How to Fix Them” by Peter B. Lloyd, an essay on “Buddhism, Mythology and the Matrix” by James L. Ford and one on “Finding God” by Paul Fontana. This collection also includes Bill Joy’s essay, reprinted from April 2000 Wired , “Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us”, preceded by Ray Kurzweil’s “The Human Machine Merger: Are We Headed for the Matrix?” The essays are written separately, with little reference to each other except occasional one-sentence statements, or editorial parentheses. While more interactive essays, more direct dialogue and debate between the authors would have created a more intense collection, I confess that as a busy mom, it worked well for me to be able to pick up the book, read a short essay and put it back down again.

I’ll try to quickly mention my favorites. I liked the two essays on “Post-Modernism” – a good education for me and discussion (when Neo makes the business transaction in his apartment in his first appearance in the movie – did you notice the book where he hides the disc?…I had no idea of the book’s significance…apparently it is a book the Wachowskis assigned Keanu Reeves to read….)

The big scenes that seemed to be mentioned a lot in various essays: Neo’s “going through the looking glass” and becoming free (he squeaked as he was released from his pod of slavery- I had not noticed the parallel to the window washing…). Neo and Morpheus’ talk in the armchairs about the nature of reality. The dialog at the table about the Woman in Red and Tastee Wheat. Agent Smith’s confessions to Morpheus near the end of the movie, as Morpheus is suffering.

“Glitches” was great – if possibly inaccurate – but I like the idea of working out the details a scientist. I confess I hadn’t really thought about why or how the rebels utilized the telephone for getting in and out of the Matrix, how the human power plant, bio port, red pill or bug bot worked (think I may disagree about the bugbot)…it’s all theory but fun and interesting at the same time, science explored and explained via cinema.

I learned more about Buddhism from the Buddhism essay, my only knowledge of the religion coming from occasional readings and acquaintances. “Finding God” did a bit too many gymnastics for me. For example, I didn’t find an Abrahamic call in the Fed Ex delivery man’s finding “Thomas Anderson?” at his office. My husband Ted and I have our own explanations from our spiritual perspective. (See related blog for a quote on “restoration”)

Bill Joy’s piece “Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us” is the dessert – the cake – and also the meat of the book. The only essay written in 2000, it was placed as the penultimate piece in the book. The other pieces were written in 2003, so I don’t know if this book was created as a collection around this essay. While Joy does not specifically mention the Matrix, his concerns center on the possibility of a Matrix-type world in the near future. Kurzweil’s piece is there in order to provide the background and contrast. Writes Joy “…it was only in the autumn of 1998 that I became anxiously aware of how great are the dangers facing us in the 21st century. I can date the onset of my unease to the day I met Ray Kurzweil….”

What Joy discusses – as you can read here – is where we are now as humanity: “Our most powerful 21st-century technologies–robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotech–are threatening to make humans an endangered species.” He describes how “disturbed” he was after his talk with Kurzweil and the journey he has taken both before and since that time. Certainly I learned more about science. But I appreciated his voice: personal, humble, intelligent, concerned, looking back and looking forward, sharing from his life and his thoughts. As I told my husband, I’m sure Joy, former Chief Scientist at Sun and “Edison of the Internet”, could have written a piece that was up in the stratosphere – some of these authors took a bit more for me to try to understand them, utilizing complicated vocabulary and references – but Joy wrote it as if he wants everyone to be able to read it, to understand where we are in time, the dilemma of where we could be headed. He references his grandmother, Woody Allen, the Dalai Lama, the Manhattan Project, the Borg. I found myself grateful for his thoughts but more grateful for his voice itself, and I’d love to read more that he has written. (Note: in the days it has taken me to write this essay, Joy announced his decision to leave Sun…perhaps he will be doing more writing in the future…)

After reading Joy’s essay, reading the final piece – “The Simulation Argument”, an attempt to convince the reader that humanity already is inhabiting a simulation – was like eating Saltine crackers after tiramisu – tasteless, boring and I’m already too full anyway, wanting to savor what I just read. The glossary in the back is fun though – I didn’t realize that even the name “Anderson” had significance….

Come library due date last week, I had to return both this book and Probable Future . I wanted to keep them both and tried to renew each. Taking the Red Pill was available to stay but Probable Future had to go back, with many holds waiting in line to read it. I was surprised. I would rather re-read “Red Pill” (as Abigail calls it) than Hoffman’s book again. And I wish that many others would be wanting to read it also.