The spoilers tag in the subject line is for The Animatrix (specifically 
"Kid's Story").

And since I said that ...

... and some people have preview windows in their e-mail ...

... here's a bit of space to help ward off the spoilers.

...

Belldandy emerged a moment later from the mirror, her attention
riveted upon
Keiichi. She immediately placed herself between him and Neo. "Thank
goodness! I almost didn't sense him in time."
     

Why the rush? He hasn't even been offered the pill, yet. Belldandy
has plenty of time to intervene.
   

Neo is far more powerful than Morpheus, and can do things in the Matrix
Morpheus can never hope to. I think it's conceivable Neo could forgo the
need of a 'pill' and simply pull someone out with their consent.
 

This is where I point at Animatrix and unveil a potential spoiler.
Last chance to turn back.

You sure you want to read this far?

...


Okay, here we go:
The third story/fourth short on The Animatrix is "Kid's Story," which 
was written by the Wachowski brothers. It's actually the backstory for 
one of the minor characters in The Matrix Reloaded, namely "Kid" (the 
fan who shows up to greet the Nebuchadnezzar when it docks in Zion); if 
you've seen Reloaded, you might remember Neo saying that he didn't get 
Kid out of the Matrix - that Kid freed himself.

That's actually what *happens* in "Kid's Story," too - Kid stumbles 
across the truth about the Matrix with a nudge or two and some 
confirmation from Neo, but when he's about to get caught by the Agents, 
Kid (I forget his in-Matrix name, Hopper or something) leaps off of the 
school roof and forces *himself* to "wake up," effectively freeing his 
own mind - what Trinity (in the English version) refers to as 
"self-substantiation," something which she's never heard of happening 
before.

So how much did Neo really have to do with it? No way of knowing - we're 
not even sure Neo was *in* the Matrix at the time that Kid 
self-substantiated - but it *IS* possible for a person to break out of 
the Matrix without the red pill.
There are a couple of other Matrix-linked stories with similar 
occurences, too - one of the comics they had on the Web around the time 
of the original movie, and another short on The Animatrix; I don't 
remember the title of the comic, but "World Record" deals with an 
athlete whose physical exertion lets him power free of the Matrix's 
constraints ...

Sorry. This was a one shot. No more A!MG/Matrix xovers anymore. Just an idea
I thought would be appropriate since there were similar concepts to the two
series with reality being run by a computer and all. I simply left it open
ended (though pointed in a certain direction which implies true love will
conquor all) and am content to let the readers but the exact details to the
ending in their minds.

Actually, I tried writing an A!MG/Matrix crossover of my own a few years 
ago as an Improfanfic starter, but it didn't go too well. n.n; It's good 
to see someone write a good cross between the two, though! Very nicely 
done. ^_^

             Tim Miller
                tr.miller@verizon.net



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