Chapter 291: The Black of The Matrix

This was no dream! When Neo and Trinity met again, Trinity used a bug extractor to suck the electronic bug out of Neo, proving that what Agent Smith had done was not just Neo's nightmare.

But what exactly was going on? Why did this world look so much like reality, yet feel so eerie?

The audience was perplexed. During the trailer, they had been so captivated by the spectacular visuals that they'd inevitably overlooked the details of Morpheus and Neo's conversation. Now, they were all remembering it—reality?

This world wasn't real? Then what was it?

From the very beginning, the film had thrown out one suspenseful hook after another without offering any clear explanations. These mysteries firmly gripped the audience's attention. Exploring the unknown is human instinct, and they all wanted to know exactly what kind of world this was.

Could this be the new world Duke had built?

Watching Neo meet that insanely cool Black man, Morpheus, Anthony was still pondering it.

Many other viewers were wondering the same thing.

Suspense in a movie was undoubtedly a good thing, as it could engage the audience's emotions. However, Duke knew very well that the modern pace of life was accelerating, and fast-food culture was on the rise. If he only set up mysteries without answering them quickly, the audience would lose patience.

Why were fast-paced films becoming so dominant? It wasn't an active choice by Hollywood, but a passive one dictated by the market.

Thus, Neo and Morpheus's conversation began to reveal the true nature of this world. And Morpheus, this insanely cool Black man, gave off the distinct vibe of a charlatan.

This world was an imperceptible prison? The Matrix was everywhere?

Neo ultimately gave in to the charlatan's temptation, deciding to see the truth Morpheus spoke of. After swallowing the pill, Neo found the world twisting and distorting.

"If you want to escape the nightmare, go take a look at the real world..."

Morpheus's words were directed just as much at the audience as they were at Neo.

Enough information had been revealed. The world Neo and Trinity inhabited was a nightmare, a prison. Another, real world awaited them!

Never mind the ordinary audience—even Spielberg and Kenneth Turan were waiting in eager anticipation, anxious to see what kind of unique worldview Duke would establish.

Would it be as astounding as Star Wars? Or as disastrous as Waterworld?

The answer was about to be revealed!

Inside a facility resembling a culture tank, a man struggled to sit up, his body covered in tubes and sockets!

Even bald and naked, the audience recognized him at a glance. It was Keanu Reeves... no, it was Neo!

"What is going on?"

Seeing her idol reduced to this state, Miley couldn't help but ask Amanda, "This world..."

"Look!" Amanda didn't answer, instead urging her to watch the screen.

On screen, Neo's first-person perspective revealed countless facilities resembling culture tanks. Aside from the occasional flash of lightning, everything from the ground to the sky was pitch black, filled with thick, drifting storm clouds and dust. It was a completely apocalyptic scene.

This four-minute sequence had been created by Industrial Light and Magic using a mix of practical models and CGI. Duke's goal was clear: to use superior visual effects to solidify the audience's understanding of the real world.

Of course, Duke had also enhanced other elements with special effects, including the hovercraft Neo subsequently boarded. Yet, they weren't overtly futuristic. The reason was simple: the film's style and setting restricted the use of certain visuals. This was a quintessential cyberpunk movie!

Duke directed his enhanced effects only where they were most suitable, such as the battles inside the Matrix and the cruelty of the real world.

"Welcome to the real world!"

Morpheus's line was, once again, also meant for the audience.

Even though the film had already showcased what the real world and the other world looked like, as well as the differences between them, the audience remained incredibly curious. What exactly were these two worlds?

"Narrative technique has always been one of Duke's weaker points."

Sitting in the second row, George Lucas seemed to be speaking to Spielberg. "But he is constantly improving. Especially with this film. He continuously answers mysteries while setting up new ones, always holding just a little back. It's an incredibly effective way to hook people and fuel their desire to keep watching."

"His progress is remarkably fast." Spielberg fully agreed. "The future of Hollywood belongs to him."

The audience didn't have the time to formulate so many thoughts. They simply felt that the film's suspense was paced perfectly. Just as impatience began to brew, the movie would conveniently provide an answer, hooking them so they couldn't help but keep watching.

And then there was the film's biggest draw: its coolness!

This coolness was best embodied by the main characters, though each had a different flavor. Trinity possessed a cold, glamorous coolness; Agent Smith had a gloomy coolness; and Morpheus exuded a mysterious, profound coolness!

As for the male lead, Neo, even though he had been nothing but a pawn manipulated by others so far, that bald head, those sockets, and the needles stuck all over his body were undeniably cool!

But what were those needles covering his body?

"That's a type of Eastern medicine."

Hiller, having clearly done a great deal of research on the information revealed by the film, said to Huggins, "I asked around in Chinatown. Rumor has it that it can bring the dead back to life."

"Is there really a medical treatment in this world that can revive the dead?" Huggins was completely unconvinced.

Neo returned to the real world and gradually recovered, though the sockets covering his body still looked quite shocking. Then, it was time for the big reveal.

"It's finally here!"

Kenneth Turan perked up. Like the rest of the audience, he was incredibly eager to know exactly what had happened to the world.

On the screen, Neo lay back in a chair. A long needle pierced deep into the socket at the back of his head, and a completely different world materialized!

The Matrix! Electronic signals! The real world! The Matrix... Answer after answer, explanation after explanation, poured from Morpheus's mouth!

Kenneth Turan sat in a slight daze. Although he had already formed some guesses, he was still somewhat astonished when they were confirmed!

"Duke Rosenberg really has constructed a unique worldview!"

Anthony unconsciously rubbed the back of his own head, wanting to check if there was a socket there.

Amanda and Miley exchanged a look. If this was the real world, it was far too cruel. What was the difference between people living in the Matrix and the walking dead?

"What I see, what I drink..."

Sitting right beside Kenneth Turan, a young man took a sip of his cola. "Could it all just be electronic signals?"

However, the audience's attention was quickly redirected by the film. Truly massive blockbusters wouldn't burden the audience with too much heavy thinking. The selling point of The Matrix did not lie in philosophical meditations on reality and illusion; Duke only lightly touched upon such worldview and philosophical concepts before moving on.

The audience was already captivated by the on-screen depiction of the real world—a true apocalyptic vision.

A pitch-black, lightless world; a ruined city resembling the Gobi Desert; and those vast fields!

Using close-up shots and wide-angle panoramas, the film took nearly five minutes to show the audience how humanity in the future was grown by machines, only to serve as an energy source for the electronic world!

It was a picture of the apocalypse, painting an unimaginably tragic future for humanity!

Yet, the ordinary viewers only felt one thing: an initial jolt of shock, followed by a profound sense of coolness! Wasn't it incredibly cool for humans to be grown like crops?

What? Worries about the future of humanity? Pondering the world to come? Anxiety over the advancement of machines and computers?

Please, how many ordinary moviegoers would ever consider such issues?

The notion that audiences deeply contemplated these questions was nothing more than an idea forced onto them by the media and film critics.

Kenneth Turan fell into deep thought and reached a conclusion: the sci-fi world created by Duke Rosenberg possessed immense depth and philosophical significance. It was an absolute milestone for sci-fi cinema.

"You're all shocked, aren't you?"

Hiller, who had already seen the test screening, looked around at the people staring blankly at the screen. A sense of exhilaration welled up in his heart. It felt just like sharing the most delicious piece of candy with a friend—both intensely satisfying and slightly reluctant!

Satisfying, because such an outstanding film could now be appreciated by more people; reluctant, because he really wanted to hide the movie away and keep it all to himself.

Wide eyes and gaping mouths became the most frequent expressions throughout the theater.

Whether or not they believed in the world the film portrayed was irrelevant. What mattered was that they found this on-screen world astonishing, fascinating, and somewhat cool. That was enough.

Duke had never intended to guide the audience into deep philosophical contemplation. Doing so would absolutely kill the box office.

Coolness and cyberpunk were the film's most important themes. The series of simulated training sessions between Neo and Morpheus were designed to push the audience's accumulated sense of exhilaration to its absolute peak!

Consequently, the scene of two Westerners showing off an unorthodox style of kung fu left the audience clicking their tongues in wonder.

In Duke's eyes—or perhaps from an Easterner's perspective—Neo and Morpheus's fight was practically unwatchable. Fortunately, it perfectly matched the surreal nature of the virtual space.

More importantly, the majority of the North American audience had long been poisoned to the point of numbness by the clumsiness of Hollywood's traditional strength-based fight scenes. Pursuing fresh thrills was human instinct. So, when this dazzling, overwhelmingly beautiful style of action was executed by two native-born Americans, it naturally won thunderous applause.

Yes, if kung fu was to achieve the best possible effect, it was best performed by Americans.

Every market had its own exclusivity. Otherwise, Rush Hour, set to be released by New Line this year, wouldn't have cast a Black man as the lead, relegating Jack Chen to a supporting role.

As the film progressed to this point, it answered another mystery established at the very beginning: there was indeed a traitor within Morpheus's crew!

At the same time, it tossed out yet another hook: Was Neo truly the savior? Was he "The One"?

These weren't questions that a minor charlatan like Morpheus could answer. They needed to enter the Matrix and seek out another major charlatan: The Oracle!