Skip to main content

the matrix - Can hoverships transmit messages to Zion from broadcast level?


I remembered the following quote from The Matrix after answering the recent question about hacking into the Matrix from Zion:



Morpheus: Did Zion send word?


Dozer: No, another ship.




This quote suggests that even if Zion cannot hack into the Matrix directly, it can at least send messages to hoverships at (Matrix) broadcast level. (We don't know for sure if the Nebuchadnezzar was at broadcast level at the time. The ship was close enough to the Matrix to encounter a sentinel; however, it's possible the Nebuchadnezzar had dropped below broadcast level since this conversation occurred just after the Agent training program, which did not involve hacking into the Matrix.)


If Zion can potentially send messages to hoverships at broadcast level, can hoverships send messages to Zion from broadcast level?


Whether or not a hovership can transmit a message to Zion from broadcast level potentially raises another question: if hoverships like the Nebuchadnezzar or the Osiris can transmit a message to Zion from broadcast level, why didn't the crew of the Osiris send their emergency message (about the machine army digging toward Zion, which precipitated the Crisis Meeting in The Matrix Reloaded) directly to Zion instead of utilizing an emergency drop inside the Matrix? Was it just because the Osiris was under attack and couldn't generate enough power to transmit the message so far? Or was it entirely incapable of transmitting a message to Zion from broadcast level?



Answer



I found a cutscene from the video game Enter the Matrix in which Niobe orders the emergency message from the Osiris transmitted to Zion:



Drop down to Zion broadcast. I want this data transmitted immediately. Emergency encryption.



Niobe had just escaped from the Matrix with the emergency message moments before, so her hovership was at (Matrix) broadcast level at the time. The fact that her hovership had to drop down to "Zion broadcast" proves that hoverships cannot transmit messages to Zion from (Matrix) broadcast level. Matrix broadcast level is above Zion broadcast level, so it is impossible for hoverships to broadcast/hack into the Matrix and transmit messages to Zion simultaneously. This also explains why the Osiris had to use an emergency drop in the Matrix to warn Zion about the machine army (although it's also possible that interference from the attacking machine army would have prevented the Osiris from transmitting even if it had been in range of Zion).


Here's a captioned screenshot from a Youtube video of the cutscenes in Enter the Matrix with the relevant quote:



enter image description here


The relevant cutscene begins at about 12:47, and the screenshot is taken from 14:02.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Do the Kwikspell courses work?

In Harry Potter we are introduced to Kwikspell course in The Chamber of Secrets (and never hear about it again). We see Filch taking courses, presumably by mail. The descriptions of Kwikspell make me think it is for people who are weak in magic (kind of like how Neville was supposed to be when he was younger), but had magic in them nonetheless. However, Ron's comments later in the chapter make it sound like it is mainly for Squibs to learn magic. However, it is strongly implied through out all the books that Squibs are essentially Muggles, and will never be able to do magic. How then is a Kwikspell course supposed to work? Do we have any information to know if it works at all? Is it a scam? An answer from any level of canon is welcome. Answer Kwikspell courses are (probably) useful to some wizards, but not to squibs. The Kwikspell course literature comes with two testimonials. Madam Z. Nettles of Topsham writes: ‘I had no memory for incantations and my potions were a family joke...
Post a Comment
Read more

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

star trek - Warning regarding forward saucer section in Nemesis?

In Star Trek: Nemesis , just before the Enterprise rams into the Scimitar, Picard sends a text message from his captain's chair arm pad to Troi — who is manning the helm in lieu of the crewman who was just blown out through what was once the view screen — indicating that she should put full impulse on standby. (Literally, if you watch the scene closely, Troi's console prefaces the order with "TXT MSG" !) My question is: Did Picard also somehow warn crew members in the forward saucer section about what was about to happen? The ramming of the Scimitar was a heat of the moment decision. Considering that he also resorted to calling the auto-destruct sequence shortly after (which ended up being offline), he probably was of the mindset that any losses would be acceptable in order to hault Shinzon's march to Earth. Still, I'm curious. Answer The original script indicates that he called for the crew to " brace for impact ". Whether that call (or the comma...
Post a Comment
Read more

star wars - What "exactly" happens when someone turns to the Dark Side?

When I saw the original Star Wars saga as a kid, the concept of the Dark Side imprinted in me was quite simple. You did a bad thing, so you're a bad person so you go to the Dark Side and keep doing bad things. Now, obviously this doesn't hold true in reality. In my mind it is perfectly reasonable for Luke to kill the Emperor and Vader and then just flee the Death Star and rejoin the Alliance. After all they are at war, those are enemy officers that have captured him and are taunting him by threatening with death of all loved ones and the whole operation was intended to kill the Emperor anyway. The same would hold true for Anakin. He could have killed Mace Windu to save the Chancellor and Padme but that doesn't mean he's going to then go mad and kill all Jedis including children. It doesn't add up from a merely psychological point of view. He had a set of objectives and that made him want to keep the Chancellor alive (quite valid by the way, Mace Windu is quite clums...
Post a Comment
Read more