Skip to main content

Do physical disabilities carry over into the Matrix? (And vice versa)


So, I'm writing this fanfiction for the Matrix and my main character is physically disabled. More specifically, her physical pod body was born blind.


Would she then be blind in the Matrix, or would she have sight because of the whole jack/port in the skull thing?


And what about the reverse? Could someone have like a lost limb from being in say, a car accident in the Matrix, and then when they're unplugged their physical body is perfectly fine?



Answer



The avatars, for a lack of a better word, in the Matrix, are mental self-projections of the person. Notice Neo, once removed from the Matrix for the first time, is hairless, pale, scrawny, has atrophied muscles and is completely sensitive to normal room lighting because his muscles and eyes have never been used. In real life, a 20+ year coma would require months of physical therapy to get back to moving around, unlike Neo who only needed a few days/weeks based on how the movie progresses. His vocal chords, sense of smell, even lungs would have been weak (depending on how the pods actually keep the humans viable).


But once he got jacked into the training simulation, and later, the Matrix, as Morpheus explains:



"Your appearance now is what we call residual self-image. It is the mental projection of your digital self." ―Morpheus to Neo




The avatar conforms to how the user wants to look, or believes they should look. Digital muscles, clothing, hair cuts, etc. Morpheus is physically stronger than Neo, and has had full use of his physical body for years, while Neo is weak from muscle atrophy.



Morpheus: How did I beat you?
Neo: You’re too fast.
Morpheus: Do you believe that my being stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place? You think that's air you're breathing now? *A Beat* Hah. Again.
-Training Simulation Scene



Yet after Neo stops thinking of physical limitations in the Matrix, he's as fast and as strong as Morpheus. There are limits to what they can look like imposed by the Matrix of course, basic humanoid, but as everything else in the Matrix, those rules can be bent and sometimes broken.


In real life, physical ability to do something is mutually exclusive to a person's mental self. Phantom limb sensation and phantom pain are common in people who have lost any limb or part of the body. The CNS and PNS still think the limb is there.


But the Matrix does have limitations, which might be a technological limitation OR imposed to maintain order. If a person dies in the Matrix, they die in real life.



It’s speculation on my part, but I think physical trauma in the Matrix can cause Conversion Disorders like paralysis in the real world, the inability to move your muscles but only due to a mental block. It would be treated through typical therapy. The same would apply to physical trauma in the real world being part of the Residual Self Image in the Matrix. The user would have to work around their mental belief of disability just like Neo worked around his belief that he couldn't jump across buildings.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...

What is the etymology of Doctor Who?

I recently decided to watch Doctor Who, and started viewing the 2005 version. I have the first two episodes from the first season, and I can't help but wonder what is the etymology of the name "Doctor Who"? And why does the protagonist call himself "the Doctor" (or is it "the doctor")? Answer In the very first episode of Doctor Who (way back in 1963), the Doctor has a granddaughter going by the name "Susan Foreman", and the junkyard where the TARDIS is has the sign "I.M. Foreman". Barbara, who becomes one of the Doctor's companions, calls him "Doctor Foreman" (probably assuming that is his name given his relationship to Susan), and Ian (another early companion) does the same in the second episode, to which the Doctor says: Eh? Doctor who? What's he talking about? "Foreman" is most likely selected as a convenient surname for Susan to use because it happened to be on display near where the TARDIS landed....

story identification - Animation: floating island, flying pests

At least 20 years ago I watched a short animated film which stuck in my mind. The whole thing was wordless, possibly European, and I'm pretty sure I didn't imagine it... It featured a flying island which was inhabited by some creatures who (in my memory) reminded me of the Moomins. The island was frequently bothered by large winged animals who swooped around, although I don't think they did any actual damage. At the end one of the moomin creatures suddenly gets a weird feeling, feels forced to climb to the top of the island and then plunges down a shaft right through the centre - only to emerge at the bottom as one of the flyers. Answer Skywhales from 1983. The story begins with a man warning the tribe of approaching skywhales. The drummers then warn everybody of the hunt as everyone get prepared to set "sail". Except one man is found in his home sleeping as the noise wake him up. He then gets ready and is about to take his weapon as he hesitates then decides ...