In the world of The Matrix, what is "popping"?

When Neo is shown the world as it really is, he seems to struggle with the revelation, jacks out and then collapses to the ground. Cypher says ...

He's gonna pop!

... and Neo is sick all over the floor.

What is "popping"?

Answer

An earlier version of the script (dated April, 1996 and available online here) indicates that "popping" is a possible negative consequence that can occur when a person, especially an adult, is released from the Matrix. They literally die as a result of the shock caused by seeing/learning the truth of their existence.

CYPHER: Morpheus, I know what you believe but I think this is a mistake. We're rushing him.
He's old. I'm afraid he might pop.

MORPHEUS: Haven't I always told you, Cypher, not to let fear control your life.
Apoc, are we on-line?

This process appears to be akin to a full-body seizure with a simultaneous rise in intercranial pressure and a violent heart attack.

[On his hands and knees, he reels as the world spins. Sweat pours off him as a pressure builds inside his skull as if his brain had been put into a centrifuge.]

CYPHER: He's going to pop!

and

TRINITY: He's going into arrest!

CYPHER: He's gonna pop!

We actually see this occurring in the Matrix webcomic Saviors. The lead character, Hitch extracts his parents but they die almost immediately from shock.

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