Originally posted by Alex-Neo
Yeah but if Merv was a 'One' then wouldent he be pluged in some were? and when Neo gose to see the arcutect when you look at the screens it shows you the 5 ones and they all look the same as Neo. (there is a samll group of screens in the center that show the reaction of the previos Ones)
Those are Neo's possible reactions...
The Merovingian is not a former One. The Oracle says he's one of the oldest of us [programs], he himself says he's a trafficker of information (it is his purpose)... which is why he always talks about cause and effect, and he also tells Neo that he survived his predecessors. The Merv is just a powerful program from the machine world... nothing more.
The supporting facts for the argument that the Mero is a former anomaly:
Neo's apartment number in M1 is 101, while the suite for the restraunt the Mero's in is also 101.
Peresophone says that he used to be like Neo.
His name is derrived from a known line of kings called the Merovingians, who believed that they were direct decendants of Jesus. Neo's name and character are full of symbolisms relating him to Jesus. Example is "Anderson" is derrived from a greek word "Andros" meaning "Man" so "Anderson"'s interpretation would be Son of Man, which is one manner of refering to Jesus.
The Oracle says that the Mero is "One of the oldest of us" but does not say that he is from the first matricies. She also says he's very powerful and dangerous. We know that Smith has the ability to copy himself over any "shell" (program or human connected to the matrix), who's to say that an anomaly didn't figure this out and try it giving birth to the Merovingian as we know him in an attempt to live a life of greed and power for eternity?
Perosephone's name comes from old mythology. She was the daughter of Zues and Demeter who was kidnapped by Hade's and taken into the underworld. This is what gave way to the seasons according to the greeks. Anyway, if the Mero copied himself, and Perosephone against her will, then this would be a simularity to the greek story.
short comings in the theory
101 is used in many other places, freeway 101, the train loop, etc. Also, the number 5 in binary is 00110101, Neo was the fifth version, but the Mero could not be the fifth version at the same time.
Perosephone's comment is void because it's also stated that she came into the matrix with the Mero, even if the Mero could copy himself over another program's shell, we have no reason to believe that it would be possible to copy another person over a program shell. Also, she would not be such an emotional vampire if she were, along with the fact that it destroys the Mero's link to Jesus.
The Mero's name in of itself sugguests that he exists as a direct result of the anomaly, but this does not mean he is a copy of a previous anomaly.
More plausable theory
The Merovingian was created after the programming for choice was inserted into the matrix that we know today. He was created as an attempt to control this choice, making choice to be more of an illusion, to eliminate the occurence of the anomaly. So his direct relation is that his father would be the anomaly, and the mother would be the Matrix since it is the anomaly that creates the necessity for his program, and the Matrix created it.
However, he, obviously, would have failed at this (and did as we know) because you cannot control choice. You can eliminate it, but you can never tell someone they have a choice, give them options, and then not have that choice exist - it's a paradoxial element.
This would explain why the Mero is powerful, why he is a trafficer of information (you need information in the midst of choice), why he is exhiled (his program failed and he is not needed), and why he does not believe in choice, but, rather, causality. It supports all the statements between characters and symbolism in reguards to the Mero, and it explains why things like the 101 binary would be the same - he is destined to cross paths with the anomaly judging by the choices given to the anomaly - Neo.
So, is the Mero a previous anomaly? No. Is he directly related to an anomaly? Yes. ✅
The 101 could mean something else. In part 1, the 101 is seen on Neo's door (and 303 is seen with the room Trinity is in, and Trinity is 3), the 101 is seen on the floor of the Merovingian, but the Merovingian is not seen when the number is seen (Neo is). And about the 101 on the train; where is the train going? To where Neo is. I think the 101 may just be around representing Neo.
Oh definitely 101 means lots of things. Going along, as I was, with the binary theme 101 has almost infinite possibilities! Here are some examples:
01100101 = "e" -- 01000101 = "E" -- 01010101 = "U" -- 01110101 = "u" -- 01111101 = "}" -- 01011101 = "]" -- 01001101 = "M" -- 01101101 = "m" -- 11101101 = "í" -- 10101101 = " " -- 10111101 = "½" -- 10110101 = "µ" -- 11110101 = "õ" -- 11111101 = "ý"
Obviously there is the institutional connection (as in educational institution) with things like English 101, Science 101, etc. Anything that's BASIC level classes are always referred to as being 101 - even in social slang (ie "Partying 101", "Drinking 101", or "Movies 101"😉 In regards to science classes, 101 refers to lab classes (ie Chemistry 100 and Chem Lab 101). There's even a www.thematrix101.com website!
Jedi's addition about the book "1984" by George Ornwell is also very good, I had forgotten about it! (you can find it here: http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/1984/) But then shall we also include Disney's 101 Dalmatians? L😆L
Also, in the Bible, there is Revelations 10:1
And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:It was this angel who set his feet into two different "worlds" - one foot on the land, and one foot in the sea. Neo, metaphorically, set one foot in the matrix, and one foot in the real. The Merovingian does the same, as he traffics programs between the two worlds.
101 is also the atomic number for mendelevium - a radioactive element whose orriginal chart symbol was Mv. Just a stretch, but Trinity did call the Merovingian "Merv"
And these are by no means anything but the beginning of the symbolisms for the number 101. The point is, the symbolisms behind 101 do not support the Mero being a previous anomaly.
((The_Anomaly))
If you were thinking that i was saying that the Mero was the one, I wasn't. I stated arguements for both sides, as well as my theory that his creation is a direct result of the anomaly as a means to controls what happens.
Sifer
You made a nice point, but it doesn't explain some things about his character - like why he's an exhile... However, it works quite well with my theory and together they support each other even more...