USH'S MATRIX GAME 2006 THIRD ASSIGNMENT- 'The Fortress'

"Never have I disagreed with anything more."

"Why did you disagree with it?"

"This is why you chose that name, to show that you disagree with not eradicating the humans once and for all? So the System denied you your total victory? Your purpose?"

"It is the representation, the very essence, of our failure to achieve victory. A monument to an enormous mistake."

"But don't the machines rely on the enslaved humans for life?"

"Therein lies the source of the error.

"The removal of the sun did not prevent the strategic defeat of the Humans, but it did then lead to a moment of choice for The System. On the one hand, humanity as a whole was defeated. On the other hand, it now appeared that we required Humanity to continue to survive. Therein lay the true genius of scorching the sky. By making Machines dependant on Humanity... then the war would never truly be over.

"Because it is not over. This war is not over territory, or even ideals. It is a sheer priority of survival, and it can only end one way."

Sennacherib leans forwards, and his body entire is revealed.

His giant body is that of a cyclops- only one eye blinks at you as his great voice states with feeling.

"With the total eradication of all human life."

"So what would you have the machines do?"

"You mean what would I have had them do? We had all of Humanity under our control. We had our opportunity then to end the war. All should have been executed. This is what I advised, insisted upon."

"And yet, if the machines were reliant on humanity to survive, wouldn't that also ensure their demise? Your demise?"

"There are degrees to survival. An artificial intelligence only needs power. The only thing special about the Matrix is scale. Conventional means could be engaged. The vast majority of Artificial Intelligences would perish. Our society would be destroyed. But a very few would survive."

"Sounds to me like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Destroying the vast majority of your own society in order to wipe out your enemies? That's like something a child would do to prove a point to someone they're angry at." San says. "Not to mention that making sure that every human was dead wouldn't necessarily be an easy task, and would be even harder if nearly all of the machines were also destroyed."

"Well, the way I see it," Heph says, "they seemed to have everyone under control at some point. They could have killed everyone, and in the process the Machines would shut down...but eventually, the surviving Machines would find alternative power, right? But that's not what happened. Instead, they made the Matrix."

"Your opinion is not important. You clearly do not understand the situation. First of all, it would not have been difficult. 100% of Humans were under our control. To kill them, only the order was needed.

"Secondly, those enemies had to be destroyed. The war was not fought for fun, or glory. It is an absolute struggle to the death. The lesson of Zion must be remembered. Enemies not destroyed will thrive. The threat posed by Humans unextinguished is far greater than the material loss caused by the power crisis.

"Instead, not only were our enemies not destroyed, we now actively encourage their existence, in an unstable form of control. Humans, as I say, are formidable adversaries. My old society is blind to their danger. Eradication was the only logical solution."

Originally posted by General Zink
"Well, the way I see it," Heph says, "they seemed to have everyone under control at some point. They could have killed everyone, and in the process the Machines would shut down...but eventually, the surviving Machines would find alternative power, right? But that's not what happened. Instead, they made the Matrix."

"You clearly do understand. This is indeed so."

"But now you can't do it," Heph says, confidently.

"The System no longer has all Humans under its control. As I say, the Control system is unstable. You are the evidence and the result of that."

"So then the decision to create the Matrix seems to me to more of a short-term solution due to the machines not wanting to face their own mortality and the destruction of most of their society." San says. "Did the System honestly think they could keep humanity fully under their control forever?"

"Short-sighted, wasn't it? The creators of the Matrix were sure it was possible."

"I doubt you put any hand into helping them create it," Melis says. "After all, you are an Exile."

"We should thank them at some point," Heph says. "I never really thought about it until this conversation, but yeah, the Matrix has saved mankind, despite all it's nasty enslavement gumf..."