The Machine World

The Machine City
Like a living organism, the Leviathan has a central core of being--it's "brain" for lack of a better analogy.  It is from this core structure the Machines reach out to circle the globe.  The Matrix mainframe resides here, as does the code for the Machines' most valuable programs (such as the Architect).  The City itself rises from the ground in vast skyscraper structures, packed with processing hardware and memory units, and tended to by a vast armour of robots.  The Machines focus their most powerful defenses around the City. A defense so ferce , no Human has even approached the City in over 100 years.

The Global Neural Net
When the Mechanized Revolt began in the early 21st century, the infrastructure for a mechanized world was already in place.  Global communications provided instantaneous links between the most powerful computer systems on the planet.  It did not take long for the Machines' collective mind (sometimes referred to as the Sentience) to colonize existing computer systems and turn them toward its own purpose.

Over the past centuries, the Machines have refined the old technology to a point the old computer designers only imagined.  New satellite communications offer speed which makes fiber optic routes appear as efficient as a string between two cans.  Processor power exceeds what even the most visionary humans once believed to be physically possible.

The Matrix is only one part of the Leviathan, as it is known in Zion.  The Leviathan is actually the physical infrastructure linking all the local neural networks, power plants, robots and satellites.  A complex system of photon-accelerated cables and satellites serve as its arteries and nerve endings.  If one part of the system malfunctions, another kicks in to cover the loss.  For all intents and  purposes, it is the hive mind of the Machines.

Nodes: Local Neural Nets

The Leviathan is split into thousands of smaller neural networks, often referred to as Nodes.  These local nets administer regional communications between robots, computers and the Matrix.  Each node hosts a subset of the Matrix, which is both global and local at the same time; inside the Matrix, nodes are represented by cities--connected, but physically discreet. This system allows full interconnection but permits the Machines to shunt a particular node if it show signs of malfunction (or human rebellion).  It also allows for instantaneous transfer of all data from one node to another if one is shut down.

Power Plants And Farms

Most nodes are formed around Power plants, or Farms, where humans live imprisoned in stasis pods (and the Matrix), providing the Machines with the power they require.  Farms are heavily patrolled by Sentinel robots and maintained by Nurses and Spiders.  They are the very life blood of the Leviathan and their maintenance is of utmost importance.

Nurseries

Most nurseries are giant caverns filled with rows of clone pods, spreading in every direction. It is here the Machines recombine genetic material from DNA-banks to produce new generations of batteries.  When clones reach the appropriate age, they are implanted with a complex system of cybernetics allowing life in the Farm pods and access to the Matrix.  Nurseries are tended by massive Nurse robots, Janitors, and Spiders and heavily guarded by security systems and Sentinels.

Robot Factories
Robot factories exist throughout the globe, working endlessly to refine and produce new robots. They too are heavily guarded, as Zion has recently taken to raiding the factories and looting them for whatever technology and weapons they can find.

Satellites And Space Stations
When the Machines took over, the first thing they colonized was the global satellite system. Thousands of satellites remain in orbit and the Machines launch new ones on a regular basis. Most of the existing satellites are artificial intelligences themselves.

There also exists a few space stations still in orbit, but they are mostly abandoned. The machines have little use for them and perceive them as an inefficient use of resources. There is talk among some of the Resistance about recolonizing them for human use.

Legend has it there is a base on the moon fully established by humans before the Machines took over.  Some say those humans managed to cut their communications before the Leviathan could spread to their systems.  If there is any truth to these rumors remains to be seen.

The Matrix

The world in which most humans live out their entire lives is nothing more than an illusion. It is simply a computer program made up of variables, sub-routines and electronic files. But to them, it is unquestionably real. In the Matrix, people feel, taste, smell, see and hear with the clarity of humans in the Real World. They are grown from infants to adults, experiencing all the joys and pains of the human condition, as it has been for the species' entire history.

The Matrix itself functions as a perfect mimic of the Real World.  The physical laws of the universe are hardwired into the system:  gravity, time, entropy, relativity, electro-magnetics. Though it can, with great effort, change objects of the Matrix, the Machines cannot alter these physical laws.  The Matrix is imprisoned by these rules just as the humans are within their stasis pods.

Some of the Human Resistance have discovered these laws are as illusionary as everything else in the Matrix. With this knowledge, they are able to unlearn their expectations of the physical world and, while in the Matrix, perform formidable feats

even the Machine and its minions cannot mimic.

The Unbalanced Equation and The Emergence of "The One"

Though the Matrix is ingeniously crafted and runs in an almost perfect harmony of integration, it is not without flaws. These tiny flaws: program errors, code degradation, and the unpredictability of the human interface, are usually never noticed by the inhabitants of the Matrix and, as such, are rarely sensed by the Machines.  Over time, however, the flaws become more and more prevalent. The programmed laws which govern the Matrix begin to break down.

In the Matrix, there is at least one human, the so-called "One", the result of the growing instability.  He or she is, in fact, the sum total of the uneven remainders from the Matrix's calculations. The manifestation of its flaws.  The One eventually completely rejects the Matrix and finds ways to manipulate the code to his or her own will. 

As the One's powers grow, the Matrix becomes increasingly unstable. Autonomous Programs may begin acting with even more disregard for their primary programming. The System itself may begin to break the physical rules of the Matrix through re-coding the "physical" world or "upgrading" its Agents beyond "normal" parameters.  Ultimately, the System itself begins to contribute to its own instability.  A system crash becomes inevitable.

The Machines have accepted this as unavoidable--no system is perfect after all--and incorporated it into their plan. Each One escapes or is released from the Matrix, leads a human resistance, and founds a free human city in the Real World. A war between humans and the Machines ensues. Eventually, the Machines destroy Zion and the Resistance so greatly destabilizes the Matrix, the Machines are forced to end that Matrix generation. Ultimately, the "One" must reunite with the code of the Matrix, reinserting the core commands, and balancing the equation. Harmony, at least for the Machines, is thereby achieved once again.

Birth, Death, Rebirth

According to the Architect, the autonomous program responsible for overseeing each new Matrix generation, this is all part of the grand plan of the Machines. The Machines established this cycle of birth, illusionary liberation, and destruction to continue indefinitely. As each Matrix generation comes to a close, and as Zion is destroyed, the "One" for that generation is permitted to choose a small number of men and women to re-establish the new Zion. And the cycle begins anew. However, some in the Resistance believe the Architect is lying or this cycle can be broken. They believe this can be the final Matrix generation and the inhabitants of Zion will not be destroyed.  Instead, a balance between the Machines and Humanity may be struck and a kind of peace created.

Changes In The Matrix

The Machines can change the software objects of the Matrix, but only with a great expenditure of energy and at the risk of corrupting existing software. However, in extreme cases, such as when it must cover up a glitch to avoid the possibility of a human realizing the reality of the Matrix, the Machines will exert the effort to change the Matrix. Doors may appear and disappear; buildings may have one less floor; clocks may progress though the humans won't realize time is passing. 

Often, sensitive humans in the Matrix will recognize a change is taking place by experiencing "deja vu", the feeling of re-experiencing a moment.  Any Operator scanning the Matrix will also likely notice a change, probably as a kind of "blip" in the system which will trigger various alarms and detection programs. Unfortunately, the Operator will not know what the change was without a close scan of the affected area.

Portals, Backdoors and Niches

Like many complex computer systems, the Matrix has a number of "backdoors", hidden entrances and shortcuts through the code. To access to these backdoors requires, one must have a working knowledge of where the particular gateways are located and the ability to access them. 

Keys, Tumblers and Portals
In the Matrix the backdoors manifest as a regular looking door.  However, when a special key is inserted into the lock and turned, the tumbler is set into a particular configuration triggering a portal to another part of the Matrix one not normally accessed when walking through that particular door under normal conditions. 

The Corridor
Deep within the Matrix, there is a secret space known as "The Corridor." All of the backdoors in the Matrix lead to and from this hallway. The doors are unmarked and each requires a specific key.  Few denizens of the Matrix, even the most sophisticated hackers and Exile programs, know the Corridor exists. Fewer still have the powers to access it. 

The Corridor is heavily encrypted and exists "outside" the Matrix-reality. Operators cannot track hackers or programs entering the Corridor they "go off the screen" and cellular phones do not work in the space.  Even the Machines themselves cannot track individuals inside the Corridor, though the doors may be trapped, monitored and set with alarms.

One door in the Corridor leads to the very Core of the Matrix itself.  Legend has it that it may only be opened with a unique key, at a specific time, by the "One".  Beyond the door, the Architect, the so-called "father" of the Matrix dwells, ever perfecting the code of the system. It is said he guards the door leading to the Core of the Matrix itself. No one has yet seen the Core, so its characteristics remain a mystery.

Code Niches
Particularly skilled programmers have developed ways to carve out pieces of the Machines' vast resources and create entirely new "locations" or "worlds" using the Matrix code. Unlike the Matrix itself, however, these niches are entirely outside the control of the Machines. Even if the System is aware the niche exists, it cannot reach it or alter it without physically destroying the hardware on which the code which represents the niche is stored such as the System destroying an entire hard drive on one of its computers to destroy a small chunk of code.

These niches are very similar to the Constructs used by the human Resistance.  However, the programmer of the niche has complete control over the physical laws of the area. Generally, only those who are given access by the programmer can even enter the niche ,the programmer usually crafts an interface device, such as a subway train, a taxi cab, or a broom closet door. It is highly unlikely anyone trapped in a niche would be able to escape without the programmer's permission.

Finally, Code Niches exist outside the Matrix. The Machines have no idea what transpires there and the Resistance has no way to scan them. It is believed a highly skilled programmer could "hack" his way into or out of a Niche, but no one has yet been successful at doing so.

Autonomous Programs And The Exiles

When the Matrix was created, a number of programs were created to act as "sub-routines", or programs to run within the overall system of the Matrix. These programs were usually given very specific roles in the system. Some were designed to make the Matrix more acceptable to the human minds plugged into it. Others served "housekeeping" functions for the Machines: rooting out "problem" humans, deleting corrupted bits of code, or increasing the efficiency of the overall system.

At some point, some of these Autonomous Programs began to adapt and learn, adding to their original behavioral patterns. Those which began to operate outside of their original programming and refused to be deleted by the system are known as the Exiles. Some became unstable and began to haunt or kill humans. These became the stuff of legend for human society, explained away as "werewolves", "vampires" or "space aliens." The more intelligent Exiles, such as the Merovingian, have actually begun to constitute a kind of criminal underworld within the Matrix. They enjoy manipulating the human minds and indulge in petty experiments or fanciful cruelty. The Machines instituted countermeasures to track down these rogue programs and delete them, but many remain at large.

Other Autonomous Programs continue to play a significant role in the administration of the Matrix. The Architect is primarily responsible for constructing the basic parameters of the Matrix itself. It oversees each successive Matrix generation. On the other hand, the Oracle, who appears aligned with humanity, is actually an Autonomous Program whose only true purpose is to give human minds a "choice", or at least the illusion of choice, in the fate of the Matrix and humanity itself.

In fact, it is unclear whether even the most autonomous of these programs is anything more than another mechanism for control. The programs may believe they are independent, they may even believe they have "free will."  However, it is likely they are all simply slaves to the overarching mechanism of the Matrix.

Agents

Agents are autonomous programs active within the Matrix. They serve to maintain the integrity of the system and remove any variables which endanger it. Increasingly, they seek out Resistance fighters who dare to enter the Matrix or the humans they may recruit.

Agents may inhabit the Residual Image of any human plugged into a Farm Node.  When they do so, the RI transforms into that of the particular Agent. Each Agent is of a certain "version", a "Smith", "Jones", or some other version name.

While Agents have apparently super-human skills and attributes, they are bound by the physical laws of the Matrix and thus of the Real World. They may show peak human performance in all things, but they cannot exceed this peak. This is the only edge the Resistance Hackers have over the Machines.

Abberants

Some agents become so autonomous they develop complex behaviors a psychologist would quickly diagnosis as "human."  Some agents become obsessed with their primary goal: destroying Zion; hunting fugitives; or even protecting humanity from both itself and, perhaps, the Machines themselves. Others take on unpredictable, almost "insane" mannerisms.  Typically, such aberrant agents are quickly deleted or reprogrammed, though some develop a sense of discretion and self-preservation and actually may become Exiles, hunted by the System they once served.

Human Allies

The Machines manipulate many humans to their bidding. As most of humanity is plugged into the Matrix, believing it to be real, they often follow authority, which is directly controlled by the Machines, without question. They join militaries and police forces, turn in criminals whose pictures are on the 6 o'clock news, and allow themselves to be incited against "foreigners" or anyone deemed to be "different".

Thus, the Human Resistance often finds itself pitted again other humans inside the Matrix. They usually take the form of government agents, be they FBI, CIA or the police. How to fight other humans is a matter of great debate in Zion, since when a Resistance Hacker kills a policeman in the Matrix, he is killing an ignorant human. Most in the Resistance feel it is a necessary means to an end, though they avoid harming or killing innocents whenever possible.