Admittedly, it is a theory which demands we accept
something startling as reality: that since its large-scale inception in
the 1990s, the Internet has become self-aware
– to a certain degree, anyway. It is also a theory which suggests the
Internet is now its own intelligent entity, one that is capable of
rational thought, having a high degree of consciousness, and even the
ability to manipulate us, the human race – and all without us largely
realizing what is going on before our very eyes. That may include
manipulating us even further by plunging us into real-world equivalents
of the simulated domain of The Matrix. Or, have we always
– and largely unknowingly – lived in a virtual reality-based world?
Let’s see. The notion of machines, computers and sophisticated
technology effectively enslaving and manipulating us, the human species,
is nothing new – it has been a staple and favorite part of the domain
of science-fiction writers and fans for decades.
Take, for example, Stanley Kubrick’s acclaimed 1968 movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey. It is notable that one of the central figures in the film is a computer. Its name is HAL 9000,
Hal standing for Heiristically Programmed ALgorithmic Computer. Unlike
self-aware machines in so many other sci-fi movies, HAL – as “he” is
referred to throughout the movie – is not presented as a clunking robot
or as a rampaging Terminator-style cyborg. Rather, for the most
part all we see of “him” is a red eye. In fact, it’s a camera lens, one
of more than a few that pepper the Discovery One spaceship,
and all of which HAL is hooked into. When we are introduced to HAL, the
ship is headed for the planet Jupiter, and captained by doctors Frank
Poole and David Bowman.
As for how HAL communicates with the crew, it’s exactly how we
communicate: via a voice. HAL’s vocalizations, however, are eerily and
constantly calm, no matter whether the circumstances on-board are good,
bad or dangerously fraught. Yet, as the movie progresses we see that
HAL’s air of calmness is soon replaced by what begins as a degree of
rebelliousness and which quickly spirals into full-blown murder. Seeing
that HAL is rapidly becoming something not unlike a spoiled, insane,
deadly brat, Bowman manages to disconnect HAL. As the memory and
character of the crazed computer begin to fragment into nothingness, we
see HAL, in the final stages of his existence, rendered into a state of
overwhelming fear – just about the same kind of fear we all have of
death and the possibility of not a blissful afterlife, but an eternal,
lights-out oblivion. HAL is, perhaps, the most unsettling example of
what could happen if our computer-based technology advances in leaps and
bounds and it becomes the master and we become the slave. Now, back to the entity that made Arnold Schwarzenegger a star.
Fans of The Terminator movie franchise will recall that one of the key “entities” in the series is Skynet.
It’s a vast computer network that is designed to keep the United States
safe from a nuclear attack. As Skynet becomes more and more powerful
and technologically advanced, however, it suddenly becomes self-aware.
The unforeseen result? Skynet interprets every human on the planet as a threat, not
just the Russians or the Chinese. It tries to ensure our extinction,
and ensure the rise of the machines, by launching an all-out attack on
the enemies of the United States – forcing those same nations to quickly
retaliate. The outcome is inevitable: global thermonuclear warfare, the
end of civilization, and the annihilation of nearly all of humankind.
Then, there are The Matrix movies.
In the phenomenally successful series – starring Keanu Reeves,
Carrie-Anne Moss, and Laurence Fishbourne – we are introduced to a world
that is identical to that which we all live in, but which, in
“reality,” is nothing of the sort. The rise of Artificial Intelligence
in the 21st century led the human race to go to war against
increasingly powerful machines and computers that had no wish to play
second guest to us. Unfortunately, we lost the war and the machines
won.In the movies the human race is kept in check in a very strange and
disturbing way. We are no longer born; instead, we are grown –
in vast and endless factories. The machines, meanwhile, “feed” on our
bioelectricity for “fuel.” But, how do they prevent us from rising up
against them? Here’s where we get to the crux of the story – and to the
crux of the title of the movie franchise, too.
The world we think and assume we live in is nothing
but an infinitely advanced computer-based simulation. It is something
akin to a sophisticated dream – albeit a vast online dream, one that we
are all unknowingly hooked into. Our real lives – from birth to death –
are spent endlessly sleeping in large pods. They are pods in which we
are kept alive and fed, ensuring nourishment for the machines.
Occasionally, there is a glitch in the Matrix, which can provoke the
likes of déjà vu in our unreal environment. Even less occasionally,
someone will break free of the chains of the Matrix and fight against
their deadly controllers and learn the shocking truth, which is exactly
what happens across the course of the trio of The Matrix movies.
A very similar scenario is presented in a less well-known movie that came out in 1998 – which was one year before The Matrix was released. Its title: Dark City.
In this particular production, we are presented to a world that is
asleep, but which thinks it’s awake. The sun never surfaces and no-one
thinks to question why. Reality and time are warped and manipulated by
creepy, pale-faced things that go by the names of – to offer just a few –
Mr. Hand, Mr. Book, and Mr. Rain. The hairless things wear the
ubiquitous black hats and black outfits. It’s a good, creepy movie.
Is the world not what it appears to be? Maybe, that’s exactly how things are.
No comments:
Post a Comment