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The MATRIX

by
Larry and Andy Wachowski
NUMBERED SHOOTING SCRIPT
March 29, 1998
FADE IN:
1 ON COMPUTER SCREEN 1
so close it has no boundaries.
A blinding cursor pulses in the electric darkness like a
heart coursing with phosphorous light, burning beneath
the derma of black-neon glass.
A PHONE begins to RING, we hear it as though we were
making the call. The cursor continues to throb,
relentlessly patient, until --
MAN (V.O.)
Yeah?
Data now slashes across the screen, information flashing
faster then we can read: "Call trans opt: received.
2-19-98 13:24:18 REC:Log>."
WOMAN (V.O.)
Is everything in place?
On screen: "Trace program: running."
We listen to the phone conversation as though we were on
a third line. The man's name is Cypher. The woman,
Trinity.
TRINITY (WOMANV.O.)
I said, is everything in place?
The entire screen with racing columns of numbers.
Shimmering like green-electric rivers, they rush at a
10-digit phone number in the top corner.
CYPHER (MANV.O.)
You weren't supposed to relieve
me.
TRINITY (V.O.)
I know but I felt like taking a
shift.
The area code is identified. The first three numbers
suddenly fixed, leaving only seven flowing columns.
CYPHER (V.O.)
You like him, don't you? You like
watching him?
We begin MOVING TOWARD the screen, CLOSING IN as each
digit is matched, one by one, snapping into place like
the wheels of a slot machine.
(CONTINUED)
2.
1 CONTINUED: 1
TRINITY (V.O.)
Don't be ridiculous.
CYPHER (V.O.)
We're going to kill him. Do you
understand that? He's going to
die just like the others.
TRINITY (V.O.)
Morpheus believes he is the One.
Only two thin digits left.
CYPHER (V.O.)
Do you?
TRINITY (V.O.)
I... it doesn't matter what I
believe.
CYPHER (V.O.)
You don't, do you?
TRINITY (V.O.)
If you have something to say, I
suggest you say it to Morpheus.
CYPHER (V.O.)
I intend to, believe me. Someone
has to.
The final NUMBER POPS into place --
TRINITY (V.O.)
Did you hear that?
CYPHER (V.O.)
Hear what?
On screen: "Trace complete. Call origin: #312-555-
0690.
TRINITY (V.O.)
Are you sure this line is clean?
CYPHER (V.O.)
Yeah, 'course I'm sure.
We MOVE STILL CLOSER, the ELECTRIC HUM of the green
NUMBERS GROWING into an ominous ROAR.
TRINITY (V.O.)
I better go.
(CONTINUED)
THE MATRIX - Rev. 3/9/98 3.
1 CONTINUED: (2) 1
She hangs up as we PASS THROUGH the numbers, entering the
nether world of the computer screen. Suddenly, a flashlight
cuts open the darkness and we find ourselves in --
2 INT. HEART O' THE CITY HOTEL - NIGHT 2
The hotel was abandoned after a fire licked its way
across the polyester carpeting, destroying several rooms
as it spooled soot up the walls and ceiling, leaving
patterns of permanent shadow.
We FOLLOW four armed POLICE OFFICERS using flashlights as
they creep down the blackened hall and ready themselves
on either side of Room 303.
The biggest of them violently kicks in the door. The other
cops pour in behind him, guns thrust before them.
BIG COP
Police! Freeze!
The room is almost devoid of furniture. There is a foldup
table and chair with a phone, a modem, and a powerbook
computer. The only light in the room is the glow of the
computer.
Sitting there, her hands still on the keyboard, is
TRINITY; a woman in black leather.
BIG COP
Hands behind your head! Now! Do
it!
She slowly puts her hands behind her head.
3 EXT. HEART O' THE CITY HOTEL - NIGHT 3
A black sedan with tinted windows glides in through the
police cruisers. AGENT SMITH, AGENT BROWN, and AGENT
JONES get out of the car.
They wear dark suits and sunglasses even at night. They
are also always hardwired; small Secret Service earphones
in one ear, the cord coiling back into their shirt
collars.
AGENT SMITH
Lieutenant?
LIEUTENANT
Oh shit.
(CONTINUED)
THE MATRIX - Rev. 3/9/98 4.
3 CONTINUED: 3
AGENT SMITH
Lieutenant, you were given
specific orders --
LIEUTENANT
I'm just doing my job. You gimme
that Juris-my dick-tion and you
can cram it up your ass.
AGENT SMITH
The orders were for your
protection.
The Lieutenant laughs.
LIEUTENANT
I think we can handle one little
girl.
Agent Smith nods to Agent Brown as they start toward the
hotel.
LIEUTENANT
I sent two units. They're
bringing her down now.
AGENT SMITH
No, Lieutenant, your men are
already dead.
4 INT. HEART O' THE CITY HOTEL 4
The Big Cop flicks out his cuffs, the other cops holding
a bead. They've done this a hundred times, they know
they've got her, until the Big Cop reaches with the cuffs
and Trinity moves --
It almost doesn't register, so smooth and fast, inhumanly
fast.
The eye blinks and Trinity's palm snaps up and the nose
explodes, blood erupting. Her leg kicks with the force
of a wrecking ball and he flies back, a two-hundred-fifty
pound sack of limp meat and bone that slams into the cop
farthest from her.
Trinity moves again, BULLETS RAKING the walls,
flashlights sweeping with panic as the remaining cops try
to stop a leather-clad ghost.
A GUN still in the cop's hand is snatched, twisted, and
FIRED. There is a final violent exchange of GUNFIRE and
when it's over, Trinity is the only one standing.
(CONTINUED)
THE MATRIX - Rev. 3/9/98 5.
4 CONTINUED: 4
A flashlight rocks slowly to a stop.
TRINITY
Shit.
5 EXT. HEART O' THE CITY HOTEL 5
Agent Brown enters the hotel while Agent Smith heads for
the alley.
6 INT. HEART O' THE CITY HOTEL 6
Trinity is on the phone, pacing. The other end is
answered.
MAN (V.O.)
Operator.
TRINITY
Morpheus! The line was traced! I
don't know how.
MORPHEUS (MANV.O.)
I know. They cut the hardline.
This line is not a viable exit.
TRINITY
Are there any Agents?
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Yes.
TRINITY
Goddamnit!
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
You have to focus. There is a
phone. Wells and Lake. You can
make it.
She takes a deep breath, centering herself.
TRINITY
All right --
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Go.
She drops the phone.
THE MATRIX - Rev. 3/9/98 6.
7 INT. HALL 7
She bursts out of the room as Agent Brown enters the
hall, leading another unit of police. Trinity races to
the opposite end, exiting through a broken window onto
the fire escape.
8 EXT. FIRE ESCAPE 8
In the alley below, Trinity sees Agent Smith staring at
her. She can only go up.
9 EXT. ROOF 9
On the roof, Trinity is running as Agent Brown rises over
the parapet, leading the cops in pursuit.
Trinity begins to jump from one roof to the next, her
movements so clean, gliding in and out of each jump,
contrasted to the wild jumps of the cops.
Agent Brown, however, has the same unnatural grace.
The roof falls away into a wide back alley. The next
building is over 40 feet away, but Trinity's face is
perfectly calm, staring at some point beyond the other roof.
COP
That's it, we got her now.
The cops slow, realizing they are about to see something
ugly as Trinity drives at the edge, launching herself
into the air.
From above, the ground seems to flow beneath her as she
hangs in flight, then hits, somersaulting up, still
running hard.
COP
Jesus Christ -- that's impossible!
They stare, slack-jawed, as Agent Brown duplicates the move
exactly, landing, rolling over a shoulder up onto one knee.
It is a dizzying chase up and over the dark plateaued
landscape of rooftops and sheer cliffs of brick. Ahead,
she sees her only chance, 50 feet beyond the point where
her path drops away into a paved chasm, there is!--
10 EXT. WINDOW 10
A yellow glow in the midst of a dark brick building.
Trinity zeros in on it, running as hard as she can and --
(CONTINUED)
7.
10 CONTINUED: 10
Hurtles herself into the empty night space, her body
leveling into a dive. She falls, arms covering her head
as the whole world seems to spin on its axis --
A10 INT. BACK STAIRWELL A10
And she crashes with an EXPLOSION of GLASS and WOOD, then
falls onto a back stairwell, tumbling, bouncing down
stairs bleeding, broken --
But still alive.
She wheels on the smashed opening above, her gun
instantly in her hand, trained, waiting for Agent Brown
but is met by only a slight WIND that HISSES against the
fanged maw of broken glass.
Trinity tries to move. Everything hurts.
TRINITY
Get up, Trinity. You're fine.
Get up -- just get up!
She stands and limps down the rest of the stairs.
11 EXT. STREET 11
Trinity emerges from the shadows of an alley and, at the
end of the block, in a pool of white street light, she
sees it!--
The telephone booth.
Obviously hurt, she starts down the concrete walk,
focusing in completely, her pace quickening, as the PHONE
begins to RING.
Across the street, a garbage truck suddenly u-turns, it's
TIRES SCREAMING as it accelerates. Trinity sees the
headlights of the truck arcing at the telephone booth as
if taking aim.
Gritting through the pain, she races the truck, slamming
into the booth, the headlights blindingly bright, bearing
down on the box of Plexiglas just as --
She answers the phone.
There is a frozen instant of silence before the hulking
mass of dark metal lurches up onto the sidewalk --
(CONTINUED)
THE MATRIX - Rev. 3/9/98 8.
11 CONTINUED: 11
Barreling through the booth, bulldozing it into a brick
wall, SMASHING it to PLEXIGLAS PULP.
After a moment, a black loafer steps down from the cab of
the garbage truck. Agent Smith inspects the wreckage.
There is no body. Trinity is gone.
His jaw sets as he grinds his molars in frustration.
Agent Jones and Brown walk up behind him.
AGENT JONES
She got out.
AGENT SMITH
It doesn't matter.
AGENT BROWN
The informant is real.
Agent Smith almost smiles.
AGENT SMITH
Yes.
AGENT JONES
We have the name of their next target.
AGENT BROWN
The name is Neo.
The handset of the pay phone lays on the ground, separated
in the crash like a severed limb.
AGENT SMITH
We'll need a search running.
AGENT JONES
It's already begun.
We are SUCKED TOWARDS the mouthpiece of the phone, CLOSER
and CLOSER, until the smooth gray plastic spreads out
like a horizon and the small holes widen until we FALL
THROUGH one --
Swallowed by DARKNESS.
The DARKNESS CRACKLES with phosphorescent energy, the
word "searching" blazing in around us as we EMERGE FROM a
computer screen.
The screen flickers with windowing data as a search
engine runs with a steady relentless rhythm.
We DRIFT BACK FROM the screen and INTO --
9.
12 INT. NEO'S APARTMENT 12
It is a studio apartment that seems overgrown with
technology.
Weed-like cables coil everywhere, duct-taped into
thickets that wind up and around the legs of several
desks. Tabletops are filled with cannibalized equipment
that lay open like an autopsied corpse.
At the center of this technological rat-nest is NEO, a
man who knows more about living inside a computer than
outside one.
He is asleep in front of his PC. Behind him, the
computer screen suddenly goes blank. A prompt appears:
"Wake up, Neo."
Neo's eye pries open. He sits up, one eye still closed,
looking around, unsure of where he is. He notices the
screen.
He types "CTRL X" but the letter "T" appears.
NEO
What...?
He hits another and an "H" appears. He keeps typing,
pushing random functions and keys while the computer
types out a message as though it had a mind of its own.
He stops and stares at the four words on the screen:
"The Matrix has you."
NEO
What the hell?
He hits the "ESC" button. Another message appears:
"Follow the white rabbit."
He hits it again and the message repeats. He rubs his
eyes but when he opens them, there is another message:
"Knock, knock, Neo."
Someone KNOCKS on his door and he almost jumps out of his
chair. He looks back at the computer, but the screen is
now blank.
Someone KNOCKS again. Neo rises, still unnerved.
NEO
Who is it?
CHOI (O.S)
It's Choi.
(CONTINUED)
10.
12 CONTINUED: 12
Neo flips a series of locks and opens the door, leaving
the chain on. A young Chinese MAN stands there with
several of his friends.
NEO
You're two hours late.
CHOI (MAN)
I know. It's her fault.
NEO
You got the money?
CHOI
Two grand.
He takes out an envelope and gives it to Neo through the
cracked door.
NEO
Hold on.
He closes the door. On the floor near his bed is a book,
Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulations. The book has
been hollowed out and inside are several computer disks.
He takes one, sticks the money in the book and drops it
on the floor.
Opening the door, he hands the disk to Choi.
CHOI
Hallelujah! You are my Savior,
man! My own personal Jesus
Christ!
NEO
If you get caught using that --
CHOI
I know, I know. This never
happened. You don't exist.
NEO
Right...
Neo nods as the strange feeling of unrealness suddenly
returns.
CHOI
Something wrong, man? You look a
little whiter than usual.
NEO
I don't know... My computer...
(CONTINUED)
11.
12 CONTINUED: (2) 12
He looks back at Choi, unable to explain what just
happened.
NEO
You ever have the feeling that
you're not sure if you're awake or
still dreaming?
CHOI
All the time. It's called
mescaline and it is the only way
to fly.
He smiles and slaps the hand of his nearest droog.
CHOI
It sounds to me like you need to
unplug, man. A little R&R. What
do you think, Dujour, should we
take him with us?
DUJOUR
Definitely.
NEO
I can't. I have to work tomorrow.
DUJOUR
Come on. It'll be fun. I
promise.
He looks up at her and suddenly notices on her black
leather motorcycle jacket dozens of pins: bands,
symbols, slogans, military medals and --
A small white rabbit. The ROOM TILTS.
NEO
Yeah, yeah. Sure, I'll go.
13 INT. APARTMENT 13
An older apartment; a series of halls connects a chain of
small high-ceilinged rooms lined with heavy casements.
Smoke hangs like a veil, blurring the few lights there
are.
Dressed predominately in black, people are everywhere,
gathered in cliques around pieces of furniture like
jungle cats around a tree.
(CONTINUED)
12.
13 CONTINUED: 13
Neo stands against a wall, alone, sipping from a bottle
of beer, feeling completely out of place. He is about to
leave when he notices a woman staring at him.
The woman is Trinity. She walks straight up to him.
In the nearest room, shadow-like figures grind against
each other to the pneumatic beat of INDUSTRIAL MUSIC.
TRINITY
Hello, Neo.
NEO
How do you know that name?
TRINITY
I know a lot about you. I've been
wanting to meet you for some time.
NEO
Who are you?
TRINITY
My name is Trinity.
NEO
Trinity? The Trinity? The
Trinity that cracked the I.R.S.
D-Base?
TRINITY
That was a long time ago.
NEO
Gee-zus.
TRINITY
What?
NEO
I just thought... you were a guy.
TRINITY
Most guys do.
Neo is a little embarrassed.
NEO
Do you want to go somewhere and
talk?
TRINITY
No. It's safe here and I don't
have much time.
(CONTINUED)
13.
13 CONTINUED: (2) 13
The MUSIC is so LOUD they must stand very close, talking
directly into each other's ear.
NEO
That was you on my computer?
She nods.
NEO
How did you do that?
TRINITY
Right now, all I can tell you, is
that you are in danger. I brought
you here to warn you.
NEO
Of what?
TRINITY
They're watching you, Neo.
NEO
Who is?
TRINITY
Please. Just listen. I know why
you're here, Neo. I know what
you've been doing. I know why you
hardly sleep, why you live alone
and why, night after night, you
sit at your computer. You're
looking for him.
Her body is against his; her lips very close to his ear.
TRINITY
I know because I was once looking
for the same thing, but when he
found me he told me I wasn't
really looking for him. I was
looking for an answer.
There is a hypnotic quality to her voice and Neo feels
the words, like a drug, seeping into him.
TRINITY
It's the question that drives us,
the question that brought you
here. You know the question just
as I did.
NEO
What is the Matrix?
(CONTINUED)
THE MATRIX - Rev. 3/22/98 14.
13 CONTINUED: (3) 13
TRINITY
When I asked him, he said that no
one could ever be told the answer
to that question. They have to
see it to believe it.
She leans close, her lips almost touching his ear.
TRINITY
The answer is out there, Neo.
It's looking for you and it will
find you, if you want it to.
She turns and he watches her melt into the shifting wall
of bodies.
A SOUND RISES steadily, growing out of the MUSIC,
pressing in on Neo until it is all he can hear as we --
CUT TO:
14 INT. NEO'S APARTMENT 14
The sound is an ALARM CLOCK, slowly dragging Neo to
consciousness. He strains to read the clock-face:
9:15!A.M.
NEO
Shitshitshit.
15 EXT. SKYSCRAPER 15
The downtown office of Meta CorTechs, a software
development company.
16 INT. META CORTECHS OFFICE 16
The main offices are along each wall, the windows
overlooking downtown. RHINEHEART, the ultimate company
man, lectures Neo without looking at him, typing at his
computer continuously.
Neo stares at two window cleaners on a scaffolding
outside, dragging their rubber squeegees down the surface
of the glass.
RHINEHEART
You have a problem with authority,
Mr. Anderson. You believe that
you are special, that somehow the
rules do not apply to you.
Obviously, you are mistaken.
(CONTINUED)
15.
16 CONTINUED: 16
His long, bony fingers resume clicking the keyboard.
RHINEHEART
This company is one of the top
software companies in the world
because every single employee
understands that they are a part
of a whole. Thus, if an employee
has a problem, the company has a
problem.
He turns again.
RHINEHEART
The time has come to make a
choice, Mr. Anderson. Either you
choose to be at your desk on time
from this day forth, or you choose
to find yourself another job. Do
I make myself clear?
NEO
Yes, Mr. Rhineheart. Perfectly
clear.
17 INT. NEO'S CUBICLE 17
The entire floor looks like a human honeycomb, with a
labyrinth of cubicles structured around a core of
elevators.
VOICE (O.S.)
Thomas Anderson?
Neo turns and finds a FEDERAL EXPRESS GUY at his cubicle
door.
NEO
Yeah. That's me.
Neo signs the electronic pad and the Fedex Guy hands him
the softpak.
FEDEX GUY
Have a nice day.
He opens the bag. Inside is a cellular PHONE. It seems
the instant it is in his hand, it RINGS. Unnerved, he
flips it open.
NEO
Hello?
(CONTINUED)
THE MATRIX - Rev. 3/9/98 16.
17 CONTINUED: 17
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Hello, Neo. Do you know who this
is?
Neo's knees give and he sinks into his chair.
NEO
Morpheus...
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
I've been looking for you, Neo. I
don't know if you're ready to see
what I want to show you, but
unfortunately, we have run out of
time. They're coming for you,
Neo. And I'm not sure what
they're going to do.
NEO
Who's coming for me?
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Stand up and see for yourself.
NEO
Right now?
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Yes. Now.
Neo starts to stand.
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Do it slowly. The elevator.
His head peeks up over the partition. At the elevator,
he sees Agent Smith, Agent Brown and Agent Jones leading a
group of cops. A female employee turns and points out
Neo's cubicle.
Neo ducks.
NEO
Holy shit!
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Yes.
One cop stays at the elevator, the others follow the
Agents.
NEO
What the hell do they want with
me?!
(CONTINUED)
17.
17 CONTINUED: (2) 17
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
I'm not sure, but if you don't
want to find out, you better get
out of there.
NEO
How?!
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
I can guide you out, but you have
to do exactly what I say.
The agents are moving quickly towards the cubicle.
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
The cubicle across from you is
empty.
NEO
But what if...?
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Go! Now!
Neo lunges across the hall, diving into the other cubicle
just as the Agents turn into his row.
Neo crams himself into a dark corner, clutching the phone
tightly to him.
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Stay here for a moment.
The Agents enter Neo's empty cubicle. A cop is sent to
search the bathroom.
Morpheus' voice is a whisper in Neo's ear.
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
A little longer...
Brown is talking to another employee.
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
When I tell you, go to the end of
the row to the first office on the
left, stay as low as you can.
Sweat trickles down his forehead.
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Now.
(CONTINUED)
THE MATRIX - Rev. 3/9/98 18.
17 CONTINUED: (3) 17
Neo rolls out of the cubicle, his eyes popping as he
freezes right behind a cop who has just turned around.
Staying crouched, he sneaks away down the row, shooting
across the opening to the first office on the left.
18 INT. EMPTY OFFICE 18
The room is empty.
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Good. Outside there is a scaffold.
NEO
How do you know all this?
Morpheus laughs quietly.
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
The answer is coming, Neo. There
is a window in front of you. Open
it.
He opens the window. The WIND HOWLS into the room.
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
You can use the scaffold to get to
the roof.
NEO
No! It's too far away.
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
There's a ledge. It's a short
short climb. You can make it.
Neo looks down; the building's glass wall vertigos into a
concrete chasm.
NEO
No way, no way, this is crazy.
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
There are only two ways out of
this building. One is that
scaffold. The other is in their
custody. You take a chance either
way. I leave it to you.
CLICK. He hangs up. Neo looks at the door, then back at
the scaffold.
(CONTINUED)
19.
18 CONTINUED: 18
NEO
This is insane! Why is this
happening to me? What did I do?
I'm nobody. I didn't do anything.
He climbs up onto the window ledge. Hanging onto the
frame, he steps onto the small ledge. The scaffold seems
even farther away.
NEO
I'm going to die.
The WIND suddenly BLASTS up the face of the building,
knocking Neo off balance. Recoiling, he clings harder to
the frame, and the phone falls out of his hand.
He watches as it is swallowed by the distance beneath
him.
NEO
This is insane! I can't do this!
Forget it!
He climbs back into the office just as a cop opens the
door.
NEO
Shit!
19 EXT. SKYSCRAPER 19
The Agents lead a handcuffed Neo out of the revolving
doors, forcing his head down as they push him into the
dark sedan.
Trinity watches in the rearview mirror of her motorcycle.
TRINITY
Shit.
20 INT. INTERROGATION ROOM 20
CLOSE ON a camera monitor; a wide angle view of a white
room where Neo is sitting at a table alone. We MOVE INTO
the monitor, entering the room as if the monitor was a
window.
At the same moment, the door opens and the Agents enter.
Agent Smith sits down across from Neo. A thick manila
envelope slaps down on the table. The name on the file:
"Anderson, Thomas!A."
(CONTINUED)
THE MATRIX - Rev. 3/9/98 20.
20 CONTINUED: 20
AGENT SMITH
As you can see, we've had our eye
on you for some time now, Mr.
Anderson.
He opens the file. Paper rattle marks the silence as he
flips several pages. Neo cannot tell if he is looking at
the file or at him.
AGENT SMITH
It seems that you have been living
two lives. In one life, you are
Thomas A. Anderson, program writer
for a respectable software
company. You have a social
security number, you pay your
taxes and you help your landlady
carry out her garbage.
The pages continue to turn.
AGENT SMITH
The other life is lived in
computers where you go by the
hacker alias Neo, and are guilty
of virtually every computer crime
we have a law for.
Neo feels himself sinking into a pit of shit.
AGENT SMITH
One of these lives has a future.
One of them does not.
He closes the file.
AGENT SMITH
I'm going to be as forthcoming as
I can be, Mr. Anderson. You are
here because we need your help.
He removes his sunglasses, his eyes are an unnatural iceblue.
AGENT SMITH
We know that you have been
contacted by a certain individual.
A man who calls himself Morpheus.
Whatever you think you know about
this man is irrelevant. The fact
is that he is wanted for acts of
terrorism in more countries than
any other man in the world.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
21.
20 CONTINUED: (2) 20
AGENT SMITH (CONT'D)
He is considered by many
authorities to be the most
dangerous man alive.
He leans closer.
AGENT SMITH
My colleagues believe that I am
wasting my time with you but I
believe you want to do the right
thing. It is obvious that you are
an intelligent man, Mr. Anderson,
and that you are interested in the
future. That is why I believe you
are ready to put your past
mistakes behind you and get on
with your life.
Neo tries to match his stare.
AGENT SMITH
We are willing to wipe the slate
clean, to give you a fresh start
and all we are asking in return is
your cooperation in bringing a
known terrorist to justice.
Neo nods to himself.
NEO
Yeah. Wow. That sounds like a
real good deal. But I think I
have a better one. How about I
just give you the finger --
He does.
NEO
And you give me my phone call!
Agent Smith puts his glasses back on.
AGENT SMITH
You disappoint me, Mr. Anderson.
NEO
You can't scare me with this
Gestapo crap. I know my rights.
I want my phone call!
Agent Smith smiles.
(CONTINUED)
22.
20 CONTINUED: (3) 20
AGENT SMITH
And tell me, Mr. Anderson, what
good is a phone call if you are
unable to speak?
The question unnerves Neo and strangely he begins to feel
the muscles in his jaw tighten. The standing Agents
snicker, watching Neo's confusion grow into panic.
Neo feels his lips grow soft and sticky as they slowly
seal shut, melding into each other until all traces of
his mouth are gone.
Wild with fear, he lunges for the door but the Agents
restrain him, holding him in the chair.
AGENT SMITH
You are going to help us, Mr.
Anderson, whether you want to or
not.
Smith nods and the other two rip open his shirt. From a
case taken out of his suit coat, Smith removes a long,
fiber-optic wire tap.
Neo struggles helplessly as Smith dangles the wire over
his exposed abdomen. Horrified, he watches as the
electronic device animates, becoming an organic creature
that resembles a hybrid of an insect and a fluke worm.
Thin, whisker-like tendrils reach out and probe into
Neo's navel. He bucks wildly as Smith drops the creature
which looks for a moment like an uncut umbilical cord --
-- before it begins to burrow, its tail thrashing as it
worms its way inside.
21 INT. NEO'S APARTMENT - NIGHT 21
Screaming, Neo bolts upright in bed.
He realizes that he is home. Was it a dream? His mouth
is normal. His stomach looks fine. He starts to take a
deep, everything-is-okay breath when --
The PHONE RINGS.
It almost stops his heart. It continues RINGING,
building pressure in the room, forcing him up out of bed,
sucking him in with an almost gravitational force. He
answers it, saying nothing.
(CONTINUED)
THE MATRIX - Rev. 3/9/98 23.
21 CONTINUED: 21
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
This line is tapped so I must be
brief.
NEO
The Agents --
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
They got to you first, but they've
underestimated how important you
are. If they knew what I know,
you would probably be dead.
NEO
What are you talking about? What
the hell is happening to me?
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
You're the One, Neo. You see, you
may have spent the last few years
looking for me, but I've spent
most of my life looking for you.
Neo feels sick.
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Do you still want to meet?
NEO
... Yes.
MORPHEUS (V.O.)
Go to the Adams Street bridge.
CLICK. He closes his eyes, unsure of what he has done.
22 EXT. CITY STREET - NIGHT 22
It is just beyond the middle of the night; that time when
it seems there are no rules and everything feels unsafe.
Neo's boots scrape against the concrete. Every pair of
eyes he passes seems to follow him. Rain pours from a
black sky.
As he reaches the bridge, headlights creep in behind him.
He turns just as the car slides quickly to a stop beside
him. The back door opens.
TRINITY
Get in.
THE MATRIX - Rev. 3/9/98 24.
23 INT. CAR 23
A large man named APOC is driving. Beside him is a
beautiful androgyne called SWITCH, aiming a large gun at
Neo. WINDOW WIPERS BEAT HEAVILY against the windshield.
NEO
What the hell is this?!
TRINITY
It's necessary, Neo. For our
protection.
NEO
From what?
TRINITY
From you.
She lifts a strange steel and glass device that looks
like a cross between a rib separator, speculum and air
compressor.
SWITCH
Take off your shirt.
He looks at the strange device and the gun still trained
on him.
NEO
What? Why?
SWITCH
Stop the car.
Apoc does.
SWITCH
Listen to me, coppertop! We don't
have time for 'twenty questions.'
Right now there is only one rule.
Our way or the highway.
NEO
Fine.
Neo opens the door.
TRINITY
Neo, please, you have to trust me.
NEO
Why?
(CONTINUED)
THE MATRIX - Rev. 3/9/98 25.
23 CONTINUED: 23
TRINITY
Because you've been down there,
Neo. You already know that road.
You know exactly where it ends.
Neo stares out into the sheets of rain railing against
the dark street beyond the open door.
TRINITY
And I know that's not where you
want to be.
He closes the door.
A23 EXT. DARK STREET A23
A moment later the green street lights curve over the
car's tinted windshield as it rushes through the wet
underworld.
24 INT. CAR 24
Neo grudgingly strips off his T-shirt.
TRINITY
Lie back.
Trinity aims the device at Neo, its glass snout forming a
seal over his navel. Switch snaps a cable into the front
seat cigarette lighter.
NEO
What is this thing?
TRINITY
We think you're bugged. Try to
relax.
She turns a dial and the machine bears down on Neo's
midsection, the cylinder sucking hard at his stomach.
Neo screams, squinting in pain as Trinity watches the
needle on a pressure gauge climb steadily.
TRINITY
Come on, come on...
On a small monitor that projects an ultrasound-like
image, we see Neo's insides begin to slither and churn.
He gasps as something wiggles beneath his skin inside his
stomach.
(CONTINUED)
THE MATRIX - Rev. 3/9/98 26.
24 CONTINUED: 24
SWITCH
It's on the move.
TRINITY
Shit.
SWITCH
You're gonna lose it.
TRINITY
No I'm not. Clear.
The foreboding word hangs in Neo's ear for a moment when
Trinity squeezes a trigger. Electric current hammers
into Neo and rigid convulsions take hold of him beneath
the flickering car lamp until --
Something finally rockets wetly out of Neo's stomach
through the extractor's coils.
NEO
Jesus Christ! It's real?!
That thing is real?!
Trinity lifts a glass cage at the end of the tubing.
Inside, the small fluke-like bug flips and squirms, its
tendrils flapping against the clear walls.
She unrolls the window and dumps it out.
25 EXT. CAR 25
It hits the pavement with a metallic tink, reverted back
into a common wire tap, as the car disappears into the
rainy night.
26 EXT. HOTEL LAFAYETTE 26
The car stops in a deserted alley behind a forgotten
hotel.
27 INT. HOTEL LAFAYETTE 27
It is a place of putrefying elegance, a rotting host of
urban maggotry.
Trinity leads Neo from the stairwell down the hall of the
thirteenth floor. They stop outside room 1313.
TRINITY
This is it.
(CONTINUED)
THE MATRIX - Rev. 3/9/98 27.
27 CONTINUED: 27
Neo can hear his own heart pounding.
TRINITY
Let me give one piece of advice.
Be honest. He knows more than you
can possibly imagine.
28 INT. ROOM 1313 28
Across the room, a DARK FIGURE stares out the tall
windows veiled with decaying lace. He turns and his
smile lights up the room. A dull ROAR of THUNDER shakes
the old building.
MORPHEUS
At last.
He wears a long black coat and his eyes are invisible
behind circular mirrored glasses. He strides to Neo and
they shake hands.
MORPHEUS
Welcome, Neo. As you no doubt
have guessed, I am Morpheus.
NEO
It's an honor.
MORPHEUS
No, the honor is mine. Please.
Come. Sit.
He nods to Trinity and she exits through a door to an
adjacent room. They sit across from one another in
cracked, burgundy-leather chairs.
MORPHEUS
I imagine, right now, you must be
feeling a bit like Alice, tumbling
down the rabbit hole?
NEO
You could say that.
MORPHEUS
I can see it in your eyes. You
have the look of a man who accepts
what he sees because he is
expecting to wake up.
A smile, razor-thin, curls the corner of his lips.
(CONTINUED)
28.
28 CONTINUED: 28
MORPHEUS
Ironically, this is not far from
the truth. But I'm getting ahead
of myself. Can you tell me, Neo,
why are you here?
NEO
You're Morpheus. You're a legend.
Most hackers would die to meet
you.
MORPHEUS
Yes. Thank you. But I think we
both know there's more to it than
that. Do you believe in fate,
Neo?
NEO
No.
MORPHEUS
Why not?
NEO
Because I don't like the idea that
I'm not in control of my life.
MORPHEUS
I know exactly what you mean.
Again, that smile that could cut glass.
MORPHEUS
Let me tell you why you are here.
You have come because you know
something. What you know you
can't explain but you feel it.
You've felt it your whole life,
felt that something is wrong with
the world. You don't know what,
but it's there like a splinter in
your mind, driving you mad. It is
this feeling that brought you to
me. Do you know what I'm talking
about?
NEO
The Matrix?
MORPHEUS
Do you want to know what it is?
Neo swallows hard and nods.
(CONTINUED)
29.
28 CONTINUED: (2) 28
MORPHEUS
The Matrix is everywhere, it's all
around us, here even in this room.
You can see it out your window or
on your television. You feel it
when you go to work, or go to
church or pay your taxes. It is
the world that has been pulled
over your eyes to blind you from
the truth.
NEO
What truth?
MORPHEUS
That you are a slave, Neo. Like
everyone else, you were born into
bondage, kept inside a prison that
you cannot smell, taste, or touch.
A prison for your mind.
The LEATHER CREAKS as he leans back.
MORPHEUS
Unfortunately, no one can be told
what the Matrix is. You have to
see it for yourself.
Morpheus opens his hands. In the right is a red pill.
In the left, a blue pill.
MORPHEUS
This is your last chance. After
this, there is no going back. You
take the blue pill and the story
ends. You wake in your bed and
you believe whatever you want to
believe.
The pills in his open hands are reflected in the glasses.
MORPHEUS
You take the red pill and you stay
in Wonderland and I show you how
deep the rabbit-hole goes.
Neo feels the smooth skin of the capsules, the moisture
growing in his palms.
MORPHEUS
Remember that all I am offering is
the truth. Nothing more.
(CONTINUED)
THE MATRIX - Rev. 3/9/98 30.
28 CONTINUED: (3) 28
Neo opens his mouth and swallows the red pill. The
Cheshire smile returns.
MORPHEUS
Follow me.
29 INT. OTHER ROOM 29
He leads Neo into the other room, which is cramped with
high-tech equipment, glowing ash-blue and electric green
from the racks of monitors. Trinity, Apoc, Switch and
Cypher look up as they enter.
MORPHEUS
Apoc, are we on-line?
APOC
Almost.
He and Trinity are working quickly, hardwiring a complex
system of monitors, modules and drives.
MORPHEUS
Neo, time is always against us.
Will you take a seat there?
Neo sits in a chair in the center of the room and Trinity
begins gently fixing white electrode disks to him. Near
the chair is an old oval dressing mirror that is cracked.
He whispers to Trinity:
NEO
You did all this?
She nods, placing a set of headphones over his ears.
They are wired to an old hotel phone.
MORPHEUS
The pill you took is part of a
trace program. It's designed to
disrupt your input/output carrier
signal so we can pinpoint your
location.
NEO
What does that mean?
CYPHER
It means buckle up, Dorothy,
'cause Kansas is going bye-bye.
(CONTINUED)
THE MATRIX - Rev. 3/9/98 31.
29 CONTINUED: 29
Distantly, through the ear phones, he hears Apoc POUNDING
on a KEYBOARD. Sweat beads his face. His eyes blink and
twitch when he notices the mirror.
Wide-eyed, he stares as it begins to heal itself, a
webwork of cracks that slowly run together as though the
mirror were becoming liquid.
NEO
Did you...?
Cypher works with Apoc, checking reams of phosphorescent
data. Trinity monitors Neo's electric vital signs. Neo
reaches out to touch the mirror and his fingers disappear
beneath the rippling surface.
Quickly, he tries to pull his fingers out but the mirror
stretches in long rubbery strands like mirrored taffy
stuck to his fingertips.
MORPHEUS
Have you ever had a dream, Neo,
that you were so sure was real?
A flash of lightning flickers white hot against Neo.
NEO
This can't be...
MORPHEUS
Be what? Be real?
The strands thin like rubber cement as he pulls away,
until the fragile wisps of mirror thread break.
MORPHEUS
What if you were unable to wake
from that dream, Neo? How would
you know the difference between
the dreamworld and the real world?
Neo looks at his hand; fingers distended into mirrored
icicles that begin to melt rapidly, dripping, running
like wax down his fingers, spreading across his palm
where he sees his face reflected.
NEO
Uh-oh...
TRINITY
It's going into replication.
MORPHEUS
Apoc?
(CONTINUED)
THE MATRIX - Rev. 3/9/98 32.
29 CONTINUED: (2) 29
APOC
Still nothing.
Morpheus takes out a cellular phone and dials a number.
MORPHEUS
Tank, we're going to need the
signal soon.
The mirror gel seems to come to life, racing, crawling up
his arms like hundreds of insects.
The mirror creeps up his neck as Neo begins to panic,
tipping his head as though he were sinking into the
mirror, trying to keep his mouth up.
NEO
It's cold.
TRINITY
I got fibrillation!
MORPHEUS
Shit! Apoc?
Streams of mercury run from Neo's nose.
APOC
Targeting... almost there.
An ALARM on Trinity's monitor ERUPTS.
TRINITY
He's going into arrest!
APOC
Lock! I got him!
MORPHEUS
Now, Tank, now!
His eyes tear with mirror, rolling up and closing as a
HIGH-PITCHED ELECTRIC SCREAM erupts in the HEADPHONES.
It is a piercing shriek like a computer calling to
another computer --
Neo's body arches in agony and we are PULLED like we were
pulled INTO the holes of the phone, sucked into his scream
and swallowed by darkness.
30 INT. POWER PLANT - CLOSE ON MAN'S BODY 30
floating in a magenta amnion.
(CONTINUED)
THE MATRIX - Rev. 3/9/98 33.
30 CONTINUED: 30
His body spasms, fighting against the thick gelatin.
Metal tubes, surreal versions of hospital tubes, obscure
his face. Other lines like IVs are connected to limbs
and cover his genitals.
He is struggling desperately now. Air bubbles into the
Jell-O but does not break the surface. Pressing up, the
surface distends, stretching like a red rubber cocoon.
Unable to breathe, he fights wildly to stand, clawing at
the thinning elastic shroud, until it ruptures, a hole
widening around his mouth as he sucks for air. Tearing
himself free, he emerges from the cell.
It is Neo.
He is bald and naked, his body slick with gelatin.
Dizzy, nauseous, he waits for his vision to focus.
He is standing in an oval capsule of clear alloy filled
with magenta gelatin, the surface of which has solidified
like curdled milk. The IVs in his arms are plugged into
outlets that appear to be grafted to his flesh.
He feels the weight of another cable and reaches to the
back of his head where he finds an enormous coaxial
plugged and locked into the base of his skull. He tries
to pull it out but it would be easier to pull off a
finger.
To either side he sees other tube-shaped pods filled with
magenta gelatin; beneath the wax-like surface, pale and
motionless, he sees other human beings.
Fanning out in a circle, there are more. All connected
to a center core, each capsule like a red, dimly-glowing
petal attached to a black metal stem.
Above him, level after level, the stem rises seemingly
forever. He moves to the foot of the capsule and looks
out. The image assaults his mind.
Towers of glowing petals spiral up to incomprehensible
heights, disappearing down into a dim murk like an
underwater abyss.
His sight is blurred and warped, exaggerating the
intensity of the vision. The sound of the plant is like
the sound of the ocean heard from inside the belly of
Leviathan.
(CONTINUED)
34.
30 CONTINUED: (2) 30
From above, a machine drops directly in front of Neo. He
swallows his scream as it seems to stare at him. It is
almost insect-like in its design; beautiful housings of
alloyed metal covering organic-like systems of hard and
soft polymers.
The machine seizes hold of Neo, paralyzing him as the
cable lock at the back of his neck spins and opens.
The cable disengages itself. A long, clear plastic
needle and cerebrum-chip slides from the anterior of
Neo's skull with an ooze of blood and spinal fluid. The
other connective hoses snap free and snake away as the
machine lets Neo go.
Suddenly, the back of the unit opens and a tremendous
vacuum, like an airplane door opening, sucks the gelatin
and then Neo into a black hole.
31 INT. WASTE LINE 31
The pipe is a waste disposal system and Neo falls,
sliding with the clot of gelatin.
Banking through pipe spirals and elbows, flushing up
through grease traps clogged with oily clumps of
cellulite.
32 INT. SEWER MAIN 32
Neo begins to drown when he is suddenly snatched from the
flow of waste.
The metallic cable then lifts, pulling him up into the
belly of the futuristic flying machine hovering inside
the sewer main.
33 INT. HOVERCRAFT 33
The metal harness opens and drops the half-conscious Neo
onto the floor. Human hands and arms help him up as he
finds himself looking straight at Morpheus.
He smiles.
MORPHEUS
Welcome to the real world, Neo.
Neo passes out.
FADE TO BLACK.
THE MATRIX - Rev. 3/9/98 35.
FADE IN:
34 INT. HOVERCRAFT 34
We have no sense of time. We hear voices whispering.
MORPHEUS (O.S.)
We've done it, Trinity. We found
him.
TRINITY (O.S.)
I hope you're right.
MORPHEUS (O.S.)
I don't have to hope it. I know
it.
Neo's eyes flutter open. We see Morpheus' face above us,
angelic in the fluorescent glow of a light stick.
NEO (O.S.)
... am I dead?
MORPHEUS
Far from it.
FADE TO BLACK.

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