“ My friends, this is no distraction. It is a vote for life.
”― Geoffrey to his colleagues.[src]
Geoffrey was a member of the Resistance and one of the first humans freed from the Matrix. He became famous among the citizens of Zion for leading the project to cultivate and harvest wheat in the Real World.
Biography
As a member of the early Resistance movement, Geoffrey and his colleagues often made extremely dangerous and life-threatening trips to the surface in order to obtain supplies such as food and medicine. On one of these trips, Geoffrey came across disks that contained movies. One of these movies, which centered around farmers growing wheat, inspired him. He began to research wheat, including how and where to grow it.
He ultimately found a seed depository on the surface and hypothesized that the wheat could grow by feeding it ultraviolet (UV) light, the same kind of radiation that is used on humans in pods. While Geoffrey did encounter resistance to this plan, he was able to gather a small team of four to accompany him to the surface in search of the seed depository. This search to find wheat was the longest surface journey ever recorded.
The journey, which had taken a total of four weeks, lead Geoffrey and his team through scorched megacities and locations where animals (such as ducks, frogs, and fungi) still lived. Their journey brought them to a university town where the seed depository was located. After filling their bags with jars of preserved wheat seeds, they began the return journey.
During the return trip, however, a machine had spotted the party and killed Geoffrey's companions while he managed to evade detection. He was able to return to Zion with the wheat and, after many failed attempts to mill his own wheat, he was successful. He presented what little bread he had made to some of the citizens of Zion and the reception was very positive.
Eventually, Zion put its full weight behind Geoffrey's plan to start a wheat farm on the surface, finding a location on the surface away from Machine-occupied cities and close to still-functioning power lines. They set up UV lights and tents to protect them and their farm from the ceaseless rain. While the trips remained dangerous for Geoffrey and his fellow farmers (Geoffrey himself received many injuries on the surface), they successfully grew wheat on the surface and made the bread back at Zion, which supplemented the protein-rich porridge that the Resistance usually ate.
For years, the Machines had not realized that a small amount of power was being used on the wheat fields, but they eventually found out. The Machines and humans clashed in what was known as the Battle of the Wheat Fields. The Resistance put up a strong effort to defend themselves but Geoffrey and the rest of the farmers were ultimately killed by the Machines.
Legacy
One of the lasting legacy's of Geoffrey was that, once every six months, the citizens of Zion would make bread from their stockpile of wheat and honor Geoffrey with a feast, telling his tale for everyone to hear. Another impact that he had was that, on the surface, some wheat had managed to survive and grow in the harsh climate of the surface.
Appearances