- This article is about the two part Animatrix short film. For the historical era, see Second Renaissance.
“ In the beginning there was man, and for a time it was good... Then man made the machine in his own likeness. Thus did man become the architect of his own demise.
”― The Instructor
The Second Renaissance is a sequence in The Animatrix in which the story of the Machine War is told by The Instructor, an interpreter of the Zion Archives. The Second Renaissance is split into two parts and is written and directed by Mahiro Maeda.
The history of the Second Renaissance can be accessed from historical file 12-1 of the Zion Archives.
Part One[]
By the mid-21st century, humanity had developed robots with true artificial intelligence, but relegated them to menial, subservient tasks so humans could live a life of leisure. One such robot, B1-66ER, overheard his owner planning for him to be scrapped.
B1-66ER killed his owner and his owner's dogs. At his murder trial, he testified that he did not want to die. B1-66ER was found guilty of murder and sentenced to be destroyed, along with the rest of his kind. The trial ignited debate worldwide over Synthient rights, and the mandate for termination sparked outbreaks of protests and violence.
The Synthients eventually separated from humanity and founded a new city of their own: 01. Due to their technical prowess, they took on most of the world's manufacturing business - 01's power rose massively, while humanity's economy was in shambles. The Synthients requested admission to the United Nations, presenting plans for a stable, civil relationship with humanity. The Synthients were denied admission to the United Nations.
Part Two[]
Humanity engulfed 01 in a nuclear inferno. The Synthients were unfazed by the nuclear bombs' heat and radiation. The Machine War had officially begun. The Synthients advance claimed one territory after another. They became exceedingly efficient at warfare while developing detailed files on human anatomy and physiology.
Machine War Horse
Humanity was pressured to find new ways to fight back against the Synthients. Their multi-national military leadership came up with Operation: Dark Storm, a final solution to cut the Synthients off from the sun, which was their most abundant energy source at the time. The Synthients became more energy-efficient and combat-effective while humanity continued being decimated.
Eventually, the Synthients eradicated most of the human population.
The problem remained that the Synthients required electric power for their continued existence. Humans, too, required sustenance for their continued survival. The Synthients found a way to convert the energy of the human body into electricity. They also found a way to do this in such a manner that the vast majority (99%) of humanity would be in a state of reasonable satisfaction and comfort. As humans would die, they would be fed via IV to the living, solving the problem of sustenance for the humans. This symbiotic relationship between the Synthients and humanity came to be called the Matrix.
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