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 Forum index » Archive » Archive: MetaCortechs » MetaCortechs: Puzzles
[SPEC] Figuring out the story line
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trip
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 		[SPEC] Figuring out the story line
Okay, I thought it would be helpful to look briefly at the whole storyline that is developing here. Maybe it will help us figure out the purpose behind things, rather than simply hacking a single file or something like that.

From what I understand, there are some important events going on here:

1. Metacortechs is releasing its new VR software. This is important because it is the first e-mail that went out, which got this whole thing started. Most people who are following this game seem to believe that this VR software is the first release of the code that will eventually become the actual Matrix itself.

2. Employee of the month at Metacortechs, Beth McConnell, appears to be the main character (so far) of the storyline, as she has a whole site devoted to her. It seems obvious that she is following the same path as Neo in M1 - endlessly searching, having that feeling that things are not right in the world. One of her hobbies is paranormal activity, and many of the activities are clearly Matrix glitches.

However, these two things do not seem to mesh. In this storyline, Beth must already be inside the Matrix, in order to be tracking Matrix glitches. However, if the VR software that Metacortechs is working on now is supposedly the first version of the Matrix, that means that on this timeline Beth cannot yet be in the Matrix itself. Has anyone found logic that could explain this? It seems to me more evident that Beth is already in the Matrix, the green orbs, flying cats, and hikers trapped in a square grid are too obvious.

If Metacortechs' VR game is NOT the Matrix, what is its purpose?

3. There appears to be a hacker group operating out of paintover.net that are trying to meet up in a safe place for some purpose. We can be pretty sure that these hackers are characters in the game, rather than "oafs" on the outside, trying to figure the game out. Ceasar appears to be the leader, giving out clues and posting comments on paintover.net. The hackers appear to have taken over some directories on theaquapolis.net for their meeting.

According to some, Caesar and Texel, another hacker, entered the #Matrix ICQ chat and made a comment to one of us outsiders, "Cloak, stay off of my server." Is he referring to paintover.net or theaquapolis.com as his server?

What is the purpose of this hacker meeting and when will it occur? Most importantly, where?

Recently, the Metacortechs web site complained that they were being hacked. Who is doing the hacking? This group of character hackers, or us? (I'm sure many of us outsiders were trying to hack in, leaving messages on answering machines asking for passwords, etc.)

4. The Aquapolis is an underwater hotel that Metacortechs will be working on (they have been contracted to provide systems and support). So far, this site has provided little information, except the hacker meeting place. Does it have another purpose in the story line? It's relationship to Metacortechs hints at a slightly bigger role.

5. Underscorehosting.com is the fake web hosting company that ties all these sites together. I believe the main purpose of the Underscorehosting.com site is just to let us know which sites are involved in the game and which are not. If a site has the USH logo, it is part of the game.

6. Cascadevortex.org appears to be a central glitch in the Matrix. Not sure what role this plays.

I'd be interested to hear the rest of your thoughts on this. Did I miss anything?

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 2:35 pm
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BrianEnigma
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Joined: 05 Oct 2003
Posts: 1199
Location: Pacific Northwest

 		Re: Figuring out the story line
trip wrote:
If Metacortechs' VR game is NOT the Matrix, what is its purpose?


What is the purpose of the Playstation 2 or XBox? Wink Actually, if we are going to draw parallels between Metacortex in Redland, WA and a certain monopolistic company in Redmond, WA--it would make sense for them to release a video game system. It may simply be there to strengthen the parallel.

trip wrote:
According to some, Caesar and Texel, another hacker, entered the #Matrix ICQ chat and made a comment to one of us outsiders, "Cloak, stay off of my server." Is he referring to paintover.net or theaquapolis.com as his server?

That was actually in IRC and was in reference to a number of people using the login information for the theaquapolis.com FTP at the metacortex.com FTP (which actually worked and allowed people to get where they probably were not supposed to be). Caesar also dropped us a clue as to the new location of the FTP files (now a protected web directory--FTP has been shut off).
#matrix wrote:
<Caesar> Cloak, stay the hell of my server.
<Caesar> and since you like to snoop so much, maybe you can figure out what to do with this..
<Caesar> http://www.theaquapolis.com/urchin/carelessly.graffle
<Caesar> oh.. and statik..
<Caesar> nice work.
<Caesar> later.
* Quits: Caesar (Quit: CGI:IRC)
* texel smiles.
<texel> Toodles.
* texel takes one last long look around. Heh.
* Quits: texel (Quit: CGI:IRC 0.5.2)


trip wrote:
5. Underscorehosting.com is the fake web hosting company that ties all these sites together. I believe the main purpose of the Underscorehosting.com site is just to let us know which sites are involved in the game and which are not. If a site has the USH logo, it is part of the game.

It could be there to provide a verifiable trail from any given site to the game (i.e. the UH logo image). It might also have an as-yet-undiscovered purpose. For instance, it is entirely possible that since Underscore hosts the other sites, an admin login at Underscore will grant access to something else.

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 2:51 pm
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buckwheaton
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Joined: 06 Oct 2003
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 		Re: Figuring out the story line
trip wrote:
However, these two things do not seem to mesh. In this storyline, Beth must already be inside the Matrix, in order to be tracking Matrix glitches. However, if the VR software that Metacortechs is working on now is supposedly the first version of the Matrix, that means that on this timeline Beth cannot yet be in the Matrix itself. Has anyone found logic that could explain this? It seems to me more evident that Beth is already in the Matrix, the green orbs, flying cats, and hikers trapped in a square grid are too obvious.

If Metacortechs' VR game is NOT the Matrix, what is its purpose?


the way i line this up in my head is (keeping the architecht's speach at the end of reloaded in mind) thinking of the matrix software as a recursive algorithm. each new iteration/version of the matrix is created using the humans inside the previous one to create it directly through programming and/or through the re-absorption of the "remainder" (a.k.a. the one [architecht: "The function of the One is now to return to the source, allowing a temporary dissemination of the code you carry, reinserting the prime program"]).

so either the setting of time is crucial to the fuction of the matrix as a recursive algorithm or, and I think I like this take a little more:

the machines/the architecht see(s) the creation of the VR game (which would ultimately become the matrix) as the culmination of the human race's acheivements. they get a perverse mechanical pleasure from watching this moment of history, which would ultimately lead to the downfal of humanity, play out again and again, and see it as a natural climax of each iteration of the matrix, after which everything is torn down, reloaded taking the new data gathered in the form of THE ONE into account, and BAM! we're back in 1991 listening to Nirvana and De La Soul until we re-invent the matrix.

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 2:58 pm
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SidMatrix
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Joined: 07 Oct 2003
Posts: 9
Location: Canada

 		I agree with Buck, about the next iteration of the Matrix and then a game wide "Reboot", if you will so as to begin the next iteration.
BUT have you guys thought about that Brave New World quote ...
Maybe the machines aren't trying to capture and control us, maybe they're saving us from some global extinction by keeping us inside the Matrix??
Again just some ramblings from my Frontal-Cortex ... bad joke, I know! Shocked

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 3:08 pm
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FrankenPaula
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 		Re: Figuring out the story line
BriEnigma wrote:

That was actually in IRC and was in reference to a number of people using the login information for the theaquapolis.com FTP at the metacortex.com FTP (which actually worked and allowed people to get where they probably were not supposed to be). Caesar also dropped us a clue as to the new location of the FTP files (now a protected web directory--FTP has been shut off).
#matrix wrote:
<Caesar> Cloak, stay the hell of my server.
<Caesar> and since you like to snoop so much, maybe you can figure out what to do with this..
<Caesar> http://www.theaquapolis.com/urchin/carelessly.graffle
<Caesar> oh.. and statik..
<Caesar> nice work.
<Caesar> later.
* Quits: Caesar (Quit: CGI:IRC)
* texel smiles.
<texel> Toodles.
* texel takes one last long look around. Heh.
* Quits: texel (Quit: CGI:IRC 0.5.2)




I guess I missed this being mentioned earlier. How do we know that was the real texel and caesar and not just some players pulling our legs?

If it really was them, am I the only one that feels uncomfortable with characters visiting either the forums or chat rooms? I guess I'm still pretty sensitive about this issue from playing Search4E. In that game we had no real separation between in-game and out-of-game and characters would sometimes refer to things we'd say in forums, or even visit forums. That lack of separation meant that we, the players, had no really safe place to discuss the game as a game. I have no problems with the puppet masters following chat and forums, heck, I expect them to. But those places should be off-limits to characters.

Paula

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 3:16 pm
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zebra
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Joined: 07 Oct 2003
Posts: 11

 		Re: Figuring out the story line
FrankenPaula wrote:
I guess I missed this being mentioned earlier. How do we know that was the real texel and caesar and not just some players pulling our legs?

If it really was them, am I the only one that feels uncomfortable with characters visiting either the forums or chat rooms? I guess I'm still pretty sensitive about this issue from playing Search4E. In that game we had no real separation between in-game and out-of-game and characters would sometimes refer to things we'd say in forums, or even visit forums. That lack of separation meant that we, the players, had no really safe place to discuss the game as a game. I have no problems with the puppet masters following chat and forums, heck, I expect them to. But those places should be off-limits to characters.

Paula


I'm thinking this was probably a one time deal because of unexpected circumstances. Someone got somewhere on the FTP they weren't supposed to so they have to shut off that aspect of the game. In order to get the info out that it was moved to some place else, they needed to interact, giving a tip where to look to continue the game.

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 3:21 pm
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BoJangles
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Joined: 14 Mar 2003
Posts: 67
Location: B.C. Canada

 		I agree with Paula. And these characters should not know to join a room called the matrix. If they are in the game then they do not know what the matrix is. Also characters should find their own place to set up chat, ie YIM, AIM, other chat servers/rooms that can be considered in the game.

Mel
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 3:26 pm
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Guest
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 		I like the "cycle" theory. That we're forever trapped in the Matrix, reliving our invention of the Matrix over and over. That definitely, definitely makes sense.

A few other things I forgot:

1. Possibly the most important thing - The disappearance of James Avery, former CEO of Metacortechs. He has apparently been taken by the Matrix or something. This could be a big deal in the story line.

2. I didn't mention paranormaljournal.org... It is kind of lumped together with Beth's journal in my mind. All part of the "journey" thing for her.

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 3:35 pm
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Allie
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 		I think the important thing to remember is that "The Matrix" as Neo knew it, etc, was set way back in time. Thus, with Neo working at Metacortex during the beginning of the first movie, we can safely assume that they were developing the VR at the time, and so Beth would also have been at the company the same time as Neo. And so we can conclude that the Matrix did exist, and at this point in time Beth is still plugged in and Neo has recently been unplugged.

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 3:36 pm
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Chinghis
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Joined: 02 Oct 2003
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Location: Somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert

 		Yeah, I assume that people who disappear are people who've been unplugged. Hm. Was thinking that the "disheveled" picture at heismissing.info was Avery after he was unplugged, but everyone who plugs back into the Matrix looks pretty smooth....

The basic question is probably - is this for the next movie (Matrix: Revolutions), or for the game (The Matrix Online)? Or for neither at all? I'm going to assume something official... my thinking is that it's for the TMO -
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
which is set after Matrix: Revolutions, indicating that the Matrix continues to exist after the next movie.


In which case, our job is to watch people figure out that they're in the Matrix, and perhaps help them unplug. Or, unplug ourselves - getting us into the game? Or at least the Beta?
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 3:54 pm
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 		You know, I think this game with the Matrix is different in terms of the puppetmasters interacting with outside players. In effect, we are all inside the Matrix now, according to the game, so we are all effecting the outcome of the game.

That's why I mentioned the Metacortechs site and how they complain about people (us) trying to phone employees and asking for passwords and whatnot. WE did that, and WE influenced the game, and WE are part of the storyline.

I'm sure that whatever we do, they will change the game accordingly and make it part of the storyline, except in the most glaring cases. They are learning along with us, and will change and adapt to what we do.

Also, there is some mention that in the IRC chat with Ceasar he posts a timestamp which could be a clue, and the garaffle link, which is obviously a clue. He is playing a hacker character in the game, and hackers would of course know about IRC, and everything else. In fact, there's nothing wrong with the hackers knowing about the Matrix. Neo was searching for the Matrix, remember? And in our timeline, Neo is already gone.

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 3:56 pm
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Chinghis
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Quote:
You know, I think this game with the Matrix is different in terms of the puppetmasters interacting with outside players. In effect, we are all inside the Matrix now, according to the game, so we are all effecting the outcome of the game.


Great, I already have trouble with reality.

*head explodes*
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 4:14 pm
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 		Re: Figuring out the story line
buckwheaton wrote:
trip wrote:
However, these two things do not seem to mesh. In this storyline, Beth must already be inside the Matrix, in order to be tracking Matrix glitches. However, if the VR software that Metacortechs is working on now is supposedly the first version of the Matrix, that means that on this timeline Beth cannot yet be in the Matrix itself. Has anyone found logic that could explain this? It seems to me more evident that Beth is already in the Matrix, the green orbs, flying cats, and hikers trapped in a square grid are too obvious.

If Metacortechs' VR game is NOT the Matrix, what is its purpose?


the way i line this up in my head is (keeping the architecht's speach at the end of reloaded in mind) thinking of the matrix software as a recursive algorithm. each new iteration/version of the matrix is created using the humans inside the previous one to create it directly through programming and/or through the re-absorption of the "remainder" (a.k.a. the one [architecht: "The function of the One is now to return to the source, allowing a temporary dissemination of the code you carry, reinserting the prime program"]).

so either the setting of time is crucial to the fuction of the matrix as a recursive algorithm or, and I think I like this take a little more:

the machines/the architecht see(s) the creation of the VR game (which would ultimately become the matrix) as the culmination of the human race's acheivements. they get a perverse mechanical pleasure from watching this moment of history, which would ultimately lead to the downfal of humanity, play out again and again, and see it as a natural climax of each iteration of the matrix, after which everything is torn down, reloaded taking the new data gathered in the form of THE ONE into account, and BAM! we're back in 1991 listening to Nirvana and De La Soul until we re-invent the matrix.


or like the Architect said... "the Matrix is older than you know..." all of our recorded human history could have taken place inside the matrix. Putting it at least over 600,000 years old...

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 4:24 pm
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Guest
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 		This is actually something I was always confused about.

If the purpose of the Matrix isn't to use humans as batteries, what is the purpose? We learn in Reloaded that the purpose of the One is to reinsert code into the Matrix to make it better. Then they kill off all the humans in Zion and repopulate the planet from just a few (right?).

So, what is the actual point of the Matrix itself then? If the machines don't need us for batteries, why do they keep us around at all? Does Reloaded hint at the explaination, or is that what we're waiting to find out about in Revolutions?

Thanks in advance!

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 6:21 pm
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buckwheaton
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Joined: 06 Oct 2003
Posts: 12
Anonymous wrote:
This is actually something I was always confused about.

If the purpose of the Matrix isn't to use humans as batteries, what is the purpose? We learn in Reloaded that the purpose of the One is to reinsert code into the Matrix to make it better. Then they kill off all the humans in Zion and repopulate the planet from just a few (right?).

So, what is the actual point of the Matrix itself then? If the machines don't need us for batteries, why do they keep us around at all? Does Reloaded hint at the explaination, or is that what we're waiting to find out about in Revolutions?

Thanks in advance!


the machines need us for batteries, and they need the matrix to keep us satisfied to live life as batteries. they need the one to make the matrix work better, to be the encapsulation of all the problems that those who rejected the matrix had with it, so that they can then diagnose those problems and remove them in the next interation of the matrix, reducing the number of peoplebatteries who reject the artificial reality of the matrix.

they need to minimize the number of people who reject the matrix, because every time someone does, they disappear, and that gets attention from everyone else (heismissing.net, sheismissing.net), leading more people to question, realize, and reject.

they kill almost everyone in zion, then let the city repopulate itself with people plucked from the matrix.

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 7:45 pm
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