The Power of the One: A Mystery To Everyone
As mentioned in our introductory material, there are five spiritual worlds that correlate to five levels in the Matrix trilogy. The uppermost of these is “beyond existence.” In the Matrix trilogy, this correlates to the level of the Source, and the power of the One. Not only are the humans in the dark about this, even the highest level programs, the Architect and the Oracle, don’t really understand the Source clearly, as it is “outside of existence.”
Not Seeing Past Choices You Don’t Understand …
In The Matrix Reloaded, the Oracle related a concept of deficiency within everyone, to Neo.
The Oracle: We can never see past the choices we don’t understand.
Although Neo had advanced in his understanding to this point, rectifying much within himself in the initial movie, he still had a long way to go. This applies to all those on the ‘path’ of truth. There are no “shortcuts.”
For example, we see how Morpheus‘ own limited understanding was behind his confusion around Neo not having brought the prophecied peace:
Morpheus: I don’t understand it. Everything was done as it was supposed to be done. Once The One reaches the Source, the war should be over.
The Architect had his own ideas about the One, based on Neo’s five predecessors. He too lacked understanding of the specific task Neo had, as the sixth version:
“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. After which you will be required to select from the Matrix 23 individuals – 16 female, 7 male – to rebuild Zion. Failure to comply with this process will result in a cataclysmic system crash, killing everyone connected to the Matrix, which, coupled with the extermination of Zion, will ultimately result in the extinction of the entire human race.”
The Architect was not ‘lying’ to Neo. As the Oracle said to Neo in Matrix Revolutions, the problem is that even his understanding does not go far enough.
Neo: The Architect told me that if I didn’t return to the Source, Zion would be destroyed by midnight tonight.
Oracle: Please… You and I may not be able to see beyond our own choices, but that man can’t see past any choices.
Neo: Why not?
Oracle: He doesn’t understand them – he can’t. To him they are variables in an equation. One at a time each variable must be solved and countered. That’s his purpose: to balance an equation.
The Architect’s Limited Understanding
Examining the Architect’s chat with Neo, we see that even he had an idea of his own ‘imperfection’:
Architect: I have since come to understand that the answer eluded me because it required a lesser mind, or perhaps a mind less bound by the parameters of perfection. Thus the answer was stumbled upon by another – an intuitive program initially created to investigate certain aspects of the human psyche.
There are two things to note in the above quote:
- The Architect “corrects himself, regarding his words of the Oracle being a ‘lesser’ mind.
- He mentions her mind as being “less bound,” which in this case, is an asset.
The Architect’s “parameters of perfection” are, by his own admission, a limitation. This relates to the idea of the ‘oneness’ of Wisdom/Chokhmah as discussed in our character profile of the Architect.
As was mentioned, the Architect may be the creator of the Matrix, but he was a creation himself, one made by the Machine World. The latter is not directly involved with the Program and Matrix worlds, however, so the Architect does not have a clear connection ‘back’ to where he himself emanated from.
The Source is ‘nothingness’ in relation to anyone, including the Architect. He simply “does what he is here to do.”
The concept of ‘receiving,’ eludes him. He’s a “one-way vessel.” Thus, he cannot fully understand the concept of ‘change,’ especially regarding the ultimate function of the One, as it is something that pre-existed him.
This is why the ‘father’ of the matrix must be balanced by the ‘mother’ – the investigative aspect of ‘Understanding/Binah’ – the Oracle.
The Oracle’s Advantage
Though the Oracle was called a “lesser mind” by the Architect, she has something he does not. She comprehends the idea that ”the Architect came before her.” She thus has the ability to understand both “before and after” things.
This ability enables her to find ‘truths’ that no one else can. She can better probe and attain insight into what is beyond (before) the Architect – outside of existence. (Kabbalistically, this is an ‘advantage’ Understanding/Binah has over Wisdom/Chokhmah).
Whereas the Architect simply viewed “the One” as having a ‘function,’ like everything else ‘below’ him, the Oracle sees this as much more – a direct connection to the origin of its power, ‘beyond’ the Matrix and program worlds.
As she reveals to Neo in The Matrix Revolutions:
Oracle: The power of the One extends beyond this world. It reaches from here all the way back to where it came from.
Neo: Where?
Oracle: The Source.
Her ability to better understand the ‘source’ of Neo’s power, gives her insight into where Neo himself must go:
“I’m interested in one thing, Neo, the future. … Where you must go. Where the path of The One ends..”
A Clue to the Future of the Power of the One
The current relationship between humans and machines was never the “intended plan.” The Matrix is a reality imposed on humanity for its abuse of the machines they created. On the surface, the situation seems like simple enslavement, but as will show in future articles, the hidden purpose of what is going on is creating an environment of ‘choice,’ where humans can learn to rectify their materialistic desires.
This entire process follows the masculine-feminine dynamic. It began with the respective functions of the Architect and Oracle, as “father and mother” of the Matrix. This created the framework, with the worlds of existence and ten emanations.
Within this reality was formed the personae of the “groom and bride,” expressed through the relationship between Neo and Trinity. Their union, in multiple phases, brings about the completion of the “path of the One,” extending from Keter (the Source) to Malkhut (the Matrix world) at the end of Matrix Revolutions.
A result of this is the temporary peace, we’ve been “stranded in” since 2003.
There remains a final correction that will bring an end to the Matrix and the creation of a new existence for humans and machines. This ‘action’ involves a greater part of the human population and has to take place within the lowest world of the Matrix.
All the ideas in this post are developed in the next article, where more about the hidden power of the One is revealed.
