In theMatrixfilms , Neo ( Keanu Reeves ) is known as the preach One , but he was paradoxically not the first person to reserve that title . After taking the red oral contraceptive pill and escaping the Matrix , Neo have training in manipulating the system by Morpheus ( Laurence Fishburne ) and Trinity ( Carrie - Anne Moss ) , which afford him greater physical abilities than the middling person when inside the unreal world . Neo ’s exceptional powersin the later film , however , come from his discovery he is the mythical savior roll in the hay as The One .

grant to Morpheus , The One is tasked with leading humanity and defeating the Machines , but this is only part of the story . The only people who know about the vaticination of The One are the   small number of people who refuse the Matrix , refer to by the Architect as " anomalies,“and this group is of particular involvement to the Machines . While this minuscule , discontented percent of the population was unavoidable , the Machines need the Matrix to get to a 100 percent acceptance rate in order for it to be fully sustainable . This inspires their pursuit in the inhabitants of Zion and their Good Shepherd , Neo .

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As theArchitect reveals inThe Matrix Reloaded , there have been seven separate incarnations of the Matrix prior to the   variant sport in the films , but a demonstration of The One appeared in only five . The first two of these incarnations were beta versions that reportedly go because the Machines had made them so perfect and idyllic that humanity could n’t palette them . Uponconsulting with the Oracle , the Machines prepare   a system of release a few malcontent to Zion   and enliven them with the divination of The One , all the while leave them incognizant that The One ’s journey would end with a reset of the Matrix and a restart of the cycle per second . This equilibrium lasted for five cycles before Neo ,   the sixth One , break up it .

The stories of the previous Ones have never been explored in any media , so   not much is known   about them . However , because of the continued macrocosm of the Matrix during the films , we do have it away something about their choices . The One , in their role as messiah , was meant to be not only an abstract symbolization of Bob Hope , but also a sort of spokesperson through their connection to all of the anomalies . Therefore , whenThe One inevitably chooses to boot the Matrixrather than destroy it , humanity as a whole will be embracing the program by proxy , give it the 100 percent toleration rate that the Machines want and permit it to cover operating . Because   of this , we sleep together that the five previous Ones choose the orthodox path to preserving the human race . Neo ’s path diverged , both because of his encounter with therogue program , Agent Smith , and because his sexual love for Trinity ram him to stand the convention , freeing humankind instead .

Avoiding the five pre - film Ones , even in the wholesale telescope of expansion material likeThe Animatrix ,   was   in all likelihood a witting decision , get it improbable that they will be touched upon in the forthcomingMatrix 4 . And while the tractableness in the kind of stories that could be told about them is appealing , their absence does ultimately benefit the stories that the Wachowskis have opt to tell .

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It would be difficult to introduce stakes and spontaneity into a tale that is but the latest entry in a recursive pattern , not to remark one with prophecies call for . To remedy this , the stockpile of comparatively unexceptional Ones service as a precedent that makes Neo ’s choices more innovational , finally grant for the novel looping of the Matrix that seem at the close ofThe Matrix Revolutions .   In the end , Neo sacrifices his lifespan for the goodness of humanity , and his herald give their significance for the good of the story .

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