Okay, so Morpheus was telling Neo about how when the Matrix was first built, there was a man "BORN INSIDE." He knew how to manipulate everything, and was the first to start freeing minds.
Who was this man? Was he ever talked about again in sequels? More importantly, can someone explain how you can be born inside the Matrix? What does that even mean?
Honestly, I don't think it's supposed to mean anything specific ... it's just mythology handed down over generations.
The second movie reveals that "The One" is actually a part of the Architect's master plan anyway, and always has been, so he'd naturally "reveal" only what was useful to further that plan.
But even before the sequel, it seems to me that the mythology was purposely vague, the way legends tend to be.
"Born inside the Matrix" for example could be metaphorical. Neo was created as Mr. Anderson, later choosing "Neo" as his hacker handle, exercising free will in doing so, and was thus "born" as Neo inside the Matrix.
Nope, not 'the second movie'. There is no 'second movie'.
First, this board exists for discussing 'The Matrix'. Please do so.
Second, the so-called 'sequels' are universally considered to be the worst kind of trash sequels that ever existed, that retcon, cheat, lie and make so little sense when compared to this movie, no rational adult would EVER take those movies seriously, but more importantly, consider them as canon in any way, shape or form.
Just because a movie has a similar name, same actors and similarly-named characters, and is fabricated by the same people, doesn't mean it explains ANYTHING about some other movie.
As far as the 'man born inside' - it's just another 'convenient mystery' that makes no sense. They could have delved deeper into that, they could have SHOWN it instead or at least with telling about him, they could have explained how the mechanics of 'someone being born inside' work (do people that are 'grown' (not born, mind you, so he must've been a special case) get to be 'born' at the same, exact time in 'The Matrix' as they change from 'fetus' to 'baby' in the physical world? And HOW is this orchestrated? You'd think it would be almost impossible to synchronize and coordinate all the people having sex with the 'growing of bodies', and needlessly convoluted as well, considering they are just BATTERIES!)..
This movie doesn't really explain anything that the viewer might want to know about, so this 'mystery man that was born inside' is just ONE of the about 9 zillion points I have already posted about that make no sense and are not explained at all.
I would have preferred to have actually SEEN this explanation instead of just looking at a boring dark room, two of the main actors just not doing anything but talking on a flat angle. I would have wanted to see SOME kind of visual about it..
What _I_ would rather ask about this whole thing is.. WHY was that man 'born inside'? Why did he have that power? If he could have it, can anyone?
If not, why not?
I mean, can just ANYONE be 'the one', since it doesn't seem to require anything special?
If some dull-faced, insignifigant 'hacker nerd' can become super powerful, if the Morpheus crew already all know how to 'bend the rules' to jump super high and far without injury, why couldn't they just learn a little bit more and become 'the ones'?
What was special about that 'mystery man', what is so special about 'Neo', why can only those two become 'the ones'? If it's teachable, why did neither of them bother teaching that ability to everyone, how to become 'the one'?
If it's not teachable, then there must be some kind of 'special power' that somehow correlates with this COMPLETELY ARTIFICIAL COMPUTER PROGRAM RAN BY SOULLESS MACHINES to make it possible to become 'The One', and no one is researching this at all?
I wish this movie had explained these things a bit more.. now we just have to accept that Oracle doesn't tell them the important stuff she ABSOLUTELY should, someone can just magically be 'The One' and the reasons don't seem to enter the discussion, no one else can level up to 100 because.. err..
I mean, I could understand if it was a 'Zen'-type thing, where you have to be enlightened (or experience Zatori) to even understand what Zen means. But this is a COMPUTER PROGRAM, so it should not require anything more special than TEACHABLE SKILLS.
No matter how much I think about this, I can't understand why Neo can do that but others can't, when it has nothing to do with anything spiritual or enlightenment-type stuff, but it's just 'how to defeat a computer program'. Does Neo somehow SYNCHRONIZE himself with how the machines think, and that makes him able to see the 'code'?
Does Neo always see The Matrix 'in code' now, or is it like 'super vision' of some kind? (Not to be confused with 'supervision')
I have so many questions about the movie's flimsy explanations, this one mystery is not particularly important compared to all the rest..
He is Neo.
Morpheus doesn't start talking to Neo with that line, remember he starts by apologising. Morpheus says that they (the humans) have a rule where they do not awaken a mind past a certain age. He broke that rule with Neo. He then tells the story of the man born inside the Matrix and the prophecy that the man would return. Finally, bookending the speech, he comes back around to his initial topic: "That is why there are those of us who have spent our entire lives searching the Matrix looking for him. I did what I did because I believe that search is over…. Get some rest, you’re going to need it."
The man in the Matrix and "The One" are synonymous, and they both - at least as far as Morpheus believes - are Neo. This is the second coming, the reincarnation, the return of the Saviour.
As to who he was specifically, we don't get a name or profession. We have the details we need: he learned to control the Matrix (or inherently knew how to do so) and used that power to free human minds. It would be interesting, within the mythology, to explore more how he was able to free humans and rescue them from the power plant without resources, and if he went in and out of the Matrix.
I don't remember the sequels' discussions on this topic as clearly. Maybe I'll do a trilogy re-watch soon (I say trilogy because I haven't seen Resurrections and I don't know if I will bother). But I seem to vaguely recall that he was as much a part of the machine world as the human one. ExTechOp has already spoken to this point.