'The Matrix' fans just noticed a chilling 9/11 detail on Neo's passport 25 years after release
25 years after its release, a chilling detail from The Matrix has surfaced, sending ripples across its devoted fanbase. Eagle-eyed viewers have only now managed to catch an unsettling coincidence in Neo's passport from a brief interrogation scene in the 1999 sci-fi classic. That seemingly innocuous document that took only a few seconds of screen time, and which was upside down, was dated September 11, 2001— the date of the tragic al-Qaeda attack on America.
The detail sparked massive discussions on social media after a post went viral on Reddit. "New conspiracy unlocked," wrote one Redditor, while others drew outlandish theories— the most bizarre being, that 'Neo' could stand for 'Nine Eleven Orchestrated'. While some fans leaped to connect alleged dots, others argued that it was likely a coincidence. An X (formerly Twitter) user reasoned, "The range of possible dates that Neo's passport would expire would likely range within 5 years of the creation of The Matrix, limiting the possible days to less than 2000."
Coincidence?
— Morpheus (@Morpheus_Wealth) September 11, 2024
Filming took place from March 31 to August 30, 1998, with the release on March 31, 1999.
The range of possible dates that Neo's passport would expire would likely range within 5 years of the creation of the matrix, limiting the possible days to less than 2000. This… pic.twitter.com/7EIpG5WjJ2
The timing gets even more interesting considering the film's premise was about AI and robots. In the film, Lana and Lilly Wachowski create the story of Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, who discovers that everything he thought was real was actually just a copy for humans to amuse themselves while machines sucked the energy out of them. Reeves as Neo arrives at this conclusion when he meets Morpheus, a mysterious character who offers him a red and a blue pill. Reeves once mentioned that he's kept the first red pill prop the Wachowskis ever gave him—a fact that thrilled fans.
The passport detail has also reignited discussions about simulation theory, an idea that has been gaining traction in scientific circles. In 2016, NASA scientist, Rich Terrile, suggested that humans may be living in a simulation devised by our future selves. "Quite frankly, if we are not living in a simulation, it is an extraordinarily unlikely circumstance," Terrile said, citing the finitude of time, energy, and space as reasons our universe is both computable and, possibly, simulated, as per Metro.
🎥The Matrix (1999) hits different when you realize it was a movie about Loosh Harvesting, Artificial Intelligence, Simulation Theory, and Psychic Warfare.'🤖
— AAWSAP Rocky (@AAWSAPRocky) September 6, 2024
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Was this just a work of fiction, or is there something more to it?
🔮The Stargate Program proved that nearly everyone… pic.twitter.com/gbBcqdC8tC
This theory was supported by physicist Dr. Melvin Vopson, who argued that patterns of ordered structures in the universe reflect just computer programming. "My studies point to a bizarre and interesting possibility that we don't live in an objective reality and that the entire universe might be just a super advanced virtual reality simulation," Vopson opined, as per Unilad.
With news of a planned fifth installment, The Matrix's influence continues to resonate 25 years after its release. The thought-provoking exploration of reality and consciousness in the film series makes it more than just another science fiction work. Whether an amazing coincidence or something else entirely, the find is definitely noteworthy. As one Redditor aptly described, "It's all linked, the simulation can't help but leave clues."