Time to reload the matrix… again. I’ve read a few places where people think that I’ve got the councilor all wrong and that this somehow invalidates the analysis. The claim goes something like this: the matrix is 100 years old. The Councilor obviously is not (although he is old, just like every other councilor and unlike every other person I recall seeing in Zion). Hence the Councilor cannot be one of the original 23 to refound Zion so the analysis is kaput.
Well, first things first – is Zion one hundred years old? I don’t remember hearing this, but I would not be surprised if such a statement is made in the movie. We hear a lot of things about Zion, about the One, about the Prophecy. And what we find out is that the Prophecy is a crock (at least as far as Morpheus understood it), the One is the “savior” of humanity – but in a very different way than we are led to believe in the original movie, and Zion has been destroyed five times. Who is to say that Zion being 100 years old is not simply just another “supposition” made by believers (and encouraged as a comfort by Councilors), along the same lines like the Oracle is a human, or that it is only the year 2300 (or what ever it was) rather than actually being closer to 2800 (or whatever six matrices would get us to)? My point is that in Zion all the people are very unclear about the time spans involved when dealing with events that exceed their own lifetime. So if someone in the movie claimed that Zion had existed for a century, they likely did so without any real understanding concerning the (re)founding of Zion and the amount of time involved.
However - even if I’m dead wrong about the Councilor’s age it simply does not invalidate the rest of the analysis. Why? Presumably the Council was set up when Zion was refounded. Hence the Council is privy to info that no one else in Zion knows. And they keep it secret because to their mind it would be cruel to inform them and rob them of hope (humanities greatest strength and weakness – the Architect). So even if this is the second or third generation of Councilors they would very likely only pass on their knowledge to fellow Councilors. Even if I concede this the remainder of the analysis is still spot on. The Council allows Morpheus to contact the Oracle and even send additional ships to aid in the quest despite the consternation of Lock, the general in charge of the defense of Zion. Councilor Hamann subjects Neo to puzzling musings concerning the intertwined fate of man and machine in Zion’s basement…. Why? Because the Council is to some degree clued in regarding the ultimate fate of Zion and of the One. The prior analysis stands.
PS If you recall seeing this segment concerning the age of Zion please feel free to email me (to the left) and fill me in. I’ve only seen the movie once – but plan to see it many more times – and would appreciate any enlightenment you could shed on this.
12:36:54 AM 
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