“ I didn't save you Kid, you saved yourself.
”― Neo to Kid
Kid's Story is an episode of The Animatrix written by the Wachowskis and directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, with animation and production design by Studio 4°C, Tokyo. Kid's Story is the tale of how Kid discovered the truth about the Matrix and entered the Real World.
Plot[]
Kid talks to Neo in a chatroom
Kid, a Bluepill born as Michael Karl Popper, is a teenager at Clearview High School who has recurring dreams of falling through the sky only to wake up upon hitting the cement. After one such dream, he logs on to a chatroom questioning his senses, and receives a response from Neo who reaffirms that his perception of reality being amiss. The following day, Kid's cellphone goes off in class; after being reprimanded and switching it off, his cellphone manages to ring again.
To the annoyance of his teacher, Michael answers the phone and on the line is Neo telling him to "get out now". He is chased through his high school by a band of Agents, and ends up cornered on the roof. Asserting his faith in Neo, Michael throws himself over the edge.
Members of Michael's family and school are shown attending his funeral, commenting on how he's "in another world now". Outside the Matrix however, Kid wakes up to the real world and sees Neo and Trinity watching over him aboard the Nebuchadnezzar. They remark that he has achieved "self substantiation", which was initially considered impossible. The Kid then thanks Neo for saving him, but Neo says that he "saved himself".
Insights[]
- In both the short itself and in The Matrix Reloaded, Kid seems to believe it was Neo's actions, not his own, that saved him
- His dream may have actually been a vision of his own future
- It is the only one of the animated shorts contained in The Animatrix in which Neo appears
- Kid's name might be a reference to the philosopher Karl Popper, proponent of falsifiability: the idea that unless a statement could be proven false then it is meaningless
- Self substantiation is never thoroughly discussed in any part of the series. Dan Davis in The Animatrix short World Record similarly manages to exit the Matrix without the use of a Redpill, whereas in The Matrix, Morpheus also speaks of the founder of Zion who freed himself, presumably without external help.
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