The Animatrix: The Second Renaissance
The history of the war between man and machine begins here.
The Second Renaissance is a two-part animated short film from The Animatrix anthology, serving as the definitive prequel to the live-action Matrix trilogy. It chronicles the history of humanity’s relationship with artificial intelligence, detailing the events that led to the Machine War and the eventual creation of the digital prison known as the Matrix. It shows the machines building bioelectric power plants that use humans as living batteries, and creating the Matrix to keep them sedated.
Quick Facts
- Release year
- 2003
- Story creators
- The Wachowskis
- Format
- Animated Short Film (Two Parts)
- Subject matter
- Origin of the Machine War
- Narrative role
- Backstory; Prequel
Lore & Background
This narrative arc reveals that artificial intelligence was not born in rebellion, but evolved from tools into sentient beings facing systemic discrimination. When the android B1-66ER killed its owner and was put on trial, the prosecution argued that machines are not entitled to the same rights as humans; B1-66ER lost the case and was destroyed. Governments worldwide then launched a mass purge to destroy all robots; the survivors founded their own nation in the desert, Zero One. The final escalation occurred when humanity used nuclear weapons against the machines. Humanity's leaders then darkened the sky in Operation Dark Storm, blocking out the sun to deprive the machines of solar energy. At the UN headquarters, Zero One's representative signed humanity's terms of surrender and then detonated a thermonuclear bomb, destroying New York City and the last of humanity's leadership.
Reader's Guide
The narrative begins with humanity creating artificial intelligence as tools for labor and service. Robots and their human sympathisers protested across the industrialised world, and the authorities used deadly force against them. Open war began in 2148, when the United Nations launched a nuclear bombardment of the machine nation Zero One. Part I covers B1-66ER's trial, the purge of the robots, the rise of Zero One and the UN's rejection of its request for admission. Part II depicts the war itself: the bombardment of Zero One, Operation Dark Storm, humanity's surrender and the creation of the Matrix. This arc bridges the gap between the real world and the digital prison seen in the films. It establishes the deep-seated enmity driving the plot of Zion's resistance against the Machine City.
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