Bittersweet

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Bittersweet

In the novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick and in the motion picture The Matrix, by the Wachowski brothers, both stories enclose worlds that relate because the humans are repressed against their will and are living under the parameters of machines. In each, the worlds are slightly different, in, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? The inhabitants opt to enter an altered world where machines control their consciousness. As opposed to The Matrix, the world is controlled by machines, which suppress the populace and hold them against their will. In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? the altered reality has been created on the people's general will and it is their own construction but in the other case, in The Matrix, reality is a creation based on the technology without the human's perception. In both cases the communities' world can be considered artificial, but it is clear that in one, humanity is further imprisoned. To begin, citizens of both of these societies remain dependent to a faith by which contemporary equipment is a requirement. In The Matrix, the rebellious Neo and Morpheus, the two main characters, enter this virtual state by hooking up wires directly to their brain, "Morpheus guiding a coaxial line into the jack at the back of his [Neo] neck He [Neo] relaxes, opening his eyes as we pull back to a feeling of weightlessness inside another place." Neo and Morpheus are capable to enter a virtual world whenever they please. Nonetheless, in the saga of The Matrix, Neo and Morpheus are renegades disengaged by the rule recognized by the regulating technology. They are part, of a group of few, that can release themselves from the false reality of the "Matrix". The rest of the public are stuck in this dream and unfortunately cannot enter and leave as they please. As opposed to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? in which it is the people's decision whether or not they would like to enter this altered state. They use this virtual reality to correspond with their God Mercer, an evident leader, who is the ruler and controller of the Mercerism. To gain this opportunity the willing participant enters a virtual world through a device called the "Empathy Box ." With that process, the people will always be able to connect with Mercer. John Isidore, a character in the book, who enters this virtual reality recurrently with his own free will.

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