Characters appearing or mentioned in this story

 

Peter Schoppe

Hardin

Rain (Elivia Thompson)

Agents

Peter Schoppe's brother (unnamed, mentioned only)

Rain's ex-boyfriend (unnamed, mentioned only)

 

Didja Notice?

 

    Peter Schoppe works on EPOs (Evolving Programming Objects), capable of rewriting their own code, in the Matrix. EPOs are a fictitious computer programming development, though we are getting closer to programming that works similarly.

    Hardin works with interrogative agents, programs designed to travel the Internet, collecting data and conducting surveillance. Though interrogative agents by name are fictitious, their use here is like a more advanced version of an internet bot called a web crawler.

 

While confronting Hardin, Peter reflects on how the Unabomber's critique had rung true with him. The Unabomber is Ted Kaczynski, a convicted American domestic terrorist who wrote a manifesto called "Industrial Society and Its Future" in which he advocated for society to abandon technology and embrace anarcho-primitivism.

 

After stumbling on the astonishing truth of the Matrix and the real world, Peter and Rain drive to the location of Peter's place of work only to find that the building has been replaced by Evergreen Mall. There are a few different malls by that name in North America, but the one shown here is probably meant to be fictitious.

 

While he and Rain review the data she downloaded, Peter mentions Wal-Mart. The laptop they use is an Apple iBook. Walmart, of course, is a chain of discount department stores in the U.S. and around the world.

 

When he and Rain stop at a convenience store to get gas, he almost pays with a credit card before thinking better of it since they are on the run. The card he has in hand is a Working Assets card.

 

After Rain is killed, Peter breaks into the Le Menu Bar internet cafe to transmit the data they uncovered to the world. One of the locations he sends the data to is the Pentagon. The Pentagon is the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense. Le Menu Bar appears to be a fictitious establishment.

 

Unanswered Questions

 

Since Peter and Rain found the EPO data on Hardin's computer, did Hardin (and maybe the company he and Peter worked for) already know about the Matrix they were all living in?

 

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