Lexicon
The following terms are used throughout this material.
Agent: Any member of the security apparatus codified as part of the Matrix designed to defend the system from external interference and pacify the Integrated human population.
Analyst, The: Synthient successor to the Architect responsible for a later redesign of the Matrix.
Architect, The: the individual Synthient responsible for the design, implementation, and operation of the first versions of the Matrix.
backdoor: A virtual entrance to the pathways connecting the virtual infrastructure of the Matrix; also called programmer access.
bluepill: human parlance for Integrated; derived from the use of a sedative routine with anticholinergic properties in the guise of an edible blue capsule.
bot: Any autonomous routine with a finite set of directives employed within the Matrix for use in security, containment, pacification, and monitoring protocols; not considered to be sentient.
bullet time: an extreme time dilation effect activated by individuals, or applied to a zone, where said individuals move asynchronously and independently of the chronometric subroutines of a virtual space; having the appearance of moving faster than the Matrix can render.
Construct: A finite virtual space under the control of an individual sentient, Synthient or Operatives.
coppertop: slang for an Integrated human.
Cypherism: a rogue philosophy held by extracted humans believing humanity’s place is to remain within, or return to, the confines of the Matrix, inoffensive and unaware; named for the rogue Operatives operative, Cypher.
deja vu: a glitch within the Matrix, usually the result of Synthient operators changing something within the environment, experienced by Operatives and Integrated as a sensation of having seen or done a series of events previously.
deletion: the process where a program executing in the Matrix, or other such virtual world, is halted and removed with its code destroyed, usually forceful.
Digital Self Image: abbreviated DSI; the appearance and body structure of an entity within a virtual space like the Matrix. See also Residual Self Image.
Exile: Any Synthient no longer in service to Synthient society, or whose creation may have been unsanctioned, now hiding in the Matrix to avoid reintegration or deletion.
extraction: The process of forcefully extricating a sentient from the confines of the Matrix through the use of disruptive trace programs, aided by one or more Operatives.
hacking: Intentionally modifying the codebase of an object in violation of its intended purpose.
hard-line: term used to describe a comms line within the Matrix allowing for secure ingress and egress by Operatives.
Integrated: A current human resident of the Matrix, generally unaware of the environment or their condition in the Real.
jacking-in: slang term for projecting into the Matrix or other virtual space via direct connection through a neural interface.
kill-code: term used to describe a lethal subroutine, targeting either an individual or group, causing deletion, oftentimes encoded to appear as a weapon.
Matrix, The: A sophisticated, evolving interactive simulation experienced via neural interface designed by Synthients to contain and pacify humans.
Modal: A finite virtual space under the control of an individual sentient, whether Operatives, Integrated, or Synthient, designed to simulate a sequence for training purposes.
Operative: A former human resident of the Matrix who have since either been extracted or have self-substantiated. This term also applies to Synthients
Portal: A bridge between two virtual spaces, usually in the form of a doorway, created to allow for rapid travel between zones.
Real World, The: also The Real; the physical world outside of the confines of the Matrix.
redpill: human parlance for Operatives; derived from the use of a disruptive trace program in the guise of an edible red capsule.
Residual Self Image: abbreviated RSI; the initial appearance and bodily structure of an entity within a virtual space like the Matrix, usually as it applies to Operatives humans. See also Digital Self Image.
Second Renaissance: the period of history near the end of the 21st century where the human era ended and the Synthient era began.
self-substantiation: a rare occurrence where a sentient is able to extricate themselves from the confines of the Matrix without the assistance of others or the use of disruptive routines.
sentient: Any self-aware individual, either organic or synthetic.
Suits, The: the directing authority over Synthient civilization to which all subservient Synthients answer.
Synthient: amalgamation of synthetic and sentient; an inorganic or virtual individual Sentient created from codebase and resources.
unplug: slang for disconnecting from a virtual space from the neural interface. Also, slang for no longer being subject to the rules of the Matrix, its codified directives, or the structure of Synthient hierarchy.