Morpheus Quotes in The Matrix (1999)

Morpheus: This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.

Morpheus: What is real? How do you define 'real'? If you're talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.

Neo: What are you trying to tell me? That I can dodge bullets?

Morpheus: No, Neo. I'm trying to tell you that when you're ready, you won't have to.

Morpheus: I imagine that right now, you're feeling a bit like Alice. Hmm? Tumbling down the rabbit hole?

Neo: You could say that.

Morpheus: I see it in your eyes. You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he is expecting to wake up. Ironically, that's not far from the truth. Do you believe in fate, Neo?

Neo: No.

Morpheus: Why not?

Neo: Because I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life.

Morpheus: I know *exactly* what you mean. Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?

Neo: The Matrix.

Morpheus: Do you want to know what it is?

Neo: Yes.

Morpheus: The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work... when you go to church... when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.

Neo: What truth?

Morpheus: That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind.

Morpheus: Neo, sooner or later you're going to realize just as I did that there's a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.

Morpheus: Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?

Morpheus: You have to let it all go, Neo. Fear, doubt, and disbelief. Free your mind.

Neo: Why do my eyes hurt?

Morpheus: You've never used them before.

Morpheus: I'm trying to free your mind, Neo. But I can only show you the door. You're the one that has to walk through it.

Morpheus: What are you waiting for? You're faster than this. Don't think you are, know you are. Come on. Stop trying to hit me and hit me.

Neo: I thought it wasn't real

Morpheus: Your mind makes it real

Neo: If you're killed in the matrix, you die here?

Morpheus: The body cannot live without the mind

Morpheus: The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.

[Neo's eyes suddenly wander towards a woman in a red dress]

Morpheus: Were you listening to me, Neo? Or were you looking at the woman in the red dress?

Neo: I was...

Morpheus: [gestures with one hand] Look again.

[the woman in the red dress is now Agent Smith, pointing a gun at Neo's head; Neo ducks]

Morpheus: Freeze it.

[Everybody and everything besides Neo and Morpheus freezes in time]

Neo: This... this isn't the Matrix?

Morpheus: No. It is another training program designed to teach you one thing: if you are not one of us, you are one of them.

Morpheus: Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.

Morpheus: The human body generates more bio-electricity than a 120-volt battery and over 25,000 BTU's of body heat. Combined with a form of fusion, the machines had found all the energy they would ever need. There are fields - endless fields - where human beings are no longer born, we are grown. For the longest time I wouldn't believe it, and then I saw the fields with my own eyes. Watched them liquefy the dead so they could be fed intravenously to the living.

Morpheus: And standing there, facing the pure horrifying precision, I came to realize the obviousness of the truth. What is the Matrix? Control. The Matrix is a computer generated dream world, built to keep us under control in order to change a human being into this.

[holds up a copper-top D cell battery]

Neo: No. I don't believe it. It's not possible.

Morpheus: I didn't say it would be easy, Neo. I just said it would be the truth.

Neo: I know kung fu.

Morpheus: [eyeing him, hand on chin] Show me.

Morpheus: How did I beat you?

Neo: You... you're too fast.

Morpheus: Do you believe that my being stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place? Do you think that's air you're breathing now?

Morpheus: Welcome to the desert of the real.

Morpheus: The pill you took is part of a trace program. It's designed to disrupt your input/output carrier signal so we can pinpoint your location.

Neo: What does that mean?

Cypher: It means fasten your seat belt Dorothy, 'cause Kansas is going bye-bye.

[Neo sees a black cat walk by them, and then a similar black cat walk by them just like the first one]

Neo: Whoa. Déjà vu.

[Everyone freezes right in their tracks]

Trinity: What did you just say?

Neo: Nothing. Just had a little déjà vu.

Trinity: What did you see?

Cypher: What happened?

Neo: A black cat went past us, and then another that looked just like it.

Trinity: How much like it? Was it the same cat?

Neo: It might have been. I'm not sure.

Morpheus: Switch! Apoc!

Neo: What is it?

Trinity: A déjà vu is usually a glitch in the Matrix. It happens when they change something.

Morpheus: [to Neo who is choosing the red pill] Remember... all I'm offering is the truth. Nothing more.

Morpheus: Free your mind.

[Morpheus jumps from one building to another a long distance away]

Neo: Whoa.

Morpheus: Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony.

Morpheus: We've survived by hiding from them, by running from them. But they are the gatekeepers. They are guarding all the doors, they are holding all the keys. Which means that sooner or later, someone is going to have to fight them.

Neo: Someone?

Morpheus: I've seen an agent punch through a concrete wall; men have emptied entire clips at them and hit nothing but air; yet, their strength, and their speed, are still based in a world that is built on rules. Because of that, they will never be as strong, or as fast, as *you* can be.

Neo: What is happening to me?

Morpheus: You are the One, Neo. You see, you may have spent the last few years looking for me, but I have spent my entire life looking for you.

Morpheus: Welcome to the real world.

Morpheus: What is "real"? How do you define "real"?

Trinity: What's he doing?

Morpheus: He's beginning to believe.

[on the war that devastated the Real World]

Morpheus: We don't know who struck first, us or them. But we do know it was us that scorched the sky. At the time, they were dependent on solar power. It was believed they would be unable to survive without an energy source as abundant as the sun.

Morpheus: I can see it in your eyes. You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he's expecting to wake up. Ironically, this is not far from the truth. Do you believe in fate, Neo?

Neo: No.

Morpheus: Why not?

Neo: 'Cause I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life.

Morpheus: know exactly what you mean. Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know, you can't explain. But you feel it. You felt it your entire life. That there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there. Like a splinter in your mind - driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?

[Neo receives a cell phone in an overnight-mail envelope. As soon as he's holding it, it rings]

Neo: Hello?

Morpheus: Hello, Neo. Do you know who this is?

Neo: Morpheus?

Morpheus: Yes. I've been looking for you, Neo. I don't know if you're ready to see what I want to show you, but unfortunately, you and I have run out of time. They're coming for you, Neo, and I don't know what they're going to do.

Neo: Who's coming for me?

Morpheus: Stand up and see for yourself.

Neo: What, right now?

Morpheus: Yes, now.

Morpheus: You've been living in a dream world, Neo.

Morpheus: To your left there is a window: open it... use the scaffold to get to the roof.

Neo: No way. No way. This is crazy.

Morpheus: There are two ways out of that building: one is that scaffold, the other is in their custody. You take a chance either way: I leave it to you.

Neo: What did she tell you?

Morpheus: That I would find the One.

Agent Smith: The great Morpheus. We meet at last.

Morpheus: And you are?

Agent Smith: A Smith. Agent Smith.

Morpheus: You all look the same to me.

Morpheus: We've done it, Trinity. We've found him.

Trinity: I hope you're right.

Morpheus: You don't have to hope. I *know* it.

Morpheus: Don't think you are. Know you are!

[after landing the Nebuchaunezzer to hide from the Sentinels]

Morpheus: How we doing Tank?

[Tank types on the keyboard and the main power goes off]

Tank: Main power offline. EMP armed...

[Tank opens the cover to the EMP switch]

Tank: and ready.

Neo: EMP?

Trinity: Electro-Magnetic Pulse, disables any electrical system within the blast radius, only weapon we have against the machines.

Morpheus: Quiet.

Neo: Am I dead?

Morpheus: Far from it.

Morpheus: [Morpheus addresses the people of Zion] Zion, hear me! It is true, what many of you have heard. The machines have gathered an army and as I speak, that army is drawing nearer to our home.

[the Zion crowd becomes louder]

Morpheus: Believe me when I say we have a difficult time ahead of us. But if we are to be prepared for it, we must first shed our fear of it. I stand here, before you now, truthfully unafraid. Why? Because I believe something you do not? No, I stand here without fear because I remember. I remember that I am here not because of the path that lies before me but because of the path that lies behind me. I remember that for 100 years we have fought these machines. I remember that for 100 years they have sent their armies to destroy us, and after a century of war I remember that which matters most... We are still here! Today, let us send a message to that army. TOnight, let us shake this cave. Tonight, let us tremble these halls of earth, steel, and stone, let us be heard from red core to black sky. Tonight, let us make them remember, THIS IS ZION AND WE ARE NOT AFRAID!

Commander Lock: Dammit, Morpheus. Not everyone believes what you believe.

Morpheus: My beliefs do not require them to.

[after first meeting with The Merovingian]

Neo: Well, that didn't go so well.

Morpheus: Are you Certain the Oracle didn't say anything else?

Neo: Yes.

Trinity: Maybe we did something wrong.

Neo: Or didn't do something.

Morpheus: No, what happened, happened and couldn't have happened any other way.

Neo: How do you know?

Morpheus: We are still alive.

Morpheus: All of our lives, we have fought this war. Tonight I believe we can end it. Tonight is not an accident. There are no accidents. We have not come here by chance. I do not believe in chance. When I see three objectives, three captains, three ships. I do not see coincidence, I see providence. I see purpose. I believe it our fate to be here. It is our destiny. I believe this night holds for each and every one of us, the very meaning of our lives.

Morpheus: I have dreamed a dream, but now that dream is gone from me.

Trinity: You always told me to stay off the freeway.

Morpheus: Yes, that's true.

Trinity: You said it was suicide.

Morpheus: Then let us hope that I was wrong.

Morpheus: This is a war and we are soldiers. Death can come for us at any time, in any place.

[Scene switch to the Vigilant under attack]

Morpheus: . Now consider the alternative. What if I am right? What if the prophecy is true? What if tomorrow the war could be over? Isn't that worth fighting for? Isn't that worth dying for?

Niobe: I remember. I remember when you used to dance. I remember you were... pretty good.

Morpheus: There are some things in this world, Captain Niobe, that will never change.

Commander Lock: Niobe.

Morpheus: Some things do change.

Morpheus: ...and after a century of war I remember that which matters most: we are still HERE.

Commander Lock: If it were up to me, Captain, you wouldn't set foot on a ship for the rest of your life.

Morpheus: Then I am grateful that it is not up to you.

Trinity: Is Neo okay?

Link: Okay? Shit, Morpheus, you should have seen him.

Morpheus: Where is he now?

[Link checks a computer]

Link: He's doin' his Superman thing.

Agent Smith: I want everything.

Morpheus: Would that include a bullet from this gun?

Morpheus: Link?

Link: Yessir?

Morpheus: Given your situation, I can't say I fully understand your reasons for volunteering to operate on my ship. However, if you wish to continue to do so, I must ask you to do one thing.

Link: What's that, sir?

Morpheus: ...To trust me.

Link: Yessir. I will, sir.

[Morpheus looks at him for a moment]

Link: I mean, I do, sir.

Trinity: You always told me to stay off the freeway.

Morpheus: Yes. That's true.

Trinity: You said it was suicide.

Morpheus: [loads his Glock 18] Then let us hope... that I was wrong.

Morpheus: What is it, Niobe?

Niobe: I can't help it, Morpheus, I can't help thinking, what if you're wrong? What if all this, the prophecy, everything is bullshit?

Morpheus: Tonight let us make them remember: This is ZION, and we ARE NOT AFRAID.

Morpheus: Smith?

[Neo nods his head, winded]

Morpheus: Now there's more than one of him?

Neo: A lot more.

Link: But how? How can that be possible?

Neo: I don't know. Somehow he's found a way to copy himself.

Morpheus: Was that what he was doing to you?

Neo: I don't know what he was doing. But I remember what it felt like.

Trinity: What?

Neo: It felt like I was back in that hallway... it felt like dying.

Morpheus: What can you see, Neo?

Neo: It's strange... the code is somehow different.

Morpheus: Encrypted?

Neo: Maybe.

Trinity: Is that good for us, or bad for us?

Neo: Well, it looks like every floor is wired with explosives.

Trinity: Bad for us.

Morpheus: Here we go.

Morpheus: A Sentinel for every man, woman, and child in Zion. That sounds *exactly* like the thinking of a machine to me.

Morpheus: And does the Commander have a plan for dealing with two hundred and fifty *thousand* Sentinels?

Niobe: A strategy is still being formulated.

Morpheus: I'm sure it is.

Merovingian: The question is, do *you* know why you are here?

Morpheus: We are looking for the Keymaker.

Merovingian: Oh, yes. It is true. The Keymaker. Of course. But this is not a reason. This is not a "why". The Keymaker himself - his very nature is a means. It is not an end. And so to look for him is to be looking for a means to do... what?

Morpheus: Neo, if you're out there I could use some help.

Ballard: You're asking for one of us to disobey a direct order.

Morpheus: That's right, I am. But we all well know that the reason that most of us are here is because of our... affinity for disobedience.

Morpheus: Captain Mifune.

Mifune: Captain Morpheus.

Morpheus: Are you here to escort me to the stockade, Captain?

Mifune: I'm just here to keep the peace.

A.P.U. Escort: Commander Lock demands!...

Mifune: [interruptingly clears his throat]

A.P.U. Escort: ...Requests your immediate counsel, sir!

Link: We got a serious situation, sir.

Morpheus: [Morpheous sees that Tinity is jacked in] Oh, no!

Neo: It's been an honor, sir.

Morpheus: No. The honor is still mine.

Niobe: Neo...

Morpheus: He fights for us...

Morpheus: You've never believed in The One.

Niobe: I still don't.

Morpheus: Then why are you doing this?

Niobe: [re: Neo] I believe in him.

[about Neo]

Morpheus: I don't know what he can do to save us. But I do know that as long as there is a single breath left in his body he will not give up and neither can we.

Morpheus: You saw the Oracle? What did she tell you?

Niobe: Same thing she always does: exactly what I needed to hear.

Morpheus: After everything that's happened, how can you expect me to believe you?

The Oracle: I don't expect you to do anything. I expect what I've always expected, for you to make up your own damn mind. Believe me or don't.

[war has ended]

Morpheus: I have imagined this moment for a long time. Is it real?

Morpheus: You're a hell of a pilot.

Niobe: Some things in this world never change.

Morpheus: But some things do?

Niobe: [sighs] Luckily... some things do.

[as the Hammer speeds through the mechanical line]

Morpheus: There's the exit.

Niobe: On my mark, give me full power, ninety degrees to lower left starboard.

Morpheus: Full power, ninety degrees...

[the ship approaches the exit... ]

Niobe: Now!

[... and she pulls it through a tight turn]

Niobe: Hold, on baby!

[the ship crashes through the exit, grinding to a halt]

Roland: God *damn*, woman, you can drive!