The Matrix

The Matrix is a trilogy of films written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski.

The premise is that what twenty-first century humans perceive as their everyday lives is actually a deception, created by sentient machines in order to hide the truth: that humans are simply being used as "batteries" to power them, their bodies captive and their minds deluded. The series focuses on a hacker named Thomas "Neo" Anderson (played by Keanu Reeves), who finds himself "rescued" from this delusion (referred to as "the Matrix") by a group of free humans, headed by Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburn) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss). Morpheus reveals to Neo the truth, then offers him a choice: go back to his old life, once again oblivious to the reality, or join Morpheus' group to try and break the control of the Machines. After Neo agrees... things just crazier and crazier from there. Through two-and-a-half entire films.

Due to disappointment with the films following the first one, many fans deny their existence.

In Badfic
One common trope in Matrix fanfiction is continuing the story after the movies, usually by having the Machines break their treaty and attack Zion again. (This period in the world's history is actually covered by an MMO game, but many don't know about the events therein.) This is a convenient place for Mary Sues to enter, although they can also be seen during the main trilogy as residents of the Matrix or Zion (or arriving in the Matrix world through good, old-fashioned Trans-Dimensional Hopping, of course).

The moderately sized cast of human characters in this canon sees some typical shipping. The only truly bizarre ones are Smith/Neo and Smith/OC, or Smith anyone, really, since Agent Smith is an emotionless security program who eventually degenerates into a virus, threatening even his former Machine allies. Sometimes, the characters are set in a Real World-style alternate universe, allowing them to interact without the restrictions imposed by the Matrix programming. In this case, Smith and Neo are sometimes recast as police partners or some other pair of investigators.

One pair of minor characters, twin "ghosts" (a glitching program that copied itself) appeared in an extended fight scene in the second movie, and gained a disproportionately large fanbase. The twins are frequently placed in romantic situations with OCs, or with each other. They are typically humanized for such stories, with pairings between the two even being treated as incest, even though the twins aren't biological creatures to begin with.

The Matrix is highly prone to crossovers, due to the premise of having what appears to be the world turn out to be a virtual projection. Expect other canons to suddenly have a Matrix inside them (or to be a Matrix, rather).

In the PPC
Although The Matrix never had its own Fanfiction University, aspects of it did feature in the Official Fanfiction University of Crossovers, where the continuum received its own mini: the mini-Sentinel.

Agents from this Continuum

 * Obsidian
 * Tess

Missions in this Continuum

 * Agents Achren and Obsidian (DMS - Matrix)
 * "New Destiny"
 * "A Whole New World" (crossover with The Lord of the Rings)
 * "Your in the Matrix, Charlie Brown!" (crossover with Peanuts), Agents Tawaki and Tadkeeta (DTO)