4 Sci-Fi Villains Who Could Actually Happen (And 4 That Totally Couldn't)

2. Agent Smith - The Matrix

Agent Smith The Matrix
Warner Bros.

In The Matrix, Agent Smith is essentially a roving anti-virus program within the computer matrix, terminating bugs in the program that would destabilize it.

As it happens, there are actually a couple of real, proper scientists who suspect that we might actually be living in a simulated Matrix-like reality. They think that the seemingly universal nature of physical laws could be an indication that our reality has actually been programmed to run within certain parameters. They aim to find out whether this is the case by studying high-speed cosmic rays to attempt to peer into the grid or matrix beneath the simulation.

If this is indeed the case, then some think that it would be powered by something called a Matrioshka Brain - a supercomputer powered by a Dyson Sphere that would contain virtual uploads of human minds and be able to run immensely complex virtual reality simulations.

In the context of a simulation for conscious minds, it would make sense for the anti-virus to have an avatar within the program, so as not to ruin the illusion for those living within it.

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