History NightmareFuel / TheAnimatrix

* ''Operation Dark Storm''. Just the idea of it, that humanity reached a point of desperation so unheard of, that they would completely destroy Earth by blocking the Sun through a nanite cloud is horrifying. In denying the machines access to solar power, humanity in the process ensured that if they won the war, it would be the ultimate Pyrrhic victory; without the Sun, the extinction of every animal, plant and biosphere on Earth is all but guaranteed. The nanite cloud also had the added effect of having no way to disable it (or if one was developed, it was lost) and anything that flies through the cloud shuts down and plummets back down. Whoever won the war, would be imprisoned on a dead husk of a planet. In fact, 600 years after, the machines still haven't figured out a means to disable it.

* ''Operation Dark Storm''. Just the idea of it, that humanity reached a point of desperation so unheard of, that they would completely destroy Earth by blocking the Sun through a nanite cloud is horrifying. In denying the machines access to solar power, humanity in the process ensured that if they won the war, it would be the ultimate Pyrrhic victory; without the Sun, the extinction of every animal, plant and biosphere on Earth is all but guaranteed. The nanite cloud also had the added effect of having no way to disable it (or if one was developed, it was lost) and anything that flies through the cloud shuts down and plummets back down. Whoever won the war, would be imprisoned on a dead husk of a planet. In fact, 600 years after the fact, the machines still haven't figured out a means to disable it.

** The scenes of war show off the machines' rapid physical evolution from humanoid designs to completely alien forms, as well as their ability to shrug off multiple nuclear strikes mid-battle--but the power armour scene implies something far worse. The machines could have killed him in a quick and efficient manner, as you would think a machine would do. Instead, the Sentinel rips the soldier out by his torso, seemingly because it was in a position to do so. The machines are now capable--perhaps even ''fond''--of commiting acts of great cruelty. Given the history of humanity's treatment of the machines and the fact that machines have artificial intelligence, however, this should not be surprising. After all, as The Instructor says, "man made the machine in his own likeness".

* The machines surgically operate and experiment on prisoners of war--''[[FateWorseThanDeath while the prisoners are awake]]''. Prisoners are cut [[CleanCut cleanly]] at various angles, including [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe cut in half]] ''vertically''. One has the back of his head completely sliced off clean with machines tampering with various parts of his brain to cause him to laugh or sob hysterically (implying they're figuring out which part of the brain does what). The one to his left had his ''[[FacialHorror face]]'' sliced off cleanly, showing a disgusting but [[ShownTheirWork anatomically-correct]] [[https://www.flickr.com/photos/scottwramsay/2837681682/in/set-72157607164258000/lightbox/ coronal cut]] of the human face. BodyHorror at its ''finest''.

* "Program" has some nightmare fuel in the form of Duo's role within the program. Despite only being part of a training program, his words and actions have an actual effect on Cis's emotions and feelings. She jokes about Duo proposing to her when the simulation starts, which makes her later killing of Duo all the more devastating. The short never fully explains if Duo is a wholecloth fabrication or a creation based on someone Cis knows (or loves). But the possibility of a relatively minor program created from scratch having the ability to make Cis feel love toward him, even after the test is over, is mind-numbing.
** There is an even worse option: Duo ''is'' a real person, so even if the one from the simulation is a fake, it's still based on someoneone Cis knows and is close to. This would mean the program forced Cis into "killing" her beloved after convincing her that she is in a real situation instead of a set-up. That would not only make her ordeal even more painful, but also paint the people who created and put her through this test as a group of outright bastards who could take pleasure in openly toying with her emotions.

This two-part story has the highest amounts of NightmareFuel in the whole ''Matrix'' franchise by far, as it tells how the horrific war between humanity and the machines started, and how the machine eventually dominated, experimented on and enslaved humanity, with the Matrix as the culmination of said enslavement. Even the famous RobotWar BadFuture of the ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' franchise isn't ''this'' horrific.

This two-part story has the highest amounts of NightmareFuel in the whole ''Matrix'' franchise by far, as it tells how the horrific war between humanity and the machines started, and how the machine eventually dominated, experimented on and enslaved humanity, with the Matrix as the culmination of said enslavement. Even the famous RobotWar BadFuture of the ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' franchise isn't ''that'' horrific.

''Anime/TheAnimatrix'', a series of animated shorts based on ''Franchise/TheMatrix'' trilogy, not only had some quite disturbing material, but [[MindScrew half of it couldn't even be understood]] [[ViewersAreGeniuses unless you were crazy or an art major]].

This two-part story has the highest amounts of Nightmare Fuel in the whole ''Matrix'' franchise by far, as it tells how the horrific war between humanity and the machines started, and how the machine eventually dominated, experimented on and enslaved humanity, with the Matrix as the culmination of said enslavement.

* A [[RobotGirl gynoid]] is beaten to death by a crowd of human men. She is beaten and stripped of her clothes, and one attack strips off her synthetic skin. All the while, she screams out in agony, her voice becoming more machine-like with each blow. What makes that scene a lot worse is ''what'' the woman is screaming: '''"I'M REAL!"'''

* The machines surgically operate and experiment on prisoners of war--''[[FateWorseThanDeath while the prisoners are awake]]''.

This two-part story has the highest amounts of Nightmare Fuel in the whole ''Matrix'' franchise by far, as it tells how the horrific war between humanity and the machines started, and how the machine eventually experimented on, dominated and enslaved humanity, with the Matrix as the culmination of said enslavement.

** What makes this specific scene HarsherInHindsight? [[http://seranine.tumblr.com/post/141259087098/ It can be seen as an allegory for violence against transgender women]]--a point which is made even harsher if you know about the Wachowskis and their transitions.

!! "The Second Renaissance"

This two-part story has the highest amounts of Nightmare Fuel in the whole ''Matrix'' franchise by far, as it tells how the horrific war between humanity and the machines started, and how the machine eventually experimented on, dominated and enslaved humanity, with the Matrix as part of said enslavement.

This two-part story has the highest amounts of Nightmare Fuel by far, as it tells how the horrific war between humanity and the machines started, and how the machine eventually experimented on, dominated and enslaved humanity, with the Matrix as part of said enslavement.

* That said, there is one specific scene that deserves a highlight. During one of the battle scenes, a soldier has the front of his power armour ripped open by a Sentinel, which coils its tentacles around his torso and rips him out, ''leaving his arms and legs strapped in the armour''. The worst part is way the man is screaming "OH GOD HELP ME!" right until he dies.
** The scenes of war show off the machine's rapid physical evolution from humanoid designs to completely alien forms, as well as their ability to shrug off multiple nuclear strikes mid-battle--but the power armour scene implies something far worse. The machines could have killed him in a quick and efficient manner, as you would think a machine would do. Instead, the Sentinel rips the soldier out by his torso, seemingly because it was in a position to do so. The machines are now capable--perhaps even ''fond''--of commiting acts of great cruelty. Given the history of humanity's treatment of the machines and the fact that machines have artificial intelligence, however, this should not be surprising. After all, as The Instructor says, "man made the machine in his own likeness".

*** And what's detailed below reveals that that guy who got torn apart and died? ''He was one of the lucky ones''.

** They are then [[AndIMustScream entombed into the power plants]], violently plugged in and forced to endure untold agony for the rest of their lives. As The Instructor puts it: "The first captives suffered in pain and horror, enroute to what the machines viewed as the human's version of a 'perfect world'". The visuals and the painful moaning do not lie at all.

This two-part story has the highest amounts of Nightmare Fuel by far, as it tells how the war between humanity and the machines started, and how the machine came to slaughter, dominate and enslave humanity.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/matrix_nf.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Ouch...]]

This two-part story has the highest amounts of Nightmare Fuel by far, as it tells how the war between humanity and the machines started, and how the machine came to dominate and enslave humanity.

---

* That said, there is one specific scene that deserves a highlight. During one of the battle scenes, a soldier has the front of his power armour ripped open by a Sentinel, which coils its tentacles around his torso and rips him out, ''leaving his arms and legs strapped in the armour''. The worst part is way the man is screaming "[[PrecisionFStrike FUCKING]] HELP ME!" right until he dies.

* The scene of the millionaire having her head crushed by her once-peaceful robot servant B1-66ER is disturbingly graphic.
** Less graphic, but no less disturbing, are the scenes of what B1-66ER had done before that (stomped the millionaire's dogs to death and murdered various other people).

** What makes this specific scene HarsherInHindsight? [[http://seranine.tumblr.com/post/141259087098/ It can be seen as an allegory for violence against transgender women]]--a point which is made even harsher if you know about the Wachowskis and their transitions.

** There is an even worse option: Duo ''is'' a real person. This would mean the program forced Cis into "killing" her beloved after convincing her that she is in a real situation instead of a set-up. That would not only make her ordeal even more painful, but also paint the people who created and put her through this test as a group of outright bastards who could take pleasure in openly toying with her emotions.

** There is an even worse option: Duo ''is'' a real person. This would mean the program forced Cis into killing her beloved after convincing her that she is in a real situation instead of a set-up. That would not only make her ordeal even more painful, but also paint the people who created and put her through this test as a group of outright bastards who could take pleasure in openly toying with her emotions.

* That said, there is one specific scene that deserves a highlight. During one of the battle scenes, a soldier has the front of his power armour ripped open by a Sentinel, which coils its tentacles around his torso and rips him out, ''leaving his arms and legs strapped in the armour''. The worst part is way the man is screaming "GOD HELP ME!" right until he dies.