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| - World Record was created by Madhouse. The beginning of this short includes a short narration from the Instructor (implies that this short is a Zion Archive file) explaining details behind the discovery of the Matrix by "plugged-in" humans. Only exceptional humans tend to become aware of it, who have "a rare degree of intuition, sensitivity, and a questioning nature", all qualities which are used to identify inconsistencies in the Matrix. This is not without exceptions, given that "Some attain this wisdom through wholly different means", as shown below.
- Agents watch an American athlete, Dan Davis, preparing for a track race (presumably the 100 meter sprint). The Instructor, narrating the introduction, states that he was one of the few men to gain awareness of the Matrix through unconventional means. Time freezes and the Agents possess the other runners in an attempt to stop him. While they reach out for him, Dan, unaware of all events happening around him, manages to break the time freeze and outrun the agents, in spite of their supernatural strength and speed.
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| abstract
| - Agents watch an American athlete, Dan Davis, preparing for a track race (presumably the 100 meter sprint). The Instructor, narrating the introduction, states that he was one of the few men to gain awareness of the Matrix through unconventional means. Flashbacks are interspersed into the warm-up for the race. Dan achieves a record time of 8.99 seconds, which is then revoked when he tests positive for drug use. He consults with his father over the phone, deciding to proceed with the upcoming race. His coach Tom tells him not to race, as he feels Dan's muscles will burst if he pushes himself any more. A reporter (later seen the stadium crowd) talks with Dan; he states to her that running makes him feels like he is "breaking free from the world". The race starts, and Dan pulls ahead. The muscles in his legs burst, yet he keeps running, ignoring his body's pain, swiftly gaining speed against the other competitors, blowing by them in spite of his legs about to lose all function. "He cannot wake up. Do not let him wake up." commands the main agent viewing the race in the upper tiers of the stadium, having noted that his signal has become drastically unstable. Time freezes and the Agents possess the other runners in an attempt to stop him. While they reach out for him, Dan, unaware of all events happening around him, manages to break the time freeze and outrun the agents, in spite of their supernatural strength and speed. In the midst of winning the race, he sees the world around him blur into watery crimson numbers, lines of code and his "real" eyes open for the first time in the Real World; where he unwittingly "self substantiates" and wakes up in his pod. Still in the mindset of running the race, he continues running through the liquid, tearing free from his plugs as he does so, but is stopped by the plugs still jacked into his spine. A nearby Docbot is alerted and clamps him back to the core of his pod, shocking him into tranquilization and to wipe his memory of the event. Though he resists, screaming in the unfamiliar world he's found himself in, he is reconnected to the Matrix in the exact time and place he'd left: just before winning the race. His mind gone, he literally skids across the finish line, winning the race by a strong distance from the rest of the runners, but clattering mercilessly across the track after having built up so much momentum, much to the horror of his fans and onlookers. The clock ends at his previous record being beaten with a time of 8.72 seconds. The announcer claims with much reverie "Dan Davis from the United States finishes with a time of 8.72 seconds! A New World Record!" But while Dan lay on the track broken, oblivious to his victory announcement, his vision blurs again and we are shown him still being tranquilized, still defiant, in his pod in the real world. He finally gives in and returns to unconsciousness as the tranquilization ceases. An unspecified time later, Dan is in a wheelchair, being pushed down a Hospital hallway by a chatty nurse who keeps talking about her loving, but eccentric aunt who lives in a villa in France. In the meantime, Dan twirls two walnuts in his hand, looking dazed and out of focus with the world around him. Unbeknownst to either of them, an Agent is watching from the other end of the corridor. He reports to his superiors that Mr. Davis is an interesting case but not a threat, adding: "His memory of the race was expunged with no residual effects. He will never run again. He will never walk again for that matter. We will continue monitoring him for a while, but anticipate no problems." The Agent himself also sounds almost reverent when relaying: "A record that will live on in people's memories for years to come... What more could anyone ask for?" However, as he says this Dan drops both walnuts he was curling in his hands, uttering the word "Free" – his voice sounding amplified in resonant bass. The Agent paces towards him, telling at him to sit down. Much to the awe of both the nurse and the Agent, Dan begins to rise from his chair, effortlessly shattering the braces to his legs as he slowly stands, reaching for the sky, once again uttering in the same godlike voice "Free". The nurse begins to run to him, though the look of horror and awe is still painted across her face, just as the Agent begins to run toward him, this time yelling for him to sit down, but Dan cannot hear him. Dan's hair and clothes begin to billow as if some inner power resonates from within him. He reaches for the sky and it appears as if he would start to fly – the walnuts at the same time begin to aim skyward with him, almost weightless. He reaches ceremoniously for the light at the end of the hall as his feet slowly begin to leave the ground. Dan then collapses to his knees, breathing heavily as the pretty nurse comes running to his aid. The Agent is now nowhere to be seen, and the screen fades to black.
- World Record was created by Madhouse. The beginning of this short includes a short narration from the Instructor (implies that this short is a Zion Archive file) explaining details behind the discovery of the Matrix by "plugged-in" humans. Only exceptional humans tend to become aware of it, who have "a rare degree of intuition, sensitivity, and a questioning nature", all qualities which are used to identify inconsistencies in the Matrix. This is not without exceptions, given that "Some attain this wisdom through wholly different means", as shown below. This movie is centered on an American track runner, Dan Davis (whose name is possibly a reference to ESPN announcer Dan Davis or composer for The Matrix, Don Davis), sprinting the 100 meter dash. As the race starts, flashbacks begin to appear. Dan is warned by his coach to cancel this race, but he wants to set a record no one will ever break in the future. His personal determination is to make this goal an achievable one; he is mostly motivated by a revoked medal for a previous record, taken from him when he tested positive for drug use, in addition to claims that the previous record will never be broken, which he intends to prove wrong by breaking his own record of 8.99 seconds (the current real world record is 9.69). In one particular flashback including the Reporter, he compares qualifying to being "released from the world, and you feel totally free". During the race, Dan increases his speed, exhausting his muscles, whereupon the Agents recognize his activity. Ignoring the Matrix's reality around him, Dan wins the race with a winning time of 8.72 seconds and immediately collapses. Dan then wakes from the Matrix, but a machine shocks him and plugs him back in to the system. Days later, Dan is seen in a wheelchair in a catatonic state, while being closely watched by an Agent. Even though he is disabled in the Matrix, Dan gets up, slowly muttering the word "free", at which point he stands and walks a few paces, much to the dismay of the Agent. As Dan stands his hair begins to float as if he were in water and the walnuts he dropped on the floor prepare to levitate. Dan reaches high on his toes, then tries and fails to levitate himself.
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