First appearing in the short film, The Second Renaissance, the Instructor (also known as "the Archivist" is a sapient female program in the Zion Historical Archives. She narrates accessed data, including the known history of the Man-Machine War presented in Historical File 12-1. She is sympathetic to both humanity and the Machines, as she never takes either side, but remains neutral and gives her "prayers" to both.
The existence of the Zion Archives and the Instructor seem to contradict Morpheus' comments that the humans of Zion don't know how the war occurred other than that it was the humans who darkened the sky, suggesting either that Morpheus was lying to Neo or the Archive was constructed at a later point in history when man and machine have learnt to live together peacefully. There is also the possibility that the Archive depicted in The Second Renaissance is the archive of an earlier Zion that was destroyed by the machines where information regarding the conflict was more detailed.
Sentinels are described as "a killing machine designed for one thing... search and destroy" (Trinity and Dozer, The Matrix). Sentinels are also referred to as "squiddies" and "calamari".
Sentinels are highly effective scouts and lethal combatants. A standard unit of the Machines, and resembling a black-painted mechanized nautilus or octopus, these fast and deadly machines rarely appear alone and are a serious threat for every hovercraft. Besides the ability to float over the surface, each of their multiple tentacles is each tipped with razor-sharp claws and armed with a variety of sensors, limited maintenance/repair devices, and other equipment. The main weapon however is located on the underside of the body: a powerful laser that is able to cut through the metal hull of any hovercraft.
A Sentinel unit can perform different types of mission like patrolling in small groups, escorting bigger units or seek & destroy. They often search out Rebel ships to swarm them and tear them apart. Once they discover their target, it is almost impossible to escape them. Several Sentinels can tear apart a hovercraft and they are intelligent enough to target communication and weapon systems first. Sentinels are most dangerous when working in squads of three or more. They coordinate their attacks and use their tentacles quite effectively, relying on their laser only to cut through hulls and other obstacles. Rebel ships power down when Sentinels are near so they can use an EMP to attack them if the ship is spotted. Later in the series, Sentinels appear armed with silverfish-like "tow bombs", which they can launch at a ship while staying out of EMP range. It is unknown why Sentinels, and probably most other machine-warriors, do not have EMP-safe circuitry to immunize themselves against such attacks. Yet the knowledge about EMP-safe shields is there, as they were able to defend themselves during the nuclear bombing of Zero-One(in The Second Renaissance/Animatrix).
Sentinels are frequently used by the Machines to destroy human ships and disrupt their operations (The Matrix); they are also the main force during the attack on Zion, the human city (The Matrix Revolutions). They are also able to repair or recharge the enormous drilling Machines (known simply as "Diggers" or "Drillers". The latter are used to drill through to Zion from the surface, thus avoiding the defenses the Rebels had built into the approaching tunnels, and opening a path for the Sentinels to invade the city.
A different model of Sentinel is seen in the Animatrix short, Matriculated. It possesses a semi-humanoid torso studded with sensors, a tentacle replacing each arm, and a tail instead of legs. It is not to be confused with the Runners, as, unlike them, it has no defined head, it hovers like regular sentinels, and it (presumably) has no ability to transform.
Another only slightly changed Model was seen in the Animatrix short "The Final Flight of the Osiris", one that had knife blades instead of claws.
A great example of post-modern symbolism is at the end of The Matrix Revolutions, when the robotic eyes of the Sentinel machines turn from red to green after they make peace with the human rebels.
Sati (played by Tanveer K. Atwal) is a program (also the last Exile), created by her "father" Rama Kandra and "mother" Kamala. She appears in The Matrix Revolutions. Sati is scheduled for deletion because she has no purpose, born only out of love. To save her, Rama-Kandra and Kamala sell the deletion codes for the shell of the Oracle to the Merovingian. He does this at the Le Vrai restaurant, just before the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar speaks to the Merovingian. In exchange for the codes, Sati is smuggled into the Matrix through the Mobil Avenue train station where she will be put under the care of the Oracle, who has acquired a new shell. It also appears that Sati has creative power within the Matrix, at least in relation to phenomenon such as aurorae (which she creates in honor of Neo at the end of The Matrix Revolutions). In the video game Enter The Matrix, the Oracle foreshadows that Sati will play an important role in both the Matrix and the real world, but that role remained unrevealed until recently in The Matrix Online, where she is kidnapped by the General after a lengthy observation, which in turn made the sky turn red, causing catastrophic illnesses for bluepills plugged inside the Matrix. She was shortly rescued by Zion operatives, with the weather returning to normal.
Sati, like every other program and human within the Matrix, was absorbed by the Smith virus. This would explain why he was able to create a storm during the final battle with Neo.
Sati is named after Dakshayani, a Hindu deity (the first incarnation of Parvati, who is the first wife of Lord Shiva). Sati committed suicide after her parents insulted her husband at a religious function called the yajna.
Sati also refers to the Sanskrit (and Pāli) word sati, which is related to the praxis of being mindful (being with what is); sati also translates as "consciousness" or "self-consciousness". With this "sati" in mind, she (the girl) is a capacity to see or be conscious of what is, but since this has no pragmatic purpose in a mechanical world, she needs to be smuggled into the Matrix, and there her power expands. She is the lovechild made of energy and creativity.
The Oracle is a mysterious but powerful figure, played by both Gloria Foster and Mary Alice. She is incongruously depicted as a cheerful old lady possessing the power of foresight, which she uses to advise and guide the humans attempting to fight the Matrix. Later she is revealed to be a sentient program, who is integral to the very nature of the Matrix itself. Whether her power of prediction is deterministic or not is a concept given much treatment in all three films. She claims that she cannot (like everyone else), see past a choice "we" (i.e. any sapient being bound to logic) do not understand. It becomes clear in the films that her power cannot be used to predict the actions of Neo.
The Oracle is played by Gloria Foster in The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded, and then by Mary Alice in The Matrix Revolutions and Enter the Matrix. It is explained that this change of appearance was because she needed to find another shell to hide in from The Merovingian. In reality Mary Alice was casted as the Oracle because Gloria Foster died of complications from diabetes, before her role in The Matrix Revolutions was shot.
In the The Matrix Revolutions, the Oracle hints about her purpose which is to bring imbalance, rather than balance to the equations that form and govern the Matrix. In that she is opposed to her counterpart, the Architect. More specifically, the Oracle's purpose is to aid The One and the humans following him by means of the Prophecy (predicting the victory of The One and the fall of the machines), not in order to bring down the Matrix, but rather so that they can voluntarily disconnect themselves from the system. Thus ensuring its stability while also preventing its destruction. As discovered by Neo, the prophecy is the result of "just another system of control". The role of the Architect is then to reunite the One with the Source and bring about the destruction of Zion. The pair together thus ensure that the cycle of the Ones and Matrices continue.
In the final two films, the Oracle succeeds in unbalancing the Matrix (seeing the simultaneous rises of both Neo and Smith) to the extent that it is almost destroyed. However in so doing, she manages to bring about a resolution in which the cycle of Ones and war is ended and peace can be maintained between the Machines and Zion. A 'risky game' according to the Architect, that could have ended up destroying the Matrix and the Machine world.
In conclusion she prepares the elements of the unbalanced equation so that they can be properly expressed and an answer found, it is this answer that will be used in order to create a better revision of the Matrix
Updated with Shimada's death. I offer any EPN to give a more powerful description of her in rememberance.
Update:
Changed Halborn's "omgImdead" level to "Dead Red." Carlyne's been changed to "MIA Orange," as has Danielle Wright, in expectance that she's disappeared after you defeat her atop the rooftops.
Also added a new entry, the Biological Interface Program, now that there's enough information about it and it appears to have a body...
Another reason for the update is that I couldn't stand scrolling by and seeing the mod's post as being the last one. Orange is such a beastly color amidst the black and grey...
Big update:
Updated Ghost's information.
Changed Halborn's "omg im dead" level down to Orange again, as I still have no real confirmation of his death.
Changed Carlyne's and Wright's Dead level to red, based on the 12.1 missions.
Added more information for the BIP/Trinity.
Added two new entries under Oligarchs: Helian and Tesarova.
I'd move Wright from 'The Oligarchy' to 'Other', 'cos she was never actually a member of the Oligarchy, just someone who managed to steal their override tech. I get the feeling the Oligarchy is going to become increasingly important as the story goes on, and we don't want her brief(ish) appearance confusing things.
Good point. *shove*
Minor update concerning Mauser and Oracle, using a slight mesh of actual transpired Events and Rarebit's story notes. Nothing else was changed, as I'm not going to update past tense story details with future tense never-going-to-happen-anyway story plot.
Why isn't Smith here?
