Mer: Aha, here he is at last. Neo, the one, himself. Right? And the legendary Morpheus. And Trinity of course (then some French crap). I have heard so much of you. Honor me, please. Sit, join us. This is my wife, Persiphone. Something to eat? Drink? Of course, such things are contrivances, like so much here, for the sake of appearances.

Neo: No, thank you.

Mer: Yes, of course. Who has time? Who has time? But then, if we do not ever take time, then how can we ever have time? (some French crap about wine) I love French wine. In fact I love the French language. I have sampled every language, French is my favorite. Fantastic language, especially to curse with. (string of French obscenities) It’s like wiping your ass with silk, I love it.

Mor: You know why we are here.

Mer: I am a trafficker of information. I know everything I can. The question is, do you know why you are here?

Mor: We are looking for the key-maker.

Mer: Oh yes, it is true. The key-maker, of course. But this is not a reason, this is not a why. The key-maker himself, his very nature, is a means. It is not an end. So, to be looking for him is to be looking for a means to…do…what?

Neo: You know the answer to that question.

Mer: But do you? You think you do, but you do not. You are here because you were sent here. You were told to come here, and then you obeyed. It is of course the way of all things. You see, there is only one constant. One universal. It is the only real truth. Causality. Action/reaction, cause and effect.

Mor: Everything begins with choice.

Mer: No. Wrong. Choice in an illusion created between those with power, and those without. Look there, at that woman. My god, just look at her. Effecting everyone around her. So obvious, so (don’t know how to spell this one), so boring. But wait. Watch, you see, I have sent her a dessert. A very special dessert. I wrote it myself. It starts so simply. Each line of the program creating a new fate. Just like…poetry. First, a rush. Heat, her heart flutters. You can see it, Neo, yes? She does not understand why. Is it the wine? No. What is it, then? What is the reason? And soon it does not matter. Soon the why and the reason are gone, and all that matters is the feeling itself. And this is the nature of the universe. We struggle against it, we fight to deny it, but it is of course pretence. It is a lie. Beneath our poised appearance, the truth is we are completely out of control. Causality. There is no escape from it. We are forever slaves to it. Our only ??? is to understand it. To understand "the why". "Why" is what separates us from them. You from me. "Why" is the only real source of power. Without it you are powerless. And this is how you come to me. Without "why", without power. Another link in the chain. But fear not. Since I have seen how good you are at following orders, I will tell you what to do next. Run back and give the fortune-teller this message: "Her time is almost up". Now I have some real business to do, so I will say adue and goodbye.

Neo: This isn’t over.

Mer: Oh yes it is. The key-maker is mine and I see no reason why I should give him up, no reason at all.

Per: Where are you going?

Mer: Please, ???, I have told you; we are all victims of causality. I drank too much wine, I must take a piss. Cause and effect. (French goodbye).