Seraph
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- "You do not truly know someone until you fight them."
- ―Seraph [src]
Seraph[1] is one of the central characters in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions films of the Matrix film trilogy. In the theatrical releases he is portrayed by actor Collin Chou.
[edit] Biography
It is known that when Seraph came to The Matrix he began to work for The Merovingian. When he was working for The Merovingian The Oracle approached him and asked him to protect her. Ever since, The Merovingian has seen him as a traitor.
A program that appears as a human of Asian descent, Seraph behaves as a guardian, similar to a computer login screen, to protect access to more important programming; it challenges anyone for the proper credentials. In this case, Seraph fights the challenger, allowing those with sufficient fighting skill (and the rightful reasons to access) to meet The Oracle.
Neo is summoned by The Oracle and arrives at a teahouse, where Seraph waited. Seraph apologizes to Neo in advance before launching a furious attack to test Neo's true skill, and as such his authenticity.
Seraph is apparently unable to ward away an event that cost The Oracle her "shell" or avatar that most of the Zion operatives were familiar with (not realizing that The Oracle is actually a program and not a bluepill). The event left The Oracle with a different appearance and Seraph apparently needed for other purposes. The Exile accompanies Morpheus and Trinity in tracking down The Trainman and The Merovingian in a successful quest to free Neo from Mobil Station.
Despite a successful fight against Agent Smith in another time and place, Seraph (who attempts to guard Sati as well) is no match for the now-rogue agent, who assimilates him as he does everyone--program or human--that he encounters, including The Oracle herself.
After Neo's successful quest to the Machine City to barter a peace, The Matrix is reloaded, and Seraph, Sati and The Oracle are restored to the proper personas and appearance.
[edit] A Possible Previous 'One'
An existing theory on the origins of Seraph is that he was, at one time, one of the 5 original 'Ones'. Although likely unsound, an immediate observation made in the films is that Seraph appears to be equal in combat to Neo.
Seraph's name has its origins in the Judeo-Christian Seraphim. These are angels that, in the Christian angelarchy, are of the highest rank. An observation made by some fans is that, through the eyes of of Deus Ex Machina, Neo appears angelic and fiery. This ties back into the religious angelarchy as the Seraphim, being angels, are synonymous with fire, their title literally translated as "burning ones". Seraph was of the same fiery golden color, this color being symbolic of spirit in the Matrix, which is a further indicator that he may have once been a human or 'One'. Also, as God's guardians, the Seraphim were said to have 6 wings upon them, 2 at a time guarding a different feature of God's body. This is important to note, in that there were 6 'Ones' in total, Neo being the sixth and final.
Also important is that the particular Smith who assimilated the Oracle was likely the recently assimilated Seraph. This is important to note because the final exchange of words between this Smith and the Oracle we as follows:
- Oracle: "What did you do with Sati?"
- Smith: "Cookies need love like everything does."
- Oracle: "You are a bastard."
- Smith: "You would know, Mom."
Assuming that the Smith in question was once Seraph and that Seraph, himself, was once a 'One', the use of the word Mom is important when considering the Oracle's role in the creation of the current model of the Matrix, which was running through its 6th time. The Oracle was literally the creator, or mother, of the Prime Program (The Path of The One). She created it in order to suppress the anomaly, the rejection of the Matrix program by 1% of the population, that existed in the architects current incarnations of the Matrix. So, in considering the above, assuming that Smith was Seraph and Seraph, a 'One', it would be entirely proper for him to call her Mom. As a side note, a comparative example of an assimilated programming speaking through Smith was in Smith's and Neo's final fight. Smith, being the assimilated Oracle, tells Neo, "Everything that has a beginning, has an end, Neo." It was only ever then that Smith called Neo by his preferred name, implying that it was, in fact, the Oracle directly speaking.
Also interesting is Smith-assimilated Seraph's exclamation, "Cookies need love like everything does" (Although this is quoting Sati, she has learned of cookies through the Oracle). This is of interest in that cookies were believed to be important in the relationship between the Oracle and Neo, or the 'One'. Food is known for its transfer of information in the Matrix and it is believed that the Oracle's cookies were used for transferring important information to Neo, possibly the programming which makes Neo the 'One'.
Furthermore, in support of Seraph's possible previous incarnation as a 'One', it is known that particular humans can be rebirthed in the Matrix after their physical bodies have ceased. An example of this would be Trinity's rebirth in the Matrix (Also composed of golden code), as it was revealed in The Matrix Online that both she and Neo (and discernibly all other 'Ones') were a cumulation of decades of Machine research into translating human DNA perfectly into Machine code, allowing them to interface directly with technology without the need for simulated interfaces. This program was called The Biological Interface Program and was created by the Oracle (Further solidifying the Oracle as mother of the 'Ones').
In compliance with the above information, it is implied that Seraph once worked for the Merovingian, which would be fitting if he was reborn in the Matrix. It is likely that, just as Neo did when he first entered the Matrix through TBI, Seraph would have 're-materialized' at Mobil Avenue (The train station), the departing from which was only possible by riding the train. The train was run by the train master and the train master was under the control of the Merovingian. Ultimately, Seraph would have been led to the Merovingian, leading to his working for the Merovingian.
