This article is about the duty of the Operator as seen in The Matrix Trilogy. For alternate meanings, see: Operator (disambiguation)

Operator (disambiguation)

-Music:* Operator , an American hard rock band* "Operator" , a 1965 song recorded by Mary Wells and Brenda Holloway* "Operator ", a 1972 song by Jim Croce from You Don't Mess Around with Jim...

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The Operator on a Zion

Zion (The Matrix)

Zion is a fictional city in The Matrix films. It is the last human city on the planet Earth after a cataclysmic nuclear war between humankind and sentient Machines, which resulted in artificial lifeforms dominating the world.-History:...

 hovercraft is the online guide and resource liaison for redpill

Redpill

The term red pill and its opposite, blue pill, are pop culture terms that have become a common symbol for the choice between the blissful ignorance of illusion and embracing the sometimes painful truth of reality ....

 crewmembers while they are jacked in (connected) to the Matrix, a virtual computer-generated world set in the end of the 20th Century. Each hovercraft has an Operator. The name of the job comes from a telephone operator

Telephone operator

A telephone operator is either* a person who provides assistance to a telephone caller, usually in the placing of operator assisted telephone calls such as calls from a pay phone, collect calls , calls which are billed to a credit card, station-to-station and person-to-person calls, and certain...

, which allows the Operator to disguise himself from bluepills or Agents that accidentally call him (Operators invariably answer any call by saying "Operator").

Operators typically are natural-born humans who grew up in Zion, the last human city of the Earth destroyed by the Man/Machine war of hundreds of years past. While they cannot jack in the Matrix themselves, Operators are highly skilled programmers who can help crews anticipate danger and avoid unwanted contact. Many Operators wear gloves to keep their hands warm; the only Operators that do not wear gloves are AK and Jax. Operators also run the Construct, which is a locally originating virtual world where weapons and equipment can be loaded for a crewmember's avatar

Avatar (computing)

In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text...

 in the Matrix. The Construct can also be used for training as it can simulate elements of the Matrix itself.

Two-way communication is possible between an Operator and his jacked-in crewmates, in the form of telephone calls; redpills in the Matrix typically carry cell phones for this purpose. In addition, an Operator can download needed information directly into crewmates' brains for use within the Matrix, or make unauthorized changes ("hacks") to the environment in order to assist them. Before redpills can enter or leave the Matrix, the Operator must establish an access point, or "exit," which takes the form of a hardline telephone. Agents or law enforcement officers can disable an exit by disconnecting it from the telephone network (e.g., cutting the cord) or physically destroying the phone.