Science Fiction & Fantasy Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for science fiction and fantasy enthusiasts. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
Since the kung fu program was simply "loaded" into his RSI, would Neo still be able to put that knowledge to use outside of the Matrix? Were these actual martial art skills, or just their computerized representations, à la video games?
In the same manner, after having received an "update", would Trinity be able to fly an actual helicopter if given a chance in the real world?
Yes
In the third Matrix movie, Smith (as Bane) and Neo fight inside a ship. In the real world. He is still using his fighting knowledge that he gained from the construct program.
That being said, all of the speed and strength advantages he gained in the Matrix are not available to him (until he is blinded?).
It is also unlikely that he physically conditions his body with the movements and muscle memory that would be required for him to perform even close to the level he does in the Matrix. He probably never thought "I'll need this kung fu on the outside too."
Does he know how to punch? Yes. Does he do it well? No.
would Trinity be able to fly an actual helicopter if given a chance in the real world?
That would depend greatly on how accurate The Matrix's simulations of real world helicopters are. I mean, what if the machines got it wrong? Maybe what I think Tasty Wheat tasted like actually tasted like oatmeal, or tuna fish. That makes you wonder about a lot of things. You take chicken, for example: maybe they couldn't figure out what to make chicken taste like, which is why chicken tastes like everything.
If, on the other hand, the Matrix managed to exactly duplicate the operation of a helicopter from the real world, then yes, Trinity now has the knowledge needed to fly the thing, and not just the book knowledge either, because it seems they can upload the training experience directly into her brain. Which makes sense in a way - if you have a direct computer-to-brain interface readily available, you should be able to copy other people's experiences and store them digitally.
Just an educated guess, but I think the answer is a "yes" with a "but..."
I mean kung-fu is obviously uploaded into his brain (or to an interface inside his brain), but there is more to martial art than "dry" knowledge; there is muscle memory, reflexes, physical condition, etc. So I think he knows kung-fu like somebody who have practiced it years ago but since then suffered (and recovered from) a serious neurological damage/trauma. He remembers how to do it and maybe able to defend himself from an unskilled attacker, but is nowhere near the level of masterity he has in the matrix. (Not counting his - in matrix - superhuman abilities of course.)
It appears that the skills learned via the uploading process actually show up in Neo's brain, as in the sequels he fights using Kung-fu outside the Matrix.
Muscle memory/reflexes are stored in the nervous system. If you are uploading data to one cluster of nerves (the brain), doing so to the spine (and other nerves) as well hardly seems unreasonable. So even the reflexes should show up.
The physical condition of the people stuck in the matrix is atrophied, but the process by which they fix the bodies of people who leave the matrix seems to duplicate their physiology inside and outside the matrix.
In the Matrix, Neo (and the other free humans) also cheat (to a greater extent sometimes than others), and for the most part that ability to cheat (pre-blind Neo, if you think they ever got out of a Matrix) won't be available outside the Matrix.
