A lot of discussion around would the Machines honour the deal with Cypher
Cypher wants to go back to the Matrix - he wants to remember nothing - he wants to be given a life where he can enjoy the things he covets - be someone rich, like an actor
It would not cost the Machines anything to give him whatever life he wanted in the Matrix program so no logical reason why they would not
Cypher wanted to get out and they want people to choose to stay in the Matrix
Once out Cypher realised he wanted to be back - would he subconsciously look for the exit again or would he be content, especially if he had a really good life
The Machines would maybe not want to put someone back who may want to escape again so killing him would be easier
Though why waste a fully grown adult battery
Like the end of Spartacus - the Roman leader announces the intention is not to kill them, but make them slaves again - why waste all those slaves - especially the battle experienced one who would make good gladiators
He asks for his memory to be wiped, but they would logically do that anyway as they wouldn't want someone in there who was aware
Would they need to honour the request to give him his great life - there is no reason they have to - would they use logic - or do they have some kind of "honour", similar to what we saw in Second Renaissance - as this was a deal, honouring their end balances the equation
Does Smith actually have the authority to make a deal like that anyway - a different "department" would set up the lifestyles, part of the architecture
Smith is an Agent program and an unstable one at that
The opportunity would be to give him a life where he suffered - this could be for Smith's sadistic satisfaction, which he may well have developed as part of his character dealing with the human red pills in his job
The Machines may decide because of what he escaping and being an enemy he deserves a punishment life where he suffers, the opposite of what he requested
Consider people in our world who are born disabled, without sight, without limbs - in the Matrix, there are people who have been chosen to live those kind of lives, some sort of logical program selection process and a certain percentage who have to be that way
If Cypher is going back at the same age, with his request to be an actor, why not send him back as someone who had an illness or an accident victim
Paralysed, in a wheelchair, ALS, an illness like Helen Keller, what happened to the soldier in Johnny Got His Gun - they could put him into any one of those scenarios and make him live a life of Hell - a punishment he wouldn't know why he was suffering
How many people condemned to live that way do the "God, why has this happened to me" at many points in their life
And after watching him kill Dozer, Apoch and Switch that way, how many might agree he deserved it
And wouldn't that have some logic, balancing the equation
