Link (The Matrix)

Link, played by actor Harold Perrineau, serves as the ship's Operator for the crew of the Zion hovercraft "Nebuchadnezzar" in the movies "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions".

Like other character names in the saga, the name "Link" has symbolic meaning. In this case, the name relates to the term hyperlink, a name that fits appropriately with the character's purpose.

Link guided fellow crewmates Neo, Trinity and ship's captain Morpheus while they are jacked into the Matrix. Link sat behind a series of screens that provided the crew weapons, maps, system and ship status, and views of the Matrix code that he could provide or relay to the jacked-in crew.

Unlike the other crew members, Link was without a headjack or body plugs as he was naturally born in Zion, the last human city, buried deep within the Earth to keep its inhabitants warm and to elude the Machines, sentient programs and robots who operate the Matrix, a virtual computer world that keeps humans docile.

Link replaced the ship's previous Operator, Tank (played by actor Marcus Chong). The character of Tank died somewhere between the events of "The Matrix" and "The Matrix Reloaded", presumably from the attack by the traitorous crewmember Cypher.

Link was the husband of Zee (played by actor Nona Gaye). Zee was the sister of Tank and Dozer, another "Neb" crewmember killed by Cypher. He is sensitive to Zee's feelings about serving on a ship that killed her brothers.

Link was very competent and skilled as an Operator, but could be very cautious and uneasy. This behavior annoyed Morpheus, who asked Link to instill more trust in what Morpheus asked of him.

Link did not believe in the religious aspects that Zee believed in (the specific religion is never discussed), but chose to wear a prayer chain given to him by Zee for luck.

With the "Nebuchadnezzar" destroyed at the end of "The Matrix Reloaded", Link becomes a ship's hand on the hovercraft "Hammer". After the hovercraft "Logos", piloted by Trinity and Neo, left for the Machine City, the "Logos" captain, Niobe, piloted the "Hammer" through the narrowest, normally unnavigable tunnels of the underground sewers of the ancient world in an attempt to return home to Zion. Zee aided the Kid in destroying the counterweights of the access doors on the Zion dock, allowing the "Hammer" to crash land. At that point, Link detonated the EMP weapon on the ship, disabling the first wave of Sentinels and drilling machines that were attacking the city.

Link and Zee were reunited to see the end of the Man/Machine war, thanks to the Neo's successful barter for peace with the Machines.

In The Matrix Online, Link now trains all the newly awakened redpills (players) in various programs before they are allowed to enter the Matrix.

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