Initially I did not understand this, I really had to ask myself "why betrayal has to occur in either of these cases, or in general?" And then I could derive the answer internally.
Well, the matrix represents the associations and "construct" (or constructs) that have been made as a result of circumstance rather than choice. Once you learn how to recreate your associations, you have to recognize that the mind is a representational system. And if you are to completely "free" yourself of past associations, that means something is going to have to happen to disassociate even those incredibly close to you, so you can re-associate with the source of love which animates everything and THEN you can forgive and move on. Even though as you will understand later that "love" transcends "causality", as Neo could transcend not only the matrix but the world outside of the matrix by using his power to stop the ships after him. When you have lived almost your whole life guided by causality and circumstance rather than taking control yourself, you will have to break free of past connections with it in order for the concept to truly represent truth. That is why Jesus had to be betrayed by Judas and ultimately sacrifice the physical body to break down everything that seems to be and be reborn as one with spirit and truly become that angelic "godlike" being. Similarly, Neo is "the one" and he is "the one" that must ultimately discover true freedom and lead and teach others to achieve this level of freedom to ultimately control his own destiny without having to manipulate or interfere with others to do it. Cypher had a deal with "Mr. Smith".
Now the Mr. Smith metaphor on it's own is very interesting. "anyone can become an agent at any given time" This means it is hardly Cypher's fault as Mr. Smith was fa more powerful. What Cypher failed to realize was how that would potentially not only be his own undoing but everyone else's and the death of all freedom. He also couldn't see that "The One" through love and the spirit will overcome all. Well, Mr. Smith is an agent of/for what? Change? If so, what kind of change? A chemical agent? To What Ends? A government agent? There may be many meanings here.
"Agent" can be defined as
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agent
1: one that acts or exerts power
2a : something that produces or is capable of producing an effect : an active or efficient cause
2b : a chemically, physically, or biologically active principle
3: a means or instrument by which a guiding intelligence achieves a result
4: one who is authorized to act for or in the place of another: as
a : a representative, emissary, or official of a government <crown agent> <federal agent>
b : one engaged in undercover activities (as espionage) : spy <secret agent>
c : a business representative (as of an athlete or entertainer) <a theatrical agent>
5: a computer application designed to automate certain tasks (as gathering information online)
Since this particular agent / set of agents are trying to uphold the status quo and keep everyone asleep we can certainly say they are exerting power, but can also say they are:
1)representative of a "government agent" such as member of the NSA.
2)A "sociological agent" (social engineer) to bring about change.
3)Since Matrix is a computer metaphor, the 5th definition may apply as it may be a computer application designed to automate tasks, which in this case is to keep everyone "automated" like robots or computers and prevent any independent thought that may transform the program. This is perhaps why synchronistically the same actor who played Mr. Smith also in X Files described the humans as a disease as they are the only species that kill for sport and wage wars (not entirely true. Little does he know or explain that it is only because of manipulation that they wage war on themselves and such, and the manipulation done on the previously healthy cell is the sickness, not the individuals that have been used against themselves as victims of this manipulation)
4)"Chemical agent" to bring about the chemicals in the brain conducive to manipulation and influence, which could be external or internal representation. i.e. Neo is fighting his own emotional associations in the mind and conditioning brought upon the chemicals in the food and consumption in the matrix.
5)A biological agent that produces and emits toxins into the mind and is a poisonous toxin that destroys.
6)The cause to bring about a means to the end results which is a more complicated definition and explanation, but could refer to Mr. Smith being a necessary component to making Neo see what must be done.
I appreciate the ambiguity and multiple meanings here and I would tend to view Mr. Smith as an "agent" as something that has multiple meanings and the whole movie has multiple metaphors all of which can be congruent with one meaning or another or sometimes multiple that can be defined here. The Matrix "trilogy" is one of the deepest philosophical and spiritual movies I know. (Combine Matrix Trilogy with the name "Trinity" and Neo falling in love with Trinity" and the 3 as a spiritual number, and those with "open eyes" can probably see several meaning there as well). Just as in the nickname Neo can mean "new". As Neo worked in Meta Cortex, and Meta meaning change can be combined with Neo to signify the "new change" or transformation Neo must undergo. Or it can be interpreted as NeoCortex the part of the mind responsible for learning. Employed as a "hacker" Neo can "hack" or rewire his own brain, hence why he was one of few to transform and "see past" the charade of the matrix with a little help, and part of the ingredients needed for him to become "the one", or "oneness consciousness". The same multi-meaning language here applies to Mr. Smith.
There are duel meanings that only occasionally apply, but if we were to narrow this down to the most important one, we can certainly eliminate the actual government agents. Afterall, "at ANY given time anyone can become one". Well I suppose anyone could "sign up", but not in the way it is expressed in the movie. I don't think that is the message. Instead, I think that represents people becoming exactly alike. Dressing alike, responding alike, sounding the same. Although they may be "agents of change" they are also creating change through this sickness by being manipulated and having their own individuality destroyed. You have all the clones of Mr. Smith that are essentially duplicates. In other words, the system can get everyone else turned against each other after crushing their individuality. The black suit&tie covers the heart, symbolic of what has to happen to the person in order for them to become this kind of "agent", they must have their love darkened, and be stuck in the "black/white duality" or binary/linear thinking limited to a conscious mind who is a slave to his subconscious. The agent actually jumps INTO the person through their heart and upper torso area and then they morph from there and turn into the agent. The binding of energy only after the darkening of the heart and sickening of the stomach takes place.
Conversely, Neo often fights wearing a T-shirt that is all white to give the look of "one" who is healed from the black/white ying/yang paradigm, and has almost an angelic look. After being transformed his "black" head was shaved to also represent a monk like look, i.e. someone who will enter the path to become one with themselves or this oneness consciousness.
See the dark energy of Mr. Smith also appears to be a different "oneness" that is a clone of everything, where as the Neo achieving oneness taps into something more powerful and pure without losing his individuality.
I personally identify Mr. Smith as the death of individuality which is why they transform into looking alike, talking alike, etc. I don't think sticking with just one translation is the right way to go about it, but if I were to pick one, I'd probably go with either 3 above, the people are merely pawns to be automated and robotic/computer like.
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