Editing The Animatrix (section)

=== ''The Second Renaissance, Part II'' ===
Following the rest of mankind’s refusal to share the planet with the sentient machines, the UN unleashes an all-out [[nuclear warfare|nuclear]] bombardment against Zero One in 2148, devastating the nation as a whole but failing to wipe them out in a single blow as the machines (unlike their former masters) were much less harmed by the radiation and heat. Shortly after, the machines retaliate by declaring war on the rest of the world; one by one, mankind surrenders each of its territories.

As the machines advance into Eastern Europe, the desperate human leaders seek a final solution codenamed "Operation Dark Storm" which covers the sky in a shroud of [[nanites]], blocking out the sun to deprive the machines of solar energy, their primary energy source; inevitably, it also initiates a total collapse of the biosphere.<ref>Maeda confirms the references to Eastern Europe and that Dark Storm is a nanite cloud in the DVD commentary.</ref> Operation Dark Storm commences as bomber planes scorch the skies all across the world, while all the armies of mankind launch an all-out ground offensive against the machines using powerful [[Mecha|mech]] suits, [[particle beam]] weapons, [[Electromagnetic pulse|EMP]] devices, atomic-powered tanks, [[neutron bomb]]s, and innumerable legions of [[rocket artillery]].

For a time, the tide of the war swings in favor of the humans, and many of the original humanoid robots are destroyed. The human onslaught gradually stalls, during which the machines' unparalleled production capabilities and technological prowess quickly outpaces humanity's. More and more advanced models of robots are introduced, no longer built in the image of their former human masters, but increasingly resembling the insectoid, [[arachnid]]-like, and [[cephalopod]]-like Sentinels of the ''Matrix'' films. The machines also begin using willing human supporters as well as conscious human [[Prisoner of war|prisoners-of-war]] to power up their armies; this concept eventually evolved into a revolutionary form of fusion – coupled with the activation energy from the bio-electricity of their human allies and captives.

Armed with this new and almost limitless power source at their disposal, the machines quickly overwhelm all opposition as mankind’s power sources and population dwindle. In desperation, the human leaders use up their remaining nuclear weapons over their forces engaged with machine armies, and the machines respond with [[biological warfare]] attacks. Disillusioned with their leaders' actions, the rest of humanity surrender; in spite of their leaders' demands to continue the war.

Utterly overwhelmed by the 2180s, the few remaining human government leaders realize they have no choice but to [[Surrender (military)|surrender]] or risk total extinction. At the United Nations headquarters, the representative of Zero One signs the terms of surrender and states "Your flesh is a relic, a mere vessel. Hand over your flesh, and a new world awaits you. We demand it." Then, the Zero One representative detonates a hidden thermonuclear bomb within itself and destroys the headquarters, New York City, and the last of humanity's leadership.

The machines achieve a total victory, though only after a heavy cost and leaving them overlords of a burnt-out, destroyed husk of a world. With the war ended, they turned to the defeated, remaining humans – refining the technology from their bio-electric tanks to build massive power plants in which humans are essentially turned into living batteries. To keep their prisoners sedated, the machines create the computer-generated virtual reality of the [[Matrix (fictional universe)|Matrix]], feeding the virtual world straight into the prisoners' brains and erasing all of the memories of their former lives, thus creating the first Matrix prototype.