Switch

Switch was a crew member on the Zion hovercraft Nebuchadnezzar who, along with Apoc, fell victim to Cypher's fatal betrayal.
==Biography==
Switch served as a guard or protector in their duties and was generally partnered with Apoc. They were part of the Matrix mission to rescue Neo and deliver him to Morpheus. After picking Neo up during his escape from the Agents, Switch held Neo at gunpoint in case his avatar suddenly gets possessed by an Agent; while Trinity removed the bug implanted in Neo's body.
Switch was also part of the Matrix mission to escort Neo and Morpheus during their visit to The Oracle. During the mission, Switch worked together with the other Nebuchadnezzar operatives: Apoc, Trinity, and Cypher. After the completion of the meeting, Switch and the others were accompanying Neo and Morpheus back to the exit when they were suddenly ambushed by Agents. Unbeknownst to them, Cypher had already tipped off the Agents of their location in exchange for being able to safely live within the Matrix. Cypher was then able to safely exit the Matrix ahead of the others, returning back to the Real World and back aboard the Nebuchadnezzar.
Immediately taking advantage of the situation, Cypher trapped Switch and the others within the Matrix by killing and disabling the operators, Tank and Dozer. Switch was afterwards treacherously killed by Cypher who abruptly severed their still active connection to the Matrix. Switch's last words, uttered while kneeling over the body of Apoc, were "Not like this... Not like this," as both they and Apoc were killed by Cypher in the same M.O., their data probes getting pulled off their headjacks without any proper disconnection sequence.
== Gender ==
Switch was originally meant to change genders upon entering the Matrix, which coined their name "Switch". In the real world, Switch would be male, and in the Matrix, Switch would be female - a very clever and critical point of the 'residual self-image' idea. When actress Belinda McClory auditioned for the role, she was going for only half the role - Switch's Matrix form.
Warner Brothers made the decision to cut this and give Switch one form for both environments.
Switch's presentation is deliberately androgynous to pay homage to their original concept. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/trivia?tab=tr&item=tr1556522
Lilly Wachowski would later say that The Matrix contains a "trans metaphor" by the name of "Switch"https://www.them.us/story/lilly-wachowski-work-in-progress-season-two-showtime. Switch highlighted "where [their] headspaces were" when it came to the idea of The Matrix,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-53692435 but from a "closeted point of view."
== Trivia ==
*Switch is one of the only two redpills seen in the Matrix film trilogy dressed in white, the other one being Ghost during the highway chase scene.
*They are also an allusion to the white angel and the female warrior.
*The early concept for Switch's presentation may be a reflection of Lilly and Lana Wachowski's struggles with their gender identity, which were unknown to the public at the time.
*While rescuing Neo, Switch referred to him as a "coppertop", an allusion to bluepills virtually serving as a coppertop battery for the Machines.
== Reference List ==
de:Switch
ja:スウィッチ
ru:Свитч
Category:Characters in The Matrix
Category:Characters in The Matrix: Path of Neo
Category:Deceased characters
Category:Females
Category:Redpills
Category:Zionites