When Morpheus offers the pill choice to Neo, they are still in the Matrix. That leads me to belive that none of the pills are real thus having no particular effect in the real world. Was it some sort of placebo effect that freed Neo from the Matrix or do the pills have an actual effect?
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1I'm sure they said that the pill helps them find Neo in the real world (outside of Matrix). – Zikato Jun 16 '15 at 10:01
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@Zikato sorry for answering but I started to answer before you commented! – Often Right Jun 16 '15 at 10:06
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No problem, I wouldn't have time or resources for a more complete answer anyway. – Zikato Jun 16 '15 at 10:36
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Richard must be colorblind. The other question is only about the blue pill. What's more, the answers are only about the blue pill. It is patently FALSE that "this question already has an answer" there. – Martha Jun 17 '15 at 02:01
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@Martha that's what I thought and so just to be sure I casted a reopening vote. However, I usually trust the decision of the mods on any SE network so maybe I missed something that Richard saw. – WizLiz Jun 17 '15 at 06:35
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2@WizLiz - Since the other question asks about the blue pill, you could edit this question to address the red pill exclusively. – Wad Cheber Jun 22 '15 at 03:18
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1@WadCheber - I think that's an excellent idea. – Valorum Jun 25 '15 at 23:55
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@Richard relevant meta post about duplicate. – WizLiz Jun 26 '15 at 06:44
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@wizliz - I must confess I really dislike duplication. The fact that I can copy large chunks of my answer wholesale (from one question to the other) gives an indication why. – Valorum Jun 26 '15 at 06:56
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@Richard I used to be like you on gaming SE. Even asking general question so any further question regarding that matter could be closed as duplicate of the genreal I asked. Until the day I couldn't find the right word to search for a question and got linked to the one I was looking for through someone else's question which was worded as I would have. There I udnerstood that duplication is not a bad thing and having duplicate content can ease the way to find answers. I still vote to close exact and accidental ducplicate but for situation like this I tend to let it be. – WizLiz Jun 26 '15 at 07:08
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The frustration is that we could theoretically end up with three questions; 'what does red pill do', 'What does blue pill do','what do the pills do'.Now arguably the first two are better because they're more specific but if the third is asked, then they become duplicates of the worser question. – Valorum Jun 26 '15 at 07:24
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It’s very important to decide whether you’ve going to take the red placebo or the blue placebo. – Paul D. Waite Oct 04 '16 at 18:11
2 Answers
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The pill helps the crew locate a person:
The pill is actually a tracing program that disrupts the carrier signal of the pod-human's mind, making it possible for a hovercraft operator to locate the pod that holds the human, and sending commands that force it to go offline and awaken its inhabitant.
This is confirmed within the script (pg 31) (thanks to cde for pointing this out):
MORPHEUS: The pill you took is part of a trace program. It's designed to disrupt your input/output carrier signal so we can pinpoint your location.
So it actually has a function beyond a symbolic choice. In fact, individuals who have been freed from The Matrix are called 'Redpills'
The Blue pill, according to the same page cited above, is thought to contain a 'reset' function which makes the person forget their conversation about the Matrix and continue to lead their normal life in the Matrix. Similarly, 'Bluepills' refers to people who haven't been freed. However, according to the webcomics, Bluepills do remember their conversations (kudos Richard).
As an aside, prior to The Matrix, the idea of a red pill was referenced in Total Recall where a red pill is offered to Quaid as "a symbol—of your desire to return to reality"
Often Right
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1Note the basis for items as programs came from the Creep program and his cake, while the specifics of the red and blue pill from the Matrix Online game. – Jun 17 '15 at 00:44
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2Actually, having read the transcript, Morpheus straight tells Neo that *The pill you took is part of a trace program. It's designed to disrupt your input/output carrier signal so we can pinpoint your location.* – Jun 22 '15 at 04:05
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1Nitpick, transcript != script. On screen words have higher cannonocity than the original script. In this case, its the same, just saying though :P – Jun 22 '15 at 05:53
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According to the webcomics, Bluepills don't forget the conversation they had. – Valorum Jun 25 '15 at 19:32
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so if they combined them................what would a purple pill do? – MissouriSpartan Aug 14 '19 at 17:20
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Redpill
This was answered in a rare 2001 webchat with the Wachowskis:
Jose: What kind of drug does the red pill contain?
WachowskiBros: It’s like a computer virus that’s meant to disrupt Neo’s life signal so that they can pinpoint where Neo’s body is in the power plant..
This tallies very nicely with Morpheus' description from the original Matrix film
Morpheus: The pill you took is part of a trace program. It's designed to disrupt your input/output carrier signal so we can pinpoint your location.
Blue Pill
Per my answer here, within the film canon the precise nature of the "blue-pill" isn't described although we can infer from the quote from Morpheus that it's a sedative;
You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.
In the canon Matrix Comic "A life Less Empty", the main character; Tiera took the blue pill. She clearly recalls discussing the nature of the Matrix with Morpheus but then returns to her normal life. The 'splinter' remains in her mind (causing fits of depression and suicidal tendencies) but without any possibility of escape. There's no indication that the pill had any other affect than simply knocking her out.
