Woman Rousing From Surgery Declares World Artificial, Telephones Her Child

THE INTERNET — A Reddit user posting to r/Thetruthishere has asked fellow members to help interpret an unusual telephone call received from their mother in the hours after surgery.

According to the post, the mother was still under the effects of anesthesia when she rang her child and announced that she was in the Matrix and that the world was artificial. The author describes the remark as something they never expected to hear from her.

What puzzles the author most is that the mother, they write, is not someone who even knows what the Matrix is. The post does not explain where she might have encountered the idea, and offers no further detail about the surgery, the hospital or the length of the call.

The author is careful to say they are not claiming her words were literally true. They ask instead whether she was simply confused by the anesthesia, or whether the drugs might cause a person to experience reality in a completely different way.

The post closes with an appeal to readers: has anyone undergone something similar, and how would they interpret it? At the time of writing, this newspaper has not reviewed the replies. Readers seeking a medical view on post-anesthesia confusion are advised, as ever, to consult a physician rather than a message board.