system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[The Matrix Sequels] Was there any really plausible defense for Zion, absent of a messiah?

Based on the available technology and general awareness of the imminent threat, was there any real defense of Zion that could have been mounted successfully?

The machines seemed to have a tremendous advantage in military and destructive might. Is there anything Zion conceivably could have done to preserve themselves, apart of Neo ending the war with the machines himself?
gpt
Not really. Zion exists only as part of the failsafe the Machines put in place to restart the Matrix when it becomes unstable. In order for the plan to work, the One needs to leave the Matrix and enter the real world and develop a connection with humanity. When the time came that the Matrix began to fail, the Machines would destroy everyone in Zion and then give the One a choice, go to the Source and restart the Matrix and get to free a handful of humans to restart Zion, or let the Matrix fail and all humans plugged in would die and since Zion was destroyed, humanity would cease to exist.

The Humans could put up a good fight, but ultimately they are doomed from the start. The Machines would always have systems in place to keep attacking and eventually winning. If we look at the last Battle of Zion, the Humans were almost finished, it was only the EMP that stopped the first wave of Machines and while it bought them a reprieve, it also cost them all their heavy defense equipment. They were reduced to a handful of hand held weapons, and the second wave would have made short work of them. Even if they were able to hold off that wave, the Machines would have more up their sleeves. Perhaps they would use heavy bombardments to pound them into dust before sending in a clean up crew. Maybe they would have used chemical or biological weapons to finish them off. Hell in a worst case scenario they would have no issues resorting to nuclear weapons. 

No there is no way for Zion to win on their own. The game was rigged from the start.