<P> The terms , popularized in science fiction culture , are derived from the 1999 film The Matrix . In the film , the main character Neo is offered the choice between a red pill and a blue pill by rebel leader Morpheus . The red pill would free him from the enslaving control of the machine - generated dream world and allow him to escape into the real world , but living the `` truth of reality '' is harsher and more difficult ; on the other hand , the blue pill would lead him back to stay in the comfortable simulated reality of the Matrix . </P>
what does the blue pill do in the matrix
lead him back to stay in the comfortable simulated reality of the Matrix