The Matrix: How Cypher Meets Agent Smith Outside Broadcast Range
Does Cypher's meeting with Agent Smith break The Matrix's digital rule book? He may not hang around for long, but Cypher is one of the most intriguing characters in the Wachowski sisters' original Matrix trilogy. Played by Joe Pantoliano, Cypher took the red pill once upon a time, buying fully into Morpheus' crusade against humanity's Machine oppressors. Since then, Cypher realized life in Zion isn't so great, what with the constant lack of sunlight and the slop-like food. He comes to believe blue would've been the better option, and sells out Morpheus to Agent Smith in exchange for a ticket back into the simulation.
To make his clandestine arrangements, Cypher must broadcast into the Matrix, since Smith is obviously just a program at this stage. Annoyingly, their meeting creates a plot hole - Cypher's meaty rendezvous with Smith seemingly takes place while the Nebuchadnezzar is outside of "broadcast depth." Morpheus' ship uses a pirate signal to hack into the Matrix, and must rise closer to Earth's surface before securing a connection - hence why humans don't simply plug in from the comfort of Zion. Shortly after Cypher returns from his dinner date, Morpheus orders Dozer to "bring the ship up to broadcast depth," which suggests they weren't within range beforehand, and Cypher shouldn't have been able to hack in.
Cypher's broadcast plot hole can potentially be explained by misleading chronology. The Wachowskis' Matrix narrative doesn't necessarily confirm Cypher's meeting with Smith sits directly linear to its adjacent scenes. The restaurant sequence could be a flashback from a time when the Nebuchadnezzar was hovering around broadcast depth. Or maybe there's a subtle time skip between Neo and Cypher's ship scene/meeting Smith in the restaurant. In either case, it's feasible there would be opportunities for Cypher to make his broadcast.
But timeline gymnastics is hardly a neat explanation for how Cypher enters the Matrix outside broadcast range. For starters, The Matrix does feel chronological. There's no hard proof, but The Matrix's sequencing suggests Neo speaks to Cypher in at night while everyone else on board is asleep, Cypher somehow meets with Agent Smith after Neo leaves him alone, then everyone's awake next morning at breakfast. The Wachowskis themselves also cast doubt over The Matrix's restaurant scene being a flashback, as their 1999 commentary reveals the code Cypher's seen writing when Neo interrupts him is actually an automated operator to let him plug in and out of the digital simulation without assistance. Cypher wouldn't be writing code for a meeting he already had.
Though The Matrix doesn't explicitly reveal how Cypher's broadcast is made, the Wachowskis' commentary accompaniment can perhaps help. If Cypher was able to fashion a program for entering the Matrix without an operator, maybe he was able to bypass the broadcast depth rule too. Bear in mind that when Morpheus' gang typically hack in, they seek as little attention as possible. Cypher has the opposite intention, actually wanting Agent Smith to find him. Maybe Cypher not requiring security measures meant hacking a broadcast was easier? There's no concrete explanation for The Matrix's Cypher broadcast plot hole, but only a small leap of logic is required to deduce a working solution.