A Matrix encounter - Chapter II

[Fox]

"Everything begins with choice." - Morpheus

It's dark and raining and I'm walking the streets of the matrix. Thoughts are turning over in my head. Many thoughts. Random. Confusing. Contradictory. The thoughts torture me but worst still are the feelings. The emotions. Hate. Hate for the machines. Hate for the exiles. Love. My love for humanity. My love for Zion. What of the truce? The uneasy stalemate that keeps the matrix together? A necessary evil that must persist. The fate of Zion and the truce with the machines inextricably woven. It all confusing, conflicting, balanced and perfect.

"Choice. The problem is choice." - Neo

I had to make a choice. The rebel force is growing like a virus. Soon there will be no truce. There will be war. There will be no matrix. There will be no Zion. There will be no humanity. The machines will adapt and learn to survive without us. There will be no future for blue-pills. There will be no-where to hide for red-pills.

Choice.

The harvestation of humans repulses me. Even now when I think about countless blue-pills trapped in their pods. Farmed like cattle. Oblivious to reality. Manipulated and used. My skin crawls when I think about my life as a blue-pill. The machines represent everything that humanity is not. We have nothing in common.

I sigh. The rain is heavy. Depressing. My thoughts are heavy and depressing. The chill night air envelopes and presses on me. My breath mists as I exhale. My hat and jacket keep me dry.

I have made a choice.

In my heart I understand that another war will mean the destruction of Zion. Zion should already be destroyed. Neo sacrificed himself for the promise of a truce. He made a deal with the devil. I realise now that the truce must be maintained above all else. Neo understood that. I understand that. Even if it means strikes against Zion. It pains me but I know the truth. The truth that humanity will destroy itself. The machines know this truth. How ironic.

"No one can see beyond a choice they don't understand" - Oracle

I can't see the future. I don't understand my choice. I know I've made the right choice - I think. It matters not. My choice will soon be tested.

I'm on a mission. I'm to perform a break-and-enter and steal a virus from a citizen. That sounds harmless enough. I try not to think about how the virus might be used. I check the house numbers. This is it. A block of apartments. I glance up and down the street. It's raining so the streets are empty. I open the door and walk into the foyer. My eyes are fixed to the floor, avoiding eye contact with any residents. I walk briskly to the elevator, my clothes dripping water onto the carpet. The elevator opens. It's empty. I enter and press the required floor button. I'm feeling apprehensive. I tell myself I'm stealing an ordinary virus. It's not a Zion virus. Just a virus. No big deal. Get in, download the virus, get out and find a hardline. I've done this thing against the exiles before. This is no different, I lie to myself but my subconscious is not convinced.

The elevator jerks to a halt and the door opens. I walk down the hall and find the target apartment. I take a moment to straighten my water soaked jacket. I have no weapons but I've downloaded Aikido. It's a defensive form of martial arts and I use that for self-defence when I need to. I try the door. It's unlocked. I push it open and silently slip inside.

The apartment is modest but comfortable. It's well lit. I stand motionless, using enhanced matrix abilities to listen for occupants. I hear nothing. I scan the room and see a laptop on a table. I walk over to it and punch a few commands on the keyboard. Locating the virus and downloading it is no challenge for me. I got the right programs from the Operator before I jacked in. I have the virus on a disk and put it in my jacket pocket. It's just an ordinary virus I think to myself once again.

"HEY!!! Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Shit. The owner has returned and walked in on me. A woman. My nervousness has caused me to drop my guard.

I barely have enough time to turn and face the woman before she charges me. I see her coming and instinctively jump over her with a forward flip, my knees tucked to my chest. She rushes past me and lands sprawling on the floor as I land behind her. My heart is pumping and I can sense my adrenaline rising. This was not the plan. I intended to avoid confrontation. She should not be here.

I turn to face the woman. She gathers herself together but she keeps her distance. She stares at me intently and starts waving her hands in the air in front of herself, like she's playing an invisible piano. My aikido progam kicks in. I take a defensive posture. My eyes are locked on hers. My concentration sharpens. My balance is perfect. I focus and wait for her next move.

The woman grins deviously and a moment later, I know why. As I stand there my vision goes blurry, my head spins with confusion. I see images and pictures - all random - and voices and noises in my head. This woman is a hacker. She's trying to hack the matrix code. She's trying to hack me! I concentrate hard and focus inwards. My mind looks past the steel and wood that the matrix portrays. I start seeing data streams. I don't see a chair or table, I see code. Software. I focus on the hacking attempt. I unravel the code easily. It's not sophisticated. I repel the hacking attempt and undo any effects I suffered. My mind is clear. I glance at the woman. She's surprised and I can tell she's a little frightened. She's realised what I've realised and we come to the same conclusion.

We're both red-pills.

She's a Zion Virologist. She lives in Zion and works against the machines.

Once again, untrained in the martial arts, she charges at me, screaming something incomprehensible with a clenched fist in the air. Her rage is uncontrolled and this becomes her weakness. Poised and without thinking, I spin a full circle, leg extended in the air and as the virologist approaches, the heel of my boot connects solidly with her chest. She grunts and collapses to the ground. Motionless. I stand straight and listen for activity from the hall. Nothing. I bend down and check her body for a pulse. Nothing. She's dead.

My heart beat slows and the adrenaline rush is over. I look down at the body by my feet and try to process what I'm feeling. Regret. Sadness. Perhaps a tinge of mourning. I killed her with one blow. It was easy. Too easy. I served a blow to Zion and I didn't even hesitate.

She was a red-pill. Like me. Her real body is lying in a reclined chair with a probe inserted into the back of her skull. Like me. She's on a hovercraft at broadcast level, her crew, her friends, watching over her as she performs her mission. Like me. She's now dead. A flat-liner. Her crew are probably in stunned silence, staring at her lifeless body slumped in the chair. That could be me. Perhaps that should be me.

I check my jacket pocket. I notice my hands are shaking. The disk is still in my pocket. I have the virus. Mission achieved. My agent will say that's all that matters. I made the right choice.

"No one can see beyond a choice they don't understand."

My future is no more clear now than twenty minutes ago.

I walk out of the apartment, into the foyer and onto the sidewalk. It's still dark. It's still raining. It's still depressing. It's not real rain. It's synthesised matrix rain. I hunch my shoulders and jam my hands deep into my trouser pockets. I walk off into the night and slink into the shadows. I find a hardline and lift the handset.

"Operator"

[Bayle]

once again Fox, another fine story.