Going through old files laying around here and noticed a certain trinity_wingless.txt, which was a flurry of notes on some story direction ideas that popped into my head way back in August of 2006, long before I was in control of the storyline. Was going to try running the Seraph idea past Paul, but then didn't bother since it turned out Seraph was going to go through his dunking in the river, and be gone for a while--back in the red sky period and all that.

I think the Seraph idea came out of my wanting to try to tie the Assassin stuff into something that could go forward and be explored for new meaning about the Matrix as a whole. Germs from the "trinity" part would later form aspects of the Oligarch concept.

They're a little silly, and watch out for some corny dialogue, but here we go on a trip back in time to weird Matrix story ideas I had two and a half years ago:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[other stuff:
a) architect creates 99% matrix
b) discovery of the anomaly (Smith)
c) architect creates the one, a program with the illusion of choice
d) oracle leaks the prophecy
e) the one disrupts the anomaly
f) the one returns to the source and resets, cleansing anomaly code
g) architect wipes out the 1%'s support group (Zion)
h) the one seeds the 1%'s support group
i) 1% population grows, anomaly grows
j) go to c
[- Oracle disliked deaths of the 1%, wanted to change after e so that the one and the anomaly destroy each other
[- Architect didn't like this change to the plan, but couldn't refuse. But he didn't help.
[- Trinity was a Machine created by Oracle to force Neo's choice
[- Trinity was retrieved alive by the machines and taken to machine city
[- The unexpected: they were human enough for her to become pregnant; child is first sexually produced machine
[- Trinity's SI perishes during childbirth
[- The oligarchs dump her code to a new SI


Ascension of the Wingless

- Seraph was a Seraphim: an Agent of the first Matrix
- The first Matrix was too perfect; led to mass rejection (and resulting pod death) by humans
- Second was the freakshow; Merovingian and his Exiles; more mass rejection
- Frustrated Architect consults the Oracle
- Third was the current one, which has had six Ones, and five 1% wipeouts
- Anyway, the Seraphim programs were deactivated after Matrix 1 and archived by the Box Maker
- In Matrix 3, the Merovingian hacked the Box Maker, stealing the Keymaker and one Seraphim: Seraph
- They were smuggled into the Matrix via the Trainman. This is how Seraph knew how to find the Trainman.
- Seraph and the Keymaker were imprisoned in the Merovingian's dungeon.
- Merv wanted to use Seraph as an enforcer. Seraph couldn't accept imperfection of Merv, a Matrix 2 program.
- Seraph tried to escape on his own. He was caught and tortured; his wings were shorn.
- This is why the Merv club guards recognize him, and why Merv refers to him as his "little Judas."
- The Oracle sensed his torture and rescued him.
- Pain and the loss of his wings helped prepare him
- The Oracle taught him the beauty of imperfection, and to protect humans like herself and the architect.
- When Neo asked Seraph what he was, he couldn't tell him about the previous Matrices yet.
- So he just said "I protect that which matters most."
- Neo assumed that he was talking about the Oracle. But Seraph meant the human race.
- When Seraph told Smith he had beaten him before, he meant in a previous pre-disruption anomaly.
- This time, because of the Trinity program, the One did not return to the source after disrupting anomaly
- The anomaly continued building.
- The uber anomaly encountered Seraph and the Oracle, and absorbed them
- They were freed when Neo cancelled the anomaly out.

- Fifth Assassin mask was not recovered (sunk). It took root down deep, continued Matrix decay.
- Seraph and Oracle found it, eventually. It was not fully manifested, but still corrupting code around it.
- Left undiscovered, the corruption had grown. A human RSI could not withstand it.
- This was a problem. Seraph determined that he would activate it so that it could be destroyed.
- Oracle doesn't want him to do it. But she will respect his wish.

[Debir Court, peak server time]

[track number of simultaneous clients on regionserver]

[if server crash at any point, pick back up at peak time next day]

/shoutserver Oracle - "Please come to Debir Court as fast as you can."

O - Thank you for coming, all of you.
O - You came to the Matrix because you sensed something wrong with your lives.
O - You rejected the false front of the simulation.
O - You are the 1%, my beautiful imperfections.
O - Some of you, I know, have been getting that feeling of something being wrong again.
O - Something deeper in the simulation.
O - We felt it, too.
O - And some of you knew that something has been missing. Something important.
O - Something that was never meant to be allowed in the Matrix.
O - When your combined efforts defeated the five aspects of the corruption program, the Assassin,
O - ...Seraph retrieved the programs' key bits: the masks of the Assassin.
O - While still latently corrupt on their own, their corruptive aspect is neutralized when worn by a human.
O - Humans have a certain tolerance--a need, even--for imperfection.
O - This is your strength. The latent corruption of the masks is no match for it.
O - But the fifth mask was not retrieved.
O - We know now that, toppling overboard from the Assassin's garbage scow retreat...
O - ...the mask fell into the river, where strong currents carried it down and away.
O - Deep down it sank, into the bowels of the city.
O - Buried in the heart of the city's water supply, its latent corruption leaked and spread...
O - ...far and wide beneath our feet. The background of decay masked its own source.
O - Its corruption become more than latent.
O - The fifth Assassin program is on the verge of reactivation.
O - ...
O - Seraph?

S - Ever since the Oracle rescued me from the Merovingian's dungeon...
S - ...she has taught me the value and the beauty of imperfection.
S - But even so, I will always remain a program. Lacking the imperfection of a human.
S - This is what makes you so valuable.
S - There was a time when Neo asked me what I was.
S - At that time, I could not reveal to him that I came from the first version of the Matrix--
S - --that he was in the third one. This could only be revealed at the time of his Choice.
S - I could only tell him that I protect that which matters most.
S - He assumed that I meant the Oracle.
S - He was incorrect.
S - It is the future of the human race that matters most. It is your future.
S - Today I am proud to be in a position to help protect that future.
S - The fifth Assassin key bit has had time to regain power to the point where even a human cannot equip it and survive.
S - /talkgroup But its corruption program must be cancelled out before it crashes this simulation that nurtures 99%...
S - ...of the human race.
S - You know how to defeat an active Assassin program. You have done it before.
S - Therefore, all that remains is to activate the program in a controlled environment...
S - ...where you can terminate it quickly, and neutralize the mask permanently.
S - /lookaround
S - Yes. It will suffice.
S - ...
S - Oracle.

O - Seraph--

S - Everything is prepared. But I feel a difficulty executing my decision. I do not understand.

O - Seraph--don't you see? You've learned what choice is, too.
O - You've attained the beauty of imperfection that you sought.

S - I-I have?

O - Old friend, you don't have to do this. We'll find another way.

S - /shakehead N-no. There is not enough time. I feel it. I know you have seen it.
S - /lookaround
S - ...
S - It took us months to locate the mask.
S - It is too powerful now for your RSIs to withstand.
S - But I believe that I can withstand it long enough to activate the Assassin program.
S - I know you will not fail me.
S - And I...

O - Seraph!

S - ...I will not fail you!
S - /covereyes
S - /anguish Aaaaaaa! /assassinmask

O - Seraph...

S - ...

O - You know what do! Use your flit guns! Don't let it escape! Make the right choice, and we won't let Seraph down!
O - ~spawnitem flitgunvendor (x4)

[mass spamming of flit guns, corrupteds, assassin abilities, kept up as long as possible (hour max)]

O - Let me through!
O - /kneel
O - Where is [assassin killer]?
O - We don't have much time. Will you accept his mask?
O - Choose quickly!
O - Keep it safe.
O - ... /shakehead
O - Seraph... You **** beautiful fool of an angel...

[Answer some player questions. Matrix is saved. Don't know. Don't know if Seraph will be back.]

O - I've got to go...go sit down.

Interesting...

An interesting idea for another direction, but I don't think I would've liked it too much. Anyway, the origins of Seraph part make a lot of sense to me, mostly.

Very cool. I enjoyed this.

Oooo...it's like treasure for your eyes.

WB should hire you for the Animatrix 2.

Yes Oracle i will take this 5th Assassin's Mask.

Great little jem of a backstory, I enjoyed that

O.o

I probably shouldn't like this plot. But I do. It is, of course, corny as hell, but obviously you would have refined it.

Another thing we'll never see come to pass...

Edit: 'You **** beautiful fool of an angel' will live on forever in my heart.

jl10899 wrote:

Yes Oracle i will take this 5th Assassin's Mask.

Indeed.

Very interesting concept and something we all felt deep-down that we may see back in the day.  There was never truly a sense of closure with the Assassin.  Especially after we noticed the cinematic was updated to show a single fly escape the flit gun's wrath.

Good stuff.

Hm...Rarebit...is this what you were hinting at with all those Seraph event posts and the one where the Oracle said, "I knew he'd try again."

Not to mention the time the Bag Lady gave Phrack a perpetual fly virus out of nowhere around the same time.

Archangel wrote:

Hm...Rarebit...is this what you were hinting at with all those Seraph event posts and the one where the Oracle said, "I knew he'd try again."

That was referring to The General using the Morpheus Sim while in hiding, since Seraph ran to find one of the broadcast signals.

The wording was meant to trick us into thinking she was referring to Morpheus trying to get Neo's remains again (while the mystery surrounding the signal was still very much in effect) when in reality she meant The General trying to rekindle war again.

I still think the Trinity thing is really, really stupid, but I kind of like the Seraph-Assassin plot. It's a quickie, quirky event that would put an end to that whole "the Assassin lives!" thing.

Archangel wrote:

Hm...Rarebit...is this what you were hinting at with all those Seraph event posts and the one where the Oracle said, "I knew he'd try again."

Not to mention the time the Bag Lady gave Phrack a perpetual fly virus out of nowhere around the same time.

I have no such thing.

In fact, I have no perpetuals at all.  Only "event reward" I've ever gotten, from a Live Event (not counting Flit Gun, etc.) was a Decelerator Bit.  Which, you know, became publicly available about a week later.