It was like being jerked from a deep sleep, and startled awake. The disorientation alone was terrifying, but the inexplicable sight of pink substance that surrounded him certainly didn't help. Where was he? Was he drowning? His hands clawed through the slime, fingers curled to tear through the thick fluids. He'd die if he didn't... he just knew it.
The top of his entrapment felt like membrane; thick and slime-covered, yet somehow stretchable, like rubber. The thought terrified him, that he might not be able to break through it. Somehow, he'd remained trapped here, in this gel-filled coffin, until the inevitable happened. Panic set in. He couldn't stay here. He couldn't. He had to get out, get away... get free. If he could speak, he'd have begged as his fingers tore desperately into the substance. Finally, it gave way, breaking loose against his persistent clawing. Roger moved upward, through the roof of the strange capsule, until he was free from the gel that he was now apparently bathing in.
It wasn't over yet, though. His throat... his mouth... his arms... he still felt trapped.
He was bound down, being suffocated by his entrapment. His hands went to his mouth, grabbing the metal and rubber breathing apparatus, before pulling on it. He felt the tubes slide within his esophagus, as he pulled it out of him, gagging and choking in the process.
It was Hell.
He'd awoken into the pit of Hell, itself.
Once free from the breathing contraption, he tossed it to the side and gasped for air... only to be overwhelmed by the smell of exhaust and the feel of static electricity in the air around him. His eyes opened, and he caught sight of the horrific truth: endless towers, housing individual pods just like the one he was now sitting upright in. Inside each of them: men and woman, nude, bathed in the same pink substance, seemingly comatose.
His eyes burned, and his vision was blurred. He hoped, for a brief instant, that this was all somehow, a dream. Some terrible nightmare that he'd wake up from, and if there was a god of some kind, would not remember.
His silent plea was interrupted by the hissing whir of machinery, however, as a large insect-like creature soared toward him at a frightening speed. If this was Hell, then this thing was undoubtedly some kind of demon, coming to dispose of him in some terrible fashion. Panic once more set in, as Roger caught sight of the large mass, and slid around inside his pod, looking for an escape. He tried to stand, but his legs wouldn't work properly. Even if he could, there was nowhere to run to... only a jump that would've inevitably led to a fall to the death.
But it was too late now.
The thing had reached him, and in a single, swift motion, it had grabbed him by the throat with enough force to crush the life out of him in an instant.
It felt like it was drilling into the back of his skull, before he heard a sudden popping release of air... and then he went limp. He lost the function of his neck, as though something had been pulled from the back of his head, when the machine finally released him. The endless supply of explosions that followed, forced his body to jerk in every direction, as tubes and cables were released from each one's respective port. Suddenly, he was moving... away from everything. A brief glimpse behind him, revealed that a porthole had opened up at the head of the pod, and everything within was being flushed... including him.
Had he not been hyperventilating, he might've thought to scream. Though, it wouldn't have helped him.
Slime and algae lined the pipes that Roger found himself sliding down at a terrifying rate of speed. He was out of control, with no way of stopping his acceleration, or his descent. This would probably be the end of him... and he couldn't help but wonder, even for a second, if anyone else would know what happened to him. Would someone explain to his mother, the fate that seemed inexplicable, even to him?
Was there some kind of reasonable explanation for what had happened to him, that he somehow failed to comprehend? These questions were useless, as he reached the end of the pipeline and fell into the water that waited below. This would be his grave. Now he really would drown. Flushed out of the pink tomb he'd been imprisoned in for his entire life, into the endless sewers below, his limbs wouldn't respond to his attempts to tread water. It somehow figured that this would be the way his life would ultimately end: purged from the world, like some sort of freshly-removed cancer, and left to drown.
Suddenly, he was immersed in light.
Four brightly-lit beams shone down on him from above, all in a perfectly symmetric rectangle. It was as though the heavens were shining down on him, in all of his confusion and pain, and it took everything he had to remain afloat, as he gagged and spit the water out of his mouth that threatened to fill his lungs beyond their capacity.
Blackened heavens opened up, above him, revealing blinding light from within. He couldn't begin to imagine what this strange thing was, but part of him couldn't help but question whether it was God himself. Suddenly, what at first appeared to be a malformed hand, appeared amidst the light, slowly reaching down for him, as though it were calling him home. The crackling thunder seemed to echo around him, whereas only moments prior, all he could hear was the sound of his own frantic splashing. The hand came down and claimed him for itself... and Roger wondered momentarily whether or not it was another of those strange insect-like things that he'd seen from his pod. At any rate, as it wrapped itself around him and pulled him from the water, he was too tired to fight back, and just happy to be saved from a watery grave.
Slowly, it pulled him upward, towards the light. His naked body, soaked with water, couldn't help but shiver as the air hit him. The air was much colder than he was used to... but it wouldn't be a problem much longer. Soon, the light would swallow him whole, and he would be finished with this exhausting excuse for a life.
Roger closed his eyes in exhaustion, and welcomed it.
--
"Can you speak?" The male voice called out to him, amidst the darkness. "You really had us worried back there. We weren't really expecting you." Everything slowly faded in from darkness, including the being that seemed to be hovering over him. His eyes hurt, and his head was throbbing... was he dead?
"Who are you?" Roger asked, half-groaning, as he started to move.
"Whoa, lay still, before you hurt yourself. Don't try to move, you're a wreck right now." The male explained to him. "You're safe with us, I promise."
"Where am I?" Roger asked, quietly, as he did what he was told.
"Sick bay, for starters." The male voice answered him, though Roger still couldn't see well enough to make out a face. "They call me Maddox. I'm the Medical Officer and Operator onboard the ship you're on."
Roger groaned again, as his throbbing migraine was now almost to the point of bringing him to tears... not that anyone would've noticed, as his eyes were tearing up anyway from the strain of being used.
"I'm on a ship?" He asked, finally.
"Yeah, one of the three working ones, now that the Zion construction crews have finally gotten off of their butts." Maddox explained. "Don't worry, all of your questions will be answered soon enough... right now, let's just focus on getting you healed up."
Roger nodded, slightly. He'd never been in this much pain before, so he could only imagine how much damage his body had undergone... any medical attention he could get was probably badly needed.
"The hell were you doing down there anyway? Who awakened you?" Maddox asked, as he hovered over him with some kind of handheld scanning device. "It wasn't us, that's for sure."
"Awakened me?" Roger echoed Maddox's words, not knowing quite how to answer.
"Yeah, you know... gave you the red pill?"
Roger thought about the question for a moment, before answering.
"Nobody gave me a red pill."
Suddenly, Roger could hear Maddox stop in his tracks. Even the noise of the scanning device he had been using came to a stop, and Roger wondered if he'd said something wrong. Or worse, what if Maddox had just found something wrong with him that couldn't be treated?
"You're kidding." Maddox said, breaking the silence, finally. "You self-substantiated?"
Again, Roger didn't really know how to answer. He didn't know what that meant, or what he was supposed to have awakened from. He was amazed by the sheer fact that he was even capable of coherent thought, at this point, what with what he'd experienced, and the headache he was suffering from.
"If what you say is true, then you're something of a minority, mister." Maddox chuckled. "Not too many humans self-substantiate from the Matrix... hell, scientists in Zion thought it was impossible, up until a few months ago. Some of them think it's some kind of natural evolution... I guess that would make sense, if we weren't all test tube babies."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Roger asked Maddox, who now seemed to be babbling on in some foreign language.
"Huh?" Maddox answered, as he started to realize that he was talking more to himself than to Roger. "Oh, right, right. Sorry. I'll change the subject, until you get a chance to talk to the captain. He should be able to answer most of your questions."
Roger sighed and closed his eyes once more.
"How long am I going to be laid up like this, anyway?"
"Well, you're not in the worst condition I've seen someone in. A little bit of muscle atrophy in your legs and arms, but your organs seem fully functional." Maddox explained, non-chalantly. "Oh, and that headache of yours will pass."
Roger paused, as he tried once more to open his eyes.
"How did you know I had a headache?" He asked Maddox.
"They always do, when they've just been awakened." Maddox replied, chuckling.
Roger sighed.
When Roger awoke, he was in a small metal room that looked like little more than a prison cell, or quarters onboard a submarine. His eyes still hurt, though not as bad as they had before, but his headache had subsided.
He stared at the ceiling for the longest time, in silence, trying to make sense of it all, and hoping that someone onboard the alleged ship had a cigarette that they'd let him have. He couldn't help but think back over his life, in that apartment in Apollyon, and how apparently it was all gone. It had all been a dream of some kind, and he'd come to realize that... which had resulted in his awakening from a nightmare that had somehow never even existed. It was almost inexplicable, yet it made perfect sense. Somehow Roger couldn't help but feel as though he'd been at the butt of perhaps the largest practical joke known to mankind... that everything he'd ever known had been a lie. With so many things wrong with what he thought was the world, he felt ashamed that he hadn't figured it out sooner.
Suddenly the door to his cabin creaked open with a long metallic whine of rusted metal, and Roger lifted his head, slightly, to see two people entering.
"Good, you're awake." The familiar voice of Maddox chimed in, as he smiled. Roger sat up in his bed to look at the man, who looked Hawaiian in descent. He couldn't help but notice the metallic ports on Maddox's arms, before finally noticing that he had the same thing on his own arms... one of which, was connected to a strange tube.
"You're Maddox, right? The medical guy?" Roger asked, as he stabilized himself in a sitting position, trying not to upset the tube that was protruding from his left arm, for fear of hurting himself or something around him.
"Yep, that's me. And this is Rei." He said, nodding to the blonde-haired woman behind him, that was smiling politely in Roger's direction. "We came to check up on you and see how you were doing... by the looks of it, you're doing great."
"I'm not too sure I even know what great is, right now." Roger said, as he looked down at the protrusion from his left arm. "What's this?"
"Oh, that." Maddox said, as he approached and took the tube in his hand. "That, my friend, is an IV..." he explained, before carefully removing it from Roger's forearm. "...one that you'll no longer be needing, since you're strong enough now to eat real food."
"If you have the stomach to call it that." Rei chuckled from the background.
"...I'm, uh... not hungry, actually." Roger said, as he scooted toward the edge of his bed and put his feet on the floor.
"Too eager for answers?" Maddox asked, half-smiling.
"Do you blame him?" Rei asked Maddox, before slugging him in the arm. "The poor guy has no idea what's going on, unlike you, who has been awakened for how long now?"
Maddox's eyes widened for a moment, while he thought back, trying to count how long it had been. Unfortunately, he'd long forgotten. So much had happened between then and now that it seemed like it was just a minor turning point in his history... though he figured that Zion had it on file, somewhere.
"Tell you what..." Rei said, as she approached Roger and helped him to his feet. "Come with me, I'll introduce you to the captain and see what we can do about answering some of the questions you have. Does that sound good?"
Roger nodded quietly, as he rose to his still not-quite-stable legs. It was amazing to him that he was even capable of using them, after he'd been told that they'd atrophied. With a little effort and concentration, though, he was able to stand on his own and even begin to take steps. Rei helped him, as Maddox moved out of their way, and the two left the room. Maddox chuckled to himself, as the door closed behind them. If there was anything that amused him, it was the sheer naivety of the newly-awakened, and Roger was no different. He honestly couldn't remember what it was like to feel that way about learning the truth, though part of him regretted not remembering what it was like.
"So you're Phrack." Rei said, as she walked along with Roger, watching to make sure he was capable of carrying himself without falling.
"What?" Roger asked, startled by hearing that name. "How do you know that name?"
"Well, we had no idea who you were, so we started doing some research. Turns out, there was a Roger Frost that was found dead in a subway at the same time you were awakened. Police records showed that he went by the hacker alias ‘Phrack.'" She explained to him, as they proceeded through the corridor of the ship. It didn't look like a submarine, really... there were cables going in every direction. Phrack couldn't help but think that if it was a sub, it must've been in shambles.
"So... I'm dead, then?" Phrack asked, not quite sure what to think.
"It's hard to explain, but we'll answer that momentarily." Rei replied, with a smile.
"Welcome aboard the Shiva II. They call me Fragment." The older man said, as he extended his hand to greet Phrack. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but how did you manage to wake yourself up?"
Phrack didn't have an answer. How could he?
"I'm not exactly sure. I'm not even sure what I woke myself up from." He answered, sounding out of it. "I might be able to tell you more, if I knew."
Rei smiled at Phrack and motioned him toward a nearby seat, as Fragment sat down and chuckled. Phrack's response wasn't unreasonable in the least, and he'd seen a lot of freshly awakened podborn in his day. The fact that the kid hadn't gone berserk and claimed that they'd put him in that pod was definitely a good sign.
"Well, that makes sense... let me see if I can give you a little bit of perspective." Fragment said, as he crossed his legs and smiled politely. "What would you say if I told you that your entire life, prior to now, has been little more than a dream?"
"...Who dreams for nearly twenty years?" Phrack asked, his brow furrowing at the concept. He was skeptical, obviously, but it was perfectly fine with Fragment, as it meant that he had a voice of reason.
"Someone who's had that dream induced upon them." Fragment answered, smiling.
Phrack absorbed the answer, thoughtfully.
"Alright." He said, finally. "Then my next question is who."
"You saw who." Fragment retorted. "That machine was just one of thousands... possibly millions. They tend to like us a lot better when we're in our pods, asleep. We don't interfere with them, then."
Phrack nodded. He was still in a state of disbelief, but the answers were making enough sense... despite the senselessness of the situation. He probably would've thought that they were an elaborately thought-out series of answers, but the speed in which this man... Fragment... was capable of reciting them, was one hell of an indication that he wasn't lying.
"Why, then?" Phrack asked.
Fragment grimaced a little.
"That one's a little harder to explain. Let me ask you a question, Phrack..." He said, looking in the direction of the unsure teen. "...do you trust us?"
Phrack's eyes locked with Fragment's, momentarily. It was a question worth asking, that's for sure. How was Phrack to tell that they didn't have an alternative motive? But then again, assuming of course that they did, how was he to know that they weren't the only people left on Earth? Did he really have any choice, but to trust them?
"I think if any of you were going to hurt me, you'd have done it already." Phrack answered. "Nothing said that you had to pull me out of that water back there."
"The machines found a way to turn humans into a source of power." Fragment stated, to answer Phrack's previous question. "The world you've experienced, all of your life, was a simulation that was expressly designed for the purpose of keeping us asleep, and docile, while they leeched our very life's essence from us in those pods."
Phrack eyed Fragment curiously.
"A simulation?" He asked, trying to fathom it. "I've never imagined a simulation that could be that well-fabricated."
"Was it?" Fragment asked. "You self-substantiated. Somehow, you knew there was something horribly wrong. You probably knew it your entire life."
He was right.
"But without a basis for comparison, how do you know if anything's wrong with anything?" Phrack asked, half amused, despite his confusion. "Beyond that, what about alternate power sources? Solar and wind power. Even fossil fuels."
"The sun isn't a power source that anyone is capable of using anymore." Fragment explained. "Ever since the sky was blotted out, when we first went to war with them."
Phrack contemplated it.
"I don't get it, there has to be ways other than using the human race." He said, more to himself than anyone.
Fragment nodded his agreement. "There very well could be. But if there is, the machines haven't found it, or had a reason to, yet." He said, sternly. "After all, why change what works unless there's a need to?"
Phrack's face hardened at the thought.
"I'd call what I saw back there, a need to." He almost growled.
Rei smiled at Phrack again. "I guess we're not going to have to worry about a Cypher incident with him, huh Captain?"
Fragment laughed.
"Relax... there'll be time to search for answers, Phrack. Neo bought us that, at least. For now, let's get some food in you and start getting some of your questions answered. When you've been caught up, we'll begin your training."
Phrack nodded softly, as he rose from his seat, before a thought occurred to him. "Fragment?" He asked, turning back to the captain. "Will I ever see it again?"
"The Matrix?" Fragment confirmed. "Oh, I can guarantee that." He answered, smiling.
"I've fixed you a meal, it's waiting for you in the mess hall. Just go down that corridor, and it's the third door on your right." Rei announced. "Get some food in you, and get some rest."
There she was.
She was already sitting at the table, with her own bowl of strange white goop. She was just as bald as he was, from her time in the pod, and dressed in the same kind of worn-out sweater and pants that he was, but it was her, all the same.
He almost couldn't believe his eyes.
"Have we met?" She asked, as she eyed him curiously. He had no doubts that she was just as confused and overwhelmed as he was, but somehow, she seemed much more graceful about it.
"Yeah, once before." He said, as he extended his hand in an attempt to shake hers and introduce himself, before sitting down at the mess hall table, across from her. "On a subway train, when I was on my way from Dannah Heights to Sai Kung. You'd tagged the train with graffiti."
After a moment, she smiled somewhat coyly. It was a strange sight for him, given that she must've just gone through the same thing that he had, but it was still a pleasant sight. Hair or not, she was still just as beautiful as she had been when he'd first seen her onboard that subway train.
"I remember." She said, softly, as she began to blush. "We spent the entire trip staring at each other, didn't we?"
He nodded, remembering it quite well.
"With all due respect, it was pretty hard for me to look away." He said, trying to smile, despite everything he'd recently seen, and only begun trying to wrap his head around. "You stuck out in my mind, ever since."
She nodded, as she looked at the small tin in front of her, thoughtfully, playing with the strange liquid substance within it with the metal spoon in her hand.
"You stuck out in mine, too." She said, smiling softly. "Now I know why."
He raised an eyebrow, curiously.
"You were different. You self-substantiated... that's pretty difficult." She attempted to explain to him. "What's your name, anyway?"
"Roge—" He started to say, before pausing. "Well, it used to be Roger. I guess Phrack would be more fitting, now."
She grinned lightly, before locking her familiar brown eyes on him.
"Hitomi." She said, introducing herself to him.
"That's beautiful." He said, as he paused for a moment to commit the name to memory. "You don't really look Asian, though."
"Haha, I'm not. I was actually named that by my adopted parents." She explained. "Or, at least, I think I was named by them. It's hard to tell, once you know the truth."
Phrack's eyes widened at the sheer complexity of the concept.
"I don't know if I even want to think about it, to be honest." He said. "Way too confusing... wondering if your parents were really even your parents, who decided you would be born, who decided what to name you, and so on."
Hitomi nodded.
"I know exactly what you mean." She said to him. "There's just too many questions, and not enough answers. It's not as bad as it was before the truce, though."
"I hope you don't mind me saying, but you seem to know a lot, for someone who was just recently awakened." He said to her, before finally attempting to eat a mouthful of the strange white slime in front of him.
She smiled yet again. "That's because I've spent the majority of my life training for this."
Phrack looked at her curiously.
"I learned what the Matrix was at a young age, but I wasn't ready to be awakened... so I spent several years staying with the Oracle, with other children like me." She explained, to the best of her ability. "We were taught what the Matrix was, and how to use our abilities. When it was time, the Oracle called on them to come and free me." She said, nodded toward the door to indicate the members of the crew.
"I see..." Phrack said. "...who is the Oracle?"
"Haha, you'll meet her in time. Everyone does, at one point or another." Hitomi said, smiling, before finally returning to her meal. "Suffice it to say for now, that she's a program that lives among the people in the Matrix."
"...Like John Moira." Phrack noted.
"Kind of, but not really." Hitomi corrected him. "She's... different. Certainly not as blood-thirsty as most exiles, though she does have her own agenda."
"Exiles?" Phrack's head cocked to the side, slightly, causing Hitomi to giggle slightly.
"You'll learn it all in time, I promise."
"Everyone keeps saying that." Phrack noted, aloud. "I just have a lot of questions, and answers don't come as easily as I'm used to."
"You'll get used to that." Hitomi explained. "But you're in a whole new world, now." She told him, as she leaned closer to him, in hopes of helping him grasp the situation in full. "What we do here, matters. More than anything we ever did in there... it's why I spent my entire life preparing for the day I'd be freed. Somehow, you were already prepared... you already saw through it all."
"I can't help but wonder if you had something to do with that." Phrack stated, coercing another smile from Hitomi. "After all, you apparently chose to make waves, while you were still in there."
She didn't answer at first. Instead, she looked down at the strange tin bowl full of goop, and slid her makeshift spoon through it.
"Making waves is what it's all about, Phrack." She said, solemnly. "People don't see the truth until you shake them and get their attention. Complacency is the deadliest enemy that mankind will ever face."
Phrack nodded.
"I suppose you're right." He replied, thoughtfully.
A moment of silence passed between the two of them, during which Phrack was almost too embarrassed to speak. It still so difficult for him to comprehend, and yet, this felt more right than anything had in his life. So much of it hadn't even been real, and yet he was real. She had been real. What else had been real? What else had been fake?
"Have they shown you the construct yet?" Hitomi asked, breaking the silence.
Phrack looked up at her, in confusion. Having no idea what a construct was, he honestly didn't know whether it had been shown to him or not, to be honest.
"...No?"
Though Phrack couldn't quite fathom what a construct was, he had stopped caring, as soon as Hitomi had grabbed his hand and led him out of the mess hall. Together, they traveled the corridors of the Shiva II, passing the occasional crewman, who couldn't help but be amused with Phrack's plight. It wasn't that he wouldn't have been willing to follow her anyway, but the very fact that she was dragging him along by the hand and giggling, seemed to unleash a sort of childlike embarrassment, commonly associated with a schoolyard crush. Soon, the two dropped down a deck, and Phrack found himself in a room with five reclining seats in it. The headrest of each seat was split, and forked upward on either side... close enough that a head could rest on them, but with just enough space between each side that the back of his head would be visible from the other end.
"This is the operations deck." Hitomi announced, as she and Phrack were given a strange look by the man sitting in the operator's chair. Phrack noticed that the man was older, and appeared to be of Native American descent. "And that's George. Hi, George."
George smiled politely at Hitomi.
"...George?" Phrack asked, curiously, earning a strange look from Hitomi.
"Yeah, George." She answered.
"You've never heard the name George before?" George asked, speaking up.
"No, I've heard it before. I just expected something like Jackal or Motherboard or something. George is pretty common." Phrack said, sounding a little shy.
"I happen to like George." Hitomi blurted out, giggling slightly.
"What's wrong with the name I have?" George asked, sounding a little irritated with the bald kid in front of him. "It happened to be my grandfather's name."
"No, there's nothing wrong with it at all!" Phrack tried to explain, without putting his foot in his mouth. "It's just... people seem to have some... different names here, than what I'm used to. Like Rei, or Fragment..."
"Or Hitomi?" George asked, sounding generally unamused.
"Or Phrack?" Hitomi added, smirking.
Phrack didn't answer. He was only digging himself into a hole, and Hitomi'd successfully pointed that out to him.
"It's alright." George said, finally cracking a smile. "Most people here go by the hacker names they went by inside the Matrix." He explained. "Like yourself."
Phrack nodded, understandingly.
"George was born outside of the Matrix, and his family goes back several hundred years. That's why he has a more traditional name." Hitomi chimed in, hoping to make things a little more clear. "Speaking of tradition... George, you want to load us up?"
That was all she had to say. George's grin widened, as he turned around to face the multi-monitor computer display that was rigged together in front of him. He shuffled around for a moment, against the clutter on the makeshift desk, before pulling out what appeared to Phrack to be some sort of zip disk. Phrack shot Hitomi a look of slight confusion and severe concern.
"Load what up?" He asked, finally, as Hitomi took a seat in one of the several reclining chairs and adjusted her hair before leaning back into the headrest.
"Lay down. You'll see." She told him. Phrack was reluctant to comply, but when George rose from his seat and motioned to the free seat next to Hitomi, he decided to go along with it. After all, it couldn't hurt, could it?
"Just lay down, it'll be alright." George explained, as he walked around the far side of Hitomi and picked up what looked like a giant IV needle.
"...What the hell is that?" Phrack asked, as he took a seat and watched.
"That's a neural jack. It'll feel weird going in, but you'll get used to it." Hitomi told him, trying to calm his nerves. It didn't do much good, however, as Phrack watched George hover over her with the sinister-looking device, before lowering it and positioning it under Hitomi's headrest. Phrack's eyes widened when George moved his hand, stabbing the jack upward and into the back of Hitomi's head.
He was at a loss for words. Had this guy just stabbed her in the back of the skull? Before Phrack could think to react, Hitomi turned her head slightly, to look in his direction.
"It's alright, I promise." She said, in a calmness that seemed almost surreal.
"Lay back." George said, as he approached Phrack, preparing to do the same to him. Phrack wanted to get the hell out of there, but Hitomi's presence kept him from doing it. Instead, he hesitantly laid down across the makeshift lounge chair, hoping that something good was going to come from what was about to happen to him. He closed his eyes, trying not to think of the rough-looking man that was now hovering over him, preparing to do the unthinkable. Suddenly, Phrack felt a slight vibration across the back of his head, as the metal jack brushed up against the outlet in the back of his skull. Phrack opened his eyes in shock, as the jack slid into his neural outlet, sending a stabbing sensation throughout him. Before he could fight it, George was already hitting a few keys on the computer system, behind him.
When he finally opened his eyes, he was startled to find that he was no longer onboard the Shiva II. In fact, he wasn't anywhere. It was emptiness, void of everything but infinite white light, which Phrack found almost blinding.
"It connects directly with your brain, and sends out signals that make you interpret it as real." Hitomi's voice called out, across the emptiness. When Phrack looked in her direction, he was surprised to see that she looked different than the girl he'd been chatting with, onboard the Shiva II. Instead, she looked like the beautiful young long-haired brunette that he'd first seen on the blue line subway train.
"The computer?" Phrack asked, as he looked around, and suddenly realized that he was wearing different clothes.
"Yeah. That's all this is... programming." Hitomi answered, smiling, as she walked up to Phrack, taking his attention away from his clothes. He was amazed how good she looked, in the tech-noir clothing she was now dressed in.
"Programming? Wait, all of this can be manipulated?" Phrack asked, suddenly coming to the realization of all that she was implying. In turn, Hitomi giggled a little bit and nodded.
"Mm-hmm. Written, overwritten, re-written, hacked... that's how we survive: manipulating the system in our favor." She explained, as she neared Phrack, staring around the seemingly infinite white room that surrounded them both. "They created it to keep us in check, but during the war, humans did whatever was necessary to fight against the machines. It's ironic that the machines' greatest creation, designed to keep mankind asleep, could be mankind's greatest weapon against them."
Phrack took a moment to absorb the information he was being offered. It was hard to believe that an underground war had been taking place in the city he'd spent his entire life in... but suddenly questions he'd had for years were being answered. People that the government had referred to as terrorists, probably had never been. He couldn't help but wonder how many people had been falsely labeled by the government, arrested, and taken away to rot, just because they were considered a threat. It was brilliant in its own right, turning mankind against mankind... labeling people who fought for freedom as the lowest of criminals. He couldn't begin to imagine how many had gotten too close to the truth, only to be toted away and put on the evening news as a child pornographer, or some other horrible thing. It was a propaganda war; lies used to control us all, and as Phrack came to realize this, he couldn't help but feel as though something precious had been stolen from him.
"Tell me about the war." He asked, as he looked back at Hitomi, across the nothingness. Two red chairs had appeared, out of nowhere.
"I don't know much about it... only what I've learned from the Oracle." She explained, as she approached one of the beat-up chairs and took a seat. "But man and machine have been fighting for centuries, now. Humans fight for freedom, while the machines fight for control..."
"Control of what? Us? The planet?" He asked, as he sat down in the free chair, across from her. "I mean, what exactly are their intentions?"
Hitomi smiled softly.
"The Oracle would say survival. Some would say otherwise." She said, with a slight sigh. "Take Morpheus for example..."
Phrack's eyes widened. Did she just say what he thought she said?
"Wait, Morpheus?" He asked.
Hitomi grinned at him.
"Morpheus would say that their intentions were likely something much more sinister than survival." She continued. "Unfortunately, no one knows for sure, and probably won't, until it's too late. It has recently become a serious debate within Zion, though there are still some who believe."
This caught Phrack's attention. "Believe what?" He asked, not sure exactly what Hitomi was driving at.
"Believe that Neo is the answer." She said, her eyes full of faith. It was something he hadn't seen in her eyes, before now, but it was there now. She was full of conviction, and pure faith. Something Phrack had never had before, in his life.
"What is a Neo?" Phrack asked, almost forcing a giggle from her.
"Neo was a man that Morpheus freed from the Matrix, in keeping with a prophecy that the Oracle gave, years ago." She said, smiling, as the white around them both began to change and fade. Phrack looked around, before suddenly realizing that they were both no longer sitting amongst the white nothingness of the construct, but rather a dark city alleyway. "Neo was different than the rest of us, his mind was truly free... he had powers that I can't explain."
Phrack rose from his seat, breaking his attention from Hitomi as the sound of fighting echoed through the alleyway. He glanced over his shoulder, just once, to see her still sitting in one of the two red chairs, in the center of the alley. For whatever reason, she didn't seem concerned in the least.
Shadows appeared against a nearby building at the end of the alleyway, depicting two individuals in a brutal fight against one another, challenging their skills and their speed. Phrack slowly began to approach, urged on by Hitomi's seeming confidence in the situation. As he slowly walked down the alley, the two figures came into view: a man dressed in an impeccable fashion, with a black business suit and white dress shirt, and a man dressed in solid-black duster, similar to the one Phrack had grown accustomed to wearing as a member of the Brothers of Destiny. Both men wore sunglasses, despite the fact that it was night, and the strength of both men was insurmountable. Phrack couldn't help but watch in awe at the speed in which they were fighting, each swing of their fists leaving tracers, before impacting with the force of a plane crash.
"That's Neo." Hitomi whispered into Phrack's ear, startling him. She'd approached from behind, unbeknownst to Phrack, to watch the fight with him. "He was lost to us when he went to the machines and secured the truce that saved Zion, but he's the reason a lot of us... even me... are being freed."
Phrack nodded in silence, as the two of them watched the fight as though they were flies on the wall.
"Who is that?" Phrack asked, motioning to the man Neo was fighting.
"Smith." She replied, softly. "He was once an agent of the system, but something happened to him. He became defective; flawed. Nobody really knows what happened, whether it was his interaction with Neo that affected his code, or what, but he avoided deletion by the machines, and became something... different. A virus."
Phrack's eyes narrowed, as he watched them battle beyond the limitations of human exhaustion. It was like watching two animals tearing into each other, and yet, strangely, the two seemed like opposites. Neo's movements were calm, collected, and seemed as though they were based on an existing knowledge or mindset. He seemed Zen. Smith's, however, were filled with hatred and rage, erratic and fueled with the desire to destroy his opponent from within.
"Neo destroyed Smith, and saved everyone inside the Matrix. In turn, he saved the machines from their destruction at the hands of the Smith Virus, and Zion from destruction at the hands of the machines. It's how the truce was created." Hitomi explained.
Phrack couldn't help but watch in silence. It was awe-inspiring, watching them collide with one another, like titans. It was a testament to the true limitless potential of mankind, especially inside a place like the Matrix.
The rain seemed to saturate everything.
Chris watched it seep into the ground, felt it dampen his clothes, and run along his skin in an attempt to be absorbed in through his pores. A part of him loathed the rain, because it seemed like it rained all the time. Another part of him thought it was fitting, that on a day like today, it would rain as much as it was.
"Roger was a young man searching for his place in this world, trying desperately to find his calling." The Pastor spoke to the group in whole. "It is something that every human soul tries to do, as they come of age... but it is not something that everyone succeeds in."
The words seemed just as cold as the drops of rain. Chris hated standing here, staring at the casket of his cousin, amidst a group of people filled with those who never knew or cared about Roger. Even Barbara looked disgusted, despite her mourning.
"Unfortunately, too many in this world had no place for Roger. For that very reason, he ventured into dangerous ground to find his calling... and it cost him, and his loved ones. Let this be a lesson to us all, that the Lord puts us where we belong. We should stay where we're put, and do his bidding above all others."
Chris felt sick to his stomach, but pushed past it as he leaned toward his aunt.
"Are you alright?" He asked her, whispering.
"No, Chris... I'm not alright." She answered, with a disheartened sigh.
Two large ships followed one another as they passed by the Shiva II, at a very low rate of speed, in the tunnels. Phrack was surprised at the massive size of the both of them, as he watched them pass, through the cockpit window. He could only imagine what their purpose was, as he stared at them in awe. Were they for refueling other ships? Were they a special type of hovercraft carrier?
"Those are hoverbarges." Rei told him, smiling softly at the kid in the corner, whose jaw hung open. "Zion has been using them to transport mass amounts of awakened, out of the sewers, and back home for training."
"I thought waking up from the simulation was a rare thing?" He asked, trying to understand the implications of everything he was learning.
"Self-substantiation is rare... waking up is... well... less-rare. Since the truce, anyway." George explained, as he put on his operator's headset.
"The Machines are allowing awakenings, and bluepills are being brought in by the truckload. Lock authorized the barges to be built, simply because the incoming manpower helps us rebuild Zion." Fragment added to the conversation, before turning to George. "What's our status?"
"Gate Control is aware of our presence, and has requested that we remain on stand by." George said, looking slightly annoyed.
Fragment and Rei turned to look at George, curiously, while Roger and Hitomi sat in the corner of the cockpit, silently listening to the conversation.
"Remain on stand by for what? The gate's destroyed, we could fly in there right now." Rei said.
"Apparently they don't have a place for us to dock." George explained. "All of the docks that are operational are currently in use, by construction crews, or half-functioning ships."
Fragment sighed.
"How long of a wait do we have?"
"Maybe an hour?" George shrugged.
The main hall echoed with the noise of chatter. Men and women of all shapes and sizes were gathered together, most of them wearing the same maroon colored sweaters for warmth, as they talked amongst themselves. Captains and First Mates were those present for the impending meeting, and Fragment and Rei were no exception. Rei's soft smile faded as she looked around the room, at the number of frustrated faces, fatigued and irritable, with more questions than answers. It had been a long process to get to this point, but somehow it had been managed. Now Commander Lock had ordered a meeting, that would put all of Zion on the same page, about the obstacles the human race would be facing.
"Attention!" Someone yelled, from the back, as Commander Lock came walking into the room. Everyone rose to their feet, and silence ensued. Lock's presence was perhaps the epitome of the collective mood of everyone in the room, as he proceeded to the front of the group, in silence. Hardened and bitter, the war had taken its toll on him, which was something very few seemed to understand.
"At ease." He announced, as he turned to face his audience. "Be seated."
Rei looked up to Fragment for reassurance, but his attention was focused solely on Lock, and what he was about to say. It amazed her, just how much this meeting seemed to feel like the ones they had, leading up to the machine attack on Zion, during the war. Judging from the look on her Captain's face, Rei thought, it felt like it to him as well.
"It is no secret that right now we are in a state of discord." Lock finally began. "The men and women of this city are overworked, and under a newfound pressure to rebuild in the midst of what we have lost. To add to these concerns, for the first time in the history of Zion, we have begun to focus on overcrowding and over-population, as Zion simply is not large enough for the number of redpills being awoken."
"Commander, are we correct in understanding that the people being brought in are being put to work on helping rebuild?" A voice asked from the crowd.
"That is correct. However, this does not alleviate our pre-existing concerns. A lack of sufficient minerals around Zion, has led to a shortage of food. We simply do not have the resources necessary to feed, clothe, and house those being awakened from the pods." He explained, stress apparent in his tone of voice. "This is why we have turned from the idea of building new housing in Zion, to building more ships, in addition to repairing and replacing those lost during the war."
"Does this include more Hoverbarges?" Rei asked, out of curiosity.
"Yes. Hoverbarges are a relatively new design, but we have managed to push three of them into service. Hovercraft construction is being pushed along as well, meaning that not everyone will find themselves confined to the larger, bulkier ships." Lock answered.
"Aren't the Hoverbarges just overgrown targets for the machines, Commander?" Captain Roland spoke up, from the back, forcing Lock to smile slightly.
"A communiqué from the machines has explained the details of the apparent truce we've entered into. They have declared that our ships will not be bothered, so long as we keep our distance from their city." He explained.
"What about Neo?" A familiar voice asked from the crowd, catching Lock off-guard. The resulting frown was enough to silence anyone else who might've had a question, purely out of intimidation... though a large part of it may have been their own curiosity for the answer. As Rei and Fragment looked back, with several others in the audience, they became aware of the source of the question. Morpheus himself stood in the back of the crowd, seemingly uncaring in regard to the stares he was receiving, as his eyes locked firmly on Commander Lock.
A moment of awkward silence passed, filling the room with an uneasiness that left Rei questioning whether Lock was going to charge Morpheus in a mad rage. Seconds later, he spoke, though his tone was almost that of a growl.
"We have no news regarding Neo, Trinity, or the status of the Logos."
"Has anyone attempted to contact the machines, to inquire about them?" Morpheus asked, without missing a beat, almost as though he already knew what Lock's answer was going to be. Rei glanced across the room, at Captain Niobe and her First Mate, Ghost, who were watching the conversation intently. It had been Niobe's ship, after all, that had been commandeered by Neo and Trinity in the first place.
"Captain Morpheus, the Council and I cannot help but feel that it would be unwise at this time, to push our luck with the machines... considering that we're barely managing to get ourselves back on our feet." Lock began lecturing, as he placed both of his hands on the table before him, in an attempt to calm himself. "Now, if you had come to this meeting on-time, as was asked of you, you would understand what Zion's current priorities are."
"With all due respect, Commander, I believe I already do." Morpheus retorted, before leaving the room without another word. Rei turned back to Fragment, as the two shared a look of discomfort. She had hoped that with the truce in place, and Neo having served his purpose, the feud between those two would be long gone... but this didn't seem like it was ever going to be the case.
"It's greater than I'd imagined." Hitomi said, her voice filled with a level of awe, as she and Phrack strolled across one of the many catwalks that made up Zion. "I've heard about it my entire life, and my imagination never did it justice."
"It's pretty impressive." Phrack responded, slightly cursing himself afterward, for making such an obvious statement. The city was massive, despite how well-contained it seemed to be. He couldn't help but be surprised by how antique the design appeared. "It makes you wonder about its age." He thought aloud.
"Yes, it does. But that's a difficult question to answer." Hitomi explained, smiling.
"Not unlike my other questions." Phrack chuckled. "Do you have any idea where we're going, by the way?"
Hitomi giggled slightly, and nodded.
"Mm-hmm, we're headed to meet up with George. He's going to be showing us our new quarters, here."
Phrack nodded understandingly, as he pressed on, alongside her. Everything was so different here than he was used to... tattered, torn and aged. Yet, it seemed to give everyone and everything so much more character, than the cold nameless faces that populated the city he'd spent his entire life in. People here seemed so alive, and vibrant. They weren't skulking through their lives, trying desperately to push themselves through every single day, working for someone else to reap the benefits. They weren't enduring lives that had no point to them, with no goals or ambition to do anything greater. Here, they were truly alive: not the byproduct of some machine experiment.
"There you two are." George called out to them, pulling Phrack back from his thoughts. "I know this place is new to you, but I need to get back down to the ship, so we need to hurry up. There'll be plenty of time for roaming later."
"Sorry, George." Hitomi smiled, blushing.
"It's my fault, I wanted to explore." Phrack said, in an attempt to take the blame.
"Curiosity killed the cat, kid. You'd do well to remember that, especially now that you're out of the simulation." George warned him, still not sure if he even liked the boy or not.
"I'm not sure I agree with that particular philosophy. If curiosity killed the cat, we wouldn't be here, would we?" Phrack smiled.
"Don't get smart with me, kid. Now come on, you two will be bunking up down here." George explained, as he led them down the catwalk, in the direction of the nearest elevator lift. "There isn't a television, you're not going to find any comic book stores nearby, and there isn't much of a view, but the crime rate is low, and the place belongs to you, as long as you're alive." He said, as the elevator doors opened, and the three stepped inside.
"Are we going to have roommates?" Phrack asked, out of curiosity.
"...Are you hinting at something, kid?" George asked him, as he turned around to eye the boy. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Hitomi starting to blush. "You just got here, don't you think you could stand to wait a little longer, before you try to get her into bed with you?"
"George!" Hitomi yelped, hitting the old man on the arm. "I'm sure he didn't mean it like that."
"Let an old man have his fun, would you?" George smiled. "If you and someone else decide that you want to bunk up together, it's your decision. Command just asks that you let them know, so housing can be distributed to other people we bring in."
Phrack nodded, still slightly embarrassed, as he tried to ignore the insinuation that George had made, moments prior. Seconds later, the elevator door opened, revealing another couple waiting on the other side of the door.
"George?" The dark-skinned man said, in a surprised tone. Phrack watched as he laughed and hugged the old man, patting him on the back. "When the hell did you get back?"
"A couple of hours ago. How are you two?" He chuckled.
"You know Link." The woman said, sounding slightly bemused. The man she was with shot her a look that screamed 'aw, c'mon,' before turning back to George.
"We're good, man. What's keeping you busy?" Link asked.
"About to take these two to their new quarters, before the gathering this evening." George explained. "They're fish, but they seem to be pretty good kids."
Hitomi and Phrack looked at each other for a moment, smirking slightly at one another.
"Hey there. I'm Link, this is my wife Zee." The man said, before extending his hand.
"I'm Hitomi." She said, introducing herself, before shaking his hand. "This is Phrack."
"Welcome to Zion. You'll like it here, just stay out of Deadbolt's way and you'll be fine."
"And if you run into Morpheus, run like hell." Zee added, only to get another look from her husband.
Phrack cocked an eyebrow.
