Note: For my Creative Writing Class, I was given a project to write any sort of story I wanted. This is the fruits of my labor; Titled "The Awakening," it was ment to give a history of Corey Stewart AKA LinksLife. It was divided into 4 parts, each lasting about 4-5 pages. The reason I did this was because I had never given Links a real proper backstory and this would be the perfect chance to both improve my skills and do something I enjoyed. Some of the things in here I had to change because otherwise, the class would not have understood everything (some hadn't even heard of The Matrix which suprised me). I want to extend a thanks to TheGreatWyrm who gave me the idea so long ago. My teacher still wants to meet with you, you crazy bastard!
Now, on with the show!
The Awakening
A Short Story
By: Corey Stewart (LinksLife)
PART 1
“…And I show you just how deep the rabbit hole goes.” -- Morpheus
6:30AM.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The alarm began its cruel assault on Corey Stewart’s ears. It was like this every day for the last year, a battle of will between man and machine. And, as always, the machine won. Grumbling, he quickly turned the alarm off. Thus began the mundane task of dressing and preparing breakfast for the day. Fried eggs and Sunny-D had become a staple for him ever since he had moved into his own apartment following his graduation from Stratford. It was not the “big life” he had hoped to achieve, but nothing happened over night.
After scarfing down the food and drink and quickly grabbing the keys to his car, he pulled out a picture of his family from his wallet, giving a smile that would make Mona Lisa proud. Corey kept this picture with him to remind him of his origins. His father was MIA after taking a mission from FBI Agents and his mother was back at their home in Camon Heights. He hardly saw his mother anymore, which was just as bad as losing his father. “I miss you guys…”
BEEP!
“Oh crap! I’m going to be late!”
7:30AM.
“Glad you could make it Mr. Patrick,” came the slightly annoyed voice of Frank Andrew, the boss of TeleCom Inc. Round and pudgy, the man still was well respected among the various technology firms in Mega City. While not on the level of MetaCortex, the biggest software company in the City, he had made a name for himself with his few employees. “Can I ask why you were late?”
Quickly placing his suitcase down, and straitening his tie, Corey took a seat at the table. Among him were various other employees, each heading a certain department of the company. “It’s the traffic these days Mr. Andrew… just gets worse and worse.” replied Corey. While Frank was a nice boss, a rarity these days, he did not tolerate tardiness… a very punctual man.
“Right… well do try to get here sooner, eh? Now, while you were gone, we were discussing the current grant MetaCortex has been given by the government. We hardly are in any position to challenge it, seeing as how lately the government wants military software and we just don’t produce that kind of software, but I’ve been talking with management there and it is possible that we could receive a fair amount of the money. Of course it has been very private; we don’t want the Sential to catch wind of us.” Frank said this with a certain amount of venom in his tone. It was no secret that he did not like the Sential newspaper. ‘Watching Everyone And Everything’ was their slogan. And they lived up to that motto.
“Right… well let us get into the numbers then, shall we?”
Everyone at the table groaned.
10:52AM
After an hour or two of mind-numbing number crunching, the heads of the company were dismissed to their respective work. Corey, being Head of Relations, was tasked with insuring that all employees were doing their jobs, filing through complaints, and being a figure of the upper management. He was well liked by the majority of the office, a person to convey the wants and needs of the working. Generally, Corey would get what they wanted.
Walking up to the cubical of Jamie Myers, he wondered what he would find on her computer screen today. Almost every day, there was something on her screen, never work-related. There were times when the various heads of management had called for her to be fired, but Corey generally defended her. “The woman may like to let her mind wander, but when she is focused on work, you would be hard-pressed to find someone better than her,” he would argue.
Sure enough, on the screen was nothing work-related, but what was took Corey back. It was an article titled: “Terrorist is Spotted Again in Downtown!” The Sential was obviously talking about Morpheus (a name he had taken, no one knows his real name), some terrorist from the Middle East who had been planting bombs recently to ‘free us,’ or whatever his new speech was for the week. He was notorious for avoiding the FBI time and time again.
“Glad to see that software is getting done Jamie.” chuckled Corey as the woman jumped out of her chair. Another foot or two and she would have put a hole through the ceiling.
“M-Mr. Stewart! Don’t d-do that! I nearly had a heart attack!!!” she cried out, grabbing her chest. The woman was barely 20, working here for about a year now while she dragged her way through college. “…And I’m sorry sir. I was working, but I got a notification that this article just showed up on the Sential so I just HAD to read it.”
The man sighed. “First of all Jamie, call me Corey. I’ve told you this a hundred times now. And second, I wouldn’t believe half the crap that comes out of that newspaper in terms of Morpheus. They worship him over there, and will use any excuse to scare the public.” Every word he said was true. They once took the word of a 12 year old who thought he saw the terrorist, and plastered it on their front page. To say the least, they lost quite a bit of readers after that.
“Now Jamie, please get back to work.” Corey said calmly. “While I enjoy your personality, I do NOT enjoy defending you every other week because you’re not working. Soon enough, they aren’t going to listen to me and just fire you, and I don’t want that happening.” With that he turned to leave, smiling as he heard those keys being pressed in steady rhythm.
Passing by another cubical, he came upon a conversation between two other employees. “No man, I swear! I saw Thomas’ ghost this time! I should have brought my camera!” yelled one of them, very excited. The other employee didn’t look so convinced.
Walking up to the two men, Corey growled. “Hey! Get back to work you two! And for the last time, there are no such things as ghosts! Next time you see Thomas, get me a picture, and then I’ll believe you.” he snapped. The two instantly went back to work, not wanting to get in trouble. Walking back to his office, Corey shook his head.
The ghost of Thomas had become a legend among the software companies and employees. They say that one employee working at MetaCortex, Thomas Anderson, had jumped to his death after receiving a phone call from an unknown person. No one knew why. He was being paid quite a bit of money for working over there, but there were rumors that he was getting in trouble with the government for pirating just about anything digital he could get his hands on. And then there are the theories that he didn’t die, but was kidnapped by Morpheus for some reason or another. People had reported seeing him on the streets sometimes, but those sightings were now non-existent. The government never made any comment on Thomas, so the vast belief is that he killed himself.
“Ghosts… Ha! What a load of…”
5:11PM
BING!
Corey turned his head to his computer. It was normal to receive an IM around this time, either from his mother or a friend. 5:30 was when he punched out but there were times when he would leave a chat program up just to say hi to whoever would message him. However, he did not recognize this screen name, and he was often wary of unknown messengers. “Anubitz…” he replied out loud, reading the name. Normally he would block IMs from strangers but the message he left had him curious.
Anubitz: Hello LinksLife. I’ve been waiting for you.
LinksLife was his internet name. Growing up, he had loved the Legend of Zelda series, and so named himself after his favorite hero. Knowing it was a bad idea but curious to learn just who this guy was, he responded.
LinksLife: Who is this? How did you find my screen name?
Anubitz: I work with the government. We have been watching you for quite some time.
Corey was taken back. The government? What would the government want with him? Had they find his father? Or did they think he was committing some sort of cyber-crime? “Wait Corey… how do we know he isn’t lying?” he asked himself.
LinksLife: How do I know you aren’t some sort of hacker? Prove to me that you are indeed with the government.
Anubitz: Very well. How about we meet at Paradise Lost? 7:00? My treat.
Corey was beginning to regret replying to this person. He sounded like one of those freaks that pounced on people when they least suspected it. But, he had started and so he would finish it, if only to sate his curiosity. That and his hunger. Free food was free food after all.
LinksLife: Alright then. Who shall I look out for?
Anubitz: Do not worry. I will find you. Just… come with an open mind, will you?
LinksLife: It’s a date then.
<LinksLife> has signed out.
Getting up, Corey Stewart grabbed his suitcase. The drive to Paradise Lost was going to be a long one if the traffic held up. The club was known as a hot spot for the rich and famous, but thankfully Corey had friends inside the place that would let him in. Signing out with the secretary, he quickly ran down the steps to the parking lot where his sleek car waited for him. As he walked towards it, Corey saw a small black cat run by the car. Pulling out his set of keys and unlocking the driver side door, he looked up and saw the strangest thing. Another black cat, almost the exact same size, ran across his car. Or… was it the same cat?
“Man… Déjà vu.” he said as he turned on the engine. “I got to lay off the meat here…” Quickly pulling out of the parking lot, he turned left down the street and drove off to Paradise Lost.
5:15PM
“Sir… do you really think this kid is worth the trouble? I mean… he hardly seems at all like a person who would be suited to know the truth.” came the calm voice of Lightwalker, First mate of the Holy Lance crew.
Anubitz, Captain of the Holy Lance, and Leader of the Mechanicus Novus faction chuckled. “Light, I could say the exact same thing for the majority of us Redpills. No… this guy is ready, I believe. There is something about him… I can’t put my figure on it, but he is special. After all, his father worked with the Agents. Maybe not fully knowing the truth, but he must have been Awakened at some point. Possibly right after the Truce was created.” He stared at the computer screen, their conversation still there. “Yes… I think it’s time he learned just what The Matrix is.”
With a small BEEP! the computer was shut off, the machine now asleep.
Part 2
“I’m going to show them a world without rules, where anything is possible.” – Neo
6:00 PM
“Welcome to Paradise Lost. Can I help you sir?”
“Yes… I’m looking for a man… Anubitz?”
“Ah yes. Right this way please.” came the regal voice of the valet. With a wave of his hand, he turned and began to walk into the club, Corey quickly behind him.
Paradise Lost was one of the premiere clubs in the City, having more publicity and fame than any other club, with the exception of the Hel Club ran by the crime boss The Merovingian. Paradise Lost was known to house the rich and famous. Corey himself had only been here once at a business party, but the experience was well worth whatever bill he had paid. Though now… he wasn’t so sure.
As they passed rich CEOs and reporters from the Sentinel, they came up to a table with a lone man. He had flaming red hair which was combed back to add to his already professional appearance. He wore a black business suit with leather pants, with a pair of black sunglasses covering his eyes, and the overall attire screaming businessman. With a quick bow the valet left them, Corey standing and this man sitting. Removing his glasses, he motioned at Corey. “Sit please.”
Corey did so. As soon as he did so, the waitress came up to them. “Anything I can order you? The tab is on me. I particularly like the bourbon myself. Paradise Lost does have some of the best drinks this side of the City.”
“Irish whiskey, please.” Corey answered, looking at the waitress. With a slight nod, she was off. Turning back to the man, he narrowed his eyes. “Are you… Anubitz?”
Smiling, he nodded. “Indeed I am. And you are Corey Stewart, also known as LinksLife on the internet. We’ve had our eye on you for quite sometime.” As the man leaned back into his chair, Corey couldn’t help but think ‘For someone who works for the government, he sure is laid-back.’
There was a minute of silence between getting their drinks and nodding to the waitress. Finally Corey asked the question. “Why did you call me?”
Taking a sip from his bourbon, Anubitz chuckled. “There’s the question. You’ve been wondering it since I contacted you, yes?” Placing the glass down, he peered at Corey. “Know that there isn’t an easy answer… for not even I completely understand my reasons myself. Something about you… you have a kind of aura that brought my attention to you.” Noticing Corey’s bewildered look, he laughed. “Don’t worry… you are not in any trouble. I can assure you, if you were, we wouldn’t be in a club.”
‘You’re a complete wack-job aren’t you?’ thought Corey as he listened. No way was this guy serious… but what if he was? Corey didn’t dismiss his claim outright, despite how otherworldly it sounded. “Then… what are we doing here?” he asked after a pause.
Suddenly, Anubitz gaze narrowed. The flashing lights only helped make him appear more ominous. “I am here, because I believe you are ready to learn the truth. The horrible truth… Tell me, did you see anything strange today? This week? Month? Year? Decade? Haven’t you ever noticed… something always at the corner of your eye? Something that you know is there, but can never see it? See things that you just can’t explain?”
His mind wandering back to the déjà vu he had before he left, with the cats, Corey nodded very slowly. “…Yes. Almost every day. Like… something was controlling me, or driving my life.” He couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. It was like he was a faucet and Anubitz had opened the valve.
Anubitz grinned. He was getting somewhere with this kid. “There is an explanation… though it requires you to give up everything. Nothing is ever free… learning this truth; you would give up your job, your home, your family. Are you willing to go that far to learn the truth?”
Corey finished his whiskey. While what Anubitz was saying was amazing… and he did want to learn the truth (if there was a lie), could he leave his family behind… just to confirm a nagging he had for sometime? “I… Can I think it through? This is a very sudden and difficult choice.”
Standing up, Anubitz straighten himself. “Of course. I understand that such a proposal is rather shocking, so you just call me when you have an answer…” He handed Corey a small business card. “…Links.” He added with a smirk.
Taking the card, he looked over the details. “FBI? You work with them?” he asked in shock. When he saw Anubitz smirk, Corey couldn’t help but laugh. “Man… what a crazy night it has been. Thank you for the whiskey as well.” With a nod of his head, he turned to leave.
“You are quite welcome.”
***
6:33 AM, FOUR DAYS LATER
“I am ready. I want to learn about the Matrix.” Calmly spoke Corey into the phone. There was a pause on the other end… and then a laugh.
“Wonderful. I will pick you up and we can go to my house.” Said Anubitz. He sounded like a boy on Christmas morning. Clearly, he was hoping for Corey to call.
When he came with four others, Corey didn’t ask. When they drove out of Downtown to the Barrens of Westview, he didn’t say anything. He wanted answers.
Like who the people he met over the last four days were.
It seemed like every strange character in the city was after Corey nowadays. Two days after the meeting, he was called by someone else, claiming to be “Fenshire” who seemed to know about Anubitz. “I can give you your answers. That man you met… Anubitz. He will not tell you everything. Such is the nature of people like him. I’ll leave you my number, and call me if you want to know the truth, the WHOLE truth.” He had said in a message left on Corey’s answering machine. Corey didn’t like this man… he seemed like he DEMANDED that he call. He quickly deleted the message.
Of course, if this Fenshire was demanding, then he didn’t know HOW to classify this next man.
Yesterday, yet another man had contacted him. However, this man had barged into Corey’s apartment uninvited. Taking a seat on the couch, he took in the small room. “Not bad LinksLife. I’m glad to see you are doing well.” He had said, with a smug look on his face.
Corey almost grabbed the bat on his wall. “Alright, just who the hell are you? I’ve had enough whack jobs approach me these last few days and if you’re here to give me that ‘I can show you the truth’ bullcrap, you can forget it!” he shouted angrily at this man. He simply smirked.
“LinksLife… I work for the Merovingian. Do you know who he is?” asked the man calmly.
“That French crime boss?”
The man laughed darkly. “He is so much more than that… but I am getting ahead of myself.” Getting up, he walked to Corey. The 22 year old looked into the man’s eyes… and turned away. He couldn’t look at them, for to look at them was like staring at the Devil. “I am The Great Wyrm. You may not know it, but the Merovingian has been looking for employees. You seem to have sparked an interest in him. A young man, working for a lesser known computer software company. You seem to fit the qualifications that he is searching for currently.”
Corey frowned. “Well gee! I’m so glad that I fit his excellences specifications. Where do I sign up?!” he said with sarcasm laden in each word.
The Great Wyrm laughed again. “Wonderful! I see I am in the presences of a cynic.” With the flash of a hand, he had a card out, holding it to Corey. “Just take it my good boy. Perhaps you will change your mind about Anubitz. And when you do, I will be here, waiting.” Slowly, Corey took the card and pocketed it. “Oh. Forgive me for walking in like this… very out-of-character for me. I’ll leave you alone.” And with that, he walked out the door, closing it softly.
After sitting in bed for hours, milling everything in his head, all the strange people and things he had met and seen, he knew what he was going to do. Taking a look at his family photo, he quickly got up and threw the picture into the trash. Suddenly, he jumped up, a sound filling his ears. He looked at his alarm clock. The time read 6:30 AM. Not even bothering to turn it off, he grabbed his phone and dialed Anubitz.
Part 3
“Welcome… to the real world.” – Morpheus
7:21 AM
Corey Stewart had never visited the Westview section of The Mega City. Now, he was glad he hadn’t. He had heard stories of course, from fellow co-workers who, by some sort of grace by God, had managed to get out of “The Barrens” as it was called by the populous. And it was aptly named he noted as the car passed buildings. Westview was considered the most dangerous section of the city for a reason. The Sobra Shores district was infamous for its local gang, The Legion, and their many satanic rituals. Further north, in Mannsen Park, there were crazies who thought themselves as vampires. There were countless murderers and drug dealers thrown in the mix as well. Why they were heading into this hellhole, Corey had no idea.
Just as he was about to ask, Anubitz interrupted. “Ah yes! You haven’t met my friends. The one driving is Lightwalker. Very loyal, if anti-social.” To prove his point, Lightwalker simply grunted what sounded like a hello. Anubitz laughed. “What did I tell you? The one on shotgun is Mathious. Used to be an army man, or so he says.”
The man in question turned back. “You’re **** right! At least I know that much is true… the wars though…” he trailed off, turning back before he said too much. Corey looked at him, then to Anubitz.
Holding a hand up, Anubitz explained. “You’ll see what he means when we get there. Anyways, the woman behind us is my wife, Samatic. You will come to view her as the mother figure in our little group.” With a smile, Samatic nodded to Corey and returned to looking out the car. “And then, finally, a newer recruit to our group. I think you two will get along great. Meet VitaminI.”
The man, about Corey’s age, held out a hand. With a slight chuckle he said, “Don’t worry. It will feel a little strange at first, but trust me: it is well worth learning the truth.” Shaking his hand, Corey returned to Anubitz.
“Forgive me for asking… but seeing as how you guys work with the FBI… shouldn’t you have some sort of location for this… ‘thing’ in Downtown? Why come to this awful place?” As he said that, Corey looked out his window. He saw the homeless, gathered around a burning trash can. He saw massive amounts of graffiti painted on the side of buildings. He even swore that he saw a dead body decaying on the side of the street, though it may have been the atmosphere of this place.
Anubitz took a moment to answer. “Well… our employers do not provide us with the means to… ‘enlighten’ you. Rather, we have to use the device that Zion keeps. Opps… I might have said a little too much. Don’t worry. We are almost there. Another 10 minutes at the most.” He replied quickly.
Corey didn’t turn. What he saw had him captivated… and horrified. There were small children running around a small park with a large bonfire blazing. Their mothers were quickly chasing them, and Corey could almost read their lips. “Don’t run too far away! The vampires might get you!” How could something like this have happened…? How had this section of the city become so… decayed? The grass itself looked like blight from an undead-horror movie.
Almost reading his mind, Anubitz sternly said, “As you will quickly come to learn, there is little the Government can do to restore this section. Rather, they have abandoned it, and left it to its own fate.” Anubitz then turned to his window. “It is a shame, but the majority of these people can feel it. They know that something is wrong with this land… it is here that we get a vast amount of new Awakenings.”
Corey was about to ask what he meant, but was once again cut off, this time by Lightwalker. “We are here sir. The Heart ‘O the City Hotel. Let us be quick… we don’t want Exiles to find our location, or worse, those LED Agents that have begun appearing.” Now Corey’s head was beginning to hurt. Exiles? Zion? LED Agents? ‘Just what don’t I know?’ he thought.
There was little to the hotel. There were paints hung on the wall and yellow wallpaper as the background. The few people that were in the building looked like business men, quickly pacing back and forth. Clearly, they did not want to be here, and were going to be leaving as soon as possible. The only other person in the hotel, the receptionist, had nodded calmly as the group of six quickly entered the two elevators on the ground floor. Corey tried not to breath in what surely had to be the smell of a dead body below them. He had never smelt something so foul before, and was glad that they were only going to the 10th floor. As soon as the doors had opened, he quickly left the elevator, breathing a sigh of relief.
Mathious laughed. “The boy is excited to get this done, eh?” He patted Corey on the back, much like an uncle at a family gathering. “Well, you’ve waited 22 years… what’s another 5 minutes?” As Corey and Anubitz entered room 41, Mathious quickly closed the door, leaving only the two men, two seats, and a window in the room.
Without even waiting for Anubitz to motion him, Corey sat down. This gained a chuckle from Anubitz who also took a seat and pulled out a small metal box from his trench coat. “We already know what you are going to choose, but as a rule, I have to offer you this choice.” he said calmly. Corey waited as the man before him opened the small box to reveal two pill like objects nested on top of purple silk cloth. One was red, one was blue. His eyes narrowing, Anubitz continued. “There are two pills; Red and Blue. You take the Blue pill and you can return to your home, continue to live in this… lie. Or you can take the Red pill and…” he paused with a smirk. “…see the world for what it really is. Once you choose, there is no going back.”
Corey shook himself. “I know what I have to do.” he said simply. Slowly he grabbed the red pill and swallowed it. “I’m ready to learn what this world really is… what this ‘Matrix’ is. Show me.”
A laugh escaped Anubitz’s throat. “Wonderful! Simply wonderful! Come, follow me. It’s time.” Corey shivered slightly as he got up from his chair. ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ he thought as he crossed the doorway into the adjacent room. There were tons of computers and machines, all of which looked very alien to the young man. Manning these machines were the people he had met before. Situated in the middle of the room was a lone chair which he assumed was for him. Sitting in it, he looked around. They were talking, but he couldn’t understand anything they were saying. “You will come to understand their slang soon enough Links. But there is one more thing to do before you are awakened… And that is renouncing your given name.”
Corey’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean? I cannot be called Corey again?”
Anubitz nodded solemnly. “Indeed. It is the right of passage. No one can ever use your name again. To this world, you will be dead, just a ghost in the city. You will take the handle of LinksLife. Will you do this?”
Corey … or Links grinned. “We both know the answer to that. Yes. I reject the name Corey Stewart and accept the name LinksLife.” Just saying it made the man swell with pride.
The grin was removed when Samatic piped in. “My love, the ship is in position. We are outside his pod and simply waiting for the jolt to wake him up.” Jolt? Ship? Pod? What were they talking about?
He did have time to act on his thoughts. His hand felt cold… very cold in fact. Looking down, Links saw his hand covered in what had to be liquid metal and Anubitz with a small bucket of it. “Now relax Links. Let it take its course…”
The leader of the Mechincus Novus grinned.
“…and we will see you on the other side.”
Suddenly, all thought process left Links as the metal traveled up his body, his neck, and then entering his mouth. He swore he heard the sound of a phone dialing… and then nothing. The next thing he knew he was submerged underwater or slime… it was hard to tell. Breaching the surface, he attempted to breath, only to find his mouth covered by a long black… cord? Frantically pulling it out, he breathed large gasps of air, only to gag on the air. “Wh-Where…?” was all he could get out. It was like his voice wouldn’t come out.
Slowly swimming his way to the edge of his little pool, he looked out and nearly had a heart attack. As far as the eye could see… thousands… no, millions of red pods stretched along massive towers. Looking to his right, he saw what had to be a small boy in the pod next to him. Was this what he had looked like? His brain was beating against his skull, rendering him unable to take in everything around him. He quickly came to notice more cords attached to his whole body, with a rather large one coming out the back of his skull. Before he could do anything, something appeared before him. It was large and metallic in appearance… with red LCD lights that looked like eyes. It almost looked like a machine. With a large claw, it grabbed Links and held him up. Another claw reached around his head and with a light tug, pulled the cord out.
Links screamed as pain racked his whole body. Quickly, all the other cords were pulled out of him, each time earning a scream from the poor man until he couldn’t scream anymore. As the last one was pulled, the machine dropped Links and left as fast as it appeared. Dazed and in massive pain, Links barely noticed the large… it had to be a space ship appeared before him next. A small latch appeared on its side, a small plank connecting his pod to the ship. Dark figures quickly ran out and grabbed him, dragging the man into the ship. With a hiss, the latch closed and Links laid there as a towel was thrown over him. A lone figure loomed over him.
“Are… Are you God?” he asked wearily.
“Heh… no Links. I am the real Anubitz… the people around you are the real people you met only an hour ago. And this… is the Real World.”
PART 4
“In the beginning there was Man. Then Man made the Machine. In his own likeness, thus did Man become the Architect of his own demise” – Zion Archives
Corey Stewart was dead. The office working son of an Irish-Catholic family was no more. From his ashes though would arise a stronger, smarter individual who would fight for what he believed was right. In those times, LinksLife honestly believed in that one simple truth. It had taken some getting used to naturally. One didn’t just keep on going after finding out that the world they knew was nothing but a lie. In the week following his Awakening, he was introduced formally to the rest of the “crew” as Anubitz had called it. He had to admit, those he had met in the Matrix certainly did look like themselves here in the Real World. He though, would have to wait for his red hair to grow back before he even began to look anything like his old self. Thankfully, he could already feel the hair coming back in.
The ship they were on was called The Holy Lance. Anubitz was the Captain; Lightwalker was the First-Mate. The ship was the head of the overall faction, Mechanicus Novus. “A faction,” explained Anubitz, “is a collective group of crews and ships working together under the same name. In turn, the factions all work for the collective ideals of their leaders, in our case, The Machines.” When Links had asked why all the crews didn’t all work together Anubitz chuckled. “Not all crews see eye to eye. In fact, we are seen as weak in the eyes of the Machine community. There are the juggernaut factions, such as The Collective and The Rakshas, and then there are the diplomatic factions, like The Mega City Dept of Energy and us. Of course we fight when required, and you can bet your *** you will fight within your first 24 hours as an operative in The System.”
“But I am getting ahead of myself. I haven’t even explained the history to you yet. This is a long story, one that I never get tired of telling.” After making sure that Links was fully paying attention, Anubitz continued. “Now, in the Matrix the year is ALWAYS 1999. Not even I am sure how the Machines do it. Here in the Real though… it would be more accurate to put the year at around 3100 A.D. Again, no one is completely sure because most of our records have been lost to the Machines. Back in the turn of the 21st century, Mankind had finally given birth to A.I. Suddenly humanity found itself no longer needing to do hard labor because they could have the robots do it for them. For a time, it was good. But eventually, we became paranoid. The classic movie cliché, “The Robot Uprising.” It reached a peak when, finally, one robot snapped. B1663R was its name. From what we know, he was a butler-class robot, required to follow anything that its master told it to do. Well, its master had found out his wife was having an affair with his neighbor and in a fit of rage, told B1-66ER to kill the man. When the robot refused, its master threatened to kill it. In, what B1’s defense argued, self-defense, it killed its master.”
Pausing, Anubitz watch the fictional gears turn in Links’ head. “So… humanity became so paranoid, they put him… or it, to death?”
Anubitz’s face grimed. “Much worse. The case had worked its way up to the Supreme Court. The Justices had ruled that Machines did not have constitutional rights as they were not humans. As such, B1-66ER and a vast majority of his class were killed. Many, robots and human alike, challenged the ruling. In what would become known as The Million Machine March, protesters around the world gathered in Washington and demanded for the Court to change their minds. Every single being there was killed. Humans then exiled all Machines. From there, the Machines made their way to the Middle East, ironically, back to the “birth place” of humanity: The Fertile Crescent. It was there that they built their own Nation. They named it Zero One. It was from there that we rescued you, in The Fields as they are called.”
He paused again before continuing. “Zero One prospered amazingly well, too well for some. In the blink of an eye, The Machines had taken over the world economy, mass producing cars, TVs, Buildings, and just about anything electronic. Machines don’t need to stop. Car companies around the world were going bankrupted while Zero One continued to grow in economic power. Many in power suspected that the Machines would soon begin amassing a military too great for the nations of the world to handle. But our hate, our fear of the Machines would be our undoing. When ambassadors from Zero One came to the United Nations, seeking entry in order to improve relations with the human nations, we not only denied them, but killed the ambassadors. And so would begin the Man/Machine War. The United Nations was all too happy to begin bombings of Zero One, dropping all kinds of bombs and weaponry on top of the metal city. While the explosions caused damage, the radiation could not affect the Machine soldiers, and so they kept moving. One by one, the major cities of the world fell to the Machines and their unstoppable army. As more and more nations fell, the humans attempted one last attack against them: Operation Dark Storm. In the ultimate act against the Earth, the humans decided that the only way to defeat the Machines was to cut off their main energy supply: The Sun. And so, we filled the sky with Nano-bots that placed the whole world in a thick electrical storm, from which the Sun would never touch the ground again. Once the Sun was blotted out forever, the humans launched a massive ground assault against the Machines. They failed.”
“Thus, the end of human rule came to an end. As a way of showing the humans just who had won, the Machines shed their “skin” as it were. The old human models they took after were destroyed in favor of the squid-like forms you see today. Once again, Zero One sent an ambassador to the UN, this time to negotiate an armistice with the human nations. From what we know, the ambassador said only three lines to the leaders of the world: ‘Your flesh is a relic, a mere vessel. Hand over your flesh and a new world awaits you. We demand it.’ Then it detonated a nuclear bomb, destroying New York City and killing all the world leaders. With that, the war ended. But now the Machines had a problem. Without the sun, they would not survive. They also had to decide what to do with the billions of humans that now were broken and defenseless. And so, they came up with an idea. They would use the thermal energy generated in every human to power their city. And so, the Matrix was born.”
Links sat there for a few minutes, mouth open in shock and horror. Finally he asked, “But… why do we work for the Machines? They enslaved us! Used us like batteries! How can we work for them?!”
“I’m not saying the Machines are innocent. They have done truly terrible things. But the way I see it… is we are repaying the Machines. Think about it. The Machines would not have been this way had humanity simply been more accepting of them. Christ, we treated them like dogs. I want to show them that the human race is better than the bigots of before. I want peace. Neo, The One, bought us that peace at the cost of his own life. There are those in Zion though, that would throw it all away just because they hate the Machines for the lies. Others… like Morpheus… want Neo’s body back. To him, Neo is a martyr, a messiah. Hell, I’ve heard rumors that there are people in Zion who worship him. Morpheus still does not trust the Machines, believes that humans must take back what was theirs. He would ruin everything he fought for… an end to the war, because he wants Neo’s body back!” Anubitz rumbled. “No, I don’t know why the Machines won’t hand over his body if you were going to ask.”
At that, Links looked down. “This is all so much… it doesn’t seem real at all…” When he looked up, Anubitz had a hand on his shoulder and a smile painted on his face.
“I can assure you, the world you are in is very real. However, now we must enter the world of dreams and lies. As per the terms of the Treaty between the Machines and Zion, all newly awakened Redpills must take introductory mission in the system before they can begin working for their organization.”
Somehow, they had managed to get to the control room during the talk, because the next thing Links knew, he was laying back on a small chair, a hole in the headrest. The leather cushions did little to make him comfortable.
Anubis looked down at Links with a smile a parent could only give. “Don’t worry. I’ll be with you shortly. I have to warn you though… the first time is always a little weird.” Links tried to understand what he had said before the captain shoved a metal rod into the base of Links’ skull. The first thing he felt was pain. Horrible pain. Next he felt sad, then happy, then depressed and all the other possible feelings one could experience, all in the span of a second. And just like that, he was now in a vast white room, Anubitz waiting for him in his suit. “One of the good things about The Matrix? We look good in leather. You don’t look half bad either, with a full head of hair that is.” He laughed as Links ran his hand through his hair, feeling the green leather trench coat that he now wore.
“Where are we? This isn’t the Matrix, is it?” Links asked after a moment of inspection.
“Not quite. We are in the Loading Area. Here, we can load whatever we want for whatever occasion. You want clothes? The Loading Area will run a clothing program. Guns? Every type you could imagine and then some!” As he said this, another man appeared along with two chairs and a small table with what looked like a briefcase full of medicine pills.
“You called?” he asked nonchalantly. From his expression, he didn’t want to be here.
“Indeed we did. Links, this is our RSI program. That is to say, your mind will create an image of yourself each time you ‘jack-in’ to the Matrix. We like to call this a Residual Self Image. However, with the help of RSI pills, you can change your look. Go ahead, take a look. You may find out that you will like whatever you choose.”
And so Links did. He didn’t spend a lot of time choosing as most of it was hair style and color, and he had always liked his dark red hair in a small ponytail. He had ended up just taking a pill that added a tattoo to his face: four small curves arching out from his eyes like waves. Anubitz grinned. “And now for the thing that completes the image, your sunglasses. Black Void Glasses, a favorite of one exile supporter ‘The Endless Void,’ but many have seemed to also wear them.” Grabbing them from the case Anubitz had presented, Links slowly put them on. Strangely enough, he could still see as clear as if it was day, but he had learned that strange things were plentiful here.
LinksLife smirked. “When do I start?”
“Since then… well, you know the rest. Faction is killed besides VitaminI and I, I’m moved to The Machines faction which becomes the Mega City Police Dept. There I meet The Devil’s Advocates and their characters such as WGAnubis and The Great Wyrm. Anubis puts the program Vanon in me, he gets killed, I am thrown to Wyrm as payment for a debt the Dept. of Energy owes, and now… I’m here.” LinksLife finished his tale to the new recruits of The Devils Advocates. Sieges, the woman he had come to love as a sister, chuckled as one of the new recruits, DarkestSinn, sat there wide-eyed.
“How have you managed so long?” she finally asked, after studying the man. Indeed, the only big change from four years ago was that his trench coat was now blood red, a bandana covering his face, and he had a strange symbol on his left hand. It was the seal of the Ouroboros, the snake that consumes its own tail as a sign of the cycle of life and death.
Links remained impassive. “I am an Ouroboros. I do not live, I do not die. I simply exist. That is what Wyrm told me. Indeed, I have cheated death quite a number of times and each time, I am reborn as a new person. I have no doubt that, unless someone finds a kill-code for me and makes sure that I am truly dead in the Real, I will be here for quite some time.”
“Man…” came the reply of Noxton. “I hope I get to survive that long.”
LinksLife sighed as he turned to leave the group. “No… No you don’t.”
(( :: Stands and applauds:: Excellent stuff, Links!!))
