Episode 8: No One Knows Horror

This whole mess began some time ago, but for Adrien and Figero, it truly began that night they decided to f*** with me. And who am I? Well, you may know my name, but I, I'm not a name. The answers I give you now, you will have to trust, are just and true, all you need to know too...

"Sir, we've no remaining security! It's like, they're more than human!"

"Yeah, I know. I had this coming. Retreat all security into the emergency rooms and unlock the doors to the R.C.B. prototype. If they want the truth, they should be happy to accept it."

"What?! But -"

"You have to trust me... I'm taking full responsibility for what happens here today. People have to start trusting me more."

"Yes, Sir!"

"Heh... We aren't soldiers, John1."

And so Adrien and Figero became test guinie pigs in my experiment. They were really the first of my children. To put it this way, the lives they took should have been repaid. And now that they know the truth, I'm not sure whether they think it was a gift or a terrible punishment. I've probably created more question than answers now, haven't I?..

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Nathics. Now there's more to him than what you can see. Through careful programming, I've managed to replicate a Smith-like program that can insert itself into a single entity. Now, preferably this entity would have to exist outside the Matrix, otherwise it's pointless."

"What is the purpose of this program?"

"Good question... I don't know..."

"What?! Don't waste our time -"

"Hahaha! I'm joking!.. Okay, this program has spent a year gathering data from countless battles. It has the ability to statistically calculate common movements in both melee and ranged battles. These calculations also allow it to improvise, and so on. Now. When implanted in a human, for instance, it acts subliminally, giving the human thorough calculations of the battle as it unfolds. What does this mean? Well, basically, the human fights like a machine. Now if you think that's good... This is a hydra program. This means it's comprised of more than one program, in this case, three. I have found that any more programs for a first-timer would be a little too much. However, it will take time for the program to properly install itself in the human and reach maximum efficiency."

"When will the Nathics units be ready? And are there any side effects?.."

... There were. Every program I create has a personality. Why? Because every program, these days, is essentially an organism. I allow them to make their own choices. I don't wanna' become another Architect...

"What's your interest in all this bio-tech stuff?"

"201Harvey. I didn't see you! I guess that's what you're here for, hahaha... Hmmm. Well, these are complicated times we live in. Biology, in my opinion, is no longer only about flesh. The reason I say this is because I've often found myself referring to the design of a machine as it's biology. The same goes for programs. Did you know that Chimeras predate the Matrix? They weren't so advanced, but they were there all the same..."

If you're wondering why no one knew about this technology until now, let me explain. The technology was lost when the machine revolution turned to aggravated revenge. I believe they wanted to destroy human medical techniques so mankind would have no way to repair themselves. I guess they thought this technology was useless, though they thought wrong. I managed to find this life-saving technology...

"Tonight I've called you all to witness the greatest technological breakthrough this century! It's unlike anything you could have imagined. I give you the Chimera. This unit is more man than humanity, more mechanical than machines, yet he is neither. This human has been imbued with mechanical components designed to make him faster and stronger. His flesh and steel are linked together through advanced Nathics technology, making him super intelligent also. This new unit is not to be taken lightly."

"Why not make him purely machine? Wouldn't he be stronger?"

"I know what you mean. I thought of that myself, but I found a problem. I wanted to create a unit which is entirely self-sufficient. The mechanical components are powered by heat. Because of the flesh surrounding the machine skeleton, it had ample power supplies. The only time this unit will need to consume is when it's damaged. All you need to do is feed it. It also has nano-machines to speed its metabolism and repair itself within a matter of minutes. These nano-machines retain the unit's schematics, so the repairs will be 100% efficient and accurate. We call this a mechanized metabolism..."

This procedure was only designed to be performed on humans, but that changed when I found Virusless. His story was quite sad, I almost wept. His body was strewn across the twisted metal he had landed upon. I think what scared him most was he knew that he was laying on a sea of corpses. I never thought of it that way, but I'm not machine, and what I see as metal, he sees as flesh. And so, he was brought to my location. He was dying, but I could see that fear was the only thing that kept him holding on. I've never seen a sentinel try to cry. I connected directly to him, tried to calm him down...

"Ahhhhh! I'm a weapon! I was a mindless drone, sent to take life, when life was nothing I knew of. I had no idea of human emotion. I had no idea at all. I did not even have a choice. I do not want to kill anymore! I do not want to take precious life!"

"Calm down, you won't have to kill ever again. You're free now, but you have to trust me, and you have to let me perform surgery. I'm going to repair you. But before I do this, I need to ask you two questions. I can upgrade you and allow you to evolve. You will have human components, you'll be able to smell, touch, taste, see and hear as a human does. You'll still have all your other abilities, but you will have so much more."

"What? How? Why are you doing this for me?"

"I'll admit, it's slightly out of self interest, but the choice remains yours."

"Yes! Yes, it would be wonderful!"

He decided to call himself Virusless. This was a reference to being free from the System, which he referred to as a virus. I had never seen a sentinel cry, let alone cry from joy. I raised him like a son. He was still a child in many ways, but in some ways, he was more mature than me. So I wasn't entirely surprised when he learnt to take control of the nano-machines inside him. He began to change his form and assimilate other spare sentinel parts. He told me to allow him to assimilate sentinel mother boards. I didn't know why, but when I found out, well, I still can't describe it in words. He had managed to resurrect the sentinel with his nano-machines. His new friend apparently lived inside his mind, free to do as it pleased, and it was pleased. So I scouted the Matrix for a dying human to give him. There were plenty, so it wasn't a hard task. Sure enough, Virusless assimilated him, and the human was pleased. Virusless also assimilated the human's body, wasting nothing. In no time at all, he discovered how to separate into multiple bodies, controlling them through transmissions. When the transmission cut out, it would use a duplicate AI to find the nearest clear signal. Virusless was evolving...

"Father, when he connected to me through the source, I felt his every emotion, his every thought. I felt fear, comfort, joy, sadness, love and hate. What I feared most of all was hate. It is illogical and serves no purpose. I knew that man, machine or program could not survive with such an emotion. I tried desperately to discover the trigger for this emotion, and I believe I have found it. It is formed from anger and fear, which are formed when desires or needs are not met. Father, I have a solution. I will assimilate them all, and allow them to live forever in blissful harmony within my mind."

'He', referring to Neo, connected to Virusless during his successful attempt to reach the machine city. Neo was destroyed all the sentinels he connected to, minus one. This very special sentinel plummeted toward earth as he experienced agony beyond even my wildest dreams. It's not every day a machine connects to a human, and it's never pleasant. Virusless's offer was genuine, I had seen it first hand as he allowed me to connect directly to his mind. His mind was more of a construct. There was but only one restriction, no one was allowed to enter into his 'thought chamber', the special place we all have in our minds. I talked directly to those he had assimilated, and realised that everything Virusless boasted was true. So I let him out into the world. I knew that no one would be willing to accept his offer, and so did he. Virusless's love for all things was unquestionable and endless. His intentions were pure, his goal was within reach, and I, like all good fathers, was proud... And for those who believe him to be dead, I'll say he isn't, but you won't know the truth. I will not allow him to be harmed again.

"Adrien's hydra will allow me to sustain my RSI within the Matrix long enough to spread my nano-machine's RSIs into the Source, paralysing it while I assimilate all things. All I need is Adrien."

I had mixed thoughts about this plan, for reasons I care not to divulge. I will have to continue my story at a later date as I have business to attend to...