This is based on a fic I wrote under a different pen-name (Lanaya). I guess it was partially inspired by the Animatrix short 'World Record'.


The euphoric tones of a trip-hop track echoed around the large gymnasium. It was deserted save for a lone figure standing at the edge of the large, square floor mat.

She raised her hands slowly and precisely above her head and took a deep breath before bending her knees and launching herself into the air. She somersaulted and twisted effortlessly through the space reaching as high as the tall ceiling, landing as gently as a feather on the far corner of the matting.

She knew that in the real world it would be impossible to jump so far and high even if she had taken a run-up to gather momentum. Adrenaline coursed through her veins giving her an intense thrill. It was strangely ironic that she felt freest in this place doing these things when in reality she was trapped in a simulation not unlike the artificial world she had escaped.

Again she raised her arms and took off backwards. Gliding through the air, not unlike a dolphin through water, she was in her element. She arched her back and aimed her hands towards the floor. As soon as they made contact she sprung into the air again, twisting like a diver jumping from the top board only reversing at the last minute to land on her feet.

She moved over a beam set up to the side of the mat and hopped deftly onto it, balancing on tip-toes without so much as a quiver. She flipped across the beam expertly placing her hands and feet even when she could not see where they were aimed. For all intents and purposes it could have just been a line drawn on the floor. She never faltered or hesitated, landing with the utmost precision and poise.

She came to the end of the beam but did not turn; instead she jumped backwards twisting nearly half a dozen times. As soon as her feet touched the beam, without even a quick pause, she pushed off, this time reaching almost to the ceiling. She landed the perfect dismount next to the beam.

By the elegance with which she moved, the alias she had given herself; Grace, was very apt indeed.

She was special, almost unique. Throughout the whole of Zion there were very few like her. It was not only hackers that become aware of the matrix. Some like Grace bent the rules in entirely different ways, becoming aware of the dream world around them by virtue of their amazing, physically impossible feats.