Prologue
Michael Jones stood at the top of his school, watching the world move he thought he knew, the world he thought he was born in, move about. It was hard to believe that this world was simulated, simply a complex illusion. However, as he watched, he started to see the things wrong: people stepping at the same time, the uniformity of fashion depending on the season, the way people talked. The machines have thrown a thick blanket over the eyes of the humans, but the blanket was starting to wear down. Thanks to the efforts of Morpheus, the pirate signal has successfully brought several humans into the real, cold world. Whether the machines have noticed or not is frighteningly unknown, but for now, the humans have the upper hand. Michael pulled out his cellphone and press the speed-dial.
"Operator, get me a door," he said.
"You got it Jones," came the voice of Jax, "All right, there's a telephone booth on 9th and St. James. That's your way out," Jax said.
Michael nodded and put his cellphone away. He went downstairs from the roof and took the elevator down from the lobby. Then his cellphone rang. He picked up.
"Whoa, whoa. Wait. Stop the elevator," Jax said.
Michael hit the emergency stop and listened to Jax.
"Agents know you are there. They're in the lobby and moving up. Open the door and take the emergency exit to the left," Jax said, the sound of rapid tapping audible in the earpiece.
Michael opened the door and climbed out onto the fourth floor. Several business people stopped and helped him up.
"Hey, you ok mister?" said one guy with a New York accent.
Michael nodded and started making his way to the emergency exit. He gently pushed his way, apologizing along. He opened the emergency exit, setting off the fire alarm. Michael put the phone to his ear as he took the stairs.
"It's ok about the alarm. Just keep moving," Jax said.
Michael drew a silenced M9 from his coat and opened the door to outside.
He looked around, looking for agents. He didn't find any, so he put his pistol away and started walking down the alley with his phone on his ear.
"Alright, stop," Jax ordered.
Michael stopped moving. The office building that Michael was in emptied onto the sidewalk, trying to keep their nice suits from being ruined by water. Michael, seeing what Jax was doing, walked into the crowd and disappeared. The agents that were searching the building came out soaking. They disappeared into the Matrix in search of the human.
Michael made it to the telephone booth and picked it up. He closed his eyes and was transported back to the real world. He opened his eyes to his friends, Anita, Jax, and Marcus, all arguing.
"Those agents knew where he was. We no longer have the element of surprise," Anita said.
"I think it was just a coincidence. We are still hidden from their eyes," Marcus said.
Jax was on the computer, making sure Michael wasn't followed. Michael stood up and pulled the spike from the port at the base of his head. He let it fall to the floor with a thud, silencing the argument.
"The agents knew where I was. I must have made more noise than I thought. I've confirmed that there is a hacker known as Neo, but he's good at not being found. There's a warrant for his arrest, but not by agents," Michael said, standing up.
Michael stood up to six feet. He had a large build, very muscular. His chocolate skin matched his eyes. His shirt was grey and his pants were beige.
Michael started walking towards the bridge with Anita following.
"Michael, we can't take any chances. We have to tell Morpheus and the council," Anita said.
"We will, but we need more proof than 'I made noise,'" Michael said sternly, "The council is thoroughly convinced that nothing will happen to Zion."
Michael and Anita made it to the bridge where Mike and Rose sat. Mike looked up from his orange trucker hat and gave a big toothy smile. Rose focused on the flight ahead.
"Boy, you sure know how to make noise. We passed by three sentinel patrols already and there are sure more to come," Mike said.
"Take us to Zion. I'm giving everybody a week of shore leave," Michael said.
"Shoot, a whole week? I'll take that any day," Mike said, turning back to his controls.
Mike pushed a few buttons and punched in the coordinates to Zion. Michael was silent the whole trip, thinking about the other thing he found in the Matrix.