Neb chronicles
1 -Lenia
By Vortex
This was it. Lenia knew it. This was where her story ended. She would not marry, have children or die an old woman. Did she deserve this? Well maybe. As a child she had been amazed, fascinated by computers. There many flashing lights, their warm processors and humming. Then with the internet Lenia had ventured on-line. At first she had been a good girl, always sticking to rules and regulations. But the world of hacking had had too greater a pull. At first it was petty stuff, an odd e-mail account here, web site there. Then someone had dared her to hack into the FBI. To her amazement Lenia had succeeded, stumbling over several files relating to "The matrix" and some guy called Morpheous. Amazed she had tracked down people who claimed to have seen or who even could manipulate this phenomenon. But she had gone too far, seen what she wasn't supposed to see, gone where she wasn't supposed to go. Now they had her and, judging by what she had read, were most likely going to kill her. The black suited man who was following her had an almost mechanical look about him and yelled at her in her original name. Heather – she didn't use that name any more, but normally went by her hacking alias Lenia, she even introduced herself by it now and again to people she knew she could trust. No, Heather Johnson was dead. She had died the moment that Lenia had entered those FBI files months ago. Lenia's cell phone went off, cutting through the flow of her thoughts. For a reason unknown to her, Lenia answered it with a flick.
"Hello?"
The voice on the other end of the line was low, almost mocking in tone.
"Hello
Lenia. Do not worry, I am here to help"
"Help? What do you mean? Who is
this?"
"You already know"
"Morpheous?"
"Yes. But we do not have time now. You must listen to me carefully and do exactly as I say. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Ok. Take a left"
Lenia obeyed. It was better than facing the man behind her. Endless bullets flew past her head as she thumped round the corner.
"Now straight down the street, there should be a gray door all you have to do is get through it. Then you will be safe."
"What? How, Morpheous I don't think I..."
"You can do what I say or turn and face the man behind you. The choice I leave to you"
The phone line went dead. Lenia had no more doubts in her head, the matrix was real. But somehow she had always known that, deep inside. She began down the street. A clip of bullets bounced round her, then another, and another. In the distance, Lenia saw the gray door. It looked so far away. She pushed her legs as hard as she could. But all she needed to do was get to it. As if from no where, millions of people appeared. They pulled at her clothes dragging her backward, keeping her from the door. She fought against them, until she was just a few centimeters from the door.
It was then Lenia felt the bullet. It embedded itself in her back, drawing wine-red blood that soaked into her clothes, staining them permanently. Lenia fell forward, crashing through the gray door in a waterfall of wood and gray paint.
Lenia lay there on the floor. The pain was so intense it engulfed all her thoughts. Gasping for air she looked up, and met shocked faces.
"Hi!" she stammered, before passing out.
Lenia had taken the red pill. Even now as it slipped down her throat she trusted these people. They could give her the answers to her questions. There were six all together that she had met. Morpheous, Trinity, Apok, Cypher, Switch and mouse. All Hacker alias's of course. None of them used their real names any more. She had white surgical pads attached to every part of her body. It felt strange, but what had to be done had to be done.
Suddenly Lenia sat up-wards. She was sitting on a metal disc in some sort of red goo that engulfed her naked body……….
Sometime later……Lenia remembered that night like it was yesterday. It was the first time she had met an agent and, even though she hadn't known what he was, she had known to run. Which was what, after years of training she had been told to do again.
This ship was her home now, this was the real world. Inside the matrix it was raining, well in London anyway, but on the ship there was no possible way to tell what the weather was doing. It was always dark and dank, always had that freaky mechanical just built feel about it that put everybody on edge.
Lenia's shift was almost over. They had been scopeing out this Neo guy for months now and were still getting no where. To be honest Lenia didn't really think her was going to be "The One". There had already been five potential "One's" before him, but they were all dead now. Killed by Agent Smith and his clan before they had a chance to get to them.
Right now Lenia had been told to log onto apparently one of Neo's favorite chat rooms, but Neo hadn't put in an appearance yet. Just her luck. A private message flashed up on the screen. Lenia opened it.
"Wild_thang says:
Hey! Wanna chat?" read the message.
Lenia sighed. She wished she could, but she had explicit orders not to speak to anyone but Neo himself.
"Sorry," she typed "I'm kinda busy"
Lenia checked her watch. Only five minutes left. Another message flashed up on screen.
"Neo has entered the room"
Yes! Neo was here, finally she had a result.
Her phone rang. The sound echoed off the walls of the dark, dank, lonely room she was in until it finally surrendered and faded away. Lenia answered it with a flick.
"Hello?"
"Len, shifts over" came through the line, it was Tank the operator.
"Neo's here. I need more time"
"No. You need rest. Trin's on her way over now"
"Tank I don't need rest. Please let me stay."
"No"
Behind her, the door swung open. Trin stood there, the light framing her figure.
"Okay. Just a second"
She turned to Trin.
"Neo's here. Speak to him." She said.
Trin nodded.
"Thanks. I'll see you later"
"Yea, Ok"
Lenia turned back to the phone.
"Okay Tank, get me out of here"
Lenia opened her eyes. She was back inside the Neb, that was, if going into the matrix could be defined as leaving. She pulled the long port out of her neck. Trin lay beside her, eyes closed. She looked so peaceful and serene. Rubbing her forehead, Lenia sat up.
"Hey." Said Tank, looking up from his console.
"Hey," replied Lenia, joining him.
She pulled up a box.
"So did you really meet him?" asked Tank.
"Meet who?"
"Neo."
"No. Trin gets that privilege"
"Oh"
"I should get some rest."
"Ok, oh but I think mouse wanted to talk to you"
"Thanks"
Lenia wandered down the corridor to her room. Her thoughts were still on Neo. Trin always got to have all the fun. But Trin was the one who had a future with Neo, or so the oracle said. Lenia had been to the oracle to, and what she had said scared her. She had said that she would expose a close member, but then die before she had a chance to expose him. But Lenia never believed any of that crap.
Right now she had decided to rest first, talk later.
But mouse was already waiting for her.
"Hey Lenia." He said
Lenia sighed.
"Hey mouse. What's up?"
"How would you like to help me with a new construct program?"
"Not really."
"Peeeease. You're the only other person who can."
"Mouse, I need sleep"
"Just give me five minutes."
"Fine, ok ok. What's it about?"
Mouse nodded.
"The woman in the red dress"
"The woman in the red dress? Interesting."
"Look its not how it sounds. It's an agent training program."
"And you want me to?"
"I need you to walk through some of the steps with me."
"Ok, come on"
Lenia couldn't believe this. Mouse was such a guy. Although she had to admit that he was good. Agent Smith looked almost real, which kinda scared her. Last time they had met he had shot her. She shivered, but not only because the dress was cold.
"Mouse are we done yet?" she asked, for the ump-teenth time.
"Almost," came Mouse's voice, from down the street.
"Walk it through again."
Lenia obeyed. All she had to do was walk down a street and shoot Mouse a look. There were lots of sets of twins inside here and Lenia figured Mouse had just got bored and replicated one person a lot of times. Most of his constructs were like that. Hers were normally more real as Lenia prided herself on her attention to detail.
"So what's she gonna look like, I mean when your finished" Lenia asked.
"Try not to speak, it ruins the flow. Blonde I guess."
"Huh!"
Finally Lenia had a chance to sleep. After running through the red dress program endless times Mouse had finally decided he was done. But now she couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes to sleep her thoughts drifted off to Zion. The only human city left. Apparently it was very beautiful, or so Tank said. They were scheduled to go there tomorrow and to be honest Lenia couldn't wait. It would be her first time there. Damn. Lenia hated insomnia. She needed a drink, but not that crap that Dozer made, water or something.
Lenia undid the door to her room.
It opened silently, mechanically.
The Nebuchadnezzer was pitch black. Lenia didn't mind the dark, In a way she liked it. The dark was what people like her lived in. Not in the sense that they were all vampires, but in the sense that the darkness was concealing. Hiding everything they did, ideal for people who didn't want to be found. Like them.
Far in the distance, Lenia saw a faint light.
Tonight it was Cypher's turn on watch. Cypher was a freaky man, he kinda looked like the devil and normally, Lenia would have steered clear of him. But out here you didn't had so little friends there was no time to have enemies. Lenia was just a few centimeters away from the entrance to the room where Tank normally sat. Cypher had his terminal on, which was quite normal as they tried to survey the matrix as much as they could, and Lenia glanced at the screen. She could read the matrix en-coded now, which was handy as it helped when tank was under the weather.
Cypher was typing fast. Lenia figured the only thing he could be doing was creating an image of himself inside the matrix without actually being connected up. Lenia caught some of what he was saying. Something about where they watched Neo from. Who was he talking to? Lenia leaned forward. Black suit, slicked back hair, dark glasses….. SMITH!!!
Lenia leaned forward more, so much so that she caught a nearby low hanging piece of metal and it crashed to the floor with a clang.
Lenia winced.
The sound echoed through the Nebuchadnezzer. From where he was sitting, Cypher looked up. He turned in his seat. Lenia had seen enough now. Turning, she ran down the endless winding corridor in the darkness. She could hear Cypher behind her and he didn't seem to be worried about keeping silent. Lenia pulled open the door to her quarters. She pulled it closed with haste, catching it just before it slammed on its hinges. She pushed the lock to one side. Far down the hall, Lenia could hear Cypher's footsteps. They echoed off the walls, becoming louder and more intense. Lenia held her breath. The warped steps became louder still, before passing on and fading away. Lenia sank to the ground. Oh god. What was she gong to do now. Did that just even happen? Was Cypher working for the other side? Did this mean he was evil, or just tired? Lenia wished it was just as clean cut as good and evil.
Needless to say, she did not sleep that night.
Lenia opened her eyes.
It was morning, although you could not tell. The night before came flooding back to her. What would she do? Should she expose Cypher or wait and accumulate more evidence, at the risk of Neo's life?
Lenia put it to the back of her mind. There would be no contact with the matrix today, for today they were scheduled to enter Zion. Lenia crawled out of bed. She dressed in a hurry, eager get breakfast over and done with.
The lock on her door slid to one side.
"Len, you ready?" asked Trin, holding open the door.
"Yea, just a second" replied Lenia.
She brushed a last strand of hair into place.
"Were you up last night?" asked Trin.
Lenia stiffened.
"Err, Yea. Just briefly." She replied
Lenia closed the door behind her.
"Cypher said he heard a sound, you hear anything?"
"Yea. What the Hell was that?"
Trin shook her head.
"No idea"
Trin pushed open the door to the dining room. The rest of the crew had saved two seats for them. One opposite Switch, the other Cypher.
'Oh god,' thought Lenia
'Don't make me sit across from him.'
Trin sat across from Switch.
Just Lenia's luck. A bowl of colorless thick porridge was pushed in front of her. Lenia looked down at the goop, She couldn't face meeting Cypher's gaze right now. In fact she couldn't face anyone's gaze right now. The others chatted away about some irrelevant stuff.
"Blah, blah, blah, Neo, blah, blah, blah, Zion"
Lenia felt Cypher's eyes on her. They were hard and piercing, accusing her of everything.
"I'm sorry Tank!," said Trinity
"That's just not how I feel. What about you Len?"
Lenia stirred.
"Huh? What? Sorry I sort of fazed out" she replied.
Cypher shot her a look.
"Bad night?" he asked.
Not giving it a second thought, Lenia responded.
"Extremely, no sleep at all"
Cypher frowned. Lenia changed the subject.
"So, has any body else ever been to Zion?" she asked.
Tank nodded.
"Once, when I was very small. It's amazing, houses and people as far as the eye can see."
As if on cue, The door swung open behind them. Lenia looked back. Doser's head poked round.
"Hey guys," he murmured
"Were coming up on Zion."
The Nebuchdnezzer had lined up with the great doors that concealed Zion. Anticipation growing in her stomach, Lenia held her breath as Doser transmitted the access codes. What if the codes were wrong? There was a low rumbling sound, and, as the great iron doors that hid Zion swung back, Lenia drew in a breath.
Zion was more amazing than she had ever imagined. Great structures of metal swirled upward, interlacing hundreds of times before breaking off periodically into small pods, which held groups of people. The surface of the pods had the consistency of water, but shone with orangy-yellow light. There must have been hundreds of hovercrafts like the Neb in there, but they looked small in comparison to the surroundings. Below them, Lenia could see small globs of gray, which she figured were people, running to and fro along silver colored pavement. These extended back as far as any of them could see and, as the Neb descended down onto a pad that had the letter H on it, Lenia decided this was the most amazing thing she had ever seen in her life. Falling forward with a bump, Lenia caught herself.
"Wow." she whispered, under her breath.
Apok smiled.
"Come on." He said, leading the way.
Lenia had met so many people. More people, in-fact, than she had ever seen in her life. All associates of Morpheous who told her 'how lucky you are to be working with Morpheous' and 'He is the best commander I ever had'. Now was another of those times. A man with long white bleached blonde hair came up to her.
"Hey, your Morpheous's new crew member aren't you?" he said, smiling.
Lenia rolled her eyes.
"Yes." she replied.
The man laughed.
"I've seen that look before. Same line all day huh?"
Lenia nodded.
"Yes. All day long. I'm Lenia, by the way." She held out her hand.
"Charmed. I'm Tobias."
Charmed? Lenia had never heard an American use the word charmed before. The man continued.
"So what's with the accent? Where you from."
Lenia hated this question. She wasn't really from where she was from was she? What should her answer be? Third crop from the right, fifth line down? Or just London. She sighed.
"England. London to be specific. Yes its cold, No I don't drink tea or live in a castle."
Tobias cringed.
"Ok, ok, ok. Sorry."
"No, it's my fault. Bad day"
Tobias nodded.
"I know the feeling."
"What feeling?"
Tobias narrowed his eyes.
"Like you're worn out. Like no one takes time out to think about you. About your feelings. Like everyday is a battle between keeping cool and breaking down and all of the time you wonder if you did the right thing. If taking the red pill has freed us, or just pulled us away from paradise."
"No," replied Lenia
"The red pill showed us the truth. Nothing more."
"I know. Sorry, I just kinda got carried away. This is a bit heavy for a first conversation." Tobias ran a hand back through his hair.
Lenia looked at Tobias. He had deep brown eyes, which contrasted with his hair almost too much, but somehow he pulled it off. In a sense, he was the complete opposite of Lenia.
"Hey. How long have you been here, I mean, inside Zion?" asked Lenia.
"Oh, errm, about a year. Why?"
"Is there anywhere else we can go, like a club or something. Besides here."
"Here as in?"
"This room, these people, life, anything."
"Yea. Follow me."
Tobias moved off. Lenia caught his arm, aware that she should tell someone where she was going. Spying Trin in the opposite corner of the room she waved her over.
"Hey Trin. Where are we sleeping tonight?"
Trin looked at Tobias and then back at Lenia.
"In the Neb. Why?"
"No reason. Just wondered."
Lenia turned. Pulling Tobias in her direction she checked that none of the crew of the Neb were watching, and slipped away.
The music bounced of the makeshift rickety walls of the club they were in. It was so loud that Lenia thought the room was going to explode. But it did rock. It was the first time for a long while that Lenia had heard a live band. The last was actually her 18th birthday, a long, long time ago. Or so it seemed, in actual fact it was only five years ago.
Lenia didn't celebrate her birthday anymore, after all that day wasn't the day she was born was it? Her spool of thoughts was interrupted by a splash of albino blonde hair.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
"What? Oh yea."
"You want to tell me?"
"Not really."
Tobias pulled a puppy-dog face. Then he became serious.
"Come on. Who am I going to tell?"
"Ok. Say my very distant friend called Laura had seen a very distant member of her crew called Chris talking to her worst enemy, but she wasn't sure what she saw. Should I, err, she wait and accumulate more evidence at the risk of someone's life or just expose Cy…Chris now"
Tobias looked lost.
"I don't know. This is all way over my head to be honest with you."
Lenia jumped.
"Oh. It's ok. It doesn't matter."
She grabbed Tobias by the arm.
"Come on, let's get a bit nearer the front."
The music became louder as they approached the speakers. Now it was so loud it hurt. Lenia could feel every pounding base note hitting her chest, pushing her back. It sent adrenaline pulsating around her body. The mood was accentuated by the crowd around her, who danced wildly to the music and Lenia loved it. She loved the way that music brought the people together on a level that was only spiritual. Beside her, Tobias grabbed her arms and whisked her into a dance. So she went with it. Lenia went with it so that just for one night all her cares could be lost in a sea of base notes, flashing lights and white-blond hair.
The club had closed. All the left over punters had been turned out onto the street and there they stayed. Dancing to the music of a hidden stereo.
Glancing at the horizon, Lenia registered the fact that it was almost morning.
She had to get back to the Neb! Pulling Tobias away in one direction she apologized.
"Tobias, I have to go. Sorry"
Tobias looked taken aback.
"That's it," he threw his hands up.
"So this is good bye?"
Tears gathered at the corner of Lenia's eye.
"I hope not." She replied.
Tobias pushed a small piece of paper into her hand.
"Here. Take this. It's my address. The next opportunity you have I want you to come find me. Ok?"
Lenia nodded.
"Ok," she said
"Definitely. And thank you."
Lenia turned her back on the best night of her life, and walked away.
The door on the Neb slid open silently. Again it was pitch black. But Lenia didn't mind, in fact she kinda liked it. This was where she belonged. She tiptoed down the hall trying not to wake anyone. Her room was just ahead. Then she was there, inside and surrendered to the blanket of sleep.
Lenia rejoiced. The Neb was not leaving Zion for another two days! There was something wrong with the propulsion system, apparently. But this gave her another chance to see Tobias, which was always good. Lenia hadn't stopped smiling all day. Nothing could break her mood. Which was why she had agreed to stay for the unveiling of Mouse's new construct. The woman in the red dress.
"Ok. Here we go." Said Tank, before loading the program into their brains.
It felt weird. Like someone had set off an amazingly high pitched alarm in her brain. Then in an instant it was gone. Replaced by a street full of people who stood ready for the little green man to appear.
Mouse was at the head of the group, then Switch, Apok, Cypher and Trin with Lenia at the end. She didn't know where Morpheous was, but she knew Tank and Doser were watching from their console.
The man appeared and the small group started off down the street. In the far distance, Lenia could see the woman in the red. In actual fact, Lenia was interested in what she would look like. Mouse had specified blonde but what else? Lenia found herself squinting as she drew closer. Wait a minute! That was her with blonde hair! Oh my god. The rest of the group turned to look at her.
"Mouse!," Yelled Lenia
"The woman in the red dress stole my face!"
Mouse pouted.
"I thought you looked good." He replied.
Lenia shook her head.
"And you didn't tell me, why?"
"I wanted it to be a surprise?"
Lenia's phone rang. It was Tank.
"Looking good Len!"
Lenia hung up on him. Typical.
There was nothing Lenia could do. Mouse had already distributed the program. But Lenia had to admit that if she was honest with herself she liked it. Now she, or her face even, was famous. Lenia turned over another page in her book, as the door on her room slid open. It was Tank.
"Hey Len," he muttered
"I, um, I need a favor"
Lenia didn't look up.
"No. I have plans for tonight." She replied.
"Is this about that 'looking good' thing? Because I'm sorry if it is."
"It's not that. I just have plans"
"Definite plans?"
"No"
"Pleeeeeaaassseee"
"What is it? I'm not doing anymore constructs!"
Tank smiled.
"No. I couldn't write those things to save my life. It's more of a musical thing."
"Musical?"
"Yea. You used to be a singer right?"
"Yea, so."
"So me and a few of my buddy's have a band. We play whenever all of us are in Zion. Were due to play tonight, but our singer is sick."
"And you want me to?"
"Sing for us. Please."
"Oh no. I don't do that anymore"
"Please. For me,"
Tank sat down next to Lenia.
"Think of it. The cheering crowd all calling your name."
"I suppose it would be good," Lenia looked down.
"Ok, ok. I'll do it."
Lenia had butterflies and snakes in her stomach, and the snakes were eating the butterflies. She checked the clock again. Only five minutes. All she had to do now was wait. This was her first time singing outside the matrix and Lenia had to admit that she was scared. No, terrified. The door swung on its hinges and Tank stuck his head round it.
"You ready?" he asked
Lenia took a deep breath.
"Yea." She replied.
Lenia took another deep breath. This was it. She heard the small annoying man that she had met earlier introduce the band.
"…….And now, with out further ado, please give a warm welcome to Nebula with special guest singer Lenia"
He ran off stage. The stage lights went out. The band ran on stage and mounted their instruments, ready for the lights to come up.
A spotlight hit Lenia and the backing track began. Lenia counted in time with it, 1,2,3,4,2,2,3,4,3,2,3,4,4,2,3,4.1,2,3,4,2,2,3,4,3,2,3,4,4,2, 3,4. Lenia came in.
"Love, love is a verb.
Love is a doing word,
Feather's on my breath,"
The crowd was dancing. They didn't seem to have any complaints, which was good.
"Gentle impulsion,
shakes makes me lighter,
Feather's on my breath,"
Lenia could only see some of the crowd. The ones that were near the front to be exact. They danced like there was no tomorrow.
"teardrop on the fire,
feathers on my breath.
teardrop on the fire,
feathers on my breath."
The sight in the club was amazing, and it was in that moment Lenia realized that she wanted to stay in Zion. Zion was her heaven. It was everything she had ever wanted.
"Night, night of matter,
Black flowers blossom
Feathers on my breath
Teardrop on the fire,
Feathers on my breath,
Water is my eye,
Most faithful mirror,
Feather's on my breath"
In the far corner of the room Lenia caught a view of a guy with white blond hair. Tobias? He pushed his way toward the front of the stage and waved.
"Most faithful mirror,
Feather's on my breath."
Tobias was smiling. Arrgh! Why was he here? She smiled, letting him know that she acknowledged his presence, without breaking the mood.
"Stumbling a little.
Stumbling a little"
A bolt of blue energy shot from the roof. Lenia gasped, as the rest of the band stopped in the middle of the song. The bolt sped down to the front of the stage, and impacted with Tobias. He cried out and fell toward the floor. The rest of the dancers fell to the floor but another energy bolt did not come. The gunman had done what he had meant to, hit his target and vanished.
Lenia jumped off the stage. She landed hard, breaking the heal on her shoe. Tobias was laying still, his hair splayed all over the place. Lenia pulled him to her. 'Oh please god don't be dead' she thought. Before placing her hand on his neck. She felt no pulse.
"Damn it." She swore.
The others in the club had gathered round in a group. They shouted at her, but Lenia didn't hear their comments. She rolled Tobias over and began mouth to mouth.
Lenia pumped his chest, but still there was no pulse. She tried again, and again. A hot tear rolled down her cheek. Once more she tried again. This time Tobias breathed in. He sat up violently, and raised a hand to his head. Disorientated, he looked up.
"Oh God. What, what happened? Oh God. Was I dead?"
Lenia nodded.
Tank and Lenia were at the hospital. In fact they had been at the hospital for hours. Tobias was still in the critical care ward, but at least he was alive. Lenia drummed her fingers on the nearby table. They had been told that they couldn't see Tobias yet, as he needed rest. There were a few other people there who said they knew him, but they didn't really seem bothered about him. Lenia had to admit that Tank had been great, really supportive. A doctor came through the swing doors in front of Lenia.
"Which one of you is Lenia?" he mumbled.
Tank nudged Lenia. She stood up.
"I am." she said.
"Follow me" the doctor replied.
Lenia pushed through the doors. She was lead down many long corridors that all had that same hospital feel about them. Lenia had never liked hospitals, they were always associated with death and disease. The doctor stopped suddenly, causing Lenia to bump into him.
"Errr, sorry." She apologized.
The doctor shook his head.
"No matter. It's right in here."
Lenia pushed open the door she was standing directly in front of. Tobias sat in a hospital bed, wires attached to his hands. He looked pale, but Lenia figured that was better than being dead. From where he was sitting, Tobias looked at Lenia.
"Oh God." She said, and hugged Tobias.
Tobias laughed.
"It's ok," he pushed her back
"I'm fine now, thanks to you."
Lenia smiled.
"It was nothing, I just did what I had to do"
Tobias shook his head.
"No Len. You saved my life, that was something."
Lenia sighed.
"What's on your mind?" asked Tobias.
Lenia looked out the window.
"Zion actually," she replied
"Staying that is."
Tobias turned his head to one side.
"Well do then," he replied.
"Stay here with me. I was looking for a room mate anyway."
The door on Tobias's room swung open. It was Tank.
"Len, They need us back in the Neb." He said.
Lenia stood up.
"Wait!," said Tobias
"What's your answer?"
Lenia bit her bottom lip.
"Yes. When I get back." She replied.
Lenia closed the door behind her. It was best to let Tobias rest now. Her and Tank left the hospital and began the long walk to the Neb. Just as they were about to enter the hovercraft Tank placed a hand on Lenia's arm.
"What was that about?" he asked.
Lenia looked at her friend in the early morning light. Then she confessed everything.
"Tank I'm leaving the Neb. As soon as possible, after this mission if Morpheous lets me."
Tank nodded.
"I thought so. It's your kinda place, but I'll miss you."
He pushed the button to slide open the door.
"Tank. I…"
"What?"
"Nothing. Just keep an eye on Cypher."
They entered the Neb.
"So what exactly do you want us to do?" asked Cypher.
Great! Lenia had been given Cypher as a partner for her next, and she hoped last, trip into the matrix.
"We need to know how much they have on Neo. All you have to do is hack into the mainframe. It needs to be quick. In and out. Got it?"
They both nodded.
"Load us up Tank." Said Lenia.
The high-pitched entry sound came again. Then Lenia and Cypher were standing inside a construct, dressed in their normal matrix gear.
Two black metal handguns appeared on the floor. Cypher picked them up and handed Lenia one. He smiled a feline cat-like smile, as the room they normally used to hack places rushed into view. Cypher turned to Lenia.
"Go on." He said, pointing out the computer.
Lenia looked shocked.
"Me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"because your faster than me."
"Ok. Whatever."
Lenia sat down. She began typing quickly, breaking down firewalls and security to uncover their target.
From behind her there was a noise. It sounded like the opening of a door.
"Cypher? Where you going?" Lenia yelled, as a bullet whistled past her head.
Turning she saw Cypher, standing behind Agent Smith. Oh God, she had been right all along. Cypher was working for them. As quick as a flash she flipped backward, out of her chair. Agent Smith ran forward, shooting off his gun. Lenia landed on the floor, bending low to dodge the bullets. She pushed Cypher back into the wall, knocking him out. Now she had a clear run to the door. Bringing her foot up behind her she hit Agent Smith in the head, sending him crashing to the floor. So Lenia ran, she ran for her life. As she thundered down the fire escape, her phone went off. Lenia answered it.
"Tank! Help me! It's an Agent."
"Len, calm down. There's an exit in Bond Street near you. All you have to do is get to it."
There was someone else on the fire escape. Smith was back. He shot bullets from a never-ending clip at her, which bounced off the steps like rain.
"Tank. There's something else,"
Smith shot another bullet and Lenia ducked, hitting it with the phone.
'Oh No!' she thought, shaking the phone as it fuzzed out of life. Lenia through it off the fire escape, following it with herself. She hit the ground and rolled hard, before carrying on. The street she had landed on was filled with people, which was not good. Up ahead Lenia could see the sign for Bond Street. She ran as fast as she could, pushing her body for one last time.
Lenia had come face to face with Agent Smith. She was just a few doors away from the room now and she could hear the exit line phone ringing. Agent Smith frowned.
"Miss Johnson, we meet again." He crowed.
Lenia shook her head.
"You wanna go? Lets fight right now, you and me, right here"
"Are you not going to run?"
"No."
"Very well"
Smith jumped into the air. He fired off his gun meaning to hit Lenia, but she cartwheeled sideways and dodged them. Smith landed, impacting with the floor and busting a big hole in it. Lenia flipped backward, firing her gun every time she had a chance. Somehow Lenia knew that her and Smith were both out of bullets. She threw her gun to one side. Agent Smith ran toward her, fists outstretched. Lenia blocked his blow, kicking him in the side. Smith stumbled back a few steps, before grabbing Lenia by her outstretched leg and threw her backward. Lenia crashed backward and spat out blood. She flipped upwards and turned to face Agent Smith. He jumped towards her, deflecting oncoming blows by the dozen. Lenia looked down at her hands. They were blurring like she had never seen before. Suddenly she knew it all. She understood everything about the matrix. How it worked, why it was made. Everything. Lenia breathed deeply, the power flowing through her body was immense. Agent Smith attacked again, but this time Lenia deflected his blows. Pushing him into the path of an oncoming car. Lenia had done it. She had faced an Agent and lived.
Lenia turned and walked down the corridor to the room with the phone in.
Lenia placed her hand on the handle. Turning it to one side she smiled. Beyond this door was her future. Beyond this door was Zion and Tobias. Then perhaps her own ship and crew. Or maybe the destruction of the matrix. She opened the door.
Standing there in front of her was Cypher. Lenia couldn't explain how he had got there so fast. In actual fact she had thought she had killed him. He smiled and stuck a gun in her ribs.
"Cypher? You don't want to do that." Said Lenia.
Cypher shook his head.
"Yes I do." he said.
Cypher pulled the trigger. The bullet ripped through her guts and splattered blood up the nearby wall. Lenia flew back. Pain ripped outwards from the wound, numbing her whole body. Cypher reloaded the gun and shoot again and again. Emptying the whole clip into her. Lenia looked down. There was blood everywhere. All over the floor and all over her clothes. Lenia's vision became darker. She was dying and It hurt so much. Like someone had stuck numerous knives into her and was turning them at a high speed. She looked up at Cypher.
"Why?" she asked.
Cypher stared at her hard.
"That night in the Neb, that was you. I couldn't risk you disrupting the plan." He replied, before kicking her hard and wondering away.
The wound was fatal. Lenia knew it. There was too much blood for it to be anything else. Being shot hurt so much. Lenia realized this was what the oracle had said would happen, this was what had meant to be. Her life was falling away. Cypher would probably say an agent got her. Damn Cypher to hell. Neo was a dead man now. Lenia just hoped she had dropped enough hints and left enough clues to the right people so it wasn't too late. She would miss Zion though. The way it sparkled in the moonlight, the way it never slept. But most of all she would miss Tobias.
Then the pain stopped. That was the moment. The woman called Lenia no longer existed. All that was left now was the woman in the red dress.
THE END
Based on concepts by Andy & Larry Wachowski.