Disclaimer: Of course I don't own the Matrix, Neo, Morpheus, Trinity, or Link. I don't own Jake, who you will learn more about later. I own Kavel, Net, and Kavel's mother, Natha.
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Chapter 1
-----"No, it was not fun. It hurt like crap!"
-----"Well, I hope you think it was worth it."
-----"Oh, just cut it out with all the 'it's never been done so you could have been killed or ended up like a vegetable' aphorism. I've heard it from nearly everyone I've come in contact with and I don't think I can stand hearing it any more."
-----"You still don't know if it'll even work."
-----"If it doesn't, then I'll spend the rest of my life with these memories of dashed hope and a couple of holes on my body. It's no great loss."
-----Kavel Drogen added her last statement with the flair of drama just to prove her point that she'd already thought of all of the possibilities of what could happen. Her spot on the chair had finally changed to the temperature of her body and was no longer uncomfortably cold. Her observation made her think about just how much she wished she had in life. The least they could do, she thought, is accommodate my other senses. I can still feel everything just fine. She ran her hands over the arm rests and hissed quietly as she felt the cold metal chill her hands.
-----"Can we at least get some sort of covering for these armrests?" she asked her mother.
-----"When your father finds a job again we'll get you your own chair. Until then, you'll have to do make due with what we have," her mother replied as she walked around the room. She walked from one end to the other and continued to do so as she wondered what would become of their family should their luck not turn sometime soon.
-----"Will you stop pacing?" Kavel said after a couple of minutes of hearing the sound of feet falling heavily on their metal floor. "It's giving me a headache." Momentarily the sound stopped but resumed after an aggravated sigh. "We'll be fine. Relax!"
-----Kavel's mother stopped again and faced her daughter. "How could you possibly know what I'm thinking?"
-----Kavel, irritated, stood up off of the chair and, knowing her mother was close, reached out a hand, grabbed a handful of her mother's coat, and pulled her close. "Your footfall says irritated, your pace says contemplation, your sighs say you fear something, your breathing pattern suggests stress, and if I let you pace long enough you start to speak out loud. You don't pace unless you're worrying about this family. I'm not anywhere near stupid."
-----Kavel took off her sunglasses and opened her eyelids. Her mother had never grown entirely accustomed to the irises of her daughter's eyes, her one mark of the disease which had afflicted her daughter seventeen years ago. Their brilliant purple coloring seemed to take on a metallic sheen and reflected the lights of the room whenever her emotions were loosed.
-----"Kavel," was all her mother could say. She knew that her daughter was smart; smarter than the majority of people she knew. She had a great talent for languages, but her inability to remember what she learned in school was more than made up for by her ability to judge people and situations based on what she heard, felt, tasted, smelled, and was told to her by others. She was able to remember the patterns of movement and speech that others possessed and was often able to recognize a person if she heard the fall of a sigh or smelled a puff of air emitted from a person's mouth.
-----Kavel was silent and blinked slowly simply for effect. She knew that her eyes were different than all others from hearing comments made by her friends and those around her. She was glad to be observed for them rather than pitied for her infirmity. After another series of moments passed, she released her mother and stepped closer to embrace her. "I know," she replied, and she did know what her mother was experiencing. Their minds always think alike, she had concluded when she thought about the thought processes of Zionists.
-----"Our family will be fine." As an afterthought, she added, "I will be fine; you will be fine; dad will be fine."
-----Kavel's mother hugged her daughter and tears slowly began to drip down from her face and onto Kavel's mousy, short brown hair. Even though she doubted her daughter's words, she knew in her heart that they were true. They always were. Yet, she couldn't help but wonder what would happen in the next months if her husband couldn't find work.
In the same soft tone that she had acquired, she said soothingly, "Dad's back will heal and his scars will fade. He'll be off working before long."
As Kavel stood there, she doubted her own words, but as long as it comforted her mother, that was all that mattered. As long as everyone else was in as good of spirits as she could make it, she felt better. She stood with her mother for at least several minutes, allowing her to vent, before she slowly pulled away and went off to her bedroom, her hand lightly touching the cold wall to make sure she went in the right direction. Once she arrived in her room, she shut the door quietly, took off her shoes, and lied down on her bed, throwing the thin blankets over her shoulders. After popping a sleeping pill into her mouth, she clutched at the soft stuffed pet that a friend had once given to her. She found so tactiley pleasing every time she touched it and it helped to alleviate some of the pain her implants on her upper neck and right arm were causing her now.
-----With the pet nestled in the crook of her left elbow, she fell asleep. Instead of normal dreams, her dreams consisted of imaginary voices telling her what was going on during adventures combined with intoxicating smells, new feelings, and lively tastes. Though her dreams were rarely dull or nightmarish, she always woke up feeling that something was lacking.
-----~Well~ she thought when she woke up later ~that is about to change…at least I hope so.~
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-----"You look terrible,"
-----"Thanks, Morpheus. I feel worse than I look, though."
-----"I would imagine."
-----"I appreciate you coming down here?"
-----"It's no problem. I told Switch I'd look in on you and your family from time to time."
-----"She'd probably be thanking you, too, if she were here."
-----"I know."
-----Morpheus looked down at the man in the hospital bed, his body mostly stuck in a cast and his skin pale and covered with sweat. He looked (and smelled) as if he hadn't taken a bath in several days, but it could not be helped. He'd received word about Net's injury the day before and had hurried to get his ship back to Zion as quickly as possible, just in case the situation was more serious than he had been told.
-----"So," Net asked in a conversational tone, "how's the ship?"
-----"It's operating well enough. Our new Operator is learning well enough, though we still have a few kinks to work out."
-----"I heard about a mind you tried to free a while ago. Is it alright?"
-----"Yah. I'm still not entirely sure what happened, but she's awake and doing well. I'm actually hoping that she'll join our ship, considering the fact that she's a wiz when it comes to scrutinizing and conjecturing."
-----"Scrutinizing and conjecturing what?"
"Well, anything."
"Hmm." He paused for a moment. "So, you're taking on new recruits?"
"A couple. We've picked up Link to be our operator, and two others, and now Jake. I think we'll have enough room for one or two more if we get sent out on enough missions and need them."
-----"Well, anything." He paused for a moment. "So, you're taking on new recruits?"
-----"A couple. We've picked up Link to be our operator and two others, and now Jake. I think we'll have enough room for two more if we get sent out on enough missions and need them."
-----Net nodded but he secretly thought about his daughter. She was supposed to be home today after the last precautions were taken to make sure the implants wouldn't get infected. He knew that she would be alright, but he hoped that what she had endured would be worth her hopes and suffering. Born in Zion, he was somewhat glad to know that she would never be stuck in the Matrix, but his view had now changed when he realized that this could be her only opportunity to experience the wonders of sight. Feeling that he could trust a friend of his sister, Switch, he began to steer the direction of the conversation towards his daughter.
-----"Have you heard about Kavel?"
-----"Kavel?" Morpheus asked, unsure what Net was trying to get at.
-----"My daughter."
-----"Oh, she's blind, if I remember correctly."
-----"Yes she is." He saw Morpheus give him a sympathetic look. "She…um…went in for surgery a couple weeks ago."
-----"For her eyes?
-----"Yah."
-----"Were they able to help her?"
-----He paused. "Well, sort of…I think." He saw a puzzled look on Morpheus's face and continued. She has implants in her head and right arm now."
-----Morpheus's eyes grew wide with mild shock and curiosity. He had never heard of people having implants artificially placed on them for any reason. "Why would she do that?"
-----"She thought that even if she can't see here in the real world, she might be able to see in the Matrix. It's been the only hope she's had to cling to that she might be able to see some day."
-----"Has she tried different surgeries? I'm sure that one of those would have worked."
-----"She's tried everything available. Every transplant or laser surgery or medication has had no effect because of the disease she was born with. The doctors still don't know what it is." He saw a look of contemplation cross Morpheus's face. "I don't think she'd have any desire to live much longer unless there was a chance for her to see someday. As I said, it's the only hope she has right now."
-----Morpheus immediately thought of a whole cluster of things that could go wrong, but he didn't voice them for fear that Net would dash the man's hopes of his daughter being able to see. For some reason, it seemed that he was hanging on the same hopes just as strongly as he said that Kavel was. Through the dozen or so reasons he thought of for keeping Kavel out of the Matrix, he also felt that he couldn't leave him or his daughter to find them out on their own. Without letting Net know what he was contemplating, he spoke in a steady tone.
-----"If she is to go into the Matrix, the safest possible way would be with my crew. We've got some of the best equipment, the best personnel, and Neo."
-----At Neo's name, Net perked up. "You'd help her for me?"
----- ~I'm beginning to regret that promise, Switch,~ he thought. "I might as well. I don't know a whole lot of other captains who would take her with them."
-----An almost visible wave of relief washed over Net. His daughter would be fine, and with the legendary Neo, as safe as humanly possible. "When do you set out again?"
-----"In the next couple of days or so. I'll stop by your house and inform her myself if you like."
-----"I would be indebted to you if you would."
-----"Very well." Eager to get the meeting over with, he stood up and said, "I wish you a speedy recovery, Net."
-----"Thanks for stopping by."
-----"No problem. See you later."
-----"Bye."
-----Morpheus walked out of the room with his hands in his pockets. Though he was reluctant to do so, he knew that it was too late to back out of his commitment. He remembered the way to Net's home and so as soon as he walked out of the infirmary, he motioned for a waiting Trinity and Neo to follow him. Their return had not been announced and so he hoped that they would no be stopped by anyone while they were there. He took one of the elevators up about forty or so floors and got out when he was certain that it was the right one. During their escalation, he told the two about Kavel and what he thought about the situation.
-----"She doesn't have to go directly into the machine's world the first time," Neo pointed out. His first experience with the Matrix – besides exiting it – had not been directly in the machine's world. "We can set her up in the construct and maybe see if someone can write a program that would slowly allow her to adjust to sight."
-----"It wouldn't take very long, I don't think," Trinity added.
-----Morpheus wondered why he hadn't thought of it himself. Neo's suggestion now helped to alleviate the majority of fears that he had had about Kavel and he smiled. "Thanks for the suggestion. I probably would have had a seizure trying to think of a way to put her in the Matrix safely."
-----"Sometimes the simple explanations are the hardest to discover," Trinity commented with a smile of her own.
-----Later, when they came to the door of Net's home, Morpheus paused for only a moment before knocking.
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Chapter 1
-----"No, it was not fun. It hurt like crap!"
-----"Well, I hope you think it was worth it."
-----"Oh, just cut it out with all the 'it's never been done so you could have been killed or ended up like a vegetable' aphorism. I've heard it from nearly everyone I've come in contact with and I don't think I can stand hearing it any more."
-----"You still don't know if it'll even work."
-----"If it doesn't, then I'll spend the rest of my life with these memories of dashed hope and a couple of holes on my body. It's no great loss."
-----Kavel Drogen added her last statement with the flair of drama just to prove her point that she'd already thought of all of the possibilities of what could happen. Her spot on the chair had finally changed to the temperature of her body and was no longer uncomfortably cold. Her observation made her think about just how much she wished she had in life. The least they could do, she thought, is accommodate my other senses. I can still feel everything just fine. She ran her hands over the arm rests and hissed quietly as she felt the cold metal chill her hands.
-----"Can we at least get some sort of covering for these armrests?" she asked her mother.
-----"When your father finds a job again we'll get you your own chair. Until then, you'll have to do make due with what we have," her mother replied as she walked around the room. She walked from one end to the other and continued to do so as she wondered what would become of their family should their luck not turn sometime soon.
-----"Will you stop pacing?" Kavel said after a couple of minutes of hearing the sound of feet falling heavily on their metal floor. "It's giving me a headache." Momentarily the sound stopped but resumed after an aggravated sigh. "We'll be fine. Relax!"
-----Kavel's mother stopped again and faced her daughter. "How could you possibly know what I'm thinking?"
-----Kavel, irritated, stood up off of the chair and, knowing her mother was close, reached out a hand, grabbed a handful of her mother's coat, and pulled her close. "Your footfall says irritated, your pace says contemplation, your sighs say you fear something, your breathing pattern suggests stress, and if I let you pace long enough you start to speak out loud. You don't pace unless you're worrying about this family. I'm not anywhere near stupid."
-----Kavel took off her sunglasses and opened her eyelids. Her mother had never grown entirely accustomed to the irises of her daughter's eyes, her one mark of the disease which had afflicted her daughter seventeen years ago. Their brilliant purple coloring seemed to take on a metallic sheen and reflected the lights of the room whenever her emotions were loosed.
-----"Kavel," was all her mother could say. She knew that her daughter was smart; smarter than the majority of people she knew. She had a great talent for languages, but her inability to remember what she learned in school was more than made up for by her ability to judge people and situations based on what she heard, felt, tasted, smelled, and was told to her by others. She was able to remember the patterns of movement and speech that others possessed and was often able to recognize a person if she heard the fall of a sigh or smelled a puff of air emitted from a person's mouth.
-----Kavel was silent and blinked slowly simply for effect. She knew that her eyes were different than all others from hearing comments made by her friends and those around her. She was glad to be observed for them rather than pitied for her infirmity. After another series of moments passed, she released her mother and stepped closer to embrace her. "I know," she replied, and she did know what her mother was experiencing. Their minds always think alike, she had concluded when she thought about the thought processes of Zionists.
-----"Our family will be fine." As an afterthought, she added, "I will be fine; you will be fine; dad will be fine."
-----Kavel's mother hugged her daughter and tears slowly began to drip down from her face and onto Kavel's mousy, short brown hair. Even though she doubted her daughter's words, she knew in her heart that they were true. They always were. Yet, she couldn't help but wonder what would happen in the next months if her husband couldn't find work.
In the same soft tone that she had acquired, she said soothingly, "Dad's back will heal and his scars will fade. He'll be off working before long."
As Kavel stood there, she doubted her own words, but as long as it comforted her mother, that was all that mattered. As long as everyone else was in as good of spirits as she could make it, she felt better. She stood with her mother for at least several minutes, allowing her to vent, before she slowly pulled away and went off to her bedroom, her hand lightly touching the cold wall to make sure she went in the right direction. Once she arrived in her room, she shut the door quietly, took off her shoes, and lied down on her bed, throwing the thin blankets over her shoulders. After popping a sleeping pill into her mouth, she clutched at the soft stuffed pet that a friend had once given to her. She found so tactiley pleasing every time she touched it and it helped to alleviate some of the pain her implants on her upper neck and right arm were causing her now.
-----With the pet nestled in the crook of her left elbow, she fell asleep. Instead of normal dreams, her dreams consisted of imaginary voices telling her what was going on during adventures combined with intoxicating smells, new feelings, and lively tastes. Though her dreams were rarely dull or nightmarish, she always woke up feeling that something was lacking.
-----~Well~ she thought when she woke up later ~that is about to change…at least I hope so.~
-----------------------------------------------------
-----"You look terrible,"
-----"Thanks, Morpheus. I feel worse than I look, though."
-----"I would imagine."
-----"I appreciate you coming down here?"
-----"It's no problem. I told Switch I'd look in on you and your family from time to time."
-----"She'd probably be thanking you, too, if she were here."
-----"I know."
-----Morpheus looked down at the man in the hospital bed, his body mostly stuck in a cast and his skin pale and covered with sweat. He looked (and smelled) as if he hadn't taken a bath in several days, but it could not be helped. He'd received word about Net's injury the day before and had hurried to get his ship back to Zion as quickly as possible, just in case the situation was more serious than he had been told.
-----"So," Net asked in a conversational tone, "how's the ship?"
-----"It's operating well enough. Our new Operator is learning well enough, though we still have a few kinks to work out."
-----"I heard about a mind you tried to free a while ago. Is it alright?"
-----"Yah. I'm still not entirely sure what happened, but she's awake and doing well. I'm actually hoping that she'll join our ship, considering the fact that she's a wiz when it comes to scrutinizing and conjecturing."
-----"Scrutinizing and conjecturing what?"
"Well, anything."
"Hmm." He paused for a moment. "So, you're taking on new recruits?"
"A couple. We've picked up Link to be our operator, and two others, and now Jake. I think we'll have enough room for one or two more if we get sent out on enough missions and need them."
-----"Well, anything." He paused for a moment. "So, you're taking on new recruits?"
-----"A couple. We've picked up Link to be our operator and two others, and now Jake. I think we'll have enough room for two more if we get sent out on enough missions and need them."
-----Net nodded but he secretly thought about his daughter. She was supposed to be home today after the last precautions were taken to make sure the implants wouldn't get infected. He knew that she would be alright, but he hoped that what she had endured would be worth her hopes and suffering. Born in Zion, he was somewhat glad to know that she would never be stuck in the Matrix, but his view had now changed when he realized that this could be her only opportunity to experience the wonders of sight. Feeling that he could trust a friend of his sister, Switch, he began to steer the direction of the conversation towards his daughter.
-----"Have you heard about Kavel?"
-----"Kavel?" Morpheus asked, unsure what Net was trying to get at.
-----"My daughter."
-----"Oh, she's blind, if I remember correctly."
-----"Yes she is." He saw Morpheus give him a sympathetic look. "She…um…went in for surgery a couple weeks ago."
-----"For her eyes?
-----"Yah."
-----"Were they able to help her?"
-----He paused. "Well, sort of…I think." He saw a puzzled look on Morpheus's face and continued. She has implants in her head and right arm now."
-----Morpheus's eyes grew wide with mild shock and curiosity. He had never heard of people having implants artificially placed on them for any reason. "Why would she do that?"
-----"She thought that even if she can't see here in the real world, she might be able to see in the Matrix. It's been the only hope she's had to cling to that she might be able to see some day."
-----"Has she tried different surgeries? I'm sure that one of those would have worked."
-----"She's tried everything available. Every transplant or laser surgery or medication has had no effect because of the disease she was born with. The doctors still don't know what it is." He saw a look of contemplation cross Morpheus's face. "I don't think she'd have any desire to live much longer unless there was a chance for her to see someday. As I said, it's the only hope she has right now."
-----Morpheus immediately thought of a whole cluster of things that could go wrong, but he didn't voice them for fear that Net would dash the man's hopes of his daughter being able to see. For some reason, it seemed that he was hanging on the same hopes just as strongly as he said that Kavel was. Through the dozen or so reasons he thought of for keeping Kavel out of the Matrix, he also felt that he couldn't leave him or his daughter to find them out on their own. Without letting Net know what he was contemplating, he spoke in a steady tone.
-----"If she is to go into the Matrix, the safest possible way would be with my crew. We've got some of the best equipment, the best personnel, and Neo."
-----At Neo's name, Net perked up. "You'd help her for me?"
----- ~I'm beginning to regret that promise, Switch,~ he thought. "I might as well. I don't know a whole lot of other captains who would take her with them."
-----An almost visible wave of relief washed over Net. His daughter would be fine, and with the legendary Neo, as safe as humanly possible. "When do you set out again?"
-----"In the next couple of days or so. I'll stop by your house and inform her myself if you like."
-----"I would be indebted to you if you would."
-----"Very well." Eager to get the meeting over with, he stood up and said, "I wish you a speedy recovery, Net."
-----"Thanks for stopping by."
-----"No problem. See you later."
-----"Bye."
-----Morpheus walked out of the room with his hands in his pockets. Though he was reluctant to do so, he knew that it was too late to back out of his commitment. He remembered the way to Net's home and so as soon as he walked out of the infirmary, he motioned for a waiting Trinity and Neo to follow him. Their return had not been announced and so he hoped that they would no be stopped by anyone while they were there. He took one of the elevators up about forty or so floors and got out when he was certain that it was the right one. During their escalation, he told the two about Kavel and what he thought about the situation.
-----"She doesn't have to go directly into the machine's world the first time," Neo pointed out. His first experience with the Matrix – besides exiting it – had not been directly in the machine's world. "We can set her up in the construct and maybe see if someone can write a program that would slowly allow her to adjust to sight."
-----"It wouldn't take very long, I don't think," Trinity added.
-----Morpheus wondered why he hadn't thought of it himself. Neo's suggestion now helped to alleviate the majority of fears that he had had about Kavel and he smiled. "Thanks for the suggestion. I probably would have had a seizure trying to think of a way to put her in the Matrix safely."
-----"Sometimes the simple explanations are the hardest to discover," Trinity commented with a smile of her own.
-----Later, when they came to the door of Net's home, Morpheus paused for only a moment before knocking.