I neither own nor claim any rights to The Matrix...
Deeper Than You Thought
Trance
He was surrounded by people with guns. Zion was a free city, but there were certain places even there that you just didn't go without permission. The Hero District was one such place, reserved for citizens who took part in and survived the last battle, before Neo sacrificed himself to save everyone on both sides of the war.
Most people who tried to gain entrance to the district did so out of a simple desire to show appreciation to those who risked everything. Some, however, were jealous and had more sinister plans. Trance had neither motivation. He was here to reveal the truth to the only one who would likely be open-minded enough to see it.
The people with guns were taking him right where he wanted to go. A few minutes later, he was standing in front of the man he hat come to see. Morpheus.
"You are called Trance, correct?" Morpheus said.
Trance was not impressed. He had not been out of the Matrix for very long. And the names of those recently awakened were easily accessible to someone of Morpheus's rank. Nevertheless, he respected the man greatly, and he had no desire to get on his bad side. "Yes, sir," he answered.
"What brings you here, Trance?" Morpheus asked, getting right down to business.
Trance cleared his throat. "I am here to tell you that this is all a lie."
Morpheus looked around. "You mean the peace? I know that. It is only a matter of time befire one side attacks the other directly, and the war will be back on."
"Not the peace," Trance said, spreading his hands in an all-encompassing gesture. "Zion. The so-called real world. All of it!"
Morpheus leaned back on the couch he was sitting on. "Explain."
Trance nodded. "I've studied your campaign tactics. Your use of the white rabbit. The analogy you use about Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole. Your enticing promise to show just how deep the rabbit hole goes." he laughed. "You think you know so much, but you have yet to realize..."
Morpheus was frowning, the first stirrings of annoyance beginning to gnaw at him. "Realize what?"
Trance leaned forward. "That the rabbit hole goes deeper than you thought." he sighed. "The so-called real world is just another layer of the Matrix. I don't know how many layers it has. In fact, I fear that there are so many that if we were to finally escape from the last one, we wouldn't know it."
"What proof do you have of this?" Morpheus asked. He was intrigued. This Trance spoke with confidence and conviction, and there was no deception in the man's eyes.
"You know who I am. You know that I was recently awakened?"
Morpheus nodded. He had called up the report of Trance's recovery five months ago.
Trance pulled up the sleeve of his jacket to reveal an arm without plugs.
Morpheus stared at it. "How is this possible?"
Trance smiled. "At this moment, I am jacked in on my ship, the Paralax. Bring your team and come see me. I'll tell you my story."
With that, Trance closed his eyes and a peaceful expression spread on his face, and he faded away in the same digital distortion effect Morpheus had come to be all too familiar with, as he had witnessed his fellow compatriots returning to their bodies at the end of missions into the Matrix.
"Oh my God!" he said. He didn't waste any time. He put in a call for his team to meet him at the docks within the hour.
O O O
Trance woke up in the insertion chair as his captain removed the plug from his head jack. He smiled. "Thanks for your help, sir." he said.
Captain Darkspire nodded. "You convinced me, son. I only hope you can convince Morpheus. we're all in grave danger as long as we are blind to the truth."
"The truth shall set us free," Trance
Darkspire nodded. "Free indeed."