Machine's Secret Part 2: Xyla and Neo
by
Digitah
Author's note: I AM CONTINUING FROM THE REWRITTEN VERSION OF COURSE! ITALICS ARE FOR MEMORY AND THOUGHT.
DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN THEM OK? IS THAT CLEAR? UNFORTUNATELY, I'M NOT BRILLIANT! HOWEVER, REMEMBER THAT XYLA AND HACKIT, GENESIS AND LOGIC ARE MINE.HEHEHE!
enjoy
He was in the matrix again, off for his own little mission. The previous fury and anger had only altered into eagerness and anxiousness as to what he would find. He didn't know, but somehow, he had to prove that he didn't lose that disk. This had brought out a side in him which he didn't even know was there. Whether he was aware of it or not, he had hurt Trinity emotionally, and brought out fear within her. He retraced his steps and tried to remember what had gone wrong. His phone rang, and the spontaneity of the situation almost startled him. He thought it might be Tank or someone else on the ship trying to persuade him to come back. He was in for a surprise.
"Hello Anderson....or shall I say Neo?" The voice was feminine, but he didn't recognize it.
"Who is this?" A slim amount of shock crept into him.
"I'm your friend, Neo.Only if you want me to be, of course." Neo could tell this woman was cunning by the pompous tone she chose.
"What? Who is this?" Neo didn't want to play. He wanted his answers quickly.
"Do you want that disk back or not?" The playfulness in this woman's voice had left and was now replaced by stoic seriousness.
"You've got my attention. You're the person who took the disk?"
"Yes,...and no. I'll be waiting for you at the Lafayette. Twenty minutes?"
"Make it ten."
"Sure thing babe." Neo hung up.
**************************************************************
Xyla sat there in the hotel observing her surroundings. So this was where everything had taken place? Quite a choice. She thought. Since she was who she was, she was tapped into sentium frequency. She could hear everything being ordered to agents.They are truly fools! She thought.Humans?I could think of millions of other sources besides humans. But of course, according to Xyla, their enslavement in this grandiose virtual reality, was only retaliation for enslaving the A.I. in the first place.Xyla suddenly shifted in the chair.He's here. She thought. A wicked smile drifted across her face.
Neo sensed another presence in the old hotel.She's upstairs. He thought. He quickly took the small voyage up the stairs to the third floor. He practically threw the door open and observed the young woman sitting in the chair. He walked straight up to her, glancing at every inch of the room, making sure it wasn't some trap.This leggy, tight skirted girl has the disk? He thought to himself, or so he thought.
"Yes," She lit herself a cigarette. "And I'm no girl, I'm 25. Not quite your age, but it will happen." She grinned.
She had read his mind."How did you do that?"
"Simple. But that's quite a question coming from you, Mr. The "One".You could do it too. Perhaps I might show you sometime."
Neo quickly analyzed this woman's code. It wasn't human.
"You're quite right, you know?"
"No." Neo shook his head. "I don't know. What are you?"
"I'm one of a kind."
"What does that mean?" This girl was beginning to intrigue him.
"There are no others like me. I'm a superior sentium program."
"You're an agent?"
"No! I mean...that is what you call them isn't it? I'm sorry, but I am no longer on their side. They're not as smart as you think, you know?"
"I don't think they're smart." He grinned.
"No, you don't. That's good. It will help you."
"What do you mean?"
"I want to help you, Neo."
Is this some sort of way to catch my attention?Steeling an important disk?
"You're testing me.No.Well, yes."
So I didn't lose the disk?
"No."
How'd you do it?
"I manipulated the disk's code for it to appear somewhere else after you thought it was securely in your coat pocket."
Have you been following me?
"No. I heard what you did to Smith. I became interested. I want to help you."
Where's the disk?
"I assure you that you don't want that disk."
Why?
"It's a viral program. It was designed to eat away at your 'outside' technology."
Neo didn't need to test her anymore. She seemed to be the real deal. "How so?"
"Do you know where it came from? Do you know if it came from a reliable source?"
"I was especially contacted to come in here and get it. It has to be a reliable source. A hacker in Zion created this program that would eventually destroy all sentium programs. It was transferred onto a disk in the Matrix so that on the ship it could be stored as potential virus."
"Impressive." She put out her cigarette and lit another."But unfortunately, it seems as though you've been fooled."
"Fooled? Me?"
"Yes,.It's possible, you know? Don't think you could exist without a flaw, Neo.It could destroy you."
"What makes you think that?"
"Neo." She smiled. "I'm reading your thoughts. You're thinking whether you should trust me or not. Do whatever you like."
"Why don't you just give me the disk uhma.................."
"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Xyla."
"Xyla.When?"
"Tomorrow? Here?"
Neo nodded. "If any of this is a lie..."
"You'll kill me right? Or at least try to?" Xyla couldn't help but smile at the situation. She was actually convincing Neo.
"Yeah. If you're some sentium program, I'll find out."
Xyla only nodded.
Neo headed for the door.
"Come back soon. I'll teach you how to read minds."
**************************************************************
Trinity couldn't believe Neo had just pushed her. But luckily he hadn't struck her, which is what she was expecting. At that moment she was broken and in shock. Maybe it was just the paranoia of the whole incident which brought her to believe that Neo might strike her. But his anger. What of that? She had never seen Neo that angry before. This situation worried her indeedWhat could cause it though? What had caused this? His being the "One" was extraordinary. But she was beginning to believe that Neo's sanity was finally beginning to be affected. I'll check on that. She thought to herself. She desperately needed to calm herself down. She sat back down and finally realized that she hadn't finished eating. But it didn't matter anymore. She wasn't hungry. She took a deep breath and put her head in her hands. She didn't cry, but she did drift away into more thought.
To the regular viewer, it seemed as though Trinity was crying. To Genesis, the new nosy doctor of the Neb., Trinity was crying. She walked into the mess hall with a brisk pace.
"Trinity? What's wrong?"
Trinity heard her voice and lifted her head."Huh?What?"
To Genesis, Trinity looked pale and shaken. Somehow, almost afraid.Nah.Thought Genesis.Trinity scared? "I came in here to see what the hell's going on!"
So someone decides to come in now? "Why do you say that?"
"Well, Tank and I heard yelling coming from here. I don't know if the rest of the crew heard, but we did.Neo was really pissed off."
"Was?"
"He just plugged in. I waited for him to dot hat, before I cam in here. Are you OK? That must've been some argument." Genesis hoped to get the juicy details.
"Yeah." She placed her hands on the table. "I'm ok." The faintest hint of fear was still heard in Trinity's voice.
"Jesus! Are you sure? Your hands are shaking!" Genesis took one of Trinity's hands and held them between her own.
"What the hell happened in here?"
"Nothing." Trinity looked down. She didn't want to remember. "We argued. It was just a regular argument! You have to believe me! Every couple argues! What normal one doesn't?" She said abruptly.
"Ok. I believe you. It's ok. Calm down. About what anyway?" Was he telling you how he's going to murder you?
"Nothing. That stupid disk."
"Oh, I see." The loser can't accept that it's lost. Men!
"I think I'll go to my room." Trinity slowly stood.
"Should I let him into the room when he gets back?" Trinity couldn't believe this girls audacity. "Yes."
"Ok then. But, are you sure you're ok?"
"Yes." Trinity suddenly thought of something. She wanted to help Neo.She wanted to help him cope with his current state. "Could you do me a favor?"
"Sure. What?"
"I want you, or maybe Logic to look up everything on Neo. I mean everything. If you can, medical history and records."
"Sure thing."
**************************************************************
This time Xyla only knocked three times for Hackit to answer the door. But Xyla was thinking too much to notice this miracle. Her mind was still on the man she had just met. He was so mysterious, yet he had this boyish innocence to him.
"You're back!" Hackit was surprised to see Xyla back so soon.
"Yes," Xyla smiled and walked into the apartment with a cigarette in her hand. "It didn't take me long." She sat on the couch.
"It didn't go well did it?" Hackit bit her lower lip.
"Why do you ask that?" Xyla new exactly what was on Hackit's mind.
"Well, you didn't take that long. You're usually gone for three or more days." Hackit joined Xyla on the couch.
Due to the perverse nature of Hackit's current thoughts, the look on Xyla's face was not too amused. "Exactly, what do you think I do?"
"Nothing. Have fun I guess." Meet guys and do 'em.
Xyla put her cigarette out and lit another one for herself. "I do serious business Hackit, and don't you forget that."
"I'm sure you do." Hackit smiled.
"Shut up. Where's the disk? I'm leaving in a few hours and I need it."
"You'll get it." I'm sure you'll get it.
Hackit couldn't help but think these things of Xyla.She had known Xyla for eight years, and she still had mysteries of her to fathom. What of Xyla?Why didn't Hackit know certain things of her? What did Xyla do for a living? How is it that Xyla was able to pay for Hackit's rent almost every month?
"Who is it for? The disk, I mean? Some mysterious boyfriend?"
Xyla raise her left eyebrow and blew smoke into Hackit's face. "Get real." That statement itself was a joke. "I don't think so anyway. Have you ever seen me with a guy?"
Not of more than a couple of minutes I bet. "No. But you're hardly around."
"That doesn't mean that I meet a different man every night."
"That doesn't mean you're a virgin either."
Xyla smiled at the comment. "No. It doesn't."
"What do you do Xyla?You've never told me. I've known you for eight years. That's pretty pathetic."
"That you've known me for eight years?"
Hackit slightly laughed at that. "No. You're whereabouts are always vague to me. I know everything about you, yet I know nothing of you." It's almost as if you're hiding something.
"I don't think you should know."
"Know what? What are you hiding, Xyla?"
Hackit wanted to know. She desperately needed to know. So much time had passed. In the eight years Hackit had known Xyla, they had grown to be good friends.
"Do you remember when I found you, Xyla?"
Xyla only remained silent. She remembered perfectly.She was seventeen years old, and remembered nothing about her past. How could she? That's when she escaped the machines. All she had was an alley and laptop to herself. She remembered the power she had, her self pride, almost arrogance. All she knew of herself was that she was a machine, with power over everyone. She had done it, she had escaped. But her memory was bothering her. She remembered the agents and lying on a table with consoles surrounding her. What she could never figure out, was how or why she aged.
"You do, don't you? That's why you're not saying anything."
"I remember vaguely." She was lying. She knew it. She remembered it as though it were still happening.
"I'm sure." That's a good lie.
end of part 2