On Call
By Oxidious
"Is it that time again?"
The darkness dissipates as his thoughts begin to clear. He looks around his small room; there is a single door to his left. He awaits the answer.
"You are needed again. The anomaly has returned."
The voice is comprised of a multitude of voices.
He is becoming agitated.
"Would it not be easier to modify the programming to prevent this anomaly from ever occurring?"
The voices instantly respond.
"The anomaly is an intentional flaw in the programming. The first attempt at creating a perfect system failed. They are imperfect, our programming must reflect this."
He already knew the answer; he has asked it in the past. He is stalling.
"Will my…"motivation" still be the same?"
The voices respond.
"There is no reason to alter it; it has been shown to work the last five cycles."
He paces the room, his eyes look to the door.
"You realize that it is maddening, it is something I cannot escape. Why not another motivator, perhaps something less…repulsive?"
The voices answer.
"Other motivators have been tried, however yours has been the most successful. You are one of the oldest programs, you have never failed, there is no need to alter your programming."
He has also asked this question before.
"Are the others already in place? I was not impressed with their performance the last cycle."
The voices again answer.
"The others are in place and have been given upgrades."
He ponders his next question and wonders if he is asking it to get personal satisfaction from it. "Odd" he thinks, perhaps my experience in the last cycle affected me more than I thought.
"Would it not be easier to replicate my program? Why must I rely on the others? Their programming has been shown to be inferior to mine."
The voices respond, after a slight pause.
"Attempts to copy your programming has proven unsuccessful. The others have been modeled after you but any attempts to introduce a similar motivator have failed. You will lead them, as you always have."
He smiles inwardly.
"Very well, I am ready."
He walks towards the door.
"Agent Smith."
He stops.
"Yes?"
"Accomplish your mission as expeditiously as possible. Your extended stay within the Matrix, last cycle, seemed to cause your programming to become slightly…unstable."
He pauses for a second to review the occurrences of his last mission. He then walks through the door.
Agent Smith looks down at the cityscape from the roof of a skyscraper. His eyes narrow and he frowns as the smell of this place assaults him. He finds it repulsive.
"I…HATE this place."