freak0@canada.com - 02/00
* * ******************************************************** * *
The Matrix and all related items are copyright of Warner
Entertainment and the Wachowski brothers.
This fanfic is written purely for entertainment. The ideas
presented here are those of the author and in no way represent
the ideas and feelings of the Wachowski brothers or any other
people involved with the films.
This is a prequel of sorts to give us an insight into the
trials and tribulations Morpheus must have endured in his
search for "The One." As always any new characters are purely
of my own designs. Comments and criticisms can be directed to
freak0@canada.com
This is a quick touch-up, as I felt the first form was a
little rough. Almost nothing has change, I just reworked a
few pieces of narration and some dialogue. Stay tuned for
the second part coming in the first week of March.
This fanfic is rated PG and is suitable for most readers.
* * ******************************************************** * *
The Matrix
Morpheus 01a : The Search
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------101111
There was always the darkness. Thick and thin it was. He hated the darkness for it told
him exactly how things were. They were dreams. Rather they were nightmares, forced into
the minds of men and women to convince them that they were free. But the darkness was what
cast aside the veil for him. When he shut his eyes he could tell.
Blackness.
So dark and so intense. So smothering that he could immediately sense that something was
amiss. It was too black. It was too deep. It was like shutting your eyes and becoming
dead to the world. Everything seemed to stop.
He opened his eyes. Cold metal. Harsh light. Power lines and data cables. He lay
perfectly still. Sometimes he could hear the machines. Their buzzing and humming, like
a whispered language in the darkness. They spoke in numbers, the language which man first
and last spoke. Before words were uttered there was counting. One man. Two rocks. An
infinity of trees. And then finally a billion-billion bytes of information. A million-
billion-billion connections to the mother-line. An infinity of possiblities.
But only one outcome. The machines had stolen the numbers from them and were now weaving them
against humankind. The war had begun long ago.
He intended to finish it.
"Morpheus." a voice split the silence like a bolt of electricity.
"What is it, Tank?" he replied, sitting up in his bunk.
"We've got something you might want to look at."
"I'll be there in a moment." he rubbed the back of his head absently touching the port fused
to the back of his skull. Ironically it was the instrument of their sabotage.
On the bridge Tank and Cypher were waiting for him. Tank peered intensely at a moniter, his
fingers flying over the keyboard with perfect precision. Cypher nodded to Morpheus and held
out a fist. Morpheus tapped his fist on the side with his own before leaning next to Tank.
"Is this what I think it is?" he asked.
"You bet your back-side it is." Tank responded. Completing a final keystroke he looked at
Morpheus with a grin. "Want to take a look?"
"Please." Morpheus replied and took the seat. Tank wrapped his hands around a ventilation
duct and performed a few curls while Morpheus looked over the data. Cypher gave him a raised
eyebrow and then wrapped his arms around the same duct.
"This is good, Tank. This is very good. If this is right. We may finally be at the end."
"Just be careful, Cap.' We don't need another job like New Delhi." Cypher smirked and pulled
another chin-up.
"Don't remind me." Morpheus glared at him. No one wanted to remember what had happened that
day in India.
"So, are you going in?" Tank asked while watching Cypher beat the number of chin-ups he had
performed. "Show-off." he said.
"I'm not sure yet. You've got a ProcLock on the subject?"
"Not yet, we're narrowing it down right now. Let's just hope we don't have another burn-out
like before."
"Or any interruptions." Cypher agreed, recalling the time they had had to descend from
broadcast depth before unplugging properly. Morpheus, Trinity and himself had all been
left with four-week hang-overs from the experience. Not to mention a sense of vertigo so
bad they couldn't walk properly for half a month.
"I want to know the minute you get a complete Proclock." Morpheus told Tank. "If we're right.
If he is The One, then this has to be perfect."
"Yes, sir!" Tank grinned as Morpheus slid out of his chair and stretched.
"Cypher, where is Trinity?"
"She's down in the hold."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------100010
Suspended from the ceiling by her knees, she was working on a maintenance panel that had
been damaged during their last encounter with a Sentinel. Long strands of inky black hair
hung down like loose cables from her head as she checked wires and connections.
"You still inside?" Morpheus looked up at her.
"What?"
"Whenever I find you, you're always hanging around like you're still inside the Matrix."
"Nothing wrong with a little real-world-practice." she grinned and closed the panel before
dropping down to the floor. "You can't say there aren't a few good aspects to the Matrix."
"More bad than good." he replied.
"What's up?" she asked and slipped the multitool she had been using into her pocket.
"I have good news." he smiled widely, his teeth standing out against his black skin and beard.
"The One?" Trinity asked, a look of wonder in her eyes. She swept a long strand of hair from
her face. "Tell me!"
"Tank thinks we may have found him at last."
"Morpheus, do you know what this means?"
"I know as well as you do, it means a lot of work for us." he contained his excitement. If
indeed they had found The One, the machines would put up a great fight to keep him inside.
"Are we going in?"
"Not just yet, Tank has to establish a firm Proclock before that. Which is why I need you
to make sure that our broadcast array wasn't damaged even in the slightest before we connect.
We cannot risk having another signal glitch."
"Where is this one located?"
"America." he replied, still uncertain of exactly where.
"Good, I hated India."
"We all harbor bad feelings about New Delhi. It's best forgotten. But it's also best learned
from. Sometimes we don't have as much control as we fool ourselves into thinking we do."
"Yes. I'll get on that array."
"I'll let you know once we have the lock. We'll dive as soon as it's possible."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------011010
With the array repaired and a solid Proclock established they were ready to move. He
stood at the far entrance to the connection core watching as Cypher and Trinity settled
themselves into their plug chairs, both as excited as he was. No more hesitation.
"Dozer." Morpheus spoke into the intercom. "Are we ready to move to broadcast depth?"
"Ready, able and more than willing!" the big man replied. "Good luck, sir!"
"Thank you, Dozer." Morpheus said and then moved to his plug chair.
"If he is the one, we're gonna have to install another chair." Cypher said both seriously
and with humor.
"It's a small price that I'm more than willing to pay." Morpheus replied.
"Morpheus," Tank interrupted. "We've reached optimum broadcast angle."
"Open the connection."
It was like a dream. One moment in the real world, the next moment in another. Morpheus
didn't dare blink, he caught the switch every time. Metal ceiling panels--cloudy sky.
The scene was almost alien to him. Having grown up in the urban sprawl, amidst giant
buildings and paved streets this place nearly overwhelmed him.
Green grass and golden fields, a horizon that stretched as far as the eye could see. He
had seen this before, in training simulations and in history books. But nothing could
prepare him for the all out sensory burst given to him by the Matrix. It was like being
thrown from the darkness into the light. From one real world into another.
He had no idea that the Matrix could produce such beauty.
He felt a hand grip his and turned to his right. Trinity.
"You're going to be all right?"
"Yes, I've just never believed that the Matrix could house such a beautiful place. This
has to be where he is."
"So, where to?" Cypher wanted to know.
"I'm not sure." Morpheus drew a cell phone from his pocket. "Tank."
"Operator."
"Where exactly are we headed?"
"There should be a small town just South of your position. You can get a truck and then
head for a farm further East." the instructions were tinny over small phone despite the
weight they carried.
"Can you believe we came in through this?" Cypher indicated to a utility phone, complete
with crank and separate mouth-piece, mounted on a pole. "I thought this was supposed to be
1999 or something."
"I guess some one has a sense of sentimentality." Morpheus grinned. "It's perfect."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------100011
The small town was quaint to say the least. It cosisted of a dozen or so small buildings,
none more than three stories in height, and dust roads. They walked down the street
searching for the truck that Tank had told them about. It would be black and still have
the keys in the ignition. There was still the problem of porting in equipment as large
as a truck. Guns and clothing were simple, they consisted of little data, but an entire
car was not only large, but it required gas, oil, transmission fluid and did more than
just spray lead. They had been able to load a few vehicles, but more often than not the
simple action of turning the ignition alerted the Agents to their position immediately.
"Got it." Cypher said and pointed to a large black truck straight out of the fifties.
"This is perfect." Morpheus smiled and made a b-line for the truck. Painted black with
chrome hubs and fenders, the truck sported a full leather interior and an 8-track tape
player.
Trinity climbed into the passenger seat while Cypher leaped into the bed, sunglasses glinting
in the crisp morning light. Morpheus sat behind the wheel, eager as ever to drive such
a machine. No, machine wasn't the right word for it. Work of Art.
There was a quite beeping and he reached for the cell phone. "Yes?"
"Operator. We've got a problem."
"What is it?"
"I'm not sure exactly. Picking up a large amount of signal break-up on your end."
"Do we need to abort?"
"I don't think so. You're signals are fine, it's just the amount of dissonance they're
creating as you move around."
"What's the population of this town?"
"Fifty-two."
"Okay, we'll keep an eye open."
Before Morpheus could even hang up the phone there was a pounding on the roof of the truck.
"Morpheus!" Cypher shouted. "We've got an agent!"
Morpheus looked straight ahead and saw the man in a black suit walking straight towards them.
Things had just gone bad.
"Shit, it's Black!" Trinity commented.
Not Black, Morpheus thought, any Agent but Black. He turned the ignition and slammed his foot on the
gas.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------100101
Next Chapter : Agent Black Attacks
* * ******************************************************** * *
The Matrix and all related items are copyright of Warner
Entertainment and the Wachowski brothers.
This fanfic is written purely for entertainment. The ideas
presented here are those of the author and in no way represent
the ideas and feelings of the Wachowski brothers or any other
people involved with the films.
This is a prequel of sorts to give us an insight into the
trials and tribulations Morpheus must have endured in his
search for "The One." As always any new characters are purely
of my own designs. Comments and criticisms can be directed to
freak0@canada.com
This is a quick touch-up, as I felt the first form was a
little rough. Almost nothing has change, I just reworked a
few pieces of narration and some dialogue. Stay tuned for
the second part coming in the first week of March.
This fanfic is rated PG and is suitable for most readers.
* * ******************************************************** * *
The Matrix
Morpheus 01a : The Search
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------101111
There was always the darkness. Thick and thin it was. He hated the darkness for it told
him exactly how things were. They were dreams. Rather they were nightmares, forced into
the minds of men and women to convince them that they were free. But the darkness was what
cast aside the veil for him. When he shut his eyes he could tell.
Blackness.
So dark and so intense. So smothering that he could immediately sense that something was
amiss. It was too black. It was too deep. It was like shutting your eyes and becoming
dead to the world. Everything seemed to stop.
He opened his eyes. Cold metal. Harsh light. Power lines and data cables. He lay
perfectly still. Sometimes he could hear the machines. Their buzzing and humming, like
a whispered language in the darkness. They spoke in numbers, the language which man first
and last spoke. Before words were uttered there was counting. One man. Two rocks. An
infinity of trees. And then finally a billion-billion bytes of information. A million-
billion-billion connections to the mother-line. An infinity of possiblities.
But only one outcome. The machines had stolen the numbers from them and were now weaving them
against humankind. The war had begun long ago.
He intended to finish it.
"Morpheus." a voice split the silence like a bolt of electricity.
"What is it, Tank?" he replied, sitting up in his bunk.
"We've got something you might want to look at."
"I'll be there in a moment." he rubbed the back of his head absently touching the port fused
to the back of his skull. Ironically it was the instrument of their sabotage.
On the bridge Tank and Cypher were waiting for him. Tank peered intensely at a moniter, his
fingers flying over the keyboard with perfect precision. Cypher nodded to Morpheus and held
out a fist. Morpheus tapped his fist on the side with his own before leaning next to Tank.
"Is this what I think it is?" he asked.
"You bet your back-side it is." Tank responded. Completing a final keystroke he looked at
Morpheus with a grin. "Want to take a look?"
"Please." Morpheus replied and took the seat. Tank wrapped his hands around a ventilation
duct and performed a few curls while Morpheus looked over the data. Cypher gave him a raised
eyebrow and then wrapped his arms around the same duct.
"This is good, Tank. This is very good. If this is right. We may finally be at the end."
"Just be careful, Cap.' We don't need another job like New Delhi." Cypher smirked and pulled
another chin-up.
"Don't remind me." Morpheus glared at him. No one wanted to remember what had happened that
day in India.
"So, are you going in?" Tank asked while watching Cypher beat the number of chin-ups he had
performed. "Show-off." he said.
"I'm not sure yet. You've got a ProcLock on the subject?"
"Not yet, we're narrowing it down right now. Let's just hope we don't have another burn-out
like before."
"Or any interruptions." Cypher agreed, recalling the time they had had to descend from
broadcast depth before unplugging properly. Morpheus, Trinity and himself had all been
left with four-week hang-overs from the experience. Not to mention a sense of vertigo so
bad they couldn't walk properly for half a month.
"I want to know the minute you get a complete Proclock." Morpheus told Tank. "If we're right.
If he is The One, then this has to be perfect."
"Yes, sir!" Tank grinned as Morpheus slid out of his chair and stretched.
"Cypher, where is Trinity?"
"She's down in the hold."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------100010
Suspended from the ceiling by her knees, she was working on a maintenance panel that had
been damaged during their last encounter with a Sentinel. Long strands of inky black hair
hung down like loose cables from her head as she checked wires and connections.
"You still inside?" Morpheus looked up at her.
"What?"
"Whenever I find you, you're always hanging around like you're still inside the Matrix."
"Nothing wrong with a little real-world-practice." she grinned and closed the panel before
dropping down to the floor. "You can't say there aren't a few good aspects to the Matrix."
"More bad than good." he replied.
"What's up?" she asked and slipped the multitool she had been using into her pocket.
"I have good news." he smiled widely, his teeth standing out against his black skin and beard.
"The One?" Trinity asked, a look of wonder in her eyes. She swept a long strand of hair from
her face. "Tell me!"
"Tank thinks we may have found him at last."
"Morpheus, do you know what this means?"
"I know as well as you do, it means a lot of work for us." he contained his excitement. If
indeed they had found The One, the machines would put up a great fight to keep him inside.
"Are we going in?"
"Not just yet, Tank has to establish a firm Proclock before that. Which is why I need you
to make sure that our broadcast array wasn't damaged even in the slightest before we connect.
We cannot risk having another signal glitch."
"Where is this one located?"
"America." he replied, still uncertain of exactly where.
"Good, I hated India."
"We all harbor bad feelings about New Delhi. It's best forgotten. But it's also best learned
from. Sometimes we don't have as much control as we fool ourselves into thinking we do."
"Yes. I'll get on that array."
"I'll let you know once we have the lock. We'll dive as soon as it's possible."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------011010
With the array repaired and a solid Proclock established they were ready to move. He
stood at the far entrance to the connection core watching as Cypher and Trinity settled
themselves into their plug chairs, both as excited as he was. No more hesitation.
"Dozer." Morpheus spoke into the intercom. "Are we ready to move to broadcast depth?"
"Ready, able and more than willing!" the big man replied. "Good luck, sir!"
"Thank you, Dozer." Morpheus said and then moved to his plug chair.
"If he is the one, we're gonna have to install another chair." Cypher said both seriously
and with humor.
"It's a small price that I'm more than willing to pay." Morpheus replied.
"Morpheus," Tank interrupted. "We've reached optimum broadcast angle."
"Open the connection."
It was like a dream. One moment in the real world, the next moment in another. Morpheus
didn't dare blink, he caught the switch every time. Metal ceiling panels--cloudy sky.
The scene was almost alien to him. Having grown up in the urban sprawl, amidst giant
buildings and paved streets this place nearly overwhelmed him.
Green grass and golden fields, a horizon that stretched as far as the eye could see. He
had seen this before, in training simulations and in history books. But nothing could
prepare him for the all out sensory burst given to him by the Matrix. It was like being
thrown from the darkness into the light. From one real world into another.
He had no idea that the Matrix could produce such beauty.
He felt a hand grip his and turned to his right. Trinity.
"You're going to be all right?"
"Yes, I've just never believed that the Matrix could house such a beautiful place. This
has to be where he is."
"So, where to?" Cypher wanted to know.
"I'm not sure." Morpheus drew a cell phone from his pocket. "Tank."
"Operator."
"Where exactly are we headed?"
"There should be a small town just South of your position. You can get a truck and then
head for a farm further East." the instructions were tinny over small phone despite the
weight they carried.
"Can you believe we came in through this?" Cypher indicated to a utility phone, complete
with crank and separate mouth-piece, mounted on a pole. "I thought this was supposed to be
1999 or something."
"I guess some one has a sense of sentimentality." Morpheus grinned. "It's perfect."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------100011
The small town was quaint to say the least. It cosisted of a dozen or so small buildings,
none more than three stories in height, and dust roads. They walked down the street
searching for the truck that Tank had told them about. It would be black and still have
the keys in the ignition. There was still the problem of porting in equipment as large
as a truck. Guns and clothing were simple, they consisted of little data, but an entire
car was not only large, but it required gas, oil, transmission fluid and did more than
just spray lead. They had been able to load a few vehicles, but more often than not the
simple action of turning the ignition alerted the Agents to their position immediately.
"Got it." Cypher said and pointed to a large black truck straight out of the fifties.
"This is perfect." Morpheus smiled and made a b-line for the truck. Painted black with
chrome hubs and fenders, the truck sported a full leather interior and an 8-track tape
player.
Trinity climbed into the passenger seat while Cypher leaped into the bed, sunglasses glinting
in the crisp morning light. Morpheus sat behind the wheel, eager as ever to drive such
a machine. No, machine wasn't the right word for it. Work of Art.
There was a quite beeping and he reached for the cell phone. "Yes?"
"Operator. We've got a problem."
"What is it?"
"I'm not sure exactly. Picking up a large amount of signal break-up on your end."
"Do we need to abort?"
"I don't think so. You're signals are fine, it's just the amount of dissonance they're
creating as you move around."
"What's the population of this town?"
"Fifty-two."
"Okay, we'll keep an eye open."
Before Morpheus could even hang up the phone there was a pounding on the roof of the truck.
"Morpheus!" Cypher shouted. "We've got an agent!"
Morpheus looked straight ahead and saw the man in a black suit walking straight towards them.
Things had just gone bad.
"Shit, it's Black!" Trinity commented.
Not Black, Morpheus thought, any Agent but Black. He turned the ignition and slammed his foot on the
gas.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------100101
Next Chapter : Agent Black Attacks