Zion. It was hard to call the rubble at my feet by the same name as
the city I remembered. Bodies stewn across the once thriving temple,
lifeless bodies still holding their guns as they bravely made their last
stand. The 23 newly-freed looked on with me, their eyes reflecting the
enormity of what their minds were forced to absorb. The world they knew
was nothing but a lie, and now they had to rebuild and repopulate the mess
that was the real. They looked at me for answers, and I did not know what
answers to give. Somehow, I knew that I had failed. I had been the One,
had gone to the source, and had done the only moral thing I felt I could
do. Trinity was a beautiful woman, but who was I to choose earthly
pleasures over what I perceived as my divine calling? Yet, looking around
at the destruction before me, I could hardly call what happened a victory.
"What are we to do, Neo?" a voice broke my reverie. It was Zora, the youngest of the newly freed. Only 16, with a face a determination that reminded me of Trinity. Had she been where I had gone wrong. Could I have saved them both, humanity and Trinity? I could still see her before my eyes, her mouth agape as the pain enveloped her. Her body crashing into the car below. She did what she did out of a love for me, a love that I didn't allow myself to share or understand. After all, I was to be the Savior of humanity. We shared battles and a bed, and yet I could never understand the depths of her devotion. I had been told since I was eleven that I was some sort of God, and I guess after awhile I began to believe it. I was divine, beyond human emotions. And yet, when I saw Zora, I saw Trinity falling.
"We are to rebuild Zion." I said, hoping that my words carried the same import amongst these newly-freed as they did in Zion.
"How?" Demo chimed in, a young Asian man of about twenty. He looked at me strangely, as if trying to figure out if this was real or a nightmare.
"I have to see the Oracle." Was all I could think to say. Before I had gone to her with confidence, yet now I was afraid. Could she tell me how to do this daunting task before me? I said a silent prayer to a God I had long forgotten as I went to the jacking in chair. Lilith followed me wordlessly. She was probably the smartest of them, and had mastered our technology with very little effort. She had agreed to take on the task of operator. I felt the familiar sensation of my consciousness being sucked into the Matrix, and then all momentarily went black.
When I opened my eyes again, I saw her. Not the thinner, frailer version who had greeted me not long ago, but the hardy matron I remembered from our first meeting.
"Hello Neo" she said, smilingly kindly, but there was a hardness in her eyes. I had failed her, and I did not know how or why. It was then that I sensed her plan and the Architect's plans were quite different. But how? Why didn't she tell me how to do it?
"You want to know what went wrong, don't you?" she asked, but it was not really a question. She went to her oven, checked on her baking, and then looked back at me. I nodded silently, afraid of the answers I was about to be given.
"You did what the other Ones did, Neo. You went back to source and chose to rebuild Zion over saving Trinity. Why are you unsure of your decision?"
"Because I can't help but think maybe I could have saved them both." I answered quietly, allowing my doubts to bubble to the surface.
"Maybe you could have, but you made the choice. You did what you felt you needed to do. But you expected victory, didn't you?" she asked quietly, removing her cookies from the oven.
"The war is not over." I whispered, looking down at my feet.
"No, it isn't. In fact, it is all coming around again. In 100 years more, you will come again. And so will Trinity, Morpheus, and all of the other Matrix-borns that you remember." She responded, taking her cookies off the sheet and placing them gingerly on the cooling rack
"So, this is it? It is all going to play out the same way over and over again?" Now I was becoming angry. Were we just cogs in a wheel made by the machines?
"Not necessarily. It all comes down to choice, Neo. It always has. I chose to tell Morpheus his destiny to find the One young, and so he found you young. I still remember you coming here, a little boy more interested in cookies than your powers." She chuckled now, putting a cookie on the plate. She handed it to me, "Chocolate chip, your favorite, isn't it?"
I smiled and took the cookie. Maybe I hadn't failed completely.
"You see Neo, we all made choices that led you to where we are today. Maybe if you had been unplugged later, you would have loved Trinity. Did you ever love her?"
"I never let myself, and now I see her face wherever I go." I admitted, meeting her gaze.
"You will see her again, and yourself, and when you do you will know how to advise them. For now, you must recreate Zion. Once again teach them the prophecy, and then maybe the next time you come around, we can get to the future." She said this hopefully, almost willing me to understand.
"The future?"
"You see, you thought you were to save humanity alone. To end the war, that is not the way. You, or the next you, must fight for us all. Man and machine."
I couldn't help but scoff at the idea. "Fight, for the machines? Why would I do that?"
"Because we will face a common enemy, and only the One has the power to destroy this enemy. This enemy will be your reciprocal, will only know how to hate."
"And the way to fight back will be taught by love" I finished for her, and she nodded vehemently. Love. Trinity.
"You never truly paid attention to what she could have shown you." The Oracle stated, lighting her cigarette and looking at me through the smoke.
"I hope the next One knows better," I responded, grabbing a chair and sitting. My knees were suddenly weak, the enormity of my failure weighing on me.
"I'll try to get it across a little better when I meet him. What about you? What will you do when you meet him?"
"I'll meet him?" I responded, surprised.
"Why not? You were Matrix born, genetically perfect as only a machine can make you. You and the rest of the newly-freed, battle notwithstanding, will live to see the next generation. This is how you will all rebuild Zion, guiding the path of those that come after you." She tapped her finger on the table in time to her words.
"You mean, become a kind of Council?" I responded, furrowing my brows.
"Yes, Neo, now you see it."
And I did see it. The newly-freed and myself would become the Council, and we would lead the next generation. Where I had failed as a Savior of all, I could try to effect change in the next loop of this revolution.
"But, how much can everyone know?" I asked.
"Think about it.." she responded, urging me to come up with the answer.
"Everything must happen as it happened before, with few changes. And since no one had told me.:
"Go on"
"Zion must know nothing."
When I returned to Zion, the 23 of us made that pact. No one would know that I was the One, yet agreed to spread his legend. We would do our part to lead all actions to fulfillment of the prophecy. And we would keep quiet about our true selves and origins, hoping that the next One would be the Savior. Yes, we would be lying to all, advising them falsely, yet that could not be helped. We are, as the Oracle told me, all here to do what we're all here to do. And I was here, a failed Messiah, to lead the next One to his real path, even if my advice was predicated on a lie.
"What name have you chosen for yourself?" the Oracle asked next time I visited her. My trips into the Matrix would have to end soon, since my code and the next Neo's code would most likely be identical.
"Haman" She gave a rueful smile. "The lying Councilor?."
"Could you think of a better one?"
"What are we to do, Neo?" a voice broke my reverie. It was Zora, the youngest of the newly freed. Only 16, with a face a determination that reminded me of Trinity. Had she been where I had gone wrong. Could I have saved them both, humanity and Trinity? I could still see her before my eyes, her mouth agape as the pain enveloped her. Her body crashing into the car below. She did what she did out of a love for me, a love that I didn't allow myself to share or understand. After all, I was to be the Savior of humanity. We shared battles and a bed, and yet I could never understand the depths of her devotion. I had been told since I was eleven that I was some sort of God, and I guess after awhile I began to believe it. I was divine, beyond human emotions. And yet, when I saw Zora, I saw Trinity falling.
"We are to rebuild Zion." I said, hoping that my words carried the same import amongst these newly-freed as they did in Zion.
"How?" Demo chimed in, a young Asian man of about twenty. He looked at me strangely, as if trying to figure out if this was real or a nightmare.
"I have to see the Oracle." Was all I could think to say. Before I had gone to her with confidence, yet now I was afraid. Could she tell me how to do this daunting task before me? I said a silent prayer to a God I had long forgotten as I went to the jacking in chair. Lilith followed me wordlessly. She was probably the smartest of them, and had mastered our technology with very little effort. She had agreed to take on the task of operator. I felt the familiar sensation of my consciousness being sucked into the Matrix, and then all momentarily went black.
When I opened my eyes again, I saw her. Not the thinner, frailer version who had greeted me not long ago, but the hardy matron I remembered from our first meeting.
"Hello Neo" she said, smilingly kindly, but there was a hardness in her eyes. I had failed her, and I did not know how or why. It was then that I sensed her plan and the Architect's plans were quite different. But how? Why didn't she tell me how to do it?
"You want to know what went wrong, don't you?" she asked, but it was not really a question. She went to her oven, checked on her baking, and then looked back at me. I nodded silently, afraid of the answers I was about to be given.
"You did what the other Ones did, Neo. You went back to source and chose to rebuild Zion over saving Trinity. Why are you unsure of your decision?"
"Because I can't help but think maybe I could have saved them both." I answered quietly, allowing my doubts to bubble to the surface.
"Maybe you could have, but you made the choice. You did what you felt you needed to do. But you expected victory, didn't you?" she asked quietly, removing her cookies from the oven.
"The war is not over." I whispered, looking down at my feet.
"No, it isn't. In fact, it is all coming around again. In 100 years more, you will come again. And so will Trinity, Morpheus, and all of the other Matrix-borns that you remember." She responded, taking her cookies off the sheet and placing them gingerly on the cooling rack
"So, this is it? It is all going to play out the same way over and over again?" Now I was becoming angry. Were we just cogs in a wheel made by the machines?
"Not necessarily. It all comes down to choice, Neo. It always has. I chose to tell Morpheus his destiny to find the One young, and so he found you young. I still remember you coming here, a little boy more interested in cookies than your powers." She chuckled now, putting a cookie on the plate. She handed it to me, "Chocolate chip, your favorite, isn't it?"
I smiled and took the cookie. Maybe I hadn't failed completely.
"You see Neo, we all made choices that led you to where we are today. Maybe if you had been unplugged later, you would have loved Trinity. Did you ever love her?"
"I never let myself, and now I see her face wherever I go." I admitted, meeting her gaze.
"You will see her again, and yourself, and when you do you will know how to advise them. For now, you must recreate Zion. Once again teach them the prophecy, and then maybe the next time you come around, we can get to the future." She said this hopefully, almost willing me to understand.
"The future?"
"You see, you thought you were to save humanity alone. To end the war, that is not the way. You, or the next you, must fight for us all. Man and machine."
I couldn't help but scoff at the idea. "Fight, for the machines? Why would I do that?"
"Because we will face a common enemy, and only the One has the power to destroy this enemy. This enemy will be your reciprocal, will only know how to hate."
"And the way to fight back will be taught by love" I finished for her, and she nodded vehemently. Love. Trinity.
"You never truly paid attention to what she could have shown you." The Oracle stated, lighting her cigarette and looking at me through the smoke.
"I hope the next One knows better," I responded, grabbing a chair and sitting. My knees were suddenly weak, the enormity of my failure weighing on me.
"I'll try to get it across a little better when I meet him. What about you? What will you do when you meet him?"
"I'll meet him?" I responded, surprised.
"Why not? You were Matrix born, genetically perfect as only a machine can make you. You and the rest of the newly-freed, battle notwithstanding, will live to see the next generation. This is how you will all rebuild Zion, guiding the path of those that come after you." She tapped her finger on the table in time to her words.
"You mean, become a kind of Council?" I responded, furrowing my brows.
"Yes, Neo, now you see it."
And I did see it. The newly-freed and myself would become the Council, and we would lead the next generation. Where I had failed as a Savior of all, I could try to effect change in the next loop of this revolution.
"But, how much can everyone know?" I asked.
"Think about it.." she responded, urging me to come up with the answer.
"Everything must happen as it happened before, with few changes. And since no one had told me.:
"Go on"
"Zion must know nothing."
When I returned to Zion, the 23 of us made that pact. No one would know that I was the One, yet agreed to spread his legend. We would do our part to lead all actions to fulfillment of the prophecy. And we would keep quiet about our true selves and origins, hoping that the next One would be the Savior. Yes, we would be lying to all, advising them falsely, yet that could not be helped. We are, as the Oracle told me, all here to do what we're all here to do. And I was here, a failed Messiah, to lead the next One to his real path, even if my advice was predicated on a lie.
"What name have you chosen for yourself?" the Oracle asked next time I visited her. My trips into the Matrix would have to end soon, since my code and the next Neo's code would most likely be identical.
"Haman" She gave a rueful smile. "The lying Councilor?."
"Could you think of a better one?"