Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or places with the exception of Ram, Byte, Mega, Healer and Re-load time. I believe they belong to Warner Brothers and the Wachowski (sp?) Brothers. I am not being paid for this and I am not intending to violate any copyright laws.
Ram looked at her in disbelief. 'You're kidding.'
The Oracle shook her head. 'Sorry kiddo, you've got a good soul and I hate giving good people bad news.'
'No, it can't be.' the words were whispered. Ram bit her lip and looked up at the Oracle. Who would of believed that this motherly looking person had just told her she was going to literally bite the bullet. Hit the dust. Be a goner.
'You may have many days ahead but only one visit.' The Oracle then offered her a brownie. 'Here, have a brownie. By the time you're done you'll feel much better.'
Ram took one of the hot, delicious looking brownies. It looked as if it would melt in her mouth, and it did. Then with a start Ram realized this may be the last time she ever ate a brownie. The brownie wasn't real of course, it was merely a series of Matrix codes but it still reminded her of the nearby death fate had in store for her.
Ram returned to the living room where the other 'potentials' were playing. Not the type of playing that she had done as a kid. This type was more like training games. Ram watched as one little girl, who could not have been more then six or seven bent spoons with her mind. In another corner, two boys were moving blocks through the air. They started to argue and Ram was surprised to see that one of them had hurled a block though the air in anger without even touching it. Ram sat down on the floor and watched a movie on TV that showed giant frogs hopping after someone. They reminded Ram of the frog pond where she had been first contacted by a member of the Resistance. Soon Byte, Ram's older brother who had been freed with her returned from the Oracle's kitchen. His face was blank. Ram was unable to tell whether he had received good news or bad news.
'What did she say?' Ram was a curious person, much like her older sister had been.
But Byte merely shook his head and walked out to where Morpheus would be waiting for them. Following, Ram wondered how much longer she had left. What was it the Oracle had said to her? The words echoed in her head. *On your next visit into the Matrix, a sizzling of green will kill you but your job will have been done.*
***
Thoughts were running through Byte's head at a phenomenal speed. A sister lost, a sister found? What did that mean? That Ram would go and lose herself and then be found by someone? That happened all the time, Ram was a very forgetful and careless person. Not that the kid meant to be. But how would that be so special? Ram recalled the Oracle's exact words. *A sister lost, a sister found. Something found that has been lost, something lost that has been found.* What was it that came next? Something about a great price. *Such a cost to find it, a great price.* Yes that was it but what did it mean? Ram would be kidnapped and they would have to pay a ransom price?
***
'Neo?'
'Yes Ram?'
'What does it mean if you see green electricity in the Matrix?' If Ram was going to die she had decided she wanted to know what from.
'Usually it means that an Agent has changed bodies. I thought you knew that from your training.'
Ram was looking guilty. 'Uhhh...'
Neo smiled. 'Yes Ram?'
'Tank and I kinda skipped a few things.' she blurted out.
Neo was now grinning. "You know what that means Ram, don't you?'
'I'm in trouble?' Ram was now really scared. Tank had told her that it wouldn't matter, they would do the rest later. Didn't seem as if it didn't matter now.
Neo looked at the girl's face. She looked as guilty as hell. Neo took pity on her. 'It means that Tank likes you.'
'Huh?' Ram was confused.
'Don't worry about it. I started by learning Jiu Jitsu.'
'Oh right.' Ram still looked slightly bewildered. Neo raised an eyebrow. Even though Ram was an expert programmer she didn't seem too bright.
'Neo?'
'Yes Ram?' Neo said for the third time.
'Just say a person felt that green electricity what does that mean?'
'If they're near us? It means the person is dead.'
'Oh.' Ram knew that anyway. 'The Oracle…she told me...' Neo waited for the rest but it didn't come. He watched as Ram walked away to the mess room where her brother Byte was talking with another crew member, Healer. The brother and sister looked so much alike despite their age difference and they both looked vaguely familiar to him, as if he had seen them before. But that wasn't possible.
***
Trinity was sitting at the computer console scanning the Matrix, listening to Ram talking. Trinity felt sorry for this girl, she had had such a rough life and been made to face reality at such a young age. Well Trinity had been younger then Ram but Ram seemed such a baby. And Byte seemed so much older then his real age making the difference even bigger. Trinity turned her attention to what Ram was saying.
'Then five years ago when Dad had left and Ma was a certified alcoholic Meagan just disappeared. Not a trace of her to be found. Everybody thought Dad had kidnapped her but me and Bryan, I mean Byte, didn't think so. Then one day we were fooling around on her old PC when we found the phrase 'The Matrix has you.' So we tried to find out all we could. Byte had already learnt stuff about hacking from Meagan and we learnt more as we went along. That was how I learnt to program. Then when Ma died of alcoholism a few years ago, we spent all our time trying to find the Matrix. Then you could say that the Matrix found us.' At this Ram smiled wryly. 'I'm glad that we are here with you now, its better then what we used to have but I just wish we knew where Meagan was.' Ram stood up slowly and walked away.
***
'Healer? Come here please, we need to talk to you.' Trinity's voice made Healer jump in surprise.
The thin, young man sighed, pushed his hair off his face and then walked quickly over to where Morpheus, Trinity and Neo were standing. There was a time when he would of felt honoured to be called by the three most famous people in the Resistance but these days...Healer sighed again and wondered what they would be saying to him next. Despite the fact they almost never had kind words or a friendly face for him, Healer still felt a rush of blood to his head every time he was near them. Healer looked up to them nervously, waiting for what they would say.
'We regret having to lose you but Zion has contacted us and asked that you are replaced in the Hosanna immediately. Your skills are not being replaced to the same level there and the Hosanna needs them. You leave tomorrow.'
Healer bit his lip and brushed a lock of white blond hair off his pale face. His equally pale blue eyes held shock in them. 'You mean that...that I'm being kicked off this ship?'
Trinity looked at his wounded expression and just restrained from laughing. Feeling mean she patted his shoulder and spoke gently. 'No, we will miss you but Zion's orders were for you to go where your medic services are needed the most.'
Healer shook her hand off his shoulder and started to scurry out to his room. Despite Trinity's kind words he knew the truth. They didn't like him, they despised him. They were annoyed by him and had asked Zion to get rid of him. Yes, that had to be it. He wasn't wanted.
One Healer was out of sight Neo stared at Trinity. 'We're going to miss him?' he asked in a joking voice.
Trinity smiled. 'Aren't you going to miss having someone fawning all over you all the time? Aren't going to miss having someone walk about with a hand dog expression all the time? Aren't you going to miss having someone giving you celebrity attention all the time?'
Those were actually the very reasons that Healer was leaving. He had been closer to the truth then he realized. Morpheus and especially Neo had found it draining to have Healer admiring them in the manner he did. Zion had agreed to move Healer to another ship at Morpheus' request.
Morpheus looked at the disappearing figure. 'I just hope we won't need a medic for the next month.'
***
'You need me.' Ram struggled to see the face of the mysterious speaker but it was impossible. 'I am the reason you are here.' The voice echoed from a thousand different directions.
'Come, we have much work to do.' That voice sounded like Morpheus' but Ram couldn't see him. She felt herself being walked over to a chair. She watched as a figure sat at the computers and started pressing buttons. It wasn't Tank, this figure was of a younger, slighter person. Ram felt a pin entering her head. She winced as she felt major doses of information being entered into her brain. Information that was being downloaded into her brain. It then stopped and she felt a hand guide her back to her room.
'Rest now, your job shall be done.' Ram felt her throat tighten. That sounded like Meagan's voice. But there was no time for that, sleep had settled on her once again.
***
'Morning, sleep well?' Ram woke up at Tank's familiar greeting. Ram shook her head.
'No, not really. I had the weirdest…wait was that a dream? I don't know.' Ram looked helplessly at Tank. He grinned at the little girl, she reminded him of someone. He wasn't sure who but he knew it was a good friend.
'Come on, you have training today then a trip to the Matrix.'
'No!' Ram's frightened voice startled Tank. He looked at her questioningly.
'Just let me have one more day for myself. I can't go into the Matrix until my job is done.' Ram sounded as if she was rambling again but Tank merely nodded.
'I'll try and talk Morpheus into it. You're lucky you're so little. And such a cutie pie. Anybody else and he wouldn't let you.' Tank patted her head and left.
***
Now it was Ram who sat at the computers, typing command lines and programs she had never been able to do before. Morpheus stood to one side, watching her, There was something about this girl. He knew for a fact that just yesterday she had not been able to do these things. 'Are you sure she hasn't received any training uploads?' Morpheus asked Tank.
'No, none that I have given her. But last night, the seats and the training files were tampered with. I have no idea who used them. It wouldn't of been you, Neo or Trinity, Byte just doesn't seem that kind of person and Healer wouldn't know how to use them.' Tank was as puzzled as Morpheus by Ram's new skills and by the tampered equipment.
'You have no idea what Ram is doing.' It sounded more like a statement then a question but Tank shook his head anyway. 'I suppose we must wait and see.'
***
'I'm done.' Ram spoke to Trinity, Neo and Morpheus who were watching her. 'I need to go to the Matrix to make it work and I need two people to go with me.' Morpheus nodded slightly in consent. Some instinct told him to trust this girl. Trinity looked at Neo then replied to Ram.
'We will.'
'You shall go tomorrow.' That was Morpheus.
'Good, now here's what you have to do.' Ram started talking.
***
Byte glanced at the sleeping figure of his sister Ram. He knew that he was overly-protective of her, but she was so young and after his twin sister Meagan had disappeared, and after their father had disappeared, and after their mother had died, he was all she had. He would do anything to protect her. But Byte knew he must leave her now, it was getting late and tomorrow was to be a big day - Healer would leave and Ram would try to get her new program to work. Byte stole quietly out of the room, gently shutting to door so as not to wake Ram.
***
Healer sat in the infirmary where he had spent most of his time on the ship, the Neb. It was his last night here, before being made to go back to the Hosanna. He had failed. Neo and Morpheus did not like him. Healer almost felt like taking the fast way out of the ship, following Neemon's route. But no, he chided himself, that's a silly thought. Trying to get Neo and Morpheus of his mind was hard. He tried to think of all the scorning words they had said to him, all the times they had seemed to talk about him behind his back. Healer tried but to no avail. It wasn't nice to think these thoughts and anyway Neo and Morpheus were legends. At least they were paying him attention. Healer looked around him. It was best he go to bed now. Walking through the corridor he saw Byte slip out of Ram's room but Byte didn't see him. Healer sighed and scurried into his own room.
***
'Here goes nothing.' Tank swung into his chair and started punching keys on the keyboard. Neo, Trinity and Ram were about to enter the Matrix to activate Ram's program. Byte and Morpheus were standing nearby and Healer had already left for the Hosanna.
Ram looked at the ship. Ram knew she had to go into the Matrix today and she was ready. Ram glanced at Trinity. 'You know what you have to do if anything happens to me?'
Trinity nodded impatiently. They had been through this many times before. Ram was acting paranoid. Nothing should happen on this trip.
'Tell me.'
'We enter the Matrix and find a hardline. We dial this number so that Tank can connect us to re-load time.'
Neo looked puzzled. 'What's re-load time?'
'Re-load time is similar to the Construct and works on the same principle that you can bring up any files or programs you need and either upload them or download them. The difference is that in re-load time you literally re-load deleted or missing programs and files. What do you do next Trinity?'
'We find the deleted file #66873 263 733 3737733 96626 by using that program.' Trinity pointed to a red disk that Neo held. 'We then upload the file to this program' Trinity held up a floppy disk in one hand 'and download the whole thing using this program.' Trinity held up a floppy disk in her other hand.
'Good. Now remember that number and remember that if anything happens to me, leave me and do what I told you. I can take care of myself and those' Ram pointed to the disks 'are more important then my life anyway.
'Ready?' Tank's voice interrupted them. The small group nodded and started to move. Ram glanced at Byte then threw her arms around him. 'Love ya big brother.'
'Why all the dramatics kiddo? See ya later.' Byte gave Ram an extra tight squeeze then released her. Ram smiled at him while thinking that there would be no later.
***
The pin entered Ram's head and she felt a jolt go through her. It was not the same jolt experienced in the Construct, training sims, training uploads or the matrix. This was much more powerful and it hurt a lot more. She tried to move but she couldn't move. She tried to breathe but she couldn't breathe. Around her Ram could hear voices.
'What the hell was that?…Shit it was an electricity surge…Watch that wire, it's live…It's green electricity…NEO!…Ram, she's dead…Ram, don't…Ram…
That last voice was Byte's, a painful admittance of what was to be. Ram tried to call out, to reassure him but was unable to. A peaceful feeling started to float over Ram, she felt the last threads of life start to disintegrate. She didn't mind, her job was done, her time was up. Ram recalled the words of the Oracle *On your next visit into the Matrix, a sizzling of green will kill you but your job will have been done.* Ram almost laughed, how mistaken she had been. INTO the Matrix not in. The green had been a power surge and besides, agents couldn't inhabit you once you were freed. Again Ram tried to move, to speak, to smile but the greenness had done it's job.
***
Tank stared at the silent figure. Although the jolt of electricity had burnt part of her face, Tank was sure he recognized her as someone different from Ram.
'Mega?' his voice was full of fear and hope at the same time.
Byte's head snapped up. 'What did you say?'
Tank looked sadly at Ram. For a moment he could of sworn...then he answered Byte. 'Oh nothing.' Seeing Byte's expression Tank explained, 'For a moment I thought I saw a person I once knew.'
'You knew Mega?' Now it was Byte who's voice was hopeful.
'Yes, she was a great friend of mine. She had been in the Resistance for years but on this ship for only a few weeks when she went into the Matrix and was killed by an agent while trying to save Morpheus.'
Byte traced his finger along the face of his dead baby sister while remembering the words of the Oracle. A sister lost, a sister found. Something lost that has been found. But oh, the price of a find.