THE FOLLOWING STORY IS A DIRECT NOVELISATION OF "A DETECTIVE STORY",
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY SHINICHIRO WATANABE. "A DETECTIVE STORY" IS A PART
OF "THE ANIMATRIX", A COLLECTION OF SHORT FILMS BASED ON THE MATRIX. ALL
CHARACTERS, SCENARIOS AND CONCEPTS ARE COPYRIGHT THE WACHOWSKI BROTHERS,
AND ARE USED BY MYSELF (RAVEN) WITHOUT PERMISSION. DUH.
With that out of the way, critisisim and comments are welcome...
---
A case to end all cases.
:.:.:
'You know what, Dinah? I used to think being a private detective was cool, like Sam Spade or James Marlow, right? But there's nothing cool left to it.' It was another overcast winter's day in downtown Tokyo. I sat on my desk, in my cramped office, talking to my Tabby cat Dinah. Though pathetic as it was, she was often the only company I had. 'And to top it off, both my fridge, and my bank account, are empty.'
She mewed in compliance, as if she understood.
Then the phone rang. I grunted as I turned to grab the receiver - then I glanced at Dinah once more - 'OK Dinah, let's bet - if it's another suspicious husband, I'm out of this business forever.'
Dinah mewed again as I picked up the phone.
'Hello?' I said flatly.
'Mr Ash,' came a shifty-sounding male voice from the other side of the phone, 'I have a job for you.'
'And you need me to check on your wife, right?' I said with a sigh.
'I'm looking for a computer hacker,' the voice continued, as if it hadn't heard me 'this hacker goes by the alias 'Trinity', and that's all we know.'
'Well, it looks like we're still in business, Dinah' I called over my shoulder, then turned back to the phone 'And who will I be working for?'
'.I can't say.' muttered the man.
'Uh-huh,' I said, shaking my head, 'Well, call me back when you can say, that's not the way I do business. It was a real pleasure chatting with you.'
'Before you hang up,' the other man said, still as calm and suspicious as ever, 'Take a look at your bank account balance.'
I hit a key on my computer, which brought up my bank balance.
And "$800,000" flashed across the screen. I froze in disbelief.
:.:.:.:
I didn't get a good feeling about the case, but I had no good reason to turn the guy down. This Trinity was well-known in hacker circles, a real artist, by the sound of it. The cops were always one step behind him, so I knew I could get that close - the question was, could I get closer? I had a few tricks up my sleeve for getting to hackers, but while I was searching, I found something . strange.
Other detectives had been on the case too, and their investigations had been, shall we say, 'troubled.'
One of the guys killed himself.
Another had disappeared.
Another went crazy.
So, I paid the one that was left a visit - the crazy one.
'Trinity . doesn't exist, man' he said, huddled in the corner of his room, which had been gratified with messages such as "Find the Red Queen" and "Jabberwocky". The floor had a chessboard pattern. 'He's a . a figment. A cipher. Jabberwocky. And . who am I? Who the hell am I?'
Did I mention he was crazy?
Chessboards, Jabberwocky, Red Queen . all references from Alice in Wonderland. I started searching all the usual hacker hangouts for someone with a fitting M.O.
Hacker bulletin boards, anonymous mailboxes, chat rooms - and it was in one of these that I picked up on Trinity's trail, under the screen name of 'white pawn'.
## UNAUTHORISED USER LOG ON:
WHITE_PAWN Red_Queen, can you see me?
I'm looking for Trinity.
I'm told he's through the looking glass.
RED_QUEEN No it is you who is through the looking glass.
WHITE_PAWN How can I meet you?
RED_QUEEN You'll have to jump the first of six brooks.
I'll be there at 20:05.
## USER LOG OFF: RED_QUEEN ##
SYSTEM ERROR: SHUTTING DOWN.
Six brooks . I'll be there at 20:05 . 'Of course!' I exclaimed to my empty office, smirking as it all began to fit together. 'Crossing the second brook takes her into the woods. Alice jumps the first brook . And then she boards a train.'
The closest subway station was only about half a mile away. I sprung from my chair, grabbing my duster and buckling it as I ran: I had about fifteen minutes left.
:.:.:.:
I pushed my way through the throngs of people as I barreled down the steps, holding my hat in one hand and my ticket in the other. The 20:05 train was already pulling out, but I ran after it, just barely managing to grab onto the caboose railing before the train left the station. I knocked on the door twice, and when no one answered, I swooped into the compartment.
Where a young lady and myself both greeted each other by pointing our handguns at each other's faces.
'I knew this was some kind of trap.' I snarled, trying to get a better look at her from my position. She was wearing leather and sunglasses, but that was all I could make out.
'There's a difference, Mr. Ash, between a trap and a test.' She replied coolly, completely unfazed by my .44 hovering a hair's breadth before her nose.
'You were testing me?' I said sarcastically.
'You made it. I'm impressed.' She said. I could barely see the sides of her mouth curling up into a smile.
'Flattery will get you everywhere' I shot back, turning my head to look straight at her.
'I'm not here to flatter you. I'm here to save you.' She muttered, quickly pressing what I had thought before to have been a gun to my eye. It had a suction cup on the end, and a low hissing noise came from a container in the back of it. I was too startled to even consider firing at her.
Suddenly, my eye felt like it was frozen solid, and a writhing, green parasite was sucked out of my pupil, into a glass chamber on the side of the weapon nearer to Trinity. It was immediately frozen.
'What just happened?' I asked, rubbing my eye. It was sore, but I could still see fine.
'Mr. Ash,' she said, unscrewing the glass container and passing me the frozen bug, 'dream of having an eye exam lately?'
Memories of the nightmare flooded back, memories of the sharp needles, of the searing pain, of the laughter.
'Yeah. how'd you know?'
'You've stepped to the edge of the looking glass.' she smirked.
Realization dawned upon me. 'So then, that means I wasn't dreaming? They hired me as a way of getting to you, didn't they?'
The sound of a door opening outside cut Trinity off before she could answer. She turned around and looked out of the chamber window into the main corridor of the train, then burst out of the room, running up towards the next car. 'Go!' she called back to me.
I dodged to the door to look out, and saw three identical men with brown suits and sunglasses. They all had handguns pointed up the hallway. I ducked back inside as they started shooting, eyes wide as the sound of glass breaking and another sliding door opening reached my ears.
When the firing stopped, I jumped into the hallway, shooting back twice with my own revolver and following the path Trinity had made. I had no idea if my shots had connected or not.
When I reached the next door, that stood wide open, I turned and fired twice more, then ducked inside. A cascade of metal chased in after me. When it stopped, I swung out into the doorway again, emptying the last two shots in my gun before I ducked for cover again, slumping to the side of the door as I fished in my pockets for more shells while edging the door shut with my elbow. Trinity stood a few feet away, her own .09 in hand.
'What the hell is going on here?' I hissed at her, shoving six new bullets into my magnum. 'This is really crazy. Now I understand what happened to those other detectives - They went nuts.'
She didn't answer, instead muffled shouting from behind the door I'd just closed answered for her.
Trinity began walking towards the next car, and I followed, gun pointed on the door we'd come through. 'Well,' I said, more to myself than to her, 'I've gotten out of worse jams than this. I am not gonna let them get you.'
We were halfways through the next car when I felt an odd tingling sensation wash over me. I grabbed a nearby chair to keep from falling over, letting my head hang low. My body felt. bubbly, as if it was asleep, as if it was turning into something else.
'What's happening to me?' I gasped, feeling the rims of glasses over my ears, then disappearing, then there again.
Trinity was silent for a moment, then raised her weapon. 'I'm sorry' was all she said. 'You didn't make it, Mr. Ash.' She sounded as if she was underwater.
Then a hot pain in my side snapped me back to my senses, I clutched it, looking up at her and her smoking gun barrel. I was myself again.
'I wish . I could go with you.' I slurred, as she began to walk away. The pain in my side was intense, but I figured I'd survive. 'I don't blame you, y'know. Everything that happened, Trinity, it was . all my fault.' I had to pause a minute to catch my breath. 'All that. Alice in Wonderland stuff. I can't get my head around it. I'm old fashioned.'
She walked over to the window. The shouts outside were getting louder.'There's a difference, between a test, and a choice.' She sighed slowly. 'For what it's worth, I think you could have handled the truth.'
'It was just a job.' I said. 'Goodbye, Trinity.'
'Goodbye.' she said, pulling the trigger of her gun. The window she was standing in front of shattered into a million shards onto the floor, and she jumped out of it, seemingly oblivious to the speed at which the train was traveling.
The three men came into the room, walking slowly up the aisles and examining the rows of chairs carefully. They saw my hat and walked faster, a sense of victory spreading over their features.
But when they got to it and simply saw an empty seat, they were bewildered.
I snapped my lighter open behind them, fighting the urge to smile as they turned around and looked at the barrel of my gun, waving back and forth over all three of their faces. I brought the lighter up to an unlit cigarette in my mouth, inhaling the bitter smoke deeply.
A case to end all cases.
With that out of the way, critisisim and comments are welcome...
---
A case to end all cases.
:.:.:
'You know what, Dinah? I used to think being a private detective was cool, like Sam Spade or James Marlow, right? But there's nothing cool left to it.' It was another overcast winter's day in downtown Tokyo. I sat on my desk, in my cramped office, talking to my Tabby cat Dinah. Though pathetic as it was, she was often the only company I had. 'And to top it off, both my fridge, and my bank account, are empty.'
She mewed in compliance, as if she understood.
Then the phone rang. I grunted as I turned to grab the receiver - then I glanced at Dinah once more - 'OK Dinah, let's bet - if it's another suspicious husband, I'm out of this business forever.'
Dinah mewed again as I picked up the phone.
'Hello?' I said flatly.
'Mr Ash,' came a shifty-sounding male voice from the other side of the phone, 'I have a job for you.'
'And you need me to check on your wife, right?' I said with a sigh.
'I'm looking for a computer hacker,' the voice continued, as if it hadn't heard me 'this hacker goes by the alias 'Trinity', and that's all we know.'
'Well, it looks like we're still in business, Dinah' I called over my shoulder, then turned back to the phone 'And who will I be working for?'
'.I can't say.' muttered the man.
'Uh-huh,' I said, shaking my head, 'Well, call me back when you can say, that's not the way I do business. It was a real pleasure chatting with you.'
'Before you hang up,' the other man said, still as calm and suspicious as ever, 'Take a look at your bank account balance.'
I hit a key on my computer, which brought up my bank balance.
And "$800,000" flashed across the screen. I froze in disbelief.
:.:.:.:
I didn't get a good feeling about the case, but I had no good reason to turn the guy down. This Trinity was well-known in hacker circles, a real artist, by the sound of it. The cops were always one step behind him, so I knew I could get that close - the question was, could I get closer? I had a few tricks up my sleeve for getting to hackers, but while I was searching, I found something . strange.
Other detectives had been on the case too, and their investigations had been, shall we say, 'troubled.'
One of the guys killed himself.
Another had disappeared.
Another went crazy.
So, I paid the one that was left a visit - the crazy one.
'Trinity . doesn't exist, man' he said, huddled in the corner of his room, which had been gratified with messages such as "Find the Red Queen" and "Jabberwocky". The floor had a chessboard pattern. 'He's a . a figment. A cipher. Jabberwocky. And . who am I? Who the hell am I?'
Did I mention he was crazy?
Chessboards, Jabberwocky, Red Queen . all references from Alice in Wonderland. I started searching all the usual hacker hangouts for someone with a fitting M.O.
Hacker bulletin boards, anonymous mailboxes, chat rooms - and it was in one of these that I picked up on Trinity's trail, under the screen name of 'white pawn'.
## UNAUTHORISED USER LOG ON:
WHITE_PAWN Red_Queen, can you see me?
I'm looking for Trinity.
I'm told he's through the looking glass.
RED_QUEEN No it is you who is through the looking glass.
WHITE_PAWN How can I meet you?
RED_QUEEN You'll have to jump the first of six brooks.
I'll be there at 20:05.
## USER LOG OFF: RED_QUEEN ##
SYSTEM ERROR: SHUTTING DOWN.
Six brooks . I'll be there at 20:05 . 'Of course!' I exclaimed to my empty office, smirking as it all began to fit together. 'Crossing the second brook takes her into the woods. Alice jumps the first brook . And then she boards a train.'
The closest subway station was only about half a mile away. I sprung from my chair, grabbing my duster and buckling it as I ran: I had about fifteen minutes left.
:.:.:.:
I pushed my way through the throngs of people as I barreled down the steps, holding my hat in one hand and my ticket in the other. The 20:05 train was already pulling out, but I ran after it, just barely managing to grab onto the caboose railing before the train left the station. I knocked on the door twice, and when no one answered, I swooped into the compartment.
Where a young lady and myself both greeted each other by pointing our handguns at each other's faces.
'I knew this was some kind of trap.' I snarled, trying to get a better look at her from my position. She was wearing leather and sunglasses, but that was all I could make out.
'There's a difference, Mr. Ash, between a trap and a test.' She replied coolly, completely unfazed by my .44 hovering a hair's breadth before her nose.
'You were testing me?' I said sarcastically.
'You made it. I'm impressed.' She said. I could barely see the sides of her mouth curling up into a smile.
'Flattery will get you everywhere' I shot back, turning my head to look straight at her.
'I'm not here to flatter you. I'm here to save you.' She muttered, quickly pressing what I had thought before to have been a gun to my eye. It had a suction cup on the end, and a low hissing noise came from a container in the back of it. I was too startled to even consider firing at her.
Suddenly, my eye felt like it was frozen solid, and a writhing, green parasite was sucked out of my pupil, into a glass chamber on the side of the weapon nearer to Trinity. It was immediately frozen.
'What just happened?' I asked, rubbing my eye. It was sore, but I could still see fine.
'Mr. Ash,' she said, unscrewing the glass container and passing me the frozen bug, 'dream of having an eye exam lately?'
Memories of the nightmare flooded back, memories of the sharp needles, of the searing pain, of the laughter.
'Yeah. how'd you know?'
'You've stepped to the edge of the looking glass.' she smirked.
Realization dawned upon me. 'So then, that means I wasn't dreaming? They hired me as a way of getting to you, didn't they?'
The sound of a door opening outside cut Trinity off before she could answer. She turned around and looked out of the chamber window into the main corridor of the train, then burst out of the room, running up towards the next car. 'Go!' she called back to me.
I dodged to the door to look out, and saw three identical men with brown suits and sunglasses. They all had handguns pointed up the hallway. I ducked back inside as they started shooting, eyes wide as the sound of glass breaking and another sliding door opening reached my ears.
When the firing stopped, I jumped into the hallway, shooting back twice with my own revolver and following the path Trinity had made. I had no idea if my shots had connected or not.
When I reached the next door, that stood wide open, I turned and fired twice more, then ducked inside. A cascade of metal chased in after me. When it stopped, I swung out into the doorway again, emptying the last two shots in my gun before I ducked for cover again, slumping to the side of the door as I fished in my pockets for more shells while edging the door shut with my elbow. Trinity stood a few feet away, her own .09 in hand.
'What the hell is going on here?' I hissed at her, shoving six new bullets into my magnum. 'This is really crazy. Now I understand what happened to those other detectives - They went nuts.'
She didn't answer, instead muffled shouting from behind the door I'd just closed answered for her.
Trinity began walking towards the next car, and I followed, gun pointed on the door we'd come through. 'Well,' I said, more to myself than to her, 'I've gotten out of worse jams than this. I am not gonna let them get you.'
We were halfways through the next car when I felt an odd tingling sensation wash over me. I grabbed a nearby chair to keep from falling over, letting my head hang low. My body felt. bubbly, as if it was asleep, as if it was turning into something else.
'What's happening to me?' I gasped, feeling the rims of glasses over my ears, then disappearing, then there again.
Trinity was silent for a moment, then raised her weapon. 'I'm sorry' was all she said. 'You didn't make it, Mr. Ash.' She sounded as if she was underwater.
Then a hot pain in my side snapped me back to my senses, I clutched it, looking up at her and her smoking gun barrel. I was myself again.
'I wish . I could go with you.' I slurred, as she began to walk away. The pain in my side was intense, but I figured I'd survive. 'I don't blame you, y'know. Everything that happened, Trinity, it was . all my fault.' I had to pause a minute to catch my breath. 'All that. Alice in Wonderland stuff. I can't get my head around it. I'm old fashioned.'
She walked over to the window. The shouts outside were getting louder.'There's a difference, between a test, and a choice.' She sighed slowly. 'For what it's worth, I think you could have handled the truth.'
'It was just a job.' I said. 'Goodbye, Trinity.'
'Goodbye.' she said, pulling the trigger of her gun. The window she was standing in front of shattered into a million shards onto the floor, and she jumped out of it, seemingly oblivious to the speed at which the train was traveling.
The three men came into the room, walking slowly up the aisles and examining the rows of chairs carefully. They saw my hat and walked faster, a sense of victory spreading over their features.
But when they got to it and simply saw an empty seat, they were bewildered.
I snapped my lighter open behind them, fighting the urge to smile as they turned around and looked at the barrel of my gun, waving back and forth over all three of their faces. I brought the lighter up to an unlit cigarette in my mouth, inhaling the bitter smoke deeply.
A case to end all cases.