Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of any copyrighted material.
Also Note: Do not use the Review option to point out spelling and other errors. That's what my email is for (see bio). This is a novelization, not a transcript, so I have been given the Fifth Freedom.
01. Twenty Hours to Go.
"I've got nothing, sir," said AK, carefully scanning the Matrix feed. "No sign of Niobe or Ghost -- nothin' but blue pills."
The crew of the Hammer crowded around the operator, awaiting the next step. Morpheus and Link stood nearby, watching intently as the mass of green code drizzled down the screens at an unrelenting pace.
Mauser spoke up. "Should we jack in and try to contact them?" he suggested.
"It wouldn't matter," said Roland. "My gut says they're down."
"Then we should start back," said Mauser.
"No," said the captain. "If that ship can fly, we need it."
The crew member couldn't help but show a hint of disappointment. "I was afraid you were going to say that."
Roland turned his attention to the whole of his crew. "Search every pipe, every hole, every crack we know," he insisted. "Sweep as wide as possible, as fast as possible."
"Captain," said AK, turning away from the monitors. "These lines are crawling with calamari."
He seemed unfazed. "Then the sooner we find them, the better."
At the other end of the ship, Trinity looked over the fallen savior with a strange mixture of helplessness and worry. She realized Neo had saved her life yet again, swinging things back against her favor. But there were so many unanswered questions: What had caused Neo to collapse just hours ago? How did those sentinels stop dead in their tracks? Would the man she loved ever open his eyes again?
Maggie entered the infirmary with a tray of food. "Thought you could use something to eat," she said, placing the meal gently onto a desk.
"Thank you" was all Trinity could say.
"Any change?" asked the nurse, returning to her duties.
Trinity rubbed the back of her neck, looking to Neo. For a split second she could swear she saw an eyelid twitch, but quickly came to her senses, replying with a simple "No." She turned toward the man laying opposite Neo. "How's he?" she asked, trying desperately to take her mind off things.
"He's going to be fine," said Maggie, pulling out an instrument and examining Bane's pupils. "At least, until he wakes up."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Well, the captain has some questions for him, and he'd better have some good answers." The nurse lifted Bane's arm, showing her the wounds. "See these cuts? I think they're self inflicted."
Trinity was shocked. "Why?"
"VDTs, maybe. Who knows?" She said, and looked over Bane with a quiet concern. "Like I said, the answer had better be good."
Back at the main deck, Morpheus spoke. "Roland, I'd like to run another search though the Matrix."
"For what?" asked the captain.
"For Neo."
AK nearly jumped out of his seat, facing him. "How can he be in the Matrix, sir? He's not plugged in."
His determination didn't falter. "Please, for me."
Roland had seen Morpheus this thoughtful and reticent before -- it certainly wasn't a good sign. But he still gave AK the acknowledgement, and the operator began his sweep.
The readouts on Maggie's screen became more puzzling with every glance. "It just keeps bothering me," she said, bewildered.
"What?" asked Trinity, getting the sudden urge to get up and walk over to her.
"His neural patterns don't read like someone who's in a coma," she said, analyzing Neo's brain activity. "The strange thing is, I see these patterns all the time."
"Where?" she asked.
"On someone jacked in."
Trinity found herself turning toward Neo, her mind racing.
AK finished his search. "The big bubkis, nada. He's not in there." The operator and others in the main deck grew restless. Morpheus looked like he was solving the world's toughest mathematical riddle -- and perhaps he was.
Roland, however, had his own reasons to be distressed. He had seen his closest friends and colleagues massacred by the machines, and hoped to hell he never had to see something like that ever again.
As if called upon by some outside force sensing the hopeless vibe, Colt suddenly jumped down from an upper level. "Sir, we've got the projections!"
"How long?" asked Roland.
"Based on point of entry and the past speed, it looks like the machines will be inside Zion in just under 20 hours."
"Jesus H. Christ," muttered the operator.
"All right," said the captain, "let's move with a purpose. AK, get upstairs -- I want you on holographics. Mauser, I want forward and aft guns manned at all times." He turned to the pilot, "and make sure we are running on as few pads as possible."
"Yes sir," said Colt, heading back up with the crew.
Then the headset rang. "Hey," said Link, trying to get everyone's attention as they were leaving the deck. "Hey! We got a call." Sitting in AK's deserted seat, he spoke into the receiver. "Operator?"
Morpheus was the first to respond, huddling in. Link looked back to him. "It's Seraph," he confirmed. He handed over the headset, and Morpheus put it on as quickly as he could.
The message at the other end was clear: "I bring word from the Oracle. You must come at once."
Somewhere in the Matrix, Seraph hung up the phone.
------
Neo opened his eyes to a world that wasn't real. An impossible whiteness flooded his vision, disorienting him as he lay on the floor of wherever he was. The last time he could remember feeling this way was during his first experience in the construct. The walls began to take shape around the savior, filling in the vital details: linoleum and porcelain had been built lavishly into the space, somehow combining the eerie foreboding of the blank training program with the rigid finesse of the Matrix.
There was also a blurred outline of a little girl standing over him, filled with brightness from overhead. "Good morning," she said.
"Who are you?" he asked, dazed. Neo could see a halo of filtered light dimming behind her, allowing her face to become clear.
"My name is Sati," she began. "Your name is Neo. You must be lost. Are you lost, Neo?"
He was, and felt compelled to ask, "Where am I?"
"This is the Train Station," she replied.
He sat up and looked to the wall, which bore the title of Mobil Ave. "This isn't the Matrix?"
"That's where the Train goes," explained Sati. "But you cannot go with us."
"Why not?"
"He won't let you."
"Who won't let me?"
"The Trainman." She leaned in closely, and continued in a whisper, "I don't like him, but my Papa says we have to do what the Trainman says or else he will leave us here for ever and ever..."
The elevator doors swung open, with Trinity, Morpheus, and Seraph stepping out into the Oracle's floor. Just moments earlier, the guardian informed the two that their friend had been found, but wasn't to divulge any further information.
Of course, Morpheus wasn't exactly surprised. The Oracle had told him that the savior would one day have his mind separated from his body. But until now, he had no idea what she meant, and to what extent. It was just like the Oracle to understate things.
Trinity hid her worried eyes behind dark glasses. She was a warrior, and she wasn't one to get emotional if she needed to get things done. But she and the others were walking over to the Oracle, with the hope of bringing Neo back -- from where?
They entered the apartment, quickly striding over to the living room where a strange elderly woman sat, greeting them.
"Morpheus, Trinity. Thank you for coming," she began. A stream of cigarette smoke escaped her lips. "One thing I've learned in all my years is that nothing turns out just the way you want it to."
"Who are you," asked Trinity, confused.
"I'm the Oracle," she said, as if it were obvious.
Morpheus and Trinity exchanged glances.
She continued, "I wish there was an easier way to get through this, but there ain't. I'm sorry this had to happen; I'm sorry I couldn't be sitting here like you remember me. But it wasn't meant to be."
This was impossible. "What happened?" asked Trinity.
The woman claiming to be the Oracle was ready for this question. "I made a choice, and that choice cost me more than I wanted it to."
"What choice?" asked Morpheus.
"To help you," she said. "To guide Neo. Now, since the real test for any choice is having to make the same choice again, knowing full well what it might cost," she took a drag from her cigarette, "I guess I feel pretty good about that choice, 'cause here I am, at it again."
Trinity wanted to get to the point. "Do you know what happened to Neo?"
"Yes." She put out the spent bundle of tobacco. "He is trapped between this world and the machine world. The link is controlled by a program called the Trainman. He uses it to smuggle programs in and out of the Matrix." She spread her palms outwardly along the couch. "If he finds out where Neo is before you get to him, then I'm afraid our choices are going to become more difficult."
"Why?" asked Trinity.
"Because of who the Trainman works for."
Morpheus knew. "The Merovingian."
She nodded. "He has placed a bounty on your lives; you must be careful at all times." The woman looked to her protector, who was waiting quietly. "Seraph knows how to find the Trainman -- he will go with you. For years he has protected me. I hope he can do the same for you."
His circular frames glinted briefly as his head turned toward the two of them. "Please, follow me."
They began to walk away, but Morpheus wasn't quite finished. "Oracle..."
"I know," she said, delicately lifting a cup and saucer off a table. "I can see you're filled with doubt, clouded by uncertainty."
"After everything that's happened," he asked, "how do you expect me to believe you?"
She took a sip. "I don't. I expect what I've always expected -- for you to make up your own damn mind. Believe me, or don't. All I can tell you is that your friend is in trouble and he needs your help." She held the cup closely to her lips, letting the warmth rise to her face.
Trinity was shaken. Neo -- the One himself -- was trapped. What possible chance could they have of even saving him?
"He needs all our help," restated the Oracle, and drank.