"Morpheus." She turned to him and smiled. "Thank you for coming. Please, sit down."

"Oracle."

"Oh, Morpheus, come on then. Let's get it over with, shall we?"

"Over with?"

"You're thinking, I don't believe in this, in her. I don't care what she says. I don't care what she wants. And why am I here, risking my crew for this bullshit, anyway?"

"Yes," he agreed. "I am."

"Problem is, you're also thinking; might I be, after all? Could I have been wrong in abandoning hope of it? Is that why she wants to see me?"

He stiffened, and she grinned. "Every truly gifted man that's ever walked in here's wondered that. If they have an ounce more ego than they should."

"Gifted?" he said, uncertainly.

"And that's the part they always focus on, too." She twinkled at him, then took a deep drag on her cigarette.

"What are you saying?"

"Oh, now there's a question. I could ask what you think I'm saying, but things could get a bit too circular then, even for my liking, and Lord knows we've not the time today. So. What am I saying. I suppose I'm saying that there's a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path. You know it, all right. Question is, can you walk it?"

"I presume you already know the answer to that question."

She nodded, her eyes fixed on his. "For the One, it's always going to be the other way around. You're a good soldier, Morpheus. No doubt about it. But it ain't you. The One isn't a self-selecting prophecy. If it were, we'd be overrun."

"There is a One, then?"

"Oh yes. The One's real enough."

"In my lifetime?"

"Very much so. Friendship, that's the key. You'll care for the individual, not just what they can do."

He was silent for a moment, as he processed the implications of this. She smiled. "Yes, that's it, the next question, right there. You're good at this, you know that? Go on. Ask me."

"Trinity," he said. "You're talking about Trinity?"

"Oh, you've wondered since the moment you met her quite what she was made of, haven't you. Silk and steel, that girl. You've done well by her, you should be proud. She's a damn good kid." She stopped, took another drag on her cigarette, exhaled heavily, and then smiled into his intent eyes. "But no. Not Trinity. She's exceptional all right, Morpheus. What she isn't, is unique."

"The One is unique." He sighed, admitting defeat.

"Would they be be the One if they weren't? Thing is, Morpheus, you were right. You pretty well knew it wasn't you; you'd come over these years to see it probably wasn't her either. But it's to do with you both, that's for damn sure. You will find him. You and Trinity."

"The One?"

She nodded.

"And the One will end this war? The Prophecy is true?"

"That there is One with the power to save every human in the Matrix? Oh yes. Yes, that's true."

"And he'll be able to bend the Matrix to his will?"

"He'll see it for what it is, even when inside, once he's ready to. Which amounts to the same thing."

"Why should I believe it? Believe you?"

She shrugged. "That's your choice. Nobody else gonna make it."

"But if I don't believe you, how can I find the One?"

"But if you don't believe in the One, why does it matter?" She cocked her head on one side, smiled at him mockingly, then relented. "C'mon, didn't you already make that choice, years ago? Well, now you can work it out. What really matters to you."

"How do you know all this?" he said. "Me, the One, Trinity - the future. How?"

She took a drag on her cigarette, then indicated vaguely towards the window. "It's my purpose. We all have one. The trick is to find it."

"And mine?"

"To free the One. To guide him. To help him. Poor boy, I can't say I envy his purpose. Despite the compensations."

"Compensations?"

She glanced at her watch. "Is Trinity waiting?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'm afraid our time is up."

"Trinity, hello. I'd ask you to sit, but I know you won't. You like standing like that too much. Nice and controlled, isn't it?"

Trinity's mouth was set in a straight line. She said nothing. The Oracle laughed softly.

"Morpheus is going to find the One, you know."

"I don't believe in the One."

"You haven't met him yet. That'll change things."

"If you say so."

"Oh, I do."

"Well. Thank you. Are we done?"

"Ain't hardly begun," the Oracle said cheerfully. "He's going to be in his thirties, I give you due warning."

"Coppertops can't be unplugged that old. They die."

"Well, this one won't. Fate has a habit of being unconventional."

Trinity sighed, then controlled herself, and the woman said sympathetically, "oh, I know. Waste of your time, isn't it? And you won't share that information with Morpheus, because it's just crazy talk, right? And that poor newbie - you hate risking them in the Matrix so green, don't you? They get picked off so very quickly. Shard isn't going to live out the week, though, so if I were you, I'd just appreciate the fact that she won't die today."

Trinity glanced at her, and despite the genuine sympathy in the Oracle's face, there was anger in Trinity's that would have surprised her crewmates.

The Oracle smiled. "He was wrong about you, you know."

"Excuse me?"

"You aren't frigid. Or cold. Or stunted in any way. You can love, my God, can you love! There's a great deal of passion in you, Trinity. That young man simply didn't - spark it, shall we say?"

Trinity looked up sharply, as the Oracle went on, "We all make mistakes, you know. I believe Switch once told you you'd slept with yours."

"How did you..."

"Bright girl, Switch. Shame about the self belief."

"Is all this going somewhere?" Trinity said abruptly.

"Bingo! Straight to the point. No bullshit at all. I like that about you. So here's me repaying the favor: you're going to fall in love. Quite desperately in love. You'll love him so much that you'd be willing to die for him. And live for him. That's often harder. This man, Trinity - the man that you'll love - he'll be the One."

Trinity kept the crew out of the Matrix for the succeeding days, without explanation. She put them all on maintenance duties on the Neb. She ignored the complaints and the crew's irritation, and Morpheus backed her up, trusting her, although he didn't understand.

Shard was electrocuted by a faulty connection four days after the trip to the Oracle. She died before Dozer could cut the power supply.