Skynet's Matrix

Chapter 7

Many people believe that as you are about to die, your life flashes before your eyes. Perhaps this is true for some but that was not what Marcus saw as he fell down the hole. All he saw was darkness and all he felt was a pulling feeling in his gut. This only lasted five seconds. He fell out of the other end of the shoot and into a large container of water. The sudden cold made Marcus yell as he pulled himself out of the container and onto the floor. He looked around and saw that he was in a factory area. He saw Terminators and other machines being built everywhere along the factory. There were surprisingly no machines on guard which perplexed Marcus. Why did the machines usually leave their factories unprotected? He shook it off and began to walk throughout the factory, looking for an exit. After about ten minuets, he finally came to a door that was difficult to open. He pulled as hard as he could before it opened at last. His head poked itself through first so that he could get a good look at what was inside. He didn't think that he could see anything in the large room that he noticed was thankfully the computer lab. He walked in, taking his footsteps as quietly as he could. He looked around before seeing the main computer generator. He began to rush toward it when

WHAM!

Marcus was thrown off of his feet and onto a table. He looked around saw a large, muscular, brown haired, large jawed and naked man glaring at him. It was a T- 800 infiltrator, the worst Terminator type today.

Marcus yelled and pulled out his only weapon, a hand gun. He shot the machine in the four head to no avail. It picked him up as high as it could, which wasn't as high as he was also a Terminator, and threw him against the wall. He let out breath as he crumpled onto the ground, moaning. His face slammed onto the floor and all he saw were two feet coming toward him. He was kicked in the gut and the head. Dazed, he tried to get up but failed as the Terminator grabbed him by the neck and shoved him onto the wall.

"I know you from data," the Terminator said in an Australian accent. "You are Marcus Wright. You are a machine but you have malfunctioned to the point of betraying us. I must terminate you."

His hand began to choke Marcus who could not breathe. He coughed and gagged but the machine would not let go. Marcus began to loose hope before he remembered the knife in his left pocket. Moving slowly so that the machine wouldn't notice, Marcus pulled the knife out and stabbed the Terminator in the Adam's apple. The Terminator fell back as it struggled to get back up. It pulled the knife out of its bloodied throats and began to swing at Marcus who ducked and searched the room for another weapon. His eyes spotted a grenade launcher on a table with a body next to it. A random resistance fighter had come in and had been killed by the large machine now trying to terminate Marcus. Marcus ran to the gun and grabbed it before the Terminator could stop him. He swung around as it came at him and pulled the trigger. One bomb shot out and hit the Terminator in the chest. Its skin was ripped from its body as blood poured out. A dark metal skeleton was exposed as the machine's eyes seemed to grow more irritated. It kept coming toward Marcus who swore the F word and prepared to fire another bomb. He aimed at the head as the machine came closer.

BOMB!
The grenade hit its target and blew the head to pieces. The machine fell down and was still, nothing but a bloody and smoldering hunk of sizzling metal.

"You're terminated," Marcus muttered in disgust.

He tossed the gun down and walked over to the computer. He thought that this had to be Skynet's Matrix. He placed his hand on the machine and was suddenly still. He stood there and had his mind taken into the Matrix.

Marcus opened his eyes. He was wearing the type of clothes he usually wore back before he was arrested and thrown in prison. Looking at his skin, he saw that any tares that showed his metallic skeleton were gone. He looked like human being. He felt as though his real body was actually inside the Matrix, not just his mind. There was nothing but white around him until it faded and became… Las Vegas. It looked like the seventies and had people walking around, wearing seventies clothes and talking about Rush. Marcus wondered if people would find him odd for wearing clothing they hardly saw, before he glanced down and found that the computer had reprogrammed and given him seventies clothing. He had on a blue button up shirt with a small over coat over it. He was wearing those old types of pants that had the pointed area at the ankle. He smiled.

I look like a good old country singer, he thought in his mind.

He breathed in the air that felt like it had before Judgment day. He seemed to be relaxed as could be and smiled to himself. Vegas looked different in the seventies. He turned, remembering the mission he was on. Marcus saw, behind him, a large business building that would one day become the Skynet base for the Matrix network. Marcus began to walk toward it when he wondered how he was going to defend himself without a gun. He swore under his breath and rushed away from the building. He ran up to a teenager who almost resembled Kyle.

"Hey kid," Marcus said. "Tell me where to find a gun shop."

The teenager looked surprised but then answered

"There's one down that way a few blocks. Just don't kill anyone."

He walked away as Marcus smirked at the smart ass response from the boy. He walked where the kid had directed and found a small gun shop filled with small hand guns that Marcus had seen in old time movies.

He stepped inside and felt in his pocket that there was cash. He had no idea how it had gotten there but decided to just go up and buy a weapon.

"I need a gun," Marcus said.

"I need to see some proof of age son," the old cashier told.

Marcus pulled out a card that had luckily been in his pocket. He thought about how he could make money and cards appear in his pocket but not a gun. He bought a small revolver that didn't have a safety on it. He thanked the man and went out of the store and back to the building. The moon looked full as many people emerged from gangs and casinos. Marcus walked into the building and found that it was an office structure. There were people in suits running around with papers in their arms. Marcus had almost forgotten what these places looked like. It wasn't difficult to enter and make his way through where he knew the computer lab was.

The large area that Skynet used as a factory for Terminators seemed to be a mail room for the company. Marcus looked at all of the men dressed poorly rushing around with letters and envelopes. Marcus found the door into the lab and walked inside. He saw employees sitting at desks and eyeing him with small suspicion. They came to the conclusion that he was no one important and went back to typing on their type writers. Marcus walked to the computer that was in the place of the Matrix. It looked was a rectangular box with a speaker area and keyboard with a small screen. Marcus looked at the shut off machine, trying to figure out how to take information on the Matrix from it. He flipped what he thought was the on switch and began to touch every area on the computer, trying to see if it would do any good. After five minuets of people starring at him like he was a lunatic, Marcus decided that this wasn't the right computer. All of a sudden, there was the noise of the door swinging open and then being slammed shut. Marcus wheeled around and saw six pale men in black suits with neatly washed hair and thin black glasses. The one in front had brown hair, a slightly misshapen face, and an amused look.

"Mr. Wright," he said. "Welcome. Anyone who works here, leave the premises now so that we can deal with this criminal. Don't worry, we're from the FBI."

The workers looked worried and ran out of the computer room as the man pulled out a revolver gun like Marcus's.

After seeing that everyone was gone, the man said

"I am Agent Smith. I am a part of a program called 'Agents'. We are different from most Skynet creations. We have emotions that the stronger types of us, like me, often show but others do not have such a gift. Our emotions help us to understand your race better. So, how are you enjoying the Matrix?"

"Not much now Smith," Marcus snapped.

"A pity," Smith said. "You know, the information you are looking for isn't here. Sorry you made the trip for nothing."

"As am I," said a familiar woman's voice.

Marcus turned and saw the full body form of

"Doctor Kogren," Marcus growled.

"Hello Marcus," she said moving next to Smith. "I see you've met our agents have you? How does it feel to see me like this once again? I resemble a full human now. I also have been programmed with fighting capabilities."

She held up another hand gun, pointing it in the same directions as Smith's gun… at Marcus.

"Why can't you just die?" grumbled Marcus to Kogren.

Before she could respond, Marcus picked up his gun and the old computer. He threw the monitor at Smith, causing him to stumble. He jumped out of the way as Kogren shot at him. After taking cover behind a table, Marcus began to shoot at the agents. They were the fastest things he had ever laid eyes on. They were nothing but computer blurs that were dogging every bullet. Finally, Marcus accepted defeat and shot the bar that kept the cabinet from falling. As he shot it, Smith cursed. The cabinet fell on their heads and silenced them. Marcus guessed that they weren't dead and so ran out the door just as, without him noticing, an arm of one of the agents burst out of the back of the cabinet.

Marcus ran through the now empty factory. He checked all of his corners, holding the gun at the ready. His nervousness went up a notch as he thought he heard a clattering. He searched through the factory before coming to an area in the wall that was missing. He saw that it was green and sparking like it was part of a high tech computer, nothing that would be found in the seventies.

"Well I'll be damned," Marcus muttered, which he no longer believed was true. "A glitch in the Matrix."

He reached his hand out when, suddenly-

BANG!

The gunshot echoed through the factory as Marcus's expression contorted with pain. He had been shot in the back. The bullet landed to the right of his spine and caused him to fall down, bleeding.

Marcus swore under his breath as he turned over and saw Smith and Kogren. Kogren had been the one to fire a shot.

She lowered her gun and said

"You were such a disappointment Marcus."

"Now you shall be terminated forever," Smith laughed.

Marcus winced every time a new spike of pain prickled in his back. He felt everything getting cold and knew that he wouldn't last long. He looked over and saw the hole in the wall. If he could just touch it-

"You humans still think that you can get away with all of this? Well than, we must show you who the dominate species is now."

"Screw you," Marcus said.

His hand slammed on the computer glitch in the wall and caused a large, blinding, green burst of light that kept Smith and Kogren from seeing him.

Information of Skynet, even more than he needed, was being downloaded into Marcus's brain. His chip vibrated with the intensity of it all and then Marcus felt his body leave the sim as he was transported out of the Matrix and into the real world.

As he came back to the room in the year 2020, Marcus fell onto the floor and screamed in agony. His back was in so much pain and he feared for his life before he remembered.

"I only die if I'm shot in the heart," Marcus thought out loud, still dealing with the pain.

He laughed slightly and pulled out his radio.
"This is Marcus Wright," he said into it. "I have succeeded in the mission, repeat, I have succeeded."

"Good," said John as he came running into the room.

"Where the hell did you come from?" Marcus questioned.

"Outside," John replied. "Let's get you out of here."

They both ran outside, ducking every blast of plasma fire that came at them before they finally reached the chopper.

Marcus and John climbed aboard as Marcus told the group

"I know exactly where to find Fleming and he's still alive."