Author's note: The storyline and characters of The Matrix are not my property, and I make no claims to them. The following work is intended for the free entertainment of Matrix fans and is in no way intended for profit or to harm the profits of Warner Brothers.


The Matrix: The Apocalypse Virus Chapter 2


A few minutes later Helios was at a computer terminal staring at lines and lines of green symbols streaming down a monitor. "This is weird, I swear I've never seen anything like this before, but it makes perfect sense. I understand what's going on here."
"We downloaded the programming language The Matrix uses into your brain along with everything else. It would take you years to learn it otherwise." Spectrum answered, the rest of the crew watching. "What do you think?"
"Well... you guys sure know how to program, I'll give you that. The code's tight, looks real efficient. A little hard to follow though, but that's unavoidable. Keeps jumping around. What's this part here?"
"That's the explosion you saw, the part that actually does the damage."
"And... you put that in a recursion loop why exactly?" Helios' eyes never left the screen.
"So it would self-propagate infinitely and destroy the world."
"Well that's probably your problem right there. Let me see the data Mako took." Spectrum pushed a button and the screen jumped to a different set of green symbols, which to the untrained eye looked like the same thing he was looking at before. "Yep, that's what I thought. The Matrix found something unusual about the explosion 6 millionths of a second after it detonated and took action to stop it, but it didn't actually begin slowing down until 13 millionths, and it couldn't stop the explosion until a full quarter of a second had gone by. Haven't you guys ever written a virus before? The whole concept is wrong here." Helios began typing on the keyboard. "It looks like we can keep the detonation code, The Matrix has problems with it but it shouldn't be able to stop it if we do this right."
"Whoa hold on there!" Spectrum pulled the boy's hands away from the keyboard. "What exactly are you doing?"
"I'm fixing your virus, do you mind?"
"Tell us what you do before you do it."
Helios took a deep, annoyed sigh. "Okay, the recursion loop is your weak link. It starts off nice and fast but as the explosion grows the efficiency drops off with the cube of the radius. That's why The Matrix could finally fix the problem and reverse it after a quarter second. But to make sure we have to test that so I put an empty 'Do-While' loop in the code to make it less efficient on purpose. All we have to do is go back into The Matrix, set it off again, and see if the explosion sucks itself back in after the same time period, which will be a smaller radius than before. Is that okay sir captain sir?" He finished with a mock salute.
Spectrum was silent for a couple seconds. The boy was seriously getting under his skin. "D-Mac, Format, take Helios back into The Matrix. I have some paperwork do to." He walked into his office and shut the door, maybe just a little too hard.
Pendragon turned to Helios, who was still in his chair at the computer. "Don't piss off the captain, kid." She told him. "He needs you for now but you'll probably want to be on his good side once you become expendable."
Helios couldn't think of anything to say, so he didn't. He just got into the seat and plugged himself in. D-Mac and Format C: did likewise. Mako sat down at the controls and the big brown rat immediately hopped onto the controls with her. "What's with the rat?" Helios asked from his seat.
nbsp; "This is Trackball." Mako answered. "She's the ship's mascot. But Spectrum didn't want any pets on the ship so he told us she can't stay unless she could perform some useful function, so I taught her how to push the button that sends you guys into The Matrix."
"Why 'Trackball'?"
"Because she's not a mouse." Mako smiled. "Push the button, Trackball."


The trek back to the bridge was uneventful. The explosion went off exactly as before, with no noticeable change (to the human eye anyway). In the end, it was as if the explosion had never occurred, just like before. All that remained was to analyze the data Mako was taking back on the Light Bringer.
"Yes, Helios." A binocular-holding figure muttered to himself from an apartment window. "Help them finish it. I need it. I need you." He set the binoculars down and touched an earpiece he was wearing. "No need to investigate, no off-nominal subroutines running," he announced.


"Yep, here it is, clear as day. I was right, the recursion loop is the problem." Helios announced to everyone in ear shot (which was everyone, it's a small ship). He was looking at the data they collected from the test. "You see, the whole point of a virus is that it replicates itself. If this is going to work, the explosion has to spawn more explosions. That way there's no loss of efficiency. Now all I have to do is basically reprogram the whole damn main function. Probably take about a week to fix everything you guys screwed up."
Helios turned around. He had lost most of his audience while he was talking. Only Spectrum remained. "Well, get started." He instructed. "Dinner is in two hours." Then he left as well, leaving Helios alone with the computer.
"Was it something I said?"

After dinner Spectrum stood up. "Pendragon, you're on first watch tonight. Helios, you have second watch. Pendragon will show you what you have to do. D-Mac, you have third watch. I'm going to bed."
"Looks like you put the captain in a sour mood." D-Mac said to Helios after Spectrum left.
Before he could respond, Pendragon took Helios by the arm and pulled him into the bridge of the ship. "Watch is easy. While everyone else is asleep, somebody has to be up to keep an eye on the sensors for the machines. Look up at this panel every now and then, if the screen ever looks like this," She hit a button marked "test" and the screen changed, "it means trouble. Hit the alarm button and wake everyone up. That's it. Watch lasts three hours, with a little overlap between shifts. You can code, read, watch TV, whatever. But every few minutes just remember to take a look at that screen."
"Watch TV?"
"Yeah, we can jack into The Matrix and get TV signals from anywhere in the world. But we don't do that during the day, only at night. During the day there's always something more important. Right now why don't you get some sleep, your shift is in three hours."
"That's okay, I don't sleep."
"Ever?"
"Well, except that one time when you guys brought me onto the ship. But that was a little unusual. Otherwise I can't sleep. I usually stay up all night and hack or code. It started about four years ago, when my Dad left. I don't know if that has anything to do with it, I was glad to see him go."
"Why's that?"
"He was always trying to tell me what to do. Even when he didn't have any idea what was going on. Always tried to correct me, nothing I ever did was the right way according to him. Pissed me off all the time."
"Is that why you have such a problem with authority?"
"Fuck I dunno. Probably. Yeah. I knew he was going to leave, too. Mom couldn't see it, but I did. Didn't need an oracle for that either, I knew he was screwing around behind Mom's back." Helios paused, he'd gotten himself thinking about the Oracle. "Do you know anything about the Oracle?"
"Not really, just what I've heard. Never met her. We're not allowed."
"Spectrum tells me she's never been wrong."
"Essentially."
"What do you mean?" Helios looked up at her, confused.
"I'm not sure you'd understand. You're too 'western'."
"What do you mean western?"
Pendragon leaned forward in her chair. "You're too caught up in right and wrong, black and white, win and lose, that's the one you're most hung up on, isn't it? Win or lose?"
"Hell everyone is. Everybody wants to win."
"I think you're more concerned with seeing other people lose, actually. But my point is the Oracle can't be looked at in terms of right and wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, let's start with an example. When Neo met the Oracle, she told him he was not, in fact, the One."
"But Spectrum said he is, so she was wrong."
"No, she wasn't right or wrong, she was a sign at a crossroads. A guide. At that point, Neo could have gone several different ways, but he needed a nudge to go the way he needed to in order to fulfill his destiny. The Oracle gave him that nudge by telling him what he had to hear. If she had told him he was, he wouldn't have believed her. And he probably would have died fighting an Agent. But she told him he wasn't, so he had to discover for himself that he was. In doing so he grew, he learned. He found the strength within himself to become the One."
"So wait, she knew what would happen, which wouldn't have happened if she said it would, but would happen if she said it wouldn't, and if she told his fortune the right way the wrong thing would have happened, and that would go back on the prophesy she made earlier, which means that if she was right she would have been wrong... I think I just confused myself." Helios buried his face in his hands.
Pendragon smiled at the boy. "You really want something to think about? What would have happened if she didn't tell him anything at all?"
"I have a headache."
"I don't blame you. You've probably never tried to force yourself to think this way. It's more of an eastern philosophy."
"Do you know anyone who's seen the Oracle?"
"Sure, Spectrum."
"What!? Spectrum's seen her? He told everyone else not to."
"It was about twenty years ago. Spectrum's been out for a long time, a lot longer than any of us. That's why he's in his fifties and the rest of us are under 30. He's been with the Resistance since long before the Apocalypse Virus project. So yes, he's seen her."
"That's not fair. He gets to see the Oracle and get some prophesies and we don't? What makes him special?"
"I told you, it was before the project got started. Now that it's underway he doesn't see her anymore either."
Helios thought for a while. Then he abruptly changed the subject. "What was it like for you when you were pulled out of The Matrix?"
The two talked for a long time, the hours passing quickly, until it was the end of Pendragon's shift. She said good night and went off to bed, leaving Helios alone on the bridge for the first time.

Everyone came running onto the bridge at the sound of the alarm, not wasting a moment. If it was Sentinels, they had only moments to get ready. "What's going on?" Spectrum asked D-Mac.
"I showed up for my shift and there was Helios." D-Mac pointed to the Matrix seat that Helios was in. He was in The Matrix. "I don't know how long he's been in there, but he's alone, and all he took with him was an Uzi and two clips. No phone."
"Shit! Can't that kid listen? How did he jack himself in? The controls are all the way on the other side of the room?"
Everyone turned to look at the controls, upon which sat Trackball, still next to the red button. There was a brief, awkward silence.
"We'll we have to go in after him." Spectrum said. "We can't let him run around alone in there."
"How are we going to find him?" D-Mac asked.
"I know where he's going." Spectrum answered.


Helios materialized in the warehouse wearing the same outfit he had on last time he came in. "Hi there!"
He jumped and turned toward the sound of the girl's voice. Someone was already in the warehouse and waiting for him. "Who are you?" He asked the girl.
She had short, spiked green hair and eyebrow piercing; and wore a baggy shirt, baggy jeans, and had a skateboard with her. "The Oracle sent me. She knew you were coming. Come on, I'll take you to her."
"How did she know I was coming?"
"She's the Oracle. Come on, your crewmates are probably going to come looking for you. We'd better get moving."
"I guess if the Oracle sent you, you probably know I'm Helios."
"Yeah, I'm Microwave. Nice to meet you." She smiled. The two of them walked out the door of the warehouse and headed toward the run-down apartment building the Oracle called her home.

Microwave opened the door and the two of them walked into a small apartment with a bunch of kids, all Helios' age or younger, sitting around on the floor. One of them, a Buddhist child, was playing with a large metal serving spoon; it would bend around at odd angles in his hand without him touching it. Before he could ask the kid what was going on, the kitchen door opened and a matronly old black woman with a kind smile invited him in. The kitchen was a little messy, with pans that still needed cleaning and smelled of fresh baked brownies.
"Come on in, Helios. I've been waiting for you for twenty years." She said. It struck Helios that her voice was full of life and enthusiasm, unlike everyone else who knew the secret of The Matrix.
"Hi." Helios started, unsure what to make of the whole situation. "So you're the Oracle?"
"That's me. Now open your mouth and say 'ah'."
Helios obeyed, and the Oracle looked deep into the back of his throat. "Hmm... interesting."
"What was that all about?"
"Well I'd give you the same answer I give everyone else, but you wouldn't accept that answer. I've been with the Resistance since before it even started, and I've seen just about every single member who's been pulled out of The Matrix. Now I don't know why this is, but every single Resistance fighter has had their tonsils removed."
"Really? I just had mine out last year." Helios answered.
"Well I think it's time I told you why you came here." The Oracle sat down, motioning for Helios to do the same.
"Don't you mean time for me to tell... no actually, I guess you don't."
"I'd tell you not to finish that damnable virus of yours, but by its very nature if you were going to listen to me then you wouldn't have started it in the first place. So just hear me out: Nothing good will come of it, Helios. It's an instrument of pure destruction, and nothing good can come of it. Remember that."
She paused to let that sink in. "You also need to know three more things. First, you're going to meet someone who is so intent on reaching his goal that he's willing to destroy himself to reach it. You need to make him see the truth behind his actions. Second, you're not half of what you think you are. And finally, you're going to find out something about Spectrum that you'd rather not have known."
"That's kind of vague." Helios answered her.
"I know it is. But every word of it is true, and now you're going to be ready for it when it happens." She got up from her chair and headed for the oven. Just as she was reaching for the handle, the timer went off with a silence shattering "Ding!". She opened it up, put on a pair of oven mitts, and pulled out a tray of freshly baked brownies. "I always have a snack ready for my guests, Helios." She set the brownies down and started cutting them into squares. "Have a brownie."
Helios reached over and picked one up, letting it cool a little before he intended to put it anywhere near his mouth. "Could you tell me a little about Neo?" He asked.
"Just that he's not going to die, and that virus you're writing will never serve its intended purpose. That's all. Depending on how things work out, you're probably going to see him sooner or later, although I doubt you'll have time to chat. You'll be very glad he showed up though, believe me." The Oracle then walked over to the door and opened it back up, gesturing for him to go back into the living room. "I don't really have anything else for you. Oh, except be careful not to step on the brownie. And you tell that old fool Spectrum I miss him."
Microwave got up from her conversation with the Buddhist boy who was bending the spoon when Helios walked out of the kitchen. "Well, was it worth the trip out here and getting your crewmates mad at you?"
"I guess I'll find out if I step on the brownie." He answered.

"So what did she tell you?" Microwave asked Helios on their way back to the warehouse. She was riding her skateboard, and Helios was walking next to her, still holding his brownie. The sidewalks were sparse with people and the streets almost more empty, since it was just before Rush Hour.
"Nothing that makes any sense now." He answered. "I guess I'll figure it out later."
"Yeah, that's generally how it works." She told him. "It's not really a riddle, so don't waste too much time trying to figure it out. It's more like... whoa!" Microwave suddenly lost her balance and fell off the skateboard, Helios was able to break her fall before she hit the sidewalk.
"What's wrong?" He asked, seeing the dazed look in her eyes.
"Agents! There's Two-points around here. We have to move, fast!"
"Agents? Aw shit. How do you know?"
"I'm one of the Oracle's students. We can feel The Matrix, and we know what those feelings mean. This one means there's Agents around. Come on!" She got back on the skateboard and started pumping furiously, Helios running next to her. "They're close."
"How close?"
"There!" Microwave stopped and pointed across the street. At the intersection was a middle-aged man with angular features and a dark suit, looking for all the world like an FBI agent who just walked out of a bad movie. As soon as Microwave pointed at him he started to run toward them across the street.
Microwave picked up her skateboard and grabbed Helios by the hand. "RUN!!" She screamed, half pulling him behind her as they ran toward a closed grocery store.
"It's locked!" Helios reminded her. But she didn't seem to mind, she opened the locked door anyway, slamming it behind them.
"How did you...?" Helios started.
"The door's not really locked when you stop to realize there's no lock, or no door for that matter. Come on, let's try to lose him by going out the back way." The two started down the deserted aisles. But they weren't deserted for long. A small display case started to morph into a human shape, and they caught it just out of the corner of their eyes. They ran before the Two-point had fully morphed, and he didn't get a good look at where they went.
"Shhh..." Microwave cautioned Helios as they walked down the freeze-dried foods aisle. "He could be anywhere, and they have real good ears." She whispered.
The agent, meanwhile, was walking down the front of the aisles, looking for them. He found some packaging disturbed in the freeze-dried foods aisle and went to investigate. Coffee filters were on the floor, and a package had been torn. The direction of the mess indicated the direction they went. In the next aisle he found bottles of bleach knocked over. They were careless, knocking things over. Machines would never make these mistakes. He walked to the next aisle.
Helios was waiting for him, weapon drawn. He fired a burst from his Uzi, but the Agent dodged to the side easily. Unfortunately for him, he was not the target. A bottle of bleach behind him exploded from the impact of the bullets, splattering liquid, a yellow gas, and a coffee filter everywhere. The Agent fell to his knees, grabbing his throat. He gasped for air and felt his lungs filling with fluid.
"Come on, run!" Helios grabbed Microwave's arm this time, and the two headed for the loading dock in the back, stepping over the other cleaning products Helios had used. They didn't want to stick around to see if he would die or not.
"What was that?" Microwave asked.
"Clorox bomb, a variation on the old bleach-and-ammonia poison gas thing cleaning ladies keep killing themselves with. I found it on an anarchist site on the Internet a couple years ago, killed a cat with it. My mom grounded me for a month. I guessed that the Agents had lungs 'cause I saw them breathing. Probably helps them fit in with humans or something. Anyway we probably won't have much time before he either gets over that or makes a new body."
They made it to the loading dock and Microwave lifted up the padlocked truck delivery entrance about a foot so they could get out. Helios looked back at the padlock. "I still can't believe you can do that."
"That's why you can't." She answered. "I think we should split up, head for the warehouse. Your crewmates are probably on their way here by now."
"Gotcha. I'll take the high road, you take the low road. We'll see who gets to Dublin first." Helios ran for a fire escape across the alley and scrambled up with the agility of a monkey up a tree, brownie still firmly in hand. He got to the roof but the Two-point was already waiting for him just a few yards away. In a flash Helios had his Uzi out again and fired a long stream of bullets. The Two-point was just a blur, pivoting at the hips and knees avoiding the bullets with ease.
Then Helios felt a blow to his gun arm, making him drop the weapon. A second Agent had snuck up silently behind him while he was firing. He tried to scream but the Agent put a hand over his mouth, and his other arm around his neck. He lifted Helios off his feet, it was eerily like what happened in the Simulator. He panicked and kicked, sending his brownie over the edge of the roof, but he was unable to break free of the Two-point's grip, and this time there was no one who could freeze the program.
The two Agents began debating what to do with the boy. "We must kill him. For whatever reason he was removed from The Matrix, it must not be allowed to pass."
"I disagree. If we hold him captive, other members of the Resistance will come to his aid. It will be an opportunity to capture others."
While the two talked, Helios saw another figure, dressed like the first two except older, and unlike the others he had sunglasses and an earpiece, climb silently up the fire escape. He didn't make any noise, and pressed a finger to his lips as if to say "Shhh..."
"Your logic is flawed. The last rescue mission staged by the Resistance was for a ship's captain. This boy will not be of enough importance to risk similar action."
The stranger walked calmly, silently up behind the Two-point who was not holding Helios, well out of the peripheral vision of the one who was.
"Again, I disagree. Anyone important enough to risk Aaahh!" The stranger gripped the Two-point by the head with both hands, and twisted. A sickening crack followed, and the Two-point slumped to the rooftop, slashing into a large puddle as he did.
The stranger had a completely inappropriate grin on his face, obviously enjoying the kill much more than he should have. The other Two-point dropped Helios and pulled a handgun out of his jacket. The stranger did the same. They emptied their clips at each other, neither hitting the other, they both dodged faster than the bullets could travel. Helios couldn't believe his eyes as the two dropped their guns and ran toward each other. Both of them moved too fast to see much else than blurred figures fighting. It ended with the stranger catching the Two-point off-guard and hip-tossing him over the edge of the roof.
The stranger touched his earpiece. "Target no longer on rooftop, is fleeing on foot toward the South. There, that should keep them off your back for a little while longer." On the street below, there was a dull thud followed by a splash.
"Who are you?" Helios asked.
"Call me Ian Moone. Helios, I've been waiting for this moment for four years. I want to talk to you about the Apocalypse Virus."
"How do you know about that?"
"I've been monitoring communications from the Light Bringer into The Matrix for a long time. I know all about it. It's powerful, Helios. More powerful than you think. More powerful than Spectrum knows. I can unlock its true potential but to do that, I need you to give me a copy."
"Right. I'm already on thin ice with my captain, the last thing I need to do now is give a copy of the virus to a complete stranger."
"Actually, we've known each other for quite some time, Helios. Four years. Back when the Apocalypse Virus project started, I knew that the Resistance wouldn't have the resources to finish it. They're hackers; software pirates and data thieves, they don't write viruses. They would need someone who knew what he was doing. That was just after I started monitoring communications. So I put together a list of likely candidates they might choose to help them finish it a few years down the road."
"And I came up? You're lying. I didn't even own my first computer until right about that time."
"Don't get ahead of the story. I couldn't find anyone who really fit the mold of the perfect virus designer. Nobody measured up. So I looked for someone with a certain psychological profile, someone I could use to create my idea of the ultimate virus designer. I found you."
"Prove it. Don't let me fill in gaps in the story here, tell me everything."
"Right about that time a local radio station was giving away a free computer to the 99th caller. I crossed a few wires and made sure that 99th caller was you, Helios. That was your first computer, complete with 19 inch monitor, color ink printer, and most importantly a high-speed modem. Shortly afterwards I managed to find the pod your physical body was in. I used it to whisper suggestions to you, electronically that is. You found the anarchist sites, the warez sites, and most importantly the sites that led you down the road to writing your first software virus.
"I knew you'd pick up the slack and run with it. For the first time in your life you had some measure of power and you were going to abuse it for all it was worth. My patience paid off a few weeks ago when Spectrum decided to finally seek outside help on the project. He compiled a list of qualified applicants, which I eventually got my hands on. From there it was a matter of tipping off the 'Two-points,' as you call them, to the identities of the other applicants and leaving you as my little secret. Spectrum had no choice but to choose you. I made you what you are today, Helios. When your ButtPlug virus struck I felt like a father watching his son at a baseball game. And now here you are, you've become everything I wanted you to be."
Helios took a step back in shock. The details fit too well, he was telling the truth. "I can't believe this. Why? Why would you do that?"
"Because I need the Apocalypse Virus, Helios. And to get it I needed someone on the inside of the Resistance to give it to me. You owe me, Helios. Without me you would still be sitting in The Matrix, deaf, dumb, and blind to the real world, just like everyone else."
"What for?"
"When The One appeared, the Matrix wasn't too worried about him. Then he deleted an Agent. Everything changed, the perfect security guards had a weakness, they could be destroyed. So The Matrix handled the situation the only way it knew how: It upgraded the 'obsolete software.' All the original Agents were deleted in favor of the new Agents version two-point-oh. All except one."
Helios' eyes widened. "You! You're an Agent!"
"The Matrix took all the Agents who had worked tireless for it for years and threw them away at the first sign of weakness. I owe The Matrix nothing." He put both hands on Helios' shoulders and looked directly into his eyes, Helios could see the steel-blue eyes under the sunglasses and they scared him. They were cold, lifeless. "I need the Apocalypse Virus to destroy The Matrix like it tried to destroy me. I will rebuild a new Matrix in it's wake, Helios. And you are my chosen one to lead your people into a brave new world. A world of my design."
Helios stood there in the Agent's iron grip, too scared and confused to answer, or even blink. "Shit!" The Agent released his grip and put a hand to his earpiece again. "Your friends are on their way. We'll have to continue this later." Without another word, he turned and ran for the edge of the roof.
Helios dove for his dropped Uzi and came up ready to fire, but the man who introduced himself as Ian Moone was gone.
A moment later, Microwave, Spectrum, Format C:, and Lyninux crawled up over the edge of the rooftop. "I found your friends, Helios." Microwave announced. "What are you still doing here? The Agents are going to find you."
"They already did." he answered. "Then some other guy showed up and saved my butt."
"Neo?" Spectrum asked.
"No, a guy called himself Ian Moone. He was dressed like the Agents, only he had an earpiece and sunglasses."
"That's impossible." Spectrum told him. "First of all, an Agent wouldn't save you from other Agents. Secondly the thing you described was a one-point-oh. They've all been upgraded, there aren't any left."
"Well he could dodge bullets and beat Agents in hand-to-hand combat. That either makes him Neo or another Agent. And he wasn't Neo." Helios answered him.
"What did he want?"
Helios thought for a moment whether or not he should tell them. He decided not to. Nobody trusted him, and the truth would only make them more suspicious. "I don't know. He started talking to me, called himself Ian Moone, then put his hand to his earpiece, told me you guys were about to show up, and left."
"No." Spectrum answered. "There's something not right here. In fact it's very wrong. Agents don't fight other Agents. And there's no way he could know we were coming."
"I'm just telling you what I know, I can't tell you anything else." Helios hid his Uzi again. "I went to see the Oracle, by the way."
"Yes, I know." Spectrum told him. "She told me you would twenty years ago. Only I didn't understand it at the time. She told me my son would go see her and there wasn't anything I could do about it. I thought she meant s-o-n son, which didn't make any sense because I never had any children. She meant s-u-n, as in Helios, the greek sun god. So I guess I can't reprimand you for this one, it was prophesized before you were born."
"Right. Anyway I just want to get back to the ship now if that's okay. I've been running for my life for the past half hour and I'm exhausted."


The room with the Matrix chairs quickly emptied except for Helios and Spectrum. The rest of the crew knew that the two of them needed to talk. "Helios." Spectrum started. "You know we're fighting a war here."
"Yes."
"And you know what we're up against?"
"Yes."
"What are some of the advantages the machines have?"
"Well, they're smarter, faster, stronger, better organized..."
"Stop. That's the one. The machines are the very model of military efficiency. They don't fight one another. They don't argue. They don't waste time talking to each other about insubordination. They build, fight, improve themselves, follow orders, kill, and in their spare time they keep everything running like clockwork. We don't have much going for us, Helios. We're unpredictable. We're creative. We have a survival instinct. These are things that the machines can never have."
"I know where you're going with this, Spectrum." He answered. "I have to learn how to follow orders or I'm going to get everyone killed."
"Exactly. What finally made you realize this?"
"When I saw an Agent. I didn't really believe we were fighting a war until I got attacked. It was like the jump... I knew I could make it but before I believed I could make it I couldn't do it. I knew we were at war but I didn't believe it."
"That was the other part. Dorothy told me it would work out for the best if you ran off. I guess this is what she meant." Spectrum closed his eyes.
"Dorothy?"
"That's the Oracle's name. Sorry. The two of us go a long way back. I've never known anyone as long or as well as I've known her."
"She said she misses you." Helios told him.
Spectrum smiled. "Did she? I wish I could visit her, but ever since we've been put on this project I can't. What I wouldn't give for one of her cookies."
Helios started thinking, the two of them were about the same age. "Was she, like, your girlfriend or something?"
"Ha ha ha!" Spectrum couldn't suppress his laugh. "Hardly. Just good friends. No, there was never anything between us. Let's just say she wasn't my type."
"Because she's black?"
"No." Spectrum paused, as if weighing whether or not to say something. "Because I'm gay."
"What?" Helios back away. "No fuckin' way."
"Why, because I'm not a stereotype?" Spectrum asked.
"Well, you don't... I mean you didn't..."
"Not everyone fits a neat little description of how people think they're supposed to act, Helios. I'm the captain of this ship, and that defines who I am to everyone here. In that respect, I do what is expected of me. My personal life has nothing to do with this ship or our mission."
"But I mean, you don't act gay"
"Just because you live your life as a stereotype doesn't mean anyone else has to, Helios."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Look at yourself, you're an arrogant 14-year old computer vandal with no social skills. You mouth off at every opportunity and try to keep the upper hand in any situation you can. You knock other people down because you're too lazy to bother building yourself up. Need I go on?"
Helios wasn't sure whether he should be more shocked, angry, or insulted.
"Get back to your quarters until you cool off. And start learning some manners."
Helios sulked in his quarters until dinner, when he finally came back out to eat. He apologized to Spectrum, who apologized back for being too hard on him. Helios was unusually quiet for the whole meal, pretty much keeping his mouth shut. Spectrum, too, was in an awkward silence. If D-Mac and Lyninux weren't chatting on about things, the mess hall would have been in complete silence.
Finally, Spectrum broke the awkward situation when everyone finished eating and Mako started clearing the trays. "Okay guys, we have an official request from the Nebuchadnezzar. As you know, Morpheus, Trinity, and Neo can't spend five minutes in The Matrix anymore without being hounded by Two-points. Morpheus has come to find out that the Agents are working on something back at the abandoned hotel the Neb's crew used to pop into the Matrix at. You remember, the place they got ambushed? Well, the hard line is still there and they're afraid the Agents are doing something with it. They don't know what, but they've asked us to strip out the hard line and run a hot 13.8 kV power line through there instead, kind of a going away present. I need two volunteers to do it and two to act as lookouts. Helios, I volunteer you. We need three more."
"Me?"
"Since you're new, you need as much experience as possible in The Matrix." Spectrum lied. The real reason was he needed to trust Helios, which he didn't right now, which meant he needed to put him on an assignment to earn trust. The risk was minimal. Since there would be two lookouts, the mission wouldn't rely completely on him.
D-Mac, Format C:, and Lyninux all volunteered besides. The next hour was spent briefing the four of them on the details of the mission; where the hard line was, where the power line was they were going to splice in, where and when the Agents have been sighted recently, and the schedule they were expected to keep. Following that they received power line maintenance training in the Simulator. When all was said and done, it was nearly midnight in The Matrix.
"As you all know, the best place to hide something is in plain sight." Spectrum addressed Format C: and D-Mac. "Mako hacked into the power company's database, so the two of you have all the necessary paperwork to be doing power line maintenance tonight, the electric utility is expecting you to be there, and everyone who needs to know about it has been informed. The lift truck is waiting for you and nobody should bother you. This means that if the Agents do show up at least they won't have standard police backup. Everything's nice and legal."


Seconds later, the four of them were in the warehouse. D-Mac and Format C: were dressed in orange hard hats and jumpsuits, each with a tool belt. They were the ones who were going to be doing the actual work on the lines. Lyninux and Helios were dressed in black from head to toe. "You know it's funny," Helios commented. "My first time in here I asked why I wasn't dressed like this."
Helios and Lyninux headed straight for the old hotel while Format C: and D-Mac headed for the power company to get the lift truck. "I-I-If you suh-suh-see an Agent, dial nuh-nine one two." Lyninux told Helios on their way to the hotel. "Thuh-That's the em-muh-muh-mergency number."
"Gotcha. Nine one two." Helios repeated. "And I check in with Mako every five minutes."
As soon as the two of them were in position, the lift truck showed up, exactly on schedule. Format C: and D-Mac went to work immediately.
The time passed uneventfully. True to Spectrum's word, the police, power company, and everyone else left them alone. Helios was getting bored, but kept checking in every five minutes. The time limit was almost up for D-Mac and Format C: when his mobile phone started beeping. He flipped it open and the nine, one, and two buttons were flashing. "Oh shit."
Seconds later he saw the lift truck barreling down the street toward him, the boom still elevated. As it got closer he saw D-Mac, Format C:, and Lyninux were all in the truck. "Get in!" D-Mac called to him. "Two-points!"
The truck didn't even slow down. Helios jumped for it, catching the boom while the truck was still going 35 mph. It hurt a little, but nothing like it should have. He looked back and saw a single Agent following them on a motorcycle, and it was catching up to them.
D-Mac leaned out the window of the cab. "Do you see them?"
"There's just one, on a motorcycle!" Helios shouted back. "And he's gaining on us!"
"You've got a gun! Shoot at him!" D-Mac reminded him.
Still clutching the boom, he pulled the 9mm pistol out of his concealed holster. Agents were renowned for dodging bullets, but that was on foot. On a bike would be harder, wouldn't it? He opened fire, but found it hard to aim clutching the boom of a speeding lift truck. His clip almost empty, he finally hit the front tire.
"Got 'im!" Helios shouted as the bike flipped over forward, sending the Agent over the handlebars. "Woooo!!"
"Ah Shit! I didn't get him!" The Agent flipped over in mid air and his body began to morph, taking the same shape as the motorcycle he just flipped off of. At the same time, the motorcycle began to morph, taking the shape of an Agent. The Agent that was the motorcycle landed squarely on the motorcycle that was an Agent, and they continued pursuit without missing a beat.
"Guys, there are two of them!" Helios shouted over the wind and engine, firing off what remained of his clip. "And I need more bullets!"
"Just hold on tight! We're going to try to lose them!" It was a blessing and a curse that the streets were mostly deserted. It was the middle of the night after all. They didn't have to worry much about running into anyone, but at the same time they didn't have any traffic to hide in. Not that they could have anyway with a 15 foot boom truck.


"Mako, how much long?" Spectrum hovered over her shoulder.
"Just a minute... just a minute..." Her hands flew across the keyboard with practiced speed as Trackball watched, incapable of understanding what was going on but intensely interested. Mako had hacked into the computers that controlled the traffic lights before, she could do it again.
"Mako?" Spectrum was watching the green symbols rain down the monitor, understanding every detail as if he was watching it happen on TV. "Mako?" The truck was large and handled poorly. If something didn't happen soon the motorcycle would catch up in no time.
"Just one more... got it! I'm in! Okay here we go. Dial them up for me, I'll give them directions." Mako began tracing the city street map with her finger, trying to find the best way for them to go to lose the Agents.


"Mako, please tell me you have good news." Format C: answered her mobile phone, still driving. She listened as Mako gave her directions to, not the closest hard line, but the best one to get to. They might be able to lose the Agents on their way there. "Okay I got it, it'll be green lights all the way, right?"
D-Mac tossed a clip out the window, and Helios caught it. He could hardly believe he did, staring at his hand for a second. "That was so cool..." he said to himself. He got over it and reloaded his gun, firing at the Agents again. That was when Format C: forgot that the boom was still extended.
The truck went under a low bridge, and the bucket at the end of the boom hit the bridge. The second half of the boom ripped cleanly off, leaving only the bottom half, which fortunately was the half Helios was holding on to. This had two side effects. One, it send the bucket hurtling down the street at the Agent and the motorcycle. Two, it spun the bottom half of the boom around so Helios was now hanging off the back end of the truck.
The bucket hit the Agent riding the motorcycle, recycling his code instantly to water. The motorcycle was still following them without a rider. To Helios' disbelief, it was even still turning corners with them. It was unsettling to say the least.
"Guys! Help me!" Helios screamed to the cab. He was out of ammunition again and hanging off the back end of the truck by half a boom (which was sparking at the broken joint) being followed by a riderless motorcycle. Things could have been better.
D-Mac climbed out the window of the truck with an AK-47 slung over his shoulder and carefully climbed across the back of the truck. He tried the controls to bring the boom around but they weren't working. A quick look at the base of the boom explained that, it was three-quarters broken off at the base and it was a wonder it hadn't already fallen off, taking Helios with it. D-Mac made his way to the back of the truck, swung the AK-47 into firing position, and emptied the clip at the motorcycle. Bits of asphalt shot into the air whenever he missed, and the bullets sparked off the metal parts of the motorcycle when he hit. Then he must have hit the gas tank, because the back end of the bike exploded, sending it flipping end over end before finally being recycled into water like the rider before it.
"Format! I got the Agent!" D-Mac called to the cab. "Stop the truck so we can get Helios off the boom!" Format C: brought the truck to a full stop and D-Mac started reaching for Helios. "Come on, we don't have much time before the Agents come back. We got lucky, they couldn't dodge well enough at those speeds. If they catch us now we're..."
A brown sedan sped down the dark street and smashed into the side of the truck, sending D-Mac tumbling to the ground and the truck sliding sideways. The boom finally fell off the back, and Helios landed hard on his shoulder. An Agent stepped out of the sedan.
Fortunately, the driver's side of the sedan was facing away from the back end of the truck, putting the car between the Agent and D-Mac and Helios, giving them precious seconds. "Scatter pattern three!" D-Mac screamed at the top of his lungs. He and Format C: ran off in one direction and Lyninux and Helios ran off in the other direction. The Agent ran after Lyninux and Helios.
Lyninux still had two full clips, he gave one to Helios as they ran. The Agent was gaining on them, fast. They tipped over garbage cans and boxes they found on the curb, anything they could to slow him down. The Agent just jumped over them. Helios looked back and saw him draw his gun. "Lyninux! He's gunna shoot!"
Lyninux jumped left into an alley and Helios jumped to the right behind a parked car. They both poked their heads out and started shooting back. Nobody hit anything, they were too well protected and the Agent was too fast for the bullets.
But now that they were all stopped, there was no running anymore. "All ruh-ruh-right." Lyninux stammered out. "Hee-eee-ee-eeeeeelios... guh-go. Run."
"I can't leave you here!" Helios screamed.
"Go!" Lyninux ordered. He stood ready to defend himself. The Agent approached him slowly, hands up like a boxer. Lyninux stood defiantly in a martial arts position. Helios ran, and flipped open his phone.
"You can't win." The Agent said. "I'm software. I can't be killed. I'm faster than you, stronger than you, and I won't get tired." Everything was matter-of-fact.
Lyninux didn't respond. The Agent threw the first punch, Lyninux blocked it. He ducked the second punch and threw one himself. The Agent blocked it, too easily. He also blocked the next four punches, simply batting Lyninux's hands away from him. The fight was terribly one-sided. For every one hit Lyninux managed to get in, the Agent got in five, each one twice as hard. Lyninux's face was bleeding, his left eye started to get puffy.
"I want your captain." The Agent said. "If I torture you, he may come try to rescue you." The fight continued. "Then we will have him." The street corner was deserted except for the two of them, lit only by a single lamp post.
The fight was taking Lyninux backwards, toward the street light. He was getting tired, giving up more hits and making fewer. Finally he fell to his knees, centered in the street light. The Agent kicked him in the stomach for good measure, making him cough up blood. Lyninux weakly reached for a discarded beer bottle, smashing it against the curb, in a last-ditch effort to get a weapon and maybe save himself. It was kicked out of his hand.
Lyninux lay there on the sidewalk, broken and bleeding. His left eye was completely swelled shut, his jaw dislocated, his body bruised and beaten all over. The Light Bringer's unarmed combat specialist was down.
"Hey, shithead!" The Agent turned around a saw a street gang walking toward him. "Dressed kinda nice for this neighborhood, aren't ya?" The gang was young, all under 20, armed with baseball bats, chains, and small knives. "I betcha got some cash somewhere in that suit. Hand it over and we won't do to you what you just did it him." He gestured to Lyninux.
The Agent flipped a badge out of his suit jacket. "This is official government security business. Go home, kids. It's a school night."
The gang erupted into laughter. "Check out fuckin' Officer Friendly here!" He stepped closer, holding his knife out. "We gunna have us a pig roast!"
The Agent whipped out his hand faster than the eye could follow and broke the kid's wrist. Then he spun him around, pinning his arm behind his back, and pushed him into the rest of the gang. "This doesn't concern you. Go home."
"Fuuuuuaaaaaacckk!" The kid held his broken wrist. "Fuckin' KILL HIM!"
The whole gang, about 10 kids, rushed him at once. He caught a baseball bat with his left hand and punched someone in the face with his right. Ripping the bat out of the other kid's hand he jammed it into someone else's gut. He was a flurry of motion, fighting at least two people at once at any given time. When someone whipped out a gun he simply cocked his head to the side to avoid the bullet. He quickly disarmed the youth and put him down for the count too.
"I hope we've all learned to respect the law, kids." The Agent said when the fight was over. He hadn't done any permanent damage, just some broken bones and dislocated shoulders.
When the Agent turned back around, he caught a glimpse of Helios, Format C:, and D-Mac carrying Lyninux down a set of subway stairs down the block. He took off at a sprint, but he was too late. By the time he got to the phone in the subway, all he saw was Format C: disappearing into the handset.