The Sixth Matrix
Chapter 4
Cole
A motorcycle's revved engine came into the background of noise, getting closer very fast. When it stopped, it seemed right next to Cole. "Cole?" Cole whipped around and found another guy, about the same age as the man named Jakek, on a motorcycle looking at him.
"Cole," he asked again as he got off his bike and picked up Jakek. Cole nodded yes. These people could help. They were friends, said a voice in his head. Cole thanked God for instinct and asked, "Are you his friend," indicating Jakek.
"Yes. Hurry up and get on the bike, sit in front of me." Cole did as he was told. "My name is Ronin."
Ronin ripped part of Jakek's torn shirt and wrapped it around himself and Jakek, tying them to each other. Ronin got onto the bike and started the engine back up. A cell phone rang; Ronin yanked it out of his trench coat and answered, "Yes?"
Ronin listened for a second and said, "Okay," hung up, then turned to Cole. "Cole? This may seem sudden but, you're gonna have to come with us. We're not trying to kidnap you, we're going to help you, okay?"
Cole nodded; his lower lip shivering.
Ronin smiled. "Okay. I'm—," Ronin picked up Cole and put him in front of him, Ronin in the middle, Jakek tied to Ronin and sitting on the back of the bike. Sirens could be heard in the distance. Ronin started the bike again and tore down the road, heading for an old warehouse about four miles from where they were.
Cole held on tightly to the bike, sobbing as they sped down the road.
Neo
They had their station set up, so they could take Cole out of the Matrix…Morpheus was up to something. This whole thing was strange, a last minute premonition that Morpheus had earlier that morning. It was insane.
Cell phone. Neo answered it immediately and Tank's voice came on the line. "We got problems."
"Tell me."
"Ronin has three Agents on his ass and Jakek is already half-dead. Cole is going into shock and their bike just blew."
"Just what?"
"Just blew. They're only two blocks from you but since Jakek…"
"I'm on it." Neo hung up and turned to Morpheus and said, "I'll be back." Morpheus nodded and continued setting up the 'stage'.
Neo's estimation of the city's current stability was bad. He glanced up and down the crowded street he was on: the traffic outside was very busy, taxis honking, sirens screaming, people—BAM! Neo flew back several yards and hit a car; hard. "Ooh!"
He started to get to his feet when something yanked him up by his shirt and threw him across the street. "AAA!" He hit a few trashcans but was able to roll to his feet. It happened fast; fast as in, about five seconds. He looked up at the street in front of him, seeing the Matrix's pattern and what it was generated to look like.
An Agent. No, two Agents. Not good, but not bad. Just a delay. The nearest Agent was about twenty feet away, walking toward him with a look of pure hatred on his face. If looks could kill. The other Agent was walking down the sidewalk about thirty yards down the sidewalk.
Hold on—weren't there three?
A sudden blow to his back, causing him to fly right into a taxi's car door answered his question. Well, he almost hit the car door. Instead, he maneuvered up, thinking quickly, flying past the numbers, not caring if he broke the pattern because they already knew where he was.
Neo flew up and landed on top of a Greyhound bus that was stopped at an intersection. "Come get me," he shouted, noticing Ronin dragging Jakek with a little kid in the corner of his eye.
Neo saw the Agents say something to each other and then turn and face him. Two walked straight for him in a casual manner, the other obviously heading for the others. Great. Now I've got problems. Then Neo recognized one of the Agents walking toward him. Agent Smith. The one he had defeated several times in the past…the one with motive for revenge.
Neo braced himself as the two Agents leaped up onto the opposite end of the bus. "Not this time, Neo. I WON'T work in the ENERGY FIELDS!" Smith leaped at him, Neo dodged by jumping up and flipping over him, and the other Agent dived at Neo, hitting him and pinning him to an imaginary ground in the air.
THUNK! Neo hit the top of the bus, head first. Remember what Morpheus said: Bend the numbers, use the pattern. You are a virus to the Matrix, an enemy that can destroy ALL of the Matrix. You are a virus. Bend the pattern, the numbers.
Neo's eyes flickered with an image of green numbers floating everywhere, the Matrix, and pictured them bending around him, as if making two solid bodies split in two. Neo blinked and then thought: BEND! Agent Smith doubled over in pain as he was getting up and suddenly, he blew part, as if a C4 bomb exploded inside his stomach.
Agent Smith was gone.
"Damn," said the Agent pinning Neo. "He's got the energy fields!" The weight suddenly let off of Neo's back as he did the same thing to the Agent pinning him. When he heard what sounded like a child screaming, he looked left and saw Ronin trying to fight the last Agent. He wasn't doing to good.
Neo pushed himself to his feet and flew.
He was exhausting; bending and flying were hard. He aimed at the Agent that was in mid-combat with Ronin and flew into action with a flying sidekick into the Agents' back. The Agent yelled in pain as he broke his back with fast and strong momentum.
The Agent flew through a window of a store, causing pedestrians along the street and sidewalk to scream. When the Agent hit the floor in the little store the body morphed out of the Agent and turned into a suit-and-tie businessman…a dead one.
Neo immediately looked around for another Agent, to see if they would try again. There weren't any nearby…Neo helped Ronin off the ground and said, "You get Cole, I'll handle Jakek."
Neo picked up Jakek and laid him over his shoulders and around his back. Neo couldn't hear exactly what Ronin was saying to Cole but they had better hurry. The Agents would recover from being killed soon.
You see, when an Agent is killed, their program is reset. They still have their memories of what happened before they were killed but it takes awhile to relocate their file and then send it to their next 'host'. A host being any human on the street that lives in the Matrix.
In less than a minute, Neo and Ronin were in the old warehouse. Neo walked into the 'stage' for Cole and said, "Jakek needs a phone. Now."
Morpheus said, "There's one right around the corner in the room on the left," without looking at him. He was focused on Cole. Neo carried Jakek into the other room and found the phone, dialed Tank and said, "Here's Jakek. Bring him back and get Trinity and the others to give him immediate medical attention. He needs it bad."
"Gotcha," replied Tank and Neo put the receiver next to Jakek's ear and in about a second, Jakek was out of the Matrix.
When Neo returned to the stage, Ronin was hooking up more equipment. Neo walked over beside Ronin and whispered, "What's going on?" Ronin replied without looking at him, "Morpheus is talking to Cole right now, but it doesn't look good. Cole is in shock and Morpheus isn't sure if Cole's answer should be counted. Morpheus is considering trying again some other time."
That just about blew it. "What do you mean 'some other time'? The Matrix is activating their new tracer program in—," Neo looked at his watch, "—about ten freaking minutes. If we don't start the download—," Neo was cut off by Morpheus, whom had quietly walked into the room with Cole at his side.
"Neo. Calm down." Morpheus's words were sluggish and hesitant. As if something was…distracting him and he wasn't focused. It wasn't like Morpheus. "Cole, that chair right there." Morpheus pointed and Cole went to sit down.
The child walked like zombie, only looking at his destination and walked there…he was definitely in shock. A cell phone rang and Morpheus answered, "Yes?"
"…Okay…done." Morpheus put the phone back and informed them of what was going on. "Frain is back home; she saw the Oracle without any incidents. Tank has got Cole's position in the real world and is on his way there." Morpheus turned to Cole. "Focus…don't be scared. Okay?"
Cole made a silent gulp and nodded.
Morpheus smiled, turned and dialed a number on the cell phone…, "Okay, Tank? We're coming back as soon as you have Cole. Done? Good." Cole suddenly started shaking and then his body began to dissolve and was gone a few seconds later. "There's a phone on the other side of this building. Let's get there and get out of here."
In a few minutes, they reached the phone and Jakek went first. His bleeding body turned into a database design and then got sucked into the phone. Morpheus went next. Then Ronin…Neo sighed as he picked up the phone. Another day of hard work… He picked up the phone, put it to his ear and everything went black…
A few
Neo knew better than to walk over and say hi to Cole. The kid was in shock when they brought him to reality and was know doubt panicked…but judging from the kid's background and how he handled that…thing that happened earlier, he would understand everything sooner than anyone had.
Neo got up and walked down to the Med. Room. He was hungry for some affection after all the action…instead; he got a high-strung Trinity who shooed him out when he got down there. Exhausted from the bending and flying that he had done in the Matrix, Neo went to his room, collapsed on the bed and closed his eyes…
Malcolm
He had told him that the ghosts had been…violent… Hopefully he'd be okay; Cole could make it. He always had help from people that knew what they were doing…himself, Crowe, his mother…certain ghosts…it was no doubt that Cole was haunted.
He had a sixth sense. A God-given gift…but it wasn't exactly a miracle. He could see the dead, the unseen, the still-living but dead people that were haunted themselves by their past and their death…it was very sad…
But I helped him get past the horror and see the truth in his gift, Crowe thought proudly. He turned onto the street and immediately noticed the glass on the ground around the stairs that led into Cole's home. His mother, Lynn Sear, was crying on the porch, saying something he couldn't make out.
Malcolm's pace increased and when he reached Lynn, he asked, "What happened here?" Then he grimaced…after being dead for a year and two months, he still talked to the living, the people that couldn't answer…like his wife…
Malcolm stepped into the house through the already open door. The place was ransacked, shards of glass broken all over the floor and chairs were overturned and, when Crowe entered the kitchen, the cupboards had been ripped off the walls. Malcolm immediately knew what ghost did this.
Cole had been trying to help him for weeks, but the boy only tried to kill him over and over again…looks like he…might've succeeded. Hopefully Cole was okay… Somehow, tears formed in Malcolm's eyes and he tried to blink them away but couldn't…
Cole was the only person that kept his sane. The only person that helped him see the truth too…that awakened him…if Cole was dead then he couldn't live…live dead anymore. His life would be over and he would be stuck watching his wife date another man and watch his wife live her life…a life that he should've lived with her…and was, but she didn't know it and it wasn't the same.
Wasn't the same at all.
Crowe walked out of the house and sat next Lynn, hoping that she would voice her painful thoughts. If she did, and probably would eventually, she would most likely say something that Crowe would be able to piece together.
He sat next to her as she cried for minutes.
The minutes slowly turned into hours when she suddenly looked up at the sky and said, "At least I didn't see the body…at least—," she started sobbing again.
Crowe, knowing from experience, that she wouldn't be able to say anything else without crying so hard he would be able to make it out.
"At least I didn't see the body," she had said. Malcolm slowly realized that the body hadn't been there when she came home from work. It had to have happened yesterday since this was morning…the body hadn't been found so there was some chance that Cole was hiding in sanctuary. Some chance.
Malcolm left Lynn Sear crying on her doorsteps and he walked south, toward the monastery. On his way, he passed many people and a thought struck him. If I only see what I want to then why can't I see the dead. He stopped walking and someone walked right through him. About fifteen people were scattered about on the sidewalk.
He closed his eyes and thought, I want to see the dead. And if they want help, I am help. Slowly, he opened his eyes and instead of seeing the fifteen people on the sidewalk, he saw about thirty to thirty-five. About half of them had obvious fatal wounds, the blood unmoving from the various wounds, the flesh visible but unnoticed by the people who had the wounds.
He had opened his eyes into hell.
There were ghosts everywhere, just like Cole said. They were all around him, sitting on sidewalks and—he noticed one ghost looking around. A young girl with half her head dented one way; her right arm and leg broken. It wasn't the sight of the blood, the insides that disturbed Malcolm…it was how the ghosts didn't even notice that they had broken arms and gunshot wounds.
And I thought that Cole couldn't handle it…Cole is unbelievably strong! To see this and still stay sane! It's almost impossible…Malcolm restarted his walk toward the monastery. No doubt that he had to find Cole and tell him that they could work together…not with Cole just seeing…but with Malcolm's help with dealing with the ghosts.
Now Cole could really help them. The undead.
Now I can…
Is it
Cole was lying in his bed. He was alone in his new room aboard the Neb. And Morpheus's explanation of this 'Matrix' was impossible. How could there be a fake world built my machines that took over the earth years and years ago? It sounded more like the movie Terminator than anything else did.
But even though Cole denied it, deep down he knew it was right. And even though he knew Morpheus was right, greater mysteries were trapped in his head. I see dead people. How did I see them if they were not even real? Am I insane? No…Dr. Malcolm is dead and only I could see him. The ghosts were real; well, real in the Matrix sense.
So how did I see ghosts, Cole thought. And why did I see ghosts. It couldn't have been a gift…
"Cole."
Cole jumped, the deep voice scaring him. He turned on his side to see Morpheus standing in the doorway. "Oh…" Morpheus seemed to study him, his eyes seemed to be looking for something deeper than what was on the outside…, "Sorry if I awoke you, Cole. But there is something I need to discuss with you…"
Cole sat up and watched as Morpheus took a seat nearby. "I believe that you are—special—with the Matrix. You do understand the matrix right? What it is?" Cole nodded. "Good. We've been watching you for quite sometime but…we've noticed several glitches in the Matrix. They occur everywhere but…you seem to see them and you either run from them or you talk to them."
Cole blinked. Is he talking about…the ghosts?
Morpheus continued. "Somehow you see these problems and you fix them…only you're not a machine. You are a human." Morpheus leaned forward and said, "Do you know what I'm talking about?"
Cole, not knowing what to expect, shook his head 'no' fearfully.
Morpheus sat back. "In that case, we'll wait. Get some rest Cole. You have several procedures to undergo before you can actually be able to walk around the ship…" Morpheus left the room and Cole lay back down…procedures? What does that mean?
Cole gripped his pillow and hoped that everything would be alright…
"
The voice sounded familiar and Cole opened his eyes and—almost screamed. Needles were jabbed into his chest and all over his body. He felt weak—he tried to scream but he couldn't even move his jaw…he could only hear and see.
Somebody, a woman, noticed that he had awakened. "It's okay Cole. We'll explain everything when you can…" The voice seemed to fade away and his eyes began to close…Cole's brain shut down as the acupuncture process continued…
Cole
Yes. The Matrix. The mystery, the confusing alternative reality that he couldn't comprehend. That he had lived in all his life. The lie. So was Morpheus telling the truth about who and what we were? Yes. Cole knew now, after the several times he had slept, touched, experienced things in the real world that the Matrix was the Matrix.
That Morpheus, the fabled hacker, was a leader in a war against machines.
Why me? The thought raced through his mind. Why me? I'm a kid, not an adult like Morpheus or the others… But he knew, in the back of his head that the thought was wrong. There was also Frain, the girl, Zone, the guy with Tank. Jakek and Ronin…Cole sat up.
Jakek and Ronin risked their lives for me…and what have I done for them? Not to mention that Jakek was really hurt when the ghost tore him up… Cole stood up. He had to see Jakek, to thank him. Jakek and Ronin. Were they just brought out of the Matrix too?
It seemed like only Neo, the 'one' Morpheus mentioned, Morpheus and all the other adults knew what they were doing. It looked like the others were just doing what they said…, "But how do they get in and out of the Matrix," Cole thought out loud.
"Because they have faith in me," came a voice from the door, startling Cole. Cole looked up to see Morpheus standing in the doorway, the door open. "Jakek and Ronin only wish to free mankind and be alone. And they, like most of the people on the Neb, have accepted me as their leader. Unfortunately, some haven't and probably never will."
Frain came to Cole's mind. She was pretty but also had that rebellious face underneath the happy smiles and hugs. No doubt there were a few others too.
"Cole. I must say that we brought you fast. The Matrix is confusing and you have to be there to understand it but I ask you this. Anything that Neo says, does, or tells you to do, do it. You must trust him more than anything or anyone ever."
Cole wasn't listening. "What about my mom?"
Morpheus looked down at the ground, then slowly raised his head back up. "You can't see her. She's gone a part of the past. A fake, a lie. But she did care for you, and that's important. She—when we win back our freedom—will meet you once more and…"
Cole didn't listen to the rest. Morpheus was too strange, a little too weird. He seemed to have a hidden energy just waiting to be released inside of him. Judging by the way the others acted around him since Cole had met him, Morpheus had changed on the morning that he had taken Cole to the real world.
No doubt a few people aboard the Neb wouldn't appreciate that Cole's presence…
"So
Morpheus sighed. "I don't know." A few seconds later he added, "I do know that I may have made a mistake. Or at least the Oracle did."
Tank looked at the ground. "I was watching the Matrix last night. The AI have put up the new program. We now have limited time in the Matrix. Judging by how it's tracked down other groups fighting them, we've got a time frame of only three hours."
Morpheus shook his head. "This doesn't help but—," he leaned forward, that determined look crossing his face, "—we will win. The Matrix can't help us forever. I just fear that I've made a deadly mistake that could cost our race."
Tank shook his head no. "You didn't. It's always possible that the Oracle was wrong or—''
Morpheus cut him off. "No. I think I did. The Oracle has always been right. I haven't and never will be."
Tank said, "Nobody's perfect. Nobody can be." He added with hesitance, "That includes the Oracle."
Morpheus stood up on that and almost glared at Tank. "What do you think? Should we start training Cole with the others or let him settle in. He may be our—''
"Wake up Morpheus!" Tank frowned, frustration clouding his eyebrows. "Has it ever occurred to you that there might, just might, be two—''
"NO!" Morpheus, this time, was literally yelling at him. "I've made a mistake! Not the Oracle. Not anybody else. Just ME!" Morpheus stormed out of the room leaving Tank alone to think.
So what exactly have you done Morpheus? The question, along with others, flashed in and out of Tank's head. Shit, concluded Tank. Only once before has Morpheus ever yelled at anybody. And that was when Trinity had been wounded, I was temporarily blind and Mouse was sick with regitimus.
Tank put his head in his hands.
It's going to happen soon.
The very thought scared him…but at the same time filled him with a kind of peacefulness. It was hard to explain. That he would be living and fighting in what the Oracle prophesized to be the 'First of the End Times'. It was a scary thought; mainly because millions were to die in order to free the other billions. Hopefully everything would work out like the Oracle said…but what if she was wrong about Frain. And Cole.
Could it be? The Oracle… Tank sighed. The end was getting closer and was probably much closer than anyone thought…
Frain
"You and two others are alike. You will change not only the Matrix, but the whole real world."
