A/N: The first part of this story a wrote for another one ages back. I that bit but not the rest. I've had it hanging around in a spare folder for ages, but when a wrote this I realised it needed something more at the beginning, and that's why it dosen't really fit.
I've also invented a load of names like 'reactors' and 'rehabilitation units', cos I couldn't find a name for them in the film, hope u don't mind.
DISCLAMER: I don't own it, I don't really own the characters I made up cos there real shallow. I'm not makin no money from this or anything else so don't bother suing me, you won't get ne more than this comp, which is jinxed, so u don't want it neway.
Tomorrow Morning
What's more real, inside or outside? Out here things are cold, hard, but real. In there things are cosy but completely made up. That's the physical explanation.
Inside a computer. All wires and hardboards and electricity. But in the mind, more real than anything I've seen out here. Easy to explain though; when your brought up to believe a lie then even the truth is twisted around.
So what's better. A cold hard truth or a cosy lie? When you're fighting for your freedom, truth. When your ignorant, the lie.
***
Neo sat back, watching the green rain of information trickle slowly down the screen. It had taken 3 months, but finally it was finished. All he had to do now was press 'Enter', and it would be the beginning of the end. Of course, the end had begun as soon as he had been taken out of the lie of the matrix, but this was the real end. Now he was going to end the machine's control, the war and the matrix. Pretty good for 3 months work.
'It's done?' Morphieus peered at the screen over Neo's shoulder.
'Yup, wanna do the honours?' He pointed at the 'enter' key. 'Its all ready, all you have to do is activate the program and you can wave bye bye to the matrix.'
Morphious smiled widely. 'You've done good work, Neo. I'll get the Trinity and Tank then we can start!'
***
Kate wandered aimlessly down the street. Nothing better to do. It was Sunday, so no work, no shopping and so no where she had to be. She should go and visit her mum, but she really did not feel like siting in the flowery living room for hour after hour while the old lady prattled on about the garden, the next door nabour, the cat… it wasn't her thing.
She shouldn't be walking along a deserted country lane, hot sun beating down on the back of her neck.
She stopped. A few seconds since she had been walking down a small street in London, now she was walking down the lane to her house.
'Kate!' She looked around. It was her husband, running up to meet her, his arms out stretched, beaming. She smiled and started to walk towards him, when she realised. I don't have a husband; I don't have a house in the country. I live in London in a tiny flat fight beside the ringroad. The scenery around her flickered.
The man she had been walking towards also stopped, and looked at her confusedly, before smiling embarrassed. 'I don't know you do I?'
She shook her head. 'No, but I think your supposed to be my husband, that we live in that thatched cottage behind you, owned by a farmer called Bob,' Her head was starting to hurt, 'but I also think I live in London, with a landlady called Pam. And I'm going out with Roger. This doesn't make sense…' She looked over to the man, who looked similarly confused. 'Your names Tony. I don't know you at all but we've been married for three years and are very happy.'
He nodded. 'Your names Kate, you love chocolate and having your feet tickled. But I've never met you before in my life.'
As he spoke, the leafy road flashed from a London street to a Birmingham housing Estate and back to a Devon country lane. 'It's a dream.' She whispered, shaking slightly. 'Its got to be. And in a minute I'll wake up.' She walked slowly towards Tony, 'Pinch me, and I'll wake up.' As he reached forward the green swirled to grey to black around them. Even as Kate fell forward, she realised that she was waking up.
***
Tom sat back, stretching his arms out and taking a deep breath. There was nothing like running your own business, especially when it was doing this well. The phones where ringing in the background, they where selling faster than they could restock. They kept on putting the prices up to see if they could slow the rush, but still everyone wanted a brand shiny new toaster, or alarm clock, or was it a note book? Tom leaned forwards, resting his arms on his desk. What did his firm make? Chairs? Cabinets?
I don't own a business. It came as shock to remember that he was a shop assistant in a Supermarket.
As he put his head in his hands, the desk flickered to a checkout, then back again.
Such a good dream, and so real…better wake up now. The office disappeared, melting slowly into blackness…then to red.
***
Katriona stood back to admire her handiwork. Ah yes, this picture really did express the speed of the world, all red and black and-
And futuristic? Had she produced this picture? She looked carefully down the great shaft; electricity flicking between huge black reactors, each with millions of red, goo filed pods attached to them.
'What the hell is it?' Said her daughter, coming into the room to admire her mother's latest artwork.
Without thinking, Katriona answered. 'It's the real world.'
She walked slowly towards the picture, her hand stretched out to it. As her fingers touched the rough canvas, the picture began to melt. The red dominated it, swallowing it, flowing out of the picture and covering the room. All Katriona could see was red, she was screaming, she was trying to breath but the red that was drowning her. She needed to get out of it. She stretched forwards, and her fingers pierced the surface of the goo, setting her free into air.
***
As Tayana looked out from her pod, down into the misty depths of the reactor, a man broke the surface of the goo in the pod next to hers. He pulled to mask of his face, as she had down, and turned to look at her, gasping and gulping at the thin air. She just had time to register his panicked expression before a great, spider like creature swooped down on her and grabbed her head painfully, pulling her out of the warm liquid. She felt it twist the back of her head, and to her horror, felt it moving something inside her. The cold, metal claws released her and she fell back into the goo. Before she had time to register relief as the spider moved away to the next pod, pain invaded her senses yet again, as she felt her skin bursting away from her. Dazed she watched as black pipes were pulled into darkness, then she was being pulled too. The liquid was rushing down a black hole; she was going with it. Her battered body rushed down into the unknown.
She crashed into a lake of stagnant water, flailing helplessly with arms that were much to week. As she sunk beneath the surface, a metal hand came out of the sky, grabbing her.
As she was being pulled up, she passed out.
***
Neo looked along the line of people. Each lied out in a plastic box, each punctured with a thousand needles.
Only those between fifteen and twenty-five had been woken. All others would be left in the matrix until the world was developed enough to accept them. Some would never wake, too attached to their false lives to accept the new.
It was hard enough coping with these people. Around the world, they had collected over half a billion. Some where on the one hundred and fifty rebels ships, each taking ten people, but most were in Zion, shipped there be those with small craft with no rehabilitation felicities.
It had been an organisational nightmare, but they had done it, somehow.
As Neo looked over the unending line of sleeping people, he thought of the devastation he had caused. Was it right? Only the morning would tell.
K, can u nice ppl review now? Cos not much point readin all the way down here and not flamin me for all the rubbish u just had to injure