Trials & Tribulations:

Nemesis Awakened

Chapter 3- Acceptance of the Truth

Nemesis opened her eyes. Metal walls, the small mattress, the cold, the reality, it was still there. It was still real. Her brain and heart slowly started to accept the inevitable. There was no going back. She was stuck in this world, brought down from the respected person to...a nobody.

A tear fell down her face, and then another. She was alone in her room. It was ok to cry now. Nemesis buried her face in her pillow sobbing, releasing her frustration and confusion. It never happened. My entire life that I built never happened. It was fabricated by a machine. I was controlled by a machine!

The door to her cabin was opened suddenly, and Nemesis jerked her head around to see who it was. It was that young man. Tank. Isn't that what his name is?

"Are you all right?" Tank asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Bad idea. "No, I'm not all right!" Nemesis hissed, loosing it completely. "I've found out that I've spent my whole life being controlled by a machine! My life was nothing more than a computer simulation. I don't call that all right!"

Tank looked down. "It must be hard."

"Haven't you gone through this, too?" asked Nemesis, wiping away her tears.

"No," Tank said, shaking his head. He turned around so Nemesis could see the back of his head. There was no hole in the back of his head. "I was born here in the real world."

"On this ship?"

"No. I was born in Zion."

"Zion?"

"Zion is the last human city," Tank explained to a very confused Nemesis. He smiled. "You live long enough, you may even see it."

Nemesis gave a shaky smile. "Right now I'm trying to concentrate on just living. Seeing Zion isn't exactly a high priority right now. No offense."

"None taken." Tank got up and pulled the blanket over Nemesis. "Get back to sleep. You're going to need it."

"Why?"

"It's a surprise."

*****

For the most part it was a dreamless sleep for Nemesis. But every so often, she would find herself awake, wondering what Tank's surprise was. Go back to sleep, Nemesis ordered herself. You'll find out soon enough.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!" Tank called from the other side of the door. "We've got work to do."

"I'm coming!" Nemesis half yelled, half yawned as she got out of bed. She put on her boots, ran a hand through her hair (the little that was there), and walked out into the hallway.

Tank led her up to the main deck and the core. Nemesis sat down in one of the chairs, and Tank plugged her in. "All right," he said, taking his seat over by the keyboards. "Do you want to run through the operation programs first, they're major boring shit, or do you want to go through combat training?"

"Is this 'the surprise'?"

"No duh."

"Bring on the combat training!"

*****

"How long?"

Tank turned around to see Morpheus coming up from behind him. "10 hours, sir," he replied. "Honestly, I don't know where she keeps it all."

Morpheus didn't reply for a second. He looked at the computer screens. Nemesis had been able to keep up until now, but she was beginning to show signs of fatigue. Normally he would have gone in and tested her personally, but that seemed too much for one day. "Bring her back, Tank," he ordered, moving over beside Nemesis's chair.

Tank tapped a few keys, and Nemesis was yanked out of the construct. She was silent as Morpheus removed the metal bands and took the data spike out of her head. Nemesis sat up, rubbing a part of her arm that had been struck All of a sudden she realized what she was doing, and looked up at Morpheus. "If this isn't real, why does it hurt?"

"Your mind makes everything real," Morpheus explained. He gave Nemesis a hand up. She wobbled a minute before she was able to stand on her own. "Why don't you go to your room? We'll pick it up again tomorrow."

"Geez, how long was I in there?" she asked turning towards a smiling Tank.

"10 hours."

"I believe you," Nemesis said, giving him a tired smile. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

She went over and climbed down the ladder to the cabins. The location of her cabin was easy to memorize. It was the very last one, at the very back. She pushed the now familiar metal door open, and flopped down on the bed, sliding off her boots. It hit her that she hadn't cried once, hadn't once missed the world that she had come. She took a deep breath.

"Even if I had a choice, I wouldn't go back for anything."

Nemesis rolled over and fell asleep, wishing tomorrow would come faster.

*****

Morning (or the equivalent of it on the Neb) came, and Nemesis got out of bed. She looked around, making sure it wasn't a dream, that she wouldn't wake up back in the attic above the sleazy bar. She didn't. However, she did see a tray that had been set on the bench across from her bed. A small bowl containing a runny egg-like substance, a metal cup with water, and a small spoon were on it.

Realizing how hungry she was, Nemesis grabbed the bowl and spoon, and started eating the "runny eggs". It's not the best stuff in the world, but it's edible. She finished it in record time, then drank the water. She sat back, enjoying it a little. I guess I'd better enjoy anything that seems remotely like a luxury. I'm not going to be seeing a whole lot of them.

Making her way up to the main deck, she found everyone grouped around the core. Morpheus was already plugged in. Tank, noticing her approach, motioned her to sit in the same chair she had been using. "You know the drill, Nemesis. Morpheus is going to meet you when you in there."

Sitting down, Nemesis barely felt the metal bands being secured. She didn't flinch as much when someone put the data spike into her head. She heard Tank tapping on the keyboard. Then she was sucked into the computer.

Nemesis found herself on the top of a small skyscraper. Morpheus was there, dressed in his usual black trench coat. "This is our jump program," he explained without any preamble. "It's designed to teach you to free your mind."

"Free my mind? Haven't we already done that?"

Morpheus smiled slightly. "No, not quite. Let me put it to you this way: the matrix is only a computer system. It has rules, and those rules can be bent and broken. Understand?"

"Yes."

Morpheus ran over and jumped off the roof towards another skyscraper. He landed safely, then turned to look back at Nemesis. She froze, a bit fearful. What if I fall? It came to her that her fears were really stupid. If it's not real, I can't hurt myself. Nemesis, get with it!

Nemesis backed up slightly, crouching down and getting ready to jump........

*****

"She's going to make it," Tank said.

"Right," Neo said, sarcasm dripping all over his voice.

"She will. Just watch."

*****

Nemesis ran forward, jumping up into the air. There was nothing underneath her. Just a little bit further....her hands caught the edge of the roof. "Morpheus!" Nemesis called out. "Help!"

"You have to do this for yourself. I can't do it for you," Morpheus called back.

Nemesis fought tooth and nail to try and get up. She realized she was wasting energy, and let herself hang while trying to figure out how to get up. Free my mind.....my mind! Can I use my mind to get up onto the roof? Only one way to find out......

Nemesis blanked her mind, as she had done before she had jumped. Her mind focused on the roof. She threw herself up, and was surprised when she found herself suddenly standing across from Morpheus. He smiled.

*****

"I told you so," Tank said, turning around and facing Neo.

"She is good, I'll give her that," was all Neo would say. It was all he could say. No one had ever made their first jump before, at least no one that he knew. I'm glad she is on our side.

*****

Nemesis next found herself on a street corner with Morpheus and a whole lot of other people. "Tell me what you see," Morpheus instructed.

"Doctors, nurses, sailors, lawyers......"

"Seemingly ordinary people, right?"

"Right."

The sign turned from Don't Walk to Walk. Everyone crossed, including Morpheus. Nemesis had to walk incredibly fast to keep up. "All of these people are part of the Matrix," he explained. "Most can't be unplugged. They are too dependent on the system. So dependent, that they will fight to protect it at any cost."

Nemesis was half listening. A flash of red had caught her eye. She turned to see a young woman walking by. The woman had bright blonde hair and an equally bright red dress.

"Are you listening, Nemesis?"

"I'm-"

"Look again and tell me what you see."

There was a man in the place of the woman. He pulled out a gun, and aimed it straight at her face. "Freeze," Morpheus ordered the program. Everyone on the street froze, including this mystery man.

"Another simulation?" Nemesis guessed.

"The lesson is simple: if you are not with us, you are with them."

"And they are....?"

"Agents, sentient programs. They move in and out of any person still hardwired to the Matrix. Anyone who has not been unplugged is potentially an agent."

"I take it I shouldn't mess with them?"

"Every man and woman that has stood their ground against an agent has died...exept for one."

"Definitely shouldn't mess with them." Nemesis looked at the agent's face for a moment, then turned back to Morpheus. "Who is the one that beat the agent?"

"Guess."

"Smith?"

Morpheus laughed. "No, it isn't Smith. Smith is a different story entirely."

"You?"

"No."

"Neo? It was Neo, right?"

"Right." Morpheus took a cell phone out of his hand and called a number. "Tank, get us out."

*****

Nemesis sat down in the Neb's galley to eat with the crew. It was the same "runny eggs" and water. She leaned back, sipping the water and looking around the room at her crew mates. She stopped at Smith. His face looked familiar.

He looks like the agent I saw in the training program. But....if he is an agent......what the hell is he doing here? Nemesis set the cup down. I'll have to find out.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Nemesis was startled out of her reverie by Trinity. She looked up. "Huh?"

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Oh, I was just wondering what this stuff was made of," Nemesis lied. "Looks like runny eggs to me."

"It's supposed to be made of 'good stuff': vitamins, minerals, the like," Jade said, entering the conversation.

"You think they would have made it taste better," Neo added.

"You'd be surprised what you can get used to," Smith commented, speaking up for the first time. "I know I was."

Nemesis took a bite and swallowed it. "It's better than some of the crap I.....remember tasting, and where I lived, I tasted some real crap."

"Well, this is much better than crap," Tank said, smiling and taking another bite.

The meal finished in relative quiet, and the crew dispersed to do work or to go to their quarters. Nemesis, exhausted from training, went back down under to her cabin for some sleep. She flopped down on the bed, too tired to pull off the boots, too tired to think about training, the matrix, the agents, or Smith. She just slept, waiting for morning so she could start over again.