The Trip of a Life (Death) Time

Author: Quin Firefrorefiddle

Chapter 2

I've always been in control. I've lost crew members, sure, it happens to every captain. But then it's either the victim's fault, the Agent's fault, or pure blind bad luck in a few cases.

Treachery has never taken a ship crew member before. Utter betrayal has never been an option for crew members. It just doesn't happen. That's why we have the Oracle, to tell us if that kind of thing would happen.

Yeah, so she doesn't give the answers, but surely she didn't tell Cypher to become a traitor? She couldn't have. Why didn't she WARN us for heaven's sake?!

Sure, there are anarchists and fifth columnists and even the occasional monarchist in Zion, but we watch the newbies for a reason. Sometimes a screwball freeborn might sneak in, but we watch the newbies for months. Standard procedure. So what happened? Yeah, Cypher was a loner, and a little weird, but we all were. Some of us still are, or still were. Look at Switch, she barely talked to anybody but Apoc and sometimes Trinity. And she'd join the rest in trying to shut Mouse up. But that was hard to resist sometimes. And Apoc wasn't much better.

I TRUSTED Cypher. He was a crew mate, he had been with us for years. I knew he would have preferred to be a bit more comfortable, but that's why he always spent half of his wages in Zion to find stuff for his room.

Come to think of it, he usually referred to it as his cell. Wonder why I didn't pick up on that.

Of course the other half of his wages went to the poorer and more desperate women of Zion who condescended to spend the night with him.

But Cypher, well, I don't know when he turned. That's what's bugging me, I know why, but not when. What was the moment that made him decide that his so called "happiness" in the Matrix was worth our lives?

When did he decide to trust the Agents over us?

When did he begin to hate me? Why didn't he talk to me about it? We could have sent him to Zion if that's what he needed, at least he'd be safer there. There'd be more girls.

Of course none would date him, but he'd be able to find prostitutes easier.

But when did I start seeing Cypher with such contempt as to think a thought like that about him? I thought that long before he died. Is that what he picked up on? But he could have changed-

He would have had to change who he was to have the crew like him, and if ever Cypher was anything, he was an individualist. He always was difficult to figure, but he liked it that way.

His name was certainly appropriate.