Disclaimers: They belong to the Wachowski brothers, Time-Warner and whoever else…
Oddness warning, might be disturbing on some level…
Crowds of office workers moved along the streets, the traffic blocked up the roads, the air was filled with pollution. There was nothing to indicate that there was a difference now, within the Matrix. As far as it's inhabitants knew, nothing had changed. But there was a difference; a man, born within the Matrix who was changing the rules.
Neo walked through the crowds, finally at ease with his abilities. He cut a swathe through the rush hour populous, a single dark figure moving gracefully through this illusion. Wearing what had become his trademark, trench coat and sunglasses, Neo paused at a newspaper stand, glancing over the headlines, wondering what the machines might say about him today. Of course, they'd added his name to the lists of terrorists counted along with Morpheus. The infamous 'Neo', accused of so very many crimes. He'd read all the articles; the old ones about the terrorist attack on a Government building that had left almost the entire security staff dead, including three unnamed Special Agents, had made him laugh the most. There had been later reports of another fatality among the Special Agents assigned to deal with the terrorist threat and the papers had called him a cold-blooded murder. Not that it could be defined as murder, as far as Neo could see, especially since he'd killed Smith at least once before.
The Agents were still hunting him, though not so obviously. They appeared to be concentrating on other rebels mainly, rebels that they could still deal with. Neo couldn't help wondering what they'd do if he chose to confront them, perhaps they'd run, just like the other two had done, after he'd destroyed Smith. He almost wanted them to come after him now… it was beginning to get boring, all this waiting.
He was about to continue on his way when an open page of a tabloid caught his eyes. Paparazzi photographs of the macabre kind. Neo bought the paper, beginning to read it as he continued down the street. The photographs were the recently released rolls of film from a photographer that had been near by when the latest Special Agent casualty had occurred. They showed the ambulance outside the hotel, where the exit had been. There were police lines, crowds gathering, a covered stretcher carrying a body to the ambulance. A white hand, splattered with blood, still bearing a platinum wedding band, was slightly visible from under the covers. Neo wondered how they'd managed that, since Smith had exploded, as far as he could tell; and he should know, he'd been there. In another photograph a strickened Special Agent sat with his head in his hands; his face couldn't be seen. It was all theatrics, Neo decided, especially the addition of the wedding ring. He supposed it gave the story emotional depth; that they could say this man wasn't just some Special Agent but also a husband and possibly a father. Who ever was in charge of the propaganda for the machines seemed to be doing a pretty good job he had to admit.
Tucking the paper under his arm Neo headed for a near by park. It was somewhere that he'd been used to visiting when he had still believed that this was all real. Now all around him, he saw lies, infinite lies stretching out in every direction. Lies that ensnared humanity.
Reaching the park Neo was surprised to find a woman stilling in his usual 'spot', on the bench the furthest from the children and adults roaming the laid out gardens of the park. She wore a business suit with the skirt just a little shorter than the norm, her long brown hair framing a face partially obscured by her sunglasses. Neo's boots crunched on the gravel path as he approached. She glanced at him, briefly, probably expecting him to pass by. He didn't. In fact, he sat down on the bench too.
"Nice weather, we're having." Neo commented after a minute or so of staring into the distance.
"Oh? Yes, yes I suppose it is." She replied; sounding a little startled that he'd spoken.
There was no further conversation. Neo watched her discreetly, she didn't fidget but she was nervous, he could tell. Good: he couldn't help liking that fact that he could throw people slightly off balance. After a while she stood up and began to walk away. Neo watched her leave, she was pretty, he decided… possibly even prettier than Trinity. Of course, his currently view might have something to do with recent developments that had meant that Trinity was having to spend a lot of time away from him, with Morpheus.
After a few steps the woman turned back slightly, as if to glance at Neo. He grinned at her and she quickly hurried on her way. Steps surprisingly sure on the gravel despite her high-heels.
It had begun to rain by the time he decided to leave the park. He had just reached a more built up commercial area when the light drizzle became a heavy downpour. Neo still continued to move steadily along the street, unbothered by the rain. As he passed by the hurrying office workers, he noticed the woman from earlier, trying to shelter beneath her newspaper and failing miserably.
"Excuse me." He stepped up to her, putting up the umbrella that he was suddenly carrying, to shelter her.
She recognised him and smiled gratefully. "Thank you." She whispered. "Which way are you going?" she gestured along the street.
"I'm not in a hurry. I could walk you to your office…" Neo suggested, chivalrously.
"I couldn't ask you to do that…"
She wasn't wearing her sunglasses now so he could see her blue eyes. Very pretty, Neo decided.
"Honestly, it's no trouble."
"If you're sure. Thank you…" she said as they began to walk.
"Neo."
"Setsuka."
"Setsuka? You don't look Japanese."
"I'm not. But I'm sure your parents didn't name you 'Neo' either."
He grinned.
Setsuka's office wasn't far and they walked in relative silence. Reaching the main entrance the stopped facing each other.
"Thank you… Neo."
"It's alright."
They fell silent.
"I'd better go…" she trailed off.
"Yeah…"
"Umm…" she bit her lip, cutely. "Would you… would you like to go for a drink… sometime?"
"Sure."
"Really? You don't have to if you don't want to." She was looking up at him hopefully.
"Yes, really." Neo smiled broadly at her.
"After I finish work…"
"I'll meet you here."
She was smiling brightly. "I'll see you later, Neo." And then she hurried up the steps into the building.
Neo watched her enter the building before continuing down the street; he had a couple of hours to kill.
Inside the building two Agents stood waiting along a corridor. As the doors of the elevator opened, they turned towards the woman who stepped out. Setsuka moved along the corridor towards them, the click of her shoes sounding rhythmically. Brown and Jones fell into step behind her as she passed.
"Report." She said, without turning or slowing her pace.
"Skeletal reconstruction at 28%." Brown said.
"Physical code defragmentation?" she queried.
"I will see to it." Jones replied, turned down another junction in the corridor.
Entering an office, she sat down, while Brown perched himself on the desk to observe her.
"You have made contact with Anderson?" he enquired.
"Yes. Tonight, I believe, I have a date." Her smile was sinister.
A glance down at her hand suddenly added perfectly applied nail varnish; red shot through with black, that the observant might notice as Chanel Rouge Noir. She held a hand out to Brown for inspection. He peered at her nails curiously.
"Anderson may not break so easily." He commented.
"It will take time." She conceded.
Brown frowned.
"Do you question my methods?" Her voice was deceptively soft.
"Of course not, Agent Smith."
TBC…
After writing "The Same" the point of AI sexual orientation came up and I'm inclined to agree that they would have no real gender definition; so then it's not beyond the realms of possibility that Smith could be rebooted in a female form, until his usual, male one was repaired.
As for the name: Setsuka Sakurazuka is Seishiro's mother and the previous Sakurazukamori (CLAMP's Tokyo Babylon & X/1999).
16:06, 24/05/02