CHAPTER ONE
(the hell I'm helpless)
Captured. Neo silently cursed himself for the hundredth time.
The problem was, it was his own stupidity which had led to this. Normally he could keep his cool in any battle. Even when he was outnumbered, he could usually come up with a way out of the situation.
But this time was different. This time, he had Trinity with him, and they were both unarmed. Not that Trinity couldn't hold her own in a battle. It was just that - she didn't have his skills.
He glanced over at her, encased in an unbreakable glass tube, as he was. She was still unconscious.
Neo stood straight and stiff, refusing to humiliate himself by pounding on the glass walls. Over a thousand robots surrounded them, all ready to kill him if so much as a finger left the security of the glass cage. He couldn't escape without Trinity, but escape was impossible if he had to carry Trinity and protect her while she was unconscious.
He had to wait for her to wake up. Then they could formulate a plan. It had already been almost an hour since he had first opened his eyes and found himself here, in this nightmare.
Neo still wasn't sure what exactly had happened. Morpheus had made sure that Zion was completely System-free. But somehow they had been infiltrated. He remembered with cold horror how a trusted member of the population had knocked innocently on his door. Trinity was with him inside the room, and they let the 'human' in . . . before they could even ask what was wrong, the morphing process was over and a leader of the System stood before them.
How had he and Trinity been captured? Neo was the One. He could take care of himself, and a few hundred others.
He couldn't remember. He hated it. But right now it was irrelevant. All he wanted was for Trinity to wake up so that they could get out of here.
Then suddenly, the throng of robots parted. An old man with white hair and a white beard, dressed in an impeccable white robe, made his way down the line of robots until he was standing in front of Neo.
Neo's face was implacable. He recognized the brilliant eyes, the slight, mocking sneer. It was the Architect, the designer of the Matrix, the mastermind behind everything.
"Do you know why you're here, Neo?" the Architect asked.
Neo didn't answer the question. He stared hard into the eyes of the other man. "What are you going to do to us?"
"You didn't answer my question," the Architect noted calmly.
"Answer mine." Neo's short sentence was an order.
The Architect almost seemed to smile. "Are we clear on which of us is captured and helpless?"
"The hell I'm helpless," Neo answered coolly.
"The girl is." The Architect nodded at Trinity, a gesture that was nearly imperceptible. "She does not comprehend the computer codes that control the Matrix and everything in it. She does not have the power or the skills of The One. She has no weapons, and she is unconscious."
Neo's teeth clenched, but no one looking at him would have guessed by the expressionless look on his face.
"Not even you, Neo, can get her out of here alive," the Architect observed tranquilly. "Yet you will not leave without her."
The Architect was right, but hell would freeze over before Neo admitted it. His impassive façade broke, and he nearly sneered at the Architect. "Listen, I'm sure you already know what will happen, how it will happen, when it will happen. Destiny, right? Fate. The irrevocable law of nature. We don't really have choices. It is an illusion created by those with power. All that crap. Now you just have to let me in on the future."
The Architect raised an eyebrow. "Very well. You and the girl will have your memories wiped, and you will be deposited in the Matrix. It will happen; it is destined. I would advise you not to fight it."
"I am the One. The people of Zion will find me, and my memory will be restored. And when that happens, I will look for Trinity." Neo's tone implied suppressed triumph. "I will find her. And you know it."
This time the Architect smiled for real. "The people of Zion will not find you."
Neo knew he was being baited, but he asked anyway. "Why not?"
"Zion has been infiltrated by a power you cannot even begin to imagine. Don't you remember? You are the One, and yet you were defeated and captured."
Neo's blood ran cold.
"Would you like to know why I'm not just eradicating you?" The Architect could be a jolly grandfather from the Matrix, except for the immaculate clothes, the intellect in his eyes, the desire for perfection that practically emanated from him . . .
"Would it help me out of this?" Neo asked, unable to help it.
"No. If the One is eliminated, then another one rises. It cannot be helped. It is an immutable flaw of the Matrix, another bar to the perfection that I will someday achieve. But not now. Now, you must be kept alive, or another will rise, perhaps greater than you. He will be the One. And he might be able to save Zion."
Neo was tempted to just kill himself. If the Architect was right, then another man would emerge. He would be the One, and he might be able to save Zion. He doubted Morpheus could. He doubted Morpheus even knew that he and Trinity had been captured.
But he couldn't commit suicide. There was only one reason. Trinity.
Neo suspected that the Architect was well aware of that, and had kept Trinity unconscious on purpose. Damn his soul . . . if he even had one.
The Architect turned and left. Neo feared that if he blasted his way out of the glass cage, the robots would swarm him before he could reach Trinity, perhaps hurt her before he could protect her. So he faced her unconscious form and started pounding loudly on his glass tube, no longer caring for his humiliation at the futility of it all. Perhaps it wasn't futile. Perhaps Trinity would wake up. Perhaps they could still escape . . .
Then a sudden cloud of blue smoke rose up in Neo's tube, engulfing him in a matter of seconds. He fought against inhaling it for as long as he could, until he glimpsed Trinity's tube. She wasn't there anymore.
Neo's eyes became wet with tears, whether from the gas or the loss of Trinity, he wasn't sure. He no longer cared. He knew that he and Trinity wouldn't remember each other, and that a great distance would separate them in the Matrix.
He gave in to the azure smoke, the fog that was a product of endless, perfect formulas devised by the Architect's genius.
Neo was floating, floating, in an infinite sea of black . . .
Welcome to the Matrix, he thought irrationally, considering his situation, before he lost consciousness.
(the hell I'm helpless)
Captured. Neo silently cursed himself for the hundredth time.
The problem was, it was his own stupidity which had led to this. Normally he could keep his cool in any battle. Even when he was outnumbered, he could usually come up with a way out of the situation.
But this time was different. This time, he had Trinity with him, and they were both unarmed. Not that Trinity couldn't hold her own in a battle. It was just that - she didn't have his skills.
He glanced over at her, encased in an unbreakable glass tube, as he was. She was still unconscious.
Neo stood straight and stiff, refusing to humiliate himself by pounding on the glass walls. Over a thousand robots surrounded them, all ready to kill him if so much as a finger left the security of the glass cage. He couldn't escape without Trinity, but escape was impossible if he had to carry Trinity and protect her while she was unconscious.
He had to wait for her to wake up. Then they could formulate a plan. It had already been almost an hour since he had first opened his eyes and found himself here, in this nightmare.
Neo still wasn't sure what exactly had happened. Morpheus had made sure that Zion was completely System-free. But somehow they had been infiltrated. He remembered with cold horror how a trusted member of the population had knocked innocently on his door. Trinity was with him inside the room, and they let the 'human' in . . . before they could even ask what was wrong, the morphing process was over and a leader of the System stood before them.
How had he and Trinity been captured? Neo was the One. He could take care of himself, and a few hundred others.
He couldn't remember. He hated it. But right now it was irrelevant. All he wanted was for Trinity to wake up so that they could get out of here.
Then suddenly, the throng of robots parted. An old man with white hair and a white beard, dressed in an impeccable white robe, made his way down the line of robots until he was standing in front of Neo.
Neo's face was implacable. He recognized the brilliant eyes, the slight, mocking sneer. It was the Architect, the designer of the Matrix, the mastermind behind everything.
"Do you know why you're here, Neo?" the Architect asked.
Neo didn't answer the question. He stared hard into the eyes of the other man. "What are you going to do to us?"
"You didn't answer my question," the Architect noted calmly.
"Answer mine." Neo's short sentence was an order.
The Architect almost seemed to smile. "Are we clear on which of us is captured and helpless?"
"The hell I'm helpless," Neo answered coolly.
"The girl is." The Architect nodded at Trinity, a gesture that was nearly imperceptible. "She does not comprehend the computer codes that control the Matrix and everything in it. She does not have the power or the skills of The One. She has no weapons, and she is unconscious."
Neo's teeth clenched, but no one looking at him would have guessed by the expressionless look on his face.
"Not even you, Neo, can get her out of here alive," the Architect observed tranquilly. "Yet you will not leave without her."
The Architect was right, but hell would freeze over before Neo admitted it. His impassive façade broke, and he nearly sneered at the Architect. "Listen, I'm sure you already know what will happen, how it will happen, when it will happen. Destiny, right? Fate. The irrevocable law of nature. We don't really have choices. It is an illusion created by those with power. All that crap. Now you just have to let me in on the future."
The Architect raised an eyebrow. "Very well. You and the girl will have your memories wiped, and you will be deposited in the Matrix. It will happen; it is destined. I would advise you not to fight it."
"I am the One. The people of Zion will find me, and my memory will be restored. And when that happens, I will look for Trinity." Neo's tone implied suppressed triumph. "I will find her. And you know it."
This time the Architect smiled for real. "The people of Zion will not find you."
Neo knew he was being baited, but he asked anyway. "Why not?"
"Zion has been infiltrated by a power you cannot even begin to imagine. Don't you remember? You are the One, and yet you were defeated and captured."
Neo's blood ran cold.
"Would you like to know why I'm not just eradicating you?" The Architect could be a jolly grandfather from the Matrix, except for the immaculate clothes, the intellect in his eyes, the desire for perfection that practically emanated from him . . .
"Would it help me out of this?" Neo asked, unable to help it.
"No. If the One is eliminated, then another one rises. It cannot be helped. It is an immutable flaw of the Matrix, another bar to the perfection that I will someday achieve. But not now. Now, you must be kept alive, or another will rise, perhaps greater than you. He will be the One. And he might be able to save Zion."
Neo was tempted to just kill himself. If the Architect was right, then another man would emerge. He would be the One, and he might be able to save Zion. He doubted Morpheus could. He doubted Morpheus even knew that he and Trinity had been captured.
But he couldn't commit suicide. There was only one reason. Trinity.
Neo suspected that the Architect was well aware of that, and had kept Trinity unconscious on purpose. Damn his soul . . . if he even had one.
The Architect turned and left. Neo feared that if he blasted his way out of the glass cage, the robots would swarm him before he could reach Trinity, perhaps hurt her before he could protect her. So he faced her unconscious form and started pounding loudly on his glass tube, no longer caring for his humiliation at the futility of it all. Perhaps it wasn't futile. Perhaps Trinity would wake up. Perhaps they could still escape . . .
Then a sudden cloud of blue smoke rose up in Neo's tube, engulfing him in a matter of seconds. He fought against inhaling it for as long as he could, until he glimpsed Trinity's tube. She wasn't there anymore.
Neo's eyes became wet with tears, whether from the gas or the loss of Trinity, he wasn't sure. He no longer cared. He knew that he and Trinity wouldn't remember each other, and that a great distance would separate them in the Matrix.
He gave in to the azure smoke, the fog that was a product of endless, perfect formulas devised by the Architect's genius.
Neo was floating, floating, in an infinite sea of black . . .
Welcome to the Matrix, he thought irrationally, considering his situation, before he lost consciousness.