Chapter 2

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-----"Who could that be?"

-----"I'm not sure, Kavel. Your father's supposed to be home in a week and not before."

-----Kavel felt her way to the door, taking each step with an automatic amount of care to make sure that she didn't run into anything. As soon as she felt the cold metal of the door handle, she stopped and said, "Who's there?"

-----"Captain Morpheus of the Nebuchadnezzar," came a low, pleasant sounding voice. "I'm here to talk to Kavel Drogen."

-----"Holy crap!" Kavel exclaimed and threw open the door. As she did, she felt the rush of air being pulled into the room, and she sensed that Morpheus was not alone. "Who else is there with you?"

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-----Morpheus looked at the girl who stood before him. She was only slightly shorter than him with a strong, wiry frame that showed that she was physically fit despite her infirmity. She kept her eyes closed but that was expected. He would be surprised to come across a blind person who kept his or her eyes open.

He was surprised, though, when he saw her identify the presence of multiple people. "How can you tell I'm not alone?"

-----"Air currents," Kavel replied with a slight inclination of her head. "I feel the air rush in the doorway and could feel the air streams made by the presence of more than one person."

-----Morpheus smiled and looked back at the two people behind him. "That's rather impressive. Behind me are two of my crew: Trinity and Neo."

-----Kavel seemed to rise up in surprise as she said, quieter than the last time, "Triple holy crap!" Her jaw dropped to the floor as she thought, This is the single coolest thing that's ever happened to me. No other words would come reliably to her lips. Instead, she held out her hand a little bit away from herself and soon felt it gripped in a firm handshake. When the hand was released, it was gripped by another. Neo, probably, she thought, judging by the texture of the skin and pressure of his grip. "Neo," she said. Then Trinity took hold of her hand and she was able to feel the softer skin on her hand. "Trinity."

-----"How could you tell?" Trinity asked her. Both she and Neo were as equally surprised as Morpheus was at her talents.

-----"It's the skin, the pressure of the grip, and the smell coming off of your body. Girls just seem to smell differently than men."

-----"That they do," Trinity agreed with a grin. Still holding Kavel's hand, she turned it to see the bandage that covered the plug that had been implanted upon her forearm. "Did it hurt when you had the implants put in?"

-----"Like nothing else I'd ever felt before." She let go of Trinity's hand, turned around, and held up her brown hair so that the three could see the bandage over the plug in the back of her head. "It still hurts because the skin is still trying to heal over it. I was given some pills for pain, but I'm having to use them less and less.

-----Morpheus nodded and then noticed Kavel's mother walk up behind her. "You must be Mrs. Drogen."

-----"You may call me Natha." She, too, exchanged handshakes with the three. "Would you like to come in?"

-----"Yes, thank you." The three of them entered and when they had all sat down, Morpheus began to speak. "I spoke with Marshael and he told me about your daughter and what she's trying to do. I don't know how many captains would be willing to take her onto their ship and since I was here, I thought it would be best for her to join us."

-----"Seriously?" Kavel exclaimed.

-----"Yes. We have some of the best equipment and the best crew in all of Zion and so you'd be perfectly safe and have the highest chance of success."

-----Morpheus's words made her realize that she was, at that time, more exciting to be meeting the three before her than the prospect of being able to see. She kept silent, though, not quite sure if she should thank him or start pummeling him and the others with questions about…everything. It was her mother that then said, "So, she will be going with you?"

-----"Yes, that is correct."

-----"When?"

-----"When we leave Zion. Our plan for departure is early tomorrow morning and so she will need to get packed before too much time passes."

-----"She can probably come with us tonight," Trinity included. "It might be a good idea to get her acclimated to the ship and get her a place to sleep on board. We can also introduce her to the rest of the crew."

-----"I can't thank you enough."

-----Though the others saw Natha as a rather poised individual, Kavel noticed the subtle variances in her speech pattern. "Are you alright mom?"

-----"Yes, dear, I'm fine." Natha sighed, knowing that she could not hide how she felt from her daughter. She looked directly at Morpheus and repeated, "I can't thank you enough for taking her with you?"

-----"I made a promise to Switch that I would look in on your family and I intend to keep it."

-----Then Natha turned to Neo and looked him straight in the eyes. "Your ship hasn't had the best reputation for keeping its crew alive." Her look softened, though, before she spoke again. "However, I have full confidence in its new crew members and in those who operate within the Matrix."

-----Neo grew quite a bit nervous about being put on the spot by Natha, but he managed to keep his voice level as he said, "We'll do everything we can to make sure nothing goes wrong. I promise."

-----"Well," Kavel said, finally deciding that she could trust herself to open her mouth, "I guess I'd better start packing." She left the room, carefully measuring her step and controlling her urge to bolt into her room and start throwing her belongings as fast as she could into a bag. She didn't own a whole lot except for a couple pairs of clothing – all in Zionist gray – and the shoes she had on her feet. Other than that, she had a set of six finger-knives and a ring made up of silver with a stone imbedded within it. She was told that it was an amethyst, but she had no way to make sure. The set of one-inch, razor sharp knives she fit into a small pouch which she hung about her neck under the shirt she wore and she put the ring on her right hand, making sure the stone on it was facing up.

-----After making sure her guests were comfortable, Natha came in to assist her daughter. Kavel's clothing was all the same color in case a time arose where she had to dress herself and not have to worry about whether or not something matched. She came into the room only to see her daughter trying very hard not to start bouncing off of the walls. She shut the door.

-----"I'll be fine, mom." Kavel knew that her mother would be lonely without her, but there was nothing to be done about her leaving. She could not in good conscience stay when she had the opportunity to do something no one had yet attempted to do. She had lived seventeen years without the ability to see what everyone else could see: colors, shapes, light, faces, even the cold metal that seemed to cover everything she touched. No amount of vocal descriptions could make her fully understand "purple" or "bright" or "shiny" or "mirroring." Now that she could, she would not stand by and let it pass her.

-----"I know. I'm just not sure when you're going to be back or if I'll ever find out how you're doing or if anything happens. I'll be alone until next week."

-----Kavel found her way to her mother by the sound of her voice and touched her on the shoulder. "Mom, go out and find some friends. It's about time I let you live a life without having to worry about me."

-----"I just…" her mother began, but wasn't able to say what she wanted to say.

-----"I'll find a way to get something to you to let you know how I'm doing. I'll be with the most famous ship to ever be manned in Zion's history and I think it was more than just a prophecy that gave them that reputation…and it's not like you're going to hand me off to another babysitter. Once I learn the basics onboard the ship, I could even have a certain degree of independence."

-----"I don't see your reasoning in that."

-----Kavel sighed. "A ship is a little bit smaller than Zion. Eventually, I will learn my way around and won't have to always have someone lead me like a pet like they do here. I could actually help, rather than consume resources for the rest of my life."

-----"I hate logic."

-----"So do I." With that said, she had her mother help her lift the pack onto her back and tied the straps that would keep it secure in case it threatened to fall off for any reason. A hug caused Kavel to feel the dampness of teardrops that her mother had shed.

-----With a short and proper farewell, Kavel grabbed an opaque visor to cover her eyes and exited the room without having cried, knowing that if she started, she wouldn't be able to stop. "I'm ready," she told Morpheus as soon as she stepped out.

-----"Then let's go," he replied. He stood up and began to walk out. Trinity followed him, but Neo allowed her to go first, closing the door as soon as she'd left.

-----"Do you need a hand?"

-----"For now," she replied and held out her hand. "It's hard to tell where someone's going when there's an echo all around. When we get a little further on, I'll be able to tell where you're walking by the sounds of either your footsteps or your talking."

-----Neo nodded, but realizing that she couldn't see the gesture and said, "I see." He went on to say, "So, your name's Kavel?"

-----"Yes, but my friends call me Amethyst."

-----"For any particular reason?"

-----Kavel removed the visor that covered her eyes and opened them. Turning her head to show him, she heard a startled breath come from him. "Now that is something I haven't seen before."

-----Kavel closed her eyes and put the visor back on. "Neither have I," she said regretfully.

-----Neo, feeling that he had accidentally offended her by bringing up her disability, quickly apologized. "I'm sorry."

-----Kavel tightened her grip on Neo's hand. "Just so you know, I don't like apologies when it comes to people talking about sight. I've heard them all of my life and I just thought I'd let you know that they've grown somewhat…irritating."

-----"Fair enough." Trinity and Morpheus both took notes on the conversation and decided not to try and make that mistake. "So do you prefer being called Kavel or Amethyst?"

-----"Amethyst, or Ame' for short." She pronounced "Ame'" as if she were saying "Amy." "To tell you the truth, I don't know what an amethyst is, but I'd sure like to see one."

-----"You will soon enough," Trinity said from in front of them. "We're having a program written to slowly introduce you to being able to see which will take you gradually through different stages."

-----"A program? What kind of program?"

-----Neo, who felt he could explain a little bit better from his experience, spoke up. "It's sort of like a computer program, only different. You'll feel like you're in reality, but you'll be in what's called the Construct where we can control the environment you're in and make sure you're not taking in too much."

-----"Too much?"

-----"Well," Trinity added, "if you could all of a sudden see everything, your heart rate might shoot up to a dangerous level and you could go into shock and that could lead to cardiac arrest or even put you in a coma. We don't really want that to happen and so we're going to start out with light variances and simple dark colors to gradually get you up to speed."

-----"Will I ever go in the Matrix itself?"

-----"That depends," Morpheus replied. "If I take you on as a member of my crew, then you probably will. If not, then it is not very likely."

-----Amethyst nodded. "That's more than fair." Then she felt condensation beginning to build on Neo's hand and smelled a faint scent of sweat. She looked over at him and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

-----"Why?" Neo replied.

-----"You're sweating."

-----Neo looked to Trinity, who looked to Morpheus, who signaled for him to tell her. As gently and generally as possible, he told her, "The plug on the back of your head will be your main connection to the Matrix. I just thought I'd tell you that a device is inserted into that plug and it probably won't be pleasant when you first feel it."

-----"Will it be worse than having these plugs implanted in the first place?"

-----"I don't know."

-----"Well, I guess I'll find out." With a swish of her brown hair, she quickly said, "How about we change the subject and talk about something happier. What kind of food do you have on the ship?" She heard a sigh come from all three.