Chapter 5

"Why do they have to look like that?"

"Just because. When you see enough people, you'll know why."

"Fine."

"Well, if you want to look like you had your butt surgically removed, it's your funeral."

The better part of an hour was spent trying to get Amethyst's self image looking like her real self. For some reason, the teen was having trouble with specifics but Trinity did her best to explain why certain aspects of her physical appearance were, in fact, necessary. By the time she was satisfied, Trinity wasn't sure if she was more overwhelmed by Amethyst's ability or her need to question or comment on everything she was told.

Amethyst, on the other hand, took it all as a learning experience. The chance to get such information seemed wonderful so that if she were ever in the Matrix she wouldn't have to figure it all out for herself. At the end of the session – as Trinity dictated – she did thank the woman and apologized for being so inquisitive.

"I'm just curious, that's all," she said.

"I know," Trinity replied. "You'll learn more later on."

Amé smiled and was secretively surprised to find how disarming it was against the woman before her. After stashing that bit of information away, she said, "Thank you" again and went on to ask how the program was to be ended.

"You'll know," Trinity replied, "but since this is your first time, when you return to the real world, the connector will still be in the plug."

"Oh, goodie!"

"Just try not to get sick." Trinity well remembered Neo's first experience and hadn't considered that a very fond memory.

"Oh…okay," Amé said nervously. Trinity disappeared and after that, she felt a violent tugging sensation come from out of nowhere. It seemed as if she was thrown back into her real self and soon began to feel the needle still up inside of her head. The same three pairs of hands held her down as before and did so until Code came over and pulled it out.

Amethyst very nearly was sick, and even after the needle had been removed she could still feel it. Her stomach continued to churn as Morpheus encouraged her repeatedly to breathe. It was hard to get herself under control but she followed her new captain's orders and managed to do so after several minutes. When she trusted herself to speak again, she asked, "So the first time is the worst?"

"Yes," Morpheus replied. "After that you know what to expect and so you can prepare yourself for it."

"Sure." Amé sighed and was able to relax into the chair a bit more. She opened her eyes and it seemed even worse to return to her life as a blind. "At least I had some fun in there."

"Well, now we know that it works and you can see in the Construct." Morpheus's voice seemed brighter and more encouraging. "Because of that – and your latent ability – we will start you on some other programs to try and evaluate whether or not we will keep you on as one of our crew."

"Cool. So I might get to go into the Matrix?"

"If you learn well enough, then yes, there is a chance."

Amethyst smiled and silently vowed to do all that she could in order to enter the real thing. She knew that as long as she wasn't required to learn anything like history or math or anything too technologically advanced, she'd be just fine.

"Did you throw up?"

"Yes, and I passed out."

"How come?"

There was a pause. "Stress…and a lack of air…I think."

Amethyst smiled and a quiet laugh came from her throat. "Ah, thinking: the downfall of humanity."

"To a certain extent."

Just then Amethyst heard another person walk into the room. When they came closer Amethyst was able to recognize the smell of Jake infiltrating her nostrils. "Jake! And have you recovered from your recent scolding?"

"Go to ****, Ame." Jake, wondering how the girl could tell it was her said, "That's just freaky."

"What?" Neo asked.

"Nothing."

Amé smiled and continued to force herself to eat. The bowl of crap before her tasted like something she may have thrown up when she was younger, but she decided to try and not think about it. She was told that it was healthy – and all they had – so she didn't complain.

"I don't see why we can't just eat in the Construct," Jake asked.

No one answered her. In fact, some of the people there – Morpheus not being among them – had wondered the same thing, but were a bit more conservative when it came to questioning the way certain things were run on the ship. All of them much preferred life on the Nebuchadnezzar to staying back in Zion.

The rest of the meal consisted of most people asking Amethyst what it was like to be blind. She had heard every question they'd asked before and so did not hesitate when she answered. After a while, she turned the tables and started to ask them certain questions about the Matrix and their lives.

At one point she said, "So, Trinity. How did you and Neo become so close?"

"It's a long story," she replied.

"Well, tell me the punch line."

There was a pause as Trinity collected her thoughts. "Well, to make a long story sort of short, I didn't want him to die and so I told him that I loved him."

"And that did what?"

"The Oracle told me that I'd fall in love with the One and I did. I'm not sure how it brought him back but it did."

"And you've been together ever since."

"Being dead," Neo included, "usually brings people together."

"Dead?"

"I was shot by an Agent about a dozen times and so I died. It wasn't the greatest feeling in the world, to say the least."

"I wouldn't think so. So, Trinity brought you back to life?"

"I think so. I'm still not sure."

Amethyst sat there pondering, but she came to the conclusion that she would never figure out the reasoning and so she stopped. Rather, a new thought popped into her head. "Who's the Oracle?"

"She is a guide," Trinity said, remembering what Morpheus had once said. "She was who made the prophecy about the One."

"Ah." She paused. "So she told you who Neo was?"

"No, but she gave us enough information to find him."

"How many of you have seen her?"

"So far, everyone but you and Link."

"Will I get to meet her?"

"I don't know. It depends on Morpheus's decision, but if he decides to allow you to go into the Matrix, you probably will."

"So, she's in the Matrix?"

"Yes."

"Ah…I see…actually, I don't but you know what I mean."

The questioning went on until it was time for them to return to their sleeping quarters. Then everyone filed out of the room and Link helped to lead Amethyst vocally back to her room. When she had closed the door behind her, she gratefully flopped into bed, remembered she had her shoes on, sat up, took them off, and then slipped under the blankets. This time she had no trouble falling asleep.

"I'm awake."

"We have breakfast first, so you can head down to the mess hall."

"'K."

Amethyst pulled the blankets away from her body and sat up. She felt down at the foot of the bed for her shoes and quickly slipped them on. Reaching into the top drawer of the nearby cupboard, she pulled out a brush and quickly tore it through her hair to try and make it look reasonably presentable. After retying it with a piece of string, she made her way out of the room and slowly felt her way to the mess hall. When she arrived, she was rewarded to hear Morpheus say, "I'm glad you found your way here, Amethyst."

"Thanks," she said before she let out a tremendous yawn. She covered her mouth with her hand and walked over to the nearest seat she knew of. She ended up sitting next to Jake who, when she spoke, sounded too tired to insult her. Amé found that she also was too tired, but she'd see what she could do later on.

Breakfast went very quickly. With very little conversation at all, she ate the bowl of crap quickly and, with Morpheus's instructions, left to head over to the main deck where she was supposed to start her training. Upon arrival, she heard Link say, "You have any trouble getting here?"

"Not much. I almost fell down the ladder when I missed a rung, but I'm okay now."

"Fun." Link led Amé over to one of the consoles. "Do you think you'll be alright today?"

"As long as you don't make me sit here with that spike up my head." Link smiled a smile she couldn't see and moved around behind her. "So what kind of program am I going through this time?"

"I'm supposed to start with a protocols program."

"Goodie."

Without any warning, Link inserted the steel needle into the plug at the base of Amé's head. The girl's entire body tensed and she had to exercise a great deal of self-control to keep her back from arching up. The experience wasn't entirely as unbearable as the first time had been, but it was no more comfortable.

Link quickly made his way back to his seat, pressed a button, and looked over at Amethyst. Her body went temporarily rigid as she began to assimilate the information being crammed into her head. Her eyelids started to flutter and twitch until, several moments later, she opened her eyes with a start. However, they still retained the blank gaze they usually did.

As soon as the program was over and Amethyst came back to reality she immediately began to gasp for air. "Holy crap!"

"Just wait," Link said. "It gets better." He put in another disk and before Amé could say anything else she was thrust back into another program. She came back much the same as before. When she didn't say anything for a time he asked, "Are you okay?"

With an agitated voice Amé replied, "¡Dime cuando tú vas a ponerme en una otra programa!"

"What?"

"Freakin' tell me when you're going to put me in another program!" She sighed and in her exasperation she forgot all about the way the plug felt.

"Okay. In case you were wondering, we don't have anyone on board who could function as a full-fledged translator in the Matrix, so Morpheus picked you to do the job."

"Can't everyone else just go through these programs?"

"Well, we typically like to have each person focus on a specific area. For Morpheus, Neo, and Trinity, they have more of an emphasis on combat, weaponry, and stratagem. Jake focuses more on practical subjects since she's the analyst, but she, like everyone else, has to go through her share of combat training. It just hasn't been quite so extensive."

"Why?"

"Certain people assimilate certain information better than others. I guess Morpheus heard you have a knack for languages."

"That would be correct."

There was a slight pause. "Ready for French."

"I guess."