Vick says: chapter 5 of the FIREWALLS saga, keep reading!...Shiva is free...I bet you have a lot of questions but answer will be given in time...Smith will pay for it....I assure you...
Feedback point : vickpena@yahoo.com.mx please use encrypted email engine with fake DNS address, I suspect agents have been chasing me...
Disclaimer. Agent Smith, the Matrix and other characters related are property of other very creative persons and not mine, a fan who wants to write an entertaining and interesting Sci Fi piece based in this outstanding saga.
THE MATRIX:
Firewalls
By Vick
Vickpena@yahoo.com.mx
Book 1: The Agent and the Hacker.
Chapter 5
The new member of the crew
Requiem for a friend
The pain was an inferno.
The weakness in her body unbearable... her whereabouts a complete mystery.
She had no memory of the most recent events and all she could recall was flashes of horrible visions of floating in some kind of liquid...then sitting to discover her body naked and connected to bizarre cables that plugged directly to her body.
Then pulling a tube out of her throat and vomiting more liquid and breathing the thin cold air of a strange new world.
The heard the hum of electricity and saw, with horror, more persons inside capsules just like the one she was in and then...her memory clouded and all she could remember was a big spider of some kind clamping a claw around a plug in her head then.... nothing but the sensation of falling and landing in cold water.
She also remembered how she tried to swim...she knew how to swim but she couldn't...her body didn't respond in the way she wanted...in the way it had to...
And just when she thought she'd die...
She was hoisted by God knows what and thrown on a hard cold metal floor.
And then she passed out.
When she woke up she felt horrible.
There was a bright light above her.
It hurt her eyes.
She closed them and focused on hearing the sounds around her.
She heard a heart monitor beeping to her left...her own heart, she supposed.
It sounded weak but constant.
She also heard metallic sounds like those of footsteps on metal floor, hatches being closed and opened...it was like being on a submarine, she thought.
Where am I?
She heard a door opening with a squeak and opened her eyes but the light made her close them again.
"Ah, you woke up," a female voice said. It was a voice she didn't know. A calm voice with a British accent. "How do you feel?"
"Where are we?" she managed to ask in spite of the burning sensation in her throat
"We're on the Mordecai" was the answer.
Shiva heard how the woman hovered around her.
A wave of dizziness kept her eyes shut for a couple of minutes in the which she felt the unknown woman touching her arms and legs with professional attitude...probably she was examining the plugs in them...she felt some sort of electric discharge when she inserted something in one.
"You'll be sleeping for the rest of the process " the woman stated " it is not very pleasing to feel the needles being inserted"
"Needles? Are you a doctor?"
"For the muscular reconstruction," the woman informed. "And, you'd be surprised on how many things I am...now...sleep..."
She began feeling the effects of the sedative, one last question popped in her mind and due to the importance of it she asked it even when she was afraid she wouldn't hear the answer...
"Are we still in Seattle?"
"Yeah, " she heard the woman chuckling " Niles Crane will be waiting for you..."
***
Everybody was gathered around the chair where he died.
Sonic.
"Ignorance is bliss," someone said.
Jeremy clenched his teeth. "We all believe in something... that is why we are here in the first place...we all had the choice to remain free and live in Zion but we chose to participate in this rebellion...Sonic, like the rest of us, knew the dangers are real and that death is part of what we do..."
"She is not that important..." Joyce said. " We could find another...Sonic died because of her"
"Sonic died because of the Agents," Jeremy said, trying to help Joyce focusing her anger to where it belonged. "Shiva is not part of them and now is the member of this crew..."
"I will kill her." Joyce whispered.
"You're not going to kill anyone." Jeremy stated, his voice rising. "Sonic is gone and there is nothing we can do...we still have a war to fight and the last thing I want is you chasing another human for revenge..."
"I loved him."
Nobody replied to that.
"Jung, Freud," Jeremy commanded, "Load us up, we have a service to attend."
It was a new tradition among the crews.
To pay respect to the one who fell in battle.
At the same time, his body was reduced to atoms in the nuclear reactor of the ship.
There was no time for a real grave.
Nobody wanted to see that with their own eyes, that was why they used the Construct to create a fake funeral service while the real one happened.
Freud would incinerate Sonic's body.
Jung would be the operator for the rest of them.
The sound of a bagpipe came from a distant point in that hill where the group was gathered around the new sepulchre...soft wind blew from the north, warm, carrying the cry of the bagpipe directly to them.
Around them, other graves marked the place where other crewmembers were buried.
Names from all the missing in action could be read in the tombstones...some names were familiar, some other don't but the atmosphere claimed the same tragedy.
"We'll continue..." Jeremy said, "And we will enjoy the privilege of a world of our own...some day...when the battle is over..."
"And to live what?" Joyce asked, bitterly "To live a life in the Hell Earth has become? To eat a pudding of vitamin and carbohydrates every day?" She released from Abraham's supporting embrace and walked to the edge of the grave...the soft aroma of roses and carnations surrounded them "This is a lie...we will fight and will die just like the people in this virtual reality...that is the way it will be..."
"No," Jeremy said, his voice angry and troubled. That was a future he refused ... he would see the day Zion was free, he'd live in a world of humans...a devastated world but a world that promised hope.
"Jeremy..."
"I said no!" the Captain of the Mordecai yelled so fiercely Joyce stepped back "When I was taken out of the Matrix freedom was promised to me in exchange of my fight...well...I will get my freedom."
"I will too," Abraham said "I won't die without fighting...and if I don't make it ... well...some others will."
Joyce saw the two men in front of her, tears rolling down her cheeks.
She collapsed in Abraham's arms, crying. "I loved him"
"I know," he said, caressing her hair "And he knew it.... he loved you too."
Jeremy looked at the grave at his feet.
His cell phone rang, breaking the spell.
"Yes?"
"We have a little problem..."
***
Shiva opened her eyes feeling disoriented but better...almost normal...
She heard the hum of some electronic equipment out of sight and, when she tried to move she felt the pinch of the acupuncture like needles in her body...she looked at them and saw how they were connected with fiber optics to a machine hanging above her.
She was still naked.
The metal door swung open and a tall man with dark skin walked in. He looked at her in a way that sent Goosebumps all the way down her spine...she wanted to move but did not want to take the risk herself.
The man consulted a monitor and then rubbed his chin.
He was bald, just like her and had the same outlets in his body...arms...and in the back of her head...her urge to get answers increased but that man definitively was not the one she'd chose to get some.
The man folded his arms and sighed at the sight of her.
"I still wonder why Jung didn't cover you...this ship is too cold..." he said and for a single moment she thought there was another person in the room, an invisible one because the voice was very different from the one you'd expect in a man like him...it was so polite and beautiful...like the voice of an opera singer... "How do you feel?"
Shiva hesitated for a couple of seconds.
"Are you mute or something?" he smiled and for the first time since he got in she saw there was more in him beyond the appearance of an assassin. "I am Freud," he continued, dragging a little cart next to her bed...there was a little container there along other instruments.
"I am fine..." she said and saw, with great surprise, her voice was normal and that the pain in her chest was gone.
"Excellent," the man clapped his hands together. "I will remove the needles now..." he informed. "The process is complete...you'll be up in no time. Be a good girl and don't move...I'll get you some clothes once I finish," he said as he put on a pair of surgical gloves.
Shiva nodded.
The process of removing the needles was slow and systematic...first...the man who called himself Freud removed, one by one, the needles in her left leg. Truth to be told, the man worked like a professional medic and did his job with mechanical accuracy.
She shifted uncomfortably when he approached to her genitals.
"I won't be a mean guy, I promise," he said." I'd close my eyes but how would I work?"
"I..."
"Jung is busy...that is why I am here.... she'd do this but it is my shift as doctor now"
So Shiva closed her eyes only hearing the soft clink of the needles being placed on the container...Freud sticked to his promise and continued his job until the last needle was in the container.
"There..."
Shiva opened her eyes and saw him pulling the cart away and then how he removed his gloves, throwing them away and inside a little basket in the corner.
"I'll get you something to wear," he said and walked out of the room.
When the sound of his footsteps faded away she dared to seat with her legs hanging on the side.
There was a tube inserted in one of the outlets grafted to her skin...she followed it with her sight and saw it was connected to a computer where her vitals signs were diagramed.
Shiva frowned, looking around.
Indeed, she was in a submarine-like quarter with metallic walls...the ceiling was covered with pipes and cables...some of them were connected to the devices in the room...
There were monitors and cables connecting them all around the bed she was sitting on...some of them were blank and others displayed incoherent green data that scrolled down with no apparent order.
"Where the hell am I?"
She continue pacing her sight around the room and found a rusty plaque on the wall to her right the which informed to everyone who wanted to know, that they were in the infirmary of the US Special Forces Hovercraft Mordecai built in 2066.
Trying to remain calm she sighed.
The increasing sound of footsteps was the prelude to Freud opening the door carrying some clothes... an old and ragged but still usable shirt, a pair of black pants and a pair of boots.
"Here..." he said handing her the clothes " hope this is your size...it is all we got."
She examined her new uniform with disgust.
"I'd suggest you to use it...sorry for the lack of underwear but..." he smiled, "Our budget is limited."
"Very droll" she shot back.
Freud grinned, "Want me to turn around?" he asked, and couldn't help to laugh with a very soothing tone.
"I guess you've seen enough to care for modesty" Shiva said, feeling strangely comfortable with that man "Now...would you?..." and she gestured toward the tube connected to her forearm.
"Absolutely" the man said and promptly removed the tube with a soft snap.
"That feels horrible!"
Freud chuckled.
But Shiva's didn't care for friendship given the situation...and maybe they could be the best friends yes, the kind of friend who takes hands and drink milk shakes looking at a romantic movie...yes, they could...but maybe later, when the proper explanations were given to her...for the moment...Freud was her captor.
Freud got himself busy with some monitors below the plaque she saw before.
Shiva started to get dressed thanking God the boots were her size.
The shirt was good, old, oily and stinking but good enough to give her some warmth...and so were the pants.
Once she was completely dressed her mouth curled in disgust...she was like a bad copy of a character from the Alien 3 movie ...
Freud continued busy.
It was her opportunity.
Now!
By the time Freud reacted she was running out the room.
"Hey!" the man called.
Damn muscular reconstruction, he thought, running after her in hot pursuit...it really works!
Shiva chose the corridor to her left and ran through it not really knowing where she was heading ...if she was in an Hovercraft then she wouldn't get anywhere unless she found the exit.
Shiva got to an intersection and turned right, the sound of her footsteps echoed in the corridor along Freud's...he was getting closer and why not? He knew that ship and she didn't
But that wouldn't be a problem for her.
She found a stairs and got down to the lower level...how big was the ship?
Who knew?
Freud jumped down and almost got her but she was escaped into a small room locking the door.
There was another door on the other side but her attention was now caught by the weapons displayed in the walls ..rifles of some kind...strange Sci fi version of them but still...rifles...also, there was handguns ...those were more familiar...so she grabbed two of them and saw with relief they were loaded...good.
Shiva darted to the other door hearing Freud calling some other person ....Jung.
"Call the others!" Freud was saying when she locked the door and ran ahead ...until she reached a stairs that she promptly climbed up.
On the top she found what appeared to be the bridge.
Two empty chairs were there; in front of monitors and dials that blinked constantly ...it was like the cockpit of a plane with instruments all over the place.
Shiva was not paying attention to that.
It was the landscape beyond the view window the one that had her hypnotized.
Shiva got into the cockpit and looked out, her mouth agape.
The Mordecai was resting on a cave near a vertical shaft where water could be seen cascading down...all the place irradiated a strange luminosity, little she knew that the image was enhanced by night-vision devices...and she would probably be deaf to any explanation given in that moment...the scene in front of her eyes was so unbelievable her brain was still not capable of picturing it completely.
It was like being on a nightmare.
The water passed near the cabin of the ship on its way down the cave.
Shiva got closer to the window and placed her hands over it...it felt cold.
"It is real," said a voice behind her.
Shiva swirled, the guns ready to fire.
Jeremy was there.
"Where are we?" she asked, her voice shaking ...her heart pounding hard "Where the hell are we?" she demanded, aiming at Jeremy who was sitting in one of the chairs, Abraham's chair
"We are two miles underground and three hundred seventy four miles away from Seattle if that where you want to go," he explained, looking out.
Shiva pressed the canon against his temple.
"Tell me...where are we?" her voice was desperate
"I told you... this is my ship...the Mordecai " he explained " now, give me the gun...Shiva..." he tried to take it but she stepped back until she hit the window
"This is not real" she shook her head while her ears filled with a strange beep she knew was the first step to faint.
"It is...sadly...but it is..."
"Give me the gun and I'll explain it " he offered and reached for the gun.
"What have you done to me?"
"I fulfilled my promise," Jeremy folded his arms, apparently ignoring the fact that she was so nervous she could fire anytime "I gave you tangible proof of the existence of the Matrix."
"Is this...the Matrix?" she managed to ask
"As I said before...this is what we call the Real World." he sighed. "Even when you think you live in 2003 the real year is around the 2200 and this, what you see, is what is left of the world you know" he pointed out, to the raging water passing outside " we are in the sewer system of one of the large Megalopolis once existed not far from the Power Plant where we disconnected you."
Shiva shook her head. "I..."
"...Can't believe it?" he chuckled " none of us could the first day here...as you see...we experienced the same you're living now..." he showed her his arms, revealing the outlets. "I have no reason to lie to you," he folded his arms again and closed his eyes. "You'll have to understand you're the new member of this crew and will have to learn how to survive here."
Shiva put her guns down.
"What if I don't want to?"
"There is no way back" he stated, his eyes still closed "And if there was...and you were connected again to the Matrix it will mean your death ...Smith would never allow you to live."
"Smith is real?"
"More than you think" Jeremy sighed, opening his eyes, "Now...want me to show you my ship?"
Shiva didn't know what to say.
"Come," he rose, stretching his arms " and next time be sure to arm the guns first."
She followed him back inside the ship.
On the other side of the stairs, Freud was waiting.
"You cheated me," he said, sounding hurt.
"Sorry big guy " Shiva offered as apology, her mind was still busy trying to deal with all that...
Jeremy led her through the corridors pointing at doors and saying what was behind them, explaining how the ship used to be a Military Special Forces vehicle and how it was rebuilt by people of Zion, ...whatever that was...
She was not listening with full attention...she was just following him like a robot.
They climbed up a stairs.
"This is the main core of the ship," Jeremy said.
In the center of a room bigger than the infirmary she saw a swamp of bizarre electronic equipment. Vines of coaxial hang and snake to and from huge monolithic battery slabs, a black portable satellite dish and banks of little systems and computer monitors
At the center of that web, there are six exoskeleton chairs made of some sort of poly-alloy frame and suspension harness.
Near the circle of chairs was what appeared to be the control console with two chairs, one of them occupied by a fragile looking woman she recognized as the one she saw first. She was looking a monitor with real interest even when the only thing visible was the same incoherent code she saw in the infirmary.
Somebody brush passed her
"You remember Joyce," Jeremy said.
Joyce looked at her for a second and then left the room.
"This is Jung," Jeremy said, patting her back "and this man," he pointed at a man who was looking at her while fixed some cables to a wall "is Abraham, our pilot."
Shiva kept silent
"So, want to know more about the Matrix?"
She nodded
"Freud?"
The big man put a hand on her shoulder. "This way, miss, I'll show you your table..."
He led her to a chair and helped her seat.
Shiva allowed him to secure her arms and legs...Jeremy was sitting on the chair next to hers.
"It is better if you close your eyes " Freud stated
She obeyed but Freud was a liar...when he led the coaxial cable inside the back of her neck it felt horrible...like being splashed with cold water and then...when the cable locked with a loud snap she felt.... normal.... like the one she remembered being.
Gillian McPherson opened her eyes.
And saw the Matrix.