Neo hit the ground hard, grunting as he felt his back make contact with the floor. A numb pain traveled up his spine as he sat up. It had been a simple enough task. Telling Trinity to go and get some rest after the first few hours as she mended the broken arm and many other cuts on the man's body, Neo had taken watch over the newly found creature. But it was eerie to watch him. He stared blankly, copying every movement that he saw Neo make, but speaking no word and uttering nothing but the purest silence. He was like a surreal parrot, imitating every single twitch and gesture in exactness, but surely must have had some consciousness underneath.
It was bothersome after a while of seeing him behave as such, almost as though he was mocking Neo merely to get on his nerves. But knowing that this was not the case, Neo had stayed and tuned it out, pulling up a chair and resting a foot on the edge of the table. Hour after hour passed, well into the afternoon of the next day, and Neo began to nod off, one sudden jerk causing him to lose balance and spill himself onto the floor with a loud thud.
He pulled himself to his feet with a fierce growl at his own incompetence. The man on the table showed the same scowl on his face, and Neo rolled his eyes. "That's great pal."
He didn't know how much more he could take of this. He kept staring at those green numbers engraved into the skin, boasting some diversity from the other inhabitants derived from the matrix. The matrix…this was the part that confused him. If this man was not a human, which it appeared he may not be, what place did he have in the matrix? And if he was human…that didn't explain his physical alterations. Why his eyes were replaced, why his hair was gray at such a young age, why…come to think of it…Why was his hair growing out so quickly? And why did he look as though he had been starved for weeks? Why were his wounds partially healed-where did they come from in the first place? Question led upon question upon question, but no answer lay clear in theory.
He only hoped that when the man awoke, he would not be dangerous. A crazed and deluded man aboard a ship was the last thing he needed. If he hurt someone, Neo would surely feel responsible. But then he seemed harmless enough. Just frightened, as well he should be. His head snapped up as he heard a click come from the table. The man's mouth opened, but he still stared ahead in shock. Neo intently waited at his side, hands resting on the edges. The man let out a ragged breath, fidgeting the fingers of his broken arm almost of their own accord.
"Hey…are you al-" Neo started. The man leapt up at the sound of Neo's voice, scrabbling desperately away and nearly falling off the table. "Hey, hey, whoa!" Neo snapped, reaching out and snatching his arm. "Just cool off!"
The man froze, jaw shaking, eyes clicking back and forth as though looking for an escape route.
"We found you out there, we helped you. You're on the ship Nebuchadnezzar…" his eyes traveled downward to see his hand clutched around the man's broken arm. "Oh, jeez, I didn't mean to…" he tore his hand away as though the bandaged arm burned him.
The pale man merely stared, unnaturally crooked arm hanging in the air.
"It…doesn't hurt?" he asked.
The man swallowed hard, waiting for what seemed an infinite eternity before shaking his head once.
"So you do understand me." Neo mused, pulling up the chair once more. "My name is Neo…"
The other continued to look around the room.
"Can you tell me your name…?" he hopefully tried to catch his gaze.
He clenched his teeth and bit down on his tongue. "No…" he started in a hushed tone. "No name…"
"No name…?" he barely registered a familiar presence enter the room. "Does that mean…you don't want to tell me…?"
"No name." He repeated, wincing away.
Neo looked up upon feeling Trinity's hand on his shoulder. "When did he wake up…?"
"Just now." He replied, careful not to make sudden movements. "Do you know where you came from…?" he asked the timid man.
His hand absently clutched and relaxed against the blanket covering his naked waist. "No I…nowhere. I come from…nowhere…" he whispered these things, still certain that he was in danger.
"Nowhere." Neo sighed, rubbing his temples. Even talking with this man only made things all the more confusing.
"I'll go get Morpheus." Trinity said quietly.
Neo nodded. "And uh…um." He cleared his throat, motioning to the man. "Clothes, maybe?"
"Of course." She agreed, hurrying out of the room.
"We…won't hurt you." Neo informed, just hoping that his words would have some effect.
"Don't hurt me…" he bristled, shying away. "Kill me…but don't…don't hurt me anymore…"
Neo raised an eyebrow. "So then…you don't remember your name, is that what you trying to tell me?" he'd heard of cases of amnesia before. People came from the matrix, and finding it too much of a shock, blanked it from their minds. These cases, however, were almost always temporary and the subjects usually shook off the mental discrepancy in a matter of days.
"I remember everything…" he hissed nervously, pulling in his broken arm with the other hand. "I don't have…a name…"
"Oh…I see…" Neo was as confused as ever. "Uh, look, we're a small crew…I'm sure Morpheus can explain what happened to you."
His jaw continued to chatter as he looked around the room, skeptical of the crew's intentions.
"So what…" Neo started, wondering just how much he could get out of him. "What exactly do you remember? Before I…found you."
He gaped at Neo for an endless time, staring dead through unblinking eyes.
"You…awake?"
"Awake…" the young man opened his mouth as if to say more, but clamped it shut instantly as the door opened and Morpheus entered the room.
He stopped short upon seeing the man sitting up, placing his hands behind his back and cocking his head. "Good afternoon." He said, glancing at Neo.
The man fidgeted his broken arm, looking down on it in surprise.
Neo stood and walked over, mumbling a few things to Morpheus with his back turned to the patient. "He says he has no name. That he comes from nowhere."
"Hm." Morpheus nodded, coming closer to the table. "My name is Morpheus." He motioned an upturned hand to himself. "This is my ship, the Nebuchadnezzar. Do you remember how you came aboard?"
He continued to stare, curling his lip as his eyes widened and he shook his head. "I think…"
"I see." He came closer still, careful not to startle the man and send him into a wild panic. Sitting down, he looked towards Neo, who stood with his arms crossed. "Can you tell me what these numbers on your arm mean?" he pointed to the green code.
"…" he made a whimpering sound that may have been the beginning of some word, but shook his head instead, signifying that either he did not know or he was not telling.
"Is it a code? Are there more like you?"
He took a long while to answer, searching back and forth between Morpheus and Neo. "You…are like me…"
"Well…I suppose that's true." Morpheus nodded. "Don't you…remember anyone else? Anyone else like you?"
His broken arm suddenly touched his temple, and it seemed to take him great effort to pull it back down to his side. "There was no one before."
"What do you mean?" Morpheus rested his chin on his hand.
"I was…" he touched his own chest curiously. "…the only one."
"The only one…where?" Neo prodded.
"Inside…" he whispered, lowering his head.
"How long…" Neo started, moving his weight to the other foot. "How long were you out there?"
"In and out…awake only some…times." He replied shakily, biting his lip.
"…Do you know…" Morpheus furrowed his brow. "Do you know what you are?"
"Man…" he answered plainly.
"No one. You were the only one there." Neo repeated, ignoring all but his own questions. "Then how? How did you get those marks? Who hurt you?"
"The voice." He answered. "Sometimes…I woke up…and it hurt."
"And what about your eyes?" Morpheus asked calmly. "You do know…that they are not real?"
"They are real…" he countered, touching his face. "Because…I can see…from them."
"But…" Neo protested. "But they aren't the eyes you were born with…They're a kind of machine."
"There was pain." He said ambiguously.
"Pain?" Morpheus asked.
"Sometimes I woke up, and there was pain." He said again. He seemed to know that he could not make them understand. "I…it's…I was in…"
"I think that's enough for now." Morpheus held up a hand.
Neo walked to the other side of the table, ready to listen.
Morpheus continued. "Neo, Trinity and I will see that he is dressed and informed of certain things.... And there are a few things I'd like to test…" he glanced at the man. "Go tell Link what is going on…and I will call you later if I find anything." He sighed, looking back to the man. "In the mean time…what shall we call you?"
"Me…" he stuttered, his voice slurring.
"You say that you have no name…nothing that you were called? Nothing that you were referred to as?" Morpheus elaborated.
He shrugged, confused.
"L-I-T-H…" Neo said to himself.
The man looked up at Neo curiously as though he had all the answers.
"What is that?" Morpheus turned.
"12, 9, 20, 8. L-I-T-H. The…the letters in the alphabet that correspond with the numbers on his arm." He pointed out.
"Ah." Morpheus nodded, thinking. "Well I suppose it's as good a suggestion as any. We'll call you…Lith."
