Chapter 2
Static awoke, seemingly an eternity later. All he could see was light. His
eyes felt like they were being peeled off with paint thinner.
"My eyes hurt." Said Static groggily.
" I know," said the beautiful redhead out of nowhere "its because you've
never used them."
"Who."
"Don't worry. Just get some sleep."
Another eternity later, and static opened his eyes, this time less painfully. He looked down and saw a forest of needles imbedded in his skin.
"What?" Asked Static with a little more definition than his last sentence.
"Just wai."
Static slipped into unconsciousness before whoever could finish they're
sentence. He dreamt for a lifetime. He dreamt that he had a family and that he was happy. Then he dreamt that he was in a pasture, and that he was lying on
his back staring into the sun, going blind.
And then he awoke. He no longer stared into the light, though. He now was in a dark room. The room was lit by only on lamp, protruding from the wall. He arose and found a pair of pants and a shirt. The room was as sparse as
you can get, like some strange submarine.
Static got up and walked toward the door. "A latch." static said feeling
like he was in 20,000 leagues under the sea.
Static opened the latch and walked out into a hallway, just as drab as the room he was in. Everything was metallic, and it all looked the same. All the colors were hard and sharp, blacks and dark blues. What a foreboding
place this is.
" Hello Captain Nemo!" Static yelled.
"What?" said a feminine voice from somewhere.
"Who's there?" said Static looking all around.
Suddenly someone jumped down from a ladder that led into the ceiling. "Hi. I'm Kali, First mate of the Valhalla. Come on, Rook wants to see you." It
was the redhead he had met before.
"This is a ship?" Static asked not fully understanding anything.
"Yeah. Come on" she said as she started to climb the ladder.
Static didn't question and just followed Kali.
Once they made it up the ladder Static saw even more bizarre things. He saw
a giant column that went from floor to ceiling, and what looked like
bizarre dentists chairs circling it.
"Hey, Mother!" yelled Kali over the din of a blowtorch.
"What!?" yelled an overweight asian man.
"This is the newbie!" she yelled to suddenly, just after Mother set of his
blowtorch.
"You don't have to yell my dear. I am standing right here."
"Up yours." Kali replied with disdain.
"Static, Welcome." The voice was from Rook, as he came down a flight of
stairs.
"What is this place?"
"When."
"Huh?"
"More important is When. It is the year 2196."
"What?"
"Kali. Help him into a chair."
Static sat down in one of the strange dentist chairs.
"This will feel weird. Don't be frightened." Kali told Static.
All of a sudden it felt like an invisible needle was screeching against his skull, trying to find its way in. Then as soon as the pain began, it ended. Static opened his eyes to find himself in endless white room. The type of
room you only see in eye drop commercials.
"What is this place?"
"This is the construct. It is our loading program. We can use it to load
anything from simulations, to training programs. Anything we need."
"We're in a computer?"
"Is it so hard to believe? You were in the matrix and didn't know you were in a computer. Look at yourself. Your beard is back, the plugs on your body are gone. What you're seeing now is what we call residual self-image. It is
the representation of your digital self. Come, sit," He pointed to two chairs and a television behind Static that he swore weren't there before.
"This is the world you know." He picked up the remote and turned on the
television. "Iceland as it was in the last decade of the twentieth century." In the television, Static sees the image fly over the ocean and pull in on the harbor at Keflavik, rising up to show the city from above and then pulled up to show the mountains. "This is Keflavik as it exists
today." The screen shows the small town of Keflavik gutted and the sky darkened by infinite cloud cover. Static closed his eyes, not wanting to see his birthplace destroyed and desecrated. As soon as he opens them, he realizes he is no longer in the tranquil world of the construct, he is now sitting in the middle of what was Highway One of Iceland. "Welcome to the Desert of the Real." Static sat staring at the grotesque vision that was Keflavik, hyperventilating as he tried to digest the truth as it was fed to
him.
"All we have are bits and pieces. What we do know is that some time during the twentieth century mankind created A.I. A singular consciousness that spawned an entire race of machines. We don't know who struck first, but we do know that we destroyed the sky." They both looked up and saw the dark clouds, connected by strands of thunder. "At the time it was believed that
they could not survive without the sun, they're most abundant energy source. Throughout history mankind has depended on machines to survive, now the tables have turned." Now Static was back in the construct watching the
TV as it showed horrible images of tree like mechanical towers, were growing fetuses were hanging and being plucked like apples. "The machines used the bioelectricity and heat from our bodies to fuel they're species.
Sickening isn't it?"
Static was still breathing heavy, but rook didn't seem to notice. "So the
matrix was created to keep us from waking up to the truth?"
"Yes."
"Let me out." Static ordered much calmer than he himself would have
expected.
Static opened his eyes, let them remove the jack, and just sat in the chair for quite a while, staring at the ceiling, trying to comprehend that for the past twenty-five years, he had lived in a bubble. "I need something to
eat."
"Yeah. Sure." Replied Kali, taking him by the arm and leading him to the
mess hall.
Static awoke, seemingly an eternity later. All he could see was light. His
eyes felt like they were being peeled off with paint thinner.
"My eyes hurt." Said Static groggily.
" I know," said the beautiful redhead out of nowhere "its because you've
never used them."
"Who."
"Don't worry. Just get some sleep."
Another eternity later, and static opened his eyes, this time less painfully. He looked down and saw a forest of needles imbedded in his skin.
"What?" Asked Static with a little more definition than his last sentence.
"Just wai."
Static slipped into unconsciousness before whoever could finish they're
sentence. He dreamt for a lifetime. He dreamt that he had a family and that he was happy. Then he dreamt that he was in a pasture, and that he was lying on
his back staring into the sun, going blind.
And then he awoke. He no longer stared into the light, though. He now was in a dark room. The room was lit by only on lamp, protruding from the wall. He arose and found a pair of pants and a shirt. The room was as sparse as
you can get, like some strange submarine.
Static got up and walked toward the door. "A latch." static said feeling
like he was in 20,000 leagues under the sea.
Static opened the latch and walked out into a hallway, just as drab as the room he was in. Everything was metallic, and it all looked the same. All the colors were hard and sharp, blacks and dark blues. What a foreboding
place this is.
" Hello Captain Nemo!" Static yelled.
"What?" said a feminine voice from somewhere.
"Who's there?" said Static looking all around.
Suddenly someone jumped down from a ladder that led into the ceiling. "Hi. I'm Kali, First mate of the Valhalla. Come on, Rook wants to see you." It
was the redhead he had met before.
"This is a ship?" Static asked not fully understanding anything.
"Yeah. Come on" she said as she started to climb the ladder.
Static didn't question and just followed Kali.
Once they made it up the ladder Static saw even more bizarre things. He saw
a giant column that went from floor to ceiling, and what looked like
bizarre dentists chairs circling it.
"Hey, Mother!" yelled Kali over the din of a blowtorch.
"What!?" yelled an overweight asian man.
"This is the newbie!" she yelled to suddenly, just after Mother set of his
blowtorch.
"You don't have to yell my dear. I am standing right here."
"Up yours." Kali replied with disdain.
"Static, Welcome." The voice was from Rook, as he came down a flight of
stairs.
"What is this place?"
"When."
"Huh?"
"More important is When. It is the year 2196."
"What?"
"Kali. Help him into a chair."
Static sat down in one of the strange dentist chairs.
"This will feel weird. Don't be frightened." Kali told Static.
All of a sudden it felt like an invisible needle was screeching against his skull, trying to find its way in. Then as soon as the pain began, it ended. Static opened his eyes to find himself in endless white room. The type of
room you only see in eye drop commercials.
"What is this place?"
"This is the construct. It is our loading program. We can use it to load
anything from simulations, to training programs. Anything we need."
"We're in a computer?"
"Is it so hard to believe? You were in the matrix and didn't know you were in a computer. Look at yourself. Your beard is back, the plugs on your body are gone. What you're seeing now is what we call residual self-image. It is
the representation of your digital self. Come, sit," He pointed to two chairs and a television behind Static that he swore weren't there before.
"This is the world you know." He picked up the remote and turned on the
television. "Iceland as it was in the last decade of the twentieth century." In the television, Static sees the image fly over the ocean and pull in on the harbor at Keflavik, rising up to show the city from above and then pulled up to show the mountains. "This is Keflavik as it exists
today." The screen shows the small town of Keflavik gutted and the sky darkened by infinite cloud cover. Static closed his eyes, not wanting to see his birthplace destroyed and desecrated. As soon as he opens them, he realizes he is no longer in the tranquil world of the construct, he is now sitting in the middle of what was Highway One of Iceland. "Welcome to the Desert of the Real." Static sat staring at the grotesque vision that was Keflavik, hyperventilating as he tried to digest the truth as it was fed to
him.
"All we have are bits and pieces. What we do know is that some time during the twentieth century mankind created A.I. A singular consciousness that spawned an entire race of machines. We don't know who struck first, but we do know that we destroyed the sky." They both looked up and saw the dark clouds, connected by strands of thunder. "At the time it was believed that
they could not survive without the sun, they're most abundant energy source. Throughout history mankind has depended on machines to survive, now the tables have turned." Now Static was back in the construct watching the
TV as it showed horrible images of tree like mechanical towers, were growing fetuses were hanging and being plucked like apples. "The machines used the bioelectricity and heat from our bodies to fuel they're species.
Sickening isn't it?"
Static was still breathing heavy, but rook didn't seem to notice. "So the
matrix was created to keep us from waking up to the truth?"
"Yes."
"Let me out." Static ordered much calmer than he himself would have
expected.
Static opened his eyes, let them remove the jack, and just sat in the chair for quite a while, staring at the ceiling, trying to comprehend that for the past twenty-five years, he had lived in a bubble. "I need something to
eat."
"Yeah. Sure." Replied Kali, taking him by the arm and leading him to the
mess hall.