Title: The Kingdom of Hell.
Author: TheRedPony
Rating: R, consensual sex and language.
Feedback: Please and thank you.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Matrix nor any thing else related the films. It is not my world, just my playground.
Story Notes: This chapter is "Major Boring Shit"(-Tank) But trust me this is important though so don't skip it!.
Money sex & thought control
Big brother is watchin' you
Unplug your brain
And save your soul
-Real McCoy
***
He had been going around in circles with Zion command for the last hour. They needed to return to inform the council what had happened, but things were becoming difficult. He was now speaking to Commander Gila who was chief of command during this shift.
"No Captain Morpheus, your ship can not return to Zion, we can not take you. To many have died it is not possible for us to make the room."
"A crewmen of mine must speak to the council, it is urgent."
"What is the name of this crewman and what does he need?"
"His name is Fish, but that information is classified."
"Then I can not help you with out the proper clearance."
"And what clearance is that?" His voice was showing more of his frustration.
"You must have at least an C level clearance to speak to any one at the moment security is very tight."
"No Captain in the fleet has any more then B level right now."
"I am aware of that Sir but I can not change my orders."
Fish held a hand up to speak before Morpheus could reply.
"Commander Gila this is Fish, I have D level clearance. Look me up in the files"
Morpheus stared open eyed. Wyvern had started choking and Neo acutely fell out of his chair. Very ungracefully for the savoir of mankind too. Fish watched them with a worried look in his face.
Neo scrambled to his feat and jumped up. "You had the highest level of clearance and you have let use chase around for an hour! Why didn't you say something." Neo was yelling, and he shoved Ammit off who was trying to quite him down. "What's wrong with you?"
Fish looked at him impartially. "You did not ask."
Neo threw is hands up in frustration.
"Come on Neo" Trinity pulled him away form the communications room. He was biting out choice frases.
"Don't worry Fish, Trinity will make sure he gets his anger management meds." Ammit stated flatly, then burst into laughter with Link and Wyvern. They were silenced by Morpheus's glare
Gila returned, he sounded very nervous.
"Fish forgive use, we will patch you through to council immediately."
The line went silent, then a few clicks gave the tale tell sign of switching to a secure feed.
***
"Fish this is Councilor Watt, you have the councils full attention, and I will be asking you questions which we expect to answer truthfully and to the fullest of you abilities. We extend out apologies first however that we could not meet you in person." The rest of the crew was silent and sat rapt listing to the conversation. They knew little about Fish and were intrigued.
"None needed councilor, one understands the difficulties of this time."
"Thank you we will know began, Please state your name"
"Fish"
"How did you acquire this name?"
"I was named for my viruses Piranha, Marlin and Barracuda."
"When were you freed?"
"5 months ago."
"What did you do while in the Matrix that made you a target?"
"I wrote a program, my virus named Barracuda. Instead of actually entering a database, it stayed on the out side in the very most outer layers of the firewall. As information was passed through the wall, it recorded the residual coding that told were the file was going or coming to. In time is created a complete directory map showing the most used files to the most obscure, even the levels of classification needed to view them. Using Barracuda I could construct backdoors into the files and bypass the wall, allowing me access to where ever I wanted. I wanted a bigger challenge so I chose the network for a government building in another country. It took seventeen months before I could start to construct the backdoors, but it was worth it. I found employee files first, they looked like normal people, but I watched the coding more and found deeper levels to files. That's when I first learned what the agents were."
"You knew about agents before you had been contacted"
"Yes"
"Is that when you first began to study them?"
"Yes it was, I learned every thing I could about their movements and were they frequented, they keep very good logs, you know. I was going through the logs of an Agent named Murray when I stumbled upon away to acutely see their coding. It was amazing, and I was fascinated by the complexity. I spent many months recording it, and then comparing it to the logs. I frankly am amazed to this day I was not caught, but Barracuda hides very well. Eventually I learned to read the code, and I became aware of just how amazing they were. Feats of programming. Every thing was thought of, they have heartbeats, and blood, every last inch of them is anatomically correct from the inside out. They even radiate heat so they are warm to the touch."
"So an Agents body is like a human's inside the Matrix?"
"For the most part, there is little things, like their hair and their nails don't grow, and they can heal them selves very quickly. But basically yes."
"And you say you knew all this before you were freed?"
"Yes Sir."
"How is it you came to be freed?"
"I finally got curious and began looking around for information on the web about The Matrix which had been mentioned several times. I was contacted by Captain Thaddeus of the Osirus. My freeing was very quite and went with out any problems at all. He told me about the real world and the Matrix, and I told him and explained how the Agents worked much better. I startled the crew half to death, as they had no clue that I knew what I did."
"At that time did you know more about the Agents then the crew did."
"Yes, they had only ever seen them, and while I had never seen one at least not that I could be sure of, I knew things like how they were written to smell and the time it took them to shift form one body to the next. Things like that."
"They where impressed?"
"Yes"
"And they took you here did they not?"
"Yes, and I was questioned much as I am now, but before the council."
"At that point did you know more then Zion did?"
"Yes."
"After this was determined what happened?"
"I was given an office and a computer and told to get to work, to go over thousands of recorded encounters between the agents and humans. I was given complete access to all information, every thing in Zion's databases."
"Was this help full?"
"Yes I learned a great deal about the Agents from these recordings."
"But Zion needed more information did it not?"
"Yes it was vital to the war effort."
"What did your new orders contain?"
"To become part of the crew that most often came in contact with Agents and study them. To find out how to better out run them, out think them, and most of all escape them."
"Did you find out these things?"
"To some extent, but no not the full detail that was ordered"
"If you did not discover this why is it so important that you contacted us?"
"I discovered something that could not wait until we returned. I only just realized it this morning."
"What did you discover Fish that could not wait for another Month."
The tense atmosphere was audible through the signal all the way from Zion.
"I have found out what year it is, and the date that the Agent designated as Smith came on line. In addition" he added raising his voice over the growing noise, "I have discovered that Agents were written by two separate programmers."
The council erupted in comments and questions, before the ringing sound of gavel brought them back to order. "You may continue Watt", the head Councilman could be heard.
"This opens many questions Fish," He sounded nervous. "How did you come upon this information?"
"Honourable council, I am aware that many of us in this place are programmers our selves, but I will share this with you regardless. It is tradition for a programmer to sign his work. It is a tradition that the machines also carry. All the Agents are signed and dated. I have seen many signatures but that of one Agent Smith is the oldest I have ever seen and dates to the year 2573. Smith is intriguing because he is the only Agent we have record of ever going rouge. At least we assumed he went rouge, but I believe that is incorrect. Smith is not a rouge program he is a virus, rewritten and reinserted into the Matrix. With a date of edit encoded into him by a programmer named Lev, that reads 4645. I believe this is the current year. Which dates the matrix to over 2000 years old. Before it would have been unbelievable, but we have record of Neo's encounter with the programmer of the Matrix. Most in Zion believe our city to be no more then 200 years old, the Architect stated other wise. This is proof."
The silence was strikingly obvious.
"Why is it no one has known about this before Fish?"
"It is feasible that some one has, but every time Zion starts a new we loose every thing we learned before. As of this era of Zion, I am the only one who has studied the Agents so in depth. I am the only one I know of who can read the signatures."
Hushed mumbling was heard as the Council plotted its next question.
"This is astounding and we wish to ask more about this but we also would like to know what you mean by two different programmers."
"Certainly Sir, Agents like Smith are what I have dubbed the Old Agents."
"Old?"
"Yes, I have found files around seventy separate agents, that are signed with the same signature as Agent Smith. They are all similar in age, and they have the most blatant personalities."
"Personality?"
"Those seventy agents have some of the most advanced emotion grids I have ever seen. Agents were written to adapt, it's all over their coding, but these seventy are drastically changed from their original forms. They have subroutines that should not exist."
He shook his head "These do, but I don't think their allowed to show it. The rest of the agents don't, the New Agents, change much more slowly. Their adaptation has been staved off like some one was afraid agents were becoming too human too fast."
More mumbling was heard "Nebuchadnezzar this is truly an amazing find. We will be going into recess to discuss this, and return to you with new orders. Captain you are to inform no one of this is that understood?"
"Yes Councilman."
"We will contact you shortly"
The line went dead.
Wyvern grinned form ear to ear. "Fish you are one crazy prick." In one statement Wyvern summed up every ones feelings. His simple mind had a way of doing that.
***
Ammit sighed. They had been waiting for the last two hours for Zion to finish its discussion. Bureaucrats were always so hideously slow, no matter in the Matrix or the real world. She looked at Fish who was sitting next to her. Fish smiled, and then frowned watching her eyes.
"Something is wrong Ammit, I know you too well for you to hind it from me."
She smiled at the young mans concern. "I am just upset that's all. I miss my father Fish, I worry about him."
"Lying does not become you."
She looked at him, eyes narrowing slightly. The little demon in side of her showing for only an instant before she softened again, but she did not reply.
"Why are you afraid?"
She sighed again "Your right, you do know me to well." She snapped lightly.
"I don't mean pry my friend, but I worry for you too." His voice was calming and sweet.
"Why should you? You have enough things to worry about. What if the council sends us to look for agents? I think they want information that much, you heard the way Councilor Watt spoke. They are chomping at the bait Fish."
"Don't worry about it. We have Neo with us we will be fine. I don't think that's why you are worried."
She dropped her head "I am afraid of agents Fish, their the monsters in my nightmares."
Fish lifted her chin with his hand. "I have been through every log in the data banks, you have never been harmed by one."
"My encounter is not in the databanks Fish. It was happened few the day before I was freed. They attacked me to get to my father." Her voice was shaking "I was only seventeen damn it, and living alone for the first time." Her hand came to her face to brush away imaginary tears. "They came into to my home, and into my room. There were three of them." She sobbed slightly.
Fished moved closer and put an arm around her, letting Ammit's fine black hair rest on his shoulder. His heartbeat in her ears seemed to calm her. "When ever you feel you can, don't say a word until then." She nodded lightly against him.
She laid her head there a little while longer, and then spoke. "I don't know their names, but they had huge shoulders and were strong as tanks. I could not run, there was no were to go, and even if their had been, I was to scared, my legs were frozen. I was unable to fight back. All those years of lessons and training, for what, they were all 6'4" at least and I am tiny. They could have snapped me with one hand. I knew I was good as dead."
"But your here now"
"Yes, because they had not come to kill me. They came to show my father that he would hand over the codes or they would show no mercy. The agents raped me, all three of them. I screamed until I coughed up blood. They did not even try and stop me. They did it to prove they could, that they could hurt my father and that he could never escape them. The sick thing was I don't think they felt a thing. Their face never changed. The next day I was unplugged and being worked on in the Exodus."
Fish tightened his grip around her. "I can see why you fear. No one ever said they were not ruthless."
"Fish," she sat up suddenly. "I was going to tell you but we got so distracted. This morning during the jump something happened. Its hard to explain."
"Do the best you can"
She nodded. "I was in the air then all of a sudden I felt really dizzy, then the pain hit, it was like some one dropped the floor out on me, or was pulling the plug out of my body. I couldn't see any thing except this big red door."
Fish sat bolt upright nearly knocking Ammit over, "A red door? Oh God."
"Should I tell Morpheus? Is this important."
"No, No, you just surprised me that's all. Don't tell any one else" Fish was visibly nervous. Ammit was worried he never looked nervous.
"Now its my turn to call you a liar."
Fish frowned. "Alright but this is classified so you have to swear not to tell any one."
She nodded.
"I was going through the logs of an agent named Evens. He reported seeing a red door in a glitch. An official commented it about apparently it had happened before. Every agent who saw the red door died or was deleted soon after."
Ammit grimaced. "Am going to die?"
Fish frowned " I don't know, I hope not." Fish tensed again. "Just keep it quite Ammit, you never know who might be listening." He stood, I should check in to see how things are going, back there." He nodded in the direction of the communications room. "Will you be alright?"
She nodded weakly. "I think I need to go lay down. Tell me if any thing comes up?"
"I will" He slipped out leaving her alone. What he didn't tell her was that other programs not just agents saw the door. Sometimes even humans.
***
Fish walked into the communications room. Neo visibly tensed when he did, but Fish was impassive.
"I take their was no word?"
Morpheus smiled "Actually we have been told another five minuets and then where good. I sent Link out to gather the rest of the crew."
"Exhalant." Fish sat beside Morpheus, as far as possible from the scowling Neo, all though he did seem to be in a better mood because Trinity had taken care of him. "Thank the source for that woman." He thought to him self. "She puts up with him."
The rest of the crew gathered around in the small room, Ammit looked unbearably pale, but no one said any thing.
The speaker crackled into life. "This is Councillor Watt. We have reached a decision."
"Acknowledged" Morpheus replied customarily.
"We have decided that the new task of the Nebuchadnezzar will be to shadow the movement of other crews and study Agents more in depth. We believe that this route will lead us to a better understanding of how we may defeat them. We know that we ask an unfoundedly dangerous task of you, and so we will not order any of you to do this. We only ask it. Fish you would be in the most danger, are you willing?"
"Honourable Council, I will do every thing you ask with out reservation. I have faith in this crew, in the judgment of her Captain, of our operator, and of Neo."
The crew looked at him astonished, but Fish showed no emotion.
"Captain Morpheus will you risk your life and your ship?"
"I will. I also have faith"
"Be there any among the crew that will not. No shame will be fall you."
Wyvern, who had been watching his hands on the table, spoke up. "I joined this ship because I wanted to do something noble. I'm in."
Neo spoke, "I am The One, and if this crew believes in me I will not let them down." He looked to Fish who evenly met his gaze.
"I go with Neo, always and forever." Trinity's devotion showed in her words.
Link spoke up. "I will not let my friends risk their lives alone, as long as this girl is still kicking, I'll have your back. I'm in."
Ammit was the only one who did not speak. She looked at Fish, who smiled back at her, "You know what I fear Fish, but a death for my people will make my heart light upon the scales so I fear not. I will serve with pride."
Morpheus nodded. He had not expected his crew to be any different. " Honourable Council we except. How should we proceed?"
You are to began as soon as possible. The crew of the Lynceus will be jacking in thirty minutes. You are not to contact them or do any thing to make them or agents aware of your presence. Be nothing more then shadows. Fish knows what to do."
"Understood."
***
They had jacked in immediately and Fish had set out with a whole scorn of scanners and sensors that would record the locations the Lynceus crew was slated to be in. Near by exits were monitored as well.
"Why can't all this be done from the outside?" Wyvern asked.
"Because the time differences make the recording to sluggish. The finer coding is lost and it becomes no more use full then just going over logs. In here I can monitor people before and after their bodies are high jacked by the agents. In the moment right during jumping in or out of a body, there is a tiny instant were their security is lowered. Using a modified version of the Barracuda virus, I should be able to instead of just viewing their code, look at their files and directories as well. Basically like an agent mind reader."
"You have an answer for every thing."
"That's my job."
"Cut the chat" Morpheus interrupted. "The Lynceus is logging in."
They were safely away in a small hotel room, in an old building to the north side of town. From here they could watch much of the activity from roof top stations, were crewmembers were reporting from. Ammit and Trinity were on a blue building 3 blocks form here and Neo was hovering over the city, his sunglasses coded to send images of what he saw to a small TV set up in the brown painted room.
"There" Neo voice was herd over an old speaker. It's the Lynceus' crew. The screen zoomed in showing a group of five exiting an old daycare centre.
"No sign of Agents yet." Fish, Wyvern and Morpheus were all pouring over the codes looking conscientiously of the green symbols. Link back on the ship as well was searching for their signatures in the code. "There look" Fish whispered. He pointed to a single ribbon of thread, the tell tale signs of an agent. "Lets get this going." He flipped several switches and the roomed whirred into to life. Several computers did massive calibrations, connecting scanners and sensors.
"Now what? How long will this take?" Wyvern asked.
"Never rush any thing worth doing Wyvern."
***
The Lynceus' crew was heading for their exit. Trinity, Ammit and Neo had kept in close contact but nothing partially exciting had happened.
"Nothing the agents didn't even catch a whiff. What a waste."
"I wish it was always that way, Wyvern." Morpheus spoke.
Fish grinned from ear to ear. "Not a waste at all. Our pall Agent Johnson here just changed bodies closer to the exit. I'm in now."
"You hacked into an Agent already, you said their building took seventeen months."
"Yes but the building was better protected. Honestly who would want to hack into an Agent? Its not like you could control them so what would be the point. All I have is what he sees so far."
"Still its pretty cool"
"You think he knows?"
"Shhh! I'm going to bring it up on the screen."
They turned to face the TV that had until know showed what Neo saw. Now it was an Agent's vision. He was looking at the phone hanging off the hook in the old building. The Lynceus had escapade unscathed, most exhalant news. They watched now as the screen jarred back outside. He was obviously looking at a dark blue building. Then he gazed up, and looked towards the rooftop. It was the building Ammit and Trinity were on. Suddenly the scrolling screen exploded with ribbons of code. Dozens of agents every were. In the building, climbing towards the roof.
"Shit!" Wyvern shouted. He picked up a cell phone and dialled in a panic. "Get out of there, he found you." He screamed into the phone.
Wyvern heard Fishes voice, calling direction on the other end of the phone. He had jumped to the blue building, and he watched as Neo had just taken Trinity away. "Wyvern, Morpheus go to the safe house, we can't leave just …. Nooooooo!"
Fish screamed as he watched Ammit fall. Behind her a tall burly agent stood with a smoking Desert Eagle. He smirked at him, but was knocked sideways as Neo slammed into him, Trinity a safe distance away. Fish could only watch as Neo fought the agents, before sending them fling. Fish picked Ammit up, and stepped to the safe house, like he had over the buildings.
He and Ammit were the first ones to arrive. The room was black except for a single harsh checkered beam of light that played onto the floor, form the window. Fish laid her in the center of the light. He brushed back her dark hair, and his hand traced the hieroglyphic tattoos below her eye.
"Fish" She wheezed. "I saw the door again when he shot me. It does mean death doesn't it."
"No. It means life."
She watched him as he slowly drew a knife from inside is black jacket. It was black as well, but the blade was metallic and glittered in red and lime colored bands.
Neo entered the room, but Fish did not notice him.
"Agent Smith" he whispered, and drew the blade along his hand splitting his ivory palm in a seeping line of blood.
Neo gasped and Fish snapped his head to look at him. "What have you done?" Neo asked stepping back in distrust.
"Mr. Anderson." A cold voice came from the shadows in the room. "I believe humans have a phrase, curiosity killed that cat. You and I both know who this girl is and her importance."
"Don't you touch her Smith." Neo's voice was deadly cold.
Fish stood "She has seen the door, just before and once again this morning. But she was not in the Matrix."
"I have never heard of such a thing."
"Neither have I, but please I must take her to the red gate. She will die here."
"Why should I wish to safe her life? If she dies we will have the codes, to Zion."
"If she dies I will give them the codes to the Mainframe."
Smith tensed. "Master Fish, that is treason."
"And so it letting her die. She has seen the gate, she has political asylum."
"Fish your one of them. I new there was something wrong about any one who loved Agents." Neo had stormed forward inches from him.
"Neo please," he begged "If she dies every one looses." He turned back to Smith. "I do not have the codes Sir. I have been in Zion for five months with no contacts."
"Why would I have the codes to the gate?"
"Because you are her favourite Smith. You were her first. Please take Ammit with you. Please. I cannot call then and you know it. And they have to come for her if she is to live. I don't know were any one is, I have no idea on scheduling, and you're the only one whom I knew would be here. Please Smith. I'm begging you."
The agent glared down as the pleading human.
"Master Fish you must do something for me then."
"Name it"
"You already know it"
Fish nodded, and then spun, his black knife made contact with the startled Neo and impaled the blade deep into his chest. Neo fell to the ground the black knife in his heart.
Smith grinned. "Thank you Master Fish. What did I tell you Mr. Anderson? He drew Ammit into his arms then vanished back in to the shadows.
The rest of the crew entered the room panting, haven shaken the agents, but Trinity screamed seeing Neo on the floor. The blade was in his chest, exposed steel glittering in oxidized black. Neo's blood was still dripping of Fish's hand. He frowned at the crew "I'm sorry, it was for all of Zion, that I have done this."
Neo blinked coming back to life. He drew the blade from his chest. "Fish you bastard", he hissed. Fish frowned then disappeared.
The phone in the dark room range, it was Link with the exit. Neo was the first out. They would find him in the Matrix and bring him to justice. There was no doubt about this. Giving Ammit to Smith and trying to kill him, Fish would be executed. Their was no where he could hide they still had his body.
"Neo" Link's voice forced his eyes open. "Look"
The other crew was pulling out too and were equally staring, where link was. The chairs where Ammit and Fish and lain were empty.
*********
I'm back and working on the next chapter.