Chapter 2
It had been couple of years since he had seen his brother. He couldn't remember how many, but it had been a while. He still had the same blue eyes, the same black rooted bleached hair. Even still the same height. But as Neo looked at his code, he could tell instantly that this was not the brother he had known. And the next statement synched it.
"Hello, Mr. Anderson."
No one called him Mr. Anderson. Except Agents. "These machines can be really cruel sometimes" Neo thought. "They make an Agent that looks like my brother. What next? Female Agents who look like Jennie?" Those thoughts shot through his mind in the time it took him to have his gun out and pointed directly in-between this new Agent's eyes. But two things stopped him from pulling the trigger. The first was, when he looked closer, he saw something in the code that didn't match up with any Agent code he had ever seen before. And the second was that this individual wasn't armed. Or at least, he didn't have a gun out.
"What do you want," Neo asked.
"To be allowed to speak."
"Shoot," Neo said.
"Pun intended?"
"I thought you had something to say."
"I have standing orders to kill you by any means possible."
Neo waited. "Is that it?"
"I'm not sure if following those orders is wise or not."
"It's not," Neo replied. "Ask any of your fellow Agents who have fought me. If they have the ability to speak." Neo half-grinned at this, as if enjoying a private joke.
"Who said I'm an Agent?" asked the program in front of him.
This gave Neo a moments pause. "Well, if you're not an Agent, then what are you?" he asked.
"I am Hunter," the program replied
Now Neo was starting to get really ticked off. "You steal my brother's appearance and you use his hacker name like you owned it. I should kill you just for that."
"You are mistaken, Tommy. I do own this appearance and this name."
Neo's blood was boiling so hot that he actually missed that the program had just called him Tommy. Just like his brother used to. "So since he was still hooked up to the Matrix when he died you think you own him and everything he was?"
"No. I own him because I am him."
Time screeched to a halt. Neo was staggered by the implications in what this program had just said. He couldn't believe it. AI hadn't just made a program that looked like his brother. Oh no, it looked like they had made a program that was his brother, and turned it loose on him. Yes, the machines were cruel indeed.
"You look pale Mr. Anderson. Perhaps you should go back to your little "Real" world and lie down." The program had exactly the same mocking tone as Jack had whenever he and Neo were having a fight, and he had the upper hand. And he could just hear the quotation marks around "Real".
"Not until I've killed you," Neo said, with all the warmth of glacier runoff.
He swung a hard right, aimed directly at his opponent's larynx. But, as he swung, something very odd happened. Before his eyes, the program before him seemed to disperse. By the time he would have connected, there was nothing there anymore. He spun, looking for where his opponent had gone, but he was nowhere nearby. He noticed that Splinter and Trinity had reached the bottom of the fire escape, and they were looking up anxiously to see if he was coming. He also became aware that the agents had stopped firing while he and the program had been standing on the roofs edge, but they had now started again. Instead of wasting time stopping or even dodging the bullets, he simply stepped over the edge and accelerated his fall with a thought. He fell for a few seconds of eternity, contemplating what that program had told him. It haunted him the whole way down. However, once he hit the ground, cracking the cement under his feet, his thoughts turned immediately back to getting the three of them out. Trinity had already called for the exit, and it was set to go, just a few blocks down. The area was deserted, and they got to the phone and got out, with a strange amount of ease.
When he woke up on the Nebuchadnezzar and they pulled the plug out of the back of his head, Neo found that he was exhausted. Trinity and Splinter kept asking him things about what had happened up there, and who that guy had been, where he had come from, and something about why he had suddenly vanished, but Neo didn't even hear all the questions, because about the time Trinity said, "Neo, are you alright?" he passed out.
It had been couple of years since he had seen his brother. He couldn't remember how many, but it had been a while. He still had the same blue eyes, the same black rooted bleached hair. Even still the same height. But as Neo looked at his code, he could tell instantly that this was not the brother he had known. And the next statement synched it.
"Hello, Mr. Anderson."
No one called him Mr. Anderson. Except Agents. "These machines can be really cruel sometimes" Neo thought. "They make an Agent that looks like my brother. What next? Female Agents who look like Jennie?" Those thoughts shot through his mind in the time it took him to have his gun out and pointed directly in-between this new Agent's eyes. But two things stopped him from pulling the trigger. The first was, when he looked closer, he saw something in the code that didn't match up with any Agent code he had ever seen before. And the second was that this individual wasn't armed. Or at least, he didn't have a gun out.
"What do you want," Neo asked.
"To be allowed to speak."
"Shoot," Neo said.
"Pun intended?"
"I thought you had something to say."
"I have standing orders to kill you by any means possible."
Neo waited. "Is that it?"
"I'm not sure if following those orders is wise or not."
"It's not," Neo replied. "Ask any of your fellow Agents who have fought me. If they have the ability to speak." Neo half-grinned at this, as if enjoying a private joke.
"Who said I'm an Agent?" asked the program in front of him.
This gave Neo a moments pause. "Well, if you're not an Agent, then what are you?" he asked.
"I am Hunter," the program replied
Now Neo was starting to get really ticked off. "You steal my brother's appearance and you use his hacker name like you owned it. I should kill you just for that."
"You are mistaken, Tommy. I do own this appearance and this name."
Neo's blood was boiling so hot that he actually missed that the program had just called him Tommy. Just like his brother used to. "So since he was still hooked up to the Matrix when he died you think you own him and everything he was?"
"No. I own him because I am him."
Time screeched to a halt. Neo was staggered by the implications in what this program had just said. He couldn't believe it. AI hadn't just made a program that looked like his brother. Oh no, it looked like they had made a program that was his brother, and turned it loose on him. Yes, the machines were cruel indeed.
"You look pale Mr. Anderson. Perhaps you should go back to your little "Real" world and lie down." The program had exactly the same mocking tone as Jack had whenever he and Neo were having a fight, and he had the upper hand. And he could just hear the quotation marks around "Real".
"Not until I've killed you," Neo said, with all the warmth of glacier runoff.
He swung a hard right, aimed directly at his opponent's larynx. But, as he swung, something very odd happened. Before his eyes, the program before him seemed to disperse. By the time he would have connected, there was nothing there anymore. He spun, looking for where his opponent had gone, but he was nowhere nearby. He noticed that Splinter and Trinity had reached the bottom of the fire escape, and they were looking up anxiously to see if he was coming. He also became aware that the agents had stopped firing while he and the program had been standing on the roofs edge, but they had now started again. Instead of wasting time stopping or even dodging the bullets, he simply stepped over the edge and accelerated his fall with a thought. He fell for a few seconds of eternity, contemplating what that program had told him. It haunted him the whole way down. However, once he hit the ground, cracking the cement under his feet, his thoughts turned immediately back to getting the three of them out. Trinity had already called for the exit, and it was set to go, just a few blocks down. The area was deserted, and they got to the phone and got out, with a strange amount of ease.
When he woke up on the Nebuchadnezzar and they pulled the plug out of the back of his head, Neo found that he was exhausted. Trinity and Splinter kept asking him things about what had happened up there, and who that guy had been, where he had come from, and something about why he had suddenly vanished, but Neo didn't even hear all the questions, because about the time Trinity said, "Neo, are you alright?" he passed out.