Artificial Existence
By Christopher Harrison
01: Chase
On the 7th floor of a large building, two men are eagerly at work. The first man sits at a desk, his long black hair cascading around his face. He wears a black silk shirt, and black jeans, with dark leather boots. The man types information quickly into the computer in front of him. The second man stands at attention in front of the door of the room they inhabit. He holds a Heckler and Koch MP5 sub-machine gun. His long dark coat shifts as he pushes his short black hair behind his ear. The man's dark brown eyes are alert and ready, as he steadily awaits his friend.
'We've got to get out of here, now, Violet!' Yelled the armed man. Violet turned to face him. 'I know Protocol, just wait, I've almost got it.' Violet turned around again to face the computer console. The display lit up with grey text on a black background:
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 4:
Connection-Specific DNS Suffix . : AND.System.com.Mat
Ip Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 138.926.717.0.2.91.0
'There!' Violet yelled to Protocol '138.926.717.0.2.91.0, let's get the hell out of here.
Protocol turned and ran, Violet followed. Violet and his crew had been sent by Zion command to retrieve the IP address of a dangerous program, just recently entered into the Matrix. Although they were not briefed on the potency of the program, they were aware of the importance of this mission.
'Protocol,' Violet asked 'Have Server and Binary contacted us yet?'. 'No,' Protocol replied, 'Entry says they were intercepted by a SWAT team at a security junction on level 4, we should probably meet them there.' 'Agreed, let's go. Get Entry to set up an exit near that junction, I want to be out of here as soon as possible.' 'Okay.' Protocol retrieved his Cell phone from the inside pocket of his jacket. 'Entry, we need an exit near the security junction on level 4...okay, we'll be there. What's the status of Server and Binary?.We're on our way there now.' 'What's their status?' Violet asked. 'They're under heavy fire. We have to get there before we draw agent attention. Let's go.'.
Violet and Protocol arrived on the fourth floor in little more than a minute. As the elevator doors slid open, the blur of someone's body flew into the elevator. As the body came to a stop, Violet looked down to see that the body was dressed in the dark blue armor of a SWAT team member. 'I think it's safe to say that Server is definitely down here, captain.' said Protocol as he exited the elevator. Violet followed him and examined the room. It was a small room, about 10 meters in either direction. In the middle stood 4 men dressed in SWAT gear, holding various rifle's. To the right side of the room stood Server. Her long blond hair fell down to her shoulders, where a skin tight leather body suit wrapped around her slim figure. In her gloved hands she held a pair of handguns. On the left side of the room, Binary was crouching, holding a G36 assault rifle. Unlike the rest of their team, Binary was dressed completely in blue. His dark blue shirt flowed down to his blue jeans. The only part of his outfit that was not blue was his boots, which were black.
'Freeze!' Yelled one of the SWAT member's in the middle. Almost simultaneously, the action happened.
Protocol dived to a nearby desk that had been pushed over in the fighting. At the same time, Violet spun around behind the wall of the elevator, evading the SWAT team's line of sight. Server dived strait forward, firing both her weapons, hitting two of the SWAT soldiers. As her dive finished, she rolled up to face the third one. Before he could bring his weapon to bear, she rammed the muzzle of her pistol into his stomach and fired a single shot. Straight after, she put a leg onto his falling chest, and jumped backward into a back flip. Half way through the back flip, she fired two shots into the falling man, and landed facing the body. 'Nice of you to make it.' She proclaimed to the two men. Binary walked over to stand by her, and Violet and Protocol also came to meet them. 'It's time to go.' Said Violet 'There's an exit 2 floors down.' 'I don't think we're leaving any time soon' said Protocol beside them, facing the elevator. Standing inside the elevator stood a single man. The man had neat hair, and was wearing dark sunglasses. He wore a black and white suit. He would have looked like your average businessman, if it was not for the pistol in his hand. Violet muttered a single word before all hell broke loose: 'Run'.
Protocol ran to the left, and Binary to the right, as they had practiced in simulation a million times before. Server flipped over Violet as he started rolling forward. Through the roll, he picked up a pistol that had been dropped on the ground, perhaps by one of the SWAT. By the time Violet had come out of the roll into a crouch, Server was directly behind him, with a rifle in her hands which she must have picked up from the ground. The Agent was seemingly focusing his fire on Binary, who was pinned behind a desk. Protocol, who was to the left of the agent, opened fire with his sub-machine gun. Violet fired a few rounds off from his pistol, and Server literally dived forward with her finger on the trigger, letting off every bullet she could. The Agent tured to fire at Violet, but as he did, Binary stood and began firing from his rifle. The agent tried to dodge the crossfire, but the added fire from all 4 weapons was too much, and he fell back into the elevator, with multiple bullet wounds.
The four of them ran to the elevator and Violet pressed the button for level 2. The doors began to close, but just as they were almost sealed shut, an arm came between they and held Protocol by the head. Before anyone could raise a weapon, the arm pulled Protocol toward the door. His head hit the door with a loud crack, and blood poured down from his forehead. Violet jammed the end of his pistol through the crack in the door, just above Protocol's head and fired the entire clip. The hand let go and retreated, letting the doors finally close. Protocol fell to the ground with a thump, blood streaming from his forehead. 'Binary, carry him. We've got to get him out before he loses too much blood'. The elevator pinged. They reached the second floor.
The doors opened, and the room was empty. It was more of a corridor than a room. A long, narrow hallway with door's leading to rooms on either side. There was a faint ringing sound coming from the end of the hallway. Violet ran forward toward the door at the end of the corridor. 'Violet, wait!' Yelled Server, but it was too late. As Violet passed one of the doors, the door shattered and a body flew into Violet. The two bodies fell as the agent landed on top of Violet. The agent pulled a gun to Violet's head, but just as the agent was going to pull the trigger, a boot hit the side of his face and the agent went sprawling. Server continued her attack on the agent, and Violet get to his feet, pulling a pistol from inside his jacket. Server jumped, preparing to land on the agent, but the agent rolled and kicked Server through a doorway.
Violet aimed and fired two shots from his handgun, but the agent moved with lightning speed and dodged the two bullets before jumping forward and kicking Violet straight in the chest. Violet dropped his gun from the force of the kick, and flew backward, just in front of where Binary stood, holding Protocol. 'Binary, get him out of here!' Yelled Violet, as he flipped up into a fighting stance.
The agent had turned and was now attacking Server again. Violet saw his chance to get Binary past. He ran toward the agent, and run up the wall. He jumped off and kicked the agent in the side of the head with all the force he could gather, which pushed the agent into one of the other rooms. As soon as Violet landed, Binary rushed past them into the room at the end of the corridor. 'Go!' Said Violet to Server, who started running after Binary. Violet dived and retrieved his pistol.
Violet ran and stood in the doorway to the exit, where Protocol had already escaped and Binary was exiting. The agent came and ran toward violet, who was hiding the pistol behind him. Violet saw the agent coming forward, and when there was a little more than a meter between them, Violet pulled out the gun and fired all the rounds from it. The agent had no trouble in dodging them all, and as the roar of his gun came to a stop, he heard a voice behind him say 'Duck!'. Violet fell flat on the floor as the roar of machine gun fire enveloped the room. The bullets sprayed above his head, and the agent went down with a loud thud, and then a strange buzz as the body returned to that of a normal civilian.
Violet got to his feet and turned around to see Server standing behind him with a large rifle in her hands. 'Well, I think it's time to get out of here, commander.'.
By Christopher Harrison
01: Chase
On the 7th floor of a large building, two men are eagerly at work. The first man sits at a desk, his long black hair cascading around his face. He wears a black silk shirt, and black jeans, with dark leather boots. The man types information quickly into the computer in front of him. The second man stands at attention in front of the door of the room they inhabit. He holds a Heckler and Koch MP5 sub-machine gun. His long dark coat shifts as he pushes his short black hair behind his ear. The man's dark brown eyes are alert and ready, as he steadily awaits his friend.
'We've got to get out of here, now, Violet!' Yelled the armed man. Violet turned to face him. 'I know Protocol, just wait, I've almost got it.' Violet turned around again to face the computer console. The display lit up with grey text on a black background:
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 4:
Connection-Specific DNS Suffix . : AND.System.com.Mat
Ip Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 138.926.717.0.2.91.0
'There!' Violet yelled to Protocol '138.926.717.0.2.91.0, let's get the hell out of here.
Protocol turned and ran, Violet followed. Violet and his crew had been sent by Zion command to retrieve the IP address of a dangerous program, just recently entered into the Matrix. Although they were not briefed on the potency of the program, they were aware of the importance of this mission.
'Protocol,' Violet asked 'Have Server and Binary contacted us yet?'. 'No,' Protocol replied, 'Entry says they were intercepted by a SWAT team at a security junction on level 4, we should probably meet them there.' 'Agreed, let's go. Get Entry to set up an exit near that junction, I want to be out of here as soon as possible.' 'Okay.' Protocol retrieved his Cell phone from the inside pocket of his jacket. 'Entry, we need an exit near the security junction on level 4...okay, we'll be there. What's the status of Server and Binary?.We're on our way there now.' 'What's their status?' Violet asked. 'They're under heavy fire. We have to get there before we draw agent attention. Let's go.'.
Violet and Protocol arrived on the fourth floor in little more than a minute. As the elevator doors slid open, the blur of someone's body flew into the elevator. As the body came to a stop, Violet looked down to see that the body was dressed in the dark blue armor of a SWAT team member. 'I think it's safe to say that Server is definitely down here, captain.' said Protocol as he exited the elevator. Violet followed him and examined the room. It was a small room, about 10 meters in either direction. In the middle stood 4 men dressed in SWAT gear, holding various rifle's. To the right side of the room stood Server. Her long blond hair fell down to her shoulders, where a skin tight leather body suit wrapped around her slim figure. In her gloved hands she held a pair of handguns. On the left side of the room, Binary was crouching, holding a G36 assault rifle. Unlike the rest of their team, Binary was dressed completely in blue. His dark blue shirt flowed down to his blue jeans. The only part of his outfit that was not blue was his boots, which were black.
'Freeze!' Yelled one of the SWAT member's in the middle. Almost simultaneously, the action happened.
Protocol dived to a nearby desk that had been pushed over in the fighting. At the same time, Violet spun around behind the wall of the elevator, evading the SWAT team's line of sight. Server dived strait forward, firing both her weapons, hitting two of the SWAT soldiers. As her dive finished, she rolled up to face the third one. Before he could bring his weapon to bear, she rammed the muzzle of her pistol into his stomach and fired a single shot. Straight after, she put a leg onto his falling chest, and jumped backward into a back flip. Half way through the back flip, she fired two shots into the falling man, and landed facing the body. 'Nice of you to make it.' She proclaimed to the two men. Binary walked over to stand by her, and Violet and Protocol also came to meet them. 'It's time to go.' Said Violet 'There's an exit 2 floors down.' 'I don't think we're leaving any time soon' said Protocol beside them, facing the elevator. Standing inside the elevator stood a single man. The man had neat hair, and was wearing dark sunglasses. He wore a black and white suit. He would have looked like your average businessman, if it was not for the pistol in his hand. Violet muttered a single word before all hell broke loose: 'Run'.
Protocol ran to the left, and Binary to the right, as they had practiced in simulation a million times before. Server flipped over Violet as he started rolling forward. Through the roll, he picked up a pistol that had been dropped on the ground, perhaps by one of the SWAT. By the time Violet had come out of the roll into a crouch, Server was directly behind him, with a rifle in her hands which she must have picked up from the ground. The Agent was seemingly focusing his fire on Binary, who was pinned behind a desk. Protocol, who was to the left of the agent, opened fire with his sub-machine gun. Violet fired a few rounds off from his pistol, and Server literally dived forward with her finger on the trigger, letting off every bullet she could. The Agent tured to fire at Violet, but as he did, Binary stood and began firing from his rifle. The agent tried to dodge the crossfire, but the added fire from all 4 weapons was too much, and he fell back into the elevator, with multiple bullet wounds.
The four of them ran to the elevator and Violet pressed the button for level 2. The doors began to close, but just as they were almost sealed shut, an arm came between they and held Protocol by the head. Before anyone could raise a weapon, the arm pulled Protocol toward the door. His head hit the door with a loud crack, and blood poured down from his forehead. Violet jammed the end of his pistol through the crack in the door, just above Protocol's head and fired the entire clip. The hand let go and retreated, letting the doors finally close. Protocol fell to the ground with a thump, blood streaming from his forehead. 'Binary, carry him. We've got to get him out before he loses too much blood'. The elevator pinged. They reached the second floor.
The doors opened, and the room was empty. It was more of a corridor than a room. A long, narrow hallway with door's leading to rooms on either side. There was a faint ringing sound coming from the end of the hallway. Violet ran forward toward the door at the end of the corridor. 'Violet, wait!' Yelled Server, but it was too late. As Violet passed one of the doors, the door shattered and a body flew into Violet. The two bodies fell as the agent landed on top of Violet. The agent pulled a gun to Violet's head, but just as the agent was going to pull the trigger, a boot hit the side of his face and the agent went sprawling. Server continued her attack on the agent, and Violet get to his feet, pulling a pistol from inside his jacket. Server jumped, preparing to land on the agent, but the agent rolled and kicked Server through a doorway.
Violet aimed and fired two shots from his handgun, but the agent moved with lightning speed and dodged the two bullets before jumping forward and kicking Violet straight in the chest. Violet dropped his gun from the force of the kick, and flew backward, just in front of where Binary stood, holding Protocol. 'Binary, get him out of here!' Yelled Violet, as he flipped up into a fighting stance.
The agent had turned and was now attacking Server again. Violet saw his chance to get Binary past. He ran toward the agent, and run up the wall. He jumped off and kicked the agent in the side of the head with all the force he could gather, which pushed the agent into one of the other rooms. As soon as Violet landed, Binary rushed past them into the room at the end of the corridor. 'Go!' Said Violet to Server, who started running after Binary. Violet dived and retrieved his pistol.
Violet ran and stood in the doorway to the exit, where Protocol had already escaped and Binary was exiting. The agent came and ran toward violet, who was hiding the pistol behind him. Violet saw the agent coming forward, and when there was a little more than a meter between them, Violet pulled out the gun and fired all the rounds from it. The agent had no trouble in dodging them all, and as the roar of his gun came to a stop, he heard a voice behind him say 'Duck!'. Violet fell flat on the floor as the roar of machine gun fire enveloped the room. The bullets sprayed above his head, and the agent went down with a loud thud, and then a strange buzz as the body returned to that of a normal civilian.
Violet got to his feet and turned around to see Server standing behind him with a large rifle in her hands. 'Well, I think it's time to get out of here, commander.'.