Following the Code.
The sound of an alarm clock setting off is rather annoying. The constant buzzing can break through any slumber, with the exception of a coma. As the noise grew in the background, Seth Kaye had begun to wake up, a mixture of confusion and the eery green glow emanating from the monitor of his computer which he had fallen asleep behind making his mind fuzzy.
"When did I fall asleep?" He muttered to himself.
There was nothing on the screen except for a green blip, awaiting Seth's command to type in any word, letter, number, whatever could be obeyed. He sat in front of the screen for a while, not exactly sure what to type, but knew exactly what he wanted to say.
Is anyone out there? He typed quickly.
No reply.
Well, if anyone shows up, I've got a question that'll prolly have you thinking for a while.
He was about to get up when something flashed across his screen. Straight to the point, someone had answered his call.
I know what you're going to say before you say it.
His brow furrowed. Seth sat back down at his computer and began to type away.
Really? Then give me an answer; let's see how right you are.
A sense of stupid pride washed over him. He was happy that perhaps he would be able to upset the mysterious being which he was talking to, but he didn't know exactly why, making him feel.well, a little stupid.
You're wondering why when you want to sleep, you can't, and when you're ready to work you fall asleep.
Well, you're half-right.
Let me finish-You're also wondering why your dreams seem more real to you than your actual life.
Seth sat back in astonishment. How could this person he never met know exactly how he was feeling?
.Lucky guess.
You really think so? Or are you like this to everyone?
I'm not exactly trusting to people I don't know. Who are you?
You'll find out soon enough. Regardless of what you may think, You and I have a lot in common.
Not really sure of what to say, Seth stared at the screen, bewildered.
Don't go to work tomorrow. Instead, at 10 a.m., come to 1510 Burlington Square. Your life could depend on it.
Seth was beginning to worry. Endangered life? He was just a bag boy at the old market, who would want to take his life? He started to type a reply, but was interrupted by a knock at the door.
Don't worry about the door, it's not what you think it is, but exactly what you think it should be.
Seth looked between the door and the screen. Could he actually believe what this person was saying, or could it be that he was to go to the door believing he'd be okay, when in fact someone could take his life, or maybe this was all a prank, some elaborate scheme by his friends to shake him up, or-
He wouldn't have to worry anymore, as the consecutive knock was answered by his friend's voice.
"Bro, open up the door! Come on, I gotta pee bad!"
Seth ran to the door and swung it open, pulling his friend inside in the process.
"Some joke you tried to pull!"
"The hell're you talking about?" His friend answered dumbfounded.
"That wasn't you on the screen?" Seth answered questioningly. Of course it couldn't have been, the person on the other side of that electric box replied after the knock.
"Dude, you need to get out more often."
If it wasn't his friend, then who was it? What exactly was happening?
Seth ran to the computer to find another message typed elegantly on the screen.
Follow your friend, and you'll be led to a white fox.
"Yeah, so anyway, let's get out of here. I know a fun place we can chill."
They were at the club for about an hour, Seth's friend dancing and mingling with friends and whomever else he could find, and Seth standing near one of the pillars holding the ceiling. He was tired, but the questions of the mystery person on the computer and the conversation were keeping him awake.
"I know who you are."
Seth spun around in the direction of the voice. To his surprise, there was a girl standing in front of him, with white blonde hair like fluorescent light, gray eyes, and a leather halter-top and pants. She was beautiful, and to Seth's eyes she appeared to-
"Look like a fox." Seth mumbled.
"I get that a lot. You've been in contact with us, and for that I am glad. We're always looking for a free mind."
"Wait," Started Seth, "what exactly are you? Were you who I was talking to before?"
"No no, you'll find out who that was soon enough. Listen, I understand how you feel, we all felt like that before we knew. You're going to be fine, just listen to us and we'll get you through this."
"What? I can't just listen to you, I don't even know who you are.I don't even know who 'we' are, or is, or whatever."
The girl smiled at him before placing on shades that had a black tint with a gray shine to them.
"When you get home there'll be a package. Inside the package will be some of the answers, but most of all, there will be a note telling to go straight to Burlington Square tomorrow, nowhere else. You may not understand now, but if you do as told, you'll find out soon enough."
As she began to leave, Seth looked into his hand. She had slipped him a CD while they were talking, but there was no label to it.
"Hey, uh, excuse me.what's your name?"
She turned around and dropped her shades a bit. Her features certainly made her look like a fox staring at a stranger in the woods. Seth couldn't help but feel attracted to her.
"I'm Artemis. We'll talk later."
She walked off leaving Seth in awe. His friend came upto him, ready to leave, but Seth had trouble moving his feet.
"You're not gonna believe this bro, but I just met Artemis!"
"Yeah.who?"
"Man, Artemis! She was responsible for the hacking and virus implanting of the D.E.C. mainframe! She single-handedly destroyed an entire company's file database, and.you don't care."
".I'm ready to go home. I hope you got her number or something."
Alas, he did not. Instead, as he got home, the package was there as promised. He opened it to reveal a note, several different disks that contained information Seth had never heard of, and a cell phone. Seth took this time to soak up the events of the day and fall asleep.
His dream was worse this time around. Men in black suits and dark sunglasses were chasing him, their faces showing no emotion, like cold- blooded killers with no remorse. He was running through an abandoned building, dodging bullets and broken glass, as a voice behind a cell phone directed him to his destination: the rooftop. There, there would be a phone waiting to-
The signal was fading out, and Seth wasn't sure what was happening. One of the men had appeared before him, but there was enough distance for him to escape his grasp. As he made his way to the rooftop, a bullet grazed his shoulder. The pain was sharp, but he continued on. He was looking for a phone, the phone the voice had told him to reach, but there was nothing. He turned around, and just as the voice behind the cell re-appeared, one of the suit-clad men had broken down the door.
"Where's the damn phone?!" Seth shouted as he fell out of his bed. His eyes snapped open, and he found himself no longer at the rooftop, but on the side of his bed. He felt his shoulder, and luckily but not surprisingly, there was no wound. He looked up at his alarm clock to see that the time was 9:30, and that it would take at least 45 minutes to reach Burlington Square. He jumped up and put some clothes on, and ran out of the house while blindly taking the cell phone and other artifacts.
"Shit, I never checked this!" Seth cursed to himself as he found the CD Artemis gave him at the club. He still wasn't really sure why he was going to meet back up with her, but he had a comfortable feeling in his stomach that things would, indeed, be fine. While he made his way downstairs, a black Nissan 350 Z was waiting for him downstairs. Artemis stood beside it, but she did not seem like herself at the club. Instead of a playful smile, she seemed to be in serious mode, as if someone had just died. She was also dressed differently; she now had a long black leather coat, and it seemed she was concealing something. Seth's stomach dropped, but he felt as though he could not go back. She motioned to get into the car, and as he did so, he saw that they were not alone.
"Er, hi." Said Seth to the two people in the back. One just looked forward like a corpse sitting upright, but the other smiled and nodded his head. He was an Asian man, probably Japanese although Seth did not know. The man had spiked hair with several bangs shadowing his face, and just like Artemis and the other person sitting next to him, he wore sunglasses, although his were a deep blue. He was also dressed in a black suit with a white spot on his collar, sort of like a priest. The other person had short hair and wore pitch-black sunglasses that had very thin legs, almost like piano wire. He also wore a black suit, but it had gray lines striping it. He had on a long coat and leather gloves.
"I think we're ready to go." Artemis said.
The drive to Burlington Square was quiet. Very quiet. Everyone just looked forward, which Seth noticed as he could not stop looking around. There was no radio, or to say that there was, rather, they just had not put it on. It was a cloudy day, but no rain. As they pulled upto 1510 Burlington Square, Artemis stopped the car and got out. The man with the bangs jumped into the front seat, and Artemis told Seth to get out of the car. As the car pulled into a nearby garage, Artemis and Seth made their way into the building.
The building itself was near the outskirts of the city, its view consisting of a nearby river and several other buildings and warehouses. As they walked inside, Seth knew exactly where he was.
"This is just like my dream." He said out loud.
"You had a dream about this place?" Artemis questioned.
"Yeah, but.the dream was different. We're going up to the 5th floor, right?"
".Yes." Artemis said, almost to herself. They had walked upto the 5th floor, where there were two seats, a table in between, and a glass of water. There was a window in the room they arrived at, but a man in a black jacket that had shoulder pads that spiked up to a point was blocking it. Satan would have been proud of that jacket. It flowed like water onto the ground, and almost mirrored Seth's reflection if not for the wrinkles and bends. He had long hair, with more bangs than the Asian man from before.
"It's good to see you, Seth." The man said, his voice deep and cold enough to freeze the room. Seth wasn't sure if the man had meant that as a welcome or an end. All he knew was to be wary of the man.
"You know my name.?" Said Seth. The man nodded, but never taking his eyes off of the window.
"Of course I do. You may not realize this, but you are the most important man in this world right now."
Seth was clearly confused. Artemis walked upto the man and whispered something to him, to which he nodded like before.
"Please, do sit down." He said, his voice a little more easing. Seth sat down in the chair, and although it was old, was very comfortable. He looked around the room, but there really wasn't much to look at, unless your thing was cracked walls and peeling wallpaper. Apparently the ceiling was falling apart; there were holes as if people had fallen through. Finally, the man had turned around, revealing a dark face and eyes that could pierce the souls of the gods. He, too, wore sunglasses, but his were small and square yet were enough to block out the sun. Although there wasn't any, but Seth wouldn't tell him that.
"My name is Xerces. I've been looking for you for some time, and I must say now that I have found you I am greatly pleased."
Seth nearly fell out of his seat. He had just met Xerces, and although few have heard of him he knew exactly who he was. Xerces was a global hacker, keeping his profile very low. Xerces had found him one night as he searched through databases, but he disappeared quickly. The only way he could find him again was through little clues within the coding of the Internet.
"I know what you're thinking, that you've been able to finally find me when nobody has ever before."
"Yes, I mean.wait, didn't you find me?"
"Of course. Do you think those codes were left by mistake? As I said before, I've been waiting to find you for sometime, but I had to make sure the time was right. This time couldn't be any better."
".Why me?"
"Before that, I must tell you the truth of your being here."
Xerces began to sit down in front of Seth, but not before pulling out a katana from within his coat. It was concealed, and was very detailed. He placed it to the side of his seat, and sat down, his long coat flowing well past the chair.
"How real does this world seem to you?"
"Well, I'm breathing the air, I go through my life like any normal person.I would say it's pretty real."
Xerces' face stood calm and still.
"What if I were to tell you that you've been living a lie, and that there was only one way to truly find out exactly how far from the truth you really are?"
He looked Seth directly in the eye. Seth could only hold the look for so long, but finally he gave in to his curious mind and asked.
"What is the truth? What are you going to do to me?"
"I'm going to try to make you see the truth. You see, the world has been nothing but a lie. The way you breathe, the way you eat, the way you tie your shoes had been nothing but a carefully pieced puzzle contrived by another force, another being in this world that you can't understand by my words, but have to see by yourself."
"You.probably already know what I'm going to ask next."
Xerces smiled. Seth thought that he might have blown up by doing so, for the smile seemed very out of character for him.
"You're exactly how I thought you'd be."
"I'm not sure how to take that, but thanks."
Artemis had continued to stay by Xerces' side. Seth figured out that he was the leader, that was common sense, but he was still in the blue about why he was here. The truth? He wasn't sure where to begin with that.
"Before I answer the questions in your mind, I'll answer the one that's been asked. The force I speak of is called the Matrix. I cannot explain to you what it is, you have to see it for yourself, but one thing you must know is that it is the very reason why you are here today."
Seth had understood that, to whatever extent he could.
"Okay, the Matrix.so then, what does that have to do with me?"
"The Matrix is a virtual prison. For the past 6 months there have been those who have fought against it; some have lived, others have died, but there are still those waiting to be freed, whether they know it or not. You, I believe, are the key to their liberation."
Seth's head had begun to hurt. Now he was a key of salvation? A bag boy?
"But, how do you know that I'm the key?"
"We've followed your code throughout the Matrix, and you are a pure being. That is, you have a specific code that cannot be tampered with, a code that only one other has, which leads to my other suspicions."
"Suspicions?"
"Yes, that you and the one they call Neo are indeed intertwining parts that equal the One."
Seth had understood everything up until Neo. Why did that name sound familiar?
"Wait, Neo.he was a hacker, too."
"Yes, he was found by Morpheus, whom you may already know given his notoriety. Unlike him, I preferred to keep low, it helps keep tracking off of my crew and I. Anyway, Neo has been discovered to be the One, but I now know that he is not enough to stop the Matrix. I know this because of you."
"Wait.if the Matrix is all codes, and you are all hackers.why don't you just hack the Matrix into oblivion?"
"Easier said than done, Seth. It is highly guarded in this world; the world of the Matrix, by those called Agents. Of course, there are other programs, but they are inferior to them. After this conversation, they will know that you know. By the way, Artemis has told be of your dreams. The men in suits are what I have just referred to, so if you ever see them.run."
"What are they, super-human?" Seth joked.
"Close to it. They have the ability to transfer their data into human beings, those that are still plugged into the Matrix. If they knew we were here, you'd be one of them right now."
The thought sent a chill into Seth.
"Are you ready to find out the truth?"
Seth nodded. He did not know why, but for some reason the curiosity of it all had led him to believe that it couldn't get any worse than it already is.
How wrong he was.
"Good, then I have two pills-one red, the other blue. The blue one sends you back home, to your own world, with your own opinions, beliefs, thoughts and actions, or so they'd have you believe. The red one destroys your dreams and reveals the truth beneath the debris. Which will you choose?"
Unconsciously, Seth chose the red pill. He downed a glass of water to push the pill through, and then.nothing.
"Good, now we continue." Xerces said as he rose from his chair. Seth followed him into another room behind a curtain; a room filled with gadgets and a large chair that was equipped to a lot of equipment. The two men from before were there, prepping up the machine.
"Looks like the electric chair." Seth chuckled. When nobody laughed, Seth worried.
"Believe me Seth, you'd rather have that after what you go through here." The Asian man said.
Seth sat down into the chair, and was promptly set up to the specific calibrations. Xerces had walked upto him, his towering figure looking down upon Seth.
"Soon, you will understand it all."
The machine went off, sending Seth into a twisting realm that could be a tourist sight from hell. He did not know what was coming nor going, but did know that he was choking on some disgusting liquid. He managed to escape his prison, only to find that there were metal objects attached to his body. One particular object was lodged into his throat and nose, and he took that out rather quick. Coughing from the recent experience, he finally had time to open his eyes, but if he had his way, he would have shut them back and never opened them again.
He was placed high atop a tower of red orbs, and into the horizon was the same view. Dark with the exception of the towers, his confusion reached new heights. To top it all, he was naked, cold, and covered in goop. He also noticed that he was the only one in the world, but that loneliness soon flew away.
"What in the world?!" He shouted as a gigantic robot flew upto his spot. It surveyed him for a second or two, and without haste, grabbed him by the throat. It must have thought that he was nothing more than a failed experiment, and flushed him from his orb into the sewers of some god- forsaken city. The last thing he remembered was the long water ride down, and then darkness. When he awoke, he was being unstrained from a chair, and Artemis, with much shorter hair, was smiling above him. Xerces was there, too, but his hair had fallen straight down. The other two were manning computers, but they kept an eye or two on Seth.
"Welcome to the real world, Seth." Xerces said before Seth passed out once more.
The dreams had not ended, contrary to Xerces' word. The following dream landed Seth and Xerces into the same building, with Seth still running from the 'Agents', as they are succinctly called. Artemis had made her way to the top, and it was now Seth's turn. However, the dream ended the same as before; a bullet wound on the shoulder, and an Agent looming over him.
"Good to see that you're okay." Artemis said to Seth. He awoke on a cold, metallic bed with only a head comforter and a blanket. Seth stood up and surveyed the area, but still could not believe his eyes.
"Where am I?" Asked Seth.
"It's exactly what Xerces said. You're in the real world."
"Real.world.maybe I'm gonna need some more enlightenment."
Artemis laughed. She was cute when she laughed, but he could tell that she had some pain to her. Those gray eyes were gray for a reason.
"The Matrix was the world you lived in, a hoax. The real world is the completed opposite. We're in the future now, and machines have begun to take over the earth. It's a long story, you'd be best to listen to Xerces."
"Yes, he would." Said the cold voice from afar. Xerces had walked into the room, his face emotionless.
"Oh, commander Xerces. I was just filling in Seth on some of the loose ends, but there are a lot of them."
"Good, then he'll be ready to know it all."
Seth was led into a room with multiple chairs, one for each member on the ship. Apparently, there had been 6 members, but Seth could only find 5.
"These chairs are hooked directly into the Matrix. We are able to hack into parts of it, but not without a little sacrifice first."
Seth wondered what he meant, but decided not to ask. If he died now, it wouldn't matter too much to him. So far, the ride's been scary enough. He sat into the chair and was prepped up once more, and soon he realized what the meaning of sacrifice meant.
"Why is this in my head!?" He shouted. They had joined a metallic object, like the one from before, into his head, and the pain was near excruciating.
"This, is the sacrifice. Don't worry, you'll get used to it in time."
Time was not something Seth had on his mind. To think of it, he had nothing on his mind except for pain. Soon though, he was out of the throbbing hurt and into a white room, along with Xerces who had not changed his look. Seth was still wearing the same clothes from before, when he was apparently in the Matrix.
"This is known as a simulation of the Matrix. I'm using it to stress my point to you, but it can be used for other purposes. Now, let me explain everything to you as best as I can. Machines control the Matrix; it has been this way since before we can remember. There was a war between us, 100 years ago, and we had lost. They isolated us into one spot, what we call Zion, the last human salvage. They did not know we were there until recently, and because of this we need your help. As I said before, you are the other piece to the One, and until I can find Morpheus, you will remain with us."
"Now, the One is the key to salvation, right?" Asked Seth. "How come it took so long to find me?"
"Originally, we thought that Neo was all it took, but upon further observation of his code, there were pieces missing. The search was on, and eventually your code was the match. It has been a trying time, and because of this we have run out of opportunities. You and Neo must prevail."
"I see. So then, these people that are 'plugged' into the Matrix, that means that as soon as the robots are defeated they instantly wake up?"
"It will be a long effort, but eventually they will all wake up. That is besides the point of this all, what you need to know is that although we must save them, we must also watch them carefully. As I said before, the Agents roam the Matrix looking for us, the rebellion, and they will stop at nothing to kill you. We are nothing but threats, and they will use the unplugged humans as hosts to find us."
"Okay, and now this Zion, is it? Well, it's the only remaining home for humans. Where is it?"
As soon as he had said this, the room changed into the scorched wasteland of Earth. "Located near the earth's surface, where it remains warm. The world has become cold and dead, as machines have upgraded into what they are now. They used to be solar powered, and when we knew this, we destroyed the sky. Ecosystems fail, atmosphere drops, and of course, we lost everything we held dear to us. The robots, on the other hand, did not die as we had planned. Instead, they found a way to live, and we had planned in vain."
"Is there anything else I need to know?" Asked Seth, as though he already knew what was happening.
"You'll need to learn as much as possible."
"What does that mean?"
"Asopus, bring us back."
The white room had disappeared, and they were back on the chairs. The objects removed, Xerces turned towards Seth.
"I mean, whatever you think you must know, we will let you know."
He pointed towards Asopus, who showed him the monitors.
"In other words, kid, if you want to learn how to kick some ass or use weapons, we're the go-to guys. By the way, welcome aboard Poseidon, the swiftest ship next to the Logos. You'll meet them later."
"And you're Asopus?" Seth asked.
"The one and only. Now, is there anything I can get for you? Normally we have to teach you the basics, but that's boring shit. Wanna have some fun?"
The next 7 hours were spent learning as many martial arts styles as Seth could take. He learned acrobatics, languages, even how to swim better, in case he ran into those sewers again. Xerces had made his way to Asopus and Seth, curious as to the welfare of his new crewmember.
"7 Hours, I see?"
"This isn't human. Only Neo's been able to go through this, and he did it in 10!"
"This is interesting." Xerces said as he made his way to Seth.
"Can you hear me?" He asked.
".Y'wanna see somethin' cool?"
They were hooked back up into the simulation, only this time it seemed as though they stepped into feudal Japan, only without the feuding part. They were outside an emperor's castle, in the courtyard, and were dressed in gi.
"As part of this simulation, you must learn that the Matrix is just the same a computer. Rules can bend, some can break, and all you must know is that in order to know you must believe they don't exist. This usually takes time but-"
Seth understood a bit too well. He had flown towards Xerces, shooting a roundhouse to his ribs. Xerces, however, grabbed his leg and pushed him aside, and the fight began. Seth would fly into the air, kicking and punching at Xerces, and Xerces would block and attack Seth. This went on until Seth let his guard down, and Xerces sent him flying into a wall with a side kick.
"You're doing well, but you're not fully understanding what the Matrix is about."
Seth got back up and nodded, his back in pain but still willing to continue. He changed styles, from using Shotokan karate to Tae Kwan Do, and began kicking Xerces with a passion. Xerces, however, seemed to be made of metal, blocking and absorbing all of Seth's attacks. Finally, he threw a fake punch to Seth's face and kicked his leg out, landing an uppercut to his jaw. Seth fell hard to the ground, blood flowing from his mouth. He wiped off the trail and spat whatever he had in his mouth, and stood up.
"How're you so good?"
"How are realizing the rules?"
Seth switched into Tiger Claw Kung Fu, and with waving arms jumped right into Xerces. He grabbed, twisted, and punched, but Xerces escaped, grabbed, and threw Seth to the ground. As soon as he got up, Xerces sent a kick to Seth's head, but he dodged the attack so quickly it made Xerces' eyes widen. Seth stood back up and shot a punch to Xerces, but was caught and lifted into the air by another of his kicks. The pain was great now, and he took this as a signal to stop before he was killed.
"I'm going to end this to tell you something I've already told you." Xerces said, much to Seth's happiness.
"You're reading so much into the rules that you forgot what I told you. I'm good because I know that the rules in this simulation mean nothing to me. The quickness is not with my muscles, but in me believing that I am quick enough. I have not lost my breath yet, because I believe I cannot. Why do you believe that you're losing?"
"Because I wasn't sure of the way of the game." Seth said as he ran over to Xerces. The speed he possessed was much different from before; he was a flash before Xerces' eyes. Seth appeared behind him and shot an elbow into his back, but Xerces had turned quick enough to catch it. However, he was not able to catch the backhand raised to his face.
"That was quick." Xerces said plainly. Seth smiled.
"So just by simply believing that I'm faster than light, I can be that fast?" Seth said, now out of the simulation and back on the Poseidon.
"If you believe you can shoot fire, if the rules can be broken than you can."
"Ah, it depends on the rules. How about flying, is that possible?"
"I've seen it before."
"So I can fly?"
"Maybe we should practice a little more on believing, and then we'll see." Xerces said with a chuckle.
Making Xerces laugh was unexpected, but made Seth feel good. They had gone to the mess room in search of some grub, but instead found gruel. It wasn't all too bad, except that it looked and tasted like leftover snot.
"I guess the taste grows on you." Muttered Seth as he poked at the slime.
Everyone had gone to sleep, but Seth was having a hard time staying that way. He walked around the ship to see Asopus still governing the computer screens, but something else caught his eye. The screens weren't normal, that is to say that they seemed to be stuck on what Seth believed to be screensavers. Green symbols were falling down the screens, behind a black backdrop.
"Is that a city?" Seth asked Asopus.
Asopus turned suddenly towards Seth, shocked to see someone else still up so late.
"Uh.yeah. You can read this?" He asked. Seth nodded as Asopus pointed towards the screens.
"Well it's not exactly what I'd call picturesque, but yeah."
"That's interesting. Most people don't even know what this is."
"Well, I guess it's even more interesting that I don't know, either."
Asopus stood quiet for a bit of time. Finally, he nodded blankly and turned back to the screens.
"This is the coding of the Matrix. It's odd that you can read it, but not know what you're reading. Very, very interesting."
"I.see. Sort of. Anyway, what're the screens for?"
"Tracking. If you're sent into the Matrix, I can direct you out if you're in a jam. Also, I can detect Agents and any other forms out there, just in case."
"Ah." Said Seth. He understood bit by bit, but decided to himself not to soak in too much for fear of burnout. He sat down next to Asopus, who was busy scanning through the multiple screens. "I'm.never going to see my friends again. My life's gone, right?"
"Well, it could be worse. You could be dead." Asopus replied. "You have to realize that you're no longer living the lie, that the life you led never really existed."
"Well, yeah, but.the life I led was still mine, even if it was fake. There are people I'll probably never see again, or say goodbye to."
"Well, the beauty of the Matrix is that those that are still plugged in will turn up. You won't be missing anyone, but you sure as hell won't see them as much as you'd like to."
"How come?"
"'Coz Xerces has plans for you, for us. Basically, our lives before being freed are over."
Seth still had trouble sleeping that night, but eventually fell into slumber. He awoke to people talking in the other room, and as he made his way up, was greeted by Artemis, looking beautiful even with rags for clothing.
"Time to plug in, guy." She said with a smile.
They were heading off to a meeting of the captains and their crews, but the main attraction of the night was that Neo was supposed to arrive. Seth was, of course, brought along to meet him and quite possibly end the war.
"You're going to need a new name. Seth isn't.warrior-like." Xerces told him as they set up the chairs to link them into the Matrix.
"So then, what should I be called? How about.Drive, or maybe Screen, or something cool 'coz I can't come up with a good name."
"Have you noticed a pattern within our crew?" Xerces stated plainly. "Everyone carries a name of the Greek gods and goddesses. Asopus, the river god, is our pilot of the Poseidon, the god of the oceans. Artemis was the god of hunting, but was as fair and beautiful as the others. I am Xerces, a Babylonian king. I'm quite possibly the only one that has a different tag."
"So, then I should be."
"I will call you Trojan, after the tactic used to ambush the people of Troy. You are our advantage, as the Trojan horse was for the Greeks."
"That.sounds okay." Seth said thoughtfully.
They had transported into the Matrix when Asopus called Xerces on his phone. After a moment or so, Xerces hung up and turned to his crew.
"The meeting's over, we have to leave."
"Why?" Asked Seth. "We just got here."
"There are Agents, and as good as you are I don't think you're ready for them."
"So then we have to find the way back, where's our point?"
"Back at the warehouse where we unplugged Trojan."
They found their 350 Z and drove off to the warehouse, which was a good drive away. However, they noticed upon steering out of the meeting point, they were being followed.
"Ah shit. Listen, Trojan, we have to get you out of here."
"We're being followed by Agents, don't worry." Seth said.
"How did you know?"
"Well, you suddenly telling me I need to go, and that I can feel them nearing us."
"You can feel them." Xerces said unquestioningly.
"Yeah, it's the weirdest thing. I have this.well, feeling in my head, like they're there."
"You're starting to understand better now. We must leave."
They sped off, with the Agents on their tale. One of them popped out of the window and pulled out his gun, and began to fire upon the crew. They swerved out of the way, but a couple of bullets broke through the rear window and trunk. Artemis pulled out a sawed off shotgun and sprayed gunfire through their car. It popped a front and rear tire, causing the Agents to lose their speed and control.
"Turn right, here!" Xerces shouted as he reached into his coat. Seth turned around in enough time to see Xerces pulling out a silver-clad Uzi. They made eye contact for a second before Xerces turned around and shot a hail of bullets at the Agents. Compared to their guns, the Agents really didn't stand much of a chance. Their car crashed into a parked truck, causing an explosion that licked the rear end of the crew's car. They sped off to the familiar street and, upon finding the warehouse, barely stopped without putting someone through a windshield. They jumped out of the car and made their way into the building, only to be greeted by a bullet into the door. Seth stopped dead in his tracks, but Artemis grabbed him and rolled out of the way of Xerces oncoming gunfire.
"Get him out of here, quickly! The phone is on the rooftop!"
Artemis ran with Seth through more shooting; apparently, there were more Agents than they realized.
"You have to get to the rooftop, I'll hold them off!" She shouted at Seth. He was afraid to move; he didn't want to leave them behind.
"If you think I can't get out of this, then you're no good to me!" She shouted again. Seth nodded and got the nerves to move again. He ran up the staircase going to the rooftop, but was stopped by more shooting.
"Christ, I need a gun!" He said out loud. There was a clank behind him, and as he looked around, it was as if his hopes and dreams became reality. There lay a gun, sleek black and slim enough for his hand. He checked the cartridge for bullets, and to his surprise it was loaded and ready to go. He got back up and ran through the staircases once more, and wherever there was gunfire or the face of an Agent, he shot back, hoping to hit one of them. It proved impossible; they had superhuman speed that made the Flash look like he was on crutches. Seth had seen the door to the rooftop, and instantly his memories kicked in. It was all too familiar to him, but he forgot what would happen next. In the midst of running and remembering, he kicked the door down and ran outside, but stopped suddenly when an Agent stood before him, its gun pointing at his chest.
"Your presence is similar to the Anomaly. Deletion of your code has been approved."
Xerces had made it to the last floor, with Artemis close behind. They were still dealing with the Agents, and so much gunfire had been produced that the warehouse looked as though it was about to crumble.
"Artemis, get to Trojan as quickly as you can. I can take them."
She ran upto the rooftop as Xerces put down his gun. The Agents had stopped firing, and now made their way towards him.
"We would definitely have the advantage of deleting a captain of the rebellion."
"A twenty percent advantage."
"Commence with deletion?"
"Proceed."
Xerces unsheathed his sword and swiped fiercely at one of the oncoming Agents. He moved out of the way, allowing Xerces to attempt a stab at the other. Both Agents evaded the attacks and struck Xerces with their fists, although he had blocked their moves and kicked on in the stomach, pushing him into a wall. The other Agent swung at Xerces, who in turn fell to one hand and, in a handstand, tried to kick the Agent in the head. The Agent grabbed his leg and through him onto a remaining pillar, but Xerces bounced off and struck the Agent with his sword. As the Agent fell back, the other kicked Xerces in the upper back, sending him rolling on the ground. He jumped up, however, grabbing his gun on the way. He shot at the Agent, bullets spitting at literally seconds between the other, but the Agent was too fast for the movement of the bullets. Although the Agent was fast, however, he still needed time to regroup himself after his stunning feat, giving Xerces some time to make it to the rooftop. If need be, he could use his Uzi once more to create a diversion.
Without thinking, Seth grabbed the gun, spun around, and gave an elbow into the Agent's chest. He flew about 20 feet from Seth, but rolled up and landed on his feet. The Agent ran towards him, throwing punches and kicks that were not only quick, but also felt like bricks being swung by metal poles. Seth could only block so much, giving the Agent a major advantage in strength. However, as the Agent struck another blow, Seth noticed that he was getting slower and slower by the second. He moved out of the way of the punch and drove his foot into the Agent's chest.
"The target is moving at a much faster speed. His acknowledgement of the surroundings has increased forty percent more than the average human. Should I proceed with the deletion?"
The Agent stood quiet for all but one millisecond. He stood up and threw a fist at Seth so fast it would have broken his face like a porcelain plate had it not been for his senses. He ducked the punch, and in a feat that surprised even the Agent, Seth leaped over him and kicked the Agent in the back. It sent him into the doorway Seth had knocked down earlier, but Artemis had been waiting there. With a gun. She shot the Agent dead in the face, causing him to stumble back from his mid-air flight.
"The phone's over there, let's go!" She said.
"What about Xerces, I can't leave him alone!"
"You need not worry, just get to the phone!" A voice shouted. Xerces wasn't too far behind them, but judging by the clatter of feet and guns, they needed to leave as soon as possible. They all ran to the phone, Artemis first, then Seth.
"I can hold them off for one more minute, but you need to go, now." Xerces stated. Seth nodded, and grabbed the phone. Suddenly, his body was surrounded by the familiar green glow of the screens back on the Poseidon. It was the familiar green code he had seen when he saw the Agents.
The sound of an alarm clock setting off is rather annoying. The constant buzzing can break through any slumber, with the exception of a coma. As the noise grew in the background, Seth Kaye had begun to wake up, a mixture of confusion and the eery green glow emanating from the monitor of his computer which he had fallen asleep behind making his mind fuzzy.
"When did I fall asleep?" He muttered to himself.
There was nothing on the screen except for a green blip, awaiting Seth's command to type in any word, letter, number, whatever could be obeyed. He sat in front of the screen for a while, not exactly sure what to type, but knew exactly what he wanted to say.
Is anyone out there? He typed quickly.
No reply.
Well, if anyone shows up, I've got a question that'll prolly have you thinking for a while.
He was about to get up when something flashed across his screen. Straight to the point, someone had answered his call.
I know what you're going to say before you say it.
His brow furrowed. Seth sat back down at his computer and began to type away.
Really? Then give me an answer; let's see how right you are.
A sense of stupid pride washed over him. He was happy that perhaps he would be able to upset the mysterious being which he was talking to, but he didn't know exactly why, making him feel.well, a little stupid.
You're wondering why when you want to sleep, you can't, and when you're ready to work you fall asleep.
Well, you're half-right.
Let me finish-You're also wondering why your dreams seem more real to you than your actual life.
Seth sat back in astonishment. How could this person he never met know exactly how he was feeling?
.Lucky guess.
You really think so? Or are you like this to everyone?
I'm not exactly trusting to people I don't know. Who are you?
You'll find out soon enough. Regardless of what you may think, You and I have a lot in common.
Not really sure of what to say, Seth stared at the screen, bewildered.
Don't go to work tomorrow. Instead, at 10 a.m., come to 1510 Burlington Square. Your life could depend on it.
Seth was beginning to worry. Endangered life? He was just a bag boy at the old market, who would want to take his life? He started to type a reply, but was interrupted by a knock at the door.
Don't worry about the door, it's not what you think it is, but exactly what you think it should be.
Seth looked between the door and the screen. Could he actually believe what this person was saying, or could it be that he was to go to the door believing he'd be okay, when in fact someone could take his life, or maybe this was all a prank, some elaborate scheme by his friends to shake him up, or-
He wouldn't have to worry anymore, as the consecutive knock was answered by his friend's voice.
"Bro, open up the door! Come on, I gotta pee bad!"
Seth ran to the door and swung it open, pulling his friend inside in the process.
"Some joke you tried to pull!"
"The hell're you talking about?" His friend answered dumbfounded.
"That wasn't you on the screen?" Seth answered questioningly. Of course it couldn't have been, the person on the other side of that electric box replied after the knock.
"Dude, you need to get out more often."
If it wasn't his friend, then who was it? What exactly was happening?
Seth ran to the computer to find another message typed elegantly on the screen.
Follow your friend, and you'll be led to a white fox.
"Yeah, so anyway, let's get out of here. I know a fun place we can chill."
They were at the club for about an hour, Seth's friend dancing and mingling with friends and whomever else he could find, and Seth standing near one of the pillars holding the ceiling. He was tired, but the questions of the mystery person on the computer and the conversation were keeping him awake.
"I know who you are."
Seth spun around in the direction of the voice. To his surprise, there was a girl standing in front of him, with white blonde hair like fluorescent light, gray eyes, and a leather halter-top and pants. She was beautiful, and to Seth's eyes she appeared to-
"Look like a fox." Seth mumbled.
"I get that a lot. You've been in contact with us, and for that I am glad. We're always looking for a free mind."
"Wait," Started Seth, "what exactly are you? Were you who I was talking to before?"
"No no, you'll find out who that was soon enough. Listen, I understand how you feel, we all felt like that before we knew. You're going to be fine, just listen to us and we'll get you through this."
"What? I can't just listen to you, I don't even know who you are.I don't even know who 'we' are, or is, or whatever."
The girl smiled at him before placing on shades that had a black tint with a gray shine to them.
"When you get home there'll be a package. Inside the package will be some of the answers, but most of all, there will be a note telling to go straight to Burlington Square tomorrow, nowhere else. You may not understand now, but if you do as told, you'll find out soon enough."
As she began to leave, Seth looked into his hand. She had slipped him a CD while they were talking, but there was no label to it.
"Hey, uh, excuse me.what's your name?"
She turned around and dropped her shades a bit. Her features certainly made her look like a fox staring at a stranger in the woods. Seth couldn't help but feel attracted to her.
"I'm Artemis. We'll talk later."
She walked off leaving Seth in awe. His friend came upto him, ready to leave, but Seth had trouble moving his feet.
"You're not gonna believe this bro, but I just met Artemis!"
"Yeah.who?"
"Man, Artemis! She was responsible for the hacking and virus implanting of the D.E.C. mainframe! She single-handedly destroyed an entire company's file database, and.you don't care."
".I'm ready to go home. I hope you got her number or something."
Alas, he did not. Instead, as he got home, the package was there as promised. He opened it to reveal a note, several different disks that contained information Seth had never heard of, and a cell phone. Seth took this time to soak up the events of the day and fall asleep.
His dream was worse this time around. Men in black suits and dark sunglasses were chasing him, their faces showing no emotion, like cold- blooded killers with no remorse. He was running through an abandoned building, dodging bullets and broken glass, as a voice behind a cell phone directed him to his destination: the rooftop. There, there would be a phone waiting to-
The signal was fading out, and Seth wasn't sure what was happening. One of the men had appeared before him, but there was enough distance for him to escape his grasp. As he made his way to the rooftop, a bullet grazed his shoulder. The pain was sharp, but he continued on. He was looking for a phone, the phone the voice had told him to reach, but there was nothing. He turned around, and just as the voice behind the cell re-appeared, one of the suit-clad men had broken down the door.
"Where's the damn phone?!" Seth shouted as he fell out of his bed. His eyes snapped open, and he found himself no longer at the rooftop, but on the side of his bed. He felt his shoulder, and luckily but not surprisingly, there was no wound. He looked up at his alarm clock to see that the time was 9:30, and that it would take at least 45 minutes to reach Burlington Square. He jumped up and put some clothes on, and ran out of the house while blindly taking the cell phone and other artifacts.
"Shit, I never checked this!" Seth cursed to himself as he found the CD Artemis gave him at the club. He still wasn't really sure why he was going to meet back up with her, but he had a comfortable feeling in his stomach that things would, indeed, be fine. While he made his way downstairs, a black Nissan 350 Z was waiting for him downstairs. Artemis stood beside it, but she did not seem like herself at the club. Instead of a playful smile, she seemed to be in serious mode, as if someone had just died. She was also dressed differently; she now had a long black leather coat, and it seemed she was concealing something. Seth's stomach dropped, but he felt as though he could not go back. She motioned to get into the car, and as he did so, he saw that they were not alone.
"Er, hi." Said Seth to the two people in the back. One just looked forward like a corpse sitting upright, but the other smiled and nodded his head. He was an Asian man, probably Japanese although Seth did not know. The man had spiked hair with several bangs shadowing his face, and just like Artemis and the other person sitting next to him, he wore sunglasses, although his were a deep blue. He was also dressed in a black suit with a white spot on his collar, sort of like a priest. The other person had short hair and wore pitch-black sunglasses that had very thin legs, almost like piano wire. He also wore a black suit, but it had gray lines striping it. He had on a long coat and leather gloves.
"I think we're ready to go." Artemis said.
The drive to Burlington Square was quiet. Very quiet. Everyone just looked forward, which Seth noticed as he could not stop looking around. There was no radio, or to say that there was, rather, they just had not put it on. It was a cloudy day, but no rain. As they pulled upto 1510 Burlington Square, Artemis stopped the car and got out. The man with the bangs jumped into the front seat, and Artemis told Seth to get out of the car. As the car pulled into a nearby garage, Artemis and Seth made their way into the building.
The building itself was near the outskirts of the city, its view consisting of a nearby river and several other buildings and warehouses. As they walked inside, Seth knew exactly where he was.
"This is just like my dream." He said out loud.
"You had a dream about this place?" Artemis questioned.
"Yeah, but.the dream was different. We're going up to the 5th floor, right?"
".Yes." Artemis said, almost to herself. They had walked upto the 5th floor, where there were two seats, a table in between, and a glass of water. There was a window in the room they arrived at, but a man in a black jacket that had shoulder pads that spiked up to a point was blocking it. Satan would have been proud of that jacket. It flowed like water onto the ground, and almost mirrored Seth's reflection if not for the wrinkles and bends. He had long hair, with more bangs than the Asian man from before.
"It's good to see you, Seth." The man said, his voice deep and cold enough to freeze the room. Seth wasn't sure if the man had meant that as a welcome or an end. All he knew was to be wary of the man.
"You know my name.?" Said Seth. The man nodded, but never taking his eyes off of the window.
"Of course I do. You may not realize this, but you are the most important man in this world right now."
Seth was clearly confused. Artemis walked upto the man and whispered something to him, to which he nodded like before.
"Please, do sit down." He said, his voice a little more easing. Seth sat down in the chair, and although it was old, was very comfortable. He looked around the room, but there really wasn't much to look at, unless your thing was cracked walls and peeling wallpaper. Apparently the ceiling was falling apart; there were holes as if people had fallen through. Finally, the man had turned around, revealing a dark face and eyes that could pierce the souls of the gods. He, too, wore sunglasses, but his were small and square yet were enough to block out the sun. Although there wasn't any, but Seth wouldn't tell him that.
"My name is Xerces. I've been looking for you for some time, and I must say now that I have found you I am greatly pleased."
Seth nearly fell out of his seat. He had just met Xerces, and although few have heard of him he knew exactly who he was. Xerces was a global hacker, keeping his profile very low. Xerces had found him one night as he searched through databases, but he disappeared quickly. The only way he could find him again was through little clues within the coding of the Internet.
"I know what you're thinking, that you've been able to finally find me when nobody has ever before."
"Yes, I mean.wait, didn't you find me?"
"Of course. Do you think those codes were left by mistake? As I said before, I've been waiting to find you for sometime, but I had to make sure the time was right. This time couldn't be any better."
".Why me?"
"Before that, I must tell you the truth of your being here."
Xerces began to sit down in front of Seth, but not before pulling out a katana from within his coat. It was concealed, and was very detailed. He placed it to the side of his seat, and sat down, his long coat flowing well past the chair.
"How real does this world seem to you?"
"Well, I'm breathing the air, I go through my life like any normal person.I would say it's pretty real."
Xerces' face stood calm and still.
"What if I were to tell you that you've been living a lie, and that there was only one way to truly find out exactly how far from the truth you really are?"
He looked Seth directly in the eye. Seth could only hold the look for so long, but finally he gave in to his curious mind and asked.
"What is the truth? What are you going to do to me?"
"I'm going to try to make you see the truth. You see, the world has been nothing but a lie. The way you breathe, the way you eat, the way you tie your shoes had been nothing but a carefully pieced puzzle contrived by another force, another being in this world that you can't understand by my words, but have to see by yourself."
"You.probably already know what I'm going to ask next."
Xerces smiled. Seth thought that he might have blown up by doing so, for the smile seemed very out of character for him.
"You're exactly how I thought you'd be."
"I'm not sure how to take that, but thanks."
Artemis had continued to stay by Xerces' side. Seth figured out that he was the leader, that was common sense, but he was still in the blue about why he was here. The truth? He wasn't sure where to begin with that.
"Before I answer the questions in your mind, I'll answer the one that's been asked. The force I speak of is called the Matrix. I cannot explain to you what it is, you have to see it for yourself, but one thing you must know is that it is the very reason why you are here today."
Seth had understood that, to whatever extent he could.
"Okay, the Matrix.so then, what does that have to do with me?"
"The Matrix is a virtual prison. For the past 6 months there have been those who have fought against it; some have lived, others have died, but there are still those waiting to be freed, whether they know it or not. You, I believe, are the key to their liberation."
Seth's head had begun to hurt. Now he was a key of salvation? A bag boy?
"But, how do you know that I'm the key?"
"We've followed your code throughout the Matrix, and you are a pure being. That is, you have a specific code that cannot be tampered with, a code that only one other has, which leads to my other suspicions."
"Suspicions?"
"Yes, that you and the one they call Neo are indeed intertwining parts that equal the One."
Seth had understood everything up until Neo. Why did that name sound familiar?
"Wait, Neo.he was a hacker, too."
"Yes, he was found by Morpheus, whom you may already know given his notoriety. Unlike him, I preferred to keep low, it helps keep tracking off of my crew and I. Anyway, Neo has been discovered to be the One, but I now know that he is not enough to stop the Matrix. I know this because of you."
"Wait.if the Matrix is all codes, and you are all hackers.why don't you just hack the Matrix into oblivion?"
"Easier said than done, Seth. It is highly guarded in this world; the world of the Matrix, by those called Agents. Of course, there are other programs, but they are inferior to them. After this conversation, they will know that you know. By the way, Artemis has told be of your dreams. The men in suits are what I have just referred to, so if you ever see them.run."
"What are they, super-human?" Seth joked.
"Close to it. They have the ability to transfer their data into human beings, those that are still plugged into the Matrix. If they knew we were here, you'd be one of them right now."
The thought sent a chill into Seth.
"Are you ready to find out the truth?"
Seth nodded. He did not know why, but for some reason the curiosity of it all had led him to believe that it couldn't get any worse than it already is.
How wrong he was.
"Good, then I have two pills-one red, the other blue. The blue one sends you back home, to your own world, with your own opinions, beliefs, thoughts and actions, or so they'd have you believe. The red one destroys your dreams and reveals the truth beneath the debris. Which will you choose?"
Unconsciously, Seth chose the red pill. He downed a glass of water to push the pill through, and then.nothing.
"Good, now we continue." Xerces said as he rose from his chair. Seth followed him into another room behind a curtain; a room filled with gadgets and a large chair that was equipped to a lot of equipment. The two men from before were there, prepping up the machine.
"Looks like the electric chair." Seth chuckled. When nobody laughed, Seth worried.
"Believe me Seth, you'd rather have that after what you go through here." The Asian man said.
Seth sat down into the chair, and was promptly set up to the specific calibrations. Xerces had walked upto him, his towering figure looking down upon Seth.
"Soon, you will understand it all."
The machine went off, sending Seth into a twisting realm that could be a tourist sight from hell. He did not know what was coming nor going, but did know that he was choking on some disgusting liquid. He managed to escape his prison, only to find that there were metal objects attached to his body. One particular object was lodged into his throat and nose, and he took that out rather quick. Coughing from the recent experience, he finally had time to open his eyes, but if he had his way, he would have shut them back and never opened them again.
He was placed high atop a tower of red orbs, and into the horizon was the same view. Dark with the exception of the towers, his confusion reached new heights. To top it all, he was naked, cold, and covered in goop. He also noticed that he was the only one in the world, but that loneliness soon flew away.
"What in the world?!" He shouted as a gigantic robot flew upto his spot. It surveyed him for a second or two, and without haste, grabbed him by the throat. It must have thought that he was nothing more than a failed experiment, and flushed him from his orb into the sewers of some god- forsaken city. The last thing he remembered was the long water ride down, and then darkness. When he awoke, he was being unstrained from a chair, and Artemis, with much shorter hair, was smiling above him. Xerces was there, too, but his hair had fallen straight down. The other two were manning computers, but they kept an eye or two on Seth.
"Welcome to the real world, Seth." Xerces said before Seth passed out once more.
The dreams had not ended, contrary to Xerces' word. The following dream landed Seth and Xerces into the same building, with Seth still running from the 'Agents', as they are succinctly called. Artemis had made her way to the top, and it was now Seth's turn. However, the dream ended the same as before; a bullet wound on the shoulder, and an Agent looming over him.
"Good to see that you're okay." Artemis said to Seth. He awoke on a cold, metallic bed with only a head comforter and a blanket. Seth stood up and surveyed the area, but still could not believe his eyes.
"Where am I?" Asked Seth.
"It's exactly what Xerces said. You're in the real world."
"Real.world.maybe I'm gonna need some more enlightenment."
Artemis laughed. She was cute when she laughed, but he could tell that she had some pain to her. Those gray eyes were gray for a reason.
"The Matrix was the world you lived in, a hoax. The real world is the completed opposite. We're in the future now, and machines have begun to take over the earth. It's a long story, you'd be best to listen to Xerces."
"Yes, he would." Said the cold voice from afar. Xerces had walked into the room, his face emotionless.
"Oh, commander Xerces. I was just filling in Seth on some of the loose ends, but there are a lot of them."
"Good, then he'll be ready to know it all."
Seth was led into a room with multiple chairs, one for each member on the ship. Apparently, there had been 6 members, but Seth could only find 5.
"These chairs are hooked directly into the Matrix. We are able to hack into parts of it, but not without a little sacrifice first."
Seth wondered what he meant, but decided not to ask. If he died now, it wouldn't matter too much to him. So far, the ride's been scary enough. He sat into the chair and was prepped up once more, and soon he realized what the meaning of sacrifice meant.
"Why is this in my head!?" He shouted. They had joined a metallic object, like the one from before, into his head, and the pain was near excruciating.
"This, is the sacrifice. Don't worry, you'll get used to it in time."
Time was not something Seth had on his mind. To think of it, he had nothing on his mind except for pain. Soon though, he was out of the throbbing hurt and into a white room, along with Xerces who had not changed his look. Seth was still wearing the same clothes from before, when he was apparently in the Matrix.
"This is known as a simulation of the Matrix. I'm using it to stress my point to you, but it can be used for other purposes. Now, let me explain everything to you as best as I can. Machines control the Matrix; it has been this way since before we can remember. There was a war between us, 100 years ago, and we had lost. They isolated us into one spot, what we call Zion, the last human salvage. They did not know we were there until recently, and because of this we need your help. As I said before, you are the other piece to the One, and until I can find Morpheus, you will remain with us."
"Now, the One is the key to salvation, right?" Asked Seth. "How come it took so long to find me?"
"Originally, we thought that Neo was all it took, but upon further observation of his code, there were pieces missing. The search was on, and eventually your code was the match. It has been a trying time, and because of this we have run out of opportunities. You and Neo must prevail."
"I see. So then, these people that are 'plugged' into the Matrix, that means that as soon as the robots are defeated they instantly wake up?"
"It will be a long effort, but eventually they will all wake up. That is besides the point of this all, what you need to know is that although we must save them, we must also watch them carefully. As I said before, the Agents roam the Matrix looking for us, the rebellion, and they will stop at nothing to kill you. We are nothing but threats, and they will use the unplugged humans as hosts to find us."
"Okay, and now this Zion, is it? Well, it's the only remaining home for humans. Where is it?"
As soon as he had said this, the room changed into the scorched wasteland of Earth. "Located near the earth's surface, where it remains warm. The world has become cold and dead, as machines have upgraded into what they are now. They used to be solar powered, and when we knew this, we destroyed the sky. Ecosystems fail, atmosphere drops, and of course, we lost everything we held dear to us. The robots, on the other hand, did not die as we had planned. Instead, they found a way to live, and we had planned in vain."
"Is there anything else I need to know?" Asked Seth, as though he already knew what was happening.
"You'll need to learn as much as possible."
"What does that mean?"
"Asopus, bring us back."
The white room had disappeared, and they were back on the chairs. The objects removed, Xerces turned towards Seth.
"I mean, whatever you think you must know, we will let you know."
He pointed towards Asopus, who showed him the monitors.
"In other words, kid, if you want to learn how to kick some ass or use weapons, we're the go-to guys. By the way, welcome aboard Poseidon, the swiftest ship next to the Logos. You'll meet them later."
"And you're Asopus?" Seth asked.
"The one and only. Now, is there anything I can get for you? Normally we have to teach you the basics, but that's boring shit. Wanna have some fun?"
The next 7 hours were spent learning as many martial arts styles as Seth could take. He learned acrobatics, languages, even how to swim better, in case he ran into those sewers again. Xerces had made his way to Asopus and Seth, curious as to the welfare of his new crewmember.
"7 Hours, I see?"
"This isn't human. Only Neo's been able to go through this, and he did it in 10!"
"This is interesting." Xerces said as he made his way to Seth.
"Can you hear me?" He asked.
".Y'wanna see somethin' cool?"
They were hooked back up into the simulation, only this time it seemed as though they stepped into feudal Japan, only without the feuding part. They were outside an emperor's castle, in the courtyard, and were dressed in gi.
"As part of this simulation, you must learn that the Matrix is just the same a computer. Rules can bend, some can break, and all you must know is that in order to know you must believe they don't exist. This usually takes time but-"
Seth understood a bit too well. He had flown towards Xerces, shooting a roundhouse to his ribs. Xerces, however, grabbed his leg and pushed him aside, and the fight began. Seth would fly into the air, kicking and punching at Xerces, and Xerces would block and attack Seth. This went on until Seth let his guard down, and Xerces sent him flying into a wall with a side kick.
"You're doing well, but you're not fully understanding what the Matrix is about."
Seth got back up and nodded, his back in pain but still willing to continue. He changed styles, from using Shotokan karate to Tae Kwan Do, and began kicking Xerces with a passion. Xerces, however, seemed to be made of metal, blocking and absorbing all of Seth's attacks. Finally, he threw a fake punch to Seth's face and kicked his leg out, landing an uppercut to his jaw. Seth fell hard to the ground, blood flowing from his mouth. He wiped off the trail and spat whatever he had in his mouth, and stood up.
"How're you so good?"
"How are realizing the rules?"
Seth switched into Tiger Claw Kung Fu, and with waving arms jumped right into Xerces. He grabbed, twisted, and punched, but Xerces escaped, grabbed, and threw Seth to the ground. As soon as he got up, Xerces sent a kick to Seth's head, but he dodged the attack so quickly it made Xerces' eyes widen. Seth stood back up and shot a punch to Xerces, but was caught and lifted into the air by another of his kicks. The pain was great now, and he took this as a signal to stop before he was killed.
"I'm going to end this to tell you something I've already told you." Xerces said, much to Seth's happiness.
"You're reading so much into the rules that you forgot what I told you. I'm good because I know that the rules in this simulation mean nothing to me. The quickness is not with my muscles, but in me believing that I am quick enough. I have not lost my breath yet, because I believe I cannot. Why do you believe that you're losing?"
"Because I wasn't sure of the way of the game." Seth said as he ran over to Xerces. The speed he possessed was much different from before; he was a flash before Xerces' eyes. Seth appeared behind him and shot an elbow into his back, but Xerces had turned quick enough to catch it. However, he was not able to catch the backhand raised to his face.
"That was quick." Xerces said plainly. Seth smiled.
"So just by simply believing that I'm faster than light, I can be that fast?" Seth said, now out of the simulation and back on the Poseidon.
"If you believe you can shoot fire, if the rules can be broken than you can."
"Ah, it depends on the rules. How about flying, is that possible?"
"I've seen it before."
"So I can fly?"
"Maybe we should practice a little more on believing, and then we'll see." Xerces said with a chuckle.
Making Xerces laugh was unexpected, but made Seth feel good. They had gone to the mess room in search of some grub, but instead found gruel. It wasn't all too bad, except that it looked and tasted like leftover snot.
"I guess the taste grows on you." Muttered Seth as he poked at the slime.
Everyone had gone to sleep, but Seth was having a hard time staying that way. He walked around the ship to see Asopus still governing the computer screens, but something else caught his eye. The screens weren't normal, that is to say that they seemed to be stuck on what Seth believed to be screensavers. Green symbols were falling down the screens, behind a black backdrop.
"Is that a city?" Seth asked Asopus.
Asopus turned suddenly towards Seth, shocked to see someone else still up so late.
"Uh.yeah. You can read this?" He asked. Seth nodded as Asopus pointed towards the screens.
"Well it's not exactly what I'd call picturesque, but yeah."
"That's interesting. Most people don't even know what this is."
"Well, I guess it's even more interesting that I don't know, either."
Asopus stood quiet for a bit of time. Finally, he nodded blankly and turned back to the screens.
"This is the coding of the Matrix. It's odd that you can read it, but not know what you're reading. Very, very interesting."
"I.see. Sort of. Anyway, what're the screens for?"
"Tracking. If you're sent into the Matrix, I can direct you out if you're in a jam. Also, I can detect Agents and any other forms out there, just in case."
"Ah." Said Seth. He understood bit by bit, but decided to himself not to soak in too much for fear of burnout. He sat down next to Asopus, who was busy scanning through the multiple screens. "I'm.never going to see my friends again. My life's gone, right?"
"Well, it could be worse. You could be dead." Asopus replied. "You have to realize that you're no longer living the lie, that the life you led never really existed."
"Well, yeah, but.the life I led was still mine, even if it was fake. There are people I'll probably never see again, or say goodbye to."
"Well, the beauty of the Matrix is that those that are still plugged in will turn up. You won't be missing anyone, but you sure as hell won't see them as much as you'd like to."
"How come?"
"'Coz Xerces has plans for you, for us. Basically, our lives before being freed are over."
Seth still had trouble sleeping that night, but eventually fell into slumber. He awoke to people talking in the other room, and as he made his way up, was greeted by Artemis, looking beautiful even with rags for clothing.
"Time to plug in, guy." She said with a smile.
They were heading off to a meeting of the captains and their crews, but the main attraction of the night was that Neo was supposed to arrive. Seth was, of course, brought along to meet him and quite possibly end the war.
"You're going to need a new name. Seth isn't.warrior-like." Xerces told him as they set up the chairs to link them into the Matrix.
"So then, what should I be called? How about.Drive, or maybe Screen, or something cool 'coz I can't come up with a good name."
"Have you noticed a pattern within our crew?" Xerces stated plainly. "Everyone carries a name of the Greek gods and goddesses. Asopus, the river god, is our pilot of the Poseidon, the god of the oceans. Artemis was the god of hunting, but was as fair and beautiful as the others. I am Xerces, a Babylonian king. I'm quite possibly the only one that has a different tag."
"So, then I should be."
"I will call you Trojan, after the tactic used to ambush the people of Troy. You are our advantage, as the Trojan horse was for the Greeks."
"That.sounds okay." Seth said thoughtfully.
They had transported into the Matrix when Asopus called Xerces on his phone. After a moment or so, Xerces hung up and turned to his crew.
"The meeting's over, we have to leave."
"Why?" Asked Seth. "We just got here."
"There are Agents, and as good as you are I don't think you're ready for them."
"So then we have to find the way back, where's our point?"
"Back at the warehouse where we unplugged Trojan."
They found their 350 Z and drove off to the warehouse, which was a good drive away. However, they noticed upon steering out of the meeting point, they were being followed.
"Ah shit. Listen, Trojan, we have to get you out of here."
"We're being followed by Agents, don't worry." Seth said.
"How did you know?"
"Well, you suddenly telling me I need to go, and that I can feel them nearing us."
"You can feel them." Xerces said unquestioningly.
"Yeah, it's the weirdest thing. I have this.well, feeling in my head, like they're there."
"You're starting to understand better now. We must leave."
They sped off, with the Agents on their tale. One of them popped out of the window and pulled out his gun, and began to fire upon the crew. They swerved out of the way, but a couple of bullets broke through the rear window and trunk. Artemis pulled out a sawed off shotgun and sprayed gunfire through their car. It popped a front and rear tire, causing the Agents to lose their speed and control.
"Turn right, here!" Xerces shouted as he reached into his coat. Seth turned around in enough time to see Xerces pulling out a silver-clad Uzi. They made eye contact for a second before Xerces turned around and shot a hail of bullets at the Agents. Compared to their guns, the Agents really didn't stand much of a chance. Their car crashed into a parked truck, causing an explosion that licked the rear end of the crew's car. They sped off to the familiar street and, upon finding the warehouse, barely stopped without putting someone through a windshield. They jumped out of the car and made their way into the building, only to be greeted by a bullet into the door. Seth stopped dead in his tracks, but Artemis grabbed him and rolled out of the way of Xerces oncoming gunfire.
"Get him out of here, quickly! The phone is on the rooftop!"
Artemis ran with Seth through more shooting; apparently, there were more Agents than they realized.
"You have to get to the rooftop, I'll hold them off!" She shouted at Seth. He was afraid to move; he didn't want to leave them behind.
"If you think I can't get out of this, then you're no good to me!" She shouted again. Seth nodded and got the nerves to move again. He ran up the staircase going to the rooftop, but was stopped by more shooting.
"Christ, I need a gun!" He said out loud. There was a clank behind him, and as he looked around, it was as if his hopes and dreams became reality. There lay a gun, sleek black and slim enough for his hand. He checked the cartridge for bullets, and to his surprise it was loaded and ready to go. He got back up and ran through the staircases once more, and wherever there was gunfire or the face of an Agent, he shot back, hoping to hit one of them. It proved impossible; they had superhuman speed that made the Flash look like he was on crutches. Seth had seen the door to the rooftop, and instantly his memories kicked in. It was all too familiar to him, but he forgot what would happen next. In the midst of running and remembering, he kicked the door down and ran outside, but stopped suddenly when an Agent stood before him, its gun pointing at his chest.
"Your presence is similar to the Anomaly. Deletion of your code has been approved."
Xerces had made it to the last floor, with Artemis close behind. They were still dealing with the Agents, and so much gunfire had been produced that the warehouse looked as though it was about to crumble.
"Artemis, get to Trojan as quickly as you can. I can take them."
She ran upto the rooftop as Xerces put down his gun. The Agents had stopped firing, and now made their way towards him.
"We would definitely have the advantage of deleting a captain of the rebellion."
"A twenty percent advantage."
"Commence with deletion?"
"Proceed."
Xerces unsheathed his sword and swiped fiercely at one of the oncoming Agents. He moved out of the way, allowing Xerces to attempt a stab at the other. Both Agents evaded the attacks and struck Xerces with their fists, although he had blocked their moves and kicked on in the stomach, pushing him into a wall. The other Agent swung at Xerces, who in turn fell to one hand and, in a handstand, tried to kick the Agent in the head. The Agent grabbed his leg and through him onto a remaining pillar, but Xerces bounced off and struck the Agent with his sword. As the Agent fell back, the other kicked Xerces in the upper back, sending him rolling on the ground. He jumped up, however, grabbing his gun on the way. He shot at the Agent, bullets spitting at literally seconds between the other, but the Agent was too fast for the movement of the bullets. Although the Agent was fast, however, he still needed time to regroup himself after his stunning feat, giving Xerces some time to make it to the rooftop. If need be, he could use his Uzi once more to create a diversion.
Without thinking, Seth grabbed the gun, spun around, and gave an elbow into the Agent's chest. He flew about 20 feet from Seth, but rolled up and landed on his feet. The Agent ran towards him, throwing punches and kicks that were not only quick, but also felt like bricks being swung by metal poles. Seth could only block so much, giving the Agent a major advantage in strength. However, as the Agent struck another blow, Seth noticed that he was getting slower and slower by the second. He moved out of the way of the punch and drove his foot into the Agent's chest.
"The target is moving at a much faster speed. His acknowledgement of the surroundings has increased forty percent more than the average human. Should I proceed with the deletion?"
The Agent stood quiet for all but one millisecond. He stood up and threw a fist at Seth so fast it would have broken his face like a porcelain plate had it not been for his senses. He ducked the punch, and in a feat that surprised even the Agent, Seth leaped over him and kicked the Agent in the back. It sent him into the doorway Seth had knocked down earlier, but Artemis had been waiting there. With a gun. She shot the Agent dead in the face, causing him to stumble back from his mid-air flight.
"The phone's over there, let's go!" She said.
"What about Xerces, I can't leave him alone!"
"You need not worry, just get to the phone!" A voice shouted. Xerces wasn't too far behind them, but judging by the clatter of feet and guns, they needed to leave as soon as possible. They all ran to the phone, Artemis first, then Seth.
"I can hold them off for one more minute, but you need to go, now." Xerces stated. Seth nodded, and grabbed the phone. Suddenly, his body was surrounded by the familiar green glow of the screens back on the Poseidon. It was the familiar green code he had seen when he saw the Agents.