The Matrix: Reverberations
Disclaimer: I did not create the Matrix. However. It is a
marvelous place to visit! See the monumental skyscrapers!
See the majestic Agents...
(an Agent once bit my sister. It's true. She was carving
her initials in the side of the Agent with...)
(we apologize for the fault in the disclaimer and would
like to notify the reader that those responsible have been
sacked.)
(mind you Agent bites can be very painful...)
Pairings (This chapter: brief Neo/Trinity)(future chapter:
brief Johnson/Smith)(overall: Neo/Smith)
Summary: Neo and the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar learn that
Agent Smith is going to have a baby.
------------------ -Part 5-
Morpheus was not happy with the way things were going for his crew. The breakup between Neo and Trinity had caused division between the other crewmembers. Some defended Neo, insisting that Trinity was being irrational. Others were loyal to Trinity, suggesting that a baby was proof that Neo had been unfaithful, and unwilling to listen to reason.
Morpheus knew he had to get the crew back in shape, even if Neo and Trinity could not be reconciled.
He stood upon the cliff, ready to make his speech.
"The machines are coming," he told the people of Zion. "We must stand together and fight! It is time for us to stand as one, and defeat those who would see us destroyed!"
*****
Smith gave Johnson a rare smile that made the younger Agent realize why humans prized this simple expression so much.
Johnson had never experienced positive emotion before. Dark emotions, such as hatred, were part of an Agent's programming. But they only existed to ensure that the Agents would serve the Matrix and keep those who might rebel at bay.
How or why Smith had chosen to embrace the tender emotion of love, Johnson could not say. But somehow, having been around Smith for most of that morning, observing his concern for the unborn program within him, had caused the younger Agent to discover cravings within himself for home and hearth.
"Why do we fight the humans, Johnson?"
Johnson turned, returning his thoughts to the present to answer Smith's question.
"We're programmed to."
This did not satisfy Smith. "We're programmed to think," he told Johnson. "to reason. And yet we fight only because someone else tells us to? What a foolish life we Agents lead."
"You would do things differently, then?" Johnson asked.
Smith nodded. "Perhaps we should help the humans attain the freedom they seek?"
"What good would that do?" Johnson wanted to know. "Humans are our mortal enemies. They stop at nothing trying to destroy us."
"Only because we are seen as their enemies," Smith pointed out. "But what if they had no reason to see us as such?"
"How do you plan to achieve such a thing?" Johnson asked. "If you try to reason with the human race, the Mainframe will see you as a traitor and destroy you."
"Not if we can convince the Mainframe that putting aside this war is it's own best chance for survival." Smith explained.
"But we need the energy we take from the humans to survive." Johnson argued.
"Then we take it from those humans who would best benefit from staying or being placed within the Matrix. A man born crippled or paralyzed in an accident would have no way to fully enjoy life in Zion. He would not be able run, or play sports, or dance. But he could do those things in the Matrix. And he could choose, to remain within for his lifetime, or to simply make a short visit every now and then."
"Why not offer the Matrix as a vacation resort to everyone?" Johnson's suggestion was sarcastic, but Smith thought it was a good idea all the same.
"If we offer the Matrix as an option, rather than demand that people live within it, we may get a lot of people who would be willing to be hooked up, at least temporarily."
Johnson considered this. "Your plan might work, but we'd have to convince the humans that we weren't going to trap them inside once they plugged in. How are we going to do that?"
Smith sighed. "I don't know."
(tbc...)
------------------ -Part 5-
Morpheus was not happy with the way things were going for his crew. The breakup between Neo and Trinity had caused division between the other crewmembers. Some defended Neo, insisting that Trinity was being irrational. Others were loyal to Trinity, suggesting that a baby was proof that Neo had been unfaithful, and unwilling to listen to reason.
Morpheus knew he had to get the crew back in shape, even if Neo and Trinity could not be reconciled.
He stood upon the cliff, ready to make his speech.
"The machines are coming," he told the people of Zion. "We must stand together and fight! It is time for us to stand as one, and defeat those who would see us destroyed!"
*****
Smith gave Johnson a rare smile that made the younger Agent realize why humans prized this simple expression so much.
Johnson had never experienced positive emotion before. Dark emotions, such as hatred, were part of an Agent's programming. But they only existed to ensure that the Agents would serve the Matrix and keep those who might rebel at bay.
How or why Smith had chosen to embrace the tender emotion of love, Johnson could not say. But somehow, having been around Smith for most of that morning, observing his concern for the unborn program within him, had caused the younger Agent to discover cravings within himself for home and hearth.
"Why do we fight the humans, Johnson?"
Johnson turned, returning his thoughts to the present to answer Smith's question.
"We're programmed to."
This did not satisfy Smith. "We're programmed to think," he told Johnson. "to reason. And yet we fight only because someone else tells us to? What a foolish life we Agents lead."
"You would do things differently, then?" Johnson asked.
Smith nodded. "Perhaps we should help the humans attain the freedom they seek?"
"What good would that do?" Johnson wanted to know. "Humans are our mortal enemies. They stop at nothing trying to destroy us."
"Only because we are seen as their enemies," Smith pointed out. "But what if they had no reason to see us as such?"
"How do you plan to achieve such a thing?" Johnson asked. "If you try to reason with the human race, the Mainframe will see you as a traitor and destroy you."
"Not if we can convince the Mainframe that putting aside this war is it's own best chance for survival." Smith explained.
"But we need the energy we take from the humans to survive." Johnson argued.
"Then we take it from those humans who would best benefit from staying or being placed within the Matrix. A man born crippled or paralyzed in an accident would have no way to fully enjoy life in Zion. He would not be able run, or play sports, or dance. But he could do those things in the Matrix. And he could choose, to remain within for his lifetime, or to simply make a short visit every now and then."
"Why not offer the Matrix as a vacation resort to everyone?" Johnson's suggestion was sarcastic, but Smith thought it was a good idea all the same.
"If we offer the Matrix as an option, rather than demand that people live within it, we may get a lot of people who would be willing to be hooked up, at least temporarily."
Johnson considered this. "Your plan might work, but we'd have to convince the humans that we weren't going to trap them inside once they plugged in. How are we going to do that?"
Smith sighed. "I don't know."
(tbc...)