Chapter 5: Preparations for an Awakening
Ixias reached for the brass doorknob of the small hole-in-the-wall bookstore as it swung open to meet her. Max's smiling face greeted hers. "Up early this morning, aye Ixias?" He led her inside after they exchanged greetings.
"Max," she paused for dramatic emphasis, "I finished the book already."
His face dropped. "Already?"
"Yes. It was absolutely captivating. Thank you for showing it to me." She paused to take a breath. "It has answered some of my questions, but in the process only created a thousand more. I need you to tell me whatever you know about this, this Matrix theory." Max's face grew flustered.
"Shh! Not so loud. You never know who could be listening." The middle- aged man's brow furrowed, his face contorting into a look of nervous apprehension. He locked the door to the bookstore momentarily and led Ixias into the backroom.
"There is a place I can tell you of, but you must swear to me on our friendship that you will never tell another soul about it. You did not hear this from me. Understand?" Ixias nodded solemnly, gulping loudly. What in the holy hell had she gotten herself into?
Max cleared his throat and sat her down at a creaky wooden table in the dusty backroom of the bookstore. He reached for a book hidden behind volumes of dusty encyclopedias, novels, non-fiction books and works of poetry. He took a rag from his pocketed apron and dusted off the cover. The cover read The Journey Into Wonderland - What You Need To Know. What was with the Alice in Wonderland references? Max opened the book and pulled a dusty, crinkled old map out of the back sleeve. It was a map of a state park in New York that he had kept tucked away in the book
"There is a place outside the city, a good 55 minutes away in New York State," he began. "It's on the outskirts of a town called Tuxedo, deep within the surrounding forest preserves. 4 miles into the preserve along the River Serenity is a lake originally named Jasmine Pond, but it goes by the nickname Lake Starry-eyed. The entire area surrounding the lake, back many yards into the depths of the forests, is known as the Miracle Glitch. It is considered haunted, but those who go there know more of the truth than they speak, and do not speak of it for fear of the repercussions. The truth is, the area is indeed a glitch, as it is called. It can answer your questions about the Matrix, only if you open your eyes and your mind to it." Ixias' expression was one of speechless wonder.
"The book was very interesting I must say, for it explained to me the history and theories about what the Matrix means, and about the men and women who are 'free' and the 'agents' who keep it secret. But it never exactly told me what the Matrix is. Can you?" Her eyes pleaded softly. He shook his head.
"I am telling you all that I can, love. It is up to you to discover it for yourself." His face fell into a pure manifestation of pain and sorrow. "I just hope you know what you are getting yourself into. Many of those who go in search of such far-off legitimacies never return." She narrowed her eyes in fear and apprehension.
"What is so dangerous about knowing what the Matrix is? Why is it kept such a secret?" Max sat down.
"The truth about the Matrix is the truth about our very existence. To know it is to completely erase whatever you know, or think you know, about life itself and everything that is happening around you at once. There is a reason it is kept secret from the entire population. The select few who learn the truth escape with only cuts and bruises. The unlucky ones,." he trailed off to a tragic finish. The unlucky ones never return.
The words Max had spoken very closely resembled what Ixias had read earlier that morning. Why was she asking questions she already knew the answers to? Was her mind so closed to the possibility of the unraveling of all that she knew that she was unable to comprehend everything, that nothing made sense because her own psyche refused to believe it or even consider it?
Yes. Her soul itself had a taste of what might be, but her mind was so programmed, so fucking set in its illogical and perhaps self-destructive ways that she was unable to completely devote herself to the belief that the world may not be as it seems. Her curious soul thirsted for the knowledge which her skeptical mind rejected.
Ixias shook her head and cleared her thoughts momentarily. "This place, this Miracle Glitch. what am I to expect?"
"The completely unexpected," Max replied matter-o-factly. "That is all I can tell you. You must experience it for yourself. But I warn you to be careful. If you are to go there, you must leave the way you came in. I know not of what came of the others who did not follow such advice. I would never forgive myself if something were to happen to you." He leaned over the table, his breath against her cool skin hot and dripping with fear.
"If I were you Ixias, I would be content with theorizing; I wouldn't push my luck. This place, this space, is completely random and unpredictable. Anything could happen there, and I mean anything. There are no boundaries, no borders, no rules and no laws. The impossible is completely possible there, and more probably likely to happen than not. I ask,. no, I plead that you guard yourself and take every precaution necessary. The place is known to those who need to know of it, and it is heavily guarded and gated by barbed wire fences. As I said, many who go there do not return, and the few who live to tell about it become sick at the thought. Their entire lives become nothing right before their eyes, everything they thought they knew becomes meaningless - null and void." He grasped her hands. "Are you sure you want to do this?" His grip tightened with fear and anxiety.
"I must know now. I have had a vision and it's my destiny to know. I have to," she said painfully, looking away from the pleading man's face. His eyes fell to the tabletop, and he released his grip.
"There is one more thing you must know. If you see an agent - you know, a government official - you cannot run, you cannot hide. You must be alone at all times. If anyone, and I mean anyone approaches you, human or beast, you run. Flee. Drop everything you have and get the hell out of there. They will be watching you, I guarantee it." He leaned back in his chair and folded his hands. Ixias processed the entire conversation in her head, bringing her to the brink of an emotional breakdown. She calmed herself before asking her final question.
"Max," she said, "how do you know all of this?"
His face fell once again into a look of misery, pity and nostalgia. He cleared his throat, his eyes brimming with tears with whatever was going on behind them.
"My niece was once in your position. She wanted to know, she needed to know, as you do now. She went in search of the truth, and it found her." Ixias felt saddened for the man.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." She took his left hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. He raised his eyes to hers and smiled.
"Don't be, my lady. She is free now. She made it." He smiled, and wiped a tear from his eye. "Her name was Trinity."
Ixias reached for the brass doorknob of the small hole-in-the-wall bookstore as it swung open to meet her. Max's smiling face greeted hers. "Up early this morning, aye Ixias?" He led her inside after they exchanged greetings.
"Max," she paused for dramatic emphasis, "I finished the book already."
His face dropped. "Already?"
"Yes. It was absolutely captivating. Thank you for showing it to me." She paused to take a breath. "It has answered some of my questions, but in the process only created a thousand more. I need you to tell me whatever you know about this, this Matrix theory." Max's face grew flustered.
"Shh! Not so loud. You never know who could be listening." The middle- aged man's brow furrowed, his face contorting into a look of nervous apprehension. He locked the door to the bookstore momentarily and led Ixias into the backroom.
"There is a place I can tell you of, but you must swear to me on our friendship that you will never tell another soul about it. You did not hear this from me. Understand?" Ixias nodded solemnly, gulping loudly. What in the holy hell had she gotten herself into?
Max cleared his throat and sat her down at a creaky wooden table in the dusty backroom of the bookstore. He reached for a book hidden behind volumes of dusty encyclopedias, novels, non-fiction books and works of poetry. He took a rag from his pocketed apron and dusted off the cover. The cover read The Journey Into Wonderland - What You Need To Know. What was with the Alice in Wonderland references? Max opened the book and pulled a dusty, crinkled old map out of the back sleeve. It was a map of a state park in New York that he had kept tucked away in the book
"There is a place outside the city, a good 55 minutes away in New York State," he began. "It's on the outskirts of a town called Tuxedo, deep within the surrounding forest preserves. 4 miles into the preserve along the River Serenity is a lake originally named Jasmine Pond, but it goes by the nickname Lake Starry-eyed. The entire area surrounding the lake, back many yards into the depths of the forests, is known as the Miracle Glitch. It is considered haunted, but those who go there know more of the truth than they speak, and do not speak of it for fear of the repercussions. The truth is, the area is indeed a glitch, as it is called. It can answer your questions about the Matrix, only if you open your eyes and your mind to it." Ixias' expression was one of speechless wonder.
"The book was very interesting I must say, for it explained to me the history and theories about what the Matrix means, and about the men and women who are 'free' and the 'agents' who keep it secret. But it never exactly told me what the Matrix is. Can you?" Her eyes pleaded softly. He shook his head.
"I am telling you all that I can, love. It is up to you to discover it for yourself." His face fell into a pure manifestation of pain and sorrow. "I just hope you know what you are getting yourself into. Many of those who go in search of such far-off legitimacies never return." She narrowed her eyes in fear and apprehension.
"What is so dangerous about knowing what the Matrix is? Why is it kept such a secret?" Max sat down.
"The truth about the Matrix is the truth about our very existence. To know it is to completely erase whatever you know, or think you know, about life itself and everything that is happening around you at once. There is a reason it is kept secret from the entire population. The select few who learn the truth escape with only cuts and bruises. The unlucky ones,." he trailed off to a tragic finish. The unlucky ones never return.
The words Max had spoken very closely resembled what Ixias had read earlier that morning. Why was she asking questions she already knew the answers to? Was her mind so closed to the possibility of the unraveling of all that she knew that she was unable to comprehend everything, that nothing made sense because her own psyche refused to believe it or even consider it?
Yes. Her soul itself had a taste of what might be, but her mind was so programmed, so fucking set in its illogical and perhaps self-destructive ways that she was unable to completely devote herself to the belief that the world may not be as it seems. Her curious soul thirsted for the knowledge which her skeptical mind rejected.
Ixias shook her head and cleared her thoughts momentarily. "This place, this Miracle Glitch. what am I to expect?"
"The completely unexpected," Max replied matter-o-factly. "That is all I can tell you. You must experience it for yourself. But I warn you to be careful. If you are to go there, you must leave the way you came in. I know not of what came of the others who did not follow such advice. I would never forgive myself if something were to happen to you." He leaned over the table, his breath against her cool skin hot and dripping with fear.
"If I were you Ixias, I would be content with theorizing; I wouldn't push my luck. This place, this space, is completely random and unpredictable. Anything could happen there, and I mean anything. There are no boundaries, no borders, no rules and no laws. The impossible is completely possible there, and more probably likely to happen than not. I ask,. no, I plead that you guard yourself and take every precaution necessary. The place is known to those who need to know of it, and it is heavily guarded and gated by barbed wire fences. As I said, many who go there do not return, and the few who live to tell about it become sick at the thought. Their entire lives become nothing right before their eyes, everything they thought they knew becomes meaningless - null and void." He grasped her hands. "Are you sure you want to do this?" His grip tightened with fear and anxiety.
"I must know now. I have had a vision and it's my destiny to know. I have to," she said painfully, looking away from the pleading man's face. His eyes fell to the tabletop, and he released his grip.
"There is one more thing you must know. If you see an agent - you know, a government official - you cannot run, you cannot hide. You must be alone at all times. If anyone, and I mean anyone approaches you, human or beast, you run. Flee. Drop everything you have and get the hell out of there. They will be watching you, I guarantee it." He leaned back in his chair and folded his hands. Ixias processed the entire conversation in her head, bringing her to the brink of an emotional breakdown. She calmed herself before asking her final question.
"Max," she said, "how do you know all of this?"
His face fell once again into a look of misery, pity and nostalgia. He cleared his throat, his eyes brimming with tears with whatever was going on behind them.
"My niece was once in your position. She wanted to know, she needed to know, as you do now. She went in search of the truth, and it found her." Ixias felt saddened for the man.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." She took his left hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. He raised his eyes to hers and smiled.
"Don't be, my lady. She is free now. She made it." He smiled, and wiped a tear from his eye. "Her name was Trinity."