chapter 4.
The sun was just setting on the horizon, and it seemed the whole world was holding its breath. The soft gold of the sun was a deep offset to the strange pastel hinge to the set. The grass was a pale green, the sky a soft violet, even the trees seemed to be a darker shade of brown. The only thing that seemed to have real colour was the young girl, as she stood in the middle of the field, watching the sunset. The expression on her face was nervous but determined. She was waiting for something, and she seemed ready for anything.
The world didn't notice her. But he did.
As Neo walked towards her, he couldn't help but smile. The curiosity made itself very present, why would The Source send him here? He didn't even remember what he had said. Trinity was dead, wasn't she? Did that mean that he was dead too, and that was why he could see her now? No, surely not. But there was doubt too. And there was love, thank god for that. Neo quickly reached up and tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to turn around suddenly. When he saw her face she looked surprised, but the shock slowly melted into a warm smile.
"I've been waiting for you." She said. He became slightly uneasy and this strange response. "Took you long enough!" She laughed. So did he. The uneasiness disappeared.
"How long have you been here?" He asked.
"Not very long, don't worry. By the way, do you have any idea where 'here' is?"
He shook his head, and she looked around nervously. The field stretched on forever, rolling into hills. The only thing that blocked out the slowly setting sun was the thin line of trees surrounding them like a circle. The scene was so beautiful, Neo wondered if he had really died and gone to heaven. If so, he didn't want to leave. Neo lifted up his arms and put them on her waist, kissing her on the cheek. It had been so long, it seemed. Far too long.
Trinity smiled even wider. " I have something to show you." She took his hand and began leading him toward the small forest.
*
The forest, they soon found out, wasn't that small at all. Though you could still see the bright sun through the trees, and the rolling hills and fields through the brush, it took awhile to get through the slight darkness. Besides, Neo didn't want to be walking through the forest; he wanted to be with Trinity. Not hiking with her or fighting with her, but holding her in his arms, loving her. He didn't know why these feelings seemed so strong; they were begging to be released from inside him.
Finally, they came to a clearing. Here, the field sloped down into a valley, and centred in the middle was a small white pile of stones. Trinity let go of his hand, jogging down the small slope toward the pile. Neo hesitated, then followed her. As he got closer, it revealed that the small pile of rocks was not a pile at all, but a well. The stones were a pure, clean white, and tiny bits of moss were just beginning to bud from between the rocks. The well was long abandoned.
"It's the only thing around here for miles, or so I've guessed." She said. "Maybe there's a town or a house nearby..." She trailed off. Neo wasn't listening. A stupid little well didn't matter to him, what mattered was that Trinity was here, and nothing could take her away.
Trinity leaned down and picked up a small pebble, then tossed it into the wells opening. The pebble bounced around the circular stone walls, echoing as it fell, then hit the sightless bottom with a tiny "splish". So there was water at the bottom, though she doubted it was fit for human consumption. Suddenly, she felt the brush of someone touching her. Neo had his hands placed on her hips, and was slowly kissing her neck. She smiled and pushed him off gently.
As soon as she pushed him off, Neo began all over again. His emotions were literally raging within him, why was she holding him back? He tried, but just couldn't seem to understand. It was as if the ability was gone...like it had disappeared from within his mind totally.
"Neo, stop it." Trinity said, still smiling but making her point clear. Neo ignored her. "I said cut it out!" The smile was gone, she was serious.
He stared at her for awhile, taken aback. Why was she angry with him? He just wanted to show her he loved her, why was she pushing away? Questions swam through his head, but only one surfaced:
"Trinity, don't you love me?"
The look of curious anger quickly changed to shock. "What?" she asked. "What has that got to do with anything? Neo, are you okay?"
"Of course I am." "Then why are you asking me this ludicrous question?" For the first time, her voice wavered. " I love you, but you were just coming on a bit strong, that's all."
Her expression changed again, this time from shocked to sad. "I love you" she said, "Just...not here."
He stared at her again, utterly dumbfounded. These things she was saying, he just couldn't understand. The ability to understand her seemed to have disappeared. She loved him...but didn't love him. She loved him...but not here? Neo sorted through his thoughts, trying to find an explanation, and finally found one.
Trinity turned away from his and directed her attention back to the well. The way Neo was acting was deeply worrying her, he seemed so...different. Quiet. Away. Emotionless, but emotion-filled at the same time. She stared downwards into the wells opening, like an ancient black hole submerging from the ground, ready to swallow everything up, but being frozen in time. She couldn't see the water at the bottom, but could only imagine that it was vile.
Suddenly a huge black mass descended over Trinity's eyes, obscuring her vision. Her air cut off. She could suddenly feel and huge weight pulling around her neck, pushing at her windpipe, closing it off. She was choking. Trinity flung her hands up and pulled at the force, barely feeling the course fabric and the feel of muscle as she flung her body around violently, thrashing and gasping for release. She continued to struggle, then felt her body being jerked downwards. A huge impact to the side of her head sent ringing to her ears and a disgusting metal-taste to her mouth. She tried to cry for help, but only managed a feeble squeak and a torrent of blood to exit her vocal chords. Trinity dropped to her knees in defeat, and the mass strangling her dropped as well. She felt the mass around her head drop, but the darkness didn't go away. Conscious thought disappeared, as did the will to survive. The last thing she felt was her body slipping against cold rock, then a shocking rush of icy water.
*
Neo stared vacantly down into the wells opening. His hands were splayed out against the cold rocks, his head laying down against its circular mouth. Only then did he become aware of the fact that he wasn't breathing, and never had been. He was alive, he had never died, but he had no pulse. Maybe he had no heart. This statement made perfect sense, after all, he had just killed his only love. He didn't know why. That was the reason he killed her. He had searched his whole mind, searching for an explanation to what she had said, to her feelings towards him. He couldn't find one, so he killed her. He got rid of her. He deleted her, like an unwanted program. Unwanted to only him, though.
So he had made the wrong choice. But then, what did that make him? As he sat back and listened quietly to his own thoughts he knew he wasn't human. Humans didn't sort through logic like a succession of files. Humans didn't delete unwanted but living beings from their lives at the drop of a hat. Humans were ignorant and stupid, humans were disgusting, vile beings, but humans had empathy. Humans were humane.
Neo closed his eyes, and when he opened them, found himself lying on the floor of Zero-One, the machine city. He lifted his hand, immediately feeling a throbbing pain shoot to his arm, and felt behind his neck. There he found the usual jack inserted into the usual plug. So that was how he got in. Neo, satisfied, closed his eyes again.
There was only one thing he could do now.
He opened his eyes, and found himself in the same endless stretch of fields, this time interrupted by a vast lake in front of him. Neo knew what he had to do, and knew the consequences. He had made his choice, and now he must follow through. Complete the change.
End the beginning.
The sun was just setting on the horizon, and it seemed the whole world was holding its breath. The soft gold of the sun was a deep offset to the strange pastel hinge to the set. The grass was a pale green, the sky a soft violet, even the trees seemed to be a darker shade of brown. The only thing that seemed to have real colour was the young girl, as she stood in the middle of the field, watching the sunset. The expression on her face was nervous but determined. She was waiting for something, and she seemed ready for anything.
The world didn't notice her. But he did.
As Neo walked towards her, he couldn't help but smile. The curiosity made itself very present, why would The Source send him here? He didn't even remember what he had said. Trinity was dead, wasn't she? Did that mean that he was dead too, and that was why he could see her now? No, surely not. But there was doubt too. And there was love, thank god for that. Neo quickly reached up and tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to turn around suddenly. When he saw her face she looked surprised, but the shock slowly melted into a warm smile.
"I've been waiting for you." She said. He became slightly uneasy and this strange response. "Took you long enough!" She laughed. So did he. The uneasiness disappeared.
"How long have you been here?" He asked.
"Not very long, don't worry. By the way, do you have any idea where 'here' is?"
He shook his head, and she looked around nervously. The field stretched on forever, rolling into hills. The only thing that blocked out the slowly setting sun was the thin line of trees surrounding them like a circle. The scene was so beautiful, Neo wondered if he had really died and gone to heaven. If so, he didn't want to leave. Neo lifted up his arms and put them on her waist, kissing her on the cheek. It had been so long, it seemed. Far too long.
Trinity smiled even wider. " I have something to show you." She took his hand and began leading him toward the small forest.
*
The forest, they soon found out, wasn't that small at all. Though you could still see the bright sun through the trees, and the rolling hills and fields through the brush, it took awhile to get through the slight darkness. Besides, Neo didn't want to be walking through the forest; he wanted to be with Trinity. Not hiking with her or fighting with her, but holding her in his arms, loving her. He didn't know why these feelings seemed so strong; they were begging to be released from inside him.
Finally, they came to a clearing. Here, the field sloped down into a valley, and centred in the middle was a small white pile of stones. Trinity let go of his hand, jogging down the small slope toward the pile. Neo hesitated, then followed her. As he got closer, it revealed that the small pile of rocks was not a pile at all, but a well. The stones were a pure, clean white, and tiny bits of moss were just beginning to bud from between the rocks. The well was long abandoned.
"It's the only thing around here for miles, or so I've guessed." She said. "Maybe there's a town or a house nearby..." She trailed off. Neo wasn't listening. A stupid little well didn't matter to him, what mattered was that Trinity was here, and nothing could take her away.
Trinity leaned down and picked up a small pebble, then tossed it into the wells opening. The pebble bounced around the circular stone walls, echoing as it fell, then hit the sightless bottom with a tiny "splish". So there was water at the bottom, though she doubted it was fit for human consumption. Suddenly, she felt the brush of someone touching her. Neo had his hands placed on her hips, and was slowly kissing her neck. She smiled and pushed him off gently.
As soon as she pushed him off, Neo began all over again. His emotions were literally raging within him, why was she holding him back? He tried, but just couldn't seem to understand. It was as if the ability was gone...like it had disappeared from within his mind totally.
"Neo, stop it." Trinity said, still smiling but making her point clear. Neo ignored her. "I said cut it out!" The smile was gone, she was serious.
He stared at her for awhile, taken aback. Why was she angry with him? He just wanted to show her he loved her, why was she pushing away? Questions swam through his head, but only one surfaced:
"Trinity, don't you love me?"
The look of curious anger quickly changed to shock. "What?" she asked. "What has that got to do with anything? Neo, are you okay?"
"Of course I am." "Then why are you asking me this ludicrous question?" For the first time, her voice wavered. " I love you, but you were just coming on a bit strong, that's all."
Her expression changed again, this time from shocked to sad. "I love you" she said, "Just...not here."
He stared at her again, utterly dumbfounded. These things she was saying, he just couldn't understand. The ability to understand her seemed to have disappeared. She loved him...but didn't love him. She loved him...but not here? Neo sorted through his thoughts, trying to find an explanation, and finally found one.
Trinity turned away from his and directed her attention back to the well. The way Neo was acting was deeply worrying her, he seemed so...different. Quiet. Away. Emotionless, but emotion-filled at the same time. She stared downwards into the wells opening, like an ancient black hole submerging from the ground, ready to swallow everything up, but being frozen in time. She couldn't see the water at the bottom, but could only imagine that it was vile.
Suddenly a huge black mass descended over Trinity's eyes, obscuring her vision. Her air cut off. She could suddenly feel and huge weight pulling around her neck, pushing at her windpipe, closing it off. She was choking. Trinity flung her hands up and pulled at the force, barely feeling the course fabric and the feel of muscle as she flung her body around violently, thrashing and gasping for release. She continued to struggle, then felt her body being jerked downwards. A huge impact to the side of her head sent ringing to her ears and a disgusting metal-taste to her mouth. She tried to cry for help, but only managed a feeble squeak and a torrent of blood to exit her vocal chords. Trinity dropped to her knees in defeat, and the mass strangling her dropped as well. She felt the mass around her head drop, but the darkness didn't go away. Conscious thought disappeared, as did the will to survive. The last thing she felt was her body slipping against cold rock, then a shocking rush of icy water.
*
Neo stared vacantly down into the wells opening. His hands were splayed out against the cold rocks, his head laying down against its circular mouth. Only then did he become aware of the fact that he wasn't breathing, and never had been. He was alive, he had never died, but he had no pulse. Maybe he had no heart. This statement made perfect sense, after all, he had just killed his only love. He didn't know why. That was the reason he killed her. He had searched his whole mind, searching for an explanation to what she had said, to her feelings towards him. He couldn't find one, so he killed her. He got rid of her. He deleted her, like an unwanted program. Unwanted to only him, though.
So he had made the wrong choice. But then, what did that make him? As he sat back and listened quietly to his own thoughts he knew he wasn't human. Humans didn't sort through logic like a succession of files. Humans didn't delete unwanted but living beings from their lives at the drop of a hat. Humans were ignorant and stupid, humans were disgusting, vile beings, but humans had empathy. Humans were humane.
Neo closed his eyes, and when he opened them, found himself lying on the floor of Zero-One, the machine city. He lifted his hand, immediately feeling a throbbing pain shoot to his arm, and felt behind his neck. There he found the usual jack inserted into the usual plug. So that was how he got in. Neo, satisfied, closed his eyes again.
There was only one thing he could do now.
He opened his eyes, and found himself in the same endless stretch of fields, this time interrupted by a vast lake in front of him. Neo knew what he had to do, and knew the consequences. He had made his choice, and now he must follow through. Complete the change.
End the beginning.