I don't own anything to do with The Matrix, although I do own a trench coat
lol. Nor do I own any of Windows or Microsoft. I'm not sure that I have to
disclaim that, but better to be safe than sorry. I love the Matrix, hate
anyone who doesn't. Peace for Zion. Rock on Keanu! Woooo! Lol
Okay, now from my feedback I have several little comments to make. Firstly thank you for being so honest with me, and what you have to say has really been useful. I've altered part of this first chapter, so I hope you think this version fits better. However I haven't changed anything to do with Kid for the following reason. In the Animatrix I got the impression that the crew of the Neb were quite fond of Kid, as he was so young, and only begun to dislike him because he wouldn't stop pestering them after he left the ship. As this is written before the time he became irritating (lol) I've written it so they get along. Tell me if you don't agree, but that's my take on his relationship with the Neb anyway. Now lets stop waffling and get on with the fic.
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Zion. My home. The one place where I belong. The one place where I'm happy.
The one place that has been taken away from me.
I am as most humans are these days, yet very different from the real ones. You will see what I mean. I began my life surrounded by a pinkish goop, although I had no idea at the time. Life seemed like a dream, days endlessly melting into another, as I grew and matured. My family and friends loved me. I got good marks in school. I looked after my cat, Sushi, so called because of her love of fish. I was an ordinary girl.
Then the bullying started.
"He got what he deserved!" they said, stood on his grave.
"Sad child, mentally warped." They mocked.
"When you said "A better place" you weren't expecting a six-foot hole were you?"
"Bet your computer never spoke to you of this."
"Got scared of a little phone call. What, your hacker mates told you a ghost story?"
Even in death they wouldn't leave Kid alone. Kid was his hacker alias; I've never called him anything else. He was my teacher, although I didn't know it. One day in a chat room I received a whisper.
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"Hey Aquila." It read. "I've heard a lot about you. You have a gift, Neo told me so. Would you like me to teach you how to hack? Maybe then you'll get to speak to him."
She tells him to get lost, but he persists, so says it's fine for him to teach her.
She was getting confident, and even managed to hack her high school system. Then she found out who her teacher was. Walking down the corridor, she overheard snatches of a conversation.
"It was Kid who hacked the computer system you know."
"Who's Kid?"
"You know, the psycho one. Keeps banging on about something called The Matrix."
"Still don't know."
"Erm, what's his name. Popper. That's the one"
"Oh I do know who you mean. Why do you reckon he's a hacker?"
"He taught me. I had no idea who he was when he was in the chat room. If I had I would have refused."
So her lessons continued and she never told him she knew who he was. It was just Kid.
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"Oh leave him alone!"
My anger surged forwards before I knew what I was doing. Kid was right, although I never told him so. I too believed in The Matrix. The world just didn't make sense to me. It was like a dream.
"How dare you mock him, stood on his grave!? Have you no sense of courtesy!? He gave his life for what he believed, and even if you don't agree with his views you should show him some respect! You teased him when he was alive, and you carry on when the poor lad's dead! You make me sick!"
I turn on my heel and stalk off, fuming with rage. As I reach the comfort of my room, I sit down and switch my computer on. While it warms up I feed Sushi and get changed. Stupid machine, its so slow. It can only just handle the Internet. It's so old; I have to access Windows through MS DOS. As I sit down to begin entering the access commands, more writing begins to appear. I don't recognise it, until I realise that the message is for me. I'm completely freaked out; this is getting really weird, really fast.
"Hi, how are you?"
"Is that you Neo?" I ask cautiously, both out loud and in my typed response.
"Yes this is me. Listen, I haven't got much time, you are being monitored. They know you know. They are angry that Kid managed to escape them. We are sure they will come for you next. They can't afford to have anyone who knows the truth still plugged in."
"What are you talking about? Who's "they"? And how do you know Kid?"
"They are the Agents. You've seen them. They came for Kid. We're worried that they may come for you too. You stand by Kid too much. You believe in him too readily for them to be comfortable. I've seen how you stood up to people to protect Kid. He was quite overcome when he watched you stick up for him."
"Kid's dead Neo. I've seen his grave. I was at his funeral."
"You are easily deceived. He's not dead. When he jumped off that building he managed to awake himself. You know about The Matrix, he told you about it before he left the program. I'm here to awake you now. Go to the end of the road. The phone booth there is a drop point. I'll jack in there now and wait for you. Be quick, we haven't got much time."
I sit there, stunned. This is it. I'm about to leave. Forever. There's no turning back. My attention is drawn by Sushi, crying for more food.
"You greedy thing." I laugh. "You can't possibly still be hungry!" My tone softens slightly. "You might not be real, but you've been a wonderful companion for my imagination none the less. See you."
I stride over to the computer and shut it down, grab my coat and head out into the dusk.
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There is a lone girl walking towards the bright red phone box. She is hunched up against the wind, but doesn't seem to mind. She looks about with wonder, and a combination of joy, sadness and apprehension can be seen in her eyes. As she reaches the end of the street, the bright red and orange catches the leaves on the trees, making them glow like flames in the night. She reaches out a delicate hand and touches one.
"Unbelievable." She breathes. "Neo, I'm scared out of my mind but I trust you. I've had enough. I want out. Come and get me."
At these words a man steps out from the shadows by the side of the pavement. He is pale, and dressed from head to toe in black. His eyes are hidden behind dark glasses, which seem to rest on his high cheekbones rather than the bridge of his nose. Another man, this time black, steps out next to him. A slender woman then joins them. The trio introduce themselves as Neo, Morpheus and Trinity. After a brief conversation they get into a shiny black car that is just across the street and drive away.
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One red pill later I close my eyes, and reopen them to another world.
Okay, now from my feedback I have several little comments to make. Firstly thank you for being so honest with me, and what you have to say has really been useful. I've altered part of this first chapter, so I hope you think this version fits better. However I haven't changed anything to do with Kid for the following reason. In the Animatrix I got the impression that the crew of the Neb were quite fond of Kid, as he was so young, and only begun to dislike him because he wouldn't stop pestering them after he left the ship. As this is written before the time he became irritating (lol) I've written it so they get along. Tell me if you don't agree, but that's my take on his relationship with the Neb anyway. Now lets stop waffling and get on with the fic.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------
Zion. My home. The one place where I belong. The one place where I'm happy.
The one place that has been taken away from me.
I am as most humans are these days, yet very different from the real ones. You will see what I mean. I began my life surrounded by a pinkish goop, although I had no idea at the time. Life seemed like a dream, days endlessly melting into another, as I grew and matured. My family and friends loved me. I got good marks in school. I looked after my cat, Sushi, so called because of her love of fish. I was an ordinary girl.
Then the bullying started.
"He got what he deserved!" they said, stood on his grave.
"Sad child, mentally warped." They mocked.
"When you said "A better place" you weren't expecting a six-foot hole were you?"
"Bet your computer never spoke to you of this."
"Got scared of a little phone call. What, your hacker mates told you a ghost story?"
Even in death they wouldn't leave Kid alone. Kid was his hacker alias; I've never called him anything else. He was my teacher, although I didn't know it. One day in a chat room I received a whisper.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------
"Hey Aquila." It read. "I've heard a lot about you. You have a gift, Neo told me so. Would you like me to teach you how to hack? Maybe then you'll get to speak to him."
She tells him to get lost, but he persists, so says it's fine for him to teach her.
She was getting confident, and even managed to hack her high school system. Then she found out who her teacher was. Walking down the corridor, she overheard snatches of a conversation.
"It was Kid who hacked the computer system you know."
"Who's Kid?"
"You know, the psycho one. Keeps banging on about something called The Matrix."
"Still don't know."
"Erm, what's his name. Popper. That's the one"
"Oh I do know who you mean. Why do you reckon he's a hacker?"
"He taught me. I had no idea who he was when he was in the chat room. If I had I would have refused."
So her lessons continued and she never told him she knew who he was. It was just Kid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------
"Oh leave him alone!"
My anger surged forwards before I knew what I was doing. Kid was right, although I never told him so. I too believed in The Matrix. The world just didn't make sense to me. It was like a dream.
"How dare you mock him, stood on his grave!? Have you no sense of courtesy!? He gave his life for what he believed, and even if you don't agree with his views you should show him some respect! You teased him when he was alive, and you carry on when the poor lad's dead! You make me sick!"
I turn on my heel and stalk off, fuming with rage. As I reach the comfort of my room, I sit down and switch my computer on. While it warms up I feed Sushi and get changed. Stupid machine, its so slow. It can only just handle the Internet. It's so old; I have to access Windows through MS DOS. As I sit down to begin entering the access commands, more writing begins to appear. I don't recognise it, until I realise that the message is for me. I'm completely freaked out; this is getting really weird, really fast.
"Hi, how are you?"
"Is that you Neo?" I ask cautiously, both out loud and in my typed response.
"Yes this is me. Listen, I haven't got much time, you are being monitored. They know you know. They are angry that Kid managed to escape them. We are sure they will come for you next. They can't afford to have anyone who knows the truth still plugged in."
"What are you talking about? Who's "they"? And how do you know Kid?"
"They are the Agents. You've seen them. They came for Kid. We're worried that they may come for you too. You stand by Kid too much. You believe in him too readily for them to be comfortable. I've seen how you stood up to people to protect Kid. He was quite overcome when he watched you stick up for him."
"Kid's dead Neo. I've seen his grave. I was at his funeral."
"You are easily deceived. He's not dead. When he jumped off that building he managed to awake himself. You know about The Matrix, he told you about it before he left the program. I'm here to awake you now. Go to the end of the road. The phone booth there is a drop point. I'll jack in there now and wait for you. Be quick, we haven't got much time."
I sit there, stunned. This is it. I'm about to leave. Forever. There's no turning back. My attention is drawn by Sushi, crying for more food.
"You greedy thing." I laugh. "You can't possibly still be hungry!" My tone softens slightly. "You might not be real, but you've been a wonderful companion for my imagination none the less. See you."
I stride over to the computer and shut it down, grab my coat and head out into the dusk.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------
There is a lone girl walking towards the bright red phone box. She is hunched up against the wind, but doesn't seem to mind. She looks about with wonder, and a combination of joy, sadness and apprehension can be seen in her eyes. As she reaches the end of the street, the bright red and orange catches the leaves on the trees, making them glow like flames in the night. She reaches out a delicate hand and touches one.
"Unbelievable." She breathes. "Neo, I'm scared out of my mind but I trust you. I've had enough. I want out. Come and get me."
At these words a man steps out from the shadows by the side of the pavement. He is pale, and dressed from head to toe in black. His eyes are hidden behind dark glasses, which seem to rest on his high cheekbones rather than the bridge of his nose. Another man, this time black, steps out next to him. A slender woman then joins them. The trio introduce themselves as Neo, Morpheus and Trinity. After a brief conversation they get into a shiny black car that is just across the street and drive away.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------
One red pill later I close my eyes, and reopen them to another world.
