Release

The Matrix. Not too long ago, that name meant held no meaning. I figured it was some new slang word, or a technical term for a computer. Surprisingly, I wasn't very far off on that computer part. Anyway, this is the tale of how I came to realize the truth of my world, and what was hidden from me, along with the rest of humanity. Also, it is the tale of how I met The One. The one they shall remember as Neo. My story begins one year ago.
It all began in the fall of the year 2000. My name is Sam Richards, or at least it used to be. People just call me Zane. (Don't worry; I'll explain why others call me that later.) My whole life I felt there was something wrong with the world. It is like what was later said to me by Morpheus, it was something I couldn't see, taste, or hear. But it was there, like a splinter in my mind. I didn't usually dwell too much on it, but it was that summer that I discovered what was wrong.
It was a day that began like every other day. I awoke to the shrill cry of my alarm clock. I looked at the time as I turned off the alarm. It was 8:30 a.m. "Darn it!" I thought. "Why didn't anyone wake me up?" I was late for school. (On a small note, both my parents go to work at 7:50, hence their absence in this part of the story.) School started at 8:00. I leapt out of bed and pulled open my closet. I grabbed a pair of black jeans and an old Blink 182 shirt. I got dressed in a hurry and headed to the kitchen to grab something to eat. As staggered into the living room (I was trying to put on shoe as I walked). In on the couch was my little 9 year old sister Nora was sitting on the couch. She was home sick with a fever. She was doing better, but my parents clearly felt she needed to stay home another day. She had the remote, and was turning on the television. As the television turned on, the sound of the local news channel jingle was playing. Nora looked at the television and mumbled "daddy left it on news again." "Hi Nora." I said as I walked through the room, "Why didn't you wake me up?" "'Because you didn't ask me to silly." She replied in a singsong voice. "Okay" I said to her, feeling irritated, "I'll see you after school." I went to leave, when I heard what they were saying on the news. "And in rather recent news," I heard one of the newscasters saying, "Last night at the airport located just outside the city, there was an apparent terrorist attack." I whipped around to hear more. "According to a surviving bystander, there was a black male, and a white female, both wearing sunglasses and leather. He says what occurred was unreal. He claims that the woman ran up a smooth marble wall, and then jumped to the side off of if, kicking a security guard in the neck. He also says that the black male somehow managed to take down nine guards, all of which were armed, with his bare hands in a matter of seconds. But the most bizarre claim he made was that one of the guards morphed in a man dressed in a suit." I was shocked. This woman ran across a wall? A man managed to take down nine guards with his bare hands. But that wasn't even half of it. "The man claims that the man in the suit then rushed to attack the terrorists, when the black male pull a handgun from the inside of his jacket and fired at the man in the suit. He claims that the suited man somehow dodged the bullets. They proceeded to run from the man in the suit and into a room and shut the door. When the suited man broke open the door, they were gone. The only thing in the room was an old phone. Police are looking into what happened to the terrorists. As for the terrorists' seemingly inhuman acts of physical ability, it is likely that the surviving witness saw were hallucinations brought on by a drug of some sort." "Whoa" I thought. "This is bizarre. They simply disappeared?"

"Don't you have to go to school?" Nora asked. "Crud!" I yelled as I ran down the stairs. "Have a good day at school Big Brother!" Nora yelled. I yelled back, "Bye Nora!" I grabbed my bike and helmet and sped off to school. I arrived at about 9:10. First period was nearly over. I locked my bike at the bike rack, and headed to the office to get a pass to class.