Protector of Men Ch 11
Zandra had been quietly following the robed man in front of her. He said nothing, and they had walked in silence for over ten minutes. She was a little disappointed that she had seen none of the crew members on the way to this man's room – it all seemed a little overwhelming and she was hoping to see a friendly face. Staying hopeful, she kept a lookout as they walked down a hallway of rooms. Still, there was no crewmember, no friendly face to be seen.
The man in front of her stopped.
"We are here,"
He knocked on the door three times. Inside, Emory was sitting in a chair near the door, reading. Upon hearing the three knocks, he leaped out of his chair and hastily put away the book. He knew what three knocks meant.
The door opened wide. Zandra was almost surprised at Emory's appearance – short crew hair with large dark eyes that looked her over almost maniacally. Emory too was surprised at Zandra's appearance – thin, blonde, piercing green eyes – not anything like he would have imagined. She looked a little nervous, maybe a little tired.
"This is Zandra," the robed man said. Emory gestured for them both to come in, but the robed man refused. Emory shrugged and closed the door behind Zandra. The room was dark.
"Zandra," Emory repeated, looking her over again. Zandra wasn't sure if she liked him.
"How did you get that name?"
"My real name was Alexandra," she said slowly. Was…That felt like a weird thing to say.
"Alexandra," he repeated again, "Protector of men, right?"
"Right," she replied. This man was a little strange…
"So you didn't take a hacker alias?"
"I was never a hacker,"
"I see." Emory went and sat in his chair again. He motioned for her to sit in a chair across from him, and she slowly sat down.
"Do you know why you are here?"
"Councilpeople told me you had information,"
"I have been waiting for you."
Zandra was silent. Emory guessed that she did not understand.
"I told the council to alert me when someone qualified came along,"
"Oh,"
"You just came earlier than I thought,"
"Earlier?"
"There are things you would never believe,"
Zandra almost smiled. If I can take what's happened so far, she mused silently.
"Unless you saw them," he continued.
"In the matrix?"
Emory smiled. "Exactly." Suddenly, his smile vanished.
"How did you get out again?"
"A physics project…" Zandra started. Not this again, am I not supposed to be here? Emory was silent, so she continued.
"I did a project on the universal hologram theory –"
"- proof of the matrix?" Emory was now enthusiastic, almost coming out of his chair.
"To a point," Zandra replied, "It was more like thinking of the world around you as bits of information, not objects."
Emory sat back deep into his chair.
"I see," he said again.
"You seem to be the right person," he continued, "but I am not sure if you are ready to see what I have to show you."
Zandra looked at him questioningly.
He eased up. "You are curious though, and that can be a determining factor."
Emory then stood up and walked out of the main room. Zandra wasn't sure whether to follow him, and simply sat in her chair, waiting for him to come back. She looked around her – though the room was dark, she could see books covering the walls, and a reclined seat a few meters away – was that a jacking-in chair? She could also see more monitors. What did this guy do in his free time?
Emory was walking back, holding what looked like a small disk.
"There is someone you will want to contact," he said, offering her the disk. She hesitated.
"He can show you how to fight the war,"
"We fight by taking others out," she replied.
"He knows more than you can imagine," he reassured her. She took the disk, but still eyed his suspiciously. What was he trying to get her to do?
"Who am I going to?"
"A man, he is in hiding."
"Who is he hiding from?"
"Everything," Emory stated bluntly, "he will explain everything once you see him,"
"Where will I find him?"
"You are questioning, and that is the first step. He is inside the matrix, hidden in a code that not many know of."
"This disk," Zandra waved it slowly, "will tell me where to go?"
"Step by step," he replied, "I cannot risk someone compromising the information. Once you get to a certain point, it will tell you the next step."
Zandra nodded slowly. Was this what Cover meant for her to do? Certainly it seemed like a daunting task, but this guy seemed bent on her doing it. There was something still nagging her.
"What will this man want me to do?"
"Fight. Fight like we have never done before,"
"Fight the system?"
"Yes," he said with a strange smile. Definitely strange, Zandra thought. But if the councilpeople had recommended her to him…
"The tides will turn."
Zandra was silent. The tides will turn? Meaning the war? She wasn't sure. So instead of saying anything in response, she merely nodded. It seemed to work, because Emory smiled.
"When should I go?"
"As soon as you can," he replied, now standing again. Zandra got up too, and he began to lead her out.
"Good luck, and remember: he knows much more than you can imagine,"
Zandra nodded again. Wait! She had one more thing to ask.
"What is his name?"
Emory paused a moment, as if trying to recollect something. He looked down, and after a second back up again.
"Neo."
A/N ::: Okay do you see the connection now? I'm sorry if anything sounds contrived, I tried to make the characters as realistic as I could. The name Zandra means protector of men, just in case you were wondering about the title. I have five more chapters written, so stay tuned…
