Conviction

Disclaimer: Still owning nothing, and getting no money from this fic. Big thanx to my reviewers- Mickey6, Agent Josey and November. Reviews make me happy! J This chapter should have a bit more to do with the Matrix. Enjoy!

2. What is the Matrix?

Meg looked down at her hands. She didn't enjoy thinking about that part of her life and had blocked it out until now. When she had arrived at the apartment, she had shunned almost all human contact and spent hours on end looking through her sister's computer, trying to find some link to the end of her life. For some reason, she didn't quite believe it. Something wasn't right.

She began looking in chat rooms, mentioning her name, hoping for some kind of response, some recognition, but she got nothing. No one had heard of a Madison Taylor. In her head, she asked herself why she was doing this. What had Madison ever done for her? She knew if she had died, no one would have ever gone to these lengths to find out why. But she also felt that Madison had known something important. Something she needed to know.

Eventually, after days of searching in vain, Meg tried posting a picture of Madison before she died. This prompted one response in the hacker chat rooms she was visiting. A single word.

Trinity.

Her sister's identity, her alter ego, the person she truly was. And through this name, Meg began to find out all there was to know of her sister's people, the lives they led, the people they knew, and most importantly, the question that plagued them. What is the Matrix? She developed her own name, one she simply felt was right for her, and began to use it as her own. Eve. Biblical, yes, but so was Trinity, and it seemed to reflect her personality. She liked it. She began using this name and slowly gathered information about the Matrix. She learnt of a man, whose name was revered among the rebels, who, it was said, could find the one, and fulfil the Prophecy. The man at the heart of the Resistance, Morpheus. And, as so many had done before, she began searching for him. And, like so many times before, he found her first.

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'Trinity, you can't do this. I have already told you, you cannot contact a member of your own family. The agents would know instantly and you would both be in danger.' Morpheus spoke the words with regret. He hated having to say no to Trinity. But this time, he had to. He could not risk her being killed. The Oracle had told him that she would be crucial when he found the One, and nothing would make him put her in danger now.

'Who will go then?' It was said more as a challenge than a question.

'I will send Fathom. He is experienced enough, and Switch, Apoc and Cypher can be his backup. Don't worry, Eve is in safe hands. Tank! Load them up.'

Fathom sat in his chair, while the other three took their places beside him. The spikes went into their neck plugs as Trinity and Morpheus stood by, watching tensely to see how the mission would go.

A phone rang, inside the Matrix, and Switch picked it up.

'We're in.'

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Meg, or Eve as she now thought of herself, stood in the centre of the bridge, wondering if this was all some kind of cruel joke. Half an hour ago she had received a message on her computer saying:

Wake up, Eve… The Matrix has you… Trinity is far from dead… Be at the Collins Bridge by 9:00 tonight…

She was hoping beyond hope that the message was from Morpheus, or someone connected to him. But there was no one there. Just as she had this thought, a figure in black stepped out of the gloom.

'Hello, Eve.'

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Morpheus turned to Trinity. 'There she is.'

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'My name is Fathom.'

'Who are you? I haven't heard your name before.' Oh shit, thought Eve. Some nutter from a chat room who had caught on to what she wanted.

'I am a friend of Morpheus.' He smirked slightly, reading her like a book, and fully aware of the effect his sentence would have on her.

'What?' Her heart began to beat faster. He knew Morpheus! He must be from the resistance!

'I believe you know him. He couldn't be here this evening but…I need to tell you. You are in great danger. The Matrix has you, Eve. The answer is out there, and it will find you…if you want it to.' He turned and left, smiling to himself. He could do this better than Trinity any day.

Since then, she had been contacted many more times by this group of rebels. The news called Morpheus a terrorist, the hackers called Trinity a genius, and she watched it all with a calm satisfaction. She would soon be one of them. By now she knew all there was to know about the Matrix, and every phone call promised her unplugging. But something was wrong.

According to Morpheus, there was uproar in Zion. He truly believed he had found the One. A man named Neo, she had heard. It was now too risky to attempt a full scale freeing mission. She had to wait. And wait she had, three whole months, until that phone call at 6:00 am this morning. Now she was scared?

'Goddammit, Eve!' she yelled to herself. It calmed her down, although she would never understand why. Somehow it just made her feel more human, a feeling she had been needing recently. She looked across at the computer screen, which was now showing today's events. Not that she usually had any events, preferring to lock herself away from the world. Today, however was different. Her stomach sank at the thought. Of course… she thought. Today was her mother's funeral.

Phew… well that's the prologue finished! Hope you liked it, now GO! REVIEW!!!