Chapter Three
Cyprus pushed the heavy monitor into the alcove in the back of her apartment. It was really nothing more than a hole in the stone with a heavy metal door. The room was a wide circle with three alcoves cut into the stone wall, one on the left, one on the right, and the last in the very back of her room.
The alcove on the left housed her bed, bigger and more comfortable than the cot she had on the Nebuchadnezzar. The alcove on the right had a small table, one tattered chair, and a small lamp. Pieces of machinery were strewn across the table, the chair, and the shelves that were cut out of the stone wall. Cyprus shoved some of the machinery aside as she snaked a heavy cord from the monitor to the outlet behind the table. The monitor sprung to life and Cyprus smiled at it.
Loneliness was a large part of her life in Zion and Cyprus had spent a great portion of her younger years trying to find a way to fill that void. Attempts at making friends had failed for various reasons and Cyprus had long since given up on having friends that were her own age. So she'd turned to what had always been in her life, computers. And that had lead to Pren.
The monitor flashed white and then turned black. As she watched the image of a small cartoon frog, a creature her father had told her about, walked onto the screen.
"Hullo Cyprus," it greeted, waving an arm.
"Hi Pren," Cyprus responded with a small smile.
"We're back in Zion then?" the frog asked, sitting in the middle of the screen. "How long will we be staying?"
"Morpheus didn't say. After the sentinel attack we came running here. There are repairs that need to be done to the ship from that crash we took into the ground. And there might be something going on here. The second we got off the ship the Council members hurried my dad off."
"I thought you looked abnormally glum. Look here, Cyprus, your father is very important here and you know its hard for him to spend time with you or your mother while you are here. And before you start ranting about how your mother gets to sit with him during the meetings, do you think she enjoys it?"
"Oh shove off Pren," Cyprus mumbled. She hated it when people pinpointed what was bothering her but of course Pren would know. He'd been her best and closed friend for over seven years and he spent most of their time in Zion in her head, whispering things to her. He was like her conscience but better because he got move from one place to another.
She had found him more than seven years ago during the long, long hours she spent on the computer while in Zion. He had appeared suddenly, as if in answer to her loneliness, and they had been good friends ever since.
"Don't take your frustrations out on me," the frog said. "I'm just the messenger."
"I'm tired Pren. I don't want to play games." Cyprus massaged her temples gently, a deep cough building inside her chest. She tried to ignore it, tried to breath normally. She didn't want to get sick again. "I'm not feeling very well either."
"You are stressed out."
"That's what Dad said."
"And he's right. Why don't you get something to eat and relax on your bed?"
"That's a good idea."
Cyprus spun the wheel on her door and it swung open. There were several home spun blankets folded neatly to the side of her door. Wicker baskets filled with flat breads and crackers. People had started leaving her things whenever they came to Zion about four years ago. She didn't really mind. It was a good way to get blankets, food, and clothes without having to leave her room. She gathered the items and closed her door. She tossed the blankets, three new ones, onto her bed and pulled on one of the new sweaters.
"I've been pretty cold lately," she said.
"Feeling better I see. You're so moody all the time Cyprus. You get it from your father you know. He's always being so melodramatic and dark."
"He's got a reason," Cyprus defended. "He's got the weight of two worlds resting on his shoulders. Everyone expects him to destroy the Matrix but he has no idea how. Dad doesn't have the answers and he desperately wishes he did. He's afraid to let my mom fight because if she dies he's going to be alone but he knows that he can't stop her."
"And you're just like your mother," Pren said smugly, interrupting Cyprus' rant. "Why the two of you are so protective of that man I'll never know. He is Superman after all."
Cyprus sat down on the floor to eat. 'Cause he could lose his way,' she thought, answering Pren silently. 'He could lose his way so easily and lose faith in himself. Then he would die in the Matrix. Everyone thinks its impossible but no one is invincible. Not even my dad. And he will die. If he loses his way and then Mom will follow him and I'll be alone. And then everyone will expect me to do things that I cannot. Dad can never lose faith. If he does we'll all die.'
She put a piece of cracker in her mouth and chewed quietly. She finished her small meal in silence, her mind curiously blank. It was a trick she had taught herself many years ago. It helped her to relax, which in turn helped her ward of illness, and it also served to clear her mind and help her solve problems.
"You are being pensive again," Pren noted.
"You're wrong about that," Cyprus quipped. "I wasn't thinking about anything. And don't make any jokes about being empty minded."
"I wouldn't dream of it. You are anything but empty minded."
"Contrary to popular belief."
"Pensive," Pren sang.
"Maybe I ought to unplug you again."
"You'll be lonely."
"Better lonely than annoyed."
Before Pren had a chance to answer there was a knock on the door. Cyprus glanced at it, surprised, and got up to answer it. She spun the wheel and swung the heavy door in toward herself. She was surprised to see a captain from one of the other ships. She was unable to recall either his name or that of his ship. She waited for him to speak first.
"I need to speak to your father," he said curtly, speaking to her as one would a lesser being.
"Did you knock on his door?" Cyprus asked, careful to keep her voice neutral and devoid of emotion.
"There was no answer."
"Then he isn't there," she said simply and stepped back to close the door.
"I need to speak with him now," the man growled.
"If he isn't in his room he's off somewhere taking care of business."
"Go get him!" the man roared, his eyes glinting darkly.
"I don't know where he is and even if I didn't I wouldn't go get him. If he's away he's busy."
"When he gets back tell him I was here," the man ordered and stormed away.
"Yeah....no..." Cyprus mumbled to herself and shut the door, spinning the wheel to securely shut it. She stood at it for a long moment, thinking of the man's angry eyes.
"Everything all right Cy?" Pren asked.
"I'm not sure," Cyprus sighed, her hands still resting on the wheel. Two more turns would lock it.
"Do you know him?"
"I thought at first that he was a captain but know I'm not so sure. I can't seem to place his face."
"There are many captains. You can't possible know them all."
"I know that. But something about that guy strikes me wrong. Something about his eyes." She stared at the door wheel, seeing the man's glinting eyes in her mind, and spun it twice, listening as the bolt slid home.
******
I gotta job. Finally. I've been trying to get on for months. So I wrote this chapter because I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday and I had planned on working on this Monday and Tuesday but now I have to go to work. So I did this kind of quick and it defiantly didn't go quite the way I'd planned but its still okay and it stays with the plot I'd thought up, so don't yell at me for changing things Julie. I can't take the yelling.
And, of course. The thank you list. A very big thank you too:
angle of darkness 4585 (i'm notorious for bad spelling)
Ice Flame (i'm glad you're looking forward to future chapters)
Shadow Peach (thank you for your lovely comments and if i do ever start writing out of character please tell me)
AND
Bren (cheers mate! ^__^)
Cyprus pushed the heavy monitor into the alcove in the back of her apartment. It was really nothing more than a hole in the stone with a heavy metal door. The room was a wide circle with three alcoves cut into the stone wall, one on the left, one on the right, and the last in the very back of her room.
The alcove on the left housed her bed, bigger and more comfortable than the cot she had on the Nebuchadnezzar. The alcove on the right had a small table, one tattered chair, and a small lamp. Pieces of machinery were strewn across the table, the chair, and the shelves that were cut out of the stone wall. Cyprus shoved some of the machinery aside as she snaked a heavy cord from the monitor to the outlet behind the table. The monitor sprung to life and Cyprus smiled at it.
Loneliness was a large part of her life in Zion and Cyprus had spent a great portion of her younger years trying to find a way to fill that void. Attempts at making friends had failed for various reasons and Cyprus had long since given up on having friends that were her own age. So she'd turned to what had always been in her life, computers. And that had lead to Pren.
The monitor flashed white and then turned black. As she watched the image of a small cartoon frog, a creature her father had told her about, walked onto the screen.
"Hullo Cyprus," it greeted, waving an arm.
"Hi Pren," Cyprus responded with a small smile.
"We're back in Zion then?" the frog asked, sitting in the middle of the screen. "How long will we be staying?"
"Morpheus didn't say. After the sentinel attack we came running here. There are repairs that need to be done to the ship from that crash we took into the ground. And there might be something going on here. The second we got off the ship the Council members hurried my dad off."
"I thought you looked abnormally glum. Look here, Cyprus, your father is very important here and you know its hard for him to spend time with you or your mother while you are here. And before you start ranting about how your mother gets to sit with him during the meetings, do you think she enjoys it?"
"Oh shove off Pren," Cyprus mumbled. She hated it when people pinpointed what was bothering her but of course Pren would know. He'd been her best and closed friend for over seven years and he spent most of their time in Zion in her head, whispering things to her. He was like her conscience but better because he got move from one place to another.
She had found him more than seven years ago during the long, long hours she spent on the computer while in Zion. He had appeared suddenly, as if in answer to her loneliness, and they had been good friends ever since.
"Don't take your frustrations out on me," the frog said. "I'm just the messenger."
"I'm tired Pren. I don't want to play games." Cyprus massaged her temples gently, a deep cough building inside her chest. She tried to ignore it, tried to breath normally. She didn't want to get sick again. "I'm not feeling very well either."
"You are stressed out."
"That's what Dad said."
"And he's right. Why don't you get something to eat and relax on your bed?"
"That's a good idea."
Cyprus spun the wheel on her door and it swung open. There were several home spun blankets folded neatly to the side of her door. Wicker baskets filled with flat breads and crackers. People had started leaving her things whenever they came to Zion about four years ago. She didn't really mind. It was a good way to get blankets, food, and clothes without having to leave her room. She gathered the items and closed her door. She tossed the blankets, three new ones, onto her bed and pulled on one of the new sweaters.
"I've been pretty cold lately," she said.
"Feeling better I see. You're so moody all the time Cyprus. You get it from your father you know. He's always being so melodramatic and dark."
"He's got a reason," Cyprus defended. "He's got the weight of two worlds resting on his shoulders. Everyone expects him to destroy the Matrix but he has no idea how. Dad doesn't have the answers and he desperately wishes he did. He's afraid to let my mom fight because if she dies he's going to be alone but he knows that he can't stop her."
"And you're just like your mother," Pren said smugly, interrupting Cyprus' rant. "Why the two of you are so protective of that man I'll never know. He is Superman after all."
Cyprus sat down on the floor to eat. 'Cause he could lose his way,' she thought, answering Pren silently. 'He could lose his way so easily and lose faith in himself. Then he would die in the Matrix. Everyone thinks its impossible but no one is invincible. Not even my dad. And he will die. If he loses his way and then Mom will follow him and I'll be alone. And then everyone will expect me to do things that I cannot. Dad can never lose faith. If he does we'll all die.'
She put a piece of cracker in her mouth and chewed quietly. She finished her small meal in silence, her mind curiously blank. It was a trick she had taught herself many years ago. It helped her to relax, which in turn helped her ward of illness, and it also served to clear her mind and help her solve problems.
"You are being pensive again," Pren noted.
"You're wrong about that," Cyprus quipped. "I wasn't thinking about anything. And don't make any jokes about being empty minded."
"I wouldn't dream of it. You are anything but empty minded."
"Contrary to popular belief."
"Pensive," Pren sang.
"Maybe I ought to unplug you again."
"You'll be lonely."
"Better lonely than annoyed."
Before Pren had a chance to answer there was a knock on the door. Cyprus glanced at it, surprised, and got up to answer it. She spun the wheel and swung the heavy door in toward herself. She was surprised to see a captain from one of the other ships. She was unable to recall either his name or that of his ship. She waited for him to speak first.
"I need to speak to your father," he said curtly, speaking to her as one would a lesser being.
"Did you knock on his door?" Cyprus asked, careful to keep her voice neutral and devoid of emotion.
"There was no answer."
"Then he isn't there," she said simply and stepped back to close the door.
"I need to speak with him now," the man growled.
"If he isn't in his room he's off somewhere taking care of business."
"Go get him!" the man roared, his eyes glinting darkly.
"I don't know where he is and even if I didn't I wouldn't go get him. If he's away he's busy."
"When he gets back tell him I was here," the man ordered and stormed away.
"Yeah....no..." Cyprus mumbled to herself and shut the door, spinning the wheel to securely shut it. She stood at it for a long moment, thinking of the man's angry eyes.
"Everything all right Cy?" Pren asked.
"I'm not sure," Cyprus sighed, her hands still resting on the wheel. Two more turns would lock it.
"Do you know him?"
"I thought at first that he was a captain but know I'm not so sure. I can't seem to place his face."
"There are many captains. You can't possible know them all."
"I know that. But something about that guy strikes me wrong. Something about his eyes." She stared at the door wheel, seeing the man's glinting eyes in her mind, and spun it twice, listening as the bolt slid home.
******
I gotta job. Finally. I've been trying to get on for months. So I wrote this chapter because I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday and I had planned on working on this Monday and Tuesday but now I have to go to work. So I did this kind of quick and it defiantly didn't go quite the way I'd planned but its still okay and it stays with the plot I'd thought up, so don't yell at me for changing things Julie. I can't take the yelling.
And, of course. The thank you list. A very big thank you too:
angle of darkness 4585 (i'm notorious for bad spelling)
Ice Flame (i'm glad you're looking forward to future chapters)
Shadow Peach (thank you for your lovely comments and if i do ever start writing out of character please tell me)
AND
Bren (cheers mate! ^__^)