The Marquis and its entire crew is made up by me, as well as certain other characters. The rest of it is the property of their respective owners. So here it is.
MATRIX
ACE
CHAPTER 11
VISIONS
Ace was stumped. He'd been under the impression that programs would, on the whole, be like Agents, except in the case of Seraph, who was clearly a special case.
He had not expected a program to be anything like the little girl who was now sitting on the couch next to him.
She had greeted him by saying, "Hello. My name is Sati. Your name is Ace. This is the home of the Oracle."
"Uh ... yeah," said Ace. There seemed to be something ... unrealistic about the way she spoke ...
Their conversation continued along those lines, including Sati's origins.
"I didn't know programs could ... love," said Ace, when the subject touched upon her parents.
"The word 'love' is just a word," said Sati, sounding vaguely as if she'd just been told to say this. "What matters is the connection the word implies, doesn't it?"
"That's true," said Ace. "Do you miss your parents?"
"Sometimes," said Sati. "But the Train Man occasionally allows them to visit me. I don't like him."
Ex-Agent Ashton stepped into the living room. "I have an answer that will most likely amuse the Merovingian, even if he is not entirely satisfied," said Agent Ashton.
"What did he want?" asked Ace.
"He wanted to see the Oracle's eyes shot out," said Ashton. "I have taken a photograph of her, and will simply shoot out the eyes of the photograph."
Ace grinned. "What, he hates the Oracle or something?"
"Yes," said Ashton simply. "The Oracle is ready to see you now."
Ace walked into the kitchen with, he thought, a mind freed from expectation; there was no reason to be surprised by anything he came upon. He didn't even blink when he saw the dark-skinned old woman who seemed to be only semi-wizened, and had a faint lisp, sitting in the chair and reading a copy of Time Magazine with expostulations on the Zion terrorist threat on the cover.
"You must be Ace," she said, putting the magazine down.
"And you're the Oracle," said Ace, taking his ray-bans off.
She smiled and nodded. "You're one of the first people who isn't surprised by what I look like."
Ace shrugged. "The kindly-old-grandmother motif of the apartment kinda gave it away," he said. "I've just sort of given up being surprised, anyway, although Sati kinda threw me off guard."
The Oracle nodded. "She is a special case," she said. "Her parents programmed her to appear and act human, and to be held down by gravity, and other basic physical laws. But they left out many of the limitations that most humans have in the Matrix. She was the one who actually reset the system, instead of the One at the end of the Sixth Matrix, and she was largely responsible for what the Seventh was like."
"Really," said Ace, looking back towards the living room. He then turned to face the Oracle. "So. The reason I'm here."
The Oracle sighed and shook her head. "You really weren't supposed to meet me yet."
"Hey, whatcha got, boss?" said Sneaker, chasing after Reaper as they left Biers.
"A list," said Reaper simply, walking with long strides. He had long since given up all attempts to simply avoid contact with Sneaker.
"Cool! What's it a list of?" asked Sneaker, grinning in delight.
"No one can see past the choices they can't understand," said the Oracle. "And some of the rogue programs in the Matrix are unpredictable."
"Hardlines," said Reaper, "and recently-freed Zionists. Including ones whom the Oracle intends to meet."
"She knows what guys she wants ta meet even before they're freed!?" exclaimed Sneaker.
"Well, I'd imagine that, being an oracle, that's her job," said Reaper with a shrug.
"Lemme see!" said Sneaker.
"So you didn't know that this ... 'Sneaker' program would do something like that," said Ace. "I guess ... um ..."
The Oracle shrugged. "You're thinking I don't know everything," she said. "I've never made that claim." She sighed. "The most I've claimed is that I know enough."
"So what do you want to show me?" said Ice, frowning. The program was getting on his nerves.
"This disk," said Sneaker, holding up a disk. "It's a map of hardlines, and list of your new guys -- including the ones the Oracle's gonna pay attention to! You can have it free -- no charge!"
"But you didn't know enough," said Ace.
The Oracle shook her head. "No, I guess not," she says. "Fortunately, this isn't a big disaster."
"Let me see that," said Ice, taking it from Sneaker's hand. "Why are you doing this?"
Sneaker shrugged. "I just felt like it. You can take that one, I've got my own copy."
"And yet you invited me here," said Ace.
The Oracle shrugged. "I thought I'd better tell somebody in Zion," she says. "And you're ... probably the most significant."
Ace blinked. "How?"
"I have a bad feeling about this," said Pylon under his breath.
"What's to be worried about?" said Red.
"Largely, the fact that you're just loitering around," said Pylon loudly, annoyed that Red was still listening. Then his eyes widened as he looked at the code. "Uh-oh."
"Because once you've become a captain of a ship -- perhaps the Marquis, perhaps not," said the Oracle, "you will free a certain person from the Matrix. And that person, once he becomes a captain, will free the eighth incarnation of the One."
Red sharply said, "What!?"
"Get out of there! Don't bother with Ace -- he'll find his own way! Just get out of the Matrix! All six Agents are coming!"
Red looked around. He heard screams, and caught a glimpse of a black suit.
Considering his options, he hurried into the teahouse.
"Don't try to start looking now, though," said the Oracle. "Neither of them have been born yet."
Ace stared. "You really know how to look ahead, don't you?" he said.
Seraph walked in. "You must go now," he said. "There isn't much time."
"I'm sorry we don't have more time, Ace," said the Oracle, "but all I'll say now is this: good luck. You're going to need as much of it as you can get. Just keep alive, okay?"
"Sorry!" said Red. "I'll get out another way." He turned away from the door, looking at the far wall, thinking it shouldn't be too hard to break through. Bullet holes appeared in the walls. He pulled out his gun as the door slammed open --
-- revealing Ace. "C'mon!"
"Jesus, don't do that!!" exclaimed Red. "I almost blasted your brains out!"
"You must come quickly," said Seraph.
Red shrugged, decided that, if anything, Seraph had to be trustworthy, and then ran in after them.
The door slammed shut. The door slammed open, and Agent Grey rushed in.
He put a hand to his earpiece.
"MOTHER OF GOD!" screamed Pylon as the phone went dead.
"Pylon, as long as they're with Seraph, they'll be safe," said Tenshi jadedly.