After that night, Horizon was shown her own room by Trinity. She
still needed a little aid getting around the ship, but she was assisted by
everyone.
"This room used to be a friend of mine's," Trinity said, looking rather sad.
"Oh really? What was her name?"
"Her name was Switch. She was great, very courageous. I could always count on her for anything."
"What happened to her?"
Trinity sat down on the bed and gestured Horizon to do the same.
"Not so long ago, in fact, barely two weeks before we met you, there were nine people on this ship - Switch, Mouse, Apoc, Cypher, Tank and his brother, Dozer, Morpheus, Neo, and myself. Neo was just learning of his abilities and beginning his life in the real world when something devastating happened. Cypher had been making a deal with our enemies: He would be reinserted back into the Matrix for the access codes to Zion."
"What a bastard!"
"Yes, I know. One day, we had gone into the Matrix to see the Oracle. They changed something in the Matrix, but we didn't know it until it was too late, we were trapped. The Agents killed Mouse, while the rest of us escaped. He was a young one, too... The Agents captured Morpheus as well.
"Well, Cypher had split from us. Tank got him back on the Nebuchadnezzar through a line in this appliance store. We went to the same place, but the line went dead. We called, and Cypher had killed Dozer. I talked to him through my cell phone, and it was probably the most bone- chilling thing I had ever heard. Then, he unplugged Apoc and Switch. And when you're killed in either the Matrix or the real world, you die in the other one."
"That's horrible."
"Luckily, before Cypher could kill me or Neo, Tank hadn't been killed like we thought. He killed Cypher and brought the two of us back to the Nebuchadnezzar."
"What happened after that? I mean, Morpheus is back, so you saved him, right?"
"Yes, but that's another story you can hear later. Just ask Neo, next time, okay?"
"Okay."
Trinity stood up and left Horizon's room. Horizon thought about the story. She had no idea life in the real world was like this.
Traitors, everywhere.
The next day, Tank knocked on her door. "Horizon! Training today!" She couldn't understand. Training? What for? He knocked again. "C'mon, up! Up!" She got up and met him out at the station. He smiled one of his usual smiles. "You best be prepared for this, you've had a while to rest. Now go sit in this chair," he pointed to the one closest to him. She did, and he said, "Now, this is going to feel weird at first, but it'll be okay. We're going to work on operation programs, combat, and other stuff. You ready, girl? This is going to be fun."
Soon, she was lying in the chair learning all these things so quickly. It was like years of schooling had been crammed into her mind, and she didn't have to wait. She just relaxed in the chair, learning. Neo came by while she was training. "How is she?"
"She's amazing. Maybe we didn't have to wait for her to regain all her strength."
"How many hours has it been?" Trinity stood by him.
Evangel emerged from a corner. "I think she's been at it for over twelve hours."
"Good," Morpheus was heard behind them. "Her training will be complete in a few minutes, then. Hook me up. I'm going to guide her through."
"That means the first jump, doesn't it?" Neo said.
"Yes."
Horizon was startled when the learning pattern she was used to stopped and she was alone in a white place. She had no holes in her body, she had regular clothes on. Then she turned and there was Morpheus, dressed as she had first saw him.
"Welcome, Horizon, to the Construct. This is a software program, a loading program. We can load anything we need here. Of course, you saw it a different way when you were training. Your appearance now is what we call residual self image. It is the cerebral projection of your digital self."
"Amazing!"
"It is. Now, you've already heard the story about the Matrix, how it is just something made up. You're lucky, you have been released from it at an early age, so it isn't as hard for you to grasp this idea, unlike others. We are going to skip the usual introduction and move on."
In an instant, the Construct disappeared and Horizon and Morpheus were standing on the rooftop of a building. "This is the jump program," he said before running and jumping swiftly and easily to the rooftop of the building across the street. "Try and do the same. Free your mind."
Horizon walked to the edge of the rooftop. "Free my mind? Okay... I guess I can do that."
"Don't doubt it, believe you can."
She took a few steps back, took a deep breath, and then ran as fast as she could. When she reached the edge, she jumped as fast as she could. It felt like flying. She had almost made it, she was so close, when she began to fall. Her fingers grasped on the edge of the other building's rooftop, preventing her from falling any farther. Morpheus walked to the edge and grabbed her hand. He helped her up.
At once the Nebuchadnezzar was her surroundings once again. She looked up at everyone else, and they were just staring at her.
"What?" She was so confused.
Eventually, Neo explained. "You are the first person to get as far as that on the first jump. Most people fall in between and hit the street, like me."
"But you, you actually touched the other building," Tank said.
Trinity shook her head. "Though it still proves that nobody makes the first jump."
"This room used to be a friend of mine's," Trinity said, looking rather sad.
"Oh really? What was her name?"
"Her name was Switch. She was great, very courageous. I could always count on her for anything."
"What happened to her?"
Trinity sat down on the bed and gestured Horizon to do the same.
"Not so long ago, in fact, barely two weeks before we met you, there were nine people on this ship - Switch, Mouse, Apoc, Cypher, Tank and his brother, Dozer, Morpheus, Neo, and myself. Neo was just learning of his abilities and beginning his life in the real world when something devastating happened. Cypher had been making a deal with our enemies: He would be reinserted back into the Matrix for the access codes to Zion."
"What a bastard!"
"Yes, I know. One day, we had gone into the Matrix to see the Oracle. They changed something in the Matrix, but we didn't know it until it was too late, we were trapped. The Agents killed Mouse, while the rest of us escaped. He was a young one, too... The Agents captured Morpheus as well.
"Well, Cypher had split from us. Tank got him back on the Nebuchadnezzar through a line in this appliance store. We went to the same place, but the line went dead. We called, and Cypher had killed Dozer. I talked to him through my cell phone, and it was probably the most bone- chilling thing I had ever heard. Then, he unplugged Apoc and Switch. And when you're killed in either the Matrix or the real world, you die in the other one."
"That's horrible."
"Luckily, before Cypher could kill me or Neo, Tank hadn't been killed like we thought. He killed Cypher and brought the two of us back to the Nebuchadnezzar."
"What happened after that? I mean, Morpheus is back, so you saved him, right?"
"Yes, but that's another story you can hear later. Just ask Neo, next time, okay?"
"Okay."
Trinity stood up and left Horizon's room. Horizon thought about the story. She had no idea life in the real world was like this.
Traitors, everywhere.
The next day, Tank knocked on her door. "Horizon! Training today!" She couldn't understand. Training? What for? He knocked again. "C'mon, up! Up!" She got up and met him out at the station. He smiled one of his usual smiles. "You best be prepared for this, you've had a while to rest. Now go sit in this chair," he pointed to the one closest to him. She did, and he said, "Now, this is going to feel weird at first, but it'll be okay. We're going to work on operation programs, combat, and other stuff. You ready, girl? This is going to be fun."
Soon, she was lying in the chair learning all these things so quickly. It was like years of schooling had been crammed into her mind, and she didn't have to wait. She just relaxed in the chair, learning. Neo came by while she was training. "How is she?"
"She's amazing. Maybe we didn't have to wait for her to regain all her strength."
"How many hours has it been?" Trinity stood by him.
Evangel emerged from a corner. "I think she's been at it for over twelve hours."
"Good," Morpheus was heard behind them. "Her training will be complete in a few minutes, then. Hook me up. I'm going to guide her through."
"That means the first jump, doesn't it?" Neo said.
"Yes."
Horizon was startled when the learning pattern she was used to stopped and she was alone in a white place. She had no holes in her body, she had regular clothes on. Then she turned and there was Morpheus, dressed as she had first saw him.
"Welcome, Horizon, to the Construct. This is a software program, a loading program. We can load anything we need here. Of course, you saw it a different way when you were training. Your appearance now is what we call residual self image. It is the cerebral projection of your digital self."
"Amazing!"
"It is. Now, you've already heard the story about the Matrix, how it is just something made up. You're lucky, you have been released from it at an early age, so it isn't as hard for you to grasp this idea, unlike others. We are going to skip the usual introduction and move on."
In an instant, the Construct disappeared and Horizon and Morpheus were standing on the rooftop of a building. "This is the jump program," he said before running and jumping swiftly and easily to the rooftop of the building across the street. "Try and do the same. Free your mind."
Horizon walked to the edge of the rooftop. "Free my mind? Okay... I guess I can do that."
"Don't doubt it, believe you can."
She took a few steps back, took a deep breath, and then ran as fast as she could. When she reached the edge, she jumped as fast as she could. It felt like flying. She had almost made it, she was so close, when she began to fall. Her fingers grasped on the edge of the other building's rooftop, preventing her from falling any farther. Morpheus walked to the edge and grabbed her hand. He helped her up.
At once the Nebuchadnezzar was her surroundings once again. She looked up at everyone else, and they were just staring at her.
"What?" She was so confused.
Eventually, Neo explained. "You are the first person to get as far as that on the first jump. Most people fall in between and hit the street, like me."
"But you, you actually touched the other building," Tank said.
Trinity shook her head. "Though it still proves that nobody makes the first jump."