Chapter Two
"Yeah, but they call me Neo now," he replied with a grin.
"How...what...uh? They told me you were dead!"
Crystal let some tears slip as she hugged Neo tightly in relief. However, Neo gently pulled away and spoke.
"Let me guess, those robotic men in black suits, right?"
Crystal was too stunned to speak; she still couldn't believe that Neo was alive.
"So are you hiding because they found out you were a hacker or something? What's going on?"
Neo sighed and thought about how complex it would be to explain the vastness of The Matrix. But then he remembered the bewilderment he had felt when Morpheus offered him a choice of the blue pill or the red pill. Knowing how it felt like to be left in the dark, he decided to try and answer some of Crystal's questions.
"Have you ever felt like everything is just a dream? Like none of this is real?"
"All the time, but I always assume it's because I never get enough sleep."
"Well, that's not the cause of it. The truth is, you're living in a virtual world, called The Matrix, with computers and programs masked behind ordinary people. Your beloved Peter is a program and he isn't human. Peter was a program created to distract you from finding the resistance and joining it. He was created based on a diary you wrote when you were fifteen. My death was a lie created by agents, those are people who keep The Matrix in order, to stop you from being unplugged."
Crystal didn't believe it for a second. Surely Neo must have escaped from a mental ward.
"You're lying! Peter is too perfect to be a machine, and what's all this rubbish about a virtual world? What asylum did they put you in??"
"Or is Peter too perfect to be human? Think about it. When has he ever kissed you? When has he ever discussed his past or his job with you?"
"I'm sure there's a more logical explanation to Peter being so bottled up other than him being a "program" and us living in a "virtual world." I won't believe you until I see living proof of what you're saying!"
"Alright, but now you have to make a choice if that's what you really want. Take the red pill, and you'll find yourself at home with no memory of this event. Take the blue pill, and I will show you that The Matrix exists and the war that we must face against the machines."
Oh great, now he's got the drugs that probably made him crazy in the first place, thought Crystal to herself. She narrowed her eyes.
"First you have to show me that those pills won't make me go crazy like you are."
Neo raised his eyebrows. He used to think of Crystal as such an intelligent, strong-willed woman that he never expected her to be this suspicious. Nevertheless, they needed Crystal for the resistance; she would prove to be very valuable considering that she had found a way to decipher some of the agents' messages.
"Alright. See that dog over there? I'll give him the blue pill to prove to you that it does not affect one's state of mind."
The dog swallowed the blue pill and trotted off as though nothing had happened. Crystal sighed and realized that to figure out what all this meant, she would have to be much more trusting.
"Fine, I really want to see if all what you say is true."
She swallowed the blue pill with water after Neo had gently laid it on her clasped hand.
"That blue pill will provide us a constant report of where you are. Now, come with me."
He stepped by the mirror and Crystal quickly checked her make-up. Neo rolled his eyes.
"Great, I'm about to show you the truth about the world and you're busy checking your eye-shadow!"
"Hey, this isn't for me! Peter told me he loves make-up, and for some odd reason, I can't stop doing what he says!"
"Wow, those agents really programmed Peter to completely manipulate you! We better get to Zion before he has a complete grasp of you. It's a miracle you held out for as long as you did! Now, touch that mirror next to you."
Crystal gasped when she saw that the mirror was like gel. Neo seemed to be telling the truth after all; a mirror by the law of physics could never do that in the real world. She didn't even want to start thinking about how Peter was a machine. She braced herself for what was about to come.
Crystal feebly lifted up her eyelids to see countless pins stuck in her body and Neo looking at her concerned. "How are you feeling?"
"Well, it's strange, but for an odd reason, I feel like I belong here. I have a vague memory of this ship and I believe in your words."
"I'm happy to hear that, so you know all about the war against the machines?"
"Yes, I know they have kept us in control for year with The Matrix. And I'm pissed off, I feel like fighting one of those agents!"
"What else do you know?"
"That you're The One destined to fulfill the prophecy and save us all."
Neo was astonished that Crystal knew so much after he had only told her a small fraction of what was really going on. In fact, he was puzzled WHY she knew so much.
"How do you know all this?"
"Yeah, but they call me Neo now," he replied with a grin.
"How...what...uh? They told me you were dead!"
Crystal let some tears slip as she hugged Neo tightly in relief. However, Neo gently pulled away and spoke.
"Let me guess, those robotic men in black suits, right?"
Crystal was too stunned to speak; she still couldn't believe that Neo was alive.
"So are you hiding because they found out you were a hacker or something? What's going on?"
Neo sighed and thought about how complex it would be to explain the vastness of The Matrix. But then he remembered the bewilderment he had felt when Morpheus offered him a choice of the blue pill or the red pill. Knowing how it felt like to be left in the dark, he decided to try and answer some of Crystal's questions.
"Have you ever felt like everything is just a dream? Like none of this is real?"
"All the time, but I always assume it's because I never get enough sleep."
"Well, that's not the cause of it. The truth is, you're living in a virtual world, called The Matrix, with computers and programs masked behind ordinary people. Your beloved Peter is a program and he isn't human. Peter was a program created to distract you from finding the resistance and joining it. He was created based on a diary you wrote when you were fifteen. My death was a lie created by agents, those are people who keep The Matrix in order, to stop you from being unplugged."
Crystal didn't believe it for a second. Surely Neo must have escaped from a mental ward.
"You're lying! Peter is too perfect to be a machine, and what's all this rubbish about a virtual world? What asylum did they put you in??"
"Or is Peter too perfect to be human? Think about it. When has he ever kissed you? When has he ever discussed his past or his job with you?"
"I'm sure there's a more logical explanation to Peter being so bottled up other than him being a "program" and us living in a "virtual world." I won't believe you until I see living proof of what you're saying!"
"Alright, but now you have to make a choice if that's what you really want. Take the red pill, and you'll find yourself at home with no memory of this event. Take the blue pill, and I will show you that The Matrix exists and the war that we must face against the machines."
Oh great, now he's got the drugs that probably made him crazy in the first place, thought Crystal to herself. She narrowed her eyes.
"First you have to show me that those pills won't make me go crazy like you are."
Neo raised his eyebrows. He used to think of Crystal as such an intelligent, strong-willed woman that he never expected her to be this suspicious. Nevertheless, they needed Crystal for the resistance; she would prove to be very valuable considering that she had found a way to decipher some of the agents' messages.
"Alright. See that dog over there? I'll give him the blue pill to prove to you that it does not affect one's state of mind."
The dog swallowed the blue pill and trotted off as though nothing had happened. Crystal sighed and realized that to figure out what all this meant, she would have to be much more trusting.
"Fine, I really want to see if all what you say is true."
She swallowed the blue pill with water after Neo had gently laid it on her clasped hand.
"That blue pill will provide us a constant report of where you are. Now, come with me."
He stepped by the mirror and Crystal quickly checked her make-up. Neo rolled his eyes.
"Great, I'm about to show you the truth about the world and you're busy checking your eye-shadow!"
"Hey, this isn't for me! Peter told me he loves make-up, and for some odd reason, I can't stop doing what he says!"
"Wow, those agents really programmed Peter to completely manipulate you! We better get to Zion before he has a complete grasp of you. It's a miracle you held out for as long as you did! Now, touch that mirror next to you."
Crystal gasped when she saw that the mirror was like gel. Neo seemed to be telling the truth after all; a mirror by the law of physics could never do that in the real world. She didn't even want to start thinking about how Peter was a machine. She braced herself for what was about to come.
Crystal feebly lifted up her eyelids to see countless pins stuck in her body and Neo looking at her concerned. "How are you feeling?"
"Well, it's strange, but for an odd reason, I feel like I belong here. I have a vague memory of this ship and I believe in your words."
"I'm happy to hear that, so you know all about the war against the machines?"
"Yes, I know they have kept us in control for year with The Matrix. And I'm pissed off, I feel like fighting one of those agents!"
"What else do you know?"
"That you're The One destined to fulfill the prophecy and save us all."
Neo was astonished that Crystal knew so much after he had only told her a small fraction of what was really going on. In fact, he was puzzled WHY she knew so much.
"How do you know all this?"