She was left alone with him, not that he could tell. The others had all
had to leave, Tank and Dozer to fly the Neb, the others to the guns, and
Morpheus to the core to co-ordinate operations. After someone was
unplugged, it usually didn't take the Machines long to despatch the
Squiddies to destroy the rescuing ship.
It was Zion protocol that two ships were present at an unplugging, one to do the rescuing and the other to defend from attack. This mission did not follow Zion protocol in any way, though. Locke and most of the Council would never have consented to unplugging Neo, given his age. The whole operation was illegal, and known only to this one crew. That meant the Nebuchadnezzar was alone.
Trinity ran the warm, damp cloth across his body. She had been left to clean him up before they could start rebuilding his muscles. He needed that done urgently. She had never seen anyone unplugged in such a bad state before. Perhaps it was for physical reasons, as well as mental and emotional, that Zion had the age limit on unplugging. She hoped that they would have good enough equipment on the Neb to save him. Zion of course would have, but Morpheus did not want to bring him there, not yet.
She tried to place how she was feeling at the minute. Worry, she decided. She really wanted this one to pull through. Her fascination with him had increased. She was not totally attracted to him yet, but the possibility was there. She felt curiosity about him rather than anything else.
That still didn't explain her restlessness after meeting him for the first time.
She finished drying him off with a soft, new towel. Luxury. Covering him with a clean blanket, she crossed her arms across her chest and started to think.
When she had seen him at that club, he had been in the shadows at the far side. From the way he had been standing, he seemed defensive, antisocial. Maybe even angry that he had been dragged out, away from his computer and searches, for seemingly nothing.
Then she had approached him, and had seen his eyes. They were too trusting and innocent. After that, her desire to be close to him whilst speaking stemmed from more than the need to play a part to anyone who might be watching. That had unsettled her.
What served to unsettle her even more was Neo's trust in her. Normally newbies warmed to her last of all the crew. That was her fault, she knew, with her aloof nature. Yet the only thing that brought Neo back into the car was asking him to trust her. She hoped that Cypher, Switch and Apoc had not realised she had used a more personal form than her usual "You have to trust us."
There were other little things too. She tried to ignore, but couldn't, the way he had seemed to cling to her as the only truth during his unplugging. The turmoil she had felt from that, however, had faded to nothing, compared to the event of only half an hour ago. She had seen into his dark brown, real world eyes.
Welcome to the Real World. It could have been addressed to her.
Her Matrix mother had always said that to her, after she came down from her computer. She hadn't approved of the length of time her daughter spent there, away from everybody else. She had worried about her declining social life, her health. The irony had been that the computer was the link to reality. Now Trinity realised her mother had to some extent been right. People, interaction, were important to reality. One glance into Neo's eyes had shown her that she had been shutting everyone else out. One glance, and she began to awake to feel more for those around her.
Morpheus came in just then. "We've done it, Trinity. We've found him."
"I hope you're right."
"I don't have to hope. I know it."
She wished she could too.
It was Zion protocol that two ships were present at an unplugging, one to do the rescuing and the other to defend from attack. This mission did not follow Zion protocol in any way, though. Locke and most of the Council would never have consented to unplugging Neo, given his age. The whole operation was illegal, and known only to this one crew. That meant the Nebuchadnezzar was alone.
Trinity ran the warm, damp cloth across his body. She had been left to clean him up before they could start rebuilding his muscles. He needed that done urgently. She had never seen anyone unplugged in such a bad state before. Perhaps it was for physical reasons, as well as mental and emotional, that Zion had the age limit on unplugging. She hoped that they would have good enough equipment on the Neb to save him. Zion of course would have, but Morpheus did not want to bring him there, not yet.
She tried to place how she was feeling at the minute. Worry, she decided. She really wanted this one to pull through. Her fascination with him had increased. She was not totally attracted to him yet, but the possibility was there. She felt curiosity about him rather than anything else.
That still didn't explain her restlessness after meeting him for the first time.
She finished drying him off with a soft, new towel. Luxury. Covering him with a clean blanket, she crossed her arms across her chest and started to think.
When she had seen him at that club, he had been in the shadows at the far side. From the way he had been standing, he seemed defensive, antisocial. Maybe even angry that he had been dragged out, away from his computer and searches, for seemingly nothing.
Then she had approached him, and had seen his eyes. They were too trusting and innocent. After that, her desire to be close to him whilst speaking stemmed from more than the need to play a part to anyone who might be watching. That had unsettled her.
What served to unsettle her even more was Neo's trust in her. Normally newbies warmed to her last of all the crew. That was her fault, she knew, with her aloof nature. Yet the only thing that brought Neo back into the car was asking him to trust her. She hoped that Cypher, Switch and Apoc had not realised she had used a more personal form than her usual "You have to trust us."
There were other little things too. She tried to ignore, but couldn't, the way he had seemed to cling to her as the only truth during his unplugging. The turmoil she had felt from that, however, had faded to nothing, compared to the event of only half an hour ago. She had seen into his dark brown, real world eyes.
Welcome to the Real World. It could have been addressed to her.
Her Matrix mother had always said that to her, after she came down from her computer. She hadn't approved of the length of time her daughter spent there, away from everybody else. She had worried about her declining social life, her health. The irony had been that the computer was the link to reality. Now Trinity realised her mother had to some extent been right. People, interaction, were important to reality. One glance into Neo's eyes had shown her that she had been shutting everyone else out. One glance, and she began to awake to feel more for those around her.
Morpheus came in just then. "We've done it, Trinity. We've found him."
"I hope you're right."
"I don't have to hope. I know it."
She wished she could too.
