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THE POTENTIALS
Chapter 1: Designation.
"I've never seen this happen before," said Maggie, staring at the boy's scalp.
"I have," said Roland. "It's a general case of DNA misplacement. The machines simply neglected to give him a gene to grow hair."
"But after thorough stimulation, sir, we should at least have some type of growth."
He looked down at the boy. "Doesn't really matter. He probably likes it that way."
The child's eyes were beginning to focus under the oppressive white lights as the captain and nurse continued to rehabilitate him. The last thing he could remember was the guiding hand of the man called Neo ushering him into a formidable yet welcoming darkness. He was no longer in a world he knew.
"What's this kid's name, anyway?" asked the captain.
She checked her file. "Lespüne, sir. Gabriel R."
Roland smiled faintly. "Well, 'Spoony', welcome to the real world."
"Sir, I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing that." She began readying the hypodermic needle.
"Just call me if there's any trouble, okay?" and he left the room.
Maggie injected the sedative, and all became dark.
The next few moments were a blur as the crew continued the recovering process. Patches of light danced in the child's head, limbs moved involuntarily, and distorted faces appeared and faded in the void. Somewhere, out of all this madness, came a voice.
"I know you've made it out. I can feel you, now. I know you are afraid, but try not to be. These are your friends. Let them help."
His mind flashed back to an apartment in a city slum. He was watching a warped image on a television screen, and the sides of room were out of focus. His hand reached out to touch the glass, but it bent inward like jelly, resisting him. The tips of his fingers pushed forward, straining to feel the surface of it. But the screen rippled open, revealing an ever expanding abyss...
"She is ready to see you now," spoke someone he recognized. The lady lead him to the kitchen, where a aged woman sat waiting. "Go on, sit down," she said.
"Are you the one who is to foretell my destiny?" he asked.
"I'm only a guide, son. I can make the path clear. It's up to you to see the turns you will take."
"Then what can you tell me?"
"That your journey has yet to begin. I see that you are aware of the circumstances that lie around you. You know full well that the boundaries of this world exist only in here." Her wrinkled finger touched his forehead.
"What can I do?"
"All that you must. Close you eyes and accept the truth."
He did so, and let the blankness overtake him. The boy no longer felt a sense of time, space or emotion. A warm glow filled the vast corners of his fragile soul. He was beginning to reach enlightenment.
Then the child opened his eyes.
He faced a cold interior filled with metallic furnishings, garnished with hemp tethers. Above his head hung a schematic featuring a vehicle of some sort. Feeling slightly queasy, he had to sit up in his cot to avoid gagging. So this was the real world.
The door suddenly opened, and Roland stepped in. "Feeling all right?"
His mouth felt dry. "Y--yes..."
"Well, good. You wouldn't believe how some of the other kids are taking this."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
He let out a sigh. "One of the girls kept throwing utensils at Maggie, and another just screamed and screamed until she couldn't take it."
His jaw tightened. "How terrible."
The captain sat on the cot next to him. "Usually, a child's mind will adapt quickly to a changing reality. It's just part of growing up, which is why we don't free a person past a certain age. But in this case..." He shook his head.
The boy raised an eyebrow. "You must be wondering why I haven't acted in a similar fashion."
"No, not really. I know you're very bright, that you see things the others don't." He chuckled. "It's no wonder Morpheus took a liking to you."
"But... I wasn't the one he was searching for."
"Hm. I suppose not. So you're not 'the One'. That doesn't mean you aren't special, does it?"
"You have a point." The boy turned to the drawing on the wall. "What is that?"
"It's the Hammer, which is the hovercraft you're sitting in right now. Would you like to take a look around?"
"Yes, please."
They got out and climbed up to the main deck, where the crew resided. "You've met Maggie," said Roland. "Here's some of the others you may not know: Colt, AK, Mauser..."
The names faded into a dull hum as the boy beheld his surroundings. Gargantuan tentacles of iron and steel branched out from the top of the vessel and downward onto the floor. Flat panel monitors hung from cranes built into the ceiling, displaying a strange set of green characters that scrolled from top to bottom in a bizarre pattern.
"...our systems operator. Are you listening?"
The child nodded.
"So you understand why we can have you jack in yet?" he asked.
"Erm... no."
The captain rubbed his chin in frustration. "I told you how the other kids reacted when they were taken out of their virtual world. I don't think your mind is ready to take another shift just yet."
"I disagree."
Two of the crewmen chortled before being silenced by their commanding officer. "I don't care if you disagree. You're not going in, got that? Not even a training simulation."
"Yes." The boy understood.
"Right." He looked to the crew. "I want us taken out of broadcast depth immediately. We're heading back to Zion to drop off the orphans." He walked off.
"But, we never got the kid's name," one of them insisted.
Roland was already halfway though the door.
"Call him Gabriel!"