Happy, Ryven? Here's your beloved new chapter. And you had better appreciate it, because it is long. ; )
***
Death and Rebirth
Chapter Seven
A Choice
***
It was foreign to her, to her nature. There was not a time in recent or extended memory where she had not though a serious situation through before acting upon it. She always looked her options over from every angle. She knew all the possible reprocussions and side effects of her choices. She always made sure to know exactly what would happen. From there, it was just a matter of what was the best decision to make.
And yet despite so many years of planning in her instincts, here she was, sitting on her bike, parked against a curb by the Washington Monument. She watched the various tourists as she sat, waiting. It was about as much as she had done in the past few days. In truth, she really didn't know what to do. She had come here only on the small fact from the IRS D-Base, and it was starting to seem like a very foolish thing to do. After three days, no new information had appeared on Morpheus' whereabouts.
Trinity got up from her bike, leaving her helmet on the seat. Folding her arms over her chest, she slowly made her way over to the reflecting pool.
It was stupid, really. It had said most recent activity. That was no guarantee that they were still here. It was highly probable that they had moved on to another city by now. They might not crop up again for months. And if that were the case, she would surely be caught by then.
When she reached the pool, Trinity moved to stand at the very edge, and stared down at her reflection. She was still for a long moment. Finally she let sighed, angry at herself. How could she be so stupid? She had come here with no plan, no idea what she was supposed to do. She didn't know if the authorities had caught on to her, and if they had, she didn't know how long it would be before they found her.
"Damnit, Trinity," she whispered to herself. "You couldn't have picked a worse time."
She mentally berated herself for a few moments more, until she suddenly realized how hungry she was. Checking her watch, she realized that it was nearly three in the afternoon, and she had not eaten since early that morning. She sighed again and headed back to her motorcycle.
***
She sat inside a little diner on the corner of the street. She tapped her fingers on the nearly empty glass. Staring down at it, she strangely thought of how they didn't serve sodas at the cafe that, until recently, she used to work at.
She could have stayed. She could have chosen to stay in New York, and let things go back to normal, as they eventually would. But she was who she was. And she was a woman who relied on her instincts and intuition, often more so than she relied on logic. Her instincts had driven her to leave. To hack what was easily one of the most secured computer systems in the world. And, even more irrational, she ran off to Washington D.C., hoping to find a group of computer terrorists that probably weren't even there anymore.
Much of the last half-hour in the restaurant had been spent wondering. Thinking of what might have happened if she had chosen to just stay in New York. Sure, she would have been expelled, and her father would have raised hell. But that all would have died down in the end. She would have finished junior year at the local high school. She'd still see Switch almost every day. They would still talk, go out for coffee. Joy ride around Manhattan on Friday nights. A new Internet cafe had opened up near Central Park a few months before. It had quickly become a common hacker hangout. It would be a good place for the two of them to go. And surely some of the people there would know of a number of other....
Trinity sat straight up in her seat, her mind racing with thoughts. Why hadn't she thought of it before? It was so obvious, so simple. Of course, there was no guarantee that it would work, but she had no other options. And if she was going to be caught, she wasn't about to go down without at least trying.
She hastily stood from the table, fished a ten out of her pocket, and carelessly tossed it onto the table on her way out.
***
It did not take more than twenty minutes of driving to find a good place to start. A little hole-in-the-wall computer repair shop. Two or three college boys, maybe nineteen or twenty, were working there when she found it. It wasn't at all hard to see that they were hackers - they obviously knew their way around a computer, and they looked as if much of their free time was spent in cyberspace.
She tried to look as casual as she could when she walked in. Switch, had she been there, would have told her to get the boys' attention. Get them to notice her, and be attracted to her, so as to get them to eat right out of the palm of her hand. It wasn't that it was a difficult task, it simply sickened her. Rich, pretentious high school boys gawking at her was bad enough. But your typical computer geek, who spent so much time on-line that any girl he may attract would be driven away immediately? This would not be fun.
She walked slowly when she came in, looking around as she made her way to the counter in the back. She saw him look up out of the corner of her eye. She forced a small, friendly grin.
"Hi," he said quickly, standing up straighter and smiling back.
"Hey."
"Um," he stammered slightly, presumably a bit nervous, "can I help you with something?"
"Maybe," Trinity replied quietly, toying with a pen on the counter. "Either you or one of your friends." She nodded to the other two, one behind the counter, one at a shelf, putting something away. Both came closer as she mentioned them.
There was a silence as they waited for her to ask her question.
"I was hoping one of you could tell me where I might find a club...." The words came out slow and quiet.
"Uh...." This was not the kind of request they usually got. "Sure. Which one?"
"I thought you might know." Trinity put the pen down and looked up at the one who had spoken. "Hacker clubs. Know of any?"
The tension in the air rose almost instantly. The three of them looked between each other nervously.
"Well, um...." He glanced quickly at the other two. "No. Not really, no."
Trinity looked their faces over carefully. They weren't just nervous. They were lying. They knew of plenty of hacker clubs, but for some reason, they weren't saying anything. She decided not to press them.
"All right." She looked them each squarely in the eye. "Thank you anyway."
***
"We have to get her out soon." Morpheus' face was serious, and his tone grave. "Are you sure?" Tank asked hesitantly, pulling up the map on one of the screens. "I mean, what if you run into agents trying to get her out? She's only been there three days, and she's nearly run into them about a dozen times."
"Exactly." Quickly scanning the map, Niobe pointed to a grid square in the corner. "Zoom in here. If we don't get to her soon, they will. She's too good to risk."
"All right...." Tank typed in various commands on the double keyboards before the screens. "You're the bosses. You're both insane, but I trust you."
Niobe looked at him out of the corner of her eye, sarcasm written all over her face. "Thank you so -"
She was cut off by a loud, blaring siren, and the screens flashed with "PROXIMITY WARNING."
"Damn it." The captain and ranking officer rushed from the core and to the ladder leading to the cockpit.
***
Her plan had been simple enough. Search out a net cafe or computer store that employed hackers, and ask them where she might find some hacker clubs. It was an unlikely prospect, but she might just find Morpheus or one of the others there. It should have worked. It would have, were it not for the tiny flaw created by some unknown force.
No one would tell her anything.
Despite the fact that hackers were often rather open with other hackers, of the two or three dozen people she'd asked none had mentioned any clubs. All had claimed not to know of any, or to not be hackers at all. She couldn't pinpoint why, but she had a guess.
She had been all over the news recently. Trinity was now a very well known name. And from the sound of it, there was a massive attempt to find this most elusive criminal. It may simply have been that no one wanted to admit any relation to hackers, for fear of being arrested themselves. After all, if there was one thing hackers knew how to do, it was hide. A skill they all seemed to be employing recently.
***
Moving slowly, carefully watching the endless tunnels out the cockpit window, Morpheus switched on the holographic scanner. A miniature, electric blue replica of the sewer systems surrounding the Nebuchadnezzar appeared in the air.
The small group that had gathered before it studied it carefully.
"They aren't leaving," Niobe stated quietly after a long minute. There were perhaps seven or eight sentinels in the immediate area. The ship itself was carefully hidden in a dead-end tunnel. As they were, they were safe, but the machines stayed relatively where they were. They could not leave their position, as they would surely be spotted. Nor could they return power to the ship, as the electricity would be picked up by the sentinels' radar.
"We can't do anything until they're out of range," Dozer said quietly, more to himself than anyone else. "Looks like we're stuck here for a while."
Niobe wrung her hands silently. She voiced none of the concern that showed on her face, save for a small, worried sigh.
"We'll be fine," Morpheus said calmly, not even looking over to her.
"It's not us I'm worried about."
He turned slightly to face her, waiting for her to continue. She looked him straight in the eye. "She's got agents after her. She's only barely avoided them so far, and by even less each time." Her eyes held an intent gaze on him for a moment before she closed them and turned away. "We could be stuck here for hours. Do I have to tell you what can happen to someone in only a few hours when agents are after them?"
"Nothing's going to happen to her, Niobe. She'll be fine."
However, in glancing over at him, she could tell that that was not the case. He was afraid of the same thing.
***
The sun was setting. She had been riding around this massive city for hours, to no avail. Although she was one to never give up, she felt like doing so now. She had not asked much, simply for the location of one of any number of clubs, which many of the people she had asked certainly knew about. But it had gotten her nowhere, and she had wasted so much effort on nothing.
Trinity stopped with the various other cars at the red light, eyes taking in the surrounding shops. Not far up the street, she saw a net cafe, not much different than the many others she had seen that day.
She fought with herself mentally for several seconds. She was sick and tired of getting nothing but lies and nervous looks. She didn't want to go through that again. But, would it kill her so much to try one more time? And, even if she didn't get any information out of it, she could at least get some coffee.
***
Apoc remained against the back wall of the cockpit, where he had been for several minutes, watching the holographic images of the sewers that were pulled up. The sentinels had remained where they were for quite some time now, and the crew had been waiting for further notice before they did anything.
From the looks of it, it might be coming any moment. Morpheus was hastily adjusting the viewing field of the holograms, looking at everything around them. He followed the path of a particular tunnel, searching out all of its bends and turns and branches for nearly a mile. The routs he traced were clear.
"Apoc," he said quietly, a controlled urgency in his voice. "Go down and tell them not to return power to any of the systems until we say so."
He did not hesitate in obeying the order. He nearly jumped down the ladder, hearing switches being flipped and the engines humming to life.
Quickly checking the images once more, the ship was lifted from the ground, moving quietly from its hiding place so as not to attract any attention. They moved as quickly as possible towards the channel not far ahead, miraculously avoiding the machines' radar. Simply for the reason of safety, they waited until they were well out of range before giving the order.
"Tank," Morpheus said curtly into the intercom, "I want everything up and running yesterday."
***
The interior of the cafe was very well done. Everything in the huge room was brand new. New, and very fancy-looking computer stations, chrome-backed swivel chairs, and all of the computer systems were the best money could buy. It was after seven, and it seemed that everyone was just beginning to trickle in after work.
Trinity made her way up to the counter, purposely exuding a sense of calm and causality. That she could see, there were three waitresses serving things to customers at the computer stations, and another two at the counter. They were talking with two of their friends sitting at barstools. All of them seemed normal enough - jeans, regular t-shirts. One was even wearing a sports jacket, presumably from his school. They didn't seem like hackers at first glance - but then again, neither did she. So that was yet to be determined.
She came up and leaned against the counter, a few seats away from them. Removing the bag from her shoulder, she placed it on the counter and sat down, waiting to be noticed. After several seconds she became impatient, and interrupted their conversation.
"The general purpose," she said loudly, stopping one of them in mid-sentence, "of a business is to make money, something which generally cannot happen if the people working for the business don't serve the customers."
One of them glowered at her slightly, and came over to her. "Fine. What would you like?" he asked with mock-politeness.
"Just give me some coffee and I'm happy." She held his gaze for a moment before letting him fix her order.
"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted...." The one in the football jacket resumed the conversation. The one who had taken her order - Kevin, judging by the nametag - joined them after bringing Trinity her drink.
She remained quiet for a time, listening to their conversation, while pretending to be interested in nothing other than her coffee.
".... but I was talking to the Prodigy on a chatroom the other day, and...."
A chatroom. Who other than a hacker used one of those? Prodigy. Very well known among the circles. She herself had spoken with him a few times.
She interrupted again. "I'm impressed." She placed the cup back on the counter, staring down at it. "Other than myself, I've never met a hacker who could make decent coffee."
"Excuse me?" Kevin asked her impatiently.
"And I've met a lot of them recently," she mused.
They stared at her, some more angry than annoyed. The jock was the next to speak. "Did you want something? And who the hell are you?"
"Must be tough." She stared ahead, taking another sip. "Living in a world where everyone's name isn't stitched on their jacket." She turned to look at him, reading the cursive lettering. She smirked at him when she looked him in the eye. "Jack."
She read the other waiter's nametag. "Danny. And you are?" she asked the final one.
"That's Mike," Jack said impatiently. "Now I ask again: who the hell are you, and what do you want?"
"Not much. I just want to know how to get to one of the hacker clubs in the area. Nothing more." Her eyes traveled amongst them calmly as she spoke.
"No, see," Danny said mockingly. "Hacker clubs are for hackers. Why would you want to know where one is?"
"What? You've never met a female hacker?" she challenged, moving a few seats over, to keep the conversation away from prying ears.
"No," he quipped. "Certainly not a one who could ever dream of playing in the big leagues with the boys." The four shared cocky grins.
Trinity merely took a minute to regain her composure, and remind herself that they were among the less intelligent of their half of the species - they knew nothing.
***
"Kick his ass," Silver mumbled. They stood before the consoles, listening to the conversation that was being translated from the coding.
"So what exactly is the plan?" Phoenix inquired, ignoring his girlfriend's angered remarks.
"If they ever tell her anything," Morpheus began, slowly, "we meet her at the club and convince her to come with us. Then we unplug her."
But they weren't telling her anything. That was the only flaw in the reasoning. Tank made that very point.
"How do you expect to get her to a club if they won't even tell her the name of one?"
There was silence for a moment, save for the quiet voices coming from the console speakers. They all studied the code, looking for anything that could help them.
Niobe was the first to notice, and quickly formulated a plan. On the back counter, screen facing the barstools where Trinity sat, was a computer, used for writing up checks.
"Apoc," she turned around, still formulating her idea. "You were from Washington D.C., right?"
***
"Some of the better hackers I know are female, actually."
The four had quickly taken to counter-attacking everything Trinity said. She was becoming very angry, very fast.
"Isn't it something like eighty-five percent of women online are men?" Danny asked sarcastically. "And given how many 'women' you actually do find online...."
Trinity's mind slid away from their words as she saw the computer screen on the opposite counter go black. Odd - computers rarely did that when they weren't being used, when there was no one triggering anything that could cause a problem. But she didn't let the thought show on her face. Nor did she let her complete shock at what happened next show.
We're very impressed with your work, Trinity.
The screen went black again, and she glanced around, both at the boys and the other customers. No one had noticed anything. Turning her attention nonchalantly back to the screen, more word typed across.
We have a proposition for you.
Black. Her heart was beating faster and faster, adrenaline and excitement beginning to course through her. It had worked. It had actually worked. She had hoped that by some miracle Morpheus and the others would be interested in meeting her, and somehow find out who she was. She quelled her thoughts as another message appeared.
We'll meet you at Club Infinity. They'll tell you where it is.
"... I'll admit that a girl could probably do some really minor hacking," Jack said haughtily, "but there's no way they could get into anything that was at all important. And besides, don't you have something better that you could be doing than going to a club?" He paused for a dramatic effect. "I don't know, like, baking cookies of something?"
The four of them laughed loudly.
"So in short, you're not going to tell me anything? Is that it?" She took another sip of her coffee, asking the question calmly.
"No, not really," Kevin replied, smirking. "No."
Trinity simply spun on the stool, so that she was facing the main floor, with the computers and other customers. She sat with her elbows resting on the counter behind her, eyes seeming to wander around aimlessly. You would never have guessed that she was searching to see if the person who had sent the message was here, in the cafe.
"So then you wouldn't be able to tell me how to find Club Infinity," she said in the most nonchalant tone she could muster. At their silence, she turned around to see four gaping mouths. She smirked wickedly at the sight. "I'll take that as a yes."
Kevin was the first to shake himself out of his trance. "If you already knew which club you wanted to go to, why didn't you just ask for directions when you came in?"
"Because then I wouldn't be able to screw around with your heads," she lied, casually taking another sip of coffee. "So would you be a dear, and make me a map?" she asked, sarcastic when she called him a dear. "Something small, that I could read while riding a bike."
"Oh, look, Little Miss Hacker has a bike!" Jack said sarcastically, while Kevin reluctantly drew out a map on a small piece of paper. "Let me guess. Pink seat, pink handlebars with pink streamers coming out of the ends? Right?"
She silenced their hysterical laughter, hitting them with a full on death glare. The three of them shrunk back.
"Two things. First, do I look like I have ever owned anything that was pink in my entire life?"
They shook their heads hesitantly.
"Correct. And two, I have three words for you."
She released her glare on them, and they all loosened up considerably. She fished a five-dollar bill from her pocket and exchanged it with the small map Kevin gave her.
"Triumph. Speed. Triple."
None of them dared challenge her on that fact. She gave them each a meaningful look before standing up from the counter and making her way towards the exit.
***
A club this high-tech could only be run by hackers. The thought processes and touch of one were everywhere, even before you got inside the place.
It was an underground club, with an entrance that was nearly impossible to find if you didn't know where to look. It was nothing more than a simple stairwell leading down, Infinity written in white, cursive neon lettering above it. Furthermore, it was hidden at the very back of a small parking lot between two larger buildings. Surprisingly, though, there were a number of people lined up to get in, with two bouncers controlling who went in when.
Seeing the many people waiting outside, she found herself somewhat grateful for the things she had taught herself to do as a child. This was one of those times when knowing how to walk right past someone and remain virtually unnoticed could come in quite handy. Parking her motorcycle at the far side of the parking lot, she stayed a few paces behind a small group that was also going in. She separated from them when they went to join the line that had formed. A low metal railing lined either side of the doorway that led to the stairs. Slipping under it, she managed to press herself against the wall going down the stairs. Everyone else was so busy talking that they didn't even notice as she slipped down into the club.
When she made it all the way downstairs, she could only think that they didn't have clubs like this back in New York, at least none of the ones she had ever seen. There were two levels to it. The first was nothing more than a perimeter floor, running around the sides of the square room. There was a bar on the far end, with chairs and tables circling the edges of the railing. The center of the top level was non-existent, and instead opened up to the dance floor below. Two staircases on either side led down.
The lights were a key giveaway to a hacker club. There were neon strands in various colors lining the edges between walls, along the ceiling and the floor. The dance floor was some clear material that revealed a grid of ever-changing lights beneath it. There were black lights, pale, regular lights, flashing strobe lights and moving lights in every color imaginable.
This was definitely a club designed by a computer whiz - your Average Joe couldn't pull this off.
***
Trinity leaned against the back wall of the lower level, letting herself fade away from wandering eyes. She had been there about twenty minutes, and had spent that time carefully searching every face for one she recognized. She had begun to worry not long ago. There was not a doubt in her mind that they would come. They said they would. They had a "proposition" for her, whatever that meant. But she had begun to wonder how they would find her.
Did they even know what she looked like? How would they? The authorities were not saying whether or not they knew who Trinity was, and had not shown any pictures on the news. The only other people who knew her identity were David and Switch, and unless they had been consulted, no one else knew anything. But... they would have had to, in order to send her the message in the cafe. But that still didn't explain how -
"That was a nice stunt you pulled."
Trinity's head whipped to the right at the voice, and she instantly stood up straighter. Standing not more than five feet away was a man and a woman, both of whom she recognized. Phoenix and Silver. She looked them over for several seconds. They both fit right in at the club. She wore a pair of black leather pants, and a silver shirt under a long black coat. He wore a black motorcycle jacket, and plain black jeans.
Silver spoke again. "We were very eager to meet you."
Trinity remained silent for a moment, then said, in a voice that could barely be heard above the music: "Same here."
She smiled at her.
Trinity moved away from the wall, and began speaking, unusually hesitant. "Why did you want to meet me? And what did you mean by proposition?"
"Well," Phoenix began, trying to explain with minimal information. "We're aware that you've landed yourself in somewhat of a bind, and we're here to help you out of it."
"Why?" she asked suspiciously.
"Because you're talented, Trinity. More than you know. And, with our help, we think you could become much better."
"You want me to help you with something." It was a statement, not a question.
"Getting right to the point," Phoenix mused. "You are good at reading people."
She gave him an intent look, urging him to continue.
"We don't just want you to help us." Silver's voice lowered, and became more serious. "We're...." She struggled to find the right words. "We're helping the greater good, and we thought that you might be interested in the same thing."
"Our definitions of the 'Greater Good' may be different," she said gravely, looking between them.
"Only one way to find out, isn't there?"
***
A black sedan was waiting in a back alley behind the club. Leaning against the driver's door was a young man, tossing the keys up into the air and catching them. As the Trinity came closer, following Phoenix and Silver, she saw that she recognized him as well - Apoc.
He stopped fiddling with the keys and got in when they came over, starting up the engine. Trinity silently sat in the back seat beside Silver. Somehow, she had managed to expertly hide her tension and nervousness thus far. But, as they drove, it slowly increased until some of it crept onto her face.
"Nothin' to worry about, kid," Silver said reassuringly.
***
They finally reached their destination. It was an abandoned building, four or five stories high - she couldn't quite tell in the dark. Silver left the car when they came to a stop, and beckoned her to follow.
Everything seemed to pass in a blur. Time seemed to slow down and speed up at the same time, until she found herself before a door, made of old, faded wood with peeling paint. Brass numbers still hung on it - 415.
"Hey," she said quietly. Trinity looked up. "I told you, there's nothing to worry about."
Silver opened the door before she could say anything. Walking in, she saw a man standing before the fireplace, his back to the door. He turned to face them as they came in, and Trinity's mind came back to her in a rush, suddenly able to form coherent thoughts again. She would recognize this man anywhere.
Morpheus.
He nodded in thanks to Silver, who quietly slipped into the next room.
"I'm glad you decide to come, Trinity," he said kindly, reassurance in his voice. "Sit down." He gestured to two red-leather seats before the fire, and sat in one of them himself. After a moment, she did the same.
He remained silent, as if waiting for her to say what he knew she wanted to get out.
"I've really wanted to meet you. I've been looking for you for a long time."
He smiled behind mirrored glasses. "You've been looking for answers, Trinity, nothing more."
He knew every question she had, she could tell in his voice. But she could also see that the answers to some of them might not be so easy to learn. A thought nagged at the back of her mind, something that had been confusing her for a very long time. She knew that this wasn't the right time, and that there wasn't a polite or appropriate way to say it, but she had to know.
"Why is it that so many people die every time you show up?" She looked up at him slightly, waiting for a response.
He was still for several seconds, seemingly thinking over his answer. "You won't understand the answer to that right now. But we are in the middle of a war, Trinity. And unfortunately, because of the nature of that war, innocent people die."
A war. Wonderful. He was a conspiracy theorist who was convinced that the government was doing some terrible thing, and he was using acts of terrorism to try to make them stop. But... in watching him closely, she saw none of the usual signs that he was lying, or that he maintained the level of insanity necessary to believe that.
God, he's serious.
It made no sense. How could there be a war going on, of such a nature, that no one knew about? What was being fought over, or for? And why would it cause people to die?
Quelling her unruly thoughts, Trinity regained her composure and spoke again, albeit in a hushed voice. "They said you wanted my help."
"We need all the help we can get," he said calmly. "But yes, we did have an eye on you in particular. We think you'd make a very good addition."
She stared at her reflections in the lenses of his glasses. There was a long moment of silence, a thousand thoughts hanging unsaid in the air.
"I can give you answers Trinity." He spoke slowly, making sure she heard every word. "To all of your questions."
"About the Matrix...?" It was a question that was rational enough. Every time the name Morpheus came up, so did the Matrix.
"That...." He smiled slightly, the way you would smile at a naive child. "And the feeling that you've had your entire life."
Trinity sat back in her seat, barely breathing, and shock written all over her face. He knew. She couldn't even begin to guess how, but he knew. He had somehow discovered the tiny, never-ending thought... or feeling, rather, that constantly plagued her mind.
It took her several very long seconds to come back to her senses, and will herself to form words. "You know about that?"
"Yes." She could detect a slight enthusiasm in his voice. "As a matter of fact, both of those questions can be answered in the same way."
She stared at him, waiting for him to continue. Finally he sighed heavily, and leaned back in his seat. He reached into his pocket, and she could see him pull out something thin and silver. "Few people feel as you do, Trinity," he said gravely. "Even fewer act upon that feeling. We were simply lucky that you were one of those few."
He opened the small metal case, and poured something from it into his hand, holding it clenched in a fist. He then placed the closed case on a small table, next to a glass of water that she had only just noticed.
"You have always known that there is something wrong with the world, Trinity, and you have always wanted to make it better." Whatever he was holding, he had two of them. He put one into the other hand, and leaned forward in his chair. "I can give you the chance to do just that, but you must know that once the choice to do so is made, you can never go back. No matter how much you may hate the answers, you can never close your eyes to the truth."
She nodded in understanding, slightly dazed. He opened up his left hand, revealing a small, dark blue pill.
"You take the blue pill, and your life goes back to the way it was before you knew anything about this. You will be able to lead a normal life."
She glanced at him briefly. Perhaps he wasn't quite so sane as she thought. He opened his right hand, which instead held a blood-red pill.
"But if you take the red pill, you will find the answers you are looking for."
Trinity stared between the two pills, mind working at lightning speed to weigh her options. She didn't like his implications. What he said made the 'truth' sound like the most horrible thing in the world. Maybe it really was. She wasn't sure about how much she would want to know the truth if it was that horrible. And she could never go back. But she couldn't go back. She had done too much. Too many things had happened, and none of it could ever be erased, no matter what that blue pill did. And she had worked so hard... she had come so far, looked for this truth for so long. Didn't she owe it to herself to find out what it was, however awful it may be? To find out what the Matrix was, and, more importantly, what was wrong with the world?
Yes. Yes, she did.
She reached for the red pill, and swallowed it without water.
***
AGHH! I'm finally done! **Dies of exhaustion** This is probably the longest chapter I've done so far. Anyway, gotta go watch The Matrix: Revisited now. : )
R+R! : )