No Place Else To Go
Rose G
Disclaimer – Not my property, and I'm making no money from using the characters
A / N – This is dedicated to Mel, in recognition of much friendship, help with plot bunnies and her coming up, during a late night phone conversation, with the last scene in this story.
I'm here. And that's rather odd because I know that here doesn't exist because it's part of the Matrix and therefore is only an illusion. However, at this moment in time it's looking pretty real to me so I guess that I'd best learn to deal with it. The good thing about this, surely, is that Neo is most definitely outside the Matrix, banging on the door as it were, trying to get in. Or would be if I had a house of any description. No Morpheus either, which is a relief. He's simply too big to fight.
Most important fact ascertained then – no enemies here. Next thing, what should I do to survive he – Oh my God, the tie's gone! The tie! Number one task now is to find a suitable replacement tie. It just doesn't feel right without a tie.
Did I just say 'Oh my God?' Why did I say that? Well…I look human so maybe…I am human! No, can't be. Careful, agent, there must be a logical explanation. Yes. I am human. Humans believe in Gods because the Matrix tells them to, so it's obviously telling me what to think as well.
How inconvenient. I'm human now – I believe in God now. Architect, damn you! No. Images of kung-fu training and shooting him in bullet-time are very attractive, but not right. I've never had to think about right or wrong before; just Neo.
Oh, well. I'm now human, religious and living in a place that isn't real, minus my tie. You want to talk about what sort of day you're having? Any of those facts at all helpful?
Well – religion sounds good. I need to eat and drink now, I guess, and I believe or am I programmed to believe? that religious places should feed me. Right. A church. Thank God for the ultra-complete dictionary of every language ever that is downloaded into you from the Matrix. So, now I know what a church looks like. Good start. Next thing – where's a church, and how do I persuade them to give me something to eat?
I'm walking through the streets of London now, looking for something that has a spire, maybe a clock tower and bells. That sort of thing anyway. Nothing like Zion. I'm also getting jostled and elbowed instead of sliding between gaps in the code in a swish black car. And it's raining, and my hair is getting in my eyes. When I eventually kill Neo, I hope it's raining just so that I can leave him out in it all day.
Okay, this looks like a church. Suppose I ought to go in. Would that be correct? Sod correctness, I'm standing here getting wet and cold in a place that ceased to exist several thousand years ago. Wonderful.
I step in and look around. It's pretty spectacular – dark polished wood, carved stone and stained glass. There's one white-haired old lady sitting down, her hands clasped together and her eyes shut. Obviously, that's the correct thing to do, so I sit down and bow my head. All of us do, taking every seat in there. Suddenly, she becomes aware of us and looks around, one grey head amongst ours. Thousands of us, and one of her, sitting in church in some pre-Matrix age, in the rain, without ties. Cheers, Neo.