A/N: Thanks to Eyes in sky for pointing out my mistake. Corrections are always appreciated.
9 Questions RevealedSomething is… different.
I don't understand what has changed but the matrix feels… wrong. Hours before it had seemed warm even welcoming to my senses. Yet now… I feel confined here, constricted even.
What has changed?
Is it me? Or rather, the knowledge I've gained from exploring the matrix, and recalling my previous avatar's memories. That's why things have changed. For a time, I've felt odd—incomplete.
And didn't understand the emptiness, until I remembered Trinity. Memories that are only scraps, slivers from my predecessor, showed how deeply I, no— he loved her. And had also watched her die, for the grief that rolls out of some fragments is sharp, the pain that splinters the mind into nothingness. It's a bleak darkness, one that makes me understand why the Architect considers the memories of humans---expendable and to be deleted.
But I do not. Perhaps I would have thought the same, if not for another memory, one with Trinity smiling. It is a vague memory, yet with it another emotion fills me, an emotion that warms and fills the emptiness.
I know it was love. And I will not, cannot give up the memory of love and of Trinity.
My next step is obvious. I must find the only other human I remember, the black man whom always evoked a mixture of dread and responsibility within me.
Once I find him I'll ask what he knew of the past and hope he knew Trinity.
>>>>>>>>
"Yes, there was trouble." Jones said. "However, our primary charge is to acclimate you to the matrix. Do you wish to return to the Architect's sanctuary?" he added, hoping to end this assignment, yet if orders were to be followed—
"No, not yet. Do you know of any man who fits this description?" and then Anderson gave a detailed description that Jones recognized and dreaded.
"Morpheus. His name is Morpheus." Brown answered.
The human's eyes brightened. "Yeah, that sounds right. Morpheus," he straightened up from the doorframe. "Where can I find him?"
"We strongly advise you not to seek him. He is with the program that destroyed your predecessor." Jones said, conscious of Brown's stare.
"The program? Do you mean the virus?" Anderson said.
"Smith. Before his exile he was an agent, and our unit's leader." Brown said, before Jones could formulate a reply.
Brown, did you have to tell him that? Jones sent thru the earpiece.
He deserved to know.
"I see." Anderson said. "So that's why your codes seem incomplete."
"Incomplete?" Jones repeated, feeling shaken. He noted that Brown also froze, as if his data processors glitched.
"Just… that your codes are less—balanced, complex in some areas. There seems to be something missing. It's hard to describe," the human added, with a faint frown studying them.
What did the human see? Jones internally debated about talking any further with Anderson. Just a few minutes of conversation was disrupting his logic and emotion interface.
"You're saying that Morpheus is with Smith, the program that destroyed my predecessor?
How do you know?" Anderson added with sudden realization. "That's why your code was interrupted a while back, wasn't it? You were sent to deal with Smith. But you couldn't, could you?"
Why was Anderson so hard to deal with? It was then Jones realized that what his orders and his threat assessment were demanding two different actions. And to follow either choice would have dire consequences.
"The place you met, it's not far off," the human added.
"Mr. Anderson…" Jones said knowing his words was futile. Whatever happens, Jones thought, it was for a purpose, the Architect's purpose. He just hoped Brown would survive. He had no illusions for himself.
"Let's go visit Morpheus and Smith." Anderson said.
>>>>>>>>
Morpheus laughed despite the consequences. It was a full belly laugh, scorn and barely contained hysteria roared from him, until Smith's fingers grabbed his throat, shutting off laughter and air.
Desperate for oxygen, Morpheus struggled to loosen Smith' iron hold, all the while knowing it was futile. Moments before he would have blacked out, the Zionist found himself collapsed on his knees, dragging huge gulps of air.
When his breathing quieted, Smith lifted him to his feet by his coat's lapels, coldly glaring into his face from inches away.
"What's so humorous, rebel?" Smith's eyes burned even through the shades. "I thought your situation a minute ago was amusing. A human's life can be terminated so simply, so easily. Just by keeping him from breathing for a few short minutes a human can die. Unless you give me answers I will continue. So tell me, why are you laughing, Morpheus? Answer me."
"You, your questions. That's what funny, Smith!" Morpheus said boldly to the program.
"Explain yourself, human." Morpheus saw a hint of confusion on the other's face. Smith released his grip and shoved him a few paces back.
"Neo is dead. He's dead and you killed him… you machine." Morpheus said, bitterness in his voice.
Smith regarded him expressionlessly. "I admit I tried to kill him and succeeded. I killed him twice, as he did me. But do I think or believe that he is dead? No."
"What?" Morpheus turned an incredulous glare at him. Feeling a suddenly hope, a suspicion well up within him.
"He is not dead." Smith stated. "I would know if Mr. Anderson was dead. I would sense it, smell it. Who told you this? The Oracle?" Smith nodded, though Morpheus never moved. "So she did tell you that, did she? Do you know at one time I had all her memories? It was surprising to learn how much she manipulated you 'free humans.' Just by offering her help, her services- she moved the machine's agenda forward that much faster. And do you know what her purpose was?"
"To create the One." He said, feeling chilled, as his unease came into sharper focus.
"Yes, to create the One. Do you know why, Morpheus?" Smith asked, amusement faintly coloring his voice.
"I never asked. The question was irrelevant at the time," he said, hearing a shadowy whisper, you must ask the right question.
"You never asked. And you still trust her?" Smith was now openly smiling, a disturbing expression with his dark shades.
The question hung mockingly in the silence as they both stared at the other.
"So the great Morpheus can make mistakes. How predictably human. How pathetic. Well, our business is concluded. I have no further questions." Smith turned and slowly started to walk away.
"Smith, you—" Morpheus blocked his path, careless of the danger. "You have no plans to kill me?" For the first time in minutes, he noticed the pain of his dislocated shoulder, but ignored everything in the search for answers, for truth.
Smith stared at him. "No, why should I? You are useless, without the information I need. To kill you would be a waste of time, and utterly pointless. You are free to leave the matrix and return to Zion." As Smith attempted to walk away, Morpheus again blocked his path.
"Are you truly expressing a death wish Morpheus?" Smith asked softly.
"Being in the matrix, unplugged, always insinuates that mindset," he dryly answered. "No, I need answers, Smith. Why are you looking for Neo? Is it to kill him like you did before?"
"Kill him?" Smith voice was laced with a dark amusement. "Why should I kill the One, Morpheus? The One is a creature of the matrix, of which I was once a guardian. He is after all, an invention, a fabrication of the matrix. If the Oracle's memory serves me correctly, centuries of machine data have gone into his creation. Enough data to make the matrix seem like child's play."
Morpheus stared at him, feeling a horror grow. The One is a… program? "No, I refuse to believe that. He's human. Neo is a human!"
"One fact does not preclude the other," said Smith.
"But why?" Morpheus breathed. "Why would the machines—" and recalled Neo admit: the One is another system of control.
"For the ultimate reason anything is done." Smith said, pausing before adding.
"Control. Power."
tbc
Next: Smith's Truth
