Okay, I've decided to continue this.
Disclaimer: The Wachowskis own The Matrix, as well as a lot of cash.
It was one past midnight. Streetlamps illuminated the roads, along which a lone car would occasionally appear and then drive off silently into the darkness, fading away into the night. Somewhere along a small side road was a building. It appeared small, for most of it was located underground. Its few windows were darkened, but its entrance was lit with flourescent lights and through the automatic glass doors could be seen a solitary night guard sitting at a desk reading the newspapers. Now and then, his hand would reach out for his cup of coffee and bring it to his mouth for a sip.
This buliding was the Kenselton Facility for Quantum Research.
Few people knew for sure what went on in there. Officially, it conducted research into the areas of parallel worlds, seeking to unravel the mysteries of the eleventh dimension. Unknown to most outsiders, it was also the home of quite a few quantum computers, computers which had made possible the transference of living matter from any of the infinite number of parallel realities in the multiverse.
Some people knew, of course. They were the ones who had paid big money to see him and take part in the research, after signing a contract that bound them to secrecy.
Down below on the third basement floor, long dark corridors led to an open area that contained one glass cell. Now, the only light present was that from the green 'EXIT' signs located at the ends of those corridors, and a single flourescent lamp in the lift lobby some distance off. They shone quietly in the light, casting eerie shadows on the walls.
Inside the glass cell, Neo slept. He lay curled up in a corner, shaking slightly every now and then as the ever-present nightmares ravaged his mind.
Somewhere down one of the corridors, a door slid open and shut again. A sudden scuttling of tiny mechanical feet broke through the silence, coming towards the open area. Then from the shadows it emerged: a small spider-like robot, scampering up to the cell. One of its mechanical legs extended, elongating as it reached up to the keypad lock on the door. Quickly, it keyed in the password, and a small green light came on next to the lock.
There was a soft beep, and the cell's thick glass door slid open. For a moment, the robot scanned the cell's interior, relaying information to its owner in another part of the building. Then it scuttled forward, climbing up Neo and tapping at him.
Neo awoke with a start, and the robot made its way back down to the floor, where it stood making clicking noises. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, Neo stared at it, uncomprehending. Then he saw that the door was open.
The robot moved towards the doorway, then turned back to look at him, motioning with one leg. Hesitantly, Neo stood up, whereupon the robot skittered to the entrance of the nearest corridor and waited again. It wanted him to follow it.
Slowly, Neo left his cell, picking up speed a little when the robot gave an impatient whirr. It lead him down several white corridors and up several flights of stairs, passing closed doors behind which no sound came.
"Where are you taking me?" Neo asked once, but the only reply he got was another whirr and more clicking.
Up more stairs, through a door, down another corridor, stairs, door... then a blast of cool night air hit his face and Neo realised that he was outside.
The robot beeped, then waved a mechanical leg in farewell before scurrying back into the building. Neo watched it go, then turned his gaze back to what lay in front of him.
Some way off, he watched as the security guard flipped a page of his newspapers and was still again. The small television screen on the desk showed Neo standing at the entrance of the side door, but the guard took no notice. He took another sip of coffee.
Neo left the building and walked out onto the road. One side of it lead to a dead end, so he went the other way, trudging through the night with no idea as to where he was heading or what he would do when he got there.
About twenty metres from the facility, he felt a sudden shift in the air; as if he'd stepped past some invisible barrier into another world. It made him feel strange in a way that Neo couldn't quite put a finger on. A faint feeling of nausea started to rise in him, and somehow it seemed as though the greenery here looked healthier. Pausing in his steps, Neo turned around and walked back a little. At once he started to feel better; the nausea was gone, for one.
But there was no point in going back to the facility. He'd been wanting to get out since he'd first arrived here, and now his unknown rescuer had made that possible. Turning back to his original path, Neo walked on. He felt the transition once again as he passed out of the building's sub-atomic protection field.
There were lights far up ahead. Fixing his eyes on them, Neo headed slowly in that direction, with nothing but the crickets around him for company.
TO BE CONTINUED...