Shotokan

by Seth Kotta

This is supposed to envelope the story my buddy, Hedgemon, is working on. However, he's waiting until he's finished to post his works, while I'lll do no such thing. It's kinda long, but it's good reading... I hope.

5. Soldier

1.05

Soldier

Argonaut appeared behind me, his red coat flowing in the wake of his movement. He turned to me. "Welcome to the Construct."

"What's the Construct?"

"The Construct is the loading program. Anything we need before entering the Matrix is made here; anything from clothing to weapons to training programs."

"So, if I wanted a lightsaber, you can make one from mid-air."

"We could, but the code for one wouldn't be accepted in the Matrix, which is exactly what we came here to talk about."

"So, what exactly is the Matrix?"

He smiled a sneaky little grin, y'know, the kind the cop gives you right before he writes the ticket. "The Matrix is an arena; a digital battleground against the… – how did you put it? – 'Creepy men in suits.' We are the gladiators, Shotokan, and the Matrix is the Coliseum.

"You are wondering how all of this occurred, aren't you? Let me show you." He walked past me to reveal the two red leather chairs from our previous encounter and a Bose television set displaying a set of bunny-ear antennae. He then began a tale so fantastic that I was forced to believe him. He told me how the world was run by machines; that humans torched the sky into an infinite sea of black and grey to destroy the machines; how the… robots – 'Sentinels,' he called 'em – used humans as power sources instead of the sun. He was mad, I thought, until I recalled my bathtub incident, which made me think I was mad instead.