Note: This is my log of a small player event that my current faction partisipated in. (La Costra desolved and not that much happened between the last chapter then now)
The Devils Advocates Strike: Anubis' gift
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This is the truth. This is the truth of science, of the world, and of the actions of man, exile and machine. I am of a rare breed. During my childhood, for one brief moment I self sustained. I was awake, no red pill used. In turn I returned to the dream world changed. I had no idea of my value until now. Now I understand why when I made the mistake of betraying my master the Merovingian that he didn't have me beaten or killed. Instead, the tattoos that now adorn my body are a binding program to him. But that is another story that will be told later, now is the account of one of the gifts that I was given, amplified by my tattoos and link to my master. You see, the one that was known as Neo was not all the unique. Yes he had all those abilities, but for those of us that were able to self sustain, an error was written that gave us one of those abilities. Mine was the ability to alter code, within limits of course. I could only alter the code of an RSI when it tried to jackout of the system, and of course they have to be semi "willing" for me to use the ability. But that in it's self is a powerful tool. This is the account of when I used my ability on the one known as Delinquent…
I was part of the team that had delivered the message about Delinquents situation. I knew my master was watching threw my eyes and heard what was said and spoken with my ears. I enjoyed watching them squirm and make there idol threats until the surrendered to the truth. The cause was that Delinquent's life hung in the balance and the effect was that they had no choice but to do as we commanded. After the delivery I escorted my team to a hard line and watched them leave. I was content with just going back to the sphinx and listen in on the reports, my job done.
But my master had other plans; he wanted to see if I was worth the effort. A quick call and I was standing outside of the building that the prisoner was being held at. It was a local hideout for the exiles that didn't care for even my master. Most of them were no match for me and remained out of my way, in return I spared them, taking note to return later to, reeducate them about my master the Merovingian.
"The queen of lies herself!" someone shouted as I entered the final stretch of the hideout. 'Ah, must be the prisoner.' I thought, or was it my master's thoughts? It didn't matter much anymore whose thoughts they were; we both wanted the same, to see if I was worth it.
Walking over I opened the swinging doors and took my place among my faction, one of my masters most loyal followers, The Devils Advocates.
"Stand up maggot." Return commanded, obviously the insult I heard down the hallway was aimed at the Lady.
"I've altered the programming in this room, he's stuck to the floor." Rhaokoth said before flipping a switch. "Now he can stand, only stand."
Standing up, Delinquent looked defiantly into Lady Return's eyes. For a moment, they just stared before she slapped him, hard, across the face. "pregnant dog!" Delinquent said in recoil.
"Get back down. Rhao, did you have to make him take off his shirt?" Return asked.
"I thought it fitting... besides I needed to inject him and I didn't want to touch his delicate arms…" Rhaokoth replied, a grin that only the slightly unstable could have.
I walked around him a few times, eyes always on him, he was sitting down again, the alteration that Rhaokoth had made to the room back in place. "so, this is Delinquent, pitty. I would have liked to have done battle." I commented, he wasn't an impressive specimen though he would suit my needs.
"You have me here, ask your damned questions! Not that you will have any answers from me…" Delinquent said defiantly. Oh we would get our answers, but not now. I continued to circle him like a shark sizing up its next meal.
"Your death will be enough for us." Return replied to the prisoners claim.
"Tell me, do you care for the one that was taken back to zion the other day?" I asked, still circling him. I had gotten his attention but it seemed that he didn't care enough to answer. "No?"
"The killcode she carries is more valuable, but what does that have to do with anything?" Delinquent sneered. This must have been what Dracula in Stokers fable felt when a mortal tried to attack something what they didn't comprehend or knew the danger of. I'm sure in time, when word of my gifts become known, that I will be feared for my abilities, maybe even hunted.
"Ah, so her life is worthless then?" I asked in place of an answer to his question if it had anything to do with this.
"No, just not worth as much…" Delinquent said.
"Zionists... so easy to stab one another in the back. And to think, we're the "treacherous" ones." Return commented. It was true, I had seen so much backstabbing by the Zion factions that it was no surprise that there organization was like a shattered mirror, so many factions with there own agenda. Why cant they just serve one master like us?
"Ah, so she is easy to replace?" I asked him
"But she is worth less than the ability to kill at will." Spindrift, my captain commented.
"What I know will destroy you faster than any code you could pry from her." Delinquent proclaimed.
"You value destruction more than a human life." Spindrift responded
"More than 1 million human lives." Return added.
"What do you expect, I am a trained killer." The prisoner responded to the accusing of being inhuman. There was laughter from all around from my fellow Advocates. A trained killer he may be, but here in the matrix only those with the ability to remove the emergency jack out procedures are the true trained killers.
"You are a coward is what I think, you should thank us. We're the only ones keeping the human race alive." Return responded finally to Delinquent. At this point I took a seat directly in front of him. I had his attention; the opening had been drawn now on the wall of lies that Zion had built around his mind. Lies that blocked the truth from being easily told. As I sat he flashed Return an evil glare to what she had said. It didn't matter at the moment, the wall of lies was still strong in him.
"So, her life is more valuable, over some programs that you want to kill? You want the power to kill the exiles? Last I checked they did not make war on you."
"The matrix should be destroyed. . ." he stammered. The wall was starting to flake, it didn't hold as much luster as it once did.
"And the cost? A young girls life?" I asked.
"With it will go the human race." My captain added.
"We all die, it only matters how one lives." Delinquent said. That was a truth, but it could be made to point in any direction once it was applied to the conversation.
"So, you will kill The Blue?" The Blue, it was what I referred to those that were still in their pods. To me, they were innocent, they were children, and they had no idea about the real world only a few feet away from their real bodies.
"Is this an interrogation or a recruitment campaign?" Delinquent spat. He was smart, I couldn't use innocence anymore, I had to change tactics to get that door to open, but I needed to make the change carefully, if I just changed the subject completely he would realize it and might resist completely.
"Are you willing to bathed your hands in the blood of millions? Of perhaps billions?" I asked, the ultimate question that even a cold-blooded killer would have to think about. In the past, men have bathed their hands in hundreds; maybe thousands of people's hands and history took little note of them. But no one wants to be remembered by history as one that took countless of lives.
"What tricks are you up to, Anubis?" he asked. He was looking at me directly now, he didn't understand why an exile would care for something like life. A tyro typical thought among the Zionists.
I chuckled, "Nothing, just asking you if you are willing to kill the innocent… millions just so a few thousand can "live"."
As if on cue my faction added there own little questions to mine.
"In a blasted world…"
"In a hole…"
"A world you don't even know you can hope to save…"
"Look, I can tell you're intelligent, unlike most of Zion. Surely you must realize the ancestors world is long gone. Six hundred years is a long time wouldn't you agree?" I said to him.
"As any true Zionist would answer, you wish I would say yes, don't you. And if I said something else?" pain was in his voice now; the virus that was infected on him was taking hold more and more.
"The ancestors are not gone, I have seen the proof, I have touched their soil." His mind was grasping now. Trying to figure out where I was leading him.
"Tell me, have you been to the redwood forest in the matrix? When you were a blue?" I asked. Good, he didn't notice the change in subject.
"No. .." he admitted.
"Oh there a beauty. The first time I saw them it took my breath away. How about you guys?" I asked my fellow Advocates.
"Never been there."
"Never had the opportunity, unfortunately…"
"Nope…"
"I'm not a tree hugger." Return said. That got a few chuckles from the faction.
"Remind me to take you one time Return. Anyway…"
"You hug trees of the fleshy variety to get your way, witch!" Delinquent shouted.
"Hey, it pays. In both fun and in information." Return replied, she would never let someone get the better of her.
I ignored the interruption and continued on. "Have you seen any trees in the real?"
"No, I have not. I have only seen fossils." He admitted. Pain in his voice hinted again that the virus was working more and more.
"You understand that the tree is critical to humanity. It exchanges the air and removes the toxins in the air and water." I said, recounting the science text that I learned when I was still but a child. If only my professors could see what the real world was like now, they would have a heart attack…
"Until SOMEONE killed them all… Project Dark Storm..." Return added, losing herself in the memories of the archives she dove into not that long ago. It was time to start to hit him with question after question.
"What about a whale? Hell, what about a pup, seen any in the real?"
"I have seen a bird, a single hawk souring high over what was once Mexico." He answered.
"Yes, a few animals have survived after all this time... but what was lost can never be returned in the real. Did you ever have a dog as a blue? or a cat?" I asked him.
"So you kidnap me, drug me, inject a deadly virus into my body, all so you can debate if life can survive on the planet once more? You are dumber than I thought." Delinquent proclaimed. 'You have no idea what is in store for you…' I thought
I chuckled at what he said but continued on. "you know, my mother took in stray dogs…"
"I bet you were one." He jabbed. That was foolish of him.
"Actually in a way I was, orphaned."
"Crap." Return said. Everyone turned to see what had caught her attention. "My watch stopped. I think it needs a new battery." Return answered their gaze slyly. Delinquent was starting to look nervously around, how much time had actually passed?
"Anyway, I haven't seen a single dog or cat in the real, have you guys?" I asked. A few comical answers ensued. Plenty of rocks, lots of rats, and more rocks were some of the responses
"Only you…" he was glairing at me now. He really didn't have any idea.
"My point is, and I believe your fallen hero said it best. What is real? How do you define real? Is it real because they said it was?" I asked him. They were valid questions. It wasn't a surprise when he abruptly changed the subject. He very beliefs were being questioned and he was forced to sit there and listen.
"Home IS where the heart is." Delinquent said uncaringly. Okay, he wants to change the subject again, let's us what he gives me. What better then to take what they give you and use it against them.
"Indeed, The Matrix used to be your home, and its home to billions others… exiles and humans alike." I replied to his statement.
"All of the lives you would destroy…" Rhaokoth who had been silently observing his creation at work added.
"Have you walked past the schools here? Looked at the children?" His response was exhaling deeply from the pain that the virus was now inflicting to his mind and soon his body in the real world.
"Yes, the children. To think, some day, those pretty girls will grow up to be beautiful women." Return said. I didn't want to ponder on what she meant by that.
"Oh so soon now... I can see your RSI starting to dwindle Delinquent. Is it fun for you?" Rhaokoth. I admit, Rhaokoth does sometimes enjoy his work just a bit too much. I wont argue with the results though.
Delinquent glared at him for the taunt. "Bite me!" he shouted. The result he got was blood flinging from his mouth as he spat the words. The virus was now taking more affect in the visual aspect of the RSI shell.
"In a way, all the blue are children… tell me, would you kill a child in cold blood?" I asked him.
"I already have, what would stop me from doing it again?" he responded, daring me to lose my cool and hit him.
"So you have killed some children. Will you increase that to a few billion? lord knows that's how many are in the field." I asked. Bringing up the morality card again in a different form.
"I will fight until my last breath, I promise you that." Delinquent responded in a defiant tone. His eyes showing the virus was working on his mind more and more, it looked like he wanted sleep.
"Your last breath will come quicker than you think " Spindrift replied in a threatening tone.
"I know you all had a hand in Morpheus' death. I know that you all tried to stop the destruction of the matrix by aiding the assassin. You seem to be concerned over life. If we let loose the code bomb then we can reset the matrix, we can return to our past." He seemed to be rambling now.
"We could... would you like the pain to relieve just a bit?" I asked him, already knowing the answer to the question.
He gulped, seeming to fight with himself not to answer the question. In the end his body won out. "Yes…"
I looked over to the mad doctor. "Rhao, could you give him just a bit of morphine?"
"Heh... I sure can." Rhaokoth replied as he prepared a needle.
I turned back to Delinquent, a slight smile on my face. We had won in this little war. "Just a little bit."
