Title: The Matrix: Resurrection
Author: AntipodeanOpaleye
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Spoilers/Post Revolutions The machines still owe Neo his peace; peace on levels he didn't intend, couldn't imagine, and had never brought himself to hope for.
Disclaimer: Everything you recognize from any other source either doesn't belong to me or is a purely coincidental occurrence. Anything that you've never seen probably belongs to me. I write for enjoyment and no copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: So we're going to make this as brief as we can. Quick and painless.
I took a rather extended hiatus from this fic because I wasn't exactly sure where it was going. I had the immediate future outlined roughly, but from there, I was uncertain. And I didn't want to just write without a destination to get to – this fandom's far too complex for that to have worked out. So it took almost a year for this to go anywhere. Go figure.
Yet last night, I felt like crap, so I took to the couch and popped in my original Matrix DVD. And it all fell into place. I've got direction now, folks – and I'm pretty darn sure I know where this is headed. In my mind anyway. And I think I like where this is headed, which is more than I could say for where I planned to take it before.
So, I hope that within the next 2-3 months, this journey will come to its conclusion. Because it has one, now. And that's always a plus.
A big thanks to the reviewers:
Tiya: Thanks, and here's your rather delayed update.
LiMiYa: I was hoping the Architect would be something of a surprise. Not to mentions he's pretty much the focus of this chapter…
Seara Bane Loyal Crew Member of the Emerald Rose: Glad that you enjoyed this… but being as you don't like the Architect, you probably won't be so pleased with this chapter…
Lyidia: Thank you kindly :D
Mystic Kyra: Indeed, it was Smith with Persephone. And thanks for the Community Add :D
Brooke: I did leave it so long… sorry. I feel bad now… but thanks for the review.
Cruel Kindness: More interesting is good, so I'm glad that you think so. Cliffhangers… I can't guarantee those will stop, though ;)
My apologies if this chapter seems to be a lot of information in a small space, and if in such, it got confusing along the way. I suppose I just figured that was sort of the Architect's MO. Heavy on the narrative… yet I think it's accurate – the confrontation in Reloaded was similar. But anyway - we're finally getting somewhere now, I think. So please enjoy :D
-AO
Chapter Eight
"It is undeniably ironic that our reintroduction takes place in such circumstances," the Architect's facial expression was stoic, but his tone was biting, caustic – obviously evaluating Neo and Trinity as they stood watching him – Trinity with increasing confusion and Neo with ever-growing irritation, "but it seems that, once again, I have been blinded by numbers and facts. I plan to remedy that. Fate shall not cripple my prowess again. This is where you come in."
Trinity remained still, but Neo took a step forward. "I don't understand. Why would I help you?"
The Architect smirked, his mouth curved with an air of superiority. "Because, once again, you are irrevocably human. And your emotions, your connections, the impulses and inclinations you have developed over time have conditioned you, and you have, as a consequence, developed a crippling sense of morality. You will assist me, Neo, because your other choice would be to allow a preponderance of the human race die instead."
Neo was silent, for the moment ignoring the pressing gaze that was being focused upon him from where Trinity stood. The older man's mouth quirked even more pronouncedly upward as he continued, "You may have chosen that particular course of action once before, Neo, but circumstances have undeniably changed from that point to this. I highly doubt your choice will be unaltered." Met with continued and unbroken silence, the Architect sighed a pressed forward, leaning inward towards his audience and steepling his hands before him.
"As you are now aware, the appearance of the so-called "One" is a systemic anomaly in the coding structure of the Matrix. Yet basic anomalies within the program are much more common. You've encountered a number of the less threatening ones – the program you refer to as the Oracle retained some of them herself – she claimed it was to safeguard them, to keep them from coming to or causing any harm. It is often the case that such insignificant aberrations do not require consequential effort or contemplation to deal with– their effect on the Matrix as a whole is slight at best, and the equation remains balanced as a totality. Yet when too many small irregularities occur in a relatively limited span of time, it recurrently results in the coming of "The One," an anomaly so crucial that it bears an contraposition to outweigh its consequence."
Trinity blinked as she thought to voice her answer, while Neo immediately responded: "Smith."
"So it has occurred in your case. Yet in the past, we have never seen so dangerous a specimen to combat the imbalance brought about by the resurrection of The One. Inherently, with each new birth of an anomaly great enough to consider as such, the force called forth naturally has increased in strength to equal that of its opponent. Each new anomaly heralds a new version of the Matrix interface, and thus with each new, more advanced release, we had hoped to eliminate the possibility of the anomaly. Unfortunately, we did not achieve this goal, and instead only served to create a greater and far more advanced anomaly with each subsequent version."
"This particular instance is most unprecedented. With each anomaly, the people of Zion are annihilated, the city destroyed and rebuilt for the purpose of coexistence. We have always required a small number of unconnected sentient beings to serve as a contingency energy plan, should our own stores become unexpectedly depleted due to some of the… less- foreseeable variables in the neural interface. It has, however, been the judgement of the One that has created a human store of potential energy – an annoyance, but nothing more, which is annihilated at given junctures only to, historically, be repopulated – slowly but predictably. Mass murder, genocide, epidemics – they are each intrinsic to your world, and we cannot abolish their presence: a back-up store of energy to draw from in times of shortage was never a question – it would be an inferior means of existence, but it would be viable. Yet with each renaissance, each replenishing of these clusters of unharvested energy, the rebirth of Zion takes place in exchange for the simultaneous destruction of The One and its antithetical counterpart. This was not the case, as you are aware, at this particular juncture."
The Architect paused, massaging the bridge of his nose momentarily before resuming his explanation, albeit with far more annoyance and frustration than he had previously exhibited. "I have exercised every method at my disposal to explain away this occurrence, and yet a logical explanation escapes me. To reenter the prime code embedded within the both the One and his opposition is essential to the continual functionality of the Matrix. However, I can detect no immediate instability within the program. I believe this to be only temporary, and thus I can deduce that the only reasonable clarification is that the pair of you continues to exist to halt the continuation of this increasingly vicious cycle. The program Smith was a source of opposition that we did not expect, and if the pattern is allowed to continue, we may well be unable to halt its propagation with the next coming of The One. You've proven yourself capable of keeping this program at bay, but not of single-handedly destroying him. Yet at this pass, I am confident that you will succeed."
Neo shook his head in disbelief. "I thought Smith had been destroyed already. He couldn't have survived…"
"He was not human. Survival for him was not a matter of life and death, but of endurance. If he could retain some semblance of himself, he would endure."
Trinity picked up on the odd use of tense, and commented upon it. "You said he was not human. What do you mean by that?"
"He was not. He is now."
"How is that possible?" Neo asked, dumbfounded.
"His physical form existed as any software does. He now has a body – a likeness to his image within the Matrix. Yet unlike those minds connected to the program, his flesh resides within the system itself. Should you see him, touch him, within the Matrix, he will be the only remnant that is not a projection. He cannot leave it, he cannot escape it. It is essentially his prison – a nightmare he shall suffer within the dream of mankind. It is he who holds the key. You must locate him. You must discover what he knows."
Neo attempted to absorb these revelations. "What he knows?"
"The program Smith, while connected to the Agent system, was controlled. He was provided with coded information that allowed him to carry out his duties, and yet his higher consciousness was barred form making… connections in regards to that information. When he was released from his constraints as an Agent of the system, he was able to deduce things, make inferences about certain bits of data, which no machine was ever meant to make. It is in this way that he was able to amass the amount of power and ability that he did – he manipulated the system to his own advantage. Bound by the interface itself, his maneuverability is severely limited, yet his knowledge remains. Somehow, you have retained the specialties linked to the talents of the One throughout this affair. You must find Smith, and use the information he alone can provide to reestablish order in the Matrix, and terminate the cycle."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"As direly shattering as it is to admit, you were correct the first time, Neo. The essential dilemma is choice. And at the present, I am currently bound to certain less-than-favorable agreements with the intuitive program Oracle, thus initiating my interaction here with you. The path chosen by the One – to sacrifice Zion and herald the end of the human race, or to continue humanity's existence, had, before you, been a given. The attachment of one human being to the rest of their species was undeniable – a fact that need only be exploited. Yet your attachment was unique," he glanced briefly at Trinity before continuing, "and your affiliation with humanity as a whole was only superceded by your affection for her. The choice you eventually made was the same as those before you – to save those who were most intimately connected to you, and yet that definition differed in your case. You saved her, saved Zion, and saved humanity. The choice you made should have, by all accounts, rendered these outcomes impossible. I want to know why. As you are the only one who has the means to derive that explanation, there are certain… concessions I am willing to make in exchange for the satiation of my own curiosity. But the stakes, it appears, lie even more elevated. As I stated, should the emergence of the anomaly be allowed to continue, the exchange between the positive and negative aspects of the abnormality could become cataclysmic. Yet that alone is not all. Should the emergence occur, and the systemic antithesis of the One find what remains of the program Smith, it would be able to assimilate the knowledge of a previous opposition with its own, inherently more resilient consciousness. It is indisputable that, as a whole, we could not endure this, and the anomalous contrivance would succeed in infecting us all. We may have been able to survive, albeit primitively, without humans, but it is unlikely we would survive for long both without humanity and under the dominion of a rouge program."
From here, the Architect sounded almost reluctant. "Thus we reach a crossroads. Once again, we are willing to barter, as it is our only alternative. You are something the likes of which we have never encountered, Neo – the likes of which I never intended when I wrote the programming for the Matrix. Yet here you are. And for the sake of our survival – yours, mine, and both our species – we are willing to allow certain… compromises to humanity, in exchange for your cooperation."
"Cooperation in what, exactly? Finding Smith? Destroying the anomaly?"
The white-haired man shifted slightly in his seat. "In saving us all."