Chapter 22

It was a mild afternoon, the sky a pale wash over an artist's canvas, watercolors layered expertly to blur the transition from pink to mauve to violet. The moon was already visible in the dusk, a nacreous sickle waiting for the imminent darkness, its power lying dormant until the magical cover of night.

She was equally patient, standing barefoot by the shore among wild Beach Peas and Panicled Asters, long black hair knotted in a four stranded braid around gilded ribbons and beads carved from ivory. She pulled a brown, suede leather cape around her bare shoulders, a rough but regal wrap ceremoniously decorated with black bear fur and white eagle's feathers. And in the breeze, two large earrings reminiscent of dream catchers knocked against the elegant curve of her neck, and tear shaped opals dangled in an arc from the base of each hoop. She could have been a native princess awaiting the return of her lover from a distant war, or the living image of an ancient tribal goddess. But this woman was never what she appeared. She was always shrouded in an unknowable blanket of majesty, a flawlessly maintained pretence which served her well in the Matrix. Still, he persisted.

"Synergy."

She didn't turn to face him when he called her name, having sensed his presence for some time. She was never surprised to see him. "It isn't safe for us to meet like this anymore."

"Why not?"

"Why do you ask questions to which you already know the answers? You waste our time together."

"Because of Smith."

She nodded, sighing. "I cherish your company, dear friend. Sometimes, it feels as if I could stay here with you forever... sometimes, I can almost fool myself into thinking it's real… not that I can imagine what that must be like. To be real."

"Oh, Syn..."

"No, please. Neo, you must know he will take whatever you give me. He already has, and it makes him all the more determined. It is inevitable."

"I'll kill him."

She glanced over her shoulder, her irides eerily white in the sunlight. "Oh, Neo. You don't understand."

No, it was she who did not understand. And how he longed to explain himself, to take her in his arms and call her his own. But the declaration of his paternal love caught in his throat. Even here, where they were alone, he could not form the words, for with this admission would come the story of her initial abandonment, and he could not bring himself to hurt her with the truth. His darling one, his poor lost child of love. What kind of life had she known?

The Merovingian's unwanted charge. She'd told him her story weeks ago, her head resting on his shoulder as they watched the sun set behind the poplar trees, and that night, Neo's heart broke with grief. But she told him not to cry for her, only tell her of the real world, of his escape from the fields, of Zion and his family. "Tell me about your daughter," she'd asked him once. "The analytic young woman with your eyes. I am especially curious about her." And so he spoke at length of Aurora. Indeed, though their encounters were few and their time brief (for here in the Matrix they both had other responsibilities), Neo did all he could to indulge her spirit with talk of happier things.

But he knew that today would offer no such opportunity for conversation. It had been twenty one days since Zion had discovered Genesis, and since then the machines had been relentless in their attacks on the Resistance, both inside and outside the Matrix. Synergy was getting tired; Neo could see it in her face, though she'd never admit her fatigue to him. Like her mother, she was too proud to confer weakness of any kind.

Neo joined her on the pebbled bank, taking her hand in his as he often did, adjusting her clothing to shield exposed skin from the wind which snagged tiny white peaks on the surface of the water. She let him touch her, though her posture remained stoic, her eyes scanning the horizon. She was a warrior looking on her battlefield, listening for the distant thumping of soldiers marching on soil, or the slicing of canoes through the river's calm.

"Do you hear anything? Can you sense them?" she asked.

He held his breath and stood in silence with her before replying, "No."

"Good." Synergy closed her eyes in a subtle gesture of relief. "Then we have a moment. Hold me."

Neo faltered, uncertain how to proceed. She was not aware of their familial connection, and though he yearned to touch her, to connect with what part of himself and Trinity he'd lost all those years ago, he was cautious not to lead her astray. It was a fine line, over which he stumbled, never knowing what she was thinking, what was going on behind those stunning, enigmatic eyes.

"Hold me, please. I don't care if he finds out anymore." Synergy rested her head against his chest and folded her arms between their two bodies, prompting him to embrace her entirely. Neo's tears fell on the crown of her head.

"I'll come for you. Just say the word and I will come for you," he promised her. "I'll find a way to get you out."

"Not yet. We have so much to do. This is just the beginning."

"They'll kill you," Neo replied, taking her chin in his hand and forcing her to look at him. "Synergy. They have already threatened Zion if I continue to help you. If my government knew how dangerous this really was… I cannot continue to lie for you."

"Zion! What of Zion, when I have laid the entire world at your feet! They will never breach the boundaries of Genesis. Listen." She took his hands, squeezing them in reassurance. "My armies are vast; we grow stronger every day. Don't fear for Zion. Don't fear for me. All will be well, my friend. Only stay the course."

Neo could not deny her. He touched her cheek with the same proud affection he reserved for Rorie, love outshining the dull twinge of doubt that persisted during his quieter moments. "You should go," he said. "You're exhausted."

She took his hand from her cheek and kissed the palm, folding his fingers into a fist as if to keep the token safe. "I'm fine."

"Don't go to him tonight, Synergy," Neo pleaded. "Don't let him in. His evil runs deeper than you could imagine."

Synergy could not meet his eyes as she smiled sadly to herself. "Oh, Neo," she said again. "You still don't understand. Smith and I…"

His phone rang abruptly, and Synergy sighed, as she often did when she heard that sound. He had to go. Neo answered his cellular and listened as Kirk told him the Neb was clear to recharge, and Trinity wanted to get underway as soon as possible. He told him to hack an exit through one of Synergy's secure lines, back at her headquarters, which she'd moved to Milan after being driven from Paris, London and Prague.

"You're off to the surface," she observed as he hung up. "I will have many fireflies there to meet you, Neo. They'll light your every step, I promise."

He smiled. "Okay. I appreciate it."

Neo had only begun to comprehend Synergy's intimate connection with the biomechanical creatures which co-inhabited the wilderness of Genesis. He'd asked her many times to explain it, but she claimed to have no understanding of the situation beyond the fact that they were 'connected,' and it was her purpose to care for them, and they for her.

"The rebels say that this new technology was created by an earlier version of The Source, in his divine wisdom to rebuild what was lost over six hundred years ago," she'd explained. "All I know is, my entire life, I've felt a presence, only realizing what it was as I grew older. Now I can feel them always. I give to them, and they give back. It is a… symbiosis of sorts. I suppose that's the point. That we're stronger together."

Perhaps this was an understatement. In fact, the same technology that was responsible for the existence of the forest dwellers was also integrated into the resistance sentinels, and into the power cells generating the boundaries of Genesis. Rorie had said in one of her letters that it was 'an new level of organic and mechanical co-evolution,' and she was not surprised to hear that a sentinel equipped with this type of energy converter could effectively defend against tens of similar AI's, engineered with a lesser technology. 'I think it is a matter of Darwinian natural selection at this point,' she'd written to him. 'It's like a new type of machine has laid claim to the planet, and the old ones are no match for them. I can't say that we'd be any match for them, either. It is very fortunate that they appear to be on our side.'

Neo's heart tightened. He hadn't seen Rorie in three weeks. The Neb had been out that long. As if reading his thoughts, Synergy smiled at him, pulling a key from her pocket to open an invisible door in the programming. "You are thinking of your daughter, yes? The ever-studious Aurora, who has been so curious about my little insects… she will be arriving tonight as well, I believe."

He nodded thoughtfully. "Her birthday's next week. Eighteen years old. She'll celebrate on the surface."

They entered into a stone fortress, and Synergy nodded at a few of her guards, all exiles who had joined her cause. Neo recognized a few, namely Jones and Brown, who were now rogue agents, like Smith. Others were former apprentices to the Merovingian, who had smelled blood in the water and decided to change allegiance. They were certainly wise to do so, Neo considered, given what they had planned.

"Are you sure he will be there?" Neo asked her as they stepped into the elevator. "I don't want any mistakes when we finally seize the Train Station."

She grinned. "Oh, I'm certain. Mother never misses an opening night."

"Synergy, don't ever call her that again."

She looked at him thoughtfully. "I'm sorry. It is a habit of mine. Sometimes, I find it difficult to accept that I am no longer her child. That I never was. She was kind to me, Neo. If it hadn't been for her…"

"She abandoned you. I will not forgive her for that. They were supposed to take care of you, Synergy."

She fell silent until the elevator doors chimed open to her large glass foyer, where Smith was waiting stoically for her return.

"Synergy," he purred, a disgusting smile creeping across his face. It took all of Neo's self-control not to kill him. But the last time he'd tried, Synergy had inexplicably thrown herself between them, defending the program with such a passion that made Neo question her sanity. What's more, Smith had displayed a similar commitment to ensuring her well-being, shadowing her attentively, gun always at the ready. Not that he needed one anymore. Smith had grown very powerful, acquiring many of Synergy's remarkable skills as the weeks rolled by. It was perhaps the only thing that kept Neo from ripping him apart when Synergy's back was turned… that when he wasn't in the Matrix, he could trust that Smith would protect her with his existence, which had become rather formidable.

"Has the operator called?" Synergy asked the program, kissing him on both cheeks and pausing briefly to straighten his designer tie (a gift from her, no doubt).

"Yes. A few moments ago. I patched it though to your office."

Synergy thanked him, and Neo followed her into the suite, where a telephone was ringing. After hugging him warmly, she picked up the receiver, but held her palm over it as she whispered, "Regarding Aurora. I know you worry for her, Neo. It's only natural, the instinct to defend one's child. So I want you to know that I will keep a watchful eye on her, once she arrives in Genesis. As a gift to you, she will be kept close to me, always."

She then handed him the phone, which Neo accepted with an uneasy feeling in his stomach. How strange that suddenly, her faint European accent reminded him of Persephone, and her melodic tone reminded him of Smith. But he banished the comparison as soon as it entered his mind.

Instead, Neo focused on the object of their next mission, the Merovingian himself, who undoubtedly held the key to everything. If anyone could verify the truth of Synergy's identity, it was him. And once Neo knew for sure that Synergy was his, and had extracted enough information to be able to free her, he could tell Trinity everything. It was a moment that he both longed for and feared at the same time. The day he could tell his wife with certainty that he'd found their daughter, and they were going to bring her home finally, reclaiming what had been taken from them so unjustly all those years ago.

Together, Neo thought hopefully, he and Trinity could end this war. They'd done it once before, against nearly impossible odds. And if there was one thing he knew, it was that a love like theirs could do it again. And this time, they'd be carried by more than just a love for each other, but something much more powerful, and much more fundamental. That is, by parental love for a child. This, above all, would be their salvation.

Synergy replaced the receiver on the phone and leaned back against the table, sighing sadly, suddenly feeling horribly alone. It gave her such pain to see him go.

"Nice outfit, Pocahontas," Smith commented, standing in the doorframe. She glared at him, and he raised an eyebrow. "It's a bitch when they have to go home to their wives and children, isn't it?"

"It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to come home to you."

He chuckled. "You don't mean that. You're just despondent. Come on, human. I'll make you a drink. Drown your sorrows! That's what humans do, and I know how much you love to think of yourself as one of them, so..."

"I don't want a drink."

"You always want a drink. It's alright. Mr. Anderson drives me to drink, too. Always has. Insufferable man. I'll make it a double."

She watched as he mixed her a green martini, or as Smith called it, a 'Synergini.' It tasted of sour grapes, which was his idea of a joke at her expense, and he handed it to her with a sly grin. "Now buck up. I need you in a good mood for tomorrow night. Frown lines don't become you."

"Hmm." She sipped the ice-cold gin. "Did everyone RSVP?"

"Everyone who will be alive to attend." He slid his sunglasses on. "The defectors will be taken care of. Tonight. That's where I'm going."

"Long list?"

"No. Not this time. People love your parties. I shouldn't be long." Smith slid his arm around her and stole a kiss before she could stop him. "And get out of that ridiculous costume," he added, looking her over with distaste.

"Costume! This pelt is a Jean Paul Gaultier original!"

"As if Mr. Anderson even knows who that is. You'd do better to approach him in the Zionist rags you'll be wearing soon enough." He smiled and tossed his jacket over his shoulder. "I'm trying to picture it. You, dressed as a slave, no makeup, no manicure, no Tahitian vanilla to put in your bath water. At least your suffering will be brief. Within a day, you'll die of boredom without me. You'll see."

Synergy narrowed her eyes over the rim of the glass and knocked back the rest of her Synergini as Smith walked out the door. Off to kill a few of her enemies. Good. At least it would give her a few hours of peace. She mixed herself another of the same drink, threw her clothes into the garbage and ran herself a warm bath, foregoing the vanilla this time. Stupid program. If anyone was insufferable, it was him. Driving her crazy with horror stories of no manicures and threadbare clothing. Give her a few weeks with that city! They'll be manicurists, pedicurists, masseuses and yoga instructors. And she'd have a closet full of gowns. Neo would see to it.

Synergy lowered herself into the tepid water but almost instantly rose to get her Tahitian oils, cursing the program's name as she did it. She might as well enjoy them while she had the chance. Back in the bath, she lit a few candles, sprinkled rose petals over the surface, and leaned her head back onto her inflatable aqua pillow (a gift from Smith, though she didn't need it...but it was already suctioned onto the porcelain so she might as well use the damned thing). She closed her eyes, and then there was silence. Good.

A few minutes later and Synergy was sitting up, rapping her fingernails on the edge of the tub, thoroughly unsatisfied. She had been taking Neo to the mountains for weeks now. And still nothing. A warm hug goodbye, the occasional kiss on the forehead. What was he for goodness sakes, her father? She'd even dressed in that ludicrous outfit (Smith was right; the thing was ghastly. She'd go back to the trash and burn it later).

She'd told him she needed a friend. She'd told him she needed someone to talk to besides Smith, someone human. She'd begged him to slip away with her for a moment, just for a moment, into the surreal beauty of the French alps, where she'd grown up. To hear her story, to understand her reasons for doing what she does, for fighting as hard as she does. And moments had turned to minutes turned to hours; their words flowed like water, their minds connected perfectly in phase. He understood her. He loved her. She could tell.

Synergy frowned. And yet still Neo rejected her. He denied her everything the program gave in abundance without asking a thing in return. And the more Neo continued to frustrate, the more Smith persisted in his attempts to romance her. Not that she was complaining. Diamond earrings left on her pillow. Breakfast in bed. And he was very good at predicting the machines' strategies for erasing her from existence. In fact, she hardly worried about it anymore. Sometimes, Smith almost managed to make the struggle bearable.

She scoffed and added some more hot water to the bath. Almost being the operative word. She couldn't wait to get out of here. But perhaps the party tomorrow night would improve her mood. The Exiles were finally coming around to see her side of things, and with the support of the program community, victory was all but certain on the outside. It was only a matter of time. She would be free, and with Smith's help, she'd make the machines would pay for what they'd done to her, all those years ago.

First it would be the Merovingian. She smiled wickedly. Then every other machine on the planet.