Ch. 3 The "Interrogation"
My fear of this man was now matched only by my loathing of him. He was one of the most persistent of all the rebels, believing that it was his duty to find "the One" to save humanity. Which would not have been a problem if his intelligence were that of the anomaly he did eventually produce. And now he had the audacity to refer to me in the familiar, his voice calm and even. I would not stand for his impudence. Or lay helplessly on my side as was the case. How did he know my name, anyway? It's not like we had a grand round of introductions the last time we had met. I wanted to kill him so badly. I'm sure I would feel so much better if I could just kill this one man.
I did not comply, at least not at first. I did not want to admit to the reality of the situation, I did not want to obey him, but I also knew I did not know enough about my surroundings to formulate a means of defense. So I decided I would just make him wait awhile. I could handle being kicked a few more times. Besides, he did not know that I heard him.
"Charlie, stop pretending. I know you're awake. You're breathing again."
Damn it! He was right of course. My breathing was slow and shallow, but anyone watching closely enough could tell. It was an involuntary response to simulate human behavior and I could not simply turn it off. I cursed him again for his intelligence.
I could have continued the charade, make him look like a fool, but the resistance followed Morpheus as a saint and would dismiss my inaction as stubbornness, not unconsciousness. I could also tell him where to go, but it really wouldn't have accomplished anything and I really needed to know what was going on around me. I gritted my teeth and opened my eyes, making sure my face reflected the most vacant of expressions.
The room was quite dark, with only a little light coming from what I assumed was a shaded window just out of sight. Barely a foot from my face was Morpheus, crouched down to look at me, with a triumphant smile. A few feet away was a woman I recognized as the rebel Niobe. I had chased her a number of times as well, but not to the point of tedium as it had been with Morpheus. I heard shifting feet behind me, but could see no one and nothing else. The price of my compliance was higher than the yield. I still did not know how to escape, much less killing Morpheus in the process. It occurred to me that if he should get any closer to my face, I would bite him out of spite. For almost a full minute, we stayed there, no one moved and no one spoke. Finally Morpheus broke the silence.
"Welcome, Charlie. I apologize for the… inconvenience, but you were uncooperative."
I said nothing. What was I supposed to do, ask him to make up for it now by untying me? Oh, and did he have any Aspirin because I really felt like shit? So I continued to stare blankly at him. It didn't faze him in the least.
"You probably want to know why we brought you here. The truth is that I'm not entirely sure. But I do know that we can help each other out. As it turns out you are part of the great prophesy. We're still mulling over the details. The problem, Charlie, is that many things have changed over the past six months. "
Oh, great, he was going to start gloating. I still had the option of telling him where to go and where he could stick that damn shovel.
"But much remains the same," he continued.
I wasn't really certain what he meant by this. Please, don't let him go off on one of those philosophizing sprees he's famous for, I thought. I had never been subject to them, but they were rated quite poorly. Get to the point already! But apparently Morpheus and his associates enjoyed seeing me in such a vulnerable state as he remained on the meandering trail that would cross over itself several times before coming to an end.
"That is why we are here." That is not a reason! Vengeance is a reason. Curiosity is a reason. Hell, boredom is a reason. But that is not a reason! They could not pummel me and tie me up just to tell me that some things change and some stay the same! If this was a new revelation to him, then I had clearly misjudged him. Fortunately, although I would not know so then, that was not all.
"The world has not changed as it was intended to change, as it was agreed it would change. It would seem you are not willing to relinquish as much as you promised."
I had an idea to what he was referring since I had never promised to give the man anything, not even a quick death. What did this have to do with me? I no longer had anything to do with the Mainframe and I never had any say in its decisions. I wanted to ask, but my shrunken, deformed, practically nonexistent pride would not allow me.
"We are here because we believe you may be able to help us." Let us just step back for a moment and analyze all that is wrong with the above statement. First of all, I have no power, none at all. That was the bit I was having so much trouble coping with. Secondly, if I did have any, I would not squander it on the rebels. And I think that presumption was what hurt me the most. Finally, judging from the shuffling behind me, the "we" part was not entirely accurate.
I waited for him to continue, but he did not. He was expecting something from me, an indication that I had heard and understood him perhaps? I kept up my staring contest. After roughly half a minute, he stood and looked around as though he expected something to happen.
But nothing was happening. And I was still bound and quite uncomfortable. How long was I willing to lie there and indulge my obstinacy? It was not logical. A forward progression required a catalyst of some fashion and so I ignored the part of myself that was willing to spend eternity on that floor if it meant pissing off Morpheus. I didn't really like that part of myself anyway. Too human.
"And what, pray tell, do you think I could or would do for you?" My voice was smooth and even despite my malicious intent.
At this Morpheus smiled and Niobe next to him jumped as though she too had expected a prolonged dormancy. There was silence.
"I do not yet know."
For the first time since I had opened my eyes, I blinked. What?! He was just trying to screw with me! That bastard! It's low to kidnap someone, but without knowledge of how that person might be used to your advantage, that's cruel and idiotic. Oh, I was gonna kill him. I would chew through the duct tape if I had to. Might be interesting actually since I had never tasted duct tape before. Given enough time I might could even stretch my way out. That part did not matter, the corpse was the integral component. I thought I might strangle him as I thought he might find it rather amusing to die from lack of imaginary air.
With that he turned around and left with Niobe following close behind. I heard a couple more sets of feet leave with them and the three that had been moving most anxiously before were now still as the door closed with a creak.