You are the one, Neo ~ Morpheus

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   Neo sat on the ledge of the skyscraper rooftop looking down at the masses below as they hurried about with their false sense of reality. These were the people he was supposed to save. Wake them from their comfy "dreams" to the dark, cold nightmare that was now the real world. What right did he have to jostle them from sleep with such a harsh slap? In just the last few weeks his life had just such a rude awakening. And now he was saddled with being a "savior."

   A bird flew near him and he half turned to watch it. The Matrix was so exacting in every detail. The complexity of it still hung outside his comprehension. Already he could "feel" the machines pulling at the fabric of the Matrix. Twisting it, knotting it. They had begun inserting a false history to color the populace's perception of him. He was made guilty of horrible crimes against humanity. The more he tried todemonstrate the falseness of their reality the harder the Matrix would spin their lies. He no longer walked freely in the streets; afraid he would be recognized and mobbed. An underground movement had sprung up as the inevitable swing of the propaganda pendulum. Those not believing the "facts" pushed by the Matrix secretly joining together to help and escape. This was not going to be easy and Neo wondered again if he had the right (not the Duty that Morpheus spoke of) to change it. He felt a change in the Matrix near him and realized that Trinity had "entered." He turned to face the rooftop door for Trinity's approach. A minute later the door opened and she came through.

   "I can't ever surprise you, can I?" she smiled.

   "No. It is like trying to enter a still pond without sending a ripple," he explained.  He smiled at her but she could still see the hard edge that his face now seemed to always have. 

   "I woke up this morning and you were already gone. Why didn't you wake me?"

   Neo wanted to tell her that sometimes he felt more at ease in the Matrix than in Reality. He could control what happened here. He could sense what happened here. Outside he was the same as everyone else. And giving up that awareness was a frightening thing when you had grown use to it; as he had in the last two weeks. But he knew she wouldn't (couldn't) understand. Instead he simply stood and held her. It was when he held her in the Matrix that he strengthened his resolve to free the people. Physical contact here was so shallow next to contact in the real world. His mind had to fight to "make her real." But even then he knew she was no closer to him than the next chair back on the ship.

   "I have been thinking..." he started but the helicopter that suddenly came over the edge of the roof cut him off.

   Neo had let his guard down for a second being distracted by Trinity. But in a fraction of a second he saw what he needed to see: Agents filling a helicopter, guns at the ready. Aiming, firing. Unfortunately Trinity was between him and the helicopter. This was not good.

   When Neo had become "aware" he could finally see the Matrix for what it was, a computer program run by lines of code. But to function within the program and then to change it required a lot of concentration. Neo felt it was similar to trying to lift a basket that you were standing in. An impossibility, it seemed, but so did the spoon bending. Existing and changing at the same time was still hard for him to do, especially when he was momentarily caught unawares. Now "bending' the Matrix was much easier. He did that now.

   Trinity wasn't quite sure what happened. Neo had been talking to her then she heard the helicopter behind her. In that moment she saw the trouble in Neo's eyes. Her honed reflexes had already kicked in as she reached for her gun and began to pivot. She had just an impression of Neo tensing and then...Something weird happened.

   She felt Neo's body relax and his grip on her tighten. She felt Neo pulling her in different directions. Almost like a dance and he was leading. She knew to trust him instinctively so she also relaxed. But the sensation was very odd. It felt like she was under water. Any movement met a resistance like the air was suddenly liquid. She heard loud roars that reminded her of gunfire but seemed drawn out...or slowed down? It was then that she saw and felt the first bullet go by. It was making a shrill whistle noise and was leaving a disturbance in the air in its wake.  Almost like it also was under water. And it was moving so slowly that she could actually see it! 

   It then dawned on her that she was, with Neo's help, moving at the impossible speed she had seen agents (and later Neo himself) move at. She began to turn her head as Neo dipped and spun her. She saw the helicopter blades still and bullets flying toward her like angry bees. She felt she could swat them out of the air but the resistance of the air slowed her down. She almost smiled as that thought crossed her mind; she was already moving faster than gunfire and she felt sluggish!? 

   Out of the corner of her eye she saw a slug tear through her jacket and graze across her forearm. She saw the flesh ripping open. It seemed so far away. Then in what felt like a second or two the pain hit her. It was incredibly intense and she stiffened. Suddenly she hit the ground and was rolling. The sounds from the guns were back to their quick reports and she realized that she was no longer moving faster than possible and Neo was not holding her. Her tensing must have broken the bond. A bullet kicked dust into her face as it dug a hole in the roof an inch from her head. She tried to roll further in an attempt to gain cover but every muscle in her body felt like it had been through an intense workout. She gritted her teeth, firmed her resolve, and managed to get behind a vent cover. But not before another bullet found it's way into the meat of her leg, the bone breaking with a sickening snap. 

  “Neo!” she cried out looking up for him, afraid of what she might see.

   Neo had taken a chance trying to dodge the bullets with Trinity in his arms. It was one thing to do it alone but trying to guide someone else along was something he had never tried. He had gotten very good at dodging during training exercises in the Construct. But this? Then he had seen Trinity get caught by a bullet and felt her tense. He had to throw her toward the vent cover lest he break one or more of her bones. But the few actual seconds he had been moving had given him the opportunity to focus. He heard Trinity call out but he forced himself to remain calm and focused. The other bullets stopped moving. Then the helicopter sputtered and dropped like a rock to the ground far below. He rushed to Trinity.

   “Are you OK?” he asked, concern in his voice.

   “Yes,” she replied, some disgust in hers. She was feeling useless and in the way. 

   “What’s wrong?” Sensing the tone in her voice.

   She changed the subject. “What happened to the ‘copter?”

   “I changed the gasoline to water. The Matrix took care of the rest.”

   He looked at her wounds. He focused and looked for the lines of code that made up Trinity’s leg. It was more difficult because they all came into the Matrix encrypted so that the Matrix could never change them if it could locate them. That was the one good thing about the Matrix that helped make their travels easier: it was just too huge for the AI to keep close tabs on every detail. Hence the agents were policing the code for it. But they took no chances. He finally found the leg and repaired it. He didn’t have time to do much more than mend the bone 
and stop the bleeding. He didn’t want to do more. A mistake could easily cause more damage. 

   “Let’s get back. Can you walk? Your muscles will still be stiff.”

   She answered by pulling out her cellphone and snapping it open.

   “Operator,” came Tank’s welcome voice.

   “We are out of here,” stated Trinity. Neo could still pick up an edge in her voice he couldn’t 
identify.

   “The line you came in on is still open. Use that one.”

   “Just give us a minute to get there. I’m...moving a little slow.” 

   She managed a smile at Neo. He smiled back and helped her to her feet. They headed for the door. 

   The transitions from the Matrix to real life were not as shocking to Neo as it used to be. But with each tug of the plug at the base of his skull he would feel a little more like a part of him was left behind. It scared him, as he felt less and less complete outside the Matrix. Even the construct was wanting. His limbs felt heavy and sluggish. His mind unsure of his environment. He never mentioned any of this to Morpheus or the others aboard the Nebuchadnezzar. Their faith in his abilities was too high and he dare not shake the foundation they had built all this time. A foundation that now rested on his shoulders. 

   “Sentinels!” came a cry from the bridge.

   Neo knew the drill all too well. They were slowly and systematically tightening their ability to pinpoint the ship's location with each hack into the Matrix. It was times like this that Neo truly felt fear. He had no influence on the real world. He couldn’t save them or himself for that matter. He was ordinary, powerless. If the Sentinels found the ship and they failed to fight them off they would all be killed and then what. He wouldn’t be able to snap back alive. The fate of all humanity would be sealed into slavery. He ran toward the bridge. He found his heart racing and his palms sweaty. His hand spun on the handrail and for a second he thought he would fall backwards. But Trinity was there, her hand steadying him. Trinity was always there. He felt calmer.

   At the bridge he took his position near the activation button for the EMP. Soon, as the lights winked out around the ship, the faint glow of the button was all that lit the interior of the ship. He strained to look out the view port as his eyes adjusted to the ever-present faint glow caused by the algae that lined the walls of the tunnels. Then the shapes took form. Dark and sinister. Cold and inhuman. They skimmed the surfaces of the tunnels ever searching for their prey. Neo again felt his pulse begin to thunder in his ears. He fought to swallow but his mouth was dry. He looked again at the faint radiance of the button for reassurance. He had a momentary start when he didn’t see it before realizing that Morpheus’ hand was over it. Did he sense that Morpheus was also tenser about the Sentinels? Then there was a metallic thud as one of the Sentinels bumped the side of the hull. Neo spun and had to stifle cry as he looked into one of its “eyes.” It scrapped against the hull and he felt himself holding his breath. A shadow passed in front of the ship as another circled near them. Then another. He clamped his eyes shut. The fear was welling up inside him. His body tensed for the sound of their inevitable attack. Slow, dragging seconds crawled by and then a hand was on his shoulder. It was Trinity.

   “Are you OK?” There was a concern in her voice.

   “Uh, yes. Sometimes those things just get to me.”

   He realized that the lights were on again and that everyone was looking at him. He was hunched in a tight ball, his arms encircling his legs. He relaxed but felt self-conscious. 

   “I’m OK. Must have had a bad dream about them recently.” He tried a convincing smile. He stood and headed down the ladder.

   “God, I’m hungry.”

   “How did you do that back there on the roof?” asked Trinity as they lay on his bunk.

   “What? The bullets, the helicopter?” 

   Neo immediately felt uncomfortable. Although he loved Trinity he didn’t like to discuss his “special” abilities. Morpheus used to ask him a lot but gave up after his vague answers. But she had a right to ask. He just wasn’t sure he could answer questions in a way anyone could understand.

   “I kind of understand some of that. I’m talking about my leg.” He shifted and lay on his back looking up at the overhead. “You haven’t done anything like that before.”

   Neo noticed that edge in her voice again. The same as on the roof that day. Was it some feeling of inadequacy? Inferiority? Or was it...fear?

   “I don’t know. I just...did it.”

   “I know you don’t like to talk about that, but it was strange.”

   Neo could definitely sense something in her voice. 

   “You were inside me...changing things.”

   “No, just fixing things.”

   Trinity sat up. She pulled the sheet around her. She suddenly felt cold. And alone.  “What else could you have done?”

   “What is wrong?” It was fear.

   “It is just...that...I don’t know.”

   Neo sat up beside her, his arm around her. “I wouldn’t do anything else. Why would I?”

   “Can you read my mind when we are in the Matrix?” The question was put forth with an intensity, almost accusingly.

   “No!” Neo felt confused. Why the fear? Why the lack of trust?

   “Have you tried?”

   Neo looked deep into her eyes. “No. Why would I? Why would I change anything about you?”

   She sat looking at him for a minute. For a brief second Neo thought she might cry. Then she kissed him deeply.“I’m sorry,” she said and held him tightly as they lay back on the bunk. 

   “Because you CAN,” she thought.

   Neo sat back in the chair. He felt the anticipation well from within him. With each trip into the Matrix he felt more excited and anxious. He likened it to a drug addiction. He looked forward to each new “hit.” It stemmed from his feelings of control. He wanted to be in the Matrix.

   He looked down at his left hand briefly. The bruising and swelling had been gradually receding. He remembered the day it happened vividly. He had asked Morpheus to spar with him on the ship. He had wanted to test his knowledge of fighting in real life. He was curious if any of his speed and agility crossed over from the Matrix. He still had the knowledge, experience. But how would his body respond to a real environment in a body that needed air and muscles that would tire. Morpheus did not accept at first. But after much insistence he gave in. Neo even now wondered if he had had ulterior motives.

   The ship was fairly confined so they did the best they could. They cleared equipment out of the aft storage room and had an area about the size of a boxing ring. 

   He sized up Morpheus and watched for his approach. Morpheus took a wide stance that suggested he was waiting for Neo to make the first move. “Are you sure this is what you want?” he asked.

   “Yes,” answered Neo. 

   Then he feigned a roundhouse kick to come closer to Morpheus. He was ready to bring Morpheus within easy striking distance with a follow up hand feint. But before he could slip in Morpheus dropped and did a perfect foot-sweep that laid Neo flat on his back with a thud and a whoosh of breath. Neo’s back stung against the hard metal floor. He had at least managed to roll slightly to decrease the impact and then he sprung back up to see Morpheus’ foot blurring toward him. He turned and parried the kick with his own kick and followed through with a heal strike to Morpheus’ back. The blow was stronger than Neo had intended and Morpheus went down. Neo dropped his guard and Morpheus was instantly up and took hold Neo’s shirt. A simple flip and Neo was again on the ground. He tried to roll up but hit the wall. Morpheus was there immediately. Neo felt a blow to his chin that he only slightly deflected. Then he was up and he and Morpheus were trading blows faster and faster. With each punch the other deflected it with a counter punch which in turn was countered. Neo pressed for the offensive and 
managed to get Morpheus to begin to back up. 

The full attack was beginning to have an effect on Neo. He felt his arms getting sluggish, his precision getting sloppy. His lungs started to burn as his breath quickened. Too late he realized that it was all part of Morpheus’ plan to tire him. He was doing all the punching as Morpheus just kept blocking and moving back. Neo began to get angry. Not so much at Morpheus but at his own bodies inability to function at the speed he was now accustomed. He pushed harder. Then his punch landed. And another. He tried to finish it then by going for a quick spinning heal kick. His legs tensed, released and his body swung around. But he felt like he was moving in slow motion. When his foot came around Morpheus was not there. He had quickly sidestepped and his own kick caught Neo in midspin knocked him across the room. Neo landed in a heap. His body ached with pain and he 
tasted the metallic tang of blood. He should have easily hit Morpheus with that kick. He felt betrayed by his own heavy, slow body. He stood up, wincing with pain.

   “Enough?” asked Morpheus, his eyebrow raised in that way that made him seem both disappointed and smug.

   Neo shook his head to clear it. “What do you think?” 

   And then he moved toward Morpheus. His ankle felt sprung and it hurt to keep the weight on the ball of his foot. He shifted his stance to his right side. He circled and sprung. Morpheus turned easily missing Neo’s thrust. But it was a deception. Neo knew Morpheus would dodge so he caught his attack midway and forced his momentum off center. This put his weight into a sudden punch that aimed directly to Morpheus’ new position. Neo felt a sense of victory. But then Morpheus was gone again and his hand smashed into the wall with a crack. He fell in a heap and cradled his hand. He thought it could be broken. His chest heaved and every muscle cried out. Morpheus stood over him for a second then bent down to look at his hand. Neo looked up at Morpheus and then the rest of the ship’s crew. Was it disappointment he saw there too? Was his stature diminished slightly in their eyes? Trinity was suddenly there next to him. She tried to comfort him. But he suddenly felt alone again. Almost an outsider. Somewhat like he felt when he first came to the Nebuchadnezzar. He didn’t like that feeling. He had come too far, learned too much to feel that way again. 

   The plug touched his synapse dispersion nodule and he could feel this reality fade as the other began to supersede it. The bright light, the roar in his ears, the feeling of weightlessness, and a brief feeling of dropping quickly. And then the familiar sound of a phone ringing. He was back. He smiled. He looked at his hand. It was perfect. 

   To say Morpheus was concerned would have been an understatement. He was straight-ahead worried and bordering on fear. Neo had gone back into the Matrix again. He looked down at him lying so peaceful and still in the suspension chair. Here lay the most powerful man in the Matrix and Morpheus felt doubts crawl across his skin like ants. Ever since Neo had become “aware” he seemed different. It had started slowly and Morpheus didn’t notice it at first. It simply hung like a fruit on a tree, waiting to ripen and fall into his conscious mind. It did a few days ago when Neo had asked to spar with him. Morpheus had seen the complex before many times. The training often came too easy and the Matrix to forgiving. The laws of nature never bent. Ever. But Morpheus
knew the only way they learn was to go through it. Tire them out and then knock them down. They always over exert themselves. Neo was no exception. But because he had all this power in the Matrix the humbling realization that you are just the same as everyone else in the real world was a much larger fall. But the way Neo looked after he lost was not just humbled. It was more. There was a resolve in his eyes. And that worried Morpheus. Since then Neo had spent much more time in the Matrix. Time alone.

   He turned to see Trinity looking at him from across the room. There was concern on her face also. He had known Trinity for a long time. She was one of the first he removed from the Matrix. She was his best disciple and closest he came to a friend. She walked toward him.

   “You are worried about him, aren’t you?” she asked knowing the answer.

   “Aren’t you?” he replied.

   “Not for the same reasons though.”

   Morpheus looked her in the eyes. “What do you mean?”

   “You know I love him. I worry I am losing him. Losing him to the Matrix; to something bigger. You worry you may not be able to control him. That he won’t complete your mission.” Immediately after she said it she regretted it. 

   “MY mission?! Don’t we all want the same thing? Freedom?”

   Morpheus was taken aback by her insinuation. While he had dedicated his new life to finding The One he had a purpose. Now that he had completed that quest he had struggled to find a new direction, a purpose to throw himself into. Years of self-imposed obsession dauntlessly searching for the savior of mankind. Those in Zion had suggested he stay in the city and help plan the emancipation. But he couldn’t do that. He had to be out here. He had to be with Neo. He felt a responsibility to him and to his success. He knew his “awareness” was only the first 
step of a difficult journey. 

   “I am worried of losing him too, Trinity. He has grown very powerful and that power leads to 
temptation. He spends too much time in the Matrix...alone.”

   “But when he is alone he doesn’t have to worry about us. We ARE vulnerable in there with or without him.” 

   She remembered yesterday’s incident on the roof. She hadn’t told Morpheus about it other than they had encountered some agents. 

   “Hell, even the agents won’t openly attack him when he is alone. We get in the way...” She stopped. That was her fear. 

   She had said it out loud. And she could see in Morpheus’ eyes that it was his too. She looked away, a tear growing in the corner of her eye.

   “Are we in his way, Trinity?” Morpheus saw confusion race across her face as her brow furrowed. 

   She suddenly looked lost, not sure which way to go. He reached out and touched her shoulder. She looked up at him. He saw her eyes were damp but to her resolve she would not cry. He sensed that something had changed recently. Could it have been the previous day? Her recounting had been vague. He hadn’t even bothered to ask Neo. 

   “What really happened yesterday?”

   She gathered herself, composed she replied, “Nothing.”

   He took hold of both of her shoulders and looked hard into her eyes. “You have to tell me. It 
makes a difference.”

   For a minute he thought she was going to break free of his grip and go to her compartment. But then he saw her soften. She wanted to tell him. 

   He spoke softer, more understanding, “What?”

   She told him about the agents’ attack. How Neo had pulled her into his fluid world of speed. How the sensation was intoxicating and beautiful. Then she explained about the bullet hitting her, breaking the “spell.” And how she felt afterward and the second bullet breaking her leg. How Neo disposed of the helicopter.

   “Then Neo did something he had never done before. Something I had never even thought he could do.”

   “What?”

   “He changed me.” Her voice sounding forced.

   Morpheus looked at her. She was scared. “What do you mean?”

   She swallowed, “He went inside me and fixed my leg. Mended the bone. Stopped the bleeding. I was as good as new. Like it never happened.”

   Morpheus looked down at Neo’s prone body. He looked back up at Trinity. “How...how did it feel?”

   “I can’t describe it. It didn’t hurt. It just changed. It is like when you type on a computer terminal and make a mistake. You delete it and type over it. The error no longer exists in any form, on any level. But it was there.” She swallowed. “And that was exactly the impression I got. That he could ‘type’ over anything he wanted and put in what ever he wanted.”

   Morpheus stood silent for a full minute as that sunk in. “But he wouldn’t...”

   He looked at Trinity. He knew her fear now. He added it to his own. He put his arm around her and led her toward the mess hall. Neo’s eyes opened and followed them out of the room.

   Tank sat at the Operator’s Chair and watched the screens. The ever-shifting code of the Matrix floated across them like rivulets of rain on a window. The faint glow of the monitors threw a green cast across his face. He watched intently. Neo was in the Matrix. That always made him excited. He noticed Neo’s vitals and they seemed overly active for being inside. Normally they responded about like sleep but these were higher. Tank was not surprised though. Neo was unlike anyone else. And that was what made him excited. Neo had become so powerful in the Matrix. For the first time Tank really felt he was witnessing the beginning of the end for the Matrix. Some of the others had been talking quietly about Neo and his developing powers but Tank didn’t worry. He had a lot of faith in Neo. Something he felt from the day he first talked to him in his compartment. There WAS something different about him. Morpheus and Trinity had seen it. He had too. Looking at Neo’s code in the Matrix was like looking at a shining, silver sword that was going to cut the Matrix open and let the people go free.

   To any new “reborn” the code looked like garbage; random characters that had no pattern, no context. And to those familiar with it the code took form in recognizable chunks. But to Tank it was like watching a movie. The code itself merging into scenes and forms. Since he was but a child he had been studying the Matrix code. Years of watching it, learning it, living it. He sometimes envied the reborns their ability to travel between the two realities. Morpheus told him he was missing nothing. He was better off. But Cypher had led him to believe the Matrix had a lot to offer. And it must have offered a lot to Cypher for him to betray them all and lay the future of humanity aside for his own gain. Deny freedom for slavery? The concept was too alien for Tank to understand. Though he had only known the limited freedom he was born into he could never take it so for granted to sell his own for some kind of dream world. What could have been such a temptation? That it would cost him his own brother? 

   Tank became sad at the thought. Dozer’s death was still a fresh wound in his heart. He missed him greatly. Only the “Naturals,” or “Home-Growns” as he liked to call them, piloted and maintained the ships. Dozer was the best hovercraft pilot Zion had produced. He really didn’t have the knack for reading code. But for what he lacked in intellect he made up for with his mechanical ability, which was only overshadowed by his heart. He was always the first to offer help or pull an extra shift. He was a brother and a friend. With both of their parents dead he felt quite alone sometimes. Especially when all the others talked about their days in the Matrix and things Tank had never seen. Dozer had been replaced by Sprocket when they docked with the Saknussemm to get supplies and new crewmembers. He knew Sprocket from childhood and they were close friends. It helped. Sometimes.

   “What you lookin’ at, Tank? Watchin’ the porno channels again?” came a voice at his side. He turned to see Blink standing there with a grin on his face.

   “Just monitoring Neo,” he stated in a flat tone. He didn’t really care for Blink. He wasn’t impressed when he met him, along with the other two reborns, Jez and Phage, when they came aboard from the Saknussemm. And in the past two weeks he had done little to change his first impression. Jez and Phage were nice enough but he just didn’t like Blink.

   “What’s he doin’?” pestered Blink.

   “He is just sitting up on a roof like he likes to do,” answered Tank not looking at the monitors but rather past Blink in hopes someone would come by that he would trail after instead of bothering him.

   “What’s with that guy and roofs?”

   Tank looked at him, “Do you only ask questions, Blink?”

   “Why?” he grinned.

   “Don’t you have something to do?” annoyance creeping into his voice.

   “I want you to show me more about the Matrix code. I want to be able to read it like you so I can help pull monitoring watch.”

   Tank sighed. “You won’t be able read it like me. It has taken my entire life to get this used to the code. You’re not going to be able to pick it up in the few lessons I have given you.”

   “Sure, I can do it! I’m a whiz at computer code, Tank. That’s how they found me and got me out. If you just let me...” He reached for one of the keyboards.

   “Stop it! Don’t start fooling with things. Go help Sprocket monitor for Sentinels. We have been at broadcast depth for awhile and they like to hang around at that level.” Tank was getting angry now. He looked at Blink. His smile was finally gone. Then he noticed Blink’s eyes were looking past him to the main monitor. He saw his eyes widen.

   “Aren’t those agents?”

   Tank glanced back at the monitor. “What are you...” 

   He stopped. Neo was no longer on the roof. The code was changing rapidly. Some lines he had never even seen before. But there were agents coming in fast. They were writing over other lines in rapid succession. Then the code really started to change. The scene was changing. The Matrix was changing! And Neo was dead center!

   His hand was instinctively dialing Neo’s phone when he yelled out “Morpheus!”

   There was much that Neo had learned about the Matrix since he was awoken from his slumber. Even more since he had become aware of his ability to manipulate it. He had fought the unbeatable agents and won. He had thrown down the gauntlet to the machines. Told them that it was all about to change. After his initial victory he had felt exhilarated. He was confidant in his purpose and that he alone could bring about the end of the enslavement of mankind.

   That was almost three weeks ago now. The conviction was fading and the realization of the immensity of this task was daunting. He began to question his place in all this. He began to question the fate that Morpheus and the Oracle spoke of. A path that was laid before him with no choice of his own. Was that not itself slavery? And what of the billions that sleep the dream world of the Matrix? He could recall in his past life a time awakening from a peaceful dream to the sound of his alarm and the realization that the dream was not real. The disappointment. The sadness. Was that what was ahead for the rest of humanity? To awake to the alarm of his shrill cry and the realization that you now live in a subterranean city on a frozen, sunless world fighting machines gone mad? Did anyone have that right?

   What if his fate lies in a different direction? What if Morpheus was wrong? What if he was supposed to guide the Matrix; control it? He was unstoppable. He alone had the power. If he could bend the AI to his will he could make the machines work for man. He could bring the world back to its former glory and then release the humans to a world they could embrace.  Could he do it? Should he? He felt confused...lost. He needed guidance from somewhere, someone. The Oracle!

   Then it happened again. That nauseous feeling and a confusion of realities. He felt part of him back on the Nebuchadnezzar. He could hear Morpheus and Trinity talking. Talking about him. They were afraid. Afraid of...him! They feared his power. Why? Then they were leaving him. Leaving him alone not realizing that he was also afraid. He could see them walking away from him. They didn’t look back. He wanted them to stop. He wanted to call out. And then the feeling passed. He had felt it once before but thought it was from spending too much time in the Matrix or a side effect from his power. But this time was clearer, stronger. He suddenly felt alone. All alone again. Thrown into reality, saddled with a fate he didn’t want, and in his time of confusion, the two he was closest to, walking away from him. Leaving him all alone. It began to make him angry. The frustration and confusion building. He had to find the Oracle. NOW!

   He was standing atop another of the buildings. He jumped off the roof. His resolve burning in him 
like a sun. Crowds of people were screaming as he neared the pavement. He changed the parameters of the 
gravity around him and landed lightly on the sidewalk. People scattered from him. He sensed the blind fear 
in their minds. 

   “Its him! Its Neo!” someone cried out. 

   And the panic of the citizens increased. He began to run. He vaguely remembered where the Oracle was located. A seedier part of the south side of the city. His speed increased. He spun, flipped, and dodged as he crossed streets in bounds and rounded corners across the sides of buildings. He could fly but it didn’t give him the same satisfaction. Flying was too peaceful and right then he wanted to be physical. Trying to get it out of his system. Forcing his legs beyond human limits. Pushing his speed to a blur. In the span of two minutes he was nearing the neighborhood. A bullet whizzed by his face. He jumped high and landed with a roll. When he came to a stop his hands were filled with guns.

   An agent was morphing next to him into the body of a woman holding a sack of groceries. He fired point blank and the agent was gone, a dead old lady in his place. In the distance he heard the sirens of police cars. Another agent was firing at him from across the street. A second was shooting from his right. He spun into the fluid world of “bullet-time.” He dodged two bullets and fired three at the agent across the street. He in turn was twisting to avoid them as Neo jumped into the air. As he reached the apex of his jump he fired a strafing shot across the front of the second agent. Six bullets came angrily buzzing in his direction, three from each agent. The second agent was contorted trying to out maneuver the tight pattern of bullets Neo had released toward him. He was not succeeding. Neo took aim at the first agent. He unleashed rounds from both guns using the momentum to turn himself slightly to the side to avoid one of the bullets.

   As he landed on his side another bullet burned across his ankle. He was able to ignore the pain as his roll brought him within close range of the first agent who had his program currently full dodging the hail of rounds Neo had sent his way. The slow motion ballet of gunfire ended with Neo’s two final shots. One at close range into an overly occupied agent and the second into the agent who fell out of “bullet-time” when he failed to evade one slug. Neo stood and a hail of bullets from the police interrupted his momentary peace. He stepped into a doorway. The realization that he had lost control entered his mind with a blinding flash of pain from his ankle. He had let his emotions run out of control, clouding his concentration. He even felt himself breathing heavy. He forced himself to concentrate. Instantly his breathing slowed. His ankle was like new. He started to formulate a plan in his head when he heard a voice call out.

   “Neo!” His eyes grew wide. He chanced a look. What he saw made his jaw drop. It was Cypher.

   Morpheus looked at the monitor. A glance was all he needed. Neo was in trouble, big trouble. “Oh my God. Tank, do you recognize that?” he whispered pointing to the monitor.Tank had already recognized it. 

   “How...?” was all he got out before Morpheus was yelling for the others. Trinity was already approaching. Jez and Phage were coming up the ladder. 

   “We all go now! Neo is in trouble!” Morpheus was jumping in the chair. Trinity, Jez, and Phage were also heading for the chairs with no questions asked. Blink started toward the chairs. 

   “Blink,” Morpheus looked back, “you wait here.”

   “C’mon! I want to go too!” argued Blink.

   “This could go bad, “ explained Morpheus. “I need some kind of back up.”

   “But...” started Blink but he knew the argument was lost.

   “Tank, load the construct with weapons. We are going to need them. And then get us as close to Neo as possible.”

   “You got it. Guns coming up,” said Tank as he furiously typed at the keyboard. He slapped a disk 
in. Blink was hooking them up. “There is a hard-line two blocks away. Luckily it’s an older part of the 
city.”

   “Let’s do it, “ said Morpheus and they were gone.

   “Shit, man, I never get to do anything,” complained Blink. He turned to Tank. “Think I’ll really 
get to save the day, Tank?”

   Tank ignored him, his eyes intent on the screens. He walked over to the prone figure of Morpheus. “Don’t worry, old man. I’m in charge now.” He smiled.

   A phone was ringing in an old apartment building. Oddly the building had been condemned a year ago. There was no electricity or water. And definitely no phone services. But the phone rang with an air of defiance, going against logic or the conventions of the make believe world of the Matrix. And then with a crackle, flash and what could only be described as appearing as if the fabric of reality was being stretched and pushed aside with the insertion of something from outside, came four visitors. Morpheus, Trinity, Jez, and Phage birthed into the false world. Morpheus picked up the jangling phone. 

   “We’re in,” was all he said before hanging up.

   He turned to the others. “Neo is in trouble. We MUST get him out.”

   Phage looked confused. “I thought Neo was unstoppable in the Matrix?” Jez shook her head in 
agreement.

   “Not if he doesn’t know he is in the Matrix,” came Morpheus’ cryptic reply. “We can’t waste time. Neo must be rescued...regardless the cost.”His words hung in the still air of the room even as they made their exit.

   Tank tried Neo’s cellular again. Near a dumpster and a dead old lady a cracked cellular phone rang 
and rang. Tank swore.“Dammit Neo! Answer!” 

   He watched the code flashing across his monitors. He disconnected the call. Things looked bleak. He watched the progress of Morpheus and the others. He mouthed a silent prayer. Blink quietly walked up behind him and looked at the monitors. He slowly shook his head. 

   Sprocket sat in the bridge. He looked out the cockpit windshield at the cold surroundings. Large spots of the ever-glowing algae bathed the scene in a dim blue-green light that made it seem even colder. There was no warmth in that light. The ship hovered quietly held aloft by electromagnetic waves. He had positioned it in the junction of several huge sewer pipes. A frozen sludge coating many of the walls. The aqua-colored light glimmered off the ice dancing in Sprocket’s eyes. It was almost hypnotizing. He shivered. Even with the bridge heaters blasting away he felt a chill. 

   Damn cold out there, he thought. He looked up and saw the almost endless stretch of pipe. In fact it looked the same in almost every direction. This was a good location he felt. Plenty of escape routes should there be an attack. And he knew there would be. Any long stretches at this depth warranted a visit from the “squiddies.” They ceaselessly prowled these areas knowing that the resistance ships needed close proximity to Mainframe conduits to hack in their pirate signal. 

   The Nebuchadnezzar had the best broadcast signal strength of any ship he knew of. Tank and 
Dozer had done some incredible tweaking of the ship’s Core and transceiver. He checked over the system 
dials and readouts again. Everything optimal. He smiled. But when a small light suddenly flashed red it 
quickly vanished. The small label above the indicator read “long distance alarm probe.” He knew what that 
meant. “Oh God no,” he whispered. It seemed to be a prayer.

   Neo felt suddenly disoriented. He clamped his eyes shut. He opened them again. There stood Cypher smiling at him with a slightly quizzical look on his face. He was standing on the main deck of the Nebuchadnezzar. Neo looked around him. He was on the Nebuchadnezzar too. He looked behind him where a moment ago had been an abandoned corner store. He saw Tank hunched over the keyboard, his eyes glued to the monitors. 

   “Neo, relax,” came Cypher’s voice again. “Put the guns down.” His voice was calming, reassuring. Neo looked at his hands. A gun rested in each one and both were pointed at Cypher. He was still wearing the same outfit he normally wore in the Matrix. He looked back at Cypher. He was dressed as he always did on the ship, in the natty, soiled clothing they all wore. Cypher stepped closer motioning for Neo to lower his weapons. “You are confused again,” he explained.“Morpheus!” he called out. Neo half turned. 

   Coming up ladder from below was Morpheus...and Trinity! Morpheus smiled at Neo. “You’re safe. You made it back.” Neo stared at him confused. “You’re home.”

   Neo wondered if he had merged the two realities again. Like the two times before. But this seemed different. He was fully aware. What had happened? He lowered his guns; let them drop to the deck. They clattered and lay still near his feet. He looked at Cypher. “You’re dead.”

   Cypher threw a mock look of worry on his face then smiled at Morpheus and Trinity. “No watch shift tonight for me. I’m dead,” he joked.

   Neo shook his head. He felt somewhat like when he first was shown the real world and the lie of his life in the Matrix. Disillusioned and bewildered. “You...you killed Dozer,” he mumbled trying to clear his head.

   “Then I don’t have to degrease that squeaky turbine tonight either,” came a deep voice from behind Neo. He spun around to see the familiar figure of Dozer wiping a tool with an oily rag.

   “Neo,” Morpheus called. “You are having another of your episodes. Your newfound powers allow you to shift between the Matrix and reality without the use of the pirate signal. But it causes momentary disorientation. Your jump this time was rather severe. It has caused much more trauma than the times before.”

   Trinity took a step towards him. He backed instinctively still unsure of what was happening.

   “Neo,” she beckoned.

   “Wait Trinity,” cautioned Morpheus. “We don’t want him to go into another seizure like last time.”

   “What do you mean?” asked Neo.

   “Last time,” explained Morpheus, “You snapped and had a seizure that made you see the Matrix code in all of us even though we were here on the ship. You thought we were all agents. You killed Apoc and Switch before we could sedate you.” His voice was genuinely sad. “You have to try and let the disorientation fade away.”

   Neo’s mind tried desperately to grasp what Morpheus was saying. “I killed them?” It felt horrible just saying it. “Me?”

   “Don’t focus on that now.”

   He looked at Trinity, the woman he loved. Her eyes looked at him with worry. Worry for him. She appeared to empathize with him. He looked at all of them staring at him, afraid to move.He felt his grip on reality, any reality, slipping.

   Morpheus, Trinity, Jez and Phage rounded a corner. They were rapidly approaching Neo’s location. They saw police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks spread out down the street. Barricades had been raised and people had clustered in tight clumps there. Television vans dotted the motionless traffic and reporters were speaking into cameras. Morpheus drew close enough to hear one of them.

   “...massive explosions. A gas main is supposedly broken and the area evacuated. At center of this horrible 
disaster is one man, the international terrorist Neo. Police are saying that he has been cornered in an abandoned warehouse and is currently in talks with several special federal agents. We are told the death toll currently is at eighteen.” 

   Morpheus moved the group to the entrance of a nearby building. They quickly entered, found the stairs, and made their way to the roof. Once on the roof they jumped the seemingly impossible distance to a roof inside the police parameter.

   “We look for the place with the highest concentration of activity and that will be where Neo is.”

   Trinity had been fairly quiet so far. She had a grim determination on her face. But she broke that silence 
then. She lifted her sunglasses and looked at him “What did you see before, Morpheus?”

   He looked closely at her. He could see past the hard exterior she portrayed. He saw the concern and worry that swam behind her eyes. “I saw what appeared to be Cypher.”

   “How? He is dead. I saw his body.”

   “The Matrix must have had access to him at some point when he was making his deal. They duplicated this into a separate program.”

   “That means...”

   He cut her off. “It means they have access to all of his memories.”His phone beeped.

   Tank suddenly spun around in his chair. Blink was there. It startled him. He had been caught unaware once before that caused his brother to be killed along with two of his friends. It would not happen again. He eyed Blink suspiciously. What did he know about Blink? He had only met him when he joined the crew. None of the others knew him either. At least he had met Jez and Phage once or twice before. He had little trust of strangers. Someone he thought he knew well had sold them all out. What was to stop someone new from trying that again?

    “What do you want, now?” he asked Blink with an accusatory tone to his voice.

   “I...I’m just, just seeing what you are doing.” He seemed flustered. “I told you, I want to learn to read the code.”

   Tank wasn’t buying it. But he couldn’t afford to try and watch the monitors and watch Blink. “Go help Sprocket on the bridge.”

   “He doesn’t like me very much,” started Blink.

   “And I do?!”

   Blink started for the bridge when Sprocket bounded in, his tall thin frame almost colliding with the 
hatch and Blink.

   “Call them!” he panted.

   “Wh...”

   “Sentinel is coming this way!”

   “Holy fuck,” mumbled Blink.

   Morpheus snapped the phone shut. His face took on an even sterner look. “We don’t have much time. Sentinel.” He did his best not to look at Trinity again. He knew there would be more worry behind those dark eyes. He moved to the roof ledge. His eyes scanned the city quickly. “There,” he pointed. “That 
doesn’t look right.”

   The others followed his arm and saw what he meant. There was a building near them that was the exact copy of another two blocks away. But it crossed over streets and merged with other buildings. It looked like it was just merged into the scenery with little though of placement. In two jumps they were on the its roof.

   “We are bound to run into agents inside. But none of us can run. We HAVE to get Neo.”

   “What are they doing to him?” asked Jez.

   “I would have to guess they are trying to break him. Confuse him. Confuse his sense of reality.”

   “Will they just kill him?” asked Phage. Then he glanced back at Trinity, a look of sympathy.

   “They will probably try and break him. Find out what makes him the One. Once they have that information they can do a trace for that in the populace and kill anyone with that quality.” His voice was solemn and conveyed the importance of their task. “We get him out or die trying. Because if we don’t save him we are dead already.”

   He opened the roof door and they made their way inside.

   Morpheus moved cautiously in the dim light inside the large warehouse building. He sniffed the air. It had a musty, abandoned smell to it. But it also smelled like the Matrix. Odors were one of the few areas the Matrix had trouble copying one hundred percent. The sense of smell was greatly attached to the mind’s perception and memories. The same smell can seem different to so many people. And often a strong smell can trigger a memory. While this would go beyond the notice of anyone who didn’t know better, once he had a chance to breathe real air and smell the scents of reality he could tell the difference. Just another way the Matrix robbed its slaves of existence. Another reason he hated it so.

   His eyes strained to pick out shapes. He found the stairwell door. They entered. Inside his head was a ticking clock. A clock counting down the minutes second by second. He was very aware that they had less than five minutes until the Sentinel found the ship and attacked. Less than five minutes to find there way to Neo, free him, and find escape. Five minutes to battle who knows how many agents that he knew he could never beat. Five minutes. The hopelessness of it struck him. For a second he felt the onrush of panic, the crush of spirit that an impossible task can bring. His mind flashed to the fight he had had with Agent Smith that led to his capture. He had fought like he had never fought before. He put everything he had into that battle and all to no avail. He had just as soon fought the wind or wrestled the sea. Hopeless.

   But Neo had returned to save him. Took on impossible odds with no more determination than Morpheus had now. Neo didn’t know at that point that he had the power he had. But his own courage and perseverance brought him to the rescue. And that was what Morpheus decided to bring to this one. The panic was pushed aside. His confidence returned. For awhile now Morpheus had questioned his purpose. He had dedicated his life to finding the One. Now that he had done that he knew not what to focus on. The fight to free humanity? Of course, but he didn’t feel the same zeal. But now his course was clear: help Neo. Whether that be now or (God willing) the future he would be there. Neo needed guidance in his new powers and Morpheus would be there to help. He pushed on.

   As they reached the bottom of the stairwell they came to the ground floor door. He looked back at the others and could see the amalgam of emotions across their faces. Fear, anxiety, determination. But they all had purpose. He eased the door open and entered a narrow hall. Not a lot of room to maneuver, he thought. That could be good and it could be bad. They eased down the hallway to a sharp turn. Morpheus darted his head around quickly. His body suddenly pushed back against Trinity. He had seen two agents in front of a door talking to several police. He felt that door must lead to Neo otherwise it wouldn’t be guarded so heavily. This was the moment of truth. It was all or nothing. A full frontal attack was all they could do. Suicidal. But they would never expect it. The element of surprise was all they had. He looked at the others.

   “Police,” he mouthed silently and held up eight fingers. They were unfazed. “Agents,” his lips formed in the quiet and he held up two fingers. He could swear that he saw sweat break out on Phage’s forehead immediately. Trinity looked at him with the cold intensity she always would show during combat. Jez looked at him, her eyes pleading for a moment before resolve took hold. He put his hand out to them and one by one they each grabbed on. Then they released. He filled his hands with the cold metal of machine pistol death and raised them. He stepped into the hallway.

   Neo was sick. His sanity slipping. Was he on the Nebuchadnezzar or not? Did he kill some of his friends in a fit of disorientation? Were his memories a jumble of dreams, reality, and the Matrix? He couldn’t think. He couldn’t focus. He tried to look past the seen to the unseen. He tried to see the Matrix half-afraid of succeeding. He likened his perception of the Matrix to those 3D prints that were all the rage a few years back. The kind you have to stare at and suddenly you would see a shape pop out from the mess of interweaving patterns. Sometimes you would have to stare and stare. Other times you would look and your focus would shift. You would look past the image and see the secret hidden in plain sight. That was how it seemed with the Matrix. If he could relax and let his focus slip he could look past what his senses told him and see what secret lie beneath. But he couldn’t get relax. He was just staring. And what if he could see it, was it real?

   Morpheus and Trinity stood close together. They looked at him with such pity. Cypher was slowly walking toward him. His hand extended. “It’s OK Neo. It will be all right. Just relax.” His voice was calm, reassuring.

   “Stay back,” warned Neo. “I...I don’t know...”

   Trinity started forward. She also held out her hand. “Don’t you know me, Neo? Don’t you trust me?” She edged ever nearer.

   “No wait...” Neo’s voice full of hesitation. He looked at Morpheus, his eyes looking for answers.Morpheus raised his arms, moved forward. “You know me. I’ve never lied to you, ever. I’ve watched over you, guided you. You HAVE to trust me. Otherwise you will succumb to the Matrix neurosis. You’re mind is very fragile right now. You have to trust.” He continued moving closer. They all did. They all wanted to make physical contact with him. They grew closer.

   Neo backed slightly but was against a wall. They came closer. His mind grasped for what was known. But he couldn’t find it. His breathing was shallow. His eyes grew damp from the strain and emotion. So many changes, so many lies, so many uncertainties. What was right?

   Trinity’s hand was near him. He looked deep in her eyes. Looked for an answer and got none. He loved her. Loved her with all he had, all he was. She would never lie. He reached out for her hand. His fingers extended. He craved the touch of the real. She took it. She moved in close. She pressed herself to him. Held him so tight he had to right himself so he wouldn’t fall. Her face pressed into the side of his neck, her arms encircling his back. Morpheus embraced him also...tightly. They held him so tightly he thought their concern and joy had gotten the best of them. Then Cypher approached. A large smile on his face. It didn’t look right. Something odd...
Cypher joined them in their familial hug. He also held tight. Very tight. Neo almost felt like their combined pressure would squeeze the life out of him.

   Sprocket sat hunched over the readout on the Nebuchadnezzar Bridge. The Sentinel was approaching. He was sure it had sensed them, as its path was too straight. It didn’t stray or pause but kept on coming. Blink was at his elbow.

   “How much longer?”

   Sprocket could smell the fear on him. That and the morning’s breakfast. “Hey! Back off! You’re breathin’ on me!”

   Blink took a tiny step back. “How much...”

   “Two minutes. Less if it picks up speed.”

   Blink looked at the various readings. “Why isn’t it coming straight for us at full speed?” More fear and breakfast.

   “It may be confused. I have the ship in a main junction. The pipes cause a lot of interference. It probably can’t get a hard lock on our signal.” He looked suddenly at a hologauge that showed a swing in 
numbers. Sprocket’s eyes widened. Now it’s at full speed. We’ve got a minute.”

   “Oh fuck on toast, we are screwed!” No more breakfast...just fear.

   The element of surprise helped thin the odds. Six of the eight police were down before a shot came 
their way. The bullet careened off a wall. “Back,” was all Morpheus said and they moved back to the 
temporary shelter of the intersecting hallway. But as they did Trinity lobbed two thermite grenades to the 
end of the hall. 

   There was a roar, a blast of intensely hot air, and the floor seemed to drop from under them. All four fell to the ground. Morpheus, on one knee, looked around the corner. All he saw was the insole of an agent’s shoe as it kicked him in the head. He fell back.

   Two agents towered over him. One had burns across the side of his face and his back was smoking. The other looked slightly worse. They both had their guns leveled at Morpheus.

   “Ah, Morpheus, we meet again,” stated Agent Jones.

   A hail of gunfire erupted from the hall as Trinity, Jez and Phage opened up on the agents. In that instant Morpheus noticed his hand, still clutching his gun, was resting next to Agent Brown’s foot. He pulled the trigger. Agent Brown’s foot exploded into a mess of cheap leather and sinew. He fell to the floor directly into the stream of rounds from Morpheus’ machine gun. 

   Agent Jones dodged wildly as the relentless volley of bullets came his way. He managed two shots before the cramped quarters and sheer numbers caught up to him. He dropped, and like his fellow agent, morphed into a police officer with a crackle and a play of sparks.

   Morpheus stood up with a feeling of triumph. He looked to Trinity with a small, but confident smile. She did not respond in kind. He wondered why until he saw Phage’s prone figure on the floor, a pool of blood spreading beneath him. He looked at Jez kneeling at his side. She looked up and shook her head as she stood. They all knew they were as sure to join Phage in minutes if they didn’t complete their mission. As one they made for the door at the end of the hall. The time for grieving would come later...they hoped.

   Tank was watching the monitors intently when Blink ran up next to him from the bridge. Blink’s eyes were wild, his breath short, his body shaking. He didn’t need to speak for Tank to know his message.

   “How long?” was his only question. And before Blink uttered an answer he knew it wouldn’t be long 
enough.

   “...minute...” was all he could get out before his voice caught on a snag of dread.

   Tank thought of calling Morpheus. But he was sure the response would be with out choice. Morpheus was sure to impress on him the importance of this mission. “All or nothing.” If they failed to save Neo there would be no need for any of them to survive. Mankind would be doomed to be slaves with no chance of breaking the hold of the Matrix. They had to make sure Morpheus would succeed in the plan. Neo HAD to be freed!

   Tank scrambled for a solution. What path of action could they possibly have to stop the Sentinel and buy them more time? “Go tell Sprocket we need more time!” he barked at Blink. Blink looked at him as if he had just asked for the moon to be brought to him in a shoebox. A small shoebox!

   “There IS no time!” yelled Blink.

   “GO!”

   Blink ran to Sprocket banging against the bulkhead in his hasty dash.

   “Needsmoretime...” he spat in a single word. Sprocket was hitting switches and glancing furiously at readouts. He eyed a holo-display that showed a rapidly approaching blip to their location. “I have to move the ship. Try and outrun it,” Came Sprocket’s response.

   “What?! You can’t outrun it! You could lose the signal and they would all die,” explained Blink. 

   He did know that much. Moving the ship while hacked into the Matrix could cause them to lose the signal. A second or two was all it took for the lack of signal to kill the bodies resting quietly on the main deck. The 
interference from the sewage pipes caused unpredictable interruptions of the signal and no pilot could possibly foresee when it would happen.

   “I don’t have a choice. I can get them a couple extra minutes if I move the ship and try and shake the Sentinel.” Sprocket swallowed hard. His hands grew clammy on the wheel. “I need you to watch the meter on the signal strength. If it dips below 50%...yell!”

   Blink positioned himself in front of the meter as the ship started forward. Sprocket saw that the Sentinel had taken a dead end tunnel and gotten delayed. He eased the ship into sewer main.Tank had been watching the monitor and saw the battle begin. Then he saw Phage’s life signs wink out. He felt a stab of loss. Though he had not known Phage very well he recognized the fact that he had just given his life for something they all believed in. He vowed the sacrifice would not be for naught.

   He felt the ship move forward and saw a tiny dip in signal strength and clarity. He knew what Sprocket was 
trying to do and also realized that he had no choice. But that didn’t worry him as much as what he noticed on Neo alpha patterns. They were changing...slowly. They were becoming more ordered, symmetrical. Tank stares at the screen in disbelief. They were hacking into Neo’s mind.

   Neo’s head kept spinning. He was held tightly by Morpheus, Trinity, and Cypher. Their combined grip was strong. He almost felt like they were becoming part of him. Or he part of them. Desperately he tried to clear his mind, focus. But it was getting harder. Images and ideas tried to assault his mind. Foreign thoughts scratched at his brain. His limbs started to feel numb. He looked into Morpheus’ face close to his. His eyes seemed distant, looking through him. Trinity placed her lips on his neck and he felt a sudden loss of strength. What was happening?

   And through it all Cypher’s Cheshire smile. His teeth, bone white. His arms encircling them all. Pressing. Pressing until his lungs could not fill completely. His head full of the buzz of static. Cypher’s voice urging him to relax. He was suffocating physically and mentally. It was all wrong. He knew it. He knew with unflinching certainty that it was wrong. But his mind wouldn’t tell him why. The confusion and unceasing pressure clouded his thoughts. This WASN’T right! His subconscious screamed it. But it wouldn’t connect. Everything was disjointed. His body was floating away. His mind burned for cognition. There was something there he couldn’t see, couldn’t reach. He reached deep inside for its elusive presence but always came up short. But it just stuck there calling for him.
Like a splinter in his mind.

   Morpheus knew there was no time. God only knew what they were doing to Neo. But he had a good idea. He stepped toward the door. Suddenly time skipped a fraction of a second ahead. He stopped. It was like he lost consciousness for a tiny moment. Then it happened again. And again. He looked at Trinity and Jez. It was only obvious by the look on their faces that they too were experiencing it. It was like being in a dark room in a Funhouse when suddenly someone turned on a strobe. The scene and motion became a series of still pictures. He puzzled over it for a moment. A new trick of the Matrix? Then he knew the answer. They were moving the ship. The random fluctuations of signal strength were causing miniscule gaps in their perception. The situation must be desperate for them to take such a drastic step. He tried to quickly explain to Trinity and Jez what was happening.

   “Th y   r   mov  g   th    sh p.  aps   n   t   sig  l.” 

   While it came out halting and missing sounds he knew they understood. He pressed on. The signal problems could prove a distinct disadvantage in combat. But there was time for nothing else. He knew they had few minutes left. The balance was tipping and despite their best efforts and sacrifice it wasn’t dipping in their favor.

   He opened the door into a huge room. It had the dimensions of an airplane hanger. It had obviously not been designed for this as some of the upper floor rooms simply ended to make room for the huge open area. It was like it was hollowed out to create a large, expansive room to house something almost as large. And the thing it housed was the Nebuchadnezzar!

   “FIFTY!!!” screamed Blink.

   Sprocket jumped and the ship took a quick swat to one side almost hitting the rounded interior of 
the massive drainpipe.

   “You scared the shit out of me, you ass! Don’t scream, just tell me,” corrected Sprocket bringing the ship back under his control. He pulled back on the wheel, the hovercraft scraping against the top of the passage.

   “Better?” he said anxiously.

   “Yes...79%” replied Blink a little sheepishly. He mentally kicked himself for yelling out like that. How would anyone on the ship ever respect him if he kept on like this? They didn’t ever really accept him on his last ship. Not surprisingly since he always seemed to screw up. They would even play tricks on him to make him look stupid. But he wanted to be part of the group. The only real reason he had been transferred to the Nebuchadnezzar was because Jez felt sorry for him. She brought him along on her recommendation and the other ship was happy to get rid of him. She thought he might have a better chance on a ship where no one knew him. Kind of a fresh start. Fine by him.But he wasn’t making any friends here either. He was either ignored or treated openly hostile by 
the likes of Sprocket. He felt he did have a lot to offer and one day he would prove it. One day.

   “Gah!” He hadn’t been concentrating. The meter read 33%. “Below fifty!”

   Sprocket turned the ship into a small offshoot. The meter climbed. “Reading!” he barked.

   “Forty-two.”

   “What?! Worse?!”

   “Uh...no. It was at thirty-three.”

   Sprocket stopped the ship and turned to glare at Blink. “Can’t you do anything? They might be 
dead now.”

   “I...I didn’t mean...the meter...” Blink shrugged.

   Sprocket turned back to the controls. He nudged the ship forward. “Call it out.”

   “Forty-five.” The ship continued to creep forward. “Forty-nine...fifty...fifty-seven...fifty-two.”

   Sprocket swore and looked at the screen. He stopped in a T connection. He shook his head and eased the ship ninety degrees into another narrow opening. Instantly the numbers started going up. In seconds they were at 85. 

   Blink smiled. “You did it! They’re saved!”But he could see Sprocket didn’t share his exuberance.

   “I had to go this way. The signal would have died if I had gone any other direction.” But his decision gave him no joy, no relief. His face a mask of defeat.

   “So? Isn’t that good?” asked Blink. Sprocket only pointed out the forward window. Blink followed his arm. He peered into green, hazy darkness. Then he saw it and his blood ran to ice. A Sentinel, dark and malevolent, was moving straight at them...fast!

   Morpheus gazed in slack-jawed awe at the vision before him. There stood the Nebuchadnezzar in the middle of a hollowed out warehouse. The Matrix had obviously concocted it in a hurry. The fact that the building was slapped onto the streets and then the Nebuchadnezzar was materialized inside it. Morpheus had a newfound respect (and fear) of the Matrix. It had formulated this whole plan based on the assumption it could pinpoint Neo’s location so as to wrap this second layer over the lie it pushed as reality. 

   The Matrix was considering Neo a real threat and, like a chess player, was creating strategies for any possibility. That thought alone scared Morpheus. What other plans did it have? How could they ever hope to out think a machine that prepared for every outcome?

   He saw no agents in the immediate vicinity. No people of any sort. But he knew that would not last for long. Police, agents, probably the National Guard, would all be kicking in the side of the building to get at them. And he was confident that the luck they had had so far was about to expire. The strobing effect was continuing. It was becoming quite tiresome.

   Then suddenly everything lost focus. His legs started to give beneath him. The world swirled with blackness. He felt a jolt of pain arc across his chest and reach into his brain. It exploded with a roar only he could hear. Streaks of light sparked across the darkness of his vision until he saw only white. A lone thought flashed on his consciousness. “I’m dead.”

   And then as suddenly as it had started it was over. He quickly looked at Trinity and Jez. Trinity was trying to help Jez from the ground. It took no huge leap of deduction for him to realize they had almost lost their individual signals. His faith in Sprocket’s abilities as a pilot climbed a notch. Now if only... Then in answer to his unspoken thought the strobing stopped. He realized the ship must have stopped finally. That could be good or it could be really bad. He decided not to focus on that but to press on. As one they eased into the room and made for the outer hatch of the ship.

   Neo was lost. His will dissolving against the relentless onslaught of the Matrix. He no longer could tell where he stopped and they began. They were inside him. He didn’t feel alone. Just the opposite, he was crowded with people. Thoughts and voices, memories and feelings, all not his own. Little by little he felt parts of himself melt away. And he began to feel a distance growing between himself and who he was. There was a peace, a tranquility here. A thought would try and free itself only to be swallowed by the rushing tide of the others. And always the mantra of “Relax” came through. And the thought of his friends by his side joining with him. All becoming one. No more fear. They would finally understand him. The unreality of it failed to make an impression. He was lost to the Matrix.

   Neo’s alpha pattern was becoming ordered. The original pattern was only a shadow of its former self. Tank beat his hand against the screen.

   “NO! Fight it!” he yelled.

   Then the ship stopped moving. He began to turn his head toward the bridge when he heard Blink yell. The sound was distinctively foreboding of what was going to happen. He knew what was going to happen. The metallic clank on the top of the ship sealed his dread. A Sentinel had landed on the Nebuchadnezzar. They couldn’t use the EMP with everyone jacked in. And they were no where near the hard-line. He had to call Morpheus and warn him of what was sure to come.

   Sprocket saw the Sentinel flash overhead and heard it land. He knew its insertion laser would immediately click on as it tried to get inside, wreak havoc and destroy the Core. He mind raced as thoughts of destruction flew about noisily banging against his fears. What could he do? What could any of them do? He turned to look at Blink possibly to take some peace in the fact that he wouldn’t die alone. But Blink was gone. “Frightened, little spaz,” he thought in anger as he jumped from the pilot’s chair and headed for the Core to check on Tank. He didn’t want to be alone when the damned thing got in.

   Tank saw Blink stumble onto the main deck. He was scared and white. Desperately he wrung his hands. He 
looked about nervously. Then he seemed to notice the prone figures of his crewmates. “What’s going on, Blink?” yelled Tank knowing well the answer.

   But Blink didn’t acknowledge him. Instead he sat transfixed on the figures in the chairs. From elsewhere Tank could hear thick, metallic scratching. “Is Phage dead?” asked Blink his gaze never wandering.

   “Yes,” said Tank. “He was killed in the Matrix.”

   “That’s not a fitting way to die,” commented Blink, a calmness in his voice.

   “What do you mean?”

   “They were freed. They shouldn’t have to die back...back in that place.”

   The scratching grew louder. Tank thought he could smell something burning. “We might all die, Blink.”

   Blink’s head snapped up. He looked at Tank. “That’s not right. They CAN’T die in there! I’m the backup.”

   Tank looked at Blink closely. His eyes were fixed, intense, purposeful. “I can’t get them out. We can’t save them. The EMP is useless...it would kill them.”

   Blink stared at Tank then his gaze softened. He smiled. “No one dies.” And he ran away.

   “Great,” thought Tank, “He’s lost it.” Then Sprocket ran in from the bridge.

   “The Sentinel is breaking in. What do we do?” he asked desperately trying to keep calm.

   Tank was still looking after the direction Blink ran. “Maybe we can try and stop it when it gets in,” he suggested but knew it sounded foolish even as the words formed in his mouth.

   “Where the hell is Blink?”

   “He ran aft,” said Tank still thinking about Blink and the look on his face.

   “Useless bastard!”

   Then Tank realized what was happening. Why Blink had run aft. “Stupid fool!” And he ran after him. Sprocket just stared. He was alone again. So he ran after Tank. 

   On one of the monitors above Tank’s station the display showed Neo’s alpha patterns. They were perfectly symmetrical. There was no residual of his original pattern at all.

   Trinity approached the Nebuchadnezzar cautiously behind Morpheus. She looked about sure that some resistance would suddenly appear. But there was none. A lone sheet of paper was floating down from one of the rooms above that had been carved out to make space for the huge ship. It flashed for a second in a dusty stream of light that streaked across the broad expanse. Then suddenly it flashed again in the same beam of light. She stopped. Deja vu!

   “Wait,” she whispered. Morpheus and Jez stopped. “Deja vu.”

   Morpheus suddenly sprinted toward the ship’s outside hatch. He yanked it open. “Wait here,” he ordered.

   Trinity looked about nervously as she waited for Morpheus to reappear. Then he was back.

   “Empty.” She felt something go out of her. She wanted to sob. Her eyes looked at Morpheus pleading for 
something.

   “No,” was all she could say.

   “We have to leave.” He pulled out his phone and snapped it open. He heard the call connect and the line ring on the other end. There was no answer. Then he saw the door open on the other end of the warehouse. Police were flooding in.

   Blink pulled the coat tight around him. With a quick breath he snapped the goggles over his eyes. “No one dies,” was all that went through his head over and over again. He climbed the ladder and gave the hatch wheel a tug and a spin. He pushed it open. At once the icy cold air blasted against him. It yanked his breath away and he felt the sting on his face. A pungent odor assaulted his sense of smell. It was a smell of death. He pulled himself out of the hatch and onto the top of the ship. The air froze his lungs and he knew he didn’t have much time. He barely heard Tank yell from below as he headed forward.

   He saw it pretty much at the same time it saw him. The Sentinel was through the outer skin and was trying to open the tear in the metal so it could fit its large bulk inside. Blink unslung the rifle from his shoulder and pointed it at the huge mechanical insect from hell. He saw that it had many tiny arms that seemed busy at nothing but anxious for a task. They ended in different little devices. Some for cutting, some for tearing, some for things he couldn’t imagine. “Track this you ugly motherfucker!” He leveled the weapon and fired.

   With a speed he never would have guessed it moved. The blast of plasma from the rifle caught it in the side and he could swear it made a metallic scream. He dodged wildly as it shot towards him. Ice was already forming on the ship's hull and he lost his footing. He fired another shot and got lucky. As he fell he twisted to aim and the gun came up forcing him backwards. He fell just as the giant metal bug settled on him. The weight of the Sentinel forced the gun into its abdomen as it fired. The contained burst literally blew the back off of it. The glow of its heartless, red eyes faded. But not before tiny, evil arms dug into Blink’s flesh. He screamed in the pain of tissue and bone rending to its servo powered claws. Then Blink began to laugh. He was shivering in shock and cold. And his laugh was humorless and tinted with fear. He suddenly heard Tank’s voice behind him.

   “Blink! Oh God, man! Are you OK?!”

   Blink laughed as he felt the warmth of his blood soak his clothing. Tears were in his eyes. “I...I don’t think so.” His laughter was cut short by a grimace of pain. He realized that he had tried to move his arm but it was pinned beneath him and was broken.

   “Don’t move! Sprocket and I are going to come get you! Can you hear me!”

   His voice seemed far away. “See, Tank, no one dies today!”

   “That’s right, Blink! NO ONE!” Tank was climbing out on the hull and Sprocket’s head poked up behind him.

   “That’s right you son of a bitch! You better not die!” yelled Sprocket.

   A lone signal sparked in the electronic box the Sentinel used for a brain. It sent a pulse to a servo, which sent a signal to a motor. One of the Sentinel’s sensor tails snapped out causing its weight to shift. It began to slide off the craft. Blink was drug along in its death grip.

   “Oh no, “ he whispered.

   Tank and Sprocket saw the Sentinel begin to slide taking Blink with it. Tank dove and made a grab for Blink’s good arm. Blink pulled it back at the last minute and Tank fell short. Blink slid quickly toward the edge of the ship. 

   “What? You think you’re fuckin’ Hercules?” Said Blink and he went over the side. 

   Tank heard the awful crunch as they landed. Then the scrapes as they slid down the sewer pipe to the long drop of the junction. He shut his eyes tightly. And it wasn’t the cold that made his eyes wet. Tank closed the hatch and looked at Sprocket. Sprocket couldn’t meet his gaze and kept his head lowered as he started to shuffle away. Suddenly Tank was aware that a phone was ringing.

   Morpheus was on the roof of the warehouse; the phone still pressed to his ear. “Come on!” he yelled into the mouthpiece. Jez had just completed her jump and she and Trinity beckoned to him from the far roof. He could hear the clamor of feet on the stair well behind him. He was about to click it closed when the call connected.

   “Operator,” came the welcome tones of Tank.

   “We are coming home. Is the line intact?”

   Morpheus could hear the click of keys. Then, “Yes, I’ll put the call through.”

   Morpheus tapped the “end” button and ran for the roof ledge just as the roof door burst open. Men pilled onto the roof. Shots chased after Morpheus but he landed, rolled, and was off to the next building. Two agents followed. They never looked back.

   Sprocket came up behind Tank. “I’ll get the ship ready to go as soon as they get back.”

   Tank didn’t respond. The ringing in his headset was a steady drone. He waited for them to pick up the call to return. He just sat looking at the monitor thinking of Blink. Another one lost. All for Neo.

   NEO! He had forgotten about Neo’s monitor. Did they save him? He immediately looked at the alpha pattern. His face went white. It wasn’t that the pattern was cracked...it was gone! The display was a flat line. Not only that but all the vital signs were flat lined as well. He couldn’t believe it. It was over. Neo was gone! Dead! He threw his head in his hands. All was lost. A hand touched his shoulder. He turned to tell Sprocket what had happened. Instead he froze. He stared up at the face of Neo.

   Neo looked at him concerned. “What’s wrong?”

   A swarm of thoughts buzzed through Morpheus’ mind as he ran. But amidst the questions and exclamations two perceptions kept banging to the forefront, “Neo was gone” and “He had failed.” And like a boxer’s jabs to an opponent’s eye, they hurt more and more each time while blurring his vision at the same time. He couldn’t see that he had done all he could or that Neo could have survived. And with each racing step the pain increased. By the time they had reached the ringing phone his face was wet with tears. 

   And he was not alone as he looked at the silent Trinity. He picked up the receiver and handed it to Trinity. She in turn handed it to Jez. It appeared the anguish that filled them both gave them no strong desire to return to the emptiness of the Nebuchadnezzar. In a simple flash Jez was drawn into the line and back to the dim reality they all faced.

   Trinity was next at Morpheus’ stubborn prompting. And finally Morpheus held the phone to his ear as he saw the door splinter open and an agent rush in.With the heaviness that always signaled a return to reality Trinity knew she was back on the Nebuchadnezzar. The air that filled her lungs even weighed her down. There was such a lightness to the Matrix once you realized what it was. Almost like the gravity was lighter. She knew it was not actually that as the Matrix was complete in every detail. But it certainly seemed that way. And her heavy heart 
compounded the feeling. Weighed down by the uncertainty of Neo’s fate. How could this have happened? 

   She realized that even here, in this real world, she was crying. She didn’t want to open her eyes to see the 
familiar tarnished overhead of the ship. She didn’t want to see a world without Neo.She felt the jack pull from the base of her skull. Felt the slight brush of coolness there that always gave her goosebumps. Then a hand brushed her cheek. It was gentle, loving. It wiped at the tears staining her face. A thought sprung to her mind despite the barricades of logic. “Neo!”

   “Why are you crying?” came his soft voice.

   Her eyes flew open and she saw his handsome face above hers. Nothing had ever looked so beautiful. She felt her breath falter and her stomach ache. Her mind was filled with contradictions and questions but she cast them aside as she flung her arms about his neck. She buried her face in his neck and began to sob. He held her tight and cradled her head. He spoke not a word. He let her cling to him and cry her tears of joy. Behind him stood Morpheus, his hand on Neo’s shoulder. A small satisfied smile on his lips.

   Behind Morpheus, Jez turned toward Tank with a quizzical look on her face. Tank, looking strained and tired, smiled a thin, pained smile and shrugged. He tossed his headset on top of his keyboard and stood to walk towards her. Behind him the hatchway led to the bridge. There Sprocket piloted the ship to the safe lower levels of the sewer network. Away from the Sentinels. Away from the broadcast depth. Far away from the Matrix.