Chapter 1 The Mirror
The Agent stood looking out over the city through a high plate glass window. As he stood watching the people below living out their every day lives thinking that was their world, he knew better. He heard the Agents, Jones and Brown were integrating the prisoner. He knew it was fruitless but didn't bother telling them. They would soon enough figure it out when he died - which should be any minute now.
He heard Agent Brown say "We are losing him, try giving him another stimulate. Wait, it is too late, his heart stopped beating. The two agents then went to the soundless task of cleaning up and removing the body from the room.
A few minutes later, they both stood behind the tall Agent awaiting their next orders. They exchanged looks while waiting for him to turn around, he was going to be angry again. He was always angry when they did not get the information he wanted and the prisoner died before they were finished. Agent Smith sighed. How he hated this place, this zoo. As he looked out the window, he watched an approaching storm fill the skies over the city. He turned to face his partners just as the rain drops hit the glass.
He looked at each of them and turned and walked to the large desk that sat facing the windows and said, "Alright, that did not go as expected and we did not learn anything of value. We must come up with another plan, perhaps try another method as these ones are clearly not effective. We are wasting our time and the resistance is growing bolder with every step. I must report and consult with the Mainframe - leave me." The two Agents did not have to be told twice as they nodded in unison and left without another word. They fully expected Agent Smith to be furious but it was more unnerving when he was calm. That was when he was at his most deadly.
Agent Smith stood again and went to the window, the rain had started to come down harder and he could hear it hitting against the glass of the window. He liked it when it rained and he liked it even better if it stormed. The lightening flashed across the sky and he marveled at it's patterns - even that too was programmed into the Matrix - such beauty wasted on nothing more than viruses. He shook his head and thought again that he had been in the Matrix far too long - this war should have been over. He kept these thoughts to himself. He had learned a long time ago how to store and keep certain thoughts for his own use. He hated it that he was developing such simple things as taste and smell. It was only logical that he would, as he was a sentient program and evolving was build into his program but that did not mean that he had to like it. He took one last look around the office and gave a brief little smile - it had a nice clean smell of something overly disinfected - he contacted the Mainframe. He brought his finger to his ear piece and felt himself connect.
His eyes went blank as the connection was made. He transferred the data and listened to the response. When asked his input, he made his suggestions. *processing* was the reply - he waited and finally an answer was came. It was not the one he expected and he sent a query back asking for more input. *Sufficient data was supplied, access subroutine G5518a.* He had already accessed the file and his scowl deepened. He had suggested capturing a human female and trying various methods to get information from her. The suggestion was well met but the Mainframe wanted to try another method as well, one that Agent Smith did not like. His new assignment was not to capture a human female as he suggested but to deceive her into thinking the machines wanted to form a means of communication in order to gain a better understanding of her race. And through this, he could find out valuable information on their weaknesses and strengths. Agent Smith growled deep within his throat. He had never met a human he didn't want to kill out right. This would not be an easy assignment.
Chapter 2 Tossed in the mix
Mia had only been unplugged for a couple of years and was still trying to come to terms with how the real world was. They had found her right before the Agents did and for that, she was eternally grateful. She was a computer junkie and had stumbled across something on the internet and once found, she couldn't let it go. A simple phrase - What is the Matrix. She started searching and slowly she began to notice things that just didn't look right. Then every once in a while, she would see these government types watching someone and then sure enough, that person was never seen again.
She remembered answering the phone call in the middle of the night and the person on the other end saying, "Mia, they are coming for you. If you want to live, do exactly as I say." The rest was history, she woken up to the real world and there had been no looking back. She was now 3rd mate on a hover craft named The Prometheus and finally felt she fit in some where.
Today she was going to see the Oracle. She shrugged as they got ready, it was always a big deal going to see what your future held but she didn't believe any of it. There was no way an old woman still inside the Matrix could tell her fortune. She didn't believe it when she was still inside and believed it even less now that she had seen the horrors of the desert world.
Mia and five of her crewmates materialized inside a dusty room to the sound of a ringing telephone. She looked around at everyone else and smiled. Everyone had their own idea of what they looked good in and black was always the colour of choice. She had on a pair of black leather pants and high black boots with rubber soles, a short sleeved leather vest with a black mesh tank top underneath. The last finishing touch was a pair of dark sunglasses. Captain Jackson looked around the room and satisfied that everyone was ready, nodded and they all headed out the door. Mia had been in the Matrix many times over the years and it still amazed her every time she came back, of how real it looked. But if one looked really closely, the decay could be seen and once seen it could never be ignored again.
She thought of the Agents and prayed to any god listening that their luck hold and that they would have no encounters. She had only met up with an Agent twice before and both times, she ran and managed to elude them until she could get to an exit. One of her greatest fears was getting caught without an exit. She was sure that others had this fear as well, it just was never said out loud. She was the rookie of the group by only 6 months and Captain Jackson always acted more like a father to her than a captain. He seemed to sense her nervousness and said, "Mia, I hope the Oracle has some good news for you - she has a way of changing things." Mia nodded but said nothing as she double checked her .45 magnum and replaced it back in her the waist band of her pants. She didn't know why but she felt nervous.
No one really said anything on the ride there as everyone seemed to be in their own little private world. She heard Captain Jackson say, "We're here." She looked around not sure what she was expecting but surely not some project style housing. She climbed out of the car and followed Captain Jackson up to the apartment, trying to calm some weird unease that had settled in her stomach. They arrived at the door and just as she reached for the doorknob, the door opened. A woman stood there. She shook her head and said, "The Oracle can't see you now, something has come up. She will contact you when she wants to see you." The door was shut and the sound of locks could be heard. Captain Jackson wouldn't look at Mia and only said, "Let's go." She thought he looked nervous and was sure something was up when they took the stairs instead of the elevator. Once at the bottom, nothing happened and everyone was waiting as before. As they got in the car, someone said, "What went wrong, that was too fast - what happened?." Captain Jackson shook his head and only said, "I don't know, let's get out of here. And hurry."
Mia felt uneasy, the Oracle never just cancelled when someone was at her door step. She thought about the bad feeling she got as soon as they walked up to the apartment. It wasn't something she could put her finger on, more like the feeling something was going to happen. The Oracle refusing to see her only made the feelings she dismissed as nonsense seem all too real.
They made it back to the exit location which was an old hotel without any problems and were climbing the stairs to the fourth floor. When Captain Jackson's phone rang - the phone only rang if there was trouble. He snapped the phone open just as three Agents stepped out of the shadows. The sound of gun fire filled the room as everyone dove for cover. One of the Agents was right in front of Mia as she ducked and threw herself into a door way, barely avoiding his grasp. She heard him say, "That one" She could still hear the sounds of bullets as she ran down the hallway thinking 'Shit, this was soo not good.' She ran as fast as she could and saw a room to the side and ducked in to it. It was dark but she could still see well enough from the light coming through a dirty bathroom window. She positioned herself against the bathroom wall and hoped that she was no longer being followed. She slowly brought her gun out and silently clicked off the safety.
She was just starting to breathe easier when she heard a baritone voice say, "This would be easier if you just gave yourself up." Mia could tell he was standing somewhere on the other side of the door, she could make out a dull shape in the dirty mirror. He was just standing there, waiting for her to do something. She heard him sigh and say, "Alright, let's do this the hard way." Mia tensed and aimed her gun at the door and waited. He walked to the doorway with his gun drawn and she started firing. The next thing she knew, she was struggling with him and still trying to fire her gun. He grabbed her arm as she brought the gun up to slam it into the side of his head. He never even blinked. The gun went off again and she could hear bullets ricocheting around the room. He let go of her arm and shoved her to the floor. As she hit the floor, she spring boarded towards the dirty window and through the glass. She hit the fire escape hard and kept rolling. She came to a stop at the bottom the stairs just in time to see the Agent climbing out the window. She got up and leaped off the fire escape, not caring where she landed. She chanced a look back and saw another Agent raise his gun to shoot at her. Mia ran praying that he somehow missed, she heard someone shout "No" but by then, she was around the corner. She didn't stop until she couldn't run anymore. She found a deserted alleyway and pulled out her phone - she wanted out. When the phone answered at the other end, the only think she could think to say was "This is Mia, get me the fuck out of here - NOW!" She was told there was an exit at Meriwether and Davis but to hurry, they were tracking her again. Mia made it to the ringing phone and answered it. She never saw the Agents rush the empty phone booth.
Agent Smith was not entirely displeased with the way things had worked out. They now had a target and her name was Mia. He found himself slightly impressed by her bold move of jumping through the window not knowing if there was anything beyond it. Humans could be such unpredictable creatures but he also knew that fear made them make stupid mistakes. He let Agents Jones and Brown see if they could catch her before she left the Matrix but he knew she was already gone. He walked back through the shattered glass on the fire escape and noticed something in the glass. He could see her sunglasses amoung the broken shards of glass. Without thinking, he bent over and picked them up. They somehow made it through the glass without scratching. As he folded them close, a smell caught his attention. He slowly brought them to his nose and sniffed, they had a particular odour to them - sort of sweet. He found the odour was not unpleasant. He placed the neatly folded sunglasses in his jacket pocket. He would see this female again.
The Agent stood looking out over the city through a high plate glass window. As he stood watching the people below living out their every day lives thinking that was their world, he knew better. He heard the Agents, Jones and Brown were integrating the prisoner. He knew it was fruitless but didn't bother telling them. They would soon enough figure it out when he died - which should be any minute now.
He heard Agent Brown say "We are losing him, try giving him another stimulate. Wait, it is too late, his heart stopped beating. The two agents then went to the soundless task of cleaning up and removing the body from the room.
A few minutes later, they both stood behind the tall Agent awaiting their next orders. They exchanged looks while waiting for him to turn around, he was going to be angry again. He was always angry when they did not get the information he wanted and the prisoner died before they were finished. Agent Smith sighed. How he hated this place, this zoo. As he looked out the window, he watched an approaching storm fill the skies over the city. He turned to face his partners just as the rain drops hit the glass.
He looked at each of them and turned and walked to the large desk that sat facing the windows and said, "Alright, that did not go as expected and we did not learn anything of value. We must come up with another plan, perhaps try another method as these ones are clearly not effective. We are wasting our time and the resistance is growing bolder with every step. I must report and consult with the Mainframe - leave me." The two Agents did not have to be told twice as they nodded in unison and left without another word. They fully expected Agent Smith to be furious but it was more unnerving when he was calm. That was when he was at his most deadly.
Agent Smith stood again and went to the window, the rain had started to come down harder and he could hear it hitting against the glass of the window. He liked it when it rained and he liked it even better if it stormed. The lightening flashed across the sky and he marveled at it's patterns - even that too was programmed into the Matrix - such beauty wasted on nothing more than viruses. He shook his head and thought again that he had been in the Matrix far too long - this war should have been over. He kept these thoughts to himself. He had learned a long time ago how to store and keep certain thoughts for his own use. He hated it that he was developing such simple things as taste and smell. It was only logical that he would, as he was a sentient program and evolving was build into his program but that did not mean that he had to like it. He took one last look around the office and gave a brief little smile - it had a nice clean smell of something overly disinfected - he contacted the Mainframe. He brought his finger to his ear piece and felt himself connect.
His eyes went blank as the connection was made. He transferred the data and listened to the response. When asked his input, he made his suggestions. *processing* was the reply - he waited and finally an answer was came. It was not the one he expected and he sent a query back asking for more input. *Sufficient data was supplied, access subroutine G5518a.* He had already accessed the file and his scowl deepened. He had suggested capturing a human female and trying various methods to get information from her. The suggestion was well met but the Mainframe wanted to try another method as well, one that Agent Smith did not like. His new assignment was not to capture a human female as he suggested but to deceive her into thinking the machines wanted to form a means of communication in order to gain a better understanding of her race. And through this, he could find out valuable information on their weaknesses and strengths. Agent Smith growled deep within his throat. He had never met a human he didn't want to kill out right. This would not be an easy assignment.
Chapter 2 Tossed in the mix
Mia had only been unplugged for a couple of years and was still trying to come to terms with how the real world was. They had found her right before the Agents did and for that, she was eternally grateful. She was a computer junkie and had stumbled across something on the internet and once found, she couldn't let it go. A simple phrase - What is the Matrix. She started searching and slowly she began to notice things that just didn't look right. Then every once in a while, she would see these government types watching someone and then sure enough, that person was never seen again.
She remembered answering the phone call in the middle of the night and the person on the other end saying, "Mia, they are coming for you. If you want to live, do exactly as I say." The rest was history, she woken up to the real world and there had been no looking back. She was now 3rd mate on a hover craft named The Prometheus and finally felt she fit in some where.
Today she was going to see the Oracle. She shrugged as they got ready, it was always a big deal going to see what your future held but she didn't believe any of it. There was no way an old woman still inside the Matrix could tell her fortune. She didn't believe it when she was still inside and believed it even less now that she had seen the horrors of the desert world.
Mia and five of her crewmates materialized inside a dusty room to the sound of a ringing telephone. She looked around at everyone else and smiled. Everyone had their own idea of what they looked good in and black was always the colour of choice. She had on a pair of black leather pants and high black boots with rubber soles, a short sleeved leather vest with a black mesh tank top underneath. The last finishing touch was a pair of dark sunglasses. Captain Jackson looked around the room and satisfied that everyone was ready, nodded and they all headed out the door. Mia had been in the Matrix many times over the years and it still amazed her every time she came back, of how real it looked. But if one looked really closely, the decay could be seen and once seen it could never be ignored again.
She thought of the Agents and prayed to any god listening that their luck hold and that they would have no encounters. She had only met up with an Agent twice before and both times, she ran and managed to elude them until she could get to an exit. One of her greatest fears was getting caught without an exit. She was sure that others had this fear as well, it just was never said out loud. She was the rookie of the group by only 6 months and Captain Jackson always acted more like a father to her than a captain. He seemed to sense her nervousness and said, "Mia, I hope the Oracle has some good news for you - she has a way of changing things." Mia nodded but said nothing as she double checked her .45 magnum and replaced it back in her the waist band of her pants. She didn't know why but she felt nervous.
No one really said anything on the ride there as everyone seemed to be in their own little private world. She heard Captain Jackson say, "We're here." She looked around not sure what she was expecting but surely not some project style housing. She climbed out of the car and followed Captain Jackson up to the apartment, trying to calm some weird unease that had settled in her stomach. They arrived at the door and just as she reached for the doorknob, the door opened. A woman stood there. She shook her head and said, "The Oracle can't see you now, something has come up. She will contact you when she wants to see you." The door was shut and the sound of locks could be heard. Captain Jackson wouldn't look at Mia and only said, "Let's go." She thought he looked nervous and was sure something was up when they took the stairs instead of the elevator. Once at the bottom, nothing happened and everyone was waiting as before. As they got in the car, someone said, "What went wrong, that was too fast - what happened?." Captain Jackson shook his head and only said, "I don't know, let's get out of here. And hurry."
Mia felt uneasy, the Oracle never just cancelled when someone was at her door step. She thought about the bad feeling she got as soon as they walked up to the apartment. It wasn't something she could put her finger on, more like the feeling something was going to happen. The Oracle refusing to see her only made the feelings she dismissed as nonsense seem all too real.
They made it back to the exit location which was an old hotel without any problems and were climbing the stairs to the fourth floor. When Captain Jackson's phone rang - the phone only rang if there was trouble. He snapped the phone open just as three Agents stepped out of the shadows. The sound of gun fire filled the room as everyone dove for cover. One of the Agents was right in front of Mia as she ducked and threw herself into a door way, barely avoiding his grasp. She heard him say, "That one" She could still hear the sounds of bullets as she ran down the hallway thinking 'Shit, this was soo not good.' She ran as fast as she could and saw a room to the side and ducked in to it. It was dark but she could still see well enough from the light coming through a dirty bathroom window. She positioned herself against the bathroom wall and hoped that she was no longer being followed. She slowly brought her gun out and silently clicked off the safety.
She was just starting to breathe easier when she heard a baritone voice say, "This would be easier if you just gave yourself up." Mia could tell he was standing somewhere on the other side of the door, she could make out a dull shape in the dirty mirror. He was just standing there, waiting for her to do something. She heard him sigh and say, "Alright, let's do this the hard way." Mia tensed and aimed her gun at the door and waited. He walked to the doorway with his gun drawn and she started firing. The next thing she knew, she was struggling with him and still trying to fire her gun. He grabbed her arm as she brought the gun up to slam it into the side of his head. He never even blinked. The gun went off again and she could hear bullets ricocheting around the room. He let go of her arm and shoved her to the floor. As she hit the floor, she spring boarded towards the dirty window and through the glass. She hit the fire escape hard and kept rolling. She came to a stop at the bottom the stairs just in time to see the Agent climbing out the window. She got up and leaped off the fire escape, not caring where she landed. She chanced a look back and saw another Agent raise his gun to shoot at her. Mia ran praying that he somehow missed, she heard someone shout "No" but by then, she was around the corner. She didn't stop until she couldn't run anymore. She found a deserted alleyway and pulled out her phone - she wanted out. When the phone answered at the other end, the only think she could think to say was "This is Mia, get me the fuck out of here - NOW!" She was told there was an exit at Meriwether and Davis but to hurry, they were tracking her again. Mia made it to the ringing phone and answered it. She never saw the Agents rush the empty phone booth.
Agent Smith was not entirely displeased with the way things had worked out. They now had a target and her name was Mia. He found himself slightly impressed by her bold move of jumping through the window not knowing if there was anything beyond it. Humans could be such unpredictable creatures but he also knew that fear made them make stupid mistakes. He let Agents Jones and Brown see if they could catch her before she left the Matrix but he knew she was already gone. He walked back through the shattered glass on the fire escape and noticed something in the glass. He could see her sunglasses amoung the broken shards of glass. Without thinking, he bent over and picked them up. They somehow made it through the glass without scratching. As he folded them close, a smell caught his attention. He slowly brought them to his nose and sniffed, they had a particular odour to them - sort of sweet. He found the odour was not unpleasant. He placed the neatly folded sunglasses in his jacket pocket. He would see this female again.