Onboard the Hvcrft. Blue Distortion

[TRX]

[font=Times New Roman][size=medium]The sound of the passive sensor display, and the hum of other electrical equipment on the bridge of the hovercraft Blue Distortion, broke the silence of the midnight watch. Although the bridge was probably the most organized part of the ship, it looked a bit messy. Some tools scattered here and there, an empty cup belonging to the Captain, and the occasional spare wire on the floor, used in a hurry and left in a busy moment as one problem was solved and the next undertaken. A blue light blinked on the communication station, showing that only one secure line was active, monitoring the Emergency Band, indicating the Captain’s and the ship’s readiness to respond to a call to the defense of New Zion at a moments notice.
 
The hovercraft, nearing the end of her time in the maintenance dock, was finally in a reasonable state and almost ready for a return to duty as yet another year of war drew to a close.  At the moment, Baby Blue was occupied by two people; the ship's captain, and his female operator. It was an odd situation for a hovercraft to be manned by a skeleton crew in dry dock, but then again, considering that the war had been going on for at least six hundred years with no end in sight, perhaps it was no surprise that from time to time both the crew and the machines that bore them into battle would need time to refit and recharge before returning to the fray. This time the Captain himself, TRX, had needed the break, to rest and mentally recover as he reflected on events in Matrix as well as in the flesh. Most of the crew had been reassigned to other ships, just prior to the refit. Two had elected to stay with the ship as she made her way to dry dock in Zion that fateful June day. The loyal ship’s operator, Lyrics, honoring the pact the two warriors had made when TRX ascended to a captaincy and chose Lyrics from among seven eager applicants for the job had elected to stay aboard. The Blue Distortion’s chief engineer, Othala, had also committed to stay with her man, despite the recent evolution of their relationship when TRX’s blue pill wife, Sandy, who had been discovered to be awaken Zion operative in the SM Network flotilla.
 
Little did the trio know that they would soon be immersed in the desperate evacuation of Zion to a newly established secret base. Few operatives at the time were aware of the preparations that had been made to create the New Zion base of operations in a strategic and tactically safer location. Commodore Ps10n, commander of the fleet The Brethren to which the Baby Blue belonged, was the exception. Perhaps Ps10n’s enigmatic smile as he approved TRX’s request for leave and ship refit should have warned TRX that something unusual was in the wind.  Would be just like the Commodore to see threads of destiny converging in order to provide additional transport capability to humanities’ last free city at a time of great need, eliciting that enigmatic smile.
 
Though tired and worn, Blue Distortion and crew would go on to serve with distinction over the next month and a half during the evacuation of Zion. She was among the first of Zion’s hovercraft to engage Sentinels since the end of the Truce, and even emerged victorious against Cypherite crewed hovercraft that attempted to impose their will over a free humanity.   During this period TRX and Othala resolved their relationship as they came to grips with the revelation that Sandy had awaken and with Othala finding new love in the form of the free born engineer named T-Fork who worked tirelessly with Othala to keep Baby Blue up and running during the evacuation. With the evacuation complete, Rex and Othala parted as friends and Othala went on to marry T-Fork. Rex was honored to give the bride away at the wedding.
 
Rex and Lyrics were allowed to remain aboard Baby Blue as she refit. Despite the secure defenses of New Zion, newly appointed High Commander Roland, remembering the lesson of the Mjolnir, wasn’t about to take any chances and insured that the refitting hovercraft would be a strategic reserve asset and that she had enough mobility and the crew to deliver a EMP pulse if, when and where required. Othala was granted an extended leave to honeymoon with her husband and explore New Zion.
 
And so the months past, perhaps not the most restful R&R for Rex and Lyrics and certainly not the most efficient refit of a hovercraft in the history the of Zion yard dogs, but the work proved therapeutic for the pair and the knowledge that even in dry dock they provided an important defensive contingency for New Zion was a great honor.
 
The pair normally worked sixteen to eighteen hour days, including a twelve hour watch on the bridge to meet the defensive responsibilities assigned to Blue Distortion, however, the New Zion defenses proved as formidable in reality as they were on paper and Baby Blue was not even called to go light on her pads throughout the long refit. The Captain would stand the day watch while the yard engineers where aboard so that he could coordinate and inspect the work. In the evening, when the yard workers had left Lyrics would take the bridge station. During her watch, Lyrics would often see the Captain on the ship’s internal cameras walking around with wrenches, materials, wires or other equipment to do repairs or adjustments that the day’s yard work had revealed. Lyrics knew from first hand knowledge that Rex literally knew every nut, bolt, wire and integrated circuit aboard Baby Blue. That level of technical competence had enabled to pair to devise a remote interface that allowed the watch stander to move about the ship instead of being riveted to the bridge. They only used it when the Defensive Condition set by Zion Command was Normal or lower so as not to impact the readiness of Baby Blue to respond. As a result the change of watch usually occurred in the ship’s mess rather then the bridge itself so that the two warriors could exchange notes and plans for the day.
 
Things had been going well for many months, but in the last week the Captain had become remote. They hadn’t spoken to each other very much in the past week. Her captain had been avoiding conversations except if or when absolutely necessary.
 
Not a word more.
 
He would say “Good morning” at breakfast, go about his daily work, and finally “Good night” when he went to sleep.
 
Occasionally he would issue an order or ask a question, but that had become the exception rather then the rule.
 
Normally Lyrics wasn’t a person that would get cranky easily, but on the other hand, she needed a good atmosphere around her. Given the two normally had a very good working relationship, and could really discuss matters with each other with all due respect, made the situation that much harder to bear.
 
After three days she started to get a little cranky and resentful. Finally the dam broke after a week, and an argument ensued at watch change that evening. She had lost it and crossed the line, by badmouthing him in a heated discussion, in a way that made it personal. Not at all displaying the respect an operator should show her Captain.
 
TRX would have been entirely within his rights to have given her the consequences for her insubordination but instead realizing his remoteness in the past week and the grueling nature of their schedule simply sadly responded.
 
"Thank you for your disrespectfulness, Lyrics...  I am going to pretend you didn’t just say that to me.  I'm going to my cabin to get some sleep. I hope for your sake, that when I see you in the morning, you will have lost this nasty attitude you just pulled on me."
 
That night the midnight watch was especially long. Lyrics sat at her bridge station, trying to distract herself by playing through a complicated chess problem with pieces and board she had made herself, while monitoring the Emergency Band. The exercise was of no avail, she continued to replay the argument in her mind wishing she could retract those words.
 
Finally the long watch drew to a close.  Quickly she typed some commands on her keyboard, and removed some rubbish around her workstation picking up the remote headset and headed to the mess for the change of watch. The exact timing of the watch change was flexible as their schedules would overlap in the mess by anywhere between half an hour and two hours depending on what was going to happen during the day. The only requirement that the Captain set would be that the change occurred before the yard dogs arrived for the day and then again after they left.
 
Lyrics walked through the narrow corridors to the mess, arriving before her Captain. Opening a cabinet, she removed a tin can, and poured herself a little bit of liquid fire made famous by Dozer the venerated pilot of the Nebuchadnezzar.
 
"Cheers", she whispered to herself before she took a shot of the strong substance, making a face as if she had just taken a bite out of a lemon. She couldn’t resist letting out a "phfoohh" after she slammed it.
 
Next, as was her custom, she made some coffee, on a weird jury-rigged coffee machine that made a sound as if it were protesting against the fact that the universe existed at all. Just in time as things turned out because she could hear some grumpy mumblings and her Captain’s footsteps in the corridor.

"Good Morning, Lyrics…. How did the watch go" said TRX in a neutral tone, as he stepped through the doorway and seeing that she had made him the traditional cup of black goop that passed for coffee in the Real.
 
"Good Morning Cap…. It was absolutely the worst watch I have ever stood…. I’m sorry T... I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that, and I….."

TRX gently interrupted her: "Listen Lyrics, I appreciate the fact you are sorry for the things you said to me. You should be considering that you were way out of line there. But, I do understand why. I haven’t been Mr. Sunshine this past week and I didn’t give you the attention you deserve. Actually, I’m a little glad that you did stand up to me, because if you don’t do that, whom else is going to do it?"
 
Lyrics smiled while giving TRX a cup of 'coffee'.

"Thanks T, you always make me feel better at the right moments. By the way, what was the reason you were keeping your distance? You aren’t usually an introvert"
 
TRX hesitated a moment, and then started explaining.

"About a week and a half ago I received a transmission from Niobe's second mate, Merrit, aboard the hovercraft Logos II.  I personally took the call, as you were freshening up before dinner at the time. She updated me on the tactical situation in the Matrix and how she needed all the help she could assemble. We need to get back in the saddle, Lyrics and soon. She said that I would have about a week to get Blue Distortion ready for action. At that point I was to rendezvous with Captain Niobe in a downtown office building near the South Vauxton Central hardline for further orders. Merrit also informed me that Othala was being recalled to duty and will be assigned to us within the same time frame.”
 
“As you know with the end of the Truce, extraction operations have become much more dangerous. Merrit informed me that we should be prepared to recruit a bluepill from somewhere near the Kedemoth Central hardline where an extraction point is being set up.”

“So for the last week I have worked very hard on tweaking the ship to bring us up to 110% readiness. That isn’t exactly my favorite pastime and I will certainly be happy to see Othala back at her post to handle the task in future…. She really is a genius at troubleshooting and maintenance”

“I decided to work hard at it, and let you know we were going to be on active duty again the day I finished the job.”

“Yesterday I finished, I am scheduled to jack in tomorrow at 19:00 hrs.”

“That means you need to tweak the operation station today after you get some shuteye. Get a good six hours sleep, that way the yard dogs and I can help you before they go off shift. After that I will cook dinner for us and then we can make our way to the provisioning dock to get supplied for our mission tomorrow.”

The work outlined by the Captain was completed as planned. Everything that could cause a possible conflict while jacked in was checked and double checked. System improvements were implemented and updates performed.

After dinner the pair of warriors made their way to the bridge, the Captain settling into the helm seat while Lyrics took the communication station. The excitement and fire was evident in their eyes as they ran through the checklist that would bring Blue Distortion light on her pads and set them on a course to harms way to fight the good fight.
 
"Ok .. Lyrics, All buckled up?”

Lyrics responded with a strong and precise “Affirmative” followed by a “Let’s stick it to them” as her Captain pulled up on the collective and Man and Machine leapt into the air eager for the game.

Chapter 2


The flight to the provisioning dock was only a short hop. After receiving clearance from the harbor master, TRX maneuvered Blue Distortion with a practiced and skillful hand smoothly into position next to the flagship of Commander Vesuveus also waiting for replenishment.

Lyrics, carrying a few bags de-barked the hovercraft, as TRX completed the post-flight shutdown checklist before making his way to his own cabin to collect his belongings. Judging from the queue at the dock it looked like they would have a several hours to kill.

As TRX descended the hovercraft’s main access ramp he saw Lyrics talking with Hern21, an operative from the craft next to theirs. I second later Hern21 noticed the debonair Captain descending and forgetting his conversation with Lyrics practically shouted out with excitement:

"T.. oh my God man... how good to see you! How are ya bro?"

They shook hands while their left hands slapped each other on the upper arm.

"Hern buddy. Been too long since the last time we met! I’m good man thanks, how about yourself dude? I see you didn’t stop working out man, you look good!"

Hern21's appearance was indeed impressive. About the same height as TRX, but twice as wide, with arms as strong as a bear, almost white blond hair, and very bright albino-like blue eyes. He had recruited TRX about 3 years back, and played a big part in his awakening. He had also been instrumental in arranging a position in the top crew of the RSITemplars, TRX's first faction.

They had been good friends ever since, even when that faction disbanded after a year. The faction leader, WaterDragon, taught TRX everything there is to know about the Matrix, and also provided excellent training on how to be a good captain. After only four months with the faction TRX was promoted to captain of the hovercraft, RSIGuardian.

Because of Hern's many different duties outside the matrix, the two friends sometimes didn’t see each other very much, but when they did meet in the Matrix, they had very good times working together.

"So, TRX. Where the hell have you been man? I missed ya." said Hern as he continued pounded him on his shoulder.

TRX's grin broadened, as he replied: "Well you know me man. Once in a while I just take a long vacation"

At that moment a young man walked up to the trio and interrupted their conversation: "I’m sorry to interrupt Sir, your commander Ps10n sent me to tell you he is at the Communication Centre next to Headquarters, and would like you to meet with him. Sir, he also told me to say: Welcome back".

TRX tapped the man on the shoulder. "Tell him I’ll meet him in exactly one hour at the mess hall for a drink and a sit-down"

Instead of leaving immediately, the young fellow hesitated shyly, like he wanted to ask something. TRX noticed and asked if there was anything else.

Clearly nervous, the young man gathered his courage and after a second finally found some words: "Sir? I wanted to ask you if you would have a position for me, on your crew. I’m good at decrypting codes and messages. I know your operator is one of the best, so I would like to learn the profession on your ship with Lyrics’ guidance."

TRX and Lyrics made eye contact and seeing her little smile matched it with one of his own.

Returning his attention to the messenger, TRX and said: "If Lyrics wants to teach you, I have no objection. By the way, what’s your name and how old are you?"

"My name is Linotype, Sir. I am 19 years old." said the now very excited and hopeful young man.

TRX turned his head to Lyrics and asked her what she thought.

Lyrics, a professional look on her face, carefully examined Linotype from head to toe. She saw a young man with messy hair, brown eyes, and though of slender of build and slight of stature he stood straight, and seemed relaxed even though a bit nervous.

Lyrics stepped forward in his direction, tilted her head a little and said: "Why don’t you come over to the mess hall too in an hour, so we can talk about it and learn a little more about you. Sound good?"

The Linotype’s expression clearly began to shine.

Hern21 choose this moment to enter the conversation. With a serious look on his face, he asked: "Are you sure kid? These people are nuts."

When he saw the startled Linotype look at TRX and Lyrics with both eyebrows up, he couldn’t help laughing and said: "Nah man. I’m just playing with ya".

Lino smiled, glad that he at least had a chance to get on Blue Distortion.

TRX laughed, clapping Hern on the shoulder, and told him: “Some things never change Hern, you still are a good icebreaker.”

"Well Linotype”, TRX said, “We will see you in an hour, and I think it’s clear that it would be best if you are there on time."

Linotype thanked everyone and promised to be on time. You could see in his walk, that he was proud, as he left in the direction of the Headquarters to deliver the message to Ps10n.

After a little more chitchat, TRX and Hern made an appointment to meet in the Matrix in two days. Then saying their goodbyes, they headed off in separate directions.

Lyrics, walking with TRX as they headed for the housing complex commented: "Rex, We will see, but that Linotype kid seems nice."

Finally reaching his quarters, TRX dropped his bags in his home on the ninth floor, second door at the right, of the tall building like structure of the housing complex. He walked over to the corner that had a cabinet. Opening the cabinet, he took out a small iron box with a lock. The lock opened with a key that was hidden in the cabinet. He next opened the box, taking out a necklace with hanger that suspended a small piece of metal, shaped into an oval bearing an engraved "T". He held the necklace in his hand for a minute, and then slipped it around his neck.

He took off his boots and lay down on his bed and exercising that time old skill of warriors and captains alike; catnapping, catching that moment of rest during downtimes as one never knew when next a time for sleep might arise. As he drifted to sleep he reflected on how good it was to be back but mostly images of his wife Sandy as a bluepill and later as the redpill operative Tr1ck5 flashed through his mind. Something at once lost and then found again. On the periphery of these scenes were pictures of the former Zion Captain Conrac and the Zion operative Covenant, two men instrumental in re-uniting him with his ex-wife.

After precisely thirty-five minutes TRX awoke refreshed and pulled on his boots. Smoothing his clothes and double checking his look in the mirror he exited his apartment and made his way to the fleet Headquarters and his meeting with commander Ps10n.



Chapter 3


Commodore Ps10n sat at a table in the dockside mess hall near the Zion Headquarter complex with two of his other captains, Minuend and Morphesu. The Commodore was pleased that fate had arranged for the captains of The Brethren to be in New Zion on the day that one of their own returned to active duty. A Captain’s Council was definitely in order so that hard won knowledge of conditions in this new hot war Zion found herself in could be passed on, first hand, to the returning TRX.

Although Morphesu was the youngest captain of the faction, he certainly carried his share of responsibility for successful fleet operations. He was a tenacious survivor, who had learned to use his youthful appearance to his advantage. Many an enemy made the mistake of underestimating the dynamic Morphesu one second, only to find themselves devastated by a flurry of punches delivered with a machine-gun like staccato the next.

Not only did Minuend bring a woman’s perspective to the Brethren’s Council, but an analytic mind blessed with intuition that reveled in the detection of hidden messages and the crypto-analysis of enemy codes. In Matrix she used her agile mind to “hack” the simulation code on the fly, delivering massive attacks to her enemies and enhancements to her friends.

The reason the captains of The Brethren got along so well, was the sometimes strange humor they all shared. Outsiders often didn’t understand that humor, resulting in hilarious situations sometimes. Yes, they were all like family to each other.

Also at the table was Rage. He had also been detailed to help in the establishment of New Zion and the evacuation of Zion. In fact he had built a reputation for begin an adroit combat pilot with a steady hand under pressure. He was an old friend of TRX, and PS10n had invited him to this meeting as a possible pilot candidate for Blue Distortion.

Rounding out the meeting were Lyrics and Linotype, sitting at a nearby table, already in deep discussion about the science and art of being a ship’s operator and Blue Distortion’s idiosyncrasies.

As if synchronized, they all looked at the entrance when TRX walked in the busy mess hall. As he approached the table the assembled Brethren stood and gave him a warm welcome. Ps10n’s friendly bear hug almost broke a rib and Morphesu’s traditional dap was a choreographed mini sparring match with both sides making the proscribed moves with precision and panache. Minuend’s hug lacked the rib breaking enthusiasm of the Commodore’s but ended with a gentle and friendly kiss on the cheek. Rage’s handshake was firm with a smile that lit his face and eyes. One look at the huge grin on Linotype face and the twinkle in Lyrics’ eyes that accompanied the nod of her head told him that Baby Blue had a new backup operator.

"Welcome back TRX" said Ps10n with a big smile.

The emotions on TRX’s face were very readable as he answered: "Thanks, it’s good to be back Sir"

Ps10n's grin said it all: "At ease captain. Don’t you “Sir” me right now. I’m glad you are in one piece. You have been missed here. Lets all take a seat."

There was a silence at the table for a minute as they sat down.

TRX broke the silence, saying: "I missed you all too."

Morphesu couldn’t help remarking with a wink: "Ok guys, let’s cut this mushy crap and get down to business. We ain’t got a lot of time here." To which everyone chuckled.

Taking his cue, Ps10n started the meeting.

"TRX, I assume Merrit filled you in about the current situation. We are all glad you are back, because there are rough times ahead of us. We need every captain, operative and support person on duty. I had a brief talk with Niobe, who also by the way is glad you are back. However, don’t be surprised when she starts giving you a lecture. She's quite aggravated you have been out for too long. Don’t worry though, it will be fine. Just don’t go smartass on her, because she will beat the living daylight out of you", ended Ps10n with a wink.

TRX laughed like a man with a tooth-ache, who was anticipating a painful visit to the dentist: "I will remember that Ps1”

And then, with more good natured humor in his voice: “By the way, Rage, I didn’t see you for so long. I began to think you took the blue pill or something. Good to see you man."

Ps10n told TRX why he had invited Rage, and strongly advised to give him the position as a pilot on Blue Distortion. TRX didn’t have to think twice about that, and so the deal was made. Seeing that TRX was quickly composing an e-mail notification for the Zion Fleet Personnel Division to announce the crew change, Lyrics confirmed what her Captain had surmised about the suitability of Linotype as a backup operator and her willingness to train him. TRX smiled at his operator’s thoughtfulness in saving him a bit of paperwork and quickly amended the notification to include Linotype as well.

With those formalities out of the way, Rage elected to return to the hovercraft to perform his own inspection of the engine, the ignition, and the controls. TRX smiled knowing he had made the right choice. Lyrics and Linotype also choose to begin some hands-on training aboard Baby Blue, knowing they would hear the Captain’s own brief on the upcoming mission just before he jacked in.

Once things settled down again Ps10n continued: "Rex, when you received the name of the blue pill you are suppose to recruit. Did the name ring a bell?"

TRX replied: "It sounded familiar, but I can’t really pinpoint who he is."

Ps10n looked TRX seriously in the eyes and asked: "Do think again TRX."

Dutifully TRX ran the blue pill’s name, Alex Preston, by his memory of his blue pill life again. He suddenly remembered a man that he had worked with for several years. Those were painful times, so perhaps it was not surprising the connection had slipped his mind as he didn’t like to dwell on that particular portion of his history. Alex, it turned out, had been a support to him, during the miserable events that took place during that time and which eventually lead to TRX's awakening. As he remembered those events over two long years ago he lost himself in the memories.

As a bluepill TRX was known as Markus Parker. He had met a lovely woman named, Sandy <<Maiden name here>> and despite the stress of living paycheck to paycheck in an unforgiving world their mutual passion buoyed them to new heights. Despite their deep love for one another; there were problems, as he could never seem to except the world about them. He would share these feelings with her which she would dismiss as harmless conspiracy theories. The people around them viewed him as a bit of a lunatic and as word of these theories of his passed among his associates the couple began to encounter hard times. He lost his brother who shared his theories, and then soon afterward, his job, when an embezzlement scandal rocked the department he managed. Without two steady incomes the couple lost their home as well. Times where stressful, and he continued to espouse an organization known as the Matrix had it in for him and was the root of their problems.

The couple argued as passionately as they made love. One night after an especially nasty argument, Sandy stormed out of their rundown apartment in Eshean Projects in a fit of temper. That was the last straw for him, at that point he thought he had lost the one thing that really had any meaning to him and this prompted him to put his beliefs to the acid test. TRX rose out of the ashes of Markus Parker’s blue pill life. Having lost everything, he never felt the need to look back, He embraced the life of a Zion operative, attempting to move on and making a commitment to himself to bring truth to the world he once knew.

About a year ago, fourteen months to the day after the fateful night that TRX was born, he learned Sandy’s side of the story. She was the first to admit that perhaps she let her temper rage for longer then was prudent as the heat of that terrible argument lingered for several days. When she returned to the apartment, he was gone. She only found a post-it on the fridge with the words: "It's true, this world is a lie. I'm deeply sorry".

She anxiously waited the mandatory very long 24 hours hoping that he would return before filing a missing persons report. She then endured the bureaucratic meandering of a police department who had little intention of solving another missing person's case in the gang infested slums. That was when she took matters into her own hands and began a fourteen month investigation of her beloved husband's whereabouts. During this investigation she stumbled on strange people and found out about the Matrix, especially after being locked up in a cell for a day and a night and by someone in a black suit, telling her to stop her investigation. With all leads exhausted and hoping against hope that Markus had preceded her into the Matrix by taking the red pill she taken a red pill of her own.

Sandy took the name of Tr1ck5 as her red pill handle, and continued the search for her missing husband in Matrix. Alas, a Cypherite attack on the Zion Mainframe had left the personnel database in disarray. Even with this setback, Trixie refused to give up and enlisted her Captain, Conrac, to aid in her search. The pair came up with places that Markus might visit and posted them on an electronic bulletin board along with a reward for information as to his whereabouts.

An operative named Covenant and his operator Variel took an interest in the case. They were literally searching for a needle in a haystack. The resolute pair, put in long hours tracking down the various leads until one day atop the monolithic Ascension Monument, Covenant found Trixie’s missing husband.

The information was relayed to Conrac, who it turned out counted TRX as a friend and a meeting was arranged in Club Paradise Lost to reunite the couple. Sadly, as TRX had found a new love in his red pill life the reunion was a bittersweet one.

The sound of Ps10n’s snapping fingers several inches in front of his face brought him back from the past. Concerned with TRX’s far off gaze, Ps10n asked his captain: "TRX, are you ok? Do you remember now who Alex Preston is?"

TRX swallowed the lump in his throat and told his commander that Preston had been a supportive and helpful in the his blue pill life when he lost his brother and even resigned his own job in protest when TRX was fired from the department they both worked in.

Ps10n smiled and told TRX it came to the surface that Preston had been seeking answers to Marcus Parker’s whereabouts and was on the verge of discovering the Matrix. The job of recruiting Preston and leading him to an extraction point was tailor made for TRX.

"Well TRX, not many of us get the chance to recruit some one from our blue pill past, and return the favor of helping them out of trouble and supporting them", Ps10n said with a twinkle in his eye.

He continued informing TRX: "So what we did. We sent one of our operatives to meet him twice and carefully gave him some clues you were very much alive, and made an appointment to meet with you. The operative also gently gave him a little bit of information to think about, concerning the Matrix. You are a person he trusted, and what better person to send then you to guide him to the truth and awaken him. Now, I’m giving an order to get about 6 hrs of sleep in your quarters and after you met Niobe at South Vauxton Central go to Kedemoth central, to the closest bar near the hardline at exactly 20:15 hrs to meet with Preston."

TRX stood up from his chair: "I will fulfill this order with the outmost pleasure Ps10n".


*** Authors note: Trixie’s search and reunion with her husband in Club Paradise Lost was played out as an MxO player event and can be found described at the URL:

 HYPERLINK "http://forums.station.sony.com/mxo/posts/list.m?topic_id=36300008394"
http://forums.station.sony.com/mxo/posts/list.m?topic_id=36300008394.

This event was won by the patient and resourceful Zion operative Covenant, who received a reward of $10.000.000 credits or info as the Matrix online currency is called


Chapter 4


TRX woke after exactly six hours of refreshing sleep. Within seconds of leaving his bed, his door buzzer sounded. Making his way to the door, he opened it to find Lyrics wearing fresh clothing and carrying an overstuffed duffle bag with a shirt end peaking out of one end.

Taking in TRX’s messed up hair she smiled, and simply asked, “You ready T?”

Aware of his appearance, the direction of her graze and the fact that he was being teased, TRX mustered up as much dignity as he could manage, saying:

"Do I look like I am ready?", before breaking down and joining his operator in a hearty laugh.

"Ok Lyrics, you go on ahead and meet up with Rage. Assign him to cabin 4 and let him get settled in there. In the meantime I'll pick up that operator student of yours. He seemed like he was hanging on every word you said from what little I saw in the mess hall. Are his parents filled in?"

"Yes, Last night before I showed Lino around Baby Blue we went to meet them. They are of course concerned for his safety as any parent would be in time of war, but very proud he has made the choice to actively defend New Zion. Very nice folks, they offered to make the crew dinner the next time we are in New Zion"

"Oh that is nice of them, where can I find him?"

"While I chatted with his parents, Lino packed up his kit. We dropped the bags at the hovercraft last night. He said that he would be in the chill room on the 12th floor of this housing complex today saying goodbye to some friends. I guess he is there now."

"Ok thanks, I'll correct my hair and collect him right away. I also dropped my gear off last night before I went to sleep. Uhmm, one more thing though, Linotype will be your responsibility. I advise you to not let him do any work this evening, let him settle, explain some stuff and let him watch. Also explain the rules and watch schedule we keep aboard ship and so forth. Ok? Oh and while you’re at it, contact the Logos II and tell Niobe I’m on my way."

Lyrics responded with a crisp, "Yes sir!" and went about her tasks.

About ten minutes later TRX boarded his vessel with Linotype. He first assigned him a cabin, then suggested that if he hadn’t had something to eat this morning that be a good idea to stop in the mess before reporting to Lyrics at the broadcast station. With that said TRX shook Lino’s hand with a smile and officially welcomed the operator trainee aboard Blue Distortion and then departed for the bridge.

As his Captain departed, Linotype glanced around his new home deciding how to arrange his belongings. He was excited about the adventure that had just begun and proud that he was found worthy and selected for training, but admittedly a bit nervous as well. After he put his things where he wanted them he took one last look before making his way to the mess hall for a quick bite before they got underway.

On the bridge TRX was chatting with Rage, in the manner pilots for a thousand years have about the little flaws of the machine they were about fly and what one could expect behavior-wise across the vessel’s performance envelope. Rage had already settled in his cabin, and was clearly motivated to pilot the vessel.

"Sir, it’s an honor to work on your ship after our long friendship in the Matrix."

"No Rage, the honor is mine" said TRX with a wink and smile.

As the scheduled time of departure approached everybody settled into their stations, TRX and Rage on the bridge and Lyrics with Linotype on the broadcast deck. Rage requested permission to leave through his headset and got clearance to leave through Gate 5. Rage brought the hovercraft light on her pads and with a smooth pull on the controls slowly lifted off and headed in direction of the gate.

At the broadcast station Lyrics began teaching Lino the do’s and don’ts of the operator’s position drawing on both what was laid down in “The Book” but heavily interlaced with practical experience that she had learned on the job.

They departed New Zion without any problems, and the silent running to broadcast depth was fortunately uneventful. With the end of the truce, sentinels were once again actively hunting Zion’s fleet.

Upon reaching broadcast depth, Rage began searching for a sheltered nook in which to hide Baby Blue from any sentinel patrols that might overfly the area. Soon finding a place near a mechanical line he gently and skillfully set the hovercraft down under cover.

Once the hovercraft was secured, TRX made his way down to the broadcast theater and took his place in his large interface chair. Lyrics assisted her Captain, while Linotype watched with interest. She double checked all the status displays, as she removed the interface cable from the chair’s storage compartment and seeing all indicators were reading green inserted the pin into the back of TRX’s head with practiced ease.

As TRX had not jacked in for some time, the insertion of the interface pin was a bit uncomfortable. Lyrics, having preprogrammed the interface, initiated the sequence that would send the Captain to the South Vauxton Central hard-line, a phone booth in the relatively dangerous Downtown section of the Megacity.

.
As TRX’s mind adjusted to the data feed, his avatar slowly morphed into his residual self image near the phone booth in South Vauxton. As an experienced operative he did an automatic scan of the immediate area looking for any glitches or something out of the ordinary that would indicate lurking danger. With everything looking clear, he took an equipment inventory at which point he took his cell phone and called Lyrics, “Uhmm Hun? Why didn’t you load the PDA I normally have in my coat? Now I can’t open my map display. You will have to direct me to the building where I need to meet Niobe.”

"It seems there has been a glitch when loading you equipment Sir, but no worries, I’ll lead you to it. Ok, I have the local map up on my data display. To your right the street dog legs to the right, there should be a parking lot on the right. There is a building facing the street and the parking lot. You will need to go around that building and into the building behind for your rendezvous.”

"Ok, thanks"

The moment TRX terminated the call; Lyrics saw activity in the code indicating there was an agent nearby. She immediately tried calling TRX back, but only got a busy tone. “Damn we are being jammed!” she exclaimed to Linotype as both operators watched the drama unfolding and willed their Captain to notice the approaching danger.


TRX unaware of the unfolding situation crossed the street when he reached the parking lot. His intention was to take the alley on the right side of the facing building in order to bypass it and arrive at the designated destination. As he walked into the alley, he was surprised to find an Agent within hand-to-hand range blocking his path. The Agent, straightened his cuff-links, and flexed his virtual muscles as he greeted TRX with “Hello, Mister Parker” before immediately attacking the surprised Zionist.

This particular agent was well know to the operatives of Zion, as Agent Brown, and while not the most formidable of the Agents arrayed against the forces of Zion he was more then able to take on and defeat the most skillful warriors Zion could field in one-to-one combat. TRX was a good fighter, but not yet in the top tier of Zion’s elite, though each time he entered the Matrix he learned a little more about manipulating the code and intensifying his attack and defense capabilities. Just as in the time Neo, an operative’s best tactic in such a one on one confrontation was to flee. The difference in the post-Neo era was the ability to “hyper-jump” that Neo had mastered and passed on was commonly in the repertoire of most operatives training after only a short time within the Matrix. For some reason, most agents had not learned this capability, so one or two successive hyper-jumps were sufficient to break a hot pursuit. The difficulty was an operative needed to gather him or herself before launching themselves into the ballistic trajectory that would quickly carry them to safety.

TRX, surprised, did not have the necessary time to launch himself to safety, but his combat instincts were still with him as he used the force of the Agents attack against him, causing Agent Brown to momentary become un-balanced giving TRX a slight temporary advantage. The Agent’s off-balance follow up punch was easily blocked setting Brown up for a powerful right-handed uppercut, known as a guard breaker move, seemingly delivered in slow motion as TRX’s heighten combat senses kicked in. Against another operative with about the same combat ability such a solid strike would be enough to give a TRX an advantage for the rest of the fight, if not down the opponent outright. Not so against this formidable adversary, never-or-less, the strike did knock Brown to the ground which was just the opening TRX needed to roll away, gather himself and leap to the roof of the building he had meant to bypass.

TRX’s landing was picture perfect and by “the Book”, the force of the landing absorbed as he went down on one knee, one fist touching the rooftop as a slight seismic wave rippled the roof structure transferring the energy of the jump to the building. The Agent had recovered quickly from the knockdown and tried to bring down the fleeing operative with his semi-automatic pistol, but to no avail. TRX, gunshots echoing in his ears, heart pounding with the adrenaline rush, quickly got his bearing and sprinted for the edge of the roof so that he could leap the 20 meters or so to the destination building. Ducking behind a roof-top shed structure containing the roof access stairwell, TRX pulled out his cell phone and contacted Lyrics as he opened the shed door and raced down the stairs.

Lyrics had not been idle as Rex was fighting for his life, She had managed to readjust the signal strength and burn through the jamming she first encountered when trying to warn her Captain. When her Captain called she was ready with the information he needed as she answered: “T, run down the stairway until you reach a brown door on the third floor, enter it, close it and then wait!"

TRX found the door half way down the stairway, entered and immediately closed it behind him while still holding his cell to his ear. Lyrics staying with Rex, told him to have a little patience and to wait for one minute. After a minute she said "Ok Sir, you lost him, the Agent has left the immediate area. Move toward the end of the hallway behind you, take the elevator to the top floor."

TRX, racing heart slowing to a normal pulse rate, walked with a firm and steady cadence down the hallway and took the elevator.

Lyrics continued providing directions "Sir, as you get out of the elevator, there will be wide doors in the middle of the big hallway, that’s where Niobe is waiting, in the office behind it."

"Thank you Operator, I’ll call you back later", TRX closed his cell phone as he walked down the big hallway, decorated with suits of medieval armor, pushed the wide doors open, and entered the office.

As he entered the room he saw Niobe standing at the big picture windows with First Mate Ghost beside her, Liaison Officer Merrit was slightly to the left nearer the corner of the room.

Niobe said, "Just in time Captain. Say, you’re eyes look like you just walked out of the wilderness".

TRX chuckled and replied, "Greetings Captain Niobe." He tipped his hat to Ghost and Merrit while saying their names.

TRX continued, "I was hardly jacked in at the central hard line, when I ran into Agent Brown in the ally on my way here.” Followed by a grin, "But I managed to let him eat my dust".

The corner of Niobe's mouth lifted a little, "Well TRX, at least you haven’t lost your skills, after five months of sitting on your ass!"

TRX moved closer to the Logos II crew, as he thought to himself, "Well, I guess I had that coming".

Niobe continued, clearly not satisfied with TRX’s long vacation "What part of the rules that state the maximum leave is three months did you not understand Captain? And not to rub your face in the dirt too much, but, this is second time you have done so."

When TRX took too long to answer, she punctuated her point by stepping into his space and piercing him with her gaze. The fact that she had to look up at him, in no way minimized the power of her presence in such close proximity as she firmly promised, "If there is a third time, you can count on Zion command to take your vessel from you, as well as your Captain status for a while. Is that understood, Rex?"

Just before answering her question TRX caught Merrit in the corner of his eyes, having a hard time not laughing at TRX, because of the expression on his face.

"Roger that Captain", he said while trying not to think of Merrit as she turned to face the window and cleared her throat. Ghost was looking at the toe of his shoe and coughed, also amused.

Niobe said with slight smile "Good! Welcome back then." as she straighten Rex's tie.

TRX now feeling a little more comfortable, responded, "Thank you Niobe. Uhmmm, I guess you didn’t get me here just to bite me did you?", as he took a cigarette and lit up with a Zippo.

Niobe sighed, "Nah. I wish that was the case Rex. I admit, I enjoy scaring you a little, but unfortunately, now that I had the fun part, we have more important business to…."

Before she could finish she was interrupted by her cell phone,

"Yes Operator? What?! Ok, give me the location of the nearest exit."

Merrit and Ghost went on instant alert hearing the tone of their Captain’s voice.

As she hung up, TRX asked Niobe what the emergency was.

"Sentinels!” she almost shouted. "Follow me! Quick!"

TRX immediately dropped his cigarette on the floor, before he ran out the room behind the Zion elite crew and towards the stairways to quickly get to the roof. Two quick hyper-jumps allowed them to leap from building to building and then down to the street. Dodging traffic as they crossed the street, they could see the phone booth in the distance, as they sprinted to cover the distance as quickly as possible.

As they ran past the lobby of an office building, two agents ran out and took pursuit. Only Niobe’s timely warning and quick reactions had allowed them to just avoid the ambush.

They were not out of the woods yet. TRX, running at the end of the column saw that the agents needed to be delayed in order to allow the Logos II crew time to jack-out in order to defend their hovercraft from sentinel attack in the Real. As Baby Blue was not in imminent danger, the job would to fall to him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw his chance, as the agents were running in line ahead formation. Urging his compatriots to hurry, Rex slowed slightly, allowing the agents to close the distance. Picking his moment, he planted his foot and used his forward momentum to pivot around in a 360 degree round house kick that connected with the lead agent’s chest. A devastating blow to any enemy, except for an Agent. However the laws of physics were faithfully encoded into the code of the Matrix, and the momentum of that strike was transferred to the agent who was lifted off his feet and thrown into the path of the trailing agent. The pair of agents went down in a tumble as TRX tucked and rolled and started running in a different direction in the hopes of drawing the agents away. He had executed a flawless hit and run attack. As he turned a building corner he saw Ghost, the last of the trio, disappear into thin air, jacking-out. He had accomplished his mission, but now had two agents on his tail as he headed to another nearby hard line he half remembered.

Fortunately, his operator was on the case and surmised his destination. So when the cell phone beeped and Rex answered with a shout "Get me out of here!” He was treated to Lyrics, with a pumped up, but steady voice providing precise instructions to his destination.

"Ok, hard right; backdoor in front of you; left; right; now straight; take the front door out; across the street. Around the next building on your right; Hyper-jump 11 o'clock.....Now! You’re going make it, make a left; hard line in front of you. Go! Go! Go! Don’t look back and grab the phone."

Just before TRX felt his RSI transfer into code, he saw the agents stopping their sprint, raising their guns and emptying them as fast as they could pull the triggers.

The next thing he knew he opened his eyes, back in the Baby Blue’s Broadcast Station to the sound and feeling of the pin being removed from his head.

"Phewwww... That was close" he said to Lyrics, seeing Linotype next to her with a very pale face and eyes opened wide in awe.

“Not to mention a prefect ‘Trinity style escape’, Cap” whispered Lyrics with a smile.

Chapter 5


On board the vessel Logos II, the crew breathed a collective sigh of relief. The fight had been desperate at times, but the training and teamwork of the veteran crew was enough to carry the day. That and the fact that the sentinel patrol commander had apparently not called in overwhelming reinforcements. Could it have been calculating what the prestige of taking out a priority target with just the members of its patrol would do for its career? After all, Niobe, through her interactions with “The General” had first hand knowledge of the ambition that could drive the enemy’s military AIs. Never the less, Niobe not taking any chances with the lives of her crew and the safety of her craft made sure to clear datum in as quick and stealthy a manner as possible, to throw off any late arriving reinforcements at the site of the battle. Once she was satisfied that Logos II had fully disengaged and had not been trailed, a relatively sheltered location was selected and the hovercraft set down so that a complete battle damage assessment could be made. Fortunately, none of the boats critical components had been severely damaged and the hull had retained its integrity. Two of the lift pads had been damaged and one of the turret guns had jammed, but the crew was able to affect repairs with spare parts stored onboard. As the repair crew labored, battle stations continued to be manned with somebody prepared to initiate an EMP pulse should the situation warrant. The Real was once again a dangerous place to operate hovercraft, gone were the days of the Truce and the use of moored hover barges as operating stations.

With the repairs complete and the Logos II underway again, Niobe ordered her operator to make contact with Blue Distortion to pass on her status and to learn if TRX had survived the suicidal diversionary attack on the agents. Ghost, had related that the attack had delayed the agents just long enough for him to safely jack-out, but the last he had seen of TRX was that he had run out of sight around the corner of a building with the two agents in hot pursuit.

The relief in Niobe’s voice was evident as she continued after she heard TRX’s voice acknowledging the ship to ship call,

“Captain, Rex, On behalf of my crew I want to thank you for your bravery and initiative today. That was a very risky move you made on those two agents. Given the circumstances I don’t think the Emergency Jack-out Protocol would have worked for my team so you bought us the time we needed to safely escape. You did what you had to do and as a result ‘We are still here!’ Thank You!”

The comm. link, except for the background static on the carrier, was quiet for a moment as TRX reflected on Niobe’s choice of words and Morpheus’s famous Temple Speech.

"T Gathering himself he replied, “That is well said! There’s nothing I can add to that, except that words can not express how happy I am we all made it, Niobe"; as his fingers finally loosened the tension in his neck muscles that had been there since his own escape and the fate of Logos II crew unknown.

“Good Luck with your mission, Rex. Logos II out.”

As Lyrics broke down their end of the comm. link she took the opportunity to inform her Captain that he had twenty-five minutes before having to jack back into the Matrix for his appointment with Alex Preston, an acquaintance from his bluepill life.

Rex went to his cabin, to relax and prepare himself for what most likely was to be an intense discussion with Preston. At the conclusion of the meeting he hoped, if all went well, to give Alex the choice between the blue and red pills.

He jacked back into the Matrix, in the neighborhood of Kedemoth in the Richland Slums. This turned out to be a little bit further away from the bar where he was to meet Alex then he remembered. Lyrics had apparently solved the equipment download issue he experienced in Downtown as this time his PDA was in the inside pocket of his Blackwolf Trench Coat where he expected to find it. Retrieving the PDA, a few presses on the touch-screen brought up an area map where he could compare the coordinates of his location to the ones Lyrics provided for the meeting.

Orienting the PDA to the local scenery, he selected a direction and started heading toward the meeting place. He confirmed his navigation with the GPS feature on the PDA map display. A cold front had rolled in, since his meeting with Niobe, filling the sky with threatening gray clouds. As he made his way down the street in began to rain, prompting him to button his trench and tilt his fedora forward over his forehead and eyes. He continued to monitor his progress to the bar using his PDA/GPS.

He had been carefully weighing his meeting with his old friend and decided to go solo, fearing that descending on Alex with a crowd of freaky red pills might unsettle him and more importantly, possibly alert the machines that something was in the works. With the end of Neo’s Truce, the machines were trying to shutdown Zion recruitment operations whenever they could. As a result some additional security was indicated, which he planned to fill by using his enhanced coding abilities to create an autonomous simulacra, a human appearing entity, that he could create within the Matrix code and direct to guard the entrance to the bar where the meeting was to be held.

Before entering the bar, he checked the time and glanced around to make sure he hadn’t been followed one last time. Seeing that it was all clear, he entered the bar. Once inside he noted that several people were scattered throughout the room. Two people were sitting at the bar talking to the bartender and an additional two were shooting a game of pool. His own contact was sitting alone at a corner table, oblivious of his surroundings as he stared at his bottle of beer.

TRX, deciding to blend in first, went to the bar to order a beer from the bald bartender. As he did he noticed the backdoor exit and hoped to Neo that no enemy would enter from that direction.

TRX then looked over to the man again, still staring at his beer, and confirmed that he was indeed Preston. TRX, totally blended in with his surroundings, made his way to the old friend he hoped to awaken.

"Alex?'', he said with a low and calm voice.

His old friend stopped staring at his half empty bottle, to see who had broken his musings. At first Alex didn’t recognize the man, but when he saw him taking of his fedora, his eyes had a mix of recognition with a pinch of disbelief.

"Parker, is that you? Good Lord! It is true, you are alive! But, hmm, you look, hmm, different somehow." He said as he got to his feet.

They greeted each other with a firm handshake, then sat down at the table, as Rex placed his PDA on the table where he could easily monitor the blue screen of the advanced gadget and check on his simulacra’ activity.

Alex, impressed by the strong presence of the man he once knew as Markus, started asking questions right away.

"Where have you been all this time man? I tried to find out what happened to you for a long, long time. I was worried sick! I thought you were dead! And who the **** is that wise guy with the black bandana that contacted me, and arranged our meeting?"

TRX with a calm and self-assured voice replied, "Alex, before I answer your questions, I just want to thank you for the support you gave me back then. You were one of the very few that stood by me no matter what other people said and did."

TRX paused a few seconds as he took a quick glance at his PDA.

"The reason I am here is that it is time for me to return you the favor."

Alex, obviously confused, asked; "What do you mean? The tone of your voice sounds just as mysterious as that black bandana guy, with his babble about ‘rabbit holes’ and appearances being misleading. I want some answers about what the **** is going on here!"

TRX empathized with what the poor man was going through. Trapped in a monumental lie with happenings that could never fully be reconciled or explained in the framework of Alex's un-awaken life. Alex was not as near to awakening as had been reported and Rex realized they needed a more private place, where he could explain in detail what the Matrix was all about.

"Alex, do you trust me?"

Preston hesitated a moment then said, ''Well, not completely, you still have not answered my questions"

TRX needed some time to reformulate his extraction plan, so he made a joke about only renting beer and excused himself for a trip to the restroom. When he entered the small hallway he saw an old telephone hanging on the wall and had an inspiration. As he entered the men’s room he deactivated the guard simulacra using his PDA and placed a call to Lyrics using his cell phone.

"Operator", he heard on the other end of the line.

"Lyrics this is going to take longer then I thought, I need to have a private discussion to explain things to Alex, so I need to escort him someplace secure. I think extra backup for the trip will be necessary. Please check to see if any Zion operatives I have worked with in the past are available to help on short notice. I don’t want to be here any longer then I have to, I have a bad feeling about this. I better switch to a fighting configuration”

Lyrics fingers flew over the keyboard as she typed in the query and found Rex’s old friend and mentor, Hern21, just a few blocks from the bar. She related the good news to her Captain and placed a call to Hern21.

Hern21, who was sitting on a bench near the Kedemoth Central hard line, answered his phone with a short “Yeah”.

"Hello Hern, Lyrics here. TRX needs you quickly at the bar half way down 23rd Street. He is trying to recruit a blue pill. Can you get there yesterday?"

Hern replied, "Yeah, on my way"; as he stood, gathered himself and hyper-jumped toward the bar.

Lyrics reported to TRX that Hern was on his way as she returned to monitoring the bar and its’ surroundings. She immediately noticed that three unknown red pill signatures were approaching the entrance to the bar. Her sharp intake of breath and quick explanation alerted her Captain.

“I need my Karate abilities, Now! Lyrics, can we use this phone?”

“Sorry Capt, that phone isn’t on our net, Trinity once used her cell phone. It’s risky, but I can give that a try”

TRX said, “We have no choice Hun, do It!” as he entered the empty men’s room.

A second later, his eyes closed and initiated REM behavior as his fighting programs replaced his coder programming. The rapid download through the unaccustomed device, left him dazed, gripping the men’s room sink for support as he assimilated his fighting abilities.

Regaining his composure, TRX quickly returned to the bar room to try a salvage a situation that was going from bad to worse.

As he entered the room, TRX saw that the three men, backs to him, had taken up threatening positions about his friend and were beginning to brusquely interrogate him. He also recognized the three humans as machine operatives. Awakened humans, who with the Truce over had thrown in with the Machines to maintain iron control over a chained humanity. The Orwellian metaphor of some pigs being more equal then others flashed through his mind along with the label “Know it all elitists” as he quickly closed the distance to the table sizing up the opposition as he approached.

At that moment, Hern stepped through the front door of bar and picked up the warning sign TRX made with his fingers indicating the three men that were pressuring Alex.

Two of the men, TRX dismissed as flunkies, albeit dangerous ones. The leader, however, moved with the balance and grace of a veteran martial art grandmaster.

The leader seeing Hern closing the table with determination in his eyes leapt to engage him. The flunkies both drew their automatic pistols, one obviously with the intent of executing Alex with a head shot right then and there. Fortunately, they had not yet noticed, TRX, closing the last few yards to the confrontation with his own West-Tec handgun drawn and lined up on the executioner. Taking no chances TRX placed a round through the executioner’s ear, initiating the villain’s emergency jack-out procedure (EJP) as he spun around with surprise in his eyes. His body disappeared an instant later.

TRX sidestepped and continued his charge toward the other gunman who had turned to face the sound of the shot. He was fast but not fast enough, bringing his gun up and squeezing off a shot that grazed Rex’s leg just before the full force of the Captain’s charge propelled him hard against the wall, knocking the wind out of him and dazing him for a few seconds. TRX then performed a wall kick, twisting as he did in order to face his stunned opponent and pummel him with a flurry of body punishing punches to his torso that were delivered faster then the eye could follow. Hern having defeated the leader after a series of punches and throws, finished off the gunman with a well placed knife throw to the chest. After a few seconds the bodies of both the leader and the gunman disappeared as their EJPs activated.

Alex sat there in shock, his eyes wild, unaccustomed to the proximity of the extreme violence, the inhuman speed with which the combatants moved and delivered their attacks and the disappearance of the dispatched red pills.

TRX, seeing Alex’s eyes put a firm hand on his shoulder and locked eyes with him saying, “If you want to live, follow me, there are no doubt additional killers on the way. We will protect you.”

They ran out of the bar’s back door and zigzagged down a few alley ways, finally entering a storeroom at the back of a bookstore, closing and locking the door behind them.

Alex was now terrified, "What the **** was that? And in Gods name, how did you guys move so fast beating those men? You, big man, you kicked that thug so hard, he flew through the air five meters!" as he started to hyperventilate.

Hern seeing and hearing Alex’s distress, as gently and calmly as possible helped Alex to a chair and asked him to focus and to breathe was deeply as possible. He then promised to get a glass of water and be right back.

As Alex slowly started to regain control of his breathing, TRX knelt down in front of him and once again made eye contact. Rex remembered exactly what it was like to see all kinds of stuff that could not rationally be explained, and felt the pain his friend was going through as Alex started to question his own sanity.

He gently started to explain the last 600 years or so of Human/Machine history and how the Matrix was a simulation of the Earth in 1999 that was designed to be a prison of the mind to keep the human race docile in their life-pods while the Machines leeched energy from their prisoners to supply some of the power the Machine race needed to survive.

He explained about the war between Man and Machine. How in a desperate bid to avoid total extermination, Man scorched the sky, plunging the world into darkness, in an attempt to cut the Machines off from sunlight, their primary source of energy. The strategy had only been partially successful, ending the extermination to be sure. But, when the Machines eventually won the war, the remaining humans where subjugated into what were essentially batteries.

He described how he and others like him survived in the outside world of the Real and how as they knew the “truth” they could bend the laws of physics, and in some cases even break them within the virtual world of the Matrix, which explained the “impossible” things Alex had just witnessed.

Hern came back with a glass of water he had asked for in the bookstore. Seeing that Rex’s explanation was beginning to sink in he gave Alex the water, and smiling said, “You know I had this same discussion with Markus a few years ago, for what it is worth, he took it a lot worse then you”, as he gave Alex a knowing wink. Alex seeing th