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Post by Return of the Peacecraft on Sept 17, 2004 2:15:46 GMT -5
Anubis took a seat in one of the chairs and took a moment to scratch behind his ears. He never said much to anyone and was rather anti-social. He seemed to have no care at all about the new crew member, and continued on lukewarm about it as usual with most things. Solitaire stood hanging onto a pipe with her right hand. She had a white tanktop and blue pants on with suspenders, he hair done up in a high ponytail. "So, what's he gonna do for us?"
"Right now there's not much he can do, but it brings one more guy onto our side once we get him trained and everything. Besides, he wanted out." Irvine replied.
Ride sat there listening. "So what's that mean, he's just as effective as we are? That's not saying much," she said.
"With our position, with the way things are looking, I know what you mean. But he wanted the truth so I wasn't gonna deny him the fact." He looked over to Marley. "Marley, go help Glitch with the sentinal watch. I'm going to put Jarvas in his bed. Later, we'll give him orientation."
Marley nodded and walked off with a "Yes Sir." Irvine went off to tend to Jarvas, and Marley made his way over to Glitch. Glitch was young looking, about 25 years old. He was caucasian, and was 5'10 in height. He had short combed back black hair, and wore a dark grey baggy shirt with blue combat pants, a headset on his head with an earphone and microphone, and brown leather gloves cut short at the finger. He nodded over to Marley. "Whatcha got?" he asked. "Ah nothing, Cap told me to come and help you, what's new?" Glitch shook his head and looked at the three large central monitors displaying scrolling code strands that represented the Matrix. "Nothing special really. Coppertops doing what they do, no sentinals on our ass. We're doing good so far, so I guess it's just me and you watching people again." Marley shurgged. "Better than nothing." ---
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Post by Return of the Peacecraft on Sept 17, 2004 2:16:14 GMT -5
Jarvas slowly opened his eyes, and his blurred vision came into focus. He had a slight headache. As he stared up at the ceiling, he realized it wasn't his apartment ceiling anymore. I don't know where I am...but this isn't the city anymore. Then he saw that he was sleeping up against a titanium wall. A long shelf-like mesh box on this wall contained a few articles of clothing. The titanium plates that made up the wall were bolted together. The top rim of the bed was also lined with bolts. Above his pillow was a light, and behind that, an empty black rack. There was a single monitor panel on the wall adjacent to that of the light and the mesh box. Two thin pipes ran along the wall that he slept against, the wall with the mesh box. Farther along the wall was a phone attached to a receiver but with no buttons to dial. It must be like closed circuit or something. There was a cabinet with five drawers beyond the phone, and a small fan above it. He looked down at his bed. It was only big enough for him to sleep in, and he had one pillow and a large burgundy cloth that was a blanket. There was a little bit of space to walk around his bed, five feet out to the side, and four feet away from the foot of the bed was the door, which was fastened by a lever, the same way a Navy ship's doors are closed by. This must be what a jail cell feels like. He looked back down at his bed and looked at how big it was. He looked over his legs and noted his clothes. Now he was dressed in black combat pants, new boots, and a dark blue shirt made of the home woven material. My black clothes are gone. He looked down at his bed on his left side. Something caught his eye. What the hell? A tube was going into his shirt. He pulled up his sleeve and he was taken off guard by what he saw. The needle entered his arm where it should have, but instead of going in through the skin, it was inserted into a plug in his arm that was gunmetal in color. What the hell is this?! Getting a grip on the tube and needle, he pulled at it with hopes of getting it out of his arm, and he felt pain. Wincing, he pulled at it slower and more gently than before, until it had come all the way out of his arm. Deciding he would back track to figure out what the hell was going on, he tried recalling past events. Okay...I left the apartment to go after Irvine--Cheryl! I left her behind...shit..I ran into Irvine's group, and took that red pill and drank the water, then I started tripping out. Then I..I...The memory of waking up in the pod came. He remembered the huge towers of pods filled with red fluid and naked people sleeping with tubes attached to them. Tubes...wait...Slowly he moved his hand to the back of his head to where his headache was coming from, that being right above where his nick connected to his head. Gently running his fingers across that area, he felt something he didn't expect. A round, metal plug, on the back of his head, with a small hole in the middle. His eyes widened, and he hit his hand down onto the bed from the spontaneous reaction. What is this!? He stood up from the bed and put his hand on top of his head and felt short tiny hair. My hair's gone! He began feeling his chest and his arms and felt more plugs, and pulled his arms away and looked at himself. What happened?! There was a knock at the door. Snapped out from his moment of hysteria, he looked towards the door. The sound of the crank turning came about, and the door whined as it was pushed open. There stood Solitaire, and smiled when she saw the freaked out look on Jarvas's face. To him it looked like she was holding back laughs, causing him to calm down and be more concerned as to why she was there.
"Hey newbie. You alright?"
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Post by Return of the Peacecraft on Sept 17, 2004 2:16:35 GMT -5
The look on his face made it obvious that he had tons of questions. He opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off.
"I'm Solitaire, I think we met a few hours ago," she said, and extended her hand to shake. He accepted and shook her hand, and then she took back her hand/ She gestured with her head for him to follow her. "C'mon, everyone wants to say hello."
She led, and he followed, leaving the door open behind him. He studied the hallway as he walked behind her, noting how it was all made of metal, and had a blue tint to it, and how it was lined with wires and pipes. They passed several other doors, and he assumed that this was the quarters level of whatever it was he was on. They came to a ladder and she climbed up, and he followed. They passed a level as they went up, and came up to the main deck on the opposite side of the floor from where Glitch and his set up was located. Jarvas narrowed his eyes as he looked around, noting the wires and the pipes all over the place and shaking his head. That's a lot of wires..He looked at the the core setup and how complex it was. His eyes roamed all over the place, from the floor to the ceiling, over to the chairs, of which he counted six. And then finally, he looked over to the others that were staring back at him. He saw and recognized Irvine, Anubis, Ride, and Blade. Solitaire joined the others, and there were two more he didn't recognize. Realizing he was standing alone, he began walking over to the others. It felt kind of weird to be walking, and why he didn't know, but he got used to it and in short time it felt like normal walking. He stopped about five feet away from the rest of the group. Irvine stepped out and took his hand and shook it firmly.
"Welcome aboard, Jarvas."
"Where am I?"
"This is my ship, The Nemesis. It's a hovercraft, but not the same as the kind you're used to." He nodded as if to be referring to something behind Jarvas. Jarvas turned his head and saw a bronze plaque attached to the center of the core and it read "Mark VII No. 27 NEMESIS Made in the USA Year 2148". 2148? He turned back to Irvine.
"What's the date?"
"Acutally to be honest be don't know. We estimate that the year is sometime around 2203, two hundred years after your time. But we'll get to that later. Right now, it's time to introduce you to the rest of my crew, however this time in a more proper manner."
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Post by Return of the Peacecraft on Sept 17, 2004 2:16:55 GMT -5
They all stood in line. First Irvine came to Blade. "This is Blade, my first-mate." Blade nodded. Then he moved onto Ride. "This is Ride." She gave a small wave hello. Next he moved onto Anubis. "This is Anubis. He isn't too talktive but he might warm up to you." Anubis simply greeted Jarvas with a cold stare, and Jarvas gave it right back as his eyes moved along from each crew mate. "This is my Operator, Glitch." Jarvas nodded, and Glitch nodded back in return, replying with "Nice to meet you." Next Irvine came to Solitaire. "You've already met Solitaire." She winked at him, and he frowned questioning it. Irvine then came to the last person left. "This is Marley, secondary Operator and a great help among many other things." Then he turned to his crew. "You all know Jarvas. Let's make him feel welcome." They all smiled. All except for Anubis. He kept the cold stare. What's his problem? Jarvas wondered. Irvine looked back to him and continued to speak.
"This is the real world. You have yet to see how it really is, but it's nothing to rush at. In this world, survival is a struggle. We do whatever we have to do."
Jarvas arched a brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"We've broken off from a major fleet to take a neutral side in a war. However we are looked upon as rogue pirates."
"A war? Pirates?"
"We steal and salvage,"
~We extort, we pilfer we filch and sack~
"We attack, we hijack,"
~Maraud and embezzle and even hijack~
"We hack, we crack,"
~We're rascals, scoundrels villains, and knaves~
"We shoot to kill, civilian or villain."
~We burn up the city we're really a fright~
"All of this is necessary to survive. It's the life we live, but the way we see it, the ends justify the means."
Jarvas thought this over. I go from living a normal life to becoming a pirate living on a hovercraft ship in the future that I haven't even seen yet? No laws to follow, rules to break, and being free to do as I wish...
He looked up to Irvine and hesitated. And then he nodded.
"I think I can get used to this." He still had so many questions.
A pirate's life for me. ----
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Post by Return of the Peacecraft on Sept 17, 2004 2:17:55 GMT -5
Chapter 6: Reality Check
Date: Approx 2203 Time: - Area: Tunnels of the Real
Irvine stood in front of Jarvas, studying his face and making note of how he was taking all of this. He grinned, for there were two things about this that amused him. One, how Jarvas was just standing there and listening to this like it was nothing. How he said "I can get used to this" as if switching from a protector of the law to enemies of the law was nothing. Two, the fact that Jarvas was only scratching the surface. He had yet to learn of the world they lived in and why they lived like pirates. He still did not know what The Matrix was, but Irvine knew this. He knew he would have many questions, and being human, some answers he would understand and accept, and some answers would confuse and possibly frustrate him.
"Jarvas, you asked me what the Matrix was. Are you ready to know?"
Jarvas looked back at him in the eye. This was all a roller coaster ride to him, and he figured it was only going to get better. Or worse. He knew he was going to find out what it was one way or another, so he answered his question by nodding his head a few times to say yes.
"Good. Come this way." Irvine led him over to the chairs, where the all six of themconnected to the center mainframe, which was cyllindric in shape and was like a pillar in that it was connected to both floor and ceiling, but made of monitors, keypads, frames, brackets, and cables. He walked Jarvas over to one of the chairs, and then walked over to the chair that was to the right of Jarvas's. He looked back at Jarvas. "Sit, and lay back," he told him, before doing the same in his own chair. Jarvas sat down and layed back as he was told, and positioned himself so that he was comfortable. To him, it felt like a dentist's operating chair. He turned his head and looked to his left where Irvine was sitting. He watched as Marley walked over and pulled off of the pillar a needle with a handle the size of a man's fist. There was a clamp on this handle, and it was protected by a trigger-guard like feature. The needle itself was at least 5 inches long. Marley took this needle and inserted it into the hole in back of Irvine's head, to Jarvas's wide eyed state of surprise. Blade had walked over to his chair and pulled the needle behind Jarvas's chair off of the cylinder, and Jarvas quickly turned his head toward Blade with a look on his face that said "What are you going to do with that thing!?". Blade smiled and shook his head and put his left hand on Jarvas's forehead whilst holding the needle plug with his right. As he brought his head around the chair's head rest and set the tip of the needle down upon the entrance of the canal on the back of his head, Blade gave Jarvas a reassuring look, and Jarvas looked back with a confused look.
"Relax. It's like nails on a chalk board."
Jarvas arched a brow, and with that, Blade inserted the needle into Jarvas's head and it made a "ZZzzt" noise. Jarvas tightly closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, because the metal of the needle rubbing up against the metal of the canal shaft inside his head cause friction that made that "ZZzzt" noise to everyone else, but to him, it sounded like somone scratching a plate with a fork, or as Blade put it, nails on a chalk board. Blade looked over at the touch tone screen above Jarvas's chair that showed his vitals and pushed at the screen where it said "LOAD". Jarvas' face suddenly calmed as if he was sleeping.
The next thing Jarvas knew, the nuisance of the screeching noise had gone away as if someone has snapped their fingers. He opened his eyes and was caught off guard by what he saw. He no longer was looking up at the ceiling of the Nemesis' main deck. Now he stared at a blunt whiteness. He saw nothing. Nothing but white, everywhere he looked, in every direction. To him, it felt like when you fall asleep and don't even realize it, and when you wake up, hours have passed, but the last thing you remember was what you were looking at before your eyes closed, as if you had merely blinked. Where am I?? he asked himself.
"Welcome."
He heard a voice. It was Irvine's, and it sounded as clear as a bell, since there was nothing like background noise to interfere. It was the only thing Jarvas heard. He turned around and saw him, but wasn't dressed in the combat pants and the raggy shirt and the boots. He was dressed in the same outfit Jarvas saw him in when he was chasing him through the city streets. But that seemed like so long ago. Now he was confused, again.
"Where are we?"
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Post by Return of the Peacecraft on Sept 17, 2004 2:18:23 GMT -5
"This would be the Construct. It's what we use to load equipment. We come here before going into the Matrix."
"Load equipment?"
"Yes, equipment. Be it clothes, weapons, vehicles, training programs, whatever we need, we get it from here."
"Program? This is a computer program?"
"Indeed it is."
"But how...?" Jarvas was trying to figure this out faster than he could process.
"It's fairly simple once you think about it. It's no different than the Matrix where you came from. Take a look at yourself. You have different clothes on. Your hair's grown back, and the plugs on your body are no longer present."
Jarvas examined himself as Irvine listed the changes. He was wearing the same black pants, shirt, boots and leather blazer he wore before he was unplugged. He ran his hand through his hair and felt the back of his head. It was as though he was back to his old self again.
"How did this happen?"
"It's your Residual Self Image. Your mind's projection of yourself. The reason you're in regular clothes and your hair is back and your plugs are gone is because this is how your mind sees you, or how you're most used to looking."
Jarvas looked at himself over and it made more sense. But he still didn't get the whole computer program aspect. "If this is how I'm used to looking, how did it get into a computer program?"
"Not how 'it' got into a computer program, but how your entire mind was put into a program. The plug that is put into your head is like a bridge. Your mind is taken from your brain translated into data and is fed into the ships's online mainframe, and is inserted into the Construct program. The data retranslates and conforms so that it's compatible with the program and then you get your RSI. It works the same with training programs and the Matrix."
"So I'm not really here right now, and none of this is real?"
"Precisely. Now your getting the hang of it. Real is only what our minds tells us is real, and we get what it tells us is real through our five senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell, which are merely electical impulses. Our bodies are back on the Nemesis in the chairs with wires plugged into the back of our heads connected to our cerebral cortex. Our minds is here. Our apparent bodies are merely avatars of our mind, like when you play an online computer game. It's not really you in the game, it's the character you're playing as that's in the game and you're controlling it. It's the same concept here only from an intense first person perpsective where what you experience here and what registers through your five senses not only affects you here, but also affects you back on the ship. In other words, while it is false here, your mind makes it real on the ship."
"So if I'm shot in the Matrix, I'll have a bullet wound in the real world with the hole and everything?"
"No. You would have the bullet wound here or in the Matrix, but in the real world, your mind would tell your body that you were shot. Consequently, the nerves in your body in the same place you were shot would respond as if you actually were shot, and you would feel pain."
Jarvas tilted his head with a slight frown. He was beginning to understand. "So, if my arm was cut off in the Matrix, I wouldn't be able to use it here?"
"Yes, right. Your nerves in your arm wouldn't respond and it would be rendered useless."
"If you die in the Matrix, you die here?"
"Exactly. The body cannot live without the mind. If the mind is killed, it tells the body it was killed, which results in you being dead."
"Can the mind live without the body?"
This caught Irvine by surprise. He frowned thinking it over. "Honestly, I don't know. It isn't something I'd experiment with though."
Jarvas nodded. "Why though? All of this..the Construct, the Matrix, what's it all for?"
A sly grin crept upon Irvine's face. Jarvas was eager to learn.
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Post by Return of the Peacecraft on Sept 17, 2004 2:21:06 GMT -5
"Pay attention," Irvine said to Jarvas. Suddenly, the world around them changed. The infinite whiteness of the construct was replaced by a city street where they stood in the middle of the road. There was the black pavement, the sidewalks lining the road, the six-floor apartment buildings, trees, people walking around, and over all this, a magnificent blue sky dolloped with clouds here and there. Jarvas had a double take, as the city around them had come out of nowhere. He approached a car slowly and put his hands on the top of the hood and ran his hands over to smooth surface. It felt real, it looked real. He could feel the cold of the steel begin to chill up his hands. He was amazed. It's not real...Irvine sat down and looked at Jarvas and chuckled. "Amazing, isn't it?" Jarvas looked over at him and slowly nodded, before surveying the area around him again. One could say he was dumbfounded, but at the same time, it wasn't new to him. He looked back to Irvine and raised his eyebrows like "What now?" Irvine inhaled. Jarvas payed close attention as Irvine spoke.
"Look here Jarvas. Do you see this? This is the world as you know it, the way it was in the beginning of the 21st century. It now exists only as a virtual simulation that we call the Matrix. You've been living inside of a neural, interactive dream world your whole life." Jarvas's face showed that he was horrified, confused, and intrigued, all at the same time. Irvine continued, "This is the world as it is today." He changed the channel, and the buildings on the transformed from tall, strong supported structures to crumbled, charred towers of what remained. The sky was black with little light passing through the black clouds. Lightning cracked the sky and thunder struck like a whip right after. Rubble and rock and metal and debris was the ground, in tremendous colossal heaps all around. Jarvas was shocked. The next thing he knew, thunder struck again over his head. He looked up and there were black clouds, and around him, the landscape of debris. No longer was he surrounded by the tranquilness of the city. He was now in the world of post apocolyptic destruction he got a short glimpse of when he awoke in his pod. Quickly, he turned to see where Irvine was and he saw him still standing across from him as calm as a breeze.
"Where the hell are we?"
"This is the real world. Right now, we are on the surface, somewhere we seldom visit."
"What happened?"
"There was a war. Centuries ago, our technological prowess had reached its peak and we created AI, better known as Artificial Intellgence. As it developed, it eventually gave birth to a race of thousands of machines of all types, like androids, industry machines, construction robots, home convenience. For any task you could think of, there was a machine to do it."
"So then what?"
"Humans treated machines as though they were an inferior race, and at the time they were, from a certain point of view they were merely turned. Then, one specific machine was in danger of being replaced and destroyed and killed its owner, claiming it only wanted to live and acted in fear of its life. It launched a genocide against the machine race, and police, soldiers, and civilians took up arms against them. It was a worldwide massacre. Eventually the machines got smart and moved across the ocean to another land and built their own city where they could manufacture and develop themelves and thrive in piece without being threatened by us. Theytheb called the city Zero-One. It's not too far from where we're located, but no one dares to go there. No ship made it within 100 miles of the city without being destroyed. All but one with a crew of two, but we'll get to that later."
"Then how did this happen?"
"From our understanding, when Zero-One's industry began to flourish and they began importing to human countries, human economy began to drop because the machines were developing better products. As a result of waning power, the humans blockaded Zero-One to prevent exports from reaching their destination. Afterwards, ambassadors of the machine city traveled to the United Nations and opted for a co-operation of peace and tranquility to exist between the two parties. Their request was denied. Then, the war began."
"The war?"
"Yes. We don't know if we were the instigators or not. However, it was us who blackened the sky and blocked out the sun with efforts to eliminate the machines' solar energy source. When it proved inaffective,we did launch a severe offense on their grounds. Unfortunately, the machines had a greater understanding of our anatomy and our weaknesses, and in the end, it was the machines who slaughtered us. The machines took the floor at the United Nations one last time to sign another 'peace' agreement. We handed ourselves over, and it was here that the Matrix began."
"Then why are humans plugged into the matrix in those red pods with all the tubes attached to them?"
"Do you remember how I said that the machines used the sun as their main energy source?"
"Yeah."
"Well, after we blocked out the sun, the machines had to find another source for power. Instead of wiping us out, they decided they would put us to good use. A human body generates more bio-electricity than a 120-volt battery and over 25,000 BTUs of body heat. Harnessing this power with a certain method of fusion, the machines could manufacture it. With this discovery, the machines found all of the power they would need in those that created them."
Jarvas was speechless. While he pondered on this, he looked around and noticed that they had returned to the Construct, and he was now looking back to the screen on the television set. The screen switched to what looked like a field of red dots with large octopus-like machines picking at these red dots with their long tentacles.
"What is that?"
"Those are the fields. The fields that seemingly go on with no end. Those red dots you see are humans. We're a crop now, Jarvas. No longer born, but rather, grown. Used as a mere source of energy. And so, the Matrix is control. A digital world created to keep us oblvious to the truth, that we are here to serve as nothing more than this." Irvine held up an Energizer battery for Jarvas to see. He looked upon his student's face. Jarvas's jaw hung and his forehead wrinkled. To find out that the life he had lived this whole time meant nothing but to serve as a source of power to machines was crushing. He felt so ignorant, but at the same time, he knew that it wasn't his fault for not knowing because he wasn't supposed to know. "It can't be.."
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Post by Return of the Peacecraft on Sept 17, 2004 2:21:25 GMT -5
"It's very true Jarvas. We can show you the fields. While it is hard to believe, you know you're an advocate of the fact that the truth can sometimes hurt." Jarvas looked at Irvine. He thought about what he said and knew he was right, and he nodded. "Is this war still going on?" The tone in his voice began to show that he was now accepting this. He wanted the truth and he got it. Might as well start living with it now.
"No, it isn't. There was one factor that changed it all. Inside of the Matrix, there is a consultant that we call The Oracle. She's been with us since the beginning of the war. She is a guide and a large help to us. She explained to us that when the Matrix was first built, a man was born inside who could control the Matrix and rebuild it as he saw fit, and to do whatever it was he pleased. This man was called The One, and it was he that freed the first people from the Matrix and told them the truth about the world they lived in, as I am telling you know. That was about 100 years ago. When he died, The Oracle prophecized his return and told us that the coming of The One would hail the destruction of The Matrix and end the war. Not long afterwards, The One was found. His name was Neo. Under the tutelage of Morpheus, one of the more praised and respected ship captains of Zion, Neo freed his mind and realized who he was and what his purpose was. There were those who did not believe in the prophecy and refused to believe that one man could stop an entire race of machines. When the time came for Neo to enter the Source and apparently end the war, Zion was about to be attacked by huge machine army. Instead of entering the Source, he didn't. People lost faith, and believed Zion was doomed. When there was little time, perhaps hours before Zion was about to be attacked, Neo and his partner Trinity traveled to Zero-One in a single ship. Needless to say, they apparently made it against the odds. We don't know what Neo did, but the machines ceased their attack, they were already inside of Zion and destroying it by then. The war was over. We never saw Neo or Trinity again. A truce was made between Zion and Zero-One, and humans and machines existed together in peace, and those that wanted to be freed from the Matrix were allowed to do so with no restraint. That was five years ago."
Jarvas frowned. "What happened?"
"Despite the fact that there was peace between humans and machines, there were some people that couldn't accept it. They argued that they were still vulnerable, and that the machines could come and destroy Zion like they tried to before at any time, and with Neo gone, there would be no way to stop it. The counter-argument was that as long as the humans did nothing to instigate, the machines would have no reason to attack. But this group of people came back with the fact that was the point- the machines were still in control and they could attack if they wanted to and there would be nothing they could do about it. They said that since the Matrix still existed, and as long as humans were still being used as a power source and the machines still were in control of the planet, they would have no part of this peace and even claimed they would leave Zion. Deciding they were a liability and a threat to the peace, the Council bid them farewell to go venture out on their own into the world, figuring that if they were out of the picture, they couldn't disrupt the peace. Angry that no one heeded their warning and obviosuly didn't care to harbour them, they stole their ships from the Zion Fleet and left. There was six captains, six ships and six crews. We were a part of the group that left with the rest, because while we didn't necessarily hate the machines, the others did have a good point, and we felt that instead of being sitting ducks, we'd rather be prepared and at least be ready to warn Zion if the machines were going to attack."
"So that's how we fall into this?"
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Post by Return of the Peacecraft on Sept 17, 2004 2:22:50 GMT -5
"So that's how we fall into this?"
"No, there's more. After we left, the captains grouped up and decided on what to do. There were the six of us alone on our own, and we had to make a means to survive now that we'd left Zion. Five out of the six of us agreed that we should do what we could to destroy the machines and take down the Matrix through a means of offense like we were all doing before the truce was established, calling ourselves The Resistance as we had before the war ended. They also wanted to attack Zion as well. If you haven't already guessed, I was the sixth that thought otherwise. I thought it was crazy to even think of pulling it off. First off, the six of us couldn't take on the machines alone, we would be destroyed in no time, and it had been done before. Second, there was nothing I would get out of attacking Zion except possibly getting my ship destroyed and me and my crew thrown into the stockade. So I took my ship and my crew and left the group, and we now have a Neutral standpoint in this Tri-War."
"Tri-War?"
"Well, The Resistance fleet was the instigating factor in this new war. They thought they'd teach Zion a lesson, and went off and attacked the machines. The machines, unknown that there had been a scism in the human faction, saw this as an offense and a declaration of War. They sent an attack squad to Zion and when they arrived, Zion was caught off guard. Commander Lock, the commanding officer of Zion's military, was quick to come up with a strategy and built up a large enough defense attack to stop the machine squad after they had done enough damage. The Resistance fleet helped out, and it was like a slap in the face to the Zion Council, and added insult to injury because it also counted as an I-told-you-so. So then Zion began mobilizing and increased their military size to almost double the size it was during the first war. They insulated the dock, the living quarters, the temple, all of the main conduits, and all of the tunnels leading to the entrance gates, and surrounded Zion with EMP charges, in and out."
"An electro-magnetic-pulse. Automatically shuts down circuitry."
"Correct. Lock figured that if the machines were going to try to get into Zion again from any entrance point, they would be ready, and if they somehow got past the EMP charges, they would have the military ready for them. When the machines found out, they decided that since we were mobilizing for another war, then another war had began. With the Resistance fleet against both Zion and the machines, we get a try war. Zion versus Machines versus Resistance."
"And we're neutral. How does that work out?"
"We don't attack anyone, we only defend ourselves. We're pirates because we do whatever it takes to survive, as I've presviously stated."
"And what about the Matrix? Were people still able to leave freely?"
"No, absolutely not. Stopping humans from escaping the Matrix was the first course of action within the Matrix that the machines took. That happened when Agents were reinstated into the system."
"Agents?"
"Do you remember the three men that came after you at work? Williams, Davis, and Miller?"
Jarvas frowned. He didn't think Irvine had any idea about them. Was he watching that? "Yeah..."
"Those are Agents. They're sentient programs in the Matrix designed to eliminate any soldier from the real world that plugs into the Matrix. They also go after exiles."
"What can they do?"
"They're stronger and faster than any of us. They're speed is like no other. They punch through walls made of marble. You could fire off an entire magazine at them and never hit them once. You could square off against one of them, but you wouldn't last long, since they're not human. Only The One could fight against an Agent and win. He could fight against many Agents and win. But for any one of us others, when you see an Agent, you run like you've never ran before unless you have no choice but to fight to buy yourself some time. But still, you have a better chance of being killed than you do defeating one of them."
"Why did they put that thing inside of me?"
"They were trying to use you to catch me. They have a bad habit of underestimating us though. There's a few ways to get rid of them, they're not invincible."
"But you just said.."
"They can die like any man, since they're programmed to operate in the Matrix, and they have to blend in the people still plugged into the Matrix, and therefore, they're bound to the rules of the system. Those rules, however, we can bend."
"How?"
"Not now. We'll deal with that when the time comes, and now isn't the time."
"Then what do we do now?"
"Well, now we get out of here." Jarvas tilted his head. Irvine looked up, "Glitch, get us out of here."
Jarvas opened his eyes and saw Marley standing over him. He was back on the ship now, and Marley pulled the plug out of his head. He got up out of the chair and looked around. He ran his eyes over the ship again, taking in his surroundings and identifying them as his home. He looked at the crew members, and now they seemed like his family. He ran his head over head, feeling that his hair had grown a bit longer than it was before. He turned and looked at Irvine, and saw him walking in his direction. He looking at him in a caring matter.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Well, come on. Time to eat."
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Post by Return of the Peacecraft on Sept 17, 2004 2:23:51 GMT -5
Irvine walked away, and the others followed. Glitch came and catched up but not before he came up to Jarvas and gave him a play-punch in the shoulder. "Well, you coming?" he asked. "Uh, yeah, I just didn't know where the galley was," Jarvas answered. "Oh, well come on, I'll show you. By the way, I'm Glitch, I'll be your Operator." Jarvas looked him over and nodded his head. "Nice to meet you," he replied. "C'mon, this way," Glitch beckoned, and walked through a door out into a hallway. Jarvas promptly followed. When they had all reached the galley, Jarvas noted that it looked more like an old resturant kitchen with a large table in it surround by stools than an actual galley. When they sat, Jarvas found himself sitting across from Anubis. He looked at him in a skeptical manner, but Anubis rested his head on his hands and stared off into space, not even acknowledging him. Jarvas could tell he was going to have to put some effort into getting to talk with this guy, but he didn't care to worry about it now. He was hungry. He looked over and saw Ride, Marley, Blade, and Glitch bringing the food over. When his plate was put down before him, Jarvas eyed the food and it looked like white meat chicken breast to him. Glitch sat down across from him, next to Anubis. "Have a bite," he told him. Judging by the sound of his voice, Jarvas figured it couldn't be anything at all too bad. He caught a piece on his fork and put it into his mouth and began chewing, and waited a few seconds for the flavor to set in. Remarkably, it tasted like chicken. He looked up at Glitch and held up his fork. "What is this?" Glitch grinned. "It's synthetic," he answered before taking another bite. "Then what is it made out of?" Jarvas inquired. "You don't wanna know. Just eat it, enjoy it," Ride said to him. She was sitting to Jarvas's left. He looked at her and checked her out for a few seconds before getting back to his food. Then Irvine spoke out.
"Guys, today we're forunate to have another person join us after being freed from the Matrix, and we should give thanks for finding him and saving him. We'll take our minds off of the war and our enemies today, to take a break and celebrate."
Irvine looked over at Jarvas, who didn't know what to say. He smiled, and nodded to him. "Happy Birthday Jarvas." This caught Jarvas off guard, and his mouth opened, as he was surprised. Irvine's welcoming statement was followed by a few other Happy Birthdays from some of the other crew members, and it felt nice. No one had ever cared for him this much, except Cheryl. It felt different now though since it was more than one person. Snapping out of his stupor of surprise, he shook his head and nodded. "Thanks," he told them, and went back to eating his food. It seemed as though only hours passed, but he was already settled in like he had lived this life for days. ----
A ship buzzed through the underground tunnels of the real, with blue wide rays of light coming out from several points on the ship. The hoverpads left their blue trails behind that faded away only about fifteen feet behind the location of each pad. The ship was medium in size and had sixteen hoverpads in total. Twelve of them were bunched in threes on four points on the ship. One on each side of the ship on the larger part of the ship, and one on each side of the ship's tail. On the underside of the ship at the point where the tail connected to the larger part of the ship there were two pairs of pads, one on the left and one on the right. Several antennae and turret barrels stuck out from the ship. It stopped at one point where a large opening broke into the side of the tunnel, turned 90-degrees to the left, and entered the tunnel. The tunnel was made almost entirely of rock and sediment except for the few pipe fragments jutting out from the rock. This area was uncharted territory that no one had actually travelled in and therefore was unknown. The reason for the wide blue rays coming out from the ship was that the crew was mapping the unknown territory and writing it down to memory.
A bald caucasian man sat at the controls steering the ship. His controls were two joysticks and a keyboard inbetween. There were several other monitors and keypads in the cockpit as well. The man was built, with a red tone to his skin. He wore a white tanktop, brown combat pants, and had black knuckle gloves on. On his left sat a man dressed with black combat pants, and a dark blue shirt. He also had long hair and a goatee, and a scar under his right eye. Both men watched closely as the ship hovered onward. "Iratus," the man on the left began, "set the ship down there in that cave," he said. Iratus nodded and worked the controls. The ship spun 270-degrees and backed up into the small cave in the wall of the tunnel. It set down with a rumble and then was finally still.
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Post by Return of the Peacecraft on Sept 17, 2004 2:24:14 GMT -5
"Captian, are we finished mapping for now?" Iratus asked.
"Yes, that'll be fine for now, I'll let you know when it's time to leave. Have Zero patch the cooling systems to the hard-drives and shut down whatever power we don't need, we don't want to waste any and it's a pain in the ass to recharge as it is. Run a maintenance check and see to it that whatever needs to be worked on is repaired."
"Yes sir." Iratus said, and he left the cockpit. The Captain stared out the window out at the dim blue rocky tunnel they had just came from. The radio crackled and a voice came over the speaker with some static. "Com com, this is the Nosferatu calling in requesting a report of your current status." The man in the chair grabbed the receiver and pushed down on the button. "Check, we hear you this is Ravage, Captain of the Vehemens, we've taken a break from tunnel recon for repairs. Who is this?"
"Copy that Vehemens, this is Sideways, the Nosferatu's Operator, Captain Blood felt like checking everyone else's status."
"Oh, that's nice," Ravage said as if to retort. But he meant his sarcasm in jest. "While we're on the topic, how's everything over by you?"
"Everything's straight, we're just mapping and looking out for Sentinals, our status is fine." The radio crackled again with more static and another voice came over the radio.
"Speaking of Sentinals, we wiped out a few of them not long ago," the voice said. It was a female.
"Please identify yourself." said Ravage.
"This is Sigma, first mate on the Rebellion."
"Is Django there?" Sideways asked.
"This is Django," he replied over the radio. He had a deep voice but he sounded like he was in a good mood.
"Django how did you turn out?"
"We were fine, our auxilary power kicked in right after our EMP set off, and the Vendetta came in to make sure we were alright."
"Any sign of more sentinals?" Ravage asked.
"Nope, nothing anymore. They were doing some recon on their own but we zapped em before they even knew we were here."
"What about Zion craft?"
"No sign of them, you know they don't like to go into uncharted territory, they don't want to get lost, that's what happened to the Logos."
"I remember. What about the Nemesis?"
"They're pretty good and keeping their distance, there's been no sign of them at all, they're probably miles from here."
"Yeah, probably. Well I'm signing out to have some R&R."
"Alright, talk to you later Ravage." Ravage stood up and hung the receiver back up on the console and left the cockpit to go to his quarters. The main concept of this mapping was that the closer they could get to the machine city via untraveled routes, they better chance they had to EMP-blast it without them having an idea. ----
Jarvas lay in his bed thinking about what he had seen and learned in the past few hours. It was a radical change, but he was taking it pretty good. He knew there was more to do, and more things to learn and see like Irvine had told him, but now he figured he'd use the time to sort everything out. There was a knock on his door. "Come in," he said. The door opened, and Blade stepped half-way in. Jarvas sat up slightly, and rested on his elbows. "What's up?" he asked. Blade looked at him and made his message quick. "Listen, get a good rest, you're gonna need it for tomorrow."
"Why, what happens tomorrow?"
"Combat training." With that, he stepped out and closed the hatch and left.
Jarvas arched a brow. As he layed down, he thought of what it might be like, and closed his eyes. It wasn't long before he fell asleep. ---
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Post by Return of the Peacecraft on Sept 17, 2004 2:24:36 GMT -5
I'll post up Chapter 7 to the Epilogue tomorrow.
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Velesia
Gamma
Butterflies make Pretty pies
Posts: 405
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Post by Velesia on Sept 17, 2004 9:36:14 GMT -5
A tad creepy, but cool. Your style reads very quickly, nice.
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Post by Return of the Peacecraft on Sept 17, 2004 10:11:20 GMT -5
Thanks. What's creepy?
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Post by Return of the Peacecraft on Sept 17, 2004 10:32:03 GMT -5
Chapter 7: Free Your Mind
Date: Approx 2203 Time: - Area: Tunnels of the Real
Jarvas walked down a street in one of the charred and wrecked cities on the Real World's surface. The street was cracked and crumbled, and as he looked around, he studied the buildings. They were also black like the street he walked upon. They were partially crumbled, cracked, burnt, pieces falling as he passed them by. There were large holes in the ground. Pieces of metal lay on the floor all over. He concluded they must have been parts of the machines he had been told of. Lightning cracked the sky with a flash, and the thunder followed after, sounding like a loud crack of a whip. He looked down at himself. He was dressed in his rag clothing he had been issued. He turned to look behind him and saw more of the destroyed city. The Nemesis was nowhere in sight. Then, something caught his attention. Someone calling his name.
"Jarvas..Jarvas?"
He looked around but couldn't see where it was coming from. He turned around a corner to look down another long destroyed street. The city was huge, but falling apart. The voice spoke out again: "Jarvas...Wake up.." Then he heard a strange noise. It sounded like "Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv". It got louder, and he realized it was coming from behind him. He turned around to see what could ony be defined to him as a monster. A large mechanical squid with multiple red eyes and several long thick squirming tentacles capped off with blades. It loomed over him, and it was much larger than he was. He tried to back up but there was a large crater in the ground behind him. He turned, and the large squid brought forth a few of its tentacles, preparing to strike. He put his hand up with his palm facing the machine, but it reared back ready to strike. Lighting flashed again, and the thunder boomed, but not once, several times. "BOOM BOOM BOOM". He jumped up in his bed. Looking around, he realized that he was still in his quarters aboard the Nemesis. He took in a deep breath and let out a sigh of relief. Then he heard someone walking down the hallway towards his door. The person stopped there and knocked with their fist three times, making a "BOOM" sound three times in a row. He arched a brow and opened the hatch and saw Glitch standing there. Jarvas leaned his head to the right a little bit and Glitch smiled.
"Hey, what's up? You sleep good?"
"Uh, kinda." The look on his face made it obvious that he had just experienced some stress. Glitch arched a brow.
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing, I just had a weird dream."
"What happened?"
"I was walking in this city, this destroyed city. And something was calling my name. I turned around and saw a huge machine."
"What did it look like?"
"A giant squid with red eyes."
Glitch arched a brow at the statement, and this confused Jarvas for a moment. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing, it's just weird. You were dreaming of sentinals, and the surface, but you haven't seen sentinals yet."
Jarvas shrugged. "Dreams are weird like that. What do you need?"
"Oh, come with me, we gotta get your trained."
Jarvas's eyes darted around in several directions and then he blinked and nodded. "Oh, yeah, I remember. Let's go."
Glitch nodded, and then walked down the hall. Jarvas followed and blinked a few times after yawning. He watched where he was going with one eye while he used his finger to wipe thr crust out from the inside of the other, and then switched to the other eye, repeating the same process over again. They reached a ladder, and he climbed up after Glitch, making sure to stay low enough so he wasn't hit by Glitch's feet. Finally, they reached the main deck. Jarvas looked around to see what was going on. Marley was at the operator station, Blade was welding something, Solitaire was tightening something with a ratchet, and the others he didn't see. Glitch snapped his hand over in Marley's direction and then threw his fist back slightly with his thumb extended as though to tell him to get out of his chair. He nodded and came over to them and nodded.
"What's the deal?"
"Newbie needs combat training. Where's Irvine?"
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