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2.2: Nobility (Chapter Two)

King sat back, quiety observing his haggared captain as he rifled his way through an old box of junk. He had never asked him his age, and while it was obvious that years of duty had left him battle-worn, his eyes still sparkeled with youth.

"Ha, found the little b*stards... Remwal, load these badboys up will ya!"

Xeroth turned with a grin and spoke

"Right kid, your goin on the ride of your life!"

"I don't understand sir, what are those disks?"

"These mboy, are your training programs; now we're running on a godd*mn pittance, so this is the best we got, but it'll be enough to make sure you don't get your *CENSORED* severely whupped!"

Xeroth jumped up from his seat and strutted his way over to Remwal. The ships operator was busy sorting through the training disks. Blowing away layers of dust, he proudly held up the Combat Training program, which was labelled with a scrawl not too dissimilair to the handwritting of a child.

"I think we'll go with this one first king" he exclaimed; "Now, buckle up, this is gonna be a little bumpy!"

His mind buzzed with energy, his body; electrified. He had been on the receiving end of over 7 hours of numerous training sequences, each one more intense than the other, but rather than feeling tired, he felt more alive than ever before. And then it happened...

Searing pain shot through his left temple and jolted across to his right. He didn't move, didn't make a sound, as the combat protocol faded out of sight and were replaced with a distant blur. In his minds eye he tried to focus, but it continued slipping further and further out of view. Suddenly, without warning, he was in a nightclub.

"I'm impressed, once again we were right about you..." rasped an all-too familiar voice from across the room. He had been hearing that very same voice each and every night since the day he was unplugged, except this time, it was different. No longer was he recalling the visit in the warehouse, no longer was he seeing the same figure, clothes head to toe in red leather. He was not dreaming, he was in the presence of a Watchman.

"We have been waiting for you King, we knew you wouldn't let us down."

"How.... how are you here? Are you part of the training?"

The woman let out a stifled giggle.

"Oh King, you still have so much to learn. I assume by now Captain Xeroth has filled you in on the little 3-way dance going on in The Matrix?"

She was right, every day for the 2 weeks he had been 'Awakened', Xeroth had taken it upon himself to remind him of the struggle between Zion, the Machines, and the Exiles.

"So who, or what are you then?" King asked.

"More important than that," the woman replied; "Is WHY are we? Why are we here, why do we exist, what is our purpose?"

Sensing that those were rhetorical questions preluding an explanation, King stopped himself from interupting.

"We are the Code of Awakened Watchmen. We serve the Merovingian, however we do not fight his fight. We are the darkness, the shadow in the corner of your eye, the creak in your floorboards, the voice in the distance.
We watch each and every living soul both inside and outside of the Matrix. We know everything there is to know, because that is our purpose, that is our duty"

"So whats so special about me? Why visit me?"

"You are destined for bigger things that this King, you are not to be doomed to a life of eternal servitude in the bondage of Zion, you are merely beginning a path that will lead you into the welcoming arms of the Merovingian cause."

King searched for a retort. Of course he was Zion through and through, it was zion who had freed him, Zion who fed him, who clothes him, who sheltered him about their ships... but somewhere buried in the back of his mind, he knew. He could see it. He knew he was not long for Zion, he knew that this was not his purpose... but he dared not think on it any further.

"You have time, don't worry King, you have plenty of time. When your destiny comes knocking, you will hear the call, and you will know what to do... Godspeed KingCAW...."

Within an instant, his mind filled with nothingness, and with a flash of brilliant light, he was back on the ship.

"Man... that was crazy..." he exclaimed, as he looked over to Remwal, who was obviously exhuberant over watching this boy becoming a fully trained man.

"Whoa.... I think i'm gonna puke..."

King's stomach was turning, the mental image of his old reliable Toshiba washing machine swirling round and round and round and... he needed to get to the bathroom...

He sped down the hall, completely forgetting where the bathroom was from sheer disorientation, he made his way towards a small iron-wraught door which, in the panic, he never realised he hadn't opened before... he desperately grasped at the handle and burst in...

"I told you don't worry, its being dealt with... we're almost done, I just need time to speak to some of the old hands back in Zion... no, no, don't pass this on to someone else, you know why I want to do this... I won't let you down... Agent Matthews"

He saw the figure crouched in the corner, the familiar grey hair interuppted only by a dusty old headset, yet this was not the man he knew, this was not the man he recognised, this couldn't be Xeroth... talking to an... Agent?!

All of a sudden his disbelief was overtaken by the returning feelings of sickliness, he turned to try and make his way back out without being seen, but it was too late. He dropped to his feet and vomited all over the floor.

Xeroth jumped up, kicking the transmitter as he did so and swiftly throwing his headset off.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?!" He demanded, completely disregarding Kings inability to speak through his retching and the steady flow of vomit forcing its way out of his mouth...

"I mean.... what can I do for you soldier? Did you hear anything while you were in here?"

King wiped his mouth. He fought back the urge to confront this turncoat, this traitor... he thought better of it.

"No sir, I was walking to my dorm and suddenly felt sick, I thought this was the bathroom and spewed as soon as I opened the door."

"Good... I mean... are you OK?" This friendliness was unbecoming of Captain Xeroth, and he was unaware that King knew why.

"Yes sir" King lied.

"Well, best be getting back to your room, I'll bring you some meds straight away. Need to get you back on your feet, theres still a long way to go son!"

King looked his captain straight in the eyes, the usual steely yet welcoming gaze had turned to one of panic and uncertaintly. He could not believe that this man, who chastised the machines so excrutiatingly was working with them, or for them. With a softened voice, King spoke...

"Yes sir, I believe we have. And i'm looking forward to it already."

http://www.amusic.gr/listen.asx

We broadcast between 9pm-3am GMT every day of the week

((I'd just like to chime in with support for this fantastic faction - it was definately one of the strongest factions on Output and remains a major force on Syntax.

A fantastic, friendly and helpful group of players - if King was a machinist, he'd be knocking on the doors of TGS))

You can check out the last RP chapter "Evolution Of The Wicked" on http://www.geocities.com/cm_let/eotw.html

This may be a pointless suggestion, but for people who are wanting to RP that are slightly unhappy about not being given the chance to partake in this council, perhaps you can start to build that into your character? The greatest fiction comes from real-life situations, therefore your starting point can be one of a character who feels left out, overlooked by the council - and then you can build it from there towards whatever direction or course of action you feel your character should take?

Even the most satanical tyrants came fully loaded with their own pedantic propaganda... This "army" are no different...

They fight to restrict our right to reinsertion... to further tighten the bureaucratic stranglehold the Matrix unwittingly holds us all in... and to make matters worse, they have convinced themselves that their cause is just. Its sickening...

Rest assured... enrolling in this lynch-mob will be tantamount to signing your own death warrant...

The war is coming, and it is not being waged by the Masked - it is being forced upon us...

This may be the biggest mistake you have made to date...

Your Day of Judgment will come... sooner than you think.

What can I possibly say that has not already been addressed...

You know... deep down inside you... that your heart burns for the Cause of the Masked...

Deny it all you will - one day this desperate strive to realise your dreams... to achieve your desires... to return to the sanctuary of bluepill life... it will consume you...

And when that day comes...

We will be waiting with open arms.

Why be a sheep, when you can be the Shephard...

We look forward to your call.

It works out at 10pm-4am BST (UK time w/ Daylight Saving adjustment) or 5pm-11pm EST

I think that the forums have been busy because there isn't really a great deal going on in-game right now.. to be honest i've found it a lot quieter than usual - whether thats through players taking the opportunity of the SOE transition to end their subscriptions, or whether people are still having problems converting.

Not really as far as you can tell from how tight-lipped the devs across there are being. Think along the class-based system of WoW, CoV etc etc - you pick your profession, and you are locked into it for that character - no more multi-prof characters, no more switching and regrinding professions - if you start as a Jedi, you stay as a Jedi, and I assume just learn new skills as you go along.

I would also assume that XP is actually easier to get... right now, there is a multitude of different XP types you can get that affect a wide range of specs - from what I read, they are condensing this to only 3 XP types. Bearing in mind that everything about the 'NGE' (New Game Enhancements) is driving things to being simpler and easier - then I would imagine that levelling and earning XP will also be a lot easier too.

((OOC))

negelom, i'll see if I can fill in any blanks - bear in mind that this is my interpretation of the story both through what we have had told to us by the devs through LETs/cinematics/missions etc, as well as my own joining of the dots...

"The Masked Agenda" are Cypherites. While most certainly not the only Cypherite movement within the Matrix, we maintain the overall aim of reinsertion.

That is where things get complicated.

Yes, it would be easier to simply ask the Machines to plug us back in today - it would certainly save a lot of effort and bloodshed... however consider just how many Redpills there are now in the Matrix, and how many would be left over should we be reinserted.

We each, as individuals as well as one unit, have many enemies... If we were to be reinserted while those enemies walked "free" in the real world - there is no doubt that sooner or later, they would come to our Bluepill selves to exact revenge for some past deed or another - or merely just for their own amusement.

Consider how many Redpills are being freed daily by Zion - how long until our Bluepill selves would be approached and awoken a second time.

And consider how thin the veil of the Matrix is becoming - I mean... I question how more Bluepill have not self-awoken, especially with such events taking place as the entire sky being filled with flies... giant fly-creatures roaming the parks... humans turning into flies... code-bombs being set off...

There are far too many risks of reawakening should we simply take the easy way out and be plugged in tomorrow.

Make no mistake, some choose that path, and have already rejoined the Bluepill ranks... however devout Cypherites are not willing to back down and take that route.

The "Truce" that exists is an uneasy one. When the Masked succeed in eliminating all Redpills, then full control will be handed back to the Machines - this Truce is not the ideal situation for them, however they cannot predict the consequences of what would happen should the Truce be broken and War re-ignite...

Perhaps, in the past, they have allowed this war to take place, as it was something they laid the path out for, something they staged to keep the Zionists occupied... however all of that has changed since the incident with Neo... they now know that anything is possible, and that not everything is within the realms of their control...

Therefore, from a Machine perspective, we are simply doing them a favour... we are returning the power to them, without them being held accountable...

We do not work on the Machines behalf... it just so happens that we have a common interest in the erradication of Redpills - and by allowing us to go about our business, they are able to see the Redpills who have scourged them for so long wiped out without getting their hands dirty and risking the stability of the Truce.

Once all redpills are gone... then we will collect our ultimate reward of reinsertion.

((D*mn, that was more IC than I'd planned it to be! Hope that my perspective of things can help you put the Cypherites place in the MxO story into context))

I think the 'biggest pvp in the world' would technically be on Vector wouldn't it?

((There are numerous OOC threads regarding the ongoing issues within the RP community - could we please end the consistent thread-jacking and redirect our OOC comments to those threads, please.

Despite the fact that no doubt there are some who have now blackballed this thread, as well as all members of "The Masked Agenda" - I will continue to post here, unless someone creates a seperate thread that is open to all RPers and fits the story I wish to tell.

I agree that this is not a contest - not a single roleplayer on this server is good enough to say that other roleplayer and their styles are bad. There is no definative authority in roleplay - it belongs to each and every one of us. If you want to be petty and completely shut out people OOC simply because of their affiliations then thats entirely your perogative, and is tantamount to signing the death certificate of the Syntax Roleplaying community.

Now... lets see some actual ROLEPLAYING in this thread...))

"You sure this is the place?"

"Definately Sir... he should be arriving in exactly 5 minutes..."

"Excellent"

Phonebooths. He had gone his entire bluepill existance without paying them much heed... As a child, he'd frequently call up directory services and have a giggle... he smiled faintly as he recalled his favourite joke

"Oh excuse me, operator, is there a train on the line? I'm sorry? Well then you had best get off it then!"

Ah... the lost innocence of youth...

"Daakus.. you're absolutely sure this is the right place?"

King scowled towards his young understudy with unrepentant distain - the man cowered before him, it was unsettling... and only further fuelled his frustration, his burning anger...

"Yes Sir - I am sure" came a weak response, tone laced with an uncertainty that lacked conviction.

"I hope for your sake that it is..." Daakus knew... he knew that if his information was wrong that he would be punished... King sense this in him and let a forced smile break its way onto his face as he turned to the slender woman propping herself up against his shoulder...

"Euphraxia darling... call Ethros, ensure he is prepared..."

Looking deeply into her eyes, he felt a surge of doubt enveloping his stomach, clouding his thoughts... what was he doing here?! Why was he... how could he do these things.... how could he make her....

Blinking rapidly he snapped back his consciousness, it swept over him with vigor - refocusing his stare on the idle phonebooth...

A slight crackling sound reverberated in the air...

He was coming...

Almost here...

Without breaking his poise to look directly at his friends... his... henchmen... standing at either side of him, his voice broke with a solitary word, spoken with a searing hint of menace...

"Showtime..."

As he spoke, a flurry of code shivered in front of him, a thin and fragile figure fading into view... a redpill...

King adjusted himself as he stepped forward with a wide smile on his face - the mask which he had become so fond of no longer covered his mouth, no longer hid the emotion that so often had betrayed him...

He approached the kid with warmth... a thin, pale and frightened young man... 'pod-fresh' - released into the Matrix for the very first time.

Extending a hand, King tilited his head ever so slightly, as he addressed his visitor.

"Good to see you operative... welcome to the Cause of Zion..."

Message Edited by kingcaw on 10-02-2005 03:15 PM

He had been staring at the crumpled scrap of paper for what seemed an eternity... so simple... yet laced with complexity...

"Euph..." King called out down the corridor "... is that trace complete yet?"

"Not yet sweetie... should be done in a second..."

King continued to stare at the duotonic flyer... a harbinger of things to come... darkness meets the light...

His concentration was broken as Daakus entered the room, chattering away to himself about the marvels of RSI print screening... King was not impressed... more intruiged by what this trace program would uncover about who penned this message to the masses...

"Uhm... King...." Euphraxia mumbled

He turned his head towards head, impatience boiling up inside him...

"Who's Sykin?" she asked, innocently...

King took a moment to absorb the name... it was hardly a suprise... a stubborn smile adorning his face, he tugged firmly on the cuff of his glove... ignoring her question, the room became his and his alone as

he spoke to himself...

"Time to build the army... we're gonna have a hell of a fight on our hands..."

Sure Divel, to tune in from outside the game, simply enter http://www.siradio.fm into any media player - we broadcast from 6pm-3am GMT every day of the week

I don't think that the beret was anyone special, perhaps just a part of a new group of people we'll be seeing in the near future, either Zion's or Machine's new wave of operatives with the task of taking out the Assassin.

You didn't seriously think we only had ONE party up our sleeves for Xmas did you?!

Well, we're gonna give you a few days to recover from the CodeMason Xmas Party - before teaming up with The Glitch Society to bring you yet another slamming party - packed with contest, top prizes, first class tunes and of course, your favourite Split Infinity DJs

So, do yourselves and your server proud - make sure you set a date for Split Infinity this Xmas - or would you rather go shopping like a little sissy-girl?

Nuff said - be there!

((As the Espi-created RP thread this originally started in has derailled, i'm going to start a seperate thread for this particular storyline. This thread isn't completely exclusive to me and me alone, so if you feel you have something to add that fits their vein of this story, then by all means please feel free to do so - however I would ask that you respect how the story is flowing, and do not attempt to influence or control my character or anyone elses without prior OOC consent. Thank yer kindly...))

"You sure this is the place?"

"Definately Sir... he should be arriving in exactly 5 minutes..."

"Excellent"

Phonebooths. He had gone his entire bluepill existance without paying them much heed... As a child, he'd frequently call up directory services and have a giggle... he smiled faintly as he recalled his favourite joke

"Oh excuse me, operator, is there a train on the line? I'm sorry? Well then you had best get off it then!"

Ah... the lost innocence of youth...

"Daakus.. you're absolutely sure this is the right place?"

King scowled towards his young understudy with unrepentant distain - the man cowered before him, it was unsettling... and only further fuelled his frustration, his burning anger...

"Yes Sir - I am sure" came a weak response, tone laced with an uncertainty that lacked conviction.

"I hope for your sake that it is..." Daakus knew... he knew that if his information was wrong that he would be punished... King sense this in him and let a forced smile break its way onto his face as he turned to the slender woman propping herself up against his shoulder...

"Euphraxia darling... call Ethros, ensure he is prepared..."

Looking deeply into her eyes, he felt a surge of doubt enveloping his stomach, clouding his thoughts... what was he doing here?! Why was he... how could he do these things.... how could he make her....

Blinking rapidly he snapped back his consciousness, it swept over him with vigor - refocusing his stare on the idle phonebooth...

A slight crackling sound reverberated in the air...

He was coming...

Almost here...

Without breaking his poise to look directly at his friends... his... henchmen... standing at either side of him, his voice broke with a solitary word, spoken with a searing hint of menace...

"Showtime..."

As he spoke, a flurry of code shivered in front of him, a thin and fragile figure fading into view... a redpill...

King adjusted himself as he stepped forward with a wide smile on his face - the mask which he had become so fond of no longer covered his mouth, no longer hid the emotion that so often had betrayed him...

He approached the kid with warmth... a thin, pale and frightened young man... 'pod-fresh' - released into the Matrix for the very first time.

Extending a hand, King tilited his head ever so slightly, as he addressed his visitor.

"Good to see you operative... welcome to the Cause of Zion..."

Message Edited by kingcaw on 10-03-2005 01:21 AM

A deafening scream bounced off the walls of the darkened alleyway, desperately striving to make itself heard through the silence, but to no avail - nobody dared walk these streets anymore, this wasn't a safe place to be at night...

But yet, it lingered still - peircing through the still air, before finally being muffled with a single sound. A gunshot... Then silence... All but for an angered voice, barking in the darkness...

"For Gods sake Daakus... I told you to wait!"

The next sound was the thunderous slap of Kings rough hand around the shaved head of his understudy - who staggered forward at this blow... taking a second to compose himself and hold back the undoubtable anger that was boiling his blood...

"King..." spoke a soft voice; Euphraxia; tugging on Kings sleeve and motioning him towards the downed body of a recently awoken redpill "... I don't think he's dead..."

"What?!" he exclaimed, swinging his head towards the pathetic pile of flesh lying at his feet...

"Oh bloody hell..." turning to Daakus "Look what you've done boy! That's just.... ah man thats nasty... someone put this poor kid out of his misery... please!"

A second shot, delivered by a more confident hand, making no mistake about its target and the result is successfully garnered.

"Thank you Euph... now, pass me the cell-phone"

Without blinking, Euphraxia did as asked, flipping open a slender black cellphone and placing it cautiously in King hand, before kneeling over the corpse in front of her... the "innocent" pod-fresh redpill she had slain... she muttered under her breathe before turning to regain her composure.

The moment was broken as King spoke to the operator of HvCft Retribution

"Ethros, Do you have the code isolated?..... Well?...... I see..." Kings eyes widened with delight as his face broke into a genuine display of unbridalled satisfaction;

"Well i'll be d*mned... who would've guessed!.... Thank you Ethros... you've made my day..."

Snapping the cell-phone shut, King took a deep breathe, his eyes shifting rapidly, the cogs in his mind working overtime as he processed this latest news...

"Houston... we have lift-off!"

Well, we'll be broadcasting right through until 6am GMT - so hopefully there'll still be plenty of the party left for you to come to :smileyvery-happy:

3.1: Into The Light (Chapter One)

Xeroth... it had been so long since he'd heard that name... not long enough evidentaly...

And now, the disgraced captain had imposed his existence into Kings life once again.

The war in Zion had torn the city apart... unfortunately, it had also torn open one particular location... Zion's incarceration unit...

'Prisoner X0806 - Missing'

King had been staring at the transmission for what seemed an eternity... his past... all he had worked to bury... now freshly dug up and on the verge of catching up with him....

He had long since forced the memory of his captains betrayal... the part he had played in his arrest... the Code of Awakened Watchmen... all of it.... out of his mind, out of his life. His new family, the Guardians Of Light... they wouldn't understand... the ignorant politicians of Zion masked Xeroths treachory to save face for it going unnoticed for so long... if his captain knew.... he he found out that King had caused the arrest of a man everyone had held in such high regard... his life as he knew it would be over.

Days passed with King bearing this burden... it was worsening... his fleet-mates came back to the Real daily with reports of an unknown individual contacting them... harrassing them... poisoning their minds with the "truth" about the 'real' kingCAW...

The dreams were returning too... with a vengeance they burned into his mind... the crest... "Her".... they ate at his subconscious with every moment that passed... compelling him towards... towards... his head seared with pain... every time he mentally tried to reach out... to grasp that goal... to see the purpose of these dreams, they whitewashed into nothingness, leaving a bitterly painful after-taste.

Darkness...

King lost himself in it... his eyes began to visualise what his mind could salvage from these nightly visits into his head... into his soul...

Silence...

The silence was deafening... No mechanical grinding... no chattering of crew-mates... eerie still that enveloped the room... the entire ship... was he awake? Was he dreaming.... was he..... dead?

He lifted himself from his prone state, every movement amplifying the aches that had set in to his fatigued bones... walking through his pitch-black room, he opened the door and made his way down the corridor.

He saw the coded screens... flickering with their usual flurry of Matrix code... same as normal.... but this was not normal... not normal at all.... a shadow cast against the light... his rubbed his eyes and strained to focus... he wished he hadn't...

The figure was all too familiar...

"Well King... its about d*mn time you lazy son of a b*tch!"

King's blood ran cold, rooted to the spot by an uncontrollable fear he gasped for breath... breath enough to force himself into speaking... stammering...

"....Xeroth?!"

The answer didn't come... although it wasn't needed... the second King saw the figure of his former captain he knew... the truth was only now nailed firmly into place, as a sickening blow stuck him across the face, throwing him towards the floor.

He felt hands gripping him firmly around the ankles, pulling and twisting... dragging him across the rough, dirty flooring...

He felt his limp body being hoisted up... such strength for such an old man... he tried to move, but his body betrayed him... he tried to speak but the words didn't come.... prone, helpless and vlunerable, Xeroth threw King's flacid form into a chair... pulling firmly on the adorning lever... King knew this chair all too well.... a Jack-In terminal...

Glancing sideways, King saw that Xeroth was frantically fiddling with something... a silver contraption... sloppily butchered together... was this it? Was this Kings time to die?

He lay for what seemed like hours... only he knew Xeroth... he knew that patience was not in his nature.... that if whatever he was setting up was taking too long, he would choose the quicker and easier option of flat-out murder instead...

Was this his punishment? Should he have given Xeroth a chance? Heard him out? Should he have...

His train of thought cut abruptly... life thrust itself into his body at high-velocity... the jack-in node rammed firmly into his cranial socket... and then darkness...

For the split-second he remained conscious... King knew this wasn't right... he had jacked in a thousand times... never had it felt like this... one thing he did know.... this wasn't going to be pretty.

You're more than welcome - can't wait til Friday, some of the biggest parties Split Infinity have ever had hae been when we've teamed up with The CodeMasons :smileyvery-happy:

Ah - just to update, as of today, we now broadcast 6pm-6am every day of the week

>The Masked Agenda have grown tired of playing your little games...

>This world is nearing its end, as is your existence...

>We will wipe out this Redpill disease once and for all...

>

>You want War?

>

>We thought you'd never ask...

>Perhaps this will whet the appetites of the masses...

>

>Until your Judgment Day...

King took a final glance at the tranmission screen with a look of satisfaction... slouching back into his chair, he hesistated... for only a second... before bringing his forefinger firmly down towards the keypad.

=SEND=

((The link in the above post is to a compressed file, containing a video from the Masked Agenda side of things... you will need WinRAR to decompress this file.))

**bleep**, another one bites the dust...

Only had a brief chance to get to know you, but you were one of the reasons I totally swept aside any reservations about trying to get involved with the RP community, simply with you being so helpful and friendly.

Oh well, at least I got a coveted private dance before you decided to leave :smileyvery-happy:

Anyway, have fun with SWG, good luck, and i'm sorry I didn't have the chance to get to know you and your fleet a bit better...

((Yeah the soundtrack came before the movie... I was listening to it yesterday and thought I just had to put something together to it))

The Seventh Day

And there it was… light… shining so brilliantly… so clearly… salvation had come for him at long last…

Message Edited by kingcaw on 12-22-2005 04:21 PM

The Sixth Day

What had he done to himself?

What had he done to those who he loved so dearly?

It wasn’t supposed to be like this… he motives had been pure, they had been righteous, yet all he had believed in was a lie, this false cause masking a vicious and vindictive agenda, confounded by their own arrogance, manipulating and exploiting those who were too near-sighted to see through the lies.

It was those who he felt sorry for. The pure of heart and mind, driven like lambs to the slaughter in search for sanctuary.

No more. The dream belongs to me, and I shall embrace it.

The Fifth Day

None of it makes a difference in the end.

With every day the fractured terrain mirrored his ever-despairing spirit. What life was this? What life could it ever become?

The blistering cold struck sharply against his skin as he stumbled over his own weary feet, crashing to the ground with an exasperated sigh. He couldn’t go on like this. Not in this place. Nobody was coming for him, nobody knew he existed. Still.

What had he done to himself?

The Fourth Day

Intoxicated by the silence.

It bellowed through his mind with deafening decadence, the miniscule purring of the wind sweeping past with nonchalant melody.

What was this place?

He knew of its nature, of what he had been told, yet the charred bricks and mortar, the tangled vines of steel encased an unknown past. The very nature of the Matrix had relied on placebic suggestion – a computer program transferring every ounce of your knowledge into you. And where does our knowledge of the history of this world come from? The Machines.

It is too widely assumed that the Machines simply built the world presented within Matrix atop the foundations of the true history of the real. Did such events as the Great World Wars of long ago ever take place? Or were they mainly a method through which the Machines could impose on us the gravity of emotions such as greed and a thirst for power? A reference point to set us an example of the consequences leading from such “sins”.

And what of religion? Was that too another fabrication? A consensus into accepting false hope, misguided faith? Or perhaps a self-indulgent parody of all-powerful reign the Machines have on our world, our existence, our minds.

Who knew such things?

Who cared?

None of it makes a difference in the end.

The Third Day

I can control this… I have to control this…

Why wouldn’t they stop? Why wouldn’t they leave him alone?!

Why did they torture him?!

Torment him?!

They screamed endlessly… why won’t they just shut the hell up?!?!

It has to stop… they need to be silenced… it has to end…

Begging for mercy… screaming… agony….

He was sorry… he was so d*mn sorry… he felt every inch of their souls clutching at his own, tearing his mind to shreds, punishing him for his sins…

Please leave me alone…

Please!!!

Crumpled in a heap aside a pile of small rocks, overlooking the ashen crevice of what was once surely a sparkling river he clasped his hands over his ears… desperate to block out the deafening voices clouding his head… praying for silence to enter his mind once more and bless him with the sanity he was certain would await him in this world.

Letting out a mangled cry he swung his arms violently into the thin crisp air, launching to his feet and scattering broken stones and dust as he kicked and scrapped towards the ground… a flurry of curses blackening the skies around him further with their ferocity, his streaming tears soaking peacefully into the scarred ground below.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something… shimmering…

Drawing a large breath of smog-filled air, he leant back slightly to survey his surroundings... Where he stood was what could only have been the foundations to a building… long since swept from the face of this forsaken planet… all but for shards, remnants scattered at his feet. Glass.

Without hesitation he immediately dropped to his feet, nicking his hands as he swept aside the miniscule splinters until he finally laid his eyes on a large tarnished piece…jagged…. Sharp…

With a gentle sob, he turned his wrist upwards, and slowly raised the tip of the shattered glass…

No… not like this…

They would haunt him even in death… they must be silenced once and for all…

The desperation drowned out the pain… it was over in seconds…

A single trickle of blood rolled down the arm which brandished the glass… as he dropped it to the ground, he also released something from his other hand, before walking off slowly, his face a crimson mask… hiding a look of pure satisfaction, not even taking a second look at the remains of his tongue so carelessly discarded behind him.

Euphoric…

Intoxicated by the silence.

The Second Day

Sleep once more…

A sickly sweet scent wafted its way nonchalantly up his nostrils, stifling his every breath, turning his stomach ever so slightly. He knew that smell… much better than he wished…

He quickly jolted up from the harsh rocky terrain on which he had been laid prone… pipe still clasped tightly in his left fist. With his dirty right hand he reached around to the nape of his neck and slowly stroked his fingertips across the skin before returning them to his gaze. Blood.

Time to leave.

It still amazed him how little he knew of this world, this reality…

Then again, for all he knew, he was already dead.

How would he know? What was to say that this wasn’t merely his consciousness occupying itself after the death of his body? His mind truly free for the first time, choosing to imprison itself in the bleak world it had so long avoided during his relatively short life.

He welt on the back of his neck throbbed with furious vigour as his concentration poured itself into gaining some level of comprehension over the nature of the world he saw before him.

What if those guys were right? What was it they talked about? Oh yeah… the “Yellow Pill”… unpeeling the countless layers of reality… of which the Matrix was merely a starter, and the main course awaited us all….

Could it be possible?

In fact… does any of this exist? Do any of these people exist? Was he and he alone a prisoner in some sick and twisted game? The main player on a stage, surrounded by extras? Mere figments of the world built around him… or perhaps… built for him?

Built for us all… if this reality is the truest form, mankind would surely rot in the dank festering deserts if not for the salvation of the Machines… if, in fact, it was truly the Machines with their finger on the button…

It was then that it hit him… once more his mind travelled off on its own personal rollercoaster ride… once more it threatened to upset the balance of sanity…

I can control this… I have to control this…

The First Day

“All I ever wanted was to be with my family… now I get my wish”

Was this… real? Was this over at long last?

He pinched himself firmly to reassure his weary mind of its own existence… this was not death… but life, the life he had for so long failed to embrace for all its worth…

For so long he had lived with this torment, days, weeks, months… his mind lay in ruins, yet now he had finally prevailed, triumphed in a battle with his own misaligned consciousness. Victory was every ounce as bitter-sweet as he had imagined.

Those he loved… who he truly loved… now left behind

He could never return… that was the greatest gift he could have given them. Sanctuary from his presence.

He had laid there so long he almost failed to realise he had not yet opened his eyes to absorb the reality that would be his new home. With mind-numbing resistance, his eyelids prised themselves apart, watering almost immediately as the cold harsh wind threw dust particles into his eyes. Home.

The faint whirring of machinery hovered around his ears as he turned to the crudely constructed jack-in terminal behind him. There was only one thing to do. Reaching for the nearest object he could muster… a broken rusted pipe… he began demolishing the equipment… venting the rage that the world for which it was a gateway had emblazoned onto him… seeing their faces one by one… his betrayers… and those he betrayed… whose hearts and minds he had left trampled in his wake.

With each crashing blow, the cragged pipe cut and scraped further into the toughened skin of his trembling hands until they gave up the struggle, and dropped the pipe from their grasp… he fell to his knees...

One more thing to do…

Extending his bleeding hand once more towards the pipe, he mustered every inch of his determination… fuelled by his shame… his guilt… he rose the heavy baton above his head… he paused momentarily… trying in his weakened state to approximate the location of the jack-in node on the base of his skull… he closed his eyes, and swung…

Strangely the sensation of fading from this world felt no different from that of the Matrix slipping out of grasp. He marvelled at the Machines ability for interpretive coding… he completed the fate of those he left behind… and as his consciousness waned, he wondered for a moment whether they would ever find the blank shells he had replaced the kill-codes with…or the man he had traded them to...

Sleep once more…

nnn makes me sad :smileysad:

The Seventh Day

The Dream belongs to me, and I shall embrace it.

What a fool.

The dream was far past his reach, his mind and heart were too weak to continue in its pursuit, his body, weaker.

No food, no water…

No spirit, no passion…

I cannot continue down this path… nor any other….

I should have stayed dead.

He had reserved the final ounce of his energy for this moment. A moment he had forseen since the second he re-entered this world. He knew exactly where it was amidst the collection of junk and scraps littering his pocket. Pulling it out, his eyes fixated for a split-second on the faint reflection of his face in its tainted blade. He turned it on its side, and allowed it to pass effortlessly across his wrist.

No energy to quicken the job… he dropped the knife before being able to cut his other wrist as he dropped to his knees. Typical… he had drawn out this inevitability for days now… only fitting it was drawn out longer…

And there it was… light… shining so brilliantly… so clearly… salvation had come for him at long last…

The turbine engines of the lowering craft swept his hair back, blowing sharp grains of dust into his eyes… he barely maintained consciousness to see it touch down… to see the hatch opening… to see a friend of old step out in front of him...

Offering him a gift...

Peace.

Message Edited by kingcaw on 12-22-2005 04:30 PM

(Personally I find it highly amusing that one or two people who are obviously disgruntled at this situation are so limited in their ability to express their issues that they have to resort to one-starring posts for no other reason than to be childish or petty.

I wouldn't point the finger at any of the main individuals involved in the disagreements that have taken place - as I very much doubt they would trouble themselves with such small-minded behaviour - its just a pity that our community obviously includes those who do.)

The thing with interpretting the Matrix is that the Wachowski's did a fantastic job of mixing and matching different mythologies and symbols from such a vast array of sources that its both difficult to link everything back to the bible, and easy to link it back to the bible... if that makes any sense?

I guess what i'm saying is that someone could match up all the aforementioned characters to a completely different source, without even touching the bible, and it would still be convincing - which is where the Wachoski's either show true brilliance, or complete luck!

If the Architect is God, then that would undoubtedly make the Merovingian be lucifer. Not only the less than subtle hints of the name of his club, his attire etc; but also the fact that he was once a very powerful and well favoured servant of the Architect and the Machines - however for whatever reason, fell from their good graces and took up residence in the underworld...

I've always taken Trinity to be a play on the Holy Trinity - perhaps as the "spirit" of Neo's "Messiah" - she is what compells him in his decisions and actions - following her death, he willingly sacrifices himself....

I'm not really very religious so most of this is probably extremely wrong heh...

Then theres Seraph - who's very name indicates he is/was an "Angel" - not to mention the "wingless" comments from the film - suggesting an Angel who has had his wings clipped - perhaps leading to or because of his exilation from the Machines.

He protects that which matters most, The Oracle... as the Oracle is the mother of the programming which gave birth to the anomoly, the "Messiah" program if you'd like... could the Oracle be a slight on the Virgin Mary?! With her own Guardian Angel by her side?

I think that Smith is possibly one of the more intruiging characters in this light - perhaps he is a representation of humanities self-loathing leading to the spreading of evil and darkness - tools of the devil but not creations of him?

And then theres the nature of the Matrix itself - the Red Pill elluding to the Apple offered to Eve which led to her banishment from the Garden Of Eden - a perfect world created for her and Adam. Perhaps the God in this situation did not give up completely once his first Eden failed, and kept trying to perfect it to better suit its inhabitants (which we know in terms of Matrix builds is correct) - so, taking the Red Pill is forgoing Gods will and design for you, and as such is an act of evil?

However Jesus loved everyone regardless of the evils they had commited. Humanity had betrayed what God intended for them, yet still gave them their Messiah. Neo's programming was supposed to instill this love for humanity - however it failed on this occasion, and therefore led to the situation we now have with MxO.

Also - something that has just crossed my mind - Neo was supposed to return to the Source and select a number of bluepills to free and recreate Zion.... The Machines were wiping Zions slate clean, by sending Sentinals to destroy it - with the aim of rebuilding it from scratch using a small selection of 'chosen' entities...

Noah's Ark anyone? God sent a flood, however ensured that Noah, his wife, and 2 of every species were preserved to rebuild humanity.

Aaaanyway... this post is officially proof that having more coffee than sleep is not a good idea... If anybody needs me, i'll be taking a nap.

Message Edited by kingcaw on 09-13-2005 08:55 AM

Whats the easiest way to seperate your character from the screenshot?

Theres actually a background eraser tool, however in order to ensure you don't ruin the pic you are trying to pull out, you have to tweak it quite a bit throughout.

Check out http://www.goodtutorials.com - its the most useful PS website i've seen