The engineering level was her favorite place to be. It was more secluded than the living areas. Almost no one came here even during waking hours. Plenty of time to sit by herself and contemplate her new "life."

At first the shock of the real was too much for her. She had imagined she was in a kind of coma or and that this was just all a really bad dream and she would wake up at any minute. But deep down she knew that was just a fantasy. The realness of the real was far too intense to be anything else but real. And the realness saddened her.

She could tell her new "friends" or “shipmates" were overly disappointed that it was her and not her brother that they pulled up from that muck. They had even told her as much. Ophelia, from the start, had had no use for her. Most of the crew was friendly, but there was something there... something unmentioned, but there nonetheless, that told her that she was not a member of this crew, this group of people, the only group of real people she had ever known, but rather a passenger.  

It was Ying and Yang who had suggested that she be given training. And training she got. Thirty three minutes in the operations chair and she had all the knowledge of ship maintenance and repair she could have ever hoped for. With that knowledge and a mop, she was transformed from a redpill to a glorified janitor in a matter of hours.

Not all of her time on the hovercraft Ellipse was work. She did learn basic histories of the human race and Zion and our war with the machines. She felt obligated to be a part of the team and did her duties to the best of her abilities. When the operatives were jacked into the matrix, she was allowed to watch from the rear of the bridge. The ship's Operator, Xev not wanting her to "touch anything she didn't understand."

But none of that compared to the loneliness she felt. It was no surprise to any of the crew of the Ellipse when, after coming home to Zion to recharge, Lawanda requested to be left behind.

Billeted in a common sleeping area and given the job of recharging battery cells, Lawanda grew increasingly depressed. She often wondered if this was the life Antonio had envisioned for himself. If he had known the whole truth would he have taken the red pill or would he have come home and went to bed. Would he have been thankful for the potato sack shirt her would get to wear or would he long for the clothes hanging in his closet at the Paddock Club apartment?

In her job as a battery recharger, she met a good many people, most of whom she also saw in the large common sleeping area where she was allotted a bed and a small trunk to store her belongings. She met a few people she liked, who were friendly to her, but most people kept to themselves knowing she was the one who was freed by accident. Even when Lawanda would try and spark up a conversation with someone she would meet, they would either answer with short, direct responses, or arrogantly walk on by. It didn't take very long for her to stop trying to initiate conversations with "those" kind of peoples.

It had been explained to her before many times by many people that her "brother" was not really her brother at all. That they both just, at times, shared the same matrix induced dream reality or virtual space. She and he, in fact, like the whole human race were created and grown from spliced clones embryos of who knows how many respliced and recloned donors. They may have been physically located hundreds of miles from each other. She couldn't understand that, wouldn't buy it.

The last person she let tell her this without a scowl was a co-worker she met named Ishii. Ishii told Lawanda she had decided not to train as an operative when she was awakened since she didn't like violence, which sounded good to Lawanda. Ishii was the first person to warm up to Lawanda and Lawanda liked her company. She wasn't too demanding, and loved to talk. There were no awkward silences between them, and Ishii didn't push Lawanda to reveal anything about herself that she wasn't comfortable with.

Lawanda was surprised when Ishii first spoke to her. When Ishii walked up to her and said "Hey... you're Lawanda." Lawanda was so surprised she jumped.

"Wow... someone actually talked to me..." she mumbled.... though Ishii heard her.

"What are you talking about? Oh, the arrogant ones giving you the cold shoulder?" Ishii asked...

"Well... I don't know if I would call them arrogant. I don't ev..."

"Nonsense. Arrogant and self involved is just what they are. You would think that they would be more friendly to someone who was removed without being aware, but they act the opposite. Rudeness and arrogance. I've seen it before. Don't worry though... they don't like me much either, and I have a feeling that we are going to get along just great." Ishii said, the last bit a bit coyish.

Lawanda nodded her head, and was relieved to finally have someone to talk to.

Ishii was the person who first mentioned and then showed Lawanda the engineering level. She he pointed out and explained the machines and consoles that controlled them. Lawanda instantly fell in love with the place and started spending all her spare time there. Listening to the steady hum of the machines. Alone.

The Engineering level was her favorite place to be. As she sat in the shadows, she heard a beeping coming from one of the console displays. Standing up to see what it was, she noticed the small display flickering then turning white. In very small almost illegible print, a message appeared.

LAWANDA... IMEUT IS STILL ALIVE.

Lawanda looked around hoping to see who it was that was playing this cruel trick on her, maddened.

"How Rude!," she thought, but could see no one in the level.

Another message typed itself out:

YOU ARE NOT ALONE LAWANDA. WE CAN HELP YOU FIND HIM.

She Quickly though, Who is We?

WE WANT THE TWO OF YOU TO BE REUNITED.

"Who's we?" Lawanda asked.

YOU WILL SEE. FIND ISHII. SHE WILL GUIDE YOU.

The screen quickly fluttered then went blank.

For the first time in Lawanda's whole awakened life, she smiled.