An Anomalous Situation
It took only 9 seconds for the life of Daniel Carpenter to change radically. Nine seconds after the impact, nine seconds being airborne, nine seconds falling to the ground with the sick sound of a crunch against the sidewalk curb, all of this in nine seconds and then the darkness came. Look both ways before you cross the street, a thousand other pieces of sage advice from his mother echoed in the recesses of his mind. He used to heed this sort of advice from his mother with an almost superstitious reverence that all children have when hearing something said in such seriousness from their parents. Like all children, Daniel filed away the advice in that folder in his mind marked “IMPORTANT” and went on with his life. Don’t’ talk to strangers, eat your vegetables, pay attention in class, mind your manners, all of this advice ticked off one by one in Daniel’s mind before the sound of sirens interrupted everything.
He could hear the sirens in the scant seconds left, like some wailing mother with a dead child in her arms. The lights behind his eyes dimmed as the darkness seemed to close around him, the sounds of the siren, the worried people that gathered around him all began to sound muffled.
He had time for one last sensation, a cool breeze caressed his cheek and his first, last impulse was to smile, even though remotely he thought this wasn’t the situation to be smiling in. The darkness didn’t care, the darkness had a timetable it was going to keep and it didn’t matter who it took. It didn’t matter if it was a man, child, woman, or grandmother, its function was not going to be denied. It didn’t matter if it was Daniel, or that Daniel was a good father, good husband, and a hard worker. It didn’t matter that he paid his taxes and bills on time, that he was always carried the groceries in for the elderly lady that lived alone next door to his apartment. It didn’t matter; it just didn’t matter at all.
The world melted away from Daniel, the darkness was all that was left of it, and for a time Daniel wandered in it. He stayed there in the darkness, confused, sad and lost wondering if he would ever see anything again. A small light then filled the void until it became bigger and bigger still. The light was almost reddish and although Daniel was fascinated, he was terrified as well as more sensations came to bear. He could smell something metallic; he started to feel cold, his skin felt sticky and heavy, then the light opened up further…
His eyes finally, truthfully opened this time. The red goo covered his whole body. He wanted to scream but couldn’t as something was in his mouth, giving him air that tasted of metal. He thrashed weakly against the edges of what first he thought was a plastic covering, his first panicked thoughts was that he was in a body bag. He wanted to break free, wanted to leave this “cocoon” but was too weak to do it, finally the decision was taken from him. He could feel a whirring sensation from behind his skull, at the same time he felt the apparatus in his mouth being pulled away while the cables that were connected to his arms, legs and spine popped off one by one in rapid succession. The pain was sharp but he had no time to yell as a portal opened up at the head of the cocoon, clear water jetted inside, pushing him through and he discovered he did have enough strength to scream.
The trip was fast and short lived, he hit the water on its surface and skipped like a stone ungracefully until he reached the edge. From the chest up he was in mud, the rest of him submerged. He raised his head in the dimness to see the only company he had were the bones of the previous inhabitants and rats that looked at him with anticipation. He groaned lowly as he weakly rested his head on the mud and closed his eyes, wondering where he was, why he was here, and what did he do to deserve this hell…
Three Days Later
He forgot the name of the ship he was on, but it didn’t matter. He also couldn’t remember most of the crewmember’s names, but he didn’t care. He just wanted his questions answered but it seemed they had more questions than he did. They wanted to know how he arrived here, if in something called the “Matrix” he was recruited by somebody called “Zion.” They asked all kinds of questions as they repaired his weak muscles, and for every question they asked, he asked one back.
They told him that he would soon have use of his legs within a few hours and for the time being they left him alone in an almost barren cabin room. He lay on his back, looking up at the ceiling still confused but alive and that was the smallest comfort he could take.
Six Days Later
The Captain’s name was Rhea; she wore her raven hair long just over her shoulders and looked at him with dazzling blue eyes. His wife Marcy would have been at once jealous of the woman that sat across from him and couldn’t really blame her if she did. Rhea smiled softly and asked Daniel the questions he heard before, but in a calmer, more relaxed way. She told him that the more questions he could answer, the easier it would be to help him. They started off with what was the last thing he remembered and he tried to describe it as best he could.
He was late for work, he just knew that the moment he entered the floor where he worked on he was going to hear all kinds of complaints from his boss if he got into work late again. It was just one of those things people would say later at the hospital, he was so wound up with his worries and time that he forgot all about the light change. The driver didn’t see the man until it was too late and by then there wasn’t time to brake or serve, it was just one of those things…
Rhea listened and nodded sympathetically when Daniel told her all about his confusion arriving here, she had heard all of this before countless times and this was going to be no different. The best thing she could do right now was let him know where everything stood as far as where he was, what was going on, and what his future may hold for him.
One Month Later
He looked around nervously as he was strapped into the chair; it wasn’t the fear of being plugged in that got him. He made enough visits to the constructs to know all about the weird sensation you felt when you left the “real” for the artificial reality, but this was different. For the first time he was going to return to the world he knew since birth as his reality, everything that made him what he was, was there. His wife, son, friends and life were all there and now he was going to see it again.
They did set some ground rules, there are always rules no matter what the circumstances and the rules that they dictated to him were understandable. He couldn’t interact with anyone from his former life, he couldn’t just blurt out to anyone where he was from now and he couldn’t stray away too far from the hardline. Daniel nodded to all of this but inside he was already thinking how he was going to get home.
Jacking into the Matrix is much different from jacking into a construct. In a construct you pretty much know that you are not in any really danger. There was already that safety net that any operator was well aware of and shrouded them like a security blanket, but it was different in the Matrix. Here there was no safety net, no way to call “time out” if you were tired, bleeding, or dying. You’re only escape was the hardline. Daniel closed his eyes as soon as he felt the prong enter his skull, he felt the disorientation and then when he opened his eyes, he saw the Matrix…
They were supposed to meet with some Zionites, the Zionites in question wanted to return to their old lives and forget about the truth that seemed to cost more personally than they realized. They agreed to meet at a club, someplace with a lot of people and enough noise to mask their conversation. Rhea told Daniel this was a perfect opportunity to get some real training done and that his role would be an easy one.
The drive to the club was uneventful as the view, but then most of Richland had a gift of looking drab no matter what time you were there. Daniel looked out the window excited which was a glaring contrast to everyone else in the car. Rhea drove slowly through the streets while the rest of the crews checked their weapons. Daniel just looked out the window impatiently, he was so close to his home that he wanted to just leap out the window and start running.
They stopped on the corner and piled out; the club was only a block away and even though it wasn’t far a few already started complaining about the wet weather. Rhea sighed and just started issuing orders and soon it got everyone walking towards the club.
Rhea told Daniel that he would stay outside the club for now which was just fine with Daniel. He didn’t really want to be chased when he made a break for it and this was going to be the opportunity he needed. He didn’t care about the Cypherites, which is what the Rhea called themselves and could care even less about the Machines, Zion and whatever “war” was going on, he just wanted to go back home.
Rhea and her group went in the club as Daniel stood outside, he waited two minutes which were probably the longest two minutes of his life before walking away. He didn’t live far, only a few blocks really but every step made him more and more nervous. What would his wife say when she saw him? Would she even recognize him? Would she scream or run into his arms? What of his son?Would he do the same? All these questions with every step he took and all it made him do was walk faster to the place called home.
The Operator informed the Captain that Daniel was on the move. Rhea found the information curious but not alarming even though her crewmates expressed concern. Suggestions were offered, some lethal and some just complicated. But the Captain chose a more simple, safer solution, they would just watch for now.Rhea knew that her decision wasn’t going to be happily accepted but had been her experience that many people handle their awakenings in different ways, some readily accept their transfer to the Real with something of relief while others feel like the life they left behind with something of mourning.It was funny, in a way it was like all the tales of the afterlife but with the living. Rhea reasoned with her crewmates, telling them that Daniel just needed some more time to accept his fate. She believed that sooner or later Daniel would realize that for now there was no going back.
Daniel stood in front of the door of his apartment with dread bubbling up in his throat like hot lava. He thought for a moment that he was just going to throw up and although his face was grim, he had to laugh at the thought of his wife opening up the door to see her beloved throwing up all over the doormat. He found whatever resolve he had left in him, breathed deep and pressed the doorbell. The melodious ring was muffled and every second that passed Daniel was growing more and more anxious. Three rings, and thirty seconds later he decided that there was no one at home. He looked at the door and as if the literal light bulb flashed in his mind, he remembered something. He ran his hand over the top sill of the door until his fingers encircled the metallic object. Bringing his arm down he looked at the palm of his hand that held the spare key. He turned the key in the lock, his heart tapping like a trip hammer in his chest. With the door unlocked he slowly pushed the door open.
The apartment looked the same; it was if he never left. The little bits and pieces of his life were still all there. He walked into every room, and it seemed like the memories would just jump out like startled wraiths in his mind eye. The living room where he and his family would sit and watch tv, his son on one side, his wife on the other both nestled up to him. The kitchen was always the place where the most activity could be found and through his tears, Daniel could see his wife cooking while his son would struggle with a coloring book. He looked at his son’s bedroom and remembered every night when he would watch his boy go to sleep. He knew that not every day wasn’t as idyllic as his memories would have him believe, but the glaring contrasts to his life now he would live the worst days of his former life if he could get it back.
He was just about to leave the house when he saw the small notepaper on one of the end tables under the lamp. Pulling it away he read it and part of him was both horrified and relieved at the same time. He knew where he had to go, he just hope that he could make it there.
Rhea and her crewmates finished up their business with the Zion operatives. She sometimes had to wonder why anyone would think that the Cypherites could just snap their fingers and turn a red pill instantly into a docile unknowing blue pill again.It was one of the myths that surrounded the Cypherite organization and for Rhea it was also the most troublesome. There were a lot of stages one would have to go through to reinsert themselves back into the system, and the Machines didn’t just take anybody.
Only a handful of former redpills were ever reinserted back into the Matrix and with that some of the side effects were interesting to disastrous. A few would actually retain all the memories they had in their redpill life which caused some adverse mental stress on the subject. Apparently the truth of what reality truly was was hard to handle for many. Often redpills had a hard time reconnecting to their old lives, even though that was their wish from the beginning. It was a gamble to be sure but for every redpill that was going through this ordeal, hundreds more were living their lives exactly where they left off.
Rhea knew that the crew of Zionites had the desire and drive to return to their former lives, but Rhea felt it would be nothing short of neglect and deceit that she didn’t warn them of the dangers involved. Her Operator contacted her as she was leaving the club with her crew that Daniel was already on the move again. Rhea gathered her crew and told them that she alone was going to follow Daniel and see what he was up to. The crew of course didn’t like that idea, but they knew that a debate over it was going to just waste time since the Captain was just going to have her way anyway. They took off in the car on their way to the hardline grumbling but they followed their orders. Rhea sighed and headed off to where Daniel was going, hoping that he would get some closure to his fate.
The Hospital
The receptionist looked bored and decidedly unfriendly, but a job is a job and the man in front of her seemed to be very anxious. She gave him the information he needed and the man just mumbled his thanks as he headed towards the elevator. She sighed and went back to her romance novel when another approached her. This one wanted to know what she said to the other man and had the excuse that she was his girlfriend. The receptionist rolled her eyes and droned the information she gave earlier as the woman took off with a mumbled thanks and sped off to the other elevator. The receptionist mentally shrugged and in less than 10 seconds forgot all about them.
Daniel looked at the numbers ticking off on the top panel of the elevator anxiously. It seemed like an eternity before the elevator arrived at the floor that Daniel pressed for. He stepped off the elevator and looked wildly left and right of the sterile corridor. He read off each room number he passed, getting closer to the room that he wanted until finally he was in front of it. The door had a small glass window and Daniel took one look inside, seeing that the room was only occupied with a patient he opened the door and walked in slowly.
The patient’s face was partially obscured in shadow; Daniel almost tripped over a chair in the dim room and decided he might as well sit down. As soon as he sat down he leaned over and turned on the small lamplight by the bed. Daniel had to cover his mouth before he could shout in horror and shock, in the bed he saw himself. He leaned closer, his hand still covering his mouth as he examined closely the sleeping double of himself. He was expecting to see his wife or his son in that bed, but this was something that was impossible.
The door slowly opened again and the wide eyed stare of Rhea looked in. She knew this had to be impossible. There was no way anyone would have a bluepill and a redpill rsi in coexistence, it just didn’t happen. Daniel looked back at Rhea with a look of dread, his whispered questions reaching her ears like dead pleas and she couldn’t answer any of them. She grabbed the chart at the foot of the bed as Daniel looked down at the floor in shock. She saw what the condition of the patient was and understood or at least could theorize the anomalous condition of the situation. She grabbed Daniels’s arm tightly, telling him they had to go…now. At first Daniel didn’t want to go anywhere, but Rhea was used to having her way, and she also knew there was nothing she could do for him here. She talked to Daniel like she did on the hovercraft and soon after a few whispered words; he got to his feet and followed her.
The Real
She explained the situation to her crew, each one just as surprised as the last hearing the news. While comas were a common event, it usually just meant a programming error on the Machine’s part. Sometimes the problem could be remedied in a matter of hours, but sometimes it could take months or years before the problem could be repaired. In that time the bluepill in the cocoon was in a sort of “standby” mode, but this case was different. Rhea assured Daniel that she would do everything in her power to see that this would get resolved one way or another.
They surfaced to broadcast depth, Rhea told her nav officer to send a signal out. They waited for what seemed like hours until a reply was given back. It was clear and to the point, some coordinates and nothing more. Rhea nodded to her pilot to proceed to those coordinates and soon the hovercraft was on its way.