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The woman was in trouble. But it was not a surprise. In fact it was something of a job requirement.
She ran down the hallway as fast as her legs could carry her, which was faster. Almost inhumanly fast. Unfortunately for her, those that were following her were just as fast. Her name, the only name she had ever known was Trinity. Her pursuers had no names. they were Agents, computer programs within the Matrix, designed to keep people like her from operating. If they caught her then there was a good chance they would do just that. The nearest phone was a block away and that would be pushing it. She could push the limits of physics but she couldn't break them. If Neo was here, he could have done it. He could have simply flown to the nearest phone, or even created one. But he wasn't here. He was in Zion, engaged in secret meetings. So it was up to her.
She leapt through a window and pushed forward, using the momentum to carry her to the lower level of the next building. Rolling to the floor she kept moving, not wanting to take the chance that she might get tailed. Even as she ran she used precious time to make a call.
"Morpheus. How am I doing?"
"Good. They're taking the long way. Keep moving."
She shot down the stairwell, striding entire flights at a time as she descended. A flying kick removed the barrier of a door and hardly slowed her exit into a dimly lit alley way. At one end was a street with a phone both. At the other were agents.
She barely stopped moving, knowing that she would make it but not wanting to take a chance. She didn't want anything unexpected to happen. But something unexpected did.
Ten meters from the phone, there was a flash of light, even briefer than her senses could detect. Trinity ran squarely into another woman. At first she suspected it to be an agent, ready to throw it out of the way. But it wasn't an agent. It was something far more frightening.
It was a spitting image of herself.
The woman's dress was different, casual pants and top, but it was clearly the same face. The woman stared back at her with an expression every bit as confused as hers. Instinct took over. Trinity sped past the woman and grabbed for the ringing phone. Even as she lifted the receiver and looked back, she felt a pang of guilt and fear. The woman, with nowhere to run, was about to be picked up by the agents. And there was absolutely nothing that Trinity could do.
Trinity's eye's her real eyes shot open. She was back in the Nebuchadnezzar, back in the real world. "Morpheus, what's going on?"
"What do you mean?" asked her commander as he helped her to her feet.
"Just before I got out, I bumped into a woman. She looked like me. I mean, she was me."
"There was no indication of anything like that." he pointed to a screen of green code. "Just you an the agents."
"Morpheus, she was there. I saw her. She looked lost. Confused."
"There's no indication of anyone else in the area. Just three agents. Heading back to base it seems."
"I saw her." Trinity was adamant. "She was there."
"I believe you." Morpheus nodded. "But I have absolutely no idea what that means."
"Neither do I." Trinity bit her lip. "But I'm going to find out."
******
She awoke to blurred vision and a splitting headache. Her surroundings were even less pleasant: dull gray plastic looking walls on all sides. She stood, or rather hung from manacles bound tight to the wall behind her and she had no idea what was going on. At best her memory was hazy: a white flash, an alleyway, a mirror, some sort of shock then waking here.
Wherever here was. The door opened and a man walked in, dressed in a suit, complete with sunglasses and earpiece.
She recognized the look immediately. An agent.
"If this is all some sick joke then I suggest you give it up now." she spat angrily at the man as he sat down at a desk, putting a briefcase in front of him.
"I assure you." he replied in a perfectly calm voice. "That this is no joke Miss Trinity."
"Cut the crap, the name is Carrie and you know it."
"I assure you that we will get to the truth one way or another. It is accepted that you have much information to offer us, especially regarding the individual known as Neo."
"Give it up. I'm not playing your games."
"I repeat, there is no game involved in this interrogation. Either you will part with information willingly or it will be extracted."
"Extracted?" Carrie asked with a nervous swallow, for the first time feeling that there was something more sinister going on here.
"I'm sure you are familiar with our methods of interrogation. We are especially interested in your recent acquisition of information regarding the Light Curtain. And exactly what technology you are using to escape detection in the system, a very new development if I'm right."
"I don't know anything about any of that. Damn it, this isn't real."
"I think we've already parted with that particular illusion Trinity. But I assure you that while this may not be 'real' in your sense, you're well aware that perception can be a very powerful thing." He opened the briefcase and withdrew a syringe, lifting it up for inspection. Within Carrie could see a silvery liquid shining in the light. "Don't worry." he responded calmly to her look of terror. "It will only sting a bit."
******
"So how do we locate someone that doesn't have a coding?" Trinity asked as she scanned through the pages of data.
"Creative thinking." Tank shrugged as the youth scanned through the information. "You're saying she was exactly like you?"
"No. Not exactly. She looked dazed. And her style sense was awful. But I know my own face."
"Okay.. what if she was a copy of you or something? Made while you were still part of the Matrix?"
"How? And why? Why not copy Neo and use him against us. Besides, they can't just copy a mind. They don't have access to it, just it's perception."
Morpheus entered, his expression apparently passive. But after years of knowing him, Trinity knew that things were bad.
"Not contact?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
"None. And it's too dangerous to increase power. We can't communicate for fear of being intercepted, we can't move for fear of being captured and the only clue is trapped in a place we can't get to. If only we had Neo..."
"But we don't." Trinity ended the conversation before it began. She didn't like being away from Neo any more than Morpheus did although her reasons were decidedly more personal. "So we have to wait this out for the moment."
"Still working on the doppleganger problem at the moment?"
"Uh huh." Trinity nodded. "Any success Tank?"
"Maybe. It seems that there holding someone in the federal building. You remember that?"
"Too well." Trinity responded grimly.
"Well, it's slightly lower security but here's the weird thing: They're not holding anyone. It's as if the person their guarding doesn't exist."
"Or doesn't leave a trial. It has to be her."
"So what if it is?" Morpheus asked. "You're not going to try and break her out are you?"
For the moment, Trinity didn't reply.
******
Carrie gasped for air but no matter how much she sucked in, it always seemed to be too little. It was hot, at least it seemed that way. She stood, stripped to the waist with her torso covered in a layer of sweat. In comparison the agent simply sat impassive, watching her with analytical precision.
"What you feel is you simply a matter of perception." he explained calmly, even as she let out a moan. "We send impulses to your brain, telling you how you feel, your brain responds with physical reactions. The longer the reaction continues, the stronger it becomes. You see Trinity, it really doesn't matter if you know this is real or not. When it comes down to it, you humans are governed not by what you know but by what you feel. How do you feel now?"
Carrie's feet felt like giving way under the strain of standing, but the straps held her up and it was all she could do to balance as best she could, trying to ignore the physical discomfort. It was impossible to do that of course. The heat, the exhaustion and the constant pressure from the agent. He was right about one thing. It no longer matter how real this was or if it was just some nightmare or a sick game. She still felt what she felt. She felt helpless. And it seemed that no amount of pleading was going to convince her captor she was anyone but Trinity.
"Eventually you will tell us everything we need to know." he stood again. "Unfortunately we are running on something of a tight schedule. So we will have to increase your sensory input somewhat."
"No." Carrie pleaded weakly but the agent made no note of her protest.
******
"It's too dangerous." Morpheus protested as Trinity weighed her options.
"I've done it before."
"With Neo."
"It's lower security."
"There are still agents. And why do you feel you have to help this woman? We don't know anything about her."
"I know all I need to know about her." Trinity replied.
"What is that? The fact that she looks like you? That doesn't mean anything. You already said she was dressed differently. What if all this is a coincidence and you're risking you're life?"
"It's not a coincidence. She appeared out of thin air Morpheus, at precisely the time that I was passing. That is no coincidence."
"Trinity, I know you can be strong headed about these things but think it through. You're going into a guarded building to rescue a woman who leaves no data trace and looks like you even though you know nothing about her."
"Morpheus, in that second that we banged into each other, I looked into her eyes. I saw into her soul."
"And what kind of soul did you see?"
"Mine."
When Morpheus didn't reply she sat down on the chair. "You know I can't go in with you, not during a critical time like this. You're going to be alone in there."
"I know. But I'm going to do it."
"No one has ever tried anything like this before."
"Yeah they have." Trinity smiled. "That's why it's going to work."
******
Carrie gritted her teeth together in the closest thing she could achieve to a scream. When the agent removed his finger from the button she slumped down, her sweat soaked fringe hanging over her features, head drooped on her chest. Hidden by that fringe were two electrodes, clinging to the sides of her head. Just like them were another two, these connected to the sides of her breasts. She would have felt violated if not for the constant sense of pain and weakness.
"Please tell me what you know about the Light Curtain." the agent asked in a monotone.
"I don't know anything!" Carrie yelled. "Nggnnnnnnnn"
Her body twitched as the impulses shot through her again, firing her nerves wildly. It wasn't a searing pain, more like an ache, a weakness that flooded her every time they switch was flicked, draining her energy more and more. She wished she did know what to tell him. If she did then she would have told him long ago. But instead she was forced into further and further torture, trying to pry information from her that she didn't have.
"Please tell me what you know about the Light Curtain." the agent asked in the exact same monotone.
"I don't knnnnnnnahhh!" She shuddered again.
She didn't know what she was holding out against but she knew she still was, as if there was some secret she really did hold, something that needed to be protected. But even that was under threat now. Carrie felt as if the deepest part of her being was being assaulted, as if it was her soul her tied up, being tortured.
"NGGGNNN!" she gritted her teeth involuntarily. She felt as if her mind was giving way with every jolt.
"Please tell me what you know about the Light Curtain."
Sudden anger flared in her and she eyed him with defiance.
"Fuck you!...Nnnnnnngnnngnnnnnnnnnnn!"
Carrie continued to squirm as the agent kept the switch flicked. He even removed his finger, leaning back in his chair.
Through mirrored lenses he observed her flailing body, sweat dripping off her as she struggled. He felt no emotion, no remorse, no sympathy. Only after more than a minute did he finally turn off the switch, letting her slump back down gasping. He crossed the floor, lifting her chin with his hand so that her flushed face was inches from his.
"If you do not have anything to say then his treatment will serve as the method of your execution."
Carries eyes looked at him, swinging in and out of focus, as if she were looking through him totally.
"I have.." she gasped.. "a warning for you..."
He lowered his glasses, looking at her through soulless steel gray eyes. "And what is that warning?"
Carrie gulped for air and met his eyes with her own gaze. "Look out behind you."
The agent started to spin. Trinity blew his head off. Carrie could hardly believe what was happening but she knew she was being saved, that was something.
"We don't have much time?" her savior commented as she undid her bonds. "Can you walk?"
"I.. think so." Carrie nodded. The simple fact that she had been freed made her feel as if her energy was coming back again.
"Here." Trinity removed her leather jacket and handed it to the topless woman who wrapped it around her. "Can you use one of these?" she drew a machine gun and held it out.
"A little. But believe me I want to." Carrie took the weapon, wishing the gun had been in her hand when the agent had fallen.
They ran out into the corridor, Trinity letting out a burst of cover fire, holding back some of the guards that were appearing. "The way down is blocked. We have to go up." Trinity yelled.
Carrie nodded, letting off a volley of her own fire. Her adrenaline was pumping now, life coming back into her system. However surreal this action seemed, it was her action and she was free. She backed off, jogging up a flight of stairs as Trinity followed, still shooting behind her. When they got into the stairwell she slammed and bolted a heavy metal door.
"Where to?" Carrie asked, doing up the button on her new jacket.
"The roof."
They ran. Carrie wasn't as fast as her rescuer but she made good time. Soon enough they were on the roof of the high-rise, the fresh wind giving her yet another burst of energy.
"Where to now?" Carrie asked with concern, looking about the barren concrete surface.
"Last time there was a helicopter." Trinity bit her lip.
"Yeah. There was a gunfight too."
"How do you know that?" Trinity turned to her twin.
"I'll explain later if we survive. Otherwise it doesn't matter. Think of a way out."
"There." Trinity pointed.
Carrie didn't realize what she meant at first. When she did, she felt even worse. Trinity took a second to whip out her phone and dial. "Morpheus. I've got her. We're on the roof. We're going over to the Systech building."
"How?" Morpheus wondered.
"How else? We jump."
Tank gave him a quick look of concern. "I take it your twin has done this before."
Trinity turned to Carrie who already knew the question. "It's my first time." she nodded.
Tank cast a look up at Morpheus and whispered. "Nobody makes it the first time."
"Trinity. You're sure there's no other way."
"No. Morpheus. I'll call you on the other side. So to speak."
She flicked the phone back into her pocket and turned to the chasm between buildings. "You can do this." she said definitely to Carrie.
Trinity ran and jumped into space, flying the massive distance, across the road so far below, across the gap of air until she landed over fifty meters away on the roof of the nearby building. The door behind her burst open and an agent started running towards her. Carrie sprinted. She jumped of the building.
The air flew past her, the wind blowing at her face, almost serving to blow away the pain and torment she had faced for the last hours. It was freedom, the freedom to fly however she wished.
Her feet hit stone. But she didn't stop moving.
In a single movement she spun, lifted her machine gun and let out a burst into the air, cutting through the air towards the agent as he flew in mid air. Normally they were fast enough to dodge bullets and this agent was no exception. Instinctively twisting and turning in mid-air he avoided each bullet. But instinct had a price. The bullets were gone. But so was his momentum. Failing to make the ledge of the building, the agent tumbled through the air, plummeting to the asphalt so many floors below. He wouldn't bounce. Carrie turned to see Trinity staring at her with awe.
"How did you do that?" Trinity asked.
"Let's just say I have a good sense of what reality is." Carrie shrugged.
She had concluded that this wasn't real. Not in her sense or Trinity's sense of the world. She was in a fiction within a fiction. But that meant she knew what the rules were and how she could break them.
"Who are you?" Trinity asked at last.
"I'll answer that if you tell me one thing." Carrie sighed. "What the hell is the Light Curtain?"
******
Carrie sat eating food she knew wasn't real. But real was a word that she was fast getting over. Whatever she was trapped in, it as better to play along.
"The Matrix system evolves, it reacts to our actions. And ever since we got Neo, our actions have been rather.. well active. So the system has a whole heap of defenses. Now, we know that they have some sort of program for breaking our transmissions. If we could get it then we could break their transmissions. The irony is that normally we couldn't touch their code. But this program was written by humans inside the Matrix. they didn't realize it of course and the agents soon took the only copy. But it exists in lab a block from here. The problem is we can't get it. It's shielded by something new."
"The Light Curtain." Carrie finished.
"Exactly. We believe hat the Light Curtain is an extension of this hacker, blocker program. So if we can get in then we can turn it off."
"Catch 22." Carrie commented.
"Yeah. The thing is, no one can get through the Light Curtain. Maybe not even Neo. It creates an area through which all transmissions are killed. If anybody at all walks through it then their connection to their body is severed. Now any human in the pods, those that are still trapped in the Matrix, they would die of course, but the same goes for us, jacked in from wherever. Agents can walk in and out because they have no bodies. And even as powerful as Neo is, even he has a human body to connect to. We're in serious trouble but we can't even contact Zion for fear of security breach. It's so frustrating. The lab only has one guard but it's all it needs."
"Did you say one block?"
"Yeah? Why?"
"I think I may just be able to pay you back for saving my life."
******
"This is crazy."
"I've told you who I am right?" Carrie asked.
"Yes. But I'm not sure if I believe it. It's scary to think that my world isn't the real world either."
"I think.. I think it is." Carrie tried to dampen her companions concern. "In as much as all you perceive and feel is real rather than implied. I think my world is just parallel to yours. There's plenty of science fiction on that sort of thing."
"But you're willing to take this sort of risk?"
"You did for me." Carrie shrugged and walked over to the guard.
"Can I help you miss?" the young guard asked, leaning forward to see if the woman was wearing as little under her jacket as she seemed to be.
"Do you have any ice packs here?"
"Maybe. Why?"
Carrie pistol whipped him and sent him to the floor. "Because you'll need one when you wake up." She turned and motioned to Trinity.
"You know, I could really get used to this." Carrie smiled as she lifted a set of keys from his desk and headed for a door.
Behind it was a screen, a sheet of light between her and the other side.
"Well, here goes." Carrie shrugged.
She walked through the barrier of certain death. And came out the other side. What she found was a small, simple room. At one end was a computer terminal, functioning with a variety of complex symbols. Carrie could never hope to understand them all. But she understood the one she need to. Off.
The Light Curtain went down.
Trinity crossed the floor in a flash, speed dialing and pulling out a wire to link to their computers. Within less than half a minute, everything they needed had been downloaded. "They'll be here soon." Carrie patted Trinity on the shoulder. "You'd better go. It's a hard line here. You can get out."
"I wish you could escape too."
"I will." Carrie replied with determination. "But I'll have to find my own way back to my own real world."
"There's so much more I wish I knew."
"There always is. I'll be okay. There are plenty of places to hide out. It's not all that different here than from my own world."
"I guess it's just important not to lose touch of what's real." Trinity lifted the phone receiver.
"And what's that?"
Trinity reached out a hand, taking Carrie's tightly in her own. "This."
Carrie smiled at the face so similar to her own. She felt her hand close around thin air as a receiver fell to the floor. She turned and walked briskly out of the room, out of the building and into the world of the Matrix. She didn't know how she'd got here or why but she would find her way home. She knew that unfortunately, no one could be told what the answer was. They had to discover it for themselves.
THE END??
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