Broken Dreams, Broken Reality

[Metalogic]

The snow in The Matrix is beautiful, serene. I always look forward to Christmas time in The Matrix because MegaCity would usually get a decent amount of snow during the winter months. I remember back when I was a kid, me and the other kids in the Eshean Projects would have snowball fights and build giant snow forts and wage full on snow wars.

I sometimes miss the ignorance of childhood, no bills, no boss, not being awaken to the reality of The Matrix. It was at least 10 years ago when I was forced out of my pod by Morpheus's code bombing of The Matrix. I was riding home on the public bus when it went past one of his bomb that went off. I remember seeing everything around me disintegrate into code, and then...nothing. I woke up in a Zion hovercraft. Apparently a lot of bluepills were flushed out during Morpheus's terrorism of MegaCity, not even given a choice.

In the words of Cypher, I would've taken the blue pill. I've seen the sales pitch that Zionist and EPNs use on potential redpills, they always sound like drug dealers trying to find new clients. "Here, take this pill, it'll open your eyes up to the true nature of reality." Might as well be offering them shrooms instead of the red pill with that sales pitch.

I bid my time in Zion, of course the hate and betrayal I felt festered until I couldn't stand it anymore. I did what I had to do to escape, and I did, I found a group of people who were also upset about being awakened. Soon I was a part of The Cypherites. We all had our own intermediate goals, but the common goal seem to be reinsertion. At least, that was my end goal.

However, a lot has happened between then and now, and now, I'm tasked with the job of finding our two leaders, Veil and Cryptos. We've lost contact with them awhile back and had no success in finding their hovercraft signal in The Real.

After I jacked into The Matrix near my old neighborhood, I started walking, looking for a payphone that I could use. Keeping my wits around me and making notes on my surroundings. It was war inside and outside The Matrix and the Cypherites relationship with The Machines was tenuous at best. Any of these poor bluepills could turn into an agent and I would only be given a split second to react before their Desert Eagle made a hole in my forehead.

The ground crunched beneath my sneakers as I made my way, I reached into my pocket from time to time just to feel the four quarters that were jingling around. I pull my coat tighter around my body as a gust of wind blew through the tall buildings. 'It's not real Sean, so why are you acting like it is' 'Maybe I'd like to think it's real, maybe it's real enough.'

I shook my head and found a payphone outside of a liquor store. Checking around me once again, making sure there was no one around, I inserted the quarters and dialed the number to Novalis II, dial tone. No answering machine, no operative on the other side, just a dead line. I hung up the phone and checked the return slot, no return on my investment of two quarters. I'm sure MegaCity Bell appreciates my contribution to their bottom line.

As I started walking back to the hardline, I whipped out my cellphone and dialed the operator to my ship.

"Operator."
"The line to Novalis II is dead, no answering machine, no real live voice."
"Damn, I was afraid of that."
"I'm guessing we'll have a meeting in the mess hall of the hovercraft to decide what to do next, right?"
"Yep, you know how it goes."
"Right, I'll see you in a bit."
"Take your time Meta, I'm not showing any machine activity in your area, just bluepills as far as the eyes can see."
"Thank you."