Chasing Truth and Freedom

[Calaeus]

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:: A:\> LOGIN
:: Logged as: Calaeus
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... I've been recently asked about what do I believe in. The answer to this particular question I knew, and it was in fact always known to me, even long before my awakening. For me, it was always truth and freedom; freedom of choice, freedom to live the way you want to live, to make the mistakes you want to make, to associate yourself with people you choose to be around, and so on. It is what makes us human after all, wanting to be free and to live our way, to have control over our own lives.

At the time of my blissful ignorance I have never been very close with many people regardless of my job that forced constant communication with people. I did my part, but remained on the side, carefully choosing who I want to be friends with. Not that there was plenty of people lining up to get to know me. Hell no. I have barely found a group of less than half a dozen people that somewhat shared my view on the world and my interests, so there wasn't too much freedom of choice there.

Frankly speaking, even those people didn't completely get me, so I couldn't really call them friends or anything like that. Whenever I'd share my thoughts, my concerns about how trapped I feel, how it seems there's something wrong with this world, they'd just shrug, look at me weird and tell me to change my job or something. But this wasn't it. There was something I could barely see at the corner of my eye, subtle signals that made me feel caged, like I didn't really have control of my life. I always valued my freedom, so that nagging feeling was driving me mad.

That feeling was not always there, but slowly started coming to me at some point, can't even remember when. It was growing somewhere at the back of my head, bleeding my mind with its thorns in the process. Small things started to catch my attention, some things that just didn't seem completely right. As the time passed, it was becoming more and more insufferable, and I felt like I need to find what the hell is going on, whether my observations and concerns were on point, or whether I'm simply going mad and need help.

And so I searched, I looked through the newspapers, the internet, I looked through all available media trying to piece together all the things that have been bothering me. The only people I kept close started to keep distance because of my pursuit, or maybe I kept them at distance because I was so focused on it. Either way, it took me a long time, but at some point I've found a trail I could follow. A trail of breadcrumbs, in a matter of speaking, one that would lead me to the answers I've been searching for.

There was this group of people existing behind a veil of secrecy, who were leaving subtle hints for people like me to follow. Along the way their cryptic messages about the system trapping and controlling us all made it more and more clear for me that I was in fact not losing it, not unless it was a contagious madness. So these cryptic messages were speaking of the system holding us, about our minds being imprisoned, and eventually about the Matrix and the way to break free.

I had to see to the end of this road, I had to get to the truth and in touch with these people to learn what they knew as they seemed to have the answers I needed. Looking way back at these events, it's hard for me to say whether I found them or they found me. What matters is that they contacted me and offered me those answers, to show me what Matrix is. And so I followed, finally meeting the people which were so difficult to find it took me ages to get in touch with them after first encountering their trail.

Grim looking people and weird machinery greeted me there, and I knew I was at the right place. It was there I learned that this nagging feeling I had for so long was not unjustified, that I was indeed trapped all my life and that the reality was not what it seemed. Then and there they gave me a choice whether to open my eyes and see the truth, or whether to remain chained in this life. There was no hesitation on my part that I can remember. Fear? Yes, but no hesitation. I had no idea where this road was leading and what was waiting for me at the end of it, but I had to know.

I have been brought to the real world, which was nothing like what I imagined. At first, I was scared, I could barely breathe. This reality was brutal, merciless, world at war, humanity versus machines in this nightmarish wasteland. It was not long before that war ended and the truce ended the hostilities. At that time, though, it was a fight for humanity's survival, and I was awakened nearly at the final moments of that fight. I have heard of the legendary crew of Nebuchadnezzar; Morpheus, Neo and the rest. I've learned of the prophecy and coming end of the war.

Still, it was a grim reality. People were fighting machines in the real world, and in the Matrix, jacking in and working towards freeing people still trapped and unaware of the truth. Many lives were lost, but so many have also been saved. While I was not sold on the whole prophecy thing, I believed in freedom and truth. I, like many others, was finally free. I've seen the truth of this world, as well as the truth of what some people can do. Morpheus devoted his life to free as many people as he could and to end this war, I respected him and looked up to him. So many of us did.

And so I wanted to do the same as Morpheus and others like him, help in this struggle and help save those people still stuck in their pods. I have volunteered and after some training and careful consideration I was enlisted and taught all I had to know to survive in the Matrix. I have learned abilities, and with a push of a button by the operator, that I never would have thought I'd one day learn. Once I jacked back into the Matrix as redpill, I was looking at this world from a whole new perspective.

Everything was different for me now that my eyes were open and I understood what this system was, a prison designed to keep us ignorant and abused. But as any prison, this one also had guardians, and very dangerous at that. I've learned about them in my training and hoped I would be lucky enough not to see them early on. Hope dies last, they say. Those machines were, and still are, ruthlessly efficient. Me, a rookie, got so close to death so fast back then, at the very beginning, I genuinely started to question whether I made the right choice enlisting. I was afraid.

Fear of meeting Agents in the Matrix paralyzed me. I wanted to help, I wanted to be free, but I also wanted to be alive. But seems that many rookies felt the same way at the beginning, any perhaps many of the Zion operatives feel the same way years into the service. So I fought through my fear and got back in, assisting in various operations, mostly intel retrieval, where I've met a few Exile programs, some of them dangerous and extremely hostile. The beginnings were tough, but this danger, in time, hardened me and while the fear was still there, I was beginning to be much more focused.

I grew braver and more confident as we were nearing the end of the war, as I've been helping during those operations, and as I've seen Morpheus in action and even Neo. I was very skeptical about the whole prophecy thing and The One back then, but once I've seen with my own eyes what he can do, and in the end learned of his ultimate sacrifice, my doubts were swept away. In the end I got to be there to witness the end of the war and the truce between us and the machines. I was proud that I was able to contribute, at least in a small bit, to this victory.

It was not that long after that everything started going to hell again. Zion suffered a major loss when Morpheus was killed, and then we acquired a new enemy we did not expect, a bunch of extremists called Cypherites, making travel through both, real world and the Matrix so much more dangerous. By then I was better prepared to handle dangers and fighting our enemies. Still, I have lost count how many times I got my ass handed to me and nearly got myself killed, sometimes by my own stupidity and cockiness. Some things never change, do they.

Today I know well enough the truth that freedom comes at a cost and the price is always high. There are also always those who want to take it away, because it's easier and perhaps safer to submit. I, for one, will continue fighting, regardless of how tough it will be or how many new enemies will emerge from the shadows trying to stop us from saving the others. As I'm looking back at all of this, I regret nothing. Had I known where I'd end up after eating that red pill, I would gladly pay this price for freedom.

For the Zion.
Calaeus out.

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[Calaeus]

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:: Receiving an incoming transmission
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Hey Cal. I've been hearing rumors that you've finally got lucky and Commander gave you greenlight for your operation. Is this true? Are you really bringing that pirate radio station back online? I really didn't think I'll hear the name Radio Free Zion again. This brings a lot of memories. I'll bet it will raise some interest among the old vets. I don't know if you fully comprehend the importance of this radio, although I imagine you have some idea, but still, know that what you're doing is bringing back something that once helped connect and awaken a lot of people. The crew that was in charge of the original RFZ broadcast back in the old days were the real heroes. I would recommend that you reach out to at least some of them and see if you can have them sign up for this operation. I bet you either will or already are looking for some volunteers, since you obviously can't fly alone. How the hell did you manage to pull this off, anyway? Last time I checked with you, you said that Commander still wasn't willing to spare any ships for this op. What changed in the last couple of months? I hope to hear from you soon.


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Hey. You've been hearing right. It was an uphill battle to make this happen. Initially I was hoping that he could get me onto one of the crews with equipment necessary for this to work but, even despite showing a bit of interest after an early broadcast test done by another operative, he declined as there was no room on any of the ships for this, and hover barges especially weren't suited for this kind of operation. I was trying time and again for weeks, but with no result. In the meanwhile, I just kept on training and running missions as usual, until one day Commander called for me. He informed me that while he cannot spare any of the currently deployed ships, he would offer me a hovercraft of my own, but not specifically for that reason. At that time he required someone to run a long range recon ops, but it would have required stationing far outside the city for an extensive amount of time, and as not many people were willing to sit in seclusion, far from home, for that long, there simply weren't any volunteers. He said there was a hovercraft capable of continuous, safe transmission which would be perfect for setting up my operation, but I would be given command only under condition of primarily focusing on the recon mission he'd give me. I accepted his terms. Before I could do anything, though, I obviously had to go through the flight training first, since I never had any prior experience. It did take me quite a while to get a hang of this, but eventually I passed all the piloting tests and after some formalities has been taken care of, the Commander entrusted a hovercraft under my care and command, the Epiphany.

It's quite a small ship, I think even a bit smaller than the Logos. It's equipped with long range scanners and transmitters, and since its main function is recon, it has no weaponry, only the EMP charge with somewhat limited range. I was assured that if I did my job right, I would not need any weapons since due to the ship's size and reduced signature giveaway, Epiphany would remain pretty much undetectable while in idle state. Although if I was forced to use the EMP, I had no guarantee for a rescue, since not many hovercrafts would be able to safely venture that far. It obviously is a bit dangerous, but no more than being chased by an Agent. And so, my primary job is to be basically sitting all the way out there in the peripheries, keep scanning the area and watch the machine movements, and send back the reports on regular interval. And as a side gig, I am allowed to use the ship's equipment to set up my broadcast. Speaking of which, I remember you were worried about machines detecting it. It's not going to happen. It's really clever, actually. The plan is to high jack an old and unused, albeit secure line, which will serve as a proxy for the broadcast. They won't be able to detect it as a pirate signal, and instead it will look like part of the system, that is if they ever take a closer look at it. Well, at least in theory. As for the RFZ story, I've heard quite a lot about it, and it is precisely the reason why I'm doing this. I'm hoping to replicate the success of the old crew. It seems to be the most effective ways to deliver our message to bluepills without causing chaos or bloodshed. And I've actually reached out to some of the operatives that were in charge of the broadcast back then, but most of them either had posts they couldn't or wouldn't leave, or have stepped down completely and never went back into the Matrix. I did find a couple of volunteers, though, so I'm heading out as soon as everyone is ready. I won't be visiting home too often - well, the Epiphany will be kinda my new home now - but anyway, I will stay in touch. Remember to keep an ear out for the Radio Free Zion. If all goes well, it will be up and running again in no time.

Calaeus out.

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