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Read. And then tell me what you think...

********* {by the way, thanks for reading! }********************

Libria
2113 A.D.

“Hello, John Preston. I have been expecting you.”

These words came from the lips of a large, dark-skinned man in a leather trench coat, standing in a room in an old house in the Nether, beyond the guard of the Tetragrammaton. Cleric John Preston, sent there to investigate a thought violation, stood quietly, hands at the ready. He said nothing, but looked directly at the stranger, who spoke further.

“My name is Morpheus. I have come here, to the world of the Tetragrammaton, to make you, Cleric, an offer. Be seated, please…” and he sat in the fading overstuffed chair, relaxed, confident. Preston spoke: “Why should I?”

“Ay, there’s the rub. I have come not to fight you, but to offer you a way out of this place. But first, I must ask you to open your mind…”

The Cleric interrupted calmly, “My mind is already where it needs to be. The drug Prozium has liberated us from all emotion, from all that causes war, conflict, and devastation. Through Prozium, through Father, we have found peace.”

Morpheus nodded sagely. “This has not been overlooked, Cleric. Prozium has certainly given you peace. But-- has it given you the truth?”
Preston said nothing.

“The truth, John Preston, is that this world you live in is a great construct. A sublimely designed program, one that exists solely in the minds of humanity… a humanity enslaved and turned into a great power supply. What I am telling you, John, you can choose to refuse. You can also choose to accept it, and face the truth.”

Preston twitched his hand; with a mechanical click, his sidearm appeared from his sleeve and inserted itself into his hand, which he kept at his side.

Nonplussed, silver shades hiding his eyes, Morpheus continued. “These pills shall give you the truth, Cleric. The red pill shall give you the truth as you know it; you shall return to your world, the one you presently know. Your life shall continue as it did before, and you will live and die a Grammatron Cleric.” He extended his right hand; in it was a red pill. He held out his left hand; in it was a blue pill. “The blue pill will give you the truth as I know it-- the truth of your existence, and the truth of what you are destined for. Your life will never be the same after you take the blue pill.

“Which truth shall it be, John Preston, Grammatron Cleric First Class?”

His hand twitched upon the gun. “Truth… what is truth? Is it something that one can tie down and hold bound with iron bands? Is it something that can be carved into stone for perpetuity? Can we say what is true, and what is not, for ourselves? Do we not determine what truth is for ourselves?”

Morpheus said nothing. His hands remained outstretched. In one was the red pill; in the other was the blue. John Preston looked into the silver glasses. The reflective discs revealed nothing, except to show the Cleric himself and his choice.

Reluctantly, his gun withdrew into his sleeve. And suddenly, there was a banging upon the door. “Grammatron Cleric investigating thought violations! Surrender peacefully, and you will be remanded for trial immediately. Surrender not, and you will be shot without appeal!”

Morpheus looked at the door, and then up at Preston. “That, Cleric, is no fellow of yours, despite his posturing. Our time is limited, I fear.”

Preston looked directly at Morpheus. His hands remained outstretched, the choice extant. In a blur of motion, the Cleric’s hand was likewise outstretched, holding his sidearm-- his left hand, pointing at the door. His right hand was poised. Morpheus, a small smile remaining upon his face throughout, made no motion throughout.

The right hand dipped.

It picked up the blue pill.

And the world of John Preston, Grammatron Cleric First Class, dissolved around him as the door broke in…

I'm guessing this story idea was the inspiration for the OSF thread.

A Matrix/Equilibrium crossover. This could be very cool. Does this mean the Zionites going to be a bunch of heavily armed art connoisseurs?

I thought it was the red pill that allowed you to "go down the rabbit hole".

Mayabird wrote:I'm guessing this story idea was the inspiration for the OSF thread.

Right there. I got to readin' the "Lord of the Gun" thread, and someone was bitching about how Neo was such a lousy shot... I'd just seen "Equilibrium", so I couldn't help but picture Preston gun-kata'in through the lobby fight scene in Matrix... and from there it went...

A Matrix/Equilibrium crossover. This could be very cool. Does this mean the Zionites going to be a bunch of heavily armed art connoisseurs?

Art connoisseurs? Hardly. They'll be pretty much the same as in the movie-- unless you refer to their identities in the Matrix, in which case, it'll vary. I've got this idea that in the Matrix, there are some small alternate Constructs, early experiements by the machines; Libria is one such, an early version (1.0.4) or some such of the Matrix, one that was unsuccessful because it was too perfect. Preston is one of the remaining portions of that construct. I've also got some ideas involving a few other gun gods...

2000AD wrote:I thought it was the red pill that allowed you to "go down the rabbit hole".

Hmm. Perhaps. It can be corrected in post if so...

Elheru Aran wrote: I've got this idea that in the Matrix, there are some small alternate Constructs, early experiements by the machines; Libria is one such, an early version (1.0.4) or some such of the Matrix, one that was unsuccessful because it was too perfect. Preston is one of the remaining portions of that construct. I've also got some ideas involving a few other gun gods...

Ooh, so does this mean we'll get to see some of these other earlier Constructs?

Mayabird wrote:

Elheru Aran wrote: I've got this idea that in the Matrix, there are some small alternate Constructs, early experiements by the machines; Libria is one such, an early version (1.0.4) or some such of the Matrix, one that was unsuccessful because it was too perfect. Preston is one of the remaining portions of that construct. I've also got some ideas involving a few other gun gods...

Ooh, so does this mean we'll get to see some of these other earlier Constructs?

[cryptic] Perhaps... [/cryptic]



Okay, here's part two...

********

Earth, former continent of North America
2571 A.D.

With a powerful blow, a module in the twenty-third grid of the Machines’ power plant cracked. More blows followed, coming from within; the lid of the module lifted slowly, as nutrient fluid splashed out. And John Preston, gasping for air, looked around him, and saw a scene of Hell.

Bodies floated in modules, arranged in neat rows, each body plugged into the power plant; huge metal octopi hovered above the units, occasionally reaching down and gathering up a module; and Preston arced his back in a spasm of pain, as the jacks abruptly unplugged.

With a whoosh, he was swept down through a disposal chute. Stale nutrient fluid flowed along with him; his body was on fire as he tried to slow his passage. Eventually, he splashed down into a large sewer, where he lay, gasping. A bright light suddenly swept across him, and he feebly held up his hands, protecting his eyes, as a being came down for him…


The former Cleric opened his eyes. He was dressed in rough, nondescript clothing. He was laying on a thin mattress, apparently within a ship of some sort. Struggling upright, he ran his hand over his head and felt rough stubble; and the door opened.

Like lightning, Preston’s hand darted forth and clasped itself around a woman’s neck. His other hand lifted, poised to snap her neck if she made a wrong move. “Who are you? Where am I? Why am I here?”

Morpheus materialized seemingly out of nowhere behind her. Calmly, he said, “Peace, Cleric. She is with us. And you will find your answers if you will come with me…”

Preston gave the two of them wary looks. Finally, he gave Morpheus a minimal shrug, released her, and walked past the woman into the corridor. Following the large black man into an open room containing some kind of large reclining chairs and a console at which an operator was busily occupied, Preston’s eyes missed no detail. Morpheus paused, swiveled one of the chairs to face Preston, and took a seat. He motioned Preston to a nearby stool, and remarked offhand, “This young man at the console is Tank, our Operator.”

Tank turned around and gave Preston a wary grin and nod, before returning to monitoring the constant rain of green characters scrolling down his screens. Morpheus continued, “You are aboard the ship Nebuchadnezzar, of which I am the captain. We are presently several hundred feet below the true surface of the Earth, and several thousand feet below what is now the surface. I now ask you, Cleric, to open your mind and listen carefully. Long, long ago, before your time, the people of Earth had grown to a massive population, covering the land in cities, sailing the oceans in great ships, and flying through the air in huge craft. To alleviate the pressure, it was decided that certain segments of humanity were dispensable; they were thus converted into power units for a great Matrix, one that would store these people until such time as they were wanted. Machines were created to service this Matrix.

“But, the Machines were given too much latitude; they began to think for themselves. The humans saw this as a threat, and they attacked the Machines. They lost.

“After they were integrated into the Matrix, it underwent considerable changes. People’s minds did not register correctly with the Matrix; it was too perfect. Thus the Architect and the Builder worked together, to create the Matrix as it is today-- the final version-- 5.9.2. The portion of the Matrix that you came from, Cleric, is an old part-- one of the earliest versions of the Matrix, that was sustained because a certain portion of the population were suited to that part. It is version 2.8.4 of the Matrix; one that suited the Architect because of its inherent order. The Builder was dissatisfied, but the Architect had precedence, and overruled him; he kept Libria as an artifact of his work, a construct he could visit on occasion to relax amid its order.

“You have been removed from Libria, Cleric, because, to be frank, we need you. I believe that you are the One, prophesied to destroy the Machines and save humanity.”

John Preston could only look at Morpheus, slightly incredulous but betraying no trace of it. Eventually, he sighed, shifted position, and asked, “What is it that I am to do, then?”

Morpheus gave Preston a slight smile, laid back into his chair, and with a motion of his hand invited Preston into the one by him. Tank, following the unsounded command, moved from his console and took up two input jacks. The Cleric, wary, sat back. Tank warned him, “This is probably gonna hurt a bit, since it’s your first time…”

A bolt of pain lanced through the back of Preston’s head-- replaced by the sight of a featureless, white room. He was dressed in his Cleric habit; Morpheus appeared, dressed in his immaculate black trench coat and silver sunglasses. He motioned, and they were standing atop a great building.

“We are now in the Construct, Cleric. We created this section of the Matrix secretly, separate from the one the Machines control. It is used to train those who have been recently awakened. Here, we learn how to twist the Matrix, to bend its rules to our advantage--”

And he spun around, sprinted, and leaped… arcing high in the air, he landed with a crunching impact on the roof of the building far across the street. Preston looked on, incredulous. Morpheus called, “Come, John. This is the Matrix. It is not real, but we are. We can control it. We can bend its rules. We exist outside it, Cleric.”

The Cleric closed his eyes; his hands, at his side, clenched and then relaxed. He looked outwards, his eyes distant. And what he saw was not the world; rather, it was a vista of green. Code characters, programs, scrolling all around, forming buildings, shaped like people, cars, even pieces of trash on the ground.

A slight smile appeared on Preston’s lips. He walked forwards, till he reached the edge of the building. And he called to Morpheus: “You say we can bend the rules, can we not?” At Morpheus’ acquiescence, he nodded quietly, and then stepped into thin air.

The coding of the Construct rippled, and he walked quietly, solid as though he were on a bridge of stone between the two buildings, until he stepped onto the balustrade of the building across the street.

Tank, monitoring the console, goggled; everybody gathered around him, eagerly watching, had similarly incredulous reactions.

Morpheus likewise stared; and then he grinned. “See, Cleric? Already you learn… Tank? Agent training program two, please.”

The Operator stared, but dutifully loaded the program as excited chatter broke out in the background. The clinical monitors by Preston remained calm, unexcited, while those of Morpheus’ showed considerable agitation.

The Construct rippled around the Cleric and Morpheus; when it was still, they were in a large warehouse. Preston looked about idly, while Morpheus was tense; he asked, “Have you encountered Agents before, Cleric? I thought not… but you most likely have. The Clerics of the Tetragrammaton Construct, John Preston, are with but few exceptions Agents in training, sent there by the Architect to learn, to understand, and to become lethal. The Agents, Cleric, are the control organ of the Matrix; they keep the peace, and destroy all that disrupt it. Sound familar, Cleric? Indeed…”

Green coding rippled in the distance, at one side of the warehouse. Preston shifted, every sense suddenly hyper-aware. And two Agents suddenly popped out of nowhere, one in front of Preston and the other at his right. Morpheus reflexively bent down in a defensive crouch. They fired their .50 caliber Desert Eagle pistols…

And the bullets whipcracked through thin air, for the Cleric had simply moved out of the way of the bullets. He flicked his wrists, and his sidearms inserted themselves into his hands. Spinning in a blur of motion, two shots-- clear and distinct, above the loud booms of the Desert Eagles-- cracked forth.

The Agents were still standing. Preston stared. One grinned malevolently at him, and then launched itself into a flying kick directly at the Cleric’s skull. Preston bent sideways as the Construct slowed down around him; holding his guns directly over his head, he let fly on full automatic, a three-shot burst from each pistol. As the second Agent began to blur in the bullet-dodging program, a bullet gently, almost casually, entered his skull; another penetrated his neck; and a wild one went through his shoulder. He vanished in a burst of green code.

Preston whipped up his feet, still in midair; he connected solidly with the first Agent. Using the impetus from the kick as leverage, he spun upwards gracefully, leisurely rotating through the air, bringing his arms down to bear upon the Agent. His pistols cracked once more.

Morpheus’ jacket settled into place as he completed his crouch, and he stared incredulously as the Agent dissolved and vanished away, and Preston gently landed, guns retracting into his sleeves. The second hand on Morpheus’ watch clicked once. The Cleric asked gently, “Is that it?”

Elheru Aran wrote:

2000AD wrote:I thought it was the red pill that allowed you to "go down the rabbit hole".

Hmm. Perhaps. It can be corrected in post if so...

Then perhaps you should, for it is indeed so. Blue pill puts you back into bed without any memory of the night before. Red pill gets you unplugged and flushed out of your pod.

You've got me hooked, and like all good addicts, I need more.....

Question to everybody... is Preston too uber, and did he learn too fast? To be sure, he's not the idiot Neo was, and he's had all that Cleric training, but still...

Okay, I guess I'm worrying a bit too much here...

I like it. Preston was a badass in Equilibrium, so he should be a god inside the Matrix.

Wow, this rocks.

Keep up the good work.

I'd love to see him fight Morpheus.

Gandalf wrote:Wow, this rocks.

Keep up the good work.

I'd love to see him fight Morpheus.

Are you kidding me? After seeing what he did to agents, even simulated ones, I doubt that Morpheus would pull the same shit on him that he did on Mr. Anderson. Of course, I would have come to that opinion after the walking on air bit.

It's pretty good. Keep up the fanfic and write another chapter!

Not too bad, although it does have a 'rushed' feel to it. But that's common in spur-of-the-moment fanfics.

Elheru Aran wrote:Question to everybody... is Preston too uber, and did he learn too fast? To be sure, he's not the idiot Neo was, and he's had all that Cleric training, but still...

Okay, I guess I'm worrying a bit too much here...

I'm afraid I think you've overdone it a bit. I can see him being able to get the physical stuff down faster than neo, but actally manipulating the code straight up is a little on the unbelievable side. He also seems a bit too ready to take morpheus at his word.

Kuja: yeah, 'twas "spur-of-the-moment", as you put it. It can be cleaned up, though.

PTR: As for the code, Preston's a Cleric. His training doesn't include just physical stuff; it's also mental, as evinced by his control of his bodily functions (compleltely flat-lining a lie detector just before going ballistic, for one). He's best of the best, to boot-- the highest ranking of the Clerics. Is it any wonder that he catches on faster than Neo once he understands how the Matrix works?

And as to believing Morpheus... why shouldn't he? Morpheus, in the movies, was basically just a devotee of Neo after the first film; he initiated the recovery of Neo, yes, but after training him in the first one, he pretty much left it up to him. In any case, it may seem like Preston believes Morpheus...


PS: The italics are there for a reason.

Keep writing. It's been a while since we've had a hero who can kick the shit out of everyone (Drizzt, anyone?).

I don't think instantly figuring out the matrix would be Preston's thing. I could see him being a better shot, and the mental stuff could be very helpful with the whole 'your mind makes it real' business, but I can't see him seeing through to the code any faster than neo. But it is your story.

As for morpheus, this is kind of hard to explain. He seems a bit to willing to go with him to start with, and I think the first hurdle to playing with the matrix is believing that it isn't real. It just seems like M tells P that he can do stuff and then he extrapolates that to mean that he can completely bend reality. I supose some of this could come from his version of the matrix being less convincing? And perhaps some of his abilities already came from having some measure of control over the matrix?

Elheru Aran wrote:Kuja: yeah, 'twas "spur-of-the-moment", as you put it. It can be cleaned up, though.

Don't bother. It's highly refreshing to read something as concise and elemental as this. I'm enjoying myself. *wink*

Prozac the Robert wrote:I don't think instantly figuring out the matrix would be Preston's thing. I could see him being a better shot, and the mental stuff could be very helpful with the whole 'your mind makes it real' business, but I can't see him seeing through to the code any faster than neo. But it is your story.

As for morpheus, this is kind of hard to explain. He seems a bit to willing to go with him to start with, and I think the first hurdle to playing with the matrix is believing that it isn't real. It just seems like M tells P that he can do stuff and then he extrapolates that to mean that he can completely bend reality. I supose some of this could come from his version of the matrix being less convincing? And perhaps some of his abilities already came from having some measure of control over the matrix?

You can certainly interpret the story that way, yes. I like to leave my stories open to possible interpretations-- makes figuring out everything all that much easier... and fun!

Regarding what Morpheus tells Preston... Preston has been brought up to believe implictly in what authority figures tell him. And-- this is important-- he takes the pill BEFORE he loses the Prozium. Morpheus, then, replaces "Father" and DuPont in Preston's mind-- not completely, as you'll see later on, but to a degree, certainly. At this point he knows he has to trust Morpheus, because he's a newcomer to the Matrix. He believes he can do what Morpheus tells him he can do-- so he does it, and more. He knows that the Matrix is not real, and that he has the ability to manipulate it. Ipso facto, he proceeds to do just that.

Kuja wrote:

Elheru Aran wrote:Kuja: yeah, 'twas "spur-of-the-moment", as you put it. It can be cleaned up, though.

Don't bother. It's highly refreshing to read something as concise and elemental as this. I'm enjoying myself. *wink*

Thanks. I was looking for a tight, clean feel to it myself, similar to Equilibrium. Not so much focus on the scenery and all that, but more on the action and the psychology going on.

Additionally-- most of the action is going to be in the Matrix, not so much in the real world, as in this version, Preston is going to be moving much faster than Neo. After the first movie, Neo waited like, what, six months? till Reloaded... a fairly long bit of time, anyway, because he managed to yank a good few people out of the pods, and he'd definitely been to Zion multiple times. And I never liked the whole rave scene anyway...

Oh, and the inevitable Cleric/Smith confrontation is coming... so stick with me, loyal readers!

Elheru Aran wrote: You can certainly interpret the story that way, yes. I like to leave my stories open to possible interpretations-- makes figuring out everything all that much easier... and fun!

Fair enough. And if I don't like that I reckon I can just pester you some more later.

Regarding what Morpheus tells Preston... Preston has been brought up to believe implictly in what authority figures tell him. And-- this is important-- he takes the pill BEFORE he loses the Prozium. Morpheus, then, replaces "Father" and DuPont in Preston's mind-- not completely, as you'll see later on, but to a degree, certainly. At this point he knows he has to trust Morpheus, because he's a newcomer to the Matrix. He believes he can do what Morpheus tells him he can do-- so he does it, and more. He knows that the Matrix is not real, and that he has the ability to manipulate it. Ipso facto, he proceeds to do just that.

Aha, ok. Now my only question would be what possesed him to take the pill to start with, but I have a feeling that you may be saving that.

Wouldn't Preston's muscles be all dystro-fied because he's never used them before?

Otherwise, pretty cool stuff. I dig the ass kicking.

Darth Garden Gnome wrote:Wouldn't Preston's muscles be all dystro-fied because he's never used them before?

What do you think Morpheus and gang were doing while he was all blacked out and shit from getting dumped into the sewers?

Darth Garden Gnome wrote:Wouldn't Preston's muscles be all dystro-fied because he's never used them before?

No, the real question is how the hell can he use them so well. They used the same muscles regeneration technique they used on Neo.

There should still be a considerable difference between using them in the Matrix and in Relatity, which I'm fairly sure they state in the movies themselves.

I like I like alot.

However I do feel Preston should not have kicked those Agnet's assses.

Bullet dodge hasn't failed at any point in the matrix as far as I know.

Also Preston isn't amazing at unbarmed combat. Watch equilibrium and you'll see only Brant throws a punch at any point in the movie.

Basically Preston should have done the gun kata only the see the agents still standing then either a Dupont/Preston style hand trap battle of Preston shoul get his has kicked after trying to pistol whip them with the little hammers in his gun base.

Just an opinion and this is very good the above not withstanding.