Clarity
Had to wait for nightfall to move around, the greenish discoloration of my skin makes me stand out to much. As soon as it was dark, I moved out.
The city was the same but different, the people were too happy and aware. They knew where they were and what they were in...though I'm not entirely sure how I knew that. Programs and humans intermingled openly, knowingly.
I came across Agents as well, my former bretheren; still not entirely sure what happened to me but I'm no longer an agent. They took no notice of me or, better to say, they recognized me as Agent Smith but there was no direct communication and as I kept to the darker areas, they didn't see how I had altered.
Neither did I know, completely, how I had been altered. Thompson had merged fully into me, his sense of identity completely submerged now. That and there was the alley I'd been in...
...when I left, the walls were completely smooth with a texture like polished metal.
Still didn't know entirely what was the status quo now, what the rules of this new System were. This needed to be my first priority. Through my earpiece I waited until one agent was seprated from the others...which seemed to happen a lot more often of late than ever before.
What this agent was doing, I couldn't say. If I had to hazard a guess, as unthinkable as it seemed, I'd say he was in the midst of an emotional crisis. The area was clear of anyone else, human or program, so I went up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.
He turned about, clearly surprised. He relaxed when he saw me face, though I was still a bit in shadow, "Agent Smith. Sorry, wasn't aware you were here."
It was Agent Johnson.
"No reason you should have been." I said calmly, walking around him but keeping to where the light kept my face shadowed, "After all, you clearly have a lot on your mind."
He nodded, clearly still distracted by whatever it was, "With what has been happening with Maritas and the DEI overshadowing everything..." his voice trailed off as a stray sliver of light slid across my face, "Are you allright, Smith? You seem a bit..."
"Green?" I smiled, "There are some things that just won't remain the same anymore."
"Smith?" he was looking increasingly uncomfortable.
"Nothing is the same as it used to be and I don't know why." I continued as though he'd said nothing, "I need to know what has changed."
He grabbed me, "What are you talking about?"
Instinctively, I grabbed both sides of his head, "I need to know."
Light exploded around us, emenating primarily from me as everything within him exploded througn my fingers and into my mind. All his knowledge, everything that happened from the last time point I could remember to now. All of it.
Breaking contact, I let him fall. Somehow, I knew he wouldn't remember the encounter at all, something in what I did. My hands, my entire body was pulsing with light; in a nearby window my reflection looked inverted but it slowly cycled back to my new appearance. Craning my neck, straightening my suit, I left the area.
I'd somehow come forward in time, something to do with that green creature with the tail. Time had progressed without me but there was still a Smith in the System when I left, a Thompson as well. Perhaps I'm a copy of them both.
There was a truce declared between the humans and the machines due to Mr. Anderson and the incredible abilities he had been showing signs of. My last memory of him was that very impressive fight he'd put up against me in the subway. Apparently he'd escaped and continued his odd mutation.
The other Smith had altered as well, maybe similar to myself but clearly different. He nearly took over everything but was stopped by Mr. Anderson. There are still copies of him within the System.
Peace between humans is the ultimate blasphemy to what I know but as detached as I've become, as different as I am now, I'm not sure what to do about it exactly.
There was something though, this DEI that Agent Johnson mentioned. It was also very evident in his thoughts. They would seem to be a growing force within the Matrix.
Something to explore...
The city was the same but different, the people were too happy and aware. They knew where they were and what they were in...though I'm not entirely sure how I knew that. Programs and humans intermingled openly, knowingly.
I came across Agents as well, my former bretheren; still not entirely sure what happened to me but I'm no longer an agent. They took no notice of me or, better to say, they recognized me as Agent Smith but there was no direct communication and as I kept to the darker areas, they didn't see how I had altered.
Neither did I know, completely, how I had been altered. Thompson had merged fully into me, his sense of identity completely submerged now. That and there was the alley I'd been in...
...when I left, the walls were completely smooth with a texture like polished metal.
Still didn't know entirely what was the status quo now, what the rules of this new System were. This needed to be my first priority. Through my earpiece I waited until one agent was seprated from the others...which seemed to happen a lot more often of late than ever before.
What this agent was doing, I couldn't say. If I had to hazard a guess, as unthinkable as it seemed, I'd say he was in the midst of an emotional crisis. The area was clear of anyone else, human or program, so I went up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.
He turned about, clearly surprised. He relaxed when he saw me face, though I was still a bit in shadow, "Agent Smith. Sorry, wasn't aware you were here."
It was Agent Johnson.
"No reason you should have been." I said calmly, walking around him but keeping to where the light kept my face shadowed, "After all, you clearly have a lot on your mind."
He nodded, clearly still distracted by whatever it was, "With what has been happening with Maritas and the DEI overshadowing everything..." his voice trailed off as a stray sliver of light slid across my face, "Are you allright, Smith? You seem a bit..."
"Green?" I smiled, "There are some things that just won't remain the same anymore."
"Smith?" he was looking increasingly uncomfortable.
"Nothing is the same as it used to be and I don't know why." I continued as though he'd said nothing, "I need to know what has changed."
He grabbed me, "What are you talking about?"
Instinctively, I grabbed both sides of his head, "I need to know."
Light exploded around us, emenating primarily from me as everything within him exploded througn my fingers and into my mind. All his knowledge, everything that happened from the last time point I could remember to now. All of it.
Breaking contact, I let him fall. Somehow, I knew he wouldn't remember the encounter at all, something in what I did. My hands, my entire body was pulsing with light; in a nearby window my reflection looked inverted but it slowly cycled back to my new appearance. Craning my neck, straightening my suit, I left the area.
I'd somehow come forward in time, something to do with that green creature with the tail. Time had progressed without me but there was still a Smith in the System when I left, a Thompson as well. Perhaps I'm a copy of them both.
There was a truce declared between the humans and the machines due to Mr. Anderson and the incredible abilities he had been showing signs of. My last memory of him was that very impressive fight he'd put up against me in the subway. Apparently he'd escaped and continued his odd mutation.
The other Smith had altered as well, maybe similar to myself but clearly different. He nearly took over everything but was stopped by Mr. Anderson. There are still copies of him within the System.
Peace between humans is the ultimate blasphemy to what I know but as detached as I've become, as different as I am now, I'm not sure what to do about it exactly.
There was something though, this DEI that Agent Johnson mentioned. It was also very evident in his thoughts. They would seem to be a growing force within the Matrix.
Something to explore...