Introductions (Switch/Apoc)
Hm. I seem to have another series going here. :-\
This is a follow up to Invitation and Unplugged.
Switch/Apoc.
Enjoy. :-)
*~*~*~*~*
Introductions
Twenty-one ninety-four, I repeat the number - the year - to myself. How is that possible?
“I know it’s hard to believe,” Morpheus tells me, as if he can read my mind. “I didn’t believe it at first, either. But come,” he continues. “See for yourself.”
I get to my feet, the blanket draped around my shoulders.
I don’t think I’d recognize my face in the mirror - if there was a mirror available - skinny and bald as I am.
I follow him down a narrow, blue-lit hallway, and up a ladder. This place is built like a submarine.
“This is my ship,” Morpheus interjects. “The Nebuchadnezzar. She’s a hovercraft-”
Oh, god…
“-This is the main deck. The Core is this way - from there we can broadcast our pirate signal and hack into the Matrix - that’s how we got you out.”
I nod, listening, not really understanding.
This is too weird. Too weird.
There are people in the place called the Core. A man with greying dreadlocks, who gives me a nod when Morpheus introduces him as Glitch, and a guy not too much older than me - Dozer. Neither of them have any holes in their arms.
I nod to them, try to smile, try not to let my nervousness show.
I’ve never been good with people.
At least there’s only two of them, I think, too soon.
I turn at the sound of footsteps, to see another three people filing into the Core. A bald man - he can’t be any older than Dozer - with a devilish beard, a tall woman with short, dark hair and piercing blue eyes, and… Switch. Switch who is, possibly, paler in real life than she appeared in the Matrix.
I smile at her, nervous as anything.
See? I think. I can walk around by myself, just like everyone else. Really.
So why do my knees feel like jello all of a sudden?
“I believe you’ve already met the rest of the crew.”
I nod, though I only know one name among all of them.
“This is Cypher,” Morpheus introduces me to the man who, last I saw him, was wiring me up to a dozen different monitors.
“Hi,” I offer, though it comes out not much more than a whisper.
“Hey,” the man named Cypher answers.
“This is Trinity, my first mate,” Morpheus continues.
She nods at me, extending her hand. I shake it, my heart pounding.
I want to go back to my quiet, dark room, where I don’t have to deal with masses of strangers, where I can curl up in a ball and pretend I know what’s going on.
“And this is Switch.”
Someone I sort of know. At least a little bit. I think I must be looking at her the way a drowning man looks at a life raft.
She nods at me, the corner of her mouth quirking in the closest thing I’ve seen her give to a smile.
I swallow, lifting my hand - something approaching a wave - and try to smile back.
“Thanks for the water,” I manage. Not the most intelligent thing to say, I guess, but I had to say something.
For an instant, she looks surprised, like she hadn’t expected me to say anything, let alone to say that (should I not have drawn attention to it?), but her cool, collected demeanour is quickly back in place.
She shrugs, with a quirk of her eyebrows.
“Don’t worry about it.”
*~*~*~*~*
Crew Mates.
Comments? :-D
This is a follow up to Invitation and Unplugged.
Switch/Apoc.
Enjoy. :-)
*~*~*~*~*
Introductions
Twenty-one ninety-four, I repeat the number - the year - to myself. How is that possible?
“I know it’s hard to believe,” Morpheus tells me, as if he can read my mind. “I didn’t believe it at first, either. But come,” he continues. “See for yourself.”
I get to my feet, the blanket draped around my shoulders.
I don’t think I’d recognize my face in the mirror - if there was a mirror available - skinny and bald as I am.
I follow him down a narrow, blue-lit hallway, and up a ladder. This place is built like a submarine.
“This is my ship,” Morpheus interjects. “The Nebuchadnezzar. She’s a hovercraft-”
Oh, god…
“-This is the main deck. The Core is this way - from there we can broadcast our pirate signal and hack into the Matrix - that’s how we got you out.”
I nod, listening, not really understanding.
This is too weird. Too weird.
There are people in the place called the Core. A man with greying dreadlocks, who gives me a nod when Morpheus introduces him as Glitch, and a guy not too much older than me - Dozer. Neither of them have any holes in their arms.
I nod to them, try to smile, try not to let my nervousness show.
I’ve never been good with people.
At least there’s only two of them, I think, too soon.
I turn at the sound of footsteps, to see another three people filing into the Core. A bald man - he can’t be any older than Dozer - with a devilish beard, a tall woman with short, dark hair and piercing blue eyes, and… Switch. Switch who is, possibly, paler in real life than she appeared in the Matrix.
I smile at her, nervous as anything.
See? I think. I can walk around by myself, just like everyone else. Really.
So why do my knees feel like jello all of a sudden?
“I believe you’ve already met the rest of the crew.”
I nod, though I only know one name among all of them.
“This is Cypher,” Morpheus introduces me to the man who, last I saw him, was wiring me up to a dozen different monitors.
“Hi,” I offer, though it comes out not much more than a whisper.
“Hey,” the man named Cypher answers.
“This is Trinity, my first mate,” Morpheus continues.
She nods at me, extending her hand. I shake it, my heart pounding.
I want to go back to my quiet, dark room, where I don’t have to deal with masses of strangers, where I can curl up in a ball and pretend I know what’s going on.
“And this is Switch.”
Someone I sort of know. At least a little bit. I think I must be looking at her the way a drowning man looks at a life raft.
She nods at me, the corner of her mouth quirking in the closest thing I’ve seen her give to a smile.
I swallow, lifting my hand - something approaching a wave - and try to smile back.
“Thanks for the water,” I manage. Not the most intelligent thing to say, I guess, but I had to say something.
For an instant, she looks surprised, like she hadn’t expected me to say anything, let alone to say that (should I not have drawn attention to it?), but her cool, collected demeanour is quickly back in place.
She shrugs, with a quirk of her eyebrows.
“Don’t worry about it.”
*~*~*~*~*
Crew Mates.
Comments? :-D