USH'S MATRIX GAME- Zion play thread.

“I don’t need to tell you how famous Jericho was. He became our most famous Captain. Here was a man who seemed to be able to take on the Machines directly; engaging and defeating them with superior strategy. To the Council, this made Jericho a much better candidate for heroship than Morpheus’ ideals or Dallas’… confidence.

“HEY! Is this a re-run or just one big bitchin’ session about me?” comes that voice again.

“We looked to Jericho to bring us victory, to give us a plan that would free Humanity. He did his job well, but that’s not what he came up with.”

The scene shifts again. Now you are in a simulation of the Council chamber in Zion. A number of Captains are sitting on the stairs, including Morpheus, Roland and Dallas. Jericho is standing and addressing the Council. Marduk- the simulated Marduk- is sitting just to his side.

A Councilman speaks.

“We see no reason for such pessimism, Jericho. The machines have been searching for Zion for decades without result, and our codes are completely secure.”

“There are two ways in which Zion could be found. Physical search or by accessing the Zion mainframe.” Jericho’s tone is even and unemotional

“Which I just said was impossible!”

“Not impossible. All too easy to imagine. One mistake is all it takes- a Captain taken and interrogated before he can be unplugged. Unlikely, but all too possible that a crew might be incapacitated and unable to unplug a taken Captain.”

“We should not dwell on worst case scenarios.”

“This is not a worst case scenario. It is an escalating possibility that ends in certainty.”

Real Marduk interjects here as the point is debated in the Chamber.

“Jericho’s real genius is one that has made many legendary Generals in history. He had the ability to understand, and so predict, his enemy. Jericho had an innate understanding of machine logic. He knew how they were going to act, more often than not. It fascinated him. And it led him to conclusions that I can best describe as controversial.”

“The other way is also inevitable. It is true the Machines have been searching for decades without success; the interior of the planet is very large. But all the time, their resources increase and the places left to search dwindle. Zion is not invisible. We all know that it has always existed with the threat of execution hanging over it, when it is eventually found.”

“Finding and taking are two different things,” says a woman on the Council. “And we have learned much about fighting Machines.”

“The Machines defeated Humanity when we were at the height of our power,” says Jericho. “Now they are at their height, and we are at our least. If we could match the Machines in outright war, then we would be fighting such a war. Instead, we fight as guerillas in the Matrix. If our base is found, we are doomed. No-one in this room truly believes that Zion can survive direct assault.”

“This we know, Jericho. We must turn around the situation.”

“We might know it, but we blind ourselves to it. We have no winning strategy.”

“Then propose one, Jericho. That is your job.”

“I have concluded my work on that matter. It is my firm belief that there is no winning strategy. No matter how many minds we free from the Matrix, it would take centuries for us to destroy it, and that is assuming the Machines never improve security there. This is a simple mater of time and resources. Our limited ability against their endless capabilities. There is no possible strategy that we can adopt that can win us this war. And as all we can do with the Humans we free is bring them to Zion, all our work is for nothing.”

Dallas has gotten up and is leaving the chamber.

“Dallas!” calls out a council member. “Stay, please!”

“I ain’t listening to any more of this shit,” he says.

“I am simply revealing the truth, Dallas,” says Jericho. “My job was to analyse strategy; that is exactly what I have done.”

“Oh, what, that’s IT, is it? That’s your mighty work? That we should give up because there are too many of them? I don’t give a rat’s ass! A million to one. A billion. Bring them on!”

“To ignore the overwhelming superiority of a foe is simply to invite suicide,” says Jericho.

“What Dallas says is the kind of fighting spirit I expect from my Captains,” says Commander Locke.

“The kamikaze had spirit. But they still died, and their war was still lost.”

“Oh, what you are comparing me to the Japanese now?” says Dallas “So, I’m the bad guy, because I still want to fight to try and stop Humanity being annihilated?”

“Not a bad guy, Just deluded.”

“You’ve lost your faith, Jericho,” comes a voice that brings authority and respect from all around, Morpheus is now standing. His bass seems to reverberate around the chamber. “You have fought the Machines better than any Man. You should not turn away from that Path.”

“The Path leads to the same fire as all others.”

“Sometimes a Man’s path takes an unexpected turn. What is important is that you stayed true to your calling.”

“We don’t all believe as you do, Morpheus,” says Jericho. “You have searched for years without success.”

“That is my calling. I stay true to it in spite of what seems to be so, and I will answer for wherever it leads me.”

“This war cannot be won on the vague hope of a Messiah who will save us. That is not real life.”

“Do you actually have an alternative for us, Jericho?” asks one of the older Council members.

“I have investigated many, from surrender terms to abandoning Zion. All lead to the same conclusion. The Machines will not be dissuaded, and no superior strategic position will be achieved. In time, the Machines will win. In fact, Zion’s destruction is an effective certainty within one decade… and a high probability inside the next two years.”

Dallas has had enough. He leaves the Chamber, as it erupts into vigorous argument. At the end of it, the Council sends Jericho away.

“It was hard,” says real Marduk. “How could we dismiss our greatest hero? We needed his skills, and he was well loved by the people. But what else could the Council do? How could we have a war in which the head of our war effort said we could not win? The effect Jericho was having on moral was already disastrous, and rumours of his conclusions were starting to escape out into Zion at large. Jericho had to go. He was informed that a tribunal was looking into his conduct. The outcome would have been inevitable in a way that Jericho might have found ironic. Jericho was to be dismissed from service. But, in the end, it was not necessary.”

You are watching Locke’s office. Roland is by his desk, talking to him.

“You have confirmed it?” asks Locke.

“I came right by it. Wreckage of the Bounty, cut to pieces.”

Locke’s face screws up in irritation.

“It was an engine TESTING run! He didn’t even have an operator with him! The Machines can’t have tracked any signal!” Roland shrugs.

“A random deep Sentinel patrol.”

“What was Jericho doing anywhere near the Sentinels? He didn’t need to be at broadcast depth!”

“He wasn’t,” says Roland. “He was deep. The Sentinels must have found him by chance.”

Locke sighs. “Why did he bring is crew with hi? Two people could have done a testing run.”

“They were the only friends he had left,” says Roland. Locke nods.

“I’ll inform the Council.”

“Close, weren’t they?” says Roland.

“Hmm?” says Locke

“The Sentinels. Jericho didn’t go far. They were very close to Zion.”

“Luck. They’ll look the other side of the world tomorrow.”

“Let’s hope so.”

“And that was that,” says Marduk. “The Indestructible Man was dead, the brilliant strategist brought down by sheer bad luck. Zion was devastated. The truth about Jericho’s beliefs was not made public- and nor should any of you discuss it. But of course, three months later, everyone had forgotten about Jericho and his predictions.”

In the Matrix, a figure flies overhead, the clouds parting in his wake.

“Because it was three months after Jericho’s death that Morpheus found Neo. And that was that. Even if you did not believe the Prophecy, who could doubt that Morpheus had found an amazing weapon? A Human who can dodge bullets, fly, destroy Agents… Morpheus was popular before, but now he is close to being a God in Zion, as you all know. Even if Jericho had lived, Morpheus would be the hero of the war. As it is, Jericho is now just another dead Captain. Everyone believes in victory, and no-one cares what a dead Captain said any more.”

"So out greatest asset dies by accident then turns on us. Would've been a great novel".

"Hmm"

Mors continues his silent watch. He had been removed from Captainship himself, a year prior to Jericho's dismissal and death. But as Dallas's First Officer, he had heard all of this before.

Klez also watches quietly. He remembered the rumors of Jericho's declaration of lost hope. He wondered where Captain Marduck was going with this, though.

"This is where it gets good," Heph says.

"And F*cked up..."

Sirin keeps watching.

"Tragic."

"I had only heard the rumors, I never believed any of this... A fine line between insanity and genius indeed!" he looked almost heartbroken to see such of so great a man.

"Hmpf." Is the only indication that Barb paid any attention. The man is still obviously quite angry about Jericho's Betrayal.

“There was no way for anyone to have known that these events were leading to the exposure of something very big indeed within the Matrix, the matter that now concerns us. Jericho knew even more about the Machines than we had suspected.

“Persepolis was on a long assignment involved in breaking the security codes of the Machines. Impossible in the real world, of course, but within the Matrix the Machines transmitted orders and strategies via contemporary systems, and these we could break. Long surveillance work gave us the time and place that a courier carrying the latest cipher would arrive at the airport. If we could steal the cipher without the Courier or the System realizing it, we would have a route into the Machine’s plans for months, and they would not realise it.

“This was a dangerous mission, though, and I didn’t have the manpower for back-up if things went wrong. I asked for help, and Captain Dallas brought the Shez in to help. One thing led to another, and in the end Dallas decided to bring his crew in on the main mission, rather than just backup.”

“Yeah, like I was going to hang around outside like the bad dog,” says that voice again.

The scene shifts. Now you are in the Control Tower of the airport, looking at the busy scenes all around. The crews from the Persepolis and the Scheherazade are moving in.

“Our mission failed,” says Marduk. “It failed because we ran into another team trying to do the exact same thing.”

Down below, you see one of the crew members going up an escalator- and running into Medea coming the other way.

“They didn’t know what was happening at first, only the near disaster it caused.”

It is a few minutes later. There is gunfire and fighting everywhere, as police units move in, led by three Agents. At the airfield, many of the crew are escaping by jeep; the rest of the battle has spread out into the car park. Medea is fighting alongside others, including San, against an Agent, whilst Loomis is blasting his way through most of a SWAT team heading to the airport fence. Khali gives covering fire from a heavy machine gun built into the back of a van.

“Afterwards, it didn’t take long to work out who they were. Exactly what had happened, though… that was a mystery. Dallas and I were sent back into the Matrix to find out exactly what was going on. Our first port of call was the Oracle, and it was the Oracle that warned us that we were digging into something that is not the regular duty of crews from Zion. She refused to be drawn on exactly what was going on, but reminded us that there were only two possible answers, both revolving around lies. Either what we saw isn’t what we thought it was, or what we thought had happened to Jericho and his crew was wrong.

“We found out that Jericho and his crew were doing mercenary work in the Matrix, working for a crippled man named Melitus. Apparently responding to force, Melitus directed us to where Jericho could be found, but Jericho knew we were coming and lured Agents there to ambush us, Jericho clearly had no qualms about killing his former comrades, but on escaping the ambush some of our number were helped by Medea, who was suffering from an attack of conscience.

“Medea told us of how Jericho had done a deal with Melitus, who was far from what he appeared. Melitus was apparently a powerful computer programme, who had offered Jericho an alternative to dying in Zion. The crew of the Bounty faked their destruction using parts from another destroyed ship, and flew far from Zion to a broadcast point that no-one knew about. Melitus appeared to have great resources, and sent machines toi recharge Jericho’s ship and feed his crew. They lived on in the Matrix, with only Jericho and Khali occasionally returning to the real world to check their status.

“But Melitus appeared to be doing this for his own advantage, gaining Jericho as an Agent, sending Jericho to try and break the System’s codes. Melitus did not appear to be working for the System. And it is this area that has opened up the reason for all of you being here.”

Sirin tries to work out how it was possible for them to join the Machines in her head, then continues listening.

"So much fun, that whole thing was..." San says quietly and quite sarcastically.

"A program working against the system?" Hawk sounds surprised.

"Ah..." Firewall commented simply, he understood why now he had not been informed of this level of treachery, "He adopted the Mercenary Ideal, I used to work as a paid-guerilla of sorts when I was in the dream world, you care only for the better deal; why stay with the losing side when the other has the clear advantage... but it still does not defy logic why he attacked your crews, you were no longer of any importance towards any form of recognition in his eyes, seeing you as the enemy as soon as he defected for the better price, so to speak..." According to his normal real-world behavior, such a tale didn't seem possible for such a nice guy...

"It goes farther than you realize," Mors says, "and yes, Hawk."

“Medea could not stay with us. With Jericho having full custody of her physical form, she would not live long if discovered as a traitor to him. The motivation from Jericho’s crew seemed to be entirely that of unswerving faith in their Captain. They were convinced by his diagnosis of a lost war, and seduced by his offer of an alternative.”

The scene shifts once more. Now you are standing in a richly appointed room, like that which might be found inside a palace. A string quartet, in masks, plays in the background. Several crew members stand around the form in the centre. This man is well-dressed, and may be elderly, but it is hard to tell, for he looks so sickly. But much of him cannot be seen at all. He is enclosed, almost entirely, inside an iron lung, an apparatus that covers all of his body except for his head, and allows him to breathe, as tuberculosis or polio patients once needed decades before the time the Matrix simulates. The man can barely move his head, and cannot speak for long without having to take deep breaths, and he see s the outside world only through a mirror mounted on his machine.

“This was Melitus,” says Marduk. “Crippled, paralysed, hardly able to speak. Yet in control of the situation. This place as his place, hidden inside a fold of the Matrix atop an abandoned factory, through a door that could only be opened from the inside. His staff, his medical team, his musicians, all masked, simple automaton programmes created by Melitus himself, a Machine programmer of great talent. He had corrupted the code of our team so that they could not leave the Matrix. And he was also indestructible. Well… more truthfully, harm seemed irrelevant to him.

“Melitus is not the only unusual Machine here. Look in the corner.”

Standing guard in the corner is a tall, pale man, with long strangly black hair that covers his face. Out of sight of the others, behind his back, are two long shards of hooked bone, embedded with sharp teeth.

“The Xiao Emo. A dangerous programme, of no loyalty to the system. A mercenary employed by Melitus, just as Jericho was. And not created by Melitus. This being, which due to its exploitation of the Matrix code could disappear and re-appear at will, is perhaps the most significant find we made.

“Melitus had plans for those that got furthest with talking to him. The details are complex, but it turns out that Melitus’ ability to create AIs was far greater than we suspected at first. Melitus had made detailed and intricate scans of each of us, and from these scans he created Artificial Intelligence versions of three of us- Rade, Castor and Azrael- that were identical in just about every respect to the originals, save that they were computer programmes, not Human. They were inside the Matrix, not being broadcast into it. Melitus found it amusing to play the duplicates and originals against each other, to see which might triumph, but his ultimate interest was his fascination with Humans- the same fascination that led had him into alliance with Jericho.”

"Fascinating," Sirin says, her eyes wide with curiosity as she looks upon the rebellious Machines and hears of the 'cloning' that occured.

"Don't forget that I almost saved the day right here," Heph says. "I beat the sludge out of that Xiao Emo, but he got lucky. Then I got lucky as Medea kicked him out of the fight. Didn't kill him, though..."

"Meaning that the Xiao Emo is still out there," Mors says. "But I am assuming that that is not the worry of our Captains."