USH'S MATRIX GAME: SECOND ASSIGNMENT: 'Ghost Hunt'

"Oh..." Heph sighs, looking down at the ground, and then up. Why can't this be simple, WHY? he asks himself.

"Well, how do you suppose we find out the answer?"

One thing you know about the Oracle, Heph- straight answers are NOT her style!

"The answer to what?" she asks.

"The answer to our problem..." Heph says. WHYYYYYYYYY!?!?

(come on, you know the Oracle never gives straight answers! ^_^)

Oh, she is enjoying this...

"Your problem about not knowing what happened to Jericho and his ship?" she asks.

"Yep..." Heph starts rocking back and forth on his feet, shifting his weight. "That would be our problem..."

"Ah, you see," she says, "that is why I am not going to tell you. You see," she continues, gesturing at you with her cigarette, "that's not really what you have come here to learn. You THINK you have, but you have not."

Castor enjoys his sprite and bagel.

(Hey Hep, you might want to ask her about how the Jericho (dead or alive) found out about our little operation. If they are dead theres no way the could have know right? Or maybe if they're alive how did they find out w/ having any contact with Zion.)

(yeah, that'd prolly be a good idea...)

"Oh really?" Heph says, clearly irritated. "Well then..."

"How about this question? If Jericho is dead or alive, we don't know, how did his crew know about the USB device? The Percy discovered it."

"Ahh, there you go again, Heph," says the Oracle. "You and that temper. Ok, I'll get to business." She inhales the cigarette again.

"I can tell you what happened, like you are asking," she says. "But that's not what you want to know. You want to know why. A what is not much good to you without a why. Why... is at the heart of this. And once you have the Why, you will have all you need about the what. So me telling you what... won't help you at all.

"You need to know WHY, Hephaestus. And there is only one person who can tell you that. I think we both know who that is, yes?"

*I shivver as I remembr the name of a prgram that I associate WHY with*

"The Merovingian."

Unlikely, Celsius, you have never heard of such a person.

It is a mite more basic than that.

(Oh, sorry. My mistake.)

EDITING last poost.

*I think about it for a moment*
*Then with a smile I say.*

"Jerrico himself. How very......simple."

The Oracle nods.

"Only Jericho himself can tell you what you really need to know. Even more importantly than that, in setting out to find him you will set yourselves on a Path, a journey that will be far more important than its end. And on that journey, you must try to understand what has happened or you will gain nothing." She indicates you three. "Especially you three. And some of your friends. If you do not understand... there is nothing for you. That is the important information I must give you on this path. Do you understand me?"

*I knod.*

"So WE have to figure out a way to get in contact with him?"

"Well," says the Oracle, smiling. "I might be able to give you a push there.

There is a restaurant in the Chinatown district. It is called the Lon Wa. The man who runs it is named Ni Zahn.

Go to the Lon Wa. Ni Zahn- he can help you find Jericho."

*Coeus pounds his fist on the table, almost upsetting his cup of coffee* "DAMMIT!!! Exactly what i didnt want to do..." *Coeus then realizes where he is at, and trys to play it off* "Oh, um, sorry, i realized my wife needed me to mow the lawn..."*turns back to tablemates* "So we have to trust this Ni Zan to help us? Sounds kinda sketchy to me..."

*I knod smiling*

"Thank you."

(Shall we go then guys, or have you got some other things to consult her about?)

I think I had best leave it a bit for any other questions the three of you might have.

Though any direct questions about Jericho, his ship, his crew, and their motives, and she will simply point you towards the Lon Wa again, saying that you will find out all you need to know on the way.

Does everyone understand why she is not giving you direct answers? Not that I will make it any more clear than it is, which you may consider obscure or may not. I am just curious.

In the end, the deal with the Oracle is the same as she always offers- trust her or do not; make up your own mind.