The others talk over this revelation, with Burn making much of looking for 'ghosts', and how it was not really them at all.
"Their memories might have been altered to smooth over any discontinuity," says Ariadne, "but make no mistake; from what we have observed, the copies were eerily accurate. If it HAD really been them, you wouldn't have seen any difference."
"Jericho knew," said Finn. "He was controlling the whole thing. I think Khali knew too; Medea said they were the ones that controlled her real world body; actually, they were the two that knew the truth."
"Khali knew," says Dallas. "Jericho knows. I'll bet you anything he got out alive."
"There is a lot he can tell us," says Marduk. "Had his original self made a deal with Melitus? Was it sheer bad luck that Bounty was caught by a random sentinel sweep, or did something 'encourage' that? Did the rest of the crew know they were going to give up on physical existence?"
Dallas wrinkles his nose.
"Who cares?" he says.
At this point, Heph, you speak your sentence above.
"What's real?" asks Ariadne. "Are the Machines real? What about the Agents, they're pretty real, aren't they? Why shouldn't Medea be? Machine or not, she was trying to do the right thing."
"A man is the sum of his memories," says Marduk. "Melitus' re-creation of the crew contained everything that made them them... unless you believe in a soul," he finishes, in reference to an important philosophy path question.
"What I don't get," says Ariadne. "If Melitus can alter the memories of the AIs as he creates them- which makes sense, as their memories are only data in the Matrix, which he can manipulate- why didn't he make them into slaves of his, or make them coldly logical and efficient like Agents? That was within his power. Instead he left them acting like humans, and because of that, Medea tried to help us, and without that we never would have won."
"Even more fundamental than that," says Finn, "machines cannot stand human irrationality. It's the first thing they get rid off if they can."
"It's what he wanted," says Marduk. "Clearly Melitus is not like any machine Zion has met before."
Dallas and Ariadne look uncomfortably at each other.
"Yeah... I guess we have a few unanswered questions about Melitus as well. Which I suspect is gonna come back and bite us in the ass one day."
"If Melitus had altered them to be slaves, or like the Agents, we would have noticed, and I think he knew that." San replied.
"I don't think that was his main concern," says Marduk. "What difference did it make to him if they were acting oddly or not? He wasn't trying to fool anyone."
"San has a good point," Mors says. "For whatever reason, he did not want them to be Agents with different forms. He wanted them to be relatively human."
"Unfortunately, that is so, I'm afraid," Mors says to Dallas. "Unless the Agents completely eradicated him through deletion, I do not think he is gone."
"There was a recorder left in that spammer I gave you, Mors," says Dallas. "We saw everything that happened with Melitus. It wasn't... quite what we expected."
"How so?" Mors asks. "What did you see?"
Dallas takes you to the monitors on the Shez, where the scene is played out.
-----
[The three Agents stride into Melitus’ chamber and approach Melitus in his iron lung. As they get close they seem to recognise who it is. Melitus looks angry, and refuses to look at the Agents]
Agent 1: You. What are you doing?
Agent 2: You should not be involved in these matters.
Agent 3: They do not concern you. They are not your function.
[At this point Melitus turns to look at the Agents]
Melitus: How dare you talk to me...
ssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...
...I am well outside your … jurisdiction. There is nothing…
ssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...
...that you can do to me… Leave at once!
[The Agents pause]
Agent 3: This is not why you were allowed here.
Agent 1: This matter will be reported. All irregularities will be investigated.
Agent 2: You will have to answer for what you have done.
[The Agents turn and leave]
-----
"Interesting, huh?" says Ariadne.
"No renegade," says Marduk. "Melitus is most definitely part of the system."
"Outside the jurisdiction of Agents?" says Ariadne. "What the hell does that mean, he's in the Matrix, isn't he?"
"Well, that shows just how much we know about the System!" Ares states.
"I agree with Heph," says Marduk, "but that only creates more questions. If he is important, what and who is he? The Agents imply he was meant to be in the Matrix, but not doing what he was doing... we know neither what he was, or was meant to be, doing."
Dallas waves a dismissive hand.
"I'm not worried," he says. "If it threatens us, I am sure we'll learn about it soon enough. We got the codes; time we got home."
*Cough* Just thought it might be useful for those looking to join, and those of use who already have, and want to look back at it.
Combat Path: http://www.killermovies.com/forums/f41/t296212.html
Oracle Predictions thread: http://www.killermovies.com/forums/f41/t20930.html