USH'S MATRIX GAME 2006 FIFTH ASSIGNMENT- 'The Pagoda'

"Oh, I doubt you would have done things the same way if I had told you. At the very most, you would have done it differently, trying to endanger as few of you as possible. And that wouldn't have been any good at all.

"And do you think that's what I do, Azrael? I put people into place to die for my own plans?"

"I'm not saying those plans aren't well intentioned: but you seem now more of a general than an oracle.

"What would have gone wrong if we had chosen to act in order to minimise loss of life? Did anybody else on our crews die with me?"

"Well, many of them are dying, Azrael. But if you had tried to minimise the loss of life... well, then you might not have been there. You might have been one of the ones that stayed back."

"Why was I so important? It isn't like my presence achieved something the team couldn't have done without."

"Well, if that's true, Azrael, I guess this was all a waste of time after all."

The platform shakes aggain, and the rumbling in the background grows larger.

"Time's almost up," she says. "Time to decide if it was all a waste or not. Tell me, Azrael... what possible reason could I have had for making sure you were there...?"

And here indeed is the crutch of it all- a question for Azrael alone I am afraid. Though feel free to comment in an "AHHHHHHHHHHH HURRY UP!" sense...

Motivation!

As ever, Trick, we need to bounce off some ideas here before it stagnates.

Come on...

Okay, okay. I'm honestly stumped, so if anybody does have ideas, feel free to give them up.

All I can think of is that Azrael needed to be put in the mix somewhere to help Jericho develop his plan, but that was ages ago. After some conversation with Lana, I now reckon that it's important that only Azrael was willing to move with an 'end-justifies-the-means' approach, and would be willing to push for success even with the knowledge that all those who opened the door would be infected - that he would have been willing to go to his death, no matter how important the goal (to paraphrase the oracle),

If that's not the case then I'm really not doing well.

The Matrix is in a setting that tends to probe your motivations, especially the Philosophy Path. But I can say that if you had answered her earlier that no, you weren't willing to die for your cause... it wouldn't have made much difference.

So no, I am afraid that's not it. The Oracle has narrowed it down for you about what it was- she needed you to be in the infected group, and to survive the final battle. Why?

Well, she needed Azrael to die in a way that would bring him to her in this station...?

I see where you are going, as you would not be here had all of this not happened, but there isn't actually anything special in that regard about this place.

Besdies, that could have applied to anyone. This only applies to you alone.

Being in the infected group and surviving the final battle meant that he would die from the virus? Not from fighting?

She did specify it was important he didn't die fighting.

Maybe she wants to cure him...? (Hopeful guesses here)

If he'd died fighting she couldn't cure him, and he wouldn't be able to carry out some other part of her plan.

If she could cure you, why not everyone else? And why make sure you got into trouble in the first place?

But you are getting much closer, btw.

...guys? Any help?

Well, it's your test really, Azrael.

"Well, the only reason to make sure I was there, and wasn't killed by Jericho..." Azrael trails off [talking to the other omnipresent entity in the Matrix: Ush], "Is that you didn't want me killed at all. I'm not dead?"