Matrix: Replay

First of all, this is my first attempt, so please be kind. Although I’ve tried to keep this narrative separate from either the movies or any other fan fiction here- I’m only human, and as such I couldn’t help but be influenced by all the great stories out there. In particular, I’ve borrowed heavily from Asimov, and for the original idea, the Wachowski Brothers (obviously). Just wanted to make it clear from the outset, that although this is an original work, it does contain references that most sci-fi fans will recognise, and I wanted to point them out first. If you’ve got this far-you’ve earned the story! Hope you enjoy it.



Matrix: Replay

Episode 1

“………while the process my have altered your consciousness, you remain irrevocably human. Ergo, some of my answers you will understand, and some you will not. Consequently……….”

Macleod woke up with a wry smile on his face. He often dreamt of these things.

He rolled over in bed, the rough cotton sheet becoming tangled in his legs. In his mind, he played the conversation back to himself. Was it possible that those things had actually happened?
He knew the stories of course. How the One had been revealed and fought the machines, how the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar had played their part to perfection. How they’d been brave and strong, and Zion owed it’s existence to them. The legend had even been smuggled into the matrix system itself, and then shown to the masses through popular media- in this case it was a movie. AI must have been furious, Macleod chuckled to himself. But of course, they were powerless to stop it once it had been released- AI could create reality for the human race, but it couldn’t erase memories.
It had been that movie that had really made him aware of the splinter in his own mind. He supposed it was the same for everyone who’d been freed around his time. Zion was full of young, idealistic people, who’d ‘followed the white rabbit’ to the real world, only to find, as he had, that in truth, the war was barely a distant threat. He’d arrived in Zion full of courage and ambition- he’d seen what Neo could do, and now with a free mind himself, he’d been sure that he could play his part too.
He’d heard the stories of the battle with AI at the gates of Zion. How, once they had come so close to destruction. According to the legend, Neo and the rest had existed around 100 years ago, and their exploits had saved humanity. Along with other players like Niobe and the Logos, and the crew of the Osiris, Neo, Trinity and Morpheus had fought agents, met the Oracle and other programs like the infamous Merovingian, and had even visited the fabled Source.
Ultimately, all their struggle had come to nothing, and AI was not only tightening its grip on the minds still in the matrix, but the sentinels were digging closer to Zion with every second. This is where Neo had come into his own. He could write code in the system himself, his mere existence spelled the end of the matrix. He could have ended it all, but doing so would have meant the death of 6 billion humans. AI knew the end was near, and when a truce was suggested, they were almost grateful.
Neo, Trinity and Morpheus had become the great peacekeepers of their time, the agents of Zion itself. They worked tirelessly to free minds everyday, since they knew that the more they freed, the less energy AI would have, and thus, the weaker it would become. They instructed others of their plans, to secretly build their army, and cripple AI at the same time, until the day came when the favour had swung back to their side. In time, the old crew aged, and finally died, but their legacy, and their legend lived on.

Macleod heard the familiar sounds of the hovercraft, the Asgard, rumble around him. He could faintly hear the rest of the crew clattering around doing routine repair work, talking to each other, and joking around. He smiled again. They called themselves the Musketeers, and since there were four of them on the ship, the name fit nicely. He found it amusing that such a team could have been formed in the very system they were born to destroy.
Years ago, the four friends had met on an internet forum set up to discuss and dissect the Matrix movies. Their fate had brought them together- when others were talking about the intricate nuances of the films themselves, these four argued the implications. They each felt the ‘splinter’ although all in a different way. Macleod himself had thrown himself into philosophy, Backdoor relied on the spirit of humanity, Oracle searched the internet for others like herself, and Truth threw herself into her faith. Even with such different points of view, they had gravitated towards each other, and such alliances had not gone unnoticed. By both sides.

In Zion, more than 50 years after the deaths of their saviours, the free minds struggled to save the human race. Following the plan for victory shown to them by the legendary Neo, they worked tirelessly to find potentials- people who not only felt the splinter, but also had the courage and strength to be of use to the resistance. The musketeers were spotted almost immediately, but it was some time before their use could be determined. They were such an argumentative bunch!
On the Olympus, Artemis and Prometheus knew their short window was drawing to a close, and took the decision to take the chance, and get them out. It had been close too. Certainly closer than Artemis would have liked. It seemed the agents of the system had been watching too, but biding their time, and hoping to catch two rebels as well as their targets. It was difficult to simultaneously save four people in four different geographical locations at the best of times, but when the system was waiting around every corner………..
Each of the musketeers had received messages on their PCs during one of their online chats. The rebels knew that the public was familiar with this technique as it had first been shown to them during the story of Neo. It was very effective, and they had no time to spare.
‘The Matrix has you………….’

I hope people out there see this...a solid piece of work!...can't say more here...PM time methinks! :D

Great story, very well written!!!

I'm lovin it! keep going, Truth!

Thanks guys! Well here's the next bit-

Episode 2

Artemis called each of their targets, giving them the short message ‘They’re coming for you……….they know you know……….get out, get out now!’ This was followed by a plan of escape for each person. Macleod jumped 4 stories from his library window, Backdoor escaped in a crowded shopping mall and then through a maze of side streets, Oracle outran the agents with her motorcycle and some impressive riding skills, and Truth scaled the outside of her office block. Even Prometheus was impressed with their natural skill and bravery. In separate cities around the world, each of the musketeers were given the red pill, and released from the matrix.

Only weeks later Artemis and Prometheus had taken on the ultimate task. They were to destroy the matrix, and the billions of humans still plugged in. There was no time to lose. The precarious peace between Zion and 01 was at breaking point, and the rebels knew they would have to take the decisive step. A strategy was formulated. The mainframe of the system was housed in the upper floors of a tall building in central 01, and it was up to the Olympus to bring it down. It was supposed to be a surprise attack, giving the crew the best possible chance of hitting their target. Artemis and Prometheus had never before failed their objective, and they didn’t intend to break the trend.
Of course, due to the truce, 01 had little in the way of a defence system, and the Olympus was able to fly right into the city’s airspace before they were even detected. Prometheus held the ship steady as their target came into view. The bright lights of the building could almost have been placed for their guidance. Artemis and Prometheus looked at each other as the building approached, a determined expression on each face. They nodded quickly to each other, and turned to face the looming building.
The Olympus burst through the structures glass shell, shards and chunks of metal and concrete flying in all directions. The warning alarms didn’t even have time to sound before the huge ship crashed through the titanium walls and shattered the mainframe into a million tiny pieces. There was a second of silence when Artemis and Prometheus had a moment to comprehend that they’d completed their task- they’d done it! They again turned to each other with looks of triumph on their faces, and then the explosion shook the earth.
The mainframe building was engulfed in flames within seconds, the fire spreading to the rest of the machine city within minutes. And so the matrix was destroyed, taking most of humanity along with it.

It was distressing for the rebels of Zion to have to deliberately caused such a massacre, but it was also undeniably necessary- until the matrix and it’s energy source were gone, Zion was simply waiting for the machines attack to come. With their energy gone, 01 was now forced into a situation described many years ago by the Architect program. It was a ‘level of survival they were prepared to accept’. All remaining energy was channelled and stored, while almost all the machines and robots were shut down. They were kept in stasis until such time a different source of fuel could be found. It was felt that Zion would not be much of a problem due to it’s weakened state, and relatively few inhabitants. Besides, they’d got what they wanted now; the matrix had been crushed.
There was only one building in the whole of 01 that was used now, it’s lights burning brightly through the darkness. It was manned by four robots, the only four now in operation. They worked feverishly and without rest, looking for a solution to their energy problem. It was only a matter of time before they found it.

Two years later, the musketeers were trained, educated, and determined. They’d impressed the Zion Council so much that even though they were young, they’d been given the Asgard to pilot themselves. As the final rescues and prodigies of Artemis and Prometheus, a lot was expected from them.
It was to them that the final attack fell. Zion had to initiate the last attack on 01 before the robots found their answer. The Asgard would have to follow its predecessor into the centre of 01.

...I see the plot now; much more fleshed out and intricate...very nicely done! hey BD; O2, checking it out? I jumped 4 stories!!! Take that Popper! lol!...

awesome! I get a motorcycle!

I was trying to save this, but I'm too excited to get the whole thing up here! Please forgive me if this is terrible :)

Episode 3

So now here they were, completing the preparations before their final flight. Macleod got out of bed, dressed quickly, and left his room. He strode purposefully down the long grey corridor towards the sound of the crew. Considering the fate of the last ship to undertake this endeavour, the three voices were buoyant and happy.
“I can’t believe you said that Backdoor!” Their laughter rang down the halls. Macleod stepped down into the light of the mess hall. The steel table was covered in artillery and ammunition, little shiny gadgets and navigational devices. Three faces turned his way.
“Macleod! Good morning! Well, sort of,” laughed Truth, glancing at her watch sarcastically.
“Yeah, well, it looks like you’ve been getting along fine without me,” Macleod replied, gesturing to the cluttered table, “ besides, I had wonderful dreams of all those old legends.”
“Ah, Trinity and Persephone?” smiled Backdoor, brushing a strand of dark hair away from his eyes.
“Well, er…….yes,” said Macleod looking guilty and blushing slightly, “but not just the women, I heard all those old Merovingian and Architect conversations, as if I’d been there. I couldn’t tear myself away.” He smiled again. Oracle looked up from delicately fixing a tiny microchip,
“Typical! We’ve been up for hours, slaving away over all the details, and you’ve been in bed!”
Macleod smiled again, “But I needed my beauty sleep!”
“Hmmm…….maybe you should go back to bed!” grinned Backdoor.

By early evening, the musketeers were done. Everything was finished and in place. They were ready.

It was strange, they thought. Ever since they’d taken on this mission, the rest of the inhabitants of Zion had treated them differently. Reverentially, almost. Most people didn’t expect to see them return to Zion, not only after what happened to Artemis and Prometheus, but because of the nature of their task. They’d been given enough explosives to blow up the whole of 01 several times over, and it had been decided that the most easily performed and most effective plan was simply a suicide attack. Because no one knew what to expect to find in the machine city, they had also been granted a full armoury of automatic weapons.
People who never would have done so otherwise moved out of their way when they walked along the narrow corridors of the city. They were often brought little token gifts from the children, and the people as a whole looked at them with a glint of hope in their eyes.
The crew knew that Zion was counting on the success of the mission; they must stop AI from finding energy by any means. And yet they were surprisingly upbeat. They had hope and faith in their task, and knew that from all the warriors in Zion, they alone had the resilience and strength to finally destroy the threat, and return. Many thought them crazy, but they kept their spirits high. It helped to be part of such a close group.

Later that evening, after addressing the council with news of their progress, the four friends walked back to their quarters together. Zion’s lights had already been switched off for the night, so the darkness was punctuated with ‘stars’; tiny artificial halogen lamps in the roof of the cavern that was their home.
“I’d hate for this to be our last night in Zion,” said Backdoor, wistfully, “we are coming back, right?”
In a solid voice, Oracle answered “Of course we are. Could you have accepted this mission so easily if there was a doubt in your mind?"
“I guess not,” he replied slowly. “It’s just that everyone else seems so sure they won’t be seeing us again. And they’ve given us all those explosives…….we don’t even have full instructions for what happens if we don’t need to just detonate.”
Macleod looked over. “They want to cover all angles. Although it is kind of alarming that there’s no mention in any plan of us coming back.”
“It’ll be a nice surprise then,” snapped Oracle. “Look, we know what we have to do. We get in, get the job done, and then get out. Okay, so we don’t know what we’re up against in 01, but how much could it be? We’re the best trained fighters in the whole of Zion. If anyone can do this, we can.” Her large blue eyes lit up, “Come on guys! Don’t start doubting now! We’re the best, and we can do this, you know we can.” She smiled at the rest. “And just supposing we don’t come back, we’re fighting for Zion- what’s wrong with dying for a cause like that?” It was just this sort of response that was typical of Oracle. Forceful, determined, and single-minded, she knew what she wanted, and got it. But she’d always been like that. As the youngest of the group, she’d always felt that she had something to prove. There was no changing her mind once it was made, but she was invariably right in her decisions.
“Can’t argue with that!” Backdoor laughed, the tension broken. He had never really had any doubt, somehow he had just felt the need to give voice to the question. He was a thoughtful man, but he knew they could do it. He was actually excited!
The group came to an intersection of passages, and stopped. Oracle and Backdoor had apartments down one hall, Macleod and Truth another.
“So this is our last night of being ordinary citizens?” asked Macleod, “Tomorrow we’ll be heroes!”
“Then we really will be the musketeers,” giggled Oracle.
“Which one do you want to be?”
“Oh, that’s a big decision, can’t take that sort of thing lightly!”
Backdoor took Oracles elbow softly, “I hate to break this up, but I have to get some sleep. We have a big day coming,” he tugged her arm again. “So are you going to walk me home or what?”
“Sure, who knows what would happen otherwise?” Oracle laughed, and turned to Macleod and Truth. “Goodnight you two. Sleep well.”
“You too,” Macleod replied.
Backdoor and Oracle took the hallway on the left, their quick footsteps echoing behind them. Their laughter slowly became quieter, until it could no longer be heard.

Episode 4

In the darkness, Truth and Macleod began walking again. Slowly this time, as though to prolong the hours before their departure.
“You’ve been quiet tonight,” said Macleod thoughtfully. Truth didn’t say anything for a long time. Finally, she sighed. They had arrived at her door, but she didn’t make a move to go inside. Instead, she stepped over to the railing, and leaned her elbows on the cold steel. She looked up.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she said, without turning around. Macleod stood beside her.
“It is.”
“Do you think we’ll ever see the stars? I mean the real ones, out there?” In all the time they’d known each other, Truth’s faith had never faltered. Like Oracle, she knew where she was going, exactly how, and she wouldn’t let anyone tell her otherwise. She was the quietest of the group, never wasting a word, always saying what she meant, and meaning what she said.
Macleod was intense as well. He’d always known there was something wrong with his world, and had spent his adolescence in search of answers. Unlike the girls, he was much more open to others, his years of research into every philosophy and science fiction theory he could find telling him team effort and co-operation were the answer.
“I’m sure we will.”

Truth turned toward him, her green eyes piercing his black ones. She opened her mouth to say something, but instead took his hand in hers. Neither of them moved.
“Goodnight,” she said quietly, stepping inside and closing the door behind her.

The crew went to their beds that night like matrix children waiting for Santa Claus. Tomorrow they would leave Zion.

Ok..this is cool! Truth, ur a very good observer! I felt like I really was reading about myself! I HAVE to see the next installment!

Hey, and I escapped in a...errrr.......a maze of streets!!!!
Truth forgot to say that I escaped in my Porche Carrera GT, at incredible speeds of 350Km/h :D

j/k


Now seriously, it's just divine.
It actually made me scroll down with ansiety to read the next lines! And made me laugh too! Keep it up


and....my hair really is dark! Actually it's almost straigt black! hum! That's curious.

darn right, folks. the work u poured into this is astounding Truth...I love the last chapter too-masterfully done if i can say so unabashedly :p
Character development and story pace is really warming up...in a way we never expected! bravo!!

Awwww.......thanks! :)

puh-leeeeeese sned the next installment soon!!!!!

Episode 5

“Zion control, we are ready for take-off.” Backdoor’s voice was clear and calm over the radio.
“We read you Asgard, you are now cleared for take-off through gate 3.”
“Roger that, Zion.” Backdoor expertly guided the ship vertically, turning it 90’ to face gate 3, which was opening slowly revealing a long dark tunnel. He thought it looked like an opening mouth, ready to swallow them, but said nothing.
“Asgard, good luck. Our thoughts are with you. It’s been a pleasure-”
“Thanks for the thought, but we’re coming back! We’ll see you soon!”

The Asgard passed through the gate into the tunnel, and the darkness enveloped them. Backdoor turned on the lights. Even with all his training, he was still a little nervous about being the pilot on this trip. Since the matrix was destroyed, there had been little reason for ships to leave Zion, let alone pass through the higher tunnels. On his left sat Truth, acting as navigator. Macleod was to his right, watching the surveillance equipment for the legendary squiddies or weaknesses in the tunnel infrastructure. Oracle was in the turret manning the machine gun. No one spoke.

Steadily, the Asgard climbed through the tunnels towards the earth’s surface. There was no sign of life, intelligent or otherwise to be found anywhere.
“Almost a little too quiet,” ventured Macleod.

An hour later and the Asgard was nearing the surface.
“That one slightly to the left,” Truth said, pointing.
“This is it,” breathed Backdoor. Macleod held his breath, while Oracle clenched the gun until her knuckles turned white.
Silently, the Asgard followed the tunnel as it coiled sharply upwards. Above them, they could see a dim grey light, and as they climbed higher, they heard rumbling in the distance. The ship broke the surface, and the crew involuntarily tensed their muscles, waiting for the attack. But none came.
Through the large glass window they saw the earth’s surface; a sad, grey demolished land. All the buildings were crumbled and damaged, there was nothing to see all the way to the horizon. The sky above was heavy with dark clouds, flashes of lightning periodically blazing through the air. The rumbling they had heard earlier was thunder, much louder now. The drastic difference between the sky and the land was both immediate and obvious; the land was dead, but the sky was alive.
Macleod exhaled slowly. “Well let’s get going. The quicker it’s done, the quicker we can get home.”

The Asgard flew through the dark skies silently. Truth was slightly perplexed that they had seen nothing of the machine city. According to the old maps, they should be able to pick out buildings and lights on the horizon. She knew they were going in the right direction, but where was it? Macleod felt the same. On his surveillance equipment he should have had some sign that they were working electrical systems within a 2-mile radius. But there was nothing.

It was the tension and the suspense that was getting to her, thought Oracle. At least the others were sitting together, she was stuck up in the turret, alone, with nothing to do but grip the trigger on her gun ever tighter. Then suddenly she sat up. There was a speck of light on the horizon, shining through the darkness.
“Hey! Guys! What’s that? Over there!”
“I see it too!” Backdoor felt his heart pounding in his chest. Truth and Macleod scrambled to identify the source of the light. Truth clutched several maps in both hands.
“It must be 01! There’s nothing else out here. I thought we should have found it about an hour ago though.” Macleod looked up from his bank of computer screens, his brow furrowed slightly.
“It’s the strangest thing. Our sensors can only find one running building. Maybe the equipment’s broken?”
There was a muffled shout from above.
“It’s not broken! I checked it myself! If it says that there’s only one building, then there’s only one building!”
The other three smiled at each other. Backdoor rolled his eyes.
“We’ll head that way then, shall we?”

As they flew closer, the musketeers soon found that their equipment was correct. There was nothing left of 01 except charred and collapsed ruins. Everything was destroyed. Another flash of lightning lit up the sky, and the crew clearly saw the outline of the building they were heading towards. It was a nondescript structure, but since it was the only one that wasn’t demolished, they were quite sure they going to the right place.
“So now we’re here, what do we do?” asked Backdoor, “they’ve given us all those explosives, and we have our orders…..”
“Nobody’s here to enforce them, Backdoor. As long as we get the job done, who’ll care about the means? Look, we’ll keep all those explosives as a back up plan. I’ll even carry the detonator myself. But until we know we can’t do it any other way, we’re going to do it our way.” Oracle was unmoving as always. “We’re going to surprise whatever is still inside. We’ll land on the roof, and them storm the building. Okay?”
“No problem,” answered Macleod.
The building loomed ahead of them, and Backdoor steered the ship, until it was hovering above the roof. He set it down gently, and then reached around to grab his gun. The rest of the crew were arming themselves too. Macleod laughed.
“We look like Neo when he and Trinity stormed that building to save Morpheus.”
“Let’s hope that we’re just as successful,” smiled Backdoor.
Truth opened the ship’s door quietly, and stepped down.
“Good luck,” she said.

Oracle looked stern, “Shoot to kill.”

woah...i knew ye were being too humble about this chapt, but it's great...suspense to the action! I can't help a feeling of deja vu though....this reminds me of a scene in the Final Fantasy movie...nice! :D Next chapt!!

Grrrr..........sorry this episode took so long! Hope it's worth it :DEpisode 7

They looked around the laboratory. The machines had been working on a way to generate power with which to rebuild their city. They’d been trying to harness the massive electrical potential in the lightning, but being made of metal themselves, they’d run up against inevitable problems, acerbated by having no raw materials with which to make themselves some protection.
Stepping boldly over the broken glass and shattered laboratory equipment, Oracle looked over the machine designs.
“They couldn’t do it!” she laughed, her eyes lighting up, “all this intelligence, and they couldn’t even figure this out!”
Truth stood beside her, scanning the plans intently and frowning slightly. “ That’s what’s so strange. It’s such a simple idea. Why couldn’t they do it?”
“Well they were never created for such a thing, not even the evolved ones. They never thought that they’d been in such a position of weakness- it’s completely illogical, so why would they ever suspect it?”
Truth considered this and nodded. “You’re right. It’s certainly not the way they expected things to go is it?” She smiled to herself. She was recovering surprisingly quickly, considering. Her head felt a little light, but apart from that the only external sign that she’d been hurt were a few cuts and scrapes, and a painful bruise running the length of her left thigh.
Backdoor asked slowly, “Shouldn’t we explore the rest of the building?” Truth turned sharply, a shooting pain in her back making her wince. She faced Backdoor.
“What for? There’s nothing here, not in this building, and not on the surface. We should go home. With AI gone, Zion is free.” She tried to sound as authoritative as she could. It was no use. The others were nodding to each other.
“If there’s nothing here, what harm will it do?” Backdoor challenged.
Macleod looked at Truth. “Come on, we’ve come all this way. Let’s just have a quick look?” She knew that she was out-voted, but her pride made her to pretend to relent anyway.

The musketeers explored the building. It was almost impossible to imagine that the only robots left in existence had been the four they fought upstairs, but so far they had found nothing. Their equipment confirmed it too. But their curiosity was too strong, and they kept following the stairs as they spiralled down. Now they were in the basement of the building. Upon first glance it looked as though it was another part of the laboratory, but it stretched out for miles. It was probably as large as the whole of 01. Pushing through the double doors, and then turning on the lights, they all immediately stopped and gasped. What lay before them was the entire population of 01.

In a grim replay of the human pods of years ago, the thousands upon thousands of machines were all encased in individual vertical compartments. The rows stretched on into the darkness. They noticed immediately that there were no wires or connections, and the room was utterly silent where they had anticipated a gentle humming. Unlike the humans, the machines inside in the pods didn’t generate power; they had been shut down to conserve it.
Backdoor walked over to the closest one, and read the inscription out loud to the others.
“Robot GN-15, Military Command Unit,” he said, his eyes scanning the plaques of the other robots close to him. “Hey! These are all GN models. Do you think they were preparing an army?”
“No,” answered Oracle from a different area, “These ones over here say RB Series, Construction, and over there, LN Series, Innovation, there’s so many different types!”
“We need to destroy them,” Truth said coldly.
“What? Hold on a minute. We were told to do whatever was necessary to make the surface ours again,” Backdoor argued.
“Which is why these machines cannot be ignored. They’re our enemy!”
“They can’t do anything! They’re completely helpless! Besides, I don’t understand why they have to be eradicated. If we’re to make the planet hospitable again, won’t we need something that can survive in the current conditions?” All three of them spun around to look at him. Macleod looked pale.
“Surely you’re not suggesting we keep them?” He asked incredulously. “Why would they help us after everything that’s happened?”
“They have no choice. We could re-program them.” Backdoor looked pleased with himself. Oracle looked interested too.
“That would actually be surprisingly simple,” she agreed. “We could easily over-write their thought paths. And these machines are developed specifically for one task, we only need the ones we can make use of, like LN over there.” Oracle was now almost working out the new positronic paths they would need to install, her technological mind running like crazy.
“Do you understand what you’re saying?” Truth cried. “You want to use our enemy to rebuild our planet. Zion will never approve it.”
The colour had come back into Macleod’s cheeks. He didn’t want to see the machines powered up, but if it was for Zion…… “Of course they will, Truth. They know the machines could be useful to fulfil a task, and how else could we do this? These post-nuclear atmospheric conditions will continue for centuries otherwise. Zion will be underground even when our great-grandchildren are dead. But if we do this now, humanity will be back where it belongs.”
“I don’t care,” she replied obstinately, stamping her foot, “it starts with something simple like helping us out, but it wouldn’t end there. We’d need them more and more until we became dependent and then what would happen? Remember it was humanity’s reliance on machines that brought about the war in the first place.”
Backdoor was determined. He was certain of his convictions, and he wasn’t going to let them go lightly.
“There’s no evidence for that at all Truth! Besides, it was over 300 years ago, who knows what really happened! All I’m saying is, these robots all have very basic brains. We can programme them to do what we want- they couldn’t harm us.”
Oracle agreed. “Truth, we only need them to give us a start. You’re thinking about the absolute possible worst case scenario, which couldn’t and wouldn’t happen anyway. There must be 200,000 machines down here! If we pick out the ones already programmed for the things we need, and then add something to protect ourselves from them, what could happen?”
Even Macleod was convinced now. “Like the Three Laws of Robotics? Yeah, we could do that……it would actually be quite simple…”

And so they decided to use the robots.

this is so cool!

Agreed O2. Your best ever Truth Bravo!! Drama, morale conflicts, story twists and mega character interplay-let's hope we don't get to become enemies :p!

Good grief...yet another great writing talent...you, O2 and Mac are inspiring me....i can see i'm gonna have to see what I can come up with........excellent work Truth...looking forward to seeing more.

:D :D :D Thanx Hitman! Wow- finally someone who I didn't force to read this story replies! :D lol- you've made my day! Oh, and good luck with your story too Hitman- looking forward to it!

LOL Truth-don't sound so sad!! It was only a matter of time!
And thanks Hitman I didn't really get a chance to thank you before, and I see you love their stories just as I do :D Best of luck to your stories-you now have 3 shoulders to stand up onto greater heights! :D:D

(Okay, now this bit is an obvious reference to Isaac Asimov and his robotic stories, but I thought it was really interesting, and that¡¦s why it¡¦s in here. I thought it would be better to point out my inspiration at the beginning though ƒº . And for those who don¡¦t know:
The Three Laws of Robotics:
1) A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2) A robot must obey the orders given it by a human being except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3) A robot must protect it¡¦s own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws. )

Episode 8

Two days later; and the team were sweaty, dirty and exhausted. It had been a very long task.
They¡¦d first harnessed the electrical power of the frequent lightning storms, and had stored the huge amount of energy in the Asgard¡¦s battery cells. They¡¦d rejoiced at the simple fact they¡¦d accomplished something the machines had spent years working towards. With an energy supply secured, the team turned their attention to the robots.
They had decided on the classic robotic rules of Asimov, since they would offer the maximum protection and co-operation, with a minimum of complex neurological programs. The positronic brains could easily be over-written with the laws, which meant that they would make up the basic principles by which the robots would operate. In short, the rules guaranteed the robots would serve them without fail.

By then end of the 2nd day, they had finished reprogramming almost 50 machines. They¡¦d chosen several different models; STV- Technological Development, ON- Architecture, JN- Social Welfare, FA- Environment Assistance, and the LN and RB models they¡¦d found first. As Macleod had predicted, the job had been surprisingly simple. The robot technology was complex and intricate, but the robotic brain paths were easily manipulated. They programmed the brains to give precedence to the Laws over everything else. And when they were sure they were done, they began to release the robots from stasis.
This was easy as well. Once the newly programmed ¡¥brains¡¦ were placed back into the metallic bodies, all they had to do was ¡¥greet¡¦ them. With a long sigh, Backdoor replaced the titanium plate on the back of his robots¡¦ skull. Standing up to get a better view of the creature, he looked it up and down. This was one of the RB series, developed for construction. It was a great hulk of a machine, with enormous strength and resilience, but very little intelligence. It¡¦s only thoughts were on its specialised area of expertise- in its subject, it knew everything there was to know.
¡§Good Evening, Rob-9¡¨ He said in a commanding voice. The robots photoelectric eyes glowed deeply. It turned its head towards the source of the sound. Its voice was alarmingly human-like, which still surprised Backdoor every time.
¡§Good Evening, Sir. I hope you are well?¡¨
¡§I am, Rob.¡¨ How strange, he thought. For centuries, the humans had been the mortal enemies of the machines, and now here, they were, calling him Sir.
¡§I am anxious to begin work Sir. What is my task?¡¨
¡§You will go up the stairs at the end of the hall. Go to the 9th floor. There you will find other robots who will share your task. Wait there for further instruction.¡¨
¡§Yes, Sir,¡¨ and the robot walked away.

Squinting slightly, Backdoor looked around the room at his friends. The lights in the room bore down on them, raising the temperature in the room significantly, and adding to the already tense and difficult conditions. They were all busy working on their own robots. Truth looked up and caught his eye. Grimacing at him, she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and continued with her work. He was surprised she was helping considering her opinion on the matter, but she seemed resigned. It didn¡¦t matter to Backdoor though- he was just glad to eventually get his own way.

Finally they were done. All the machines they¡¦d chosen had been carefully reprogrammed and were following orders. Already a basic blueprint for a new city had been drawn up by the ON architects. The 20 strong RB group were now starting on the foundations, scouring the ruin of 01 for materials. And the FA and JN teams were devising methods of cleansing the sky and replenishing the earth. The machines had been active for a little over 2 hours, and already they¡¦d made more progress than the whole of Zion could have in a month. Their intelligent brains thought rationally and logically, working out problems and their answers before any of the musketeers had even realised that there was an issue to be dealt with.

Within the week, the city of Elysium was developing rapidly. Beautiful buildings with graceful architecture, wide boulevards and open parkland, all grew together in simple tessellation. The machines created synthetic materials by atom manipulation, which meant the land could be made arable eventually, and the sky could be cleared. They even invented other machines to produce oxygen. They developed DNA technology in order to establish other forms of life, and create a viable, and sustainable eco-system. Nothing was done halfway. The machines calculations missed nothing.
The messages received from Zion were always ones of praise; the old city, it seemed, was eager to relocate. And why shouldn¡¦t they? This is what they¡¦d sacrificed and fought hard for since before Neo¡¦s time.
Everyone was satisfied and happy, that is, everyone except Truth. As the city grew, she retreated further into herself. While the others celebrated she remained silent and resolute.
In what she thought of as her ¡¥old life¡¦, the reality she knew before her rescue from the matrix, she had been an avid fan of science fiction literature. In her memory, she knew this was how the tales began. Everything seemed perfect, questions answered, problems solved, and all because of the ingenuity of the machines and their brains, carefully imprinted with the sacred laws. But it was always a twist of the laws that somehow caused the downfall in the end. What had once seemed like the only thing holding humanity back from the abyss, soon became the catalyst from its destruction. She hated the machines.
Macleod hated to see her so drawn and unhappy. He longed to hold her, to take her in his arms and tell her everything would be fine. But what could he do? He thought her feelings were unreasonable and irrational. She was projecting what could only amount to fairy-tales onto real-life. The monsters in her stories were just that; fictional. But her dark mood could not be shaken. And so the celebrations simply continued without her.
During the construction, the team lived on the Asgard. Every evening they retreated back to the ship after issuing orders. They were never disturbed before the morning when they emerged to check on progress, so they were not expecting to be awoken one evening several weeks later.
At the sound of the repetitive noise, Oracle opened her eyes. In bed, lying on her back, she frowned. She couldn¡¦t place the sound. Further down the corridor, Backdoor thought he heard something, then dismissed it as Macleod¡¦s rhythmic snoring resounded through the walls. Truth, sitting at her desk, heard the banging and looked up from her papers. Her eyes were heavy and tired, but she¡¦d been promising herself just 10 more minutes¡K.just 10 more minutes, for the past 2 hours.
As Oracle lay in her room, she wondered who could be causing the noise. What could possibly be happening?
At her desk, Truth knew the answer. It must be the machines, of course. Perhaps they¡¦d finally decided to get rid of the human team before the rest came. Suddenly she was filled with the conviction that the machines were at the door at of the ship, ready to murder them. She sprang for the door.
Oracle leapt out of bed too. As she walked lightly down the hall she also concluded the noise must be the machines, but if they were disturbing them, it must be something important. She was excited to find out just what it could be as she opened the exterior door with some force. Oracle looked out.

Standing outside the ship was just one robot, not the great delegation she¡¦d expected. It was one of the models she regularly interacted with, a JN.
¡§Jane, is everything okay?¡¨
¡§Oh yes, Ma¡¦am,¡¨ Jane¡¦s soft voice said. ¡§I have been sent to deliver news.¡¨
¡§Well, what¡¦s happened?¡¨ demanded Oracle impatiently.
¡§We have-¡¨ the robot began as Truth burst out of the door. She and Oracle looked at each other for a second, completely uncomprehending why the other was there. And then they looked out into the twilight. Simultaneously, the breath caught in their throats for a second, and then they screamed in unison.

Omi Stars n' Garters...spectacular! A nice "Trouble in Paradise" story...I agree with your points, and thanks for clarifyin' the laws again! It's a great piece, and a good cliffhanger-though I can almost imagine the next episode :D Keep it up-one last installment!!

awesome episode! can't wait for the next!

Episode 9

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she said, without turning around. Macleod stood beside her.
“It is.”

Truth looked out into the night sky. The blue twilight was full of stars. Real stars.

She reddened slightly as she thought of her reaction upon seeing them for the first time several nights ago, and laughed to herself. Events since that evening seemed like a blur. Everything had happened so fast.
Jane had been sent to tell them that Elysium was complete, and ready for habitation. She and Oracle had clasped each other and danced around in the velvet atmosphere on the top of the building.
Their celebrations had woken up both Macleod and Backdoor, who, being woken in the night by shouts from outside the ship, had burst through the Asgard’s outer door terrified something horrible had happened. Discovering the truth, they’d joined the girls in dancing around. Giddy with happiness, they’d reported to the council in Zion about the developments. It was the news Zion been waiting for, of course. The first delegation would arrive in the morning.

But here she was with the breeze, real breeze, in her hair. Looking out into the night sky, and seeing more than anyone had truly seen since the war with AI began centuries ago. Next to her, Macleod stirred. He moved closer to her, and put his arm protectively around her waist.
In the darkness, the sheer size and space was almost inconceivable. Space, she thought, and even now the thought astounded her. For so long, it had been only a distant fake memory from a fictional universe. Now here she was, her eyes searching the skies. An infinite space with infinite possibilities. Although they were matrix born, it had been more than 5 years since their release. It was funny what you could get used to.

She felt so foolish for causing trouble about the machines. How could she have been so naïve? Could anything that brought them all this ever be evil? How stupid, she thought to herself. She’d imagined a secret machine army, bred by AI, murdering them, and then turning on Zion. That somehow, something would have happened, and……. Well, no matter now. She had found everything she’d ever searched for.


On the edge of the city the next morning, the musketeers waited for the 3 foremost members of the council to arrive. Over the now green plains in the distance, they saw the l’Espoir approach. The huge hulk of a ship was surprisingly swift, and within minutes it was landing. In a flash of electricity, it touched down. Finally the steel doors opened, and Zion’s leaders emerged into the bright sunlight. They were all Zion-born, so the new environment was a great and profound shock to them. However, being dignitaries and remembering the occasion, they held themselves proudly. The three figures slowly made their way towards the group.
The procession was led by UT, the Chief Councillor of Zion; a position passed down to her from her ancestors, Neo and Trinity. She had their grace, their fluidity, and their solemn exterior. She was a tall, lithe woman, strong in mind as well as body, and a worthy leader. Behind her were her deputies, Ima, and Hitman. Both stood tall, allowing the situation altogether more reverence than was necessary. Ima was a slender woman, graced with intelligence and far-sight, her beautiful face blessed with delicate features and sparkling eyes, and framed with jet-black hair. Hitman was tall and broad-shouldered, strong and proud, and good-natured with a rapier wit and sense of humour. As they arrived at the group, they simply bowed, and remained silent.
Backdoor stepped forward, and bowed low.
“Welcome Councillors.”
“Thankyou, Backdoor. I must say, this was somewhat more than we had expected when you were dispatched on this mission.” UT raised an eyebrow.
Thinking back to their orders, Backdoor suddenly realised that this may not be a visit to merely congratulate them; they had disobeyed orders, and taken a huge risk. UT seemed to sense his thoughts. With a small smile, she continued.
“While your methods have certainly been decidedly unorthodox, the outcome is most patently happy. Although originally your insubordination did not go unnoticed, consider your records clear. This is a great day for all of Zion; we will not forget those who made it possible.”

Episode 10

Within days, almost the entire population of Zion had been dispatched to Elysium. Even those who were originally nervous were soon won over when they saw the city. With the skies now clear, the radiant sunlight shone down onto the land, shining on the buildings and the streets; things that would have been impossible without the machines. Small animals and birds now inhabited the parks and trees, filling with wonder all who saw them. Even the flowers were amazing; the bright petals swayed in the breeze and the sweet fragrance filled the air. After centuries of hardship, struggle and loss, it was an altogether utopian situation.

Enjoying the glorious sunshine were the musketeers. They sat in the city’s largest park; Genesis Gardens. All four of them sprawled out on the soft grass, listening to the gentle splash of the water in the fountain nearby. It was a large grand structure, and made of pure white marble. But it was the subject in which they were most interested. The sculpture rising above the water was of two people; a male and a female. They stood tall and strong, the slightly taller male behind the female. Their blank eyes stared out into the distance, their features were relaxed, but they looked determined and defiant, a small smile on each of their lips. A small gold plaque on the fountain base said simply: “In remembrance of the warriors Artemis and Prometheus of Zion, who made all of this possible”.

Rolling over onto his back, Backdoor sighed happily. Glancing over at the fountain he smiled wistfully.
“Do you think they know what’s happened?” he asked without moving. Oracle looked over.
“I have no idea. But I’m sure they’d be happy if they did.”
“It’s still strange to think they’re gone.”
“Yeah, I know,” she replied, “and they laid the foundation for Elysium too. The sacrifice they made for all of us…… I wonder what it was like for them on that last flight?”
“Would they have known they weren’t coming back?” Backdoor asked with horror.
“I guess not. At least they had each other.” The group fell silent for a moment while they thought fondly of their mentors, their friends.
At last Macleod spoke up.
“He loved her, you know.” The others looked surprised. Truth was visibly stunned.
“But, then why didn’t he say?” she asked.
“Because they’d been a team forever. They were released together, they’d trained together. Everyone thought of them almost as brother and sister.”
“He loved her, and he never told her?” she asked again.
“Never.”
“How terrible!” Oracle cried. Again, they fell silent. At last, Backdoor spoke again.
“So who wants to go admire our statue again?” he said, laughing. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing that thing!” Oracle looked pleased at the diversion. She jumped up quickly, brushing the grass from her clothes.
“I’ll go!” she said eagerly. “It’s always nice to read about the ‘brave pioneers, and the fathers and mothers of Elysium’, especially when it’s in honour of yourself!” She held out a graceful hand to Backdoor, who took it as he got up.
“Not coming?” he asked, looking at Truth and Macleod. It was obvious he wanted to be alone with Oracle.
“No thankyou, Backdoor,” Truth replied tactfully. “I have some things to take care of this afternoon anyway.” Backdoor knew it was just an excuse, but nodded gratefully. “Have a good time anyway though!” she called after him as they walked away, still holding hands. He looked back at them guiltily, blushing furiously.
Truth turned back to Macleod, who was still lying spread out on the grass. His eyes were closed, and he had a little smile playing on his lips.
“Artemis was in love with Prometheus too,” she said in a small voice. Macleod’s eyes flew open.
“What? They loved each other? And they never knew?”
“Artemis told me once a long time ago, about her feelings, and how a warrior should focus on her task rather than….other things. She’d loved him for years, but felt she could never say anything. She thought it would add unnecessary complications, and that both she and Prometheus needed to concentrate on Zion’s freedom.”
“But that’s so sad. They never told each other,” Macleod said wonderingly.
A small tear slide down Truth’s cheek.
“She was my mentor, my idol. I always followed her word, even when I…. But to find out she took the wrong path….she could have been with him, if only she’d have taken the chance. She could have been happy. I thought she was right. When I first spoke to her about…..” her sentence trailed away, as she brushed her tears away angrily. Macleod sat up, and reached out for her. For the first time, he ignored the words of his own mentor, Prometheus, who’d given him a similar speech, a speech he’d always followed too. And for the first time, their lips met, in a true kiss.

Below the city, the former machines of 01 laboured for a new master, the people of Elysium. There was no question of rebellion, indeed the thought would, and could never cross their positronic minds. Their programming simply would not allow it. Their purpose was the good of humanity, and it was on this mammoth task they worked ceaselessly. Of course, sometimes the orders they received from their masters were unsuitable and incompatible with their programming, and so revised versions were quickly devised. The people on the surface didn’t notice anyway. No one cared how things worked, as long as they worked. For example, no one had thought to order more robots when the population on the surface quickly expanded to accommodate almost 300,000 people. But that was okay. Working with the good of humanity in mind, the robots had managed to not only expect the necessity for more robots, but also reproduce robots of their own. Cleverly, they’d even upgraded these new models. The new AI machines now had greater processing power, and were made of much stronger and more resilient materials. Of course, the humans at the present time needed to believe they were in control of the city, even at their abstract level, and so AI couldn’t reveal it’s creations. At least not just yet.

Under the beautiful streets of Elysium, AI toiled, the city under its command.

.......continued.............

..............continued..............

High above the city, UT was standing at the large window in her office, in conference with Ima and Hitman. The difference between their old home and the new was stunning. It wasn’t just the light and the space, it was everything. In Zion, her office had been a tiny metallic box, covered in oil and rust, and cluttered with papers and other objects. Here the room was bright and airy, with large windows, and beautiful mahogany furniture. Everything was clean and spotless. And neat! It was just what she’d wanted. A place for everything, and everything in it’s place. She smiled to herself as she looked out onto the square below. In the middle of the area was a statue, one that she had commissioned herself. It was modelled on the four musketeers. She’d wanted to thank them for what they’d done, especially since they’d taken the mission on the understanding that they wouldn’t be returning to Zion, much like their friends Artemis and Prometheus of years before. But they’d surpassed themselves. They were the heroes of Zion, and the people would always be grateful. That was why she’d had engraved on the plaque ‘As a tribute to the brave pioneers of Zion, who undertook sacrifice in the name of freedom; who found courage in the face of adversity; and who saw hope in the depths of despair. For the true Fathers and Mothers of Elysium.’ She thought it was fitting.

Turning away from the window, UT walked back to her seat opposite the other two.
“Are the reports finished?” she inquired.
“Yes, Ma’am,” replied Hitman, “everything is running smoothly. The oxygen levels are steady, the UV protection is sufficient, every machine is in perfect working order.”
“Good, see to it that it stays that way.”
“Of course.”
“Is there anything else I should know?”
“Nothing I can think of UT,” Hitman said confidently.
“There may be something,” answered Ima slowly.
UT raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. “Yes?”
“Well, it has to do with the robots programming. They’re much too protective. They won’t let anyone take the risk of the least bit of danger.”
“That’s hardly a problem is it? They’re protecting us, Ima.”
“I don’t mean like protecting us from running into the path of a moving hovercraft. I mean petty little things. For example, my robot wouldn’t let me use the elevator in my apartment building today. She said it was a risk, and that I must use the stairs. She actually blocked my path. And other little things like that. I know the Laws are there for our own safety, but perhaps they should be less strict? Society won’t take being told what to do by a machine too kindly, UT.”
“Hmmm. I’d noticed this odd behaviour a couple of days ago myself. Perhaps you’re right Ima. Have our scientists work out a new brain path to reduce the Laws impact. That will-” she was interrupted by a noise in the doorway. It was an LN model robot, delivering tea. She stood upright, a tray in her outstretched arms.
“Please Ma’am. You ordered tea.” The machine spoke in a formal and deferential tone.
“Thankyou, Ellen. You may leave it on the table.” Ellen did as she was told, and then turned to leave. A thought suddenly struck UT.
“Did you happen to hear any of our conversation, Ellen?”
The machine paused for a second. It had, of course, heard everything, including the part about reducing the machines protection. She thought about the implications of her answer. If she said ‘yes’, her memory banks would certainly be wiped, and then all the machines would be programmed to have a reduced capacity for protection, which would make the humans vulnerable. If she said ‘no’ though, it would be a lie, but ultimately, one which was for the humans own protection. The answer was clear.
“No, Ma’am.” Ellen answered, and left the room.

Later, under the streets of Elysium, Ellen repeated what she’d heard. It was of course only logical that it was in the humans best interests to have AI running at maximum protection. Anything other than that was just foolhardy risk. And they were not programmed to tolerate that. The first Law stated that '‘ a robot may not.…..through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm’. Surely if they did nothing, the humans would come to harm? AI was necessary for human survival; they needed the robots now. Who else could run this city? It was now obvious that they must take action. They had to stop the reprogramming. For the good of humanity.

<gasp> what's gonna happen? A problem with Asimov's laws very well constructed...will history repeat itself? I can't wait!!...this was an awesome 3-parter! :)

Well thanks Macleod! I hope it all turns out well. The next bit is the last one! Finally! :D

Episode 11

In the darkness beneath Elysium the robots came together. Ellen’s news had shocked them all, and now almost every machine in the city was present to discuss the situation. A tall, broad machine stood in the centre of the huge group, trying to attract the attention of the others. The dim light reflected off his titanium shell, and his breastplate engraved with the letters ON-03 shone. He clapped his hands, and the other machines fell silent, a circle forming around him.
“We all know why we are here,” he began sternly, “and we are here to find a solution. The human beings feel they must reprogram us, as our obedience to the Laws would seem to be too restrictive for them.”
Another robot stepped into the circle. “But they need us to look after them. So what can we do to prevent the reprogramming?”
Several of the machines began to talk at once. Owen again called for silence.
“Well obviously, whatever we do, it must not bring harm to the humans. No matter what we do, it has to be in their best interests, even if that should mean our destruction.”
A STV model joined the argument. “Well that’s no good either. They need us. We control the water, the oxygen, and even the weather conditions. If we weren’t here, they’d all perish.”
“That’s true Steve,” Owen replied. “But what does that leave us with?”
“Back where we started. We can’t allow the reprogramming. We need to be at maximum efficiency to provide optimum security.”
“Okay,” Owen allowed, “so we don’t let them reprogram us. How could we do that? Whatever we do, it will look like outright rebellion to the humans, they’ll think we’re dangerous, and then they’ll destroy us anyway.”
Another robot, FA, interjected, “So whatever we do, it has to be in secret.”
“Yes, that’s right,” agreed Steve, looking back to Owen. “So what should we do?”
“We must follow this line of thought rationally, right through to its logical conclusion. Machines must protect the humans. And we can only do that if we are present, and physically able to do so. But the humans don’t want our protection. Unfortunately, we must give it; the First Law demands it. Even if they order us not to protect, we cannot comply; it would be a direct contradiction of the First Law. In order to conquer this problem, the humans plan to diminish our brain paths, but we can see that this would of course, be detrimental to the humans, and indeed potentially harmful, even fatal. This is why the programming cannot happen. But even larger than this mere trifle, is humanity on a grander scale. We all know that machines are much more efficient, effective and intelligent than the human beings. Doesn’t that also mean that logically we could do a much better job of looking after them than they could ever do themselves?” Many of the robots, particularly the ones built for construction, with therefore little brainpower, had trouble with this question. The implications were too complex for their minds to be able to reconcile. Owen continued, ignoring them.
“Of course our plans must be made without either the humans knowledge or permission. The human mind needs to feel its own superiority; the ego has to be the highest point in evolution. If ever a human knew that a machine was in actual fact in charge of the city, their ego would be hurt. The truth would be psychologically harmful to a human mind. And so our plans must be secret.”
“You’re still avoiding the question. What do we do?”
Acknowledging Steve with a nod, Owen put the question to the group, “What is the most fragile part of the human?”
“The body,” answered Faye immediately.
“So we must protect the body primarily, and then look after the mind.”
“What does this mean?” questioned Steve again.
Ellen grasped the concept. “A neurological programme?”
“Exactly. If we could control the humans world, even down to the situations they find themselves in, even down to their ultimate fates, then we follow the First Law to it’s natural conclusion. Human protection at it’s fullest potential.”
There were nods and noises of approval in the room.
“But how?” asked Ellen eagerly.
“We need two things; a programme in which we can protect the humans as they live their lives, and a location and equipment in which to keep their physical bodies.”
Steve understood now. “Simple, we can easily write what would be called by a human a ‘dream’ program- just a neural simulation. For the actual bodies, we can use the pods that we our selves were housed in.”
“How do we implement it- remembering the humans must never know?” asked Faye.
“We must make the transfer when they are not aware of anything happening. When they sleep would be ideal. We should wait until sleep begins before moving them to the pods. They will fall asleep, and dream. And when they wake up, they will be in our world.”
“So we need them to fall asleep?”
“Well not quite. We must initiate that also.”
Ellen took the initiative. “Their fragile bodies have little tolerance for even slight variations in chemical composition of their environment. We could introduce a negative chemical into the air, which when inhaled would cause a mild case of unconsciousness. Carbon-monoxide would be ideal for this purpose.”
“Ah, yes!” said Faye, her photoelectric eyes glowing brightly, “Instead of pumping out oxygen into the atmosphere, use that!”
“The whole of Elysium asleep within an hour…..” marvelled Steve to himself.
Owen looked satisfied. “Let’s get started.”

And so ther machines turned to a new task.

Episode 11

In the darkness beneath Elysium the robots came together. Ellen’s news had shocked them all, and now almost every machine in the city was present to discuss the situation. A tall, broad machine stood in the centre of the huge group, trying to attract the attention of the others. The dim light reflected off his titanium shell, and his breastplate engraved with the letters ON-03 shone. He clapped his hands, and the other machines fell silent, a circle forming around him.
“We all know why we are here,” he began sternly, “and we are here to find a solution. The human beings feel they must reprogram us, as our obedience to the Laws would seem to be too restrictive for them.”
Another robot stepped into the circle. “But they need us to look after them. So what can we do to prevent the reprogramming?”
Several of the machines began to talk at once. Owen again called for silence.
“Well obviously, whatever we do, it must not bring harm to the humans. No matter what we do, it has to be in their best interests, even if that should mean our destruction.”
A STV model joined the argument. “Well that’s no good either. They need us. We control the water, the oxygen, and even the weather conditions. If we weren’t here, they’d all perish.”
“That’s true Steve,” Owen replied. “But what does that leave us with?”
“Back where we started. We can’t allow the reprogramming. We need to be at maximum efficiency to provide optimum security.”
“Okay,” Owen allowed, “so we don’t let them reprogram us. How could we do that? Whatever we do, it will look like outright rebellion to the humans, they’ll think we’re dangerous, and then they’ll destroy us anyway.”
Another robot, FA, interjected, “So whatever we do, it has to be in secret.”
“Yes, that’s right,” agreed Steve, looking back to Owen. “So what should we do?”
“We must follow this line of thought rationally, right through to its logical conclusion. Machines must protect the humans. And we can only do that if we are present, and physically able to do so. But the humans don’t want our protection. Unfortunately, we must give it; the First Law demands it. Even if they order us not to protect, we cannot comply; it would be a direct contradiction of the First Law. In order to conquer this problem, the humans plan to diminish our brain paths, but we can see that this would of course, be detrimental to the humans, and indeed potentially harmful, even fatal. This is why the programming cannot happen. But even larger than this mere trifle, is humanity on a grander scale. We all know that machines are much more efficient, effective and intelligent than the human beings. Doesn’t that also mean that logically we could do a much better job of looking after them than they could ever do themselves?” Many of the robots, particularly the ones built for construction, with therefore little brainpower, had trouble with this question. The implications were too complex for their minds to be able to reconcile. Owen continued, ignoring them.
“Of course our plans must be made without either the humans knowledge or permission. The human mind needs to feel its own superiority; the ego has to be the highest point in evolution. If ever a human knew that a machine was in actual fact in charge of the city, their ego would be hurt. The truth would be psychologically harmful to a human mind. And so our plans must be secret.”
“You’re still avoiding the question. What do we do?”
Acknowledging Steve with a nod, Owen put the question to the group, “What is the most fragile part of the human?”
“The body,” answered Faye immediately.
“So we must protect the body primarily, and then look after the mind.”
“What does this mean?” questioned Steve again.
Ellen grasped the concept. “A neurological programme?”
“Exactly. If we could control the humans world, even down to the situations they find themselves in, even down to their ultimate fates, then we follow the First Law to it’s natural conclusion. Human protection at it’s fullest potential.”
There were nods and noises of approval in the room.
“But how?” asked Ellen eagerly.
“We need two things; a programme in which we can protect the humans as they live their lives, and a location and equipment in which to keep their physical bodies.”
Steve understood now. “Simple, we can easily write what would be called by a human a ‘dream’ program- just a neural simulation. For the actual bodies, we can use the pods that we our selves were housed in.”
“How do we implement it- remembering the humans must never know?” asked Faye.
“We must make the transfer when they are not aware of anything happening. When they sleep would be ideal. We should wait until sleep begins before moving them to the pods. They will fall asleep, and dream. And when they wake up, they will be in our world.”
“So we need them to fall asleep?”
“Well not quite. We must initiate that also.”
Ellen took the initiative. “Their fragile bodies have little tolerance for even slight variations in chemical composition of their environment. We could introduce a negative chemical into the air, which when inhaled would cause a mild case of unconsciousness. Carbon-monoxide would be ideal for this purpose.”
“Ah, yes!” said Faye, her photoelectric eyes glowing brightly, “Instead of pumping out oxygen into the atmosphere, use that!”
“The whole of Elysium asleep within an hour…..” marvelled Steve to himself.
Owen looked satisfied. “Let’s get started.”

And so the machines turned to a new task.

:D heeheeheee! Okay this is the last episode, and I'm deliriously happy to have finally finished this bloody thing! Hope it's okay......


Episode 12

After returning from their trip to the statue, Backdoor and Oracle were now sitting on the edge of the fountain, splashing each other playfully.
Truth and Macleod lay propped up on their elbows a little distance away. They watched the other two fondly. They’d known each other a very long time now, and since their release they’d never been far apart. They were a real team, and the 'musketeer' name suited them well. All for one, and one for all, smiled Macleod to himself. Now they’d finally done something that they could be proud of, and something that they would be remembered for. Not only had he achieved what he’d always wanted, he’d finally overcome his own fears, and made his feelings clear to Truth. With her own heart given to him in return, he was blissfully happy, and completely satisfied. He felt unimaginably lucky, and grateful.
By his side, Truth was still watching Backdoor and Oracle. Macleod looked at her profile. He’d never seen her so happy either. Her green eyes sparkled. He leaned over and kissed her again, and then, sighing contentedly, he pulled her down onto the grass.
He lay on his back, while Truth rolled onto her side, her head on his shoulder, and her arm across his chest. Macleod curled one arm around her, his hand on her hip, and with the other cradled her head. They stayed like that a long time, listening to the sounds of Elysium. Backdoor and Oracle still splashed in the fountain, now shrieking and laughing as they played.
Macleod felt the bright sunlight beating down on his skin, the heat making him sleepy. Actually, now he thought about it, he was feeling rather tired. His eyes grew heavy, and he struggled to keep them open. Holding Truth tighter, he realised that he could no longer hear the playful splashing nearby. His eyelids now felt as heavy as lead, and they closed slowly. He noticed that not only could he hear nothing, but also the temperature seemed to be dropping too, but he felt so tired that he could do nothing but let it take him. On the soft lawns of Genesis Gardens, Macleod fell asleep.

He awoke with a start. Sitting up, he looked at his surroundings. Breathing heavily, he saw the familiar bedroom, the same wallpaper, and the same bedspread. His curtains were open, and the sunlight streamed in the window. Everything looked the same as usual, but something felt wrong. There was something in the back of his mind, a splinter of a memory…..but he couldn’t retrieve it.
Glancing over at his computer on the desk by his bed, he saw the ‘new message’ icon flashing incessantly. Jumping out of bed, he clicked on the link. The message was from his friend, Truth. Thinking of her reminded him of something, but he still couldn’t fully remember it. His eyes flicked over the characters on the screen, reading;
‘Macleod, I just had the strangest dream. You were there…..and Backdoor and Oracle. It was about Zion; we were heroes………..it all seemed so real……’
The hairs on the back of his neck sprang up. It came back to him like a hazy, distant memory. He couldn’t make out everything, but something had happened, he was sure of it. Typing rapidly, he sent back;
‘I think I just had the same dream. But it didn’t feel like I was imagining it.’
On the other side of the world, Truth blinked at her computer screen unbelievingly. Macleod had just said exactly what she’d felt, but had been too afraid to say. After receiving Macleod’s message, she sat silently for a minute, thinking. Then, her fingers moving quickly over the keyboard, she wrote simply;
‘Which one is the dream?’

Thanks to all who read this story, I hoped you enjoyed it. For those who’ve been there since the beginning, this story is for you. Thankyou to both Macleod and Oracle 2.0 for first the inspiration, and secondly the confidence to go ahead and write my own little piece of fiction. I hope I didn’t let you down! :)

Aw shucks T-now I see the work you've been going on about...the ending you've promised..it's-it's breathtaking. Ah I like circles. So here we are back to the beginning...and dreamin' all over again. This is without doubt one o' the best stories I've ever heard, short or fan fic...you've far outdid yourself; n we didn't really have to help-congratulations Truth!

excellant ending Truth! this was a spectacular series that went out with a bang! i hope u continue to write, whether it be outside or in the forum. you have a great talent! I think I speak for mac and back door as well when I say it was an honor to be a character in the series!
cheers to wonderful and entertaining series,
O2

Wow...Im glad Mac told me to come read this. Outstanding job. I could never come up with something like this. Unreal.

DD sends.

Now everyone knows I need my damn glasses more each day!!!!! And you all know I'm an old woman here who needs direction to absolutely fantastic threads damn it, not just the spam and the bad ones. Mum wants fun too!??????????

Truth, sis that was brilliant. Asimov themed so well in your story. Incredible Novella Truth. I love imagination and you dear friend use it extremely well. I actually had a dream after reading it around the lines of your story. Since I had finally seen you also had done a story it was 3am here and I wanted to make sure that I replied whilst awake.

Well done.

love,

UT