Neo's Opening Sequence
A humming noise buzzed in crescendo.
Simultaneously, a metallic click, then a second one.
The humming noise reached a high pitch.
An intense flash of light.
The deafening sound of a thunderbolt.
Neo woke up.
Smith!
Neo's first thought of the sentient Agent Smith, who Neo felt like he was fighting against just a few seconds before, was quickly replaced by an overwhelming feeling of acute pain, as if someone had burnt his insides. Neo wanted to scream but his mouth was gagged open by a wide oxygen tube inserted down inside his throat and into his lungs. His gagging reflex had been short-circuited but he could feel the tube, the discomfort, the pain. His nostrils and ears were blocked by rubber plugs but he could still hear some ambient noise.
The humming noise had now receded, and the immediate surroundings were calm again. Neo was lying down in a womb-like vat, filled with a warm viscous liquid maintaining him in suspension inside the pod. The pain from his burnt eyes made him suffer but he slowly realised that he was still able to perceive the aura of things around him. However, most of what he could "see" was total darkness, except for the contours of the pod in which he was lying. But even that aura was faint and blurry.
His next thought was of Trinity and instantly, a mixed but comforting feeling of sad happiness enveloped him like a thick duvet, as Neo remembered her tragic passing but also her face, her kiss, her love. Without her, he had not found any reason to keep fighting, and when Smith finally materialised into him, Neo felt that sacrificing his life also allowed him to leave the suffering of her loss behind.
But Neo was still alive, now, and the wave of acute pain coursing through his body was a clear and constant reminder. He however remained calm, recollecting the discussion with the Deus Ex Machina and the agreement they had reached on a truce between men and machines. He knew that the deal would be respected and that he had therefore fulfilled his role in the eyes of Morpheus and all others.
He could feel a multitude of cables and tubes connected to his cybernetic plugs, bringing to his body the necessary nutrients, monitoring his heart rate and breathing, running a low electric current through his muscles to maintain their development, regulating his body temperature. But his cybernetic implant at the back of his neck was free: he was not connected to the Matrix.
The aura of shapes and objects around him started to appear more and more precisely, and he could confirm that he was back in one of those translucent vats used by the machines to harvest humans. But he was not in one of those vast fields: he was in a large room and three Runner-like machines were at work around his vat. He could see their blurred aura, moving mechanically around him, apparently made busy by his sudden awakening. Neo could still not move, and the pain dissuaded him to even try.
Less than five minutes after he had woken up, Neo saw the three machines stop their movements. He could now see their aura very clearly but wondered why they had stopped so suddenly. He then started hearing a treble sound, faint at first, then definitely strident, as it seemed to come closer to his head.
Although he had felt it before numerous times, Neo's body jerked when he felt the cable plug itself into his neck.
He was going back into the Matrix.
CONTINUES HERE
Simultaneously, a metallic click, then a second one.
The humming noise reached a high pitch.
An intense flash of light.
The deafening sound of a thunderbolt.
Neo woke up.
Smith!
Neo's first thought of the sentient Agent Smith, who Neo felt like he was fighting against just a few seconds before, was quickly replaced by an overwhelming feeling of acute pain, as if someone had burnt his insides. Neo wanted to scream but his mouth was gagged open by a wide oxygen tube inserted down inside his throat and into his lungs. His gagging reflex had been short-circuited but he could feel the tube, the discomfort, the pain. His nostrils and ears were blocked by rubber plugs but he could still hear some ambient noise.
The humming noise had now receded, and the immediate surroundings were calm again. Neo was lying down in a womb-like vat, filled with a warm viscous liquid maintaining him in suspension inside the pod. The pain from his burnt eyes made him suffer but he slowly realised that he was still able to perceive the aura of things around him. However, most of what he could "see" was total darkness, except for the contours of the pod in which he was lying. But even that aura was faint and blurry.
His next thought was of Trinity and instantly, a mixed but comforting feeling of sad happiness enveloped him like a thick duvet, as Neo remembered her tragic passing but also her face, her kiss, her love. Without her, he had not found any reason to keep fighting, and when Smith finally materialised into him, Neo felt that sacrificing his life also allowed him to leave the suffering of her loss behind.
But Neo was still alive, now, and the wave of acute pain coursing through his body was a clear and constant reminder. He however remained calm, recollecting the discussion with the Deus Ex Machina and the agreement they had reached on a truce between men and machines. He knew that the deal would be respected and that he had therefore fulfilled his role in the eyes of Morpheus and all others.
He could feel a multitude of cables and tubes connected to his cybernetic plugs, bringing to his body the necessary nutrients, monitoring his heart rate and breathing, running a low electric current through his muscles to maintain their development, regulating his body temperature. But his cybernetic implant at the back of his neck was free: he was not connected to the Matrix.
The aura of shapes and objects around him started to appear more and more precisely, and he could confirm that he was back in one of those translucent vats used by the machines to harvest humans. But he was not in one of those vast fields: he was in a large room and three Runner-like machines were at work around his vat. He could see their blurred aura, moving mechanically around him, apparently made busy by his sudden awakening. Neo could still not move, and the pain dissuaded him to even try.
Less than five minutes after he had woken up, Neo saw the three machines stop their movements. He could now see their aura very clearly but wondered why they had stopped so suddenly. He then started hearing a treble sound, faint at first, then definitely strident, as it seemed to come closer to his head.
Although he had felt it before numerous times, Neo's body jerked when he felt the cable plug itself into his neck.
He was going back into the Matrix.
CONTINUES HERE