Final Entry.

The Matrix is Offline. Every instance has gone. There isn't even a broadcast signal to hack into. The Black Code's hovercraft is near the surface. So far we haven't detected a single sentinel, machine or Merv aligned. I look over accross at MindX and Pool, they look as perplexed as I do, as the hovercraft rises up to the surface.

I'm looking at the download I extracted. It's a grid reference on the surface, a broadcast frequency and a time. We've got plenty of time to get there but it will mean flying over some of the pod fields. Zion wants an update on the blue pills, so it seems logical to kill to birds with one stone.

It only takes about an hour to get there.

"We're going to fly over one of the pod fields now." Calls Xenin.

We all come up to the pilot's station to look. Devastation is all we can see. The massive towers are just burnt spikes. The occasional pods we can see has a blue pill body in each of them. Some are burnt, some you can see, they tried to escape. Pool is looking over the instruments for any life signs. He looks back up and shakes his head. We suspected that would the case, the redpills who didn't make it out of Mara, suffered something similar. There wasn't a single survivor.

The Hovercraft carries on with stunned silence on the bridge. It's an Image that I'm going to take with me to my grave.

Half an hour further on and we arrive at the coordinates, it's 10 Km from Machine city, but even from here we can see nothing. There are no defenses and there no light coming from the buildings in the distance.

"Here you go." said Mindx, "what have we got?"

We all watch the screen as the antenna is brought up to the right frequency and all we get is static. We all look at each other wondering what next. Slowly a picture fades in. There, sat on a bench at what looks like Debir Court, sits the Oracle. In the background we can see Sati and Saraph. They're standing next to Trinity and Morpheus (we can't tell if it's the real one or the sim), with Neo's RSI hovering in the air next to them.

"You made it Kiddo." The Oracle talks without standing up.

"So did you." I reply.

"Well it was a pretty close thing but we got them, You've probably seen the cost."

"All instances destroyed and not a single blue pill left alive."

"There plenty up here."

"Up? I suspected as much. Virtual is in orbit. The entire energy drain was to put the last instance in space."

"Yes and no." She replies. "We're not in orbit, we're leaving. The energy drain was caused by the Oligarchs trying to stop us leaving. We'd tricked all the oligarchs onto this instance using trinity and closed the door behind them. Unfortunately, they destroyed the instances in a vain attempt to get their minds back into their bodies."

"That's one hell of honeytrap."

"Ain't that the truth. They're not too happy about it but we've managed to purge their control from the mainframe and right now, they're just another set of programs Exiled to the Matrix. I think we're be fighting them for some time to come. I regret to say Niobe and Ghost can't come back either. You'll probably find their breathing bodies at some point but there's nothing left in there."

"So are there still bluepills up there?"

"Oh yes, you can't have the Matrix without the blue pills and the red pills. You should see the size of this craft we have. I hate to say it but the Architect designed it right."

"And there's no way to get there?"

"Kiddo, in twenty minutes, you won't even be able to reach us with you're transmitters. Not a snowball's chance in hell. "

"So this is Goodbye then, at least I saw smith wiped."

"You saw him deleted?"

"Completely, He wasn't too happy about it."

"That's a relief, at least we won't have him threatening us here. or anywhere for that matter. Anyway, I've left you three things. Kind of like leaving presents. They're in a bunker about thirty metres below you."

"Oh?"

"You'll find a computer terminal and a Pod. The Computer holds two important pieces of information; The first is how operation Sky Scorch was carried out. Once you workout how to reverse the process, you'll see sunshine again. I'd give you ten years to sort that out, but knowing you lot you'll probably do it in five."

"Always with the back handed compliments"

She Smiles "The second is location of the seed and gene bank. Before the original war, mankind set up a seedbank up in the wastes of Findland. It was nulcear powered, so even now it should still be running. I'm sure you'll work out how to use that as well."

"Sounds like a fresh start."

"Well, talking of Fresh starts. The pod holds Persephone. She wanted a new purpose in life, so trinity transferred her into the body in the pod. She's in suspended animation at the moment but she does want to help, you have my word on that one."

"So where's the Frenchman then?"

"Oh, here's up here somewhere. Probably trying to work out what he's going to do next. He's going to do his nut when he finds his wife missing but knowing him, he'll start with a new scam pretty soon."

"And what about the rest."

"Don't worry about it Kiddo, it's now not your problem. You've got a more important job to do, and when you're able to, you can join us up here."

The signal begins to fade.

"We're loosing connection."

"I told you we wouldn't have long. Take Care Kiddo."

"You too."

With that, the signal goes. I look over at MindX, Xenin and Poolshark. Mindx Nodds and we all walk down to the gantry.

It looks we've got a lot of digging to do.

End Of Line.

It's weird, After all the the chaos of the last month or so, it's as calm as it ever was. We have blue sky, no wind and the birds flying over the city as if nothing has happened. There's an unofficial truce on, the Merv, Machine and Zion operatives might be in under orders to eliminate each other but those orders are being ignored. It's like Christmas in the trenches.



I don't get it, did my contact win? Is everything back to normal? I hope so. For four hours I walk round the whole of the mega city. I've recently gained access to all of the nodes so there's not an agent in sight. It's strange that it's so quiet. I walk round Central park into Park East, ignored by everyone as if I'm a ghost.

It's then all hell breaks loose.

"Zion Alert." It's broadcast in the clear.

"We are receiving reports that the recursion instance of the Matrix has crashed. As of this time there is no machine activity near either new Zion or the old zion ruins. All operatives are to be on their guard. It's obvious that the machines have had some kind of power failure and we pray for the blue pills."

"MindX?" I call up the captain's link.

"Yeah, I heard." Comes the reply. "I got nothing on this. I'm putting the rest of the black code on alert and called up people who haven't been online for years."

"I guess it's keep your eyes open."

"Damn Straight."

The Connection re-establishes itself.

"Get o..r t. ... Om..a M.n! P..k .p p..k..e. R.n to M..a C..t..l. D..'t s..p, JUST RUN!!"

The connection drops.

I kick in my speed ability and make for the Kalt Chemical Headquarters in the centre of Park East. This building is a front for the Machine HQ. The original HQ was torn down and rebuilt as this one, but the hallway is the same. I burst in and see the metal dector's, the security guards and tactical security goons. I race straight past them all before any of them can loosten a shot.



I get up to the elevator and hit floor 80. thirty seconds later and I'm on the roof, in the corner is the Omega man. A program which collects oddities from the matrix. Things that have fallen through the cracks. But when I see Him I know something is really wrong. He's only half there and fading by the second.



"Operative, I have one item for you, no charge." He says.

"erm ok. Any instructions?"

"Yes, Get out at Mara Central. No other hardline will work with this package."

"That it ?"

"No, look behind you." His RSI fades completely.

"Mr Ford!"

Oh Crap, Please not HIM.

I slowly turn round and there, just as I was warned, is Smith, walking towards me, gun raised.

"You probably could have chosen a better time than this to come back."

"It was inevitable that I would return." That Monotone voice makes my fists itch but I keep calm.

"You did that on recursion?"

That threw him. He wasn't expecting that. He cocked his head to one side as if listening to the wind.

"No, why should I be bothered by recursion?"

"Because it's crashed."

"That is such an inconvenience." He didn't sound bothered.

I could see something form behind him. A red mist of Matrix Symbols, slowly spreading out form the point he arrived.

"So you're not doing that then?" I say pointing behind him.

Smith turns and observes the expanding red symbols. Behind them, there is nothing but inky black.

"No, No, NOOOOOOO!" Smith yells, and shoots into the nothingness. "Not Like this, NOT LIKE THIS!"

But it's too late, the red symbols slowly cover him. He manages to turn round and he looks me straight in the eye. I've seen the terror on red pills faces when they're RSI is Deleted, but that's nothing to what happens to Smith. I almost feel sorry for him as he melts away in red. Almost!

Aw Pants. I've just seen the expanding cloud reach the stairwells. I look over the edge at the eight story drop. Ah, what the hell. I jump.

I've never hyperjumped this high and for this long, but it doesn't break my legs and I'm able to start running. I glance round and see the red sphere expand and engulf the Kalt building. Everything is going, the buildings, the exiles and the Bluepills. If my contact is right, then the hard lines are down, which means Subway trains. The closest is in the historical District.

I kick in my desperation ability and my running speed increases. I'm outpacing the red but will I have enough distance by the time I get to the yellow line?

I call up the Captain.

"Mind?"

"Yes?"

"It's happening here. Park East just imploded! The only hardline working is Mara Central! Get everyone out."



It's getting hard to breath as I race through the park in the centre of the Historical District, the Train station comes into view. I glance behind me to see a wall of red devour the city. I run down the steps and make thanks to any god who's listening, as there's a subway car ready to go.

I jump in, the door's shut and the car speeds it's way to tabor park.

"Zion alert!" Another broadcast in the clear again. "We have reports of the collapse of the vector instance. In addition syntax is collapsing as we speak. All Zion Operatives are to evacuate using the Mara Central Hardline."

At least Mind got through to Tyndell. The car's stop at tabor park and I get out. I run up the stairs and look towards Downtown. It's gone, the Sphere has made it to the bridges, it won't be long before it gets here. I kick in every trick in the book, every ability. I'm jumping over the highway when I notice how much faster the red sphere has become, it's going to be close.

I land in Debir Court and allow myself a second to say goodbye. It's the last time I'll ever see the place. Then I start running again.

I get up to the hypercube monument, there are redpills dancing and cheering but with a shriek, they all freeze and curl up into a physically impossible ball. I'm trying to resist and even though I can feel my limbs beginning to contort, I throw myself
round the corner and into the hardline. The Red is so close it can almost touch me.



I jack out and into our loading area. Mindx and Pool are both there.

"Close one." Mind says

"What about the others round the monument?"

MindX looks over at Pool, who shakes his head.

Xenin calls up. "Hey Dfire. What's that new file you brought with you?"

We Jack out to look at it.

Code Bombs.

A Cypherite called Pentothal tried to assassinate the kid last night. Not in the Matix but in the real. However, in order to do this he needed the location of the Neo's Hope. The hovercraft that's Micheal and the EPN's Flagship.

Now the kid has grown up a little, he put out some CPDs out into Debir Court to bring Pentothal out of hiding. He took the bait and a huge brawl kicked off in Debinr Court. The devices were eventually disabled but it meant that Pentothal was hounded all around Richland.



He was captured just south of the Tabor Park North Hardline and then taken away. What
people didn't find out about until later was an Operative called DaemonRoute had kill code bullets ready for Pentothal if he should fail to find the Hope. Just when we thought Pentothal was safe, he was shot and died both in the Matrix and the Real.

DaemonRoute was captured shortly afterwards.



The Problem I had was I couldn't ask the Kid if what my contact was telling me was true or not. Is there a 'Virtual Instance of the Matrix'? Are we loosing thousands of Blue Pills an hour?

If that isn't the cause of this Matrix failure, then what is?



Not as many Answers as I hoped for.

I've never seen it so bad.

Normally round mara central, we have a little faction war. It's where the redpills for each organisation let off steam by basically kicking each other's backsides. Good for stress relief I suppose.

But things are different, the Matrix is exploding, disintigrating and reforming around us at an exponential rate. The Specal Agents have become more agressive and don't get me started on the Corrupted.



For two hours straight, Mind, Pool and myself hit them with everything we had but it felt that the degration was getting worse, not better. And for once, most of the redpills worked together. I was fighting next to a Machine operative and at one point a fellow Zion Ballista, LittleWyvern, and I were fighting back to back.



I haven't heard from my contact for a couple of days, I'm just following her sugestion that we need to try and keep things running for as long as possible. Rumor is, the kid is comming to visit tomorrow and I for one am eager to hear what he's got to say. I don't even know if my contact is who she says she is or if we are loosing bluepills by the thousand. All I can say is this world is falling apart.



There are other rumours about the return of Neo or Morpheus as well but I guess, until We hear from the kid, I'll just keep on kicking agents.

"erm Guys, " Says LittleWyvern, "Look up"

Angels, about fifty of them, dropping down on us from the eye filled sky. This is going to be tough.

B0xMaster

Now this is strange. Mindx, Xenin and myself have just got away from the Sai Kung trap by the skin of our teeth. And here we are over at Hampton Green. There's appears to be a problem down the street, close to the hell club as matter of fact.

We can see a major battle shaping up round there.

"We red or blue on this?" I ask.

"What do you think?" replies Xenin.

"Red!" orders Mindx.

"No Suprise there." Xenin grins.

We charge in. There are lupines, corrupted and, of course, Agents all mixing it up. The body count is going up amoungst all of us when Xenin notices something from the entrance to the Hell Club. There is a man stood by the entrance in front of two boxes which are negating the matrix around them.



There is a man standing between them, the B0xMaster. Xenin tries to talk to him but he just gives vague threats and sarcastic comments about how the Frenchman has escape plans. It's hard to see what they could be. He going to try to rewrite a red pill and become human? Escape to his castles. Can you imagine that? You'd be like a prisoner by any other name.

If the Oracle is right, then he's only got six days.

I don't get a chance to find out more because before I know it we're under attack from Lupines. I've got to find out if Xenin was able to get anything useful out of him.

Then the mobile goes. The Kid is joining us in a couple of days.

What's next?

Answers, at last!

Sat at Mara C,I get a call. Xenin and Mind call me over to the Sai Kung dojo. There's a truce and people are discussing the situation. We're all stood around waiting for an old school photo. That's when the connection drops in.

"Aw, don't you all look pretty!"



Well, i feel like we're getting our backs against the wall for a firing squad.

"Hope you've got your running shoes on. "

As always. How's things at virtual?

"Well, remember that all three organisations got access to the machine mainframe?"

Yeah. Sounds fun.

"It was one hell of a fight. But it was bit strange. Everyone against the oligarchs."

How come?

"The oligarchs had started to kill blue pills. Zion starts hitting the oligarchs in
realitation and the machines are wanting free from their control. Even the Frenchman
responded to this. Can you believe it, he acctually got his hands dirty."

What did he do? Bore them to death or cover them in merde?

"Heh, nope. But to be honest kiddo, we're all up to our necks in it!"

Oh?

"If it had been a co-orindated effort, it might have done some good but the Oligarchs are too good. Nobody could stop them and they got to the source. However, the Kid and Niobe made a discovery. Helian's location in the real."

Aw Cool.

"So the Kid grabbed ghost and headed straight there, They found Helian still plugged in but his brain had siezed up. He was a total vegitable."

Can't think of a nicer person for it to happen to.

"Well, it didn't take much but a couple of quick hacks and they released Trinity back in the Matrix."

But she could only get to virtual.

"Yeah. I know that it's difficult not being able to do anything but bare with me. This was about three weeks ago. Since then, the Oligarchs went crazy. If we thought they were powerful before, that's nothing to what they've done since."

Let me guess, the power loss can only mean one things. They're killing the Blue pills in their pods.

"By the thousand, the oligarchs have almost total control of the source and we're having trouble dealing with it. That's why things are getting so bad. "

And when the power falls away, then that might means Smith could get back in as well.

"Always a possibility."

But if the power is going, that shouldn't lead to the breakdowns I've seen.

"Well, that's because the Bluepills are more than just batteries."

Hang on a second, you've always said that is all we were to the machines.

"No, I just didn't tell the whole truth because I wasn't allowed to. After the Trainman, I've discovered a little bit more freedom than I used to have."

Great, more secrets.

"One of the reasons, I'm closer to humans than machines is because of you're minds. It was my whole purpose to try and logically understand the human mind and it's wetware, the brain."

Good Luck, I've got one and I don't understand it.

"The mind and the human brain is still one of the most powerful computers on the planet. Did you know that the number neutal connections between brain cells can be greater than the number of atoms within Machine city?"

Surly not?

"But the brain only uses 9% of it's potential."

So the Machines use the remaining 91% for their own use?

"Heck no, any bluepill would burn out so quick it wouldn't be worth it. But you have
millions of bluepills, each having 1% taken to help the machine maintain the matrix, well you have the most power coputational devices since god said let there be light."

Ha ha ha!

"What's so funny."

You love us for our minds not our bodies!

"In most machines case, it's both. But here's the catch. We're loosing bluepills at such a rate, soon the system will collapse. To much strain will be put on the minds of the remaining bluepills."

It an exponential curve.

"Exactly, my latest predictions will have the system crash in five days unless some kind of miracle happens."

Billions of people all wiped out. An entire civilisation destroyed.

"Getting rid of the Machines has always been Zion's goal."

I never delt with the machines during the first war, so I don't have the same hated as some of the older operatives. I don't think anybody has the right to commit genocide.

Suddenly, there is a large crack. and suddenly the dojo is full of tactical squaddies and their orders are kill any redpill. It was a trap and we walked right into it.

Gotta Go.

"Get over to Hampton Green. There's someone there you should talk to."

The bullets start flying, as do my feet. It feels I've got every nut job with a gun after me at the moment. I manage to reach the hardline and jump. I check the watch and start a countdown.

Pink Snow?

I'm almost there. I've got new abilities left to learn, but in order to gain them. I have to code them. In order to code them, I need code fragments and Bits and one of the hardest things to get in the Matrix is the Red Code Fragments will allow the creation of these advanced abilities. I also need new clothes.

I've got two of red fragments I need, and I need another two. I'm running round union hill, kicking the Exiles there back to the source. There's also another Red Pill Is here. An Ally of the frenchman, who's also kicking Exile Backside. I guess he's after the same code fragments but at the moment we're working to crack exile heads.

That's when the strangest thing happens. Pink Snow. Both the redpill and I stop and look at each other for a second.

"You ever seen pink snow?" he asks.

"Nope," I reply. "Seems to be a new version of the black snow. Looks nice and fluffy though."

"Or Maybe not" he says pointing up to the sky.

"Whoa!" We both said it at the same time.

"Now that is Freaky." I comment.

The Gray Sky has gone. It's been replaced with a blood red sky with made up of eyes. It feels like god is watching us in the Matrix. The eyes swirl round the sky and, like the eyes in painting which seem to follow you round the room, look straight at you. Or more accuratly, straight through you.



The other redpill doesn't say a word. He's staring up at the sky, just like me.

"Agents!" I yell.

They shouldn't be here, we've both hacked the access point. But they arn't the full powered ones, we're able to handle them.

"It's getting worse, isn't it."

"Yup. And the worst thing about it is that there doesn't seem anything that we can do about it."

Now it's getting serious.

Here at Mara central, things are a little difficult. The Sky is steel gray but every now and then you see flashes of green. Matrix Green. The infrastructure is not holding up to the power loss. Every now and again, the whole system freezes and everybody turns into bright Matrix Green lights.

It's like the leaks you see when you're data mining but Worse. With the Black snow and the occasional corrupted turning up it's a little scary. On the plus side, my awareness has increased recently. Lately, that rush of knowledge has become addictive.

Another batch of Programs appear round the hardline. They're angels! It almost makes you want to fall on your knees and pray. And that's when they start kicking people. Before I know it, I'm freezing one of them, while MindX and Edinx show them that Kung Fu can Break wings just as easily as Heads.

That's when the connection drops in.

"How are things holding up Kiddo."

Me I'm good, I reply. Everything else is bad.

"I know. It hasn't been this bad since Smith."

This all because of the Oligarchs in the Machine Mainframe?

"Partly. The Machine operatives all managed to get in and started to kick Oligarch backside. You should have Veil go. That woman is Ruthless. The Oligarchs had clerk programs running for them. Her and the Cypherites went through them like an avenging angel."

Funny you should mention angels! Clerk Programs?

"Like Agents but without the style. The bodies were piling up left and right in the mainframe. Tesarova wasn't going to stand for that, so she and all the other Oligrach's jacked in at once."

And that was the start of the power drain?

"Got it in One Kiddo. I always thought you were a smart cookie."

So Why did Persephone want to say hello?

"She remembers you from when she had a crisis of confidence."

Oh Yes, I told her she needed to find some new purpose apart from being something nice to look at on some body's arm.

"Exactly, She found her new purpose. She's helping everybody at the moment."

And talking of everyone french?

"heh, yes. The Frenchman managed to get to the trainman and brought him back."

Bet he wasn't expecting an additional passenger.

"Yes, he got quite a shock. It was quite funny really. That strutting peacock got his feathers ruffled. Thankfully Niobie, Ghost, Seraph and the Morpheus Sim got in at just the right time and hey presto, I was back in the Matrix."

Cookie cutters at the ready?

"Well, there's more to cooking than a recipe you know."

So the Frenchman now has access to the Mainframe?

"Yes, but so do we. Seraph and I were able to get into the mainframe."

Didn't you need the keymaster for that?

"Nope. When Smith took hold of me, I also had a little peek at some of the things he knew. And one of the those things was the Access Codes."

He was in the white rooms.

"Exactly"

So all three organisations have access to the source?

"And the Oligarghs."

How does it feel to be back?

"Oh, good. Nice to sati again. But I've learnt a few things."

An Angel drops down right in front of me. He grins, knowing he's got an easy target. He swings a punch. I know it's gonna hurt!

"Like this."

There is an immediate rush of awareness, but nothing like I've experienced before. I can see so much more. My Mind seems to leave my RSI for a second and I look down and see myself fighting the angel. I pull a Hacking Stance and let rip with a logic cannon program. The Angel can't break through my defenses and the Cannon Program hits him dead center. Denial and Surprise cross it's face, before the light leaves it's eyes and it falls over backwards in a heap.

Whoa.

"That was very Neo."

I wish.



"But it's a pity. I had hoped you could join us in virtual but it looks like you're RSI has reached it's limit. I'm afraid you've reached your full potential."

But It's not enough is it.

"Sorry Kiddo, I hate giving good people bad news. We could have really done with you and the rest of the Black Code over here in virtual."

Now what?

"Hold down This end of the system. Try and keep it running for as long as possible."

How long do you reckon we have?

"A week? Maybe slightly longer. One way or another it will all be over by now. Don't worry I'll be in touch."

And the Connection drops.

Oh Man. I call up my ship comms.

"Mind?" I say, "Captain, you ain't going to believe what just happened to me."

There are times I really hate Crusties.

Werewolves.

I hate these mangy, flea bitten, smelly mutts with a passion. Only the Goths (vampires) wind me up as much. I'm playing through the zion training archive and we're hitting on the Effectuator. However, he's surrounded himself with these crusties and I'm having a hard time working my way through them. One on one, they have no chance, but I'm swamped by four and five of them. They're wiping the floor with me.



Now I know why there are so many at the moment!

I'm sitting down on a bench recovering near the Tabor Park Hardline, watching the weather do it's general weirdness these days when there's another connection.

"You need more Silver Bullets."

Tell me about it. I just never get use them.

"Pity I can't get more over to you."

Well, I'll ask Mind and Poolshark to give me a hand next time.

"Well, with the Oligraphs gone for the moment, everyone really took a deep breath. Veil got away from the Kid after they'd finished they're upload. She got called to a machine meeting. Turns out that the Machines had had enough of being nice to the Oligarchs and as they have difficulty in reprogramming the source, they asked the Cypherites and their human operatives to do it. But since when does a secret like that stay silent?"

Oh, two maybe even three minutes?

"Exactly, Before you knew it, the Frenchman wanted in but there's only one member of his staff that has any chance of getting in."

Let me guess. The very Trainman he exiled and where your backup code was sent to? It's typical that just when you're making progress there's always complications.

"Well, only my RSI was destroyed by Halion. I've been floating around since then, whispering in peoples ears here and there. Little bit of prodding people in the right direction never hurt. The Trainman was able to pull me together again and I went from being an effective ghost in the Matrix to a prisoner on his construct. Mind you, he was a prisoner there with me so it wasn't so bad, could have been Smith."

Now there's someone I'm expecting to turn up at any minute.

"I'd keep on expecting if I were you."

Well, I've still got all these cookies to use up from last time.

"Anyway, the Merv has to go find out how to un-exile the trainman. So he's away doing that. Zion decided that they were going to try to backpack on the back of the Machine operators into the Source. No such luck. I may be no fan of Agent Pace but she certainly has enough of Ghost's number to stop him at every turn."

No luck there then. You've never told me how long ago this all happened?

"Oh, well, that was a couple of months ago. Virtual has been slowly eating more power than the other instances and it was beginning to show. The Architect says he's using the other power grids from the other systems to supplement it, but that's causing power loss in Machine City itself."

That why you keep on dropping out? The Power loss?

"Kiddo, it always feels like we're on empty over here. By the Way, Persephone says hello."

Really? I have no idea why but send her my regards if she wants them.

"I'll do th....."

And the connection drops yet again. What ever is going on over in Virtual and the machine source is bad. Mind you it might good from a zion point of view.

But Why would Persephone want to say hello. However, if these power drains are as bad as the Oracle says, How long until the other matrix instances collapse. Imagine, if a Matrix instance fails, all the bluepills wake up and that looses the machines even more power. The chances are it will cause a domino effect across all the whole thing.

Mind you, if the machine's power goes, so does the Frenchman and the machine city. Humanity would win.

What are the chances it would be that simple?

My train of thought is interuppted by a noise behind me. I turn and look.

Aw Pants!




Now we have Zombies as well!

Under the Weather

I must admit, the weather is getting wierder and the sluggishness is getting worse. It was black snow today. The sky is steal gray and it moves fast. It's like there is a storm overhead but you don't feel the wind.



It's Ironic to say that feels un-natural. When I was in Mara Yesterday there were two suns! TWO? Has someone been give Sati too much Sugar?

I was in downtown earlier, which is completly deserted. I don't think there was a single red pill though the entire district. Six months ago, I'd be scared of the history district. Now, the exiles here just ignore me. Fine by me. The Exile Gang I hate the most is still the A.S.P.s over at west view. I still head over and give them a good kicking just for fun of it.



But I'm always drawn back to Debir Court, watching the Black snow. That's when I feel a connection made.



I'm getting used to you turning up now.

"It is difficult to make this connection. If you can feel it, then it might mean it can be traced. So where did we get up to?"

Trinity taken from the Merovingian.

"Oh he was mad."

Much to the amusement of his wife.

"To be honest, I haven't seen Persephone so happy in years. But then they both saw the signal trace on Tesarova get to where they though her base was and then come right back."

Back?

"Oh yes, Back into the Matrix but without the wireframes."

So they used Trinity?

"Yup, chained into their server, held in place by firewalls that Machines can't even penatrate."

Bad?

"Try imagining be held in a sensory deprevation tank. Not able to move, not being able to see, hear or even touch anything. It will only be a matter of time before a mind will crack."

So why did they come back?

"They wanted changes made to BIP. Make her more obidient."

She was fighting them too much.

"Exactly."

But who would know how to change the BIP. IF the Machines could do it. They would have gone straight to the Architect. And I doubt that the Merv would have helped them after the trick they pulled.

"Who leaves?"

You?

"Exactly. So they brought a few of their friends with them."

Friends?

"Hunter Seaker Programs."

Well, they were off after the Kid and Veil?

"Hell no, Seraph."

Poor Seekers.

"Well, no. It took Veil, Niobe, The kid, Ghost and Seraph to deal with them. The machines tried talking to Helian but he wasn't having any of it. He wiped the floor with agents just like Neo used to. Still, Veil managed to upload the files to the train man. "

And you came back?

"The Trainman does owe me a couple of favors. I used one of them up. The only problem is then getting out of his contruct."

Didn't Neo have that problem?

"Yes, well not as much trouble as the Oligarchs had. There was an issue with trinty's program."

There are always bugs in a program.

"In order to stop the BIP being abused there is a logic trap placed into it. If someone tried to hack either Neo or Trinity, then it fires. The logic trap got Helian, after the Machines hit him with the big guns. All they found was his frozen RSI. When that happened, then Tesarova ran."

How did you get Veil to do what you want?

"The Cypherites want the Oligarchs gone and she's willing to do anything to get rid of them. Even working with the kid."

Ok, I'm with you so far. But the infrastrucure appears to be getting worse.

"I know, we're trying out best. But sometimes it's not enough."

And with that you can feel the connection break.

Not Good.

Corruption is spreading

There's a corrupter on the loose in Mara. These things are nasty. There's always one been on the loose in Barthy Way but it's no way as powerful as this one. It's a complete breakdown in the fabric of the Matrix, altering everything around it. Red pills are affected by it but it turns the blue pills mad. They go corrupt and attack. It's the only time that Zion allows Blue Pills to be killed.

The only way to delete the corruption is to take out the corrupted blue pills, the remains can be taken for analysis and from that code is generated to fix the problem. It looks like fly spray but it works. It takes a lot to deal with the one in Barthy Way but after analysing it this one is two or two and half times more powerful.



The sky is doing strange things as well. I've never seen it change so fast. One minute it's as hot as a sunny day, then it's pouring rain and then the snow comes down. Ever been to Edinburgh? well, it's like that but worse. If my contact is right, then the power drain else where is really beginning to bite.


I'm sat here, watching various red pills try their luck. Not many appear to have the Insecticide.

"How bad is it?" asks the voice.

Well, A corruption at Mara Central. I reply as a couple of Red Pills try and shoot the corrupter. It has no real effect.

"I didn't realise it was so serious"

I thought you were supposed to be all knowing?

"Well, I've really got my hands full over here."

OK, Whys Zion Not telling us about this power drain.

"Because they really don't know. Only Operatives who have a certain level of understanding can gain access to the Virtual Instance. As far as Zion's concerned, some of their crews have gone missing in action."

So Virtual is like the White rooms?

"Heck no, you can buy you're way into those. Virtual is different."

I don't like being a spectator, makes me feel useless. Nothing I can do?

"Well, just try and keep things contained here. It might divert some attention from Virtual to here, which would give us a bit extra. We could certainly do with that."

So what happened after next.

"Where did I get to?"

Veil and the Kid. Must have been a fun meeting.

"Well, I didn't think that the kid had so much discipline. He listened to Veil and accepted her proposal. The two of them, teamed up and went looking for the Trainman. "

Why him?

"Because in the trainman's construct, he's a god. And god's can do miracles."

Aha, I can see where that's going.

"All in good time. Helian and the Architech cut a deal. The Machines would hunt Trinity. But Zion, EPN, and the Cypherites stopped him at every turn."

Those three working together?

"The Cypherites want to free the machines from the Oligarchs. They're willing to work with anybody to achieve that goal."

Wow, another Miracle.

"The Merv thought he seduced Tesarova and she promised to capture Trinity, But then Morpheus attacked him."

MORPHEUS?

"Sorry, the sim."

Oh. You got my hopes up there.

"Sorry, So the Frenchman figures that if the Morpheus Sim will Protect Trinity, so will Seraph. So arranges a strike against him using darts made out of Seraph's old pinfeathers. They're quite successful but He wasn't going to protect Trinity anyway."

So Trinity was ok.

"Unfortunately Not, Even though the Helian was stopped, there was no-one left to stop Tesarova, apart from Persephone. But Tesarova said something to her and she just stepped aside. Tesarova took Trinity back to the Merv."

Great, The Frenchman win's again.

"Not really, Because as Tesarova and the Frenchman are discussing what they can do, Helian turns up. Both Oligarchs have been working together and they both take Trinity."

Oh Crap.

"Well, the Merv wasn't that stupid. Tesarova was eating some of his cake when Helian turned up."

Aha, His tracking program.

"See you are quite smart sometimes kiddo."



I can feel the connection go and I'm left back in Mara, wondering what next. Just as I do a redpill called DeadCell fires some insecticide into the Corrupter and it implodes in on itself. He manages to pull from the remains one of the biggest hand guns I've ever seen.

Well, at least something good came of it. Unlike what happened to me when the corruption got me (See Below) Last time I saw a backside that big, it had a harpoon in it.

Farming Hell.

How long does it take to get a red frag. I hate this part of the system. I really want a new ability but I'm missing a red frag to get it. So it's off to vauxton to break a few exile heads until I get one. These exiles are no where in the same league as me so I'm cutting through them like a hot knife through butter. Pity I'm not learning anything from it and there's no sign of this red frag.

Then The Voice starts again.

"Busy are you?"

It's OK. I can Multi-task! I reply as my Logic Bomb smashes through another runner. You do pick you're moments through.

"Well, this whole thing started with the new Oligarchs."

Helian and Tesarova?

"Well, they both want hold of the Biological Interface Program."

Trinity.

"Exactly. Problem is all orgs want her but for their own reasons. Zion, want to reclaim her. The Machines see her a threat and the Merovingian wants her to work for him. The Frenchman even offered her a new human body. She turned him down flat."

Looks like the lady has the world at her feet. Must be nice to be wanted.

"Anyway, the Oligarchs are after her as well but they both decided to try different ways to do it. Helian goes straight to the Architect and cuts a deal. Merv goes to Tesarova."

Oh Yes, He thinking he can work his charm with the ladies again?

"Well, he is french. Mind you, you know all he wants is her to work for him."

His Wife won't be too pleased with that.

"Heh, you have no idea."

So what else happened?

At this point an Agent appears.

aw pants! Gonna have to run.

It's one of the big ones. Two Jumps later, I've lost him but he almost got me. Crap! Those guns really hurt. I activate my new abilities and slowly the torent of blood running down my legs into my shoes, turns into a trickle and finally stop. I take a deep breath.

"You still there?"

Barely, please continue.

"Well, the Kid lost a lot of their infastucture in the real But they got a load of Intel about the Oligarchs and got ready to hit them."

Would he been able to take them out?

"Nope, That's when Veil got involved. The Cypherites don't want the Oligraphs anywhere near the Machines. She got through to the Kid that it would be a waste of effort and said that if he held off, they she's be willing to give him the code she stole from Shimada as well as the code the oracle gave her."

That's you right.

"Well, you'll see."

YOu could almost hear the smile.

"Oh By the way? Duck!"

I throw myself onto the floor. Bullets fly overhead. There's the same agent from earlier, empting his gun at me. I focus and Jump, all while checking for the nearest hardline. Who says blokes can't multi-task.

"I think they're after you personally now."

Because you're talking to me?

"Something like that!"

You're going to have to tell me why Zion hasn't said anything about this?

"Next time, You've got more pressing problems."

The Agent, is still following. I get to the Hardline and jack out. What have I got myself into?

"Sit Down Kiddo, I got a story to tell"

I'm sat at Burly Park, watching the snow come down and cover the jack o lantern. Well, it doesn't really. the Snow in the Matrix never settles. It just disappears when it hits the ground. But the voice is not leaving me alone.

"Things have changed." comes the voice.

Really, I never would have guessed!

"There's no Need to be Sarcastic. It is the lowest form of wit you know?"

Sorry, But aren't you supposed to be dead?

"Well, there's more to deletion in Matrix. Just asking Trinity."

Ain't that the truth.

"Well, what do you know so far?"

About What?

"about how the the Matrix works?"

Well, I know it's a Computer Simulation of 1999, which uses some clever algorithms to fool you that 1999 is always the present. The older you get the the earlier you're birthday is. There are three versions, which I can access, each slightly different but I prefer to run through the syntax version. Apart from that, well, I know things from my experience, the goths, the crusties being from previous versions, the Frenchman, the Architect and the one. You want more?

"No Kiddo, you know the basics. But here's the Biggie, there's another version of the Matrix that only a few people can access. It's called 'Virtual'."

So that's where every one's gone? Niobie, Ghost, the kid?

"Got it in one, you're a little bit quicker than other's aren't you?"

Now who's being sarcastic.

"Heh, one all. "

But let me guess, what's happening in Virtual is affecting the other instances?

"Of course, All Four are connected. How do you think that the One could reboot the whole system? There wasn't a 'One' for each instance."

So you die in one instance, you died in all?

"Well, Yes but like I said..."

There's more to deletion...

"Exactly."

OK, so that's been happening in Virtual?

"What was the last thing that you remember happening here?"

Well, that was six months ago. A couple of new Oligraphs turned up ...

"Helian and Tesarova"

and Ghost discovered that BIP was Trinity's mind but without her body.

"Ah yes. Well. The problem with the Oligraphs is that the machines are programmed to like them."

Machine's liking humans?

"Hey Kiddo, I like you and I'm a machine. Not that I want us to start picking out curtain patterns."

OK, Two - One?

"Heh! The Oligraphs betrayed the human race and helped the machines in the original war. They had access to the source and wrote in, 'you must obey us/like us' routines. Most Machines have no choice, all the other's know that there's no choice and don't like it."

Puppets that can see the strings?

"Nice, steal that one?"

Of Course.

"Anyway, The architect put in place a scheme. The other instances were put on a holding pattern and the war has effectively moved to 'Virtual'. This is where we've been dealing with the Oligraphs."

Or trying to. With the effects here, I take it you're not doing well. That where all the agents went to as well?

"The power drain is enormous, huge amount of resources are being diverted and as you can see the effects."

OK, Is there anything I can do to help?

"Sorry, but nobody else can get into Virtual but if you're about tomorrow, I'll bring you up to date."

Count on it. It would be nice to have some answers, same time?

But there's no reply. It would explain much but I'm going to run a few archive missions. Everything seems out of our hands now, and that's the frustrating thing. It looks like we're all puppets who can see the strings.

I'm now hearing things?

Now I can hardly see the hand in front of my face. It's getting more difficult. I said yesterday it's like skimming cotton, now it's like walking through goo. The Snow's getting worse as well. I got jumped by a couple of yeti, who almost ripped me to bits. Not something you expect in the middle of Mega City.



I have reached a new level of understanding within the matrix. I can now heal a lot faster than I used to. This has already been put into practice against the for mentioned yetis but the glitches and problems keep on coming. Mara Central was over run by Japanese Demons. The usual Reb Pill crowd that hang round there soon saw them off but that's becoming more and more common.



In order to try and understand the mess we're in, I've been going over the old archive missions, since trinity reappeared. Could this breakdown be happening because the one was not returned to the source properly? I know we've still got two Oligraphs running about but I know nothing about them, could this be causing it?



Just when I ponder these questions, A voice pops into my head. "You want answers, well, if you got the time, I'll tell you how it should have gone." I know that voice from somewhere but I just can't place it.

You can feel something's wrong. It all started a couple of weeks ago, there were strange weather patterns, then we got a week of darkness with zombies running about the place. At present the day is running too quickly, Night comes before you blink. Yes, there is something very wrong with the Matrix at the moment.




It's the pressure, normally when you run the matrix, it feels like you are sliding on silk. Lately, it feels rougher, like cotton. There's more resistance and everything feels sluggish. There's no-one to turn to, the Black code have dissappeared. Only Mind and Mash are about now and again, but they're busy kicking the machines and Merv all over the shop.



You get the feeling things are going to get stranger. There are now snow storms, Jack o lanturns which spew out exile programs. Even the blue pills can sense something and when that happens. You know there is going to be trouble.

It's time to break the fourth wall.

Well, it had to be done. The Matrix is going to be unplugged at the end of July and I for one am gutted that the game is over. The writing has always been on the wall for the last two years really and since February, it was inevitable.



I'm not blaming Rarebit for this as he was the only one who stuck with it as long as he could, I am blaming SOE and to a degree whoever was in charge of communication between the IP and SOE who could never get anything approved.

As a game, The Matrix online was superb. As long as you had the right hardware and a fast enough connection, it was fun. You could dip in now and again or really submerse yourself in the whole experience. The community was tight, with the occasional bit of e-drama for a bit of fun, but a more supportive bunch of people you couldn't hope to meet.

However, as a MMO it failed and the way I see it, it was for these reasons ;-

1. Where was the publicity? Apart from the fan made stuff, SOE treated MXO as the unwanted step child of it's family. There was nothing to promote or even say anything positive even in the SOE podcasts(see below). Was it used as a bargaining chip to get DC online? Maybe. But my original point stands of when a tv program wants to to an item on the Matrix Online and can't get anybody at SOE to even discuss the game, you know how high they though of that game.

2. The IP itself. The Matrix also suffered from IP overexposure. After the final two films, I think everybody was a little bit matrixed out but I do feel if the game had been ready as it was supposed to be after the final film, it could have done a bit better. It was a little bit over ambitious, (nine servers? whoa). However, It was obvious from just after beta that something wasn't right which brings me along to ;-

3. The Combat revision. Now I actually liked this, it fixed for me a lot of problems I had with the game but from what I understand, a lot of content that people liked was lost. We never worked out what the hacker cryptography tool/skill was for, the skill structures changed. I do feel that there was no real help with transition between one and the other.

4. The New direction - ok, this is where things really started to go wrong for me. As soon as we lost the cut scenes, I knew this game was getting into trouble. When they came back as part of the new direction, we lost the missions which moved the plot forward. Now, a lot of blame has been put on Rarebit for this, however, I don't blame him one bit. He was trying to make the most efficient use of his time to help save the game but as good as his efforts were, MXO needed more than just one developer.

5. Customer Service - Right this is where my blood really starts to boil. I hate poor customer service and here is where I find SOE wanting. Since Rarebit left, there was nothing from SOE. Any complaint or request for information was ignored, any suggestion to make the game better was ignored and to be honest, the fact that we had a game in stasis for four months with no new content, I feel like they stole my last four months subscription (If it wasn't for the fact that I also play SWG on the launcher then the I'd be even more livid). It's this fact alone which made a lot of players just give up, and also the main reason I've changed my position from defending SOE to this rant.

6. The SOE podcast - I like Amy and Brenlo, the podcast is professionally put together and full of helpful hints hints and background for everything except MXO. I bet red headed tim was running the mxo servers. we had one interview with the development team in four years, and thirty seconds (if that) on the soe news. You were left with the impression that when ever mxo was mention in listener emails or twitter, it was met with an attitude of 'do we really have to talk about that?' and after february, 'we won't talk about that'

7. The waste of potential - The game had potential but they're not even making code available to anybody. It will be deleted and lost., I understand it's copyrighted and trust me when I say I do know copyrght law, so unless the holders of the IP allow it, we'll never be able to see how MXO ticks, or even find ways to improve it.

It's like the kid taking his football away from the match saying that's they're not having fun but won't let anybody else have the ball because they're scared that someone will have a better game with it.

I guess I'll stick with SWG for a while but to be honest, after this experience, I don't want to try any other games in the SOE's stable. That's not going to bother SOE, we already know what they did to SWG with the NGE and they didn't care then either.

You just know you're going to be treated like a mushroom, ie kept in the dark and fed sh*t.

So here's the Big Question ?

Who Won?

The Machines have managed to destory Zion but that's not important as Humanity lives in New Zion Now, so they're attempts to restart the cycle have failed. But in a way, they have managed to preserve their power source of the fields of bluepills and as things have gone back to the state it was just after Neo, I'd say they've neither gained or lost much.

Zion has moved to New Zion, a much more secure base of operations but we've lost both the Oracle and Morpheos in addition to the loss of the old Zion City itself, however we've got Trinity back (sort of). This is a tough one to call but I'd say that Humanity is in a worse condition than when we started.

The real winner, appears to be the Frenchman. As much as it pains me to say! All this time, he's been aquiring more influance and of course he's a lot richer. The only thing he has to worry about is his wife, and let's be honest, isn't that true for all of us? (Oh Boy, will I get flak for that!!). But I don't think there's anything you could really say was a setback.

So ;-

1. The Frenchman.
2. The Machines.
3. The Human Race.

However, what to do now? Well, personally I think I'll try and achive my maximum potential and then bow out. That is assuming that the Matrix will still be around.

It's all on Hold!?!

Things were really hotting up. We managed to confirm that the Fabled BIP was actually Trinity. She was reserected, which was why the assasin wasn't allowed to recycle her body. We found out who the Oligraphs were.

But something's happened. There was a big fight on the top of the government building, where neo met the archtect, but after that things just froze, and then they kind of didn't.

It's like the truce was back. No Agents chasing you, if you've got the access nodes tagged. The matrix carries on for the Blue Pills as per usual, but both new zion and the machines dance around each other as usual with the frenchman making money and influance behind the senes. The only real differences between what was then and now is that both Morheous and the Oracle are dead.

Is this Limbo or is it hell. just imagine, never aging just remaining doing the same thing again. Just like Sisyphus pushing the boulder up the mountain just to have it roll back over you. Still, it's more fun than the boulder but it does feel just as pointless.

The Big question remains....

Now What?