Chapter 8 - Apotheosis
When the Nebudchanezzar finally limped into Zion, thousands of people lined the docks and the streets leading from them, hoping for a glimpse of the One. Chi exerted his formidable influence, and found the Academy trainees a good spot near the front, just behind the Councilors and high-ranking military officers. So it was that Sorcha and Pegasus had a perfect view of the injured ship's descent into its bay; its mangled engines struggled to maintain their lift, while long, braided steel cables attached to several other ships above ensured that the vessel would not crash.
"Is this going to be weird?" Peg asked, squeezing Sorcha's hand in reassurance.
Sorcha shrugged. The crowd was nearly silent, as they waited for the ramp to be lowered from the now motionless ship. "I don't know. Maybe." She turned her head to meet Peg's concerned eyes. "Don't worry, though," she added, brushing her knuckles across the younger girl's cheek. Peg leaned into the fleeting touch, and Sorcha smiled.
"The ramp!" one of the younger students squeaked. "It's coming down!"
As the great steel ramp touched the ground, four figures appeared at its top. First Morpheus, smiling widely, his head held high; then Tank, whose mouth opened soundlessly at the sight of the crowd; then Trinity, who surveyed the throng without expression. And finally…
"That must be him!" Peg murmured excitedly. "The One!" She frowned and squinted. "He… doesn't look like the One."
Sorcha laughed out loud, though the sound was drowned out by the wordless roar of joy that rose from the crowd and swept across the diminished crew of the Neb. "What'd you expect him to look like?" she shouted.
"I dunno!" Peg answered, her voice also raised. "More… Herculian, maybe?"
Neo was standing close to Trinity, and his dark head - still covered with the fuzz of the newly unplugged - swung back and forth across the mass of people as though in disbelief. Sorcha saw his Adam's apple bob in a swallow. Right at this moment, Neo, she thought across the space between them, I don't envy you at all. And then a quick, bittersweet grin crossed her face as she realized the humor in her thought. I might envy you later, though…
Morpheus raised his hands, and the crowd quieted immediately. Sorcha watched Commander Locke's frown deepen at the captain's presumption, but most of the Councilors were smiling. They believe, she realized. Most of them believe.
"People of Zion!" Morpheus bellowed. "The day we have all awaited for so long has finally arrived! The One has been found!" Again, the cheering rose in a mighty wave of sound, and it went on and on, until Sorcha could feel the ground trembling beneath her feet from the reverberating echoes.
The four survivors descended slowly to where the Councilors stood. Despite her close proximity, Sorcha could not hear the words they exchanged, but they would not have held her attention anyway.
Trinity.
Sorcha watched her walk towards the Councilors with that catlike grace, watched her halt before them and put one hand lightly on Neo's arm as Morpheus began to introduce him. When she touched him, Neo seemed to grow taller; he raised his head and straightened his shoulders, and suddenly he did look the part - a thin, delicate king, but regal nonetheless. Her hand left his arm after only a brief moment, but the light touch was enough to give him the strength to stand before these people as their Messiah.
Sorcha involuntarily turned her gaze back to Trinity. There was something… different about her - some quality that made her appear more ethereal, more spiritual, more intrinsically beyond than before, as though she was radiating light in some barely-perceived frequency. Her pale, austere face turned slightly in Sorcha's direction, and even separated as they were by almost twenty feet, the girl recognized a deep peace in those sapphire eyes that defied her comprehension.
She is a Goddess, after all, came the unbidden thought.
Trinity turned her head again - clearly, she was seeking someone. And then the spotlight of her gaze brushed past Sorcha, and a flare of recognition passed between them.
Looking for me, the girl thought incredulously.
Trinity's face remained expressionless, but her eyes were deep, shining pools, and Sorcha suddenly wanted to drop to her knees before the radiance that was so thinly concealed beneath their calm surfaces. They bestowed a soundless benediction that seemed to touch all of the still-raw places in Sorcha's psyche with a cool, relieving balm.
Pegasus watched Sorcha watch Trinity; she saw when the older woman's eyes finally lighted on her, saw the spark of recognition that flared between them. Trinity's expression did not change, but Sorcha nodded once as though some message had been passed. Peg felt a red flame of jealousy rise up in her blood… but then Sorcha was turning to her and smiling into her frowning face, and the smile was easy and bright for the first time in weeks. And so Pegasus let the jealousy go, and smiled back, and wrapped her fingers in the fine hairs on the back of Sorcha's neck and pulled her in for a tender kiss.
When they separated, the Councilors were leading Neo towards the doors, and the people parted to either side before them like the waters of the Red Sea had done for another worker of miracles so long ago. Pegasus turned to follow, but the sudden pressure of Sorcha's hand on her arm forestalled her.
"Look," she said quietly, pointing back towards the Neb. Five shrouded figures, each lying inert on a stretcher, were being carried slowly down the ramp by Dock personnel, who fell into step behind Morpheus and Trinity. The crowd was suddenly silent, and the unearthly quiet lasted until the procession had passed out of view.
"Every victory has its price," they heard Chi murmur. "We must never forget that."
Sorcha shoved her class's exam results into the folder attached to Chi's office door, and quickly moved on towards the Temple. Usually, she tried to come in after the opening prayer, but she didn't want to miss a second tonight!
She broke into a slow jog, trotting around first one corner and then another, feeling her pace speed up as she got closer. What would happen tonight? Would Neo speak?
She rounded yet another sharp corner… and ran smack into Ghost. She backpedaled instantly, eyes wide in surprise and more than a little anxiety. Does he know? Oh Ghost… it all worked out for me, but you… you're still alone.
"Hello, Sorcha," he said, smiling his thin, slight smile.
"Sorry, Ghost!" she replied, trying to keep her voice even.
"I'm… glad I found you, actually," he told her. "I wanted to talk to you." Sorcha swallowed nervously as he leaned in closer to her. "Are you…" he trailed off and squinted in concentration. "Are you feeling okay about - about everything that's just happened? I know… I know it can be hard."
Comprehension dawned slowly in Sorcha's fevered brain, but when she finally understood what he was asking, she felt her shoulders relax. We're alike now, aren't we, Ghost? she asked silently, feeling a strange bond of camaraderie suddenly materialize between them. We've both loved her and lost her.
"Yes," she replied aloud. "It's… a bit disconcerting. But I'm all right." At the last second, she decided to leave out mention of Pegasus. Instead, she threw his half smile back towards him. "Thank you for asking, though."
He nodded gravely at her. "If you'd like to borrow any more of my books, please, feel free."
"Thanks," Sorcha replied, the wan smile changing into a broad grin. "I'll do that."
After the Temple Gathering that night, Pegasus and Sorcha lingered in the Cave, speculating on Neo's powers with several other students. Peg stood with her back against a pillar, and her hands rested lightly on Sorcha's thin waist. The older girl leaned back against her, and every once and a while, Peg ran her hands up and down Sorcha's sides in a gentle caress.
"How d'you think he deleted that Agent?" Blade asked eagerly. "I mean, in the code, how'd he do it?"
"Kill function?" Goose suggested. "That's essentially what happened, - he killed the program."
"Yeah," Pegasus mused, letting her chin rest on Sorcha's right shoulder, "but he would have had to do something like that from the machines' mainframe, right? He would have had to access the Agent's source code and kill that."
Jinx shuddered. "I don't even want to think about the machines' mainframe!"
"What if," Sorcha began slowly, "what if he somehow deleted all of the pointers to the Agent in the system?" Several furrowed brows greeted this proposal, and Sorcha felt heartened enough to continue. "That would completely sever the communication from the mainframe to the Agent, and then he could run a destructor on whatever was left of the Agent once it was disconnected."
"That sounds plausible," Blade agreed enthusiastically. "Good thought, Sor-" His voice cut out abruptly as his mouth opened into an "O" of astonishment. The rest of the students immediately swung their heads to look where his gaze had been arrested, and their jaws also dropped. Except for Sorcha, who felt a warm smile spread over her lips.
"Hello, Sorcha," Trinity said softly, her voice rich with amusement. Her eyes flickered to Pegasus - to her hands resting just above Sorcha's hips - and a small smile curved her mouth.
"Trinity," Sorcha replied. "It's good to see you."
The older woman stepped forward into the circle of students, and Neo moved with her. His gaze darted around the worshipful faces and came to rest on Sorcha, who was the only one without bulging eyes.
"I want you to meet Neo," Trinity told her. Sorcha turned her focus to the man at her side and suddenly realized how striking a pair they made. Darkly serene, slim and graceful and focused - already they seemed to be two faces of the same unit. A sum even greater than two noble parts.
Sorcha stepped out of the circle of Peg's arms and stretched out her hand. "It's an honor to meet you, Neo," she said.
"Likewise," he replied. "I've heard a lot about you."
Sorcha let one eyebrow rise up sharply in true Trinity-fashion, and she grinned. "Only good things, I hope," she said lightly, but later, he would swear she winked at him.
"This is Pegasus," she continued, turning to take the clammy left hand of the awestruck girl behind her. "She's a year behind me in the Academy."
"H…hello," Peg managed as she leaned forward to shake first Neo's hand, then Trinity's.
"We'd better get back to the Councilors," Trinity said. "But I'm glad we caught you." Her heaven-blue eyes bored into Sorcha's. You're all right, then? they asked.
"I'm glad you did, too," Sorcha replied. Yes, Trinity, she answered silently, I am all right. "Have a good evening."
As they walked away together, Neo briefly slid his hand across Trinity's shirt to caress the small of her back… and Sorcha felt a sudden, sharp flare of jealousy that he would be the one hovering above her tonight, watching her shining face flicker in the candlelight.
But then Peg's lithe arms wrapped around her again, pulling her tightly against the softness of her breasts and stomach, and Sorcha let out the breath she had been holding. All around them, the students were finally coming out of their dazed stupors and beginning to jabber excitedly at one another.
"You're mine, now," Peg whispered into her ear. "She can't have you back."
Sorcha laughed out loud and tilted her head back for a kiss. "Would you fight her for me?" she teased.
"Absolutely," Pegasus replied. "Even though we both know I'd lose miserably."
"That doesn't matter," Sorcha replied, and kissed her again.
The funeral was held on the next day after the evening meal, in the Gardens. Hundreds of people attended, and dozens of stories were shared about the four lost on the Nebudchanezzar through Cypher's betrayal. Morpheus spoke, as did Tank and Trinity. Cass sang "Amazing Grace" as Dozer's ashes were strewn across the flowerbeds, and Zee bent down to intertwine a long, milky-white necklace around the green stems. Last of all, Neo rose to his feet and spoke, telling them all in a soft, clear voice that he knew these lives had been given to save his own, and was both humbled and awed by the terrible price.
"They were my first family in this world," he finished simply, standing with his hands clenched into fists at his sides. "I will do my best to ensure that they did not die in vain."
That night, Sorcha was unable to fall asleep. She kept seeing Switch's rakish grin when she closed her eyes; kept hearing Switch's sharp, sarcastic voice calling her "fuzzhead,"; kept feeling the affectionate little tousles that Switch had always given her hair whenever they had passed on the streets of Zion or in the bowels of the Neb.
"Dammit," she muttered finally, and rolled out of bed from beneath her twisted blankets. Perhaps a hot drink from the mess would help.
She found the kitchen dark and empty, but soon after she had poured water into a small pot and set it on one of the burners to heat, shuffling footsteps sounded just outside. She looked up curiously just as Neo appeared in the doorframe. They stared at one another for a long, drawn-out moment, each obviously surprised to see the other.
"Hi," Sorcha said finally.
"Hello," Neo replied. He still hadn't moved from the doorway.
"Couldn't sleep?" she asked.
"Sometimes I have trouble," he answered.
She nodded. I'd have trouble too, if I had the weight of the world on my shoulders. She gestured to the by-now-whistling kettle. "Want some tea?"
His eyebrows lifted. "Sure, if there's enough."
"There is."
They finally sat facing each other across the wide counter that ran down the length of the kitchen. Neo wrapped his hands around his warm mug and gazed into it, silently.
All right, Sorcha thought to herself. This feels bizarre. What am I supposed to say to him? 'Hey Neo, guess what, we have a lot in common - we've both loved the same woman'? But just as she was starting to feel a little panicky, Neo raised his eyes to her face.
"So," he began, "I, uh, hear you almost made your first jump." He grinned at her - a tentative little smile that made her feel a strong rush of admiring affection for him, as though he was an older brother or close cousin. "I didn't even make it halfway," he admitted, his voice tinged with laughter. "Fell flat on my face."
Sorcha smiled widely back at him. "I bet you'd have made it across if Trinity had been waiting for you, instead of Morpheus," she pointed out dryly.
Neo took a long sip of his tea, rolling the liquid around the inside of his mouth before swallowing as though it were a delicacy. "Maybe so," he replied. "Maybe so." He took another sip, then leaned forward towards her. "Honestly… she scared me a little, at first."
Sorcha nodded in complete comprehension. "Me, too. Like…" she fished for the correct words, swirling the tea in her mug as though the dark liquid could yield them up. "When I first saw her, she reminded me of a panther. Dark and beautiful. And terrifying."
He peered intently into her face and nodded, then looked back down into his cup. Sorcha thought it might be time to change the subject - was this making him uncomfortable?
"So," she said lightly, "Tell me - what's the coolest part about being the One?"
He laughed and scrubbed one hand over the stubble that covered his head. "I don't think anyone's asked me that yet," he replied. "Though they've asked everything else." He leaned against the back of his chair and considered. "I guess… I guess it would have to be flying." He shot her a self-conscious grin. "Makes me feel like Superman."
Sorcha went stock still, her mug frozen halfway to her mouth. "You can fly?" she breathed.
Neo nodded slowly, as though he could hardly believe it himself. "Yeah," he murmured. "Yeah, I can."
Over the course of the next half-year, Neo proved that he could do much more than merely fly. He ripped minds out of the Matrix like a man possessed, and Chi was hard-put to make space for the huge influx of new trainees.
So it was that Sorcha found herself, in those last months before her eighteenth birthday, acting more as Chi's assistant than his student. She led exercise groups, monitored training simulations, and even administered examinations. During what little spare time was left to her, she rigorously investigated each ship in the Fleet. She read the bios of every officer, and asked questions of innumerable crewmates. This was not a decision to take lightly. The ship she chose would be her home, and its crew her family.
"I wish we were the same age," Pegasus said for the umpteenth time as she watched Sorcha reading a file on Captain Soren, her face pressed close to the screen in concentration.
Sorcha paused in her reading and looked up at the younger girl, who had just turned down the covers on the cot. "I know," she replied. "I wish it too."
"Aren't you going to come to bed?" Peg replied too-innocently, when Sorcha looked as though she might turn back to the monitor. Her light red eyebrows shot nearly to her hairline, and her eyes narrowed into green slits.
"Why - are you staying, tonight?"
Pegasus' swallow should have been audible, but she bravely held Sorcha's gaze. "I was thinking that… that maybe I would."
The chair scraped gratingly against the floor as Sorcha pushed it back and rose to her feet in one smooth motion. "And you're aware," she began, walking slowly towards the bed, "of what will happen if you do?"
"I know it," Peg whispered, her throat suddenly dry.
Sorcha dropped her teasing, bantering tone as she reached the cot. Pegasus sat on the lumpy mattress with her feet dangling, abruptly looking very young and uncertain. But she was smiling, and her cheeks were red, and Sorcha could feel a sharp tug of desire in her groin as she ran her eyes over Peg's lithe, muscular body. What will she look like, naked?
"You're sure about this?" she asked gently, sitting down next to her and running her fingers through Peg's short, wavy hair. Dirty-blonde. It would turn blonde in the sun… But the sun had been exiled from Earth, and the dark streaks in her hair would always remain.
"I'm sure," Pegasus murmured, bringing her legs up and slowly letting herself recline, forcing Sorcha's hands to follow her downward. "I want you. All of you."
Sorcha felt a deep current of warm affection run through her body, and she shivered in its thrall. I think I might love you, Pegasus. And then she was leaning down, and covering the younger girl's lips with her own, and nothing more coherent than moans and gasps were thought or spoken for a long time after.
Three weeks before Sorcha's eighteenth birthday, Chi caught up to her in one of the twisting hallways of the Academy and mentioned that she might want to begin thinking about what ship she wished to join.
"Of course," he added, smiling, "if you wanted to remain here and teach, I would be honored to have you."
Sorcha grinned at him in delight. "I'm honored that you would ask me, Master Chi," she replied. "But I've already chosen a ship." Her grin slipped a little. "All I need now is to hear back from the captain."
Chi laughed out loud. "It appears that you're well ahead of me," he told her. "To what ship have you applied?"
Sorcha took a deep breath to settle the butterflies that rose in her stomach whenever she thought too hard about the fact that she had sent in her application over a week ago and had not yet heard a response from Captain Thaddeus.
"The Osiris."
Sorcha had expected a small birthday celebration - a gathering of her closest friends from the Academy, perhaps over the evening meal. What she received was a full-blown party in one of the reception rooms of the Councilors' Mansion.
Everyone was there - from Sugar the cook, to Trinity and Neo. When she saw them standing together, shoulders touching, near the podium at the front of the room, she gave a wordless shout and ran to embrace them both.
"How?" she cried, overwhelmed, tears standing brightly in her eyes. Pegasus looked on proudly, and Trinity put out one long, muscular arm to clasp the girl's shoulder.
"The Neb received an urgent message a few weeks ago from this one, here," she replied, "saying that your birthday was coming up, and asking if there was any way that we might possibly be home for it."
Neo laughed softly. "We immediately made it clear to Morpheus that this was of the utmost importance."
"I'll bet he took some convincing!" Peg snorted, gently rubbing Sorcha's back with her right hand. The older girl was still beyond words.
"Not that much convincing, I hope," Morpheus' voice boomed out. Pegasus promptly turned six different shades of crimson, but Morpheus only laughed as he cut through their circle to shake Sorcha's hand. "Happy Birthday," he told her, smiling broadly.
"Thank you, sir," she whispered, pumping his hand in return and pulling Pegasus in close with her other arm. "Thank you all, so much."
"Speech!" Mongoose bellowed finally, from his permanent position next to the makeshift birthday cake that Sugar had managed to whip up. For once, something that was supposed to taste like chocolate in Zion actually hit close to the mark.
"Speech! Speech!" the cry was taken up by others, until the room finally quieted and Pegasus pushed a reluctant but beaming Sorcha towards the podium.
"Um," the girl began, tucking one red-haired lock behind her left ear in a self-conscious gesture. "Well… first of all, I just want to thank you all for coming. I…" she faltered, and her voice grew husky. "I never even dreamed of anything like this and I am so, so grateful." She glanced down at Pegasus, who was watching her with bright, happy eyes. "I especially want to thank Peg, who seems to have organized this entire thing while also managing to be one of the top students at the Academy. I don't know how she does it."
"Yes, you do!" Goose shouted. "You're the exact same way!"
Now it was Sorcha's turn to blush, but she did not lose her composure. "And I also want to thank Mongoose," she carried on smoothly, "for having the biggest mouth in Zion. His continuous and unstoppable gossip over the past year has been both incredibly enlightening and vastly amusing!"
The crowd erupted in laughter, and Goose stuffed more cake into his mouth. "I will miss you all very much," Sorcha went on once the noise had subsided. Her eyes lingered on Pegasus for a brief moment. "But I am also very proud to be able to serve as the new communications officer on the Osiris." She grinned in obvious excitement. "Captain Thaddeus just informed me this morning that we'll be leaving tomorrow on patrol, and I'm eager to finally be able to put my excellent training-" here she inclined her head towards Chi - "to good use!"
More applause followed, though Peg's smile was clearly forced. "This is the best birthday I've ever had," Sorcha finally continued. "In the Matrix…" her voice grew rough again, and she had to clear her throat. "In the Matrix I was chronically unhappy. I felt that no one understood me, and I was afraid, so afraid, that I would have to go through life without ever forming a real connection with another human soul."
She swallowed hard and let her eyes settle on Trinity, who was clasping Neo's hand in a rare show of affection. Her blue eyes were a glistening caress, and Sorcha smiled back joyfully into them, feeling as though she were brimming over with light and love and peace. "Thanks to Morpheus and Trinity's faith in me, I am able to lead the full life that I always craved." She paused again. "It hasn't been easy, and I know it never will be. But it is true. And that's what matters."
With that, she stepped down from the podium and returned to Pegasus' side. The younger girl kissed her fully, deeply, there in the presence of all… and in that moment, Sorcha truly believed she was the most fortunate woman to ever exist on or below the earth's surface.
"Good luck out there," Neo told Sorcha, as they stood on the dock at Bay 9, where the Osiris waited like great, humming beetle. The warm-up sequence was nearly complete; it was time for her to board. Neo winked as he shook her hand. "We'll be keeping an eye on you."
"Thanks," Sorcha told him, grinning nervously. "See you in the Matrix, eh?"
Neo smiled back in encouragement, and she turned to Trinity. The older woman bent slightly to enclose her in a warm embrace, and Sorcha found herself once again enveloped in that delicate, nameless scent that was so powerfully comforting. I love you still, Trinity, she realized. But not as a lover… as something else. Something that has no name.
Trinity drew back and held her at arm's length, her blue eyes seeking something in Sorcha's too-bright green ones… and then she nodded, as though she had found it. She let the fingers of her right hand gently caress the girl's cheek, and finally stepped aside.
Pegasus took her place, tear tracks already streaking her elfin features. "I'll miss you so damn much," she whispered fiercely, pulling Sorcha into a tight hug and burying her wet face against her neck.
"I'll miss you, too," Sorcha replied softly. "I'll be thinking of you constantly." She pulled back slightly and cupped Peg's chin in one hand, raised it until the girl was forced to meet her eyes. "A part of me will be doing nothing but waiting to come home to you."
Pegasus leaned forward to kiss her gently, then fiercely, then gently again. "Be careful," she whispered finally. "Be so careful, please…"
Sorcha took a deep breath and stepped out of the circle of her lover's arms. "As careful as I can be," she replied. It was Captain Niobe's favorite quote, and it suddenly seemed very appropriate.
She let her eyes meet Peg's one last time. "I love you," she said. And then she spun on her heel and slowly followed Jue up the ramp, into the belly of the ship.
Far above Zion, the lifeless surface of the earth glowed red as the sentinels began to gather.
Epilogue >