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WHY THE RED DRAGON WILL ROAR FOREVER MORE
* 2 *
“What is it, Commander Arc?”
“I am picking up a faint signal up ahead, Captain Portent. A foreign signal, at that, Sir.”
“Where, I don’t see anything on the Holo-display?”
“Because it isn’t there, it is too far away to show up on it. But, I installed some long range RADAR on our last birth in Zion.”
“I don’t remember giving you permission to mess with my ship.”
“Sir, hear me out! I made it light so it would be well-within our weight—“
“That isn’t the Point, Commander Arc, and you know—“
“Just listen! You will LOVE what this foreign signal appears to be! And so far,” Arc brushes his long stringy tow-blonde hair away from his eyes to look into a scope, “yep, so far the signal is slow enough that we may have a chance to catch up to it.”
“Arc, let me get this straight. Are you telling me it is moving away from us?”
“Yep.”
“And you want us to follow it?”
“Yep.”
“Arc, forgetting for a moment that I am the Captain and I get to make all the decisions on this ship; why in the hell are we to follow, let alone catch up to, a group of Sentinels?”
“Not Sentinels, another craft. But we have to hurry because the stories say that it is at once older and newer than any other ship in existence!” At this, Commander Arc’s voice cracked like it did a scant 4 years ago. Being 20, he is the youngest person to rise to Commander so fast. His talent and focus are amazing to behold, second only to Neo some would say. A few worship him as if he WERE the true chosen one. He does present a commanding presence being that he is 7’1” and remind many of the recently freed of the actor Heath Ledger. His hazel eyes seem to belie compassion and honesty that makes people want to follow him and believe him. Others, mostly the older Zionites, see him as an impetuous child whose reach far exceeds his grasp and presents more of a danger than anything else. Still, they bow to his skills and leadership qualities, and some say they are hypnotized by Arc’s eyes to obey his will.
“What? Wait. You aren’t intimating what I think you are.”
“Then you know the stories too! Are they in every generation? They HAVE to be real if they keep being passed down!”
“You’re not talking about the bedtime stories, are you? You don’t seriously think there is any truth to the fairy tales spoken about the ‘Red Dragon’?”
“Why not? We were both plugged in, and we both were so sure that The Matrix was real until we succumbed to that undeniable feeling that it was not.”
“Yeah, but … God damnit, I won’t be chasing after a ghost.”
“It won’t be a ghost for long. Look out side.”
Captain had been so busy trying to stop Arc from subordinating him that he hadn’t noticed that is just what he has done. They sewer pipes around him rush by in a big dirty gray blur.
“Arc, if the stories ARE true; then this thing is a lot faster than us.”
“Don’t worry, this has become my passion. I just KNOW it exists. And, I want to catch it. I also upgraded the propulsion on this bucket of bolts.”
“This is the last straw, Commander. I will not take such risky behavior, even from my only son! I did not adopt you just to be killed by you, if I wanted that I would have gone ahead with the suicide. You are risking our lives and our greater mission on untested mechanisms. And, not only that; but you will throw all our lives away on a ghost! On a fairy tale! On a –“
But his words are cut off sharply as the klaxons and the Holo-display flickers into life.
Next>>
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