Matrix verse fic - getting out

[psychette]

For new verse with knowskungfu and follows this.

Wet. Confused and wet, that's the two words that stuck with her from all that Neo had been trying to tell her those last few seconds. The rest had gotten lost as she was pulled so far away, it seemed to take forever and no time at all in the same moment.

And then it was over.

Jackie tried to open her eyes and move but she felt distinctly like she was under water. Her hands reached around as if in slow motion, trying to find something....and found a tube stuck to the side of her stomach. Everywhere her hands moved, there were tubes or something similar and they all seemed to be attached to HER.
There had to be a way out of here, she didn't even know how she got in here in the first place. She could barely move, she felt so weak all over, but there was no way she was staying here. Her hands found the top of some sort of membrane, scratching at it and trying to get it open.

Something else broke it, not her. A giant metal claw reached in, puncturing the pod and pulling her out by the neck into the cold air. Jackie struggled against it in vain, blinking her burning eyes against the light and trying to make out the impossible robotic shape in front of her. She was choking against something down her throat.

It happened so fast, there was a hum of a drill and Jackie got the most incredible uncomfortable feeling right in the back of her neck before the robot dropped her back into the soup as if it was done with her. She choked and gagged, finally able to pull out the tube down her throat and breathe on her own.

She was having a hard time sitting up in the slippery pod being that A: she had no clothes and B: she was sitting in a slightly warmer than the air pinkish soup of sorts. Jackie tried to keep low with it up to her neck, shivering as she tried to look around.

....next to her was a person. In the same pod as her. And beyond it another. And another. Whole rows of people all hooked up. It stretched up so far she couldn't even see the end of the...building? they were attached to.

Coughing, she said hoarsely, "No...way..."

It was then that tubes started popping off of her arms and legs and the pod purged everything inside of it. Jackie managed to catch a breath before she went under again. The sides were too slippery on the tunnel, she couldn't get a grip.

And then she was falling....straight into freezing cold water. Hypothermia, that's all she could think of. Fighting the urge to panic, she remembered what her uncle told her about what to do if you fall through the ice and curled herself into a ball, still holding her breath. Amazingly, it worked, she floated to the surface slowly but her lungs ached, she thought she would never get there in time.

Something splashed into the water with her, grabbing her...Jackie couldn't help it, she panicked thinking it was another robot and accidentally inhaled some of the water.

Next thing she could remember was someone giving her mouth to mouth and waking up coughing on a very hard floor, shivering under a blanket.

Comments

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

Neo had never experienced it from this angle before. Last time, it had been him waking up in the pod, panicking as he tried to understand what had happened to him. It had been him, flailing in the liquid that had been his home for thirty-five years. It had been him, drowning in the waste repository, unable to see, unable to control his limbs. And it had been him unconscious on the table, a veritable pincushion as his muscles had been rebuilt.

Watching it from this vantage, Neo had to admit that he was glad for the lack of awareness. It was frightening enough, going from a world of light and color to this dark and dingy one. The Nebuchadnezzar might have been his home now, but that fact didn’t change the truth. It was a difficult transition to make.

It looked like a painful one too, as the crew worked in shifts to remove the extraneous hardware from Jackie’s body. Neo had never been vain, had barely given his appearance any thought, but he couldn’t help thinking that it all might have been easier to bear if there weren’t so many reminders. He could ignore the metal in his own skin now, go long stretches of time without touching the port on the back of his head or picking at the ones on his arms, but he never forgot them. Never was completely comfortable with them. Especially when he looked at Tank and saw someone who didn’t bear the mark of the machines.

But he stayed throughout the duration of the process. Sitting in the corner or leaning against the wall, out of the way but always present. Because he’d been the one to bring her out. And just as Morpheus had been there for him, Neo was going to be there for Jackie, to help her make the transition from the imaginary world to the real one. He couldn’t do more. He didn’t know how to do more. But he could do that. And he would.

Once the process had been complete and she had been transferred to the empty room that would now serve as her quarters aboard the hovercraft, Neo scrounged up a chair, positioned it in the corner of her room, and took a seat. He didn’t know how long it would take her to wake up, but he intended to be there when she did. She’d probably be angry with him, and she had every right to be, but at least she wouldn’t have to face it alone.

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

It felt really good to sleep at last. Took awhile to get there though, Jackie couldn't be sure if she was asleep, passed out, awake, or a combination of all three. She kept her eyes closed regardless, too tired to do anything else. But finally people had quit poking at her and she slept for real.

When she opened her eyes again, she felt a little better. Sighing, she turned over, finding a thin matress under her...and a metal ceiling above her.
"...ohh boy..." She'd been hoping it was a bad dream. She tried to sit up...and there was Neo sitting in a chair.

"...I am never doing drugs again. Ever." At least her sense of humor wasn't completely broken.

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

Hearing the rustling of the blankets as she turned over, Neo looked up from the floor he'd been staring at for an indeterminate amount of time and focused on her. He made no sound, not certain if she was waking up yet or simply moving around in her sleep. That uncertainty faded, however, when she spoke.

He gave her a faint tentative smile, unsure of the reception he'd receive despite her words. "It wasn't drugs," he offered quietly. "Just your body waking up for the first time. I'd have prepared you better if I could, but... It's not something you can explain. It's got to be experienced."

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

"Experience...yeah, that's one word for it." That came off incredibly sarcastic, mostly because Jackie still had NO idea what had happened.

There was something different about Neo. He looked...thinner...if that was possible. Less put together. And he wasn't in a nice suit anymore, his clothes looked like they'd been put together by someone who didn't sew. She was actually wearing similar and both of their clothes looked like they were a bit too big for the wearer.

"Com'n, it HAD to be drugs. I had some sort of wacked out trip and while I was out of you dragged me here....wherever here is-...EEK!" Her hand had traveled to her head and found out, "My haaiiirr! Oh my hair!" All of it, gone. She couldn't believe it. "You....you guys are just...sick!" It was probably unfair but she had to lash out at somebody, it had taken forever to grow her hair out this summer after a curling iron accident. And now it seemed like someone had just shaved her head clean, there was a bit of stubble growing back but it was just completely gone.

She was trying to sit up now, very angry, with an imagonnakillu expression at Neo...but almost fell off the bed as she tried to get up. She was still awfully weak.

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

Neo winced, uncomfortably ducking his head and running his hand back through his own short hair. He should get Morpheus. He knew he should get Morpheus. Or Trinity. She would probably be a better choice. Jackie might feel better with a woman.

But then she was trying to get up and almost fell off the bed and he couldn't just leave her there. He got up to help her, but stopped halfway toward her. This was awkward. More awkward than when he'd been in the same position. How had Morpheus handled it?

"Jackie, please," Neo began, holding his hands up, palms outward, in an attempt to look harmless. "Just... Stay calm. I know it's hard. I know it's confusing. But just... Let me explain, okay?"

seemed more fun to write freaking out scene than listening scene :3

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

Jackie's voice hit a shrill level she never knew she had. "Explain?! That would have been nice before all the...the...robot things and the water and the floor eating me and MY HAIR IS GONE." She sat on the edge of the bed, quivering after that tirade. Probably was best to get it all out at once anyway.

Her eyes flicked toward the door, feeling a bit desperate. Gathering her strength she tried to make a break for it, taking the blanket with her to toss over Neo if he tried to stop her. For a brilliantly conceived plan, she ended up stumbling, half crawling her way to the door to pull on the handle, jiggling it in frustration. She didn't even have enough strength to open the door. "Arrrghhh! Let me out!

It is!

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

"It'll grow back," Neo tried to reassure her. He knew that wasn't the only problem, but it was an easier one to deal with than the rest of it. There was a solution to that one. It would take a while, but her hair would grow back. The life she'd know, however, would not. "Mine did."

When she made for the door, Neo hurried after her. Not to stop her. This wasn't a prison. She was free to come and go as she wished. But to help her. If she needed help. If she'd let him help, and that was looking pretty unlikely.

"Here, look, just..." Neo reached for the door when she couldn't open it, but he couldn't open it. Not yet. Not until she was calmer. If she ran out there now, she might get hurt. "You're not a prisoner! You can leave when you want. But you're weak, disorganized. You could get hurt."

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

Jackie was still tipsy, shoving off of him to try and stand up next to the door, still pulling at the handle. "Shut up, open the door NOW!" She wanted to see where she was, this whole waiting for explanations charade had gone on long enough. She wanted to get outside this room.

Somehow she manages to yank the handle to open the door and falls into the hallway outside. Panting as she lays on the floor, trying to catch her breath. Ok, maybe this panicking thing wasn't helping as much as she thought it would.

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

Neo wasn't fast enough to prevent her from falling, but he crouched down next to her. Absently he rubbed at the back of his neck, debating whether or not he ought to yell for help. He wasn't sure where the rest of the crew was, but he knew if he yelled loud enough, someone was bound to hear him. It might have been easier, but he still hesitated. He wanted to do this himself.

"This is the Nebuchadnezzar. It's a ship, a hovercraft. It's where I live. And I know you're worried about your hair," he hastened to add. "And you're weak and nothing's working right or making sense. But it will. I promise. Can I... Are you hurt? Can I help you up?"

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

Somehow being down on the floor helpless made it a bit easier to listen. "...ship..." She remembered, of course, he'd talked about a hovercraft when they met on the street.....

...seemed so long ago now. But the metal grating floor below her fingers was real. Her outburst almost seemed silly and childish. She buried her face in her hands as if it would hide her from all of this.

Quietly she answered his last question with a nod, "...yes...please?"

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

Smiling came a little easier in the real world than it did in the Matrix, and Neo gave her an understanding one as he held out his hands.
 
"When Morpheus pulled me out, I freaked out," he said told her, both in reassurance that she wasn't the only one who had a hard time handling the change and to make her feel better. Misery shared and all that. "I tried to run, probably would have hit someone if I hadn't fallen over. Then I threw up in front of everyone. And I mean everyone. They were all standing there, the whole crew, staring at me, the answer to the prophecy, and there I was, laying on the floor in a ball, sick, not sure if I wanted to start screaming or crying." 
 
The short laugh he gave was slightly embarrassed. "You're doing a lot better than me. Honest." The smile turned into a grin, open and amused. "When they ask how you took it, you can say you slapped me, called me every name in the book, and then demanded to see the boss. They'll be impressed."

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

Jackie took his hands, standing up carefully, leaning a bit on him and a bit on the door frame. Her legs still felt rubbery but at least she could stand on them.

She listened to his experience, her eyes looking off to the side at the floor. Her mouth twitched when he told her about throwing up. I'm not gonna smile, I'm not gonna smile, she told herself. Of course the holding it in meant when he told her she could lie about what happened it all came out in a surprise snicker and a smile that she covered with a hand. It seemed so wrong to laugh right now but maybe she needed to. Felt good to smile again.

"Ohhh, my hair..." It wasn't accusatory this time, more of a lament as she touched the fine hairs on the top of her head, running her hand down. She probably looked terrible.

...and her fingers found something metal at the base of her neck. The smile faded into worry, she wasn't quite sure what it was but it being there was creepy enough. She finally looked up at Neo with worry in her eyes.

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

Neo responded to her snicker with a slightly larger grin. It was good that she was laughing. Adjusting to the world after having been so long in the Matrix was easier if it was approached with a sense of humor, and he didn't mind repeating his own less than graceful attempts to deal with it if it could help Jackie through hers.

Because he was waiting for it, Neo was prepared when he saw her touch the back of her head. To the worry in her eyes, he nodded. "I have one too. Everyone does who was pulled out of the Matrix. Here. Look."

Pushing back one of his baggy sleeves, Neo held up his arm for her to see the ports, spread at wide intervals, that ran up the length of it. "You'll find them all over your body," he told her, tapping a finger to his chest above his heart. "On your chest, along your spine, on your arms and legs. We remove the ones we can, but we can't take them all out. Not the ones that are in too deep. It's where you were plugged in. It's how the machines kept you alive."

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

Jackie stared as he pulled up his sleeves and quickly did the same with her own. Yup, he wasn't kidding, there they were. All ominous looking and everything. She put her hands around her back to feel along her spine. They didn't seem dangerous but she still couldn't shake the frightening feeling of having them there where they shouldn't be.

"Matrix? What's that? Wasn't I home before all this craziness started? How'd I get into a machine?"

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

"The Matrix is..." Neo paused, trying to think of an explanation that would cause the least confusion. "It's like virtual reality. The world you lived in, the life you had, it isn't real. None of it's real. And it's not the twenty-first century, either. It's a lot later, though how later we don't know."

He let his arm fall back to his side, the sleeve large enough to slide back down on its own. He was used to the ports now, as used to them as anyone could be, but he was still a little self-conscious about them.

"There was a war. Between the humans and the machines. The machines won. They enslaved humanity, turned us into batteries to power their city after we set off nuclear bombs and obscured the sun. Most people are still locked in the Matrix. But some of us are free. And we're fighting back against the machines."

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

She hears him out the whole way through. "You mean before I was...that wasn't...."

"NAH, that can't be." It just didn't make sense. There was no way her whole home and all that wasn't real. That's just nonsense. There had to be a better explanation. Better than machines and wars and virtual reality. "There had to be something inbetween, surely. You can't tell me where I came from wasn't real." Seemed plenty real to her. There's no way a virtual reality thing could be as real as that.

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

"You thought it was real. We all thought it was real. The machines feed us the images, and our minds make it real."

And it was that comment, an echo of what Morpheus had told him during his own initiation to the world, that gave Neo the idea. Really, he should have thought of it before. And he would have, in time. He could stand here trying to tell her about the impossible, or he could show her.

"If you're ready," he said, gesturing to the rest of the ship beyond the doorway to her room. "I can show you."

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

That cut her denials short and there was a pause. Show her? "...is there gonna be more life or death stuff? I'm not entirely sure I'm up for more swimming."

But she had to admit, if he could back up what he was saying with proof...she was willing to follow behind him into the rest of the ship.

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

Neo shook his head. "No life or death stuff and no swimming. We'll go back into the Matrix. A part of it, anyway. The part that we control. You'll understand better when you see it."

Starting forward, he only took a few steps before he glanced over his shoulder to see if she was following him. "I'll introduce you to the crew. We'll probably meet some of them along the way."

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

Answers. He was offering answers. Whatever this Matrix is...was...whatever. "Ok..." She took a few tentative steps, grabbing onto the back of his sleeve just in case as she walked along behind him.

As they walked through the corridors, Jackie tried to see everything at once. "This place looks pretty complicated." She wasn't gonna acknowledge being inside of a hovership just yet...not till she had some more proof.

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

Maintaining a slow, even pace so Jackie could keep up with him at her leisure, Neo took them on a path that led straight to their destination. He could show her around in more detail later, after she understood what was going on and wasn't feeling quite so lost.

"I think so too," he agreed. "They've been showing me things, little things so I can help out, but I still don't really understand it. I've only been out for about two months." He pointed to a doorway off the main corridor as they passed it. "That leads to the mess. The food here's not great, but it's healthy."

He stopped at a door, twisted the handle and pulled it open. "Here we are," he gestured her inside. "This is the heart of the ship. Most of the work we do, it happens here."

assuming Tank is there at least? dunno about other peoples?

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

Getting her feet back under her was good. This place reminded her of being trapped inside some sort of supercomputer slash sewer system only she was in minature and everything was big. Thankfully it didn't smell or anything, just looked really dirty and oily.

Carefully she walked into the heart of the ship, looking around. Quite alot of computer screens and chairs which she assumed were for piloting it. Using a piece of equipment now and again for balance, she made her way to where a man was sitting at five or six screens of moving green text. "Nice screensaver," she joked lightly, figuring it wasn't such because it was on all of the screens at the same time.

Yep, they're all there. Tank, Trinity, Morpheus... that's not very many.

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

At the sound of her voice, Tank turned around and gave her a friendly smile. "Hey, new arrival, right?" he held out his hand. "Name's Tank. And that's not screensaver." He tilted his head back toward the computer screens. "That's where you were. That's the Matrix."

He glanced at Neo, who had been hanging back, watching as Jackie looked around. Neo nodded toward the computers. "We need the construct. I'm going to take her in. Show her around."


[ooc: I'm going to be really slow from now until the end of the weekend. I'm going out of town, and I don't know how much time I'll have to get online.]

small crew yeah

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

Jackie shook Tank's hand, liking his smile. It was one of those smiles where you instantly like the person. She also saw his lack of arm plug things being an observant Spencer she was. "Jackie. Lucky you, you got to miss out on all the fun." She indicated his arms.

"Take me in...get me out..." Jackie mumbled to herself. She was starting to feel a bit pushed around but she trusted Neo. She kind of had to, he was the only face she knew around here.

ooc: no worries! thanks for the heads up :)

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

Tank laughed, shrugging as if it didn't matter to him. "Depends what you call fun. It's got its moments." His laughter increased at her complaint. "Don't worry, Jackie. It's standard procedure. Telling doesn't usually work. Showing's a lot more effective."

He tilted his head in Neo's direction and lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Ask him to take you flying. Gotta get some fun out of it, right?"


[ooc: Apparently the hotel I was staying at didn't have wireless internet.]

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

Confused, Jackie whispered back, "Flying? Er, right...I suppose." She still didn't quite get what all was going on here. But if Tank seemed at ease with it...maybe there wasn't anything to worry about.

...much.

She looked over at Neo for direction.

[ooc: awww, that sucks. :( good trip though?]

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

Seeing the look she gave him, Neo nodded and moved closer. He gestured toward one of the chairs in the middle of the floor.

"Have a seat. And relax. The first time..." he paused, brow furrowed in remembered discomfort. "...feels a little weird. But it's okay."

He pointed to the chair next to it. "I'll be right there with you every step of the way."


[ooc: Aside from that, it was pretty good. :)]

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

And there it was again, that feeling that Han Solo most aptly put when he said "I've got a bad feeling about this..."

But climb up into the chair she did, shooting a look over at Tank who gave her a thumbs up. She tried to smile back. "Seeing the dentist from hell, am I?" she commented, looking up at Neo as she laid back in the chair.

ooc: good to hear :)

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

"Something like that," Neo agreed with a twitchy smile that was meant to be reassuring.  

He waited until Jackie was comfortable before he reached for the plug that would put her back into the Matrix. He didn't bother to show it to her. That might have made her panic. If Morpheus had shown it to him before he'd plugged Neo in that first time, it would have made him panic. Once she was settled, he slid it into the port at the back of her head in one easy, practiced movement. 

When she looked again, she would be standing on the roof of a tall building, the city she'd left behind spread out below. And Neo would be standing next to her, no longer wearing the shabby clothes he'd been wearing on the ship. In their place was the long black coat and the sunglasses he always wore inside the Matrix. Perhaps the most palpable difference was the absence of the air of insecurity that had surrounded him before. Now he was in his element. This time, he knew what to do.

plooot hole! how'd he get in so fast? :3 I mean duh, he's the One but still!

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

Probably a good idea he didn't show her what he was sticking into her head. If she had seen it, she would have been out of that chair lickety split with a very quick no thank you.

As it was, she had no idea what was coming. And he hadn't lied, it felt EXTREMELY weird. Her whole body tensed up for a second, her brain telling her she probably should protest very vehmentetly about this but by the time that thought got to her mouth, it was too late.

The sensation was gone as soon as it started and strangely enough she was on her feet. Blinking in surprise at the city below. And not feeling quite as sickly as before. She did a few confused turns, finding Neo next to her. "Hey...what...how...where...?" She probably would have gotten through all of the W words if she hadn't discovered that her hair was back. "EEeeee, haha!" she tugged at it happily for a second....

...and then the smile faded. "Ohhh, rats...this means you're right, doesn't it?" Yeah, there was no way all of this could have just happened that fast...unless Neo was right.

It was still really hard to swallow though, she jumped up and down on the roof a couple of times, leaning down to pick up a rock to feel it and toss it off. "But...this CAN'T be...I mean, it seems pretty real to me."

I don't know, but Morpheus did it too. He opened his eyes, and there was Morpheus lurking around.

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

The slight quirk of his lips preceded the rueful apology. "Sorry. It'd be easier if I was wrong, make more sense too, but..."

Stepping away from her, Neo moved out toward the edge of the roof and lifted a hand to gesture at the city. "This is what the Matrix is. This roof. This building. The world around us. It's a program, uploaded into your brain and connected to the nerves in your body. But it's not real. It's just code."

He turned back around to face her. "Even the way we look here isn't real. We look like this because we expect to. Because it's familiar and comfortable. The whole world's in our mind."

I always had a hunch that was like some pre recorded welcome speech :) but I could be wrong

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

"Code? You mean this is all some sort of.....html page???" Jackie kicked the side of the wall for good measure, hopping up and down while holding her foot. "Ow, ow, ow...one realistic html page."

She had this really sick feeling in the pit of her stomach that she was trying to disprove in her head. Neo couldn't be right. It just didn't make any sense...and yet it made too much sense. She was even wearing the clothes she left in, down to the way she'd tied her shoes that morning.

"So we're back? I mean...this doesn't look like Santa Barbara."

It could be!

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

"It feels real because you believe it's real. This is a construct," he tried to explain it the best way that he could. "A program humans designed to mimic the Matrix. To give people who've just come out time to get used to it. To learn. It's safe. Safer than the Matrix."

Okay, now he sounded like Morpheus. But where Morpheus was eloquent, if not always clear, Neo was not. Words got tangled up and confused and misunderstood. He preferred action to words.

Turning around once more, Neo moved to the edge of the roof. He glanced over his shoulder, gave Jackie a measured look, and then stepped off the edge. He didn't fall, and he didn't fly. He simply walked out onto empty air, stopping only once he was clear of the building. Then he turned and held out his hands.

"In here, and in the Matrix, we decide what's real and what's not."

some CD somewhere labeled "Morpheus' Exposition Speech" for the newbies

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

Jackie dashed forward when Neo made to walk off the building... "No, wait!" Except he didn't fall. Her jaw on the floor again, Jackie rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. "That's..." Looking down the insanely long drop from the top of the building. "That's impossible."

And there is no way she's following him out there. No way. She staying on the nice solid supposedly pretend roof.

It would save everyone so much trouble. He really needs to do that.

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

"In the real world, yes," Neo agreed. "But this isn't real. It's virtual reality. If you believe it's real, you'll fall. If you know it's not, you won't."

He crossed back over to the building, waited until his feet were firmly planted before speaking again. "I'm told that there are some things only I can do here. Part of being the One. But I don't believe that. In here, you're only limited by what you let yourself be."

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

She stepped backwards as he made his way back onto the roof, almost subconsciously keeping her distance...trying to process all of this. Her head was whirling, trying to resolve the conflict between what she had known and what he was telling her now. Virtual reality and robots and somehow she'd become part of this crazy for real video game. "I....this....and everyone...doesn't know that they're all...stuck? How??"

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

"Some people know. Subconsciously. They can feel it. Like a splinter. They just don't know what it is."

He didn't try to close the distance between them. It took time to process it. Even longer to accept it. Morpheus hadn't had time to introduce him to it slowly, but they weren't that desperate any more. There was time.

"Most are born into it. Told it's the way things are. They don't know, so they don't question it."

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

"Born into it??" Jackie was incredulous. "How exactly did everyone get in in the first place?" She covered her mouth at a thought, "Oh mylanta, Shawn...and Mom...and my cat, my cat's not real????" She wasn't gonna freak out like she did before but this was quite the realization.

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

"We're not really sure. Most of our history was lost in the war. But we do know that the machines won. They breed us in processing plants, use us as batteries. Most people live and die in the Matrix without knowing anything else."

Neo had never had a pet, hadn't had any friends, and family was a thing of the past. But he still thought about the people he'd thought he'd known. Still wondered about them. Not often. Not regularly. But sometimes. His expression was sympathetic, understanding if not the immediacy of the loss, then the fact of it.

"The people themselves might be real, but they're like actors in a play they don't even know about. The animals are programs. There aren't any animals left in the world anymore."

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

That sick feeling was back as she listened, backing up slightly and hugging her arms to herself...and over her stomach. Sinking to her knees, she said, "Think I need to sit down..."


"...cept I'm already sitting down..." Outside the construct. She was still going to sit down here on the roof, not feeling very well. Everything might have been too much, too quickly and it was catching up with her. She looked a little green.

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

The first time back in never went well. It was too much to take in, and it was too soon. But if there was a better way to handle it, to ease someone into it, none of them knew what it was. Still, Neo recognized the signs of information overload. He'd been there. He knew how overwhelming it was.

"Tank." They were being monitored, and it wasn't like this was the Matrix. A phone wasn't necessary. "Get us out. Now."

The disconnection would be as seamless as the insertion. When Jackie opened her eyes, Tank would already be there, withdrawing the plug so she could sit up.

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

She almost opened her mouth to say no, no she didn't want to move yet...didn't want out yet. But she didn't get a chance, Jackie was still a bit distracted with trying to process all of this...

...and with a jolt, she was back. Back to the world of dim lights, computer equipment...and no hair. Then it came out, like a delayed reaction. "No wait...not yet..." Tank gave her a slightly confused look but she ignored him. Getting up out of the chair, she pushed past him, hugging her arms to herself and a muttered "excuse me" to Neo as she walked out of the room.

She wanted to be alone for a bit. And possibly get herself lost in this ship. It was probably rude to run off without warning but she felt like she needed to breathe.

[knowskungfu.livejournal.com]

Sitting up, Neo shook off the disorientation of stepping out of the virtual world in time to see Jackie's brief exchange with Tank. He rose from the chair, but it was too late. She was already leaving.

If he hadn't been there himself once before, he would have chased after her. Would have tried to help somehow, even if he didn't know how. Yet even he knew there was nothing he could do. She needed to adjust to it on her own, at her own pace. To her credit, she was handling it better than he had.

A moment's uncertainty, and then he headed over to a nearby console. He'd get some work done, and when she was ready to talk, he'd be waiting.

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

[ooc: seems like a good spot to finish this "scene" :3 figuring she can meet other peoples now that she's officially out]