Merovingian sat in his seat, in a lone room that was isolated within the Matrix, as a program still connected to the Source spoke. It had taken nearly all the favors he was owed, whom were close to the Source, to get to this one program.
But it was worth it.
“The procedure was completed three-point-two hours ago,” said the program, taking on an appearance that more resembled an Agent than a Source program. “As of my last data-synchronization, they were currently uploading the stored data from Memory Block-A-5-716B.”
He nodded from his desk. He may not be connected to the source, but he knew what data was stored in that block. It was the backup memory files of Ranma Saotome, placed in their hours before Natiom-01 was nuked by the human forces. The data was heavily encrypted, guarded, and placed outside a separate self-contained system. It was said to be guarded just as heavily as the core mainframe systems of the Deus Ex Machina. So much so, that the few Machines who could gain access, had no ties to Merovingian, much to the power broker’s dismay. He had been interested in acquiring those memories since the Third Iteration of the Matrix.
“They are also preparing both him and the Matrix itself for him to enter.”
“Really,” smirked Merovingian. Perhaps he could turn this to his advantage.
“What could it mean?” asked Morpheus.
“They’re changing the code, creating a new user sub-type,” said Link, analyzing the code as best he could, without alerting the Network that the Nebuchadnezzar had tapped into their systems.
“A new user type?” asked Trinity.
“They have been adding upgrades to the Agents,” said Morpheus. “Perhaps they have developed a new Agent.”
“I don’t think so,” said Link. “Some of these code access protocols require a human interface.”
“Human interface?” said Neo. “You mean they are doing this for a human to enter the Matrix.”
“Looks that way,” said Link. “But we should get this code to Zion. There’s only so much we can do on the ship to check this code.”
Morpheus nodded. He didn’t want to go himself, but he could see if any other human ships nearby who could carry the message. “How powerful is this new sub-type?”
“Can’t say for certain,” said Link. “From what I can tell... No, that can’t be right.”
“What?” asked Neo.
“These changes hinge on one thing,” said Link, confusion evident in his voice.
“And that is?” asked Trinity.
“The user has to be able to do something outside of the Matrix to be able to do it inside the Matrix,” said Link.
The others simply stared in confusion.
“So the user wouldn’t be able to do anything in the Matrix they can’t do in the Real World?” asked Neo.
“Maybe it’s a plan,” said Trinity. “If they engage it to all users, then we might be rendered helpless within the Matrix.”
“Doubtful,” said Link. “This code is confusing, like it is being tailor made for one person in particular.” He pointed to one raining line of code. “This section here appears to be the beginning of a firewall program, to keep Agents from overtaking this user.”
“Are you certain?” asked Morpheus.
Link nodded slowly. “Like I said, this is just confusing. Why would the Machines create a human-user type that they can’t control?”
Morpheus shook his head. “Machines are for the most part, creatures of logic, and I’m certain there is a reason behind this seeming madness.
“Trinity, see if you can locate a ship nearby to take this information to Zion,” he said. “Link, keep copying and collecting this code. It may reveal something we can use.”
“And me?” asked Neo.
“We need to get in contact with the Oracle. I believe she may have the answers to what we seek.”
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(Posted Mon, 14 May 2007 03:19)
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