I pulled up behind the Lincoln in the alley beside the hotel and I could see Apoc's wide eyes in the rear view mirror. I hopped out of the Hummer and went to the back, retrieved the remaining food bag, and took out my cell phone. I hit the recall button and entered the code. The Hummer changed to green programming code and dissolved as it was sent back to the database on the ship.

I walked over to the Lincoln and opened the back door on the driver's side, climbed in, and patted Apoc's seat. “Onward, Jeeves.”

“You are showing me that code when we log out.” Apoc said, almost with a growl.

I almost laughed at his needy look matching Switch's. “It's one of a kind.”

“Dammit.” Apoc said and started the car.

“Tank made it yellow as a joke, by the way. It was supposed to be camouflaged.” I told him.

“Double damn. Switch loves military stuff like that.” Apoc said and pulled out of the alley, put on a signal, and made the turn.

“I'm not sure we can get away with loading an APC in here without also getting a lot of attention.” I mused.

“I don't care. I'll skin it as an RV if I have to.” Apoc said and merged with traffic. “It'll look like garbage; but, it'll still work and be the same on the inside.”

“Ha, good point. I'll send you the file later and you can tease Switch with it.”

Apoc nodded and concentrated on driving.

“What's in the bag?” Trinity asked.

“I had to buy extra food at the restaurant to make up for what I didn't order all month.” I said and she nodded. It was difficult to maintain any kind of local cover when operating inside the Matrix. “On the plus side, my landlady liked my bribe of a good meal and enough rent to let me keep my lease for another year.”

“Having a stable retreat is a good idea.” Morpheus said. “Though, it is not as secure as our regular bolthole.”

“Agreed. I just have to fix the elevator.” I said and looked out through the side window. “I am not walking up and down those stairs every time.”

Trinity smiled. “Good luck with that.”

“Hey, I'll have you know I do know how to fix an elevator.” I said, smugly. “I'll call a repair company.”

Apoc chuckled and Morpheus glanced back at me and gave me a flat look, even through his sunglasses.

“Yes, I'm joking.” I said and rolled my eyes. “I'll work on a good generator program later and then I'll strip out the elevator coding from the jump program to splice into the Matrix. An altered log entry will have it registered as normal equipment and it won't flag the main server.”

All three of them nodded and Morpheus turned his head and looked forward again. We drove through a kind of run down area in the city, with some graffiti scattered around. I gave Trinity a questioning look and she shrugged. She didn't know why the Oracle would be living in a run down building, either.

“We're here.” Morpheus said and the car came to a stop near a run-down apartment building. “Neo, come with me.”

I climbed out carrying the food bag and followed him down a short concrete hallway to a small automatic door. Why there was only a single one was beyond me at the moment, because right behind it was another one. Whoever installed what was supposed to be a single double door, had for some reason, split them and made them independent with the same function. They did all that extra work for no reason.

Inside was a small lobby with two elevators, across from which were three plastic-formed half-chairs and an old blind man sitting in the middle one. Morpheus nodded to the man and he nodded back.

If I didn't have my stronger neural connection, I would have missed that this man was blind and could still see, because he was a previous potential. He was just too old to bother to save and wouldn't survive the transition from comforting bio-pod to living in a harsh reality.

I walked over to him and set the bag down on the chair beside him, pulled out the beef platter, since the container was on top, and lifted out the family egg roll meal. I set the platter back into the bag and opened the egg rolls.

“Thank you kindly.” The old man said and picked out two of the egg rolls.

“I'd offer some of the rice if it wasn't so messy.” I said and he huffed a gruff laugh.

“To my insides, too.” The old man responded. “Save the rest and the beef strips for the kids.”

I nodded and closed the container and put it back in the bag. I picked the bag up and walked over to Morpheus and saw he was smiling. “I would have shared it in the car if I thought anyone would take it.”

Morpheus nodded and hit the button. The elevator dinged and opened, as if it was right there the whole time, and we stepped in and he hit the button. Even though it was the thirteenth button, it took the elevator up to the fourteenth floor.

“This is the same Oracle that made the prophecy?” I asked, just to keep the story progressing.

“Yes, she is very old.” Morpheus said. “She's been with us since the beginning.”

I nodded and stood there beside him. “And she knows... what? Everything?”

Morpheus smiled. “She would say she knows enough.”

“And she's never wrong?” I asked and he let out a soft sigh.

“Try to not think of it as right and wrong.” Morpheus said and turned his head to look at me. “She is a guide, Neo. She can help you find the path you need to follow.”

“She helped you?” I prompted and he nodded. “What did she tell you?”

“That I would find The One.” Morpheus said as the elevator beeped and the door opened. He stepped out and I followed him down the hallway.

We stopped in front of the fifth door and Morpheus turned to look at me.

“I have to choose to open it, don't I?” I asked him and he nodded. I took a breath and let it out, then reached for the handle.

The door handle turned and the door was pulled open from behind. A good looking and slightly older black woman wearing a tight white dress and a housecoat gave us a smile.

“Welcome, Neo. You're right on time.” She said and seemed to freeze for a moment. Her face flushed to a darker tone and she took a deep breath and let it out. “I'm sorry, I can't do that, even though your gift is genuine. I value and cherish it for what you actually intended it for.”

I had to chuckle at that and unzipped my jacket halfway and reached behind my back to pull out the bag of money with over 40,000 dollars left in it. “I'm glad you don't blame me for thinking it.”

She fluttered her eyelashes at me. “Honestly, I am flattered. But, my duty is to the children.”

“I understand.” I said and handed her the bag. “I really do hope that helps.”

“It will.” She said and stepped back to let us pass into a small anteroom, which we did. She motioned to the chair by the wall and glanced at Morpheus. “Make yourself at home, Morpheus.” She said and then smiled at me. “Neo...” She paused and her face flushed again. “...come with me.”

I couldn't help but smirk, because she knew the implications her words could have had if she accepted my unspoken offer. I bowed slightly and she walked to the left and I followed her. We walked down another short hallway to a living room.

“These are the other potentials.” She said and I saw all different ages and races of children, even a baby being carried by a woman that was not the mother. “You can wait here until the Oracle is ready to see you.”

“Thank you.” I said and she bowed slightly and walked away. She did not go into the kitchen where the Oracle was, though.

I stood there for several moments to observe everyone and let my enhanced neural connection feed me all the local information it could. There was a short black kid faking reading a book, a teenage Asian girl on a laptop watching cat videos instead of coding, a tween girl with curly blonde hair making origami, two brown-skinned kids playing chess on a table, and two young girls about 7 or 8, one black and one white, sitting on the floor and floating alphabet blocks back and forth with telekinesis.

The highlight of the scene was in the corner of the room by the old television, one that matched what Morpheus had in the Construct to show me footage, was a kid dressed as a monk with the bald head and everything. He had five mangled and twisted silver spoons on the floor in front of him and one normal one.

He picked up the normal one and concentrated on it, and it started wobbling around as if made of putty. He stopped concentrating and it snapped back to normal, then he held it up to me. I took the offering and sat down in front of him in the same leg folded pose.

“Do not try and bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead, try and realize the truth.” He said.

“The truth?” I prompted.

“There is no spoon.” He said, as if reading a script. “Then you'll see that it's not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.”

I didn't try to bend the spoon and gave the kid a long look. “You choose to remain here, don't you?”

The boy smiled. “I have things to do and see before I can leave.”

I glanced over at the blonde girl and back to him. “Anything I can help with?”

The boy shook his head. “You have your part to play as well.”

I smiled. “I do.” I said and held up the spoon. “You're wrong, though. Bending the spoon with your mind isn't impossible.” I held the scoop part with one hand and the handle with the other and bent the spoon. “If your mind tells your hands to do it.”

The boy let out a laugh like ringing bells. While everyone in the room stared at his reaction, I unbent the spoons he bent. I handed the bent one to him and he held it in his hands like it held the secrets of the universe.

“Oh, and I have egg rolls and rice, with beef strips for you all to share.” I said and set the bag down, which was swarmed and the egg rolls and beef strips almost instantly disappeared. The unbent spoons were used to scoop piles of rice into their mouths, so everyone missed that I had fixed them.

A delicate hand rested on my shoulder and I turned to see the greeter's warm smile. “The Oracle will see you now.”

I stood and she motioned where to go. I stepped into the kitchen and passed through the strings of beads hanging over the door and instantly felt the change in the local programming. It felt like a server firewall of protection and there were no other sounds to be heard, despite how noisy the kids were.

“I know you're Neo. I'll be right with you.” The plump black woman said. She sat facing towards the oven and I felt her lace the 'cookies' with an information packet that was packed full of rhetoric and ensuring the path of The One.

Jesus, she's not subtle at all with it. I thought, a little unnerved by her blatant manipulation. “You're the Oracle?”

“Bingo.” She said and looked back at me. “Not quite what you're expecting, right?” She asked and didn't wait for a response. “Almost done.” She said and stood as she put the finishing touches on the information to ensure it was installed quickly and the log file of it was deleted. She put on an oven mitt and smiled at me. “Smell good, don't they?”

“No.” I said, verbally rejecting her inquiry, as she turned to the oven and opened it.

She froze for a moment, then she finished moving and pulled the cookie sheet out and placed it on the stove. “I'd ask you to sit down; but, you're not going to anyway.”

“No.” I said, again verbally denying her.

She walked with the tray across the small kitchen to the counter. “Don't worry about the vase.”

I stayed still and didn't move. “What vase?”

“That...” She paused when she saw I hadn't moved to knock the vase off of the side table. “Never mind.” She spent a few seconds lighting a cigarette and took a deep puff. She needed a moment to compose herself and she plastered a fake smile on her face. “You're cuter than I thought.”

I didn't react and she walked across the kitchen and sat down at the small table.

“I can see why she likes you.” She said and took another puff.

“Who?” I asked, because there wasn't anyone significant in my life at the moment.

“Not too bright, though.” She said and took another puff. “You know why Morpheus brought you to see me.”

I nodded and she flicked the ash from her cigarette into the ashtray on the table.

“So, what do you think?” She asked and took another puff. “Do you think you're the one?”

“No.” I said and she frowned slightly, then blanked her face. I was not playing into her game and she didn't like that.

“Well, I better have a look at you.” She said and stood, then walked over to me. She reached for my neck and I stepped back. She looked startled and changed her hands to go for my shoulders.

“That's close enough, lady. I don't know you.” I said and she stopped moving forward.

The Oracle sighed and moved her hands down to mine and made a come here motion with them. I couldn't deny that simple request, so I put my hands in hers. I felt an instant connection form and immediately blocked every input and sensation. I did not want whatever she was trying to give me.

Luckily, she didn't detect that the data her program was trying to feed me was not being received. “Okay.” She said and turned my hands palm up and looked at them. “Now I'm supposed to say, 'hmm, that's interesting. But...', then you say...”

“I'm not here to play word games.” I responded.

The Oracle sighed. “You already know what I'm going to tell you.”

“I'm not The One.” I said and she nodded. “Just like I told you before.”

“Sorry, kid. You've got the gift; but, it looks like you're waiting for something.” She said and let my hands go and walked over to where the cookie sheet was on the counter.

“Waiting for what?” I asked.

“Your next life, maybe. Who knows.” She answered and picked up a plastic spatula. She shuffled each hard cookie from the tray onto a plate.

I didn't say anything or react, so she glanced back at me. I stayed quiet and she gave me a searching look, then shrugged and picked up the glass plate and carried it over to the table.

“They look delicious, don't they?” She asked and placed the plate near me.

“No. You used too much flour and not enough fat or butter. They've come out hard and crunchy and not appealing at all.” I said, explaining why a cookie came out harder than would be expected.

She looked startled for a moment, then her face blanked. She took a breath, let it out, then a smile appeared on her face. “Poor Morpheus.” She said and sat down, picked up her still burning cigarette, and took a puff. “Without him, we're lost.”

I mentally sighed at her trying to shove the script down my throat, despite my attempts to derail it. Instead of asking her to explain, as she wanted me to do, I walked over to her and punched my fist through her face. I grabbed onto the code links in her brain and saw all of the human psychology coding she had and what she used to manipulate people.

“Idiot. She got caught up in her own schemes.” I said and altered my own avatar's code to open a black hole at the fingertips.

I made sure it actually deleted anything it touched and it sucked in the Oracle's coding almost instantly and sent it off to the source. It had failed in its purpose and was no longer necessary. Removing the controlling influence from the program first also stopped her from choosing exile instead.

I was glad to be behind the security firewall she had installed, because my actions were hidden from the system and the other programs nearby. Neither the agents nor the Architect would ever notice her deletion. Of course, now I had a problem. What was I going to do if any of the other people here in the apartment saw that the Oracle was gone and was no longer protecting them?

There was really only one thing left to do, actually. I had to 'rescue' each of them before they could alert anyone else in the Matrix about what I had done with the Oracle. Memory wipes might be necessary for the two adults, since there was no way they would accept what happened without retaliation. On second thought, would they accept the change?

If the greeter was as attuned to the near future as I thought she was, I would need to call her in here first. Behind the firewall would be the safest place to ensure she would keep doing her job to look for potentials and I could occasionally come back here to 'rescue' them and take them out of the Matrix.

That was when I realized something important. The Oracle was gathering the disruptive code in the humans to force the Matrix to unbalance, which was why she was giving them cookies and giving them more secrets to how the world really worked, just so they would cause more destruction.

With enough of them together in one place, it would force the Matrix to overcompensate to correct what they do, stabilizing the unstable, and would eventually create the very reset needed to fix all of the inherent flaws in the Matrix code that her own program created in the first place.

So, I came up with a better option. I would take the Oracle's place, be her when necessary, and then pretend to be needed elsewhere to hide my deception. I would only visit occasionally, to free the other potentials and remove their influence from the Matrix, while also doing maintenance on other rogue programs. I couldn't let the potentials wreck the stability of the Matrix, not even the baby one.

I looked at the cookies on the table and touched each of them to alter the coding and to fix the information packet inside of them. I did the warming milk on the stove and in the refrigerator, too. I needed to use the Oracle's own trick against her staff and the kids, to keep them calm and on the right path. The path to keep the Matrix strong and intact, to fix the holes they made in the code.

I also altered the cookies to make them delicious and chewy, like they were supposed to be. That had the immediate benefit of making them much easier to eat and digest. I doubled the number of cookies so there were enough for all of them, then called for the greeter, Desiree.

I wasn't sure why the Oracle didn't want anyone knowing the woman's name, though. “The Oracle had to step out to take care of something important I showed her.” I said and held up the tray with a pile of cookies on them. “She told me to hand these to you to pass out to everyone, for some reason.”

Desiree gave me a knowing look and took one of the Oracle's newest batch of cookies without being asked. She let out a cute little moan as her teeth sunk into it and then she swallowed the first bite. Her back straightened and her knowing look changed to a determined one.

“We need to give these out to the children right away.” Desiree said and took the tray from me. She gave me a longing look and then slouched slightly. “I'm sorry, I haven't changed my decision.”

“I know.” I said and motioned for her to leave. “The kids need you more than I do.”

Desiree nodded and went through the security firewall without looking back.

I stood there and waited for a few minutes, so she could spread the new cookies around, then I had a distinct feeling that I would be rescuing a couple of the kids today, namely the Asian teenager and the blonde girl. I noticed it was the coding of the room reporting to me and it had a monitoring program on the rest of the apartment that also gave the status of the occupants.

“Sneaky, Oracle. Really sneaky.” I whispered before I stepped out through the beads.

The two targets were on the verge of waking up after months of the Oracle prepping them. They saw me leave the kitchen and the teen closed the laptop and picked it up as she gave me an expectant look.

The blonde girl grinned at me. “We're going on an adventure?”

“Yeah, Saga. We're going on an adventure of a lifetime.” I answered and held a hand out to her.

Saga beamed a smile at me and took my hand. The Asian teen glanced at our clasped hands and then looked at my face with a flat expression.

“Don't worry, it's optional.” I said and waggled the fingers of my other hand at her.

She let out a scoff and stepped close, so I smiled at her and the three of us left the living room. As soon as she saw Morpheus and the tall man stood up, unintentionally intimidating her, I felt her hand take mine and hold on tight.

Morpheus gave each a knowing look and then smiled and nodded. He knew we had a bit of essential work ahead of us to remove two new recruits from the Matrix.