August 6.
A work that rises above all others is one that holds a powerful force within it—words that shape a great film into something meaningful. Billy walked through the studio hall uninterrupted, followed only by a makeup artist. He always seemed so busy that it made people hesitate to approach him. There was an invisible shield around him, a presence that kept others at a distance, unsure or afraid to come too close. He had a way of turning people away without saying much at all.
Scene 118. Take 7
Int. Main Deck.
Tank is the pilot in charge of relaying information to those inside the Matrix. He works in the shadows, directing the vital outcomes that determine the mission's success.
Tank: Got a patch through an old exit. Wabas and the lake—Hotel, Room 303.
Tank scans the monitor frantically, as if it were a road map.
Tank: The door.
Billy's voice echoes through the screen.
Neo: It's locked.
Tank: Kick it in!
The green code flows across Tank's screen—a cascade of ones and zeros in motion—while Tank studies the map and responds, deciphering data through a display that, though not entirely real, helps him make sense of what's unfolding.
Neo charges down a hallway, long strides echoing, just as a door bursts open.
Tank: Shit! The door to your left!
Tank: There's no other way! No!
He turns left and slams into the door, which shatters, riddled with bullets. Tank watches the fight sequence play out on the screen. The footage was shot from two angles—one where Billy was the clear focus, and the other now showing Tank on the monitor. The last cuts were from the Nebuchadnezzar ship.
Tank: That window!
Neo throws it open and leaps for the fire escape just as a blade stabs into the window frame.
Tank: Go down!
With his finger on the monitor, Tank traces the path for Neo.
Tank: That's it! You're almost there—those stairs at the end of the alley!
Inside the hovercraft, Tank activates the exit. Morpheus and Trinity, the remaining survivors, are drained and nearly silent after Cypher's betrayal.
Tank: I'm making the call.
Morpheus: Do it.
Trinity: No.
Morpheus looks upward, sensing movement aboard the hovercraft.
Morpheus: They're coming.
The Sentinels descend, moving like murderous kaleidoscopes as they attack the Nebuchadnezzar, shaking it violently. The craft crashes as Morpheus opens the EM pulse trigger.
Morpheus: He's going to make it.
Neo keeps climbing the fire escape at the end of the corridor, bullets sparking all around him as Agents Brown and Jones close in.
An alarm blares.
Tank: They've burned through the outer shell.
Trinity: Hurry, Neo!
Neo's body jolts. Everyone watches as his life monitor flatlines—until the phone rings. Agent Brown reaches the shattered window just as Neo grabs the handle to Room 303 and bursts through the door. Agent Smith, waiting with his weapon drawn, freezes, unable to react. He's shot.
Trinity screams. Morpheus stumbles back in disbelief.
Morpheus: No, it can't be. It can't be.
Suddenly, lasers cut through the main deck as the Sentinels breach the hull. Amidst the falling wreckage, Trinity grabs Neo's body.
She whispers softly.
Trinity: Neo.
Through tears, Morpheus grabs the EMP switch. Trinity leans in close, whispering in Neo's ear.
Trinity: Neo, please listen to me. I promised I'd tell you the rest. The Oracle told me I would fall in love with the One—and that man, the man I'd love… is you. You can't be dead, Neo. You can't be—because I love you. Do you hear me? I love you!
She closes her eyes and kisses him, believing with all her heart that he'll feel it, that her lips will tell the truth. Trinity screams as the monitors flicker back to life. Tank and Morpheus look at each other.
It's a miracle.
Trinity: Now get up.
The three stare in disbelief as the streaming code accelerates, faster and faster, as though the machine's language can no longer keep pace—perhaps even describe what's happening. It begins to blur, lines of glowing light unraveling like a window. Every screen floods with vibrant color—Neo, standing alone in the hallway.
Tank: How?
Morpheus: He is the One. He's the Chosen One.
An explosion rocks the ship.
-Cut. -
It was a solid day's work. Unlike other sets, this one was intricately designed, assembled with false walls and retrofitted buildings. Craftsmen had layered papier-mâché that looked convincingly like metal. The structures were mobile, modular—three types of sets, all built to be assembled and dismantled.
–Hey, now I'm the woman who falls asleep, –Billy joked. –Woken by true love's kiss.–
–Sounds fabulous, –Anne replied. –It's about time you acknowledged my magical powers.–
Billy took a deep breath.
–Let's run the nighttime routine. I think a few more good sessions in the next few days will help us, –Anne—Carrie—remarked.
They were now rehearsing the fight choreography for the sequel—so intense it felt like the entire world might collapse with every move.
–Those abs need work—more than others need strength, –Billy said, knowing how tough it was to perfect those leaps Carrie-Anne wanted to pull off—cheerleader-style flips, bouncing from one end to another in that tight black suit that accentuated her figure.
–So I heard you suggested a new woman to be in The Matrix, –Anne commented.
The role that had once been meant for Monica was now being offered to Charlize Theron—a talented actress steadily rising, sharpening her craft with each project.
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