Single Minded Purpose

The End and a New Beginning

Disclaimer: I don’t own the Matrix.

Summary: The end to my story. Please read and review!

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“Did you always know?” Seraph asked the Oracle as he and Sati came up to her.

“Oh no, no I didn’t. But I believed. I believed.”

The trio looked eastward at the beautiful sunrise before them, the sky bathed in colours; it was the beginning of a new day and the beginning of an era without Smith. A time to be happy, indeed.

“Let’s go see Sarah and her babies!” Sati said excitedly, tugging at the hands of the Oracle and Seraph.

“All right honey,” the Oracle said, smiling. She glanced back at Seraph who had lagged behind them.

“I don’t think I should go,” he said hesitantly.

“Don’t be silly,” Sati chided him playfully. “Here,” she said placing her hand in his, “you take my hand, Seraph, the Oracle walks too slow.”

“So will you, honey, once you get to be my age,” the Oracle teased. “Come with us, Seraph,” the Oracle said. “I’m sure Sarah will want to see you, too.” She extended her hand out to him and he took it; the three of them heading toward the hospital.

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“She had a hard time of it,” the head nurse of the Obstetrics wing told them when they arrived. “However, she should make a complete recovery eventually. Would you like to see her?”

Sati walked forward but the hand of the Oracle on her shoulder silently told the little girl that Seraph should be the one to see her first. “We would like to see her babies!” Sati said excitedly. “Where are they? Can we see them?” she inquired with all the innocence and eagerness of a child of her tender years.

“Come this way,” the smiling nurse instructed and led the two females toward the viewing area. Sati had her nose pressed to the glass as she watched the two small blue bundles being taken out of their single Plexiglas bassinet.

“You keep the two of them in one crib?” The Oracle asked, perplexed.

“Yes. If one is removed from the other for any length of time, they both cry until they are together again. I suppose they got used to being with one another, after all, they shared the same space inside their mother.”

“They are so cute!” the little girl squealed, jumping up and down and clapping her hands with joy. She took a good hard look at the smallest of the two boys and whispered in absolute awe and wonderment, “Oracle…can you see? It’s a miracle!”

“I see,” the Oracle said with a smile. I see more than you will ever know, child. This turned out better than I could ever have imagined or foreseen. Miracle? Yes, you may certainly call it that. A potentially ugly situation that would have set Sarah’s heart and soul against any child of hers and Smith has been tempered with one blessing no one could have imagined. Now, all is as it should be—an unequal equation in the Matrix has been balanced and put right again.

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Seraph walked quietly into Sarah’s hospital room, tentatively approaching the bed in case she was still sleeping. Sarah had her head turned towards the door and her eyes were open.

“Sarah, are you all right?” Seraph whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed. Sarah nodded and held her hand out to him, squeezing his fingers tightly.

“He’s gone, Seraph,” she said, and Seraph frowned at the expression on her face; this was a time of joy, a time of laughter now that the black blight was gone forever from the Matrix and their lives, however, there were tears in Sarah’s eyes. Before he had a chance to inquire further, the door burst open and the Oracle and Sati entered, each tenderly holding a small, swaddled blue bundle.

“Would you like to see them? We know you haven’t had a chance yet. We asked the nurse,” Sati said, and she frowned in puzzlement and confusion when Sarah shook her head.

“I think you should, Sarah,” the Oracle said, a smile twitching at her lips. “You will like what you see, I promise.”

“No, I don’t think…I don’t want to.” Sarah said fearfully. The last thing I need or want right now is to hold a reminder of their father, she thought to herself.

“Here, take him,” Sati said, almost pushing the baby she was carrying into Sarah’s arms. “He’s getting heavy.”

“No, I don’t think…” As soon as she held her son in her arms, the tears she was not able to shed for Smith flowed freely as she held his son. “He’s so small,” she whispered as she looked into his face for the first time.

“Here, Sarah, this little guy wants to say hello to you, too,” the Oracle said. As Sarah strived to hold both little boys in her arms, the older woman held her breath and waited for her daughter to see the miracle that was right in front of her.

“Oh my God, how is this possible? How can this be?” Sarah asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked at her two babies and shook her head in wonderment. As she expected, one of the boys had the azure blue eyes of Smith, while the other…did not. All babies are born with slate-grey eyes and while she looked at her younger son, she knew without a doubt that his almond-shaped eyes would turn to the warm brown colour of his father’s—Seraph. The Oracle took the younger boy and spoke to Seraph, who had been looking at the floor all this time, ignoring the conversation between the two women; determined not to look at the babies he was certain would resemble the man who had raped the woman he loved.

“No, Oracle,” Seraph said, “I don’t want to see….”

“Please, Seraph,” Sarah entreated, “just take a look.”

Seraph reached out, grudgingly taking in his hands the baby the Oracle was holding out to him and his eyes widened in surprise. How was this possible, he thought, completely at a loss for words. Before the Oracle could explain, she glanced at Sati and the young girl understood that there were things the adults wanted to talk about that were not meant for her ears. She skipped out the room happily and when the door closed behind her, the Oracle continued.

“The night before you were raped, Sarah, you were intimate with Smith and then Seraph. Somehow, even I do not know how it happened, but you were impregnated by both men. Your youngest child is Seraph’s and the oldest boy is Smith’s. All the world comes in pairs and your babies are the proof of it. However, Smith’s son need not turn out like his father. If he receives the love he needs and deserves from you, history will not repeat itself.” The Oracle smiled as she watched her daughter cuddle her infant boys with equal affection.

The three adults turned when the door opened. The Architect entered the room with a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a stuffed teddy bear in the other.

“Two!” he exclaimed as he saw the babies in Sarah’s arms. Smith had two sons not just one, he thought, shrewdly assessing the possibilities of future research and development on whichever of them showed the least amount of potential.

“No,” the Oracle said sharply. “I know what you are thinking and the answer is no. And in case you were wondering, the oldest is Smith’s child and the younger one is Seraph’s.”

The Architect roiled backwards as the words from his colleague permeated his consciousness. Twins by different fathers, he thought, how can that be? Before he had time to understand what she had told him, the reason for his visit came to the forefront of his mind.

“I came here to offer my congratulations as well as inform you that you are now a very wealthy young woman, Sarah.”

“What do you mean?”

“Smith left you everything he had: his car, the contents of his apartment and all the money he had acquired since becoming an Exile.”

“I don’t want it,” Sarah said firmly.

“Sarah, be reasonable. It’s all yours, and now that Smith is dead, there are no strings attached of any kind.”

“I don’t care, I don’t want his money. I never did.”

The Oracle leaned forward and looked into her daughter’s face. “You have two babies to look after. You and Seraph will need a place of your own now. You will need that money; if not for yourself, then for them.”

“Fine. I will only take what I need…”

“Honey, Smith used his money for evil purposes. Why not do the opposite and put it to good use? You could help a lot of people.”

“How? How can anything of Smith’s be used to help people?”

“There are places like women’s shelters, for example, that could use the financial help. Women who are on the run from abusive men. I know of a place called ‘Harmony House.’ It is a place where girls and women who do not have anywhere else to go can stay. Think of the people you could help, Sarah! These lost souls are either poor or desperate and need a safe, quiet place they can call home for a while. Or, if that doesn’t suit you, how about giving your money to non-profit call centres that has a toll-free number that kids and teenagers can call when they feel they can’t talk to their parents about whatever is bothering them.”

Maybe she is right, Sarah thought quietly. I will need some money for myself, but there are people out there who need it as much as I do, if not more. Setting up a foundation or safe-house for battered and abused women would be the perfect way to help those women in need; maybe some of them were past victims of Smith’s cruelty for who knows how many girls and women he hurt during the time he was an agent? He was completely free from prosecution from the authorities, although I doubt that many of his victims sought justice or any kind of legal redress, knowing full well that he would probably take his vengeance out on those brave enough to speak out. They also might have feared an even worse violation of their bodies if charges were ever brought against him.

Sarah looked at the Architect and the Oracle quietly conferring together. How many women did Smith rape and beat up because of you both did to him, she wondered angrily. Mother did nothing to stop his pain when he needed her the most, but you, dear Father, what you ordered done to him was monstrous and because of that, he became one. Afterwards, Mother tried to make amends as best she could and in the way she thought would do the most good: helping the rebel humans find “The One” through all six versions of the Matrix.

And you, Father? What did you do? Nothing. Nothing except turn your head aside when Smith broke both our laws and those governing the humans time after time. All you ever cared about was his success at getting the information you required to destroy whatever humans threatened to spoil your precious Matrix.

Her thoughts were disrupted when there was a quiet knock at the door. Seraph, who was closest to the door, went to answer it, his child still in his arms.

“What do you want, Agent Johnson?” he demanded quietly so that no one in the room could hear. To Seraph’s surprise, the tall leader of the upgraded agents looked almost sheepish and awkward.

“You have nothing to fear, Seraph,” he said softly, “I haven’t come here to delete you or cause any trouble. I just came to tell you that we have been given orders to leave you and your family alone. For good. May I?” he asked, indicating that he wished to have a closer look at the baby cradled protectively in his father’s arms. Seraph was apprehensive and unresponsive and turned away slightly, preventing Agent Johnson from getting a better look at his child.

“I will not harm him, I give you my word. I just wanted to see him but I understand your reluctance. If I were in your position, I would be as protective as you are.” He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “When Sarah and I met the last time, she told me to tell you that she loves you.” He turned to depart, but was restrained by Seraph’s hand on his sleeve.

“It’s all right, Agent Johnson. I know what happened between you both before Smith found the two of you…You can see him if you like.” Seraph smiled to himself as the leader of the upgrades pulled aside the blue blanket that hid the baby’s face from view. He stared at the child for a long time and took one of the small fists that waved at him, holding it gently and Seraph saw him try to suppress a smile when one tiny fist closed around one of his large fingers.

“You don’t know how much I envy you, Seraph,” he said hoarsely and Seraph frowned in confusion at the tone in the other man’s voice. “Take good care of them both, will you?”

“I will,” Seraph replied softly. He wasn’t sure if Agent Johnson was referring to the two baby boys or Sarah and his child alone. However, he knew that he was now the father to both babies and the surrogate father of Sati. With Smith gone, there was nothing and no one who would come between Sarah and himself ever again. As for the child of Smith, he had done nothing wrong; he was not to be held responsible for the actions of his father and Seraph would raise him as his own.

Now, all that remained for him to do was re-enter the room where the woman he loved was waiting for him; he had a family now and he could not ask for anything more. For the present, Sarah would need time to forget everything, both good and bad, that had happened between herself and Smith.

A short time later, a nurse came bustling into the room, mindful of the need of the new mother to get some rest after her very long and difficult labour, not to mention the operation that saved her life and brought her two sons into the world. Caring for her patient as a hen would tend to her one chick, she briskly but good-naturedly shooed away Sarah’s visitors until all was quiet once more.

Seraph turned to go with the others and felt Sarah’s hand squeeze his. “Seraph, will you do something for me? Will you go and see if there is anything left? Of Smith, I mean. Could you come back and let me know?”

He was puzzled by her request, but promised to obey nonetheless. There was nothing that Sarah could ask of him that he would not do willingly for her. As he expected when he arrived at the massive crater in the street where both Smith and Neo had met their end, there was nothing left of either of the two combatants who had battled to the death. No trace of the program called Smith that had wreaked so much destruction on the Matrix, remained.

“Good riddance,” Seraph muttered under his breath. As he turned to leave, a ray of sunlight glinted off something metallic that was in the very bottom of the crater. Seraph climbed down, curious to see what it was that had caught his attention. He knelt down in the muddy water and knew what it was: the silver tie clip Smith had always worn. He pocketed his find and began the hard climb back up onto the street.

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“There was nothing but this,” Seraph said, handing the tie clip to Sarah. She closed her fist around it and began to cry.

“What’s wrong, Sarah? Why are you upset? Smith is gone, he won’t bother anyone ever again; this is a time of celebration, not sorrow.”

“There was good in him, Seraph. It was buried deep inside of him--he never let that side of his nature reveal itself, except to Bronwyn and me. He loved us both, in his own way.”

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Six years later…

“Thank you, Smith. You’ve given me a part of yourself and I will always be grateful.” Sarah raised her eyes from the spot where she had buried Smith’s silver tie clip years before. At the time she had done it, she had given a lot of thought to where this last reminder of Smith should have its final resting place and decided to bury it at the base of a young oak sapling. Now, several years later, the sapling had grown into a magnificent tree, catching the eye of everyone who entered the park.

The last physical memento of a tormented individual joined forever with the roots of a new beginning. Children will play hide-and-seek around its base. Families would picnic in its shade on hot days. Couples would make love underneath its broad, leafy branches, hidden from sight, perhaps even creating new life, Sarah thought and smiled faintly to herself before turning her attention to more serious matters.

With cold eyes, she looked into her father’s face. “All of this, everything he did, YOU are responsible for. I hate you for what you did to him. Do you know how many women, how many people he hurt because of that one small programming glitch you thought was so unnecessary to repair?”

Two small spots of red appeared on the Architect’s face as his face flushed with anger. “Your sainted mother is as guilty of abandonment of Smith as I am. Why has she been restored to your good graces?”

Sarah rounded on her father. “She has atoned many, many times over for what she did in the past. How? By helping anyone and everyone who comes to her--it doesn’t matter if they are human or program; whatever aid or comfort they need, they can come to her and what Mother can give to them, she does.

As for you, dear Father, all that ever mattered to you was your precious Matrix. You think no more of the humans that provide us with the energy we require than something to be scraped in disgust from your shoe. You see humans and programs as mere cogs in the machinery that keeps this simulated world of yours functioning.”

Sarah turned her attention back to the small gravesite. “The Frenchman told me that just before Bronwyn died, she thanked you for raping her. As strange as it may sound, I’m going to do the same. I was wrong to try to harm our child and I am sorry. I look into his face and I see you and me. The best of both of us is in our son, Smith. Seraph and I have raised him as our own and I give you my word that that will never change. I will love him and be there when he needs me—as no one did either for you.”

She fondly gazed at her two sons just playing out of earshot. As she had expected, the oldest was the spitting image of his father in almost every way. His eyes, however, were completely different from his sire’s. While Smith’s eyes had been a cold, hard blue, his son’s were warm and soft, like that of the sky on a cloudless day in June. Not only that, he was head and shoulders taller than his younger brother was and much more serious in nature. He didn’t smile or laugh much, but it was far more than his father ever did. Being the observant youngster that he was, he knew he was not Seraph’s biological child but it did not matter to him; he was loved equally by both parents and he knew it.

As for her son with Seraph, the child could not have been more different from his sibling. Rambunctious and playful in nature, he drew out the seriousness of his older brother and it was common for them to be never far from the other. There were the inevitable fights and squabbles that all siblings share, but their love for one another cemented and bound them together in ways that amazed and astonished their parents.

The evil that had been Smith was erased, and thus far, his son did not share or exhibit any of his father’s baser traits. He would be told about his father, of course, but not until he was old enough to understand. The truth could not be kept from him forever; there were still a lot of programs in the Matrix that resented their being taken over by Smith in his failed quest to take over the world they lived in. Sooner rather than later, one of them would take pleasure in taking his son aside and informing the child about the cruel and vicious things Smith had done.

Sarah looked into the eyes of Seraph and took his hand. “It’s time to take these boys of ours and leave this place. There has been enough sadness today. Let’s go home.”

The sharp eye of her mother caught what Sarah had hidden from everyone else that day—her lips twitched and her chin trembled for a moment as she tried to keep her sorrow at bay.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle said it best in his best-known Sherlock Holmes story, the Oracle thought: Evil indeed is the man who has not one woman to mourn him. For her own reasons, Sarah still grieved for the lost father of her eldest son.

She and Sati followed them, leaving the Architect standing by himself at the gravesite. Knowing that he would not be welcome to join them, he turned away and walked back to his office where he would remain.

Alone.

THE END