The Matrix Page #2

They stare, slack-jawed, as Agent Brown duplicates the moveexactly, landing, rolling over a shoulder up onto one knee.

It is a dizzying chase up and over the dark plateauedlandscape of rooftops and sheer cliffs of brick. Ahead,

she sees her only chance, 50 feet beyond the point whereher path drops away into a paved chasm, there is!-

10 EXT. WINDOW 10

A yellow glow in the midst of a dark brick building.

Trinity zeros in on it, running as hard as she can and -(

CONTINUED)

7.

10 CONTINUED:
10

Hurtles herself into the empty night space, her bodyleveling into a dive. She falls, arms covering her headas the whole world seems to spin on its axis -A10

INT. BACK STAIRWELL A10

And she crashes with an EXPLOSION of GLASS and WOOD, then

falls onto a back stairwell, tumbling, bouncing downstairs bleeding, broken -But

still alive.

She wheels on the smashed opening above, her guninstantly in her hand, trained, waiting for Agent Brownbut is met by only a slight WIND that HISSES against thefanged maw of broken glass.

Trinity tries to move. Everything hurts.

TRINITY:

Get up, Trinity. You're fine.

Get up -- just get up!

She stands and limps down the rest of the stairs.

11 EXT. STREET 11

Trinity emerges from the shadows of an alley and, at theend of the block, in a pool of white street light, shesees it!-The

telephone booth.

Obviously hurt, she starts down the concrete walk,

focusing in completely, her pace quickening, as the PHONEbegins to RING.

Across the street, a garbage truck suddenly u-turns, it'sTIRES SCREAMING as it accelerates. Trinity sees theheadlights of the truck arcing at the telephone booth asif taking aim.

Gritting through the pain, she races the truck, slamminginto the booth, the headlights blindingly bright, bearingdown on the box of Plexiglas just as -She

answers the phone.

There is a frozen instant of silence before the hulkingmass of dark metal lurches up onto the sidewalk -(

CONTINUED)

THE MATRIX - Rev. 3/9/98 8.

11 CONTINUED:
11

Barreling through the booth, bulldozing it into a brickwall, SMASHING it to PLEXIGLAS PULP.

After a moment, a black loafer steps down from the cab ofthe garbage truck. Agent Smith inspects the wreckage.

There is no body. Trinity is gone.

His jaw sets as he grinds his molars in frustration.

Agent Jones and Brown walk up behind him.

AGENT JONES:

She got out.

AGENT SMITH:

It doesn't matter.

AGENT BROWN:

The informant is real.

Agent Smith almost smiles.

AGENT SMITH:

Yes.

AGENT JONES:

We have the name of their next target.

AGENT BROWN:

The name is Neo.

The handset of the pay phone lays on the ground, separatedin the crash like a severed limb.

AGENT SMITH:

We'll need a search running.

AGENT JONES:

It's already begun.

We are SUCKED TOWARDS the mouthpiece of the phone, CLOSERand CLOSER, until the smooth gray plastic spreads outlike a horizon and the small holes widen until we FALL

THROUGH one -

Swallowed by DARKNESS.

The DARKNESS CRACKLES with phosphorescent energy, theword "searching" blazing in around us as we EMERGE FROM a

computer screen.

The screen flickers with windowing data as a searchengine runs with a steady relentless rhythm.

We DRIFT BACK FROM the screen and INTO -

9.

12 INT. NEO'S APARTMENT 12

It is a studio apartment that seems overgrown withtechnology.

Weed-like cables coil everywhere, duct-taped intothickets that wind up and around the legs of severaldesks. Tabletops are filled with cannibalized equipmentthat lay open like an autopsied corpse.

At the center of this technological rat-nest is NEO, aman who knows more about living inside a computer thanoutside one.

He is asleep in front of his PC. Behind him, the

computer screen suddenly goes blank. A prompt appears:

"Wake up, Neo."

Neo's eye pries open. He sits up, one eye still closed,

looking around, unsure of where he is. He notices the

screen.

He types "CTRL X" but the letter "T" appears.

NEO:

What...?

He hits another and an "H" appears. He keeps typing,

pushing random functions and keys while the computertypes out a message as though it had a mind of its own.

He stops and stares at the four words on the screen:

"The Matrix has you."

NEO:

What the hell?

He hits the "ESC" button. Another message appears:

"Follow the white rabbit."

He hits it again and the message repeats. He rubs his

eyes but when he opens them, there is another message:

"Knock, knock, Neo."

Someone KNOCKS on his door and he almost jumps out of hischair. He looks back at the computer, but the screen is

now blank.

Someone KNOCKS again. Neo rises, still unnerved.

NEO:

Who is it?

It's Choi.

CHOI (O.S)

(CONTINUED)

10.

12 CONTINUED:
12

Neo flips a series of locks and opens the door, leavingthe chain on. A young Chinese MAN stands there withseveral of his friends.

NEO:

You're two hours late.

CHOI (MAN)

I know. It's her fault.

NEO:

You got the money?

CHOI:

Two grand.

He takes out an envelope and gives it to Neo through thecracked door.

NEO:

Hold on.

He closes the door. On the floor near his bed is a book,

Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulations. The book has

been hollowed out and inside are several computer disks.

He takes one, sticks the money in the book and drops iton the floor.

Opening the door, he hands the disk to Choi.

CHOI:

Hallelujah! You are my Savior,

man! My own personal Jesus

Christ!

NEO:

If you get caught using that -

CHOI:

I know, I know. This never

happened. You don't exist.

NEO:

Right...

Neo nods as the strange feeling of unrealness suddenly

returns.

CHOI:

Something wrong, man? You look a

little whiter than usual.

NEO:

I don't know... My computer...

(CONTINUED)

11.

12 CONTINUED:
(2) 12

He looks back at Choi, unable to explain what justhappened.

NEO:

You ever have the feeling thatyou're not sure if you're awake orstill dreaming?

CHOI:

All the time. It's called

mescaline and it is the only wayto fly.

He smiles and slaps the hand of his nearest droog.

CHOI:

It sounds to me like you need tounplug, man. A little R&R. What

do you think, Dujour, should wetake him with us?

Definitely.

DUJOUR:

I can't.

NEO:

I have to work tomorrow.

Come on.

promise.

DUJOUR:

It'll be fun. I

He looks up at her and suddenly notices on her blackleather motorcycle jacket dozens of pins: bands,

symbols, slogans, military medals and -A

small white rabbit. The ROOM TILTS.

Yeah, yeah.

NEO:

Sure, I'll go.

13 INT. APARTMENT 13

An older apartment; a series of halls connects a chain ofsmall high-ceilinged rooms lined with heavy casements.

Smoke hangs like a veil, blurring the few lights there

are.

Dressed predominately in black, people are everywhere,

gathered in cliques around pieces of furniture likejungle cats around a tree.

(CONTINUED)

12.

13 CONTINUED:
13

Neo stands against a wall, alone, sipping from a bottleof beer, feeling completely out of place. He is about to

leave when he notices a woman staring at him.

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