Chronicles of a Wayside Hero: Part V

Chapter 5: The Call
Year: Unknown. Day: Lost Count…

After a thousand tries, one definitely has to succeed. Especially The Chosen One. Neo awoke startled when the phone near him started to ring ‘you’ve got Call’, the annoying ringtone on Sony Ericsson phones. Neo was only hopeful that the ringtone would act as a harbinger.

He answered it.

“Sir, you still have a couple of 1000 bucks due from your credit card that you spent on shopping. When do you intend to pay that?”

Darn. Trinity.

Neo hung up without saying a word. “You’ve got Call” the phone rang again. Reluctant, Neo picked up the phone. “Neo…” a slow but firm and base voice spoke. “What do you intend to do with your life?”

‘Sell my liver, kidney, eye, blood and get an Xbox 360’

‘As far as I know, it doesn’t come that cheap. Say what, I’ll help you get it’

‘Good idea. You want me to sell yours too??’

‘I’m neither that generous nor that stupid. I’m here to offer you a job’

I don’t know how that happened after Neo’s bright idea. His light bulb ought to have burst.

‘Job!? Wow! That’s… eh… that’s nice. Thanks. When do I report? Now?’

‘Tomorrow.’ and the caller hung up.

The following morning, Neo reported to the address the caller had given.

‘Welcome Neo…” said a voice. A tall, dark figure with a tonsured head stood in front of him.

‘Morphguy!?’

‘Indeed.’

‘Were you the one constantly haunting me by programming my dreams?’

‘The dreams are yours. The programs were mine. You happened to catch a glimpse of them sometime which haunted you throughout’

‘So, what now?’

‘Here. I offer you these. Take them’

And Morphguy handed Neo a couple of pills.

‘Wow! Is it like the matrix?? I get to choose to go to sleep again!! Yay!’

‘Wrong. One is for your headache that is to be caused and the other is for you to be routed to where you belong’

‘How do you know I’m gonna get a headache? The oracle??’

‘I do consult the oracle from time to time, Neo. But this could have been predicted by even a unicellular organism, or in other words, a bit.’

‘How so? O mighty Morphguy?’

‘Obviously. You’re in this story.’

Darn. I’m the story writer and these guys make fun of me. Thin Ice, Morphguy, thin Ice.

‘So, how does this exactly work? Why wasn’t I given a choice?’

‘Here is how it works Neo.’ And Morphguy takes Neo through an extensive explanation that Neo thinks he had chosen a sleeping pill.

The Cycle

'So, what now?' asked Neo.

'You're recruited'

To be continued...