Disclaimers: They belong to the Wachowski brothers, Time-Warner and whoever else…
This is kind of like CLAMP’s “Clover” for shouen-ai warnings, in so far as it’s not exactly but might be, depending on how you read it.
A small musing set before the events of the film.
Two figures stepped out of the Government building, melding with the evening crowds. In the gathering darkness no one spared them a second glance. Civil servants in their identical suits and sunglasses. Of course the sunglasses drew some attention, seeing as there wasn’t any sun that eyes might need to be shielded from. The light drizzle that started up added to the pointlessness of the sunglasses, now being splattered with rain.
One of the figures paused to remove his sunglasses and after a pointed look from his superior the other did the same. They carried on walking in silence. At length the shorter of the two spoke.
“It is raining.” The speaker held a hand out, palm up as if to reinforce the point.
“Yes, Brown. It is raining.”
They continued to walk in silence. Every so often Agent Brown turning curious glances towards his superior. Finally Smith stopped.
“Stay here.” Was all he said before ducking into a small shop, leaving Brown to stand in the increasing downpour.
Minutes later Smith re-emerged from the shop carrying a newly purchased umbrella. He held it out to Brown only to have the other Agent look back in confusion. Seeing the puzzled look, Smith calmly put up the umbrella and gestured for Brown to step underneath. Then continued to walk in silence.
As the rain intensified, the crowds thinned, most hurrying home to escape the damp and the growing chill in the air. Smith slowed his pace and Brown followed suit, their efficient strides becoming a more casual stroll.
“They are… blissfully oblivious.” Brown phrased it almost as if it were a question as he regarded the population around them.
Smith said nothing.
Brown looked at him, puzzled once more. “Smith?”
“Yes?”
“Your audio sensors are functioning within required parameters then.”
“Yes. They are.”
“I said that the humans are oblivious.”
Again there was no response from the other. They walked on in silence for a short distance before Smith spoke quietly.
“Sometimes, as humans are fond of saying, ignorance is bliss…”
“Ah…” was Brown’s only response, then, “I will cease to talk about ‘work’ if you wish.”
“Thank you.”
They continued down the street in a companionable silence until something in the small market area they had arrive at caught Brown’s attention. Among the ‘normal’ stalls there was a fortune-teller, replete with Gypsy regalia.
“Human superstition.” Brown commented, through they moved closer to look. Unfortunately, as they approached the woman left for some sort of break, leaving a younger girl dressed in boringly mundane clothing to watch the stall. She noted them.
“I can tell your fortune if you like.”
“Do you really believe in all this?” Brown had to ask.
“The cards never lie.” Was her simple reply and she held the deck out to him.
He hesitated, turning his gaze to Smith who silently nodded, unperturbed by human superstition apparently. Brown shuffled the cards, as expected and handed them back.
“Seeing as I’m not supposed to be doing this…” she muttered.
“Why?” Brown enquired.
“It ruins ‘her’ reputation… apparently. Not that she ever reads them truly…”
“No?”
“No. She always tells the punters what they want to hear…” The girl casually flipped over three cards pulled randomly from the pack.
“Isolation… loneliness. Physical or emotional, I don’t know.” She looked up at Brown, studying his face. “But that’s in the past.”
He peered at the card. It was unusual in design, showing a fairly androgynous figure, alone in some darkened setting with many wires coiled round it. Brown said nothing.
“It’s alright. You don’t have to tell me. In fact, when you read the cards you’re not supposed to ask.”
She turned her attention to the second card. It showed a woman, blindfolded, holding a pair of scales in one hand and a sword in the other.
“Just reward. You get what you work for.” She shrugged, then a thought appeared to occur to her, “Unless it’s you judging others.” Her gaze flickered over both Agents, assessing. Smith smiled slightly and the girl quickly turned her attention back to the cards.
Turning over the last card she grinned. The illustration was of two more androgynous figures entwined in an intimate embrace.
“Now, of course this can be a very good card for the future, trials overcome and all that or… well…” Her gaze slid meaningfully from one Agent to the other.
With a graceful sweep of her hand she gathered the cards up, shuffling them a little and offering them to Smith. “For your boy-friend.” She said.
Making little effort of hide a sigh, Smith shuffled the cards before handing them back. He seemed uninterested as she laid out three cards and flipped them over as before.
“Strong male influence, worldly power…” She looked at Smith calmly. On the card a man wearing traditional Japanese clothing appeared to be surveying his domain from a raised dais.
Looking at the second card, which displayed a wheel, ringed by snake, sphinx and dog, she frowned. “Fate is in your hands… apparently. What you do now in the present will affect the future that is undecided.” Then she smirked a little “Not that it’s anything new.”
Her smirk fell as she turned over the last card. “I’m sorry.” She said suddenly “Sorry…” her voice trailing off and she turned a sad gaze on them both.
“What does it mean?” Smith enquired mildly, faintly amused, even, at the girl’s distress.
“Destruction.” She said in a hushed voice. “It’s the worst card of all… I’m sorry.”
“How much?” he asked, unperturbed, seeking only to pay for what he considered, foolishness.
“Nothing. You don’t thank people for news like that.”
Smith shrugged, the shaken human in front of him was not his concern. Brown, on the other hand looked slightly distressed.
“Nothing is foreordained.” Smith said, more to himself than anyone else and as if to prove a point he reached out and drew another card and flipped it over on the table.
“Death” Brown read the elegant script at the bottom of the card. And Death it was, standing beneath a tree that appeared to be dripping blood, in grey suit and sunglasses.
They walked away as the rain increased in intensity again. After a few meters Brown seemed about to speak, then thought better of it. Instead he slipped his arm through Smith’s as they continued walking. Smith made no comment.
“I am impressed.” He said finally.
Brown looked at him curiously.
“She did not lie about the supposed meanings of the cards.”
“But… Death…”
“Ultimate change, rebirth even.” Smith clarified.
“Oh… Then rebirth will follow destruction?”
“Apparently.”
“Good.” Brown said a little too quickly, then “Not that I understand or care to understand human superstition.” He added uneasily.
“Of course not.”
Brown turned a sideways glance on his companion but he couldn’t tell from that angle whether or not Smith was actually smiling.
Back at the stall the girl was clearing away the cards, a frown of concentration on her face. It was the second time that week that she had drawn The Tower. A rare card indeed and rarer still that she had drawn Death immediately after. She tried to remember whom the other man had been to have those cards, then she recalled him, a nervous, young man in an ill-fitting business suit. He’d said that he was a programmer, though the way he said it made her mentally translate the respectable profession as hacker. He’d drawn The Lovers in the distance future too. She reflected that it was a shame she’d not done a detailed reading for this second man, it might have proven very interesting…
Uh, yes…
Once more mental images that become really odd stories. This one probably owes some inspiration to the “Tokyo Babylon” anime.
The cards that Brown gets are: The Hermit, Justice & The Lovers, while Smith gets: The Emperor, The Wheel of Fortune, The Tower & Death.
The serpent, sphinx and dog on The Wheel of Fortune, stand for ‘I have ruled’, “I rule’ & ‘I will rule’, respectively.
“Nothing is foreordained” is a line I used in a cross-over I wrote involving Sei-chan.
I was originally going to use the “X/1999” tarot card designs but in the end decided to go with some generic designs instead… apart from the Death card which would still be Sei-chan, though not in the same clothing.
04:54, 09/06/02