Vesuveus
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Post by Vesuveus on Apr 29, 2010 18:15:22 GMT -5
The time has come once again to host another story contest. Though MxO is offline, the lore of The Matrix Universe lives on through fan-fiction. The purpose of this contest is to share your stories and ideas with the community in somewhat of reunion as the community is moving on and spreading itself throughout the web. This contest's theme is backstories. ** That is, something from a character's past (adventure, influential moment, etc.) Below is a list of characters from the 1st Matrix movie. Pick a character and write your own backstory about that character. Use what we already know about that character to flesh out what we don't know. Be creative and original! Post your story here in this thread. Anyone can enter and you can enter as many stories as you wish as long as they meet the outlined criteria. I will read them and judge them on the following criteria: I. Creativity A. Original Ideas B. Entertaining II. Quality A. Style B. Grammar C. Overall quality III. Length - This time I am going to limit the length of the entries. A story may be between 500 & 1000 words. That is about 1-2 pages if viewed on a word processor using: A. Times New Roman or Courier Fonts B. Font size of 12 Stories will be judged on the 5 criteria listed above (Originality, Entertainment Value, Overall Style, Grammar and Overall Quality). Each criteria will be given a score between 1 and 5. 1 being the weakest score and 5 the strongest. Once each criterion is given a score, all 5 scores will be added into a final score. For example: Vesuveus’ StoryOriginality: 4 Entertainment: 3 Overall Style: 4 Grammar: 5 Overall Quality: 2 4+3+4+5+2=18 --> 18 out of 25 - Final Score Other Rules: Entries must be posted in this thread no later than 11:59PM PST on May 31st, 2010 Sunday, June 6, 2010 by 11:59:59 PST. Entries posted after that time will not be considered for the contest. Please only 1 story per forum post. Make another post to submit another story. Please, no re-posting the same story with revisions. Revisions will not be considered, so post the final version of your story. You have one month to write, revise and post your story. Prizes: I will award 3 authors. 1st prize, 2nd prize and 3rd prize. I have not decided on prizes yet, but I am leaning toward tangible Matrix items such as posters, cardboard cut-outs, toys or Blu-Rays. But that will be decided later. List of Characters Originally, I planned on basing this contest around just the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar from the 1st movie. After looking at the cast list on imdb.com, I have expanded the list to include the following characters from the 1st movie. The are listed alphabetically: Agent Brown Agent Jones Agent Smith Apoc Blind Man Choi Cypher Dozer Dujour Lieutenant Morpheus Mouse Mr. Rhineheart Neo Oracle Potential (any of the children in the Oracle's apartment) Spoon Boy Switch Tank Trinity Post any questions you have in this thread. Good luck.
Emulator Projects
Here is a quick plug for the two MxO emulator projects that have been initiated:
MxO Emulator
Hardline Dreams - A Python Matrix Online Server Project
Please read before posting and have patients... lots of patients.** reflects a recent change in the contest description
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Post by barloke on Apr 30, 2010 21:31:53 GMT -5
who was the blind guy ?
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Vesuveus
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Post by Vesuveus on Apr 30, 2010 21:53:00 GMT -5
Good question. He's a pretty obscure character which is why I threw him in; I want to see if anyone is willing to come up with anything for him. In case someone wants to try and figure it out for themselves, I'll blacken the text so you have to highlight the spoiler: I think he was just in the hallway when Morpheus and Neo were in the Oracle's building on the way to her door. He didn't have any lines, at least not in any version of the movie I've ever seen, so I am not really even sure why he is on the cast list. I'd have to check the cast list in the movie credits to see if he is on there or if IMDB just added him.
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Variel
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Post by Variel on May 3, 2010 20:05:17 GMT -5
Great list of ancillary characters, some of those have always fascinated me. I've always thought that one of the key strengths of the films was the way that they hinted at side plots. You got the sense that there was much more going on than was obvious, which I thought was very effective storytelling and integral to the overall theme of the series.
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Variel
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Post by Variel on May 18, 2010 15:53:18 GMT -5
Unfortunately, I have run out of time... I leave for vacation on Friday and won't be back until June 6, and I haven't had a chance to commit something original to paper.
Du Jour played a role in Covenant's awakening in a short blurb I wrote years ago. It's not really *about* Du Jour, however. Is it still okay if I submit that?
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Post by manicvelocity on May 18, 2010 22:44:21 GMT -5
Just over a thousand words. I cut it down as close as I could. There's so much more I want to tell.
Enjoy.
"Of Things To Come"
The girl. All the good stories start with a girl, don't they? We met not long after I came here. She was beautiful. The inviting eyes. Those jaw-dropping curves. And a smile seething with mischief. She was absolutely irresistible. She nearly got me killed.
I was the master of my art. It was all I knew. It's what I was made for. Towering monoliths of mineral and stone, forged with precision over millennia. But that was then. As with every job, someone better always comes along. That's when I met him. The one man who could save me from oblivion. "Working for me is not easy," he said in a smug, French accent, "But I believe you will find the pay quite rewarding. Your life for your service." He called himself the Merovingian. I had heard of him before, but never thought I'd see the day when I would be shaking his hand. "Whatever you need," I said. "I'm grateful for the opportunity."
He smirked. His eyes narrowed. There was a tense pause that felt like it lasted for hours. He was studying me. "Very well." he said. He turned and sat at a long table, decorated with illustrious food and priceless bottles of wine. The air of the restaurant was crisp and cold. Everything was polished to a mirrored finish. "It just so happens that I have a task for you. It will take time, but you must know that patience is not one of my stronger qualities." All I could do was stand in silence. This man held my existence in the palm of his hand. "For years I have sought this particular program. He is known as the Keymaker. He holds access to the deepest secrets of the matrix. But by his nature he has become very adept at staying hidden. With him in my... employ, my influence here would grow beyond measure. Your task, mon nouvel etudiant, is to find him and bring him to me. From there we will determine what niche you might fill in my organization." He held a glass of red wine to his nose and inhaled deeply, not once taking his eyes off of me. It was intimidating as hell. I was confused. Was that it? Just go and find this Keymaker program? Where should I start? I didn't dare ask. "...What are you waiting for?" he asked, snapping me back into the situation. I nodded and turned to leave.
For weeks I lurked hacker bulletin boards and questioned other exiles. Anything I could think of to lead me to this Keymaker. I considered what the Merovingian would do if I didn't deliver. I'd heard stories of him torturing and killing his subordinates. Anyone who didn't comply with his orders didn't last very long. The Keymaker was my ticket to safety. I had to find him.
I decided to take a break and stop for a drink in a downtown club. The lights cast everything in a wash of purple and green, and the music was just loud enough. This is where she found me. The girl. I was leaning against the back wall when she sauntered over. We had a few drinks, popped a few pills, and got to know each other. She was an exile, like me. I told her about my test with the Merovingian and her eyes lit up.
"Unlimited access to the entire simulation?" she asked astounded.
I nodded and finished my drink. I couldn't tell you how many I'd had at that point.
"Imagine what we could do with him!" she said. "We would never have to work for the Merovingian again!" She was right. I'm not ashamed to say that I wanted to impress her. I guess it was just one more reason to find the Keymaker.
Out of nowhere, after three months of searching I caught a break. A tip lead me to a reclusive hacker who claimed to have cracked the Keymaker program. So I did my research. The guy was good. I discovered that he was being monitored by a small group of awakened humans, known as "redpills". I figured they must have been after the Keymaker as well, so I had to move fast. I commissioned him for a few small programs. Credit card generators, viruses and the like. Just to get into his good graces. But I was running out of time. The Merovingian was getting impatient and the redpills were stepping up their efforts.
I decided to ask him about the Keymaker program. It took some convincing before we eventually negotiated on a price. It wasn't cheap, but at this point I didn't have much room to argue. We agreed to another meeting. It would be the last time I would ever see him.
Sitting in our preferred club, waiting for the time to arrive, I watched her escorting various men and women out back to the alleys. She would always return smiling. Satisfied. Licking her blood-stained teeth. She was celebrating our promotion. It wouldn't be long before we would have the keys, quite literally, to our palace. We would live like royalty, and with our power we planned to overthrow the Merovingian.
When it came time to leave however, she refused. She was drunk... If you can call it that. She was having too much fun with these humans. They were rather gullible, I admit. But this was our last chance. I was convinced that if I didn't find the Keymaker that night I would end up dead. We argued for nearly an hour. Thank god she managed to sober up on the drive over.
The apartment complex looked like it was just days from demolition. The paint on the walls had rotted to a dark green. The whole building was cold and wet. We exited the elevator and made our way down the hallway. I silently counted down the apartment numbers like a new year celebration.
One-oh-six.
One-oh-five.
I had been to his place before, but this time was different. I kept reminding myself to stay calm.
One-oh-four.
One-oh-three.
I felt inside my coat. Two-thousand dollars rested safely in my chest pocket.
One-oh-two.
One-oh-one.
I knocked twice.
"Who is it?" his voice came muffled through the door.
I responded confidently.
"It's Choi."
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Vesuveus
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Post by Vesuveus on May 19, 2010 14:16:30 GMT -5
Unfortunately, I have run out of time... I leave for vacation on Friday and won't be back until June 6, and I haven't had a chance to commit something original to paper. Du Jour played a role in Covenant's awakening in a short blurb I wrote years ago. It's not really *about* Du Jour, however. Is it still okay if I submit that? Sure. Though I was thinking about extending the contest by a week since since I added a slight rule change, or clarification to the contest. Would you like for me to extend it a week? You can enter multiple stories so it won't hurt to enter this one and see if you write another.
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Vesuveus
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Post by Vesuveus on May 23, 2010 21:32:58 GMT -5
Due to my rule clarification and the creation of TasteeWheat's Emulator server, I'm going to extend this contest by a week. The new deadline for entries is Sunday, June 6, 2010 by 11:59:59 PST.
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Vesuveus
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Post by Vesuveus on Jun 7, 2010 8:07:42 GMT -5
This contest is now closed. Congratulations to MV.
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Variel
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Post by Variel on Jun 8, 2010 15:20:09 GMT -5
Gratz MV!! Just got back from vacation and didn't manage to submit anything before I left. MV's was waaaaay better than mine anyway. Thanks for running the contest, V!
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Post by manicvelocity on Jun 8, 2010 16:16:57 GMT -5
Thanks. This was a lot of fun. Hopefully there is more participation next time.
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