Jade, Dracos, Shadow, Codec and Screed get into their comfortable chairs.  Their heads are plugged in and they find themselves...

You are standing in a grassy area.  Behind you are many trees.  In front of you is a stream.  There is a small wooden bridge going over the stream, and beyond that you see an Asian style wood complex...four one story, rectangular buildings surrounding a clear dirt area.

Sitting in the center of the dirt area, legs crossed and head bowed, is an old Oriental man.

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Experience points for your adventure outside the Matrix (i.e. no CBP's for this):


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Screed bows to the old man and says, "Hello, old Oriental man. You're not going to call us grasshopper or anything are you?"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:52, Thu 12 Oct 2006.

The man raises his head as Screed approaches and says, "My name is Zhang Sanfeng.  Why, may I ask, are you here?"

Screed looks at the others as if wondering what is going on.  He crosses his arms the way he's seen those martial arts guys respectfully do it, bows again, and answers solemnly, "We are here to learn your secrets, O Great Master."

"But what are secrets?  Are they not merely the answers to questions you have not yet thought to ask?  And what is it you would think to ask me that I may assist you?"

Screed tries not to sigh in exasperation, "Shouldn't I ask to learn that which I do not know?  Are not my mind and body tools that should always seek improvement?  Are you not that which has what I have not?  Are these not what I do seek?"

"I do not know your mind, nor do I know what you have or have not.  For that, you must be tested."

Oh, sh*****, Screed thinks.  Swallowing hard, he looks down at his weak and pale frame.  He walks to the right and turns to face the man and says, "Okay, then test me."

The man looks up to answer, but Screed has suddenly disappeared to the corner of the farthest building.  "Ah," the man says, "so you fear me, you fear the unknown, no matter how much substance it lacks.  But every test begins with a question.  You must ponder this question carefully.  Take time to think it through."

He stands, a frail old man just over five feet tall.

"You are in a program.  I am not real.  This," he says, pointing around, "is not real.  You would desire to fight that which is not real, would you not, that which you call Zero-One.  So for this, you must answer my question.  Why in this virtual world are the martial arts, the way of Judo and Karate, Jujitsu and all the rest...why are they essential to defeating Zero-One?  Why are your guns insufficient?  Why is your mind alone insufficient?  Why must you master the most ancient of fighting arts to defeat an enemy made of zeroes and ones?  Answer me this, and we will continue."

Jade looks to Screed and the others.  "So what do you think?  Why would we need to know martial arts to defeat a computer program?  Is it to protect ourselves or because they can dodge bullets?"

Screed peeks from around the other side of the building.  _{"Blast, I look like the right good wanker don't I?"}  He begins walking back to the group.

Yet you all feel naked without your weapons or guns, and without any hardline to talk to X, nothing to tell you what's going on in the "real world."

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