What if "The Lord of the Rings"had been written as The Matrix

"The Ringtrix"

by Fahrenheit

Frodo lay recovering in Rivendell, the wound from the Morgoth blade an ugly red scar just visible under his tunic. Elrond walks over to Frodo's bed, and slams down a sheaf of papers down onto the table beside the bed. Frodo glances at the first page, and notices the title "Baggins, Frodo A."

"As you can see, we've had our eye on you for some time now, Mr. Baggins", says Elrond. He takes the file, and starts thumbing through it. The silence is disturbed for a time by the rattle of parchment. Frodo is unsure if Elrond is looking at the parchment or at him.

"It seems that you have been living two lives. In one life, you are Frodo Baggins, respectable hobbit of Bag End. You have a nice stipend from a rather eccentric departed uncle, you host parties, are generous with the pipeweed and go out drinking with your gardener." Elrond pauses for a few seconds as the pages continue to turn.

"The other life is lived on the lamb, where you go by the alias Underhill, and are guilty of virtually every crime we have a law for - theft of crops, trespassing, dissapearing into thin air, causing disturbances at local Inns, attacking innocent barrow-wights and semi-sentient willow trees, and even provoking the wrath of certain Nazgul."

"One of these lives has a future, Mr. Baggins. The other does not."

"We know that you have been in contact with a certain artifact. A small little trinket in the form of a ring. Whatever you think you know about this ring is irrelevant to the fact that it is wanted for acts of terror in more countries than any other artifact in middle-earth. It is considered by many to be the most dangerous ring ever forged." Elrond leans in closer. "My colleagues believe that I am wasting my time with you, but I believe you want to do the right thing. It is obvious that you are an intelligent hobbit, Mr. Baggins, and that you are interested in the future. That is why I believe you are ready to put your past mistakes behind you and get on with your life." Elrond pauses for a moment, then continues, "We are willing to wipe the slate clean, to give you a fresh start and all we are asking in return is your cooperation in bringing a known artifact to destruction."