Flint, the Collector
Flint "the Collector" (also nicknamed Ahab) was a redpill from the Matrix who captained and survived the crashed hovercraft, Pequod.
Back when he was still a bluepill, he worked as an archeologist. Upon becoming a redpill though, he utilized his archeological knowledge to become the first from Zion to collect artifacts of pre-Zion human history in the Real World.
History[]
After being liberated into the Real World and becoming a Resistance member, Flint founded the idea of visiting the surface to collect the surviving artifacts of pre-Machine War human history, in order to reconstruct humanity's past and truly determine the extent of the lies the Machines manufactured. He thus became the first known collector of Zion and became a legend, being able to survive for weeks in the inhospitable and deserted city ruins of the heavily Machine-patrolled surface, and inspiring many of Zion's youth to value history, some growing up to follow suit and become collectors themselves.
At some point, he became the captain of the hovercraft, Pequod, and commanded a crew that started collecting around Zion. After years of expeditions, however, Flint reckoned that there were no longer any substantial finds near Zion and this resulted to him leading his ship and crew to some far unexplored edge of the city. But a sentinel came upon their ship and was quick to kill Flint's crew before they could even arm themselves up for defense. The Pequod crashed and, somehow, only Flint was able to survive the attack.
After returning to Zion and recovering, Flint soon joined as a crew member to the hovercraft Polaris. But the thoughts of losing his ship and the entirety of his crew to a sentinel attack, during a voyage that he masterminded, lingered on Flint's mind and started to have an impact. Soon, people began to notice changes in Flint's demeanor, now reluctant about collecting and more cognizant to its risks.
Nova of the Polaris continued to admire him however and worked closely enough with Flint in order to know his personality. And in one of Polaris' missions in the surface, days away from the wreckage of the Pequod if travelled on foot, Flint suddenly decided to venture out, supposedly on his own, in what was to become his last expedition. Nova, ever the collector, accompanied Flint without asking for permission.
“ I believe now, he wanted to die here. Even wanted me to witness it...
”
A warning I was supposed to bring back to Zion...
A final death to the myth that brought us all out here, and to the legend he had become.― Nova, after witnessing Flint's death in a battle against the Machines[src]
To Nova's surprise, the expedition was actually part of Flint's long planned revenge against the Machines. Crafting the idea that the history of the past civilization would mean nothing to a Zionite, and wanting to kill any of the romanticism that surrounded collecting, Flint simultaneously located the wreckage of the Pequod and also led a sentinel to the site. He had setup a battle that was to serve as both his death and a warning to Zion against the follies of being a collector, battling the sentinel with merely his spear, and though having more success in the battle than most of any Resistance member, was killed by the sentinel.
Legacy[]
Nova believed that Flint purposely wanted her to witness the battle, commanding her to hide until the battle ended. But after Flint's death, Nova managed to best the sentinel and Flint was buried together with his crew. Discovering that the Pequod held a collection of artifacts, which included a throve of books larger than any collection discovered before, Nova decided to honor Flint's legend instead of killing it.
Instead, she brought home to Zion the artifacts from the Pequod and then helped nurture the legend of Flint "the Collector", crediting him in defeating the Machines in battle and unearthing the vast treasures she took home.