audio; a warning

[alan_1]

[The audio message is posted to the network at midday. Alan’s voice is measured and serious, though some may catch a certain strained quality undercutting his words.]

This is Alan Bradley speaking. I’m posting this as a warning about one of the ship’s new arrivals -- a program named Clu. [There’s a link to Clu’s page on the MID directory here, which includes an image of the program in question. Those who were present the previous month may also recognize the name from the emergency post Alan had made some weeks earlier. For those who weren’t:] He was created as the admin of a server called the Grid. A few of you may have seen the Grid firsthand through the Ingress on Amissis-Re, in which case you know what he’s capable of. He rewrote programs against their will en masse and kept his own User trapped on the Grid for years. [Some of the anger Alan’s trying to keep in check slips through here and still lingers as he continues.] He’s a danger to everyone on the ship -- especially to any inorganics with accessible code. His only interest in rewriting programs on the Grid was to make them completely obedient and loyal to him and there’s no reason to believe he won’t do the same to any AI he can manipulate here.

Don’t let your guard down around him and don’t leave him alone with any of the AI onboard if you can help it. Death may not always be permanent here, but what Clu could do might be.

[There’s a pause that might be a sigh and then:] I think we can all agree that it’s a theory better left untested.

[And on that note, the audio message ends. He won't address Clu directly here; the program has an MID like everyone else. If he wants to respond directly, he can.]

Comments

AUDIO [PRIVATE]

[squadgoals]

[Good lord. What was it with all the call-outs? It was practically an incitement to riot. The ability to escape the ship for extended periods might be the only thing stopping it. At this rate, they'd need a vacation from the damn vacation.

There was no point in lecturing him about it now, though — what was done was done, and there was a few questions.]

First — please inform the captains. They're not omniscient, and they don't always have time to read every post on the network that goes through.

Second, Rinzler told me CLU was his administrator. Are you saying he re-coded Rinzler to switch administration from yourself to him? You're worried about Rinzler, but you've also tried to re-code Rinzler yourself — people may not be so eager to take you at your word.

audio; private

[alan_1]

I will. [Even if he doesn’t think the captains will offer much help. Weren’t they the ones who allowed a giant homicidal robot to walk the ship unchecked until he had tortured and killed another crewman?]

Clu did more than that. He completely rewrote who Rinzler was -- blocked his access to his own memories and tried to program him to be completely obedient to him.

What I tried to do-- [(wasn’t as bad) (wasn’t the same)] was wrong, and I understand why people might not trust me. But I’m trying to prevent anything like it from happening again.

AUDIO [PRIVATE]

[squadgoals]

This might be a bit much to ask, but if Clu refutes you, do you have any proof? Is there anyone else who can back up your claim, vouch for you?

I can take you at your word, but if Clu were to turn around and say you're lying, what then? Not everyone went through the Amissis-Re Ingress to witness it, and hell, as I said, Rinzler still claims Clu as his admin.

You've got good intentions. Don't let them backfire on you.

[alan_1]

Tron. And Sam. They can confirm that what I’m saying is true. And anyone else who went through the Ingress on Amissis-Re can vouch for the aftermath of what he did to the programs on the Grid.

[His tone sounds almost impatient. This isn’t the time for people to be skeptical or dismissive; Clu presents a real and present threat on the ship and he has enough past victims onboard to prove it.

He doesn’t respond to Shepard’s warning. He’s hardly worried about himself in this situation.]

[squadgoals]

I'll keep it in mind. But if he's all you're saying he is, take care of yourself — and anyone else who knows, too.

[What a tangled web. Alan the villain, Alan the protector. With all of this in frame, it's easier to see what happened, why he tried the recoding. It didn't make it right, or acceptable, but he wasn't a bad guy — just good intentions, bad execution.]

And let me know if you need a hand. Rinzler's pseudo-admin can't be tougher to knock out than Rinzler.

[alan_1]

I’ll do my best. [So long as protecting himself doesn’t get in the way of protecting others. He doubts he’s even close to Clu’s prime target anyway.]

If it comes to that, I’ll let you know. [Alan hopes it doesn’t. Whatever his feelings on Clu, he would rather that the situation not have to escalate to violence. Doesn’t mean he’s blind to the very real possibility though.] Thank you.