audio; march 7th

[alan_1]

[The recorded voice that addresses the crew through the MID is affable and slightly apologetic.]

Hello everyone. This is Alan Bradley speaking. I have a couple of questions for the crew, and I think I might as well use this opportunity to introduce myself to those I haven’t met yet: As I said, my name is Alan Bradley, and I’ve been assigned as one of the ship’s MID Technicians. I’m afraid I don’t have any particularly interesting abilities outside of computer programming, but that should be enough for me to do my job here. Some of you may have already met Sam Flynn, my godson from back home, as well as Tron and Rinzler, two, ah, programs that I’ve written. [Is that how he’s supposed to introduce them? It’s quite clear from the misgiving in his tone that he isn’t completely sure. He isn’t even certain he can correctly refer to them as two programs if you want to get technical, but explaining that would be far too involved for a simple introduction, so he’ll have to settle for the potential inaccuracy.] If you ever need to contact me, I’m always available at my personal inbox. [A slight chuckle.] I guess we all are since these things are strapped to our wrists.

Introductions aside, I was hoping someone could tell me who I should see about getting a new pair of glasses? Mine seem to have been lost as I was coming through the portal here. And seeing as my job on the ship will probably require spending most of my day staring at lines of code, I’d like to get a replacement sooner rather than later.

Speaking of my job here, I’m also looking for suggestions for programs people would like added to their MIDs, or improvements made to the interface. I’ll admit, the technology here is quite a bit more advanced than what I usually worked with back home, so anyone with more technological know-how is welcome to offer guidance: other programmers, engineers, AI… I’d be grateful for any advice.

Just leave a reply if you want to get in touch. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Comments

[alan_1]

[Alan listens in silence as Bel relates the details of Rinzler and Tron’s fight, and her conversation with the program afterwards. The fact that Rinzler had designated Tron as a “corrupted copy” is especially worrying -- the last thing anyone needs is the programs trying to destroy one another due to a perceived glitch. His expression grows even more troubled when Bel repeats Rinzler’s definition of Users: ”You use us.” It’s not an untrue statement and that’s precisely what makes it so disturbing. Alan had gone his entire life up until arriving on the Moira believing that programs were tools -- brilliant, complex tools, but tools nonetheless, to be repaired or discarded as necessary -- and, besides one Kevin Flynn, that’s what the rest of the world saw them as too. There’s a bitter sting to realizing that he himself is likely just as culpable for Rinzler’s belief that “User values” don’t apply to him as Clu is.

He realizes too how little he knows about Tron, how much the program has been keeping from him. How much they’ve all been keeping from him, in truth: Tron, Rinzler, and Sam, all of them swallowed up by the Grid and ripped out of it as different people, each in the midst of their own trauma, leaving Alan to piece together what happened from what fragments they’re willing to share.

What he has now is an incomplete picture, but it’s the only guide he has for how to proceed. He sighs and when he speaks, his voice is tinged with a doubt he usually keeps to himself.] I just hope I’ll know to do what’s right. For all of them.

[hellsbel]

[it isn't everything Alan needs to know by a long shot, but it's all Bel has to give him, and that he's taking it in without prejudgment is the best sign that could be hoped for. it's going to be a long road.]

...For all of them... Sam too?

[alan_1]

[Alan smiles.] Of course. [He looks back at the stars through the observatory window, expression growing pensive.] Sam was actually on the Grid with them. In many ways, he’s known them longer than I have. [If only Alan could get him to open up about everything that had happened… but he’s already promised him not to press and he doesn’t intend to go back on his word.]

[hellsbel]

But you've known him longer, haven't you? Back on your Earth....

[is this the time to mention that Sam's been sleeping outside his quarters, camping out all over the ship? it'd be one thing if he'd been doing it for fun, but it... hadn't seemed that way when Bel caught him at it.]