thisavrou | audio; may 14

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audio; may 14

{OOC: Grid-jumping volunteers can thread their digital adventures out here.}

[The voice on the other end of the MID transmission comes out in a rush of words, tone urgent bordering on panicked.]

This is Alan Bradley -- I’m on Amissis-Re, outside the Ingress. Rinzler -- he just… He fell through. Alone. [Tries to remember the exact consequences for that transgression. Can’t. He’s not thinking about the aftermath on this side of the portal at all.] Someone needs to find him and bring him back. If this Ingress is supposed to take people back to where they came from, then… Then he’s going to end up on the Grid.

[Likely a meaningless term to most of the crew, but the way Alan says it makes it clear that this is not a good thing. He tries to slow his racing mind long enough to string together an explanation.] It’s the system he was in before he was on the Moira. There’s another program there, Clu; if he’s there and he finds Rinzler… [There’s a pause as Alan tries to collect his thoughts, order them in a way that will make people understand what’s at stake.] Programs can’t write programs of their own, but they can edit others -- that’s what he did to Rinzler. He took a program I had written to run independently and tried to rewrite him into someone who would obey without question. And if he finds Rinzler and sees how his code has changed, he’ll try it again.

[Alan knows how this must sound. How ironic it must be, for the crew to hear the man accused of trying to recode the program himself pleading with them not to let it happen at someone else’s hands. But the situation is far too dire to worry about what the crew may think of him. All he needs is for them to trust him enough to believe that he truly is acting towards Rinzler’s protection this time.] I know none of you have any reason to trust me. Not after what I did. But I never meant to hurt Rinzler or to take away his free will. Clu will not have those same reservations.

[If Clu finds him. If Rinzler goes to him. How long would it take for Clu to detect a change in his programming? In his memories? Alan’s voice grows edged with desperation.] Please, if anyone can help, I need them here as soon as possible. I don’t know how much time we have. I--

I can’t let this happen again.

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No, Clu is kind of singular in that whole lobotomy thing.

[ He even had it on an industrial scale. ]

I'll go.

Sam. You don’t have to go. [Alan knows Sam could be an asset when it comes to navigating the Grid -- he’s one of the only two people on the ship besides Rinzler who have any experience in the system. But knowing what Sam had already been through there, Alan is hesitant to see him go back.]

You could offer support on this side; people will need to know what to expect before they make the jump.

Not getting left by another Flynn.

[ To be honest, that's something that's always bothered Sam. Sure, his dad thought Tron was dead, and Alan never knew he had been stolen in the first place, but knowing there had to be rumors of Rinzler and still dad didn't go back or at the very least ask Quorra to look, then check her disk--

In all that time he was in the Outlands, locked away in a basement…and he did nothing. Whatever Sam's issues with stepping back onto the Grid, he wasn't going to abandon anyone to an unending hell of having their mind altered. ]

[Sam’s wording takes Alan by surprise and for a moment, he wants to counter in Flynn’s defense: what had happened to Tron had been Clu’s fault, not his. And yet… Flynn isn’t entirely blameless in what happened either. Someone had to bring Tron onto the Grid. Someone had to keep it a secret. And of course, someone had to create Clu.

But none of that had been Sam’s fault.]

You know, a couple of months ago you were telling me not to take responsibility out of guilt. If this is your choice, then I won’t stop you. But it should be your choice -- not something you think you have to do to make up for your dad’s mistakes.

[Alan doesn’t want Sam to go. But he’s knows it’s not his decision to make.] Are you sure you’re ready to go back?

No

[ If it were anyone else but Alan asking, Sam might not admit the truth. His dad's mistakes do play a role, how can they not, but this is Sam's choice. He saw how horrible and bleak it had gotten in there, and if Rinzler went in there in the worst sort of accident imaginable? Sam wouldn't be able to live with himself if he just sat this one out. ]

But there's no way I'm letting Tron face Clu on his own. No one is getting abandoned to that insanity.

[ No matter how much Sam thinks Rinzler hates him. ]

[A slow exhale, worry coiling tight in Alan’s chest. He doesn’t want this to happen, but it’s clear Sam’s mind is made up. And for all his concern and anxiety, he can't deny that he feels a certain pride in Sam's decision. It doesn’t make the worrying any easier, but it’s there.]

Thank you, Sam. And I know you don’t need to hear this, but be careful. Please.

I could actually use you in a support capacity if I could borrow you for a bit.

I can use the Training Sim room to build a map that could be programmed into the MID. Considering the limited time people have in there, it would be faster to know where they're going. Especially if different groups are necessary.

Mapping isn't the problem. Once they're inside, I'm not sure if communication will work? I mean I can help you lay a map out and maybe it would be best if Tron went in there but, I don't want to ask him to essentially see the Program that mindfucked him before by himself.

Understood. I have some handheld communication devices and they have good range, but I don't know if the physics of your world would accommodate. I'm willing to send some along though.

I'll set up the Training Sim room regardless. Hopefully we can make it work.

I'll go with you, Sam.

[He's kind of not talking to Alan directly right now, but this needs to be done.]

[ Well this might get awkward. ]

It might actually be better if he didn't see me. If he just sees you, able to break free, he'll know he can too.

I don't know if he's ready to break free from Clu's control on his own. I think he knows that I did, but he hasn't been able to. Or hasn't tried.

[Tron isn't about to leave Rinzler back on the Grid, though.]

Well, even if it's only you he's seeing, you're not in there alone.

[ Sam isn't debating this, just like he's not asking you to face any version of Clu on your own. There is difficulties to go around, though; ]

The real problem is going to be keeping everyone together, not caught, and not hurt.

im coming!!!

[No really, Frisk is already running to the flight deck. It's kind of a miracle that they took the time to respond to the post at all.]

[Unfortunately for Frisk, Alan remembers their name from his conversation with Toriel. And their age.] I’m sorry, but the Grid is too dangerous for children to go. But I can tell you when Rinzler gets back. [He’s being optimistic, for their sake.]

[From the huffing breathing on their end and the semi-distant thump-thump-thump, it's pretty clear Frisk isn't slowing down at all.]

No! I can help, I gotta help!

Frisk... The programs there aren't like Tron or Rinzler. They don't know you, and if they're serving Clu, they might try and hurt you. Please, stay on the ship.

I can dodge, I'll be fine!

[Buddy. Pal.]

You’re not going. That’s final. [You did it, Frisk. You brought out the Dad Voice.]

[Frisk scowls at the camera before sticking their tongue out and closing the feed. They're totally still on their way.]

Yeah. He sure does love being rewritten for someone else's convenience.

[Miller can't really hold his tongue on that one.]

I'm sticking around here, I don't want to use that thing again. But we can use the Training Sim Room to build a quick map for those that go in after him. It would make whoever went in there easier to retrieve and mark potential threats.

[Alan has neither the time nor interest to fire back at Miller’s remark and focuses instead on his suggestion.]

You should speak with Tron or Sam. They’re the ones with experience navigating the Grid.

[He's touchy, and can't help it. He doesn't fully understand what it means to be a program, but he sees Rinzler as just another person. And when he has a friend that was rewritten/programmed in his own way. He seems to have come out the worse for the wear with it.]

What do you know about the physics of it?

Not much, besides that they aren’t the same as they are here. Time passes differently and code defines matter. I’m afraid you’ll have to ask Tron or Sam for more detail than that.

[Goat bro is joining the rescue squad!]

I'm on my way now.

[Nope, sorry, he knows you’re a kid too, Asriel.] Thank you, Asriel, but this is too dangerous for you. I’ll let you know when Rinzler gets back.

Edited 2016-05-16 22:25 (UTC)

[He is so not a kid! He has tiny horn nubs now!]

I can't just stand by and wait around. He's in trouble, right? I'm going to help him.

You can't do that if you get hurt. [Or worse.] This just isn't the kind of trouble that you can help with. I'm sorry.

I'll be there as soon as I can.

Thank you. [A slight sigh of relief. Nihlus is the first volunteer so far who isn’t a child or Sam.] Just be careful -- I don’t know how many programs Clu has reprogrammed to fight for him, but if he’s the system’s admin, it will likely be a lot. [How many programs had Flynn even transferred onto the server? Hundreds? Thousands? If Clu had rewritten the majority, he'd have an army at his disposal.]

On it.

What's this Grid place like? What sort of gear or disguises are going to be useful there?

I don’t know about disguises, but you should be prepared to defend yourself. If Clu was able to reprogram Rinzler to fight for him, it’s likely he’s done the same to the other programs in the system as well. [It’s a chilling thought: how many programs like Tron had had their personalities completely rewritten to serve Clu’s purposes?]

If you want more information, you should ask Tron or Sam: they’re the ones who have been on the Grid before.

Be ready for a fight, talk to Tron or Sam. Got it.

You know, you're kind of a hypocrite. But you're a well-meaning hypocrite, so thanks.

[Alan's trying to help Rinzler now and Deacon doesn't like to pass judgement too strongly. Alan's hardly the first person to condemn something that he once did or considered doing.]

[...While still a more charitable assessment than many people on the ship are willing to give him (not to mention a not-at-all inaccurate one), Alan's nonetheless unsure how to respond to it. So he won't.]

[Fiora isn't exactly in a position to offer help again, so she doesn't answer. Not that she felt there'd be a need to - as expected, people start chiming in with offers. Rinzler will be fine. He'll get back with all these people going after him.

But eventually, Fiora can't ignore this anymore.]

Did he go back alone on purpose?

I thought something like this wasn't going to happen anymore after you were done.

It didn’t seem like it. [Rinzler had fallen in. Not jumped. Though the question still remained as to what he was doing at the Ingress alone in the first place. Alan doesn’t want to think of what it would mean if this was all planned: that Rinzler had weighed his options between him and Clu, and found the latter the preferable option.]

I didn’t edit him. [Said with some vehemence.] His code wasn’t… there wasn’t anything forcing him to be violent.

What I told you before... I was wrong.

[Fiora doesn't answer for a while. But when the next video message comes, her face is flushed and her eyes are glaring into the camera.]

I thought you told me he was edited! You know... brainwashed, basically! And that he wasn't like this before! Doesn't that mean something was forcing him to be different now?

[She stops, sputtering for a moment. What she wants to bark out is You lied to me.]

You had us attacking him. We put our lives on the line!

He was edited. And he wasn’t like this before. But the changes weren’t to make him violent, they were to make him obedient. Clu cut off entire sections of who he was -- memory, function, choice -- and redirected all of it into following his commands. [He shakes his head.] I should have realized it earlier… Clu wouldn’t gain anything from reprogramming him to attack people without cause. If Rinzler were everything Clu wanted him to be, I don’t know if he’d be able to do much of anything without a direct order. I know it must sound contradictory, but the violence isn’t the result of Clu’s code -- it’s a sign that Rinzler’s resisting it. [Resisting it in a dangerous and unhealthy way, yes, but resisting it all the same.]

I’m sorry. If I had known all this before, then I never would have asked it of you. But I didn’t. I thought-- [No.] -- I wanted to believe that it was something I could fix.

So he's just some - some regular jerk with some of his stops removed? He's hurting people on purpose? That's just what he is?

[She's so furious, but not entirely at Alan. Mostly just at this entire situation, the people on this ship, her foolish decision to get involved in any of it.]

And here I was, feeling bad for him...!

Shit. He went through alone?

[ Not good. Really not good. Utterly concerned, Wash is already dropping what he's doing and starting to make his way back down to the planet. ]

I want to believe that you really mean what you say. I don't know anything about you aside from what I've heard, but it sure sounded like you weren't doing anything good for Rinzler. [ Regardless of what the program had done, he didn't deserve to have his code messed with at all. He didn't deserve for the idea to even be considered. ] Whatever the case, I'm heading there now. Hopefully he's still okay.

[’I was trying to.’ Alan bites back the words, instead focusing on the offer of help.] Thank you. You should be prepared to defend yourself once you're in the Grid; Clu’s probably reprogrammed the system’s other programs to fight for him, just like he did to Rinzler. [And if he’s already gotten to Rinzler himself… well, that warning goes unsaid.]

Right. Got it.

[ He'd kind of guessed that would be the case anyway, so the confirmation is helpful. Though, if the other programs fight like Rinzler does, avoiding combat entirely if possible is ideal. ]

Thanks. Anything else important that I should know before I get in there?

[ He hasn't got a lot of time before he reaches the portal, but jumping in completely blind hardly seems wise. ]

You have an advantage there from being a User. Rinzler’s shown me some of the technology from the system and all of it’s configurable: vehicles, tools, weapons -- you just need to get your hands on the data storage. The device he showed me looked like some kind of baton, but there are probably other kinds of that technology on the Grid that a User could also manipulate. [Such as a disk, for example...]

All of it is defined by code, but… I don’t think you’ll need that much programming experience to use any of it. [He remembers the code on Rinzler’s disk, how easily it had molded itself to his every unspoken command. There’s a certain discomfort in using the knowledge he had gained there now, but the situation is too dire to leave any potential advantage unsaid.] Once you have access to the code, just focus on what you want it to do, and it should respond in kind. [Perhaps the results would lack the precision of someone who actually knew how to handle the code line-by-line, but it isn’t like he’d have time for that kind of attention-to-detail anyway.]

[ There's a few moments of relative silence on Wash's end, just the sound of hurried, heavy footsteps. ]

Okay. That'll definitely be good to keep in mind.

[ Especially if a situation comes up. Hopefully it won't, but he can't just pretend like it isn't a possibility. Normally he'd be asking a lot more questions about being able to manipulate and use the technology, but now is far beyond the time for that. ]

I'm going to do what I can to get him out. ...Thanks for letting us all know what happened. I know I'm not the only one who would hate it if we couldn't get him back here.

Well, this certainly just adds a nice new layer to this entire fiasco. While physically unable to do so, perhaps I can be of service in locating him via the MIDs. They may not work outbound, but perhaps I can triangulate him from someone else's MID.

If you think it might work, try it. Is there anything you need from the people going in?

Just someone willing to take me along in their MID really. I can tweak what I can of the tracking function once I have a baseline reading of how they react to this particular universe.

I'll let people know and find someone to take you.

Thank you for doing this.

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