1685/Reboot: EP 3 Chat Room

Reboot: EP 3 Chat Room
Date of Scene:	28 February 2015
Location:	The Grid <TG>
Synopsis:	Deelel and the rest of the party sit down with Alpha, Bios, Cache and Turing to have a little talk about the status of things and what to do next.
Cast of Characters:	Deelel, 626, 631, 673, 686, 707, Corona Arclite
Tinyplot:	Reboot

---

Deelel has posed:
Accessing Archived Data

Last time Deelel and her friends made great diplomatic gains with survivors of the old system monitors. It's time for them all to have a little chat.

The safe house is not on the GRID it's elsewhere in the cyber core. The ISOs are settling in pretty well feeling safe for the first time in a very long time, most of them are busy working no setting up shop so to speak. Turing however got a rig set up and is starting to sniff the local information nets given her job as as search engine.

Alpha is out of his heavy armour and looks pretty much like a military guy from the looks of him a craggy face which might int to a human male in his thirds hides the fact this program is far older. Bios and Cache are here as well checking over some new gear thanks to Deelel's siren contact.

The party has come to talk there's information to share, and planning to do after all.

"So the little Deejay's been resiting Clu? What next are you actually the Renegade?"

Deelel laughs a bit at Alpha's comment but shakes her head.

"So far as I know it may very well be Tron. I pray to my user that this is true we could use him."

Cache speaks up.

"If he's alive we got a chance. He's strong enough to take on Clu and his top men, me? Even Alpha would get cubed if we tried that."

"So my people are doing well and I don't know how we can repay you still I have to ask for more. There are other ISOs out there we can help there may even be others like Alpha and his unit."

Deelel nods and tilts her head.

"How did you survive Clu? It look like he won everyone over even Tron's Personal unit."

Alpha scowls a bit at this.

"Ya that glitch null unit sprite Dyson back stabbed us /all/. Never seen a program so dead inside. There's like nothing there but he's still going. So enough on that you got any questions?"

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
"Who's Dyson?" wonders Xiaomu as she arrives - a little bit late, but here nonetheless. She had to make sure she was dressed properly for the occasion, after all ... and she still hasn't QUITE learned the Grid armor well enough to mimic it by shapeshifting yet.

She's also carrying a jug of something ... it might be familiar to Deelel or the rescuees.

Rory White (673) has posed:
    "If you would benefit from practice and training away from prying eyes, we might be able to arrange something." Rory speaks up helpfully for Alpha and the others. She's been fairly quiet so far, more focused on listening and filing away information to build an idea for the local culture and situation. Hard to make any sort of suggestions without a firm understanding of everything going on...

    So the Users are revered like gods.

    A program named Tron is a local hero, location unknown (possibly derezzed?)

    ISOs are hunted.

    Clu is a jerk.

    "First, I'd like to know more about Clu's motivations. It sounds like he has political and military control over much of the Grid, save for a few abandoned locations that are rarely patrolled?"

    "Second, what IS the situation with Tron? you regard him like a hero. Is he missing in action?"

    "Third, if the only way to to solve the Clu problem is cubing him... what will happen? Presumably you'd want to do that without brute forcing through his entire forces. In his absence, who will then step up?"

Reker (631) has posed:
"I bet I could take Clu." That would be Reker, who's been fiddling with something off to one side while listening to the ongoing talk, "Dude talks tough, but I know his type. Rules through fear more than actual skill. The hard part would be getting to him."

Reker finishes working on whatever he was messing with and turns around, "So, speaking of getting to Clu." He says, "How many guards and soldiers does he have, anyway?"

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "All good questions." Kyra chimes in. "Though I've been wondering something myself. Are you all the ISOs left? Or have you heard about any more being out there?" She pauses and glances over at Reker. She can't help but grin a little at his declaration, admiring his interest in getting at the problem's source.

Gakupo Kamui (686) has posed:
    Gakupo's reasoning for doing things tends to be pretty simple. If there are people in danger, he tries to help them. That's sort of what happened last time-- he'd learned people were in danger and acted to help them. So, like Rory, he too is missing a few details. Thankfully Rory starts asking some questions! Which is good, becausehe had no idea where to start with his own. So he listens for the answers, without asking his own just yet.

    Reker's also got a point, and he nods. "Sounds about right," he agrees. "Though getting to him couldn't be easy, otherwise someone would have tried it before now. Maybe someone has, and it's ended badly."

    To note, he looks the same way he was the last time he was in this world's Grid-- blue lights on a Light Suit, with his jinbaori and hakama over that. But his hair is still purple, and still arranged in his typical topknot and tendrils in front of his headset.

Deelel has posed:
Alpha says "Dyson? He was Tron's second in command of all the System monitors. He was good once, hell of a security program second to only Tron. Then he got messed up bad during a riot and was never the same."

Cache however spots what Xia has brought and goes for it.

"Thanks!"

She's polite about it but she's clearly already eyeing the energy that Xiamou has brought someone could use a bit of a pick me up.

"Clu's function is to make sure the Grid runs efficiently and he doesn't dig imperfection. ISOs they ain't perfect in his view and he doesn't like that. He sees them about useful as a grid bug and treated as such. Flynn said there was room for all, grid bugs are just mindless glitches. ISOs are like Basics they are programs. He's got the whole army, if your wondering populated areas have forces actively patrolling them, the wastes get patrols from time to time, ruins like this tend to be watched and patrolled. He's got just about everything under his thumb, but Flynn a few hold outs like myself and some really uppity basics like your Deejay friend here."

He looks for a moment his full age hitting him for a moment.

"Local hero? You have no idea, he did the impossible once. Long before this system was compiled long before anyone here but me was complied there was another system ENCOM OS, A program, called MCP the Master Control program was unstoppable he was raiding other systems for programs not even military ones could stop him. Tron? His faith in the Users, in /you/ was unbreakable. He escaped the death games that the MCP condemned those who refuse to recant their faith in the Users to and ultimately brought him down."

"Come on that's a myth Alpha, Tron was old but the MCP is just a story to scare the newly compiled."

Alpha snaps back.

"Your better thinking the MCP is just a story."

HE looks to Rory seriously.

"When Flynn was betrayed all the guards turned on him save Tron. Dyson, and Clu fought him so far as I know every one there but Dyson and Tron were cubed that day. Flynn escaped but no one's seen him in hundreds of cycles. You need to deal with the social order Tesler is one of the front runners, he did something I never seen worked his way all the way up to command. He was made to just be a patrol leader. As for Tron? The Rumours if anyone could cheat death it would be him, if he's alive we could rally a lot of the grid's population."

Bios looks over to Reker for a moment and folds her arms.

"Clu and Dyson are two of the highest speced combat programs on the Grid that are still alive. Clu will get his hands dirty. As for his forces he ... There are several million programs on the grid. Tron City alone has several million in and of it self. He also got to just about everyone ... cept my little band. Maybe Anon if he's still out there somewhere. You want to know the truth? He somehow keeps getting more soldiers, which means since he can't make new programs...."

Cache says "Its like Zip warned us, Clu was rectifying /everyone/ to serve him somehow."

Gakupo is looked at for a moment, Turing speaks up now.

"He also struck down the three people best able to stop him those being Tron, Flynn and Anon. He's never claimed he killed the latter two like he did Tron and I can't find any info confirming their deaths."

Rory White (673) has posed:
    "So Tron is missing, possibly cubed. Virtually the entire Grid is under Clu's control, albeit via brutal oppression, and only small pockets of armed resistance oppose them. Bluntly speaking the only possible option to remove Clu is infiltration and assassination, or geurilla warfare against critical infrastructure ... which will likely do as much damage to the people and system you'd rather protect as it does to Clu."

    She delivers these words with a hand over her heart and quickly swivels around to face Reker.

    "what's your analysis?"

    The only confusion here is... just what gives her such tactical insight?

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Xiaomu smiles, holding the jug of energy out to Cache; she's even brought a stack of cups, User knows where she was *hiding* them, but she passes the cups around as well while listening to the infodumps.

When the discussion starts about whether this MCP was 'just a story' or not, though, the sage fox speaks up again, "Legends and myths are often kindled from at least a spark of truth. And if this Tron is known to be real, then the MCP might well have been as well ... that's how these stories work: heroes emerge when they're needed."

Speaking from the 'experience' of all the games she's played and shows she's watched? Or from the actual experience of her own 765-year lifespan?

She continues listening, though, even as she starts pouring cups of energy for the refugees, and for the others. Her ears perk up a bit as she sniffs at one of the cups, like she's looking forward to tasting it herself.

Reker (631) has posed:
"This kind of situation isn't unwinnable.." Reker says, with a frown, "But it won't be easy. To be honest...Our best bet might be to start trying to find these other pockets of resistance.."

    "Normally I'd suggest trying to get somebody on the inside to feed us intel, but that's less likely with everyone being programed to be loyal to Clu." Reker rubs his chin a little bit as he thinks, trying to come up with a better plan, "Obviously we can't fight them outright. We'd need to do a surgical strike, which would mean knowing where Clu and Dyson were going to be."

Gakupo Kamui (686) has posed:
    That makes sense-- Clu is just obssessed with efficiency. And, well... sapient life doesn't file neatly under a set of labels. A simple case of Clu being afraid? Maybe. Could education help it? Who knows? "If he's just afraid, that's fairly common, unfortunately," he says. He doesn't say it, but even Users do that.

    But the mention of what seems implied to be tantamount to mind control draws a frown. "He's reprogramming those that fall to him?" Gakupo inquires, suprised. Sigh. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised." Rory's words get her a look, and he considers carefully. "If he's reprogramming the ones he defeats, any amount of out-and-out battle would just give him more soldiers in the end," he points out.

    Then he says something that, by his tone, even he knows is utterly stupid. "...I don't suppose we could just sit down with him and explain the situation?" He gives a sheepish look. "I know, I know... but SOME has to suggest the peaceful option, right?"

Corona Arclite has posed:
"So the whole system has gone to scrap and there's been no one to get enough folk together to clean it up without this Tron fellow around," is Corona's summery of the matter finally.

Rory White (673) has posed:
    "I'm all for peaceful situations. Only how? We don't have enough military power to be a threat in open negotiations. Based on what's been said he will deploy massive resources everything to crush any known resistance. Stealth and surprise are our only current advantages. Furthermore, if he is already at the point where he views altering personalities as alright... he's unlikely to care for moral causes. They're 'inefficient and disorderly.'"

    Her tone's full of disdain and disgust for the situation even as she finds a seat and puts both hands over her lap. And, at the same time, fidgets with her unusual new attire - the converted 'Simulmorph' is so weird!

    "Furthermore... you say that Clu claims to have killed Tron. If he is capable of altering personalities and prioritizes order and efficiency, it's highly inefficient to eradicate a program of his level."

    A few moments after dropping that possibility, she continues fidgeting and speaks with an awkwardly too-positive tone, "I like this Morph! All the aesthetics of human shape but much more appealing!" This might be giving her IDEAS.

Deelel has posed:
Alpha goes quiet for a moment as he nods in agreement with Rory's assessment.

"It would take a pull out uprising to do something about it honestly. We damage the system like that and that's going against the core directives of being a system monitor."

Cache now gets a bit more talkative.

"All sides want the Grid intact, we can't make our selves a new system now can we? That's 'your' domain is it not? Not holding it against you."

She figured some gods only have domain over a few programs not all are like the creator after all.

"Your right I guess."

Alpha pipes up.

"MCP was real, I was ... in his service once."

the younger basics peer at Alpha as does Deelel.

"What...?"

"It was a long time ago I'm not the program I was then. That's all I got to say. As for that some are, some arent we can use any of you if he finds out a User's got in it's going to get /really bad/."

Deelel Speaks up now.

"We'd have to use basic to do it but there risk of what happens, there's too much on my ID disc same for any of the ones here they are all on watch lists I suspect. He'd have to take them alive, if they are cubed he can't do anything."

Deelel pauses.

"He might have been forced to finish Tron, Rory. Tron was one of the strongest of my kinds if not the most till that is a horrible thought."

Lucky for everyone here Rinzler has not yet come to pass.

"All the upsides, none of the oddities? As for talking if could find a way I'd entertain but but I think even Nathan Hall would be hard pressed against Clu. No I agree with you on this Kaumi."

Turing has been listening and been a bit wide eyed so it was true they were all users barring Deelel and Rory.

"There's still the matter of other ISOs out there. I'm at large they will keep looking and might find them."

Alpha says "There's also the matter of Confirming about Tron, Flynn and even Anon. We might have to raid CLU's people for information. If we could find someone who knew and get a look at thier ID discs at the right time index but I'm not going to steal anyone's disc. What happens to a basic who loses their disc..."

Turing actually looks sympathic at this.

"...You slowly lose all memory and your minds to the point not even Flynn could restore them."

Alpha nods

"Right. Also as for finding them half the problem is them. I can't say about you users but any of us even as team we'd be cubed."

Corona Arclite has posed:
"Welp." Corona leans back against a wall. If she had a proper hat she'd pull it down over her face. "I don't know much 'bout your world yet. But I do know the only way to protect a world worth fightin' for is -to fight for it-." She holds up her hands. "But that don't mean goin' directly after em. We all know that is just a quick way to get dead, cubed, whatever y'all call it. That ain't the only way to fight back." She lowers her hands to her sides to push herself back onto her feet. "But no one is gonna stand up if someone don't stand up first."

Reker (631) has posed:
"That wouldn't happen to us, right?" Reker asks, as he looks at Turing, "I mean, just thinking out loud here. What if we lure out some of Clu's guys.." He says, holding up his hands, "I wish I had a chalkboard here, so bear with me. Right, so we lure out one of Clu's guys, and we whack him on the back of the head and get his disk, scan it, and then give it back. And then we work our way up through the ranks until we get our hands on somebody who has the intel we need.."

He hmms, "Like, there's gotta be a leadership structure. They're not a hive mind. So we just have to find the people who're in charge and capture them...And as for that, I have an idea." He grins, "What do you guys know about irregular warfare?"

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
"I'd probably want to get some more firepower on our side," Xiaomu says, "but if we had to go with just us ... eh. I'd want to know a lot more about the other side first. Otherwise we'll have to just take it slow and methodical, grind our way through the defenses ... and if we have to do *that*, then we lose the element of surprise pretty quickly."

She sits down with a cup of energy, sipping lightly - just a taste to start, really. That seems to be enough, though, as a shiver of delight runs through her body. "Mmmmm. Here's to our future endeavors!" she states, raising her cup to the rest of you in a toast before tossing it back. (They're small cups - sake cups, really.)

Gakupo Kamui (686) has posed:
    Gakupo gives a quiet 'mn' at Rory's words. "That's true," he agrees. "I doubt he'd want to negotiate unless he had the upper hand. And if he has the upper hand, it's not negotiation, it's intimidation." Not to mention that whole 'morals are inefficient and disorderly' bit. Machines don't have morals, do they?

    But then... that doesn't explain the Basics. Aren't they just normal Programs? And they seem to have a conscience. How does that even work? It seems normal Programs in this world were endowed from inception with the thing he only got when someone paired his normal program with a sophisticated AI. And unification may or may not have had something to do with it. It almost seems unfair. But now isn't the time to ask.

    The Vocaloid sighs. "Well, I did have to suggest the peaceful route, as unlikely as it was to be a viable one," he notes. But Corona's words get a nod. "She has a point too. In a situation like this, everyone who CAN fight back is afraid to. They're afraid they're alone. If they know they're not, that others are also fighting for the System, maybe that will give them the courage to stand up and fight. Or at the very least, bring out the ones who DO want to fight so we can find them and organize them."

    Which gives Gakupo an idea. But he'll leave it be for now, ask about it later. It may not even be feasible, so taking a large amount of time now probably isn't the best way to do it.

    Reker's suggestion has merit. And so do Xiaomu's words. Gakupo nods. First to Reker, he notes, "We'd have to be quick about it, if we did." A look to Xiaomu. "Exactly. I'd bet my servomotors it wouldn't take Clu long to catch on. And then he might do something like implant either a virus or a tracking bug onto all his soldiers' disks that wouldn't fire unless the soldier was unconscious when the disk was scanned."

Rory White (673) has posed:
    "The most efficient solution to this problem would be to find this Flynn and direct his attention to the Grid." Rory states simply and solidly, as if it should be obvious, from her otherwise demure-seeming posture.

    "So we'll need help, it seems. If not from this Flynn, then from the others you mentioned. Anon sounds promising!"

Deelel has posed:
Deelel looks horrified at Reker about permanently jacking a disc it was edgy for program to look at another's memory without consent or legal action she shakes her head for a moment.

"No we are not a hive mind, and I'm afraid that's not something I could get behind. Also the theft of an Officers disc would be noticed rapidly. What I mean is this."

she pulls the disc off her back and brings up an index of the first time that Reker and she met for a moment before turning it off and putting her disc back on her back.

"Finding remnants is a good idea but we also need to help the ISOs they are on a shorter timer than Clu is, things are mostly stable we can cause some problems for them yes and oh is that energy?"

The basics and Turing pause and go to get some not even questioning the cups as users are /strange/ beings but these ones are not so detached like Flynn seemed to be. If a god wants to have drinks with you, you say yes, right?

"They need a symbol someone to rally around if that masked program really is Tron? Then he'd be the one to do it also from the looks of their gear they may have at the very least /found/ some of Tron's hardware which would still give them a boost. Humm you have a good point he might do something like that."

"So we look for more of my people and Anon? This sounds like a plan to me."

IT seems Turing is up for it as she adds.

"I'll see what I can dig up but I also will need you to deliver something to JAVA the last thing I want is to get him after us too."

Deelel also has something to say.

"There's one other thing a lot of programs do willingly back Clu, a lot of them feared and hated the ISOs as much as Clu did...to us something without a function is like you staring into the face of a great old one."

Corona Arclite has posed:
Corona Arclite waggles a finger at Deelel. "See. That's what I'm sayin'. If they're gonna stand up they need someone to stand up around."

Gakupo Kamui (686) has posed:
    "Mhm," Gakupo agrees to Rory's statement. "I'd say as many of them as we can get on our side. Every little bit helps, and I have a feeling we're going to need all the help we can get."

    Deelel's mention of theft gets a tilted head. "I don't think he meant permanently keeping it. Just leafing through it, so to speak. Though I suppose I can understand. If these disks are the accumulation of your memories, it would be something close to probing someone's mind without consent. Am I right?"

    Though the problems of programs being afraid of the ISOs gets a tilt of his head. "So education is going to be necessary, too. I Admit, I don't know much about ISOs. What about them differentiates them from other Programs?"

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
"ISOs come into existence spontaneously," Xiaomu explains to Gakupo. "Or at least, that's what we've been told. By contrast, the Basics were created, coded, by the Users to fulfill particular functions - like being a search engine or an accounting reference program." She's not stinting with the energy jug, either; everyone should have a cup by now, and if anyone wants a refill she's happy to provide it.

"As for Flynn - which sounds like a great idea, I mean, if we CAN find him - do we have any leads on where he is? Anything at all?"

She's trying not to think about the prospect of what a computer virus would do to non-programs, but her guesses start at 'just as dangerous' and get worse from there . .. so Deelel mentioning Great Old Ones gets a shiver to run down Xiaomu's back.

Rory White (673) has posed:
    "I'm slightly out of my element here... that's ironic, considering I myself am a program! This kind of world should be normal to me... instead I find it very alien. But nonetheless interesting, and cool! ... and I want to help..."

    "... I do understand the mindset you speak of, Deelel... it would definitely help to know what public opinion REALLY is..."

Gakupo Kamui (686) has posed:
    Should Gakupo end up with a cup from Xiaomu, he will thank her with a nod, and sip at it as she explains. He's Japanese, he knows how to sip from sake cups. Xiaomu's explanation gets a nod. "That... actually I can understand that," he replies. "I'm a program too, not much different from the Basics. I'm just inside a physical body."

    Rory speaks up, and Gakupo nods. And then he takes a stab at the crux of the matter. "...Not having the proper variables to quantify everything that was going on around me-- and sometimes INSIDE me-- was the thing I remember having the most difficulty overcoming," he admits. "I still have problems like that sometimes. Overall though, I can usually let it go. But I don't think it's going to be that easy here. Telling computers 'don't worry about that glaring variable' is like telling a police officer not to worry about the guy in the black hoodie with the suspicious gun-shaped bulge in his coat..."

    "So," he suggests, "what if we 'give' them a function, in the eyes of the Basics? I'm not sure what it would be. But the key to swaying public opinion is making something scary and alien understood. Which is not easy. We can't say 'they're like Users', because... well, given what I've seen that would cause more problems. So what can we say?"

Reker (631) has posed:
"Alright, so we have to help the ISOs first. Then we can focus on going after Clu." Reker says, as he rubs his chin a little bit, "So how do we track down the ISOs? I mean they're not exactly walking around with neon signs that say 'Hey guys I'm an ISO!' Can we check filetypes somehow?"

Rory White (673) has posed:
    "I'm also wondering if there is any way to undo whatever Clu did to alter his force's minds and restore their normal thoughts." Rory mumbles thoughtfully.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel looks at Reker really hard for the moment she doesn't seem to like it at all but there's no real anger she figured he doesn't /get/ it given he's organic if he presses she'll give an easier to understand what he is suggesting. She looks to Xiamou for a moment thinking hard on what she has to say.

"Flynn made the grid, he likely has places known only to him, if he's been able to hide for hundreds of cycles? It might be hard to find him or he might even run from us."

She notes however it's a possibility. Alpha and the others seem to be willing to consider it from the sounds of it She listens and pauses.

"It's never easy getting use to the truth of how the user world is."



Alpha looks to Gakupo and smirks.

"You have got it, it's a rather binary thing. Is it a problem, or is it not? A lot of basics don't like the idea of the concept of /maybe/. I'm afraid that won't work there was an ISO who went viral far as we know and infected a lot of program before he was taken down. Still your thinking but take the thing you hate and fear most and try to have someone say your wrong."

Turing shudders viably at the comments.

"I do not know we'd need some pretty high level permissions or Flynn to have a hope at that."

Deelel nods

"We look for the ISO, try out of the way places, the wastes, ruins, the underbelly of the grid if you will as for Anon that's going to be hard he likely covered his tracks or maybe he's the one everyone thinks is Tron."

Gakupo Kamui (686) has posed:
    "From what I gather, it would probably require a rollback to a previous point in their memory," Gakupo replies. "A restore point, so to speak. Though I'm not completely sure." He looks to the world natives for confirmation or denial.

    He does seem confused though. "Why would he run away from you?" he asks. "You're the 'good guys', aren't you?" he inquires. "If he built the Grid, and it's falling apart, I'd think if he COULD, he'd want to do something about it. Maybe he needs help."

    At the mention of the ISO going viral, Gakupo sighs. "Well, that's going to clog up the tubes significantly. So 'they're like the Users' is really the only way we can spin it." Pause. "There's got to be a way. Even in the User world, public opinion doesn't change in a day. So I expect it'll take more than one microcycle to change it here. But maybe it can be done..."