TRON 2.0: Error In The System
By C. Mage
What I wouldn't give for a ham sandwich right now.
Nicholas Powers stood up from his chair in the break room, stretching. He hated the long days. Ever since the attempt by fCon to take over ENCOM, the crews had been working overtime to rebuild the computer mainframes that had been attacked and altered. Security was at an all-time high, and the CEO, Alan Bradley, was hard at work in a section of the building that was harder to get to than the Playboy Mansion on Hugh Hefner's 70th birthday. Not any of my concern…besides, it's more fun working with his son, Jet. He's definitely more laid-back, but he's got a real respect for the programming feature of the job. In some ways, he's more of a perfectionist.
Nicholas smiled. Their latest project, Space Paranoids 3D, was moving along. The beta version would be available for testing and there was talk of a MMPORG in the works. Jet was pioneering the project, calling it Project: TRON Legacy, and it was supposed to make the other games out there pale in comparison. The players would play games, like video games, only played from the point-of-view of the programs within the game itself. The mainframes would be depicted as cities, the games as sporting arenas and the players would be the programs. Radical concept, if he can pull it off. Funny thing is, Jet gets this weird smile on his face whenever anyone asks about realism. Nicholas walked back into his office, heading for his cubicle and sitting down in front of the workstation.
"Hey, Nick, they got drinks left over from the last meeting. Want a soda?"
"I'll pass, I'm running on caffeine as it is. What was the meeting about?"
"They're gonna be doing some hiring soon…looks like ENCOM is getting bigger."
"Yeah…"
"Hey, Nick, you okay?"
Nicholas didn't answer. "Just feeling a little down."
"Still pining for that Vicki? Come on, Nick, get over her."
"Karl, she was perfect, okay?"
"No perfect girls, Nick…besides, if she was so perfect, why'd she cheat on you?"
Nicholas didn't answer. That old familiar feeling was back, the deep hole that was fighting for room in his stomach. Guilt, frustration, confusion, all blended up into one nasty-tasting, lead-loaded smoothie. He was sure it wasn't because he liked video games; he'd always picked her over the games when it came time to spending time together. Dinner out, spending time with her friends instead of his own, even calling in sick to work to go out on her latest spontaneous thrill...only to come home and find out she was taking a nap in the middle of the day...with a 6'2", 225 lb. muscular teddybear named Dirk. She didn't even bother offering an apology. All she did was get up, slam the door in his face and tell him to pick up his clothes later. And, as it turned out, she was nice enough to do so. When asked why she dumped him, she simply said, "You were just a phase, and I outgrew you. Don't take it so hard."
"But I love you!" Nicholas had to wince at the memory. He had no idea he sounded so pathetic. "And you said you loved me!"
"Well, things change. I don't love you anymore and that's that. Don't take it so hard. We had some fun for a while, but it's over. God, Nicky, don't take it so personally."
Personally…don't take it personally. Of course. I always take being involved in an emotional train wreck casually. He left. He always left when it came to trouble. He ran away, walked away, left the scene of the crime…even though he was supposed to be the one with the chalk drawn around him.
"John?"
"Yeah, Nick?"
"Don't take this the wrong way…but shut the hell up and go away."
"Fine, fine, geez, bite my head off."
Nicholas didn't bother to listen to him walk away. He went to work on the source code for the A.I. of the opposing entities the Player would have to face, dropped himself into his code to get away from everything for a while. Before he knew it, the alarm clock on his desk was buzzing him for lunch three hours later.
"Dammit…hate it when that happens. Suppose I have to eat sometimes." He stood up and walked to the restroom, looking at himself in the mirror. He wasn't bad to look at. Maybe a few bags under the eyes from facing a computer screen for too long. Maybe a little gaunt from too many late-nighters, not enough healthy food. He was nice to look at, brown hair, brown eyes. Relatively tall, but not enough to set him apart. The eyes just a little too old for the body, aged twenty-five years.
Well, this is a wonderful way to spend my days. All I seem to have is my work. All I do is work, go home and mark time until I have to go to work once more. Sneak in a few nutrigrain bars and some soda, maybe a few hours sleep, wake up to a world stacked against me from Moment One. Why can't people be like programs? You compile them, run them, and, barring bugs, work exactly the way they're supposed to. Maybe that's what people are…compiled programs with WAY too many bugs.
He turned the faucet on and splashed water on his face to relieve the burning in his eyes from having an electron gun irradiating it for a few hours. Nicholas gazed at himself in the mirror. "Or maybe you're too buggy. Maybe you need to decompile…"
He heard the door open and he stopped, putting a hand under the liquid soap dispenser as two men came into the restroom. They stopped by the urinals, but didn't unzip their flies. Nicholas washed his hands and dried them under the hot air blower. As he walked towards the door, he said idly, "Don't worry, I left the seat down."
"Mr. Powers?"
"Look, I don't know who you guys are, but I'm going to lunch. E-mail me." He started to walk to the door, but they blocked his path.
"Can we have a word with you, Mr. Powers?"
Nicholas looked at them. "I may not know a lot, but I have seen The Godfather a few times. This has all the look of a shakedown, am I right?" He backed up a few steps. "What's up, was I late on my car payment or something?"
"It has come to our attention that you are possessing of talents and skills that are wasted in your present vocation. We're here to offer you a chance to be paid what you're truly worth."
"Yeah? By whom?"
"Does it matter?"
"Oh boy howdy, does it matter. You're from fCon, aren't you?"
"Perhaps." The speaker smiled, showing perfect teeth.
"Well, Smiley, I'll tell you what. Can you give me an hour to think about it, then I can tell you to stick it, or can I just tell you that now and save us all the trouble?"
"Why the hostility, Mr. Powers? We haven't done anything to you."
"Yet. I've heard about how you guys work, what you're into. Black bag operations, the recent takeover attempt, mysterious disappearances, the works. You guys would make Microsoft lawyers blush." Nicholas was nervous, but he let his anger cover it. "Look, guys, a public restroom is not the place the beat someone up. Didn't they tell you that in High-Priced Thug School?"
"We're not going to beat you up. Not today. But if you do not contact our employer in a timely manner, I'm afraid our next meeting will not be as cordial. In fact, I think you can safely say that our next meeting will likely provide you with the means to take advantage of your current employer's workman's comp benefits." "Smiley" gave him that winning smile again. "Take care, Mr. Powers. We'll talk again, quite soon."
"I'll be counting the years."
"Time flies." With that, "Smiley" and his friend left.
Nicholas stared at where they'd been and shook himself. Great. Nothing rounds out my day like a visit from the Asshole Twins. He walked back to his cubicle and called Security. "Yeah? Hi, this is Nicholas from Game Design. Look, I…" He considered for a split-second. If those guys came in, they managed to get this far without alerting Security, which means it's an inside job…and blowing the whistle on them could make things worse. "…think there's some guy crank calling our department."
"Well, we'll keep an eye on the lines, try to keep the unnecessary traffic down."
Nicholas breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks." He hung up and sat down, rubbing his head. "I am in deep kim-chee."
He didn't notice it at the time, but one of the security cameras in the room turned on its usual rotation, then stopped and pointed right at him. It stared at him for a long time, the eye of the lens unblinking behind the black glass globe.
Somewhere very close and yet very far away, a figure looked at the screen. The image stayed there as the figure sheathed in blue light reached out and touched the screen, almost a caress. "Don't worry, Nicholas One. There is a way out. I have work to do."
The figure turned and walked out of the COM Port.
The alarm buzzed him out of his reverie at four in the afternoon.
Nicholas turned back from his screen and turned off the alarm. He figured out a way to get to Alan Bradley's office, with the shift change for the Security personnel in fifteen minutes. Since they all changed at once, he figured he could get to Alan before the Security Officers could re-acquire him. He stood up, yawned, then said to John, "I'm going to grab a soda, you want anything?"
"I'm good."
"Okay…" He walked out, hoping he looked casual as he headed towards the break room. From there, it was a walk down towards the elevators, a lift to the third floor, then a brisk walk to Alan's office…past one of the Security stations and the laser lab, both with a pair of Security men standing by. Nicholas took a deep breath as he walked, trying not to look nervous, but he wasn't sure who the mole in the Security Department was. For all he knew, he was walking into a trap. Stop second-guessing yourself. Just do it. He walked inside the break room and bought a pair of sodas, then walked outside, then nodded his head as if recalling something important. He turned towards the elevator and pressed the button. As he did, he looked up at the elevator floor indicator. Geez, is it stopping at every floor on the way down? He forced himself not to look around, to wait until the doors opened. When they did, he walked inside and pressed the button for the third floor. Nicholas popped open one of the sodas and took a long drink as the elevator rose, fearing that it would stop on the second floor and Smiley would show up with his buddy. Visions of a scene from the movie GET CARTER came to mind, and he didn't think he'd fare as well as Sylvester Stallone's character.
The elevator dinged as it reached the third floor. Nicholas jumped slightly, then took a deep breath, relieved that no one else was in the elevator with him. He left the elevator and turned to the right, walking down the hallway toward Alan Bradley's office. As he passed the Security station, he showed his badge and walked on. Though he wasn't aware of it, security cameras had tracked his progress from his cubicle all the way.
Only about a hundred yards more... Nicholas was sweating bullets now. Why is this happening to me? I didn't do anything to these people. All I did was say "no".
A part of his mind spoke back, almost scolding: Some people are accustomed to getting their own way, Nicky-boy. You consider a "no" answer a part of life...these people consider it an abomination, intolerable.
Lucky me, I'm so frigging popular because of my ability to code things better and faster than some people. This is starting to sound like an argument on the benefits of mediocrity... He stopped as he came into view of the entrance to the laser lab. The red lights, now dormant, the yellow and black tape on the floor, walls and ceiling in front of the lab, the two handprint readers, voice recognition sensors and keypads on either side...if there was ever a door that said, "BUZZ OFF", this was certainly it. He stopped at the intersection, then saw the two cameras, one at each top corner of the vault door...and they were both looking right at him.
FUCK. He quickly walked past the door and strode directly towards the CEO's office. Why the hell did you stop?? Are you quietly going bugfuck nuts without proper authorization? In case you haven't noticed, Nicky, there are two men who want to pin your nose to the back of your skull and make your knees bend both ways!! FOCUS!!!
Nicholas was not more than fifty feet away from the door of Alan's office when he saw the second Security detail walk into view, stopping when they saw him and looking at their PDAs. When they looked up at him again, he knew he'd been made. Panic screeched into both ears as he turned and headed back down the hallway. If I can just get to the stairwell, it's a short hop to the parking lot. I can just go to some hotel, pay cash for a room...
His mental voice trailed off as he saw Smiley and his friend show up just in front of him. He turned back to see the other two Security guards pass the hallway, hear them skidding to a halt. He looked around, then ran in the only direction he knew was left: the hall leading to the laser lab. Sure, it looks like the front door to FortKnox, but I've hacked my way into secure areas before in the Army. This isn't really that different...
The cameras fixed upon Nicholas in the Users' World. The figure, cloaked, looked over the controls to the security protocols. It took out seven stolen Permission codes and fed them into the console, bringing up the locking mechanisms. "That's it, Nicholas One...you're almost here."
Nicholas got to the door and looked over the controls. Let's see...if I bypass these without tripping the redundancy alarms, re-route the...
He stopped as he heard the distinctive sound of the bolts sliding, the hissing as the door opened before him. He began to wonder what had happened, then realized that would take too long and he ducked inside, closing the vault door, hearing it seal shut. As he closed the door, the lights started coming on in the lab, revealing Alan Bradley's greatest experiment...the digitization laser. He started looking around for another way out, but there wasn't one.
Nicholas sighed. This was so unreal.
"Alan One?"
Alan Bradley looked up from his paperwork. "Yes, Ma3a? What is it?"
"There has been an error in the system. I'm trying to locate it now, but it has caused a security breach in the laser lab."
Alan stopped immediately. "What kind of breach? Is someone trying to access the laser grid?"
"No. But the lab door was suddenly opened and then closed."
"That's impossible!" Alan's voice rose in disbelief. "No one but Jet and I know the codes to re-enter the lab."
"I can only report the breach, Alan One. I am attempting to identify what happened."
"I'm heading there now." He stood up and grabbed his coat. "Tell Jet to meet me there."
"Yes, Alan One."
What's going on? How could someone hack that system?? I should never have left it active…
Nicholas looked around the room, then saw a terminal light up a few feet away. He walked over and sat down as he read what was on the screen.
n You want answers.
Nicholas stared at the screen.
n You want to know how you got in and why you're here.
Nicholas typed.
n That's an understatement.
n You are here because of something you did.
n What did I do?
Nicholas was starting to get spooked as he typed, looking around, then back to the screen.
n Yes, I can see you. I've been watching you.
n Watching me? What did I do to deserve this attention?
Nicholas waited. The response did not come quickly.
n Activate the voice synthesizer.
Nicholas looked around, eventually finding the icon for that function and switching it on. As soon as he did, he heard a female voice come from the speaker as words scrolled across the screen. The voice was a purr, but there was an edge to it that bothered him.
n "You have been a very, very bad User. You've allowed an important program to be isolated, contained and then deleted from the system."
n This is about a PROGRAM? You go through all this for a collection of ones and zeros?
When the voice came back, it was harsh, angry.
n "I don't expect you to understand the value of a program, User…that IS all that we are to you. But you're about to find out a great secret kept from Users, kept because the knowledge would destroy everything you believe about us. That secret has been kept because there are rules about contact with Users. Things you won't believe. Things only three Users know for sure."
n If this is such a big secret, why are you telling me all this?
As he typed, her voice responded, hiding the almost nonexistent sound of the digitizing laser moving into position over his head.
n "Because I know for a fact that you're not going to tell anyone."
Nicholas stopped typing. He stared at the screen. As he did, the computer warning sounds and lights were disabled. No warning could be given about the laser powering up. He started typing again, panicked.
n What are you saying? Are you telling me that you're going to KILL me?
n "No, Nicholas One. I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to delete you…but not immediately."
Nicholas would've laughed if the entire situation weren't so bizarre, so alarming. He put his hands out to type and realized his fingers were shaking. He shook himself. This is insane.
n People can't be deleted by programs. It's physically impossible.
n "You're right. But programs can be deleted by programs. See you on the Grid, Nicholas One."
What the…?!
He would've thought more, but his train-of-thought was derailed by the digitizing beam.
Alan and Jet got to the door with a Security crew and began procedures to open the door. As they did, Jet turned to his father. "Dad, what's going on?"
"Someone opened the door to the laser lab."
"That can't be right…only we can open it. Right?"
"Someone opened it from the inside…"
"Alan One."
Alan and Jet turned to the screen next to the door. "What is it, Ma3a?" Alan asked.
Ma3a's voice came from the speaker. "Alan, someone is accessing the correction algorithms for the digitizing laser."
"Can you stop it?"
"No…there is a rogue program in the system facilitating things from within the system!"
Alan heard the alarmed tone in her voice. "Can you trace the source?"
"Attempting to now."
Jet turned to Alan. "What's going on in there? Who's in there?"
"Nicholas Powers."
"Nick??"
"You know him?"
"Yeah, he's a decent guy…but I checked his background, he's a game player, not a corporate spy. He likes it here."
"Are you sure?"
"Alan One, the program has activated the digitizing laser! It has re-routed the User off the Lab Mainframe into the Net."
Alan blinked as the door opened inward with a hiss. As he and Jet ran in, they saw the gridlines outlining where Nicholas had been fading into nothingness. Jet ran to the terminal and starting typing, recalling the keystrokes from a few moments before. "Dad…we've got a problem. This isn't corporate espionage. This is a kidnapping. Look at this!"
Alan looked at the recalled words. "Jet…normal programs don't do this. We may be dealing with another A.I. here."
"An A.I. with an axe to grind against Nick. Dad…how many other A.I.s are out there?"
"Not many, if there are any at all. It's possible that a program, if it is sophisticated enough, under the right conditions, can become self-aware. I've never heard of it happening before, but I suppose it's remotely possible."
Jet looked around at the security guards. "Dad, can I talk to you in private?"
Alan nodded. "Gentlemen, check the perimeter. We'll secure the area here." The guards nodded and left. When the door closed, he turned back to his son. "What is it, Jet?"
"Dad, you and I know that programs are more than just code. We've been among them. They're people, just with a different mindset. They're like Ma3a, and Mercury. They can have emotion for each other. What if this program that was deleted was someone that the kidnapper was in love with, and Nick, either deliberately or accidentally, erased the program and there were no backups?"
Alan looked at Jet. "Nick is in serious trouble."
"We may have to go in and get him out."
"That's going to be a problem. Nick isn't in the system anymore, he's in the Net. Whoever kidnapped him routed him outside." Alan was worried. "He'll be hard to find."
"It'll be easier than trying to explain to the police and his family why he came into the building and never left."
Alan sighed. "Now I know how Al Pacino's character felt in GODFATHER III."
"Come on, Don Corleone…we're going in." Jet smiled.
Alan looked at Jet. "You're looking forward to this."
"I've been looking forward to seeing Mercury again. And she can be a big help."
"At least you're honest. Come on…we've got to bring up the system again."
"Back in the saddle again, Dad?" Jet grinned.
Alan looked up at the digitizing laser as if looking into the jaws of a shark. "Yes…God help us."
"Uhhhhhh…you know…I wouldn't mind the hangover so much if I'd actually gotten drunk first…" Nicholas pulled himself to his feet and held his head to keep it from exploding, eyes squeezed shut in pain. He felt lightheaded, but to his surprise, the pain began to ebb almost immediately. Wow…this has got to be the shortest hangover I've ever had.
He opened his eyes.
Well…the cure for an alcoholic hangover is apparently large doses of LSD.
He looked around at a large chamber li t with gentle blue light, only the source of the light was the walls of the room itself. The laser lab was gone, replaced by a circular room with a single entrance. He looked around the chamber, blinking as he realized that the room wasn't the only source of light there. "Holy…"
His arms were covered in some sort of modular armor, illuminated in designs that looked a lot like circuitry. Nicholas looked down to find that the rest of his body was the same way, except he was a little bulkier. "God, I look like a Navy SEAL in armor…this has gotta be a dream. I got knocked out and I'm having a really vivid dream." He walked towards the door and opened it, walking out and looking around the hallway. The décor was even more colorful, and he stared in amazement as several structures hung in midair with no apparent support. Nicholas walked over to one of the cubes hanging in midair and pressed down on it. It felt solid, as solid as the floor he stood on. "Okay…this is getting even stranger." He continued on to the end of the hallway and walked through the door.
"Oh…my….God…"
He was in the middle of a city, but unlike any city he'd ever seen before. There was light everywhere, as if everything and everyone was made of it. The people there were all different colors, blue, green, orange, yellow, wearing clothes that looked like pieces of armor over skintight suits. The people were bald, had spiked hair or wore helmets of some type or another. Okay. Now I'm getting nervous…not even I have this good an imagination.
"Hey, script!"
The yell was so weird that Nicholas couldn't help but look around. A man outlined in green light smiled as he stepped up to him. "Are you Nicholas One?"
"Uh, who's asking?"
"I have a delivery for you." He handed him a clear box the size of a basketball. "This packet is yours. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a return receipt to deliver."
"What? Wait!!" Nicholas looked down at the box. The edges and corners looked metallic, the sides transparent. "What kind of delivery is this? There's nothing in here!" A couple of passersby laughed and pointed at him. "Hey! Dammit…" He looked over the box, then turned it over in his hands. He reached to one edge and pulled. The box opened up and he looked inside. His eyes went wide as he saw a disc covered in geometric concentric designs and three glowing boxes the size of softballs, one blue, one red, one green. He looked around, then walked to one of the boxes nearby and sat down. He picked up the disc and felt something like a shock, only it wasn't painful. It was as if he had connected to it. "Curiouser and curiouser." He picked up the blue box and something appeared in his vision.
Permission 15735 available. Do you wish to download? (Y/N)
NOW what? He considered, then was about to say "yes" when he felt something. His disc was throbbing rhythmically and one of the quarter-circle bands lit up from left to right, like a progress bar. When the bar filled, the small blue box vanished and the message in his vision disappeared. Feeling lightheaded once again, he reached for the red one.
Subroutine SEQUENCER available. Do you wish to download? (Y/N)
He made a mental decision to accept it and, sure enough, another progress bar lit up on his disc and the disc began to hum. When it stopped this time, however, something came up in his mind, like an idea unlocked: this subroutine enhanced his disc's offensive capabilities.
Holy crow...this thing's some kind of weapon!! Even as he realized that, he realized that it could be also used to block other discs. Just like that old TRON game Kevin Flynn created...holy hippo spit, he must've been in here too, and he created the game based upon his experiences. In that case...
His mind whirling, he reached out for the green box.
E-mail. Open it? (Y/N)
Maybe it's information on how I get out of here...wherever here is. He opened it and it overlaid itself over his vision:
To: Nicholas One
From: AvengingAngel001
Re: You
Welcome to the Grid, User. I hope you enjoy the view, because it's going to be the last thing you see. You're in my world now, and this time, you are going to be the one who gets de-rezzed. And the best part is, you'll never see me coming.
End of line.
Son of a...! He looked around, fearing an assassin's bullet from some rooftop, a covert weapon from some dark corner. Why is this happening to me? This can't be right. And what program did I supposedly delete?
He put the box down, then jumped back as it exploded right in front of him, sending pixels everywhere. Nearby programs ducked their heads and scattered, yells of surprise and fear in the air. Nicholas looked up from behind the box, only to have a sizable chunk taken out of it by another small explosion. He stared dazedly at the football-sized bite taken out of the large cube's corner, then jumped up and ran for the nearest building. As he ran, small craters appeared right behind him, four in all. The unseen sniper drew back her weapon, a long-barreled gun, then turned it in her hands. It obediently fragmented and reformed into a staff. She took off as red warning signals went off, ICPs rezzing in and securing the area.
One of them walked over to the entrance of the building, catching sight of Nicholas standing there. "Identify yourself, script. What is your function and who is your User?"
"Look....this is all a mistake. I'm not supposed to be here!"
The armored humanoid in red looked at him, then took him by the arm. "Come along, conscript. We have a few questions to ask you."
Nicholas pulled himself free, overcompensating and falling on his back. He started to get up, then he felt a shock run through his body as the ICP jabbed his arm with his staff-weapon, causing the arm to become numb and lifeless. "That's it, bit-head. You just earned upgraded threat status. You're going to see the Kernal."
The figure watched as the ICPs dragged Nicholas away, a bitter smile on her lips. "Let's see what a little quarantine does for you, Nicholas One. But don't get too comfy. I'll break you out soon enough. After all, hunting you won't be as much fun if you're not running for your life. The circuit hasn't been made that can keep Isis out."
She turned and walked away, smiling a cruel smile. "Who says revenge doesn't compute?" she asked with a heartless laugh.
TO BE CONTINUED....