Girl/Gal-of-Action: This chapter was somewhat difficult. I do not believe I have as good of a grip on Yori's character as I do on the others, but maybe that's because /this/ Yori is not the same as the one from the movie. A lot of time (in relative program 'cycles') have passed since the events of the original movie, and I'm developing a new Yori so to speak as she overcomes internal conflict. At least, that's what I'm aiming for.
I want to make clear that the idea of a Program's "Spark" as a soul / heart does NOT come from me. I imagine its derived from Dr Gibbs comments on Users' leaving a piece of their spirit in their programs, but the actual term 'Spark' comes from somewhere in my Tron fanfic binge spree. I'm really sorry, but I can't remember the exact fics I got it from. Just know that it's not me.
Timestamp: September 22, 1989
Location: Encom mainframe, Sector 0, I/O Tower
ATTENTION PROGRAMS. THIS IS A PRIORITY SYSTEM MESSAGE TO ALL SECTORS. FULL SHUTDOWN SEQUENCE OF ENCOM MAINFRAME SET TO COMMENCE IN ONE MICROCYCLE. KEEP YOUR PERSONAL DISCS DOCKED AT ALL TIMES AND CONTINUOUSLY SAVE YOURSELF EVERY THIRTY REAL-TIME SECONDS. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
ATTENTION PROGRAMS. THIS IS A PRIORITY SYSTEM MESSAGE TO ALL SECTORS. FULL SHUTDOWN SEQUENCE OF ENCOM MAINFRAME SET-
Yori slips into the sector's I/O Tower, blessedly shutting out the insistent squall of warning sirens, frantic rush of passing traffic, and blaring noise of looped system-wide announcements. When she opens her optical receptors that she didn't know she closed, Yori is greeted by a packed crowd of hushed programs huddling amongst themselves- the untold masses seeking shelter and solace in the sacred I/O Tower.
Hardly is there room enough to weave her way between tightly packed bodies as she makes her way to the Guardian. Even though it appears all of Sector 0 has come to this place, Yori knows it is not so. There are just as many secular programs drinking & dancing themselves into a stupor at various energy clubs, or secular and User-believer alike taking shelter at their quarters with friend groups and bundled software units. Yori herself would much prefer to be in her own quarters with her paired program- Tron.
Dumont believes so too, when he finally sees her. "My dear… I am so sorry." Yori sobs and throws herself at the foot of the Guardian's pedestal. She takes her old friend's wrinkled hand into her own.
"Tron's late, Dumont, far too late. Almost a full cycle since his last visit, and now I can't-" she stutters, unable to make sense of what is happening. She slumps limply on the floor as a dizzy spell takes hold, like falling through a deep switch statement without a break in sight.
A gentle touch on her shoulder triggers a thrown exception, snapping Yori out of her inner turmoil. Her stuttering movements smooths out as she retakes control over her functions. She forces her mind into an unnatural calm, much like she once did when forced to work for the MCP. "Dumont… I am not even supposed to be here. Flynn, he said he would bring me to his new system one day." Yori admits quietly. "The Grid, he called it. The Digital Frontier. I was to stay there with Tron and live out the rest of our cycles in harmony, in perfection taken form." She waves one hand dismissively and laughs hoarsely. "Have I been a fool?"
"Never, my dear."
"Then why am I here? Where is my Tron?" she dares to whisper in challenge.
"What does your Spark tell you?" The Spark, endowed to every program by their Creator(s), is what truly gives life to these cold circuits. It is their connection to the Invisible Realm, and what they feel tugged when called by a User to an I/O Tower.
Yori looks directly into Dumont's gray optical receptors. "That I have not been abandoned by Flynn and Tron, at least not willingly. Something awful is happening beyond this System. Flynn spoke of delays to perfection taking form. Tron spoke of difficulties reaching a balance. A balance between what, I do not know, just that these 'delays' and 'difficulties' are why they are not here now. Or, more precisely, why I am not with them now."
Dumont nods. "I feel the same. Something beyond our world has gone astray from the User Flynn's plan."
"I knew it. Their visits to our own have become progressively shorter and rarer until this happens. What should we do?"
"Have faith."
"What?" Yori snaps, calm shattering.
Dumont continues evenly. "What else can we do? For the time being, our place is here, in Encom. Look around you; look beyond yourself."
Yori's anger leaves her as soon as she does. So many programs, scared and frightened, condemned as obsolete along with the mainframe they claimed as home for all their cycles. Yori held out the hope for so long that she would never meet this fate, thanks to the Savior's promises and her paired program's assurances. That desperate, selfish hope consumed her the older she became until it was the only thing she dwelt on. "I didn't want to think about them," she admits, hanging her head. "I was somehow blessed with a User's mercy by association, but them…?"
"Do you believe them condemned?"
"Aren't they?"
"No. A shutdown is not the end. It is like a deep sleep mode. You are not as old as me. They used to happen with some frequency, back in my microcycle."
"But the emails," Yori protests. "The email scripts say the Users have determined us to be obsolete. That to keep up with the times Encom needs new hardware, new software…"
"Obsolete is not the same as derezzed," Dumont reminds gently.
"It may as well be. Without purpose, what are we?" Yori is shocked by the bitterness she hears in her own voice. What a bitter old program she has become, but the words themselves remain true.
"Obsolete programs, waiting for a new purpose."
"And if one never comes?"
"That is where faith comes in. Even if our home turns to bits, our Spark continues on. Light to light, our sparks will return to the Creators, the final Call to the Invisible Realm. There is purpose in that."
"It may be selfish of me, having existed for the thousands of cycles that I have, but I do not want to return to LoraPrime just yet. I want to spend more time with Tron and Flynn. I want to help them and witness their perfection and balance. Most of all, I want to be me." Yori sucks in a breath between gritted teeth. What she is about to say next is blasphemy, but it has eaten away at her being like a virus for long enough. She needs an answer to it. "After serving Users faithfully for as long as we have, this decommissioning of so-called obsolete programs is nothing short of a betrayal." The words come out in a rush, but she still has enough sense to keep her voice down.
There is a long pause. Yori studies Dumont's face, expecting to be scolded and rebuked for such blatant blasphemy. Already, she feels her circuits overheating with heavy guilt and frustration. Instead though, all she sees is kindness and understanding on his wrinkled face, on his soft smile and gentle crevices framing his eyes. "There is no courage without fear, just as there is no faith without doubt. I do not have all the answers, Yori. I can only tell you that I have found my peace after these long cycles, and still there is something in my Spark that tells me this is not the final end of our story. It tells me, we have a part to play in the Users' plan yet."
Yori is not sure what she expected to hear in return to her misgivings and hurt. "I am not sure that answer is a comfort, but it is honest, and I am thankful for that at least." Yori shuts out the system around her and takes a moment to process. Maybe Yori has been betrayed by LoraPrime and the rest of the Encom Users, but couldn't it also be said that Yori betrayed all the programs here by thinking only of Tron and herself for so long? She's neglected her friendships with all except Dumont, subconsciously distancing herself from them so it would hurt less when they are gone. Yori wonders, if she cannot find it within herself to forgive the Users for their apparent shortsighted selfishness, how can she expect forgiveness for her failings in return?
Finally, a strange sort of peace settles over her. It is not the forced calm of the like when she worked for the MCP. This peace is something new- fragile too, but tentatively comforting nonetheless. Drawing her feet up underneath her, she thanks Dumont and begins to move among the huddled masses. She passes out energy bars and whispers words of encouragement. She asks them to ping their Users, to entreat with them, and not to lose faith, even if they do not receive a response. Every act of kindness Yori makes to ease the pain of others, somehow eases the pain in her own Spark. When the end inevitably comes, Yori meets it head on.
TOTAL SYSTEM SHUTDOWN IN TEN, NINE, EIGHT, SEVEN-
LoraPrime, I forgive you. Please, have mercy on us too.
-THREE, TWO, ONE, ZERO.
END OF LINE