Big thanks to Silvara for being patient enough to review this so far.
Didn't realise there was an edit needed until after this was posted on its mother site (my tumblr) so on 18/7/12 sorry about that
Also sorry the next chapter is taking its time. My enthusiasm may have dropped, but they idea is still sound and I will try and focus on this to make it one of my first completed projects of many I have started over the years
1.4
It seemed an eternity before Nitro was able to get any sleep, his eyelids felt like they were twitching as he read over his own notes. From what information he had gotten off of the program himself, and what he had been able to pinch and scrounge it was all so possible.
He had to lie back and relax, ignore the twitching and spasms as the caffeine of the week coursed through him. Part of him did consider giving up and trying other... solutions... But nothing really came to mind, any other drug would be illegal and far more damning to his body.
The rest of him... thought back to the day before on the Grid with Tron. He needed to know what the hell that drink was made of, he'd never felt so brilliant in his life before. The odd taste, that he could get used to.
The next thing he knew his alarm clock was screaming at him and his bladder was on the damn things side... With a groan Nitro hauled his ass out of bed and got ready for work. Part of him promised himself he would skip his morning coffee. The rest of him grabbed one at the hut on the way to work after he bought a nice and hopefully sturdy secondary keyboard and some band-aids.
Nitro was all perked up by the time he reached the office and everything was business as normal. Sorting out Alan for the day and editing the Grid code with Tron's help. Without that program bending the rules he'd have no chance,'His' program NTRO kept getting stopped at every turn.
Alan looked over his glasses to the incessant tapping and sighed, he could have sworn his assistant was possessed. That was, till he finally spoke something coherent (even if it was to the computer he was working on. Between him and the Flynns he had gotten used to unusual behaviour when it came to computers).
"Ok, I'm going to reboot everything. Let me know if it worked" Nitro groaned and leant back in his chair. He had been typing away for half an hour none stop, his fingers were sore and his brain was fried.
"Coff-"
"NO-!" Nitro almost fell off his chair shouting his protest... then paused, "you.. meant for you didn't you..?"
"The walk will do you good." It was clear Alan wanted to get rid of him for a while, and he didn't care how long that while actually was. "The usual please."
"Sure... Let me know if there's an update with the merger. I can tell the mail-room to move the packs out" Nitro stretched and mooched off. Part of him hated Alan when he was like that, but the rest of him loved him. He was looking out for him, the man old enough to be his father that was steadily replacing his own.
The staff at the coffee shop got the order ready for him as soon as he walked through the door, was he that predictable now? He didn't even have chance to cancel his coffee as it was put alongside Alan's on a holder. The fresh air annoyed him, everything was so bright and noisy. The grid was duller and quiet, but teeming with life. So much... Life.
He gave his coffee to one of the street beggars who thanked him profusely, Nitro smiled and headed back to the office a little happier. In many ways that beggar could have been himself, he was lucky he hated his father enough to want to run him into the ground by helping another company get an edge above him.
Encom was primarily concerned with software, but with the right nudges they had started plans to roll out a computer or two specifically designed to deal with the best of Encom's programs. It had been on people's minds for a while, then they remembered the arcade games from years back and the ball was also rolling to create a games console in honour of the dead, or dying, culture of games that helped the company rise in the first place.
That happy little buzz of Nitro's was however, short lived. Quorra was getting off of her bike out the front of the tower, she was dressed rather casually too. This meant that Sam would be at the company for a while and come running to Alan. Perfect.
Nitro forced a smile and walked with Quorra back to Alan's office. Turned out that Sam had gotten ahead of Quorra because of the traffic and not waited for her outside the building or anything. He tried not to think the worst of Sam as she explained they were both in a rush and there was some cause for alarm with something important.
A guilty pang struck Nitro, he'd modified the Grid without letting anyone (not even Alan) know what he was up to. They had most likely tried to remotely access the Grid and got no response. He sorted out Alan's coffee and put on his headset in a rushed but practised set of motions.
"Buddy, you there?"
"... Yes. The reboot went well. You should see this place now. It's almost like a free system again."
Nitro chuckled, even under that monotone he could tell that the program was getting excited. His formality had dropped and it was harder to translate since the noises were blurring into one here and there.
"Tron!" Odd... that sounded like... "What happened. This place is Chaos!" Yup, Sam Flynn, somehow managing to shout loud enough so his voice was clear even through that helmet. "What? It's not good, there's programs everywhere. I don't even know where half of these are from!"
"I'll talk later buddy, you've got your hands full" Nitro signed out of his laptop with a deep sigh. It took him a while to realise he wasn't alone "oh um... someone in dispatch" he smiled at the curious people and decided a walk around the building for old times sake would be nice. "That merger?" he asked Alan.
"Yes. The packs need sending out... I was waiting till I had your attention." And there was the mild reprimand about professionalism. It would be better had it come from a businessman and not an ex-programmer and family man trying to be a businessman.
"C'mon Quorra. I could do with a hand. There's a lot of paper to shuffle." Even by his normal standards Nitro guessed he was acting crazy. He had been mumbling and growling all morning and obsessively typing away, only to talk to Tron clearly. His priorities needed fixing and fast.
Quorra was happy to catch up with Nitro and he used her as an idea board, asking about the freedom of information. He knew that at first programs would be flocking to the scene, but he also knew that Tron would do his job. He also know Tron had help, not just in the program Ntro and his user, but in the other programs Tron had begun to train and work beside.
It was difficult for him to speak about the Grid without letting on he knew about it and had been, so he tried to speak in as general terms as he could manage without giving much away. Lucky in many ways she seemed extremely gullible and not one to take things to heart.
Though that luck ran out when they reached the office again. Sam was chewing Alan out about the changes with the Grid. The man didn't sound happy at all and didn't seem to like Alan's views.
Sam didn't want the information as open as it was, but Alan was trying to get him to realise the merger with the Intranet (and therefore snippets of Internet) was all on him... and it was his own father that wanted the Grid to be something so wide known it would be normal.
With that mood Nitro thought it better he keep quiet and wait for the shitstorm to leave. Which happened as soon as he arrived, dodging all of the questions that he was sure to come his way.
The office was a little tense after Sam and Alan saw fit to ask his assistant "So... the Grid has changed drastically, you were asking about my old Tron program..." the man took his glasses off and looked at the young man that now looked like a deer in the headlights.
"Well... I... Tron and I have been talking and he showed me the Grid..." Nitro sighed and got himself some water. "So... I altered things to make them easier. One main access point moderated by all our firewalls and anti-virus software, and a couple of other programs designed to limit access without inhibiting the users. This means easier and faster communication. Kinda like an upgrade"
"... So... If I ask for all of the internet access logs?" Alan did let some users access more than the Intranet, but he did need to monitor it when things started getting around. Or acting odd for back of a better term.
"You should get the results quicker and more concise, instead of just the I.P address it should have the user listed... That one was Tron's idea. They're going to start archiving access and well... try it..." Nitro shugged, in theory it was all sound. In practice however, he had little idea.
Alan smiled and did just that... before sending out quite a few cross E-mails across the company and a memo reminding about the recent virus attacks and the reasons for the Intranet being in place.
Well at least he was happy with the results. He took the memo down to be distributed and checked up on a few things before heading back to the office.
"One thing Nitro... Try not to let Sam get so annoyed. Let him know what you are doing. The Grid is something the Flynns worked on. Freedom of information will come at a price."
Nitro could only nod, there would be issues with using a central hub. So many programs to keep track of at once... it would be worth checking in on his ally and seeing his achievement work first hand.
Or it would at least be worth an ask "But... Alan... Tron was the one to ask me into the super secret club that's operating here. How... how do I break it to him?" Nitro sighed and went to get his headset again.
"Maybe asking the one that asked you might help?" Alan didn't want to have any more to do with the issues with the computers. He was the head of a company, that was all. He just needed to know dates, details, and deadlines... He preferred it that way, he had a family to look after and when needed, sure, he could and would step up to the plate.
Well... that was such a strong peptalk... All of the technical crap in the world he could do without. Sure Nitro was an assistant, but he was more the do as told and goof off type. Or was he.
Nitro hated Alan going all sage on him, he didn't care much for Sam... but... he was acting in the best interests of a legacy. He was only just starting to understand that, and it had taken him so long. All the time wasted on hate for nothing, they were both as territorial as one another. Maybe another reason he was rushed away by Tron and left in silence. Something bad must have happened to make everyone as they were.
Nitro hated the sense of clarity he got when not pepped up and impulsively on coffee. The world made more sense to him when he was partially out of it. Thinking of out... he had another urge. He excused himself from Alan for his lunch break, letting him know he might take longer as he left.
It was odd going to that same room again, the laser still stood in its silent expectations. Sure he was going to drop in unannounced, but... part of him was sure there wouldn't be any issues in that.