Okay... Got a rather long disclaimer today but I want to make sure everyone gets credit where credit is due! I do not own anything related to TRON, TRON:Legacy, etc... The idea for this short belongs to Olivia Wilde, and the setting is partially thanks to Silver-ShadowSpark.

For this one rewind way back, Quorra hasn't really even gotten her feet wet in the user world yet.

Is There Life In There?

Sam and I walked through a large white building that he called a 'Sears' on a mission to find a 'toaster.' Apparently Sam had meant to buy one before he ended up on the Grid and decided we should stop on the way home. It was hard to walk through such an amazing place without stopping to look at everything but I restrained my curiosity when Sam promised we could come back another day.

"Ah, Quorra what do you think of this one? It's a toaster oven instead of just a plain toaster but that makes it more versatile." Sam directed my attention to a silver contraption with a clear door and several shiny buttons below a green display.

"It looks nice?" I offer politely. I really had no idea what a good toaster should look like, "It says that it is programmable, does that mean that there are programs living inside of it like there are on the Grid?" I studied the appliance carefully almost afraid to touch it.

"Possibly... honestly I don't know." Sam smiled back at me. "Would you prefer one without programs?" I looked over to see him standing there watching me with his hands in his coat pockets.

"N-no, I think one with programs is fine, better even." I looked back at the toaster oven with the green display on it, trying to imagine what kind of world might exist within. Was it dark like mine was or did it reflect the outer casing of the appliance, bright and silvery?

"Alright then, this one it is." Sam reached below the toaster oven I was looking at to grab a box that had an image of the same appliance on the side.

"Are you sure Sam? I want you to be happy with this too!" I followed after him, hoping he was not making a rash decision.

"Oh I am. I just needed a toaster but I can tell you liked this one so this one it is." He smiled back at me. Sam carried the box to a desk where there was a woman waiting for him. I watched as the woman pointed a red light at the box and Sam pulled a plastic card from his pocket and gave it to her. The woman slid Sam's card through another contraption before handing it back to him. We walked out to the bike and Sam paused for a moment. "Uhh... how are we going to do this with two people and a toaster..." I made several suggestions in an effort to be helpful and we settled on strapping the box to the bike right behind me. I still thought my first idea was best to ensure that the toaster oven arrived safely home with us but Sam had other ideas.

"Why not just strap it to me?" I asked.

"Well, if anything were to go wrong and we crashed, you fell or anything else, the box would cause some serious damage to you so... no."

The thought of any programs being damaged or derezzed because their home fell off the back of a bike made me nervous so I checked it every few minutes as we rode back to Sam's apartment.

Later, after I had been introduced to Marvin and given a tour of the small living space I watched Sam unpack the toaster from its box. Right as he was about to set it on the counter the sharp sound of music filled the air, originating from a device on the table. "Hello? Oh hey Alan, what's up?" Sam went and spoke to it.

While he was busy I decided to give the toaster oven a closer inspection. I opened the small clear door and gently pulled the dark racks in and out. I ran my fingers over the buttons and casing of the appliance. My mind wandered back to what the programs might be like. Would they even look like me or perhaps take a completely different form. Marvin wandered up to investigate the new appliance as well. What if they were all like Marvin, that would be a strange sight. Images of programs in the form of animals flooded my head. Well, regardless of what they are like I will make sure they are well cared for in return for their services. I pulled the toaster into my lap and wrapped my arms around it in a hug. After a moment I heard a snicker behind me.

"You wont be able to do that while its working you know." I laughed and nodded back.

"That's okay, I won't need to." I smiled and set the toaster in its place on the counter, content to simply observe it there.

Hehe. The toaster oven I was referencing is Sears Item# 0088000900, the Kenmore Programmable Digital Toaster Oven with 9 inch Pizza Stone. :) Looks pretty nice.

And for those of you who asked, I had a blast at the movie on Saturday, had the IMAX almost to myself. On a side note I spent all day Sunday at a mounted shooting competition, so much fun!

So! Let me know what you think, you know the usual constructive suggestions, opinions... And thank you to all my reviewers... you literally helped yourselves out here because I just couldn't bring myself to leave you hanging... yet. ;)
Silver-ShadowSpark, -ChocoCookie-, Esmereldaxcam, BookButterflyx, Gamer AlchemistZ, enderbender, Dabbling Dabbler, Reckles Kelly, Helena K. Ravenclaw, TRONfanatic, and whoever left an anonymous review... you silly person :)