Chapter 6

11:57, Aaron was late, and he didn't need the display on his faceplate to tell him that. Just ten minutes ago, Aaron stormed out of his apartment and jumped on his Suzuki. He quickly stuffed his backpack with things he thought he would need. Not too sure what to expect for a trip to another dimension, Aaron just packed essentials; an extra shirt, jeans and instinct told him he would need his pocketknife and no cop went out without his personal SA8, the standard issue side arm for the American armed forces. He didn't have to worry about his shift with the department; coincidently he was taking time off. Aaron zipped through the street, slithering past the traffic that cluttered the road. Although he navigated with precision, he was still tired. He hadn't slept at all the night before. The moment he walked in, he decided he was going to skim through a bit of the white book. But as soon as he finished the first page, he continued on till he was all the way through the first section. To his surprise, the book was a diary, a personal journal kept by his Great-great-great Grandfather, Kevin Flynn. Aaron could not put it down by his own free will. Aaron read the complete account written by Kevin concerning the beginning. He told of the creation of the Grid and his intention and purpose. It was inspirational to Aaron, seeing the great capacity of good Kevin intended for the human race. Beyond the record of creation, Kevin then told of his discovery of the Isomorphic Algorithms, his 'miracle for the human condition.' Kevin Flynn had recorded everything in this book, including the Great Purge and his exile. Aaron however didn't remember anything beyond that point. His brain had finally tired and his eyes surrendered to closing. As Aaron drove his bike however, his thoughts were overwhelmed by the record of his Great-Great-Great Grandfather. Finally, he approached the Tower. Standing tall and erect above all other buildings, reflecting the daylight off its large windows with the signature emblem at the top, Encom tower commanded over all. He decided to park his bike in one of the city's public parking services. After paying the fee, Aaron took off running with his backpack over his shoulders and helmet in hand. Traffic zipped down the street, separating him from the tower. Finally finding a gap, Aaron sprinted across. He exhaled to settle himself as he stepped up to the door. Next to the frame of shattered glass was an armed private company security guard. On the back of his jacket in big letters was the name Encom Security. Aaron flashed a grin as he nodded at the guard, who instead shot a rather nasty stare. As Aaron stepped inside, a sudden feeling of dread accompanied the sleek, cool, feeling of technology. Suddenly Aaron heard a voice call out.

"Excuse me Sir." Aaron turned to see another security guard beckon him over to a security station. "Before I let you in, I'm going to have to check your bag," he said in a gruff tone.

"Oh sure thing," Aaron complied. He walked over to the station, sliding his backpack off his shoulders. He rested the bag on the metal table. The guard unzipped it and one by one pulled out its contents. He seemed fine about the clothes and even glanced up at Aaron about the oddness of the white, leather book. Aaron had completely forgotten he had packed it. He came to the conclusion he did out of a rush to get out the door. But as the guard dove deeper, he objected to the knife and gun.

"You can't take these inside," he said plainly, fixing Aaron with a stern look.

"Look I'm a cop," Aaron protested. He extracted his wallet and displayed his badge to the guard.

"Doesn't matter, we have an anti-weapon policy."

"Aw man," Aaron groaned as the guard took away his SA8 and knife. He locked them in a safe and then handed Aaron a slip which was produced from a machine.

"Show this to the guard on your way out and you'll get them back," the guard said coldly. Aaron rolled his eyes and swore.

"You can't show me a little professional courtesy? One enforcer to another?" Aaron pushed on.

"I could throw your ass out!" the guard barked.

"Thanks," Aaron snatched the slip from the guard's grip. "Have a nice day yourself," he added sarcastically as he mock saluted the guard with the slip-occupied hand, causing the middle finger to be intentionally dominant. As he spun on his heel, he stuffed his wallet in his back pocket. Across the lobby stood two men that he recognized right away. Trey and Sage stood near the elevators, awaiting his arrival.

"Sorry I'm late," Aaron pleaded as he jogged up to them. Trey looked down at his watch and sighed.

"I've been thinking about how we're going to pull this off," Trey said. His eyes flicked up from his watch and fixed his gaze on Aaron.

"What?" Aaron inquired.

"You're not going to like this."

Trey was right, Aaron had no desire to see his father. Charlie Flynn, the current CEO of Encom was all business all the time; the kind of Dad that would promise to be somewhere but was 80% of the time still in his office and not even sorry about it. Economically, it paid off; Encom under Charlie's reign had never been so profitable under the Flynn dynasty. However, It cost Charlie Flynn a marriage and a relationship with his only child. Their strained relationship was the real distance between the two of them; not just the ride up the elevator. Aaron contemplated what was about to happen. The elevator ride was smooth and he felt it by leaning up against the back. Finally it slowed to a halt and the wooden doors split. Aaron stepped out into a small lobby. Off to the left was a reception desk and at the far end were metal doors. On a silver plaque next to the doors was the stencil of gold lettering reading Charlie Flynn. Aaron strode over to the desk despite the secretary's judging look at his attire.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked with a nasal tone.

"Yes could you tell my Father I'm here please," Aaron said with a forced smile. The secretary fixed him with a gaze over her glasses.

"And who would that be?" she inquired skeptically. Aaron extracted his hand from his jacket's pocket and pointed at the door.

"Oh really," she said. She pressed a button on her desk and spoke into the grille of a speaker. "Mr. Flynn, your son," she looked up at him. He whispered with exaggerated annunciation his first name. "…Aaron, is here to see you," she finished fixing him again with a cold gaze. From over the intercom, Aaron heard his father's voice.

"Oh? Is that right?" he mused. "Send him in," he finally said. The secretary stared at Aaron in rather disbelief, looking him up and down. Aaron turned on his heels and approached the metal doors. The reflective material split down the middle and slid into the wall. The leather clad man stepped in with slight hesitation. There at the other end of the room, standing behind his desk, looking out over the span of LA, Charlie Flynn felt like he was on the top of the world. He turned as Aaron approached.

"Aaron, this is quite a surprise."

"Yeah well, just thought I'd stop by," Aaron said forcing the pleasant feel in his words. "Plus, I've heard that you've been," Aaron hesitated with his words. "N-not well," he finished with a weak grin. Charlie approached his desk; work getting between them again. He motioned for his son to take a seat as he took his own. Aaron slid his pack off next to his feet.

"Nah just the doctors getting jumpy again," Charlie laughed, trying to play it down. Now it was serious, Aaron dropped all traces of joy on his face.

"Dad that's not what Trey said."

"Oh Furgueson." Charlie scoffed. "That explains it all," he laughed. "I'm fine, as healthy as a horse," Charlie said boldly. Aaron grew frustrated. This usually was how their discussions went, short and usually avoiding the main point. "How's your mom?" Charlie asked finally breaking the awkward silence. His tone didn't hold genuine interest but it was something.

"Uh, fine I guess," Aaron said. "Last I heard she was in Italy with Paul," he finished.

"Oh," Charlie said. "That's nice." Charlie paused again and Aaron made no effort to continue. "Paul's a nice guy," Charlie finally said. Aaron stared at his dad with an estranged look.

"Yeah," Aaron slurred as he recalled blurry moments from his teenage years, living under Paul's roof. As much as Paul tried, Aaron always regretted not giving his step-dad a better chance.

"How are things on the force?" Charlie interrupted. His tone actually carried traces of interest.

"Good," Aaron chirped. "I get to ride a bike all day and the pay's pretty good."

"Oh good," Charlie said with a half smile. Aaron knew he was holding something back. He didn't dare try to exploit it. Finally, Charlie's phone rang on his desk. He showed no effort of trying to hide his enthusiasm; Aaron too was relieved. After a short exchange, his dad stood up and buttoned the middle of his suit. "I've just been called down," Charlie announced. "I'll walk you out," he added. Aaron jumped to his feet and stuffed his hands in his pockets as his dad gently pushed on his back. "Well it was great seeing you again son," Charlie said plainly as they emerged from the metal doors. "Take care of yourself," he added as he clapped his shoulder.

"Yeah, thanks." Aaron mumbled. His face suddenly came to life from the blank mask it had been in the past few minutes. "Oh you know what, I forgot my bag in your office. I'm just gonna go get it." Charlie looked at him funny then nodded.

"Alright, you know the way out," he laughed.

"Sure thing," Aaron said, backtracking to the office. "See ya Dad," he added as he spun around. By the time he was through the sliding doors, Charlie's personal elevator was closed and descending to a board room. Aaron quickly grabbed his bag and moved to the far wall out of the view of the doorway. He retrieved his cell phone from his jeans pocket and tapped redial on the screen. The phone rang once before Trey Furgueson's voice answered on the other end.

"Yeah?"

"All clear," Aaron whispered before hanging up. Three minutes later and the sliding doors to the CEO's office split open. Those three minutes, Aaron spent fuming over his exchange with his father. The man's complete disinterest in things that mean much more than he agrees them to be drove Aaron nuts. But as Trey and Sage slipped into the office, Aaron was back on track. He was on a mission, and that was his focus. Trey darted straight from the door to the right of the office. The only significance the area had was a large neon sign, one that Aaron noticed every time he had visited his Grandfather's office when he was CEO of Encom. Back when the company was run by Daniel Flynn, the neon Tron sign was always lit, illuminating color into a colorless atmosphere. The sign was large, occupying nearly the whole wall. Sage recognized it from when he had stumbled into the office the night before. Though actually seeing the sign now was inspiring. The Defender's revered the once great warrior program known as Tron as their hero, their example. Tron's mark on history was massive and now Aaron recognized it too from the writings in his Great-great-great Grandfather's record. Trey however took no moment to observe the reverence. He quickly found the switch to the sign and turned it on. After moments to warm up, the aged tube lights, flickered on. Suddenly the room, lit by the sun outside was also filled with the warm tinge of pink, yellow and blue. Trey stood before the sign, the lights reflected off the lenses of his glasses. He spoke boldly and clearly.

"Trey Furgueson." In reply, the sign blinked off and on, as the wall slid to the right revealing a narrow passage. Trey stepped in first, followed by Sage and then Aaron picking up the rear. As Aaron delved into the dark abandoned stairway, Trey already had the door open at the bottom, allowing for light to spill into the passage from the end. Behind him, the wall slid closed with a low rumble. Aaron finally stepped onto the cool floor of what appeared to be an old laboratory. It seemed as if no one had ever stepped foot inside for years, though off in the far corner, the large block of a computer processor hummed with life. The processor had been running ever since 1989. Layers of dust blanketed it but it still lived, with only a blue power light glowing on its side. Trey took no time to take in the surroundings as Aaron did. As Trey fussed with the touch screen technology of the lab, he glanced over at his amazed godson.

"What do you think?" he asked. Aaron couldn't think of the right words to describe it.

"Who put this together?" he asked.

"Your Great-great Grandfather, Sam Flynn." Trey said. "After he decided to go back to the Grid, he was already the CEO of the company. He just decided to move everything and establish his work down here so he could still keep his eye on the company." Trey paused and pointed to the severely outdated processor. "That private server there is in no way linked with any Encom system; that's the Grid." Aaron gawked at it again.

"Wow," Aaron breathed.

"Also," Trey added. "Your Grandpa Sam looked into improving the digitization process. He took the laser used to digitize your Grandpa Kevin and himself and improved the technology."

"How so?" Aaron asked. Trey looked up again from his work and motioned at the large glass container. Aaron whistled as he inspected the technology. After a few moments of fussing on the touch screens, Tray finally beaconed them over.

"Your Grandfather also did a complete rewrite on the Grid's transit system," Trey explained. "He set up a net of arrival stations. There are four, and after being digitized, you will arrive at one of these four, at random," he added.

"Good, a Defender has been posted at each of these locations to assist us when we arrive," Sage said. Aaron nodded in acknowledgment.

"Where are these points at?" Aaron asked. Trey stepped to another screen and indicated the overview map of the City of Tron. Four red dots blinked in place. The four were spread out on the undefined corners of the map.

"You two better step inside," Trey suggested. Aaron grabbed the straps on his pack and took a deep breath as he stood before the glass container. Sage on the other hand, only waited for the glass to slide open then stepped inside. Aaron took another breath then stepped inside. The container was big enough for the two of them to stand side by side comfortably. As he stood in wait, Aaron glanced around the inside as a student in a new classroom. Over head he saw a large flat bulb on the ceiling.

"Does this hurt at all?" he asked with a tinge of concern.

"Don't know, you can tell me when you get back," Trey said through the intercom. "Powering up the laser," he announced. Aaron swallowed hard then dropped his gaze. Suddenly a wall of energy emitted from the bulb above. Aaron grew nervous. The laser then moved in his direction. He suddenly grew curious and moved his hand into the laser. As the wall cascaded over, his hand began to dematerialize. His fingertips were gone in seconds, followed by his hand. Aaron's eyes grew in panic as he saw his body disappear as it came in contact with the laser. As the laser reached his eyes, Aaron felt as if he was tossed into a weightless existence. There was a large flash that enveloped his vision for a complete span of minutes. He felt a complete lack of control in the limbo between dimensions.