The quiet statement that Clu should want to leave was probably far more telling than his code-brother intended. And while he could understand that there was something of a precedent behind it, what seemed to elude the admin was the fact that most of those who left or distanced themselves had done so because he'd effectively forced them to. The ISOs had been driven to near extinction by his obsession and hatred. Shaddox had been driven away by the admin's erratic and destructive behavior. Tron's hand had been forced when his code brother had demonstrated himself to be a threat to both the system and its creator. And Flynn himself had had responsibilities in two worlds, then eventually was driven into exile, unable to set foot in any civilized part of the system on pain of deresolution or worse.
The admin was truly the architect of his own misery in a lot of ways. Clu wondered if he'd perhaps inherited that from their User.
But regardless of how they'd gotten here, they had to deal with the situation as it stood. And standing... wasn't really something the admin was capable of just then, as evidenced by the way he sagged in Clu's grip, the hacker supporting nearly all of his densely-coded weight, which made their progress toward the bedroom a bit more awkward than planned. Words drifted through his processes, a slow musical cadence, 'He ain't heavy, he's my brother. So on we go...' Had he heard them somewhere before? They felt familiar, but he couldn't place them. They still resonated though, and he found them fitting for the situation.
He simply nodded in agreement at his code brother's assertions that he would fix it the mess he'd created. In actuality, Clu intended to spare him that and clean it up for him while he rested, but he was willing to indulge the admin's need for tidiness and order even while overcharged. It would still get done either way, which was the important thing.
He flinched slightly at the volume of the admin's next words so near his ear, but couldn't help but smile a bit too at what was said. And what wasn't quite said. The smile turned a bit wry, though at the mention of the door code. "Yeah, we'll need to talk about your door codes once you're not completely fragged," he said. "It was way too easy for me to get in here." Nonetheless, he scooched them over slightly giving his code brother easier access to the palm pad.
What he picked up from both touch and broadcast was too garbled and fragmented to make any sense of, which was to be expected. But there were a lot of emotions there, much more than the admin willingly showed when sober, feelings swirling and tumbling around each other like a resolution of excited bits. And just about as hard to grasp or pin down.
After a likely moment of fumbling on the admin's part, the door opened and they stepped inside. Clu closed and relocked the door behind them, ensuring an extra layer of privacy, before heading toward the bed that was the room's central feature. Large enough to accommodate three or four programs comfortably, and so neatly and crisply made that one could've probably bounced a data-hex off of the dark sheets, it suited its owner to a t. The rest of the room's furnishings followed suit. Luxurious, some items even beautiful in an angular way, but all so neat and rigidly controlled that it would be difficult for a stranger to tell the room was even lived in. Clu found that a bit sad.
Reaching the bed didn't take all that long and Clu helped his overcharged code brother to sit down on the edge of it. "There we go," he said. "Now let's just get this template off. Doubt you want any of this stuff on your nice, clean sheets." Some of the less processed red that had ended up on the floor had also ended up on the admin's clothing template, and it would be far simpler to just derezz this copy and rezz up a new one later. Besides, the more circuits exposed, the easier it would be to bleed off excess heat- because all that extra energy had the admin running very hot- and assist in dissipating a bit more excess energy into the environment.
If the admin didn't do so himself, Clu would gently undock his code-brother's disc and slot it into the bedside charger. Then- again if the admin didn't derezz the template himself- he'd press two fingers to a specific point under the edge of the disc dock, causing the template to derezz away from the neck down until the admin sat there with just his bare shell. Like Clu, the admin's anatomy was a mirror of their User's, at least in form, though his code brother possessed a bit more bulk and muscle. And of course a different configuration of circuits, though there were a few key nodes that both of them shared.
"OK, let's get you settled properly," he said. "I wish I could say you'll feel better when you come back online, but I think we both know that's off the table at this point. But sleeping the rest of this off will still help, at least."
no subject
The admin was truly the architect of his own misery in a lot of ways. Clu wondered if he'd perhaps inherited that from their User.
But regardless of how they'd gotten here, they had to deal with the situation as it stood. And standing... wasn't really something the admin was capable of just then, as evidenced by the way he sagged in Clu's grip, the hacker supporting nearly all of his densely-coded weight, which made their progress toward the bedroom a bit more awkward than planned. Words drifted through his processes, a slow musical cadence, 'He ain't heavy, he's my brother. So on we go...' Had he heard them somewhere before? They felt familiar, but he couldn't place them. They still resonated though, and he found them fitting for the situation.
He simply nodded in agreement at his code brother's assertions that he would fix it the mess he'd created. In actuality, Clu intended to spare him that and clean it up for him while he rested, but he was willing to indulge the admin's need for tidiness and order even while overcharged. It would still get done either way, which was the important thing.
He flinched slightly at the volume of the admin's next words so near his ear, but couldn't help but smile a bit too at what was said. And what wasn't quite said. The smile turned a bit wry, though at the mention of the door code. "Yeah, we'll need to talk about your door codes once you're not completely fragged," he said. "It was way too easy for me to get in here." Nonetheless, he scooched them over slightly giving his code brother easier access to the palm pad.
What he picked up from both touch and broadcast was too garbled and fragmented to make any sense of, which was to be expected. But there were a lot of emotions there, much more than the admin willingly showed when sober, feelings swirling and tumbling around each other like a resolution of excited bits. And just about as hard to grasp or pin down.
After a likely moment of fumbling on the admin's part, the door opened and they stepped inside. Clu closed and relocked the door behind them, ensuring an extra layer of privacy, before heading toward the bed that was the room's central feature. Large enough to accommodate three or four programs comfortably, and so neatly and crisply made that one could've probably bounced a data-hex off of the dark sheets, it suited its owner to a t. The rest of the room's furnishings followed suit. Luxurious, some items even beautiful in an angular way, but all so neat and rigidly controlled that it would be difficult for a stranger to tell the room was even lived in. Clu found that a bit sad.
Reaching the bed didn't take all that long and Clu helped his overcharged code brother to sit down on the edge of it. "There we go," he said. "Now let's just get this template off. Doubt you want any of this stuff on your nice, clean sheets." Some of the less processed red that had ended up on the floor had also ended up on the admin's clothing template, and it would be far simpler to just derezz this copy and rezz up a new one later. Besides, the more circuits exposed, the easier it would be to bleed off excess heat- because all that extra energy had the admin running very hot- and assist in dissipating a bit more excess energy into the environment.
If the admin didn't do so himself, Clu would gently undock his code-brother's disc and slot it into the bedside charger. Then- again if the admin didn't derezz the template himself- he'd press two fingers to a specific point under the edge of the disc dock, causing the template to derezz away from the neck down until the admin sat there with just his bare shell. Like Clu, the admin's anatomy was a mirror of their User's, at least in form, though his code brother possessed a bit more bulk and muscle. And of course a different configuration of circuits, though there were a few key nodes that both of them shared.
"OK, let's get you settled properly," he said. "I wish I could say you'll feel better when you come back online, but I think we both know that's off the table at this point. But sleeping the rest of this off will still help, at least."