"Why?", Clu repeated at his code brother's exclamation. "Because this is a bedroom, not a command center; it's meant to be relaxing, not intimidating. Solid gold is all well and good when you're looking to be imposing, but cooler colors are way more relaxing. Blues, greens, purples... maybe even a bit silver or white. Not that we should turn the place into the End of Line, or anything, but it could do with some cooler lights."
The mention that his code brother didn't know the old Encom system gave him a bit of an idea though. "I could show you, if you want. I've got plenty of memory files, not just from Encom_511, but from a lot of other systems I visited. I could copy some over to a readme, and we could use that as a starting template. Not just for here, but for other places on the Grid too. It wouldn't be too hard to update most structures to reflect the design." Of course doing it Grid wide would be a huge, ongoing project, just due to the sheer scale of it. It would take time. But it would be eminently doable.
He chuckled at the way the admin refuted his claim to having a normal sense of fear. What even was a bull, honestly? In context he knew that it meant 'lies' or 'nonsense', but that was clearly just a euphemism. Were 'bulls' especially dishonest or something, so much so that the terms had come to be interchangeable? Or was there some other connection that he was missing due to not having a User's frame of reference? Probably the latter.
"Just because I don't tend to show fear as often as some doesn't mean I don't feel it. After all, hacking wouldn't be nearly as much fun if I wasn't afraid of getting caught, and the consequences of what that would mean. But for what it's worth, I'm glad that that's one particular fear I don't have to worry about any more."
When his code brother shifted out of his grip, Clu didn't resist, echoing the slight laugh for the way he flopped back. He really was so, so fragged. He made a note in his priority queue to be sure the admin would have something to take the edge off when he woke up, but for now there were other tasks to attend to.
Like pulling his boots off and settling them in front of the little table that housed the disc charging station. An odd action, perhaps, as he could have simply derezzed them with the rest of his clothing template, but old habits died hard. In any case his Grid suit covered his feet, so it didn't really reveal anything, though the fabric wasn't nearly durable enough for extended use walking outside.
Boots set aside, Clu stood up and removed his disc, placing it on the charging station with his code-brother's, noting thankfully that the rack was designed with two charging ports. A hopeful gesture on his brother's part, maybe? Or just the standard design that he'd felt best fit the room? Either way, it worked out, as now he wouldn't have to stack their discs awkwardly on top of one another; it was doable, but not really recommended.
That done, he derezzed his outfit, doing so a bit more slowly than normal from the top down to give the admin a chance to appreciate the view. The circuits revealed largely mirrored those on his default template, at least on his upper body, though the further down they were the more differences became apparent. Perhaps the most obvious difference was the palms of his hands, though, criss-crossed with such a complex web of delicate circuits that they almost seemed to shimmer. A hacker's hands were his most valuable asset, designed to facilitate the optimum connection to the system and make reading and working with code and energy as easy as possible, but Clu's were complex even by hacker standards. It was no wonder Flynn had called him his best.
But his derezzing template also revealed the evidence of how hazardous being a hacker could be, as a number of scars were in evidence. They were obviously long since repaired and well healed, but they were there; mildly discolored bits of surface render that spoke of long ago injuries. Many of them jagged lines that left circuits slightly dimmer where they intersected; clothing templates evened everything out, but on bare shell, the effect was difficult to miss.
Still if Clu was at all self-conscious about them, he didn't show it, instead spreading his arms slightly and turning around once, slowly, so that his code-brother could get a look at him from all angles. "Well?", he said. "What do you think?"
no subject
The mention that his code brother didn't know the old Encom system gave him a bit of an idea though. "I could show you, if you want. I've got plenty of memory files, not just from Encom_511, but from a lot of other systems I visited. I could copy some over to a readme, and we could use that as a starting template. Not just for here, but for other places on the Grid too. It wouldn't be too hard to update most structures to reflect the design." Of course doing it Grid wide would be a huge, ongoing project, just due to the sheer scale of it. It would take time. But it would be eminently doable.
He chuckled at the way the admin refuted his claim to having a normal sense of fear. What even was a bull, honestly? In context he knew that it meant 'lies' or 'nonsense', but that was clearly just a euphemism. Were 'bulls' especially dishonest or something, so much so that the terms had come to be interchangeable? Or was there some other connection that he was missing due to not having a User's frame of reference? Probably the latter.
"Just because I don't tend to show fear as often as some doesn't mean I don't feel it. After all, hacking wouldn't be nearly as much fun if I wasn't afraid of getting caught, and the consequences of what that would mean. But for what it's worth, I'm glad that that's one particular fear I don't have to worry about any more."
When his code brother shifted out of his grip, Clu didn't resist, echoing the slight laugh for the way he flopped back. He really was so, so fragged. He made a note in his priority queue to be sure the admin would have something to take the edge off when he woke up, but for now there were other tasks to attend to.
Like pulling his boots off and settling them in front of the little table that housed the disc charging station. An odd action, perhaps, as he could have simply derezzed them with the rest of his clothing template, but old habits died hard. In any case his Grid suit covered his feet, so it didn't really reveal anything, though the fabric wasn't nearly durable enough for extended use walking outside.
Boots set aside, Clu stood up and removed his disc, placing it on the charging station with his code-brother's, noting thankfully that the rack was designed with two charging ports. A hopeful gesture on his brother's part, maybe? Or just the standard design that he'd felt best fit the room? Either way, it worked out, as now he wouldn't have to stack their discs awkwardly on top of one another; it was doable, but not really recommended.
That done, he derezzed his outfit, doing so a bit more slowly than normal from the top down to give the admin a chance to appreciate the view. The circuits revealed largely mirrored those on his default template, at least on his upper body, though the further down they were the more differences became apparent. Perhaps the most obvious difference was the palms of his hands, though, criss-crossed with such a complex web of delicate circuits that they almost seemed to shimmer. A hacker's hands were his most valuable asset, designed to facilitate the optimum connection to the system and make reading and working with code and energy as easy as possible, but Clu's were complex even by hacker standards. It was no wonder Flynn had called him his best.
But his derezzing template also revealed the evidence of how hazardous being a hacker could be, as a number of scars were in evidence. They were obviously long since repaired and well healed, but they were there; mildly discolored bits of surface render that spoke of long ago injuries. Many of them jagged lines that left circuits slightly dimmer where they intersected; clothing templates evened everything out, but on bare shell, the effect was difficult to miss.
Still if Clu was at all self-conscious about them, he didn't show it, instead spreading his arms slightly and turning around once, slowly, so that his code-brother could get a look at him from all angles. "Well?", he said. "What do you think?"