Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There are so many things that Quorra wanted to do in the User world. Out with the tyranny and in with the new reality. She couldn’t stop reading the books that Flynn gave to her back on the Grid, and she remembered the summaries page by page. When she and the Son of Flynn arrived at his little container home under the bridge in Center City, Quorra immediately asked him for more books. Sam grabbed a few of his old textbooks from CalTech and tossed them her way and in a span of two hours, Quorra finished them all. Sam’s eyes widened. How in the hell did she finish them? All of those old programming textbooks made Sam fall asleep after the first sentence. He gave her a few other pieces of literature that he considered boring but that didn’t stop Quorra. 

After 3 days, Quorra continued to ask him for more. 

“Please tell me you have more books, Sam.”

“You basically read all that I have, man.”

“Do you think Alan-One would mind if I read some of his,” Quorra asked. 

“I mean…if you down for reading his outdated murder mystery novels, then he wouldn't mind. He’s also got a thing for correction algorithms but that’s something you can ask him about, but just stay from Aunt Lora’s romantic dramas.” 

“Awwwww you Users are always full of resources.”

“Well, we have everything…sort of.” Sam let out a chuckle. “You know, I got a place to show you. There’s plenty of books that you can have and for once, I can be productive with all that shareholding money.”

“Oooo you have to show me, Sam!”

“Will do.”

Sam grabbed Quorra’s hand and they both ran out to his Ducati. He had absolutely no idea where the bookstore was but good thing, he had a map on his phone to find the closest one. They zoomed from the container home, hearing Marv’s barks from afar. Quorra always enjoyed the bike rides and with Sam, it was relaxing. They cruised down the exit of the highway, finding themselves in the parking lot of a mall, and that was something Sam would have Lora introduce Quorra to at a later time. 

Sam got off the bike and offered his hand to Quorra, who gladly took it. She continued to jump for joy as they approached a Barnes and Noble. 

“So, what do they have at this…Barnes and Noble?”

“Books, man,” Sam replied with a chuckle. “They also got music, board games and maps. Basically, if you like to read, this is the place to be.”

When they opened the two sets of doors, Quorra covered her mouth. She saw all the labels of book genres. Sam began laughing to himself while watching Quorra’s reactions. Turns out, when you take an ISO to a bookstore, they are going to spend an entire day there reading absolutely everything. Knowing Quorra, that’s exactly what she’s going to do. The employees greeted them as they walked through the doors. Quorra’s eyes continued to widen at the sight. So many books, stacked around the facility and she was looking forward to reading them. 

Sam tapped her shoulder.

“I’m gonna go lurk around the tech side for a bit. Grab a few books and meet me there and I’ll pay for them.”

“Does it matter how many I buy?”

“Whatever you can carry.”

Oh, Sam, that was your first mistake.

He went to the tech section of the store, taking a glance at some of the newest reading tablets. An employee approached him as Sam continued to stare at the display cases.

“Amazon’s Kindle has been selling so well,” she stated. “The amount of paper one saves is extraordinary and you can have plenty of books downloaded onto it. Were you interested in purchasing one, sir?”

“I’m just here killing some time here while a friend of mine finds a few books.”

Quorra started from the far left of the store, grabbing the first 5 books and began reading the summaries. It didn’t take that long for her to return back to Sam with about 25 books stacked in her hands. The employee’s eyes widened at the sight. As Quorra approached them, she got her heel caught on the carpet, causing her and the books to tumble to the floor. Everyone around her stared at the mess, even the employees at the coffee shop stopped what they were doing. Sam immediately ran and helped Quorra pick up the books.

“That your friend,” the employee asked. 

“Yeah. This is her first time here and she really loves books.”

Sam glanced at the remaining pile. Then again, getting Quorra a Kindle seemed like the better option and Sam rather not have his home filled with a tower of books. 

“On second thought, tell me more about the Kindle.” Sam turned to Quorra. “Go ahead and put the books back, Quorra. You’re going to like this…Kindle thing.”

Quorra scrambled up all the books and returned them to their places, apologizing to every employee she walked past. She felt guilty for causing a mess but it didn't take long for Quorra to take deep breaths and move on. Sam began talking about Quorra’s books interests to the employee and she was ecstatic about introducing this Kindle. 

“I’m so sorry that I dropped those books. There’s so many of them that I want to read.”

“Oh no worries,” the employee laughed. “Your friend here was just telling me what you have read so far. With recent upgrades to technology, companies such as Amazon have found ways to…well…purchase books digitally and already have them on this little electronic reader or e-reader.”

Sam snorted.

"Sounds like something Dad would have thought of in 85 along with Wi-Fi."

Quorra stared at the Kindle that the employee was holding in her hands. With the press of each button, different books appeared, and the reading progress bars were displayed. 

“Oh, so it's like on the G-”

She stopped once Sam motioned here to not mention anything about the Grid. 

“The books are digitized onto that little tablet?”

“Basically, yeah.”

Quorra’s eyes widened. 

“Let’s purchase it then. I already know which books I want to have digitized.”

“Alright, alright,” laughed Sam, grabbing his wallet. 

Quorra handed the employee the tablet back and continued to look around the store. There was something that alerted her nose. She was still getting used to User smells and Quorra already learned about the worst ones from walking the streets of Center City. This smell however was sweet and ever so…hypnotic. Sam received the bag that held the Kindle and an additional $100 gift card for Quorra to use to purchase more books. 

"Thank you for your purchase, Mr. Flynn. Hope your friend has a blast."

Sam nodded his head at the employee, waving goodbye. 

“Of course. Hey Quorra? Is there anything else that you want from here?”

She was nowhere in sight, causing Sam to panic. 

“Quorra? Quorra?”

Well, shit. Where did she go now?

Chapter Text

Sam paced around the store, only to find Quorra standing behind a large line of people. When he looked at the sign, Sam let out a sigh. 

Aw hell, not Starbucks. I don’t know if Quorra even had a sip of coffee before.

He began to wonder. Is it a good idea to give a program coffee or any sort of caffeinated beverage? At this point, Sam might as well just find out what happens. He tapped on Quorra’s shoulder.

“Oh, there you are,” she cheered. “I’ve been standing in this line for a while now.”

Quorra pointed at the tables. Each seat was filled with people, sipping their beverages while reading their newest books. 

“Check it out, Sam. Look how happy they are, just reading away. This coffee just adds to the satisfaction of a book reader.”

“Yeah, I see them, Quorra but-”

“The smell of coffee is very entrancing. I can’t wait to try it out.”

“Did Dad ever tell you about coffee?”

Quorra tilted her head.

“Flynn’s had it before?”

“Yeah,” replied Sam. “He tends to have it on occasion but not often."

Way to lie, Sam. Dad hated coffee because it wasn’t his vibe.

"However," he continued. "Coffee is something that a person should not have every day. It may be an energy booster but-”

“So, it’s like energy on the Grid?”

Sam sighed. He accidentally put himself down a rabbit hole at the mention of energy.

“Uhhhhh…It’s not a reliable source, Quorra. We’re a bit more complex than programs.”

This only interested Quorra more as the line began moving closer. The farther they got through the line the stronger the coffee smell. 

“Oh, we’re so close to ordering, Sam. We can talk about this later.”

Sam facepalmed as the person behind them paid the cashier. 

“I guess we can wait then but just don’t have too much, man. The next thing is your heart will blow up.”

“My heart?”

Dammit, Sam. Stop saying things that she hasn’t known about yet. Guess Dad didn’t tell Quorra that Users don’t fall into a puddle of cubes. 

“We’ll talk about it later. Just get your coffee so we can head back home. Marv’s probably craving another hamburger.” 

They approached the cashier of the Starbucks. The smile, similar to the employee that suggested Sam the Kindle and Quorra couldn’t help but smile back.

“Hi there,” the cashier announced. “What can I get you two?”

Quorra took time to glance at the menu. All of the wording was unusual to her, but she was so intrigued by the smell. Sam watched her go down the list until she finally made a decision. 

“I’ll have one of those,” Quorra replied, pointing to the drink on the menu. “The espresso.”

Sam’s eyes widened. She really just picked the most caffeine heavy beverage out of the whole menu.

“What size would you like that, miss?”

“Tall,” Sam chimed. 

“Aw Sam, I wanted the venti size.”

“It’s your first one, Q. You have to start small.”

The cashier seemed puzzled but went ahead and put the order in. Sam handed him some cash and took Quorra off to the side as the employees in the back made her drink. The ISO displayed a smile as she kept her eyes on the employees. Something was telling Sam’s mind that he would have to get her a coffee maker in the future.

“Venti is such a cool word to say,” Quorra said, turning to Sam. “I can't believe how amazing the process of making this espresso works.”
Sam shrugged. 

“Yeah. Pretty neat.”

The employees finished making the beverage and left it on the counter. Sam grabbed it and handed it to Quorra. 

“Wanna grab a seat?”

“Sure, and that way we can set up the Kindle.”

They found a set of two chairs in the far side of the store and sat down. Sam took out the Kindle and began opening its box. He stopped when Quorra began taking her first sip. 

“Quorra, wait a bit. It’s too hot, man.”

“Hot?”

“You don’t want to burn your tongue.”

“Oh ok, I don’t mind waiting.”

It didn’t take long for Sam to set up the device as he began downloading a series of Jules Verne books with the gift card. Quorra smiled as she saw the name of her favorite author. Sam did promise to take her to meet Jules Verne someday. 

“Your espresso should be ready to drink, Quorra. I’m just adding a few more books and we should be good to head home.”

She took a sip immediately and man, did her eyes go wide. 

“Woah!”

Quorra definitely found her favorite User confection and began to chug the entire drink. Sam immediately set the Kindle down and went to grab the cup away from her.

“Q, what the hell. You can’t have too much.”

Quorra felt a boost of energy and she jumped around her chair. The people around her and Sam ran out of their seats as Quorra began doing cartwheels around the area. Sam placed the Kindle back in the box and went after her. The entire Barnes and Noble became an arena as Sam continued to chase Quorra down. This time there were no discs being thrown. Instead, there was a caffeine influenced ISO running amok. Sam was starting to run out of breath. 

“Quorra! Stop!”

He managed to corner her by the elevator and Quorra began calming down. Behind Sam was a set of police officers who were sent over by the Barnes and Noble staff. This was the last time he would take Quorra to this specific store and probably any place that had the words coffee on their logos.

“That was amazing,” Quorra shouted.

She noticed the damage she caused around her as the guards stared at her and Sam. She felt bad but her desire for more coffee was at an absolute high. She showed a grin.

“Sam? Can I get another one?”

Sam sighed and took her hand. 

“Maybe another day, Q. Let’s get out of here before we cause another scene.”

They didn’t need an escort from the police as Sam and Quorra left the store. 

When the following day occurred, Sam received a text from Alan. He had attached a picture of the Barnes and Noble with a banned poster of him and Quorra. They definitely aren’t going back there, ever again.