Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

March 4th , 1983

Believe it or not, not much happened that morning.

Flynn whipped down the stairs and through the maze-like structure screaming like a banshee. Yippee ki yay it’s someone’s lucky day! He was the Space cowboy. Master of the physical and digital frontier! Who says he can’t be loud every once and awhile?

He made it up to Alan’s desk and waved the paper high above their heads. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 means victory. A tear may have been shed. A hug shared. The early morning of September 23rd was a blur to him now.

There wasn’t much celebrating amongst the three of them. No great fanfare. No confetti. They went to Alan’s and got drunk. Flynn couldn’t tell you anything after that. It was dumb excitement, the oldest experience in human history. 𝘞𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴. 𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺!

It wasn’t until the following day, once he mustered up the ability to shower , that he marched up into that stupid skyscraper and demanded what was his. Legal action. News coverage. National scandal. It didn’t matter how it happened, just that it did happen. Things were finally right with the world.

Getting drunk was a good enough celebration as any but Lora and Alan deserved better than a messily bender. He couldn’t have done it without them. A good old fashioned “thank you” dinner was in order.

—

“Oh wow.” Lora gawked.

The dining room was dark, Smokey and intimate. It could almost be a dive bar if it wasn’t for the lack of peanuts shells on the floor. Luxury and hometown were not so far removed as magazines made it seem. A large set of mirrors sat along the far wall making the restaurant larger. Purple neon swooped along the ceiling masking once grand Victorian ceiling tiles.

The place was trendy and it was 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥. The young couple had to push their way through a waiting crowd on the way in. Navigating around tables became a game of traffic jam.

“I tried for the place down the street, but would you believe the Wendy’s was all booked up?”

Flynn grinned from within the booth. It was this great hulking mass of green. It appeared to be eating him alive, they could barely see him from around the corner.

“I’m sure it was.” Alan rolled his eyes, unable to hide his slight smile as he slid into the booth.

“Thanks for having us,” Lora said.

“Don’t mention it. I’ve been trying to have this little get together for…man, how long has it been now since we pushed old Dilly bar outta office?”

“Six months.”

“Yeesh.” Flynn whistled.

He flicked open his napkin with garish. It became a miniature show of its own as he popped it into his lap. He took effort to smooth it out as long as he could without getting hit by one of them.

“Time flies, my friends.” He said.

“You’re telling me.” Alan raked his fingers back through his hair. It was all so fast. He went from a boyish sense of jealousy to the quickest friendship he’s ever made in his adult life. Far from the instantaneous kinship of the grammar school sandbox, this was an automatic acceptance of the other man’s charm.

Has it really been six months? It felt like yesterday. What did he have for breakfast this morning? Jesus, he wouldn’t know that on a normal day.

Flynn had lost so much time to a dream. That’s what he’s been calling it for the sake of his sanity. He’d dreamed of computers before, this wasn’t it. It felt 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭. The beams, the lights, the circuits. He felt the energy- really, truly felt it! Sometimes he could still feel it tingle in his fingertips if he concentrated. It was real. It had to be.

Dreams didn’t form memories.

Dreams didn’t hurt.

Dreams don’t take over your life.

𝘚𝘪𝘹 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴!

What has he done in that time? Kevin went to work without fully remembering, he toddled along life in the midst of a daydream about the world inside of the company computer. If the lawyers had known that they'd sooner lock him in the looney bin than give him the company.

He needed this dinner. Desperately. He needed time away from himself. He needed 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 and took every precaution to not have to admit it.

“I wouldn’t mind slowing things down a bit.” Lora said.
She shrugged and chose to ignore both of them jumping. She sat up straight just enough to look presentable. Her shoulders were slouched.

“Hell, I wouldn’t mind hearing any vacation plans after a nice dinner like this.” She said jokingly. It was a joke only to the extent of how seriously it was taken by others. “They’d have to roll me onto the plane.”

“I can’t agree more,” Flynn grinned.

“Unfortunately all plans of my idea of relaxation went out the window once I saw what Dillinger left me with. The guy left me with a major clean up job. I thought cleaning up the system would be it but the real world stuff?” He shook his head. He wanted the cushioned booth to consume him.

“And replacing the office carpet is a part of this clean up?”

“Maybe.”

“It wasn’t 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 bad.” Alan scoffs.

“Maybe if you don’t have taste… I mean—”

“Then while you're at it could you fix the elevators?”

“I’ve got you covered pal, don’t you worry, alright? All a part of my plan.”

“This plan is more than Carpet swatches and puzzle games, right?” Lora asked.

“Aha-ha-ha.” Flynn rolled his eyes. “Just wait and see Ms.Baines. I’ve got big plans for Encom.”

His grin was so intoxicating she hadn’t noticed the server make his way up to the table. The wine appeared as if by magic. Lora wondered if he planned it to be that way, Flynn was always one for the grand gestures.

The waiter, who had to be no older than 20, unscrewed the cork and poured it for the table.

“To a bright future.” Flynn said.

He raised his glass. The trio cheered and clinked glasses.

~

You know that saying “time is an illusion”? It’s true. Flynn had lost his grip on time over the course of the night. The entire chunk between the entree and the second piece of cake was a complete mess of laughter and food. Something he’d largely consider to be the ‘boring’ part of a date was the best night he’s had in a while. It took Lora standing to finally draw him back to the cold grip of reality.

“Hold this.”

She dropped her purse into Alan’s lap on her way out of the booth. He winced as six pounds collided with his groin.

“Jesus Lora, what are you keeping in this thing?!”
It was quickly placed on the table and thumbed through. As if he’d miraculously find Arnold’s weight set hidden in the side pocket.

“Bricks!” She sang. Halfway to the restroom by the time she turned to look. She disappeared behind a fake furn before he could think of any decent comeback.

Flynn erupted with laughter. Maybe more so then what’s appropriate. He couldn’t help himself after a few glasses of wine. Any light chuckle became an honest to God gutbuster. He turned back to his sore friend while ignoring the sour looks.

“You gonna put a ring on it or what, Bradley?” He was still chuckling as he asked.

“W-what?”

“ You know, propose. When are ya gonna propose?! P-R-O-P—.”

“I know how it’s spelt! I… I-I’ve heard you the first time”.

The man’s face turned the same shade of pink as his shirt. He stared down at the vacant dessert plates as if he expected them to dance. Anything was better than looking in Flynn’s eyes at that moment. It was like they were back in high school and he simply had a crush rather than a serious relationship!

“And? I mean…COMEE ON!”

Here it comes. Dinner and a show. At this point it was entirely expected of Flynn to make a scene. Right here in the middle of a classy restaurant? Sure! Why not just add to the embarrassment. People were already staring.

“You’d have to be a total moron to think she doesn’t love you. She’s wild with lust Alan!” He cried. Flynn was a true bleeding heart. His arms spread out and his hands conducted his thoughts.

“Trust me, that girl is just as crazy for you as you are for her. If I were to ask my buddy Webster for the definition of perfect marriage you two would be it.” He points at the other compounding his embarrassment.

No one was watching anymore but it felt like the world was tuned in to their conversation.

“It’s not th-that! I know that— we’re- she’s- amazing… would you keep your voice down,Flynn?!” Alan said. He made a desperate attempt to grab at the others arms and pull them down.

“So then what’s the problem? What are you afraid of?!”

“Right now? That you’ll get us kicked out.” He snarled.

Alan didn’t think himself to be an angry man. He just got 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥. The conversation was already well out of bounds. It was a miracle he didn’t hit him and he 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 to. Instead he took a deep breath and began cleaning his glasses, if he didn’t have to see that stupid look on his face he’d calm down. He was frustrated and a little ashamed. Flynn was right. Salt in the wound! Get embarrassed and called out in one night. He couldn’t stand it.

“Honestly?” He slides his glasses up his nose as let’s out a sigh. “I think I’d hold her back. You know just as well as I do how great she is, what she’s capable of. Her digitization work makes my silly little security program look like child's play.” He gave a weak laugh.

Flynn burst into laughter for the second time that night. He slapped the table as he rocked attempting to compose himself. “Oh you are an idiot… ohhhh.” He howled like a sad dog burying his face in his hands.

Suddenly the urge to hit Flynn did not seem so bad. In fact it was down right justifiable. He wasn’t the one who caused a scene in the first place, he poured his heart out and the son of a bitch was laughing!

“Alan honey, I mean this so sincerely. Marry the girl, would ya? Do it for me? Pretty please?” Flynn peeked between his fingers. “I think a lot of these worries would go away if you two just got it over with.

“You really think that, don’t you?”

“Scouts honor.”

“Alright… maybe I will…”

Alan sat up just as Lora slid back into the booth. He handed her purse back to her as quickly as possible. It was as though it would bite him if he wasn’t fast enough.

“Thanks,” she kissed his cheek. “So, what I miss?”

“O-oh nothing…”

—

He still wasn’t set on telling anyone. If it were completely up to him he’d take it to his grave. It could still be a delusion for all he knows but it helps to make use of it. Art is a healing thing after all. Flynn could tell without telling.

“Well, now's as good a time as any to tell you guys about what I’ve been working on.” He drummed against the table to really sell the excitement. From Lora’s eye roll it appeared to be working.

“Don’t laugh, but 𝘐𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮” he wagged his fingers to make the full effect. Even whistled for good measure. It got a giggle.

“I think I got my new franchise, man. Paranoids, Blaster? Forget em’! Check this— video game warriors.”

Flynn opened his mouth and he’s not sure it fully closed. He told them of his constructed little world of futuristic gladiators, they could sell big since the games were interconnected.
Sure , the money is great. The money’s awesome, actually. But it was the world. The game grid. He was trying to reconstruct it. If he could 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭 it that’d make it real somehow.

He was transforming that night into video game reality. The cycles, the tanks, the disks— all of it. They could even reuse some old files… This time the games were friendly and voluntary, no Big Brother tossing the poor suckers into it.

“Can you dig it?”

“I dig it.” Lora said.
There were stars in her eyes. She was happy to see him out of his funk and back to his usual wild self. They may not have worked romantically but that didn’t dampen how amusing she found him.

“One day kids are going to be able to go inside these things, man. 𝘝𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺!”

“Reign it in Tiger. You don’t want to think too far ahead of the next few years.” Alan said. He had a good head on his shoulders. More practicality than imagination.

“Alright alright… you want me to think in the now, I get it.” He held his hands at his chest. “Speaking of now…I like 𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘯. It’s a good name. There's a futuristic edge to it.”

Alan stared back at him completely dumbfounded. What kind of non sequitur? He didn’t know whether he should be proud or checking his temperature.

“Thank you?”

“ It’s your program. I'll think of another name if you won’t allow me but I’m asking for your blessing, man.”

“Okay.”

“Really? and I was all ready to beg!”

“It’s a shame.” Alan said. He was cleaning his glasses again. It was simply out of habit. In his past life he must have been a windshield wiper.

“Tron’s a good program, I think having a few games to its name can’t do any harm.”

“Well, then I think that means you and I are in business Mr.Bradley.” He held out his hand.

“Don’t let me down, Flynn.”

“Would I ever?”

They shook on it.

Chapter Text

Lora sat at her terminal with her fingers frozen against her keyboard. She couldn’t think of anything for the life of her.

All it had to be was a small update on the goings on about the lab. Updates of significance. There was no requirement saying it had to be breathtaking. It just had to be good enough so they would squeeze some more money from the budget.

“Damn!” She really needed that vacation.

“Well I see what the problem is. You 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘦 on the keys, it won’t work if you don’t move your fingers.”

“Hi Flynn.” She sighs.

“Hi.”

He grins and begins his descent down the steps and into the maze of a workstation. The whole structure was needlessly complicated. It made him feel like a child trapped in a plastic tube at a McDonald’s. Who needs support this big for a laser that small?

Flynn wrestled with his jacket. He hung it on one of the hooks not occupied by a protected suit. Suit jackets were nice; he just wished they weren’t so bulky.

As he rounded the corner Lora sprung from her seat. She placed her hands over the screen as if she were guarding him from a nudie scene.
“Ok now you can’t look. This sort of thing goes up to your department, but it’s not ready yet.”

“You temptress! I’m just dying to read your progress report, how could you be so cruel!”

“You’ll just have to wait!” She grinned. Her hands moved from the screen to her sides as she spun to face him. “What brings you down here anyway? It feels like anytime one of you wants to see me at work there's some trouble going on.”

“Nothings goin’ on, I’m just looking for a excuse to take a little break is all…Thought I’d bother you. Lucky me you were working late.”

He had already taken it upon himself to dink around her workstation. His hand brushed over files and little decorations but ever misplaced them.

“Yeah, real lucky.” She scoffed.

Lora. It has to be Lora. Her laser. Her life’s work. Her field of expertise. 𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸. Alan was a great programmer but he couldn’t imagine the world beyond the screen. She could.
At the very least she would think he was just making up some elaborate story to entertain her. It would somehow be a compliment, if she really thought he could make something like that up.

They never had deep discussions before. She tried but he’d always change the subject or get distracted by something. He lacked ‘emotional maturity’ as she put it. Yet, he went right to her this time.

The games weren’t enough. If he played his cards right they could snag a movie deal. After that they could pump out enough merchandise to make Mickey Mouse blush but none of it would satisfy that feeling.

Selling his story was never going to be enough. He had seen this fantastical place and he wanted to share it with the world! He wanted to hide it away just the same.

So what’s he want?

To share it?

Exploit it?

What!

Hell if he knows!

“You ever think about what this thing could do to a person? I-I don’t mean down the line. As it is right now.”

Flynn shrunk by the laser to get to the other side. He did not break eye contact with the machine. There was a distinct look in his eye. One not even he could distinguish as fear or reverence.

“Oh God! Don’t even joke about something like that, it’s entirely unethical. We don’t have all these precautions around for a laugh. We only recently had success with a orange who’s to tell what it could possibly do to the mol—.”

“Hypothetically! I’m saying this all in the hypothetical, roll with me here.”

“Oh,” Lora’s hand rested on her breast like a shocked old church woman. Hypothetical was the magic word.

“Well… essentially, the hope is that it could potentially be a clean form of transportation. Like how data and information gets transferred through wires we could do it with people. Imagine downtown without all that traffic…” she laughed uneasily.

The image of flayed Kevin still danced around in the back of her mind. There was no telling what it could do or what was going through that head of his.

“Right now all we’ve done is prove it is possible at a given level to digitize something real. Err- 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦- at least to the extent it shows up on screen. It’s a little like Mike Teevee from Willy Wonka.”

“Uh huh… thought so.”

“You could try and sound a little more excited.” Lora pouted. Her big doe eyes stared at him through her thick rimmed glasses. “For my sake?” I worked hard on it.”

“Lora, what’d we say about using the eyes? You know I can’t say no to the eyes.”

“What eyes?” She batted her lashes.

“Agh!” He shielded his face. The safety poster on the wall. That’ll save him. “You're like a cocker spaniel, those damn baby eyes.”

Lora laughed and shook her head. She loved the effect she had on the men in her life. It was cute to watch them disintegrate over something so simple. She should mess with them more often.

“What’s got you so interested all the sudden? I told you about this ages ago when I first joined the project.” Lora said.

Flynn’s eyes remained on her desk. He fiddled with a small fake plant she had beside the computer rubbing it’s waxy leaves between his fingers.

“Promise me you won’t think I’m crazy.”

“Isn’t that something a crazy person would say?” A wise smile grows on her lips. It’s a joke he would have made himself on any other day.

“I’m serious.”

They lock eyes for a singular horrible moment. Lora feels her stomach drop to her ankles.

“Alright.” She resigns and stands. “I promise.”

“Good, is there someplace we can talk?”

—

The break room was small but practical. It was just as white as the rest of the laser bay except for the attempt at having real wood cabinets. Lora hovered over the coffee pot shoveling what she dubbed ‘the perfect ratio’ of Maxwell House into the filter.

There was a clock and a Hang in there poster on the opposite wall. Ironically, Flynn found the cat almost comforting.

“You remember the night we broke in? I wasn’t exactly using my expertise. I barely put in the passcode!” He cried.

It felt like eyes. He sat completely alone at the computer but he could feel something- he could feel 𝘪𝘵 - was watching. They had created something beyond their comprehension. Something that could 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬. Something that could 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵.

“The more that I think about it, the less I think it was a dream…It was too much to be a dream.”

“If you weren’t typing and you weren’t dreaming… what were you doing?” Lora asked.
She handed him his coffee in a company branded mug and chose the seat opposite to him.

“You ever placed your face to the television as a kid, squinting really hard to see the tubes and wires beyond? Have you ever tried that with a computer? How those dots and lines could almost be buildings. Roads. That flash of light is a highway. Flashes of a world similar to ours.”

“It’s like seeing a face in a car grill. We project our experience and emotions as people onto things that aren’t.” She thought she understood. Who hadn’t thought about it at least once?

“Sure. But imagine that city was real. 𝘛𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. Virtual reality, man. Oh fuck it! I was inside the computer!” He cried. There he said it! Flynn took a long drink from his mug while trying to avoid her eyes.

“I was operating our little plan from the inside! I got zapped into this insane place… it was beautiful. Honestly beautiful. It looked like something straight out of my games… 𝘪𝘵 used my games. Paranoids… they called them reconizers. My tanks, my cycles. Dillenger’s little chess program was running a honest to gif colosseum 𝘔𝘠 games. Planned extermination of the unuseable! Alan was right to hate it as much as he did, it could’ve taken over the whole world if Tron hadn’t stopped it.”

Tron. Not him. Tron. If there ever was such a thing as a hero, he was it. There was a never ending desire to help and protect built into his very code. All Flynn did was one big distraction, he’d love to add ‘hero’ to his resume but it wasn’t his title to take.

“All I did was spring the guy from the Game Grid - that’s what they called it. He’s a watchdog alright, God he was determined. Best fighter I’ve ever seen and he did it all with a frisbee!” Flynn raked his hands back through his hair now slicked with sweat. He laughed.

“That’s not even the weirdest part, man! It - 𝘩𝘦 - looked exactly like Alan. You were there too and Dillenger… It was Wizard of Oz type shit!” He struck the table. Coffee splashed and was cleaned up without a second thought.

“But you know why I know it wasn’t a dream?”

“How?” Lora’s hand was in a vice grip around her mug. Either from stress or concern he’d spill hers next. If it was a story it was one of the best she’s ever heard. But what if it was true? A silly thought.

But still…

“Two words. Roy Kleinberg.”

Ok. That’s it. She’s calling his doctor.

“What about em’? I’ve met him once. His cubicles next to Alan’s, he’s a nice enough guy…”

“I’ve never seen the guy in my life but three days before he 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥 in my arms. I go up to get… I don’t even remember … and then I see him. I’m looking straight into my dead friend's face.” Flynn’s voice gave out mid way.

“….His name was Ram.”

He had known him for less than a day but it was a death he would feel for the rest of his life. This smiling golden retriever of a program, loyal till the very end. He didn’t ask for any of it, to be captured, to rebel. Ram paid for it while Flynn got to walk off scot free. That world gave him the kind of invincibility men could only dream of! He did not get dreams. He had guilt.

“Seeing Ra-Roy…. I-I had to tell someone about it. All of it. I know I sound totally wayy out of my skull here but… I’m serious. I had to talk to someone. I had to talk to 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”

He wanted to go back. He wanted to stay away forever. It had to be shared. The implications alone of this computer world existing were too grand for him to explain. But the moment you let people in on something like that, a pure and untapped world, they 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵 and corrode until it’s gone. Flynn was fortunate to see it but it couldn’t be exposed to the world, not now and maybe not ever.

He thought talking to Lora would absolve him of some of that guilt. In a way maybe it worked, it was dull but not gone. It’d never be gone.

“Do you believe me?” Flynn asked.

“I want to, Flynn I really do.” Lora grasped his hand and gave it a squeeze.