You groan. These are elimination rounds! Each winner of these first matches has to fight the other winners.
“Wait!” you cry. “Time! Can I get a time-out?”
Unfortunately, you knew the answer before you even asked the question. A big, fat no.
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The room pulsates with sound and light. You’re mesmerized by the hundreds of people—programs—gyrating to the vibe of the DJs. Every type imaginable is crowded onto the dance floor: beautiful women, thugs, slackers.
You stiffen as Gem leads you past a cluster of booths where sentries sip energy drinks and flirt with the pretty girls sitting among them.
“Relax,” Gem says. “They’re too busy to notice you.”
She brings you to a heavily guarded booth. You hear a high-pitched cackle from a man wearing a silvery white suit. His hair is a similar silvery blond color. In one hand he brandishes a translucent cane.
“That’s Castor,” Gem says, nodding toward the guy. “If you want to speak to Zuse, you have to go through him.”
You and Gem approach the booth.
“Have a sense of humor, Bartik,” Castor says to the tough-looking program sitting with him.
“I didn’t come here for entertainment,” Bartik growls. “It’s time. We can all feel it. The boy is on the Grid. He’s spurred hope.”
Your ears prick up. Is he talking about you? Castor lets out a bored sigh. “And you wish me to ask Zuse to rally the troops. Stir the masses. Am I right?”
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You have no choice—it’s kill or be killed. You pull out your disc and face the Light Cycle barreling down at you. At least Clu is wearing his visor. It would be too weird to fling a lethal weapon at a guy with your father’s face.
Suddenly a new vehicle vaults off a ramp from below and thunders onto the Grid. It looks like a souped-up dune buggy. It swerves ahead of Clu, leaving a fat ribbon of light in its wake. It whips around you, building a light-wall shield. Is it trapping you or saving you?
Clu can’t change direction in time and slams into the wall!
He flies off his bike and flips right over you, slamming onto the hard glassy tarmac. The spectators gasp, and you hold your breath.
No, he doesn’t derezz. The fight will continue.
The vehicle skids to a halt beside you and the canopy flips open, revealing a masked driver.
“Get in,” the driver growls.
The crowd surrounding you is stomping and screaming. They can’t wait to watch you battle Clu in hand-to-hand combat. But who is this driver? And what will happen if you get into that souped-up vehicle?
If you decide you’re safer if you stay out of the car,
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If you decide to take your chances with the masked driver,
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This will be our first user since our liberation!” Jarvis continues.
Liberation? What’s he talking about?
“Better still, this user also happens to go by the name of Flynn!”
Now the programs all start to boo. Somehow this has to do with your father. You wish you could connect it all together. You have a feeling your life may depend on it.
“So, what to do? What does this user deserve? Might I suggest, perhaps, the challenge of the Grid?”
Now the audience stomps along with the cheers and claps.
“On this very special occasion, who best to battle this singular opponent? Perhaps one who has some experience in these matters.” You thought the crowd couldn’t get any louder; you’re wrong. They go wild when Clu emerges from the throne ship.
Jarvis makes a sweeping gesture toward Clu. “Oh, yes, indeed! Your liberator! The one who vanquished the tyranny of the user those many cycles before—Clu!”
Clu smirks at you. “So sorry about your dad, kiddo.”
Your mind reels. From what they’re saying it seems as if Clu and this whole crowd thought of your dad as some kind of oppressor. And that he was destroyed. This doesn’t look good.
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Better to just do what Jax wants. No point in getting her mad at you on your very first day.
You spend the day watching and learning. There’s a lot more to this stunt work than you imagined. No wonder you have to pay your dues and work your way up. Sometimes what you do is beyond boring, but it’s still exciting to be around the crew, to watch the scenes and be amazed by the stunts.
On the last day of the film shoot Jax approaches you while you’re packing up some gear. “Here, kid,” she says, handing you a cup of coffee. “You did good. So I thought I’d be your gopher for a change.”
You grin and take the coffee. “Thanks.”
“Listen, I just got a call to be the coordinator on a huge new film,” Jax says. “I want you to be one of the riders. Maybe use those martial arts I’ve seen you doing during downtime.”
“Really! That’s awesome! Thanks.”
Jax smiles at you. “You earned it.”
This is just the beginning. You move up from stunt man to action star. In fact, after only a few years, you become so successful you buy back Encom and put Alan Bradley in charge. But first he has to promise you that the building can be used in any movie you want.
After all, you’ve had a lot of practice pulling stunts on that skyscraper!
THE END
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You and Quorra plow through the chaos. “Sam, look out!” you hear her shout. She shoves you out of the way and takes a blow to the arm. She crumples to the floor. At the same moment, the lights short out! The room plunges into inky blackness, punctured by strobing lights.
You can see that the Black Guardsmen are momentarily disoriented, and you use this distraction to gather Quorra up in your arms. You haul her toward the elevator that will bring you back down to the ground. That’s when you notice programs around you staring at the elevator in awe.
Your dad. He’s standing right outside the elevator! He left the safe house! And he’s the one who shorted out the lights. “Stay close,” he orders, pushing you into the elevator. Just as the doors are closing, one of the guards fires a grappling hook into the elevator. It attaches to your dad’s back and yanks off his disc. “Your disc!” Quorra murmurs, half-conscious.
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You’re not sure if you want to mess with this complex computer system right now. You walk away and go back upstairs to check out some of the games you’ve played before.
You stroll through the arcade’s rows. Somehow your desire to play anything is evaporating. The cobwebs, the boarded windows, the general feeling of desolation is getting to you. You’re never going to figure out who sent that page. You might as well head for home.
You make your way toward the front door. Suddenly, the skin on the back of your neck tingles. You have the weirdest sensation that you’re not alone.
You whip around and—yes! You catch sight of a shadowy figure ducking under one of the games! Is that who sent the page? Or did that person follow you in once you got here? The bigger question is: are you in danger?
The person could have a weapon!
Actually, the biggest question is what to do now!
Do you book out of there as fast as you can?
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Or do you confront the intruder ON PAGE 108.
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We have to get out of here—fast!” you say. “Otherwise we’ll just be handed over to Clu.”
“You’re right,” your dad says. “But how?”
“With these!” Quorra calls. She waves you over to a storage unit. “Tron Chutes!” She pulls out the bladed wings the Black Guard used when they crashed into the End of Line Club. The three of you quickly slip into the harnesses.
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You stand, shocked, as a wall in the enormous ship opens. Two figures are illuminated by the lights inside. A ramp descends, and they tromp toward you.
The men wear black skintight suits. Streaks of color flash along the seams of their clothes, as if they were plugged in. The visors on their helmets keep you from being able to see their faces, making them seem sinister. These are the Sentries you’ve heard about in your dad’s bedtime stories. They’re the police force of this world.
“This program has no disc,” one of them announces. “Another stray.”
Huh?
Before you can ask what they mean, they grab you and escort you up into the hovering vehicle. “Wait!” you protest. They ignore you. The door slides shut, and the Recognizer lurches upward, flying toward the more brightly lit areas of the city.
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You take a peek behind you to try and figure out where everyone is on the Grid.
Who is left on your team? And are they your team? You’re pretty sure it’s you and these candy-colored players against Clu and his Sentries. But that purple program was pretty hostile. Could these guys actually be working against you?
How do you play this game and still stay alive? Should you work together with the programs or should you try to win this on your own?
You can’t trust them to work with you. You’re in this alone.
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You’re outnumbered without your teammates.
Work together ON PAGE 62.
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You gaze out the window. The Portal streams upward from an island as a swirling maelstrom of energy.
“Hang on, everybody!” Quorra cries. “I’m bringing her in!”
Quorra executes a stomach-churning move and lands the vehicle on a rocky shore. You all scramble out, and your dad points up at the Portal. It’s flickering faster and faster. “It’s getting ready to close!” he shouts over the howling wind.
He leads you and Quorra up a steep stairway carved out of rock. Energy whirls around you. The ground shakes, and you cover your head to keep from being pounded by tumbling rocks. The island is beginning to crumble. You hope you get to the Portal before everything completely falls apart!
You crest the hill and come to a narrow bridge. It stretches out over a void toward the Portal. The bridge is slowly separating! You know you have no choice. You have to cross it—and fast! Only one problem: standing dead center on the bridge between you and the Portal is…Rinzler, your dangerous opponent from the Games!
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The Sentries stare around, puzzled. That’s because you and Quorra are above them, perched in the open crossbeams of the elevator and hidden from view.
You drop down and take them out. Then you dash across the throne room toward the bridge. Two more Sentries rush at you. You and Quorra make quick work of them.
Just then Jarvis, Clu’s right-hand man, appears. He looks terrified. Good. “You can’t stop us,” you say with a snarl. Quorra holds her disc aloft, ready to throw it.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Jarvis says hastily.
“Keep me covered,” you tell Quorra. She nods and crouches, ready to leap to your defense. But Jarvis looks far too frightened and is too much of a wimp to strike back.
You stride to the case and yank out your dad’s disc. It feels warm in your hands. You don’t have time to gloat, though. More Sentries will arrive any minute.
“What should we do with him?” Quorra asks, jerking her head toward Jarvis.
You look at the sniveling program and shrug. “I have a feeling that once Clu finds out the disc is gone, he’ll take care of this guy.”
Jarvis sinks to the ground, covering his face and moaning.
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You continue into the city. The farther you go, the more apprehensive you become. There’s something oppressive about the place—and the few people you see on the streets seem furtive, as if they’re hiding from something. Or someone.
Alex must feel it, too. “M-maybe we should go back and check out the stadiums,” he says nervously. “We don’t have to get to the light.”
“We’re almost there,” you say. “Might as well see what it is.”
You arrive at the source of the light—the base of an enormous skyscraper. You walk through the door and realize there’s an elevator. You push a button, and up you go.
Alex clutches your arm as the door opens revealing an incredible party in full swing.
People of every description crowd the dance floor. DJs spin thumping beats. Colored lights whirl and flicker, making it hard to see. And beyond the booths, bar, and patrons you can see the amazing skyline through the club’s floor-to-ceiling windows.
“I thought we’d find something a lot cooler,” Alex complains. “You know, like aliens or spaceships or something.”
You try not to laugh. “Hey, we only just got here,” you say. “We still could.”
“Just a bunch of grown-ups,” Alex grumbles. “Boring.”
“Give it a chance,” you say.
You push him in front of you through the crowd toward the bar. Maybe some juice drink with a fancy straw in it will make him happy.
Then you hear something that stops you dead in your tracks.
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Your father turns to gaze out the window. “We were building a whole new world,” he says wistfully. “And then something amazing happened. New beings emerged. I didn’t invent them. They just evolved! Real individuals—not simply programs.”
“I called them ISOs—Isomorphic algorithm programs,” your father goes on.
“So what happened?” you ask.
“Clu happened,” your father answers flatly. He faces you, his expression full of pain. “What I saw as a miracle, he saw as a virus in the system. Imperfection. I had programmed him to help create a perfect system, to shut down errors.” He shrugs. “Individuality is a threat to such a mind-set.”
You start to understand. “Clu thought you’d lost the vision when you welcomed these new kinds of beings. To him they were bad mutations. Computer viruses.”
“Exactly,” your dad confirms.
“What did he do?” you ask.
He gazes out the window again. “He managed a coup. Nearly killed me. And his next act was the elimination of the new beings—the ISOs.”
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You’re brought to a box-shaped hangar and placed in restraints. People huddle in groups around you, but you’re too stunned to attempt speech. Instead, you gaze down through the transparent floor.
You watch the scene below as the Recognizer floats through an enormous cityscape. Spires jut miles up into the blinking blue sky. The scale is huge and makes the gargantuan Recognizer seem tiny by comparison. A pulsing blue energy flickers between the buildings and along the grid—shaped pattern of the city sectors.
“He actually did it,” you murmur. You now understand exactly what you are looking at—a fully realized world created by the computer-programming–genius mind of your father.
When you tear your eyes away from the dark, pulsating view, overwhelmed, you notice a young guy staring at you. “Does the name Kevin Flynn mean anything to you?” you ask the kid.
“Keep quiet if you want to live,” he whispers.
Not the reaction you were hoping for…
You hear muttering beside you. A sweaty, nervous-looking dude is rubbing his hands over and over. “Not the games, not the games, not the games,” he’s chanting. You turn to a man standing on your other side. “What’s his problem?” you ask. He turns to look at you and you stumble backward. Half of his face is gone!
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Sure, why not? You
hit Y.
A blue flash scorches the room, momentarily blinding you. You feel around, trying to shut the machine down. None of the switches do anything.
Finally the little blue dots stop swarming in front of you. You look at the machine. Dead.
“Well, this was useful,” you grumble. “Thanks a lot, Alan.” You trot back up the stairs and out of the arcade.
A big gust of wind makes the door shut behind you with a loud slam. In the distance you see jagged blue lightning sear the sky. Rain starts to fall, and you shove your hands deeper into your jacket pockets. The area seems even more deserted than when you arrived—if that’s possible.
A fog has settled in, obscuring the store windows and signs. Just a blank grayness that feels oppressive. You look forward to sprawling on your sofa with some hot cider and Marv snoozing on your feet, keeping them warm. You arrive at the streetlamp where you locked your bike.
It’s gone.
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The three of you retreat down the stairs to the middle of the ship. You hide among several large cargo containers.
“What did you see?” you ask your father.
“A Recognizer,” he tells you grimly. “And then several more. Like a fleet.”
There’s a sudden shudder. You and the others brace yourselves against the jerky motions of the solar sailer as it sharply changes course. You peer out a window and see that you’re being drawn into an enormous cave. The ship’s sails fold back into its body as it prepares to dock.
“What’s happening?” you ask.
“A new course,” your father says. “This is no longer a nonstop ride to the Portal.”
Now what do you do?
Tron Legacy - It's Your Call - Initiate Sequence Page 4
