The request is meaningless. No—the request is stupid. Whatever the program's (name) origin, its garb marks it as a potential combatant, and its colors as not Clu's. This might not be entirely his admin's system, but Rinzler has no reason at all to give up his advantage unused.
But the words aren't why he stiffens. It's the voice. The face. The shocked, small uncertainty crawling through his code. Rinzler doesn't know this program, but he... hadn't expected him. Rinzler doesn't know this program, but—
he did—
[WARNING: unauthorized access—]
Processing smashes headlong into the jagged edges of his filters, and Rinzler freezes rigid. It's reflex more than reprimand, just like the grating snarl that rises through his sound stems from frustration and mismatch in equal part. Automation hasn't had its accustomed hold for cycles, but he should still know better than to test. Better than to want anything that had been Tron's.
He doesn't.
What matters is the program's use. What matters is its affiliations, and who they might fall to here. Rinzler glowers back across the gap before responding: not with words, but with a focused scan. Security-grade, aimed to pick out its ID and function.
no subject
name) origin, its garb marks it as a potential combatant, and its colors as not Clu's. This might not be entirely his admin's system, but Rinzler has no reason at all to give up his advantage unused.But the words aren't why he stiffens. It's the voice. The face. The shocked, small uncertainty crawling through his code. Rinzler doesn't know this program, but he... hadn't expected him. Rinzler doesn't know this program, but—
he did—
[WARNING: unauthorized access—]
Processing smashes headlong into the jagged edges of his filters, and Rinzler freezes rigid. It's reflex more than reprimand, just like the grating snarl that rises through his sound stems from frustration and mismatch in equal part. Automation hasn't had its accustomed hold for cycles, but he should still know better than to test. Better than to want anything that had been Tron's.
He doesn't.
What matters is the program's use. What matters is its affiliations, and who they might fall to here. Rinzler glowers back across the gap before responding: not with words, but with a focused scan. Security-grade, aimed to pick out its ID and function.