tanks4thememory

Clu's Ascension Essay: Angelii

tanks4thememory — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 06:12:49 GMT

What does a computer program do when stranded in a highly illogical world on the other side of the screen? The answer would likely vary from program to program. Some might just shut down, unable to cope. Some might have a great time. Some might even seek to dominate it, to try and mold it into something more akin to their own world. But for a certain hacking program, there was ultimately only one option; adapt.

Not that he accepted this from the beginning, of course, being the stubborn program he is. When he first arrived, Clu's primary focus was on finding a way to return to his home system and his normal life without ending up back on the MCP's decompiler. Which, he found, was easier said than done. The fact that he had reason to be highly suspicious of Nautilus and its recruitment methods didn't help matters any. Snatching people up seemingly at random was far too much like the MCP for his tastes, and the fact that Nautilus' call apparently tampers with people's perceptions before doing so made matters even worse in his opinion. All Clu knew was that he needed to get home and he needed to get home ASAP, preferably to a time before he'd encountered Nautilus' call.

The world of Nautilus made no sense to Clu. It behaved like a system in some ways, but not others. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to those brought to the city, the way it functioned, or even its location. What people claimed was an offer of more, to him seemed less, especially since he had difficulty restoring his natural abilities. Much of Clu's first months in the city was spent in futile attempts to make logical sense of the city's illogical nature, and giving himself a headache in the process.

Clu's frustration, confusion, and anger at the situation and at Nautilus came to a head after the Bad Ending storm. He suffered a catastrophic malfunction that resulted in a hard reset. But that situation ended in a net positive, allowing him to forge a closer connection with Wheeljack, even naming him his secondary User. And having a User in Nautilus granted Clu some vital stability that allowed him to begin to properly adapt and accept his place there.

As Clu spent time in Nautilus his suspicions of it gradually waned until he no longer believed it to be harboring some malicious intent. Incompetence and perhaps insanity? Sure. But not malice. He'd seen a malicious sysadmin, and Nautilus didn't fit the bill.

And while he wasn't any happier about living there, he gradually came to accept it. He was dead if he went home after all, and annoying and dangerous as Nautilus could be sometimes, living there was still preferable to a certain and painful deresolution, which was all he had to look forward to back home. He might now believe that his presence in the city was a mistake on Nautilus' part, but it's a mistake he has to live with.

Though the people he met in Nautilus certainly helped matters along too. It was really the people he's gotten to know and care about that have made living in Nautilus more than just bearable. Aside from Wheeljack, he met and befriended the likes of Scott Summers- with whom he celebrated his first Christmas-, Kale, Leanne- who adopted Clu as a surrogate 'papa'-, Irene, and most recently, Evgeniy. And much to Clu's delight, his own User and creator, Kevin Flynn, eventually arrived in Nautilus as well.

Though Clu still loves and respects his own Creator like one would a father, Clu's views on Users in general have shifted drastically after over a year spent living among them. At first he was surprised to find out how much like programs Users were; in system, such thoughts would have been considered borderline blasphemous, but with the evidence all around him, Clu could hardly deny it. The more he got to know the Users around him, the more he realized that they were no more than flawed people like himself. That's a difficult thing to accept of one's gods.

Even more so was the discovery that humans aren't even aware of the programs and the world they created on the other side of the screen. At least, they aren't aware that their programs are alive and sentient. Accepting that not only are his gods flawed individuals, but that they don't even know that he and his world properly exist has left Clu rather bitter about the concept of Users as they were in system where he was once an enthusiastic supporter. He's not entirely convinced that there's not some unseen level of reality above them yet where Nautilus is just a bored User typing away at a keyboard, unaware of them and their lives.

And by extension, he no longer accepts anyone as being infallible, no matter their level of Ascension. He's learned to respect people on an individual basis, and tries to treat everyone as an equal, rather than thinking of himself as less important or of a lower class just because he's a program. Anyone- even a Deva- who acts like a jerk without the excuse of a storm will get called on it. Just as those who have proven themselves worth respecting are respected based on their merits, not simply because of what they happen to be.

Clu's also found a new purpose in Nautilus, putting his talents for information gathering to work as part of Irene's Task Force. It's strange, being on the side of those enforcing the rules (such as they are in Nautilus) rather than being the one breaking them. But whether or not he's fond of Nautilus, he's more or less accepted that it's his home now, and like any good program, will do his part to keep his home system up and running smoothly. Or at least in one piece.

Clu's time in Nautilus has forced him to turn his entire worldview upside down. He's had to accept that those he'd once considered gods are just people, and that the system and his place in it was not what he thought. And having learned that, he's had to try and forge a new life and a new function for himself on the strange world on the other side of the screen. So far he's been fairly successful, though it hasn't been easy. But only time will tell what the future holds for this misplaced program.

Wake CR reference list/timeline (always in progress)

tanks4thememory — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 00:00:37 GMT

01- Arrival

10- A few questions

Meeting Wheeljack

Log: Meeting the Giant

Flowers and a hobbit

Log: Wedding crashing

Concern for Crocker

Love advice from Antoine

11- Energy Spring

Log: Bitty Loki

Tiny birdy Akito

Log: At the museum with Yugi/Yami and V

Meeting Nita

Meeting Leanne

A brief chat with Baymax

Crystal memory tree of Suzaku Kururugi

Discovering that he has to Bend back functions

Language discussion and more with Jane Foster

Meeting a moon cat

Log: Attempting to unlock functions

Bad Ending Storm- Wheeljack

Bad Ending Storm- Piper

Bad Ending Storm- Scott Summers

Log: Bad Ending Storm- The Sanity Train to Helix

Bad Ending Storm- Marin

Bad Ending Storm- Ghost

Bad Ending Storm- Brief chat with Frigga

100- Bad Ending Storm- Waiting at the gate

Log: Bad Ending Storm- Hiding out in Helix

101- Aftermath and a new User

Hanging out with Rung

Bending talk with Milton Dammers

Talking reality storms with Lucas

Pudding Time with Calex

Talking about a meeting with Nash

Attempting to calm Crocker when Sonic is hurt

Log: Visiting Crocker a bit later

Log: Big discussion meeting, chats with Nott and Crocker

110 Giving away accidentally Bent crystals

Brief chat with Antoine about Relius' dickishness

Witnessing Annie's... self discovery

Tracking Annie afterwards, meeting up with Rex and V

Talking with Relius from a safe distance

Drunk kissing lessons from Areva and Klement

Log: Meeting Drill Boy

Log: Hanging with Wheeljack at Lilo's luau

Snarking with Irene about Arcas

Log: Discoveries in Arcas arcade

Congratulating Scott on his Angelii upgrade

In which Leanne isn't fooling him for a nano

App for The Wake!

tanks4thememory — Tue, 19 May 2015 01:31:52 GMT

Personal Information
Name: Susan/Tanks
Age: 31
Personal Journal: N/A (Though you can use this one if necessary.)
Email / AIM / MSN / Plurk: Plurk- Tanks4thememory
Current Character(s): N/A

Character Information
Character Name: Clu-FA071081 , AKA Clu 1.0 or just Clu
Fandom: Tron

Character History: On the early evening of September 22, 1982, arcade owner Kevin Flynn gave Clu commands to hack the ENCOM computer system. Clu began searching - along with Bit - in his modified Tank for code that would prove that an ENCOM programmer named Ed Dillinger stole Flynn's video games and presented them to the ENCOM executives as his own. The games soon became fantastic sellers and Dillinger was promoted to Executive V.P.; Flynn had been fired by Dillinger shortly after.

While Clu was searching for the evidence, the system's security found him and began hot pursuit via Recognizers. Clu tried to destroy them with his tank projectiles, but there were too many of them. As Clu attempted to get away, he was ambushed by a Recognizer. Clu fired at it and successfully destroyed it, but its remains rained down on Clu's tank. The vehicle went out of control as the blast radius lifted the tank to its side and crashed into one of the many walls in the maze of the memory sector.

Clu quickly escaped the tank and tried to run away, but the recognizer caught him with its legs and "detached" him from the system. Flynn had failed again in trying to get the evidence he needed.

A little while later, Clu was sent to the heart of ENCOM system, where the Master Control Program was located. The MCP briefly interrogated him:

Guard: "Got a pirate program here... says his name's Clu."
MCP: "What did he pull?"
Guard: "He came into the system with a stolen password, and we caught him trying to raid a high-clearance memory."
Clu: "No! I must've gotten in there by mistake, I was-!"
MCP: "Who programmed you?"
Clu: "I was simply-!"
Clu was thrown through the air and landed on a device that was slowly derezzing him.

MCP: "You're in trouble, program. Make it easy on yourself. Who's your user?"
Clu: "Forget it, mister high-and-mighty Master Control! You aren't making me talk."
MCP: "Suit yourself."

Clu screamed as the device on the wall derezzed him, with the MCP absorbing all of his functions so he could enhance and expand his own. Right after Clu was derezzed, the MCP found out that Clu's user was Kevin Flynn.

Clu was loyal to Kevin Flynn. He refused to give the name of his user to the MCP, despite the fact that he was in a near-death situation. As a result, he was deleted by the MCP. It's from here, the point of his death in canon, that Clu will be arriving in Nautilus.

Character Personality:Clu was written some time before the events of the movie, long enough to have been doing work for Flynn for awhile, since Flynn mentions sending him to alter both his phone bill and bank statement, seemingly more than once. Thus, it can be assumed that he and Flynn have been working together for quite some time, especially from Clu's perspective, given the time differential between the User and digital worlds. The only other ally Clu is known to have worked closely with is his bit, named, well, Bit. He clearly cares for it like one would a friend or at least a loyal pet, telling it to flee and save itself when he was about to be captured by the MCP's forces.

One thing that's very obvious about Clu is that he's deeply loyal to his User, Kevin Flynn. He refers to Flynn as 'Sir' when speaking to him, and was shown to be willing to face torture and death rather than sell him out. His feelings on other Users are unknown, though unless the User in question's name happens to be Dillinger, Clu would likely treat them with a great deal of respect. Perhaps even worship, originally, until someone straightens him around, given that belief in and serving of the Users is regarded as religion in system.

Clu has also been shown to be extremely focused while on a mission, operating with efficiency and professionalism. We don't get to see him out of this 'mission mode' but given that we see of the other main programs, it can be assumed that under normal circumstances, he shares the same basic personality traits as his User, though influenced by his much more serious life. While he doesn't set much store by the rules, viewing any non-vital ones as more suggestions than anything else, he does have a strong sense of right and wrong. He can be quirky, exasperating, and sometimes insensitive, but overall he has a good heart.

He likes hugs, has a cheerful, irreverent sense of humor, and like any hacker is sometimes prone to pranks and mischief. Though unless someone gives him a very good reason to dislike them, none of it is malicious. He's also stubbornly independent(as well as just stubborn in general), as Flynn was very much in 'lone wolf' mode when Clu was written; Flynn himself called him "dogged and relentless". He'll likely have to learn how to work as a team and generally make friends, as he's never really had the chance to get close to people before, other than Flynn and Bit.

Powers and Abilities: Not for nothing did Flynn call Clu the best program he'd ever written. Clu is extremely skilled at his function and will continue to be so, even on this side of the screen. He is programmed to be able to learn and adapt to new systems and situations, so while many things about life in the physical world/Nautilus might throw him at first, he's generally quick to find his feet.

Due to being a computer program himself, Clu will have an almost uncanny rapport with computer systems, able to coax them into functioning correctly, or just functioning better, when few others can. Though his methods might well raise a few eyebrows; he can often be found talking to consoles or rubbing them with his hands. There is a method to this seeming madness, however, as the delicate circuits and specialized sensors in the palms of his hands- while no longer able to read a system's code and energy base as he could from the inside- will allow him to sense, interpret, and to a minor degree manipulate the flow of energy and data through local circuitry. He usually keeps his gloves rezzed up to block such, however, as the ability can't be shut off and tends to give him a headache if overused.

As for other abilities, Clu's physical strength is superior to most humans, though not to Superman levels or anything. But he would probably be able to easily lift and carry a person of his relative size and weight, or bench press a good bit more than most. He can also speak and read binary, though the speaking aspect is really only useful if there's someone else around who can also speak it, or at least understand it. Were he in system, he could also send pings- brief thoughts or feelings in data form- but that ability is nonfunctional outside the system, barring future enhancements. He can also process and recall data significantly faster than most humans, and with greater accuracy. Not that he doesn't make mistakes or forget things, happens less frequently. He can also pilot a modified game-tank and could probably learn to do the same with a tank on this side of the screen if needed.

As far as weaknesses go, Clu is a program, adapted to life within the system and adapting to life outside it will pose challenges. He needs to drink liquid energy to live, though he may also be able to process human food and drink as well, once his body has had time to adjust. Whether he'll find it palatable or not is anyone's guess, though. His vision is also adapted for low light, so bright lights, especially bright flashes of light can easily leave him temporarily blinded, or in extreme cases, may even burn out his visual sensors, necessitating repair.

Which is another disadvantage. Clu and all the clothing that he comes with are made of computer code, and while he can repair his own clothing, repairing himself is much more difficult. (Any clothing he acquires later will obviously be normal clothing and exempt from this; just the circuit-suit he comes with is made of code.) Mild to moderate damage tends to repair on its own given time, energy, and care as his systems are designed to be both rugged and efficient, but any major or particularly delicate damage will require a skilled programmer to repair. And since Clu will be arriving without an identity disc, this will be even more complicated, as it will require someone to be given permissions to access Clu's code directly. Currently the only one with such permissions is Flynn, his User, but Clu can alter his permission settings for others if need be.

Non-physical weaknesses include being bound by his programmed directive- to help Flynn in any way he needs-, his own stubbornness, and his lack of knowledge about how life works on this side of the screen, which could lead to many a faux pas.

And while not really a strength or a weakness, but still going here since I don't know where else to stick it, the physical characteristics that make Clu's appearance differ from that of a normal human are the intricate, glowing yellow circuits, not just on his suit, but in his skin. And if one looks closely, in can be seen that the pupils of his eyes are hexagons, rather than circles.

Samples
Network: [The signal starts out as audio only, switching to video after a moment.]

Man, this is the weirdest interface... there, think that's got it. [ahem]

Greetings, programs. My designation is Clu. I'm afraid I seem to have been transported to your system by mistake. I really don't know how this could have happened- [for a number of reasons] - but I do need to report in. Can anyone direct me to an I/O Tower so that I can contact my User and request retrieval?

Third Person: Clu's initial impression was of darkness and a code-deep ache that suffused every line and pixel of his being. No surprise, since his last memory had been of being slowly derezzed by the MCP's decompiler. Though that begged the question of how was he even still alive to be feeling anything.

Gradually his systems began a proper reboot, and he became aware of more than just a vague, uncomfortable existence. Though a good bit of the data he was getting back didn't make any sense at all. He suspected damage, but oddly, the diagnostics came up clear. He was lying on his back on something solid and semi-flat, that much he could tell. But it didn't feel like the smooth code or silicone that he was used to. Warmth also washed over him from an unknown external source. It was sort of a pleasant feeling, though not knowing its source made him wary. Even more worrying was the fact that he couldn't initiate any kind of system contact. His simple ping to the system's clock in hopes of finding out how long he'd been offline went unanswered. Even the barely audible thrum of power that signified a living, functioning system was absent.

That, if nothing else prompted him to open his eyes. It was a decision he was forced to redact immediately as a brilliantly bright glare assaulted his vision. Cursing in binary, he rolled carefully onto one side, keeping his eyes squeezed shut and waiting for the dazzle to fade from his overloaded sensors. Once he felt that it was safe to do so, he cautiously opened his eyes again. The area he was in was still uncomfortably bright, but now that he was no longer looking directly up at that blindingly-bright light source, he was able to actually looks around without having his visual sensors burned out.

What he saw, though, was almost a different kind of sensory overload. The system he was in was rendered in stunningly high resolution. Everywhere were brilliant colors and textures rendered in minute detail. The processing power that such a display would require boggled Clu's processor. The ground he was lying on was covered with some sort of data-growth, but he didn't see an energy spring or any other power source nearby. And he'd never seen anything that brilliantly green that didn't glow before. And just a few inches away from his face was... another kind of data growth. It also had no glow but it was such a brilliant shade of yellow, almost the same color as his circuits. And there were more of them nearby! Were the's ones about to bud off into wild bits?

Almost without thinking, he derezzed a glove and reached out a finger to touch one of the yellow maybe-bits... and was astonished. It was so soft. It gave slightly even under his gentle touch and had a texture he couldn't even begin to classify. He could scarcely process it all.

Thus would any inhabitants of Nautilus find him. A humanoid computer program, dressed in a white suit dotted with light-weight armor and glowing circuits, lying in the sun on the grass and staring in unabashed awe at a patch of dandelions.

Like I really need more threads. X3

tanks4thememory — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 08:46:44 GMT

The Cuddle Meme | My thread

Heheh...

tanks4thememory — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 06:00:38 GMT

Anybody who got birthday reminders for me today... I didn't realize when I made the account that LJ sent out birthday reminders, and, since this is an RP account, I put Clu's estimated 'birthday' instead. Then I kinda forgot about it... >.>

So, yeah... Heh-heh... Sorry about the mix-up. ^_^' My profile has since been corrected to reflect my *actual* birthday. If you sent me a message today, you need not do so then. ;-)

Hmmm... interesting...

tanks4thememory — Wed, 11 May 2011 04:24:12 GMT

Still haven't found that file yet, but I did find this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzRWXn5KNFI

Not sure what it's about, but it's pretty interesting. Maybe something to play next time I have a lull on a long mission.

Keep that tank rollin'

tanks4thememory — Mon, 09 May 2011 03:34:18 GMT

Still no luck finding that file for Flynn yet. And to make matters worse, it seems that ol' Master Control has increased the number of patrols lately. *sigh* Bit and I'll have to be careful next time we're sent out. Still, this is a top-priority function, and I won't let my User down.