second glitch

[perfectisnteasy]

[anyone listening to the journal today might pick up a very steady, consistent sound, almost like a metronome:

flip.
flip.
flip.
flip.

at odd intervals, there'll be a soft thud, a scrape, and then the flipping continues. anyone who ventures onto the second floor of the library will find the source of the sound: CLU seated at a table, behind a MASSIVE pile of books. there's a tall glass of some sort of glowing, blue liquid off to one side, but other than that, it's just him and the books.

to the uninitiated, it'll look like he's not even reading. he just turns a page, blinks, and repeats the process ad nauseam. but he's definitely reading, scanning each page and its contents quickly before moving on. occasionally, if a spread is dense with text, or a concept it details is completely foreign to him, he'll pause a moment before turning the page. but for the most part, he just. keeps. going. after he finishes one book in particular, he stops, and scowls down at the journal]

[he's careful to keep his tone light, though, because That Is How You Make Friends And Influence People.] These are the most inefficient systems. I don't see how any of you can cope. Don't you get impatient?

Comments

Dictated forever

[mal_addict]

[...Wait. She recognises that voice. It's one she hasn't heard for a long, long time. But she still remembers it]

...Clu?

/woot

[perfectisnteasy]

[he lets his voice lilt into that tone he reserves for the rarer, more pleasant surprises] Oh, someone else who knows me. I'm sorry, I don't remember you. But if you'd be kind enough to enlighten me, we can work on that, yeah?

[mal_addict]

...Yep. That's you alright.

I'm Maladict. As you've already gathered, I knew you from before.

[CLU 2.0]

[is0latedthinker]

[He's been waiting for something like this. CLU's had some time to get his bearings, so he's undoubtedly now trying to get an advantage of some sort. It happened last time and it's happening again now.]

It's impossible for anything to be 100% efficient. And I know you know we use more than books.

[He pauses before changing the subject. Best not to beat around the bush.]

I know what you did to him.

Alan-1

[perfectisnteasy]

[he's read the whole journal. of course he knows you use more than books. he knows about the flood, the strange creatures that live in balls, the odd change of the seasons, the "losses", the way people come and go. he knows how flawed it all is, how broken. how little you Users have all done to even try to change that. and it makes him sick. how can you not see how diseased this place is? how splintered and fragmented and IMPERFECT?

as for that accusation? he has no idea which "he" Alan-1 means, so he'll just play it cool]

Mmyeah?

[CLU 2.0]

[is0latedthinker]

[Alan would agree with that appraisal of imperfect, but probably not with any of CLU's potential attempts to change it.

He hates that CLU sounds like Flynn. Alan had been answered that way many times throughout the years he'd worked with Kevin, and that backhand response? To something as important as Tron? Just frustrates him.]

Why?

[fishy_go_byebye]

Not when there was patience in the world.

/flails happily

[perfectisnteasy]

Patience isn't the point. This is the biggest mess I've ever seen.

:D /waaaaaaaves

[fishy_go_byebye]

You don't have ink on your hands.

[How would she possible know that, speaking through a book? One must wonder.]

[cheerupemoborg]

[Seeing as how he's not there, Hank has NO idea what he's talking about, page flipping be damned.]

These 'systems' being...?

[perfectisnteasy]

[oh, hey, it's you. he's still not entirely sure what to make of you, but he'll be pleasant until he decides if he should be otherwise]

This place. Paradisa. Call it whatever you want, man, it's still a system, code or no code. It's got its laws of functionality just like anythin' else.

[cheerupemoborg]

Unfortunately, I think it's 'laws' were concocted by a child. You've yet to see how truly bizarre this place can get.

[voice!]

[sixguns]

Th' spaces in between here an' there can be some of th' most important.

[perfectisnteasy]

Oh, nice. [he sounds cheerful enough, but:]

Someone else who doesn't make sense.

[sixguns]

No such thing as sense, just how ye see things. Ye get older, and ye start t'savor every moment.

[Especially when you thought you were dead.]

Impatience'll just make ye miserable.

Dictated

[wizard_redfive]

[Dairine is pretty tired and emotionally drained what with her friend on a loss. Maybe not the best time to engage CLU in conversation, but as if that’s going to stop her. Especially when the topic is so relevant to her life.]

Nothing ever happens fast enough.

[perfectisnteasy]

Clearly. And what do you do about it?

[wizard_redfive]

[There's silence for a moment as Dairine thinks it over.]

What I can.

action

[lord_wizard]

[Felix doesn't spend as much time in the library as he used to, but he does drop by every few days to borrow something new. In the process of course he comes across CLU. He casually approaches, pausing to pick up a book that has fallen off the towering stack]

Welcome to the chaos of the real world.

[perfectisnteasy]

[CLU looks up at the familiar voice. he's not entirely sure if he can trust Felix yet, but so far he'd been a goods source of information, which was good enough. he quirks a smile at him] Hey, man. .... I dunno, it can't be complete chaos. There're laws for everything. I'm just havin' trouble finding the documentation.

[lord_wizard]

Hm. Documentation for what, exactly?

Action

[youhavebeenflynned]

[Harry has dared to go into the library after the troubles last week. After some walking around the shelves he spots the man (whose name he still doesn't know) he met before in the lobby. So he walks up to him.]
If you're talking about those books, then I can agree. I don't got the patience to read through them either.

[perfectisnteasy]

[oh. the User with the attitude. CLU frowns, not looking up as he speaks] It ain't the reading itself, it's the content. So much of it is totally useless.

[sameteam]

[loooooong pause from Sam. This is difficult for him, but, ] Are you reading?

[perfectisnteasy]

[ugh, that voice. it's not the same as the one he came to know and loathe - it's younger and higher - but it's the same source, and it twists a knife in him. he's glad this is dictated, so the boy can't see the sneer that curls his lips. if he's going to make this place perfect, he's going to have to get rid of the boy, and he's going to have to do it very, very carefully. it might even take longer than the last attempt did to set up.

but as long as there's progress, he can live with that.

he tilts his head slowly at the page, already thinking of how to spin this. he's just a miniature User, he won't know anything of use ... but ... if he's honestly trying to talk to him after he was nearly de-rezzed, he's either very stupid, or very naive. and CLU can work with both of those. he swallows down the scorn and manages to at least sound neutral - outright friendly would be suspicious, even to this kid]

Yeah. Gotta lot to learn.