You start to sense you're slowly becoming someone else

[double_discs]

Who: Ram and Rinzler
When: A few days after this.
Where: End of Line?
What: After a fews days everything seems to go back to normal. And then--there he is again.

Comments

[namesram]

Ram, for his part, had been assiduously staying away from End of Line since their last meeting, aside from a single visit during a time when he knew Rinzler had been occupied in the Games. The club was, however, not far afield from his usual route home from the sector where he carried out most of his daily tasks, so when he turned a corner a few blocks away from it and found himself staring directly at the back of a familiar helmet half a block away, he really wasn't surprised at all.

When he let himself think about it, he'd been expecting this to happen. The city wasn't big enough for a program to avoid Rinzler forever; and without being able to understand their first encounter, he couldn't fool himself into thinking there might not be another. Still, he found his systems cycling faster as he slowed his pace and hoped he wasn't part of the Monitor's plans for the day.

[double_discs]

Rinzler stared up at the building that housed End of Line and ran a precursory scan over the programs inside. He had a feeling the one he was looking for wasn't within even though he knew it was easy to hide signatures from this far away. He just had this feeling...

Unfortunately, he didn't know where else to go. He started to make a system request to find out where the program housed when he got another feeling--this one of being watched--and turned around to find the offender. He was surprised then to find that it was exactly what he was looking for.

The request faltered on his processors and he negated it altogether as he began to slowly move forward. He didn't want to spook the other program.

[namesram]

Too late. Ram was already spooked. He kept moving for a few steps, until it was clear that Rinzler had specifically turned to focus on him.

Part of him wanted to run -- or fight -- but he knew how much good that would do in an open space like this. So he simply waited, grateful that he had gone with his instincts and taken himself out of contact with anyone who could be endangered by Rinzler's attention.

[double_discs]

Rinzler approached Ram with what he tried to make a casual gait and nodded in greeting. "Ram."

As before when he'd been around the other program, Rinzler found himself at a loss for what to do with Ram now that he'd found the actuarial program. He stood there awkwardly before accessing a much disused conversation algorithm.

"Is this a good cycle?"

[namesram]

Ram's mouth almost dropped open. Not so much at the fact that Rinzler knew his name -- he was pretty sure that Rinzler would have found out anything he'd wanted to know about him by now -- but... small talk? From Clu's terrible, awful right-hand program? It was surreal.

"Hello... Rinzler." Man (as Flynn would have said), that was weird.

All the same, this game was getting to him. He wanted to know where he stood; it was time to push the envelope a little. He bit his lip, and tried to sound noncommittal. "Would it make a difference if it wasn't?"

[double_discs]

Rinzler, taken aback, looked from side to side as if seeking out the cause of Ram's bad cycle. Then it was as if the security program figured it out and, head slightly bowed, answered Ram in a quiet tone that...actually sounded meek. Or at least as meek as the Grid's greatest Game player could ever sound.

"...Yes. I could wait."

[namesram]

Ram blinked in surprise at Rinzler's survey of the area, and was even more astonished when he realized what it represented. No one would ever believe this. He wasn't sure he believed it himself. If Jazz hadn't witnessed their first meeting, he might have written it off as a particularly surreal memory glitch.

The security program's meek words were... really not very meek. But to Ram, the difference was obvious. Speaking with Jazz had only confirmed his prior information -- whatever was going on, it was outside Rinzler's normal parameters. Something that even the Monitor might be unsure of how to handle. Something important enough to have been kept suppressed until now... with him.

"Better not," he said finally. It might get him derezzed, but something like this was too important not to follow up on. "What's going on?"

[double_discs]

The security program tilted his head to one side as he stared at Ram with something akin to naivety, a split aura of curiosity and incomprehension radiating off the Monitor as he tried to decide what to do with that inquiry. The point of the matter was that the Monitor was completely at a loss for what was going on. That was why he'd sought out the actuarial program in the first place; however, now he still didn't know what to do about the situation

[namesram]

It was hard to wait for whatever was going on in Rinzler's coding to reach an output stage, but Ram held his ground, half afraid, half strangely eager to understand.

The answer, when it came, explained everything about what had happened and nothing at all about why. If whatever connection they shared was this important, how could a program with Rinzler's directives have forgotten it? How could something neither of them understood be so deeply ingrained as to affect them both? Why, with Rinzler's accusing finger stabbing towards his chest, was remaining in ignorance the only thing that Ram could find it in himself to fear?

"I don't recognize you," he managed. "But I recognize... something... about you. I don't know what."

[double_discs]

The rumble that accompanied Rinzler wherever he went turned suddenly deep and sour, annoyed though it could not be said whether it was directed at Ram or only the situation itself. Perhaps a bit of both.

That was no explanation nor gave the security program any data to calculate a solution.

A nanocycle later the low purr evened out as Rinzler came to the conclusion that being upset over the mystery wouldn't solve anything and only wasted energy he could be using to process a solution instead. Calm once more, the Monitor took another moment to mull over what Ram had just told him.

"...I feel as though I remember you. And yet I cannot place when we have ever met before the End of Line. Try to narrow it down; what do you recognize? Are you familiar with security protocol? The Games, perhaps?"

[namesram]

"Security protocol -- no. I've worked with security programs before, but only peripherally. It's not your general appearance either. You were in End of Line for a while, but I never noticed anything until you walked up in front of me."

Ram bit his lip, his eyes losing focus as he calculated. The voice -- that had been the first thing, but asking who Rinzler's User was would probably be a profoundly bad idea. And -- the games. Yes. That was part of it. "You're always at the Games." He nodded, almost mechanically, then stopped himself -- it still didn't make sense. "No. I haven't been there since...." Before Clu. "Before the rules changed again."

He gave a string of dates, easily retrieved from his primary memories. Long, long cycles ago -- before he'd remembered the old system, back when the Games weren't about getting derezzed. Back then, though, nobody had ever heard of Rinzler.

[double_discs]

Rinzler cocked his head to the side at the string of dates Ram listed off. He tried accessing the memory files in his own processor associated with the dates and shook his head as he hit a forceful firewall blocking his access to his own memories from that time. The internal conflict had him reeling on his feet, literally, and he swayed unsteadily.

He looked up at Ram and--as the only object near to him at the moment--the Monitor reached out with a hand to grasp the other program to help steady himself. His breathing came out in growling gasps that slowly petered down to a low rumble that was near silent.

[namesram]

"Rinzler?" Thoroughly alarmed, Ram reached up to steady the big bad scary Monitor, realizing only belatedly what he'd done. Still, in for a bit, in for a byte. It had already been incredible that despite causing Clu's top enforcer to deviate, he hadn't immediately been appropriated for repurposing.

Repurposing--

Vertigo surged through him. His forehead almost touching the black helmet, he saw as though for the first time the four glowing marks on the Monitor's chest, three in a row and one beneath.

No.

No--

"Who are you?" he whispered -- then caught himself, horrified, and gave Rinzler a sharp shake. If it were true, there'd be traps, failsafes against exactly this situation. "You're firewalled -- Rinzler -- wait--!"

[double_discs]

"I--" but it was too hard to concentrate on words as a sharp electrifying pain jolted through him and he took a sharp intake of air. He shut his eyes and for an exceedingly long nanocycle Rinzler's circuits dimmed to near non-existence.

It looked like a forced reboot flooding the security program's system.

As he came back online the Monitor straightened, releasing his hold on Ram, and his circuits flashed a bright, deadly red as the energy resumed circulation. He seemed hazy at first and then suddenly his senses focused and he leveled a hard stare at Ram.

"You are coming with me." He didn't give the other program the chance to object--he grabbed Ram by the arm and began to forcefully drag him away, heading towards the nearest Guard Tower.

[namesram]

Ram didn't object. He'd known from the beginning that a security protocol could kick in at any time, and the sudden insight into what had happened to Rinzler -- along with relief that it hadn't been any worse -- was almost too much for his processors to handle. Stumbling, he took a few steps to catch his balance, but didn't try to pull away as Rinzler hauled him along, and only once looked sideways at the black helmet, all fear washed away, trying only to understand.

[double_discs]

Rinzler stalked diligently down the street with his captive in tow, oblivious to everything else but his current task or so it seemed. They were a block away when the Monitor suddenly stopped though and, after a moment of absolute stillness, glanced sideways at Ram. He considered for a second.

Slowly, his grip released Ram's arm from its firm hold. "Ram..."