[ Video call | Anyone | Day 66, early morning ]

[isoalgorithm]

[When Quorra appears on the screen, she's sitting cross-legged on the floor in her living room, surrounded by what at first glance appear to be the picked-apart remains of several dozen shiny green bugs. On closer inspection, they appear to be mechanical in nature, with gold flecks glinting among tiny green microchips

Comments

[hardestofharts]

If ya don't mind my asking, what's a computer?

[Good luck with this, Quorra]

[isoalgorithm]

[She just stares for half a second.]

Don't you have one in your house?

[hardestofharts]

Well, I guess if I had one in my house, I wouldn't be asking.

[A pause, and then something dawns on him]

Or do you mean my house here? 'cause, yeah, maybe. Wouldn't know what it was, though.

[isoalgorithm]

It would look like a big box with a screen similar to a television's.

It's a machine for...calculating things. [That's the simplest way she can think of to put it.] I'm from one.

[dontstartnone]

Ooo! Ooo! Me!

[isoalgorithm]

There may be some...[She presses her lips together.] Compatibility issues. Since I had to stomp on a lot of them. But I've salvaged what I could. [And she mutters, darkly - ] Sons of glitches.

[dontstartnone]

[The nerd is too excited about the prospect of salvaging something to put two and two together to get that Quorra wasn't in the best of moods. So he'll be going a mile a minute.]

Appft. That's no problem! Stomped parts are parts! I can probably configure -- D'ya know what kinda parts there are there? I mean I need a few specifics but
I'm just happy for anything right now y'know?

[Screeech.]

So. Uh. Why did you have to step on 'em?

[isoalgorithm]

Microchips, mostly. They should be reprogrammable if you have the right equipment. There's also some...LEDs here that might be usable.

They were attacking me.

[justalildrink]

What the heck are those? [He's trying to get a good look. That involves actually tilting his head as though it'll get him a better vantage point.]

[isoalgorithm]

Gridbugs. Or they were. Now they're just spare parts. [A lot of them collapsed into their component pixels, which speaks to the sheer volume that have attacked her since she's managed to salvage this many.]

[justalildrink]

...What's a gridbug?

[isoalgorithm]

[Quorra picks up one of the intact deactivated bugs, waving it at the screen. Its four legs clack-clink together creepily.] One of these. They usually come in swarms. I keep getting attacked by them every time I step outside.

[crownedape]

[He's squinting at his phone's screen.]

They look like really small mechs.

[isoalgorithm]

I guess you could call them that, yes.

They damaged Sam's bike. [Sadface forever.]

[crownedape]

...How badly?

[isoalgorithm]

I don't know, I haven't had time to assess the damage. The 'bugs knocked it over when they swarmed me. I think it's still out there. I hope.

But they're still out there too. I can't see any if I look out of the windows but as soon as I step outside, they just start coming out of the fog and they don't stop.

[arcadeboss]

Are those... grid-bugs? [Enter a confused 80s Flynn.]

Those aren't supposed to be outside the system...

[isoalgorithm]

[Quorra whips around, her mouth dropping open. And yes, all she does for a second is stare at him.] Flynn! [He's really real. He's really here.

She drops the Gridbug and steps over the rest, dashing over to him, and there's absolutely no hesitation as she flings her arms around his neck.] You made it!

[arcadeboss]

Whoa! [Flynn is caught off-guard for a moment, certainly not expecting such an enthusiastic greeting. He chuckles, wrapping his arms around Quorra in return.]

Glad I did. I'm not gonna lie, it's scary out there.

[isoalgorithm]

[Quorra laughs, the sound a little choked and teary as she presses her face against his shoulder. He may not know her, but he's Flynn and he's alive and that's good enough for her at the moment.]

I never thought I'd see you again.