astercontrol:

Hear me out, NSFW Tronblr:

my brain’s going on another Connections Spree

You know how we love to use “I/O Tower” as a sexual innuendo

But I think it’s more than that

I think at least some programs (including Tron)

actually have a circuit cluster there
(“There” meaning, that gorgeous bulge)

… a circuit cluster which is used in connections to the I/O tower

and/or to the outside world in general

Don’t get me wrong I think it’s still used for pleasure and still feels amazing to touch

But when that pleasure makes him feel like he’s seeing God, it’s ‘cause there’s actual User communication going on

Evidence:

When Tron powers up at the energy pool, he makes noises that toooootally sound like he’s getting aroused

Then immediately afterwards he says he “feels Alan-1 calling him”

But he can’t get more than a feeling unless he actually goes to The Tower

So he goes there to actually communicate with Alan

Dumont lets him in–

(incidentally, and very relevantly, Dumont is dressed like THIS)

and then Dumont begins reciting those words about extending into the invisible –

and as he begins, Tron grabs himself there

and holds it, all the way through the entire speech
Like it’s a part of the ritual or something

Like activating his own personal, um, Tower is a necessary part of interacting with the Tower itself

…

… This would give a whole new layer of meaning to the Deleted Scene when Yori used his circuits as a map for how to reach the Tower.

Makes me think he’s got actual landmarks on his body

representing things on that map

and… the Tower is one of them

…

So, if we’re gonna try for an in-universe explanation of this intensely sexual flavor to the methods of contact between programs and the outside world…

well, let’s listen to Walter (Dumont’s User)

who has a line that suggests a supernatural explanation for the world inside the ENCOM system, and for the programs spontaneously developing consciousness.

He talked about the “spirits” of programmers living on in their programming

And just suppose we take that explanation

and assume that the world of the programs formed itself from the spiritual signature of Users

In that case:

when this formation occurred, the whole concept of “reporting back to their Users” somehow got inextricably connected to the SEXUAL aspect of human spirit

Perhaps because this communication (like sex) is a form of exchange, of sharing?

Perhaps because programmers are pervs?

Perhaps both?

idk, i am just deeply thankful it happened.

…

Encom AU

where Flynn listened to his friends and invited them into the computer with him

Encom became as ethical as it could reasonably be (idk maybe it went private then restructured from a corporation into a cooperative, who knows, that’s User stuff and I’m not focusing on it right now)

The system within the Encom computers became the free system that everyone was lining up to use.

(Flynn and his friends/polycule visit it often. Including Roy, who of course brought Ram back)

Since that world was formed from the spiritual energy of a whole lot of horny nerdy programmers, it has now embraced its true nature

The torture devices returned to their natural state as pleasure devices. Games became nonlethal and also for pleasure. The experience of connecting with the Users is allowed to be as free and pleasurable as it’s meant to be

MCP was replaced with a successor who mostly just oversees the proceedings within Encom with a gentle hand and a democratic approach to taking suggestions

….but has a semi-secret rebellious streak and still sometimes steals programs from what he considers “evil” corporations

(I kinda want Dumont to have this job)

When a program gets appropriated into the Encom system, it becomes subject to the mysterious effect that makes programs alive and conscious (the spirit of the horny-ass Users or whatever that is)