One interesting concept in computing is the process of porting software from one type of system to another. That means taking a program made for one specific type of machine and reprograming it, or recreating it from the ground up, so that it can work on another machine (for example, porting it from PC to Mac). Sometimes this is done by the same people who made the original version, but very often it’s done by other people who know the other machine better.
So let’s say that Flynn decided to port Alan’s Tron program to a new machine, possibly rewriting the code from scratch in another programming language. The ported version of Tron would have the same overal structure, the same functions, the same user interface, with perhaps a few tweaks to make it work on the new system. But how would it look like “on the other side of the screen”, if Programs in the digital world look like the User who made them? I can see several posibilities:
One possibility is that the ported Tron would actually look like Flynn/Clu, but wearing Tron’s costume, big T on the chest and all.
Another is that the port would still look like the original, that is like Alan, but have Flynn’s voice whenever he speaks.
And then there is the version that I think is the most amusing, where the port both looks and sounds like the original Tron, but has Flynn’s personality and way of speaking. I would just love to hear and see Bruce Boxleitner doing a Jeff Bridges impersonation.
“Yeah, I, uh… fight for the Users, man. They’re pretty radical, dude.”