Thinking about how things manifest inside the computer system in Tron (particularly the Encom system in the 82 movie)
Programs appearing as people… circuitboards and domains appearing as places… etc.
Anyway, we know energy can appear in the computer world as a drinkable liquid.
From the outside, of course, we see energy as electricity going into a computer via the plug in the wall. And then, if I understand correctly, it goes to a Power Management Unit that distributes it to be used by whichever programs need it.
I imagine that in 1982, the MCP had control of the power management unit. He would have rationed out as little as he could get away with, hoarding most for himself.
The energy spring in the caverns may have been an accidental leak in that supply– perhaps caused by the MCP hoarding too much power in areas that couldn’t support it.
(The power management unit is the inspiration for PoMU in my fanfiction, which, after the MCP’s defeat, is a club owned communally by the programs.)
(They decide among themselves how power will be allocated, and share any excess in big parties with lots of tasty drinks. In my headcanon, programs can also charge themselves via light, heat, or direct electrical connections to the wall– all of which are other forms of energy available to enjoy at PoMU.)
Anyway… Now I’m wondering how memory appears in the system.
Like energy, like food and water… random-access memory is something that
1. programs need in order to function
2. is usually available for any program to take when needed
3. is a limited resource, capable of being hoarded by a too-greedy program causing others to be deprived.
I wonder if that’s what the “air” is, inside the computer.
