Gibson

Player Information
Your Nickname: Anarin
OOC Journal: starlit_dragon
Under 18? Nope
Email/IM: Zeteram @ AIM
Characters Played at Singularity: Emile A-239 (AU), Delta (AU)

Character Information
Name: Gibson
Name of Canon: Tron: Evolution
Canon/AU/Other Game CR: Other Game CR (Paradisa)
Reference: http://tron.wikia.com/wiki/Gibson
Canon Point: In-game, as he crashes his lightcycle in Chapter 5. In Paradisa, from November 25th after teaching Alan Bradley how to ride a lightcycle.

Setting: It begins in a world very like our own. In the early 1980s, computers are still seen as industrial devices rather than personal ones, and the main access normal people have to computer programs is through arcades. Crowded rooms full of tall machines where young men and women feed quarters into brightly flashing machines to control digital warriors in computerized worlds were the very hubs of social interaction, especially for one young programmer who used to be on the other side of the screen. Kevin Flynn wrote the source code for the highest-grossing computer games of all time, but few would believe that it was because he'd actually been there himself.

Parallel and interconnected to the world of the humans, or Users as they're called, a digital world inside a computer system exists, populated by Programs who appear, at least to a User temporarily transported there by proprietary laser technology, to be as human as anyone on the other side of the screen. Though Flynn's first encounter was accidental, he was quickly catapulted to the top of computer giant Encom's hierarchy by his programming skills, and he used his newfound resources to build his own idealized computer world: the Grid. Along with his friend Alan Bradley's prized security program Tron, Flynn put his heart and soul into programming Clu to help him create a world for programs and Users alike: a digital frontier to reshape the human condition. Cycles passed and a city full of light began to emerge, with great traditions of games in an arena and thousands of programs beginning to populate it.

And then, one day, a miracle happened.

Within the system, made unlike any other computer system ever up until that point, the conditions were right for a new type of program to emerge. He called them isomorphic algorithms, because each one was unique and had his or her own personality. Ignoring the unease of his head admin Clu, Flynn joyfully invited the ISOs to join his society and gave them the resources they needed to build their own enclaves as well. From the crystalline spires of Arjia City to the backwater Bostrum Colony, ISOs spread throughout the system and added their own individual touches to it - touches which the limited capabilities of Basic programs often saw as imperfections. Tensions between the factions rose, though since Flynn had to split his time between the User world and the Grid, he was mostly oblivious until it was too late. Clu saw an opportunity to rid the system of its imperfection and took it.

A virus appeared, originating from an ISO and slowly causing pain and destruction throughout the system. Clu would use this to depose Flynn and seize control, destroying every last one of the ISO enclaves and turning the system into a cold place, full of programs but devoid of free will. It's this world the son of the User later finds, but back in the Eighties the system was free--and this is where Gibson hails from.

Everything in the Grid has a pattern, whether it's the clean hexes of Tron City, the crystalline forms of Arjia, or the calcite-like rock formations in the Outlands. Buildings, vehicles, and even programs themselves are all built upon patterns as well, though they vary by individual. Even Gibson, who strongly advocates individuality, has symmetrical circuits. Because he looks for these patterns, he becomes very uncomfortable when he can't find them, even if it's entirely unconsciously.

Although programs look human, they have several important differences. To begin with, they don't age as Users do - a program is compiled with one appearance, and unless they modify it they will always look the same way. They don't typically eat food, preferring to absorb energy directly or consume it in the form of drinks. When they're hurt, they don't bleed but disintegrate - a program is "derezzed", not killed. ISOs are identified by a single glowing tattoo-like mark found on their bodies, but are otherwise physically identical to Basics despite their sometimes extreme differences in behavior. Flynn describes ISOs as possessed of free will, though it's a bit misleading to say Basics can't very liberally interpret their objectives (see: Clu). Unbound by such restrictions, ISOs are potentially capable of anything.

Personality: Gibson's demeanor is easygoing, even when he's in captivity and sentenced to almost certain death. However, he also brooks no insults and has the fighting skills to back up his words. His mind is constantly in motion; as an engineer he uses this to refine his energy systems and it no doubt helps him be effective in combat as well. Even after his canon point, when he's infected he manages to retain a sense of his individuality, telling Anon how to defeat him and fighting the pain until the very end. Other infected programs don't show this at all, instantly becoming mindless monsters. This is a tribute to his strong willpower and his pride in himself.

Bostrumites are described as fiercely individual, and Gibson is no different. His circuitry is green like the rest of his colony and his hooded jacket often falls open, revealing the tattoos on his chest. Though he has this rebellious streak, Gibson is very fair-minded. He admires and respects the User and gives Basics the benefit of the doubt, as shown by his rescue of Flynn and his willingness to gather information at Zuse's bar and assist Anon. Holding on to an elected position for over a hundred cycles must mean that this fair-mindedness extends to decisions and judgments related to politics as well, because he's hardly a smooth-talker. Although a bit deceptive by omission, his loyalty is demonstrated by the many times he risks, and eventually sacrifices, himself for his allies and friends. That's not to say he's not something of a jerk; in the original incident that had him leave System Utilities when he was very young, Tron was unable to verify any actual harassment that had taken place. He's extremely sensitive to insults and won't hesitate to pick a fight when he thinks someone isn't being fair. He's seen more than his share of trouble this way, and it's probably one of the main reasons he chooses to live an isolated life among like-minded individuals rather than in the middle of a larger city where his talents would be highly valued.

Though he's spent some time in Paradisa, Gibson is still quite naive about some aspects of what a human would consider normal life. No one has managed to successfully explain heteronormativity to him, for example - because why should that apply to his world, which has no concept of sexual reproduction? Likewise, while he has a very basic grasp on the idea of fathers and sons thanks to Sam Flynn, the vast majority of family dynamics are meaningless. His brothers and sisters number in the tens of thousands, and that's only counting the ISOs. The idea of strong ties between individuals that has nothing to do with individual choice of one's friends is still a mystery to him, along with some other concepts like why Users can't decide on creationism vs. evolution when they're both clearly correct under certain circumstances. He does like debating this sort of thing and will gladly get into philosophical arguments about anything he doesn't consider logical, which happens to be an awful lot.

Abilities, Weaknesses, and Power Limitation Suggestions: Gibson's special talent is energy transfer optimization. He has an innate understanding of energy systems and how best to put them to use. He specializes in baton combat and also has Operator-class privileges in Recognizer and Light Cycle piloting. He's also discovered he's fluent in binary, and given his engineering and political experiences from his time as an elected leader of Bostrum Colony, he has all the skills he needs to live alone or with people.

Inventory: One identity disc with the sum total of all Gibson's experiences recorded on it. This can be used as a lethal weapon when activated. One baton which can be turned into a lightcycle, or activated to make a shortsword-like energy weapon.

Appearance: Like so.

His point of pride is the bright green Bostrumite circuits and the ISO chest tattoos. Nobody's really sure why he needs two belts.

Age: About 153 cycles, give or take a few - objectively, a little over three years in the human world, but subjectively closer to 120 years of our time.

OC/AU Justification
If AU, How is Your Version Different From Canon, and How Will That Come Across? In addition to his full canon experience, Gibson's spent several months inside a magical castle with residents from many different worlds. This has given him many unique experiences - he's lived in a world very similar to the User world, explored different types of energy including solar power, magic, steam power, electricity, etc. He's had a chance to meet several other Users, such as Alan Bradley and Sam Flynn, and humans, trolls, ponies, and other non-programs from many different worlds. His closest friend in Paradisa was another AI, Azure Flame Kite, who helped him discover many things about his own future. Together they planned to help Abraxas heal his pain and return to being Jalen, though that didn't end up happening. One successful event he did help with was assisting the Doctor and Alan Bradley restore Rinzler to Tron - so he's aware of both true identities of those altered programs, as well as being given a rundown on the state of the Grid in 2011 from Sam.

He also had the fun experience of being turned into a User pirate during a game plot (and being very freaked out by being surrounded by water, which he was utterly convinced was poisoned) and a frog by Aradia Megido (unintentionally). This has given him a greater sympathy for organic life-forms in general, though he still thinks they're inefficient in the extreme.

On the negative side, Paradisa did cost him something: as with all characters who enter there, something is taken irrevocably upon their entrance. In Gibson's case, it was the identity of Kevin Flynn as the user. He still remembers the strong religious feelings programs (himself included, though he rarely admits it) have toward him. He remembers his experiences, but nothing of the personal identity of the man who created his world. He does know from his experiences in Paradisa with a 1989 Flynn that he looks like Clu, only with different circuit color. He'll most likely be very confused by an older Flynn.

http://paradisalogs.livejournal.com/tag/gibson
http://paradisa.livejournal.com/tag/gibson

He had several other appearances as well, but those are his tags from the main and logs communities in Paradisa.

If OC, Did You Run Your Character Through a Mary-Sue Litmus Test?

n/a
And What Did You Score? n/a

Samples
Log Sample (reused with mod permission):
The fifth subsector was showing fluctuations again. Gibson nodded as the other program delivered her report, making a few mental notes and wondering if it was finally time to replace some of the aging capacitors. That would mean sending out a trading party to one of the other enclaves, or maybe even Arjia City, which could mean a delay of ten or more millicycles until the problem could be fixed. Annoying, but new capacitors would solve the problem for at least ten or fifteen full cycles.

Assuming, of course, that he could confirm that was actually the problem. He could send someone, but it was quicker--and more efficient--just to go himself. If it was just a faulty line somewhere, he could reroute it and have everything up and running in moments.

It wasn't long before he was perched up at the section he'd isolated as the cause of the irregularity and dipped his hand into the energy flow. From here he'd be able to sense the root cause--but he drew his hand back with a startled exclamation. That wasn't green at all! It was--there was some kind of foreign influence, draining it, making it turn yellow. Much more cautiously, he stripped off a glove and lightly tapped his finger against the yellow section.

It was unmistakeable this time. That was a distinct sensation of something he hadn't felt in cycles: physical pain.

Quickly, he shut down the immediate subsector and lept down from his perch. For now, the residents in this area could head over to the third subsector, but he'd have to call a council meeting to see if anyone else could handle this or if they were going to have to hire an expert from Arjia.

Gibson could handle anything the Outlands had to throw at them, but this was a virus.

Network Sample:
[Not noticing at first that he still had his journal with him, it had taken Gibson only a few moments to adjust to the idea of the wearable. The interface was hideously unfamiliar to him, though, so he had made his way out of the Junkyard and into the residential sector conveniently labeled with his name before sitting down to poke at it. Eventually he finds the video function and waves into it.]

It's about time we had another change of scenery around here, and I've got to say this is a little more to my tastes than that pirate area. But where's everyone else? If this map is to scale, this place is gigantic. I can't be the only one here, right?

[Surely Alan Bradley and Kite had to be here somewhere, right? Not to mention Aradia and the others?]

Is anybody receiving this?