Chapter Text
AU lore that looks better
in this little Compendium in Progress
(excerpt)
Isomorphic Evolution
The ISO genome is nothing but a 'magical' potabilization update that the Grid operates itself because of a bug of epic proportions that Kevin introduced through his meddling with the laser drivers in a frantic desire to heal Jordan. it doesn't generate random programs without any purpose. The problem in Betrayal came from civil war and from Clu's lack of supervision/updates. Not from the ISO genome. Kevin and Clu never got or took time to analyze the genome and the Sea's selection process for new generation. There is actually no risk of the grid being override with purposeless programs.
Programs
For programs, The Grid is simulating reincarnation but with Sparks.
Not to feel alienated to their programs, some Users have built a town for ISO with Sirens who will give newly raised ISOs the speech: explaining to them who the are, where they come from, and what they can become... so that they won't panic.
Then, to have them enter a I/O Tower in order to receive the memory of what they were made to do, and who is their User(s)' name(s) back.
(They can be put asleep, while all of the recently corrupted/terminated basics' logs are inputted to them through a temporary disk, until they react. The Tower can them isolate the logs that made them react and give them to the ISO.)
From there, they can see their User before deciding whether they want to resume their work or learn to do something new altogether.
Being now compatible with the laser, they can visit our world, but that would only be temporary since they are still ill fit to live in it and it would feel uncomfortable.
Derezolution isn't lethal: even without a backup or even without a user, anything sentient is able to be restored by Kevin's Grid if immersed in its Sea of Simulation.
Items
Items can be converted into isomorphic code by...following a long process...involving the Sea.
Everyone (users and programs) can store data --such as subroutines, or sets of coordinates-- on wearable accessories (anything: glasses, a tie, jewelry) that has been rendered isomorphic (immersed in the Sea).
- Just like a disc, the accessory will only process energy and works when held by its owner, and they will have a mind of their own about it (like The One Ring of Sauron).
Even storing a developer signature on isomorphic accessories like glasses is possible (and safe for the carrier) because, just like a disc, the glasses will only process energy and works when held by its owner.
- It is possible to use an isomorphic accessory with foreign credentials in order to fool a program and get reading or even writing permission on them.
But even without credentials (signature, username, compilation log, etc.), Sparks can recognize their User’s identity intuitively.
So if someone shows up with their maker's credentials, and their Spark doesn’t react to that person at all, the program will still be wary and might refuse to give permission.
However, programs with weaker Sparks, programs who have never met their User on a Grid, or who aren’t used to trust their Spark, are easy to fool and 'hack' that way. Not even mentioning the sparkless.
Apparent origins
A possible explanation; from the code color, the Sparks, and the lack of purpose in isomorphic programs; seems to be the laser, which Kevin tweaked without completely understanding it's inner working "bugged" when interacting with Kevin's tweaked operating system.
Imagine a bug that reincarnates basic programs' Sparks into new, functional but technically purposeless, sessions.
Now, what if, somehow, Kevin's Grid itself was sentient as much as Tron could be; and having a User try to get closer to programs made it understand that it was the User's will for the programs to be able to survive independently from the dooms of the imperfect digital world?
So, Kevin's Grid packs these derezzed programs back together, with versatile parameters.
It makes them as portable as can be during the process -operating the change with more precision than any user would be able to due to its understanding of binary-
and so protecting the coherency of the programs' natural environment as best as possible.
From then, these programs are able to operate about anywhere, and are even able to leave their system without risking their Spark...
On Kevin's Grid, programs are usually resurrected as isomorphic versions of themselves, but those of other Grids end up savagely erased.
In both cases, no Spark appears out of nowhere: all programs' fate derivates from the heart of their conceptors, or from the Grid they run on; but not from their efforts or will alone.
When programs become isomorphs, the comments of their code are left untouched as they recompile. As isomorphs, they can detect them lines, but usually keep them secret, as, even though they still can't decipher them, they are to them like magical relics reminding them of their conceptors.
To read more, a little Compendium.