The Radiant

Tron moved swiftly toward the Radiant, his multifaceted eyes scanning the horizon as he moved. The empty streets helped him to move with a rapidity and fluidity which would have amazed his makers. The rats eyed him with wary caution as he moved past them without acknowledging their presence. They learnt quickly from the fate of their brethren.

The cold of the night had no effect upon him, but there was a methane snow which covered the sidewalks. Tron did not mind. He did not care. The myriad thoughts which intruded in his consciousness screamed of a better time, a feeling of loss, the beauty of the cold and lifeless Earth. He ignored them. The Radiant was now all he needed now, it was time. It was hard-coded into him.

The rats had been a failed experiment of biomimicry. That thought popped into his consciousness unheralded. Tron did not break his strides. His sixteen appendages gripped the road; he could feel the road as he moved.

The Radiant was just outside town. It was housed in a facility where Tron had been created. In some ways he was 'grateful' to his creators. In other ways, he was annoyed at the burden he had to bear. He approached cautiously as the facility appeared. Rats were everywhere. Looking for food. Just to clear the area, he murdered them indiscriminately. They would provide meat for other rats.

Entering the facility, Tron saw the huge familiar dome which had made up the observation deck. In the days there was something to observe. Now it lay silent. He made his way to the small aperture where he plugged himself in. The station hummed with power he had induced. It was alive. The patterning cells in the huge dome glowed with energy as they went about their work. Tentacles and soft tissue worked with liquid metal drops, a symphony of organo-metal.

New modules were 'born' as Tron downloaded specific personalities into replicas of himself. But they were different from him. They held just one personality. He downloaded three of them - Susy, Nestor and Fezzi. That would have to do. The facility could only regenerate so many bodies at a time.

He did not wait for them to 'grow'. The Radiant sucked all his data and experiences into itself like a hungry monster. It was the backup. The failsafe. The future of humanity as it was. Or what was left of it. He would be back next month for the next update. That was his raison d'être.