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Radia
Radia
Biographical information
Compile Date TC29 (~1984)
Derezzed Date ~TC129 (1989)
Status Derezzed
Physical description
Circuitry Color White
Gender Female
Other information
Functions Oracle; political leader; Co-System Administrator
Allies Giles
Tron
Quorra
Anon
Kevin Flynn
Jalen (former)
Clu (former)
Out of universe information
Actor Kari Wahlgren (voice)
Appearances TRON: Betrayal
TRON: Evolution
Gallery


Radia, formerly known as Ophelia[1], was the leader of Arjia City's ISOs in TRON: Betrayal and TRON: Evolution. A revered and powerful political figure on the grid, she was also a close friend and mentor to Quorra. She was voiced by Kari Wahlgren.

Biography[]

TRON: Betrayal[]

Ophelia

Ophelia rising from the sea.

Ophelia was an Alpha-class ISO, one of the first to rise from the Sea of Simulation in TC29. She was discovered by Flynn and Clu, who later showed Tron a recording of her miraculous "birth." She formed a close relationship and mentorship with Flynn, who was constantly impressed with her, expressing astonishment that she had chosen her own name.

Along with fellow ISO Jalen, Ophelia received an education in user culture from Flynn, to whom she had unfettered access as a valuable case study in ISO development. Ophelia spread her knowledge of the user among other interested ISOs as "purported gospel or doctrine," an endeavor which, in addition to her own strength, wisdom, willingness to lead, and insight into the workings of the Grid, aided in her rise to power.

Strife between ISO factions and basics did not make Ophelia's role an easy one. In TC149, her fellow ISO, Jalen, founded Arjia City to house the growing number of ISOs and basics who considered her an oracle, uniting them under the common goal of one day accessing the real world. Ophelia embraced these responsibilities, and was seen later in ceremonial garb with an elaborate headdress as the political and spiritual leader of Arjia, negotiating jurisdictional issues with Flynn and Tron.

She, along with other ISOs, sensed the corruption and death of the Sea of Simulation, and appeared among them on its shore to mourn its loss. Clu -- who, unbeknownst to the ISOs, had personally arranged for the Sea's destruction -- promised her that the perpetrators would be found and dealt with.

TRON: Evolution[]

Radia Podium

As her life and role in on the grid changed, Ophelia eventually took on a new name: Radia. In 1989, Flynn chose Radia to serve as Co-System Administrator alongside Original System Administrator Clu. Flynn hoped that installing an ISO as co-administrator would ease the tensions between the ISOs and his population of basics. Taking the stage at the installation ceremony, Radia expressed regret that Jalen, who was to have been the third co-administrator, had perished shortly before. She had begun to counsel hope for a new era of cooperation between ISOs and basics when the ceremony was interrupted by the virus Abraxas, who tore through the crowd in a murderous rampage. Radia was quickly ushered out by her fellow ISOs.

After the coup in which Flynn and Tron were reportedly killed, Clu visited Radia, finding her immersed in Arjia City's Codestream Nexus, a luminous being in a vertical beam of light. Speaking from amid the Nexus, Radia seemed to accept Clu's claim that the new System Monitor had killed both Tron and Flynn, and agreed to his advice to gather all the ISO factions to Arjia for their own safety.

Abraxas Clu Radia 2

After Clu departed, however, Radia invited Quorra to come out of hiding, having sensed that she was concealed nearby. She was surprised, however, to find Anon accompanying Quorra. Upon hearing their eyewitness account of the coup, she immersed herself more fully in the Codestream Nexus to discover the truth of what had happened. The effort drained and disturbed her, along with the knowledge that Clu had betrayed her people, but she was able to discern that Flynn was still alive. Stepping out of the beam of light, Radia instructed Quorra to inform the factions of what had occurred, cautioning her to stay safe: "More than you can imagine, Quorra, our future rests with you." She then sent Anon to find Gibson and learn Flynn's whereabouts from him, reasoning that only Flynn could deliver the ISOs from Clu.

Despite Radia's efforts, the Purge proceeded as Clu had planned. Faced with a triumphant Clu who had dropped all pretenses of unity, Radia told him disdainfully to do what he had come for. Clu, circling her, tauntingly asked how it had felt for her to experience the deaths of every other ISO on the Grid. She refused to rise to the bait, but was shaken when he called Abraxas into the chamber, immediately recognizing him as Jalen. Distraught, she demanded to know what Clu had done to him; told that the reprogramming had merely brought out her fellow ISO's "true self," she reached out to the virus, calling him by his former name again. However, Abraxas flinched back, telling her that it didn't matter and this was who he was now. When Clu interrupted to gloat again, Radia retorted contemptuously that this monster was no longer Jalen, and the abomination was of Clu's doing.

Refusing to respond to further taunts, Radia faced Abraxas sorrowfully as he bade her goodbye, and did not resist as he struck her heart with the broken edge of his disc. But to Clu's irritation, instead of succumbing to the infection that Abraxas had foisted on so many others, she derezzed in a brilliant display of light.

Personality and Traits[]

Soft-spoken, gentle, and empathetic, Radia was nonetheless a capable politician, securing her position as a leader among the ISOs by trading on her closeness with Flynn and sharing his teachings among them. Though grieved by Jalen's reported death, she appeared at the installation ceremony fully prepared to take on joint responsibility for the welfare of the grid, ISOs and basics alike. Her trust in Flynn was evident, but though she was frank and accommodating with Clu as his potential co-admin, she did not sense the depth of his betrayal until it was too late.

She also had a notable bond with Quorra, whom she invited to the installation ceremony, apparently outside of official channels. Even before the Purge, she intimated that the future of the ISOs rested with Quorra.

Despite reported combat proficiency, she was never seen to rely upon physical force, even when threatened with death. She refused to respond to taunts or physical threats, but was visibly distressed at the revelation of Jalen's true fate. She appeared to have a strong sense of fairness, sincerely wishing well for all of the Grid's inhabitants, but responding to betrayal with contemptuous anger.

Powers and Abilities[]

Radia was proficient in baton combat and has Expert-class light cycle permissions. Through Flynn, she and Jalen received an advanced education in user culture, which she then disseminated among her followers.

She also had an innate ability to "read patterns in code and detect fluctuations in energy flow" throughout the grid; this ability could be enhanced by the interface module at the center of Arjia City. Through use of the Codestream Nexus, she was able to contact every ISO faction leader on the grid and to read its memory of any past events witnessed by another ISO, though narrowing her focus to a single event appeared to take great effort and to be more difficult without foreknowledge of who might have witnessed something important. Additionally, this power seems limited to sight and not sound, as she discovered that Gibson had seen Flynn but was not able to discern any plans they discussed.

Along with most or all of her fellow ISOs, Radia maintained a strong connection to the Sea of Simulation, and was able to sense its destruction from afar. Her ability to psychically connect with fellow programs appears limited to ISOs, since she sensed Quorra's presence at a time of high alertness but not Anon's. Her immediate recognition of Jalen-as-Abraxas suggests that recoding and corruption were no bar to this connection.

She also had an apparent power to resist viral infection, though, unfortunately, not to survive it.

Trivia[]

  • Giles served as Radia's adviser and friend during her earlier days as Ophelia.
  • Ophelia was named by TRON: Betrayal writer Jai Nitz, who stated in an interview that naming the first ISO was his "only addition to the TRON mythos." She is named after "Hamlet’s girlfriend (but really after Jamie Lee Curtis in Trading Places)," making her one of the few characters not named after a computing term.
  • Conversely, the later name "Radia" name may have been inspired by Radia Perlman, a software developer notable for advances in networking.
  • Concept art of Radia from TRON: Evolution is marked "Ophelia," an artifact of the name-change that occurred during the game's development. Another artifact of this change is found on Abraxas's "Tron File," one of numerous mini-biographies which Anon collects throughout the gameplay, which mentions that Jalen took part in advanced studies on user culture alongside fellow ISO Ophelia before being slated for ordination as a System Co-Administrator, the position he was to share with Radia and Clu.
  • Several details of Radia's past, including her rez date, lightcycle permissions, status as an Alpha ISO, and close association with Flynn, are revealed on her Tron File. The approximate cycle of her death is found on Abraxas's Tron File, as the events surrounding it happened in close proximity to Jalen's reported death on the Game Grid.
  • Flynn, before describing Jalen's death on his recording log, mentions that it had been "seven years since I found the Grid, and five since I found [the ISOs]." Placing Jalen's death in 1989, the same year as Clu's coup and Flynn's disappearance from the user world, would put the discovery of the ISOs (via Radia's first appearance) in 1984.
  • Radia should not be confused with Radix, a program in the PSP version of TRON: Evolution.

References[]

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