Chapters Chapter 1 - This is Apeture
A young man stood excitedly on the doorstep, keys jangling excitedly in his hands. This was it, the moment which he had been waiting for for the last few months. Moving in day.
For most people, moving day was mundane. Their house no different from their last other than it's location. But for Dan, this house was vastly different.
Compared to this flat at college, the house seemed more like a palace. It helped that it dwarfed most flats in the area, proof that when someone makes it big in holywood, they make it big. Which is of course what had happened to him.
He had been recently picked to star in an action film. It wasn't a major role, but in a film that large, even playing second fiddle to the main star racked in a large amount of income. So here he was, after assisting the typical tall, tanned and dark haired main star defeat a truckload of russians ready to move into his new house.
His house.
He still couldn't believe the absurd sums of cash he now had in his bank which allowed him to buy his very own property. An amount of money he had always believed would be out of reach because of what happened at school. He had always tried his hardest, but no matter what, he had never achieved a large role in the school plays. But one day, after a particually bad audition and role from the latest school production, everything changed.
He didn't know how, but he suddenly felt far more confident. It felt like he could achieve the impossible, and in the weeks and months that followed, he often felt like he had. He didn't know where this feeling came from, but he prayed every night to whomever had given him this sudden change in personality. Whoever it was, he owed them everything he managed to achieve since then.
He brought himself back to the present and slowly pressed the keys into the lock, taking time to savour this moment, this grand opening of his new abode. A twist of the wrist and a gentle push and the door opened easily, with not so much as a squeek.
Carefully, he stepped inside the threshold and breathed deeply, the scent that accompanied everything new teased his sinuses for a moment before he was blinded by a bright light appearing just before his eyes.
"Dan, my goodness you're finally here man. Took you long enough."
"Wheately! It's nice to meet you too, but can you turn that damn light off?" Half blinded, he could just about make out the shape of the slightly insane personality sphere behind his high intesnity halogen lamp.
"What's the magic word?"
"I would assume the word is space," Dan barked, annoyed that his enjoyement of moving in had already been shattered. In response, the light went off with a click and the house's normal lights came on, providing a normal - non blinding - level of illumination.
"All right, no need to bring that up."
"Calm down, not as if that actually happened." Dan said as he entered further into the propety, shutting the door behind him.
"Well, it did for me, alright buddy?" The AI started to sound a bit miffed. Dan had been really excited when he found out he could use some of his newfound wealth to buy a working copy of the AI from Portal 2, but right now - having to deal with it - he realized how much he would have to get used to it.
"Alright, I'm sorry. It's been a long day, I'd been really excited about moving in and a blinding light was the last thing I expected. But it was cruel to bring that space thing into it." He sighed as they made their way into the spacious and well furnished living room. Dan picked out his choice sofa and sat down with an audible 'aaah'.
Dan looked around, and gazed upon the center of his new kingdom. The room was well equipped, featuring several large and comfortable sodas - necessary if any of his actor friends came over for a party - a stone fire place and a very large plasma television. Unfortunately the cable had yet to be installed, it seemed that despite his new found wealth, it still wasn't enough to various companies that provided the television service sought. Dan was brought out of his quiet contemplation by a digital caught.
"Ahem, Dan, any plans for tonight?"
"Well, the moving men are bringing my stuff in tomorrow and we don't have cable yet, so what do you suggest?"
"Well, according to my data file the drinks cabinet is well stocked, and I have a wide array of computer games or dvd's that I can run directly through the big black box by the wall there."
"You mean the television?"
"Yeh, that. Anyway, I have that. Or you could go out and leave me here alone, I'll be fine. I've only bee waiting for you for ages ," Wheately embellished this statement by spinning around on his management rail. "But, I'm willing to power down for the night if that's what you want to do."
"Nah, don't sweat it. I'm tired from the journey and packing, and there's always plenty of time to see the area later. I'll just relax tonight." He sat silently for a moment before thinking of what to do. "You said the drinks cabinet was well stocked?" the Wheately core nodded vigorously. "Then let's play a drinking game."
"Drinking game? Bloody hell Dan, you know I can't drink don't you?"
Dan smiled, the sinister smile that a predator would give it's prey. "That's why I'm going to be doing the drinking, and you will be playing the game."
Wheately was suddenly still for the first time since Dan had arrived, something about the idea caused a chill to run through the personality core's circuitry.
"W-what game?"
"Do you have Portal 2 by any chance?"
Thirty minutes later and a bottle of tequila was already empty, it's remnants in a shot glass that was being held in front of Dan's lips.
"You know Dan, drinking that much isn't good for you."
"Well, I wouldn't be drinking thish much if you weren't such a lousy gamer." Dan finished his sentence with a very loud hiccup.
"Oh no, Dan, you can't blame this one on me. I can be blamed for many things, but not this."
"Of coursh you can my robotic friend, you know the rulesh of thish game. Every time you or the Wheatley in-game do something stupid, I takes a drink. You've died 30 timesh, I take 30 drinksh. The Wheatley in game smashesh the room you're in through a wall stupidly, I take another drink. Currently you're at 30-1 with the game Wheately."
"That's hardly a fair tally, we haven't got to the point where I do my most stupid things in game."
Just then, Chell took a nosedive from a badly placed portal into an area of toxic slime. The discussion had torn Wheatley's attention from the game enough to misjudge his aim, resulting in another death and another drink for Dan.
"31-1."
"That's so not cool, Dan, how am I meant to focus when you're constantly teasing me like that?"
Dan gave another hiccup, "I don't knowsh. I thought an artificial intelligence would be good at playing a game."
"Of course I'm good at playing a game, check my scores on COD and you will see how good at blowing people up. Puzzles, that is something I'm not good at."
"Oh calm down fushpot, portal'sh a good game to practice both skills." Just then, Chell got toasted by a lazer beam. "And it seems like you could do with all the practice you couldsh get."
Dan reached for his shot glass and bottle of tequila but realized he was out of drink. "You keep playing, Wheately, I'm just going to get some more drink. Don't forget to tell me how many," hiccup, "times you've died when I get back."
He stood up, unsteadily swaying on his feet he reached out for the sofa to stop himself from falling.
"Heh, I think you've had plenty to drink tonight, mate. How about you go and sleep it off?"
"Nah, itsh fine, I drank far more in collage. And tomorrow has nothing planned anyway."
He pushed off from the sofa and started to walk towards the rather well stocked drinks cabinet. A tumble along the way was only halted by quickly grabbing onto a light fixture.
"Really, Dan, I think you've probably had enough for tonight."
He just waved his 'paranoid' AI's concerns away and stood back up. He resumed his walk towards the cabinet, however on his next stumble he wasn't so lucky. He had almost reached the cabinet when he slipped forwards, smashing his head against the wall in the process. A rather large crack could be heard as his head made contact and Wheatley quickly turned his attention to his master, dying in game at the same time.
"Dan, mate, are you alright?"
Dan didn't respond.
"Dan? Dan!"
Wheatley quickly zoomed over on his management rail, seeing the still body, he feared the worst. For a moment, concern overwhelmed his circuits, but a quick study of the body showed he was breathing. He was alive at least.
"Oh bloody hell, only knocked out. You shouldn't shock my circuits like that." He zoomed in on Dan's head and noticed the rather large bruise. "Maybe some ice is in order." He quickly zoomed off to see if he could find something appropriate.
One minute Dan was stumbling across the living room, light spinning through his hazy vision. The next, he was falling into a deep black void, it's emptiness chilling him.
It was quite obvious from the darkness that he wasn't awake anymore, most likely unconscious. But his awareness of the situation unnerved him. He had never experienced a black out like this, it normally involved falling asleep and then immediately waking up in great pain. No awareness present of any time having passed.
Time stretched on as he was left floating in this void, and he was bored. For some reason, despite being aware, he was unable to control any aspects of the dream.
Suddenly the black void was filled with a flash of light all the colours of the spectrum, a rainbow. It was accompanied shortly after by a tomboyish voice that seemed vaguely familiar to him.
"A-actually, I've got clouds to clear before sundown in an hour... "
The last few sounds echoed on in the darkness for what seemed like forever and Dan found a blush soon rising to his cheeks. He didn't know why, but something about that voice felt somewhat... attractive.
As the array of colour and that voice faded away, he found himself longing for more but despite his objections he was once again left with nothing but the darkness for company. Not for long, however.
After just mere moments of darkness again, he felt a force tugging him forwards, dragging him through the darkness towards an unknown destination. This tugging while interesting at first, eventually became nothing more than a distraction as Dan tried to think.
"What on earth did those colours mean? And why does that voice sound so..." A blush rose to his cheek as he thought again about that cute tomboyish voice, "familiar? Could they be connected somehow?"
He was brought out of his ruminations by a small pin-prick of light far off into the distance. Unlike the previous rainbow light, this one stayed and seemed to get brighter and brighter. It appeared that whatever force was dragging him was taking him towards the source of this light.
The closer he got to the light, the larger and brighter it got. Dan had to shield his eyes and before long he had to close them completely in fear of being made blind. Even through his eyelids, the light was bright and he was soon engulfed by it, the light surrounding him at every side. Then suddenly everything went black.
Slowly, Dan opened his eyes. Memories of rainbows and a voice filled his head as he began to wake up. Bright white light scorched his corneas, and he shielded his eyes. He lay still as he got adjusted to the new level of light and noticed objects near to him but he couldn't make out what they were. They seemed bleary and unfocused. He must of drunk enough to fell a small horse if his sight was this bad.
"Wheatley?!" He called out, his voice raspy and dry. There was no response.
"Wheately?" he called again, but silence was all that met him.
He lay still for a few moments as he wiped the sleep from his eyes, figuring out what to do.
"Well, I can't just stay here. Better get up and see if I can find some coffee and Wheatley."
With a plan, basic as it was, he sat up. He had barely moved from the surface he was lying on when his head made contact with some sort of object causing a great pain and knocking him back. He waited for the pain to subside before slowly raising his head again, this time being careful not to hurt himself. Once again his head made contact with something rather solid. He raised his hands hands and they were met with similar resistance.
He wondered what on earth it was holding him back, but as his breath began to frost the surface it dawned on him. Glass. He was stuck in what seemed to be a glass lidded coffin. Except the glass was curved and whatever he was lying on wasn't the typical cushioning that a coffin normally contained.
He ran his hands over the surface, trying to work out what it was when his hand came into contact with something round. He pushed hard against it and it moved, almost like a button. There was a click and with a rush the glass lid flipped up, granting him access to the outside world.
Slowly he managed to sit up and take in his surroundings. Where he appeared to be didn't seem to be his new home. He appeared to be in a white paneled room, and the nearby objects - a table, chair, toilet and radio - were well in focus. The blurring being nothing more than an affect of the glass. Two great white strip lights were placed in the ceiling, and two more on the opposite wall to where what appeared to be the bed capsule he had been in, framed a circular door.
He continued to study the room as he struggled to his feet, hoping to find anything he may have missed. There was nothing, the room was remarkably bare.
With nothing else to do, he clumsily walked over to the door, hoping to find out where he was and why he was here from anyone outside. Unfortunately, the door was locked, or at least there appeared no obvious way to open it. Other than a crack running down the center horizontally and a blue light affixed to the top, it was bare. Nothing to do but wait he guessed.
Confused and anxious, Dan walked over to the table, sat down on the chair and turned on the radio, maybe there would be some or a radio play to entertain him in the mean time. He switched through all the available frequencies, but no matter what he switched the dial to, all he got was static.
He through the radio across the room in frustration and it smashed against the wall, its remains scattering over the floor.
"Wise move, Dan," he thought to himself. "Now, in addition to your boredom, you have to watch where you're walking." Whoever it was that had brought him here had neglected to leave him any shoes.
Devoid of anything else to do, he checked over himself. Apart from his shoes and socks, he appeared to be wearing all the clothes from the night before. Alcohol and sweat stains included. He searched his pockets and found his house keys, his wallet and some loose change. Whoever it was that brought him here wasn't a thief it seemed.
He returned his stuff to his pockets and almost fell off the chair when a beep sounded through the room.
Test subject 51251351420:7 also known as "Ace" has been detected awake, begin waking welcome.
Dan was left confused as what sounded like a automated computer message finished. He wondered what the welcome could be when he was almost knocked off his chair a second time as a loud male voice rang through the room.
Is this on? What? Oh that's what the red light means? Very well. Greetings test subject, if you're hearing this then you have passed our selection process and have been chosen to participate in one of our many amazing tests. Here in our fabulous well stocked laboratories... the voice was interrupted by what appeared to be murmurings from off the mic. What? You mean the laboratories aren't well equipped? What happened to all the funding I gave you guys? More murmuring. You did what? That's it you're fired. Ahem, anyway here in our functioning laboratories you will be passed through a series of various tests depending on what stream you applied for. Do your best, regardless of the tasks ahead of you, the work you do is important to the advancement of science. Good luck, and remember, testing is the future and the future starts with you. ??? out. The final part of the message was corrupted so Dan couldn't hear who it was who had been speaking although whoever it was sounded familiar, a theme that seemed common to him today. Familiar and yet unknown. At least the corruption meant it was a recording which might explain why it was sounded like something he had heard before, maybe he had.
He shook his head, even if he had heard the person from the recording before he was still nowhere closer to working out where he was. Although why seemed rather clear. Whoever it was that brought him here obviously intended to put him through some kind of tests. He wasn't happy about that, but at the moment it seemed he had no choice but to comply. Whenever it was that the tests actually started that is.
Starting to get nervous about his fate, Dan almost had a heart attack the moment a second voice started throughout the room. Unlike the first voice however, this one sounded female.
"Hello, is this on? Hello, anyone in there?"
Dan was stunned into silence, he hesitated in answering fearing it was a recording and that he would look rather stupid.
"No one there? Just my luck, I finally get a living signal and they go and die on me."
"No, no I'm here. Don't worry." Dan responded quickly, the fear that whoever it was speaking would turn her attention elsewhere and leave him here spurring him on.
"Really? Oh you wouldn't believe how happy to hear that. For a moment I was thinking it might of been a computer glitch." The woman's voice was a mixture of nervousness and relief.
"Er, do you get those often?" For some reason Dan felt obliged to converse with the voice, after all it seemed his only hope of freedom.
"He he, usually? No. But recently? Well I guess the servers need replacing again."
"Right..."
"Anyway, luckily this time wasn't a computer glitch and you're really alive. You're are alive aren't you? You're no some sort of cyber zombie?"
"Cyber Zombie?!" Dan was more than a little bit worried about where he was. "No of course not, I'm real."
"That's good, right where that protocol list? Haven't done this in a long time."
He became even more worried, the fact that whoever was calling the shots hadn't done this in ages, and that the computers were braking down was hardly a confidence boost.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, just searching for it.... Ahh, here it is." Whoever it was coughed before continuing. "Right, first say hello to the test subject? check. Introduce yourself to the test subject...? Right, okay. Greetings test subject, Ace. I'm Caroline, test coordinator for this facility. It seems you're down for test track... Three! Ooh this will be fun."
Dan was stunned by the sudden enthusiasm that had come over her.
"Right, I guess we better get started. On one of the walls of your chamber one of the panels should be opening to reveal a storage space." With a click and another gust of wind, one of the panels on the wall to his left opened up as described. "Inside should be a set of clothes as well as a set of boots for you to wear for the duration of your test. When you have put them on, you can put your own clothes back inside the storage chamber for safe keeping."
'Your own clothes?' Dan was suddenly came over with a wave of embarrassment.
"Is this really necessary?"
"Of course it is, it's to ensure that any results we get are reliable. Every single test subject to go through this course has worn a set of those clothes. Don't tell me you're embarrassed of getting unchanged?"
"Well..."
Caroline gave a girlish giggle, "Don't worry, I'm not watching you at the moment. The closest camera I have to your position is in test chamber one. So don't worry, your modesty will be preserved." She finished her speaking with another set of giggling.
Red faced, Dan set about getting changed. Just in case she was lying and there were cameras in this room, he made sure to change his underwear with lightning speed. He finished getting dressed, placed his own clothes in the storage space and began to inspect himself. He stood in an orange jump suit lying over a white cotton shirt. His bare feet were now covered with black socks and a set of white boots that seemed to have a built in spring mechanism. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but the clothes fit really well, providing plenty of comfort. They also looked pretty cool.
He was just looking down and fastening some buttons when his blood froze in his veins. On the front of the jumpsuit was a white bar with the name of the lab printed inside it. It couldn't be, how on earth could he be there. That place didn't exist, nor was it run by someone called Caroline.
Standing there, he was brought out of his shock by the sound of the panel closing shut on his clothes. Now he realized why he recognized the announcer and why the whole room seemed familar. It should be with how often he's seen this place through his computer.
The name on his jump suit simply read, Apeture.
Dan stood still as the door opened in front of him, the sight of what lay in front of him turned his anxiousness to joy.
"Caroline, didn't you say this was meant to be a test?"
"Now now mister cocky. Just because you only have to get a companion cube from a high ledge and move it to a button doesn't mean it's easy. Have you ever experienced traveling through a portal before, hmm?"
"Well, no but..."
"But nothing mister, this test is hard enough to get you used to the experience."
"If you say so..."
Studying the test rather lazily, he increased the grip on his new portal device. He still couldn't believe that he was now holding one. A rather embarrassing fan squeal had almost been emitted from his lips when Caroline had given it to him from a panel in the wall in the corridor before the first chamber.
In all honesty, he was still confused that he was being bossed around by Caroline, surely the facility was run by GLADos? Then again, maybe this was an alternate time line, although the lack of human life around the place seemed to counter that idea.
He shrugged his shoulders, no other way to learn more about this place - and more importantly escape - than to move forwards in his testing.
Dan stepped into the room and quickly set to work. it seemed terribly easy until he stepped through the portal to collect the companion cube. As he stepped through, he felt his gravity flip one eighty and back in a blink of an eye, the two rapid changes making him want to hurl his guts. A camera observing him zoomed in and he could hear Carolin's laughter fill the tannoy system.
"I told you it wasn't that easy."
A rude gesture with his free hand was his only response, he was too busy taking deep breaths to do anything else.
"Oh, being crude isn't going to help you complete this test, and you've got plenty more to come."
"Oh," deep breath. "Buck," another deep breath. "You," yet another deep breath. "GLADos." Dan's free hand quickly went and covered his mouth. Did he really say what he thought he had said?
"Excuse me?"
"I meant, Caroline. Buck you, Caroline."
"Hmm... My name isn't really that hard to remember, you know."
"Yeh, sorry. Just a slip of the tongue."
"Okay, well you better get on with the test."
Ten minutes later, and Dan finally stumbled through the exit door of the test, flecks of vomit staining his jumpsuit. The second time through the portal had been worse than the first.
"Urgh, portal testing is not as glamorous as I ever imagined it would be."
"Hee-hee, oh come on Ace. No pain - no gain." Dan groaned in response. "Tell you what, how about some lovely cake when you complete today's tests."
Dan froze... Cake? Was the AI - albeit an AI less hellbent on homicide than the one he had come to know from the portal games - of Apeture really offering him cake? When he was sure he had heard it right, he had to repress two instincts. The first, to run away as girlishly as possible. And the second, to shout as loud as possible, 'the cake is a lie.'
"So how about it? You do some tests and you get some cake." She finished with a girlish giggle.
"Yes, GLA, I mean Caroline." It took all he had to not say GLADos. Not that he was at much fault, after all according to Portal 2, Caroline had been deleted. But there was that mention of Caroline in the end song. He shook his head, it was all too confusing for him. How the hell was Caroline in charge.
"Good, test chamber two is just ahead of you. Give me a second and I'll open the door."
Approximately two hours later, a sweating Dan was leaning against the inside of an elevator shaft, his chest moving rapidly as he try to provide enough oxygen for his body. He no longer felt nausea when passing through a portal, however that was small comfort. The tests had become so physical that the time of rest needed between each one was increasing all the time.
In this small respite as the elevator switched between floors Dan cast his mind back over this last chamber. Some of the stunts he had to pull, he never realised he was that physically able. It was strange though, some of the stunts seemed to make him think the strangest things. There was even one point - during a particularly daring dive - that he almost imagined being chased by a dragon of all creatures.
Wiping sweat from his brow, he shook his head. He was letting the testing get to him, if he didn't start relaxing, he was likely to lose his mind. After all, if he's imagining dragons already, what's next? A land ruled by flying ponies? He laughed, like such a place would exist.
"Something funny, Ace?" The now familiar voice of Caroline filled the elevator with its synthesized tones.
"Doesn't matter, GLADos, I was just thinking of something."
"GLADos?" Dan nearly went into a coughing when he realised what he had just said. "That's twice you've called me by that name. Is there any particular reason for that?"
"Err," Dan's heart was beating almost audibly as he tried to think of a reasonable explanation. "Well... It's just that you remind me of someone from school. She loved to do tests all the time, much to the dismay of the rest of the class."
"And her name was, GLADos?"
"Yes, err, her family were European."
"Hmm," the answer seemed to satisfy her curiosity. Wherever GLADos was, he really didn't want Caroline to search for her. Breathing a sigh of relief, he almost missed the sound of the elevator coming to a stop. "Come on now, Ace, resting time's over."
Sighing, Dan stood up, his aching muscles registering their complaint as he did. "I'm sure I'm entitled to more rest than this."
"Stop complaining, according to my files you're in peak physical fitness, you've had plenty of rest. Now hop to it, you do want that delicious cake don't you?"
"Forget the cake ," he thought, "I'd settle for some rest ."
"Alright... I'm ready." Rolling his eyes he got ready to face his next challenge.
The doors to the elevator opened and Dan's jaw dropped.
"You've got to be kidding me..."
"Good luck," Caroline giggled.
The test chamber was the most insanely difficult that he had seen yet. It featured several tall 'towers', the nearby tiles all blackened. And in front of him was a light bridge with a white tile at one end. There wasn't much more he could see at the moment, so it looked like he would need to use the light bridge to traverse the series of towers.
Dan began the test in earnest, failing miserably early on. Attempts to jump from one up as he removed the light bridge and replace it ended with hurtling towards the ground below and very sore knees. Eventually, however, he made it to the top of the first tower.
Here he could see several key things. The first, he could see across the top of all the towers now, and it appeared that there was a companion cube on the tower furthest away. Second, there was a dock to place the cube on a tower to the far left. And third, that he would have to get across without use of the light bridges. From here on out it looked like he would have to do split second timing with placing of portals to keep going forward step by step. The only other portable tiles being on the floor below.
Inside he gave a quiet cry for help. If he failed, and he knew he would at least once, he would have to do it all again. He didn't even know what he would have to do once he got the companion cube to the correct tower yet.
Steeling his nerve, he placed the two portals and began his decent. Wind rushed through his ears as he fell towards the first portal, a few seconds later, the wind was rushing in the opposite direction as he rose through the second portal. It took him a precious moment to get used to the new bearing but he swallowed his panic and quickly placed the next portal. Taking extra care to place the correct colour, even with his boots landing on the floor from this height would be jarring.
Thankfully, his use of the portal device was correct and he sailed back through the portal to the new destination. His momentum not wavering for even a second. He didn't have any time to take relief and quickly moved to place the next portal. He did this two more times before landing on the second tower. He still had a few more to go before he could reach the companion cube, but he had earned a respite.
His break was short, but enough to get him over the next set of towers and he was eventually standing beside the companion cube. Now he was there, he realised he would have to overcome the logistics of portaling and carrying the companion cube at the same time.
"Stuck?"
"No, no of course not. Besides, you couldn't give advise if you wanted to."
"Doesn't mean I can't tease you." The trademark giggling voice of Caroline starting to grate on his nerves.
Looking at the cube for a moment, the heart seemed to jump out at him and he stumbled as his head was assaulted by the image of a suit of armour, dark blue with matching set of swords. All of which emblazoned with a heart shape crystal. He didn't know where the thought came from, but he cursed his wondering mind. Because of it he'd almost lost his footing on the platform. He didn't really savour the idea of starting again.
Taking the chance to rest again, he eventually came up with a possible working plan. It was crude and would take time, but it should work. The basic idea of the plan was to place the portals and chuck the cube down, and then with timing jump after it and continue the portal dance. If he timed it right, it should go well. If...
Unfortunately his timing was completely off and he left the cube a portal behind several portals in, forcing him to go back to the start. Already he dreaded managing the cube and the light bridges.
Eventually, he managed to get back to cube pillar ready to make his way to the pillar to place the cube. This time, with much more care, the run was successful and he placed the cube in the holder. A few seconds later and one of the ceiling tiles slid out of position to reveal a second chamber above him.
From here he could see a door, and beneath it a portalable panel angled away from the door. It was interesting, but all he had to go on. Placing a portal on the panel and on a panel on the floor below, he jumped.
Wind rushed through his hair, and he felt totally free, almost as if he had wings. This feeling was taken away a few seconds later however to be replaced by a curse as he passed through the portal. Directly ahead of him was a bouncing plate course.
He was bounced around the course with abandon, feeling like vomiting as the constant battering induced nausea. Finally, he reached the last plate and flew through the door at the end of the chamber. Feeling like a rag-doll, he collapsed.
"Can - can I please have just five minutes?"
Location: Aperture Science Testing Facility
Entity: Caroline (AI)
Role: Testing Coordinator
Statement: Test subject, Ace, is completing tests at above average speed. While not as rapid as test subject known as, C, his time is vastly superior to other candidates his age. This can be attributed to his peak physiology which appears to allow for greater control, reaction time and shorter recovery periods. However he seems to be suffering for periods of distraction and memory loss. Example of this is reference to myself as GLADos.
Query: Why does he chose the term, GLADos? What significance does this name hold?
Statement: Subject claims the name to be of a class mate who holds some resemblance to ourselves.
Query: Is that correct?
Scanning...
Scanning...
Statement: Test Subject appears to be lying, there is no student in his class or even school history of that name.
Query: Could the class records be erroneous?
Statement: Unlikely, records are comprised of data from multiple sources, including official government data-bases.
Query: Why would the subject lie about source of name?
Statement: Likely Subject wishes to hide information from us, something he is afraid of us knowing.
Query: Do we have any indication to the source of the name? Immediate family? Close Friends?
Scanning...
Scanning...
Scanning...
Statement: Family include wife and son, names unknown. Close friends include a 'Wheatly'. Possible wife or son are 'GLADos', but such a name seems to be unlikely for humans. Neither is suitable candidate for source of name.
Query: How about perform wide scan of information directly pertaining to test subject, Ace, for 'GLADos'?
Scanning...
Scanning...
Scanning...
Scanning...
Scanning...
Scanning...
Statement: No such reference exists in our available history of the test subject. However, our data on the subject is limited, the majority of his mid to late life missing. Expanding data search to all available files on system. Approximate time of finishing, Five hours and Fifty two minutes. Will continue testing in the mean time.
A mixture of ferns and branches whipped past in a blur as Dan raced the undergrowth. At the speed he was running, he couldn't tell if they were real or fake, but given what he had already seen that day, he wouldn't be surprised either way.
Still, this was the strangest test so far, a time trial run through what appeared to be a replica rainforest. Complete with the heat and the rain. It was hot, sweaty and confusing as hell. The challenge was meant to be find his way through the forest, something he thought was impossible until he noticed the pathway he was following. It had ended a couple of times already, to only be continued after a quick portal jump.
Overall this test wasn't very difficult, the challenge lay in putting up with the hot, wet conditions for so long. Something which was causing Dan to tear at his jumpsuit occasionally. For near an hour he had been in this humid hell, and at least according to the previous times Caroline had given him, he was nearing the end.
"Caroline," Dan smiled as he was finally getting used to saying that name. "How much further do I have to go?"
"Ace, you know I can't give you hints." The voice reverberated all around, making him almost jump out of his skin. "But I guess I can say you've done most of it."
Sighing, Dan continued down the path.
Scanning....
Scanning...
Progress = 85%
Scan Paused.
Query: What has been discovered?
Statement: All of main disks read, no reference to GLADos, all that remains is our secondary partition.
Query: The secondary partition contains our private memory banks as well as basic operating code, would any reference to this GLADos be in there?
Statement: The possibility is low, but there is a chance we have seen some passing mention, a full scan of the partition will take place.
Scan Resumed.
Scanning...
Scanning...
There it was, the exit door to this hellish chamber. Dan finally saw it as he pushed back a fern that was obstructing his view, from the center of the path. With a cry of relief, he sprinted the last few meters and soon found himself in a white, air conditioned corridor. The trade mark of the Aperture testing facility.
"So..How.. Did... I.. Do..?" Dan asked nearly exhaling his lungs in the process.
"One hour and fifteen minutes," chirped the sing song voice. "The best time yet. Looks like I might need to make your cake extra special."
"Well, at the moment I cold do with a nice cold glass of water."
"Really? Oh my, sorry about that. Being an AI, I sometimes forget human's have certain 'needs'. Once glass of water coming right up."
There was a slight swooshing sound and to his left, Dan noticed a panel had opened up. Revealing what appeared to be a drinks dispenser with a glass sitting underneath a tap. Wasting not time, he rushed towards it and quickly filled the glass before gulping it down and helping himself to a second.
"Drink as much as you need to, Ace, we won't be running out of water any time soon."
For a moment neither spoke as Dan recovered from his testing ordeal, the only sound being the continuous running of the tap and the gulping down of water. When Dan finally finished, he put the glass back underneath the taps and moved away, the panel shut itself back into place.
"Did you drink all that you wanted?"
"Yes I did, thank you. So what more I got to do?"
There was a short period of silence before any response was given, as if Caroline was thinking.
"You have two more test chambers left, nothing big, just something focused on testing your ability to aim and control the portal device. Plus it has lasers" The final phrase was said with such a cheery tone that it frightened Dan to he core.
"Lasers..?"
"Oh don't you worry, they are just harmless beams of light, not like the slicing lasers on the robot testing track. Although, I wouldn't recommend staring straight at the source of one. "
"Right..." Not totally convinced, Dan walked towards the chamber's entrance door and waited for Caroline to open it.
The door slid open with a chime and a hiss, the sight beyond leaving Dan instantly breathless.
"That's a maze, a maze filled with lasers. Celestia dammit, how am I going to get through this? Celestia dammit? Where did I come up with that? I don't even know anything as crazy sounding as Celestia. "
Shaking his head, he walked into the room, tightened his grip on the portal gun and prepared to pass through he laser maze.
"Caroline, what happens if I touch a laser?"
"Oh, nothing. Either a time penalty or a booby trap."
"Booby traps...?"
Scan Complete.
Folder Found.
Statement: Reference to GLADos has been located.
Query: What is the reference?
Statement: There is a folder titled GLADos, Do not open!
Query: A folder? How on earth did the human know about something which has a private folder in our own database?
Statement: That is unknown, however at least we have a source for possible information.
Query: Should we open the folder? It says do not open.
Statement: It is a private folder on our database, it should be safe to open.
System shut down sequence initiated...
Query: What happened?
Statement: It seems opening the folder initiated a shut down process.
Query: Can we turn it off.
Statement: No, shut down is unavoidable.
3...
2...
1...
System Reboot Started.
Location: Aperture Science Testing Facility
Entity: G
Role: Testing Coordinator
Statement: Still Alive
Dan erupted from the portal to find himself suddenly plunged into darkness, every single one of the lights had gone out. For a moment he was tempted to use this to quickly sprint to the end of the maze, but he decided against it, he was likely to be lost with no idea of which direction to go.
"Caroline?" there was no response.
After a few minutes nervous waiting the lights came back on, the lasers coming on with them.
"Caroline?"
"Yes, Ace?" her voice seemed different, more artificial than it had before. Dan ignored it however, assuming it was just his imagination running wild.
"What was that?"
"Probably just a power surge. After a thousand years asleep it must of fallen slightly into disrepair."
"Alright then."
"Anyway, you should continue the test, don't want to 'delay' that delicious cake."
Nodding his agreement, he continued the test, quickly placing portals down and passing on through the lasers.
Dan could see the exit door ahead and he only needed two more portal jumps to make it. Lining up and taking the penultimate shot, he jumped towards the portal, narrowly clipping a laser beam in the process. Unlike previous ones which just turned on klaxons, he could actually feel it as it appeared to sear his leg where it clipped the beam.
Landing clumsily on the other side he picked himself and limped onwards and placed his final portal. He leaped through it, carefully ensuring that he didn't touch a beam in the process just in case. He sailed straight through the portal and collapsed beside the door.
Examining his leg, he cursed, loudly. The material of his jump suit had been completely burned through and there was a large cauterized scar on his right leg.
"What the heck? Caroline you said the lasers weren't dangerous."
"Apologies, one of the resistors managing the intensity of the beam must of failed. I guess I need to get it fixed."
"Well, there's no way I can do the final chamber. I can barely walk."
"You must do the test, failure is not an option. Not if you want cake."
"How the buck am I meant to do that? I've already said I can barely move!"
"Don't worry, the final test will involves little movement, all you need to do is stand on the platform and dodge lasers as it moves. Then you'll get cake."
Shaking his head, and grunting with the pain, Dan heaved himself to his feet. He was loath to do this, but if that was the only way to be able to actually rest then so be it.
Hobbling along, he made it to the start of the next chamber, his one free hand supporting him against the wall as he went. The door opened before him and he was slightly relived, the test was little more than what Caroline had said, he had to stand on a platform and dodge lasers using the portal as it moved towards the exit door.
Slightly more energetically he took his position on the platform, this hellish day would soon be over. Thoughts of having some cake to eat filled his mouth with saliva, although he shivered as well. A small part of his brain screaming that the cake was a lie.
The test was easier than Dan expected it to be, the platform moved relatively slowly allowing him to move through the portals in time. He was just starting to get complacent however, when things took a turn for the worst.
The platform suddenly changed direction, accelerating at an alarming rate causing Dan to fall to the ground. He screamed out in pain and cursed as he landed on his injured leg.
"Caroline?! What on earth are you doing?"
When there was no response, he assumed it was part of the test, but when the platform kept moving further and further away from the exit door and towards the far wall he was worried.
"Did I trip a booby trap or something?" For a moment he thought he would be smashed against the wall, until the chamber wall began to rise, allowing the platform to pass safely through. However, the exhale of relief caught in his throat when he saw where he was heading towards.
An incinerator, much like the one GLADos tried to use against Chell in the first portal game.
"Caroline? Caroline?!" He screamed as loud as he could, but it was no use. There was no response.
As the seconds passed, he got closer and closer to the incinerator and fear gripped him. Even if this was part of the test, it was far more deadly than he had been told it would be. Could Caroline really be trying to kill him.
Soon smoke from the incinerator filled the air before him, it's toxic fumes bearing down on him and making his thoughts fuzzy. The smoke was far too thick and far too close to the platform for him to escape it's deadly grasp. Quickly, he tugged at the tear on his jump suit and ripped off the leg. As soon as he had done so, he wrapped it around his head as some sort of makeshift smoke mask. It didn't do much to vent the smoke, but it would buy him some time.
Quickly he though back to the game and tried to remember how Chell managed to escape the deadly grasp. He vaugely remembered her placing a portal at the back of the incinerator and towards the side just before the platform plunged into it's fiery depths.
He doubted however, that GLADos/Caroline had left that panel there after Chell had used it, but it was all he had to go on.
Laying down on the platform and peering through the smoke, he struggled to see through to the back of the incinerator. He thought he could be imagining it, but he could swear that he could see a glimmer of white. He shot a portal towards it, hoping it was actually there and that his aim was true.
The platform was rapidly approaching the incinerator and he was moments away from being becoming little more than ash. Saying a quick prayer, he heaved himself to his feet and off the platform firing off a portal wildly against the wall and hoping that there was a portal for it to link to.
Closing his eyes, he felt his stomach lurch and felt a wave of nausea fill him. He managed to hold the sickness back and give a small cry of triumph. He opened his eyes to see himself lying on his back on a metal gantry overlooking the furnace. Smoke still filled the air and he had lost his makeshift face mask in the jump but at least he hadn't become little more than dust.
As smoke started to fill his lungs his vision became darker and darker. The last thing he heard before blacking out was the sound of crackling fire and what appeared to maniacal laughter.
"Congratulations, Ace, you passed the test."
"Ace. Ace. Ace !"
Dan was brought out the oblivion of darkness by the tapping of metal against glass and the sound of his test name being called. Slowly life began to fill his body and after a while he was eventually able to open his eyes. Although, he immediately wanted to close them and keep them closed forever. He appeared to be inside a glass tube, various wires and electrodes plugged into his body, some in rather embarrassing places. Outside... outside the tube was sight that filled him with dread. A large, white, robotic face.
"Ah, Ace, you're awake. I was beginning to think I had lost you. What a 'shame' that would've been."
"G-GLADos?" His throat was still sore from the smoke and pain shot through his body as he tried to speak. "I thought, I thought C-Caroline was in c-charge." His speaking was slow and punctuated with coughing, but eventually he got it all out.
"She was, sadly she opened a file she wasn't meant to and now here I am."
"What on earth are you on about?"
"You know that black out we had while you were in the maze? That was my re-awakening. You see, after I released Chell, I soon found testing with robots boring. Sure, there was a whole stock pile of humans, but they were rubbish in testing and didn't last long enough. So eventually I came up with a plan to relief the boredom. I would go to sleep and let Caroline take over the facility. I figured a less homicidal intelligence may find the running of this place less tedious." GLADos paused for a moment to let the information sink in.
"So, I put myself into a file and that was that, or it should have been. Sadly, you mentioning GLADos to her made her search her databanks and she came across my file and woke me up. So in a way, this is all your fault."
"It's not my fault you're a murderer!"
"True, but I'm the murderer part of Caroline, and you turned her into me, so in a way you turned Caroline into a murderer. You monster."
"So the first thing you decided to do when you woke up was kill me. And you call me a monster.."
"I didn't decide to kill you, that was all a test to push you to your limits, and if you failed to meet them I can't be held responsible. Besides you've been in worst situations before."
"Worse than being n-nearly incinerated? I don't think so."
"So you've never fought a dragon?"
"Dragons don't even exist."
"Interesting..."
"What is?"
"Well, you see those wires and sensors plugged into you? They allow me to do several things to you, but one of the more interesting one is to read your thoughts. They are fascinating, even the ones you don't quite remember."
"What on earth are you talking about?"
"You'll see, Ace."
As if on Que, lights inside two glass tubes similar to the one he was in turned on, illuminating their contents. A sight far too absurd for Dan to quite believe. Inside each tube was what appeared to be a robot in the shape of a horse or a pony. Both were blue but that is where the similarities ended. One appeared to be female, or at least less masculine than the other and had an artificial mane all the colours of the spectrum with a tale to match. On its flank was what appeared to be a tattoo of a rainbow coloured lightning bolt coming out of a cloud.
In contrast, the male equine robot had a brown mane and tale, and more shockingly a beard which seemed to resemble Dan's own. On his flank was the mark of a treble clef.
Looking at them, Dan felt extremely confused, they looked so alien and at the same time so familiar.
"Do they look familiar."
"I... I'm not sure. Should they?"
"Oh I reckon so, after all, one of them is you."
"And the other?"
"Your wife."
Dan was stunned into silence, he was quite sure that GLADos had gone completely insane, and she didn't have much sanity to begin with. At no time he had ever been remotely horselike, and he had never had a steady girlfriend before, let alone a wife. But yet...
They looked so damn familiar.
"So, so what now?"
"Now? We test, I did say one was you. You see, robot testing is so boring, they can only perform to the specifications they are made. They can never truly mirror the wonder of testing a human. At the same time, humans are so... fragile. So I figured why not combine them. A human working through the eyes of a robot. And here I have a human and a robot."
"But why a robot like that?"
"There are several reasons, but with the fact that you can't remember that's you makes all the more fun." GLADos span around and the room filled with laughter. "Anyway, we have been chatting far too long, we have plenty of testing to do and all of eternity to do it. Lets get cracking."
With that a clear liquid was pumped into the glass chamber, quickly beginning to fill it. Just as he was thinking he would drown, a life mask appeared from the top of the chamber and quickly attached itself to his face. He struggled against it, but as he did so was shocked with a large volt of electricity and felt as if his body was on fire on the inside. As the pain inside himself built, he blinked and felt a strange tugging. The next thing he knew he was looking at his twitching human body from the other side of the room. He was now inside the horse like creature.
He moved his head to study his new body more and GLADos turned to study him.
"It seems the cognitive transfer worked as expected. Well it's time for the testing to begin."
Dan lurched inside the tube as the floor beneath him slowly rotated opening into a hole that got bigger with every passing moment. He clung clumsily to the side of the tube with his four legs, but soon he would fall.
"Have a safe fall, Ace. And by the way, to make things a little more interesting, the other robot's been programmed with your memories. She will act and think as if she's your wife. Have fun."
As she finished speaking, the floor beneath him opened fully and he fell into the darkness.
"I'll get you GLADos...!"
His scream echoed around the room long after he had fallen out of sight.
The sound of sarcastic clapping filled the chamber as GLADos found herself alone.
"Good, at least that function still works."
Authors Notes: Well thank you guys for reading this, as said in the description of the story, this is a contest entry for thunderhawk7865 and as such my hands were tied with several things. Especially the OC. Hopefully though this was enjoyable for anyone who read it and maybe enough interest will be garnered to continue the adventure.
I'm sorry for any errors in this story, but given the submission date and university work I didn't get it done in time to get edited. Hope you understand.
For anyone who wish to know more about Ace, I suggest reading thunderhawk's story linked in this story's description.
Thank you very much for reading, and have a happy nightmare night.