Chapter 1: Alice

You've got sucker's luck, have you given up?

You want to know my story? Really? Okay. I guess I'll start with the very beginning: the day of my birth. Well, our birth is more like it, but I'll tell you about her later.

My name is Chell. Dad said it's Hebrew for something, but I don't really remember what exactly. Anyway, that's really just my nickname. My real name is Alice. Alice Lily Caroline Johnson. And my dad isn't really my dad. I mean, he raised me and all, but my biological dad is someone else.

The day was December 28. I don't know the year. Nobody does. I'm not going to go into details, but let's say it wasn't the most peaceful day for Mom. I came first, then Amelia. She was born a good 36 minutes after me. Identical, we were, except for our personalities as I was told. She liked computers and art, while I was more of an outdoors kind of person. I rolled around in the mud while she covered her hands with paint. I wish I could've seen it.

You see, I didn't exactly grow up with Amelia, but I don't know why. I just knew all that stuff because Dad overheard "Mr. Johnson" talk about her. That's what I used to call him as a kid. I'm not actually mute, by the way, as you might believe. What I've gone through, I guess, just kind of scared me into it. I never was the talkative type anyway.

My story onward was pretty simple. I grew, Dad took me to work sometimes, I moved as I got old enough, and I moved back when I heard about Aperture and how it lost all its money while Black Mesa was raking it in. Reluctantly, I joined Aperture, tested under the supervision of GLaDOS, met a few personality cores (some good, some bad), and finally escaped from Aperture. I thought it was good decision, going back. Guess I was wrong.

So, now, I am 55 years of age. Not physically, of course. Aperture had this chemical in the cryogenic storage that prevented you from aging, but only externally. I am happily married to no one but me, myself, and I. In this world, in this time, how could I possibly have time to find someone for myself?