Lights were flashing. Cars surrounded the entrance of the underground complex, and barricades had been set up.

They were going to seal the doors in minutes.

One of the senior technicians, Jameson, was talking.

He looked worried. "I- I don't know where we went wrong, sir." Jameson looked distraught now.

The man who he was talking to, the CEO of Aperture Science, Cave Johnson, clapped a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, son. You couldn't have done anything."

Suddenly, there were shouts and gunshots from the barricades, and the punching shots of a heavy machine gun was heard. Cave listened to the roar of another of those things as it died.

Research Complex 18 had been a failure. The Atom Forge had been a failure.

Cave sighed. He just wished that no one had to have died to make him see that.

The grizzled executive stood on the roof of a car, with his clipboard. He was taking the final roll call, making sure that everyone was out.

He went through the list of names, skipping the black marks that meant another wasted life.

He came to the last name on his list. "Caroline? Anyone seen Caroline about?"

No answer.

Dread took hold of Cave Johnson. He started talking louder. "Caroline? Has anyone seen Caroline? Does anyone know where Caroline is?"

Still no one answered. They knew this was dire.

A small voice came from within the barricade. "Cave! Cave, I'm here!"

The colour drained from the CEO's face. The man who had shouted down the President of America was know weak-kneed at the prospect of losing an employee like this.

He bolted to the entrance.

"Caroline? Caroline! CAROLINE!" Cave was shouting now.

He turned to the police officer in charge of defending the entrance. "Let her out."

The police officer shook his head."We can't. She may be infected."

Cave said "It's not an infection! It's radiation poisoning!"

The police officer still said no. "Nothing gets in. Nothing gets out." He turned to the foreman. "Close her up!"

The foreman gave the go-ahead, and the steel doors started closing.

Cave Johnson was begging now. "Please! Don't do this... don't seal her in there! She's just a girl!"

The police officer was indifferent.

The doors clanged shut with a cold finality, sealing Research Complex 18 from the cold night air.

The mighty CEO of Aperture Science cried softly as he pounded in vain on the doors.