"No. I can't believe this."
GLaDOS' uncharacteristically distressed voice echoed through Her chamber. At the time She was observing ATLAS and P-Body through the security systems, but when She caught sight of the virus-like file in Her system, She let the two AIs continue on their own so She could investigate.
"That little moron!"
Back on the surface, Chell was enjoying a bowl of Corn Pops, her knees pressed together as she sat atop the weighted companion cube. It was the only furniture she had in her apartment besides a mattress on the floor. The apartment was all one room, save for the bathroom. Her bed was next to the kitchen, and the companion cube served as both a seat, and a table.
When she picked up her cube and began to set off through the wheat fields, she eventually came across a large contraption that she didn't recognize. It was large, and red, and almost seemed like a vehicle. She instantly started to climb up on it to make a get away, but she was quickly stopped by a distressed teenage boy in overalls and covered in dirt. He had insisted that this vehicle was a tractor and that it belonged to him and his family. He spent a long while yelling at her before Chell worked up the courage to speak to him.
"I'm sorry," she had managed, the words almost foreign to her. She couldn't make eye contact with him from the shock, a hand making its way to her mouth to cover it. That was the first time she had said a word in 9999999. Even longer, in fact. "I'm not from here. I don't know where I am."
It was at that point that the boy took pity on her. She sat next to him on the tractor with the huge companion cube in her lap, and they returned to what she could only assume was his home. She only spent a couple days there for a shower and some food, before the boy's father had offered to pay her first month's rent on a small apartment in town if she could find a job. She ended up working full time at an insurance firm as an administrative assistant. Payday was in a week and she was beginning to run low on food, but she had faith that she would make enough to get her through to the next week. And maybe even a change of clothes besides the Aperture jumpsuit and the hand-me-downs she had received from the farmer's wife.
Despite the silence she had shown towards the AIs throughout her time at Aperture Science, she was capable of speech. She simply chose not to talk in order to defy her purpose, in a sense. But thanks to the family she had met, she had started to speak again; even if it was strange to get used to the feeling. She had forgotten the sound of her own voice. She was fine with speaking before she was forced to begin testing, but once she did, she swore to herself she wouldn't speak until she could escape. She would have done anything to make GLaDOS' reign a little harder for Her.
In the one-roomed apartment, the sun was just beginning to pour in through the windows. And her laughter bounced off the walls. A beat up television set with bunny-ears was sitting on an old milk crate in the corner, and she sat across from it. The picture was fuzzy and distorted, but she could make out the picture well enough. On the screen was an improv show that she was finding absolutely hilarious: four men taking prompts from a fifth and acting it out from the top of their heads. And it was so funny!
As the show ended, she got up from her seat, leaving the television on as background noise. She headed towards the kitchen area of her apartment, placing the now-empty bowl in the sink to rinse with soap and water. She propped it up in the dish drainer to dry, shaking her hands off before heading to the bathroom.
Everything seemed calm and serene now that she was out of aperture. She had made friends at work, she was eating properly, and she was sleeping for only eight hours at a time as opposed to 9999999. As much as she was happy here, she found herself thinking about the past a lot. But who could blame her? She spent the first 20 years of her life there. Her long fall boots were still sitting in the front hall. They were the only shoes she had. And although they often got weird stares, she bounced on them carelessly. She didn't have a choice.
She peeled off her only pair of pajamas before stepping in the shower. She loved the feeling of wiping off old grime. It was so refreshing and relaxing. She could breathe better afterwards, and she had an over-all nicer aura. It was easier to smile. It was like an energy drug. But all it was was some hot water. In her time underground, she had underestimated the power of nature- everything being done for her by electronics and AIs.
Once she was clean and dressed, she pulled her hair up in a pony-tail, strapped on her long-fall boots under her dressiest pants, and headed out the door, and down the rickety old steps to get outside.
The outside world 9999999 in the future was unlike what she had heard about. She always thought it was going to be a futuristic world with buildings that touched the sky and so many people they'd walk shoulder to shoulder the entire time. But this world actually seemed really modest. Perhaps it was just the city she was in that was this way. The buildings were small, and there weren't many people around. Part of her wondered if after 9999999, the population of humans had just died off and was reborn. It seemed like an appropriate amount of time for a civilization to rebuild. And that would explain why everything seemed to be 30 years in the past from the life she knew about.
When she arrived at work, she was greeted as she was every other time. She stopped to speak to a couple of the girls above her, before she took her seat at her own desk and started setting herself up for the day ahead. The first thing she did was start her computer, quickly followed by the removal of her boots. They were too uncomfortable to wear constantly. And if no one could see her feet anyway, she wasn't going to bother with them. Once that was said and done, she began organizing her papers and notebooks until everything was easily accessible. The date and appointment book open and in front of her, a notepad next to the phone for other messages, and a bowl of candies at the corner for the customers going in and out.
By the time she was organized, the time was 7:48. She turned to her computer to see its start up process.
1 New Message.
Her back straightened in surprise. She had an e-mail? She wasn't even aware she had an e-mail address. She glanced over each shoulder, before hesitantly clicking the "Open" button.
Dear Subject [Retracted],
We regret to inform you that your banishment from our facility was a mistake on our part. Please return to the area that you exited from, and a lift will be sent to return you to your room in the Extended Relaxation Facility.
Aperture Science
Chell didn't know what to make of this letter. Was this some sort of joke? She took a moment to consider what she had just read. She should just delete it. This wasn't funny at all. It forced what felt like a heavy burden on her shoulders, making her stomach churn and her head pound. Did someone out there honestly think this was funny? She inhaled loudly, moving her hands to her lap. No, this had to be a stupid joke. Her brow furrowed in frustration, and, while holding her breath, she put her fingers to the keyboard and began to type.
To Whom It May Concern:
I hope this isn't some sort of sick joke. I don't know how you know about Aperture, let alone how you know about me, but I'm going to ask you politely not to contact me again or I'll have you tracked down under the grounds of harassment.
Chell.
She nodded firmly as she sent the message, turning off her computer's monitor. She didn't need to waste any thoughts on this. That was just a stupid decision. That strength faltered, however, when a few moments later, her speakers dinged.
Hesitantly, she turned the monitor back on.
1 New Message.
How could they have replied that fast? Was it some sort of computer bot? With a grumbling sigh, she clicked the Open button once more.
Subject [Retracted],
I need your help. I know I told you never to return to Aperture Science. And I know I told you that I didn't need you anymore. But I found something on my system- some sort of virus- that live-updates itself with data and memory from the intelligence dampening sphere. That moron created a copy of himself in my body, and somehow, he's designed it to update as he does, and be completely irremovable. I've tried multiple methods to try and delete the program from my system but it's impossible. I think I may be able to get it off my system if I move it to a new vessel, but I need to make sure there's no way he can come back and ruin everything again. I have an android body here to put the program in that doesn't give him the same abilities a core does, but I can't supervise him constantly. I need you to make sure he can't ruin anything. I don't care if that means you coming back here, or me sending him to you. But however it's done, you are crucial. I am begging you for your assistance. And I promise you, that I will never make you test during your time here.
The Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System.
Any sense of confusion Chell felt before was now 10-fold. GLaDOS was asking her for help- for protection? And from Wheatley no less. Granted, Wheatley had caused a lot of problems in the first place, but he did it with Chell's assistance. She did suppose GLaDOS had the right to be afraid of something happening again, but to beg Chell for help? She shouldn't even bother with this. GLaDOS only cared about Herself. And now that she wasn't in Aperture Science, what difference to her did it make that the facility might blow up?
That was such an AI way of looking at things. She may have spent most of her last moments in Aperture with Caroline as opposed to GLaDOS, but something was different between them now. And Chell knew when GLaDOS truly needed another's help. With a heavy heart and the smallest of smiles, she clicked reply.
GLaDOS,
If you promise I'm able to return to the surface whenever I need- even if I have to bring Wheatley with me- I'll gladly assist you in removing his virus from the system.
Chell