Author's note: Ok ok ok, just for clarification, this is not a story about magical gnomes reclaiming lost ancient relics. If you are looking for such a story… no… I really don't know where to look… but you sure won't find it in a Portal fanfiction! So if you want a story about the great gnome tribes of Ruymularthia, good luck, because ya won't find it here! But this story contains no such content. Besides, such stories often involve great acts of heroism, romance, and even some pretty solid action. In case you're interested, you should go check out the beautiful ideas contained within the internet! Just explore the vast depths of knowledge contained on the world wide web of information! My God! Get outside! Explore the universe! Make new discoveries about the world around us, how it effects our lives and how we live! Find out why and how we should advance ourselves as human beings! Please! Please do anything productive! Anything but waste your time reading fanfictions on the internet. There is so much more the world has to offer than a laptop in your office, a library to visit, or even huddled in the basement of your grandmother's house. There is so much that you're missing out on! Your family needs you!
Really? You're still reading this? Fine… enjoy I guess… you sick, heartless…
~X~X~X~X~X~
"And that class… is why string commands are so important." The proud professor raised his fist up to meet his head.
The bored and tired class yawned and stretched as they could all tell class was about to end soon.
"And whether or not you're dealing with a linear function is beyond me. But as long as you keep trying… and keep pairing those functions…" The professor laid his hands out on his desk. "You're A.I. will thank you."
Staring at the drained group of at least 30, the professor took a deep breath, and softly but loudly uttered the words: "Class dismissed."
Instantly, the class rose to their feet, grabbed their books and bags, and speedily made their way towards the door.
"Don't forget to write your papers on how the human mind can be replicated through the use of machines!" The eager professor raised his finger as he spoke to the bustling crowd.
It was clear most of the students wanted to get out of there as fast as they could, something the professor would often take personally. However, today's lecture was understandably tedious; even he felt like falling asleep in the middle of class. Teaching a bunch of young adults about string commands isn't the best way to keep them alert, as he learned today.
He watched as the students bottlenecked themselves out of the door, paying no attention to him as he reminded them of their current assignments. Eventually, the mass of bodies were able to exit the classroom… all except for one that is.
The professor moved over towards his suitcases which were filled with a heavy mixture of assignments, grades, and reports. He paid idle attention to the student watching him from across the room; trying not to make eye contact but still acknowledging his existence. However, once he saw the student approach him, he knew there was no backing out of a conversation.
"Uh… Professor Morrison?"
The calm professor packed the last paper into his suitcase. "Yes ?"
The student looked around the room, even though he'd seen the environment many times before, his eyes searched everywhere as if he'd never been there before. "Well I… kinda wanted to talk."
Professor Morrison picked up his suitcase, and with a decent pace, headed for the door. "About what?" he asked, placing his suitcase on the wooden floor in order to see if the door was still open.
Ryan jumped in front of the door. If it opened, they'd be exposed to the busy outside world, and at this moment, privacy was essential. "I wanted to ask about the systems. But specifically, I want to know…" Ryan scratched his head. He needed to find the right wording to use. He took another deep breath as he continued. "I'm very interested in the field, and I'd like to learn more about it and pursue it further. But one lingering problem is…" he shook his head and gave a wide shrug. "I don't have any idea how I'll be able to use it…"
"You mean…"
"I don't want to be programming enemy A.I. for video games the rest of my life. I need something to push me further than that, something that puts me at the top of the field." Ryan said, watching as the professor slowly headed back towards his desk. "I want to know how… or where I could find such an opportunity."
Professor Morrison nodded his head. These were clearly words he wanted to hear. He grabbed his chin as he opened one of the desk's drawers. "I see." He said, taking out one of Ryan's old assignments. This one happened to be an essay on how reasoning and logic could be implemented into robotic systems. There were many other papers regarding similar issues, but this one he liked in particular. He'd copied this one at least ten times, studied it, and examined it thoroughly. Ryan was possibly the best student he'd ever had; his information and ideas were top notch, and the way he wrote his papers sparked thought within the reader. "And why may I ask would you like to do?"
Ryan stared back at the professor. "A.I. has always intrigued me. So much that I want to learn and discover more about it for the rest of my life." He said, wondering if the professor was even listening.
The professor returned to his conversation, placing the old assignment away inside the desk. "Intrigued you huh… well it just so happens that I…" The professor trailed off. He practically slapped himself for almost releasing the information to the student, even though he knew he may be able to handle it.
"Ryan… you may very well be the best student I've ever had. However…" Professor Morrison looked back down to the ground. He sighed as he shook his head once more. "How much would you really like to know?"
Ryan's hand made swift contact with the professor's table. This caught both of their attention.
"I want to know everything."
The professor slowly descended into a controlled fit of laughter. But it wasn't a silly kind of laughter, instead it was one that had more than one meaning hidden behind it. Obviously, the professor was keeping some information away.
"Everything? Well I'm sorry to say this, but knowing everything about A.I. systems is knowledge held exclusively by a select few." The professor smiled at Ryan. A strange sight to say the least; only a few students had ever seen his face lit up like it was now.
"A select few? Like who?"
The professor felt a feeling of success thrust its way into his mind. He definitely drew Ryan in, and he wasn't stopping any time soon. "Have you heard about the… Intelligent Systems project that the military conducted a few years ago?"
Ryan paused for a moment, and took the time to recall a brief example in one of the earlier modules. "Oh yeah… wasn't that the one where they tested whether or not soldiers would follow orders given to them by robotic superiors?"
"Precisely. it was a major advancement in how people understand the human mind, and even how people understand computers." Professor Morrison said, leaning his head over to the left by just the slightest amount. "But… there was one major critical fact that was kept from the public."
"And what was that?"
"It worked. Soldiers blindly followed commands, and even believed they were being given legitimate orders, when really they were all being controlled by a single machine." The professor's words got softer as he ended his sentences. Another devious smile found its way onto his already engaged face. "In truth, A.I. systems are much more advanced than television or magazines would have us believe. The real meaning behind all this secrecy is for lack of interest; not many people understand the potential it holds, the power it gives to whoever wields it. That's why its best for us to stay quiet about all this, and let the masses believe we're still learning how to create simple functions."
"But… how do you know about all this?" Ryan asked, wondering of the professor was serious about all this. But by the looks of his face, his tone, and even his willingness to speak, he obviously was telling the truth.
"Because Mr. Leake…" Professor Morrison said, leaning over his desk and closer to the student. "I worked on the Intelligent Systems project myself. I managed the functions and the databases required to run the A.I. systems. Many news sources and even fellow scientists reported the project as a failure, but not because we didn't succeed, but because we did. It was a report driven by fear; the thought that the general public didn't need to know about these things for their own safety."
Ryan couldn't believe what he was hearing. Not only was his entire view of A.I. systems almost changed right there, but he felt a strange sense of insecurity knowing that the scientific community willingly withheld knowledge, and was much more advanced than most people think.
"Professor… where could I figure more about these things?"
Professor Morrison shifted in his seat. Eventually, he got up and headed towards the door without a word. He picked up his suitcase, and promptly exited the room.
"Come on, you can't just leave me hanging like this!" Ryan said as he exited the room to follow the professor out into the open hallway. "Professor!"
All was quiet, as Professor Morrison soon rounded the corner and was out of sight. Why did he leave so suddenly? What was all the rush about? Whatever the answer, Ryan figured it was best to head back to his dormitory. Maybe there he could think more freely about the situation.
He sighed as he turned around the hallway and exited the building.
~X~X~X~X~X~
The next day, Ryan continued his basic routine of heading to the electrical engineering seminars, frequently taking notes for the entire stretch of the tedious sessions. It was a quiet, perfectly normal day; nothing too out the ordinary.
Except for those people…
After leaving each class, he'd see two men in suits standing outside the classrooms. They looked like they belonged in the secret service, and Ryan even felt like asking them why on earth they were here. Of course, speaking to them wasn't an option. They were always the same two people, they never changed. Of all the places in the college, why would they stand outside each of his classes?
All these questions made their way into his mind as he trudged over to his favorite class of all. It was strange, the fact that nobody else enjoyed Professor Morrison's courses. Ryan even felt sorry for the professor, and hoped that more of his classmates would come to enjoy all of what they were learning.
However, such things were nearly impossible to push through. He knew by direct experience that most people in the university shunned technical work. For instance, his roommate was by far the creepiest person he'd ever met. He'd closely examine Ryan's actions and create contingency plans for every single thing he ever did. Although he was a psychology major, so it was expected of him.
As Ryan stepped away from the center of the hallway and over to the side so he could enter the door, he once again saw an all too familiar sight standing further away down the hallway. It was those two guys that had been following him all day. They were standing completely still with their arms folded.
Ryan dashed inside the open classroom before the two could possibly advance on him. He closed the door behind him, and turned around to see an even stranger sight.
The classroom was empty…. completely. Not one sign of human inhabitance could be found.
At first, Ryan thought he might have read the clock wrong, or perhaps he was still getting used to daylight saving time. But of course that wasn't the case; all the other classes were held at their designated times and the door to the Professor Morrison's classroom wasn't locked.
Something strange was definitely going on, and Ryan had his suspicions that those two guys had something to do with it.
Instantly, the room's silence was broken with the quick opening of an external door, a door that led outside and was rarely used. Ryan's eyes had to get used to the intense light coming from the outside world, as he saw a familiar figure step into the classroom.
It was Professor Morrison. But he didn't look normal from some reason. Instead, he was dressed in common street clothes, and besides the fact that he still had his signature glasses, he looked very different than what Ryan was used to.
The professor approached Ryan, and without saying anything, took his book bag and headed outside the building.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Ryan followed the professor outside, eventually reaching the small parking lot positioned at the back side of the main campus. Professor Morrison kept his steady pace until he reached his vehicle, a nice looking black SUV parked at the edge of the lot.
He threw Ryan's book bag inside the vehicle, and promptly entered the driver's seat. Ryan caught up to him just as he finished closing his side door.
"Get in!" Professor Morrison said, motioning for Ryan to hurry up.
"But… why?"
"Don't ask, just get in!"
Ryan nervously stepped inside the vehicle. "Why did you take my bag?" he asked, clicking in his seatbelt.
"Because…" Professor Morrison turned the keys on his ignition. "I figured it was the simplest way to make you follow me." He said, switching the stick to next to white 'R' as he began to back the car out of its position.
"You could've just told me to follow you."
"True, but you'd most likely bombard me with inquisitive time wasting questions."
"By the way… where are we going? I don't think it's fair to just hijack my schedule like this." Ryan said, peering out the window to see students giving confused looks.
"Where we're going…" Professor Morrison aggressively made a sharp turn. "will be answered shortly. All you need to know now is that we're headed away from here as soon as possible." He said, turning on the road that led away from the university.
Ryan couldn't believe what was going on. In a couple minutes time, he'd gone from standing alone in the college waiting for class to begin, and now he was being taken to an unknown place with a professor that was known for being the most mild mannered person you could ever meet. So many questions needed to be asked, but Ryan feared that some of the answers would never come.
"Why is there no one at class today?"
"Because, last night I got dreadfully pulled in by the flu, and now I'm bedridden in my own house… at least, that's what the report says… the report that I gave out to everyone in class except for you."
"What?"
"Exactly. I was hoping nobody would tell you I was sick, and thankfully nobody did. I was also hoping that I'd get to you before anyone else did."
"Anyone… else?" Ryan repeated the words with a confused tone. He had no idea where the professor was getting to.
"Yes… anyone." The professor detracted from the main road and switched off to a lesser driven area, one Ryan had never seen before. "Did you… see those men today?"
"You mean those guys in suits that were standing outside every class I had?"
"Yeah, those are the ones…" Professor Morrison took a deep, long, and hard breath. "Ryan… those people, the ones you saw… they work for a company called Black Mesa. I was hoping they were acting as decoys, but they seemed pretty legit to me. If I'm correct, they were looking for you specifically, I'm pretty sure they want somebody with your knowledge and devotion."
"But…" Ryan tried to find some sensible words to use, but how could he when he was being given all this new information. Black Mesa, the men in suits, an empty class, all this was too strange, to strange for a normal Thursday. "Why… how do you know all this?"
"Because Ryan… I've been monitoring all outside activity being directed at your reports. Apparently, one of their scouts was able to find a copy of one of your assignments, and ever since, they've been trying to get their hands on you."
Ryan looked back at the professor with uncertainty strewn across his face.
"Fortunately though, they're no match for a good old scientist like me. What they don't realize is that I'm always ready for them, ready to make a move before they even think about it."
"What do you mean? Could you please help me understand what's going on?"
Professor Morrison smiled, and leaned back into his seat. "The result is that they've lost. I got to you before they could… recruit you for their own purposes. All you have to know is that you won't have to work for Black Mesa anytime so… ever…"
"So where are you taking me then?"
Professor Morrison took out a small plastic case that was wedged in between the seat and the car's storage compartment. He opened it up and handed Ryan a strange looking card that somehow had all of his information plastered onto the front of it as well as an embarrassing picture of him ripped out from last year's photos.
"Ryan… I've been watching you a lot recently, watching your tendencies, your ideas, and your habits, and I can say without a shadow of a doubt you're by far the best student I've ever seen." Professor Morrison laid his right hand out towards the confused student.
"Mr. Leake, welcome to Aperture."
~X~X~X~X~X~
