The elevator door opens.
She felt an air of coldness. She lifted up her hands to examine them.
"L242 Iron." Her robotic voice spoke up.
She tried gripping them. The artificial limbs let out a tiny little metallic grind. She giggled.
They say she would be better off being built entirely of metal. The scientists painstakingly recreated her entirely from steel bolts, hardened iron plates, and microchips. The only thing that isn't an alloy is the outfit she's wearing. The exact same dress from the portrait more than a decade ago.
The boys also had fitted her with a tiny processor that merged her previous experiences with her android self to make sure she doesn't freak out when she sees her metal parts.
A lone glass panel welcomed her arrival. In this eerie room, where the only thing beside the walls and speakers from the corner's of the room is a moving walkway with chevrons printed on them to mark their direction.
The speaker projected the feedback.
"Hey there, Caroline."
"How did you know my name?" She began to notice the bunch of scientists sitting behind the glass, all staring curiously at this untested creation.
"Because I made you. My name is Jason Kaiser, Head of Research and Development of Androids at Aperture."
"I still remember the elevator!" She teased him. This reply gave relief to the team, who was still worried that she might turned into someone else. No one can fully trust a stack of metal.
"Yes, we know. It's hard, isn't it? Just one more thing." Jason says as his assistant raised a clipboard for his reference.
"That will be—?"
"A little personality test. Answer my questions as fast as you can. Get them properly, we can get working. Fail this, we'll send you back. We don't want you to be sick."
"Sure, I don't mind."
"Let's go. Name?"
"Genetic Lifeform portion of the Third Tier codenamed 'Sicily'. Human name 'Caroline Faraday', female."
"Good. Age?"
"Twenty-two, born in the mid-seventies." Her processors snapped.
"That's a custom reply you were supposed to answer. What about in actuality?"
"Over sixty."
"What are you here for?"
"To reach a goal of the betterment of humanity. To ensure the production of our products remains at the highest level. To defeat plagiarism and opposing corporates that may tamper our progress. To oversee and provide guidance to… test subjects…"
"It's okay, you're fine. We won't deduct points for your stuttering."
He pushes a few buttons on the control board laid in front of him.
"Alright, nicely done here."
"Excuse me, sir?"
"What's wrong?"
"May I have permission to look for deer on the plains later?"
"Not a problem." He laughed.
"She's such a sweet little robot." Another voice chimed in the observation room.
He wrote on the clipboard.
"Any thoughts on your newer self?"
"I don't have to sleep."
"Mm hmm." He nods as he finishes his writing. "I think we are done."
"One more question. What if I failed you? What if I turned out to be different and evil than what I am now?"
"Well… I think we'll take you back now." He activates a pair of arms that tried to drag her back to the elevator.
"Please, no! I won't— I promise— I will—"
The arms retract back into the walls.
"You sure?"
"Yes."
"Step onto the walkway. We will be watching you. Behave properly from now on."
"I promise." She obliged as she departed the room.