A/N: This will potentially contain spoilers for Portal, Portal 2, and the Lab Rat comic. I'm writing this story as my final project in a class that investigates narrative and technology, and I welcome your feedback. I will be incorporating a few elements from the universe of Neal Stephenson's novel The Diamond Age (no spoilers), though I'll endeavour not to make this inaccessible to those who haven't read that. Thank you and I hope you enjoy.


Chapter 1: The Courtesy Call

Linda Rattmann turned from the stove, two bowls of steaming pasta in her hands. She walked slowly towards the dining room table, being careful not to spill them, and set one down in front of her husband. The walk to her seat was too long, Doug thought as she traversed the space that was to be filled by the children they wanted but would never have. When she sat down and bowed her head to pray, he studied her. The cancer that tore through her ovaries hadn't left its mark anywhere else on her: her blonde hair was back, long and beautiful as ever, and the gauntness in her face had disappeared as she entered remission. Every day, he was grateful to still have her in his life. Those days when it had seemed like he might not were a dark stain in a past he didn't care to think about.

Linda lifted her head and dipped a fork into her pasta. "I ran into Caroline at the party last night. She's such a gem."

"Aperture would go down without her," Doug agreed. "And she has such a heart for children. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you! She asked me to start working on a new project this morning. They passed the Image Format off to that new guy, and…I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but I can't help it, Lin, you'll love it. Caroline wants me to develop a book, a primer of sorts. Something interactive, geared specifically at kids. Girls.

"Think about it, honey," he went on excitedly. "How will we raise the next generation of scientists?"

Linda humoured him: "How?"

"This is the way! Can you see it? Girls at every elementary school being issued one of these, growing up with a love of the sciences—the CEO of every business could be the next Caroline. It's purely in the experimental stages right now, of course. But she has big plans for it. And it won't be just science; she wants it to teach skills and values. One in particular she calls subversiveness—she wants them questioning authority, not settling for things as they are. I like to think of it as…tenacity."

"If it's a book…" Linda's smile was as much sheepish as it was unstoppable. "Do you think she would have any use for a rusty children's librarian? I'd love to help out."

Doug smiled back at her. Before he could answer, a baby's cry shattered the silence.