Tuesday, July 22, 2081

It was Chell's birthday. Unfortunately, she couldn't afford to celebrate. As she walked into her work building, she tried to avoid people who knew it was her birthday. Before she could escape undetected to the elevator, the secretary gasped,

"Oh, Dear! Chell, why are you here today?"

Chell stared at her blankly, Do I get a day off, she wondered in pure hope, "What?"

"Everyone's in Michigan. Didn't you hear?"

"Hear what?" Chell walked toward to desk and plopped her huge grey bag down. The bag made little noise as it was filled with wads of stolen napkins and Taco Bell hot sauce.

"Some Aperture Turrets went haywire. All the computers—everything—was lost."

Chell tried to look surprised, "You mean the turrets that were designed to protect us?"

"Luckily no one was hurt."

"So I can leave?" Chell said tapping her fingernails on the mahogany desk.

"Here," the secretary handed Chell a little glowing ball.

"What is this?" Chell asked as its light tinted her face blue.

"The Aperture Science Insta-Port" the secretary read off a manila folder, "Our offices have been temporarily relocated to Aperture. See, they're expanding, so they have nothing to do with their old offices. They heard what happened to us, so they let us lease it half price!"

"Any suggestions how I can travel 800 miles in the next…ten minutes?" Chell looked at the holographic clock just over the secretary's desk. The secretary pointed to the Aperture Science Insta-Port and she took a sip of her coffee. "I am not using this thing; you saw what happened with the turrets!"

"Well, unless you come up with six hundred bucks to use Black Mesa's public teleporter. That balls the only thing from getting you fired."

Chell looked at the ball and then back up at the secretary, "Okay, fine. How does it work?"

"Just throw it at a flat surface and walk through."

"And walk through what?

"You'll see," the secretary took another sip of her coffee and started typing away on her computer.

Reluctantly, Chell threw the ball on the floor, with unprecedented force. A hole in the ground appeared and the edges were glowing blue. It was if it was on fire, but there was no heat. Chell looked at the secretary; she was well into her work. Chell closed her eyes and slowly walked toward the hole. She let out a heavy breath and jumped through. She watched as her familiar workplace suddenly vanished. Chell felt lost; it was as gravity had little influence over her as she fell. She hit the ground and landed on her hands. She looked up and the hole was gone. She stood up and dusted herself off. A corridor that was so long, it appeared to taper off was where she landed. The doors were white, the walls were white. Chell squinted as she tried to figure out which door to go through. None of the doors had labels. Whose bright idea was this? She thought as she reaches for the nearest door handle. When she touched it, an automated voice spoke out,

"Boiler room. Security clearance level three required."

"Oh,"

Chell went through several door handles in hope of finding a "Florcan Logistics" or anything within the topic. Most of the doors required a security passes and identification, none of which Chell was in position of. She went through every door, one by one, hoping to find a way out of the corridors that felt like a prison. She frantically ran from one door to a next, as she began to breath heavier. Eventually, she came across a door that opened,

"Aperture Science Beta Testing Debriefing. No clearance required." The door opened and a gust of wind pulled her in. She walked down a hall that had various rooms on both sides. One room was manufacturing what appeared to be ballpoint pens. Another room had an array of mechanical arms putting together vehicles. The room next to it was responsible for painting them. Chell pressed her hand to the glass. A loud breath left a fog, blocking her vision. The newly-painted, Aperture-endorsed Lexus R-1451 automatically drove out of the room. She walked down to corridor witnessing what extravagant machines Aperture created. She began to second-think her undying hatred for the globalized corporation. After several minutes of wandering, Chell heard the door she came in open from a distance. She scurried to the end of the hallway and found a glass room crowded with people.

She slowly made her way closer and she listened in on the PowerPoint presentation going on,

"Now our policy at Aperture is that we can't guide you through the testing. We can only intervene if you are dead or dying," a man in a white coat spoke out to nearly a hundred people as he laughed at his own terrible joke. Chell stooped and tried to inch herself closer to hear behind the glass barrier.

"What do you think you're doing," an Aperture employee asked. He had a rolled up newspaper in his hand and tapped it on Chell's shoulder.

"I…uh…got lost," Chell replied as she quickly stood up straight. She got unbearably light headed as all the blood rushed from her head.

"Are you here for testing?"

Chell tried to stand without collapsing. She took a deep breath and contemplated whether or not she should come clean. What's the worst that could happen? I mean, Aperture IS the reason why I'm here, right now. Maybe this is my destiny? No, shit like that only happens in movies. And Chinese proverbs. Aperture? Sons of bitches stole my life from me. I should fuck everyone up in here, right here and now. No…that'll only make my situation worse. I think dying would be better than prison, but let's be rational here. Hmm…I wonder what these people are testing. Are they even getting paid a lot? Of course they're getting paid; they're testing for Aperture bloody Science! Anything's gotta be better than "Florcan Logistics, how may I help your seemingly miserable life by solving a problem you were too lazy to figure out by reading the fucking manual!". I nearly forgot that my rent is due tomorrow—I definitely won't have enough. If these guys really want me, they must have some sort of place where I could sleep for a day or two. They'll probably pump actual oxygen into the rooms! It's been a while since I've breathed 100% pure diatomic molecules of oxygen. The god damned city will be the death of me. And I'm no better off dead. This better be worth it.

"Yes."