[recharge complete]
[rebooting…]
[HC Core reactivated in 3…2…1]
Although the HC Core had no lungs of her own, she somehow felt that a long, deep gasp sound was required as they switched her back on. She kept her optic shut for a couple moments as she took several more simulated deep breathes. As she slowly blinked her optical plates open, she could feel a throbbing sort of pain at the center of her, the core equivalent to a headache. Or, more specifically, in the case of a robot that was pretty much nothing except a head, it was like having a whole body ache.
As she swiveled her sore optic around in its socket, she saw that only three of the scientists from before were still in the chamber, one of them of course being Dr. Wells. The HC Core wasn't quite sure why, but she found herself not liking him much at all, and knew for certain that she didn't trust him.
"Well, HC Core?" he asked in a firm tone. "How do you feel?"
The HC Core narrowed her optical plates and replied, "Well, that file – or I should say files – you put into me nearly killed me as I tried to access them. How do you think I feel?"
The other two scientists behind Wells glanced around awkwardly. Obviously they never would have said something like that to such a high-ranking scientist of Aperture Laboratories.
"Don't get mouthy with me Core!" Wells snapped, causing the HC Core to flinch a bit, and also think of how odd the statement was considering that she had no mouth. "In case you hadn't noticed, I created you!"
"Oh, did you?" the HC Core asked with still a bit of anger in her voice, but also realizing that perhaps it wouldn't be good to make enemies right off the bat. Although she had her suspicious feelings about Dr. Wells, perhaps she ought to take a step back and just get to know him and his background a bit better before rushing to a judgment. She softened her tone a bit. "Sorry, just thought I would use a bit of sarcasm, and having so much information overload your system would naturally put you out of sorts, don't you think?"
"Yes, I suppose you're right," Wells replied back as the two scientists standing behind him began jotting down more notes on their clipboards. "But we fixed that now. You shouldn't have a problem with any information overloading your system from this point onward."
"Ok," the HC Core replied, although still not convinced that everything was going to be one hundred percent fine.
"Right then," Wells continued. "Back to the question before. Do you know what your function is HC Core?"
"Well, you made me right? Why can't you just tell me?" she asked back in as natural and innocent of a tone as she could muster through her present anxieties.
Dr. Wells made a deep frustrated sigh. Patience definitely wasn't his thing. "Look," he continued, his words coming out coldly, "stop asking questions for a moment and just cooperate ok?"
"But…how am I supposed to know what you made me for if you won't tell me? That's hardly fair."
"Well, sometimes life isn't fair," he said as the two other scientists began to glance around awkwardly again. The HC Core felt that his statement actually carried quite a bit of weight with it when it came to them. "So when life gives you lemons, just make lemonade, got it?"
Upon hearing those words, some sort of protocol took affect in the HC Core's programming.
[word search….]
[life…lemons…lemonade…]
[search results…]
[689,392,302 results…invention of lemonade…the origins of the lemon…old lemon cake recipes…apterture science johnson lemons…]
"Gah!" the Core cried out as her brain made the search, a list of articles and videos and recordings showing up in her mind's eye. "Whoah…I was NOT expecting that."
The scientists began watching her closely, noticing the change in her behavior. She paused, not knowing how to go on or what to do. She was also rather afraid as she felt that thread of connection between herself and the History file. Although it was only a small portion of it that she was connected to, she still felt very uneasy around it to say the least.
"Well…" Wells prompted, again impatiently. "What've you got for me HC Core?"
For some reason, the files that popped up that pertained specifically to anything involving Aperture Science came up as if written in neon lights – pushing away at the other information as if they contained the most important bits. The HC Core had no idea what was going on in her head, but she figured she had better do something or else Wells was really gonna lose it.
[selecting file…aperture science Johnson lemons…]
[loading…]
Then, she lost control of her vocal processor as it spewed out what was on the recording.
"Alright I've been thinking. When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! I don't want your damn lemons! What am I supposed to do with these!? I demand to see life's manager! Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am!? I'm the man who's gonna burn your house down, with the lemons! I'm going to get my engineers, to invent a combustible lemon, that burns your house down!"
By this time, all three scientists, Wells included, had all jumped back in alarm as the little core began shouting at them in a voice that was certainly not her own. The HC Core would have tried to stop herself, but she was already so startled by everything that had happened that she just froze there as the recording came through. She didn't like the sensation of it at all. It terrified her.
After the speaker broke down into a coughing fit, it continued, "The point is, if we can store music on a compact disc why can't we storesttcchhhwzzz-"
But the rest of the recording was suddenly cut off.
[file corrupt…]
[exiting file…]
The HC Core let out another simulated gasp as her voice became her own again. There was a long, awkward moment of silence as the scientists stood there staring at her, with Dr. Wells' eyes having become quite flinty, as if the rant that the HC Core had just let off had been picked out specifically to spite him.
"There…there is a rather humorous irony to this though, isn't there?" the HC Core thought in mild amusement.
"Um, well…" she finally managed to say out loud. "I…I think I know what my function is now."