Wheatley, in his state of shock, could only manage to get a few words out of his mouth. "W- What did you do?"

The medical associate smiled and picked up a few papers from the desk in the corner. "Let me explain," He started. "The year was 1987. Cave Johnson had been dead for, oh, nine months, maybe? Yes, it was. Nine months. GLaDOS was activated, and I'm sure that you know as well as any of us how... unstable she can get." Because that's not an understatement. Wheatley thought, noting how odd it now sounded in his head. "So, the scientists had to keep her from coming up with new ideas to kill people. And that's where you came in."

"Yeah, I know that. But what about this?" He flailed his arms in front of his new body.

"Well, they needed a new AI. Tell me, did you ever meet Prototype 1427?"

Wheatley thought this over for a few moments. It did sound familiar... "Oh! Yeah! Yeah, I was in the core bin and she was overheating. Bloody terrified, she was. I let her shut down behind me." He nodded as if to re-assure himself.

The associate flipped through the documents. "She was the piece of machinery that led to the discovery of how to make an AI. She also used to be human." Wheatley was speechless. So does that mean...? "When a new AI is required, in this case, a personality core, scientists take a human and home in on a specific aspect of their personality. Before, it depended on their attitude toward life in their final moments, which is why some didn't exactly turn out as planned." He motioned toward the broken camera on the wall, which sparked from time to time. He then handed Wheatley a small stack of papers, the first of which had a picture of a man, as well as some information on him.

Dr. Stephen Wheatley

Age: 36 Height: 6' 7'' Position: Engineer

Core Type: Intelegence-Dampering

He continued to read every word in the files as the associate spoke. "Your human body was kept in cryogenic storage along with the other cores', but theirs didn't survive after the incident ten years ago."

Wheatley looked up. "What incident?"

"The incident in which you almost blew up the facility."

"Oh. Right. And when it says 'Dr.', does it mean, like, science-y doctor? As in, the not a moron kind?" The associate nodded. "Ha! I told them! I was an engineer! I-" Suddenly a thought came into his head. "Wait, does that mean that she was human once, also?"

The associate sadly handed him a photo of a woman. "Her name was Caroline." Wheatley observed the picture. She doesn't look deadly. She looks like she could be someone's mother. How did she go from being this to being the most dangerous piece of work on the planet? As he looked, something in the back of his mind told him that she looked very familiar to him, though he couldn't possibly figure out how. He handed it back to the associate. "The reason I took it into my own hands to bring you back is that she's still pretty angry at you. She'd have recognized you in a minute if you stayed a core, but there's no way she'd remember what your human self looks like. And even if she did, she has no idea that AI's are based off of humans." The associate handed Wheatley some clothes and left the room.

After he got changed out of the hospital gown, Wheatley observed his new (or was it old?) self in front of the mirror. He had light hair, messy from laying down for countless years. His eyes were the same bright blue as his former optic, and they looked around with curiosity at everything they saw. The clothes he'd been given included a brown button-down shirt, a green tie, white pants, a lab coat, and a badge on a lanyard which stated his name, position, and ID number. Did I volunteer to do this? He wondered. Or did they just take me and say, "Hey, congratulations! We're making you into a moron core!"? If only I could remember...

He wandered the halls, taking in the new view-point of the only place he'd ever really known. This is brilliant. No rails! I can go wherever I want! Oh, wait. No, can't go in there. But other than that! He was lost in thought when he heard a voice from a speaker on the wall.

"You. What do you think you're doing?" Wheatley felt a rush of terror go though him at the sound of GLaDOS' voice. Don't panic. Don't panic. Just stay calm. You're a doctor now. And doctors don't panic.

"I, um, I was just..."

"I believe you were just on your way to Chamber 17 to clean up. Am I right? Or were you coming to have a talk with me?" She said the last part with so much sadistic venom that it sent chills up Wheatley's spine. Something told him that when she said "Talk", she meant "Death".

"Um, yes! Er, to going to the chamber. Yeah, absolutely! On my way! Not doing anything, um, bad. So, I'm just gonna go!" As he began to walk away, GLaDOS addressed him once more.

The camera panned toward him. "Hold on a second. I know you."

Don't panic! Just- just think! He faked a smile. "Well, of course you do! I work here, after all!" The frightening sensation of his heart pounding in his chest calmed at her response.

"Well... alright. Just get back to work."

Wheatley gave a sigh of relief upon his entering Test Chamber 17. He had to be more careful if he was going to keep his identity a secret. As he looked around, he noticed that the last test subject to be in there had left a light bridge protruding from the ceiling. Curiosity getting the best of him, he entered the portal and ended up in a secret room above the chamber.

All over the floor, there were scattered cans, coffee mugs, and empty water jugs. The walls were covered with paintings, one showing a figure whom Wheatley knew well. It appeared to be of a chart labeled "Tenacity", as well as turrets and some sayings and formulas. And then there was the one Wheatley recognized. He gently put his hand on the painting of Chell and felt a twinge of remorse in his heart. Was it for her? Yes, but also for the poor soul who had trapped here for who knows how long. Were they still there? Probably not. The artwork was faded, and the paint was beginning to chip off. Plus, surely they would have been discovered, and thus killed. As he leaned his back up against the wall, he could have sworn he saw a figure duck in and out of sight.

But that was impossible, right?