TEST SUPERVISION TEAM: DISCUSSION CHANNEL

NIGEL: OK guys, impromptu meeting in the department lobby. Now.

ALICE: Not now, I have to work out why my test subject's disappered!

NIGEL: Clearly there was some sort of facility-wide power cut. I want to see if anyone knows anything.

JAKE: Why do we have to meet in the lobby for that?

NIGEL: It's easier.

ALICE: Is it?

DAN: Stop arguing, you lot.

DAN: I have useful info, which I will be happy to explain to you in the lobby. Not here.


"So what exactly is it that you know?"

"Well, in brief terms", Dan explained, "Basically, my test subject's portal gun, oh, let's say violently exploded. Unfortunately, the cameras cut out before I could see the final result, but I'm guessing the power cut had something to do with that."

"Do you know where the test subject is now?" asked Nigel.

Dan made a short and pointlessly synthesised gasp of realisation. "Benson!" he exclaimed quietly.

"Who?"

"Benson, my test subject."

"Since when do you refer to test subjects by their names?"

"Since I decided that 'Benson' is snappier than '51129'."

"Wait, this is 51129 we're talking about?" said a highly taken-aback Alice. "The best tester in this department's records?"

"Yes, Alice, it is 51129, and if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try and work out where she is."


The blue rings of Dan's optic were spinning wildly as he entered into an inevitably frustrating conversation with Monitor 3.

"Locate subject."

ERROR: SUBJECT TRACKING DEVICE MISSING OR NON-FUNCTIONAL

"Oh, for goodness' sake. How?! Right, um, how about, er… show live camera footage from Chimaera-8?"

ERROR: ALL CAMERAS IN CHAMBER CHIMAERA-8 MISSING OR NON-FUNCTIONAL

"You're not helping!" The extreme exasperation in his synthetic voice was becoming clearer by the millisecond. "Fine. Let's try… show live camera footage from nearest functional camera to Chimaera-8."

ERROR: REQUEST SYNTAX UNCLEAR

"That was perfectly clear! You're not even trying any more!" He attempted to cool down a bit in order to talk to the damn thing in his own terms. Thankfully, unlike Dan, Monitor 3 had not been programmed with the ability to feel impatience. "OK. Let's start again. Please list all functional cameras within 300 metres of Test Chamber Chimaera-8."

ERROR: NONE FOUND

"None whatsoever? Right. New tactic needed, then. How… about… ooh, I know! Get me a map of the Enrichment Centre."

LOADING INTERACTIVE_3D_ENRICHMENT_CENTRE_ : 0% COMPLETE

"Yeah, OK, I don't really need a fancy interactive one. A standard two-dimensional diagram will do fine, thank you."

LOADING INTERACTIVE_3D_ENRICHMENT_CENTRE_ : 1% COMPLETE

"No, no, no, no, no! Stop! Abort loading! Please use an ordinary map! None of this interactive supervirtualisation nonsense!"

ERROR: PRESENT FILE IS ONLY RESULT MATCHING DESCRIPTION

LOADING INTERACTIVE_3D_ENRICHMENT_CENTRE_ : 3% COMPLETE

"And how long is this likely to take?"

ESTIMATED COMPLETION TIME: 16 MINUTES

LOADING INTERACTIVE_3D_ENRICHMENT_CENTRE_ : 4% COMPLETE

"Why is it that everything in this facility takes so long?"


LOADING INTERACTIVE_3D_ENRICHMENT_CENTRE_ : 100% COMPLETE

RENDERING FILE GRAPHICS

Monitor 3 suddenly flickered into displaying a simplified diagram of the very Enrichment Hub that Benson had been in earlier.

"Ah! Brilliant! Finally," he added under his artificial breath. "Let's see, Testing Track Chimaera…"

LOCATION FOUND

The screen changed to an image of the first chamber that Benson had so calmly navigated.

"Chimaera-8?"

LOCATION FOUND

It changed again, now showing what the chamber originally was before the Great Portal Gun Disaster of 2304 converted it into a sphere of radiation.

"Excellent. Now, what's near there?"

The display zoomed out to reveal a myriad of enormous columns, each housing a single testing track – most abandoned or converted. The only column within a reasonable vicinity of the one he'd just been looking at was marked, in block lettering ten feet tall, TEST TRACK IMBERLUX.

Imberlux. Not heard of that one, thought Dan. He searched for it in the system, and it turned out to be a 'new' test initiative involving revamping old and abandoned testing elements such as 'reflection gel' and 'rocket sentry manipulation systems'. Very nice. Only one thing left to do.

"Show footage from all chambers in Testing Track Imberlux."

Suddenly, all nine screens flicked into life and began showing rapidly changing live feeds. And in the corner of one of them, Dan spotted a tall figure wearing an orange jumpsuit with '51129' painted neatly on the back.

"Bingo."