Tyrant's Circle II
[FACT: "It is true he lives; in his necessity / I alone must lead him through this valley. / Fate brings him here, not curiosity. / From singing Alleluia the sublime / spirit who sends me came. He is no bandit. / Nor am I one who ever stooped to crime. / But in the name of the Power by which I go / this sunken way across the floor of Hell, / assign us one of your troop whom we may follow, / that he may guide us to the ford, and there / carry across on his back the one I lead, / for he is not a spirit to move through air." -The Inferno, Canto XII; Seventh Circle, Ring 1.]
A wide open room, white portaling panels lining the wall nearest to him and the wall farthest. In the middle of the room on a peninsula of a platform surrounded by an acid moat, a solitary manual button stood. On the other side a pneumatic tube sat above a Super Button. The solution was extremely obvious, yet somehow the black-framed monitor looming high above the button suggested a imminent danger.
(Cheeky bitch filled the moat! Show-off. And, and! Why did she remove the "TEST" bit? That was brilliant!)
[You built this test?]
(It was my very first official test, yes. I was very proud of it, and that horrible AI has gone and wrecked the decorational aesthetics of it!)
[...It's a poorly constructed test. I could solve it right now, and I've never even done a test befor-]
(NO! No.)
Wheatley grinned widely, standing his ground.
(Let her stew.)
[...What?]
(Stew in the burning anticipation of euphoria. Perfect time to do so. Chell did this to me, and frankly, I think She should get a taste of it, too. Chell never denied her the pleasure, no...but I will. I will.)
"I'll give you a hint: button. That's all I'm going to say, button."
Chell stood, arms crossed, looking up at the monitor, unamused.
(...What did...what am I doing wrong? Did I confuse her...?)
He shuddered, wanting to either make her test or go back to his book. He was almost done with getting the translator to finish translating "Inhabited Island" for him, but it was going to be too late. The agitation of the burning itch to test, coupled with his frustrations with Chell and that annoying potato battery, were becoming overwhelming.
{Let me handle this. Got to be a bit heavy handed with the stubborn ones.}
"Come on!"
Chell sneered and slowly approached the button, stopping halfway.
"COME ON."
(What's she doing? I...I just told her how important testing was to me...and here she is, just...standing there, making me wait...)
{She doesn't care about you or your feelings. She's just playing around with her little potato friend.}
(...She wouldn't do that to me...)
{And yet there she is...just standing there...}
(Bloody...lying...Harpoon...why did I...listen to you...)
A boiling rage seethed through his neurons, yet quickly retreated, leaving Wheatley silent for a length of time Nathan thought impossible for him to stay silent; several full seconds.
[...Wheatley?]
A sudden rush of consciousness near-leaped to greet Nathan's call.
(How much time's ticked away? Why're we just standing here, rotting? Up, up! Let's go!)
[But you didn't want to do thi-AHHHHHHHH!]
Wheatley quickly sprinted, slapping his hand down on the manual button, dropping a cube down on the Super Button and opening the door on a third wall.
(Okay, I got this one! You just sit back and have yourself a break!)
[I'm not doing anyth-SLOW DOWN!]
Without an excess of thought, Wheatley dropped portals on both ends of the room, allowing himself to cross over to the path to the open door, and through the doorway with little more and a quick crouch to avoid colliding with the top of the door frame while bouncing off the heels of the boots.
Swiftly approaching the elevator, Wheatley collapsed, falling silent and letting Nathan's body recover. Wheatley seemed stunned by the quick dynamic burst of speed and action while Nathan felt exhausted.
[Why did you do that? You could've given me a fair warning!]
(I...I had to get out of that room…I'm fine. I'm fine, just…do the next test without me, please.)
[…Alright.]
The elevator arrived, and Nathan stood up, finally getting a feel for his own body again, under his own control. It seemed like it had been forever and a day.
Wheatley was tense and withdrawn; GLaDOS was clearly getting the better of him fairly early. He stood in front of the door, not bothering to go in just yet before he talked to Wheatley. The lack of relatively positive emotions was unnerving him over something so...simple. He had to try something to bring him back to his cheery nature.
[She wants you to feel miserable, Wheatley. Don't let her get to you, okay? We all have our faults. We're all equal here.]
(I let it get the best of me. I let it slip right past my morality like a slimy snake in the grass. And now look at me.)
[We're all human, we all falter, so chin up.]
Wheatley did not reply.
The door opened, and a lighted panel greeted him with a large "01" with a tiny subtitle of "01/19", and lots of bold and greyed out icons he wasn't going to bother deciphering. The room was tall and bi-sected via large glass plates on the ceiling of the first area, a large blue spiraling tunnel leading through the hole in the bisection, and a large black monitor with a smashed screen in the back right corner of the first floor.
She flew across the room via portal, foot extended in a flying kick. The glass shattered around the point of impact, nearly breaking the frame and obscuring his view.
(Why did she do that?)
{Spite. Spite because you've got her doing this and she's too selfish to want to help. Just laugh it off.}
(...I can't...)
{Must I do everything...?}
"Aw, bless your little primate brain. I'm not actually in the room with you, am I? Technology, it's complicated. Ah, you can't hurt the big ol' God face."
(Just...just use the blue spirally Excursion Funnel thing to float upstairs...)
Nathan followed his command and jumped into the tunnel, and to his amazement, he actually began floating, the light beam pressing him upwards like a strong, controlled wind tunnel.
[Amazing!]
(...I know. I didn't fry myself for giving you a hint.)
[It's like I'm...flying!]
(Yes, I suppose it's like that...)
[...Stop being such a pain in the arse. This's amazing. Human flight without externally attached appendages, achieved! ...Slow-moving, and limited to the beam's range, but possible! This, Wheatley, is true non-robotic Science!]
Wheatley continued, seemingly disinterested.
(There's a cube here on a ledge; just grab it and toss it in the Excursion Funnel after popping a portal downstairs on the checkered pattern. The funnel will press the cube against the button, and she'll get her little scratch so we can leave.)
His flat and near-monotone dissertations so far had left something to be desired as Nathan continued following his commands. They had managed to find a way to bypass their physical freeze-up for the time being, as even with their dialogues growing long, he still managed to keep the body mobile and on-task.
[...You didn't let me solve this one at all.]
(Sorry...a little jubilant over finding out I can actually help you solve these if it's required.)
[You really sound it, Wheatley. Almost too excited.]
(I'm just...)
He sighed deeply as Nathan walked them out to the next elevator.
Nathan began to charge up to the door, and Wheatley gasped.
(Not so fast! If she's going in chronological order, one bad move will definitely kill you in here. Absolutely 100% guaranteed, never-ending fall to your, and subsequently my, death. Which sounds mildly refreshing at this moment, but I'd rather do that long after we get Chell out of here, okay?)
[...Right.]
Nathan continued onwards, being careful as he wandered onto the solitary catwalk. He looked down, noting that the Excursion Funnel appeared to shoot to a white portal wall, and he could see another portaling panel as he looked to his right. The path was practically painted for him.
(I'm...going to try and think to myself, okay? If you need help, just...just call for me. I'll keep an ear out...metaphorically speaking.)
There seemed to only be one path to go anyways; he fathomed that it wouldn't be too difficult to traverse, Wheatley assisting him or not. Looking up, he spotted a Super Button and the door out.
(Oh, and remember your portal colors in here. If you forget, death. Very painful death.)
[I figured.]
(The portal walls are all strategically placed. And portal colors. Remember which is which. Can't emphasize that enough.)
[If you're going to go silent, please do so I can do this.]
While Nathan looked and moved around, Wheatley silently mused on. Whatever it was that bothered him, Nathan couldn't determine. Probably still feeling downtrodden. He wasn't going to press the issue, but if Wheatley continued being this reclusive...
He shook his head as he reached the top; he had to make an effort. It was the right thing to do.
[Wheatley?]
(Press the button and a cube will fall in. I'm still angry that she replaced all my turret cubes with her old-fashioned weighted cubes. At least mine chirped at you in a strange garbled manner to break up the silence...)
[No, I got that. I just wanted to ask you a question.]
(...Oh?)
[I know you probably don't want to think about it but...testing euphoria.]
(Oh. That.)
Wheatley sighed.
(What about it?)
[I'm...curious to know what it feels like. If I know the feeling, perhaps I'll be as equally terrified of it...or maybe it's not even the same as what you think. I'd like to be the judge of that, while I have a moment.]
(...Oh. I...I don't wish it upon anyone to want to feel it as badly as I've wanted to but, if it's purely for comparison, I wouldn't mind trying to simulate it through organic circuitry just to take my mind off things. just solve the test, and get in a nice, comfortable, and stable position, because I have no bloody idea what it could do to you.)
[Not a problem.]
Nathan quickly went through the motions, moving the weighted cube to the button and opening the door. He then looked around for a bit, softly creeping about on the tips of the boots. He stopped at the edge of the doorway. A plain elevator shaft with a plain pill-shaped elevator.
[Think the elevator might be a prime spot?]
(They're fairly stable, unless she drops us.)
[Then let's. There's at least a little privacy in them.]
He dashed in and braced himself.
[Let the simulation commence, Wheatley.]
Wheatley focused all his concentration on a proper recreation of the sensation, and it quickly surged through every inch of Nathan's cerebral synapses, then straight down the brain stem and through the spinal cord.
Nathan gasped, flailing back involuntarily. Pupils dilating, every muscle growing shaky. He dropped his portal gun as his body temperature spiked and his knees quaked, wobbling until he finally collapsed to his knees despite his struggle to keep upright.
[Oh God...]
A simultaneously foreign yet familiar feeling eked through him; incredibly painful yet insanely pleasuring. It wasn't quite what he was expecting, but he was certain that his body simply wasn't equipped to properly translate what Wheatley tried hard to convey to him.
A calming and peaceful numbness flowed through him from his legs on up as he steadied himself as best he could with his trembling arms and hands. He wasn't sure if it was supposed to hurt so badly, but the entire ordeal left a tingling, sizzling, burning, aching...want...
The sensation began to die down as he continued to flail, giving him time to breathe. His body might not survive a repetition, he feared, but the aftermath was slowly becoming an almost zen-like calm that filtered through every little crevice in his mind and body.
(Am I hurting you? I am, aren't I?)
[Augh, that's tremendous...]
(Ah! That's completely how I felt! This is both wonderful and horrible, mostly horrible. Oh god, what am I doing to you? I knew this was a bad idea...)
[I could...go for a second opinion...]
(...What?)
Nathan grinned as his body slowly came back under his control and allowed him to rigidly stand back up. He grabbed the gun, still feeling somewhat...unsatisfied with the reality that surrounded him. The burning sensation began to permeate now; there was little that occupied him that seemed quite as dire as pinpointing the source and ridding himself of it...or at the very least, satiating it.
[You know what? I...I have an idea. Wheatley?]
(What?)
[I don't think it quite transferred properly since you're in my body and all. So...would you like to see if we can replicate it better in my body using a different method?]
('It'...the euphoria? How do you suggest we do that?)
[I have an idea...but we should do it now.]
(...Now?)
[...Does the next chamber have an alcove we can duck into? The elevator is too restraining if I have to stretch out.]
(The hallway leading to the chamber is bent at a right angle; we can lean against that and not enter the chamber.)
[Perfect.]
Nathan unzipped his jumpsuit part way, still feeling overheated and slightly uncomfortable. The form fitting undergarments Aperture provided its test subjects were quite constricting on his package on a normal occasion, let alone now that he was feeling aroused.
The elevator opened to reveal the wide open starting area. Too wide open. He'd rather be in a corner; less likely to have a camera hanging about. Up the stairs and through the door, a display monitor hung greeting him before the left-hand turn. He threw himself down in front of the sign, not particularly caring as he unzipped the jumpsuit fully, stripping it off his upper body as fast as he could, letting it cling to him from mid-thigh.
(Wha, wha, what're you doing? Nathan...)
[You and I shall attempt to recreate a euphoric response in my body...manually.]
(...what? Nononononono. This's, this's...insane. I don't want to. Is this what you meant? Ugh.)
[How do you suggest we solve my dilemma, then?]
(...dilemma?)
Nathan looked down at the stiffened mass between his legs.
[You've gone and set me off, and I can promise you that if we don't deal with it this time, it's going to be a very irritating time getting through the rest of these tests.]
Wheatley seemed to think about it for a moment, then mentally sighed.
(Well, if it's a genuine problem, then I suppose we must solve it. What should be done first?)
[Well, first, I think that since it's your fault,you should fix this.]
(What? Are you mad? I don't know the first thing about...that!)
[Oh, yes you do. You just don't think you do. Now, I'll only jump in if you've completely ruined the mood.]
(...If you think I do, then...alright, alright...um...augh...think, think...)
Nathan pulled both tops off, then looked between them. He then slid the orange tank back away from him, keeping the white Aperture tank at his side.
[Alright, no, this won't work.]
He slid the jumpsuit down to his ankles, then quickly did the same to his undergarments, his ever-stiffening member rather relieved that he had done so.
(Oh! Had a brainwave. Do you remember my stroll through Sector 3-C?)
[Oh, I couldn't forget all those naughty romps you spoke of...anyways, yes. Why?]
(I was thinking...and this may be a terrible idea, so stop me if need be, alright? So, she would have her legs on the outsides of your legs, facing you while being fully disrobed from the waist down. Like that one middle-aged couple with the gold bands on their fingers.)
Nathan smirked and slid down the wall slightly as a blurry image of a woman straddling him, naked from the waist down, slowly materialized in his mind.
(I'm starting to forget what she looks like...)
A deep sigh followed.
[You're fine. Continue.]
Nathan cracked his knuckles and prepared himself as Wheatley continued.
(So the woman was leaning against the headboard, and rocking her hips back and forth as such...)
The woman, who was slowly focusing into a solid version of whom Nathan could only assume was Chell, leaned forwards, her hands placed on the wall on either side of his head.
(This isn't so difficult...)
The woman began rocking back and forth at the hips, and Nathan began steadily matching her pace with his hand.
[Faster...]
The illusionary woman did as he asked, and he grunted while quickening the stroking pace on his shaft.
"Ungh...ahhh..."
The immense pressure began to reach its peak after only a few minutes, and Nathan was sensing Wheatley getting either bored or agitated...
(Augh, how long does this take?)
She leaned forwards, locking lips with him, slowly sliding a hand over to grab his hair. A surge rushed through him, and he nearly came then and there.
(Helping?)
[Almost...]
"Agh..."
He bit his lip and gave several rough strokes just as the woman began kissing her way down his jawline, down his neck.
"Ungh!"
The pressure finally hit top, and one last stroke sent him overboard. Every muscle within him tensed, and one last loud groan escaped him as he shot his viscous load.
The illusion seemed to near-instantly disappear, and Wheatley seemed to drop into a comatose silence as the rush of hormones and chemicals flooded the two consciousnesses. Nathan panted heavily and nearly passed out in exhaustion; it had been far too long and he was terribly out of practice, it seemed.
After what seemed like a long rest, Nathan came to his senses, and grabbed the white tank, wiping up the evidence swiftly with it before getting himself back into suit. The layer of sweat and grime he had accumulated in his venture left him perturbed and mentally twitching as he rolled the white tank up.
The click of a speaker rang through the hallway and he looked up, noticing that a camera was jutting out of the ceiling, pointed at him in an inhuman sort of glaring. It wasn't there when he first arrived; she had decided to spy on him.
"That is the most disgusting thing any test subject has ever done in the history of this facility while inside a test chamber, you monster. That has nothing to do with Science, you know. Do you feel better, murdering all those potential human beings, you murderous little human?"
Nathan grinned and reached up, hanging the white tank over the camera lens.
"Augh! Disgusting! Contaminating my facility and my equipment with your biological matter! I'll have to sanitize this hall fully, and my optical viewer…"
He grinned and walked into the chamber. He just dropped his chance of survival by two percent, at least, but he felt a lot better. He had given her something genuine about him to nag about.
He felt fortunate that, even without Wheatley, the solution seemed simple. Again the Excursion Funnel was his primary mode of travel and key piece of test solution. Within a few minutes, he was out the door and heading to the next elevator, albeit a bit tired from his previous exertions.
As he approached the elevator, he felt a stirring in his subconscious, and he stopped right in front of the empty doors.
(AHHH! Ahh…huh? Where are we? Are we…did we get through that test? Did you do that one without me?)
[Did that last one myself, yes. Not too difficult. Just time-consuming.]
(Was…was my attempt successful? I think I had a power surge or something equivalent.)
[It was quite a triumph.]
(Wonderful. Noted, then. Huge success, the attempt. Does it…feel like that all the time?)
[Every time.]
Nathan grinned, walking into the elevator.
(That's both a wonderful thing to hear, and a terrible thing to think about. Every time, that blissful reaction…I don't need to get addicted to anything like that again.)
[You have quite a good restraint on that…particular sort of…'itch', honestly. You'll be fine.]
(Really? That's wonderful to hear.)
A long pause fell between them as the elevator took them through the facility to the next chamber.
(So we haven't gone into any other chambers?)
[No, why?]
(…I don't want to go into the next one. I can't find any gaps that will lead us out through anything but a long drop to death via terminal velocity and air resistance.)
[Man up, you'll be fine. I'm right here.]
(I…I don't want to go in there…)
(I feel like I'll die…)
{Vent, then. Just say the worst things that come to mind.}
(I'll…I'll just say what She would say! Chell's never liked any of those!)
[Just don't think about it.]
(Hard not to, since it's the only direction to go and trying to just...turn myself off is impossible while you're awake, for whatever reason, unless you want to do that procreation simulation sort of thing again...)
[I'm actually good with that for now.]
(So I guess I'm not blacking out any time soon. Gah.)
[Just sit back and shush.]
Wheatley sighed deeply as the elevator stopped and opened.
The chamber was quite straightforward; a wide gap and a great height between the exit door and the entry door, another Excursion Funnel test it seemed. Not quite the appropriate number of portaling surfaces, from an initial tally, but most of the room was out of sight. The telltale red laser pointer of a sentry turret shone off far to their left, as well as a seemingly random Super Button. A broken monitor greeted them, and Wheatley winced at the sight of it.
"That last test was was seriously disappointing. Apparently, being civil isn't motivating you, so let's go and try it Her way, okay?"
{Perfect! She's overweight, and she was adopted! Go!}
[Don't be so rude; what did she do to you?]
{Oh, shut it.}
"Fatty. Adopted Fatty. Fatty-fatty-no-parents."
Chell looked more annoyed than hurt.
{...Honestly?}
(It's the best I could do! I don't say things like that to anything!)
{How embarrassing!}
"And...?"
{Oh, and now the potato's joining in. Lovely.}
"What?"
"What exactly is wrong with being adopted?"
"What's wrong with being adopted? Well!"
(...Good question.)
{I'll handle this. I knew you couldn't hack it.}
"Um...lack of parents, number one!"
A soft mumbling that he could not hear properly interrupted his explanation, and even Chell had to bend the gun back towards her head to hear the malicious spud speak.
{Out of the way!}
A painful and very noticeable shift in mental control occurred as the usually cowering benevolent voice took over.
"Um...and also...nothing!"
{Absolutely nothing!}
A sudden rush of glee as the benevolent whisper focused on Chell, attempting to do its best to smile at her. She wasn't bothering to notice. she was still mad at him, too mad.
"But, well, some of my best friends actually are orphans..."
"Also, look at her, you moron. She's not fat."
{That starchy bitch!}
A heavy shove and shift in dominance as the malevolent voice thrust itself to the forefront, puffing out his core side panels and plastering a glare around his optic.
"I! AM NOT! A MORON! Just do the test, just do the test..."
(Enough, enough, get me away from that monitor!)
Wheatley clutched the left side of Nathan's head and winced, and Nathan got the point from the seething pain radiating from the former core's point of consciousness.
As he rounded the bend hastily, he failed to recall the red laser beam and the ever-so-angelic voice.
"Target acquired."
Pip-pip-pip-pip-pi-riii-ptinig!
Nathan howled and dove behind the black wall into the alcove, his right arm spurting a small trickle of blood from the entry and exit wound of the bullet. It hadn't struck anything major, but the shock from the wound was enough to shoot through Wheatley's radiating pain.
(Hnng! Ahhhh!)
Everything from him seemed to stop as Nathan began applying pressure. The urge to curl up into a ball from Wheatley was acknowledged slightly by Nathan as he tucked his legs in to his chest to prevent the cleverly stationed turret from having another area to strike him again.
A shiver ran through him as Wheatley began to whisper.
(Selene, Phobos, Deimos, Dactyl, Io, Europa, Gan-…Ganymede…Ca…llisto…augh!)
Another shiver, his right arm going numb.
"Mimas, Enceladus, Tethya, Dione, Rhea, Tita-"
"Oh, cut it out, kid! You're just wasting your air!"
Nathan glared at the young blond, making him cringe and shiver. The tanned, slightly buff brunette man sitting across from the blond crossed his arms as he glowered, apparently feeling that a lack of an immediate positive response was intolerable.
"Man up, Morganstern! You're wasting your oxygen, crying about a little bit of neurotoxin!"
The short man with frizzy black hair and wide-rimmed lenses shot a look at the angry brunette. "And you're not wasting yours by scolding him…?" He cooed, a soft and almost monotone voice slipping from inside his face mask.
"Please calm down," Nathan muttered, trying to take control of the situation. "and Livingston, I don't need your help." He shot a dirty look at the brunette, giving him every reason to get an equally dirty look back. Nathan looked back over at Girard, who was still rocking and shaking.
"We're gonna die in here…" Girard softly sobbed.
Nathan had no idea how to respond. If Girard had been Sarah, he would have already had him in a big comforting hug, but this was just an intern he hired three weeks ago - a male intern at that! - curled up and sobbing. He told himself that physical contact was absolutely off-limits. But…the poor thing was mortified.
He placed a hand on Girard's shoulder, applying a firm and steady grip to stop him from rocking to and fro. "We'll live, I promise. Just stop crying and take a nice calming breath."
Girard nodded, following his instructions. A warm smile crossed his visage, and the young blonde reached out and tightly hugged him, making him jump.
"Thank you."
"You're…ugh, wel...come. Pleaseletgoofme." Nathan shoved the young man off of him, giving a confused look. So physical contact was completely fine with this one…
[...Wheatley?]
(...Triton...Nereid...Cha...ron...augh!...Is there a way to stop that pain? How long is that going to hurt as badly as it is? Please make it stopmakeitstopmakeitstop this is the least wonderful feeling on the planet...)
[We're lucky the bullet didn't strike anything vital, but since it's unlikely that I'll get time to heal, it'll take a few days.]
(DAYS? NO! NONONONONONONONO, FIX IT! MAKE THE PAIN ST-)
The headache spiked immensely and Nathan dropped the portal gun, clenching his head with both hands and growling.
Wheatley fell silent as the headache lessened gradually, and Nathan found himself alone again.
He peeked around the corner slightly to survey, his curiosity getting met with a volley of bullets nearly taking an eye out. He realized a solution to his problem immediately and stuck his left arm out momentarily, portal gun in hand, to pop a portal down the hallway along with one to guide the excursion funnel. A saccharine "Whoa~!" and a flailing of robotic arm panels told him his shot was dead on. Dropping a second swiftly placed portal dropped the killer angel into a deep pit located directly behind it and a still-cheery "I don't blame you..." hearkened an end to being shot in the chamber.
Then, with all the speed he could muster despite his injuries and exhaustion, he quickly tested and determined what the Super Button did and how to work around its Excursion Funnel-reversal mechanics. It took him quite a bit longer without Wheatley's help than he had wanted, and as he exited, the crackle of the speakers only served to remind him that she was enjoying this.
"I hope there are no long-term negative effects to you having what appears to be a minor stroke, Nathan. If that moron goes and kills you accidentally...I'll be very disappointed.
"You are, and I hate to admit it, actually quite good at this. I can't see why you were ever so objected to doing these, going so far as to kill yourself and all your teammates to keep from doing this. You haven't had quite as many incidents of lower body dis-coordination as this chart seems to imply you should have."
He ignored her, hopping into the elevator and sitting down for the ride.
[Wheatley...]
No response.
[Wheatley...?]
He closed his eyes and focused on trying to mentally reach out to him, finding him mentally reeling ever so quietly, as if tossing and turning in his sleep. Well, he had gotten his wish in the worst way possible, didn't he? At least he wasn't completely toast; Nathan surmised that if Wheatley had done so, he'd already have croaked as well, too. He needed to run a diagnostic.
[Hey, Wheatley?]
He dove further, into a point of static and white noise. Something didn't seem right, and leaving it alone was not acceptable.
He sharply inhaled as he hit something that responded, something entirely broken...
A figure, shadowy, fuzzed out like bad reception. The room itself was like a bad optical illusion, but it was clearly a lab, a mechanic's lab.
The sound of a power drill buzzed in and out, bad reception, speaker shorting in and out.
"You kno-...like-...bet-r whe-...laughing..."
WHRRRRRRRRRRR~
"Let'im go! I command you to!"
The clearest line, backed up by the drill's malicious churning. It was his voice, Wheatley's voice.
A woman from nearby, her voice just as garbled.
"...Si-...still pow-d on...shock yourself..."
A wicked grimace seemed to spread impossibly across the shadow's hidden face, and the background was melting, the focus on the grin and the drill sharpening until they were the only recognizable things.
"I'm still in charge ! I order you to stop!"
He could feel the helpless flailing of appendages he didn't have but that he quickly likened to arms and legs.
"No you're not."
The grin seemed to sharpen into monstrous fangs, spreading entirely wide until it swallowed the entire world around it, like a bad acid trip.
(Nathan! Nathan! NATHAN, WAKE UP!)
Nathan jumped, the sound of Wheatley panicking and heavily breathing in his mind.
(Wh-wh-...what did you do? What was that?)
[I don't know, you tell me. That was all you.]
(I...don't remember that. But that place...that was my lab, I think. where I spent all my time before they tossed me in the reject bin for a few years. Then they decided to tack me to a management rail and well...you know the rest. But...wait...that's in my data banks, still? Oh God, what else is in there?)
[I'm not too keen on finding out anything else about that besides who Mr. Power Drill is.]
(What else did I forget? Oh God, what if I keep forgetting things, like how Chell's slowly sliding out of my mind...I don't want to forget things...well, some things...actually most things would be great to forget...)
[Calm down, alright? I can handle this. Just...breathe.]
(I don't want to forget her...what she looks like and who she is...)
Nathan was amused; he honestly never pictured a construct being so terribly attached to a human.
(I owe her, alright? I owe her a lot. I owe her her freedom like I promised. It's the least I can do.)
A sudden twinge of realization struck him and he gasped.
(Oh God, the next chamber...)
[Hm?]
The elevator opened, and the sound of classical music filtering through the door filled their ears.
[...Is that...Bach's Little Prelude in C minor...being bastardized on a keyboard?]
(Oh no, she's playing that song...)
[You don't play Bach on a keyboard! Augh! Harpsichord, harpsichord, piano if necessary, but not a keyboard!]
"I thought I would play you that lovely song you played for us when we were here. I didn't think morons could appreciate such quality music, but it seems I was wrong. So please do take the time to enjoy the music while you test."
A wide open chamber with faith plates and tubes everywhere greeted them, a smashed monitor to the right near the start of the open pit.
"Oh, sorrysorrysorry. Hope that, hope that didn't disturb you just then. It was the sound of books. Pages being turned. So that's just what I was doing. I was just reading, ah…books. So I'm not a moron."
(Ah...so! Nathan, you're a human…)
[I am, last time I checked, yes. What about it?]
(...Do you think it's better to be feared or loved?)
Nathan laughed aloud, not bothering to stifle it despite the fact that she was obviously watching them even more carefully now.
[I knew you'd ask me that. Honestly. I'm not scanning your mind or anything. But to answer your question? I don't think I've ever been either. People look straight through me, not taking me seriously no matter how high I've ever ladder-climbed, and I've never had a really serious relationship of that magnitude with another human being in my life, so I'm really not sure how to answer.
In my opinion…it comes down to what you're comfortable with.
If you wish to be feared, you must take into account the inevitable fact that there will be people who either do not fear you or simply lack a comprehension of fear in general. Those who do not fear you could potentially respect your position as a tower of controlling fear and choose to let you continue on, but if they don't, they will seek to destroy you, usurp you, or just plain exile you.
If you wish to be loved, you have to take into account that it's a very give-and-take relationship; being feared may take a couple hangings in a public square, but love requires constant tokens of regard, lest those who love you find reasons to forget such feelings. If you do it right, people will find it hard to dislike you, but you could go broke fairly easily in the currency of your token-giving if you give too much.
Are you willing to be merciless and cruel to gain everything at risk of life, or are you willing to die penniless for a mutually beneficial, if less rewarding, existence? Whichever one you like more is your answer.
And I feel I should point out that he wrote that book as a scathing satire of the government that ruled his local area at the time. All his other books are quite the opposite; did you ever read those?]
(…I thought he only wrote one.)
[When we're out of here, I'm making a beeline to the nearest bookstore.]
(Oh, I look forward to that. More books! More, more, more! I want as many books as I can read in a lifetime!)
He laughed, imagining a literal mountain of books.
(But I…think I…I think I might have to get back to you on that response, if you don't mind.)
[It's not a true or false type of question, anyways. It's a matter of personal opinion.]
"When I told you to take the time to enjoy the music, I didn't think you'd take it to mean 'stop testing and stand there listening'. Please, continue testing."
(Ah! Just had a brainwave.)
[What?]
(Whichever one of us that isn't talking could just move and listen!)
[I've considered it, but that requires a great deal of back and forthing if we're to have a proper conversation.]
(We can try that in the elevator shaft. I say, right now, we can try just one of us giving a dissertation while the other moves.)
[Sounds reasonable.]
Nathan assumed control and quickly began solving the plate-and-funnel setup as Wheatley began ranting.
(I've been thinking...maybe I was a bit...laissez-faire...on purpose. That's a horrible thought to have...that I just didn't care enough. She was supposed to be my friend, Nathan, and I think that perhaps...I didn't care enough to really fight the devil to save her from it. ...What kind of creature am I to do that?)
As he waited for the block to traverse the funnel, Nathan responded.
[Fairly monstrous. But to be honest? I can count all the people I wouldn't just throw to the wolves on a single hand.]
Wheatley was stunned.
(...Are you serious?)
[Dead serious, pardon the pun.]
(That's...insanity. Pure insanity. I thought that humans possessed some sort of innate conscience.)
[Not every human does; why do you think there are serial killers?]
(So you're a serial killer, is what you're saying?)
[No...but I can understand why there are so many. It comes with the territory of being at the top; so many envious people, so many useless people...none of them worth your time.]
(I'm...I'm shocked. Appalled. I...I'm disturbed that I care about humans more than you do.)
[Oh, there are a few humans I care about. Just not many. There's no shame in not caring about most of them, I'm saying.]
(No, you're stating that most are fit to d-...you know what? I'm done. Please just finish the test yourself.)
Wheatley slowly slipped down to a lower state of consciousness while Nathan continued testing. Nathan sighed deeply and finished the test.
"Enjoying the creations, or should I say, abominations, of the moron, Nathan?"
Nathan looked around, unsure of what to do without getting shot and killed. He looked down through the glass area; there was no way he'd be able to pass by them to hit the trigger.
[Wheatley...little help here...]
Silence.
[We're going to die if you do not help me find a way around those turrets.]
A brief sigh escaped Wheatley before assuming control and wrenching Nathan's head towards the Hard Light Bridge.
(It's a solid beam of light that doubles as a blocking wall.)
Wheatley then shrunk back, leaving Nathan alone. He could feel the wheels turning quietly in the background layers of his conscious; Wheatley was truly deep in thought about his quandary, it seemed. He felt his body just going through the simple motions of summoning the cube and using this newfound mobile wall of light to guide everything to where it needed to go, including himself.
Once he snagged the cube and extended the floor in front of the turrets from the upper level bridge, he dashed down and dropped the cube on the Super Button, using the white panels to drop portals leading up to the back level.
As he walked to the elevator, he tried contacting Wheatley again.
[I...I know you're upset with me, and I'm sorry. I realize you're having some sort of moral dilemma, and that's perfectly healthy, considering what you've been through on your own with no capacity to consider such things before. And I know that I came off as a bit callous; I'm very rough around the edges and frankly, I probably should make the effort to not be such a misanthrope.]
His body stopped moving, frozen and stiff, just inches from the elevator door. Wheatley seemed to rise swiftly from his subconscious; no doubt he was the reason he was unable to move.
(You're a horrible person, and I've spent some time lying low, filtering through some memories of yours, in the hopes that I'd comprehend you. I only feel sorry for you; you're more pathetic than I am. I'm not sure why you felt it necessary to backstab that Henry fellow when he wanted to help you with us Cores...was it because you wanted to be a big shot without your boss around? And there were plenty of nice girls in the ranks who would talk to you, and you hurt them. Purposely. And your mum and Sarah? Why would you revile them? They needed you!)
[Wheatley, please stop.]
(And Girard. I...I couldn't bare to see whatever it was you did to him. And Richard. And Craig. You feel such remorse for them, but whatever you did, was it really the right thing to do? You were alone and afraid and angry for only the briefest times, but they are the most painful memories and invoke the worst sensations, even when I was so dormant...)
[I saved them from her, Wheatley. I did it the only way I knew how because I cared about them!]
Wheatley seemed to stop as Nathan began causing tears to run down, despite Wheatley's full extension of control.
[She was going to test them, Wheatley...]
Doug slipped out the door as Nathan opened the newsletter files that were exclusive to project managers. The list of employees selected to test within the next week was promptly displayed, and his heart fell into his shoes.
The list three days from now started with them; "Morgenstern, Girard", "Desmond, Craig", "Livingston, Richard". He expected his own name on the list, but it was nowhere to be found. Nowhere.
...Craig had been right. She had been playing with them, hadn't she? It was his fault...
He could feel nausea and misery settling in behind a burning rage, and he knew that only the last was easily quelled. He picked up the guest chair in his office and, with a loud shout, heaved it through the glass paneling.
His legs gave and he collapsed to the floor, sobbing openly for the rest of the office - and subsequently that maniacal mechanical harpy - to see. He wrapped his arms around himself and tried to curtail the loudness as he saw Doug look back at him, a brief glance of what looked like pity flashing in his eyes before he looked away.
He didn't need his pity...
Nathan found himself in the same position he had been in in the memory he had projected, now sobbing as heavy as he had been.
[I did what I had to do to save them from her...it wasn't the best course of action, but it was the only way I could think to do it. I cared about them, alright? I resented my own family for always having to depend upon me for everything, and yes, that's a horrible thing to feel. But I did care about my...my co-workers. They were the only people I ever felt anything for and she tried to take them away from me. I couldn't let her. And! And you admit that you don't even know how it is you feel about Chell, but I'm sure you understand how it is how I feel about them, and that's enough to say that you care. You may not have cared about her before, but you do now, alright? People can change if they feel they should, remember that...]
(I'm not really a person, Nathan. I'm just a Personal-)
[Yes, yes you are a person. They were all people, once. Now all confined in this hell hole, trapped. I couldn't save them...I failed to save them...]
Wheatley waited for him to continue, but he kept on sobbing. He felt better now that he had gotten that set of rogue line codes eradicated from the forefronts of his consciousness for the time being, but now Nathan was stressing out again. He had to calm him down...
(Nathan? Nathan, please, calm down...)
Nathan dropped the gun and curled up on the floor while sobbing harder, not paying attention to Wheatley. The AI sensed he was going to have to wait for Nathan to stop before he could ask him anything.
A speaker popped on in the elevator chamber.
"Stop crying; the wound should not hurt that much. There's Science to do."
Nathan heard her voice and began to calm down.
[I'll murder her. I'll murder her by hand like I should have years ago. I should have dismantled her while nobody was looking. Unscrewed a critical motherboard and left her to fry and sizzle. I worked my entire life to silence her and her madness, and I should have done it myself instead of pussy-footing around with Personality Cores.]
He paused for a moment, then spoke up again.
[No offense, Wheatley.]
(None taken. You're not in the best mood, and humans tend to say horrible things when they're not feeling well.)
He knew that scenario all too well. Which reminded him...
(Nathan...we should go now.)
Nathan sniffled and wiped his eyes.
[Sorry, you're right. No sense in crying.]
Nathan picked up the portal gun and shambled into the elevator, arriving at the next room near instantly.
A light clicked on in Wheatley's mind.
(This room's elevator is missing! It melted and all! We can escape and look for Chell once we finish it!)
[That's wonderful! Just stay calm and don't let her catch wind of the plan.]
Nathan walked in. There were numerous Discouragement Beam receptacles on the walls along with a Laser Field against the far wall dividing up the path for an Unstationary Scaffold, and the once bottomless pit had been replaced with an acid pit, which made Wheatley scoff.
(Oh, I see...stealing my ideas now. If I knew the commands required to have filled the acid moats I would have! Cheeky...)
Nathan began observing the Discouragement Beam and then the receptacles on the far wall.
(Top receptacle is for the Laser Field, bottom is for the Scaffolding. One near the door is...well, for the door. Button on the far side drops a Pivot Cube.)
[Okay, I got it. You...you just relax. Think about something calming.]
(Hm...)
Nathan began running and testing out what needed to be done while Wheatley rambled.
(The outside world...oh lovely wheat fields...ooh! Chell not killing me...maybe accepting my apology...maybe a nice warm embrace that...I could actually return this time around...)
Wheatley sighed wistfully.
(If only...)
[How about you think of kittens? Or puppies? Or even duc-...okay, not them...how about mice? Do you like little mice?]
(Oh, I love mice!)
A warm fuzzy feeling filled Nathan's body, and Nathan reveled in the sudden joy provided by Wheatley as he continued solving the chamber.
(They would have them all in little cages and they would run tests on them, and although some of them became ill and died, I remember watching one of the interns accidentally letting a bunch out and they were amazing! Oh, they didn't find all of them, but they found enough to be happy about the whole ordeal. Oh! One climbed on top of me and looked me right in the optic and it was strange but I was wildly interested in it, as much as I think it was interested in me. I'd never seen one up close; did you know it has beady little eyes? Shame they look the little thing off when they did; I was actually starting to get used to it nestling up against the juncture between my internal port and the management rail...)
Nathan finished the test and quickly made it to the door. Wheatley's cheery story entertaining him. He was a terribly good storyteller and did well to distract himself as well...
Wheatley stopped Nathan's legs as the doors opened and revealed a shock.
An Emancipation Grill. Stairs. An elevator.
(Oh, bloody wonderful. Freedom's been clipped.)
A deep, sick feeling in Nathan's stomach bothered both of them.
[...We'll find a way out of here. GLaDOS may feel like a god, but she is not.]
(No need to preach to the choir.)
[So...let's just play around for a little longer.]
(Fine.)
Wheatley let him walk to the elevator, then stopped him again.
(...Would you mind if I asked you a question, a really important question?)
[Anything.]
(Okay.)
He moved Nathan into the elevator.
(Alright, so...ugh...)
Wheatley scratched the back of Nathan's neck nervously.
(Well, I might be getting hung up on the technical, but...you were arguing with me earlier that...that I was a person, when I said I was a Personality Core. ...What did you mean by that?)
Nathan bit his lip.
[I meant what I said.]
(...Nathan, please, don't hold back on me. You know everything about me, please don't. I've been terrified and worried about all these little tiny new things I've been feeling and thoughts I've been having and frankly? If there is any logical explanation to anything that's missing in my head...that thing that was painful to remember...if there are more things like that buried in my head...I want to know. I want to know everything, and you know it.)
[Digging deeper into things never gives anyone anything they want to have.]
(Nathan, I could pry it out of you, but I respect you enough to not do so. You created me, and you're the only human around that I can talk to so...please. Tell me.)
[It's...not important.]
(Nathan...Nathan please...there's a huge gap in my memory and if you're holding something back that would fill it, I won't forgive you.)
[It's done and over with, it's not important. You're you, right? Isn't that important enough to you?]
(TELL ME NATHAN. TELL ME EVERYTHING.)
Nathan sharply exhaled.
[I designed all of the different Core models that were meant to be attached to GLaDOS's chassis. We all agreed that, while it wasn't the most moral thing, that the method to which GLaDOS had been based upon - the Genetic Lifeform format - was the optimal format to create all the AI's. The Mark I's had been comprised of the wavelengths of test subjects who were too physically unfit to handle most of the more rigorous tests at the time, but they proved to be too mentally fragile from the process. I redesigned the system with my team so that the Mark II's would retain personas better and provide a more stable system...but apparently they were easier to tamper with.]
Nathan's body went coldly numb; Wheatley was becoming horrified.
(...My personality construct was once in a human's brain before? I was shoved into this machine?)
He paused.
(Oh god...I'm him, aren't I? I'm that little blonde one; no wonder his voice sounds so familiar to me, it's my actual voice, isn't it? You...you tried to save him by shoving him into me! You...you...you...augh!)
[No. You're not Girard.]
(...Wait...I'm not?)
[No. You're me.]
An empty stillness from Wheatley was barely what Nathan wanted.
(...No. No, I don't believe you.)
[Why do you think I trust you? That I will not betray you? Why I care about you enough to co-exist with you? Why I'm trying my best to get along with you? Because I am you, and vice-versa. Why do you think I gifted you with my voice? I wanted people to know it was me in there.]
(There's no way I came from such a despicable human.)
[Well, you're just as despicable as I am, Wheatley. Welcome home from that failed little metal escape pod I attempted to leave the madness of this place in. Everything was a complete disaster, and I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you, but-]
(...It's not fair...)
[...What?]
(I was hoping that maybe I was the little one; I could have explained to Chell that it was just a bad body mix-up.)
Nathan chuckled.
[Well, too bad. You're the gawky, rail-thin and spindly old despicable me. Get over it before she gets us down to the next chamber. Which reminds me, we've been moving for a while...where are we going?]