People Change…Things Change People
Chell – So many things were swirling around my head. So many emotions were present at the same time; it was beginning to give me a headache. All I wanted was another day, free of all the stress ad drama I had in Aperture. Not only did I wind up back in the stasis chamber, I had a huge surprise lying ahead of me. This surprise wasn't a lie, like last time she had mentioned my parents, but still it stirred up a bunch of raw, negative emotions.
GLaDOS explained how my mother was the secretary of the CEO of Aperture. She explained how she was forced into a computer. She explained how I was tossed aside to her friend, making them my new father. Although, she never mentioned my real birth father; I figured he was dead. I raged when she told me she deleted my mother. I yelled as loud as I could in my head, filling my mental voice with such fury I nearly blew my head off. GLaDOS didn't reply. She sat silently, staring at me like I was overreacting. There was nothing I could do besides glare at her. Anger welled up inside me. After a second of nothing from the machine, I picked up the radio and threw it at the glass as hard as I could. It only bounced off, leaving nothing but a scratch. But I didn't care, it got my anger out. I picked up the musical half-circle and slammed it against the window. Repeatedly, I swung the box against the glass, breaking only the radio. So drunk with anger, I proceeded to slam my fists against the wall. She didn't budge.
Finally exhaustion overtook my body and I fell to the floor, weeping. How could she do that? Caroline was my only sense of my past. She was the only thing that kept me alive. She was the only thing left of my life that actually mattered to me, and GLaDOS wiped her from the face of the Earth. Now she was gone, and I was alone yet again. Not that she gave me any company, physically or theoretically, but still; she was my mother! Tears quickly formed in my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. Nothing mattered anymore. Honestly, I didn't care if GLaDOS killed me after this. Death would be a shining option compared to agonizing days full of physical and emotional abuse. Another sob followed that thought, as if my body was agreeing with me. I covered my face and curled my legs up under me.
The large room filled with the echoes of my mourning. My breaths and sniffs ricocheted off the walls. GLaDOS finally moved, only a little, though, and spoke, "Something happened just now…" She muttered. I shot a glare in her direction, far from caring about the AI. The machine spoke again, "While you cried, I experienced something that changes things dramatically," Her voice was low, how she always sounded before trying to kill me. I looked up expecting a short "goodbye, it was nice testing you," speech. She then commenced to tell me that my mother's memories filled her head. She said she experienced each one of them. I stopped her when she said she was holding me. I figured it was a mistake in her wording, getting the memories and reality mixed up, but she nodded. She knew exactly what she said, and pushed forward with the lecture. Only when she said Caroline couldn't be deleted did I hold a puzzled look. That wasn't making any sense. She had just told me she deleted her, but now she's saying that if she did do it, she would have to be deactivated. She's sending mixed signals, and I made it clear that I was not understanding.
The large machine sighed and spoke slowly, "I am Caroline." I raised my eyebrows, decently surprised at this statement, but still, I remained confused as to what huge change this was. Yes, so she didn't delete Caroline; she couldn't have, but how does it change everything so dramatically? It doesn't change how she looks at me, or thinks of me. It just means that she herself didn't save my life. That's all. Seconds after her previous comment, the AI noted my confusion and spoke again, this time speaking more rushed ad getting directly to the point. "Chell, I am you birth mother," GLaDOS said, eyeing me carefully. That surprised me.
I could feel my jaw drop and sense my eyes widening, but aside from that, I was numb. All of my senses dulled as my thoughts traced back to all of the horrid tests she had put me through. How could my own mother do that to me? She taunted me, mocked me, put me through traumatizing nightmarish tests, and yet she hadn't the heart to stop? Not even for her own daughter? Although, I knew that was what she was made for; testing. It's not her fault, exactly, I heard inside my head, Like she said, she didn't even know about Caroline until that moron sent us to the unused part of the facility. And, as she explained, she just found this part out, too, so you're not alone when it comes to the shock. That was true; GLaDOS didn't even know until now. I looked at the AI, hanging low from the ceiling, opposing to her queenly stance from when I entered the room.
Being still numb throughout my body, I was unaware when my legs started moving. The only giveaway I had was that the machine was getting closer. For a split second I was filled with panic, unsure what she would do if I got near her, but that faded away when she only moved closer to the ground. We both stared directly at each other as I moved. Honestly I was surprised that she wasn't shying away, instead she kept her optical trained on me. Finally my legs stopped moving, and now I was only half a foot away from the machine that had numerous times tried to kill me. Slowly my hand moved up and towards the mechanical figure. Her optic shrunk, as if she were afraid of my contact, and her large metal body sort of shook, but only slightly. I ignored that and gently placed my hand right above her optical. Her body was cooled, but not cold, and I could feel the hum of working machinery inside her. She closed her optic and a light, pleasurable coo came from her. I couldn't hold back a chuckle there, although it sounded more like a sob under my new tears. Her optic opened and she rest her golden eye on me, observing the new waterworks and the faint, ghost of a smile that played at my mouth.
Here we were, standing face to face in her room once again, although no longer with the same purpose. All that I could think about was that I finally have someone from my life, in my life. I had someone to love and care for, and looking at the AI at that moment, I knew she felt the same way. A yaw broke through my lips and suddenly it felt as all of the energy had been drained from my body. My legs felt weak, ad my mind was easy to wander off to different thoughts. Something made a noise behind me, but before I could turn to see what it was, the soft melodic lullaby played from the cube. Giving in to gravity, I allowed myself to sit down, leaning against the cube. The tune played quietly into my ear, giving the impression of a mother singing to her sleeping child. I closed my eyes and let my exhaustion take over.
[And that's it! Thanks to you who have reviewed, I really appreciate it. Although this may seem like I'm ending with oe big questioned unanswered, I'll answer it here: Use your wonderful imagination, comined with logical thinking, and come up with the answer. Thanks again, and remember, the future starts with you!]
