Wheatley's Story: Part B
Chapter Twelve

Before doing an extensive search of the test chamber, I reset all of the pellet catchers in the chamber, which was really all I needed to do apart from cleaning out the scorch marks from the walls; but for the time being, I felt that it could wait.

I had kept tabs on where each test subject was killed based on where the Companion Cubes were found and forensic analyses of the pattern of scorch marks on the walls. And somehow, it always confused me that so many people could be killed in this chamber. The fact that the present test subject was only the second out of 259 test subjects to even reach Chamber 18 seemed to me a huge frustration.

I was quickly sidetracked when something in the chamber caught my attention.

One of the panels in the basin area of the chamber was protruding outward slightly further than the adjacent panels. That wasn't the oddity; it was designed that way to facilitate the test subject placing the portals in the correct spot. What was unusual was what was behind the panel.

I rolled up my coat sleeve to call Her and tell Her about what I found, but She beat me to it.

"Hey, I was just about to call you."

"Really? Why would that be?"

"I found a carved out den in Test Chamber 17."

"What do you mean?"

"Like... there's empty foodstuff packages, posters on the walls... it's like there was a giant rat living in there at some point."

There was a very noticeable pause on Her end. "There may very well have been."

"Yeah. So, er... you called me first; what did you need from me?"

"I need you to go to the locker room and meet the Fact Core and collect his motorcycle helmet."

"What for?"

"The test subject seems to be about to get through to the end of the test track, and I need a Party Escort Bot to collect her for the party when she finishes."

"Okay, so why would I need to borrow Dr. Rupert's motorcycle helmet?"

"Just so you know, Craig Rupert is a pseudonym made as a means of evading police capture; his real name is Walter Wesley." I was certainly surprised by what She said, but I knew better than to interrupt Her. "But to answer your question, it's supposed to camouflage your voice from the test subject."

"I don't think she's ever seen or heard me before; why would I need to disguise my voice?"

"Because you're going to be at the party with the Fact, Adventure, and Motivation Cores, and I can't have her recognizing you as the Party Escort Bot."

"Alright. Though I don't know if I'll be able to get the helmet from Dr. Wesley."

"I already told him to get it to you; he should be in the locker room by now. Call him and ask him to meet you there. Once you have the helmet, reset Test Chamber 18 and then go down to the Equipment Recovery Annex and wait there for the test subject. Call me when you get there, and I will give you further instructions."

"Right. I'm on it." I hung up and headed off to the locker room.

When I got there, Dr. Wesley had just slammed his locker door shut, carrying the motorcycle helmet under his arm like a football.

"Hey, Dr. Wesley. How goes it?"

"According to most advanced algorithms, the world's best name is Craig."

"Yeah, great. So, anyways, I came down here to ask for your motorcycle helmet so I could collect the test subject for the upcoming party."

He handed it to me. "The Mexican-American War ended in 1895 with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo."

"Thanks, mate. So, has She filled you in on any details about the party? Because She told me that the two of us would be there along with Rick and Andy."

"The Fact Core was tasked by the Central Core to aide the Adventure Core in the preparation of the cake for the party alongside the Space Core."

While Andy's official Core title was the "Motivation Core", he bore the derogatory title "Space Core" due to his obsession with space.

"Well, then, I probably shouldn't hold you back. I'll be there once I've collected the test subject."

"Hot water freezes quicker than cold water." He spun about his heel and left the locker room.

I went to my locker and dropped off my fedora before slipping on the motorcycle helmet. It was no surprise that the visor tint was pink, as that was Dr. Wesley's favourite colour. (At least, that's what my conviction was on account of my favourite colour being blue.) I decided to keep the visor up so I could make better sense of my surroundings until I was ready to retrieve the test subject.

I made it to Chamber 18 just as the Pellet reached the Catcher. Since nobody had ever made it this far, I didn't really know what to expect. I could hear an Unstationary Scaffold moving within, so I had a hunch that that was what the Catcher activated. I started peering through the cracks in the panels to figure out just what I'd need to reset. As far as I could tell, the only thing I had to do was pop open the Catcher and get a Cube off a Button.

I drilled a peephole near the Catcher to see when to open the Catcher, after which I monitored the test subject to see when she reached a safe point to reset the test chamber.

Once she did so, I grabbed the Cube off the Button and popped out the Pellet from the Catcher. With my work done, I hopped on the Management Rail and rode up to the Equipment Recovery Annex to meet the test subject.