GLaDOS's Story: Part B
Chapter Two
Test Chamber 01 was a step forward in complexity but not difficulty; it was still a Cube- and Button-based test, but the Cube, Button, and chamberlock were each sealed in their own glass room, only accessible by portals generated in a cycle. (One of the Cores had dubbed it the "Portal Carousel".)
It was evident from the test subject's lowering herself from the elevator hallway to the chamber floor that she did not know the purpose of the Advanced Knee Replacements she was wearing.
I started up the portal generators and read off my script cards. "Please place the Weighted Storage Cube on the 1500-Megawatt Aperture Science Heavy-Duty Super Colliding Super Button."
She seemed to know what to do, but did have difficulties in moving the Storage Cube due to its weight. As a result, she had to wait in the Button area for the portal to return to her before she could get out of there. Though there was no idling in there, as all her time was spent moving the Cube onto the Button.
I spoke to her once the Cube was on the Button. "Perfect. Please move quickly to the chamberlock, as the effects of prolonged exposure to the Button are not part of this test."
Those effects constituted stunted hair growth, vision problems, weakened circulatory system, and laryngitis. None of those exhibited themselves as the test subject made her way to the chamberlock.
Test Chamber 02 housed the single most important invention in the history of Aperture since shower curtains. As the test subject emerged from the elevator, I read out my script cards.
"You're doing very well. Please be advised that a noticeable taste of blood is not part of any test protocol, but is an unintended side effect of the Aperture Science Material Emancipation Grill, which may in semi-rare cases emancipate dental fillings, crowns, tooth enamel, and teeth."
There were about twenty previous test subjects who had had that happen to them from walking through the Emancipation Grills. Though this had little effect on their testing performance, it did complicate cleaning up the test chambers during the interludes between tests with them leaving long trails of blood in their wake.
This test subject did not exhibit any missing dental parts from her mouth, and from the twitches in her lips, it was deducible that she was checking her teeth and seeing if she could taste any blood.
She narrowly avoided being hit by a portal shot in the hallway leading away from the entrance. But she safely made it into the portal and found herself in view of the chamberlock, which was obstructed by a grate. Once there, she waited for another portal before going into the area where the Device was being operated.
She spent some time examining the Device before reaching for the controlled end of the Device, which released itself from the pedestal and grabbed her wrist.
I started a demonstration video as I read off the script cards. "Very good. You are now in possession of the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. With it, you can create your own portals. These intra-dimensional gates have proven to be completely safe; the Device, however, has not. Do not touch the operational end of the Device. Do not look directly at the operational end of the Device. Do not submerge the Device in liquid, even partially. Most importantly, under no circumstances should you...-"
The public address system and video projector malfunctioned, cutting off the video and my message before I could explain to the test subject not to hit anything with the Device. She did seem aware, from the video, that the Device had a strong recoil, given her tight grip on the Device. She portaled herself out of the pit before portaling to the chamberlock.
