Part II: A Learning Journey
Chapter Three
Chelsea brushed something out of her eye. "Was the testing track that I went through the first iteration since you started testing?"
GLaDOS slipped Her monitor in Her lab coat pocket. "It was a process of trial and error. You probably remember that the tests constructed when Mr. Johnson was alive did not grant much room for learning how everything worked. With me being supreme overseer of Aperture, I could sculpt the test chambers to my liking; starting simple and easy and growing progressively complex and difficult."
"Yeah. At least you have that part of you going for you. So, was that drop on the window always there at the end of Test Chamber 05?"
"It was not. I had it constructed after 15 runs after too many test subjects became hesitant to make a number of jumps necessary to get through some of the test areas. Its only purpose was to demonstrate that the Advanced Knee Replacements were to aid in minimizing the damaging effects of hard landings."
"What about the window? Surely a human body landing on it would break it and/or dislodge it from its frame eventually."
"You probably already know this by now, but Aperture glass is much stronger than normal glass, strong enough to be bulletproof."
"I'm sure we've both seen broken windows in Aperture."
"We have. But I think the passengers should have a chance to catch up before we discuss this further."
"So, what about the window being knocked from its frame?"
"The frames are specifically shaped so that it is physically impossible to dislodge the windows from them."
First Officer Grison spoke up. "Question."
GLaDOS turned to him. "Yes?"
"What was with that part about saying you wouldn't monitor Test Chamber 05 when you were?"
"It was a minor experiment. The main purpose was to determine if the test subjects behaved any differently if they believed they were not being watched. Afterward, once I explained that I was watching them the whole time, it became an exercise of observing any downplay in their performance from distrust."
"Hm. So, Wheatley, what were you doing during that time?"
Wheatley stood up and walked to the middle of the room. "It's my turn for storytelling, isn't it?"...
