Triple Point (Fight Flight Freeze)

Part 1 of 2

A triple point is the particular temperature and pressure at which the solid, liquid, and gaseous phases of a substance are all in equilibrium with one another.

"Simple enough, right?" GLaDOS said.

Chell looked at the blue and orange lanyards in her hands then looked over at the blue and orange reassembly machines. The orange card hanging off the orange lanyard would summon P-body, while the blue card would summon ATLAS. Easy enough.

Her gaze drifted to a third reassembly machine, almost tucked around a corner. It seemed almost in a dormant state, glowing a faint yellow.

GLaDOS followed her gaze and then came back to the other machines. "Don't tell me you need to go over it again."

Chell shook her head no.

"Okay. Good." Her posture relaxed slightly. "If you try to assemble them and you hear this," she said as a flat tone sounded, "—then they're busy and I've rejected the request."

Chell gave a single nod, shifting the lanyards and then sliding them around her neck. There. Now she would not instantly lose them.

Seemingly satisfied, GLaDOS began to walk in a different direction than they'd come from.

Chell wasn't sure if this new route would be a shortcut or more of a scenic byway back toward her vault, but she did follow GLaDOS. Any new routes—especially ones that connected to areas she already knew—helped her expand her mental map.

"Other than that, they're all yours. They're not so great for conversation, but then again, neither are you," GLaDOS said.

Chell let the words slide off of her, instead glancing down at her new and beloved sandals as she walked. They were sturdy, but still allowed her to move her toes around more freely than other shoes. But it was far too cold down here for bare feet, so she had thrown on a pair of socks too, much to GLaDOS's horror. Freedom and comfort.

"But they are willing to do the grunt work if you need anything heavy moved. Or need anything else that doesn't require a vast amount of intellect," said GLaDOS. After days of sifting through the employee apartments with Chell, she had finally thrown in the towel. There were better ways to spend her time.

A part of Chell wondered what other kinds of fashion faux-pas she could pull off. Her slacks and well-worn t-shirt weren't doing her any favors, especially compared to the nice blouse and skirt that GLaDOS was wearing. For once, the android's skirt seemed slightly more casual. It fell a little bit lower— down past her knees— and seemed to flow more as well.

"Reassembly machines are scattered throughout the facility," GLaDOS said, pausing for a moment to open up a panel in the wall and fiddle with a terminal. "The one I showed you is the closest one to your room, so I hope you're paying attention."

Chell didn't answer, instead surveying their location. They were on an exterior catwalk sandwiched between two office blocks. If a person didn't look up or didn't look down, it might even seem like they were walking through a regular hallway. Ahead, this catwalk ended, teeing into one going to the left and right. An open expanse extended ahead and Chell tried to not look down as she approached the junction.

She leaned her hands casually against the railing, staring out as if observing a city skyline. Lights on panels and other structures glowed, though did not flicker like city lights at night. But the filtered light seeping from the surface combined with the artificial lights and created their own hypnotic aura. In a way, Aperture was its own self-contained city. Chell wondered how many people could live in one place before it legally became a city.

She stretched out her fingers and then let them fall slack, hardly even registering the red beam flickering into view across the chasm.

"Hello?"

The line wavered, scanning horizontally.

"Hello!"

Chell froze.

On a single panel sat a single turret. Its laser sight snapped to Chell, coming to a jittering point on her chest. The laser flickered.

There was a moment of roaring silence. Then static. Chell stared at the red line.

"I'm different," the turret said softly.

Chell heard a shout behind her. She didn't register the words, but she did register their sharpness and urgency. Slowly and sluggishly and with what felt like an insurmountable amount of effort, she pivoted back to face GLaDOS.

Electricity travels through the human brain faster than the chemical exchanges between neurons. This is why, when confronting many high-stakes situations, a human may make and act upon decisions before fully processing the danger. And definitely before feeling that danger.

GLaDOS, fortunately, did not have to rely upon the chemical exchange between neurons in order to feel. Her thoughts and her feelings were synchronized, twisted together in the electrical signals that zipped through her hardware.

GLaDOS, fortunately, reacted faster than Chell. She had followed the human's gaze along the red line and sharply suggested that Chell should get out of the way, get down. But, she began to realize (while the human turned to look at her) that by the time Chell heard, processed, considered, planned, and then executed her response to GLaDOS's words, it would be too late to get out of the line of fire. Even if Chell had had the speediest mind on earth, there were still limitations on the hardware of her nervous system. In the background, a calculation spat out the inhuman requirements necessary for Chell to get out of the way.

The railings and sides of the catwalks provided little, if any, protection. GLaDOS considered dragging Chell backward down the hallway they had come from, but Chell was unlikely to be able to coordinate her steps while being unexpectedly yanked in one direction, which meant that Chell would stumble or fall, which meant that GLaDOS would have to try to catch and support her while continuing to move them both backward.

Or, Chell might resist without thinking, and GLaDOS didn't want to take the chance that she would tumble over the edge in her attempts to get away. That wouldn't do.

GLaDOS took a few running steps and hoped that this android body was at least somewhat bullet resistant.

Chell's vision sparked with stars as she hit the floor. She tried to pull in a breath but her lungs fell short, wind completely knocked out of her. For a moment she was dazed, not even blinking, just breathing. And yet despite her struggle to get air into her lungs, she felt a sense of deep pressure. It almost quelled the fear from the short breaths. But her chest still ached, and she moved to bring a hand to her chest. But her hand hit something solid that was not her own body.

Chell blinked, and then blinked again to clear her vision. Both of her hands moved to touch..fabric? The uniform sense of pressure shifted, no longer uniform, increasing into distinct points and decreasing everywhere else. She pulled at the fabric, and then tilted her head toward her chest just to see the body of the great white robot.

GLaDOS.

That sense of safety was vaporized.

Chell thrashed without thinking. She grabbed and pulled at the fabric, trying to get a grip on the robot. She tried to push GLaDOS off, and when that didn't work, she pressed her hands against the floor and tried to push both of them upright.

At some point during this, she started using her legs, kicking out and then up and to the sides. She bent a knee and accelerated upward, her kneecap connecting with the core of the android. Finally, the robot swayed, making some sort of sound of surprise.

GLaDOS's legs slipped, knees hitting the catwalk beside Chell's legs. She shifted her balance as she tried to keep a grip on this human equivalent of a mechanical bull.

GLaDOS didn't have time for this.

She also did not have the time to calculate the appropriate amount of force she needed, but she couldn't worry about that right now. She just had to be sure she didn't underestimate.

Another blow from Chell's knee nearly knocked her off balance. GLaDOS cursed internally. She didn't have time to explain. The robot pressed her forearm across Chell's chest and pushed down.

The woman's hands immediately curled around GLaDOS's arm, attempting to pry off the arm. Her fingers tried and failed to dig into the robot arms.

"Quit it," GLaDOS hissed, leaning in and putting more weight into her arm. There was a hint of panic in her voice.

This appeared to only scare the woman further. Chell gave another hard kick at the robot's core.

Really? This was not helping things. GLaDOS lifted a knee and placed it on top of Chell's thigh. She kept the other leg planted on the ground.

"Dispensing," the turret sang.

Oh shit, the turret!

The reality of the situation snapped back to Chell. How was she supposed to defend herself while pinned to the ground? She wasn't used to being on her back like this—test subjects always landed on their feet. Unless they wanted to die upon impact. Her boots were the only shock absorbers she had— they were indispensable.

Her boots!

She wasn't wearing them.

How had she let her guard fall so low? Hadn't anyone ever told her to look both ways before crossing the catwalks? Chell couldn't allow herself to forget that Aperture was always deadly, all the time.

The blinking laser was pointed at the two of them, trained on Chell.

Chell looked at the outstretched guns on the turret, then back at the robot hovering above her.

Then, she acted.

She reached her arms around GLaDOS's back and locked her hands together, one hand in a tight fist shape and the other clamped around it. She yanked down in a quick motion, similar to a Heimlich maneuver, but just on the wrong side of the body. Almost like a counter-maneuver.

The unexpected force caught the robot by surprise, dropping her down on top of Chell.

Chell wheezed at the sudden weight—the android body was certainly heavier than it looked. But the important part was that she had a solid, sturdy shield between herself and the turret. Chell kept her hands locked around the android. She tucked in her head. For a moment she just breathed, eyes squeezed closed. She couldn't breathe too deeply due to the panic and the literal weight on her chest, but she tried.

"Psyche was destined to fall in love with a monster," said the turret.

Chell drew her head back slightly, letting her eyes open. A confused expression crossed her face. What? Her chest rose and fell slightly, the metal robot moving with it.

The turret didn't fire.

The robot on top of her shifted slightly. GLaDOS's expression was equally confused as she propped herself up, forearm next to Chell's head as she twisted to look at the turret.

The turret drew in its sides then extended them back out. "Love cannot live without trust," it said.

Some of the weight had eased off of Chell's upper body, but GLaDOS's turn had caused her long hair to fall onto Chell's face and block the woman's view of the turret.

The turret didn't fire.

"Jason needed Medea's help to return home, but he went back on his word. She took revenge by destroying all he held dear."

GLaDOS put a hand on Chell's shoulder and pushed herself up a little farther, though she remained cautious.

Meanwhile, Chell relaxed a little bit, which made the weight from GLaDOS's hand dig into her shoulder a bit more. She wasn't in as much danger as she had feared. The synthetic white hair shifted too, lightly sticking to her lips and tickling Chell's eyelashes and eyelids.

The turret didn't fire.

"Her name is Caroline. Remember that," the turret said, this time softer than before. The turret pulled in its wings. "That's all I can say." The laser disappeared, and then the red optic went dark.

GLaDOS lingered, eyes fixated on the motionless turret. She wanted to wait to be sure it was fully shut down. Without looking down, she pushed herself back up on all fours and leaned back a bit, putting more of her weight on her legs. When at last she was satisfied with the turret's lack of activity, she turned to look at the woman underneath her.

All she saw was her own white hair.

GLaDOS used a hand to push it over her shoulder. Now that she could see the woman's face, she found her attention caught on Chell's eyes.

She hadn't realized how intricate eyes were. Since human eyes were categorized into a handful of categories— with no overlap —she hadn't realized they had more depth to them than just flat colors.

Before, she had categorized Chell's eye color as blue. But as she looked now she saw blue and gray and so many colors in between. Gray wasn't an option for human eye color categorization, and neither were these other shades. How could one pair of eyes contain so many colors? It didn't match what she knew. How could there be such ambiguity over something as straightforward as pigment?

Chell's irises had spikes and facets of color, the blue circling the pupil while the gray dissipated around the outer ring. It was all so precise, like perfectly-arranged shards of glass. Even the two eyes varied in their coloration, though in subtle ways.

GLaDOS's own eyes were a simple, solid yellow. She suddenly wished she had put more effort into creating them.

Meanwhile, Chell stared up, not entirely certain as to what was going on. She hadn't heard the turret in a few moments, but GLaDOS had not moved yet and she could not see the turret to judge for herself. She pursed her lips absently, trying to get the synthetic hair strands unstuck from them.

Even without seeing her clearly, Chell was acutely aware of the robot's position. The weight of the hand on her shoulder, the touch of the robot's legs against the outsides of her own—and she felt it when GLaDOS seemed to relax, the pressure on her shoulder lightening.

As GLaDOS turned back and removed her hair from Chell's face, Chell wiped off her lips with the back of her own hand. There. Now the synthetic hair was definitely gone. As she glanced up, she realized that the android was looking at her. Right at her face. Right into her eyes.

Chell felt something rush through her, so strong and unexpected that at first she thought it was another burst of adrenaline. She swallowed and immediately broke eye contact, turning her face away. The feeling lingered, but she didn't feel the overwhelming impulse to act. So it wasn't adrenaline. But what was it? Maybe if she just sat with this unknown feeling for a moment, she would be able to identify it.

Sweat collected on her brow. Nothing came to mind. Not just a lack of clarification on what she was feeling, but no thoughts at all.

The feeling faded slightly and so she turned back to GLaDOS. The robot was still staring at her. This time, she held direct eye contact for a moment before she had to pull back and take in the rest of the robot's facial expression.

The feeling washed through her again but this time she didn't look away. GLaDOS seemed to be expressing…curiosity. And it wasn't even a morbid curiosity. Chell wasn't entirely sure how she could tell the difference, but there was something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. The focus in her yellow eyes played into it, yes, but there was something about the curve of her lips that made the expression seem genuine. And it suited her—it softened her face, made her seem more open. Less hostile. It was a positive change. It almost made her look—

Chell's stomach dropped.

Oh no.

Breaking eye contact, Chell planted both her hands on GLaDOS's shoulder. She gave a hard shove to the side.

Caught off-guard, GLaDOS cried out as she was unceremoniously and ungracefully flipped away. She landed on her back with a resounding clang. The sound reverberated and she winced as the buzz-like feeling resonated through her body. She hadn't been thrown too far—part of her body still touched Chell's. A part of GLaDOS's leg hung off the narrow catwalk, dangling with a slight motion that suggested idly sitting on a swing set.

Chell threw her arms up to hide her flushed face.

And for a moment they remained supine, neither speaking as they stared up into the smoky mix of steel and sky.

Author's Note:

1) The Heimlich Counter-Maneuver is a reference to the now-retconned Portal timeline that was available on the old ApertureScience website. The Heimlich Counter-Maneuver ("A reliable technique for interrupting the life-saving Heimlich Maneuver") was Tier 1 of Cave Johnson's 3 tier plan.

2) 😳