Chapter 09 – GLaDOS

Gordon Freeman stared at the giant machine hanging from the ceiling. The rebel captain stood behind him in the doorway.

"What did you call it?" Gordon asked the rebel captain behind him.

"Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System, GLaDOS. GLaDOS basically runs the building when her power system is on. All external power to this place was diverted to a few generators we have. We dared not activate GLaDOS. Not after what she did." Gordon made a puzzled look. "You haven't heard?"

"No, all I know is that the Research Center in City 17 was destroyed in a mysterious explosion." The rebel captain explained further after hearing that.

"There are three Aperture Science Centers in the world. One of them was this faculity. It was at one time a storage warehouse and factory. The second was the executive offices located somewhere near Delaware. The third building was the one located on the outskirts of City 17. This building was known as the Aperture Science Research, Testing, and Enrichmant Center. In the test center and here, a fully functional supercomputer was installed to lower human requirement in the building. This system was known as GLaDOS. GLaDOS was one of the greatest achievements Aperture Science had ever accomplished. She was given a mood sympathizer, an intelligence core, and reasoning capabilities. The mood sympathizer gave GLaDOS the ability to have human emotions. The intelligence core was given all the knowledge that Aperture could install and also the ability to add any information she came upon. Finally, the reasoning capabilities gave GLaDOS the ability of free will."

"GLaDOS was useful at first. She helped Aperture in their many accomplishments. That was until the 'project' was invented. No one really knows what the project was because of what GLaDOS did." The rebel paused. "You see, I used to work for Aperture. I was assigned to security detail at the Enrichment Center. I left shortly before the project went into development. I was given a message from a former co-worker. It was sent from the Testing Center. This is it." The rebel pulled a small USB stick from his back pocket. "Come back to the lab with me and I'll show it to you." Gordon nodded and followed the captain to the lab fom earlier. When they got there, the captain plugged the stick into the computer and a video window popped up. The man in the video was wearing a lab coat, probably a scientist. He was in some dark room with red lighting. There seemed to be writing on the wall. All Gordon could make out was the phrase "The cake is a lie" written over and over again. The man was in a frenzy. He had a crazed look in his eye. He began to speak. As he did, he moved around like someone was watching him.

"Hello? Hi. Um…My name is Maxwell Cross. I am a former scientist under the employ of Aperture Science. If you are watching this video, I am probably dead. But I had to tell someone outside of the Enrichment Center. GLaDOS has malfunctioned. Her programming has malfunctioned and she reasoned that the Aperture employees are expendable and leaked a deadly nerve gas into the center. I fear that I'm the only survivor, having injected my self with an antidote. However I think she has kept a few test subjects alive. Early into the infection of the nerve gas, a team of scientists (including myself) installed a morality core in GLaDOS. She has ceased leaking the gas, but she is caught in a loop. She wants to keep running tests with the project! I stress this…If anyone finds this video, destroy GLaDOS! Stop her! SHE's LOST IT! Destroy the project as well. It is too powerful. I am trapped in a small area hidden within the testing center. As you can see, I have left signs of my existence." A loud bang was heard on the video and Maxwell quickly looked to his left. He looked out a small gap in the wall and screamed. "Oh my God! I have to cut this short. The cake is a lie! THE CAKE IS A LIE!!!" Maxwell pressed a button that ended the video and apparantly sent out the message. Gordon looked to the rebel captain. He looked down and closed his eyes.

"May he rest in peace." He said. "He was my friend. I hate that that is how he died. He deserved to live. He had a family, a wife and a child." Gordon shuddered at that statement.

"It was Black Mesa all over again." Gordon said. He looked at the rebel captain. "I lost friends in and since Black Mesa."

"We heard about Eli Vance. I'm sorry. He was a good man." said the Captain. "If I may ask, How did he die?" Gordon really didn't want to answer the question, but he felt obliged to tell the man because he told him his story.

"We were trying to escape White Forest. A Combine Advisor broke in and attacked us. One killed Eli. Then Alyx's pet DOG scared them off before they killed us." Gordon replied.

"I'm sorry." The rebel said again. He finished his story about the fall of Aperture Science. "Well, after the destruction of the Enrichment Center, the Executives of Aperture Science became unreachable. After about a month of surveillance, their bodies were found in the conference room of the Executive Branch Building. Here's the thing, they all died from the same nerve gas from the test center. No one knows how it got in there. With the Executives dead, the Aperture Science Storage Warehouse was to be cleaned out. But the place was found to be empty and the Borealis had disappeared with its drydock. After that, the buildings were forgotten and left to decay."

"So everything just disappeared?" Gordon asked. The rebel nodded.

"If we can find that project, we will make history. But first we need to get rid of the Combine near the Borealis. You need to get to bed, we're taking down those Striders tomorrow." Gordon nodded at the rebel and started to leave. Before he walked through the doorway, he turned back to the captain.

"Do you have a name Captain?" The captain looked over at Gordon. He gave a small grin and spoke again to tell him his name. Gordon nodded at the Captain and walked back to his bunk where Alyx still laid sleeping. The Captain stayed in the computer room for a while after that. He didn't expect Gordon to recognize him or his name. The last time he had seen Gordon he was wearing a gas mask and was working with the Marines in HECU at Black Mesa. Gordon would have no idea the name of the former Corporal. Corporal Adrian Shepherd.