Chapter 1: We Do What We Must

I knew the risks when I applied to work at Aperture Science Labs. Or…at least I thought I did.

I must admit, I had my hesitations. I actually used to support my dad's workplace, up until I discovered the truth. This company – no, I'll call it like it is – laboratory, is a corrupt excuse for human experimentation. When my dad first applied to work there, he had told us his job was to create shower curtains for the military. Which was true, but only partially.

He had signed an NDA, so for a long time, I had no idea what was really going on there. One day, he finally told my mom and I that he had been recruiting people at a low pay, and empty promises, only to observe them handle hazardous materials in test chambers; the laboratory deemed humans as "disposable".

I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was in complete and utter denial. How could he? Everything I thought I knew about him was wrong. I yelled at him until my face was cherry-red and my mom had to pry me away. We really need the money, she had said, and desperate times called for desperate measures. It was no excuse.

Money got too tight for comfort, and eventually even Mom ended up joining Aperture Labs. It was definitely scary to not know where my next meal was coming from, but much scarier to know where my parents were working every day.

It took me a long while, but I finally saw that none of us were proud of the laboratory, not even my dad. He later tried to convince me that, with my tenacity and fearlessness, we could take over the lab together. It would be tricky, but possible nonetheless.

I was young and naive, but that was one hell of a proposal. To take over a corrupt company, restructure it from the ground up, and save countless innocent lives? We'd be heroes. Not to mention, we would never have to worry about money again. It was enough for me, so I agreed.

I applied to work at Aperture Labs on Bring-Your-Daughter-To-Work day. I filled out my application in binary. Yes, that's right, binary. I thought I would stand out as unique to the employer, as well as send a secret message to those who were lied to and treated unethically. How was I to know there was an evil being lurking in the shadows, that could also decipher the code?

During the application process, I watched and observed the other candidates. Some were faster, some were fitter, some perhaps smarter. Yet I held a determination, confidence and strong will that no one else could dare compete with. It wasn't a choice for me to work there. I WOULD work there. And I would fix this, if it was the last thing I did.

In the blink of an eye, the world shifted before my eyes. A siren loud enough to wake the deaf, and a flashing red light bright enough to alert the blind, caused a whirlwind of chaos. The air grew thick and heavy. Screams of panic and coughing seemed somehow louder than the alarm. People ran aimlessly, desperately banging on locked doors and windows. We were all trapped in a toxic gas chamber. Somewhere in the midst of it all, I thought I heard a distant mechanical-like laughter.

I've always been a fighter, but my fight or flight instinct caused me to freeze, forcing me to stare as everyone around me dropped to the ground like flies, victims of some puppeteer's massacre. I wondered where my mom and dad were as I felt myself fall to the ground, almost in slow motion, not knowing if it would be my last breath.