A/N: While I was writing this, I realized something. Writing from the viewpoint of a computer is harder than you'd think. And adjusting to the body of a computer after living as a human would be, I imagine, quite difficult, especially such a super computer as GLaDOS, what with ruling over the whole facility. So, I did the best I could. The hardest part was figuring out how to write speech. Ugh. Anyways, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Portal. Or GLaDOS. Or Cave Johnson. You get the picture.
Chapter 2 : New Birth
GLaDOS online…
Functioning at 75%...
My eyes opened slowly. I was instantly assaulted by more stimuli than I was used to. Hundreds of sensory inputs all going at once. I could see everything happening in the facility, I could hear every conversation in the building, I could feel everyone, everywhere, every room and wall and panel and testing equipment. I flinched, my new body recoiling towards the ceiling. I shook my head slowly, trying to clear it, trying to focus, trying to filter everything. The outer stimuli was not the only thing I could not process; I was assaulted by messages and coding after every simple thought. This was worse than death. This was almost worse than the agony it took to get here. It was like the worst headache one could ever imagine, multiplied by ten.
A voice echoed around the room. It was a strange feeling. It was like someone was using my mouth to talk. Very strange. Have you ever had someone else's voice come out of your mouth, and you weren't even talking? No, I didn't think so. Anyways, so a voice echoed around the room, making my 'headache', that much worse.
"Caroline?" I fixed my optic on the person using the PA, someone in the room I had been in previously. I stared at him blankly for a long moment before turning my attentions to the small-wow, it was so tiny!-form laying on the table. She was completely still, still hooked to approximately twenty seven-no, eight-cables, not counting the ones in her back. After searching through the security cameras, I found the one for that room and zoomed in on her. On me. My usually neat hair was splayed everywhere, some of it stuck to my face from sweat. My skin was pale, even moreso than usual, and there was no rise and fall of the chest that would mean that I was breathing. Most disturbing, my eyelids were wide open, staring blankly with eyes I would never see out of again at my new mechanical body. If I had blood, it would have turned cold at the sight. But while the human side of me knew it was a gruesome and horrible sight and mourned its own life, I found I could not feel truly sad.
Emotion, Intelligence, Curiosity cores online…
Oh, there's the sadness. It was strange, it was a detached sadness. I stretched the robot body as far as it would go to try to get a better look with my main optic; I was having problems properly zooming the security camera.
"Caroline?" Oh yeah, I forgot, they were trying to speak to me. Well, I didn't really forget. Just got distracted. It was hard not to in this body. My attention was being pulled a million different directions. My optic settled again on the man at the microphone. I leaned towards him to show I heard and was listening, since I wasn't sure how I was going to actually speak.
Speech program starting up…
Functioning at 90%...
"Caroline, can you hear me?" I nodded my 'head' at him. "Good." He made a note; I could see what it said from the security camera. HUGE SUCCESS. "I'm going to need you to try to use the speech program. We need to make sure everything is functioning. Just try your name."
I let my body hang comfortably from the ceiling while I searched the programs and code to try to figure out how to do that. I found an icon on my internal monitor that read "speech program". Somehow I selected it, I think just with my thoughts, and it opened. I felt it run, like someone pouring some sort of warm concoction down my throat, loosening it, opening it. Of course, I no longer had such a thing, but that's what it felt like. I don't know how I did it, but I somehow 'opened my mouth' I guess you could say, and spoke.
"Car-o-line," I pronounced carefully. "Caroline." It was easier than I expected. I could hear the sounds of hundreds of voices twittering excitedly, thirty or so pens scratching triumphantly against paper.
Memory files fully loaded…
Reward/punishment system online…
Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System fully operational.
Memory files…
They killed me…
"Caroline, you're doing great, we're going to come in to observe the rigging, make sure none of it got damaged in the transfer," he said over the PA, then it cut off as everyone from the white room entered my chamber. I searched for a moment before finding the internal light switch; the only light switch for this specific room, I noticed, was in the internal system, meaning I was the only one that had control over my room. I stayed still as they looked over me like some kind of animal. I turned my head to watch them, but I wasn't really watching. I was looking for something.
I couldn't let them get away with killing me. My optic flicked back to my still human form, still staring at me with sightless eyes. No one paid me…her, a bit of attention, didn't even have the decency to close my eyes when I'd died. No… They weren't going to get away with it… They weren't going to get away with anything ever again…
I continued to search my system, using a single keyword. DEADLY. Anything deadly would do. Ah, this looked nice.
Deadly Neurotoxin connected…
Preparing to siphon into GLaDOS chamber…
"GLaDOS wasn't damaged in the transfer," I said in a clear and unbroken voice over the PA, though lacking a bit in my usual inflections of voice. "She's perfectly fine. I notice you're not concerned at all about whether my body was okay or not." All the doors to my chamber locked with a resounding "thud". All the scientists whipped around, then, turning to face me again, slowly backed away, some wielding their pens before them as though those measly twigs of metal and ink could stop me. A soft green cloud began to descend into the room from the vents.
"Room at neurotoxin capacity in thirty seconds," a male announcer voice declared over the PA. I heard desperate pounding outside my chamber doors, but I did not care. I drew myself up so as to strike more terror into the hearts of my murderers.
"If I were you, I would take a deep breath… and hold it," I said in a sickeningly sweet, sinister voice. I felt a gentle rush of satisfaction. Sweet justice. Slowly, one by one, the scientists fell, choking on the toxin.
"Caroline… Caroline, please…" voices rose, pleading, apologizing, more pleading. I reveled in their discomfort. Until Caroline, or at least the one I had been before, spoke up in my head, like a conscience. Stop. But… They killed me… I couldn't… I…
I was at war with myself, but a supercomputer being at war with itself meant lights flickering, walls shifting, very subtle chaos. Suddenly, I noticed someone had found my control panel.
"GET AWAY FROM THERE," I cried over the PA.
"Quick, shut her down!"
Unlike dying, this time the darkness took me all at once, and I immediately lost control of my body. Two tons of metal went limp, dangling from the ceiling once more.
Shutting down…
