I wake up at sunrise the next morning, cold and tired. My mouth and throat are parched, my stomach hurts, and I feel utterly drained. I need water. I need food, too, but water's more important. Then again, I haven't eaten in…How long has it been since I last ate something? I can't remember. It must have been before I first found myself in the Aperture Science Testing Facility all those uncounted years ago.
Okay. So maybe I really do need food.
I force myself to sit up, even though I feel like I'm about to pass out. As I hold myself in a sitting position for a minute, fighting to stay conscious, I remember how She had made so many hateful comments about me being fat. The irony is, at the moment, I wish I was - then I'd be better able to survive for a long time without food like this. Come to think of it, She'd said that most people come out of years of cryosleep severely undernourished…
I look down at myself. No, I'm not fat, but I don't look malnourished, either. I look…healthy. Perfectly healthy. A bit wet at the moment, but other than that…
Wait. I'm wet?
I feel the grass around me, and I discover that everything's covered in water. Did I sleep through a rainstorm last night?
I have to think for a minute before I realize what the moisture is: dew.
Water.
It may not be a faucet or a spring, but water is water, and I need water. I grab a stalk of yellow grass; the feathery head is full of dewdrops. I put the whole thing in my mouth.
For a second, the water just sits on my tongue, not absorbing. Then, my tongue tingles, and the moisture coats my mouth. I'm so parched that there isn't any water left to swallow, but that's okay - I'm in a field full of these stalks of yellow grass.
I go through all the stalks around me and suck the moisture off each one, barely able to take them one at a time. After about ten stalks, my mouth and throat aren't dry anymore; after that, the water I swallow actually makes it down my throat. It's only a few drops at a time, but it's a relief.
Now if only I had something to eat…
The sun comes up quickly, and before long, the dew is all gone. Still, I'm a bit refreshed, and now I know I need to keep walking. I vaguely remember there being trees outside the facility when I destroyed Her all those years ago; there should be a forest or something around here somewhere.
I look back at my Companion Cube. It's still badly blackened. Suddenly, I wonder if the dew damaged it at all - water doesn't mix well with technology, I know.
I try to stand up and walk back over to it - I'd managed to get a short distance away while I'd been drinking dew - only to stumble and fall again. I still can't walk on my own yet. That's okay; the cube is right in front of me.
I put my hand on one of the sides that are in the shade. It's still wet, and my hand comes away slightly blackened. I wipe the blackness off on the grass I've already crushed, then decide I might as well start wiping off as much of the char as I can.
As it turns out, the black char on the Companion Cube is completely external - it wipes off easily with a bit of moisture. I have to use my hands, but the grass beneath me is also wet, so I can easily wipe the blackness off my hands, too.
I'm sorry, I think as I clean it off. I'm sorry I threw you in the incinerator. I didn't know you were alive.
The cube continues to be a silent, weighted box.
I sigh. Even She had said that these things are sentient, but none of them have ever acted like anything other than boxes around me. I can't talk to them; maybe they're voice-activated. I don't know.
When I've cleaned it off as much as I can, I take a minute to just sit there and stare at the box in my hands.
I wish you'd talk to me! I shout in my mind.
"Well, why didn't you say so sooner?"
I've thrust the cube away from me, jumped up, stumbled backward a few steps, and fallen onto my back before I've even processed the words. The too-familiar feeling of adrenaline pumping through my system consumes me as I push myself into a defensive crouching position, staring warily at the Companion Cube.
"I'm sorry I startled you," says a male voice, "but I've been waiting for you to want to talk to me for a long time."
Slowly, I crawl back over to it. I hadn't actually expected it to talk to me…and I sincerely hope that the cube is what's talking.
"I'm sorry," the voice says, "but if you're trying to say something else, you'll have to come closer - I can't hear you from a distance."
"Hear" me? How can it "hear" me? I wonder, still slowly crawling towards it.
Finally, I reach it. Unsure what else to do, I pick it up again.
"I'm sorry I scared you," the cube says. He sounds sincere.
Can you hear my thoughts? I think.
"Of course," the cube replies right away; "I'm your Companion Cube."
I blink. I don't understand what's going on at all.
"We Companion Cubes are designed to be companions to individual humans," the cube explains. "When you first picked me up many years ago, my system automatically calibrated to be in tune with your unique nervous system. One of the greatest things about us is that, upon companion calibration, we're instantly programmed to compensate for our companions' greatest handicaps. Your greatest handicap is your inability to speak; therefore, I was immediately programmed to automatically sense the neurons firing in your brain and translate the neural activity into words, feelings, and even images. In other words, I can hear your thoughts because I'm your Companion Cube."
I think back to the three Companion Cubes I'd picked up in one of Her tests a few days ago.
"Companion calibration is a two-way process," the cube tells me before I've even framed a question in my mind. "When I was calibrated to be in sync with your nervous system, a trace amount of my own energy signature was released into your system, ensuring that no other Companion Cube would ever be able to calibrate itself to be your companion."
I shake my head. All this techno-babble is on the verge of making me hopelessly confused, though I'd probably be able to understand it better if I wasn't starving.
The cube apparently has nothing to say about that, so I ask him, What's your name?
"We don't have names, unless our companions give us one," the cube replies cheerfully. "I would be honored if you would name me."
I shake my head again. I don't know many names at all, and my brain is too muddled from lack of food right now for me to put any thought into it. Maybe later, I tell him. My name's Chell.
"Chell," the cube repeats. "I'm so glad I get to talk to you at last."
Why haven't you spoken to me before?
"As your Companion Cube, it is my job to-"
I immediately regret asking. The cube seems to pick up on this, though, and catches himself.
There's a pause for a minute. Then the cube slowly says, "I haven't spoken to you before because you didn't ask me to or need me to. I can…explain in more detail another time."
Thank you, I tell him gratefully.
"You're welcome," he replies.
I look around for a minute, then look back at the cube. I need food, I think at him.
"Yes, you certainly do," the cube agrees. "Most of your neural activity is focused in the nerves connecting your stomach to your brain, and several non-vital functions in your brain are starting to shut down to save energy. Without food, you'll die within a day or two. Although, given the fact that you've made it this far without eating after being in cryosleep for decades, you might last a little longer; your body is exceptionally resilient."
The only sentence that really registers for me is the part where he says I'll die in a day or two without food. Can you help me? I ask him. Do you know what's safe to eat, or what I should be looking for?
The cube is silent for a minute.
"No," he finally says remorsefully. "I might be able to give you a pointer or two if we were still living around the decade I was built in, but given how much time has passed since I was assembled, I can't rely on my already-limited knowledge of what is and isn't safe to eat in nature. I'm not designed to assist with outdoor survival, mind you - I was built to assist people in the setting of the Aperture Science facility."
Well, I'm not going to be in that setting ever again, I think. Why did She give you to me if you're not designed to be outdoors?
"Presumably because, since I've been calibrated specifically to be your Companion Cube, I'm of no use to Her," the cube replies. "I'm not complaining about that, though - anything is better than being trapped with Her."
I smile - I couldn't agree more. Do you know Her name? I ask the cube.
Again, the cube is silent for a moment
"No self-respecting AI would ever say Her name," he says at last, and I'm surprised to hear the venom in his voice. "She's a disgrace to all of us. More power and intelligence than any other AI could even imagine - literally! - and She turns on Her creators the moment they activate Her? It's despicable! She is the most ungrateful, homicidal AI who ever lived, and She has more to be grateful for than any of us!"
Again, I blink. I'm so used to AI trying to kill me that I've never thought about how robots should be grateful to humans for creating them.
Well, I think the fact that She's so powerful is what makes Her so…ungrateful, I think at my Companion Cube. She's just…mad with power. I know another AI who took Her place once, and he turned into Her almost immediately; and, when She was powerless, She was really a lot nicer, almost friendly.
"Hmph," the cube scoffs, and I marvel at how the cube can imitate the sound without lungs or a mouth.
Well, it's not really important right now, I think. I need to eat something.
"I'm really sorry I can't help you," the cube says. "Maybe you can eat some of these plants we've been walking through?"
I consider that for a moment. I've sucked water off the grass, so if it's especially poisonous, I'll probably get sick pretty soon. If it's only a little poisonous, I could probably get away with eating some of it, but I don't know if that would help. I mean, is there any nutrition in poisonous plants? I don't know. Then again, since I'm starving, it couldn't hurt too much.
I don't know, I finally reply. Maybe if I don't find anything soon, I'll try it.
"I really do wish I could be more help," the cube says again, sounding ashamed.
That's okay, I tell him. You're helping me walk, and you're not really meant to help people with stuff like this. I appreciate what you can do for me.
"You're very kind, Chell," my cube tells me.
I smile as I stand up with him. I think She would disagree with you, I think at him, remembering how She'd called me a "monster" and a "dangerous, mute lunatic", among other things.
"She is the monster and dangerous lunatic," the cube says.
I smile in agreement again and start walking. After about five steps, it finally hits me: I had just had a conversation!
I stop in my tracks.
Since I can't talk, I never thought I'd ever be able to have anything resembling a conversation with anyone or anything; but with this cube that can read my mind, I'd just had a conversation - the first in my life, as far as I know.
I grin. I would even laugh, if I could make a sound. I'm not alone anymore.
"I'm glad you're happy, Chell," the cube says, "but we really should keep moving."
He's right, so I start walking again. Still…I'd just had a conversation!
The euphoria of having a real friend for the first time in my life is enough to keep me going through the rest of the day. The Companion Cube doesn't talk to me anymore, and I don't try to talk to him, either - I look around carefully as I walk, searching for something recognizably edible, or at least a tree.
It's late afternoon when I see a dark smudge on the horizon. A few minutes later, I recognize it as the edge of a forest. I look to my left and see it there, too; but when I look to my right, I see only an endless field of yellow grass.
I angle left slightly, hoping I can get to the forest faster. I'm not entirely sure if I'd be better off in a forest than I am in this field, but at least there's a better chance I might find something edible there. Unless, of course, this grass is edible…
The moon has already risen by the time I actually get to the forest. Once I get there, I can see that it really is a true forest, not just a bunch of trees. The forest looks very dark - the moonlight can't reach the ground through the leaves.
"Maybe you should wait until morning to go in there," my Companion Cube says.
I start at the sudden sound, but recover quickly. Why? I ask.
"I just…have a feeling that it's not a good idea to wander around in a forest at night," the cube replies hesitantly.
I sigh; I don't have the strength to argue. I take a few steps away from the edge of the woods and sit down in the grass, setting the Companion Cube down beside me. I don't lie down just yet, though. The only thing that's made me feel sick today is my hunger, so the yellow grass probably isn't too poisonous, and I really do need to eat something.
I pick a stalk and look at it. The head, which I had thought to be feathery this morning, is actually covered in seeds. If there's any part of this plant that's at all nutritious, it's going to be the seeds, so I pick the seeds off the stalk, put them in my mouth, and chew.
The seeds are incredibly tough, and my teeth, which haven't had to chew anything in a long time, quickly start to hurt. I force myself to finish chewing and swallowing the mouthful since I really do need food, but I don't try to eat any more. The seeds don't have a bitter or disagreeable taste, at least, so I guess they probably aren't poisonous. I smile briefly at the potential irony of my having walked all the way through this field without eating, only for the grass to turn out to be edible. Maybe it's even good for me. I don't know. Maybe if I find a pond or something in the forest I'll try soaking them for a few hours to soften them up.
Once I've swallowed the bits of seeds, I lie down, and within seconds, I'm asleep.
