I'm in the Aperture Science building again. My mother had died in the ill-fated experiment just a few weeks ago.

Wait. Died? No, Caroline didn't die…

Even though I know otherwise, in my dream, I believe Caroline is dead. At the moment, though, I'm making a potato battery. The rest of my project is almost done - I only have to try out the battery to see if it works, then write down the results and make my conclusion. I have to hurry, though - today is the due date for my project.

The battery is all set up. I plug it in, and I feel a thrill as the radio starts playing.

It works! I think, elated. I don't hate science, I only hate how the people at Aperture Science use it to justify all the horrible things they do to people. In fact, science like this - harmless, useful science - kind of excites me.

I'm smiling as I start writing down my results and conclusion on the presentation. I've titled my project "Energy of the Future", and I really do hope that, someday, energy like this will be used to power things instead of gasoline or nuclear radiation. As myself, I know that my hope is absurd, but in my dream, I'm too young to understand how silly it is.

The dream shifts, and suddenly, I'm standing beside my project, patiently waiting for the presentations to begin. There are a lot of other young girls all around me, talking and laughing and running around while their parents try to keep them under control. I notice that all the parents of these girls are wearing white lab coats.

I don't take part in the fun - after all, I can't even speak. I just stand still, quietly waiting. Of course, I'm not looking forward to presentation time, even though the scientists have promised to help me since I can't talk. In my dream, I remember that the scientists have stopped calling me "Never-Bell" since my mother's death; they just call me "Chell" now. My mother had been important, after all, and well-respected by everyone at Aperture Science.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice that, a couple of projects down from me, one of the girls has made a baking soda volcano instead of a potato battery. Beside her, some of the scientists are arguing - most of them are protesting that the girl hasn't met the project requirements because a baking soda volcano can't contribute anything to the world, while the other one, presumably her father, protests that his daughter had the right to choose her own project, and she had very much wanted to make a baking soda volcano, besides which she had fulfilled the requirements by taking the proper steps for a scientific experiment and writing down all her data. Personally, I side with the ones who are saying the girl has failed; I mean, what's the point of a baking soda volcano? A potato battery can power things, which is useful; a baking soda volcano does nothing. Besides, making a baking soda volcano is a lot easier than making a potato battery, so the girl has pretty much cheated.

Wait a minute…A baking soda volcano among a bunch of potato batteries? Where have I seen this before?

I turn around, look up at the banner, and sigh. "Bring Your Daughter To Work Day", it says. The scientists had told me that they had made this day in honor of me, since I pretty much live at Aperture Science, especially now that my parents are gone. They had also told me that they had a special surprise for me that they would give me today. I remember thinking that the twinkle that had been in their eyes as they had told me couldn't mean anything good, since it's the same look they get when performing a huge test.

"…Bring Your Daughter To Work Day…That did NOT end well…"

I feel a chill - the same chill I had felt in my last dream when Caroline had said she'd be with me for the rest of my life - as I remember what Wheatley had said about this event. The way he'd said it implied that "it did not end well" had been a severe understatement.

This dream is going to be a nightmare, too. Something terrible is going to happen.

Even though I know this and start panicking, my dream self is only annoyed. I'm seeing everything through the eyes of one of the girls, but I'm only a spectator, helpless to warn anyone that something bad is about to happen.

Finally, the scientists get all the girls settled down so they can each present their projects. I'm supposed to go last, which is fine by me. The girls present their potato batteries - or, in the one case, baking soda volcano - one by one, each putting their own spin on the experiment. I smile as one girl compares potato power to lemon power, remembering Cave Johnson's rant about what to do when life gives you lemons. I can't actually hear the presentations, though - the dream skips most of them.

Finally, it's my turn.

I step forward and glance around nervously at everyone. I don't even bother trying to speak; instead, I wait for someone to help me.

A few scientists - the ones who hadn't had daughters to bring - step forward to support me. One in particular stands out, and all eyes turn to him.

"Now then, our final presentation has been made by the girl most of us already know," says the scientist. "She has worked hard on this project, and we are all proud of her. We also know that she does not speak, so she won't be able to present."

I start to get an ominous feeling. Whatever's about to go wrong, it's going to go wrong very soon.

"She is also not the daughter of any of us," the scientist continues; "both of her parents have sacrificed their mortal bodies in the name of science. For this day, Bring Your Daughter To Work Day, the rest of us have also been working on a project to present, and the time has come for us to present it to our beloved Chell."

He turns to me, as do all the others.

"I hope you can forgive us, Chell," the scientist says; "we haven't been entirely honest with you."

They're talking about Caroline. She is still alive, or at least not dead. This is the part when they activate Her for the first time.

Suddenly, I know what's going to happen.

I want to scream for everyone to evacuate the building, but my dream self is only slightly confused by the scientist's words. I stand still, waiting for the disaster to begin.

"It's time to bring forth the new owner and director of Aperture Science!" the scientist announces, turning back to the audience. "We have all worked hard for this day, and now it has come! Once, she was Chell's mother and the wife of our beloved founder; now, she is the heart and soul of the greatest, most powerful AI the world has ever seen! Please, join me in welcoming our new boss, GLaDOS!"

The scientists all applaud, but I can smell it even before the short speech is over. My dream self doesn't know what it is, so she doesn't run, but I know that scent far too well.

I can feel my dream self's surprise and confused indignation as she/I realizes that the experiment that had been done on Caroline hadn't failed, after all. My mother's still here, I think. I'm going to get her back now. Why didn't they tell me?

All the while, the smell gets stronger. The scientists' applause dies down as their smiles fade into confused expressions; clearly, She was supposed to say something now. For a moment, there's silence. Then, finally, the scientists register the smell of Her beloved deadly neurotoxin.

An instant later, they all panic. The fathers all run for their daughters amid the shouts of the other scientists telling each other to sound the alarm for an emergency evacuation; those fathers of younger girls pick their children up, while the rest of the fathers grab the hands of their children and urge them to run. The girls are all confused, though, and the ones who are too big to lift resist their parents. I stand still, bewildered; my dream self doesn't know what's going on.

"Come on, Chell!" the scientist who had been presenting urges me. "Something's gone very wrong, and we need to get out of here now!"

In my dream, I'm very confused. What's going on? I wonder frantically. What about my mother? Is she okay? Still, I don't resist the scientist's pull as he takes my hand and starts to lead me to the nearest exit.

The smell of the deadly neurotoxin is getting even stronger, and the gas is starting to cloud the air with yellowish-green fog. My dream self is sensible enough to realize that something potentially fatal is happening. In fact, she's not even surprised; in her mind, all the tests performed at Aperture Science tend to end with at least one person dead, so if Caroline didn't die, it's only to be expected that other people would.

I run alongside the scientist as fast as my little legs can manage; I'm still a young child, but I manage to keep up. The gas starts to burn my mouth, nose, and throat, and I lift my shirt so that it's covering my nose and mouth, hoping that it will keep me from inhaling some of the neurotoxin. I can't tell if it works; the neurotoxin takes several minutes to kill a person, and all of my airways are already on fire.

The Aperture Science facility is too big; it takes everyone too long to reach the exits. Some of the scientists have found gas masks; others fall down, overwhelmed by the poison. All around me, people are dying, and I'm starting to feel faint while the burning sensation starts to spread to my lungs. I know this feeling, even though my dream self doesn't, and I know I have a minute to live, if that. I force myself to keep running, even though the final stages of death by deadly neurotoxin are already beginning in my body. I can't give up. My mother told me to never give up, and I won't let her down. I have to live to see her again.

The scientist who had been leading me stumbles and collapses onto the floor, wheezing and half-conscious. I stop and turn to face him. In his final moments, he looks up at me, and I can see in his eyes that he's praying that I make it.

Someone else I have to make sure I don't let down.

I start running again, faster, even though my legs are going painfully numb. I see an open door to the outside open just down the hall I'm in - if I can just make it to that door, I'll survive. With my goal in sight, I start running harder, ignoring the agony that's consuming my body. Halfway down the hall, though, the airtight door starts to close.

No.

I keep running; I can't give up. The door's closing fast; I have maybe five seconds to get there, which is a tall order for a child on the verge of dying from neurotoxin inhalation. I try to force myself to keep running, but I'm starting to literally lose control of my legs.

Finally, my body can't continue, and I stumble and fall just a few inches from the closing door. Someone must be on the other side and closing it, but I can't make a sound to tell them I'm here.

Just as the neurotoxin finally overwhelms me, something grabs my hand and yanks me forward…