[A/N]
This story is, sadly, coming to an end. Most likely, the next two chapters, will probably be the last.
The good news is, I might have an idea for another story, that, some of you out there reading might like! In the last chapter, I shall reveal this idea.
Anyway, that's still in the future. Reviews are greatly appreciated, and enjoy today's chapter!
"Did it… Did we just teleport?"
"Obviously."
"So… this is how we'll send something into orbit?"
"That's correct."
"Actually, how did you know this thing was going to work?"
"I didn't."
"…Seriously?"
The android just shrugged. "We just tested it."
"You know, even after all that happened in the past months, you haven't changed all that much."
"I'm proud of it."
"Not much at all."
Silence.
"Actually, how do you plan on getting out of here?"
"We'll need to teleport back into upper Aperture. I just need to set up a chamber big enough for this thing. Feel free to make yourself comfortable, it's going to take a while to set this up over radio."
"Couldn't you have just set it up before you went?"
"I… had things to do."
"Come on! I'm sure you could've thought ahead! What stopped you?"
"I…"
"Go on."
"I was… excited, to test my new leg augments."
"The springy-jumpy things?"
"In layman's terms, yes."
"…Turns out you're more human than I thought you were"
"I am not human!" The android quickly responded. To be called human was quite the insult in her book. Maybe she'd think the same way, after being transferred into an AI core. Probably not, considering how stubbornly she tends to hold on to things.
"Sure…"
"Just keep quiet while I set this up. You do realise I could kill you, right here, right now?"
"Yes." She said, fearless.
"Good."
"It should be ready."
A good half an hour had passed, and the girl took this opportunity to close her eyes for a while. She now opened her eyes again, fast awake by the familiar voice.
"Huh? Alright… do your thing."
"You can sleep all you want back in the facility. At least get out of the way of the plug."
"Alright." The test subject got up, and stepped aside.
After connecting the plug to the port in her neck, the teleportation process began again. The giant machine in the middle of the room made all kinds of noises, and the scenery outside the little round windows changed to orange again.
When the orange had faded to blue, the android began making her way out of the ship, the girl quickly following.
They were in an all-white test chamber now, a considerably bigger one, too. There was green, toxic goo at the bottom, serving as the water for the ship to settle in.
Some panels extended outward towards the ship, so the pair could walk off. The familiar exit door opened, with the already open elevator waiting for them.
The AI sighed, realising they'd have to share an elevator again. After awkwardly positioning themselves in the cramped elevator car, the girl spoke again.
"So… now what are we going to do?"
"As soon as I get back into my body, I'll try to modify the Long Range Portal Device to not teleport itself along with the structure. Then, we can start sending things into space."
The test subject breathed deeply. "We'll be living in space. Won't you miss the Earth?"
"Well, we'll be orbiting around it."
"Oh, come on, don't tell me you won't miss it, of course you will!"
"There are birds here."
"Not anymore…" The human responded under her breath.
"God I hate that moron. I'm going to officially rename him to coron."
"Don't."
The rest of the elevator ride was spent in silence. When the door finally opened, the AI was the first to step out, wanting to get back into her familiar chassis as soon as possible.
"Where can I put these clothes? It's getting hot in here." The test subject called, fanning herself with her hands.
"On any panel. I'll put them back into storage."
The girl quickly stripped off her excess clothing, and dumped it all on the floor.
"I'll be in my room." She said, staring expectantly at the empty elevator shaft.
"I said; I'll be in my room!"
"Go on then."
The girl sighed. "Could you please, call an elevator to my room?"
"That's more like it."
And an elevator descended from the ceiling. The test subject stepped into it, before disappearing back into ceiling.
It sure was hard work, modifying advanced electronics. She wasn't new to it, not by a long shot, but fiddling around inside something you don't have a schematic of, was considerably harder.
So, she started by mapping out each of the wires, what they did, and what they were connected to. Then, downloading the driving software of it all, and lastly, creating a three-dimensional mapping of its hull.
Now that she had an in-depth understanding of how was put together, she could start working on it.
It was surprising how many of these parts could be compacted, or thrown out entirely. As a quantum-computer driven AI, these things seem obvious to you, but humans, she learned, didn't have anything remotely close to these abilities.
She put multiple parts of herself on different tasks. One was contemplating about whether or not this device could be made into a handheld, the other was spying on the test subject, another was reconstructing a prototype of an improved version, another was spying on the test subject. You know, just the important stuff.
After close to an hour of modifying, contemplating, and spying on the test subject, the AI concluded that a handheld was indeed possible, and useful, too.
That way, she could put the human to work on it.
Tomorrow was going to be a good day. Insert evil laugh here.