==CH4: Rejected Rejection==
Kate took a tentative step through the fizzler that stretched across the suspended test's entryway, then took a moment to survey the room.
Directly in front of her, a pneumatic lift platform stood fully extended out of the floor. Above it was the room's apparent exit.
To her left, a standard floor button was attached to the floor nearby. A line of state indicator lights ran from the button to the other side of a large glass wall that divided the room into halves, and Kate could once again see the odd button-like device affixed to the floor on the other side. The indicators ended next to it, implying that the devices were electronically linked.
A button that connects to another button..? kate pondered.
She noticed that the odd device also had a line of indicators connected to the pneumatic lift. It had a small blue light in the center of its transparent face but otherwise resembled a standard floor button.
Still unsure of the "Rejection Button's" purpose or function, Kate decided it would be safest to test it with the cube.
Kate followed the indicator lights around the glass wall, lifting the cube off the floor with her portal device. She cautiously placed the cube onto the "Rejection Button" and stood back, anticipating the unexpected.
The pneumatic lift began to descend towards floor level.
She could hear a synthesized ticking sound emanate from the button for a few seconds, similar to timed pedestal buttons she was familiar with from visits to the modern enrichment center. Then, without warning, the Rejection Button flung the cube off of itself- through the large gap in the wall and into the lake of acid below the test chamber.
The pneumatic lift began to ascend to its original position once more.
Before Kate could analyze what had just happened, David spoke over the chamber's speaker system.
"Oh, that's what the rejection button does!? It's a catapult..button...mix? That's weird!"
Kate smirked.
She realized that the Rejection button was relatively harmless on its own but that she would have to be careful where it was aimed if she encountered any others.
Soon, another cube was dropped into the chamber to replace the previous one.
Kate thought about the room's solution for a few minutes and implemented a plan.
First, Kate moved the cube to a blank section of concrete floor on the first side of the test chamber, next to the standard floor button. Then she placed a portal on the ceiling, above the Rejection Button. She stood on the normal button and observed the Rejection Button's blue light turn orange. Kate placed another portal beneath the cube, dropping it onto the now-locked Rejection Button.
As Kate had predicted, the pneumatic lift lowered to floor level without the cube being launched off of the Rejection Button. Kate smiled.
It felt oddly satisfying to solve an actual test. Previously, the only tests Kate had opportunities to volunteer for had been simple trials of tech that she had a hand in developing. Very little critical thinking was involved, if any. At times, Kate envied the enrichment center staff- the test chamber designers especially.
Kate thought it would be much more enjoyable to design puzzles than products. Although Aperture had an unmentionable past, the modern Enrichment Center had much friendlier primary goals: Fun and learning. Technology deemed unsafe would only be used with plenty of safety precautions.
For a moment, Kate forgot she was in a condemned precursor of those tests with much more potential danger.
Kate stepped off the button towards the pneumatic lift, and the Rejection Button immediately relaunched the cube. The pneumatic lift instantly rose, and Kate quickly clambered onto it. As the lift became level with the test's exit, David spoke from a nearby speaker.
"Ah, great! You figured out the test! Uh..sorry for being so quiet, by the way. I wanted to guide you through that room once I knew what the Rejection Button did, but I'm not supposed to tell test subjects the solution to tests normally, so I was being cautious...but I don't know if that matters for these. And I guess you're not really a test subject in the usual sense... so sorry about that."
Kate rolled her eyes. She still didn't know much about this guy, but much of her initial cautiousness had been eroded. It was clear to Kate that he only wanted to help her escape the 90s proto-facility and meet in person. The circumstances were unclear, but David's motives seemed innocent.
"...anyways," David continued, "there should be a walkway that follows the mainline directly outside that test. Follow it, and you'll come to the exit elevator for this section. I'll give you more instructions when you've reached it."