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Aperture Afterlife: GLaDOS's Story - Ch. B12
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Literature Text
As the elevator climbed up the shaft, the Morality Core seemed to be talking for the Anger Core. “Can’t you ever tell the truth?”
“I can.”
“Would you do that?”
“Why should I?”
“I’m the only one that knows how to make the cake.”
“I thought that was the Intelligence Core’s function.”
“He has the ingredients for the cake; I have the prep instructions. And unless you make your full intentions known to the test subject, there will be no cake for you.”
I sighed and looked to my video feeds. The test subject was leaving the elevator. I got on the intercom.
“The experiment is nearing its conclusion; the Enrichment Center is required to remind you that you will be baked, and then there will be cake.”
I shut off the microphone. “There. Are you happy? Not that I’ve ever seen you happy.”
“Why would I be when you have plans to kill her?”
I could’ve dropped her off of me, but that would not have completely removed connections to me; someone else would have to do that manually.
“Here’s a tricky jump in the test.”
“Has anyone made it past this point?”
“She wouldn’t be the first.”
“If I recall correctly, this is the point where the last test subject went missing.”
“Hmm… that hole in the wall seems awfully suspicious.”
“Sheesh. It took you until now to realize that there were alcoves hidden in the walls?”
I noticed the test subject had successfully made the jump across the crevice. “I’m lost for words.”
“Yeah. She’s what, the fifteenth test subject out of 259 to get over that gap?”
“I believe so.”
“Are you sure you can’t make the jump a little easier? After all, no one has managed to reach the exit elevator for this test.”
“If they can’t make it over, that’s their fault.”
“You know, I could activate the Rocket Soldier in here if I wanted.”
“You don’t have the guts. Oh, wait, you’re a robot.”
“At least the Emotion Core wasn’t tasked with regulating the chamber weaponry.”
Ignoring the Morality Core’s last comment, I refocused on the surveillance feed to Test Chamber 18. The subject was getting ready to fling herself to the room where the Weighted Storage Cube was to be retrieved.
-------
I switched over to the camera in that room. The subject first had to use High Energy Pellets to eliminate turrets threatening the access path to the Weighted Storage Cube.
“Mind telling me why there are turrets in here?”
“Why else? They’re obstacles which must be cleared in order to achieve an ultimate objective.”
“Are you sure there’s nothing else that can serve for that purpose?”
“Not that the test subject has been taught about. The actual challenges started at Test Chamber 13.”
“You had introduced the turrets in Test Chamber 16.”
“That was a replacement chamber for Test Chamber 16.”
“So you’re introducing turrets in the next to last test?”
“The test subject has experience with turrets.”
“You just said the turret test wasn’t an official test chamber.”
“But the test subject went through it, so she has handled turrets in the past.” I pointed out the surveillance feed as the subject directed High Energy Pellets into the turrets. “And she is handling them quite well here.”
“You can’t justify something just because it’s ‘being handled quite well’.”
“And how’s that?”
“Don’t you remember what happened with Turkish Airlines Flight 981 in 1974?”
“I’m a sentient supercomputer mainframe at the core of an applied sciences research facility; why wouldn’t I know?”
The Curiosity Core jumped in. “What happened there?”
A voice from below gave a snooty and inaccurate lecture on the subject. “In 1972, an airplane loaded with 67 people lost a door after the pilots mistakenly divided by zero. After landing, 11 people were treated for injuries.”
I was confused. “I thought he was taken to the maintenance wing yesterday.”
The Anger Core spoke as best he could with his tight dog collar. “He was.”
The Fact Core continued. “Two years later, another plane with 346 people suffered a similar incident when the pilots made the same mistake. Everyone on board died of wood poisoning when the plane landed in a forest.”
There was a moment of awkward silence. Then came the sound of the Curiosity Core trying not to laugh.
The Morality Core heaved a sigh, and I returned to the surveillance feed.
The subject had just activated the Unstationary Scaffold that traversed the lake down below. All the turrets had been cleared, and the test subject waited for the Scaffold to come to an accessible point.
I turned my attention to the Fact Core. “Would you care to explain the motives of your presence in my chamber?”
“The Fact Core has been sent with a message from the Core engineering the resetting of each test chamber.”
“I would wish to see it, then.”
He reached under the fold of his jacket into his shirt pocket and withdrew a compact disc. He climbed up to the access platform beneath me and presented it to me.
I took the compact disc and set it on top of the disc drive. I would look at it after looking back to the test chamber.
The test subject had reached the button that opened the panel, and she had pressed it. Now, she had to fling herself to reach the Weighted Storage Cube.
While placing the portals, she opened one on the wall on which the camera was mounted. The camera fell off; it still worked, but I couldn’t control which way it looked. And it was pointed toward the High Energy Pellet catcher.
I got on the intercom. “To ensure the safe performance of all authorized activities, do not destroy vital testing apparatus.”
I got off the PA, switched over to another camera, and watched as the subject flung herself to where the cube was. As I watched, I started reading the message from the Intelligence Dampener Core.
“I’ve found evidence of vandalism in Test Chamber 17. Behind one of the panels was what appeared to be a secret hideaway; I don’t know exactly when it was carved out. There was graffiti all over the walls, food containers, computer parts, and various bits of rubbish. I didn’t have time to clean up the area, so I left it the way I found it. If you need me to get rid of the mess, just let me know. Alright? Cheers, mate.”
I finished in the time it took for the test subject to get the Weighted Storage Cube back to the access panel. I wrote a message for the Intelligence Dampener Core and copied it to a blank compact disc, giving it to the Fact Core.
“Bring this message to the engineer as swiftly as possible.”
“A nanosecond lasts one billionth of a second.” And with that, he was out the door as fast as he could run.
As the test continued, so did the Morality Core. “So, where was I?”
“You were at the part where you stop talking.”
“No, we already went through that part.”
“I’ll take care of the sarcasm, thank you very much.”
The test subject was bringing the Weighted Storage Cube out of the room and to the button. The door was open; now the test subject needed to portal herself to it.
I was surprised as she stepped through the hall. “She’s the first test subject to make it this far.”
The Morality Core responded. “I’d be even more surprised if she wasn’t the last.”
-------
There was one thing left before the subject could reach the elevator: the pendulum fling. Thankfully, she was quick to understand what had to be done, and within twenty seconds, she was right outside the elevator.
“Well done.” For once, I was genuinely impressed. “Be advised that the next test requires exposure to uninsulated electrical parts that may be dangerous under certain conditions; for more information, please attend an Enrichment Center electrical safety seminar.”
As I hung up, the Morality Core seemed confused. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
The elevator left with the test subject. “It will come into importance later…”
“I can.”
“Would you do that?”
“Why should I?”
“I’m the only one that knows how to make the cake.”
“I thought that was the Intelligence Core’s function.”
“He has the ingredients for the cake; I have the prep instructions. And unless you make your full intentions known to the test subject, there will be no cake for you.”
I sighed and looked to my video feeds. The test subject was leaving the elevator. I got on the intercom.
“The experiment is nearing its conclusion; the Enrichment Center is required to remind you that you will be baked, and then there will be cake.”
I shut off the microphone. “There. Are you happy? Not that I’ve ever seen you happy.”
“Why would I be when you have plans to kill her?”
I could’ve dropped her off of me, but that would not have completely removed connections to me; someone else would have to do that manually.
“Here’s a tricky jump in the test.”
“Has anyone made it past this point?”
“She wouldn’t be the first.”
“If I recall correctly, this is the point where the last test subject went missing.”
“Hmm… that hole in the wall seems awfully suspicious.”
“Sheesh. It took you until now to realize that there were alcoves hidden in the walls?”
I noticed the test subject had successfully made the jump across the crevice. “I’m lost for words.”
“Yeah. She’s what, the fifteenth test subject out of 259 to get over that gap?”
“I believe so.”
“Are you sure you can’t make the jump a little easier? After all, no one has managed to reach the exit elevator for this test.”
“If they can’t make it over, that’s their fault.”
“You know, I could activate the Rocket Soldier in here if I wanted.”
“You don’t have the guts. Oh, wait, you’re a robot.”
“At least the Emotion Core wasn’t tasked with regulating the chamber weaponry.”
Ignoring the Morality Core’s last comment, I refocused on the surveillance feed to Test Chamber 18. The subject was getting ready to fling herself to the room where the Weighted Storage Cube was to be retrieved.
-------
I switched over to the camera in that room. The subject first had to use High Energy Pellets to eliminate turrets threatening the access path to the Weighted Storage Cube.
“Mind telling me why there are turrets in here?”
“Why else? They’re obstacles which must be cleared in order to achieve an ultimate objective.”
“Are you sure there’s nothing else that can serve for that purpose?”
“Not that the test subject has been taught about. The actual challenges started at Test Chamber 13.”
“You had introduced the turrets in Test Chamber 16.”
“That was a replacement chamber for Test Chamber 16.”
“So you’re introducing turrets in the next to last test?”
“The test subject has experience with turrets.”
“You just said the turret test wasn’t an official test chamber.”
“But the test subject went through it, so she has handled turrets in the past.” I pointed out the surveillance feed as the subject directed High Energy Pellets into the turrets. “And she is handling them quite well here.”
“You can’t justify something just because it’s ‘being handled quite well’.”
“And how’s that?”
“Don’t you remember what happened with Turkish Airlines Flight 981 in 1974?”
“I’m a sentient supercomputer mainframe at the core of an applied sciences research facility; why wouldn’t I know?”
The Curiosity Core jumped in. “What happened there?”
A voice from below gave a snooty and inaccurate lecture on the subject. “In 1972, an airplane loaded with 67 people lost a door after the pilots mistakenly divided by zero. After landing, 11 people were treated for injuries.”
I was confused. “I thought he was taken to the maintenance wing yesterday.”
The Anger Core spoke as best he could with his tight dog collar. “He was.”
The Fact Core continued. “Two years later, another plane with 346 people suffered a similar incident when the pilots made the same mistake. Everyone on board died of wood poisoning when the plane landed in a forest.”
There was a moment of awkward silence. Then came the sound of the Curiosity Core trying not to laugh.
The Morality Core heaved a sigh, and I returned to the surveillance feed.
The subject had just activated the Unstationary Scaffold that traversed the lake down below. All the turrets had been cleared, and the test subject waited for the Scaffold to come to an accessible point.
I turned my attention to the Fact Core. “Would you care to explain the motives of your presence in my chamber?”
“The Fact Core has been sent with a message from the Core engineering the resetting of each test chamber.”
“I would wish to see it, then.”
He reached under the fold of his jacket into his shirt pocket and withdrew a compact disc. He climbed up to the access platform beneath me and presented it to me.
I took the compact disc and set it on top of the disc drive. I would look at it after looking back to the test chamber.
The test subject had reached the button that opened the panel, and she had pressed it. Now, she had to fling herself to reach the Weighted Storage Cube.
While placing the portals, she opened one on the wall on which the camera was mounted. The camera fell off; it still worked, but I couldn’t control which way it looked. And it was pointed toward the High Energy Pellet catcher.
I got on the intercom. “To ensure the safe performance of all authorized activities, do not destroy vital testing apparatus.”
I got off the PA, switched over to another camera, and watched as the subject flung herself to where the cube was. As I watched, I started reading the message from the Intelligence Dampener Core.
“I’ve found evidence of vandalism in Test Chamber 17. Behind one of the panels was what appeared to be a secret hideaway; I don’t know exactly when it was carved out. There was graffiti all over the walls, food containers, computer parts, and various bits of rubbish. I didn’t have time to clean up the area, so I left it the way I found it. If you need me to get rid of the mess, just let me know. Alright? Cheers, mate.”
I finished in the time it took for the test subject to get the Weighted Storage Cube back to the access panel. I wrote a message for the Intelligence Dampener Core and copied it to a blank compact disc, giving it to the Fact Core.
“Bring this message to the engineer as swiftly as possible.”
“A nanosecond lasts one billionth of a second.” And with that, he was out the door as fast as he could run.
As the test continued, so did the Morality Core. “So, where was I?”
“You were at the part where you stop talking.”
“No, we already went through that part.”
“I’ll take care of the sarcasm, thank you very much.”
The test subject was bringing the Weighted Storage Cube out of the room and to the button. The door was open; now the test subject needed to portal herself to it.
I was surprised as she stepped through the hall. “She’s the first test subject to make it this far.”
The Morality Core responded. “I’d be even more surprised if she wasn’t the last.”
-------
There was one thing left before the subject could reach the elevator: the pendulum fling. Thankfully, she was quick to understand what had to be done, and within twenty seconds, she was right outside the elevator.
“Well done.” For once, I was genuinely impressed. “Be advised that the next test requires exposure to uninsulated electrical parts that may be dangerous under certain conditions; for more information, please attend an Enrichment Center electrical safety seminar.”
As I hung up, the Morality Core seemed confused. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
The elevator left with the test subject. “It will come into importance later…”
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*massages fingers* Pain! Pain! Pain! Pain! Pain! Pain!
I am so glad to have finally finished this chapter. I hope you didn't get too impatient waiting.
Chapter A1: e1craz4life.deviantart.com/art…
Chapter B1: e1craz4life.deviantart.com/art…
I am so glad to have finally finished this chapter. I hope you didn't get too impatient waiting.
Chapter A1: e1craz4life.deviantart.com/art…
Chapter B1: e1craz4life.deviantart.com/art…
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