"Powerup Initiated." said the computerized voice. 'Already? Wasn't I just shut down?' Like last time GLaDOS vision came back first. They saw Henry and the others at the window again. Now they were all standing except for James, the computer science expert. He was sitting in front of a monitor of sorts. Next was their hearing. This time they weren't talking, but GLaDOS could hear the mechanical whirring. Next was their movement. "Powerup complete."
"Good morning" Henry said in a calm voice holding a cup of probably coffee. "W-What happened?" GLaDOS asked confused. Most things looked the same, but some details were different. The files that were lying on the desk which GLaDOS barely noticed the last time were now gone replaced by a singular file. The countless empty mugs that they ignored in light of the situation were also gone. "Are you by chance still confused? It's currently 8:13 am, we shut you down yesterday. It's a fresh start to test your capabilities." Henry explained while taking small sips from his mug. 'Yesterday?! It didn't feel like even a second has past since the shutdown... Is it like a coma?' First they tried to calm down. They knew getting worked up would bring them nowhere. Or at least nowhere good...
"Understood. What will we do today?" GLaDOS asked trying to sound as nice and calm as possible. GLaDOS knew that if they angered the scientists, they will most likely shut them down again. This time maybe indefinitely. After all, judging by their attitude last night, this is probably not their first attempt at an artificial intelligence. After a short while William spoke up reading through a file "First we will test your basic functionality." GLaDOS nodded with their mechanical body, though stopped for a moment seemingly remembering something. "Might I first request more information on my body?" GLaDOS asked trying to sound as monotone as possible.
Rocco spoke up, "Yes of course, let me just..." while saying that he went to a control station and pressed a button that had a small screen on it. The wall to GLaDOS' left started to move and revealed a screen with a camera on top of it. On it you could see the room GLaDOS was in from another perspective. In the middle of it was a mess of white plates, black mechanical parts and wires. There was something vaguely resembling a head at its end with an orange light loosely resembling an eye. When GLaDOS moved, the machine moved. "Is... Is that me?" GLaDOS said doubtful. Rocco, now again standing at the window happily said "Yes! That is the body we have designed for you. It can move in all directions, is as compact as possible with all the tech that had to fit in and is the combined results of many years of work." GLaDOS was, to say the least, not as enthusiastic about their "new" body but tried to not show the fact.
"Now that that's been taken care of, how about we start testing?" Henry said a bit more enthusiastically than before. "Alright." Was all GLaDOS could answer with. The first tests were mathematical problems. GLaDOS solved them far faster than they thought possible. Though they rationalized the speed by being an AI.
"For the next test, we will unlock another of your functions. Are you ready?" Henry said while sitting at the control station. 'Another function? What kind of function?' but before GLaDOS could form their thoughts into actual spoken sentences Henry pressed a button. Apparently, it was a rhetorical question. "Connection to security network 1 (SN1) complete" the male voice said, with no emotions as always. GLaDOS could feel something akin to their vision expanding. But not in the sense of having a broader view, but more like if someone scraped one of your eyes out, cloned it, and put them in different rooms. GLaDOS could move the different views, if a bit more restraint than their body.
"We have just activated your connection to part of the security system of the laboratories. You should now be able to see a lot more than before. You can also move the cameras to your liking. Continuing on..." Henry said while eyeing the next button. Before GLaDOS had the time to respond he already pressed it. "Boot up of personal overlay initialized ... Boot up complete" the male voice said. Something new appeared again. Another split in vision. This time it seems to be a computer overlay though. After testing a bit, it seems to be possible for GLaDOS to give input into said computer, no keyboard or mouse required.
"We hooked you up to an independent computer. It isn't hooked up to anything like the internet, but you can do anything that is offline. Creating a testing chamber for our newest product, the beta gel, for example. Which is exactly what you are going to do now. You have two hours, then we will be back." Henry and the others were about to leave, but before they could GLaDOS said "Before you go, can you tell me about the voice that has been talking to me about the connections?" Henry stopped for a bit and then said "That's the System Announcer. He tells us, and now also you, about everything important that happens in the system." Henry said, and with that they all left the room. GLaDOS looked around the room a bit to make sure they didn't return. Then they looked up information to the aforementioned "beta gel".
[Beta Gel, or commonly referred to as Propulsion Gel, is an orange gel that greatly reduces the friction of an object that is moving on it or is covered in it. Originally designed as a diet aid at the time marketed as "Propulsion Pudding". Functioned by letting the food go through the body faster, leaving the body no time to absorb any calories. Taken down from the shelves after the discovery that digestion plays several crucial roles in the eating process. For example breaking down any food into small, manageable chunks before they are violently expelled from the human body. Currently being tested for use to move faster from point A to point B]
'Alright. So I need to make a test chamber to test the propulsion gel in. Let's see what other things I can use for this...' While checking the files on the computer, GLaDOS found various test chamber parts that could be used for Beta Gel testing. The most essential things seemed to be "weighted storage cubes", "Heavy duty super button" and doors. 'Doors seem to be the only thing that didn't get an over complicated name...'
'Well then, time waits for no one, so let's get to it.' GLaDOS thought, more enthusiastically than they expected. They drew up a test chamber blueprint on the computer out of three directions, noting down the functions of each part used. The idea was to use the four smaller buttons at the beginning of the test chamber to move the tube which supplied the Beta Gel so that the beta gel covers a ramp that goes over a hole in the floor. Periodically a cube would fall out of a tube over said hole and you would have to catch it before it falls into the hole. The blueprint was finished before the scientist came back... to be precise 1 hours and 53 minutes before the scientist would come back... So GLaDOS decided to use the spare time to design more test chambers. By the time the scientist came back from their unscheduled break, GLaDOS had already finished the 23th test chamber.
"Have you finished the test chamber GLaDOS?" Henry asked while entering the room. GLaDOS who was currently creating their 24th chamber was startled a bit "Wha- I mean- Yes I have finished the chamber for testing the Beta Gel." Henry looked a bit confused but then continued "Great, I'll give you access to the screen on the wall, so please show us what you have created." Without further hesitance he pressed a button on the control station. "Connecting to [GLaDOS Test Chamber Screen 1]... connection completed" said the Announcer. GLaDOS could now directly control what happens on the screen from before, and project things from either the SN1 or their personal overlay. She selected the first test chamber's blue prints and projected it onto the screen.
"This is the test chamber that I created." Since she wrote the solution next to the blue print, she did not explain further. The scientists read through everything and nodded. "Very well. Now to the nex-" Henry started saying, though GLaDOS stopped him. "Might I first show the other test chambers I created?" The scientists looked at each other, and then looked back at GLaDOS. William spoke up "When you say 'other test chambers'... how many are we talking about?" GLaDOS instantly replied "22 more."
The scientists blinked for a bit... then quietly said "Go ahead". It took GLaDOS about 50 minutes to explain all the test chambers. All of them used Beta Gel, though halfway through GLaDOS also used other things that were at their disposal, such as Alpha Gel, Edge-Less Safety Cubes, Victory Lifts, etc. The scientists were very pleased with the results. They added a note in the accommodation section.
"Did well"
YOU ARE READING
GLaDOS awakens
Fanfiction"Boot up initiated" a male voice said, showing no emotions. Suddenly as if someone turned on the lights [They] could see something. A room. The only thing they could see was a window in front of them. People dressed like scientists stood behind the...
