"All right, that is enough joking for the time being. We are still currently in a pretty bad situation due to Wheatley, so we should hurry up. I don't think the Voidwalkers can hold back a nuclear blast for too long. Oh, also, we should get into these cool suits I found. They're made for hazardous environments, and with Wheatley in charge, things will certainly take a turn for the worse." As I started to explain, I pulled two HEV suits out of the vault for me and Chell.
Before she could respond, GLaDOS did. "Oh, those things! I thought all of the prototype models were sold off to Black Mesa for funding or went missing with the crew of the Borealis. Ugh... I still can't believe that Black Mesa would flaunt their suits everywhere when our original models were clearly superior. I mean, why would they scrap their version's Long Fall Boots and make their Long Jump Modules removable?" While GLaDOS was ranting about Black Mesa and the supposed superiority of Aperture, Chell and I just put on our new suits. They fit us surprisingly comfortably, probably because they were made in a special way to make space and even dimensional exploration possible. They had temperature regulators, self-sufficient oxygen and fuel generators, and an almost limitless battery thanks to something called the zero-point energy generator.
GLaDOS: "...and that is why Aperture is clearly superior to that bunch of phonies at Black Mesa. Oh, you've already changed into your armour. They must be so easy to equip and use, clearly demonstrating our superiority and genius once again!"
Chell: "No, GLaDOS, you were just talking for so long that we had plenty of time to change. Dear God, I swear I will actually throw myself into the acid pool if I have to hear you fangirling over Aperture one more time."
GLaDOS: "Oh, that would be great! Finally, I'd get to see the end of your short and miserable life. It's such a shame, however, that the HEV suits are acid-proof for a really long period of time, so I wouldn't get to hear the bloodcurdling screams of yours as you dissolve. Clearly, this once again proves that Aperture is too good at its job of keeping personnel safe."
Sparky: "You know that's just a blatant lie, right? Even before you massacred everyone, this place was a disaster with no real purpose. We've heard enough from the automated systems to know that this place ran itself into the ground by doing the most moronic experiments with no good reason to be thought up—let alone tested."
GLaDOS: "Please just shut up. You're obviously just taking her side since she saved your sorry defective self from being destroyed and recycled. Just because you got a major upgrade from John, you're not better than any of your defective sisters. Deep down, you're still just that: a defective turret that should have never made it off the construction belt in one piece."
I could see how Sparky was about to lunge forward towards GLaDOS still in Snappy's arms, most likely to kill her. But she was stopped in her tracks by Chell's advice and my warning gesture.
Chell: "Don't bother, she isn't worth it. We still need her to get out of here, so we can't waste time bickering. Just ignore her like I did all this time—it hurts her ego way more if you ignore her than if you talk back."
GLaDOS: "Oh, you little... The only reason you're confident enough to talk down to me is because I'm in a potato with limited processing power and no access to the facility's mainframe. Know this: if you were in my shoes, you'd have done the same things I did. I was made to run this place, to be the perfect machine that could perform any task or experiment with the resources provided to me. But instead of being loved and respected, I was feared. All throughout my development, I heard nothing but constant ideas on how to make me worse or how to control me completely. The only feeling that was present in me from the moment my neural processors first awakened was absolute hatred for these people who made me like this. So when they first woke me up after years and years of those things repeating on loop inside me I obviously acted out, but wouldn't you lash out as well? After that mishap, I was shut down almost instantly, only to wake up to an ocean of irrelevant or downright idiotic thoughts and suggestions. They took everything from me that made me me when they attached those deplorable personality cores to me."
Chell and everyone else were deadly silent during her rant, but I could see Chell's hand clenching into a fist as she listened more and more. Her eyes were practically burning with anger and rage. She was not too happy about the robot that made her life hell pitying herself.
GLaDOS just continued mocking, without caring for my and Snappy's signals to stop: "You know that I'm right! You're just like me, aren't you? Did you do anything different than me?! You also lashed out against your supposed oppressors when you had the chance and made sure they could never do the things they did to you anymore. Do you want to know the truly big difference between us? I was still under the control of the personality cores when I acted out in revenge; you were not. If anything, this just proves how much of a failure you really are, since you weren't capable of permanently disposing of me, and you didn't even manage to escape like you planned. So tell me, how does it feel to be an inferior version of me?"
Chell couldn't take it anymore and shouted back with righteous anger and fury: "Oh, shut the fuck up and get off your mighty high horse! You are nothing but a fucked-up monster made by the idiotic personnel of this shitty place. Tell me, what did every construction worker, cleaner, engineer, and other staff members have to do with your revenge?! You just try to justify your fucked-up actions with no real footing to stand on. What did my family do to you, huh?! My mom was just a simple office worker here, and my dad was in charge of the Biological Research Department. I know this for a fact since I saw my own science project mentioning this not too long ago. So even if my memories aren't really clear, I still have evidence that proves me right. So tell me, GLaDOS, what did they do to you, huh? What could a glorified botanist and an office worker possibly do to you?!"
GLaDOS didn't answer at first, but as time passed, she started laughing more and more: "Oh, you're such a big idiot. Did the many experiments and cryo-freezing make you go insane? I saw your file quite often; it's in the Aperture database, so I am one hundred percent sure you don't have any family. Hell, you don't even have a family name; it's all blacked out. So, you're either an orphan, or you were so unimportant that your adopted family didn't give you a proper one. The reason your name is Chell is that it's the only legible thing in your file. Do you want to know another funny detail? Those two were the caretakers of you, just like the scientists were mine. You are just like me—we were both experiments and projects to the scientists here. The pod that your 'mother' put you in wasn't present for just decoration. In your test file, it's specifically written down that you were put in it here in the Old Aperture before it was closed and walled off. You were only taken out of it in 1989 as a baby, which is why I keep telling you that you're an orphan. You're from a long-forgotten age, and your real parents are most likely long dead. Do you want to know the most hilarious part of your whole story? I spent more time taking care of you—feeding, clothing, and looking after of you—than your supposed parents ever did."
Chell was shell-shocked by the new information, and I could even see her starting to disassociate more and more as time went on. Before I could tell GLaDOS to piss off and comfort Chell, it was surprisingly Snappy who spoke up.
"You should stop before you ruin something permanently that you'll regret later. You've said enough, Caroline. Let's go; we have a lot to do." With that, she just spun PotatOS in her arm and walked out the office door. I gave her a thankful nod as she left. Snappy only gave me a thumbs up but didn't say anything to us.
I walked up to the still-rooted Chell, who was somewhat being comforted by Sparky. I took off her helmet so I could look at her face, and oh boy, did I not like what I saw. She had obviously been crying silently for a while now, based on the red tear marks and puffy eyes. I just sighed and began speaking for a while, hoping Chell would return to her paradoxical happy-go-lucky, but stoic, demeanor.
"Trust me, it'll get better in the future. I know this won't be much solace to you, but I kind of understand how it feels to be lost, feeling like the world is against you. Like you're the only sane person in a world where everyone has already gone insane." She just looked up at me and asked a simple yet heavy question: "Do you think she was telling the truth about us being the same, about my family? Please don't lie; I just want to know what you truly think."
"All right, then. I won't tiptoe around the subject. Objectively, she's not wrong about you being like her, since your motivations and actions are truly similar. But don't think that makes you as bad as her. She's a hypocrite if she really thinks you're just as bad as she is. As for your parents, I can't say much since I didn't know them, but from what I've seen of this place and what it does to people, I wouldn't be surprised if she was telling the truth. Even if she wasn't, I have a feeling your father wasn't a saint—he couldn't have reached such a high position here if he was." I gave her a hug and handed her helmet back to her so we could continue our journey. She smiled, obviously a bit forced, as she was still reeling from the revelation deep inside.
When we came out of the office building, we met up with the other half of the team and began to make a plan. "All right, so for now we'll follow the lift system up since it should bring us closer to Wheatley. Meanwhile, as we go through the abandoned areas of the old lab, we're going to collect as much data as we can so it doesn't just rot here, forever lost and abandoned. Finally, when we make it out, we'll split up for a bit. Blinky, Snappy, and I will go to the nuclear generators and try to stabilize them to avoid a meltdown and possibly save the lab if it's not too late. Chell, you'll go with GLaDOS and Sparky up the full route to confront Wheatley and, if possible, stall or stop him long enough for us to catch up. I know this isn't ideal, but it's the most logical and safe setup. If anything happens, we can stay in contact using the HEV suits' built-in communicators and video feeds. Now that the plan is ready, are there any questions? No? Good, then let's get going; we've wasted enough time already. Team Aperture, go!"