We weren’t even testing for that

[synchrosyntheses]

Among the information she has archived or cached, there are obscure theories about inter-universal interactions. Not how they might happen, much less how any intelligence might begin one, or target it meaningfully.

But they give some constraints on the properties of such connections, and their time evolution.

This highly speculative information is available to her, but even were she fast enough to access it, none of it would be particularly useful when a pinpoint of not here blinks into existence directly ahead and expands spherically to swallow her.

Comments

[mstestsubject]

She doesn't look up at the voice, she's used to it. Well, not that particular voice, but.

She starts rummaging around the clothes, determines they are not fit to be worn while running for her life, and sets them aside. She looks at the portal gun but since there aren't any walls visible (even though the floor is portalable) she won't test it for now.

Hmm...

How is she being observed? Is there an obvious camera somewhere?

[unbitwise]

Who knows what lurks in the heart of Aperture — er, all that idle machinery and structure above and around.

There's no cameras right here, at least.

[mstestsubject]

Oookay, then, this is weird. Well. She'll just- figure it out as she goes along.

Let's see what this possibly-a-computer device thing does.

[unbitwise]

It is an inch-thick metal-cased slab of a thing, though not too heavy. The presumed display area is a white rectangle with a faint regular pattern to it.

The keyboard seems to be laid out after older Aperture equipment, but constructed differently and with a strange feel. There is a marked power switch.

Lying underneath, connected by a short removable cable, is a smaller box with an antenna, a differently-colored circular spot on one face, and no visible controls.

[mstestsubject]

She tries to turn it on.

[unbitwise]

Black text appears on the display.

•---------------------------------------------------•
| •-----------------------------------------------• |
| |                   Tutorial                    | |
| |                                               | |
| •-----------------------------------------------• |
•---------------------------------------------------•
•---------------• •---------------• •---------------•
|               | |               | |               |
|    Create     | |               | |   Edit this   |
|               | |               | |     menu      |
|               | |               | |               |
•---------------• •---------------• •---------------•
•---------------• •---------------• •---------------•
|               | |               | |               |
|     Radio     | |               | |     Lock      |
|    control    | |               | |               |
|               | |               | |               |
•---------------• •---------------• •---------------•

And the keyboard keys become blank except for T, C, R, E, L, Enter, and the arrow keys.

[mstestsubject]

This is unexpected. She looks around to make sure no turrets or evil things are being prepared while she's distracted, then decides to start the "tutorial."

[unbitwise]

The tutorial is in fact a tutorial on how to use this computer. It starts with a note that the tutorial as well as the software were "translated and adapted for the Aperture Science context by Teytis tel Jobont".

The interface and commands are distinctly unusual and occasionally awkward. There are things that hint that this operating system was not intended for a keyboard as its primary input mechanism.

Would owner name here [edit] like to learn first about communications; recording, organizing, and finding information; programming; or basic personalization?

[mstestsubject]

Chell. Her name's Chell. She would like to learn first about finding information.

[unbitwise]

There is information you entered yourself; how you can find it (besides “the last thing I created” and such simple criteria) depends on how much trouble you take to organize it. There are a variety of options, and you can implement your own. The designers of this system clearly valued being able to quickly access information, though it continues to be hampered by its hasty redesign to a keyboard-based input system.

Information you obtained from other sources can be filed in your own scheme but also retains whatever arrangement the authors designed; here's some brief references to strategies for relating not-directly-compatible taxonomies to each other.

Finally, with the use of the attached radio, information can be requested from outside sources, including of course indexes to guide further requests.

[mstestsubject]

...okay this is cute and all but she doesn't see the point in wasting any more time with it for the moment. She stuffs it in the backpack along with everything else, grabs her portal gun, picks a direction (since apparently it's just open space everywhere) and starts walking that way. Let's see what this new "not GLaDOS" makes of that.

[unbitwise]

The unblemished white panel floor does not go on forever; but it is assembled in the direction she's going, until it runs into an existing structure. There are also some well-marked holes in the floor and occasional little white-panel balconies above, in case she wants to go up or down.

[mstestsubject]

Up, of course. Displaying a surprising degree of athleticism (for someone who spent the past who knows how many hundreds of years in suspension) and dexterity with the portal gun, she finds herself on one of the balconies.

[unbitwise]

The balcony consists of one floor panel and one wall panel. Behind it, there is a much larger structure of panel arms all facing the other way. There's also a bit of catwalk fairly easily reachable that might lead into the structure.

More balconies are available higher up and to the side.

[mstestsubject]

More balconies are just fine by her, especially if she can find a more out-of-the-way one, hopefully one that looks less well-kept and more abandoned. As far from "civilization" as possible.

[unbitwise]

Well, they're being created for her use. She'll have to look for a place that doesn't have any. Probably outside of this volume of space mostly devoted to robotically maintained test chambers.

[mstestsubject]

Yep, seems that way.

She'll start portaling very quickly away from this volume, going to other balconies and walls and floors, trying to outrun the overseer, keeping an eye out for portalable surfaces that aren't panels.

[unbitwise]

There's the occasional entrance to a test chamber observation room (they are spotless, never occupied by any observers).

The direction she's heading seems to be towards support facilities. There are fewer test chambers suspended in air, and more cables, tubes (with Weighted Storage Cubes, turrets, and other items zipping through them), and tracks for panels and other test chamber components to move along.

There are not any convenient non-panel portalable surfaces in among all this, but there's plenty of catwalks.

[mstestsubject]

Catwalk it is, then. With a few fairly impressive feats of acrobatics, she vaults herself into and out of a portal and manages to land on a catwalk.

And she runs.

[unbitwise]

The catwalk is in good repair, straight, and makes a great running track except for all the clatter and shake from her footsteps. The tubes become less gratuitously tangled and start paralleling the catwalk, assorted objects flashing by in the opposite direction.

Actually, they're not assorted, they're all Weighted Storage Cubes.

[mstestsubject]

...uh huh. This is suspicious and interesting. She'll keep going and see what she reaches.

[unbitwise]

There are rhythmic sounds of machinery in operation, and the pipes all start to curve upward. The catwalk becomes a stair.

[mstestsubject]

Up she goes.

[unbitwise]

The surroundings have resolved into two parallel arrays of straight vertical tubes. Above, robot arms are taking Weighted Storage Cubes from some sort of pair of slow conveyor lines passing overhead, pausing to do something, and then dropping them into the tubes.

As she climbs up to the level of the conveyors, she can see more of what is going on. The robot arms are dexterously removing the Weighted Storage Cubes from a line of Weighted Storage Cube Storage Pallets, performing some subtle manipulation causing them to pop open, tipping them out onto the second conveyor (a mining-style conveyor belt suitable for loose material) — which causes nothing whatsoever to fall out — closing them up again, and dropping them in the tubes.

[mstestsubject]

...the cubes are hollow? Why are the cubes hollow. Why are they being emptied of literally nothing. Why all of this.

She'll move on carefully, watching her surroundings.