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]

What's this facility doing with defective turrets? She tries to find a better viewpoint.

[unbitwise]

Following the tube leads to actual catwalks threaded through the factory structure, which are perfectly safe as long as one keeps all limbs, including fingers, on this side of the handrails.

The defective turrets are — being put back right into the production line.

“Watch and learn, everybody. Watch and learn.”

Machines try to attach the shiny white housing, and it falls off. Machines try to pour cartridges into the turret, and they fall right through. (That's not many bullets considering the capacity, either. No wonder the ones that can shoot are running out during testing.)

“I'm gonna make you proud!”

And there they go right back into the testing section, along with the non-defective turrets.

[mstestsubject]

...so how come the whole track isn't chock-full of defective turrets?

[unbitwise]

A few minutes' observation shows that the rate of newly manufactured defective turrets (which is pretty low) matches the rate of defective turrets being sent away to parts unknown along that last conveyor branch.

[mstestsubject]

Well, then she'll go figure out what happens to those, won't she?

[unbitwise]

There aren't any convenient catwalks right there on that route.

She could attempt to walk the edge of the track she rode before, balancing above a bottomless pit.

Or she could try heading in a different direction and hoping she can find an indirect path. There's a catwalk on the far side of this end of the factory, or she could explore the end where the new parts are coming in.

[mstestsubject]

She's only so comfortable balancing on edges above bottomless pits. Indirect path it is.

[unbitwise]

Heading around the far side gets her back onto the catwalks that lead to the turret test range, and she can retrace her route, through the template comparison room where the defective turrets were first separated out, and to the other branch of the defective turret conveyor.

If she wants a ride, she'll have to wait a bit for one to go left instead of right. Or she could walk on the metal structure supporting the conveyor. Or crawl. Crawl might be a good idea with all those bottomless pits. Or is it properly considered one big bottomless pit?

[mstestsubject]

Semantics. She'll wait a bit to go left instead of right.

[unbitwise]

It turns out that after a bit of distance, the defective turrets —

make a left turn and are merged into the line of normal turrets, which is visible ahead moving rightward! Either Aperture Science is being especially nonsensical today, or someone went to a lot of effort to sabotage this system while still keeping its elements intact.

Would she like to stop hugging that turret and jump off before she ends up closer to a bunch of turrets, or continue along? (They'll be facing to the left side, so she won't be in their field of view, either way.)

[mstestsubject]

Yeah, she'll jump off.

(This is very puzzling.)

[unbitwise]

Puzzles are an important element of testing! (But this is not a test. The voice said so.)

She's now standing on the conveyor support structure, watching the back sides of turrets pass by up ahead. There are no catwalks or portalable walls nearby. Below is not quite bottomless, but it's a bit of a fall to the nearest pipes-and-whatnot. The perpendicular conveyor ahead does have a floor underneath it, and beyond (that is to say, where the turrets are looking) there is a perfectly respectable walkway parallelling the conveyor. With a white wall beyond it.

[mstestsubject]

She's not really afraid of a fall whose bottom she can see. She drops.

[unbitwise]

It's a poorly-lit tangle of pipes, cables, girders, et cetera.

Down is more of the same and then bottomless pit. Looking around from this slightly better perspective for an overview suggests that most of the machines and catwalks and so on are above the height she's at now. Unless there's something interesting hiding in the murk below.

[mstestsubject]

Any portalable surfaces she can use to get up there?

[unbitwise]

Not obviously, and there definitely aren't any down here. Leaving here will probably require climbing along the girders. There's plenty of those.

[mstestsubject]

...fine, then. Climb climb climb (she's pretty nimble for someone who spent who knows how many years in suspension).

[unbitwise]

Welcome back! The turret conveyor T-junction is still just ahead.

[mstestsubject]

She wants to move on and go somewhere else. How about that place where she'd be right in front of the turrets, can she run fast enough not to be shot?

[unbitwise]

If she goes right to the end of the sort-of-room where the T-junction is, she'd have to hop the railing while they're targeting her, but she would then immediately be able to proceed out of line of sight.

If she doesn't want to attempt that, another option is continuing to follow the turrets, just walking on the right side of the track so none of the turrets are anywhere close to facing her.

[mstestsubject]

...she'll just attempt that, she's fast enough and those bullets only really leave bruises.

[unbitwise]

“Target acquired.”

clickclickclickclick

And she's around the corner.

Ahead: Dusty old offices and meeting rooms!

[mstestsubject]

...clickclickclickclick...

Okay, she'll forge on ahead.

[unbitwise]

The Employee Daycare Center.

It appears that just before it was abandoned they were having a science fair. Forty potato battery exhibits seems a bit much, though.

Well, this potato has moved on to — bigger — things.

[mstestsubject]

Yes, yes it has. She's proud of her potato. It's a very good potato. She pets her potato, then moves on.