The lights flickered on in the lone white chamber that shone down on a small glass chamber. With its only occupant contained within a hibernation bed. A hiss brought it to life immediately, opening to reveal its guest, a being that can only be described as a mutation of sort. A being that was humanoid in form, however his primary features such as his face, feet, and hands were that very rabbit-like in nature. His long rabbit ears closer to the top of his head unlike a typical humans, yet his mumblings as he woke up suggested that he was clearly provided with intelligence. His complaints about being woken up were interrupted however, when a cheery yet mechanical female voice chimed in.
"Hello and welcome to the Aperture Science Testing Center. We would like to hope that your rest in the relaxation chamber was a peaceful one."
"Wha..?" the rabbit muttered while looking up for a source to the voice. His soft blue eyes scanning the ceiling but could find no visible source.
"According to our charts your name is..?" the mechanical voice paused briefly. "Hmm, according to this chart you don't have a name. Well, anyway, my name is Glados and I’ll be observing you as you proceed through these tests. Is there anything you'd like to ask before we proceed?
The rabbit just smiled innocently and said. "Cookie!"
"Great. Just what I need: another moron." Glados grumbled in a mix of anger and annoyance. Her tone soon changed as she regarded the anthropomorphic creature within the glass cage. "I'll just call you Charlie for the sake of these tests, how does that sound?"
"Okie-dokie." the rabbit said diligently before hopping out of bed. He began looking at his own surroundings.
"Lets just get on with it." Glados sighed. "The portal will open in 3... 2... 1."
There was a flash on the only solid wall and an orange portal appeared on its surface. Just on the outside of the glass chamber a blue one appeared with an image of the rabbit inside of it. Charlie stared at this for a moment, completely amazed. He even ventured to stick his arm in and watch with building excitement as his arm pushed through the blue portal within his view.
"Just step through, you moron." Glados finally blurted in an obviously agitated tone.
The cream-colored rabbit jumped with a start, glancing up briefly before finally doing as he was told. He set one foot through the portal and failed to compensate for the lower floor on the other end, sending him careening face first into the floor. Glados respnded with somewhat indifferent sigh. "I hate you already... "
"Huh?" Charlie's head sprang up suddenly as if in response while picking himself up off the floor.
"I said you are going to enjoy this first test." Glados corrected herself in startled yet cheery voice. The AI soon after promptly opened the door into the next test chamber, which the anthropomorphic bunny cautiously entered.
The next test chamber was a spacious white square room with a two large tubes in the ceiling. The one off to the right had a raised button not far from it. The other tube across from that was sealed off by four arms, holding flaps over the entrance. A few seconds after Charlie entered, the arms slid aside and a small cube dropped to the floor with a metallic thud. As the rabbit continued to look around he noticed that halfway into this chamber there was a deep, seemingly bottomless chasm. It stretched from one side of the room to the other. His eyes soon locked on the door just on the other side of the chasm. With a curious glance, he walked over to the edge, and peered down before gliding back up to which he finally noticed that there was a sort of large button in the ground, just on the other side. As he studied the button an idea began forming in his mind. The gears in his brain slowly turned before he started bending his knees as if he was getting ready to jump. However just as he was about to do so, Glados' charming voice spoke up once more.
"As much as I would like to see you plummet to your death, I would really prefer that you complete this test instead." Glados explained. "The test is simple. All you have to do is get to the other side of the chamber and reach that door. Lets see how you do."
"Okie-dokie." Charlie smiled and walked over to the tube with a button. As he approached, a blue portal suddenly appeared right below the tube, followed by an orange portal materialized as on the roof, halfway down the chasm on his side. He grinned and pressed the button, watching excitedly as blue gunk shot out from the tube, straight through the portal, landing on the ground right below the orange portal. The rabbit giggled with excitement before pressing the button once more to obtain the exact same response. His eyes went wide as he now started pressing the button repeatedly.
"CHARLIE!!" Glados shouted after the fifth button press, startling the rabbit from his task. There was a hint of aggravation in her voice as she spoke. "Just solve the test chamber... Please?"
Dissuaded from his task, Charlie began glancing around and spotted the cube. The gears in his mind turning once more before his eyes lit up. Upon approaching the cube, he promptly picked it up and walked over to the blue puddle on the floor. He gently placed it down on the blue substance and walked over to the smaller raised button next to the tube.
"No! Wait!" Glados cried, but it was too late. The cream-colored anthropomorphic rabbit had already pressed the button causing the blue gunk to land on the cube, which in response went sailing into the air, bounced off the ceiling, then back onto the floor. This in turn sent it careening into the wall while the cube continued to pick up more and more momentum. It bounced off of the opposite wall from Charlie, heading straight for him. The cream-colored rabbit to leaped out of the way while the cube bounced yet again off the wall that was behind him. It was sent soaring in a different direction.
"No! My beautiful test chamber!" Glados howled. "Now you've done it, you brain-damaged nit-wit!"
Not wanting to stay in one spot for long, the rabbit soon decided it was best to make a run for it as the cube bounced off the wall towards the ceiling. It soon bounced into another corner wall making a beeline straight for Charlie once more. The rabbit only had time to throw up his arms in defense just as the cube neared, only for it to disintegrate just a mere centimeter from establishing physical contact.
Glados' not-so-cheery voice chimed in once more. "Well, now that you seem to have a firm grasp on how the gel works, lets not try that again until the test actually calls for something like it, shall we?" With that said, she opened the dispenser and deposited another test cube on the floor.
Charlie just stood there for a moment, staring at the cube. Another idea was forming in his mind. His ears twitched after a couple of seconds, and he dutifully walked up to the cube and picked it up with a firm grasp. With cube now in hand he walked to the back of the room, away from the chasm just behind the blue gel. He glanced at his cube one last time before finally taking off on a mad dash towards the blue gel. As his feet touched the blue substance he leapt into the air, the repulsion gel kicking into gear and sending the cream-colored rabbit sailing into the air over the chasm. His white orientation shoes kicked in, and redirected the rabbit, allowing him to land on the ground, feet no worse for wear. With a grin, he walked over to the button in the floor and placed the cube on it. He was rewarded with the exit door sliding open a split second later.
Charlie smiled at his accomplishment while walking towards the door. He stopped just short of entering as he noticed the blue field just on the other side.
"Charlie." Glados spoke up, grabbing the cream colored anthro rabbit's attention once more. "That is an emancipation grid. It's designed to disintegrate testing equipment, not test subjects such as yourself. You can pass through it with no trouble at all."
Charly nodded, and walked through the fluid-like field which rippled as he made contact.
"For once, I'm actually glad to see a test get completed." Glados sighed while Charlie walked down the stairs towards the elevator. "You're a real piece of work, Charlie. You remind me of another moron I used to know. Thankfully, he's now somewhere in space where he can neeeever hurt anyone again."
"Cookie." Charlie replied.
"Hmm." Glados mused to herself as a thought went through her positronic brain. "Just a moment, Charlie."
The cream-colored rabbit looked up with those innocent blue eyes.
"How would you like to have all the cookies you could ever want?" Glados asked, as she watched the rabbit's eyes light up with delight at the prospect before continuing. "If you complete my tests using that brain of yours, which I know may seem like a daunting task to someone as obviously brain-damaged as you, then I will give you cookies upon successfully navigating all my test chambers. How does that sound?"
"COOKIE!" Charlie cried out happily.
"I thought you might like that." Glados said in a happy tone as the elevator finally arrived. "Now on to the next chamber."
"Cookie." Charlie chimed once more before stepping into the elevator.
"Charming..." Glados grumbled before sending the elevator on its way to the next test chamber.
