Aperture Science Enrichment Centre

[Housemaster]

~HeLLOo?
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~HeLLOo?

[Damonique]

Jeremie woke up groggily on an extremely uncomfortable cot in a considerable less comfortable room. His typical Jeans and grey T-Shirt had been replaced with a nondescript blue one-piece jumpsuit. Shaking the sleep from his eyes, Jeremie ran his fingers through his wild mane of black hair. From a speaker in the sealing, a faint, androgynous voice echoed "Hello" around the wash white halls.

Suitable awake, Jeremie began to categorize the information he knew and his situation as derived from that information, his mind working infinitely quickly. As he did so, he absorbed the details of the small glass-walled chamber he was in. To beside the bed was a simple chemical toilet, and a desk with a clock-radio. The radio emitted a simple, soothing tune. All of the components of the room and building were the same opaque shade of white

Fact. I signed up for undisclosed testing exercises at the Aperture Science Enrichment and Testing Center. Fact, after passing the introductory examination, I detected the some strange sweet scent entering the room. Hypothesis. Some sort of suffocate or mind-numbing vapor introduced through the ventilation system. Fact. There is no visible exit to this room. There are no personnel or written instructions in the room. Possibility. Introductory test to observe practical problem solving skills and to observe any anxiety effects in test subjects. Conclusion. No sound conclusions that are not situational or derived from assumptions.

Jeremie smoothly raised himself to a more comfortable sitting position on the edge of the bed and re-assessed his surroundings. Through the distorting glass, he could see a hallway and what appeared to be other similar chambers to the one in which he was enclosed. On one of the walls was a nondescript red button with the word "Hello" printed in white on its face.

As he rose from the bed, Jeremie twisted and stretched, eliciting a number of audible pops from his joints. Cracking his knuckles and twisting a knot out of his lower vertebrae, he stood and approached the button. The music from the radio continued to repeat. He then approached the button with deliberate, measured strides and pressed it into its socket with a single finger. Immediately, the constantly-repeating "Hello" from the speaker stopped, and an obviously pre-recorded message began to play.

"Hello [insert subject name here], and welcome to the Aperture Science Enrichment Centre. We hope your brief detention in the resting chamber has been a pleasant one.

As we are sure you are eager to begin the test process as soon as possible, we must first conduct a mental-wellness evaluation to ensure the health of your specimen.

When you hear the buzzer, look up. " The cheery voice instructed. Moments later, a loud buzzing sound escaped from the speaker. Without questioning, Jeremie rotated his eyes upward while barely-perceptible moving his chin up to allow him to view the ceiling.

"Good!" The voice exclaimed. Due to the lack of a time delay, Jeremie assumed it was part of the recording rather than a reaction to his following of instructions.

"When you hear the buzzer, look down" The voice continued, keeping time to the second. A moment afterward, another loud Buzz emanated from the speaker, and Jeremie shifted his eyes to the austere white-tiled floor.


"Excellent work! Please proceed to the main testing chamber as we conduct the same mental-wellness test on your fellow test subjects. Further instructions will follow...Good luck!"" The voice exclaimed dryly, and Jeremie shot a cursory glance around the room. He then stared through the distorting glass walls and tried to make out the shapes of the other subjects rousing in the other rooms, hoping that it wouldn't take them to long to complete the simple exercise.

[\/£in]

The ink didn't even have time to dry, he told himself as everything turned into a blur. The world seemed to swirl in a psychedelic fray of chemicals in a mixing pot. The sound of tapping caught his attention as he looked to his right shoulder watching as in almost slow motion the pen he was holding gracefully bounced on the tiled floor. Then nothing.



"Welcome to the fourth year of your bachelors degree Mr. Barnes," the professor stated with a smile. Steven could only smile. The experiment was over obviously and he had acquired the funds to start his final year.

"Your seat is over here Mr. Barnes."

His eyes focused on the professor at the other end of classroom. How did he get to the back of the classroom so quick? Why is my desk glass? Who's radio?

"Steven?"

He turned away to look the other direction. There stood Cindy Manning, the girl he had been trying to talk to since the beginning of his college career. Her golden locks falling below her shoulder and her eyes green staring back at him from he seductive pose.

"I want to give you something," she moaned as she leaned forward and nibbled on his ear. "Cake."

"Take the cake Mr. Barnes," came the voice of the professor whom was now standing behind Cindy. How did he do that?

"Yes, cake!"

Everyone stood holding plates filled with delicious cake, all of them mumbling "hello" in a strange robotic voice.


He jerked up from his bed gasping for air and the almost realistic aroma of cake from his dream faded away.


~HeLLOo?
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~HeLLOo?
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~HeLLOo?
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~HeLLOo?
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~HeLLOo?

"That irritating voice," he groaned as he looked around the room that slowly focused into view. Glass walls, white tiled floors, an annoying radio, and a jumpsuit. To his observations, this company pulled all the stops on this one.

"Lets see," he began as he rose up from the bed swiftly accompanied by a woozy sense of dizziness. "I signed my name...then the ink didn't dry...then..."


~HeLLOo?
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~HeLLOo?

"Turn that shit off," he shouted at the intercom before spotting the button attached to a wall a few steps away. "Hello."

He observed the button carefully. This was an experiment, his every action would be recorded and graded therefore pressing this button would also be recorded and should it be the incorrect option, then he would receive a poor testing score. His eyes moved from the button and towards the glass walls determined to see the other subjects, but all he could see were shadows, however their position would be a hint. He could make out a shadow in the chamber across from his and from the looks the person was simply sitting there for a few moments before standing and moving towards the button of his or her room.

"Screw it," he mumbled as he punched the button.

Hello Steven Barnes, and welcome to the Aperture Science Enrichment Centre. We hope your brief detention in the resting chamber has been a pleasant one.

As we are sure you are eager to begin the test process as soon as possible, we must first conduct a mental-wellness evaluation to ensure the health of your specimen.

When you hear the buzzer, look up. *BZZZZZZZZ*

He quickly looked upwardly expecting something to be there on the ceiling, but nothing. Just a ceiling...just a ceiling.

Good!

When you hear the buzzer, look down. *BZZZZZZZZ*

Again his paranoia overtook him and he show his gaze back down...just a tiled white floor.

"Come on Steven, don't be worried..." He told himself.



Excellent work!

Please proceed to the main testing chamber as we conduct the same mental-wellness test on your fellow test subjects. Further instructions will follow...

Good luck!

He sighed and jerked his neck for a moment entering the testing chamber. "Lets get started," he sighed.

[Marilith]

"Weird form," Robyn thought as she wrote down her final answer -her name- and then checked it over twice in quick succession, "Who would want to know some of this stuff? I mean cherries are far better but still..."
"Congratulations, [SUBJECT]," the man opposite her said and Robyn looked up in alarm just as a blast of some kind of gas hit her in the face, "Your application has been accepted. Please accept this dose of [Aperture Science Resting Gas]..."


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~HeLLOo?
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Shaking her head of the thick fog that was still clouding her senses, Robyn looked around a few times and realised things were definitely not the same as they were before. She wasn't wearing a sun dress any more for one -a red jumpsuit covered her now instead- and she was stuck in some corner-chamber, a glass screen in front of her and showing two other people that she could immediately see without turning her head.

This chamber was strange, and all she could really see that was unique was a button that said [HELLO] on it, and so, hesitantly, she reached out and pushed it, flinching as she did in case something bad happened. Instead, the annoying "HeLLOo" loop ended and a short message played in her cell.

"Hello [Insert Subject Name Here], and welcome to the Aperture Science Enrichment Centre. We hope your brief detention in the resting chamber has been a pleasant one.

As we are sure you are eager to begin the test process as soon as possible, we must first conduct a mental-wellness evaluation to ensure the health of your specimen.

When you hear the buzzer, look up." *BZZZZZZZZ*

She looked down.

"Good!

When you hear the buzzer, look down." *BZZZZZZZZ*

She looked up.

"Excellent work!

Please proceed to the main testing chamber as we conduct the same mental-wellness test on your fellow test subjects. Further instructions will follow...

Good luck!"

"What..." Robyn stuttered, looking around and jumping a little bit because she just realised her own voice sounded weird in the wake of that hollow computerised voice, "What is this..?"

[Ace of Hearts™]

"So, what, I'll be taking some drugs or..." Jimmy Questioned, eyes never leaving the form he was filling out. Clicking the top of his pen, he set it on the newly finished form. Pushing up his glasses, he heard the hissing of gas into the room he was in.

"Ah jeez, your goonaa taakee my luuuuungs...." He mumbled as the gas took hold.

He awoke what felt like hours later in a completley white room. He was wearing a bright orange jumpsuit. Lifting it up, he checked for any scars on his chest.

"Well, My lungs are still here, and I feel my kidneys"

The room he was in was small. About ten by ten feet. All white. His bed was egg shaped, with a glass dome covering the padded part. There was a small toilet in the corner, along with a radio dimly playing some lounge music. His jumpsuit was baggy and uncomfortable, made of some cloth-plastic hybrid. Through the hum of the radio, he heard a small voice say the same thing over and over again.


~HeLLOo?
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Jimmy was about to actually answer them, but they kept spewing out Hellos before he could form sounds. He saw the big red button.

"I guess I should press this, even though big red buttons usually launch nukes."

Palm flat, he pressed the button.

Hello [insert subject name here], and welcome to the Aperture Science Enrichment Centre. We hope your brief detention in the resting chamber has been a pleasant one.

As we are sure you are eager to begin the test process as soon as possible, we must first conduct a mental-wellness evaluation to ensure the health of your specimen.

When you hear the buzzer, look up Jimmy didn't. It was so obviously a pre-recorded message, or they would have used his name.

When you hear the buzzer, look down He did a small dance. Maybe he'd have to dance for the tests?

Excellent work! Please proceed to the main testing chamber as we conduct the same mental-wellness test on your fellow test subjects. Further instructions will follow...Good luck! "Maybe they were given more information. He turned his head as he heard the swooshing of a door being raised. Looking around in his room for cameras, or people that weren't there, he stepped out.

[Damonique]

Jeremie noticed that a handful of the other test subjects in the seperate chambers were moving around, and a moment later his door swished open. Apparently, they had completed the tests.

Tentatively, the rail thin 5'8" 23-year-old stepped out of his cell and walked about halfway down the hall th, where a closed circular, sliding door sat in the middle of the nexus that connected to the six identical resting chambers.

Across the hall from his own chamber, a shorter, slightly older man with glasses and a rough beard stepped out of his own chamber. Jeremie offered the man a small nod of notice, but didn't move to approach him. While Jeremie stood there, contemplating the closed door, his mind analyzed the situation at an accelerated pace.

Fact. This was listed as a group experiment. These six individuals will, in all likelihood, be necessary to complete whatever tasks they have prepared for us to complete. Plausibility. Human interaction may be studied facet of the experiment. Psychological Interpretation. Studies show that humans attempt to form some sort of positive association with others when facing the unknown, this is an intentional survival reflex. Summation. Interaction, to create positive association and form some sort of common exchange of relevant information.

Jeremie, somewhat begrudgingly, approached the other man and offered a rigid handshake to him, maintaining eye contact for the customary eight seconds.

"Um, Hello. I am, Jeremie Chandler Alphadorias, Test Subject Number Two. You are?" Jeremie chose each word deliberately, trying to avoid breaking out into a long, rambling series of unnecessary, if relevant, information, as he too often did.

[Housemaster]

"Well? Is the test over?" the young lady asked, glancing sideways to the obvious one-way mirror.

She had completed the oddly cryptic Aperture Science application, and was ready to exit and get on with her life.

"'Cuse me!" she voiced again, "I finished writing... can I leave now?"

A speaker above the mirror suddenly turned on, emitting sounds of static before a pre-recorded message played.

"Thank you for expressing your interest in Aperture Science Laboratories. Your application will be processed and you will be placed in the appropriate testing-faculty. Your trial and employment as a test subject will begin immediately, congratulations!"

The sound of a gas valve being released in the room made her jolt in her chair.

"Please accept this celebratory gift of Aperture Science Resting Gas as your welcoming present into Aperture Science, because we do what we must because we can."

This only reaffirmed her fear that she was being abducted. Her anxiety only made her breathe in the gas more quickly as her motor skills and head became dizzy. The last thing she remembered was falling on the floor with the words "Good luck..." buzzing from the interview speaker.


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~HeLLOo?
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~HeLLOo?

She opened her eyes, squinting at the bright whiteness of the room she was in. The repeating sound of the oddly welcoming "Hello" made her head buzz with internal aching, pressing her palm against her head before sitting upwards to observe where the heck she was in the first place.

"...Great." she sighed unenthusiastically. She didn't bother screaming for help or yelling at whoever was observing her. If they were able to kidnap her without anyone knowing, chances are yelling and screaming would only waste energy.

Spotting the button marked "Hello" on the wall, logic deemed it necessary to push it to make the awful pre-recorded loop message go away. Leaning over to push it, the recorded loop halted while starting another message.

"Hello [insert subject name here], and welcome to the Aperture Science Enrichment Centre. We hope your brief detention in the resting chamber has been a pleasant one."

The robotic voice sounded like a slightly personable "text-to-speech" program. It felt oddly welcoming, which calmed her down a bit.

"As we are sure you are eager to begin the test process as soon as possible, we must first conduct a mental-wellness evaluation to ensure the health of your specimen."

She stood up, ready to get the testing over with.

"When you hear the buzzer, look up" *BZZZZZZZZZZZZZ* She casually looked up

Good! When you hear the buzzer, look down. *BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ* she looked down, eyes still foggy from waking up.

"Excellent work! Please proceed to the main testing chamber as we conduct the same mental-wellness test on your fellow test subjects. Further instructions will follow...Good luck!"

The door slid open as she proceeded to the main test chamber. There were already a few fellow test members in the chamber, one man was in the process of approaching another, offering a handshake. In the room across from hers was another woman, she appeared to be fairly shy since she did not leave her resting chamber yet. The test subject diagonally to her right was also out of his room... whoever was beside her has yet to press their "hello" button.

Suddenly, the robotic voice returned to the projected audio system. "Good morning test subjects." Spite the fact the voice was synthetic, it felt oddly real. "Welcome to the Aperture Science Enrichment Centre. I will be your Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System, I will be giving you instructional instructions to proceed through the testing chambers with ease. While learning and fun are the main goals of all test protocols, serious injuries may occur... for instance."

A bright light engulfed the room beside the young lady. She looked away and shielded her eyes from the light as the voice explained, "Punishment for not answering the "hello" test subject protocol will be met with an unsatisfactory mark on your testing records. Test subject #6 has been removed from all testing activity and consequently, taken off the party list for cake."

She looked back in the resting chamber where test subject #6 was supposed to be. She could not make out anything, all she could see were ashes.

"However, do not let the exclusion of one potential party member hinder our ability to do science... we shall begin the testing proper." The resting chambers began to lower downwards into the floor, making the test chamber bigger by result. "Test subjects numbers 1, 3, and 5, line up on the blue line with your front facing the wall." A blue line lit up across the panelled floor as the robotic voice continued, "May test subjects numbers 2, and 4 line up on the red line behind your fellow test subjects." the voice buzzed with mix audio before continuing, "Due to the lack of performance of a certain test subject, their role will be filled by a more then capable Aperture Science Aperture Helper Sentry Robot."

A wall slid open and a small spherical robot hovered through the gap. It had a blue eye, and attached arms for handling whatever task was ahead. It hovered directly behind where test subject #5 would be standing, and robotically whistled to signal it was ready.

"At the sound of the Aperture Science Scientific Time Marking Buzzer, all those on the blue line fall backwards into the arms on those on the red line."

She double checked the back of her jumpsuit to make sure she was test subject #4, quickly stood on the red line with extended arms to catch test subject #3.

[\/£in]

Steven's hand clasped Jeremie's hand and continued the age old ritual of shaking each others arms redundantly. "Test subject number one," he replied with a greeting smile. "Steven Barnes."

"Good morning test subjects."

Steven easily pulled his hand from the man's grasp and looked up curiously to the com. Why did all the instructions sound like they were coming from a robot? Was it voice changing software or simply a preprogrammed set of messages. He could only hope the later was not true, leaving AI in control of lives just seemed mad.

"Welcome to the Aperture Science Enrichment Centre. I will be your Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System, I will be giving you instructional instructions to proceed through the testing chambers with ease. While learning and fun are the main goals of all test protocols, serious injuries may occur... for instance."

He squinted his eyes as one of the chambers lit up brightly and then dimmed out.

"Punishment for not answering the "hello" test subject protocol will be met with an unsatisfactory mark on your testing records. Test subject #6 has been removed from all testing activity and consequently, taken off the party list for cake."

His eyes widened in horror at the sight of what had come to be. What at first looked to be a subject on the other side of the glass lying their bed had now been turned to a room filled in black fog and smoke. Obvious signs of ashes and matted materials laid to waste could be seen on the window panels.

"Did they just...?"

"However, do not let the exclusion of one potential party member hinder our ability to do science... we shall begin the testing proper."

The room rumbled and before long the entire nexus seemed to open up as all six chambers lowered into the floor revealing one massive room. It kind of reminded him of a high school gym.

"Test subjects numbers 1, 3, and 5, line up on the blue line with your front facing the wall."

He thought to tell the recording to go to hell as a means of gathering information and seeing how the AI reacts. Did it have the emotion to understand human resistance and did it have the tolerance for it? His eyes darted back to where the chamber that lit up once was. He could still see the light that flashed through the burned spots on his pupils. He shook his head deciding that doing something so reckless would be too risky. The AI could be preprogrammed to kill on first resistance, after all humans were evil people in nature and where a human would give second chances in this situation due to the morality they seem to hold, that doesn't apply when they develop things to make those hard decisions for them. Therefore a man who claims 'you get one chance' may still give a second chance, but his AI to do his own dirty work would most likely still hold that 'one chance' philosophy and free it's master the burden of decision.

"Due to the lack of performance of a certain test subject, their role will be filled by a more then capable Aperture Science Aperture Helper Sentry Robot."

The robot came into the room hastily.

"I get it," he joked. "We've got a court, a basketball, and we're on a line. The test is to see who can make the shot from the three point line."

He smiled and then looked up with a smile. "Just having fun..."

"At the sound of the Aperture Science Scientific Time Marking Buzzer, all those on the blue line fall backwards into the arms on those on the red line."

He didn't care if he fell flat on the floor gasping for his breath, did that really fall as his mistake? Or would it be filled under the subject behind him.

"Don't drop me," he smiled to Jeremie.

[Ace of Hearts™]

"Good morning test subjects."

"Good Morning!" Jimmy said aloud, in a condescending tone. He looked around, trying to pin-point where the voice was.

"Welcome to the Aperture Science Enrichment Centre. I will be your Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System, I will be giving you instructional instructions to proceed through the testing chambers with ease. While learning and fun are the main goals of all test protocols, serious injuries may occur... for instance."

It was Fourth of July in one of the chambers. A faint smell of grilled chicken met his nose.

"Punishment for not answering the "hello" test subject protocol will be met with an unsatisfactory mark on your testing records. Test subject #6 has been removed from all testing activity and consequently, taken off the party list for cake."

"If test subject number six failed the test of pressing a button, I doubt he could prove much use." He said to the group.

"However, do not let the exclusion of one potential party member hinder our ability to do science... we shall begin the testing proper." The room shook beneath his feet. He lost his balance and almost fell, catching himself just as the room settled.

"Test subjects numbers 1, 3, and 5, line up on the blue line with your front facing the wall."

He walked unto the line the voice told him to walk to. Turning so the wall faced his back, he waited for the next bit of instructions.

"Due to the lack of performance of a certain test subject, their role will be filled by a more then capable Aperture Science Aperture Helper Sentry Robot."

A small, floating robot with arms came behind Jimmy. It held it's thin arms out.

"At the sound of the Aperture Science Scientific Time Marking Buzzer, all those on the blue line fall backwards into the arms on those on the red line."

He fell into the cold metallic arms of the robot. It lowered in elavation as he weight combined with his.

"If this turns into '2001: A Space Odyssey', I will kill whoever's incharge."

[Mordecai]

(Ignore this, I'm dead.)

[Damonique]

Jeremie sat through the announcement by the robotic voice with only a look of attentativeness on his face. The incineration of the contents of chamber six was startling enough to warrant Jeremie zoning out into a state of intense concentration, while standing on his line waiting for the buzzer.

Possibility.There was never a person in that chamber to begin with, and what we saw was just an imitation in order to observe reactions. Possibility.That was the genuine euthinization of a test subject and Aperture is operating outside of the law. Conclusion. Probability dictates that possibility one is the more likely of the two, but I should remember caution.

Jeremie reunited with reality just in time to catch the man he had tried to speak to earlier. He caught the shorter man easily and counterbalance to help him back to his feet. It was a simple textbook trust exercise. Jeremie waited for further instructions.

[Marilith]

Flinching a little as the door opened in front of her face, Robyn blushed as she saw how forward the others were being and she took a deep breath to steel herself to do the same thing.
And nothing happened.
Shaking her head she knew she really should get out there and meet the others, the girl opposite her was looking at her now but she just couldn't make that first step. It was like she was on the precipice of something equally horrifying yet exciting and she was unable to take that final leap into the unknown. She had always been like this, it was simply scary for her to do stuff socially like other people, so she simply stood still waiting for something to happen for her. She did take a half-step forwards though in preparation just in case...

And by doing so she nearly fell over as the shock of the robot voice echoing around again made her jump and she staggered out of her cell, only managing to right herself a few seconds before hitting the ground. Looking up to make sure nobody else had seen that she blushed prettily then straightened up and tried to make herself as unobtrusive as possible, missing the very start of the announcement as a result, but she caught the rest.

"-the Aperture Science Enrichment Centre. I will be your Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System, I will be giving you instructional instructions to proceed through the testing chambers with ease. While learning and fun are the main goals of all test protocols, serious injuries may occur... for instance. Punishment for not answering the "hello" test subject protocol will be met with an unsatisfactory mark on your testing records. Test subject #6 has been removed from all testing activity and consequently, taken off the party list for cake."

Stifling a gasp Robyn turned her head slightly then turned back with a shudder at what had happened in one of the chambers. She heard one of the others say something crass but she ignored it, since she felt sick from what had happened.
"However, do not let the exclusion of one potential party member hinder our ability to do science... we shall begin the testing proper. Test subjects numbers 1, 3, and 5, line up on the blue line with your front facing the wall."

She was very glad she had stepped out of her chamber then as they all vanished, slowly sinking into the floor. She was told to line up on the blue line -since she was number 3 her chamber had said as it had sunk away- and she did so, glancing back to see the other woman behind her.
"Hi," she said in a faint voice as the instructions ended, "Please don't let me fall."
And with that she took a deep breath and fell.