Two Mistakes

[indirectcause]

This question has probably been asked before, and I just know I'm not gonna like the answer, but it's something I need to know anyway. I get that we can't get back what we've lost, but is there any way we can change what the castle did to us? You know, swap it for something else?

[Because he would so be up for that. He really would. He was planning on leaving it at that, but there's something else he'd like, too. He looks over at his letterman jacket, clean now but still rather...mangled. He misses it, he doesn't feel quite him without it, so:]

Hey, unrelated topic. Does anyone here know how to sew? I don't have any money to pay you [or anything to pay...actually] but I'd be real grateful if you could help me out.

[Nora]

So hi, I've got a question for you. Your gallery accepts art from all kinds of residents, right? No matter who they are? Because I know a little kid who'd love to have her art on display there.

Comments

[silentrunning]

Ew. Yeah. That's a good point.

[She makes a face at the mental image of blood and zombie bits.]

Have to keep your skills up somehow, right?

[indirectcause]

YOu either do that or you-

[Well]

[silentrunning]

Or you die a horrendous and agonizing death?

[She finishes for him, grimly. She knows about horrifying and agonizing deaths.]

[indirectcause]

[He looks even less happy now, a pained expression crossing his face]

...Yeah. Pretty much.

[silentrunning]

I am sorry that is a concept you understand. It's one I understand as well.

[Her tongue flicked to the back of her mouth where an emancipation grille had once emancipated her wisdom teeth, not that she'd known what they were called at the time.]

You had these... walker things. I had turrets and emancipation grilles. Supposed to emancipate only unauthorized equipment but could also emancipate body parts. They emancipated my wisdom teeth? I think that's what you call those teeth. The very very back four that adults have. And... I don't think emancipate is the right word. Because that means to free, right? Well these grilles incinerated things that went through them that weren't supposed to. But then Aperture had a lot of things that don't make sense now that I know what the words mean.

Like euthanizing companion cubes really means dumping them into incinerators. I know that was just a piece of metal, but it was the only friend I had.

[She shakes her head.]

Er. I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have said all that. I just wanted you to know I understand... a little at least.

[indirectcause]

They took out your wisdom teeth? Was it painful? Because, I mean- well that happened to people where I ceom from too. Or it did, when we had dentists.

...What's a Companion Cube?

[He shurgs] And it's okay, really. I appreciate the input.

[silentrunning]

No. Because they were vaporized. But suddenly I had a mouthful of blood. Um... A companion cube?

[She sketches a little metal cube into her journal, with a friendly little heart on each face. And then she entones.]

The companion cube will never stab you in the back. The companion cube cannot speak, and if it does speak, disregard its advice... There was this one chamber where I was having energy pellets fired at me. The only way to get through it was to use the cube as a shield.

[indirectcause]

...I'm not sure how a box can stab you in the back but-uh. Was it some kind of robot?

[silentrunning]

GLaDOS's modus operandi was instilling fear and doubt. No. They weren't robots. But I was encouraged to treat it as a friend.

[indirectcause]

So it'd hurt all the more when it was killed, huh?

[silentrunning]

Exactly.

[You understand Aperture, Mr. Paul.]