GlaDOS, Aperture and the rest: How does it all tie up?

[kupocake]

As people finish Portal and EP2, the speculation is coming through in drips and drabs in impressions threads, so lets start a single thread for the mystery behind the Half-Life series biggest storyline revision since the Combine themselves.

GlaDOS
First, starting with GlaDOS and her Final Battle speeches... which are largely lies right? But what of:

Are you trying to escape? [chuckle] Things have changed since the last time you left the building. What's going on out there will make you wish you were back in here. I have an infinite capacity for knowledge, and even I'm not sure what's going on outside. All I know is I'm the only thing standing between us and them. Well, I was.

Is this just more bluffing on her part, or does it allow us to date the events of Portal? Is the change on the outside the Portal Storms or Combine Occupation? Us could presumably refer to the Combine... so is the destruction of GlaDOS instrumental in the arrival of the Combine? Or aliens from Xen?

Aperture
How much of the danger in the Portal chambers was GlaDOS' crazed invention, and how much of it was simply the product of an unethical scientific community? What on earth was the Aperture Building? When the player character lies outside of the Aperture campus, it seems to be a normal enough place (in a rather green place quite unlike anything we've seen in the sandy and autumnal Half-Life series so far), but what about inside? Why such a cavernous, horribly rusted location? Is there any chance that the testing facility is Borealis, and/or is the emptyness of the facility in Portal linked in any way to the disappearance of the Borealis and its reappearance in the Half-Life 2 Episodes?

Borealis
It's back, but is it the same as before? The fate of the Borealis appears to be some kind of teleportation mishap:

Oh yes, quite real, despite its almost legendary stature. Our peers at Aperture Science were at work on a project of some promise, but in their rush to beat Black Mesa for funding, they must have compromised ordinary standards of risk. We heard their research vessel had simply disappeared. Vanished-with all hands... even part of the dry dock! Few believed the Borealis would ever be seen again.

.

Given the use of 'stature' and the general disbelief of its existence, could the Borealis be some kind of mega ship? For it to be both a major gameplay location and an autonomous scientific community, it would surely have to be pretty large. Is anyone still alive there? Is GlaDOS still about?

 

[lilgamefreek]

Might as well post this. Honestly, I think the game Portal takes place AFTER the seven hour war. Aperture Science is abandoned, and likely forgotten. All that is left is GlaDOS, and various test subjects in cryosleep. So to pass the time, GlaDOS uses the test subjects. I believe this mostly because of the complete derelictness of the facility in some areas. It just seems unkept, abandoned, and forgotten. And a major scientific facility would not undergo such a change unless under MAJOR calamity. What's worse than complete alien invasion.

I also think that, because GlaDOS the PROGRAM is just software. Although it does require fairly powerful hardware to function, "backups" can easily exist. And I think the Borealis might be controlled by GlaDOS actually, or at least hold a copy of GlaDOS, and that's why the combine might be so interested in it, as the computer seems extremely powerful (IT MADE UP A FREAKEN SONG!).

 

[kupocake]

I'm thinking we'll see GlaDOS on the Borealis and she'll turn against Freeman who she expects to destroy her, as per Eli Vance's wishes. Then it'll turn out that destruction of Borealis and GlaDOS is exactly what the G-Man wanted all along, and the 'them' GlaDOS talks about in Portal will be able to attack the earth, Combine style, post Episode 3.

 

[RioBravoXL]

I'm thinking we'll see GlaDOS on the Borealis and she'll turn against Freeman who she expects to destroy her, as per Eli Vance's wishes. Then it'll turn out that destruction of Borealis and GlaDOS is exactly what the G-Man wanted all along, and the 'them' GlaDOS talks about in Portal will be able to attack the earth, Combine style, post Episode 3.

Hmm, I don't know. Eli said that the Borealis could result in another Black Mesa. Is GlaDOS capable of something like that?

Also, Kliener mentions that the Borealis disappeared along with part of the dry dock, so that must mean the Borealis contains some sort of portal making device, which would explain Eli's adamant stand on the destruction of the ship so said Black Mesa-like incident doesn't occur.

 

[Surrogate]

My theory is as follows:

The Timeline
The dawn of Teleportation
The theory of Teleportation is introduced by either a group of Scientists, or introduced from beyond by the Gman.

Black Mesa and Apeture Science
Black Mesa and Apeture Science begin working on Teleportation technology with governmental funding, starting the Portal Travel technology race.

Black Mesa takes the price
While Apeture Science has the most efficient solution, Black Mesa suddenly presents a solution superior in many ways. (Perhaps by the intervention of Gman) Black Mesa wins the technology race, and is rewarded with full govermental funding, and Apeture Science looses theirs.

The Resonance Cascade
While Black Mesa starts investigating the new discovered world of Xen, the Gman interferes and is succesful in having the scientists perform a test on this unknown yellow crystal in the Anomalous materials lab. This triggers the Resonance Cascade which is the beginning of the Half-life series.

Xen and the Combine invasion
The portals resulting from the Resonance Cascade allows the creatures that had escaped to Xen from the combine invasion on their planet, to escape to Earth. Gordon Freeman, believing he's stopping the Resonance Cascade launches the rocket that opens the gateway for the combine invasion. Unknowing about this, he continues his attempt to rescue the world, and destroyes the Nihilanth. By doing this, Gordon Freeman not only allows the Combine to invade, he also annihilates their opponents. While it was not Gmans plan for Gordon to destroy the Nihilanth and its forces, he is very satisfied with it and hires Gordon for further missions in the future.

I won't go further, you know the rest.

My theory on Gman
It seems evident that Gman was the author of the Resonance Cascade and the launch of the rocket to open the portal for Combine invasion. This does by no means prove that Gman works for the combine, it only shows that it was his plan for the combine to invade Earth. This is in defiance with The Half-Life Saga Story Guide, but i think Episode Two speaks for this theory.

This leaves many questions unanswered:

• Why did the Gman want the combine to loose their citadel.
• Why does the Gman allow the resistance to launch a rocket to destroy the new super portal?
• Was the death of Eli orchestrated by Gman?
• If above, is it then Gmans intention that the Combine becomes aware of the teleportation technology aboard Borealis?

We'll probably see more to Gman, if he wants the combine to get the teleportation technology, as Gordon Freeman would then be a danger for those plans.

What is GlaDOS?
From what seen in Portal, we know that GlaDOS is an artificial intelligence able to control vast amounts of information, as well as control huge facilities. It seems that GlaDOS is not a single entity, but a Sphere shaped device. I think GlaDOS exists in multiple copies - we see a whole warehouse of GlaDOS in the end of Portal.

Most likely GlaDOS is complete - GlaDOS itself says its out of Beta. Therefore it had gone into production and utilization in the Apeture Science facilities most likely including Borealis.

I am not sure if GlaDOS really is flawed. From Portal i feel that the AI has the intelligence of a child, but with almost infinte knowledge and processing power. Perhaps GlaDOS is indeed so well manifactured, that it must be parented as was it a human child. The GlaDOS system at Apeture Science Enrichment Center may have been abandoned early in its growth, not having learned human ethics and morality properly. We learn that attempts to correct its behavior already have been made: A morality module was applied, that prevents it from harming the personal. It seems as it is more out of curiosity that GlaDOS tried these things, in the same way a kid kills ants out of interest. Without supervision and human management, GlaDOS then governs the facility according to only what it has learned - to perform human tests with the teleporation device.

I do not believe GlaDOS is directly linked to Teleportation technology, or that GlaDOS can develop this technology. It is merely a tool for optimizing research facilities with intelligent computer processing.

When does Portal happen?
I think Portal happens after the combine invasion of earth, somewhere between Half-life 2 and Episode 2. The facility in itself contains no threat for the combine, and has little value - it is limited to testing facilities, not technology research. I think Borealis was where the technology was invented, and the Portal location only a huge test center. While the portal device is something of interrest, the technology details is on board Borealis, and is only found deployed in the testing facilities. It's of more interest to get the blueprints, than to get an actual device which would be hard to gain the details from.

GlaDOS is possibly oblivious to whats happening outside, and only concerns itself with the ongoing test sessions - what it was programmed to do.

Therefore we may not see much to this GlaDOS in the future episodes, but we may very likely see other GlaDOS entities. And they may act very differently, depending on what they was meant to do, and how well maintained they are.

I have also written some theories concerning Black Mesa and Apeture Science here:
http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=132024

 

[RomeoJGuy]

The Aperture Science Enrichement Center is located in Cleveland Ohio as detailed by this schematic of the Borealis:

Black mesa scientists by the Borealis, fat chick girl....bscly

A GlaDOS is on board???

 

[Laff]

My theory is as follows:

The Timeline
The dawn of Teleportation
The theory of Teleportation is introduced by either a group of Scientists, or introduced from beyond by the Gman.

Black Mesa and Apeture Science
Black Mesa and Apeture Science begin working on Teleportation technology with governmental funding, starting the Portal Travel technology race.

Black Mesa takes the price
While Apeture Science has the most efficient solution, Black Mesa suddenly presents a solution superior in many ways. (Perhaps by the intervention of Gman) Black Mesa wins the technology race, and is rewarded with full govermental funding, and Apeture Science looses theirs.

The Resonance Cascade
While Black Mesa starts investigating the new discovered world of Xen, the Gman interferes and is succesful in having the scientists perform a test on this unknown yellow crystal in the Anomalous materials lab. This triggers the Resonance Cascade which is the beginning of the Half-life series.

Xen and the Combine invasion
The portals resulting from the Resonance Cascade allows the creatures that had escaped to Xen from the combine invasion on their planet, to escape to Earth. Gordon Freeman, believing he's stopping the Resonance Cascade launches the rocket that opens the gateway for the combine invasion. Unknowing about this, he continues his attempt to rescue the world, and destroyes the Nihilanth. By doing this, Gordon Freeman not only allows the Combine to invade, he also annihilates their opponents. While it was not Gmans plan for Gordon to destroy the Nihilanth and its forces, he is very satisfied with it and hires Gordon for further missions in the future.

I won't go further, you know the rest.

My theory on Gman
It seems evident that Gman was the author of the Resonance Cascade and the launch of the rocket to open the portal for Combine invasion. This does by no means prove that Gman works for the combine, it only shows that it was his plan for the combine to invade Earth. This is in defiance with The Half-Life Saga Story Guide, but i think Episode Two speaks for this theory.

This leaves many questions unanswered:

• Why did the Gman want the combine to loose their citadel.
• Why does the Gman allow the resistance to launch a rocket to destroy the new super portal?
• Was the death of Eli orchestrated by Gman?
• If above, is it then Gmans intention that the Combine becomes aware of the teleportation technology aboard Borealis?

We'll probably see more to Gman, if he wants the combine to get the teleportation technology, as Gordon Freeman would then be a danger for those plans.

What is GlaDOS?
From what seen in Portal, we know that GlaDOS is an artificial intelligence able to control vast amounts of information, as well as control huge facilities. It seems that GlaDOS is not a single entity, but a Sphere shaped device. I think GlaDOS exists in multiple copies - we see a whole warehouse of GlaDOS in the end of Portal.

Most likely GlaDOS is complete - GlaDOS itself says its out of Beta. Therefore it had gone into production and utilization in the Apeture Science facilities most likely including Borealis.

I am not sure if GlaDOS really is flawed. From Portal i feel that the AI has the intelligence of a child, but with almost infinte knowledge and processing power. Perhaps GlaDOS is indeed so well manifactured, that it must be parented as was it a human child. The GlaDOS system at Apeture Science Enrichment Center may have been abandoned early in its growth, not having learned human ethics and morality properly. We learn that attempts to correct its behavior already have been made: A morality module was applied, that prevents it from harming the personal. It seems as it is more out of curiosity that GlaDOS tried these things, in the same way a kid kills ants out of interest. Without supervision and human management, GlaDOS then governs the facility according to only what it has learned - to perform human tests with the teleporation device.

I do not believe GlaDOS is directly linked to Teleportation technology, or that GlaDOS can develop this technology. It is merely a tool for optimizing research facilities with intelligent computer processing.

When does Portal happen?
I think Portal happens after the combine invasion of earth, somewhere between Half-life 2 and Episode 2. The facility in itself contains no threat for the combine, and has little value - it is limited to testing facilities, not technology research. I think Borealis was where the technology was invented, and the Portal location only a huge test center. While the portal device is something of interrest, the technology details is on board Borealis, and is only found deployed in the testing facilities. It's of more interest to get the blueprints, than to get an actual device which would be hard to gain the details from.

GlaDOS is possibly oblivious to whats happening outside, and only concerns itself with the ongoing test sessions - what it was programmed to do.

Therefore we may not see much to this GlaDOS in the future episodes, but we may very likely see other GlaDOS entities. And they may act very differently, depending on what they was meant to do, and how well maintained they are.

I have also written some theories concerning Black Mesa and Apeture Science here:
http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=132024

I think it's pretty up in the air whether or not Portal happens around black mesa or after the combine invasion. No real evidence to support either claim really. But I'm pretty sure we'll see GlaDOS up and running in some form when Gordon hits Borealis.

 

[Sam]

The Borealis is owned by Aperture Science, it would seem. The sudden disappearance or reappearance, or maybe even both, could be a direct result of the events of Portal.

 

[Laivasse]

(Snip)

Nice post, but especially nice thoughts about the Gman. You're the first person who explicitly stated much of my own theory, that the Gman orchestrated the Resonance Cascade to bring humanity into contact with the Combine for some obscure reason.

As for GlaDOS, noone seems to have yet mentioned what she was originally designed for. According to the powerpoint slides, GlaDOS is what Aperture have designed as a 'Fuel Systems Icing Inhibitor', which suggests that it may well have been tested on a vehicle designed for icy environments - eg. the ice-breaker Borealis (it is an ice breaking ship right? In any case it's in a cold place). OR the icing thing could just be yet another in-joke about cake.

 

[Surrogate]

I think it's pretty up in the air whether or not Portal happens around black mesa or after the combine invasion. No real evidence to support either claim really. But I'm pretty sure we'll see GlaDOS up and running in some form when Gordon hits Borealis.

Very true, that's why it's simply a theory Speculation is always exciting i think.

 

[Surrogate]

Nice post, but especially nice thoughts about the Gman. You're the first person who explicitly stated much of my own theory, that the Gman orchestrated the Resonance Cascade to bring humanity into contact with the Combine for some obscure reason.

As for GlaDOS, noone seems to have yet mentioned what she was originally designed for. According to the powerpoint slides, GlaDOS is what Aperture have designed as a 'Fuel Systems Icing Inhibitor', which suggests that it may well have been tested on a vehicle designed for icy environments - eg. the ice-breaker Borealis (it is an ice breaking ship right? In any case it's in a cold place). OR the icing thing could just be yet another in-joke about cake.

Yeah, i read that about the ice too. I don't know exactly what it means. Don't know if its worth to have portals just to remove ice in front of a ship, and then why would Black Mesa have a solution for it as well?

I imagined the technology could be used to remove large chunks of ice from the poles or something, but i see no reason, else than a new supply of clean water :\

 

[Laivasse]

I'm not sure if the portal technology was related to the Icing Inhibitor (ie. GlaDOS) - they could be completely separate development.

Aperture's powerpoint states that BM's version 'inhibits ice - nothing more'. If it was some kind of portal system I doubt it could be described that way. They just seem to be 2 companies competing over lots of random government defense contracts, and the icing inhibitor was one of those. Unfortunately for Aperture, their solution was to develop GlaDOS.

 

[Logic]

What I think it demonstrates is that the Aperture Science researchers had their own projects that they wanted to develop, and would attempt to obtain government funding for them under false pretenses. In this case, they used their "ice inhibitor" budget to fund research and development of a powerful artificial intelligence, but kept the two projects inseparably linked in order not to breach contract.

That's probably why the Borealis has it's own GlaDOS - Not because the ship needs it, but because if they installed an ice inhibitor on the ship that didn't have GlaDOS integrated into it, it would be obvious to the people who provided the funding for the ice inhibitor that the development money didn't all go into the contracted project. Presumably, the government would keep tabs on where the money was going, and GlaDOS would have no doubt been quite an expensive "component".

Of course, it's blindingly obvious that an ice inhibitor does not require such an advanced AI component, and that's why it's so funny that the Aperture researchers thought they could get away with it. They obviously thought very little of their government's intelligence. It also probably explains why, after that, they received so few contracts (according to that graph in the slide) - Why give someone a contract and funding when you think they're going to spend your money on their own, unrelated research?

 

[Laivasse]

Hmm, I'm not convinced that they weren't planning to use the advanced AI aspect of GlaDOS as a selling point for the inhibitor.

The slide clearly points out the fact that GlaDOS 'is, arguably, alive' as an advantage over whatever system Black Mesa were touting, and lists the costliness of the BM system as a drawback of that one. What is unclear is whether they used these points to tout the superiority of GlaDOS to the government, or whether it was an analysis that was used purely internally.

 

[Newblade]

Log in the Aperturse Science website with 'cjohnson', and 'tier3' as password. You'll find more information about the company, and who really is the main character of Portal.

 

[PlatinumBowser]

GLaDOS

GLaDOS Origins
I believe GLaDOS was just developed to handle all the experiments and process massive amounts of data. Apeture was a massive company, in order for it's employee's to run Portal data efficently a AI unit like GLaDOS would be required.

I think GLaDOS works on a massive system and is interconnected to all the other GLaDOS' systems, I mean why else would the Borealis dissappear at relatively the same time unless GLaDOS took over the ship's controls and gassed the crew?

It's also interesting that they made the initial design of GLaDOS Modular, as in new apparatus could be added to modify how she acted and worked. Making her perfect for any condition given the correct apparatus are operational (even if not connected, she had crazy wireless skills, which is noticable during the last battle, she only acts in pain when the units are thrown into the fire, and her speaking only starts glitching once they get destroyed, even though their not connected)


Aperture Science

Cool Fact Aperture stands for "an opening", so portal...holes work for them haha.

As far as the Military contracts go, look at it from the governments standpoints. BM was offering worldwide portal systems, while Aperture was fiddling with handheld applications. Both are good ideas but wouldn't you want worldwide transportation first before you kick physics in the face with a gun that can launch people at high speeds through holes?

TimeLine?
Also interesting detail i picked up from ApetureLaboratory.com if you login and type in Notes read the history of the Company. It figures out that GLaDOS probably wakes the main character up during the Portal storms somewhere between 2002-2005

Personally i think it would be awesome if the Main character from Portals shows up in HL2 ep3 even if it's just a brief "G-Man Apperance" she portals in and portals out before Gordan can get close. That would make my day even if it makes no since for the HL storyline

 

[vafan13]

GLaDOS Origins

As far as the Military contracts go, look at it from the governments standpoints. BM was offering worldwide portal systems, while Aperture was fiddling with handheld applications. Both are good ideas but wouldn't you want worldwide transportation first before you kick physics in the face with a gun that can launch people at high speeds through holes?

Which explains why they attempted mass portaling the Borealis "Philadelphia Project" style, they were trying to make up for their less valuable portal system by being able to move very large objects.

TimeLine?
Also interesting detail i picked up from ApetureLaboratory.com if you login and type in Notes read the history of the Company. It figures out

I think it is somewhat ambiguous as to when (during or after) the portal storms Portal takes place, but it definitely is not before them. At one point GLaDOS says, "are you trying to escape? Things have changed since the last time you left the building, what's going on out there will make you wish you were back in here."

Screw the song, GLaDOS bakes the best cakes in the universe. If the combine gets that kind of power, game over, man.

 

[Laivasse]

A lot of the Notes at ApertureScience.com appear to have been written purely for the purposes of comedy, so I don't know really whether we should treat them as game canon or not.

 

[W4d5Y]

They are comedic and canon, but not relevant, therefore there might possibly be some hints hidden (government no-bid contracts) but apart from that I couldn't care less wether it's canon now or not.

 

[Faux6]

I'm really impressed with everyone here and the theories and everything...

But I think everyone is missing an important detail.

Why does Aperture Science use Combine 'Power balls' or why do the Combine use Aperture Science 'Power Balls' ? It's the exact same energy source in the same form with the same properties...

Thoughts?

 

[DeltaBlast]

I think the Borealis was a ship that was conducting Portal tests on a larger scale to compete with Black Mesa. Something went wrong while it was on drydock and the whole ship got portalled away, apparently to the arctics. From the video feed you can see that the whole ship remained how it was in drydock, crates still hanging from cranes, so the people on the ship probably got killed instantly.

It's destructive power might be either that it can make super portals that can kill everyone, or that it can make portals for the combine to come through.
I think Kleiner thinks he can stabilize it so it can be used to attack the combine.

@ Faux6: The power balls were probably used all over earth (at least in top secret centers) and the combine adopted that tech when they invaded.
The other possibility is that GLaDOS aquired the tech from the combine, either by offering them the portal gun when it's completed or simply just stealing the tech (from an abandoned APC or anything like that).

 

[Au-heppa]

I don't see how having "Combine" power balls would make Aperture releated to the Combine. Combine doesn't have exclusive patent to the power balls. Aperture have invented high tech AI and a portal gun, so, I think they could have invented how to make power balls as well.

@ Faux6: The power balls were probably used all over earth (at least in top secret centers) and the combine adopted that tech when they invaded.
The other possibility is that GLaDOS aquired the tech from the combine, either by offering them the portal gun when it's completed or simply just stealing the tech (from an abandoned APC or anything like that).

It doesn't necessarily mean that Combine got them from Earth, either.

 

[OD-Black_Fire]

Log in the Aperturse Science website with 'cjohnson', and 'tier3' as password. You'll find more information about the company, and who really is the main character of Portal.

I get "ADMIN." what should I type after that?

 

[kupocake]

I get "ADMIN." what should I type after that?

LIST

APPLY
or
NOTES

 

[SilverStream]

The history reveals that GLaDOS Stands for...

Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System

 

[Adabiviak]

I was thinking Combine when I was in the Aperture center too, but it's puzzling. Aperture is obviously a human installation (as they were competing with Black Mesa for government funding). I kind of think the similarities are coincidence - the combine orbs were a convenient object for the developers to use that players are already familiar with manipulating, the turrets likewise. Where was it? Just below ground, or someplace far away? Perhaps they use their portal technology to allow them to have a research center far away? (throw the business end of a portal on a sattelite to Mars and wait for it to land?)

BRILLIANT game, by the way.

 

[SilverStream]

Well maybe the bullets from the turrets and those energy ball things are a result of terminal evolution, aka The Perfect Solution.

Like the human eye is almost the same as a dolphin's. Or the wheel being used so much the way it is. Or even the use of Microsoft Windows. They're the best possible solution so why invent anything more? [Terminal]

The combine may've done the same. Ended up with this brilliant Engeryball thing and used it everywhere. The human may have just invented/be trialing the same thing.

 

[Virulence]

You can take the information from the ASL website that GLaDOS was first activated several years after 1996 during the first annual "bring-your-daughter-to-work day". Now you can assume that GLaDOS first went psychopathic during that initial startup.

Since no one was able to shut her down, the disrepair of many portions of the facility, and the fact that there were no remains to be seen of any former test subjects/ employees, Response teams.

You can also assume that the event took place a long time before Portal starts, further more, that there is no one around to mount any sort of response to the events. I doubt Aperture would just decide to abandon all their resources in the Enrichment Center facility.

So it stands to reason that if no one is able to try and take back the facility, no one would be around to supply new test subjects.

Which leads me to believe that any test subjects that were involved in the Portal testing after the GLaDOS takeover were there before hand. Since the main character is female, and the day of the assumed system takeover was "bring-your-daughter-to-work day" I believe that the main character is the daughter of one of the employees of the facility. The "bed" in the chamber she starts is looks to be some sort of stasis unit . Maybe GLaDOS killed off most of present occupants of the facility during her initial activation, then with nothing else to do, resorted to her original programming which was to administer and supervise the testing?

 

[Apocalypse89]

I go by the theory that GLaDOS tried to take over the first time she was activated, when she flooded the facility with neurotoxins. After that they managed to install the morality core in her, and everything was peaceful for a while. Some time later, the Portal Storms or Seven Hour War caused the facility to be quickly evacuated, which is why many test subjects remained in stasis, and why the facility has so many overturned chairs, conference room projectors still running, etc.

Several years pass, over which GLaDOS regains some of her sentience as well as performing her pre-programmed function of using the remaining test subjects for research and testing. Chell(the main character) is one such subject.

Of course, there's one flaw in my theory, and it's that the slide projectors are showing comparisons of Aperture and Black Mesa. The Portal Storms and Seven Hour War took place after BM was destroyed, so why would Aperture still be comparing themselves to them? So whatever event caused Aperture to be evacuated, there's a good chance that it took place before HL1.

 

[Dr_Crowbar]

Of course, there's one flaw in my theory, and it's that the slide projectors are showing comparisons of Aperture and Black Mesa. The Portal Storms and Seven Hour War took place after BM was destroyed, so why would Aperture still be comparing themselves to them? So whatever event caused Aperture to be evacuated, there's a good chance that it took place before HL1.

If the facility was evacuated the day the RC happened(and subsequently Portal Storms hit the Earth), then it all makes sense. It is unknown how many years "officially" have passed since then, but I believe the events of Portal are set during Half Life 2, so it should be about 20 years(or 10, I am still not completely sure).

 

[monkeyclass]

Hi new here.

Just wanted to add a little detail to all this.
I noticed that you hear the voice of GlaDos more than once in Episode 2.
First time in the room where Alyx for the first time tries to gain radio connection with White forrest, almost in the beginning of the game.

Also the Portal device is called Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device (ASHPD) wcich lead me to think that there is a connection with Adrian Sheppard

 

[Dr_Crowbar]

I noticed that you hear the voice of GlaDos more than once in Episode 2.

No, that's the same Combine voice we hear in HL2. GlaDOS is simply voiced by the same voice actor.

Also the Portal device is called Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device (ASHPD) wcich lead me to think that there is a connection with Adrian Sheppard

Also, no. Laidlaw or GabeN said that this was a coincidence.

 

[Ennui]

That's an awfully coincidental coincidence I imagine it was an intentional reference but one that doesn't mean anything.

 

[Dr_Crowbar]

Well, are you calling them liars?

On the other hand, this thread is rather intriguing.

 

[Ennui]

No, I think they're just saying that there's no actual connection (Shepard has nothing to do with Portal), but ASHPD and the keyboard thing is sort of a giveaway that it's an intentional easter egg.

 

[monkeyclass]

No, that's the same Combine voice we hear in HL2. GlaDOS is simply voiced by the same voice actor.QUOTE]

then the combines have two voices for their computer. because the one im talking about is nothing like the other one. will record when I get home later. It only appears one or two times. the other combine female voice appears alot of times

 

[Dr_Crowbar]

I know which one you are talking about(the one you hear when you enter the shack in the very beginning). Yes, it sounds a bit different from the one in HL2, but upon careful inspection, its still the same voice. And if you listen to GlaDOS, "she" sound nothing like it. But that's just me, I could be wrong.

 

[Apocalypse89]

The Overwatch voice in Episode 2 is the same as the one in HL2 and Ep. 1...they just made it a bit louder and clearer. And GLaDOS' voice actor, Ellen Mclain, also does the voice of the female "announcer" in TF2. That game's commentary actually mentions how she's the only person who's voice appears in all 3 OB games.

 

[W4d5Y]

Okay, here's a lil' log I just did. I think somebody well could have come up with this, but it still might help pinpointing the timeline of events...
So sorry, the following stuff is just for germans, just for fun, but basically what thought I wished to express was that, given Chell actually is a doughter of one of the employees, she should have been underage by the time she was *assigned* to the project and put in stasis and what not...
So, if she's an adult now, about a decade should have passed...Now, since the first test runs supposedly took place 1996 with the anual bring-your-doughter-to-work-day as an excuse for test subject resources.

Now, at this point one has to determine what exactely happened at the time the portal timeline kicks in, but I am convinced it somewhere between 2004 and 2008...Now, what's surprising is, that presumably there was some kind of evac going on at that point, alas the chaos and abandoned conferences and the lack of bodies...

Now, what still appears weird is that appearantly there is no imminent threat in the facility itself...of course unless the morality processor malfunctured and another neurotoxin incident occured, but still that contradicts the lack of bodies, also, aperture already appeared to be able to cope with such events before.


So, of course, it could have all been about the portalstorms/7 hour war/combine government that made the employees abandon the complex, although they appeared to have had been safe there, since GLaDOS indicates that herself and no harm had come to the facility, even of "what is going on outside" at that time. Heck, even the outside appears pristine and untouched...

Okay, now that I think about it, the probably didn'T stay in that compound for long, whereas the overturned chairs and slideshows kick in... Obviously, such an installation wouldn't be equipped for longtime occupation, so the best thing was abandoning the ranks for the sake of getting to your family, but now this *might* contradict the reason why Chell wasn't evacuated, too....

GOSH MY BRAINS BURN AHHHHHH *dies*



I want to believe (Daniel) sagt:
hey, mir f?llt grad was auf
I want to believe (Daniel) sagt:
Chell, die Protagonistin von Portal, ist m?glicherweise die Tochter eines Angestellten
FOX PAYNE sagt:
welchen angestellten?
I want to believe (Daniel) sagt:
denen von APerture Science Enrichment Center Cleveland, Ohio?
I want to believe (Daniel) sagt:
vermutlich liegt es dort, das ist aus den Texturen aus episode 2 herauszulesen
I want to believe (Daniel) sagt:
jedenfalls; laut der Timeline wurde GlaDOS (genetic lifeform and disc operation system)
I want to believe (Daniel) sagt:
1996 zum ersten Mal in Betrieb genommen, ja?
I want to believe (Daniel) sagt:
und die ersten Versuche wurden am "bring-your-doughter-to-work" Tag durchgenommen
I want to believe (Daniel) sagt:
n?mlich an eben diesen T?chtern
FOX PAYNE sagt:
muss ma eben essen gehn, kannst aber weiter schreiben.
I want to believe (Daniel) sagt:
wenn man also vorraussetzt, dass Chell Teil der Testpersonen war, die 1996 das erste Mal in die Prototypversuchsphasen aufgenommen wurde
I want to believe (Daniel) sagt:
kay
I want to believe (Daniel) sagt:
und wenn sie also damals minderj?hrig war (bring-your-*DOUGHTER*-to-work)
I want to believe (Daniel) sagt:
und jetzt um die 20 ist
I want to believe (Daniel) sagt:
dann sind um die zehn Jahre vergangen
I want to believe (Daniel) sagt:
und wenn nun Portal w?hrend der Portalst?rme spielt
I want to believe (Daniel) sagt:
("Even I don't know what's going on outside....I am the only one that stood between us and them....once you're out there, you will wish you were back in here")
I want to believe (Daniel) sagt:
was auch erkl?ren w?rde, warum die gesamte Anlage verlassen ist
I want to believe (Daniel) sagt:
dann w?rden die Portalst?rme ungef?hr 2006 stattfinden
I want to believe (Daniel) sagt:
demnach spielt Half-life zwischen 2004 und 2008, so w?rde ich das einsch?tzen

 

[Logic]

I wouldn't expect someone in 'stasis' to age, though.