The Machine (Test Subject Complete)

"ACTIVE SCAN OPERATIONAL. SEARCH AND DESTROY ESCAPING ENZYME."

- The Machine after awakening.

"YOU CANNOT HIDE FOREVER."

- The Machine when Blue hides behind metal for a while.

The Machine is the secondary antagonist of the Nitrome flash game Test Subject Complete. It is a surveillance system that works for Doctor Nastidious and monitored Blue and Rex209 from early on in the game, and its voice can be heard in the intro. It stays dormant and passive for the first 18 levels, then awakens after Nastidious returns and finds Blue has escaped.

After becoming active, The Machine will try to kill Blue and Rex209 with its laser beam, demonstrating its power by shattering part of the coffee mug Blue was hiding in. Blue must hide behind plates of metal to avoid the beam. The Machine will tell Blue he can't hide forever if he hides for long enough, say it will destroy him if he avoids its attack and tell him to stand still if he keeps moving. Its voice is quite demonic.

The Machine is absent for levels 26-29 due to the fact that the player is controlling The Professor instead of Blue. At level 30, The Machine is found at the top of the room Doctor Nastidious resides in, with a picture of him and a map on the wall. It drops to the floor and opens a cockpit for Nastidious to use, serving as the game's final and only boss. It attacks during the battle with its laser or by rushing at the Professor with a drill. When it crashes into a wall with its drill, its red core will be revealed. This red core is The Machine's only weakness, and it will take damage if shot there. After taking three shots, it will break, and soon after be completely destroyed by the self-destruction of Nastidious' base.

The Machine also appears in Test Subject Arena II as a hazard in some stages.

Personality
According to Rex209, The Machine only knows how to kill. This is reflected by the fact that it is only shown attempting to destroy Blue, and acting aggressively when it fails to do this or can't. It also shows a sign of sadism in Test Subject Arena II, where it will dance whenever a player dies, regardless of whether the death is caused by it or another player or hazard.

Trivia

 * The Machine appears to be a homage to GLaDOS and HAL 9000.
 * The Machine is one of the only characters in a Nitrome game to be voiced and speak words. It's unknown who voiced it though.
 * Back when Nitrome accounts were supported, completing every singleplayer level in Test Subject Arena II would unlock an avatar of The Machine, although it was referred to as the Surveillance Droid MK-II.