GLaDOS

""I'd just like to point out that you were given every opportunity to succeed. There was even going to be a party for you. A big party that all your friends were invited to. I invited your best friend the Companion Cube. Of course, he couldn't come because you murdered him. All your other friends couldn't come either because you don't have any other friends. Because of how unlikeable you are. It says so here in your personnel file: Unlikeable. Liked by no one. A bitter, unlikeable loner whose passing shall not be mourned. 'Shall not be mourned.' That's exactly what it says. Very formal. Very official. It also says you were adopted. So that's funny, too.""

=The Machine=

GLaDOS is the villain in the computer game Portal. She exists to see how experimental technology is handled at the hands of test subjects, and possibly operating the entire test facility. As the game progresses she slowly starts losing her sanity, and therefore it is hard to tell whether her actions were according to plan. It should also be noted that GLaDOS is a big liar, but whether this was intentional or not may never be known.

Origin
GLaDOS' origin is gradually revealed in the later stages of the game. An abandoned slideshow presentation in a meeting room shows GLaDOS was developed by Aperture Science Laboratories Inc. as a method of de-icing fuel lines in direct competition with a similar project by Black Mesa Research facility. GLaDOS is described as not only being a fuel line de-icer, but having a fully-functional and being "arguably alive." GLaDOS is, however, much more than a fuel line de-icer. The AI is installed as the Enrichment Center's central control computer. GLaDOS's core is mounted in a large, sealed chamber alongside control consoles and an incinerator. The core hangs from the ceiling surrounded by video screens that show random and relevant images. The core swings continuously, dislodging one of the modules in the final level. There are no clear speakers or units which create GLaDOS' voice, though it is present throughout the facility. During the final battle, GLaDOS reveals it is the source of the facility's abandoned state; GLaDOS flooded the Enrichment Center with a fatal neurotoxin, presumably killing several scientists, just before its Morality Module was installed. Since the Module had been installed, it can be assumed that the release happened as the Module was being installed, forcing the scientists to abandon the facility.

=The Cake=

Motivation. What would running through test areas with a portal gun benefit the guinea pig? You are promised that if you accomplish your task, that there will be a party, and that there will be cake at said party. However, there are several theories about the cake.

1) It's a lie, as written on one of the walls.

2) There is a cake shown at the end of the game, but whether it is THE cake is in question.

3) That YOU are the cake; at one point in the game, GLaDOS says "You will be baked, and there will be cake.", supporting this theory.

4) That it is a prank, because the contents of the cake are;

''One 18.25 ounce package chocolate cake mix, 1 can prepared coconut pecan frosting, 3/4 cup vegetable oil, 4 large eggs, 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 3/4 cup butter or margarine, 1 2/3 cup granulated sugar, 2 cups all-purpose flour. Don't forget garnishes such as: Fish shaped crackers, Fish shaped candies, Fish shaped solid waste, Fish shaped dirt, Fish shaped ethyl benzene, Pull and peel licorice, Fish shaped volatile organic compounds and sediment shaped sediment. Candy coated peanut butter pieces, shaped like fish. 1 cup lemon juice. Alpha resins. Unsaturated polyester resin. Fiberglass surface resins And volatile milk impoundments. 9 large egg yolks. 12 medium geosynthetic membranes. 1 cup granulated sugar. An entry called 'how to kill someone with your bare hands'. 2 cups rhubarb, sliced. 2/3 cups granulated rhubarb. 1 tbsp all-purpose rhubarb. 3 tbsp rhubarb, on fire. 1 large rhubarb. 1 cross borehole electro-magnetic imaging rhubarb. 2 tbsp rhubarb juice. Adjustable aluminum head positioner. Slaughter electric needle injector. Cordless electric needle injector. Injector needle driver. Injector needle gun. Cranial caps. And it contains proven preservatives, deep penetration agents, and gas and odor control chemicals; that will deodorize and preserve putrid tissue.''

Of course, this could also be due to GLaDOS losing her mind piece by piece.

The truth behind the cake may never be known.

=The Battle=

Once you go off course, you find the room GLaDOS is in. After a short conversation, a piece of her falls out. When you put this piece into the incinerator, GLaDOS's voice turns monotone, and she says;

"Good news, I figured out what that thing you just incinerated did. It was a morality core they installed after I flooded the enrichment center with a deadly neurotoxin to make me stop flooding the enrichment center with a deadly neurotoxin, so get comfortable while I warm up the neurotoxin emitters."

So, now what little moral GLaDOS had is gone, and to defeat her you must incinerate all the pieces that fall off her before the room fill completely with neurotoxin. To do so, Chell must use her portal gun to redirect the missles that GLaDOS fires back towards her, knocking her other cores out. Chell can then drop these into the incenerator. The cores that must be destroyed are morality, curiosity, logic, and frustration. As this process repeats, GLaDOS's insults gradually become more childish and harsh. Once you destroy all the cores, GLaDOS will explode, and you will land on the road outside Aperture Science facilities. This clash can be seen in the video below.

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Still Alive
The most bitter sweet thing ever, GLaDOS survives, and she even sings you a song, the video to which is below, along with the lyrics.

This was a triumph.

I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS.

It's hard to overstate my satisfaction.

Aperture Science

We do what we must

because we can.

For the good of all of us.

Except the ones who are dead.

But there's no sense crying over every mistake.

You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.

And the Science gets done.

And you make a neat gun.

For the people who are still alive.

I'm not even angry.

I'm being so sincere right now.

Even though you broke my heart.

And killed me.

And tore me to pieces.

And threw every piece into a fire.

As they burned it hurt because I was so happy for you!

Now these points of data make a beautiful line.

And we're out of beta.

We're releasing on time.

So I'm GLaD. I got burned.

Think of all the things we learned

for the people who are still alive.

Go ahead and leave me.

I think I prefer to stay inside.

Maybe you'll find someone else to help you.

Maybe Black Mesa

THAT WAS A JOKE.

HAHA. FAT CHANCE.

Anyway, this cake is great.

It's so delicious and moist.

Look at me still talking

when there's Science to do.

When I look out there, it makes me GLaD I'm not you.

I've experiments to run.

There is research to be done.

On the people who are still alive.

And believe me I am still alive.

I'm doing Science and I'm still alive.

I feel FANTASTIC and I'm still alive.

While you're dying I'll be still alive.

And when you're dead I will be still alive.

STILL ALIVE

Still Alive... thumb|300px|right