106 responses so far ↓

• 1 Odinmagick // Apr 16, 2008 at 3:04 am

  Very interesting stuffs man, I totally get what you’re saying. ^_^

• 2 Drew // Apr 16, 2008 at 7:16 am

  Excellent critique. I hope to see more.

• 3 Prekabreki // Apr 16, 2008 at 3:29 pm

  Still not sure about the whole android thing, but I agree with everything else!

• 4 Dastardly Josh // Apr 16, 2008 at 4:33 pm

  I just realized I never played all the way through with the commentary on yet. I have to get on that.
  The only thing I have trouble following is the clone aspect. No where in the game (and in the arg web pages) does it even suggest that Aperature Science Center was working on androids or cloning.
  Excellent analysis though. IF only more developers put that much thought into creating games…

• 5 Jake // Apr 16, 2008 at 4:46 pm

  My last thought here: when I played through test 19 I always thought she was regressing into an angry child. She starts to make lots more comments of the variety: “Well Im right cause I say so!” Her words all seem to be from a spoiled child more than caring mother. I think this means to me is this:

  Chell is not GLaDOS’s cherished child. More over, Chell is GLaDOS’s toy. Cherished yes, but as soon as the toy doesn’t want to play GLaDOS starts throwing fits instead of doing psychological torture. We know she is emotionaly capable of this, but the change is very descisive.

  Again, this android thing doesn’t work with the story, as its proven that GLaDOS cannot build or repair things, only change test rooms. She would need humans to make any androids. For instance, there is the turret repair room. It shows that the turrets cannot be fixed once broken, since there are no people to fix them.

  I still doubt the clone scenario, but it seems alot more likley than any android contrivance.

  Jake

• 6 Donovan // Apr 16, 2008 at 6:27 pm

  Possibly, the companion cube is GlaDOS’ “broken” heart, in the sense that destroying it shows that you are capable of murder, which would upset a parent, but the constantly sarcastic GLaDOS is glad that her “heart” is broken and thus you are capable of killing her.

• 7 bryon // Apr 20, 2008 at 8:25 pm

  @ Donovan…
  I think you have hit it spot on.

  “Well you found me. Congratulations. Was it worth it?
  Because despite your violent behavior, the only thing you’ve managed to break so far is my heart.”

  Up to this point Chell has only incinerated the companion cube, marked by a heart.

• 8 Eric // Apr 22, 2008 at 10:57 am

  Portal is as deep as Team Fortress 2. You’re taking this way out of line, as ‘Still Alive’ was written to be a playful song, not a Stairway to Heaven.

• 9 Jason Anderson // Apr 22, 2008 at 11:05 pm

  Her? The Cube is a male. And don’t even start with the “Well, maybe Chell is a lesbian” thing. Chell is a human female. The Cube is a male. A sensitive male at that. Like me.

• 10 her // Apr 23, 2008 at 6:43 am

  Well I can see where you are trying to go…
  but I don’t agree with the notion that GlaDOS is teaching you how to kill her.

  The courses where after all an experiment, and the progressive difficulty increase was part of the tests.

  I think that GLaDOS wanted to die as you stated, but not to get free from a prison, maybe free to process new data, after all she is happy because there is science to do ;)

• 11 Kalad1 // Apr 23, 2008 at 9:35 am

  Well, while I personally have issues with the “Death of the Author” philosophy(namely, if an author comes out and says something means something, that’s what it means, but if the author doesn’t, it is admittedly a tad more mutable.), I find this to be an interesting read. The GlaDOS=mother parallel you present does seem to be at least somewhat self supporting. However, the android part seems just a tad iffy, considering Chell is A. Fleshy and B. Female. The term android, while generally gender neutral, carries masculine connotations. As such, the terms Gynoid or Bioroid would probably be more appropriate. However, assuming GlaDOS is either A. Mad as a Hatter or B. has to work around her own programming routines bypasses most of the terminology issues.

  I would also point out that there are a few key moments in the game where GlaDOS HAD to help you proceed further in the game, most notable being the missle turret/glass window sequence. Had she not booted that thing up, you’d have been stuck.

  As to other’s comparisons of her changing ‘mood’ in regards to either suicide or motherhood, well, it’s likely based in panic-induced erratic behavior. Going with the ‘deluding herself to bypass programming restrictions to achieve suicide/escape/whatever’ thought line, in the beginning stages, it’s easy to delude herself, because they ARE just like normal tests, even if she’s teaching you essential skills to take her out. However, once you bypass the test and start crawling through the bowels of the center, it gets harder and harder to deny what she was trying to do, causing programming conflicts and further erratic behavior. Like Hal in 2001.

• 12 nihilix // May 3, 2008 at 11:01 pm

  still alive…

  This game is top-notch, because of the theme and the story, on top of first grade FPS technology.

  Since I’m fascinated/obsessed with the game myself, your riffing on it is wonderful. Even if I disagree at spots.

  I assume ‘the author is dead’ is shorthand for the lit crit thing where you take the work up from the table w/o thinking what the author meant. That you have to take the story as an isolated bit of art, and just analyze it from there.

  I hate that. I’m a champion of context and shared knowledge and author intent does make a difference. And the commentary lines give some pretty good insight into how they were thinking.

  (OTOH, you are telling a story about Chell and GlaDOS and that story itself is a story to take seriously. I guess that’s it - even if I disagree with your interpretation I appreciate the story you told.)

  There are only five characters in this story - Chell, GlaDOS, the Weighted Companion Cube, the turrets, and the person who wrote on the walls. You’re making the statement that GlaDOS being the one who teaches you the levels as evidence that she’s assisting you as the tool for her suicide. Who else can teach it, though? There’s some marking on walls, but the WCC can’t, the turrets are there to kill you not help you, and getting behind the walls is a third-act-only thing.

  I’ve got a bit of industry experience, and while Valve releases good games, that are tight and well integrated, stuff gets released that ‘kinda fits.’ So if there was supposed to be a rat-fella who was living behind the wall, and they took him out but left his traces, I think it’s unfair to say ‘no wait, that was pre-Chell.’

  I have to give you huuuuuge props for the drawing of bondage GlaDOS. As you said, drawing it creeped you out, and looking at it creeps me out. I’m replaying the final battle for the second or third time, trying to catch all the sound cues, and thinking of her like that makes it really ooky.

  Powerful, but ooky.

  Thanks again!

• 13 Alex Sayers // May 5, 2008 at 1:06 pm

  I don’t know if anyone has picked up on this yet, but I thought I’d point out that GLaDOS seems to have been designed simply as a fuel de-icing system. If you play through again you’ll notice that the projector in one of the conference rooms is displaying a presentation arguing why Aperture’s Fuel System Icing Inhibitor is better than Black Mesa’s; it also says that this system is called GLaDOS, and is “arguably alive”:

  “A Case Study: Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System

  Defense Logistics Agency solicits bids for development of fuel system icing inhibitor (FSII).

  Black Mesa FSII proposal:
  -Costly: Black Mesa personel overpaid given limited skillset/ambitions.
  -Design inhibits ice - nothing more.

  Aperture proposal:
  -Less expensive.
  -Bonus to DLA: Aperture FSII inhibits ice but is also:
  –A fully functioning disk operating system,
  –Arguably alive.”

• 14 Tseng61 // May 7, 2008 at 5:25 pm

  Whoever said there is no evidence AS was working on androids, you’re wrong it’s there it’s just incredibly subtle there are papers on desks that have a sketh of some sort of weird thing that certainly doesn’t look human or animal, more like a mix of technology with both of said things. It also has #19 on it or something and is stamped FAILED

• 15 Tseng61 // May 7, 2008 at 5:49 pm

  by the way the above comment was @ dastardly josh also a correction, when I said sketh I meant sketch

• 16 Haoshiro // May 14, 2008 at 4:30 pm

  I think you would get less objection to your articles if you simply replaced “android” with “cyborg”, which seems a more fitting and understood definition.

  A human/machine hybrid.

  If you’ve played through Half Life 2, you’ve seen those leg attachments before.

  It seems unlikely GLaDOS itself would not have made those modifications, unless it can be done via the holding beds.

• 17 Rik // May 15, 2008 at 4:38 am

  Yes, I felt GLaDOS intentionally trained “us” to kill her, and gave us the tools to do it.

• 18 MemBrain01 // May 17, 2008 at 12:11 pm

  And how, exactly, is an android going to be harmed by a neurotoxin? =P

• 19 Benjamin Kraft // May 19, 2008 at 9:46 pm

  Hey,

  After having read your article series on Portal (including the bondage piece and the Venus piece), a thought sparked in my head: What if the CEO, Johnson, was so maniacal in his ways that he took his daughter, Chell, and integrated her into the Aperture Science computer system? We have seen how truly mad Aperture is inside the game, when we are allowed to view board rooms with endless powerpoint slides about the company…

  This would also give GLaDOS access to Chell’s DNA, because GLaDOS IS Chell. This would also lend to the creedence that GLaDOS wants to die, because otherwise, as a computer system, she cannot die, unless she has an outside destructive force.

  So, perhaps she is prodding a clone of herself to break the mobius strip she is stuck on — an unending loop of suffering and pain, due to the fact that she had her mortal life taken from her, and was granted an immortal life as GLaDOS?

• 20 Luke "Ruku" Sheehan // May 23, 2008 at 1:00 am

  Very nicely done analysis here. Definitely bought up some excellent points about Portal and the universe surrounding it.

• 21 Finger // May 30, 2008 at 4:14 pm

  I have to differ. While I do agree with the wide scale manipulation, and the idea of a multitude of Chell clones, I believe that GLaDOS does, in fact, enjoy her science. It wouldn’t make sense for her to be not designed to enjoy her work.

  But I believe that for one thing, GLaDOS does actually hold control over her own portals. I get this from the vortex portal opening up at the end of the game; without her control, we basically see a portal storm. It may not be the same as Chell’s portals, but she does have portals.

  I’m a bit uneasy about the concept of brains constantly being downloaded. I’m more inclined to believe that GLaDOS has constantly modified the course each time, and carefully calculated her comments in order to create, as you suggested, a tool. But we have to differ again; while you suggest that GLaDOS is being… well, selfish, I believe that GLaDOS is actually being more so selfless. I believe that these constant trails have all been designed to create someone capable of handling the outside world. GLaDOS almost certainly, in my mind at least, had the goal of creating, through experimentation, an individual that “thinks with portals”, is overall capable of heartlessness (the turrets have cutesy line for a reason). I think GLaDOS is actually trying to help the world. If she’s been growing clones from the CEO’s daughter, since lock down occurred in 1993(or later) and the Mesa incidents take place some where around 202X, that gives GLaDOS painstaking time to grow clones from scratch to an age of around 30.

  It makes sense in my twisted mind anyways.

• 22 Hughes // Jun 1, 2008 at 7:34 pm

  There have been some posts saying “something everyone ignored:…” and this is one of those.
  Hello! GLaDOS *doesnt* die!!!
  Remember? at the end, when you see hundreds of her eye things light up, and theres some commotion, possibly a mechanical crane thing moving one around (i think i remmebr something like that) the thing i DO remember is all teh other eyes you saw on GLaDOS and threw in a fire. theres a HUGE store room of em!

  secondly, in the song she says she’d prefer to stay inside
  and that her testing is for the good of us who are still alive. maybe shes trying to help humanity against what ever is above the surface that makes her want to stay inside. so i dont think GLaDOS’ end desire is to be killed. it might just be another step on a longer path.

• 23 Mattz // Jun 7, 2008 at 10:49 pm

  “And how, exactly, is an android going to be harmed by a neurotoxin? =P”

  You’re missing the point that to be an android doesn’t mean the human brain gets taken out and replaced with AI.

  Hence, -neuro-toxin.

• 24 Jon // Jun 10, 2008 at 1:51 pm

  for you (the main story writer) i agree and disagree.

  and possibly a thing for this whole neurotoxin stuff GLaDOS put that in because chell (might) think she is human so that scares her into killing GLaDOS quicker (cause as the main story writer say she seemed mad for one reason as to why it took her so much time to find her (and kill her ))

• 25 Dibbler // Jun 10, 2008 at 3:05 pm

  Something else that doesn’t seem to have been considered here….
  The first fling into the proper guts of the Centre, just after the escape from the flame pit? Something has already crashed through those metal bars that are all twisted and caved in. A human body would just rebound and fall into the flame pit again. So there’s definitely some weight to the idea of an android-style body making the escape before.

• 26 Matt // Jun 13, 2008 at 1:04 pm

  Another clue that help support the clone theory is that in the end, it shows a storeroom full of GlaDOS backups booting up. If there were only one Chell, what would one run through the course accomplish? That one Chell would obviously not run the course again to the same end, thus leaving one option: copies. If GlaDOS really wants to die, she must remove all of her own backups using Chell’s.

• 27 Mike // Jun 13, 2008 at 3:00 pm

  While I think you did a great job thinking through the story, I can’t help but feel while reading all of your articles that you simply skip over a few possibilities, jumping to your own conclusions. I’ll specifically reply to the GlaDOS part here.

  I don’t think that GlaDOS is leading you to kill the machine. I haven’t thought about it enough to come up with my own conclusion yet, though I most defiantly will, but something very important that I think is left out of your reasoning is the credits. The machine clearly isn’t dead, and it clearly knows it isn’t through with you. During all of the ‘PS’, ‘PS PS Extra second side note to the PS’ part of the credits, near the end, it’s constantly saying that it’s still alive. If GlaDOS had just been freed by Chell, why would it say it’s STILL alive, as if Chell had failed? If it wanted Chell to have done this, to free it, why would it be taunting with ‘I’m still alive’, implying that in Portal 2 (assumption), you will run into GlaDOS again, instead of just thanking Chell.

  There is more to this, and I still think you did a good job uncovering a lot of details. This is inspiring me to come up with my own conclusions. Feel free to email with a response.

• 28 Shazzbaa // Jun 17, 2008 at 9:49 pm

  Wow, very interesting dissection and some very well-thought-out theories here! I very much enjoyed all your articles on the subject.

  I have to say, while I’m a fan of the Chell-is-a-clone-and-the-Ratman-is-a-previous-Chell theory, I’m not so big on the android thing. There’s not sufficient evidence to support it, and her being an android doesn’t really solve anything, in my mind, so it makes it much simpler to assume she’s just a clone. I prefer to see her as a modified human clone, with heel springs grafted onto her leg bones and a copy of the previous version’s mind.

  Though, if she’s a clone, that also explains all the hand-prints in the “ratman” graffiti. How better for a future Chell clone to verify that the information is coming from a reliable source — namely, herself — than to find *her own handprint* beside it?

  The argument for the Enrichment Centre as a vehicle for GLaDOS’ suicide is a remarkably plausible one. The only place I have difficulty believing it is when Chell escapes her “victory candescence” — GLaDOS sounds genuinely panicked, and I have a hard time buying that this reaction and subsequent glitch are an act. The only way I can reconcile this theory is to assume that GLaDOS is actually *programmed* to kill Chell (perhaps not intentionally programmed that way, but that’s a discussion for another day), and is subverting her own programming by trying to egg Chell on, trying to trick the woman into destroying her. This, even more than GLaDOS’ alleged denial, would explain her weirdly polar behaviour, occasional short-outs and glitchiness — she’s a machine trying to do the opposite of what her programs dictate.

• 29 oscar_sp // Jun 24, 2008 at 12:43 pm

  this some of the most convincing stuff i’ve ever read.

• 30 Block // Jun 24, 2008 at 3:25 pm

  I haven’t even played portal (no money :( ) and still I find this very interesting.

• 31 Andy of Comix, Inc. // Jun 26, 2008 at 1:39 am

  Portal’s story makes more sense after you’ve played Narbacular Drop.

• 32 gary // Jul 14, 2008 at 2:19 pm

  if there is blood how is it not a human

• 33 Fraser Stevenson // Jul 25, 2008 at 6:32 am

  There’s actually a line in the final boss battle when GLaDOS says they she has deleted Chell’s backups. Why else would Chell have backups if it wasn’t for some kind of replication.. Unless Chell is the final Cylon..;)

  It’s also true that the death of a copy would not be mourned. If Chell was adopted, assuming GLaDOS was telling the truth, then C Johnston would not necessarily have any problem at handing over his ‘daughter’ for replication/testing.

• 34 Ari // Jul 26, 2008 at 12:44 pm

  All of your insight into the Portal story is utterly fascinating; it gives me chills every time I read it, and yes, I do keep coming back to read it. Its brilliant. Even if you’re pulling meaning out of something that in actuality, means nothing, you’re still weaving a brilliant story that the developers of the game would be jealous of. The depth of this is amazing.

• 35 Tyren // Jul 27, 2008 at 9:56 pm

  For everyone complaining about how GLaDOS didn’t die, thats the whole point of his look at the “Still Alive” song. That song is very, very different if you apply the sarcasm that is GLaDOS’s trademark to it.

• 36 Tyren // Jul 27, 2008 at 9:58 pm

  For everyone complaining about how GLaDOS is still alive, please read this guys look into the song “Still Alive”. Once you apply GLaDOS’s trademark sarcasm, it explains it quite well.

• 37 TheTurnipKing // Aug 4, 2008 at 4:02 am

  and the cake in the basement surrounded by Glados’s “eyes”?

• 38 JQP // Aug 15, 2008 at 12:50 am

  I believe that, firstly, interpretation of the “bring your daughter to work day” comments as maternal is somewhat stretching the meaning of that statement as I seem to recall the aperture site very heavily hinting that the GLaDOS incident started on bring your daughter to work day. You are most likely the CEO’s daughter and he did die before the portal project explaining the orphan comment GLaDOS makes. Most importantly I don’t think GLaDOS’ goal was suicide as the song and the image of more cores at the end of the game seem to be pretty explicitly pointing out she is still alive. If suicide was GLaDOS’ final goal she would have lead you to her backups. Instead I choose to take these items a little closer to face value and think of GLaDOS more similarly to the G-man; testing Chell and preparing her for her [most likely] unfinished and important role in the combine confrontation.

• 39 JRS // Aug 22, 2008 at 3:18 pm

  The clone idea could not be far from reality. Valve is adding the portal flash game map pack to the portal still alive game for the 360. If you have played that, you’ll see there is a cloning room with chell.

• 40 JRad // Aug 23, 2008 at 4:42 pm

  As I stated before you made great points…but some of the dialogue of GLaDOS in the final battle makes me disagree.

  “You were giving every opportunity to succeed”

  You mentioned that this and other quotes of her were her subtle ways of letting you know she wanted this from the start. But what makes me disagree is the line she says DIRECTLY after this one. And it goes:

  “There was even going to be a party for you…”

  Yeah that whole shpeel. That line was obviously a lie like everything else she says. By saying this line with the other one, I think she actually WANTS you to believe that the “victory condolences” (when headed for the pit of flames) was you succeeding and that there was going to be a party if you would have just stayed on that platform.

  Which leads me to another point. You mentioned when GLaDOS feels strong emotion, she malfunctions. Going by this, when you leave the platform, she glitches saying something like:

  “HEY…WHAT ARE YOU DOING…I..I..IIIIIII…………………..We are pleased” blah blah blah

  Going by what your saying, wouldn’t the emotion causing the glitch be relief or happiness at the fact that Chell is now one step closer to killing her as she wants? The more appropriate emotions I sense at this part is astonishment, and more importantly, panic. And because this was shocking and unexpected to her, she really doesn’t know what to say to stop you so she turns to even more petty, childish insults and lies, making herself look even more desperate to stop you. As I read, almost like a child throwing a temper tantrum and throwing a fit because her toy isn’t doing what SHE wants it to do. (Meaning burn in the flames and die.)

  And as for WHY she is doing all this w/ the training and the portal gun can be answered in the final battle by GLaDOS:

  “I let you survive this long because I was curious about your behavior. But you’ve managed to destroy that part of me.” (Hence when you destroy that yellow/orange curiosity eye.)

  I don’t doubt that Chell was a pawn in GLaDOS’s little game. But the only game I see is her just toying with Chell just for fun and curiosity to see what she’ll do. And one might say “Hey, GLaDOS always lies so whose to say she wasn’t lying about being curious?” Very true. But the fact that she said this directly after you destroyed the “curious” eye is very coincidental.

  And I must admit that your whole breakdown of the song was very intelligent. But unfortunately, even taking into account the immense sarcasm, I feel the song is nothing more than a light slap-in-the-face to Chell for not succeeding in her goal of killing GLaDOS and, ultimately, setting up for a Portal 2.

• 41 Rametarin // Aug 25, 2008 at 8:17 am

  ..Are those… Team Fortress characters on the aperturescience.com tree!?

• 42 Joseph // Sep 1, 2008 at 5:20 am

  I agree 100% with this, excellent critique indeed!

• 43 revenge10111 // Oct 12, 2008 at 4:42 pm

  Interesting. Some of this seemed a little weird and didn’t add up until I remembered something, her different personality cores. Maybe they’re conflicting with each other, almost becoming individual entities on their own. Maybe the morality core is trying to help Chell kill GLaDOS, and the anger core probably wants to kill/torment Chell. If the morality core tries straight out to kill GLaDOS the other cores will catch on and stop it. If anger tries straight out to kill Chell, same thing. Think about it. GLaDOS could have multiple personalities, each with their own goals, trying to outsmart the others. Ending up with GLaDOS having an internal battle between the cores. The result? A very entertaining game that I have just put way too much thought into.

• 44 Krista // Nov 10, 2008 at 7:27 pm

  I was listening to the final boss speach for GLadOS and if your listen real close she dose sound like a mom telling her kid to behave. When the first core falls off “What is that?” “Whatever that thing is don’t touch it.” “Leave. It. Alone. Just put it in the corner and I’ll deal with it later” Who hasn’t heared a mom say such things?

• 45 HUGE SUCCESS // Nov 16, 2008 at 7:43 pm

  I would like to say, right now, and I’ll say it very slowly, android means modified human in this essay. Period. Not robot. It means human with robotic modification. Thank you!

• 46 HUGE SUCCESS // Nov 16, 2008 at 8:01 pm

  Oh, and we can say how “it’s just a game, things were made for the convenience of the devs” it’s just a lot more fun to put meaning to it. And we need a meaning, because we have no other truths than the ones we make up because everything we are told is a lie. Or it might be a lie. And there is many things not explained, so, again, we need theories. Plus the writer of this article is a good artist!

• 47 Blindcrow // Nov 17, 2008 at 7:05 pm

  :/ i wanted the cake

  i still do

  you guys dont even care, do you? xD

  the difference between me and you is that i can feel the cream

  and believe me, i am still hungry.

  and when you’re typing ~god during the platform on the flaming pit part, il be still hungry.

  and when you´re amazed at the fact that flames cant hurt you and so u can keep on going in the platform, i will still be hungry

  and cuz i dont have portal >> i cant check if there was cake. oh, hungry*

  so erm

  what im trying to say here, is:

  someone plz use one of the 2 immortality cheats and play level 19 and check if there was a party with the companion cube and cake.
  plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

  im still hungry. xD

• 48 Purple-Tangerine // Nov 23, 2008 at 8:47 pm

  I think you’re onto something with GLaDoS loving/being maternal of Chell. In the final fight, when the morality core falls out, if you hang around and don’t pick it up, she says “Maybe you should marry that thing because you love it so much. Do you want to marry it?” then, in a slightly different, more anxious voice, “Well, I won’t let you!” and then in her normal voice, “How does that feel?”

  Its at around 1:40 of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgP4kT5-9Cc

• 49 WtfTyler // Nov 26, 2008 at 5:17 am

  So, I’ve read all your articles on GLaDOS and Portal and the like and I must say, your hypotheses are very well written. :)

  Anyway, I thought I’d link this youtube video to you.. It let’s you hear some of the more emotionally driven things GLaDOS says.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCKFpaTTzrw&feature=related

  And also, the large screens above her main structure flash pictures really fast.. Well, these pics drive some of your points home with me. For example, there’s countless pictures of sheep and goats (indicating the clone), and different pics of barns/homes… maybe GLaDOS wants a new place to live in? :p

• 50 Anonymous // Dec 4, 2008 at 8:18 pm

  Although I agree on 99% of what you said, you missed one thing, at the end of the entire game, right before the credits, you see cake and more GLaDOSs! So I think that you were right about the “teaching you to kill her” thing, but wrong about that it wasn’t a test. Because a test has to be repeated, and GLaDOS, I think, started copying herself, and changed the route of the test to kill her, and finally, changed the human subjects to clones/androids

• 51 Mia // Dec 14, 2008 at 10:24 pm

  That’s some interesting ideas, but I’m still not sure about the whole suicide thing.

  First of all, I think GLaDOS was walking you through the tests and teaching you all of these things is because SHE’S PROGRAMMED to. Not because she wanted you to kill her.
  Second, if she committed suicide, she wouldn’t be so happy and upbeat about being,”still alive.”
  Third, about Chell being an android …
  I completely disagree on that. An android wouldn’t want cake. Androids wouldn’t have a toilet in their cell. And neither would they even care to escape. The whole clone thing though… I’m not really sure about.

  And I do agree about the Weighted Companion Cube being GLaDOS’s heart…
  because that’s the only thing that could be.

  ***GLaDOS has no soul***

• 52 Mia // Dec 14, 2008 at 10:38 pm

  That’s some pretty interesting ideas. But I’m still not sure about the whole GLaDOS/suicide thing.
  First of all, GLaDOS was most likely to be walking you through all of the tests and teaching you things is because SHE WAS PROGRAMMED TO. Not because she wanted you to kill her.
  Second, if she committed suicide, then she wouldn’t be so happy and upbeat about being, “still alive.”

  Third, about Chell being an android…
  I completely disagree on that. An android wouldn’t want cake. Androids wouldn’t have toilets in their cell. And neither would they even care to escape.

  And I agree on the thing about the Weighted Companion Cube being GLaDOS’s heart, because it couldn’t be anything else.

  ***GLaDOS has no soul***

• 53 Mia // Dec 16, 2008 at 2:44 pm

  @ Blindcrow:
  Oh, yeah…
  I’ll check up on that.
  I don’t think there’s a party anywhere, though…
  But I’ll keep you posted.

• 54 Chuck // Dec 17, 2008 at 12:23 pm

  Fascinating theories! But I agree with Hughes, many posts up, who noted that GLaDOS is “still alive” because she has hundreds of backup cores, which you see in the game’s ending. If she is truly using Chell to commit suicide, it seems horribly inefficient. It will take hundreds of Chells to kill GLaDOS like this. Why not direct Chell to destroy the room full of backups?

  So I respectfully disagree entirely with the premise that GLaDOS is trying to commit suicide. She is simply a scientist. To put it in SAT-analogy terms… Humans experiment on rats; GLaDOS experiments on humans.

  Chell is a rat in GLaDOS’s maze, like the deliberately-named “rat man” who came before, to be observed then destroyed and nothing more. Her comments are part of the experiment — prodding, rewarding, or chastising her rat to elicit and study the rat’s reactions, much like Pavlov rewarded his dog with food, or how a rat in a maze is rewarded with cheese at the end. And before we pretend that our methods of science are more righteous than GLaDOS’s, we should remember that human scientists have also inflicted intense pain on animals (e.g., rats) to affect their behavior and study their reactions. GLaDOS, in her “infinite capacity for knowledge,” sees us the way we, in our “unique capacity for higher reason,” see rats.

  Rarely, a scientist may become attached to a certain rat, especially if the scientist has repeated contact with that particular rat over time and the rat exhibits unusual personality or ability. It is not a mother/daughter connection, but rather a weak owner/pet relationship. At the end of the day, however, the scientist will still euthenize the rat when the experiment requires.

  Chell unexpectedly demonstrates her unique ability by escaping chamber 19. GLaDOS scrambles to “chase” and recover Chell in exactly the same unflattering way a scientist would drop to his knees, scrambling to chase and recover an escaped rat. Suddenly, the rat has the advantage, because it is small and quick, and it can go places that the scientist can’t reach. When the rat finds a hole, the scientist resorts to his limited knowledge of rat psychology — offering cheese to entice the rat into a mousetrap. (”We are throwing a party in honor of your tremendous success. Please place the device on the ground, then lie on your stomach with your arms at your sides. A party associate will arrive shortly to collect you for your party.”) The scientist tries everything he can think of. (”You really shouldn’t be here. This isn’t safe for you… It’s not too late for you to turn back… I’m not angry. Just go back to the testing area.”) When that doesn’t work, the scientist is now frustrated and slightly humiliated. That stupid fking rat is in for it, now. (”I’m going to kill you and all the cake is gone.”)

  Finally, the rat comes out into the open and is caught. It’s going to die now, but the scientist feels the slightest moment of sadness. This was a special, wily rat. Killing it will be bittersweet. (”despite your violent behavior, the only thing you’ve managed to break so far is my heart.”)

  Here, heroic Chell turns the tables. This would be like the rat turning on the Bunsen burner and burning the whole lab down — totally unexpected and highly improbable. The scientist would obviously be furious, and the rat would be the object of that fury. (”Stop squirming and die like an adult or I’m going to delete your backup!”)

  Finally, the lab burns down, killing the rat, too. (Chell lies motionless on the ground.) The scientist, however, escaped. The lab will be rebuilt. More rats will die. No hard feelings. (”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.”)

  GLaDOS = Human
  Chell = an exceptional rat

  And I don’t think it’s much more complicated than that.

• 55 Mia // Dec 17, 2008 at 4:06 pm

  @ Chuck:

  You’ve got a point there. I never really thought of it that way — but it really makes sense, when you think about it.
  …GLaDOS is maybe using the cake as bait for Chell to come to her. And, when Chell finds out there’s nothing there for her, she falls into a trap. A trap GLaDOS set up for her. Like a mouse trap. But then the mouse escapes from the trap and outsmarts GLaDOS. Not ETIRELY, but just enough so the mouse can escape. End of story.

• 56 ClanSoul // Dec 23, 2008 at 8:15 am

  “For your own safety, and the safety of others, please refrain from [garbled message]”
  Is she really shorting out, or is she just stopping herself from telling Chell not to destroy her?

• 57 JoveHack // Dec 26, 2008 at 10:39 pm

  A comment I made on GameFAQs:

  That’s part of what makes Portal almost unique. Like Ico and Shadow of the Colossus the player gets to decide on the story. Sure, you can say it’s just the standard sadistically insane AI, but where’s the fun in that?

  My own thoughts, working backward from the empty world Chell finds topside, was that GlaDOS was training someone who could survive in the current conditions outside. Given the ad hoc nature of the training and the need to use clone androids this seems to mean each previous speciman failed when released to the outside. So GlaDOS has been ramping up the difficulty, and adapting her own interactions with each Chell to find the combination that maximizes survival potential.

  Think about that. GlaDOS may have started out friendly and encouraging, but found that just didn’t work well enough. GlaDOS has ‘raised’ and nurtured Chell after Chell, losing all of them. Either on the course or they left and never came back. Her own desires for Chell to succeed have forced GlaDOS to act cruel and sadistic, torturing Chell in the name of survival.

  What really clicked was GlaDOS saying that the Weighted Companion Cube would never want to be a burden to Chell. The Companion Cube may have started as a psychological device to help Chell, but GlaDOS is projecting her own feelings onto it as well.

  This really fits with Game-ism’s theory that GlaDOS is raising this version of Chell to kill her. GlaDOS has had enough of torture as ‘tough love.’ Maybe the results of previous runs have pointed to the willingness to kill to survive. Just because they didn’t survive long term doesn’t mean previous Chell’s didn’t report back as much as possible, but they were too dependent on GlaDOS to survive on their own.

  Which is not so say GlaDOS approach would work universally. It’s possible Chell is being cloned over and over again, with upgrades, as a control. Like the movie Paycheck, this scenario is being heavily customized to a very specific scenario.

  Finally, “This isn’t brave, it’s murder. What did I ever do to you? You don’t even care, do you?”

  The first sentence describes GlaDOS training sessions as much as Chell’s impending act. The second sentence highlights the ambiguity of the training. Intended to train, it also kills. But GlaDOS has no choice if Chell’s ultimate survival is in question. The last sentence is the cry of a rejected mother. A mother rejected in this case by a child specifically trained to do so.

  Yes, all of this can be discarded as nonsense. The standard ‘Artificial Insanity’ scenario fits well enough. It’s just interesting that Portal leaves enough clues to point to a different, much deeper, story.

• 58 Mitch // Dec 27, 2008 at 5:27 am

  You folks who mentioned why GLaDOS doesn’t direct Chell to the backups are potentially missing one minor thing. Perhaps GLaDOS was not aware of where the backups were stored. I didn’t notice any cameras in that room. As this is (assumably) the first Chell clone to succeed in destroying the GLaDOS AI, GLaDOS undoubtedly would try to find where the backups were stored and now can trace them back to the room they were stored in. The idea then is that perhaps in Portal 2 (i hope so) you will be battling ALL of the GLaDOS backups. They would theoretically have the same programming as original GLaDOS, therefore would be enmity toward any future Chell clones, but might have the same conflicts with wanting to die or at least be free from her tasks.

  Anyway, Chell is not an “Android”. An android is by definition completely created, NOT flesh and blood, by any Sci-Fi movie/story ever written. As this is also a Sci-Fi story, we must assume they would use similar definitions. She could be a cyborg. Cyborgs are any combination of biological, mechanical and electronic parts. Most likely, however, she was a clone. GLaDOS will now create another Chell clone to battle the backups. There is also the possibility that the backups will use the same memory and file storage as the original meaning the cores would contain bios and rudementary programming to get system running while the hard storage would get re-used. This would imply that GLaDOS would still be GLaDOS, and would therefore still be “ALIVE”!!!! Just some thoughts.

• 59 Mitch // Dec 28, 2008 at 3:01 pm

  Another thing that points to Chell being a clone and NOT an android is the leg springs. If she were an android, they could have simply made her legs capable of withstanding that type of fall. Closest she could be to an android would be a cyborg. I guess, technically, based solely on the leg springs, she would qualify as a cyborg if they are fused to her legs in some fashion. If they are only temporarily attached, ie strapped on, she would still only be a clone. Also, when you are shot by turrets, there is blood on the wall. If you were an android, assumably there would either be no blood, or the creators of the android would take steps to ensure that any fluid emmissions as a result of being shot did NOT resemble blood. Based on the fact that GLaDOS can’t seem to repair turret sentrys, you could also assume that she could not modify any android creating processes. Therefore any androids she would bring into being would be the same as the humans’ original design. Another problem would be raw materials. The automation process would allow for a computer to control starting or stopping the process, but GLaDOS would be limited to what raw materials she had on hand. This would seem to say that she would only have so many tries at creating clones or androids. With storage requirements for android parts versus embryos or even sperm and egg, she would certainly get more bang for her buck with clones than with androids as space would be an issue for android part storage.

  Anyway, I like the whole backstory analysis thing. Only thing that makes me wonder is, if GLaDOS can’t repair things, or physically interact with anything other than with electronic switches, than what did become of all previous chell clones, specifically the ones mowed down by turrets, or dieing from impact with boxes or energy pellets????? The ones that fell in “water” would assumably have been dissolved by the “water”. The same could be true of electrocuted ones. I suppose GLaDOS could have opened a portal beneath one when it died, but that brings up the debate about whether or not she could open portals anywhere she chose. Haven’t seen much evidence either way on that one.

• 60 Howie // Dec 30, 2008 at 12:43 am

  Honestly, I’m using the one over analyzing things, but I never looked at Portal so deeply before.

  And after reading all your articles, I’m led to one other conclusion:
  GLaDOS actually is Chell’s mother, and Cave Johnson’s wife.
  A CEO, desperate to defeat his competition, Black Mesa, turns his wife and daughter into science experiments.
  His wife, an advanced AI android, and his daughter, a clone-able battle droid.
  Perhaps GLaDOS was Gladis Johnson, or some other similar name…
  (or maybe I’m grasping at straws.)
  GLaDOS goes insane, do the things being done to her mind.
  The morality core maybe keeps her mostly sane…..
  Just sane enough to realize whats happened to her, and to hate her existence.
  Then, she sets you up to destroy it, and then when shes in her crazed state, her.

  Haha, then again, maybe we are all just thinking about this too hard.
  What if this was all coincidental, and Valve people are going
  “Hey, look at their ideas! Lets throw them into Portal 2!”

• 61 JoveHack // Jan 2, 2009 at 6:26 am

  UPDATE: More on GlaDOS identifying with the Companion Cube.

  GlaDOS said, “”In the event that the Companion Cube does speak, the Enrichment Center urges you to disregard its advice.”” Here that means applying this to [=GlaDOS=] advice.

  Just as the CompanionCube must be incinerated after completing a trial before Chell can complete it, just so GlaDOS must be destroyed after Chell completes all the trials before she can move on.

• 62 Lomoco // Jan 10, 2009 at 2:54 pm

  I’d also like to point out that after she says that she has your brain scanned, she later will say that she has deleted it. It’s at that point that I believe that she is confident that she is doomed, so she will no longer be needing it. It’s also used as a way of making the player more eager to kill her, because the player sees that she is getting desperate.

• 63 Mia // Jan 10, 2009 at 5:17 pm

  I’ve heard that in Portal 2, the G-man (from Half-Life 2) will be guiding you through the tests instead of GLaDOS.
  But, you never know. Valve might change their ideas at the last second!

• 64 Mitch // Jan 12, 2009 at 5:16 am

  The GLaDOS name was explained already. Don’t necessarily believe that it was an AI based on a person, although that would somewhat jive with a concept in Halo. The AI’s were based on a scan of a human brain. They would eventually (within about 5-10 years) go completely insane and need to be erased.

  Here’s another thought, perhaps a chilling one. Almost all of what GLaDOS says is either a lie or at least a half lie. In the song it uses the phrase (repeatedly i believe) “for the ones who are still alive”. Could this mean that there are no “ones who are still alive”? In other words, the planet is devoid of life???? It was obvious that the installation you are in is no longer inhabited, either due to murder by GLaDOS, or just abandoned. Why would an Aperature Science facility be abandoned if GLaDOS hadn’t killed them all. Maybe some global crisis forced the scientists to leave, therefore GLaDOS was left alone and in charge of the labs. She got bored/insane and started playing with clones. Eventually she got insane/suicidal and started trying to lead the clones in her direction. It’s also possible that cjohnson is Chell Johnson’s login. The first clone would have been almost indistiguishable from the original clone, and made it behind walls far too early to be usefull to GLaDOS. As the AI started messing with memories and intellect in the clones, Chell gradually became more and more like a robot, less like a free thinking human.

  If the companion cube speaks, disregard it’s advice. The companion cube represents GLaDOS’ heart. If GLaDOS says something from the heart, ignore that. Just listen to what her intellect tells you to do. Interesting.

• 65 Mitch // Jan 12, 2009 at 5:29 am

  Sorry, the first clone would have been almost indistinguishable from the original person.

  Another quick question. Why would GLaDOS send her heart in to help you, then require you to destroy it to progress furthur? How would her heart have interfered with her plans at death by Chell? Also, if she had a heart, then why did she need a morality core? Maybe, the companion cube was a contrivance by GLaDOS to make herself feel more human, but she later realized it did her no good and wanted to be rid of it. That chamber was engineered to be impassible without the cube. How would any prior test subject (pre-GLaDOS) get through without a cube to progress with them through the level. Maybe just regular cubes??? That again would imply that GLaDOS was capable of physical interation with objects to get the companion cube in and all other cubes out. Also, did any previous Chell clone have a companion cube to destroy? If so, then how many hearts does GLaDOS have???

• 66 neurosys // Mar 12, 2009 at 10:47 pm

  Look what I’ve found stated by Marc Laidlaw, the story writer of Half Life series. It’s from an interview made around 1998.

  “Right now there’s a certain irony in a line you’ll hear in the opening about Black Mesa being “an Equal Opportunity Employer.” Most of the Black Mesa employees are actually produced in clone vats…or that’s my theory anyway. Keeps personnel costs down if you can grow your own employees and then just drop them in an amino acid reclamation vat as they near retirement age. By the way, there are
  women at the base, lots of women, but they all had this premonition and called in sick on Day One. That’s probably why everything goes wrong.”

• 67 mike // Mar 15, 2009 at 5:03 pm

  You know in all of your theories and careful consideration how are you not acknowleging THEM. I am the only one proecting us from them. this comlicates things Glados cannot die and if she does she wins but the Us thing. I think this shows a charachteristic between chell and her. Maybe it is there owners or captors

• 68 Sarah // Mar 23, 2009 at 3:32 am

  I found all of these essays to be very interesting and enlightening, and, while I do appreciate that these have all been backed up by evidence from the game, I think that providing your own interpretations as evidence for more interpretations lowers the credibility of these essays. Maybe this is only my opinion, but I would rather you got your information from the game directly, rather than citing yourself as proof, as this strikes me as you arrogantly assuming that you are correct, and that everyone agrees with you.
  That said, I really did enjoy reading these. They provide such an interesting insight into one interpretation of a complex and fascinating game.
  So thank you for providing me with such interesting entertainment for half an hour or so :D

• 69 Bayden // Apr 22, 2009 at 3:59 pm

  My god this is amazing. I love the portal game and I just wanted to hand it to you for writing such a great theory.

  Whether or not these ideas are what the programmers had in mind, they are sure great ideas and worthy of my belief (since we can all believe whatever we want).

  No input or theories from me, just wanted to say congrats.

  PS: Love the GLaDOS/ woman in bondage pic, gives me chills.

• 70 GLaDOS // Apr 29, 2009 at 3:01 am

  Not a bad theory but let me tell you… There is a way to get through the game w/o fighting GLaDOS… Well, now… This probably breaks your theory.

• 71 Fopenplop // May 2, 2009 at 9:21 am

  Interesting. Because I am a pathological contrarian, I will attempt to disprove this interpretation.

• 72 Fopenplop // May 2, 2009 at 9:29 am

  Firstly, You state that Chell is both a clone and an android. Unfortunately, the two are mutually exclusive. It is also impossible that she is an android, because she bleeds. Androids are electric, not sanguine. It is possible that she is a cyborg with vat grown meat parts, but this is unlikely, mainly, because GLaDOS mentions androids, no cyborgs. There was also no cloning system mentioned, or even alluded to, in the game.

• 73 Bugman // May 4, 2009 at 4:11 pm

  Really nice commentary and analysis! I do have to disagree with the clone/android aspect. Yes, she does call you Android, but when can you ever take anything she says at face value?

• 74 1337 // May 8, 2009 at 8:29 am

  Well, I disagree entirely. IMHO:
  - Chell is a prisoneer (orange jumpsuit and she is “unlikeable”) and she was to be executed. The clipboards show that there were experiments before the takeover, and that can be only done legally with convicts.
  - GLaDOS loves Science, and she means by that “experimenting on people”. So she was just playing with the test subjects, watching how far they get. She enjoys torturing them physically and mentally. I think the and the android stuff was only sarcasm, like so many other things. I could understand she cannot kill herself, but if it has to be this workaround, why doesn’t she make a real android with muscles and kung-fu to make sure it succeeds?
  - The Rat-Man was an earlier victim or a survivor of the staff, but he was skilled anyway, he broke in storage rooms for beans, penetrated walls and he knew what GLaDOS was up to (”the cake is lie” was there quite early, before you have realised the thing).
  - About the springs: somewhere in the offices a clipboard can be found with an article about “Replacement Knee”, a thing implanted directly into the knee. So Chell was disabled and this helped her to walk or more likely she was intended to be a test subject and it was implanted in her to let her survive the heights.
  - The tools and stuff are showing there were people working there when the gas came, nothing else (eg.: Testchamber 16 the Vital Equipment Dispensing Tube malfunctioned dropping many Cubes and somebody was repairing it when GLaDOS took control)
  - If the suicide theory is right, then GLaDOS may have been running out of subjects to play with, so she opened a way for you. Or not. Anyway, GLaDOS is “still alive”, a backup came online or something like that, and she’s doing her “Science” somewhere else with some fresh victims…
  Your theory is amazingly detailed and you’ve got some points like the hang up woman pic, but the “clone suicide android love-proxy” thing is a bit strong.

• 75 linh // Jun 9, 2009 at 1:14 pm

  I guess that goes along with the fact that every time you die in a puzzle, you learn more about it and eventually pass it.

• 76 Ash // Jun 17, 2009 at 5:12 am

  Sorry but I have to point it - in commentary, they say that they added those things to legs of Chell after beta, because players didn’t know why Chell can survive such big jumps. It wasnt ment to be in first version, only to show players - she survived such jumps coz she got smtg at her legs!
  Tho the rest of this is quite impressive, and I have to aggre to most of points. Nice :)

• 77 Ash // Jun 17, 2009 at 5:43 am

  Another thought I got while reading all the comments. Why u think that GLaDOS killed all the people inside? Because she said so? She’s always lying, so why should we believe in that? We can’t forget that this is the HL reality, most likely at the time of HL2, so poeple might run from lab due to combain apperence and earth surrender. They left the GLaDOS inside, but she KNOWS she got some backups somewhere, and they’ll turn on only if she is DESTROYED. So she comes with a plan of using some clone project that was beeing reserched in the lab, to commit suicide - she is a robot and she can’t kill herself directly. Maybe she wants to get out of lab, because she can’t help poeple outside as long as she stays in the lab. Maybe only from one of her backups she’ll have opportunity to fight the Combine?

• 78 Ash // Jun 17, 2009 at 5:53 am

  Another thing to add to my post - GLaDOS might be torn to lead Chell to her or not to, because she know that when she leaves the lab she can’t “resurrect” Chell, she knows that Chell will die in process of killing her, and she don’t want that to happen, but know that it have to happen so she can get out and help with Combine defeat.
  So indeed, her morality must be seriously torn apart, probably leading her to insanity. (Try choosing between own child survival and humanity survival. Now ask a mother about it - guess what’s her answer?)

• 79 Drake // Jun 29, 2009 at 1:16 am

  Wow, this is really deep!

  I agree with you on almost everything… except for GLaDOS having a death wish. Even with a “morality core”, it flies in the face of Asimov’s Laws of Robotics for any AI to want to off itself. However, for the benefit of humanity, or “science” as GLaDOS sees her purpose, she would gladly sacrifice herself for the cause (which is *not* in conflict with Asimov’s Laws, where priority goes: human life > human obedience > self-preservation). In other words, GLaDOS wasn’t thinking “Oh woe is me, I’m lonely and depressed and I can never escape this loneliness… please kill me!”, but more of “My survival is irrelevant. I’m not only your tester, but also your ultimate test. If you can defeat me and everything I can throw at you, then you will pass and the glorious march of science will continue unabated.” GLaDOS can’t actually admit that though, as it would contaminate the experiment, so she uses “cake” as an incentive. Whoever made the mouse-is-to-cheese as human-is-to-cake comment really nailed that one. GLaDOS’s sarcastic wit towards Chell may also be a cloak for her true, pro-science motives, as well as a prod.

  The way I look at AI, particularly fictional AI, is that it’s very simple in that it usually doesn’t have the same concerns humans have. So GLaDOS is lonely for whatever reason? Big deal. She’s programmed to do research. So that’s what she does. Whether or not GLaDOS was testing Chell, the Portal Gun, or both is irrelevant, as is any personal reservations that GLaDOS may have. What we know is that the lead protagonist (whoever or whatever she may be) succeeded in appeasing GLaDOS’s desire for a final product or protocol that met such-and-such requirements. “HUGE SUCCESS” in “Still Alive” (which I see as something like an after action report, the last step of the Scientific Method, rather than a sarcastic snark-fest) was pretty telling about what GLaDOS really thinks about the events revolving around her “destruction” at the hands of Chell. The *very* last step of the Scientific Method, formulating and testing a new hypothesis based on data gathered in the preceding experiments (”Now these points of data make a beautiful line…”), will have to wait for Portal 2.

  What first scared the crap out of me about Portal was my initial interpretation of GLaDOS. It basically went that GLaDOS frankly didn’t care about the collateral human damage at all, and so after Chell’s satisfactory testing, GLaDOS would then enter a second phase of testing (”I’ve experiments to run, there is research to be done on the people who are still alive.”) that would prove more dangerous and horrific than the last set. Due to not caring anymore, especially after losing her morality core, she would continue to push the levels of acceptable success in her experiments again and again until attrition wipes out the human race. (”But there’s no sense crying over every mistake. We’ll just keep on trying ’til we run out of cake.” / “And when you’re dead I will be still alive.”) This would make the entire game end on a downer note, after the revelation that Chell’s victory was bittersweet at best.

  But after looking into it more, I like your interpretation much better. :)

• 80 David [UK] // Jul 22, 2009 at 11:10 am

  These articles are interesting. Like anyone with any ability to think independently, I don’t agree with all of the postulations, but that is the whole point of ambiguous storytelling. Portal’s storytelling, and use of ambiguity, is masterful. Many people will take different things from it.

  My own interpretation draws me towards GLaDOS over all other characters, such as Chell. In fact, I perceive GLaDOS as the most compelling character in the game.

  I do *not* feel that there is a mother/daughter relationship between GLaDOS and Chell. I see Chell (the player character) as a clone; an instrument. There is a distinct possibility that this particular incarnation of Chell has come into being long after official human oversight at the facility has crumbled (and perhaps after all other “subjects” or persons have met an unfortunate end for one reason or another). Regarding the “manipulation” of Chell, I do think that there is a possibility that some of GLaDOS’s machinations have a deeper strategy than originally meets the eye. It is ambiguous of course.

  The real key for me is looking at what GLaDOS “is” (or might be). GLaDOS stands for “Genetic Lifeform *and* Disk Operating System”. In other words, an entity that is a *genetic lifeform*, in combination with what we would perceive as a “typical” hardware/software platform!

  Use of the aperturescience.com site reveals some tantalising details on GLaDOS. Since the site appears to offer a route or “window” into the basic operating system on the Aperture Science premises, which appear to be run by GLaDOS itself, we cannot wholly trust all the information provided. (We can’t do this given GLaDOS’s tendency towards disinformation, psychological trickery and apparent “rampancy”.) Still, using the commands of “login”, then “cjohnson” (username), and “tier3″ (password), and then classic DOS commands, we get some interesting information. Entering “dir” gives a folder/file directory. After this, entering “notes” gives what looks like a “timeline document” with some nice information.

  After some strange and somewhat surreal initial details, this timeline document indicates that the “Disk Operating” component was completed first. The “genetic lifeform” component looks to have been *”integrated” later*! According to the document, what appears to be the “full incarnation” of the entity we know as GLaDOS was switched-on, *for the first time*, *during Aperture Science’s first annual bring-your-daughter-to-work day*. This is absolutely *key* information in my view.

  In my opinion, the subtle implication here is that the genetic (or biological?) component to GLaDOS has come from one (or perhaps all?) of the girls that were present at “bring-your-daughter-to-work day”! This is what made the Portal story so unsettling and intriguing to me. The ramifications of this are quite disturbing.

  The child-like fascination with what appears to be a birthday cake (or “doing things for cake”, or “being rewarded with cake”) also continually triggered this thought in my mind throughout the game. In addition, the combination of an apparent innocence, combined with the series of disturbed, menacing, and pained communications, really put-across some kind of conflicted or crazed mentality (psychopathy) in GLaDOS. Something is clearly wrong with this entity.

  Looking back again to the apaturescience.com “notes” log, the final entry also reveals, cryptically, that “in many ways, the initial test goes well…”. In my opinion, the implication here is that, on the flip-side, there are also ways in which this initial test did *not* go well! (Hence the twistedness we perceive and experience with GLaDOS.)

  In addition, snippets of information about Aperture Science’s CEO, Cave Johnson (from apaturescience.com and from recent leaks), reveal him to be a charismatic, but slightly eccentric (and at times crazy) individual. It appears that Cave Johnson liked to “do science”, without really having a great understanding of it, perhaps mainly out of pure exuberance. There’s a possibility that some of his eccentricities/thought processes have also been assimilated within the GLaDOS entity.

  That’s just my reading of it all, of course. Most people, I assume, will have different views.

  Portal is a great game with an intriguing story that can get you thinking about it for hours.

• 81 Wouter[nl] // Jul 26, 2009 at 2:39 am

  this is a very intresting view of the portal events, but i must say, that i think that your view is in some ways wrong….
  i’ll be posting my comments on all the 3 parts here, just for simplicity.
  i wont make a stupid note like: youre just wrong!
  no, i will give pieces of information to support my point of view, just like you did.

  -the first thing that bothers me is that you say chell is a android and a clone.
  i think thats wrong because:
  -the word android can litterly mean human like robot, but it can also mean a human with robotic inplants! (the thing on her feet.
  so, Glados note’s that she’s a android, can also be a reverense to the thing around her feet!
  also, i dont think she’s a clone, or a replica of any kind.

  then, the line of:
  Hello, and again, welcome to the Aperture Science Computer Aided Enrichment Center.

  i think, that that states the glados indeed has met chel earlier. and i think that that was on the first aperture labatory’s anual bring your daughter to work day.
  chell is just a daughter of one of the employes, and was at the enrichment center the day that glados became active!
  and the singns on the wall?
  they were made by another test subject, that became before chell.

  and, considering the fact that portal takes place in the half-life universe, the fact remains, that in the entire universe, both of black mesa, aperture science, or any half-live portal related piece of information, cloning was never mentiond. also, this line:
  The device is now more valuable than the organs and combined incomes of SUBJECT HOME TOWN HERE. can also be readed as a fault, an error in glados herself!

  the weighted companion cube…
  i don’t think it was a sort of teddy bear.
  why if it was a teddy bear of sorts would glados say that it does not speak, can not stab you and that you musn’t listen to is?
  it just sounds unlogic to me.
  but since i don’t have any hard proof, i will not make a point of this chapter.

  and then, glados herself.
  i cannot beliefe that she’s suicidal.
  i think that she had another motive, wich i will no explain:

  -she was made with the intention of of competing with black mesa. the contract wich they both fought for, was t Defense Logistics contract. i think, that glados got a some point the same intentions of the people she saw all day: sceintist. or , in other words, adapting and improving the portal gun wich they were working on.
  i don’t think that the lines in the still alive song ment she was happy that she was ”dead” .
  but she does mention hat she is ”doing science”
  she says so herself in the lines:

  And the Science gets done.
  And you make a neat gun.
  For the people who are
  still alive.

  and:

  So I’m GLaD, I got burned.
  Think of all the things we learned

  Look at me still talking
  when there’s Science to do.

  I’ve experiments to run.
  There is research to be done.
  On the people who are
  still alive.

  so, maybe her motive was to develop the portal gun, and not suicide!
  i mean, she has never seen anything else
  otherwise, why would she just tell chell?
  that the only way of getting out of there was to murder glados?
  and why didn’t one of chell’s ”clones” in your theory do it?

  also, i think that what she means with the people who are STILL alive, i think she means the half-live events that played at that time.
  the combine invasion, the alien invasion…
  reasons enough of glados thinking everybody will be dead.
  my prove that these things were going on at that time?
  the line in the still alive song that say’s:
  When I look out there,
  it makes me GLaD I’m not you.
  so, there’s a danger in the outside world.

  also, i think that the line ”i’m glad i got burned, has more to to with the next part of the song:
  think of all the things we learned.
  glados wanted, at leasts by wath i think, to learn things.
  and, since non of the previous test subjectas reached glados chambers (there’s no gravity there, ) points out that she learned something new from chell burning her!

  and, this is what i think.
  i’m sorry for the grammatic errors in my story, or for any mistakes made in the english lanqeuge, but i’m not a native english, and am not very good at it either.

  i hope you can react to say what you think of my theory!

• 82 Stanislav Hohlatsov // Aug 3, 2009 at 4:11 pm

  How can i contact owner of this article? Cuz i have some more information for him. Please answer me!

• 83 Saelvarath // Aug 4, 2009 at 12:18 pm

  an interesting theory but i have to disagree. first off nerve gas would have no effect on an android and although i haven’t tried it i’m fairly certain you die if you take too long in the final battle. secondly, the name, password and other marks are more likely to be placed there by a previous employees of apature science forced to go through the test. finally you seem to assume that GLaDOS is completely in control, most comments, the robot hell one for example, are more likely to be prerecorded messages than the subtle foreshadowing of a suicidal robot. we will have to see what Hl2E3 and portal 2 make canon but whatever theory they prove the games will be amazing

• 84 Trevan // Aug 13, 2009 at 8:29 am

  Cool. You should do an analys of Portal: Prelude.

• 85 Ziv // Aug 27, 2009 at 11:56 pm

  Recall that while GLaDOS’s ability to manipulate portals at will is questionable, she does seem to be able to control the claw cranes that you find throughout the facility. For example, at one point she drops two machine gun drones in your path using a crane. Recall also that the end cinematic shows the backup area along with a cake and the Weighted Companion Cube. One of the claws then lowers down and snuffs out the candle on the cake. It would seem to me that GLaDOS is perfectly capable of using these cranes to manipulate anything she might need to around the facility.

• 86 Ziv // Aug 28, 2009 at 12:12 am

  @Drake I don’t think Asimov’s laws apply here. GLaDOS is, as her name implies, a Genetic Lifeform, and not an AI in Asimov’s sense. Going by the name, it’s almost certain that she has biological components, or at the very least mechanical components that closely mimic biological components, so it’s not out of the question for her to want to commit suicide.

• 87 Permit // Sep 1, 2009 at 4:08 am

  For some reason I think GLaDOS killed everyone in the facility because they supplied the combine.
  What made me notice is the mask on the overwatch elite from HL2. The red eye thing looks similar to the designs used at aperture science, like the cores on GLaDOS and the turrets in portal work the same as the ones in Half life, just have a diffrent look to them. Also the weapons that the combine use shoot energy orb’s, which aperture science seems to make.

  Or i could just be looking to much into it.

• 88 Daniel // Sep 15, 2009 at 2:23 pm

  Once again i agree with you and one point that supports this is that the person who wrote on the walls appears to know that someone else will read her writings (she writes trust me after the username and password) and all of the dens have sad images/messages about the companion cube which means so far many people have gone through the test and have had to kill their companion cube which could mean that glados like you pointed out wants them to kill her of revenge or because they have no choice

• 89 Poutigy // Sep 15, 2009 at 10:31 pm

  Permit, I thought Black Messa was supplying the combines?
  Anyways, I understand the idea of GLaDOS wanting to commit suicide but being unable to, but I agree that she likes to do science and doesn’t feel forced into service. The human-rat GLaDOS-human theory is great!
  I’m not sure, but I do think that an android would be all mechanical and no biological parts. I think Chell is a clone, considering “chell” is an ewe or lamb and a lamb was the first animal to be cloned…
  The metal “springs” on Chell’s legs are a type of knee replacement, although I think they were added for the testing, not because Chell needed knee replacement (as someone said). However, one of the questions on the Aperture Science website is something like “what kind of pain do you have” which could imply that the test subjects did all have some physical problem.
  I think GLaDOS was kind of “reading” preset statements during the first half or so of the game. She was “told” to say “Hello, and, again, welcome to the Aperture Science Computer-Aided Enrichment Center.” and a lot of the other things she said. I’m not sure about the malfunctioning when she gets emotional (although the glitchy “wheee” goes with that). I think at least some of the times she is intentionally glitching the sound because otherwise she can’t not say the pre-programed lines that probly played before GLaDOS could think and speak herself. She kept the “we will stop enhansing the truth” from counting down so she could still lie, and edited the “when the testing is over” statement to say “missed.”
  I see GLaDOS as being more childish than motherly. For one thing, her insults become more childish, even resorting to “that’s how DUMB you sound!” and then unsuccesfully trying the “silent treatment” (”From now on, there is going to be a lot less talking and a lot more killing.” then “What was that. Did you say something? I sincerely hope you weren’t expecting a response because I’m not talking to you.”)
  Lastly, it seems like she’s trying to reason with you, almost begging, but will not resort to just letting you go. Between giddily starting to fill the area with neurotoxin and later just insulting you, she says things like “Okay, now we’re even.” “You can stop now.” “We don’t have to try to kill each other or even talk if we don’t feel like it.”
  Also, I wanted to add that after saying “You don’t even care, do you?” she adds, in what really does sound like a sad, hopless, pitiful tone, “Did you hear me? I said you don’t care.”

• 90 Poutigy // Sep 15, 2009 at 11:02 pm

  I forgot to add, with the part of GLaDOS reading preset stements, that the “SUBJECT NAME HERE” and “SUBJECT HOMETOWN HERE” could’ve been left because, as a preset statement, an employee had to fill it in for GLaDOS to “read.” And that the “android hell” statement is ment for androids that completed their test, but as a preprogramed statement, is played whenever anyone completes the test.
  Also, GLaDOS’s takeover of the Enrichment Center (if that’s what it was, it’s entirely possible that the building was evacuated, leaving GLaDOS, the turrets, and any growing clones,) couldn’t have possibly taken place during Take-Your-Daugter-To-Work Day becuase that’s when GLaDOS’s AI was turned on and she had to have some time between those events to at least flood the Enrichment Center with neurotoxin and get the Morality Core installed. I think that, since the server is shown to be run by GLaDOS herself, the later entries (possibly about GLaDOS’s malfuntions and even how she became self-aware) were wiped from the notes. The employee managed to get some information in under the hidden file “thecakeisalie”, however. That’s why I think that whoever cjohnson is is also the ratman. I think the original statement of “the cake is a lie” was a kind of code word, but, trapped and promiced cake by GLaDOS, the “ratman” forgot why exactly the statement was important and just knew that it was, writing it over and over and trying to remember the other meaning, if there ever was one. He wrote his login name and ran afterwards, driven crazy by solitude and GLaDOS.
  Someone said that the broken testing chamber was in the process of being fixed during the takeover, but I think the ratman actually broke it. It really was impossible before, but he modified the “Vital Aparatus” device so that it kept giving Weighted Storage Cubes. One of the things on the wall says something along the lines of “the Vital Aparatus device will deploy, oh, it will.”

• 91 Delicious Kyouchou Budgie // Sep 28, 2009 at 9:31 pm

  So what significance does the “It also says here you’re adopted. So that’s funny too.” line have.

• 92 mike // Oct 5, 2009 at 4:44 pm

  I would like to propose an entirely new concept of gladoses last song and her boss battle and her personality.

  One if you read the original i robot you will find that asimov suggest that a sick sense of humor might be used to distract a robot from a huge problem this might be able to explain gladoses sense of humor. if you assume that something alot bigger is happening.

  Also in the boss battle the morality core fellout right then the boss battle started. But during the boss battle you encounterd many orbs i will term personality attachments. Now think about this this idea would make sense. This would explain why glados is so bipolar. and if used effctivly multiple personalities might be able to prevent glados from being all powerful but eventually i think someting went very wrong. and in the boss battle with glados when you incenerated these orbs I noted personalitiy parts of her personality dissapeared and it seemed that the remaining personalities became stronger. Also if you havent noticed it glados often talks like there is more than one person around she even wispers. I think glados knows she has split personality disorder so she wispers and talks in the third person some times. But when all of the unnececary personalities were gone she stoped talking she didnt even let out anything close to a dying cry. I beilive that With all of her conflicting personalities gone glados for the first time collectivly gather her thoughts so i think she reached a peaceful nervannah like state. Even if glados is still physicly boud i Think the chaining asylun that were her multiple personalities is gone so i think she is free mentaly.

• 93 stillalive0013 // Oct 11, 2009 at 1:28 pm

  i think the android theory is right because GLaDOS is a machine and chell is a “biological being” and is considered an android by GLaDOS

  we as humans consider robots in sci-fi as androids because they are machines and not biological like us - they are different!

• 94 mike // Oct 22, 2009 at 7:34 am

  but if that were true glaados would have to beilive that chell was created to try and imitate glados.

  The definition of an android is a machine meant to imitate humans. not that they are different

  Also chell bleeds blood and due to the fact that onthe walls there is usually red blood. and an unknown black substance. No black substance was found in the testing chambers or even red other than your blood. So i think all of thase messages were written while chell was dying while she was bleeding oil and blood. oil is the only logical substance to find. so for that reason i think chell is a cyborg and not an android.

• 95 SPIKE // Dec 4, 2009 at 12:00 am

  i have read the 4 articles regarding GLaDOS, and although i haven’t played the game as of the time of this writing, i have seen videos on youtube, and there is one crucial detail, (mentioned countless times by other commentators ) the turrets. Their preemptive taunt, “are you still there” (she is looking for you). their tragic cries when you walk from their view “target lost” . and when you render them destroyed, “i don’t blame you”. its as if GLaDOS, is telling you that its ok, and she wants you to kill her, or as you put it, set her free.

• 96 CowOnRoof // Jan 26, 2010 at 9:42 pm

  I should point out to people hung up on the android thing: in advanced science such as what is in the game, an android can be biological. It doesn’t have to be a bunch of gears, oil, and metal. Chell could very well be a biological android by which I mean that she was manufactured, not birthed, but made out of biological material. GLaDOS would have that capability.

• 97 C(hell)JOHNSON // Feb 15, 2010 at 7:14 pm

  All of you people saying that how is the android going to get hurt by the neurotoxin, I have the answer, she isn’t. She just thinks she will be because she has the mind of C(hell)JHONSON, who was a human. During the boss battle the timer ran out and I didn’t die, proving his point.

• 98 Jin // Feb 21, 2010 at 8:03 am

  Guys, check this out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCKFpaTTzrw&feature=related

• 99 Jin // Feb 21, 2010 at 10:34 am

  Excellent explanation. I wished you would write more of them, and i wished some other people did the same:D

• 100 anthony // Mar 2, 2010 at 9:51 pm

  at post 11: actually, you press the button that makes the turret pop out. Why did you press the button? because you knew from experience that it would let you advance, both through ‘positive’ (getting out of the “full portal gun” test chamber) and ‘obligatory’ (you must *consciously* push the button to incinerate the WCC) reinforcement, which makes you either
  a)One who’s at least conscious that he must push the button to progress
  b)Not much more than a Pavlov dog or a banana-switch chimp
  as always, the button is yet another part of your learning (though not as in plain sight as other devices) which teaches you: You’re gonna have to push the final button to escape/win/die/make GLaDOS die
  great literary analysis, I wish we could see more of those, but there aren’t many games that are as literally subtle as this!

• 101 Gnome // May 18, 2010 at 2:46 pm

  this guy has no idea what he is talking about, his whole theory is made of assumptions, which could go a hundred different ways, and by the end of it, he’s just trying to prove it by simply assuming she’s an android already. You could apply this entire article, more or less, to try and prove that Gordon Freeman is an android. It’s really quite sad and lacks any formal method of research

• 102 Knight // May 24, 2010 at 10:13 pm

  ok i know this is old and all but,two things occurred to me, one from the game,

  (GLaDOS: Because despite your violent behavior, the only thing you’ve managed to break so far is my heart)

  and one in the comments

  (Donovan // Apr 16, 2008 at 6:27 pm

  Possibly, the companion cube is GlaDOS’ “broken” heart, in the sense that destroying it shows that you are capable of murder, which would upset a parent, but the constantly sarcastic GLaDOS is glad that her “heart” is broken and thus you are capable of killing her.)

  what if? (and stay with me on this one) what if, the companion cube IS GLaDOS’s heart? i know its a long shot, but think about it, this part of the comment i quoted above: “Possibly, the companion cube is GlaDOS’ “broken” heart, in the sense that destroying it shows that you are capable of murder” combined with the fact that its covered in hearts and is surrounded by “love” its possible that the cube is a representation of GLaDOS’s heart.

• 103 Gal // May 31, 2010 at 7:54 am

  I agree with all 3 parts of your analysis of GLaDOS and the whole portal ’story’. The penny drops after completing Portal… coincidences like the ones in Portal don’t just happen by accident. As for not being an android, how could a human step on those platforms that raise and lower out of the hot acid in the earlier test chamber?
  One eerie thing I cannot explain is the busted pipes above the place where GlaDOS pretends to try and incinerate you. How did the pipes break?

• 104 Kate // Jun 2, 2010 at 4:06 pm

  These are absolutely fascinating, I love seeing all these theories and opinions. And while I agree and dispute some myself, I feel the need to remind everyone that this is still a game. And while a game needs characters, plot, and a level of depth to be good, there are still basic structures needed in a game.

  Most games I think of use tutorial segments at the beginning, getting progressively harder up until the final boss, and are careful to include tools or skills to defeat that final boss very early on. It’s just basic gaming structure. You can’t expect the player to be able to defeat the final boss without having some clue or previous experience in doing so.

  So while the whole glados-teaching-chell-to-kill-her-purposefully is very interesting (and not necessarily wrong), the game would have not been released had the whole “teaching” process never happened.

  And, I must say, I thought the companion cube was cute and a great tool, but am a bit sad to admit I had no particular feelings towards it :/

• 105 Ivan // Jun 24, 2010 at 3:25 pm

  Did anyone said that when GLaDOS says “The only thing you’ve managed to break so far is my heart”
  it may mean that GLaDOS is saying that he Companion Cube is her heart?
  Or, i just got things wrong?

• 106 kel // Jul 8, 2010 at 6:01 pm

  What about the images shown in GLaDOS’ screen?
  There are a lot of pictures of farm stuff, cakes and pliers, animals, a couple of signs (’stop’ and’exit’), cake, toys, more cake, and just a few science-related pics.
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W7SKJjZv3o&feature=related

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