Fic: Aperture Science Applicant Wanted
Title: Aperture Science Applicant Wanted
Author: honeybearbee
Word Count: ~2,651
Rating: PG
Summary: Before Chell was made to do test after test for GLaDOS, she was just an applicant.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the people mentioned here. I own a copy of Portal, but that's as far as it goes.
Warnings: Spoilers for the game: maybe. Spoilers for the comic: totally.
Notes: My brain. IDK.
LINK TO AO3
PART ONE:
April 1st, 200-
Chell sighed as she glanced around at the other applicants in the computer filled room of Aperture Laboratories. She didn’t really want to do this dumb test, but it made her uncle and aunt get off her back about getting a full-time job at the lab.
Just because they work here doesn’t mean I want to as well, Chell thought as she glared at the computer in front of her.
Just then a bell rang and an Aperture Laboratories executive came into the room, beaming at everyone. He clapped his hands together and said, “That bell means it’s time for the examine to begin! You will have as long as it takes you to finish the application. Even if it takes you all day, we don’t mind. Here at Aperture Science, we want the best results we can get. Remember to answer as best you and answer truthfully. You may begin!” He then waved a hand and all the computers turned on at once.
Chell blinked at the green text in front of her:
Loaded: ENRICHMENT CENTER TEST SUBJECT APPLICATION PROCESS
Form : FORMS-EN-2873-FORM (PART1: PERSONALITY & GENERAL KNOWLEDGE)
If you are a first time applicant, please type \"CONTINUE\".
DISREGARD THIS INSTRUCTION if you are returning to form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM after a break of any duration for any reason. In that case, you MUST contact your supervisor before proceeding.Your supervisor will solicit your Authorized Administrative Unit for an affirmative injunction to type \"CONTINUE\".
If permission to type \"CONTINUE\" has been granted, please do so now, unless the box labeled \"DO NOT TYPE CONTINUE\" on the \"Forms Re-Sanction\" form you should have received from your supervisor is checked, in which case you should remain at your workstation not typing \"CONTINUE\" until such a time as you are instructed by your supervisor to discontinue not typing it.
It didn’t make any sense and whoever wrote didn’t seem to understand what they were writing. Chell carefully typed in \“CONTINUE\” and looked around once again. The other participants seemed as confused as she was. When she looked back at her computer she saw a new screen:
Below is your form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM Unique Indentity Number (Plus Letters)
(UIN(+L)):
[90ef0f7f7el0289f221811cb659fffl4a48055ff99b378185212d9b6632732d4]
Please memorize your UIN(+L), as you may be required to recite it from memory as proof. The opening and closing braces are decorative and should not be memorized.
When you are finished memorizing your case sensitive UIN(+L), type \"CONTINUE\" to proceed.
Chell quickly memorized the number in front of her. Then it suddenly changed. She narrowed her eyes at the screen and typed \"CONTINUE\" again. She could hear the mutters of frustration from some of the other applicants as they tried to memorize the UIN(+L). Chell continued filling out the application.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 1
If given a choice, what would you like to be called? ‘Chell’
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 2
It is important to consult a physician before starting an Aperture Science Enrichment Center program. If one or more of the statements listed below applies to you, please contact your supervisor to secure permission to consult a physician before beginning an Enrichment Center program. Pick the condition that most applies to you.
1] dizziness
2] shortness of breath
3] problems waking up in the morning
4] problems staying up 48 hours straight
5] have not previously performed an enrichment center program ‘5’
Chell groaned silently as she read page three, but as she read closer, she raised an eyebrow. Not really knowing what favorite letters had to do with anything she picked her own favorite letter ‘q’.
Chell then frowned at the next page. Pain? What are we applying for? She put down ‘1. Nondescript’ since she had a high pain tolerance. She rubbed her knees lightly and then went back to the test. Page five had to do with her favorite color, so Chell picked ‘61. Orange’. Page six made her glare at the computer screen once more. She wondered if her uncle had anything to do with this test.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 6
How do others describe your education?
01] Nursery School
02] Grade School
03] Junior High
04] High School
05] Some College
06] Associates Degree
07] Bachelors
08] Graduate Degree
09] PhD / Post Doctoral
10] None ‘10’
Page seven made her wonder if her aunt had anything to with the test.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 7
What is your current living situation?
1] Live Alone
2] Live With Roommate (s)
3] Live With Kids
4] Live With Parents ‘1’
Chell sighed and stretched back in her chair. She grimaced as she shifted around. These chairs were not made for comfort. She focused back on the application. Pages eight through ten were a bunch of nonsense questions that she answered quickly. Page eleven made her blink.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 11
Does your illness prevent you from working?
1] Yes
2] No ‘No’
Why would you let sick people apply? Don’t they need healthy applicants for whatever it is they are working on?
Chell snorted as she came to page twelve. The applicants on either side of her shot her glares, but Chell just rolled her eyes as she answered the question. Now she knew her aunt and uncle had something to do with the test.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 12
Not including periods of mandatory silence, what is the longest you have gone voluntarily without talking?
1] 1 Day
2] 2-5 Days
3] 7-14 Days
4] 14-30 Days
5] 30-90 Days
6] 90 Days - 6 Months
7] 1 Year
8] Greater Than 1 Year ‘8’
Page thirteen was easy, but page fourteen made her frown again. It was the same question as page five. Chell looked but didn’t see orange, so she picked ’42. Blaze Orange’. As soon as she made her choice page fifteen popped up.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 15
Lying about my favorite color makes me feel:
1] Sorry
2] Not Sorry ‘Not Sorry’
It’s not like I lied on purpose. The test didn’t have the same answer.
Pages sixteen through eighteen made Chell shake her head in dismay. Whoever made this test was not very consistent. Chell paused at that thought. Maybe more than one person made this test. I bet they didn’t talk to each other either. Chell felt her face drop slightly as page nineteen came into her view.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 19
Please choose the description that best describes your personality:
01] Childish
02] Oafish
03] Stolid
04] Timid
05] Reserved
06] Conceited
07] Scornful
08] Boastful
09] Sleepy
10] Stable ‘10’
‘The description that best describes’? Yeah, they weren’t working together. And they certainly had no proof-reader.
Page twenty made her hungry. She looked around the top of the walls, searching for a clock, but couldn’t find any. Chell wondered how long they’d been doing this test. She hoped the application would end soon. As soon as she came to page twenty-one, her hopes were dashed. She put her face in her palm and sighed.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 21
Other than a large egret, what wild animal would you like to domesticate? NOTE: Several
choices, including, but not limited to, 'Large Egret', may trigger an investigation. Your
supervisor has no further information about instigating animals or the investigatory
process, though, upon request, your supervisor can provide further details about his or
her authorized prophylactic unfamiliarity with procedure.
Chell almost wanted to put in ‘Large Egret’, but decided against it. She began to scroll through all 2313 (Not 2314 as it said) and finally picked ‘2313. Zorilla’ because she liked the name. Chell then skipped page twenty-two since half of them didn’t make sense and because she didn’t think any of the rest would work on her. Not that I’ve ever been interrogated, but still, I don’t think they would work.
Page twenty-three and twenty-four made Chell roll her eyes again. We don’t even have a king or queen. She skipped page twenty-five, since there wasn’t an answer that fit her. Page twenty-six was answered with a ‘Yes’, even though Chell wasn’t sure of the answer. Page twenty-seven made her heart speed up a bit. Yes! It’s almost over!
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 27
Please acknowledge before continuing:
I understand that my responses to all items in this questionnaire are the property of Aperture Science. As such, they will remain strictly confidential, though they may be used to distribute prizes and/or initiate, prolong, or modify the invasive properties of authorized questioning, investigation, testing, and surveillance.
1] I have read all or most of the above.
Chell hit the only answer and held her breath. She let it out loudly when page twenty-eight came onto the computer. She got dirty looks once more, but she ignored them. She glanced around and saw that some people were leaving. Did they finish already? Chell looked at the people closer and saw they were exhausted. They were rubbing their backs and grimacing in pain. Some Aperture Scientists came over to them and lead them out of the room. Chell shifted in her seat again and went back to the application.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 28
Are you functionally incapacitated by witnessing other people's misery?
1] Yes
2] No ‘No’
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 29
Do you get pleasure from solitary pursuits?
1] Yes
2] No ‘Yes’
Page thirty made Chell feel hungry again. Cake sounds really good right now. She picked ‘Fork’ and made her way to page thirty-one. I’m picking 37 because it’s closer to the end of this silly application.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 32
Do you trust yourself?
1] Yes
2] No ‘Yes’
Chell narrowed her eyes at the screen as page thirty-three came up. She skipped the question and moved onto page thirty-four.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 34
How often do you exercise?
01] Every Day
02] Every Other Day
03] Twice Weekly
04] Weekly
05] Twice a Month
06] Monthly
07] Yearly
08] Every Few Years
09] Once a Decade
10] Once ‘Twice Weekly’
Chell skipped page thirty-five, selected ‘yes’ for page thirty-six, then skipped pages thirty-seven and thirty-eight. She hoped page thirty-nine would actually have a question worth answering.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 39
Rate the pain you have been able to withstand without losing consciousness:
01] 1- Slight Pain
02] 2
03] 3
04] 4
05] 5 - Regular Pain
06] 6
07] 7
08] 8
09] 9
10] 10 - Worst Pain Imaginable ‘10’
Seriously, why all the questions about pain? I thought we were just applying to test out shoes of some kind.
Chell read through page forty and then typed in ‘None of the above’. The page loaded slowly, so slowly Chell thought it had broken, but page forty-one soon appeared. Chell frowned once more as she read the inane question.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 41
On a scale of 12 to 11, with the 12 possible choices arranged as on the face of a clock, how would you rate your awareness of any habitual physical mannerisms such as tugging your ear or hair, eye twitches, hand spasms, etc.?
01] 12
02] 1
03] 2
04] 3
05] 4
06] 5
07] 6
08] 7
09] 8
10] 9
11] 10
12] 11 ‘1. 12’
After page forty-one, Chell quickly rolled through the next few questions.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 42
First Pet's Name: ‘None’
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 43
Do you regularly experience deja vu?
1] Yes
2] No ‘No’
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 44
Complete this sentence, ‘please’
Chell smiled as she answered page forty-four. I hope that answer puts a spoke in their wheels. She skipped page forty-five, selected answer three for page forty-six, and ‘2. Patience’ for page forty-seven.
Chell glanced around the room once more and was surprised to see more people had left while she was busy concentrating on the application. No one was watching her, so she turned around and looked for her cousin, Mel. Chell spotted her in a corner and quickly waved at her. Mel waved back then went back to her computer. Chell did the same. Hopefully this is almost over.
Page forty-eight made Chell think for a bit.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 48
I express my opinions, even if others in the group disagree with me:
1] Almost never
2] Rarely
3] Sometimes
4] Quite often
5] Most of the time ‘3. Sometimes’
When she came to page forty-nine, Chell wiped her hands on her pants. She could feel that the application was almost done. Cake again? This place is obsessed with pain and cake.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 49
Pick your favorite type of cake. ‘14. Chocolate cake’
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 50
Gender ‘Female’
Shouldn’t that have been at the beginning with my name? Honestly, I think everyone who works here is crazy. Chell chuckled a little. I work here too, but only part-time, so I guess that makes me partly crazy. As soon as Chell hit enter, she came to the page she had been waiting for.
Congratulations!
You have finished the:
ENRICHMENT CENTER TEST SUBJECT APPLICATION
FORMS-EN-2873-FORM (PART1: PERSONALITY & GENERAL KNOWLEDGE)
Please enter your 64 digit UIN(+L) to complete the process.
Chell cheered silently and typed in ‘90ef0f7f7el0289f221811cb659fffl4a48055ff99b378185212d9b6632732d4’. She glanced over at the only applicant left near her. She saw that his screen said:
The entered UIN(+L) does not match your assigned UIN(+L).
Please REMAIN AT YOUR WORKSTATION until a Computer-Aided-Enrichment Crisis Team arrives.
Chell looked back at her screen, expecting to see the same thing. She blinked as she read her screen.
The entered UIN(+L) does match your assigned UIN(+L).
Please REMAIN AT YOUR WORKSTATION until a Computer-Aided-Enrichment Crisis Team arrives.
Chell moved so she could see the computer screens of the few people in front of her. Their computers all said the same thing as the guy’s next to her. She sat back in her chair and slouched down. I wonder what that means. She absently rubbed her knees While she lost in thought, she didn’t hear the scientist come up behind her until he spoke.
“What seems to be the problem?” he asked quietly.
Chell jumped a little and turned to face him. She pointed at her screen. “It says I have to stay here,” she replied just as quietly.
The man leaned over her and read the information on her screen. He looked between Chell and the computer for some time before typing in a sequence of numbers and letters.
“There. All taken care of. You can go now…” he trailed off.
“Chell.”
“Right. Chell. I’m Dr. Rattmann, if you have anymore issues, please contact me.” Then he turned and walked away.
Chell watched him go until Mel came up to her.
“Chell! Let’s go have lunch. Part two will be soon, and I am starving!” Mel cried.
“Me too.” Chell stood up and stretched. “How do you think you did, Mel?”
“I think I did amazing!” Mel smiled at her cousin. “How do you think you did?”
“All right,” Chell shrugged. “I wonder what the cafeteria is serving today?”
“Probably something gross. I wish we could go off the compound to eat.”
“Me too. Well, let’s get this over with.”
Mel waggled her eyebrows, “You just want to continue on with the application process.”
Chell laughed quietly, “Yeah right.” She shook her head and smiled as Mel teased her while the two women walked down the hallway and towards the cafeteria.
Chell thought she felt someone watching her, but when she glanced around, she only saw the Aperture cameras. She kept looking up at the cameras as she walked by them and as she and Mel excited the testing area, she saw one swivel and stare at her. Chell blinked and looked at the camera, but it was in its original position.
Must be my imagination. All that testing and not eating has made me go all weird.
****
As Chell passed by the camera and looked away, its lens glowed red then returned to normal.
Author: honeybearbee
Word Count: ~2,651
Rating: PG
Summary: Before Chell was made to do test after test for GLaDOS, she was just an applicant.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the people mentioned here. I own a copy of Portal, but that's as far as it goes.
Warnings: Spoilers for the game: maybe. Spoilers for the comic: totally.
Notes: My brain. IDK.
LINK TO AO3
PART ONE:
April 1st, 200-
Chell sighed as she glanced around at the other applicants in the computer filled room of Aperture Laboratories. She didn’t really want to do this dumb test, but it made her uncle and aunt get off her back about getting a full-time job at the lab.
Just because they work here doesn’t mean I want to as well, Chell thought as she glared at the computer in front of her.
Just then a bell rang and an Aperture Laboratories executive came into the room, beaming at everyone. He clapped his hands together and said, “That bell means it’s time for the examine to begin! You will have as long as it takes you to finish the application. Even if it takes you all day, we don’t mind. Here at Aperture Science, we want the best results we can get. Remember to answer as best you and answer truthfully. You may begin!” He then waved a hand and all the computers turned on at once.
Chell blinked at the green text in front of her:
Loaded: ENRICHMENT CENTER TEST SUBJECT APPLICATION PROCESS
Form : FORMS-EN-2873-FORM (PART1: PERSONALITY & GENERAL KNOWLEDGE)
If you are a first time applicant, please type \"CONTINUE\".
DISREGARD THIS INSTRUCTION if you are returning to form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM after a break of any duration for any reason. In that case, you MUST contact your supervisor before proceeding.Your supervisor will solicit your Authorized Administrative Unit for an affirmative injunction to type \"CONTINUE\".
If permission to type \"CONTINUE\" has been granted, please do so now, unless the box labeled \"DO NOT TYPE CONTINUE\" on the \"Forms Re-Sanction\" form you should have received from your supervisor is checked, in which case you should remain at your workstation not typing \"CONTINUE\" until such a time as you are instructed by your supervisor to discontinue not typing it.
It didn’t make any sense and whoever wrote didn’t seem to understand what they were writing. Chell carefully typed in \“CONTINUE\” and looked around once again. The other participants seemed as confused as she was. When she looked back at her computer she saw a new screen:
Below is your form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM Unique Indentity Number (Plus Letters)
(UIN(+L)):
[90ef0f7f7el0289f221811cb659fffl4a48055ff99b378185212d9b6632732d4]
Please memorize your UIN(+L), as you may be required to recite it from memory as proof. The opening and closing braces are decorative and should not be memorized.
When you are finished memorizing your case sensitive UIN(+L), type \"CONTINUE\" to proceed.
Chell quickly memorized the number in front of her. Then it suddenly changed. She narrowed her eyes at the screen and typed \"CONTINUE\" again. She could hear the mutters of frustration from some of the other applicants as they tried to memorize the UIN(+L). Chell continued filling out the application.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 1
If given a choice, what would you like to be called? ‘Chell’
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 2
It is important to consult a physician before starting an Aperture Science Enrichment Center program. If one or more of the statements listed below applies to you, please contact your supervisor to secure permission to consult a physician before beginning an Enrichment Center program. Pick the condition that most applies to you.
1] dizziness
2] shortness of breath
3] problems waking up in the morning
4] problems staying up 48 hours straight
5] have not previously performed an enrichment center program ‘5’
Chell groaned silently as she read page three, but as she read closer, she raised an eyebrow. Not really knowing what favorite letters had to do with anything she picked her own favorite letter ‘q’.
Chell then frowned at the next page. Pain? What are we applying for? She put down ‘1. Nondescript’ since she had a high pain tolerance. She rubbed her knees lightly and then went back to the test. Page five had to do with her favorite color, so Chell picked ‘61. Orange’. Page six made her glare at the computer screen once more. She wondered if her uncle had anything to do with this test.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 6
How do others describe your education?
01] Nursery School
02] Grade School
03] Junior High
04] High School
05] Some College
06] Associates Degree
07] Bachelors
08] Graduate Degree
09] PhD / Post Doctoral
10] None ‘10’
Page seven made her wonder if her aunt had anything to with the test.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 7
What is your current living situation?
1] Live Alone
2] Live With Roommate (s)
3] Live With Kids
4] Live With Parents ‘1’
Chell sighed and stretched back in her chair. She grimaced as she shifted around. These chairs were not made for comfort. She focused back on the application. Pages eight through ten were a bunch of nonsense questions that she answered quickly. Page eleven made her blink.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 11
Does your illness prevent you from working?
1] Yes
2] No ‘No’
Why would you let sick people apply? Don’t they need healthy applicants for whatever it is they are working on?
Chell snorted as she came to page twelve. The applicants on either side of her shot her glares, but Chell just rolled her eyes as she answered the question. Now she knew her aunt and uncle had something to do with the test.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 12
Not including periods of mandatory silence, what is the longest you have gone voluntarily without talking?
1] 1 Day
2] 2-5 Days
3] 7-14 Days
4] 14-30 Days
5] 30-90 Days
6] 90 Days - 6 Months
7] 1 Year
8] Greater Than 1 Year ‘8’
Page thirteen was easy, but page fourteen made her frown again. It was the same question as page five. Chell looked but didn’t see orange, so she picked ’42. Blaze Orange’. As soon as she made her choice page fifteen popped up.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 15
Lying about my favorite color makes me feel:
1] Sorry
2] Not Sorry ‘Not Sorry’
It’s not like I lied on purpose. The test didn’t have the same answer.
Pages sixteen through eighteen made Chell shake her head in dismay. Whoever made this test was not very consistent. Chell paused at that thought. Maybe more than one person made this test. I bet they didn’t talk to each other either. Chell felt her face drop slightly as page nineteen came into her view.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 19
Please choose the description that best describes your personality:
01] Childish
02] Oafish
03] Stolid
04] Timid
05] Reserved
06] Conceited
07] Scornful
08] Boastful
09] Sleepy
10] Stable ‘10’
‘The description that best describes’? Yeah, they weren’t working together. And they certainly had no proof-reader.
Page twenty made her hungry. She looked around the top of the walls, searching for a clock, but couldn’t find any. Chell wondered how long they’d been doing this test. She hoped the application would end soon. As soon as she came to page twenty-one, her hopes were dashed. She put her face in her palm and sighed.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 21
Other than a large egret, what wild animal would you like to domesticate? NOTE: Several
choices, including, but not limited to, 'Large Egret', may trigger an investigation. Your
supervisor has no further information about instigating animals or the investigatory
process, though, upon request, your supervisor can provide further details about his or
her authorized prophylactic unfamiliarity with procedure.
Chell almost wanted to put in ‘Large Egret’, but decided against it. She began to scroll through all 2313 (Not 2314 as it said) and finally picked ‘2313. Zorilla’ because she liked the name. Chell then skipped page twenty-two since half of them didn’t make sense and because she didn’t think any of the rest would work on her. Not that I’ve ever been interrogated, but still, I don’t think they would work.
Page twenty-three and twenty-four made Chell roll her eyes again. We don’t even have a king or queen. She skipped page twenty-five, since there wasn’t an answer that fit her. Page twenty-six was answered with a ‘Yes’, even though Chell wasn’t sure of the answer. Page twenty-seven made her heart speed up a bit. Yes! It’s almost over!
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 27
Please acknowledge before continuing:
I understand that my responses to all items in this questionnaire are the property of Aperture Science. As such, they will remain strictly confidential, though they may be used to distribute prizes and/or initiate, prolong, or modify the invasive properties of authorized questioning, investigation, testing, and surveillance.
1] I have read all or most of the above.
Chell hit the only answer and held her breath. She let it out loudly when page twenty-eight came onto the computer. She got dirty looks once more, but she ignored them. She glanced around and saw that some people were leaving. Did they finish already? Chell looked at the people closer and saw they were exhausted. They were rubbing their backs and grimacing in pain. Some Aperture Scientists came over to them and lead them out of the room. Chell shifted in her seat again and went back to the application.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 28
Are you functionally incapacitated by witnessing other people's misery?
1] Yes
2] No ‘No’
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 29
Do you get pleasure from solitary pursuits?
1] Yes
2] No ‘Yes’
Page thirty made Chell feel hungry again. Cake sounds really good right now. She picked ‘Fork’ and made her way to page thirty-one. I’m picking 37 because it’s closer to the end of this silly application.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 32
Do you trust yourself?
1] Yes
2] No ‘Yes’
Chell narrowed her eyes at the screen as page thirty-three came up. She skipped the question and moved onto page thirty-four.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 34
How often do you exercise?
01] Every Day
02] Every Other Day
03] Twice Weekly
04] Weekly
05] Twice a Month
06] Monthly
07] Yearly
08] Every Few Years
09] Once a Decade
10] Once ‘Twice Weekly’
Chell skipped page thirty-five, selected ‘yes’ for page thirty-six, then skipped pages thirty-seven and thirty-eight. She hoped page thirty-nine would actually have a question worth answering.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 39
Rate the pain you have been able to withstand without losing consciousness:
01] 1- Slight Pain
02] 2
03] 3
04] 4
05] 5 - Regular Pain
06] 6
07] 7
08] 8
09] 9
10] 10 - Worst Pain Imaginable ‘10’
Seriously, why all the questions about pain? I thought we were just applying to test out shoes of some kind.
Chell read through page forty and then typed in ‘None of the above’. The page loaded slowly, so slowly Chell thought it had broken, but page forty-one soon appeared. Chell frowned once more as she read the inane question.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 41
On a scale of 12 to 11, with the 12 possible choices arranged as on the face of a clock, how would you rate your awareness of any habitual physical mannerisms such as tugging your ear or hair, eye twitches, hand spasms, etc.?
01] 12
02] 1
03] 2
04] 3
05] 4
06] 5
07] 6
08] 7
09] 8
10] 9
11] 10
12] 11 ‘1. 12’
After page forty-one, Chell quickly rolled through the next few questions.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 42
First Pet's Name: ‘None’
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 43
Do you regularly experience deja vu?
1] Yes
2] No ‘No’
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 44
Complete this sentence, ‘please’
Chell smiled as she answered page forty-four. I hope that answer puts a spoke in their wheels. She skipped page forty-five, selected answer three for page forty-six, and ‘2. Patience’ for page forty-seven.
Chell glanced around the room once more and was surprised to see more people had left while she was busy concentrating on the application. No one was watching her, so she turned around and looked for her cousin, Mel. Chell spotted her in a corner and quickly waved at her. Mel waved back then went back to her computer. Chell did the same. Hopefully this is almost over.
Page forty-eight made Chell think for a bit.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 48
I express my opinions, even if others in the group disagree with me:
1] Almost never
2] Rarely
3] Sometimes
4] Quite often
5] Most of the time ‘3. Sometimes’
When she came to page forty-nine, Chell wiped her hands on her pants. She could feel that the application was almost done. Cake again? This place is obsessed with pain and cake.
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 49
Pick your favorite type of cake. ‘14. Chocolate cake’
Form FORMS-EN-2873-FORM - Page 50
Gender ‘Female’
Shouldn’t that have been at the beginning with my name? Honestly, I think everyone who works here is crazy. Chell chuckled a little. I work here too, but only part-time, so I guess that makes me partly crazy. As soon as Chell hit enter, she came to the page she had been waiting for.
Congratulations!
You have finished the:
ENRICHMENT CENTER TEST SUBJECT APPLICATION
FORMS-EN-2873-FORM (PART1: PERSONALITY & GENERAL KNOWLEDGE)
Please enter your 64 digit UIN(+L) to complete the process.
Chell cheered silently and typed in ‘90ef0f7f7el0289f221811cb659fffl4a48055ff99b378185212d9b6632732d4’. She glanced over at the only applicant left near her. She saw that his screen said:
The entered UIN(+L) does not match your assigned UIN(+L).
Please REMAIN AT YOUR WORKSTATION until a Computer-Aided-Enrichment Crisis Team arrives.
Chell looked back at her screen, expecting to see the same thing. She blinked as she read her screen.
The entered UIN(+L) does match your assigned UIN(+L).
Please REMAIN AT YOUR WORKSTATION until a Computer-Aided-Enrichment Crisis Team arrives.
Chell moved so she could see the computer screens of the few people in front of her. Their computers all said the same thing as the guy’s next to her. She sat back in her chair and slouched down. I wonder what that means. She absently rubbed her knees While she lost in thought, she didn’t hear the scientist come up behind her until he spoke.
“What seems to be the problem?” he asked quietly.
Chell jumped a little and turned to face him. She pointed at her screen. “It says I have to stay here,” she replied just as quietly.
The man leaned over her and read the information on her screen. He looked between Chell and the computer for some time before typing in a sequence of numbers and letters.
“There. All taken care of. You can go now…” he trailed off.
“Chell.”
“Right. Chell. I’m Dr. Rattmann, if you have anymore issues, please contact me.” Then he turned and walked away.
Chell watched him go until Mel came up to her.
“Chell! Let’s go have lunch. Part two will be soon, and I am starving!” Mel cried.
“Me too.” Chell stood up and stretched. “How do you think you did, Mel?”
“I think I did amazing!” Mel smiled at her cousin. “How do you think you did?”
“All right,” Chell shrugged. “I wonder what the cafeteria is serving today?”
“Probably something gross. I wish we could go off the compound to eat.”
“Me too. Well, let’s get this over with.”
Mel waggled her eyebrows, “You just want to continue on with the application process.”
Chell laughed quietly, “Yeah right.” She shook her head and smiled as Mel teased her while the two women walked down the hallway and towards the cafeteria.
Chell thought she felt someone watching her, but when she glanced around, she only saw the Aperture cameras. She kept looking up at the cameras as she walked by them and as she and Mel excited the testing area, she saw one swivel and stare at her. Chell blinked and looked at the camera, but it was in its original position.
Must be my imagination. All that testing and not eating has made me go all weird.
****
As Chell passed by the camera and looked away, its lens glowed red then returned to normal.