Prologue 6: A Mocking Congratulations Part 2
The minute the door was opened, Chell was blinded by the sheer force of light.
When she finally blinked open her eyes, she found herself in a pale blue room --- the same blue she was used to seeing in hospitals and in Aperture Science --- surrounded by a small group of scientists talking to each other. Jeremy took his hands off her wheelchair for the first time. He had short black hair and a sheepish expression. He was wearing a lab coat like the others, but his was slightly torn and looked more like a cheap Halloween costume.
"So...meet the rest of us. I'll keep this brief: there's Ruth, Lydia, Desmond, Charles, and uhh...me. Oh, and there's also Dr.Callahan and Dr.Flack, but they're not here for some reason---"
"They're busy," Dr.Brumfield said, glaring at Jeremy.
"Right. Well, anyway, as you can see, it's a lotta fun around here. All on first name basis --- except for our superiors, of course ---, free to talk about whatever we want as long as we don't disrespect management, filled with totally competent, highly respected scientists...and me."
"Jeremy, why don't you begun with their roles in the project?"
"Right! Ruth and Desmond here are the microbiologists --- fancy term for 'people who study bacteria', the tiny little critters in the world that make you wanna sneeze, among other things. Lydia and Charles are the chemists who'll be making the Omega Helminth real..."
As he spoke, Jeremy pointed to each of the scientists in order. Ruth was a red-haired scientist who had a seemingly permanent groan on her face, Desmond was a oily-haired scientist who kept biting his nails, Lydia was a blonde ponytailed scientist intent on staring at Ruth, and Charles was a messy-haired scientist who instead preferred the company of the floor. None of them so much as looked in Jeremy's direction as he introduced them.
"As for me, I'm the computer engineer!" Just then, Jeremy scratched his neck.
"Liar," Charles mumbled, "There you go again, scratching your neck. Why do you even bother, Jeremy.."
At this, Jeremy groaned, his so far excited smile turning to a frown. "Was. Past tense."
"He's the idiot who released Prophet into our systems," Ruth groaned.
"Y-yeah...I was the one who was all like 'You know what, why build the virus from scratch, you know?We could ask the computer that built it!...Kinda sounded..." Jeremy scratched his neck again.
"Well, now we're basically sitting ducks until Prophet gives us what we want," Lydia groaned.
"Anyways, point is..." Jeremy said, trying to return to his typical smile, "I've since become Dr.Brumfield's assistant! Taking notes for him, cleaning up the rooms, spreading news ---" Jeremy slammed his palm into his face. "OH, RIGHT! Almost forgot there. Sorry, Mr.Brumfield. Anyways, next Thursday's a holiday --- a ln NSR special, Rejoicement Day!"
"A holiday?" Lydia smiled, "Well, I was planning on checking out the new coffee shop with you, Ruth---"
"No, not that kind of holiday. You still have to come to NSR. It's mandatory." Jeremy suddenly developed an itchy scalp and raked through his hair. Despite the circumstances, Chell felt sorry for him. He reminded her of her best friend Wheatley before he went crazy. And she also felt, albeit to a lesser degree, sorry for the other scientists.
"...ok," Lydia replied, her enthusiasm flatlining. "So...what makes it a holiday?"
"You don't have to do any work!"
"...So basically it's a regular day here at NSR?? Got it," Ruth replied humorlessly.
"Jeremy, could you not have at least been careful when you let Prophet into our systems?" Desmond argued. "He spread like a freaking computer virus! How did he have access to EVERY computer so easily? It was YOUR JOB to make sure our computers were safe from threats like that!"
"I tried my best, I swear!" Jeremy replied, and suddenly scratched his neck.
"You scratch your neck when you lie, you know that, right?" Charles mumbled, still staring at the floor, "It's really obvious when you do it.". At this, Jeremy scratched his neck harder.
"DUDE!" Desmond stared straight at Jeremy. "THAT. WAS. YOUR. JOB!!! WHY COULDN'T YOU DO THE MOST BASIC---"
Desmond then grabbed Jeremy and proceeded to violently choke him. Chell could only watch as she saw Wheatley's --- nope, Jeremy's face and neck go pale purple.
"YOU KNOW WHAT I THINK OF YOU? YOU MUST SOME KINDA NEPO! YEAH, I SAID IT!" Desmond choked Jeremy harder, causing him to gag. Aside from Charles, who was still focussed on the floor, the other scientists looked on in horror as Jeremy's entire body went pale, but their wobbling hands and legs made them unwilling to intervene.
Dr.Brumfield, meanwhile, had no real reaction.
"BECAUSE HOW THE HECK DOES SOMEONE AS INCOMPETENT AS YOU EVEN CINTINUE TO WIRK HERE?! AFTER RUINING OUR COMPUTER SYATEMS, FORCING US INTO JOBLESSNESS, AND BASICALLY DOING NOTHING OF VALUE TO US ---"
"Desmond! Let him go!" Dr.Brumfield said, just as Jeremy looked on the verge of death. Desmond let go of his grasp, causing Jeremy to gasp for air and collapse on the floor like a ragdoll. Charles now bent down to check his pulse, and showed a thumbs up. The other scientists looked on in relief.
"Sorry...anger issues," Desmond mumbled.
"That's it. Enough clowning around for today. Listen up, all of you, ok?! You got lucky. If it wasn't for Dr.Callahan giving us those big bucks, we wouldn't be here today. And if it wasn't for our kindness, none of you would be having any job. So listen. I know times are hard right now. We're in a bit of a rough spot. But we have the chance if a lifetime. We saw the Combine. We've seen what they're capable of. We infect them, and you'll become big names in the science world. From being castaways to being beloved."
At this, everyone looked ashamed, but also had a small spark in their eyes.
Chell's eyes, however, had become shrowded in darkness.
They were planning to infect the Combine? The powerful alien race that had been terrorizing her world for years? The alien race that doomed humankind in her world? The kind she'd been told could travel through dimensions? If all of them caught a deadly disease...what kind of new devastation would happen to her world? To every world?
"So, you---" Dr.Brumfield turned to stare at Chell, "Congratulations! You are now a contributor to our success. So don't feel too bad when Jeremy wheels you back in. Your sacrifice is a small price to pay for science."
Chell felt her breath go dry. Before, she'd been under the idea that all she had to do was do as she was told, and get out. Escaping was a best-case scenario.
But now? She looked around at the vaguely inspired scientists' faces in horror. Did they know what they were dealing with, what they'd unleash into the world?! Following instructions was not an option anymore. She had to escape. She had to escape. Somehow, despite her muscles having atrophied, being practically mute, and having no allies except for a mean AI in her side, She had to escape...
Dr.Brumfiekd then turned to the other scientists. "As for the rest of you, get to work. And do NOT forget to come on Rejoicement Day." At this, they vaguely nodded. "And Jeremy?" At this, Jeremy got up from the ground with a large gasp. "Wheel her back into the testing room. These next few days, I'll be having an extremely overdue discussion with Dr.Flack, so you're now in charge of monitoring her for the day. Make ABSOLUTE sure she's following the rules and getting the computer to keep behaving.".
"Y-yes, Dr.Brumfield,"Jeremy said, already walking up to Chell's wheelchair. With a resigned sigh, Chell let him wheel her back into the long corridor leading up to the testing chamber, with the other scientists looking on.
But just they entered the darkness of the testing room, Chell turned back, and suddenly felt a spark of hope.
Jeremy was scratching his neck.