Too Human (F, android/humanized... ish... GLaDOS, from Portal)

[Starry_Screamer]

... Okay, so, I wrote. XD It's a sort of companion to my first GLaDOS drawing, but, also sorta not?? I really like it though~

Hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!!

The interiors of the facilities are always cold. The floors make any barefoot human recoil upon touching their flesh to the hard tile, the white and grey coloring of the surroundings serving as an ever-present echo of the unpleasant temperature. Strategically-placed vents blow out soft channels of air, and it is not warm.

It has never bothered the Lady before, as perhaps she is in fact a reflection of the laboratories -- frigid and unforgiving, with little hospitality to offer those inside these walls. The chill should be, and often is, ideal for her to thrive. After all, human as she may seem, appearances are deceiving. Hyperthermia in her body will result in frayed wires and overheated systems. A shutdown, any loss of her memories, data, or artificial intelligence, will compromise the very intent of her creation. Ice is still not exactly favorable, considering it will melt into water and short her out, but given a choice, she will fare much better in the freezing winds of the Arctic than in the blazing waves of the Sahara. Her personality suffers less in the bitter cold, as well.

Today is different. Today, she can’t seem to get warm enough, though not for lack of trying. Shivers periodically claim her body, rattling her entire being to the very core of her stomach. Her bed, typically pristine and tidy as she almost never uses it, is now a mess of tangled sheets and blankets. Beneath them lies GLaDOS herself, all but buried as if she’s been trapped in an avalanche of bedclothes. From somewhere under the pile comes a half-stifled, “Hh’NNngsHH--ooooo!”, shortly followed by the sucking sound of a sniffle and a congested whine.

The biting drafts that float through the facilities have nipped at her muscles, making them ache to the point that moving at all is a chore that she must gather strength for and then recuperate from. It takes up an incredible amount of energy to even raise a hand to rub at her nose. Being a problem-solver, she’s instead taken to scrubbing her nose against the sheet on top of the mattress as an attempt to chase away the irritating tickle that keeps coming back to bother her. Clever as it is, it’s not without effect. Her nostrils are left feeling raw, and have been adorned with a rosy tint. At this point, she can no longer care about trying to stave off another fit of sneezing. She’s been out of commission for longer than half a day, and has lost all that testing time. While it’s likely a celebrated reprieve for her testing subjects, and the thought of giving them hope is loathsome, she simply isn’t well enough to enjoy doing science.

Feeling herself start to overheat, her legs immediately tangle about themselves to kick off most of the blankets. Her skin is absolute ice to the touch, but inside a fever is trying to gain footing on her circuitry. With a frustrated groan, her arm creaks to life, slender fingers reaching up and virtually ripping the scope off of her left eye. It’s painful, although she can count her blessings that the scope isn’t an actual part of her body. The removal was necessary, as that accessory was only another unit eating up power and building up more fire.

She can’t bring herself to sit up, so she rolls over onto her back as quickly as possible to avoid feeling too sore. An arm finds its place atop her forehead, the smooth metal giving some cool comfort. Her nose wrinkles up, but the itch disappears just as quickly, so she sniffs deeply, letting out a moan when her efforts don’t yield any relief. She briefly wonders why her nose feels so stuffy, why she can’t seem to clear up this miserable congestion; there’s no fluid in her body which serves the same function or mimics humans’ mucus, nor should her sinuses be able to swell to the point of making her uncomfortable. Silver digits move again, groping on the bedside table for a tissue. There’s really no one around for her to infect, so she shouldn’t worry about using tissues, but surely they have to be better on her nose than the bedsheet. Besides, she feels absolutely disgusting, and anything that helps her feel less so is worth a try.

She grasps the tissue just in time, yanking it from the box and pressing it to her face with both hands. The itch has come back with twice the ferocity, prickling against the inner walls of her sinuses. By now, the Lady is beyond caring even about the onslaught of sneezes undoubtedly about to hit her. Her mind just cannot be bothered to give up any concern for an annoyingly persistent tickle. It’s nothing more than a bodily function... no matter how frustrating it seems to get when her body forces her to repeat it over and over. “Hhhhhh--nKTSchhh! NnnnnGGGchhiiuuu! NnnGKKshh!”

The sneezes push their way out of her, sounding drawn-out and utterly exhausted. Honestly, it is enough to drain all her energy... which is not much. As she gives a few dry, honking blows into the tissue, she considers whether or not there is such a thing as having negative energy in the way that there are negative numbers. This only crosses her mind for a fleeting moment, because this tickle isn’t done with her. Almost immediately after her train of thought tapers off, her upturned nose scrunches against the tissue once more, before the next explosion.

“HhaaaESHHH! HnngggKKsschhhhuu!” Massaging her tender nostrils with the tissue, she tries to coax the tail end of the fit out. This irritation is driving her mad, and she knows she doesn’t have the energy to battle with it for the next hour. That was how most of her energy had been sapped earlier -- lying on the bed with her face toward the dim light on the ceiling, nose twitching and breath hitching, this itch on the fence of whether it wanted to actually make her sneeze or not. It was comparable to torture, and she is not going to go through it again if she can help it.

She takes the tissue away, and her nostrils flare ever so slightly, the tickle practically just toying with her now. “Coohhhhme on...” she breathes, a plea that she hopes is going to be heeded. “I neeeeehhhhhhh...! -- To s-sneeze...”

Her eyes narrow, then quickly snap shut. “Ihhh... h-hhiiiiihhhhhhh--! ATSCHHhhhh! HnnnSCchuhh! HnKKggt!” Every sneeze tightens her abdominal muscles, as she tries to keep herself from completely pitching forward. Her entire body shudders, each little part of her clenching with the effort of trying to keep herself from doubling over because of the force. “IhhhTSCHHHhh! NnnGGGggktt--ssschewww!”

A gasp is drawn in through her lips, and she blows her nose again. Nothing comes from it, of course, and she tosses the now crumpled tissue in the general direction of the wastebasket, not caring whether it lands properly. A headache is beginning to form, pulsing across her temples, which means that now her entire body is just one mechanical mass of dull throbbing. She’s more tired than ever, and she knows that a simple switch of batteries or a charge of electrical power won’t fix this.

She twists herself around, rolling onto her stomach and clutching her pillow to her chest as she gingerly lowers her head down onto the soft cloth. It’s puffy and at a low temperature, a welcome feeling to her warm face. “Fine... fine,” she sighs in defeat, wiggling her nose around as she tries to settle. “Maybe sleep... would be good for me.”

Her eyes drift closed, and she muffles one more, drained, “H-Hiiih--mmmSCHHhh!” into the pillow, and then her whole body relaxes. Attempting to make her mind slow down enough to rest, she comes to the realization that she’s been talking to herself this whole time. There’s nobody else in the room, it’s not as if this virus in her system can actually understand her, and the broadcasting microphone is shut off. She’s been talking to herself.

How very human she seems to act lately. What a pathetic thought.

Edited February 14, 2015 by Starry_Screamer

[Maus_17]

This is such an interesting fic! And PORTAL. I love the idea so much! Amazing

[guiltyascharged]

Love it.

[Starry_Screamer]

This is such an interesting fic! And PORTAL. I love the idea so much! Amazing

Awww thank you, that's great to hear! GLADOS is just so interesting to write about haha~ Hopefully there'll be some more Portal here, I'm trying to write something else with GLaDOS!

Love it.

Thank you!