Other meanings of Aperture Science
Fictional Technology
Aperture Science is a fictional research corporation in the Portal video game series, known for its experimental technologies, particularly the portal gun and the sentient AI GLaDOS. The company's history, from its founding as a shower curtain manufacturer to its collapse, is a central narrative element of the games.
Aperture Science was founded in 1986 by Cave Johnson, who previously ran a shower curtain company. The company's early work focused on portal technology, with the first successful portal device created in the 1950s. Johnson's eccentric leadership and the company's rapid expansion into experimental physics led to numerous breakthroughs and disasters.
The portal gun, a device that creates two linked portals, became Aperture's most iconic invention. The company also developed GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System), an AI designed to manage the facility. GLaDOS's activation in the 1990s led to a catastrophic incident that killed most of the staff and placed the facility in lockdown.
Following the GLaDOS incident, Aperture Science fell into ruin, with the facility overrun by test chambers and malfunctioning robots. The company's legacy is explored in the Portal games, where protagonist Chell navigates the decaying facility. The narrative also reveals Aperture's rivalry with Black Mesa, another fictional research corporation.
Beyond the main games, Aperture Science appears in the cooperative mode of Portal 2, where players control robots. The company's history includes the 'Bring Your Daughter to Work Day' incident, which led to the creation of the personality cores. Aperture's technology also features in the game 'Bridge Constructor Portal' and the comic 'Lab Rat'. The company's motto, 'We do what we must because we can,' reflects its utilitarian ethos.
Aperture Science is a fictional entity; all information is derived from the Portal series and official Valve materials.
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