
Caroline, now known as Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System, or GLaDOS for short, is the primary antagonist of the 2007 video game Portal and a secondary deuteragonist and an anti-heroine of the 2011 sequel Portal 2. She is an artificial intelligence who oversees a testing facility. An Aperture Science researcher created by uploading the conscience of Cave Johnson's partner, Caroline. She is Chell's nemesis.
Personality[]
The core of GLaDOS' personality defines her as a secretive, covert, manipulative, and revenge-obsessed test master. She speaks in an extremely cold monotone, does not show her emotions, at least not towards Chell, and remains incredibly calm in most situations. Rare instances where GLaDOS shows emotion include when she is removed from her body and replaced with Wheatley, when she screams in pain, and when she is put into a bird and then eaten by a crow, which causes a fear of birds. Examples include when a person develops a disease. Another occasion is when Wheatley gave the wrong answer to her contradiction, leaving her verbally irritated. She can be very ruthless and cruel at times, and she is willing to kill people without any qualms, like when she crushed Wheatley in her GLaDOS awakening scene in Portal 2. GLaDOS has a love for singing opera, baking cakes, and science.
Her only purpose in "life" was to force people to complete tests and get results. GLaDOS promises that she will release the captives once all tests are completed. However, it is estimated that this took 60 years, and she did not notice that the prisoners were dead by the time it was completed, nor did she care. GLaDOS was an emotional sadist and mental abuser, and even after imprisoning Chell during her tests, he continued to taunt her with her cold, disturbing facts and her bitter, scathing insults. GLaDOS constantly insults Chell for being an orphan and having no friends, and insinuates that she is fat. GLaDOS provides facts that she describes as interesting, such as saying that Chell will be breathing the same air for the rest of her life, or even just flatly saying, "I hate you." attack to capture her.
GLaDOS is initially just passionate about completing the tests and has a bad temper, but as Chell begins to rebel against her, GLaDOS's insane, deceitful, and narcissistic nature gradually begins to develop, and Aperture Science Enrichment All of her near-omnipotent control over the Center was focused on either: Should she make Chell suffer or kill her? GLaDOS tended to lie frequently about her current emotional state, and she never admitted when she was irritated or angry.
However, her personality began to change when she was overthrown by Chell and her power-mad Wheatley. First, when Wheatley tried to admit to himself that he had expelled her, she quickly told him that he had done nothing to achieve it and that Chell had done all the work.
She developed an ornithophobia after being turned into a potato and almost eaten by a bird, only to discover that her own mind was created using Cave Johnson's assistant, Caroline. After discovering this, she became a more compassionate, optimistic, and kinder person. GLaDOS (as PotatOS) is able to bury her hatchet, if not for personal purposes, and helps Chell defeat her Wheatley, returning Wheatley to her body and once again using her Aperture Science can be controlled. In return, GLaDOS releases her Chell. She even defended Chell when Wheatley insulted her over her adoption, similar to GLaDOS before her.
When Wheatley was defeated and GLaDOS returned to her original body, removing Caroline's program from her head, she returned to her malicious, sarcastic, and evil self. However, she fulfills her deal by not killing Chell and releasing her from the Aperture Scientific Enhancement Center, which she claims is because it is too difficult to kill Chell, and she coldly reports her not to return.