Doug Rattmann

"The cake is a lie."

- Doug Rattmann

Doug Rattmann, also known as the Ratman, is a former Aperture Science employee who was apparently forced to navigate the Aperture Science Enrichment Center as a Test Subject. During his testing period, he went slightly mad and left messages of help and warning on the walls.

Although unseen for the entire games, his scribblings make him an established presence in Portal and Portal 2, but at the time of the latter, he appears to have died. His full name, a play on "Ratman", was given during the Portal ARG.

Background
Doug Rattmann was an Aperture Science employee charged with the maintenance of the Aperture Image Format, an interactive graphics format created in 1985. He had access to Aperture Science's BBS, with the login "drattmann" and the password "h0nee".

When GLaDOS was activated in 200-, she became self-aware, locked down the facility, and flooded the Enrichment Center with deadly neurotoxins. Rattmann survived this first attack but was captured as a Test Subject when GLaDOS seized full control of the facility. He was then apparently forced to utilize the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device through a series of Test Chambers, where he slowly lost his sanity. Because of his higher level employee status, Rattmann was able to manipulate the Test Chambers to let him into the maintenance areas, where he lived for undetermined periods of time, in areas nicknamed "Ratman Dens". Apart from Chell, Rattmann may not be the only one to be trapped in the facility during the events of Portal.

Portal
Although unseen for the entirety of Portal, Rattmann is made aware to Chell through his frantic scribblings / graffiti on the inner walls of several Test Chambers. These scribblings are first seen in Test Chamber 16, behind a broken wall held open by two Weighted Storage Cubes. It is here that the infamous statement "the cake is a lie" is written in red ink.

The scribblings in Test Chamber 17 reveal most of what is currently known about Rattmann.

Another "Ratman Den" area is seen in Test Chamber 18, where it appears that Rattmann managed to violently break open a whole section of reinforced wall. After Chell escapes incineration at the hands of GLaDOS in Test Chamber 19, she finds more and more of Rattmann's scribblings of help and warning, with arrows and hints guiding her through the hazardous innards of the facility. Rattmann's hints stop just before GLaDOS's massive Sentry Gun ambush, hinting that his journey stopped around there and that he was never able to get to GLaDOS, whatever was the purpose of his errancies.

Portal 2


Rattmann is said to be still alive during the Portal events, and to have died some time after GLaDOS's partial destruction. Additional scribblings are slated to be seen in Portal 2, indicating he survived some time after GLaDOS's partial destruction.

Personality and skills
The scribblings seen in Portal show that he is an educated man, quoting both Dickinson and Longfellow to express himself over the loss of his Weighted Companion Cube, as well as a small reference to Auden. Aside from his scribblings, Rattmann appears to have adept technical skills. Apparently using the login name and password he managed to procure, he was able to open up certain wall sections in Test Chambers, make Vital Apparatus Vents dispense more Weighted Storage Cubes, and take pictures of the Companion Cube (probably by using the cameras in the Test Chambers). He is also able to create makeshift stoves out of computer heat sinks.

Behind the scenes



 * The username "cjohnson" and password "tier3" can be used on ApertureScience.com to gain administrator access. It is possible the hacker who posted the message about the lockdown access with the command  is Rattmann himself.


 * A Portal: Still Alive Achievement named "Rat's Tale" requires to find all of the Ratman Dens. Its logo reuses a texture seen in-game.


 * When Portal 2 was officially announced on March 5, 2010, several alphanumerics were underlined in the text, as part of the Portal ARG. When reorganized together, these letters gave the words "drattmann" and "h0nee", which are a second set of usernames and passwords (belonging to Doug Rattmann) for the BBS number (425) 822-5251. Upon entering them, one has access to data that will eventually give access to a program to read Aperture Image Format files.

Graffiti list
What follows is a list of all his graffiti, scribblings and Aperture Science posters left by the Ratman in his dens. The texture files are used for better clarity.

List of appearances

 * Portal
 * Portal ARG
 * Portal 2