Forum:Test Shaft 09 Investigation

ive been doing alot of snooping around test shaft 09, so ill keep this updated with what i find:

-Test Shaft 09 was condemned on June 5th, 1961, due to Cosmic Ray Spallation, which, strangely enough, was discovered by accident in the 1970's: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_ray_spallation

-the borealis is a possible reference to Project Rainbow, or the Philadelphia Experiment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_Experiment

-i noticed an odd symbol on one of the large pillars in the beginning of the level that i have not seen anywhere else in the game: http://steamcommunity.com/id/trunk_slamchest/screenshot/540640198853882445

-there are two scientists referenced in Test Shaft 09: Robert Bunsen (inventor of spectroscopy), and Johannes Kepler (creator of the laws of planetary motion). both scientists hail from Germany.

-pump station alpha has a sticker that has "photofabrication" on it. Photofabrication is the photographic method of manufacturing integrated circuits in which a pattern is placed over a semiconductor in an etching solution and exposed to light. This could suggest that replusion gel was used to make circuit boards, and sub-sequentially that silicon is used in replusion gel; and/or that Aperture was already mass producing micro-processors as early as 1953.

-the first testing chamber that introduces the replusion gel, has a large "Did you Know...?" poster about the repulsion gel. the fine print at the bottom suggests that Aperture was being sued by consumers for their miss use of the gel, which was discontinued shorty after: http://steamcommunity.com/id/trunk_slamchest/screenshot/540640198862636569?tab=public

-CJ states that the testing spheres are insulated with alot of asbestos. this could explain the large amount of hazardous waste at the bottom of each testing chamber.

-CJ mentions a control group of Kepler-Seven with implanted brain chips reaching 500 degrees at the beginning of test chamber 3. here is what i found about Kepler-7: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler-7. Kepler is also a crater on the moon, and mars: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler_%28disambiguation%29 It is also interesting to note that the test numbers jump to from 3 in the previous chamber, to 27 in the same chamber CJ mentions the control group. December 27th, 1571 is the day Johannes Kepler was born, and December 27th, 1968 was the day that the Apollo 8 command module splashed into the Pacific Ocean, ending the 1st manned mission to the moon.

-after CJ mentions "this next test has trace amounts of time travel..." he begins complaining about how much time the player is taking on the catwalks, and after completing the final test(#28, 1958) in the chamber, CJ seems to get upset, and fire one of his employees. who did CJ fire? he also recommends that the employee should "invent a special door that wont hit you in the butt on your way out."

-after completing the third testing sphere, CJ's pre-recorded message about "olympians, astronauts and/or war heros" is abruptly cut short, and then informs the player that the elevator is not a bathroom, possibly insinuating that the player is taking a long time to enter the elevator. it should be noted how peculiar the interruption is (it sounds as though CJ is saying "save the..." before its cut out) and how drastic CJ's voice and attitude changes.

-the number in the "Please take a Number" machine in the test subject waiting room at pump station beta is 426: http://steamcommunity.com/id/trunk_slamchest/screenshot/540640198864671673 this could possibly be a reference to Julius Caesar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/426 ; 426 is also a sphenic number; 2 x 3 x 71 = 426.

-the counter above the "Please Take A Number" machine reads 023, or 823 considering the 0 is broken, which conflicts with how many numbers were taken from the machine: http://steamcommunity.com/id/trunk_slamchest/screenshot/540640198864639701

-the first appearance of the "Alert Your Supervisor If You See..." posters are at pump station beta. Pump station beta is also the first and only time CJ mentions Black Mesa, or the senate hearings on missing astronauts in his pre recorded messages. it is also indicated that Pump Station Beta was constructed in 1971.

-there are 9 testing spheres in shaft 09, according to the map at the beginning of the shaft. the player only plays through 6 spheres, presumably leaving 3 unaccounted for. there are also 6 random spheres floating in the hazardous waste when the player first enters the main shaft.

-i noticed 2 vitrified doors in the bottom of the shaft have B 09/S on them. no other vitrified door has this. the second door, when activated, triggers the CJ message stating "We're going to have a super conductor pointed at you and turned up to full blast on the next test..." But even when the idea of Cosmic Ray Spallation is brought into context with CJ's quote, nothing more is explained about what happened in test shaft 09:

http://steamcommunity.com/id/trunk_slamchest/screenshot/540640198854102595/?tab=public http://steamcommunity.com/id/trunk_slamchest/screenshot/540640198854103320?tab=public

-When working through the turret manufacturing section of the facility, before guided by Wheatley's flashlight, you reach a point where you see robotic arms assembling turrets. there are two serial numbers on these robotic arms: http://i.imgur.com/fUbqw.jpg these two serial numbers are VIN numbers to two Deloreans. there is also a delorean whose VIN can be traced to Portland, OR; and sub-sequentially, this guy: http://www.dmctalk.com/showthread.php?t=17031 credits go to yousifucv for finding this one

Trunk_slamchest 24:07, April 26, 2011 (UTC)