"The enrichment center's environment has been built by Aperture Science's most brilliant minds with fun and learning as its goals."

"Wow."

(And as she speaks, she's searching right out to her full range for any portalable surface she could get an angle on if there weren't walls in her way, and hopefully at least one that she could get to from here if she were very creative—)

Well if it's her full range—

—the not-quite-empty space around the tower of test chambers is really disorganized. There are metal catwalks and beams and wood planks and panels lying around. Some of them are, yes, portalable—and in fact, if she's rather more fearless than the average person, she could attempt a jump towards that one catwalk down there to the right...

"The enrichment center apologizes for any misunderstandings caused by the test subject's unreasonableness. There is nothing to fear from the Aperture Science Material Emancipation Grids. Please proceed through them so that science can continue."

"Final warning," she says. "If you want me to proceed to the next test, then stop this foolishness with the Emancipation Grids."

"The Aperture Science Emancipation Grids are meant to ensure that there is no contamination from earlier test chambers, so that tests are performed under controlled conditions."

"That sounds like a no," she says. "Well, suit yourself."

The mechanical arms holding up the wall on her right abruptly collapse, and she runs up a faltering wall segment to leap for the catwalk, dropping one of her radios in the process but hanging onto the other.

"What are you doing? Stop it! I-I-I-I-I—... Weeee are pleased that you made it through the challenge where we pretended you had no choice but to do as we told you. We are very very happy for your success. We are throwing a party in honor of your tremendous success. Place the device on the ground, then lie on your stomach with your arms at your sides. A party associate will arrive shortly to collect you for your party. Make no further attempt to leave the testing area. Assume the 'Party Escort Submission Position' or you will miss the party."

She lands with a thud that dangerously shakes the catwalk, but it holds firm. Behind her it continues for a few feet then ends abruptly as if something had ripped the rest of it off. The catwalk continues forward, though, and there's a portalable panel lying on it a couple of feet in front of her.

And below her there is a bottomless pit.

—how bottomless is that pit, and what are her options for portaling to from here—

The pit is more bottomless than her groundsense can reach. There are tall walls with coiled metal arms to either side of her catwalk and from where she's standing she doesn't have line of sight on anywhere to portal to but if she turns around the corner up ahead where the catwalk curves between two more walls she'll be able to see a portalable wall in the distance with a very ordinary door on it and a catwalk that allows the door to be actually usable.

She puts an orange portal on the panel nearby, goes around the curve, puts a blue portal on the wall by that door, goes back, and hops through.

"Stop what you are doing, and assume the Party Escort Submission Position."

"Don't wanna."

Door!

The door leads to an observatory room overlooking a test chamber. Her groundsense already informed her that there was no one else there but it's rather creepy to see the abandoned room like that. The computer screens flash gibberish and there is a chair lying on its side on the floor, as well as a broken mug in a corner. There's also another door.

...the gibberish machines are kind of fascinating, and she pauses to examine them before moving on to the next door.

There are two black screens with yellow text appearing on them. It's... recognizably English, if not understandably so. There is mathematical jargon and technical stuff everywhere, and it's all flashing too fast for the eye to keep track of. The screens seem to be connected to a stained white metal box with a few buttons on a desk.

Huh. Interesting.

Okay, door.

There is a long, badly-illuminated corridor with a few doors here and there on either side and at the very end.

"Stop," the voice echoes from far away. "The device will detonate if removed from an approved testing area."

...on the one hand, that seems disturbingly plausible.

On the other hand, she is already pretty far out of approved testing areas and look how non-exploded she is. And she's going to need to find food eventually. She can't just traipse around the approved testing areas indefinitely, and she'll have a much easier time getting around this place if she has the portalizer. It's worth the risk.

Her device remains unexploded while she ponders this.

All right. Time to peek behind all the doors!

The next one is another observation room to another part of the same test chamber. The next one is a toilet, the following is a broom closet, then a room with lots of files, another observation room, a door labeled KEEP OUT with stairs behind it, more files...

Ooh, KEEP OUT is promising.

The door is locked!

Oh, is it. And how badly does she have to cheat to get it open?

Not very, it's not Aperture Science Technologies locked, just regular locked.

The stairs lead down.