A speculated history of Portal/L4d/Half-life

[dragonshardz]

The canon timeline is that HL1 happens in May 200_ (the last digit is left deliberately blank). Specifically, the Black Mesa Incident happens on May 16, 200_. HL1 as well as Blue Shift and Opposing Force all take place between May 16 and August 15. Portal 1 happens in the 20 years between the events of HL1 and HL2/.1/.2. Portal 2 happens an unknown but profoundly long length of time after HL2.2, but presumably long enough that the automated system has rolled over at least once.

Specifically, GLaDOS and other Aperture Science computers likely use 64-bit architecture (the first true 64-bit processor was released in 1991 (Source)), so it's sometime after a 64-bit integer would have reached its maximum value. A 32 bit integer's maximum value is 2,147,483,647. Since I've no idea what the maximum value of a 64-bit integer is, let's call it double, so 4,294,967,294. Since the hibernation computer probably only has a value for days, not years, let's divide that by 365.25.

11,758,979.59 days. So not quite the "9999...99...9" number but still. Eleven MILLION days, or nearly 4.3 million years. Chell is likely, by this point, the last human alive on Earth, as evidenced by the rolling waves of grass and nothing else in view at the end of the game.

L4D/2 do not take place in the Half-Life Universe. Proof. If they were part of the universe, they'd be mentioned as such.

[vitorsly]

Specifically, GLaDOS and other Aperture Science computers likely use 64-bit architecture (the first true 64-bit processor was released in 1991 (Source)), so it's sometime after a 64-bit integer would have reached its maximum value. A 32 bit integer's maximum value is 2,147,483,647. Since I've no idea what the maximum value of a 64-bit integer is, let's call it double, so 4,294,967,294. .

Actualy 4,294,967,294 would be a 33 bit processor. Adding one bynary number doubles the maximum value.

So 64 bit would be: 9223372036854775808 !

THAT'S OVER 9 QUINTILLION! ( short scale. 9 Trillion, long scale)

[GreenWolf13]

What's to say that GLaDOS and other Apeture computers aren't 32 bit Unix based computers? If that's the case, the year could easily be sometime after 2038. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2038_problem

[okamikk]

What's to say that GLaDOS and other Apeture computers aren't 32 bit Unix based computers? If that's the case, the year could easily be sometime after 2038. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2038_problem

shouldn't computers in places like laboratories all be 64-bit? as a rule that is

[Teraku]

What's to say that GLaDOS and other Apeture computers aren't 32 bit Unix based computers? If that's the case, the year could easily be sometime after 2038. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2038_problem

And that's one of the reasons 64-bit Operating Systems exist.

And GLaDOS probably isn't 32-bit. Considering how she speaks and acts so quickly, there's no way she has only 4 GB of RAM for a supercomputer like that.

[theprolo]

Let's face it. GLaDOS probably makes a 1024-bit computer look useless when you look at the programming and RAM needed to create a sentient machine like that...

[Lethosos]

Let's also keep in mind that, even though he's not alive anymore, Cave Johnson was a crazy m-effer driven by SCIENCE!

[Neowulf]

Glados is an AI that runs off like half a volt, nothing silicon/binary based could ever do that.

The whole game universe is the fevered dream of a coma patient.

[GreenWolf13]

Glados is an AI that runs off like half a volt, nothing silicon/binary based could ever do that.

The whole game universe is the fevered dream of a coma patient.

Was his name Gabe Newell?

[Neowulf]

Dunno, does Gabe have a deep rooted desire to be a thin mute girl?

[holymage!]

correct me if i am wrong

but isn't Glados (i really don't want to type her name right) Caroline?

i recall Cave Johnson saying something about if they couldn't store him in a computer then Caroline should take his place.

[Xylord]

correct me if i am wrong

but isn't Glados (i really don't want to type her name right) Caroline?

i recall Cave Johnson saying something about if they couldn't store him in a computer then Caroline should take his place.

Glados apparently has Caroline's "personality", which is an explanation to why she is able to have human feelings like mercy, cruelty and friendship toward Chell, even though she's a robot, which don't have sentiments at all.