Space Core

Overview

The Aperture Science Enrichment Center originally devleoped the personality cores in an attempt to quell the murderous urges of their biocomputer GLaDOS. At the conclusion of Portal 2, the protagonist, Chell, attaches a number of disruptive "personality cores" to the rogue AI, Wheatley, in an attempt to sabotage him. The Space Core (or Space Sphere) is the first of these, and speaks in fast, excited exclamations, remaining vocal about its seemingly unlikely goal of going to space despite displaying minimal knowledge on the topic of space. Chell's fight with Wheatley ends with her using a hole in the roof of the building to create a portal between the Earth and the Moon which Wheatley is sucked into. The Space Core is also inadvertantly sucked through this hole and ends up floating in space alongside Wheatley, expressing its extreme excitement about this development.

Development

The Space Core was the result of Valve's writers wanting a "Rainman personality core" that desired and focused on only one thing. Initially, the writers were undecided about what his one interest should be, but after writing the game's ending, they came to the topic of "space". The writers have noted that the Space Core was the only character in the game to have a truly happy ending, although this is clearly inaccurate, as Chell is reunited with the Weighted Companion Cube and set free. The Space Core's design is based on the personality cores seen at the end of Portal, and like the Adventure and Fact Cores, is voiced by Nolan North.

Quotes

• "What's your favorite thing about space? Mine is space."
• "Space going to space can't wait."
• "Space. Trial. Puttin' the system on trial. In space. Space system. On trial. Guilty. Of being in space! Going to space jail!"
• "Dad! I'm in space! [low-pitched 'space' voice] I'm proud of you, son. [normal voice] Dad, are you space? [low-pitched 'space' voice] Yes. Now we are a family again."
• "Space space wanna go to space yes please space. Space space. Go to space."
• "Space space going to space oh boy"
• "Ba! Ba! Ba ba ba! Space! Ba! Ba! Ba ba ba!"
• "Oh. Play it cool. Play it cool. Here come the space cops."
• "Help me, space cops. Space cops, help."
• "Going to space going there can't wait gotta go. Space. Going."
• "Better buy a telescope. Wanna see me. Buy a telescope. Gonna be in space.
• "Atmosphere. Black holes. Astronauts. Nebulas. Jupiter. The Big Dipper."
• "Orbit. Space orbit. In my spacesuit."
• "Ohhh, the Sun. I'm gonna meet the Sun. Oh no! What'll I say? 'Hi! Hi, Sun!' Oh, boy!"
• "Look, an eclipse! No. Don't look."
• "Come here, space. I have a secret for you. No, come closer."
• "Wanna go to -- wanna go to space"
• "Space wanna go wanna go to space wanna go to space"
• "Gotta go to space. Lady. Lady."
• "Oo. Oo. Oo. Lady. Oo. Lady. Oo. Let's go to space."
• "Oh I know! I know I know I know I know I know - let's go to space!"
• "Oooh! Ooh! Hi hi hi hi hi. Where we going? Where we going? Hey. Lady. Where we going? Where we going? Let's go to space!
• "Lady. I love space. I know! Spell it! S P... AACE. Space. Space."
• "Oh oh oh ohohohoh oh. Gotta go to space."
• "Space. Space. Space. Space. Comets. Stars. Galaxies. Orion."
• "Are we in space yet? What's the hold-up? Gotta go to space. Gotta go to SPACE."
• "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm going. Going to space."
• "So much space. Need to see it all."
• "You are the farthest ever in space. Why me, space? Because you are the best. I'm the best at space? Yes."
• "Space Court. For people in space. Judge space sun presiding. Bam. Guilty. Of being in space. I'm in space."
• "Gotta go to space. Yeah. Gotta go to space."
• "Ohmygodohmygodohmygod! I'm in space!"
• "Where am I? Guess. Guess guess guess. I'm in space."
• "There's a star. There's another one. Star. Star star star. Star."
• "Getting bored of space."
• "Bam! Bam bam bam! Take that, space."
• "Are we in space?"
• "Oh oh oh. This is space! I'm in space!"
• "We made it we made it we made it. Space!"
• "Wanna go home wanna go home wanna go home wanna go home."
• "Don't like space. Don't like space."
• "It's too big. Too big. Wanna go home. Wanna go to earth."

Trivia

• Valve later modded the game Skyrim to include the Space Core. It appears as an item that the player can find and collect. It even features new lines from Nolan North about dragons.
• In the minigame collection McPixel, the Space Core can be seen in the background of various scenes set in space.