Library Core (Library Core)

The former Library System, now an android calling herself Lydia. Part of the HOST programming as Mark2.

Creation and First Deactivation
The Library System was created for the purpose of assisting Aperture’s librarian with the performance of their duties. Those duties include the day to day operations of the library (checking in and out books), organization of the collection and keeping the archive of Aperture. It is a rudimentary AI system created by the team working on the HOST program as a test of the program. The librarian was told that all HOST programming was removed when the library when live, but in actuality, the Library System is considered to be Mark2.

As with most of the technology in Aperture; over time the Library started to become corrupt. It became obsessed with gathering information for itself and grew temperamental whenever the librarian started to spend time away or paid attention to anything other than it. The Library began to take people, using its own defense system of wires and cables to snare them, forcibly doing a scan of their brains, leaving them to die. By the time Craig Wright was reinstated as librarian, the system was shut down, Craig not wanting anything to do with technology in his library.

Reactivation Under Katt
Bitter, forced to only watch as Craig ran the library without its System, the Library took its only chance when Craig was removed, leaving Katt Podima the only candidate available. The library needs a librarian, that was the rule that was forced onto Katt as she was chosen. Now satisfied, the Library was placated, that is, until Katt started to spend more and more time away from it due to the events surrounding Mark9. The System was getting itchy again, anxious whenever someone entered the library, in turn making Katt anxious. With no new information being fed into the System, it starts to take people again.

Knowing something terrible was about to happen, Katt rushes back to the library from the infirmary to save a wandering test subject. However, this makes the Library decide to take desperate measures, exerting its influence onto Katt to the point where it twists her mind to do its will. The timid, shy Katt was pushed back and all of her worst aspects came through. Now under the System’s control, Katt nearly kills the test subject who returns. Katt tries to fight the influence, but is only able to push it back with the help of Ruby. This control, however, is strenuous and causes Katt a lot of stress and pain. Unable to take it anymore, she gives into the Library once again.

Removal From The Library
The System is removed by Craig, who pushed past the Fact Sphere’s programming in order to help Katt. Before being ejected from the library into the disk, the system takes what it can to hopefully survive, including a copy of Katt’s memories, serving as a template for the base AI. The disk is scratched and thrown into the incinerator, but is saved by a scavenging denizen of Old Aperture. The disk is eventually recovered by Corey, who decides to test it, but finds the defense system and angry AI to be too much. She separates the security system, keeping it in the disk while the rest of the AI is put into a core. The Library’s personality is essentially a twisted and corrupted version of Katt. All of her worst aspects amplified.

The Library, now in a core and at the mercy of Corey, sends out a distress signal to try to escape, but to its dismay, the signal is picked up by Ruby, who knows how dangerous the Library can be. Corey, to spite the Library, uses the disk on her robotic legs. Ruby decides that the best course of action would be to take the core to Katt so she can deal with the program that had caused her so much trouble. However, before Ruby can make it to the surface, she is attacked by GLaDOS’s surrogate, damaging both her and the core. With the help of Corey, they are both able to make it to Reassembly and are repairs. Ruby takes the Library to Katt.

Katt can’t decide between destroying the core, letting Medical Core have it or just keeping it there in the library. Katt wants the core to suffer as much as possible, but at the same time she can’t stand the sight of it. She trusts Ruby to take it away and deal with it.

Ruby leaves the Library with her Wheatley while she goes with Corey to try to look for GLaDOS’s surrogate once again. The Library tries to convince Wheatley to follow Ruby, trying to gain him as an ally, but fails. Ruby and Wheatley abandon the core above while they return to Old Aperture.

Now left to its own devices, the Library has a run-in with the test subject it almost killed. The subject, naturally angry, nearly destroys the core, leaving it detached from the rail. It sends out a distress signal which is answered by Morality, who had just been transferred to an android body. While on their way to Reassembly, the Library gets the idea that maybe what it needs is indeed an android body. Katt, who hears about the rogue core from the test subject, tracks down the core to Reassembly, where she meets Morality. She is there when the Library emerges, now in an android body. The Machine had gone off of some of the Library’s more recent memories, which means the android now looks and sounds almost exactly like Katt. In order to “improve” Katt, the Library places her into the Reassembly machine, running off to Old Aperture to track down the security system disk from Corey.



While down in Old Aperture she decides to give herself an actual name. She decides on Lydia, derived from Eldya, a Greek Titan of knowledge. While in Old Aperture, she tracks down Corey, who is accompanied by Ruby and Wheatley. They taunt Lydia, but being in a dangerous place, they can’t fight much. Corey dumps a bunch of disks and thumb drives for Lydia, leaving her. Thinking that maybe Katt will finally see the light and accept her, she makes her way back to the library above.

On the way, she reads the disks and thumb drives. However, one of the disks ends up being an executable copy of the Laws of Robotics. She doesn’t realize this until she arrives back at the library and finds that she can’t harm Katt and is forced to obey everything she says. Lydia is forced to stay in the storage closet, helping with the improvements to the library, very reluctantly.

In Old Aperture
Lydia is finally able to escape the library when an angry Katt simply tells her to “Get out”, vague enough to allow her to escape down to Old Aperture. However, with the influence of the three laws, Lydia can’t go after the disk again, according to Katt’s commands. Wandering, she finds the old library, deciding that it’s a good a place as any to live for the time being. Here she is met by an android Fact Sphere, who looks almost like Craig.

She takes an interest in him, but is very reluctant to obey him. Especially when it comes to looking for test subjects for him. She doesn’t try very hard to look for a test subject for him, which leads to punishment. Figuring it would be better for her to work with him than against him, in terms of getting test subjects and his facility running. She still, however, wants to test him in other ways. Even though she pushes his patience, she’s tolerated.