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[[File:Doug Rattmann.jpg|right|thumb|Doug Rattmann|200px]]
{{Quotation|'''Doug Rattmann'''|The cake is a lie.}}
'''Doug Rattmann''', better known as the 'Rat Man', is an [[Aperture Science]] employee who survives [[GLaDOS]]'s attempt to poison every employee in the facility with neurotoxin when she is switched on. He does not appear in-game, instead leaving behind paintings and murals which can be found throughout the Aperture test chambers in [[Portal]] and [[Portal 2]]. A paranoid {{W|schizophrenic}}, he is dependant on anti psychotic medication to keep him sane.
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== Aperture Science career ==
[[File:Doug Rattmann.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Doug Rattmann after the events of ''[[Portal]]'', as seen in the ''[[Portal 2: Lab Rat|Lab Rat]]'' comic.]]
In the [[Portal 2: Lab Rat]] comic he is revealed to be an Aperture Science employee who worked on the [[Handheld Portal Device]]<ref name="portal device work">Portal 2: Lab Rat comic, [[:File:Lab Rat P13.jpg|page 13]]</ref>.{{Spoiler|He expresses doubts about GLaDOS and the effectiveness of a morality core, remarking 'You can always ignore your conscience'<ref name="conscience quote">Portal 2: Lab Rat comic, [[:File:Lab Rat P14.jpg|page 14]]</ref>. His fears turn out to be justified when she poisons every employee in the facility when she is switched on during 'Bring your daughter to work' day. Prepared for the outcome, he survives the initial attempt to kill him and proceeds to sneak through the facility, avoiding GLaDOS who is actively hunting him. Acting on a 'hunch', he breaks into the test subjects file room and moves [[Chell]] to the top of the test subject order list<ref name="chell reorder">Portal 2: Lab Rat comic, [[:File:Lab Rat P21.jpg|page 21]]</ref>, leading to the events in [[Portal]].}}


== Portal ==
{{Quotation|'''Doug Rattmann'''|Reality is a story the mind tells itself. An artificial structure conjured into being by the calcium ion exchange of a million synaptic firings. A truth so strange it can only be lied into existence. And our minds '''can''' lie. Never doubt it...}}
Delusional, running low on medication and traveling with a talking [[Weighted Companion Cube]], he watches from the shadows as Chell is tested by GLaDOS. Although never seen in Portal, his 'dens' can be found by the player, containing crude bedding, empty cans of beans and scribblings and dioramas on the walls. It is in one of these dens that the words 'The cake is a lie' is found scribbled on a wall, resulting in the well known meme. {{Spoiler|Following Chell's destruction of GLaDOS at the end of Portal, he follows the sound of the explosion and finds a route to the outside world. His joy is short lived as he witnesses the unconscious Chell being dragged back into the facility by a bot. Feeling guilt, as it was his actions that resulted in her being the first test subject, he once again enters the facility and finds Chell has been put in long-term relaxation<ref name="chell relaxation">Portal 2: Lab Rat comic, [[:File:Lab Rat P15.jpg|page 15]]</ref>. He then finds out all the cryo-chambers are offline due to the massive explosion caused by GLaDOS's death. He proceeds to save Chell's life by putting her into indefinitely long sleep, injuring himself in the process when he is shot by a [[Turret]]<ref name="ratmann shot">Portal 2: Lab Rat comic, [[:File:Lab Rat P17.jpg|page 17]]</ref>. He then enters a cryo-chamber himself and falls asleep. His fate is unknown.}}


== Trivia ==
'''Doug Rattman''', also nicknamed as simply the '''Rat Man''', was a scientist at the [[Aperture Science]] Enrichment Center. Prior to the events of ''[[Portal]]'' while [[GLaDOS]] began flooding the entire facility with [[neurotoxin]], Rattman is the only known employee to have survived. He is stated to be a {{W|schizophrenic}}, and shown to take anti-psychotic medication to ease his delusions and hallucinations.
*Doug Rattmann was behind the Aperture Image Format, used in the [[Portal ARG]].
 
*He can be [[Media:Doug_Rattmann_Sp_a2_pull_the_rug_r2.ogg|heard rambling]] in one of his dens in Portal 2.
Rattman does not appear in-game in any form, instead leaving behind paintings and murals which can be found throughout the backstage of various testing chambers in ''Portal'' and the single-player campaign of ''[[Portal 2]]''.
 
== Overview ==
=== ''Portal 2: Lab Rat'' ===
{{See also|Portal 2: Lab Rat}}
[[File:Doug Rattmann sane.jpg|thumb|right|Rattmann as he appears in the ''[[Portal 2: Lab Rat|Lab Rat]]'' comic, holding his anti-psychotic medicine, prior to the events of the ''Portal'' series.]]
 
In the ''[[Portal 2: Lab Rat]]'' comic, he is revealed to be an Aperture Science employee who worked on the [[Handheld Portal Device]].<ref name="portal device work">''Portal 2: Lab Rat'' comic, [[:File:Lab Rat P13.jpg|page 13]]</ref> {{spoiler|He expresses doubts about GLaDOS and the effectiveness of a morality core, remarking "You can always ignore your conscience".<ref name="conscience quote">''Portal 2: Lab Rat'' comic, [[:File:Lab Rat P14.jpg|page 14]]</ref> His fears turn out to be justified when she poisons all the staff in the Enrichment Center with [[neurotoxin]] upon activation during the company's Bring-Your-Daughter-To-Work Day.}}
 
{{spoiler|Prepared for the outcome, he survives the initial attempts to kill him and proceeds to sneak through parts of the facility, avoiding GLaDOS who is actively hunting him. Acting on a 'hunch', he breaks into the test subjects' filing room and arranges [[Chell]]'s name to the top of the test subject roster,<ref name="chell reorder">''Portal 2: Lab Rat'' comic, [[:File:Lab Rat P21.jpg|page 21]]</ref> leading to the events in ''Portal''.}}
 
=== ''Portal'' ===
{{See also|Portal}}
 
[[File:Portal RatmanBed.png|thumb|left|120px|Crude bed that can be found in most of Rattmann's dens.]]
 
Delusional, running low on medication and traveling with what appears to be a talking [[Weighted Companion Cube]], he watches from the shadows as [[Chell]] is put through [[GLaDOS]]' testing course. Although he is never spotted in-game in any of the playable ''Portal'' series, his refuge areas (referred to as dens) can be found by Chell, containing crude bedding, empty cans of beans and scribblings and dioramas on the walls. It is in one of these dens that the warning phrase "The cake is a lie" can be found scribbled on a wall; as GLaDOS continually promises that there would be cake at the end of testing.
 
{{spoiler|Following Chell's conflict with GLaDOS after her escape from the testing tracks, the ''Lab Rat'' comic details Rattmann's point of view after the events of ''Portal'' in which he follows the sound of the explosion and finds a route to the outside world after the destruction of GLaDOS. His joy is short-lived as he witnesses an unconscious Chell being dragged back into the facility by the [[Party Escort Bot]]. Feeling guilt, as it was his actions that resulted in her being the first test subject, he once again enters the facility and finds Chell has been put in long-term cryogenic relaxation.<ref name="chell relaxation">''Portal 2: Lab Rat'' comic, [[:File:Lab Rat P15.jpg|page 15]]</ref> Finding out that all of [[Relaxation Chamber]] beds are offline due to the explosion compromising the power grid, he proceeds to save Chell's life by patching hers into the reserve power grid. He is injured in the process when he is shot by [[Turret]]s that are still left in nearby test chambers.<ref name="ratmann shot">''Portal 2: Lab Rat'' comic, [[:File:Lab Rat P17.jpg|page 17]]</ref> He then submits himself into Chell's cryogenic stasis bed found in the [[Relaxation Vault]] previously used in the events of ''Portal'', and falls asleep in it.}}
 
{{spoiler|His fate is left unknown as the entire bed with him is nowhere to be found when Chell later revisits this Relaxation Vault at the beginning of the single-player campaign in ''[[Portal 2]]''.}}
 
 
=== ''Portal 2'' ===
{{See also|Portal 2}}
 
During the events of the single-player campaign of ''Portal 2'', Rattman's fate is left unknown. Whether or not he is dead is left up to debate, as [[Chell]]'s cryogenic stasis bed that she used before the events of ''[[Portal]]'' he took refuge in, had disappeared entirely.  One piece of evidence for his death is the song called "Ghost of Rattman". Some speculate that Rattman may have made it to the moon, as shown in a hidden picture encrypted into the game's audio file.  You can find the audio file by bringing a radio into Rattman's den in Portal 2 Chapter 2 Test Chamber 6.
 
[[File:Portal_2_Chapter_2_Test_Chamber_6_rat_man_den.png|thumb|right|170px|A Rattmann den during ''[[Portal 2]]'s'' single-player.]]
 
All that is left of him in ''Portal 2'', like in the first game, are wall scribblings and various dioramas depicting either what he witnessed or simply what he feels like expressing.
 
Rattman's graffiti work makes no appearances whatsoever during the game's [[Cooperative Testing Initiative]]. {{spoiler|However, a [[Weighted Companion Cube]] can be spotted by [[Atlas]] and [[P-body]] in the last test of ''[[Cooperative Testing Initiative#Course Four: Excursion Funnels|Course Four: Excursion Funnels]]''. The cube is apparently attached to a Core Receptacle, indicating that it may in fact be as sentient as any other [[Cores]] in the series.}}
 
{{spoiler|At some point in the events of the [[Portal 2#Perpetual Testing Initiative|Perpetual Testing Initiative]], in which the player takes role of stick figure [[Bendy]] - is shifted into a variety of alternate universes at the Enrichment Center as a means of still having [[Cave Johnson]] as ongoing CEO. There is a universe in which Rattmann is CEO of the Aperture company. Cave (now former junior claims representative of Aperture) hijacks the intercoms to yell out and warn everyone that Rattmann (the current CEO) is embezzling from the staffs' paychecks.}}
 
== Ghost of Rattman ==
{{See also|Songs to Test By}}
 
Ghost of Rattman is the 7th track on the Portal 2 soundtrack "Portal 2: Songs to Test By." {{spoiler|It includes what is speculated to be Rattmann speaking to himself, his Companion Cube, or even Cave Johnson. The ramblings draw parallels with the [[Borealis]] as well as multiple events in the 2011 comic [[Lab Rat]]. You can access this recording in Den #7 in Portal 2, located in test chamber 17.<br />}}
 
:''(Unintelligible)''<br />
:''I had no choice, help me, Uncle Johnson,''<br />
:''Help me chose my desire!''<br />
:''(Unintelligible)''<br />
:''They took me to Mesa (unintelligible) mutilation''<br />
:''It was coming soon!''<br />
:''It's gone, sir, it's been stolen!''<br />
:''The ship is stolen!''<br />
:''(Unintelligible)''<br />
:''He's dead. Everyone, dead!''<br />
:''But she lives! Please, help me, Chell!''<br />
:''I can touch it!''<br />
:''Johnson? (Unintelligible)''<br />
:''The ship is gone, they're moving it to Mesa Hill!''<br />
:''That's where it all started.''<br />
:''(Unintelligible)''<br />
:''Little girl, it's ok.''<br />
:''Your pain is ignored by a little pill.''<br />
 
 
===Connections to {{spoiler|the Borealis}}===
:''It's gone, sir, it's been stolen!''<br />
:''The ship is stolen!''<br />
:''The ship is gone, they're moving it to Mesa Hill!''<br />
 
By "the ship," Rattman is referring to the [[Borealis]].
 
===Connections to events in Lab Rat===
:''He's dead. Everyone, dead!''<br />
:''But she lives! Please, help me, Chell!''<br />
:''I can touch it!''<br />
 
This could refer to two incidents, both described in Portal 2: Lab Rat.<br />
The first incident {{spoiler|is the infamous Bring Your Daughter to Work Day. ''He's dead. Everyone, dead!'' could refer to the people killed by [[GLaDOS]] during this incident, with ''But she lives!'' referring to GLaDOS herself.<br />}}
However, these lines could alternatively be referring to {{spoiler|the dead bodies in the cryo-chambers. As shown on page 17 of Portal 2: Lab Rat, all of the chambers were offline, however Rattmann was able to save Chell by resetting her life support and putting her in "the long sleep." This would also align with the next line ''I can touch it,'' referring to page 25, where Rattmann had to reach to push a button to save Chell.<br />}}
 
:''Little girl, it's ok.''<br />
:''Your pain is ignored by a little pill.''<br />
 
As shown in [[Portal 2: Lab Rat]], Rattman is dependent on anti-psychotics to treat his paranoid delusions. <br/>
 
== Known dens ==
Aside from leaving paintings, murals and messages behind, Doug Rattman also discovered a number of hidden rooms in Aperture Science. He adorned these rooms with messages and artwork and primarily used them as refuges in order to escape GLaDOS' scrutiny. The hidden rooms are present in both Portal and Portal 2, and are known as the '''Ratman's Dens'''. A total of 13 have been discovered, 6 in Portal and 7 in Portal 2.
 
{{Columns|colwidth=25%
| col1 =
Den locations in ''Portal'':
* Den #1: [[Portal Test Chamber 16|Test Chamber 16]]
* Den #2: [[Portal Test Chamber 17|Test Chamber 17]]
* Den #3: [[Portal Test Chamber 18|Test Chamber 18]]
* Den #4: [[Portal Test Chamber 19|Test Chamber 19]]
* Den #5: [[Portal Test Chamber 19|Test Chamber 19]]
* Den #6: [[Portal Test Chamber 19|Test Chamber 19]]
 
| col2 =
 
Den locations in ''Portal 2'':
* Den #1: [[Portal 2 Chapter 1 Test Chambers 3 & 4|Chapter 1 - Test Chamber 4]]
* Den #2: [[Portal 2 Chapter 2 Test Chamber 3|Chapter 2 - Test Chamber 3]]
* Den #3: [[Portal 2 Chapter 2 Test Chamber 6|Chapter 2 - Test Chamber 6]]
* Den #4: [[Portal 2 Chapter 3 Test Chamber 11|Chapter 3 - Test Chamber 11]]
* Den #5: [[Portal 2 Chapter 3 Test Chamber 12|Chapter 3 - Test Chamber 12]]
* Den #6: [[Portal 2 Chapter 3 Test Chamber 16|Chapter 3 - Test Chamber 16]]
* Den #7: [[Portal 2 Chapter 3 Test Chamber 17|Chapter 3 - Test Chamber 17]]
}}
{{clr}}


== Gallery ==
== Gallery ==
<gallery>
{{Gallery
File:Doug Rattmann sane.jpg|Doug Rattmann as he appears in Portal 2: Lab Rat, prior to the events of Portal.
|title = Known dens in ''Portal''
File:Portal RatmanBed.png|A crude bed found in one of Rat Man's dens.
|lines = 4
File:Rat Man handprint.png|A Rattmann scrawling found in Portal.
|height = 100
File:Rat Man scrawling 1a.png|A Rattmann scrawling found in Portal.
|width = 150
File:Rat Man scrawling 2a.png|A Rattmann scrawling found in Portal.
|File:Portal Rattmann Den 1.png|Den #1
File:Rat Man scrawling 3a.png|A Rattmann scrawling found in Portal.
|File:Portal Rattmann Den 2.png|Den #2
File:Rat Man scrawling 5a.png|A Rattmann scrawling found in Portal.
|File:Portal Rattmann Den 2b.png|Den #2
File:Rat Man scrawling 5b.png|A Rattmann scrawling found in Portal.
|File:Portal Rattmann Den 3.png|Den #3
File:Rat Man scrawling 6a.png|A Rattmann scrawling found in Portal.
|File:Portal Rattmann Den 4.png|Den #4
File:Rat Man scrawling 6b.png|A Rattmann scrawling found in Portal.
|File:Portal Rattmann Den 5.png|Den #5
File:Rat Man scrawling 6c.png|A Rattmann scrawling found in Portal.
|File:Portal Rattmann Den 6.png|Den #6
File:Rat Man scrawling 7.png|A Rattmann scrawling found in Portal.
}}
File:Rat Man scrawling8.png|A Rattmann scrawling found in Portal.
 
File:Rat Man scrawling 9.png|A Rattmann scrawling found in Portal.
{{Gallery
File:Ratman Diorama 1.png|A Rattmann diorama found on a wall in Portal 2.
|title = Known dens in ''Portal 2''
File:Ratman Diorama 2.png|A Rattmann diorama found on a wall in Portal 2.
|lines = 4
File:Ratman Diorama 3.png|A Rattmann diorama found on a wall in Portal 2.
|height = 100
File:Ratman Diorama 4.png|A Rattmann diorama found on a wall in Portal 2.
|width = 150
File:Ratman Diorama 5.png|A Rattmann diorama found on a wall in Portal 2.
|File:Portal_2_Chapter_1_Rattmann_den.png|Den #1
File:Ratman Diorama 6.png|A Rattmann diorama found on a wall in Portal 2.
|File:Portal_2_Chapter_2_Test_Chamber_3_Rat_Man_den.png|Den #2
</gallery>
|File:Portal_2_Chapter_2_Test_Chamber_6_rat_man_den.png|Den #3
|File:Portal_2_Chapter_3_Test_Chamber_11_den.png|Den #4
|File:Portal_2_Chapter_3_Test_Chamber_12_den.png|Den #5
|File:Portal_2_Chapter_3_Test_Chamber_16_den.png|Den #6
|File:Portal_2_Chapter_3_Test_Chamber_17_den.png|Den #7
}}
 
{{Gallery
|title = Graffiti in ''Portal''
|lines = 4
|height = 200
|width = 150
|File:Rat Man handprint.png|A Rattmann scrawling.
|File:Rat Man scrawling 1a.png|Warning [[Chell]] about GLaDOS' trick.
|File:Rat Man scrawling 2a.png|A bundle of scrawlings.
|File:Rat Man scrawling 3a.png|Rattmann asking for something.
|File:Rat Man scrawling 5a.png|Warning to Chell about the [[Security Camera]]s.
|File:Rat Man scrawling 5b.png|Another warning about the cake.
|File:Rat Man scrawling 6a.png|Rattmann, apparently obsessed with the [[Companion Cube]].
|File:Rat Man scrawling 6b.png|Ditto.
|File:Rat Man scrawling 6c.png|Ditto.
|File:Rat Man scrawling 7.png|Confusing scrawling in the office.
|File:Rat Man scrawling8.png|Ditto.
|File:Rat Man scrawling 9.png|Helping lead Chell through her escape.
}}
 
{{Gallery
|title = ''Portal 2''
|lines = 4
|height = 200
|width = 150
|File:Final transmission SSTV.png|The image transmitted by SSTV in [[Portal 2 Chapter 2 Test Chamber 6|Test Chamber 6]]
|File:Ratman Diorama 1.png|One of Rattmann's dioramas drawn on a wall.
|File:Ratman Diorama 2.png|Ditto, depicting [[GLaDOS]].
|File:Ratman Diorama 3.png|Depicting the personnel killed by GLaDOS.
|File:Ratman Diorama 4.png|Depicting [[Chell]] and her behavioral statistic.
|File:Ratman Diorama 5.png|One of Rattmann's less intelligible dioramas. Possibly a reference to "Smooth jazz will be deployed in 3, 2, 1..." said in a test chamber in Portal.
|File:Ratman Diorama 6.png|A cut diorama with the [[Tubes]] drawn with what appears to be early versions of [[Atlas]] and [[P-Body]], implying that originally Rattmann was still alive after [[Portal 2: Lab Rat]].
|File:Ratman Wall Art 1.png|Rattmann trying to express himself.
|File:Ratman Wall Art 2.png|Ditto.
|File:Ratman Wall Art 3.png|Ditto.
|File:Ratman Wall Art 4.png|Rattmann, apparently trying to describe his hallucinations.
|File:Ratman Wall Art 5.png|Depiction of Chell just before the battle with GLaDOS at the end of ''Portal''.
|File:Ratman Wall Art 6.png|Depiction of the development of GLaDOS.
|File:Ratman Wall Art 7.png|Rattmann trying to express himself. Apparently using the song '''"[[Exile Vilify|Exile/Vilify]]"'''
|File:Ratman Wall Art 8.png|Another short lyric cut.
|File:Ratman Wall Art 9.png|Rattmann rejoicing with Chell's [[Handheld Portal Device|Portal Gun]] after GLaDOS is destroyed in ''Portal''.
|File:Ratman Wall Art 10.png|Depiction of GLaDOS killing off the staff with [[neurotoxin]].
|File:Ratman Wall Art 11.png|spoiler17=yes|{{spoiler|Rattmann tying references on the [[Companion Cube]] being the first of its kind on the moon.}}
|File:Ratman Wall Art 12.png|Rattmann depicting Chell during her short term stasis before the events of ''Portal''.
}}


== References ==  
== Trivia ==
[[File:Lego Dimensions Ratmanden.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Rattmann's hidden den in ''Lego Dimensions''.]]
* Doug Rattman was behind the Aperture Image Format, used in the [[Portal ARG]].
* Doug Rattman's [[Media:Doug_Rattmann_Sp_a2_pull_the_rug_r2.ogg|voice]] can be heard in certain Rat-Man dens in ''Portal 2'', and during the [[Portal 2 OST]] track ''"Ghost of Rattman"''. These are both voiced by former Valve writer Marc Laidlaw.<ref>https://twitter.com/marc_laidlaw/status/1387546992927068161</ref>
* The medication Doug takes in Lab Rat is called ziaprazidone, a version of a real anti-psychotic, ziprasidone.
* The “Armstrong Cube” artwork references his transmission in [[Portal 2 Chapter 2 Test Chamber 6]]. If one follows the actions to achieve Final Transmission, the radio emits a Morse-code like sound. When translated, the noise leads to a staticky image of a Weighted Companion Cube on the lunar surface.
* Various wall art by Rattman can be found in the Portal 2 Adventure World in [[Lego Dimensions]], along with a hidden Den. The infamous "cake is a lie" scribblings can also be found on walls, though instead of trailing off, it ends with "the cake is in the kitchen on the second floor."
** Over a year later, the game's developers teased that there were still undiscovered secrets within Lego Dimensions<ref>https://twitter.com/doa1984/status/781878793778724865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw</ref>, one of which was related to ''Portal''. In November of 2016, players finally discovered that Doug Rattman himself was hidden throughout various parts of the level "GLaD to Meet You".<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20161119092408/http://www.brickstolife.com/found-doug-rattmann-in-lego-dimensions/</ref>


== References ==
<references/>
<references/>


== See also ==
* [[Collaborative Disposition Test#Doug Rattmann|Collaborative Disposition Test]]
* [[GLaDOS]]
* [[Chell]]
* [[Cave Johnson]]


{{CharactersNav}}
{{CharactersNav}}

Latest revision as of 20:13, 21 December 2024

Achievement Door Prize.jpg“This is just a thought experiment, just to see how much time you'll waste thinking about these worthless documents. The correct time is zero seconds.”
This page is SPOILER HEAVY.
You can toggle spoilers with the 'Spoilers' tab at the top of each page. Hidden text can also be revealed by highlighting it.
Doug Rattmann after the events of Portal, as seen in the Lab Rat comic.
“
Reality is a story the mind tells itself. An artificial structure conjured into being by the calcium ion exchange of a million synaptic firings. A truth so strange it can only be lied into existence. And our minds can lie. Never doubt it...
— Doug Rattmann
 ”

Doug Rattman, also nicknamed as simply the Rat Man, was a scientist at the Aperture Science Enrichment Center. Prior to the events of Portal while GLaDOS began flooding the entire facility with neurotoxin, Rattman is the only known employee to have survived. He is stated to be a schizophrenic, and shown to take anti-psychotic medication to ease his delusions and hallucinations.

Rattman does not appear in-game in any form, instead leaving behind paintings and murals which can be found throughout the backstage of various testing chambers in Portal and the single-player campaign of Portal 2.

Overview

Portal 2: Lab Rat

See also: Portal 2: Lab Rat
Rattmann as he appears in the Lab Rat comic, holding his anti-psychotic medicine, prior to the events of the Portal series.

In the Portal 2: Lab Rat comic, he is revealed to be an Aperture Science employee who worked on the Handheld Portal Device.[1] He expresses doubts about GLaDOS and the effectiveness of a morality core, remarking "You can always ignore your conscience".[2] His fears turn out to be justified when she poisons all the staff in the Enrichment Center with neurotoxin upon activation during the company's Bring-Your-Daughter-To-Work Day.

Prepared for the outcome, he survives the initial attempts to kill him and proceeds to sneak through parts of the facility, avoiding GLaDOS who is actively hunting him. Acting on a 'hunch', he breaks into the test subjects' filing room and arranges Chell's name to the top of the test subject roster,[3] leading to the events in Portal.

Portal

See also: Portal
Crude bed that can be found in most of Rattmann's dens.

Delusional, running low on medication and traveling with what appears to be a talking Weighted Companion Cube, he watches from the shadows as Chell is put through GLaDOS' testing course. Although he is never spotted in-game in any of the playable Portal series, his refuge areas (referred to as dens) can be found by Chell, containing crude bedding, empty cans of beans and scribblings and dioramas on the walls. It is in one of these dens that the warning phrase "The cake is a lie" can be found scribbled on a wall; as GLaDOS continually promises that there would be cake at the end of testing.

Following Chell's conflict with GLaDOS after her escape from the testing tracks, the Lab Rat comic details Rattmann's point of view after the events of Portal in which he follows the sound of the explosion and finds a route to the outside world after the destruction of GLaDOS. His joy is short-lived as he witnesses an unconscious Chell being dragged back into the facility by the Party Escort Bot. Feeling guilt, as it was his actions that resulted in her being the first test subject, he once again enters the facility and finds Chell has been put in long-term cryogenic relaxation.[4] Finding out that all of Relaxation Chamber beds are offline due to the explosion compromising the power grid, he proceeds to save Chell's life by patching hers into the reserve power grid. He is injured in the process when he is shot by Turrets that are still left in nearby test chambers.[5] He then submits himself into Chell's cryogenic stasis bed found in the Relaxation Vault previously used in the events of Portal, and falls asleep in it.

His fate is left unknown as the entire bed with him is nowhere to be found when Chell later revisits this Relaxation Vault at the beginning of the single-player campaign in Portal 2.


Portal 2

See also: Portal 2

During the events of the single-player campaign of Portal 2, Rattman's fate is left unknown. Whether or not he is dead is left up to debate, as Chell's cryogenic stasis bed that she used before the events of Portal he took refuge in, had disappeared entirely. One piece of evidence for his death is the song called "Ghost of Rattman". Some speculate that Rattman may have made it to the moon, as shown in a hidden picture encrypted into the game's audio file. You can find the audio file by bringing a radio into Rattman's den in Portal 2 Chapter 2 Test Chamber 6.

A Rattmann den during Portal 2's single-player.

All that is left of him in Portal 2, like in the first game, are wall scribblings and various dioramas depicting either what he witnessed or simply what he feels like expressing.

Rattman's graffiti work makes no appearances whatsoever during the game's Cooperative Testing Initiative. However, a Weighted Companion Cube can be spotted by Atlas and P-body in the last test of Course Four: Excursion Funnels. The cube is apparently attached to a Core Receptacle, indicating that it may in fact be as sentient as any other Cores in the series.

At some point in the events of the Perpetual Testing Initiative, in which the player takes role of stick figure Bendy - is shifted into a variety of alternate universes at the Enrichment Center as a means of still having Cave Johnson as ongoing CEO. There is a universe in which Rattmann is CEO of the Aperture company. Cave (now former junior claims representative of Aperture) hijacks the intercoms to yell out and warn everyone that Rattmann (the current CEO) is embezzling from the staffs' paychecks.

Ghost of Rattman

See also: Songs to Test By

Ghost of Rattman is the 7th track on the Portal 2 soundtrack "Portal 2: Songs to Test By." It includes what is speculated to be Rattmann speaking to himself, his Companion Cube, or even Cave Johnson. The ramblings draw parallels with the Borealis as well as multiple events in the 2011 comic Lab Rat. You can access this recording in Den #7 in Portal 2, located in test chamber 17.

(Unintelligible)
I had no choice, help me, Uncle Johnson,
Help me chose my desire!
(Unintelligible)
They took me to Mesa (unintelligible) mutilation
It was coming soon!
It's gone, sir, it's been stolen!
The ship is stolen!
(Unintelligible)
He's dead. Everyone, dead!
But she lives! Please, help me, Chell!
I can touch it!
Johnson? (Unintelligible)
The ship is gone, they're moving it to Mesa Hill!
That's where it all started.
(Unintelligible)
Little girl, it's ok.
Your pain is ignored by a little pill.


Connections to the Borealis

It's gone, sir, it's been stolen!
The ship is stolen!
The ship is gone, they're moving it to Mesa Hill!

By "the ship," Rattman is referring to the Borealis.

Connections to events in Lab Rat

He's dead. Everyone, dead!
But she lives! Please, help me, Chell!
I can touch it!

This could refer to two incidents, both described in Portal 2: Lab Rat.
The first incident is the infamous Bring Your Daughter to Work Day. He's dead. Everyone, dead! could refer to the people killed by GLaDOS during this incident, with But she lives! referring to GLaDOS herself.
 However, these lines could alternatively be referring to the dead bodies in the cryo-chambers. As shown on page 17 of Portal 2: Lab Rat, all of the chambers were offline, however Rattmann was able to save Chell by resetting her life support and putting her in "the long sleep." This would also align with the next line I can touch it, referring to page 25, where Rattmann had to reach to push a button to save Chell.

Little girl, it's ok.
Your pain is ignored by a little pill.

As shown in Portal 2: Lab Rat, Rattman is dependent on anti-psychotics to treat his paranoid delusions.

Known dens

Aside from leaving paintings, murals and messages behind, Doug Rattman also discovered a number of hidden rooms in Aperture Science. He adorned these rooms with messages and artwork and primarily used them as refuges in order to escape GLaDOS' scrutiny. The hidden rooms are present in both Portal and Portal 2, and are known as the Ratman's Dens. A total of 13 have been discovered, 6 in Portal and 7 in Portal 2.

Den locations in Portal:

Den locations in Portal 2:





Gallery

Known dens in Portal
Den #1  
Den #2  
Den #2  
Den #3  
Den #4  
Den #5  
Den #6  
Known dens in Portal 2
Den #1  
Den #2  
Den #3  
Den #4  
Den #5  
Den #6  
Den #7  
Graffiti in Portal
A Rattmann scrawling.  
Warning Chell about GLaDOS' trick.  
A bundle of scrawlings.  
Rattmann asking for something.  
Warning to Chell about the Security Cameras.  
Another warning about the cake.  
Rattmann, apparently obsessed with the Companion Cube.  
Ditto.  
Ditto.  
Confusing scrawling in the office.  
Ditto.  
Helping lead Chell through her escape.  
Portal 2
The image transmitted by SSTV in Test Chamber 6  
One of Rattmann's dioramas drawn on a wall.  
Ditto, depicting GLaDOS.  
Depicting the personnel killed by GLaDOS.  
Depicting Chell and her behavioral statistic.  
One of Rattmann's less intelligible dioramas. Possibly a reference to "Smooth jazz will be deployed in 3, 2, 1..." said in a test chamber in Portal.  
A cut diorama with the Tubes drawn with what appears to be early versions of Atlas and P-Body, implying that originally Rattmann was still alive after Portal 2: Lab Rat.  
Rattmann trying to express himself.  
Ditto.  
Ditto.  
Rattmann, apparently trying to describe his hallucinations.  
Depiction of Chell just before the battle with GLaDOS at the end of Portal.  
Depiction of the development of GLaDOS.  
Rattmann trying to express himself. Apparently using the song "Exile/Vilify"  
Another short lyric cut.  
Rattmann rejoicing with Chell's Portal Gun after GLaDOS is destroyed in Portal.  
Depiction of GLaDOS killing off the staff with neurotoxin.  
Rattmann tying references on the Companion Cube being the first of its kind on the moon.  
Rattmann depicting Chell during her short term stasis before the events of Portal.  

Trivia

Rattmann's hidden den in Lego Dimensions.
  • Doug Rattman was behind the Aperture Image Format, used in the Portal ARG.
  • Doug Rattman's voice can be heard in certain Rat-Man dens in Portal 2, and during the Portal 2 OST track "Ghost of Rattman". These are both voiced by former Valve writer Marc Laidlaw.[6]
  • The medication Doug takes in Lab Rat is called ziaprazidone, a version of a real anti-psychotic, ziprasidone.
  • The “Armstrong Cube” artwork references his transmission in Portal 2 Chapter 2 Test Chamber 6. If one follows the actions to achieve Final Transmission, the radio emits a Morse-code like sound. When translated, the noise leads to a staticky image of a Weighted Companion Cube on the lunar surface.
  • Various wall art by Rattman can be found in the Portal 2 Adventure World in Lego Dimensions, along with a hidden Den. The infamous "cake is a lie" scribblings can also be found on walls, though instead of trailing off, it ends with "the cake is in the kitchen on the second floor."
    • Over a year later, the game's developers teased that there were still undiscovered secrets within Lego Dimensions[7], one of which was related to Portal. In November of 2016, players finally discovered that Doug Rattman himself was hidden throughout various parts of the level "GLaD to Meet You".[8]

References

  1. ↑ Portal 2: Lab Rat comic, page 13
  2. ↑ Portal 2: Lab Rat comic, page 14
  3. ↑ Portal 2: Lab Rat comic, page 21
  4. ↑ Portal 2: Lab Rat comic, page 15
  5. ↑ Portal 2: Lab Rat comic, page 17
  6. ↑ https://twitter.com/marc_laidlaw/status/1387546992927068161
  7. ↑ https://twitter.com/doa1984/status/781878793778724865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
  8. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20161119092408/http://www.brickstolife.com/found-doug-rattmann-in-lego-dimensions/

See also

v • d • e
Characters
Humans
Caroline · Cave Johnson · Chell · Doug Rattman · Greg · Henry
Robots
Others
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