Announcer

“

If you are a non-employee who has discovered this facility amid the ruins of civilization, welcome! And remember: Testing is the future, and the future starts with you. Click to listen — The Announcer

”

The Announcer is a minor character in Portal 2, who has masculine programming and is voiced by Joe Michaels.

After the destruction of GLaDOS at the end of Portal, The Announcer appears to have taken over the Aperture Science facility in her absence as a back-up system, maintaining primary functions and stasis chambers. He continues this duty until the events of Portal 2, where he is most present in the beginning of the game, guiding Chell in test chambers through automated messages before she and Wheatley accidentally reactivate GLaDOS. After that, most major functions and decisions return to the main AI and The Announcer slinks back into minor managerial and production procedures.

He is a personality designed to work in extreme and low power conditions to keep research and testing going even during "circumstances of potentially apocalyptic significance” so “science can still be done.” Although, unlike many robots and AI in Aperture such as GLaDOS, Cores, or even Turrets, The Announcer does not have a physical presence and displays no hints of sentience. Instead, he rather is or is a part of the basic system of Aperture, his lines similar to computer alerts and triggered in the same fashion (such as deleting a file, indicating problems with the reactor core, etc.) He shows no acknowledgement to the Combine Invasion outside the facility, no ability to record results from a test, no recognition of Chell being the one who destroyed GLaDOS, no desire to change tests within the facility or create new inventions, or ability to realize that the faulty turret used to sabotage the turret production line was flawed. He can, however, read files, detect life and the overall condition of the facility, operate the sprinkler system, as well as override the main AI in situations like stalemate procedures.

Indicated by his presence behind the scenes of Aperture especially concerning the production of Turrets, The Announcer maintains many ancillary functions that the main AI doesn’t overlook but can utilize, and continues to make sure that miniscule problems are taken care of and that the main AI knows of any major problems occurring within Aperture.

When he was created is unknown, but his abilities and intertwinement in the basic system indicate he was probably present before the creation of GLaDOS .

Trivia

• Several unused voice lines indicate that at some point during development of Portal 2, the Announcer's job was to be filled by GLaDOS herself, before ultimately being replaced by Joe Micheals' rendition of the script.