[SPOILER]CORRECT APERATURE TIMELINE

[Sajuukkhar]

1943 - Aperture Fixtures founded sometime before this date. Cave Johnson wins multiple awards for selling shower curtains.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/..._a3_030014.jpg
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/..._a3_030017.jpg


1944 - Cave Johnson buys a salt mine in Michigan, and uses it to build Aperture Innovators.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/..._a3_030014.jpg
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/..._a3_030006.jpg


1947 - Aperture Science given an award for best new science company, transition from shower curtains to science around this time.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/..._a3_030016.jpg


1949 - Aperture rated as #2 best science company(possibly behind Black Mesa).
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/..._a3_030015.jpg


1952 - Aperture is given the U.S. DoD contractor of the year runner up award(likely behind Black Mesa). Entrance to the Test Shaft 9 50's era lobby/control room built.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/..._a3_030019.jpg
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/..._a3_030020.jpg


1953 - First alpha section enrichment sphere test built, oldest known use of repulsion gel in testing and its availability to the public as a pudding, and first known use of primitive Aperture portal gun.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/..._intro0034.jpg
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/..._intro0001.jpg


1954 - Aperture is given the U.S. DoD contractor of the year runner up award again(likely behind Black Mesa).
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/..._a3_030019.jpg


1955 - Aperture wins an award for the promotion of potato science in Idaho.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/..._a3_030018.jpg
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/..._a3_030000.jpg


1956 - Gel Station Alpha workers are encouraged to make this year the safest in Aperture history.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/..._a3_030003.jpg


1958 - Last alpha sphere tests Built.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/...zy_box0026.jpg


1959 - By this time Aperture had run many non-portal related side tests including:
-Unknown experiment involving time travel
-Using a invisible laser to turn blood into gasoline
-Unknown experiment that caused humans to excrete coal
-Using nanobots to alter RNA in a attempt to remove tumors
-Pointing a superconductor at full blast at a person to try to give them superpowers
-Implanting a microchip into a person's brain for a unknown reason(known to overheat)
-Using florescent calcium to track neuronal activity in the brain, could harden and vitrify the brain
-Splicing preying mantis DNA into humans creating mantis men, a later test revolved around killing said mantis men


06/15/1961 - Aperture Science test shaft 9 condemned due to cosmic ray spallation elements.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/..._end0011-1.jpg
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/..._a3_010002.jpg


1968 - Aperture involved in senate hearings over missing astronauts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dus9vRnfxEs (0:00-0:10)


1971 - 70's era Lobby/Control room, and pump station beta built. Aperture is bankrupt.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/...tion010000.jpg
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/...on010028-1.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dus9vRnfxEs (0:15 - Aperture bankrupt)


1972 - First beta sphere test built, and first known use of propulsion gel for testing.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/...ramp0031-1.jpg


1976 - Last beta sphere test built.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/...ings0002-1.jpg


1976-1977 - Borealis is built in this time frame (date assumed since the ships that the Borealis was based on were made in this time span). Borealis vanishes afterwards.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/...00borealis.jpg
http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/Bore...ind_the_scenes


1978 - 70's era exit built.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/..._intro0003.jpg


1979 - By this time Aperture had done more non-portal related side tests including:
-Turning a person's blood into peanut water
-Unknown experiment involving a Combataton arena
-Teleportation experiment that could result in your skin getting taken off
-Using jet engines to bring a person's water count from 60% down to 20/30%
-Unknown experiment involving taking someone apart, putting science stuff in them, then putting them back together, also included tumor removal


1980 - Chell most likely born around this time(based on assumed date of BYDTWD and Chell's apparent age in the Portal games).
http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/Chell#Appearance
http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/File:Portal_2_chell.jpg


1981 - 80's era lobby/Control room built. Cave is sick with moon rock poisoning, says mandatory employee testing will end soon, and begins to replace workers with robots.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/..._intro0000.jpg
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/..._intro0002.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-R4AyXnEbk (0:00-0:20 forced employee testing, 0:30 - Moon rock poisoning)


1982 - Pump station gamma, first gamma sphere test, and one exit of the 80's Era section built. First known use of conversion gel for testing. Realizing his impending death Cave beings brain mapping/AI research, and says Aperture will be left to Caroline should he die.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/...ntro0004-1.jpg
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/...ntro0008-1.jpg
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/...ntro0010-1.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-R4AyXnEbk (1:30 - Brain mapping/AI, 1:50 - leaving Aperture to Caroline)


1986 - Gamma sphere test updated with a new wall.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/...ntro0009-1.jpg


1986-1989 - Cave dies, Aperture is left to Caroline, and old Aperture is sealed.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/...a3_end0000.jpg (The seal between the 80's and 90's era Aperture Labs)


1990 - Modern Aperture Science facility built, work on Glados begins, and Caroline is integrated into Glados. Due to hostility the AI has to be shut down frequently.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-R4AyXnEbk (2:05 - Cave saying Caroline should be put into a computer)
http://www.thinkwithportals.com/comic/#11


Early 90's - Aperture's BYDTWD ends in unspecified disaster, and the BYDTWD part of labs abandoned. Chell is around 10 at this time.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/...2_bts40001.jpg (Banner is made of dot matrix pritner paper which fell out of use in the early 90's)


Early 2000's - Chell gets a part time job at Aperture, and is rejected from testing.
http://www.thinkwithportals.com/comic/#8 (Chell's personnel file)
http://www.thinkwithportals.com/comic/#27


Several days before May 16 200X - Glados is fitted with morality core to prevent hostility. Aperture hosts its Bring-Your-Cat-To-Work-Day, Glados uses BYCTWD as a way to get around her core, murders scientists, and assumes control of facility. By this time Aperture has access to the modern portal gun, HEV suits and chargers, health chargers, turrets, and what looks to be a Grav-gun. Chell is around 20 and is put into cryo-stasis till Portal 1
http://www.thinkwithportals.com/comic/
http://www.thinkwithportals.com/comic/#14 (Apertures many devices are featured in the largest panel)


May 16 200X - The Black Mesa Incident occurs preventing any sort of rescue of Aperture employees.
http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/Time..._universe#200-


200X-200X(+1) - After the events of the BMI the portal storms ravage Earth, said storm draw the attention of The Combine who invade and conquer Earth in the 7 hour war. Later the Combine try to invade Aperture Labs but are repulsed by Glados. Events of Portal 1 shortly after 7 hour war.
http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__...aper_clips.jpg
http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/Time...After_May_200-
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...ortal-2?page=3


202X - Events of Half Life 2 and its episodes.
http://ep1.half-life2.com/story.php


Sometime After Portal 1 - Events of Portal 2. The announcer at beginning gives the total suspension time as 99999 but does not give a specific reference to it being days, months or years. However the announcer is broken so the number of days/months/years it says you were in suspension is very likely wrong.


*note* The combine takeover of earth had to have occurred SHORTLY after HL1, at most a year later. The reason being that in HL2 due to suppression device, preventing reproduction, everyone appears to be at least 20+ years old meaning the Seven hour war had to occur shortly After HL1. The combine would have needed this time to set up the suppression field quickly enough as to explain everyone's age in HL after the nearly 20 year time gap
http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/Suppression_Field

[Valistar]

Originally Posted by Sajuukkhar

1982-1986 - Cave Johnson suffers poisoning from moon rocks and dies sometime between these dates, leaves Aperture to Caroline, Old Aperture sealed

1986-200X - Modern Aperture Science facility built, work on Glados begins and Caroline is put inside Glados, due to hostility the AI has to be shut down frequently.

Awesome, but one oversight. Old Aperture wasn't sealed with Cave's death. The Borealis, built by Aperture, was signed and developed by GLaDOS and it ended up down there in connection with one of Cave's old teleportation experiments.

Also, I'm not sure you can judge decay in a stasis chamber as reasonable proof of passage of time. The things are made to store humans that are just sitting on the bed indefinitely.

[Coconut]

Why do I wake up in a relaxation chamber some 50 days after being dragged away by a party escort robot, but then fall asleep for the next 200 years.

Why did things not go to hell in the first 50 days after I destroyed GLADoS?

Why was I the last remaining human in a warehouse of relaxation vaults?

[Tommehirl]

Was the date for the black Mesa incident confirmed?

Great timeline! But one question:

Why does the general design of everything (buttons, boxes, etc.) in the modern test-chambers look different from Portal 1? GladOS was offline the whole time. Also Wheatly uses old chambers from her that she must have made before Portal 1 yet they have the new design

Isn't Portal 2 many years after Portal? Meaning it can't be during the events of Half Life 2 and its episodes.

Edit: That's actually one of the things that was faintly disappointing. There was mention of a disaster that had happened on Earth, but it would have been pretty cool if there was a small remark about the Combine or something. The Black Mesa mention from Cave Johnstone was good enough I guess.

[Tasty Uberwich]

Originally Posted by Sajuukkhar

202x - Events of Half Life 2 and its episodes, Events of Portal 2 eaither during or shortly after HL2

It's been confirmed that Portal 2 takes place centuries after Portal, so this statement can't be true.

[Sajuukkhar]

Marc Laidaw CONFIRMED the date of the BMI as being in 200X in a Email sent by a user of the HL2.net forums. his statement that the BMI takes place in 200X invalidates the Gameinformer timeline.

http://www.halflife2.net/forums/show...27#post3141727

As for the modern stuff looking different then in portal 1 its possible that the Personality spheres besides Wheatly continued advancing science and when Glados woke up she downloaded their data and used it herself or it may be a simple Retcon of the image basically you suppose to assume the things in portal 1 looked the way they did in Portal 2.

Portal 2 can take place during the events of HL2, Hl1 happened in 200x, the combine invasion happened right after that maybe not even a year and Portal 1 was confirmed to take place right after the combine invasion. The announcer at the begining of Portal 2 says you have been asleep for 9999 days hitting its max counter. 9999 days is about 27 years putting portal 2 right after HL2 which is said to be slightly over 20 years after HL1.

[dsi1]

Originally Posted by Coconut

Why do I wake up in a relaxation chamber some 50 days after being dragged away by a party escort robot, but then fall asleep for the next 200 years.

Why did things not go to hell in the first 50 days after I destroyed GLADoS?

Why was I the last remaining human in a warehouse of relaxation vaults?

Things go to hell very quickly when there are no caretakers for our complex infrastructure.

You probably weren't, something to think about when Wheatley tips over those stacks of containers...

Originally Posted by Sajuukkhar

Marc Laidaw CONFIRMED the date of the BMI as being in 200X in a Email sent by a user of the HL2.net forums. his statement that the BMI takes place in 200X invalidates the Gameinformer timeline.

http://www.halflife2.net/forums/show...27#post3141727

As for the modern stuff looking different then in portal 1 its possible that the Personality spheres besides Wheatly continued advancing science and when Glados woke up she downloaded their data and used it herself or it may be a simple Retcon of the image basically you suppose to assume the things in portal 1 looked the way they did in Portal 2.

Portal 2 can take place during the events of HL2, Hl1 happened in 200x, the combine invasion happened right after that maybe not even a year and Portal 1 was confirmed to take place right after the combine invasion. The announcer at the begining of Portal 2 says you have been asleep for 9999 days hitting its max counter. 9999 days is about 27 years putting portal 2 right after HL2 which is said to be slightly over 20 years after HL1.

The announcer actually says years, not days.

[Ethan_Macmanus]

Why do I wake up in a relaxation chamber some 50 days after being dragged away by a party escort robot, but then fall asleep for the next 200 years.

Backup power ran out.

Why did things not go to hell in the first 50 days after I destroyed GLADoS?

Emergency testing protocol took over control of the facility until GLaDOS came back online.

Why was I the last remaining human in a warehouse of relaxation vaults?

Somehow, you're the only one that managed to wake up on their own when the backup power went out, everyone just hibernated to death.

They more or less died in a fatal coma.

[Syferix]

Correct me if I'm wrong - but I believe in Cave gets the engineers working on the technology to transfer his mind into a computer right away, aka when he was still alive. It just wasn't finished when he died, and hence, he wanted Caroline to be put in his place.

[Sajuukkhar]

actually the announcer doesn't say days or years have just looked it up he just says 9999 then static then 9999 again

Cave did start the mind data thing in 1986 as evidenced by his prerecord message in the conversion gel test chamber who has a wall with the date 1986 on it.
he died later in 1986. Cave said that he wanted Caroline to run the place and to put her brain the computer should he die so she can run the place. however its never stated when the mind scan tech was finished and Glados as a computer had been around since at least 1971ish when it signed for the Borealis blueprints.
Caroline would have been the defacto leader of Aperture till the mind scan tech was finished and that could have happened anywhere from 1986 to 200X when Glados was turned on for bring your daughter to work day.

[Tasty Uberwich]

Originally Posted by Sajuukkhar

The announcer at the begining of Portal 2 says you have been asleep for 9999 days hitting its max counter. 9999 days is about 27 years putting portal 2 right after HL2 which is said to be slightly over 20 years after HL1.

Just because it reached its max counter doesn't mean you've been asleep for exactly 9999 days... Also for the record he says 9999999, and yes I just brought the game back up to confirm that. Like others just said, when you wake up the second time around he just says 9999999, and you never hear him say days or years. I said it once and I'll say it again, it has been confirmed by VALVe staff that Portal 2 takes place CENTURIES after the first game.

[Saithene]

Originally Posted by Flighty Zoo

Isn't Portal 2 many years after Portal? Meaning it can't be during the events of Half Life 2 and its episodes.

Edit: That's actually one of the things that was faintly disappointing. There was mention of a disaster that had happened on Earth, but it would have been pretty cool if there was a small remark about the Combine or something. The Black Mesa mention from Cave Johnstone was good enough I guess.

the announcer says nine, nine, nine, and starts a fourth nine before being cut off, so 9999/365=27.39452054794521 that's now long Chell was under, hl2 is 202X so its possible its at the same time, but i think the bring your daughter to work day happens before 200x.