Weighted Companion Cube

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The Weighted Companion Cube, or simply the Companion Cube, is an item featured in the Portal series of video games by Valve Corporation. Initially featured in a single level of the original Portal, Test Chamber 17, as one of Aperture Science's ubiquitous Weighted Storage Cubes with heart symbols printed on the outside, it is given to the game's main character, Chell, as part of the antagonist GLaDOS's sinister testing initiative. After carrying it through the entire level and ostensibly anthropomorphizing and "bonding" with the Cube, the malevolent AI forces her to unceremoniously dispose of it in an incinerator device. Companion Cubes later re-appear in the game's sequel with a slightly different design. The original Companion Cube is shown to have survived the events of both Portal and Portal 2, appearing as part of an ending gag. While GLaDOS has suggested the Companion Cube may be sentient, it is unclear whether this was solely to psychologically torment Chell. In the comic Portal 2: Lab Rat, Doug Rattmann's Companion Cube is shown speaking to him, though this may be part of a schizophrenic hallucination. Following the game's release, the Weighted Companion Cube quickly increased in popularity among fans, spawning a wide array of official merchandise and fan works. It has also been referenced in other, unrelated games as Easter eggs. Critics have remarked on the Companion Cube's significance as a storytelling device that highlights the dangers of blind obedience to authority, and players' attempts to subvert said authority by "saving" the Cube, even in the form of external fan works, have been widespread. Other interpretations have compared the Cube's disposal to animal testing and other experimental science, and the relationship between Chell and the Cube – a symbol of femininity – an example of queer romance.