20 Of The Coolest Female Robots In Science Fiction

GLaDOS (Image via Valve Corporation)

10. GLaDOS (Portal)

GLaDOS (short for Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System) doesn’t have much a feminine figure, being mostly a collection of wires and cameras. In the video game Portal 2, she finds herself hooked up to a potato battery for a brief time. However, her robotic voice is distinctly female, so we’re going to count her as part of the team.

In the first Portal game, GLaDOS first acts as a narrator and guide for Chell, the human protagonist (and another woman, which is pretty refreshing for a video game from 2007). However, it becomes apparent that GLaDOS isn’t just a helpful guide through the seemingly abandoned Aperture Science testing facility.

She reveals herself to be more and more sinister until it’s clear that she’s trying to kill our protagonist. In fact, she has already killed a large number of scientists in the Aperture Science facility. Surviving scientists outfitted her with a morality core (along with numerous other core covering different personality traits). However, said core seems to be experiencing a major malfunction.

In Portal 2, however, GLaDOS briefly becomes a quasi-friend to the protagonist, also Chell in this game. Well, at least, GLaDOS refrains from killing Chell. It seems like a fair deal, especially when you get to enjoy another round of the robot’s acerbic, passive-aggressive humor.