Yeah, I dunno what else to say in the title, but that it's more Black Mesa!

And today's bit largely centers about firing a really big laser!

See, here's the laser,

More laser,

Once again, I feel driven to point out just how impressed I am with the lighting in this game. I love it.

And we get a bright white flash! Even behind the protective shielding!

Of course, just firing the laser normally doesn't do anything much, so...

I love how Gordon's response to "ENSURE SHIELD IS POWERED BEFORE FIRING LASER" is to pull the plug on the shield's power. Very responsible of you, Gordon.

But that results in us being able to blast a big hole in the wall! How Gordon can climb through that molten hole in the wall without getting hurt, even with the HEV, is beyond me, but it works out somehow, I guess...!

I also just wanted to point out this sign:

Instantaneous beam may cause instant death!

But once climbing through the hole, we can get in the back way to where those scientists were hiding, and...

"We all have retinal scanner access. If you escort us to the lobby..."

"We can finally get out of this damn lab!"

"Yes, but you'll have to shut down the surgical unit first. That fool Peters switched it on, but..."

"Uh... Duck your head, and advance with deliberate movements."

Here's a look at this surgical machine. Again, who designs this sort of thing??

You can also see the bloody smear that was once Peters there on the floor. Poor Peters.

There's also a ripped up vortigaunt on the table over there. And you can see the security guard over there through the window.

Here's a slightly better shot of the machine, once it's stopped moving.

"Alright folks, let's get the hell out of here! ...Damn, that was a close shave."

And then, for once, you're not in the lead. They all run ahead of you to the door. I'm not sure why, but I always find that interesting.

But when you get there...

This, I think, is part of the reason why I love this chapter so much. It's not just people hearing about Gordon and pointing him in the right direction. They know his reputation already. And they're asking him to put it to immediate use in protecting them. They don't even know what the threat is, but they're still asking him to take care of it, fully trusting that he'll be able to take care of it.

And next chapter, he'll do just that, in the thrilling conclusion to "Questionable Ethics!"