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Raquel

  Raquel  
First appearance: "Basic Sandwich" — Owned by: Russell BorchertUsed by: Russell Borchert, Jeff Winger
Purpose: Emotion processing computer— Made by: Russell Borchert   PHOTO ICON


“
Sir, "Raquel" has taken the best years of your life and a dozen of your not-so-good. If she hasn't given anything back, it might be time to move on.
”
— Jeff, "Basic Sandwich"



Raquel 2
Raquel
Raquel is the name given to an experimental computer created by Greendale founder Russell Borchert. It was designed specifically to process human emotions. During its development it became far more to Borchert than just a pet project. Due to his obsession with the machine his reputation was ruined and Borchert vanished. He spent years developing the computer in secret and the results of his work would not be seen by others until decades later. "Raquel's" first appearance was in the Season Five episode "Basic Sandwich".

History

In the mid 1970's, Russell Borchert earned a fortune by creating a nine track cassette player. He parlayed the funds he received from selling his invention into founding a technological institute called "Greendale Computery College". A visionary, Borchert also put his money into developing an emotion processing computer which he hoped would change the future. The project would become known as "Raquel" and he spared no expense on creating "her". Gold plated circuitry was used as Borchert felt it was a better conductor for feelings. His public displays of affection for the computer created a scandal at school. Borchert took drastic measures to protect Greendale's reputation. He gathered his remaining fortune, stockpiled supplies and went into hiding. Borchert agreed to have himself, Raquel and his computer lab sealed away from the rest of the school.



Borchert trying to snog Raquel
Borchert's PDA with Raquel.
Borchert secretly continue his work on Raquel in private as his feelings for the machine became stronger. His work would go on undisturbed until several decades later when he and Raquel were visited by students and faculty of what was now known as "Greendale Community College". They had recently learned the truth about his disappearance and found the entrance to his now buried computer lab. On the surface, the school was about to be sold to the Subway corporation and they were searching for Borchert's missing fortune to save Greendale. They immediately recognized Raquel from archival film footage they had seen earlier and remembered the gold circuitry it contained. It was then that Russell Borchert emerged from an adjoining room and startled them with his disheveled appearance.



The gold circuitry inside Raquel
The gold circuitry inside Raquel.
Borchert vehemently objected when the treasure hunters tried to take Raquel. One of them, Jeff Winger, explained that they needed the gold circuitry to save the school. He added that it was time to let go of Raquel since it cost him so many years of his life and gave nothing back in return. Another one of the visitors, Annie Edison, argued that taking Raquel away from Borchert would make them just as bad as Subway. Borchert thanked her and told them if it was money they needed he still had several million dollars. He offered them the bag the cash was in if they would leave him and Raquel be. At that moment, school board members Carl Bladt and Richie Countee along with Ben Chang suddenly appeared. They took Raquel hostage and after seizing the money, Richie stuck a magnet on Raquel which disrupted her CPU. Once Raquel started short circuiting, the three interlopers escaped before the entrance to the lab sealed itself shut.



Raquel is taken hostage
Raquel is taken hostage
Borchert examined Raquel and found that her emotional components were still intact. He demonstrated what he meant by donning a headgear peripheral which was connected to the machine. After Borchert pleasured himself, the monitor which acted as the "face" of Raquel briefly reacted. Borchert guessed that a much larger burst of emotion could reboot Raquel entirely and bring all her operating systems, including the ones controlling the lab entrance, back online. Jeff immediately volunteered and told everyone to turn around while he hooked himself up to Raquel. He looked at each of his friends but was unable to generate the burst of emotion until he got to Annie. Once that happened Raquel rebooted just as Borchert theorized. The lab doors opened and everyone raced to the surface armed with new information Borchert provided which could stop the sale of Greendale ("Basic Sandwich").



Borchert gets a smile out of Raquel
Borchert gets a response from Raquel.
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