She should feel safe here. Reach was one of the UNSC’s largest industrial bases, ringed with high-orbitgun batteries, space docks, and a fleet of heavily-armed capital ships. On the planet’s surface wereMarine and Navy Special Warfare2 training grounds, OCS schools, and between her undergroundfacilities and the surface were three hundred meters of hardened steel and concrete. The room where shenow stood could withstand a direct hit from an 80-megaton nuke.
So why did she feel so vulnerable?
Dr. Halsey knew what she had to do. Her duty. It was for the greater good. All humanity would beserved . . . even if a tiny handful of them had to suffer for it. Still, when she turned inward and faced hercomplicity in this—she was revolted by what she saw.
She wished she still had Lieutenant3 Keyes. He had proven himself a capable assistant during the lastmonth. But he had begun to understand the nature of the project—at least seen the edges of the truth. Dr.
Halsey had him reassigned to theMagellan with a commission to full Lieutenant for his troubles.
“Are you ready, Doctor?” a disembodied woman’s voice asked.
“Almost, Déjà.” Dr. Halsey sighed. “Please summon Chief Petty Officer Mendez. I’d like you bothpresent when I address them.”
Déjà’s hologram flicked4 on next to Dr. Halsey. The AI had been specifically created for Dr. Halsey’sSPARTAN project. She took the appearance of a Greek goddess: barefoot, wrapped in the toga, motes6 oflight dancing about her luminous7 white hair. She held a clay tablet in her left hand. Binary8 cuneiformmarkings scrolled9 across the tablet. Dr. Halsey couldn’t help but marvel10 at the AI’s chosen form; eachAI “self-assigned” a holographic appearance, and each was unique.
One of the doors at the top of the amphitheater opened and Chief Petty Officer Mendez strode down thestairs. He wore a black dress uniform, his chest awash with silver and gold stars and a rainbow ofcampaign ribbons. His close-shorn hair had a touch of gray at the temples. He was neither tall normuscular; he looked so ordinary for a man who had seen so much combat . . . except for his stride. Theman moved with a slow grace as if he were walking in half gravity. He paused before Dr. Halsey,awaiting further instructions.
“Up here, please,” she told him, gesturing to the stairs on her right.
Mendez mounted the steps of the platform and then stood at ease next to her.
“You have read my psychological evaluations11?” Déjà asked Dr. Halsey.
“Yes. They were quite thorough,” she said. “Thank you.”
“And?”
“I’m forgoing12 your recommendations, Déjà. I’m going to tell them the truth.”
Mendez gave a nearly inaudible grunt13 of approval—one of the most verbose14 acknowledgments Dr.
Halsey had heard from him. As a hand-to-hand combat and physical-training DI, Mendez was the best inthe Navy. As a conversationalist, however, he left a great deal to be desired.
“The truth has risks,” Déjà cautioned.
“So do lies,” Dr. Halsey replied. “Any story fabricated to motivate the children—claiming their parentswere taken and killed by pirates, or by a plague that devastated15 their planet—if they learned the truthlater, they would turn against us.”
“It is a legitimate16 concern,” conceded Déjà, and then she consulted her tablet. “May I suggest selectiveneural paralysis17? It produces a targeted amnesia—”
“A memory loss that may leak into other parts of the brain. No,” Dr. Halsey said, “this will be dangerousenough for them even with intact minds.”
Dr. Halsey clicked on her microphone. “Bring them in now.”
“Aye aye,” a voice replied from the speakers in the ceiling.
“They’ll adapt,” Dr. Halsey told Déjà. “Or they won’t, and they will be untrainable and unsuitable forthe project. Either way I just want to get this over with.”
Four sets of double doors at the top tier of the amphitheater swung open. Seventy-five children marchedin—each accompanied by a handler, a Naval18 drill instructor19 in camouflage20 pattern fatigues22.
The children had circles of fatigue21 around their eyes. They had all been collected, rushed here throughSlipstream space, and only recently brought out of cryo sleep. The shock of their ordeal23 must be hittingthem hard, Halsey realized. She stifled24 a pang25 of regret.
When they had been seated in the risers, Dr. Halsey cleared her throat and spoke26: “As per Naval Code45812, you are hereby conscripted into the UNSC Special Project, codenamed SPARTAN5 II.”
She paused; the words stuck in her windpipe. How could they possibly understand this?She barelyunderstood the justifications27 and ethics28 behind this program.
They looked so confused. A few tried to stand and leave, but their handlers placed firm hands on theirshoulders and pushed them back down.
Six years old . . . this was too much for them to digest. But she had to make them understand, explain itin simple terms that they could grasp.
Dr. Halsey took a tentative step forward. “You have been called upon to serve,” she explained. “Youwill be trained . . . and you will become the best we can make of you. You will be the protectors of Earthand all her colonies.”
A handful of the children sat up straighter, no longer entirely29 frightened, but now interested.
Dr. Halsey spotted30 John, subject Number 117, the first boy she had confirmed as a viable31 candidate. Hewrinkled his forehead, confused, but he listened with rapt attention.
“This will be hard to understand, but you cannot return to your parents.”
The children stirred. Their handlers kept a firm grip on their shoulders.
“This place will become your home,” Dr. Halsey said in as soothing32 a voice as she could muster33. “Yourfellow trainees34 will be your family now. The training will be difficult. There will be a great deal ofhardship on the road ahead, but I know you will all make it.”
Patriotic35 words, but they rang hollow in her ears. She had wanted to tell them the truth—but how couldshe?
Not all of them would make it. “Acceptable losses,” the Office of Naval Intelligence representative hadassured her. None of it was acceptable.
“Rest now,” Dr. Halsey said to them. “We begin tomorrow.”
She turned to Mendez. “Have the children . . . the trainees escorted to their barracks. Feed them and putthem to bed.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Mendez said. “Fall out!” he shouted.
The children rose—at the urging of their handlers. John 117 stood, but he kept his gaze on Dr. Halseyand remained stoic36. Many of the subjects seemed stunned37, a few had trembling lips—but none of themcried.
These were indeed the right children for the project. Dr. Halsey only hoped that she had half theircourage when the time came.
“Keep them busy tomorrow,” she told Mendez and Déjà. “Keep them from thinking about what we’vejust done to them.”
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1
spotlights
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| n.聚光灯（的光）( spotlight的名词复数 )；公众注意的中心v.聚光照明( spotlight的第三人称单数 )；使公众注意，使突出醒目 | |
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2
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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flicked
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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spartan
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| adj.简朴的，刻苦的；n.斯巴达；斯巴达式的人 | |
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motes
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| n.尘埃( mote的名词复数 )；斑点 | |
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luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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binary
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| adj.二，双；二进制的；n.双(体)；联星 | |
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scrolled
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| adj.具有涡卷装饰的v.（电脑屏幕上）从上到下移动（资料等），卷页( scroll的过去式和过去分词 )；（似卷轴般）卷起；（像展开卷轴般地）将文字显示于屏幕 | |
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10
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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11
evaluations
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| 估价( evaluation的名词复数 )； 赋值； 估计价值； [医学]诊断 | |
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forgoing
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| v.没有也行，放弃( forgo的现在分词 ) | |
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grunt
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| v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝 | |
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14
verbose
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| adj.用字多的；冗长的；累赘的 | |
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devastated
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| v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的 | |
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legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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paralysis
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| n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症) | |
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naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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instructor
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| n.指导者，教员，教练 | |
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camouflage
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| n./v.掩饰，伪装 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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fatigues
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| n.疲劳( fatigue的名词复数 )；杂役；厌倦；（士兵穿的）工作服 | |
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23
ordeal
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| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
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24
stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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26
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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justifications
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| 正当的理由，辩解的理由( justification的名词复数 ) | |
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ethics
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| n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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viable
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| adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的 | |
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soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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33
muster
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| v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册 | |
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trainees
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| 新兵( trainee的名词复数 )； 练习生； 接受训练的人； 训练中的动物 | |
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35
patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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36
stoic
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| n.坚忍克己之人，禁欲主义者 | |
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37
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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