The last place John wanted to be was in another confined space.
The doors finally slid open, and they emerged in what appeared to be a well-lit hangar. The far end hadan obstacle course set up with walls, trenches4, dummy5 targets, and barbed wire.
Three technicians and at least a dozen AI figures were busy in the center of the room. John had seen AIsbefore—one at a time. Déjà had once told the Spartans that there were technical reasons why AIscouldn’t be in the same place at the same time, but here were many ghostly figures: a mermaid6, asamurai warrior7, and one made entirely8 of bright light with comets trailing in her wake.
Dr. Halsey cleared her throat. The technicians turned—the AIs vanished.
John had been so focused on the holograms that he hadn’t noticed the forty Plexiglas mannequins set upin rows. On each was a suit of armor.
The armor reminded John of the exoskeletons he had seen during training, but much less bulky, morecompact. He stepped closer to one and saw that the suit actually had many layers; the outer layerreflected the overhead lights with a faint green-gold iridescence9. It covered the groin, outer thighs,knees, shins, chest, shoulders, and forearms. There was a helmet and an integrated power pack—muchsmaller than standard Marine10 “battery sacks.” Underneath11 were intermeshed layers of matte-black metal.
“Project MJOLNIR,” Dr. Halsey said. She snapped her fingers and an exploded holographic schematicof the armor appeared next to her.
“The armor’s shell is a multilayer alloy12 of remarkable13 strength. We recently added a refractive coating todisperse incoming energy weapon attacks—to counter our new enemies.” She pointed14 inside theschematic. “Each battlesuit also has a gel-filled layer to regulate temperature; this layer can reactivelychange in density15. Against the skin of the operator, there is a moisture-absorbing cloth suit, andbiomonitors that constantly adjust the suit’s temperature and fit. There’s also an onboard computer thatinterfaces with your standard-issue neural16 implant17.”
She gestured and the schematic collapsed18 so that it only displayed the outer layers. As the imagechanged, John glimpsed veinlike microcapillaries, a dense19 sandwich of optical crystal, a circulatingpump, even what looked like a miniature fusion20 cell in the backpack.
“Most importantly,” Dr. Halsey said, “the armor’s inner structure is composed of a new reactive metalliquid crystal. It is amorphous21, yet fractally scales and amplifies22 force. In simplified terms, the armordoubles the wearer’s strength, and enhances the reaction speed of a normal human by a factor of five.”
She waved her hand through the hologram. “There is one problem, however. This system is so reactivethat our previous tests with unaugmented volunteers ended in—” She searched for right word. “—failure.” She nodded to one of the technicians.
A flat video appeared in the air. It showed a Marine officer, a Lieutenant23, being fitted with theMJOLNIR armor. “Power is on,” someone said from offscreen. “Move your right arm, please.”
The soldier’s arm blurred24 forward with incredible speed. The Marine’s stoic25 expression collapsed intoshock, surprise, and pain as his arm shattered. He convulsed—shuddered and screamed. As he jerked inpain John could hear the sounds of bones breaking.
The man’s own agony-induced spasms26 were killing27 him.
Halsey waved the video away. “Normal humans don’t have the reaction time or strength required todrive this system,” she explained. “You do. Your enhanced musculature and the metal and ceramiclayers that have been bonded28 to your skeletonshould be enough to allow you to harness the armor’spower. There has been . . . insufficient29 computer modeling, however. There will be some risk. You’llhave to move very slowly and deliberately30 until you get a feel for the armor and how it works. It cannotbe powered down, nor can the response be scaled back. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” the Spartans answered.
“Questions?”
John raised his hand. “When do we get to try them, Doctor?”
“Right now,” she said. “Volunteers?”
Every Spartan2 raised a hand.
Dr. Halsey allowed herself a tiny smile. She surveyed them, and finally, she turned to John.
“You’ve always been lucky, John,” she said. “Let’s go.”
He stepped forward. The technicians fitted him as the others watched and the pieces of the MJOLNIRsystem were assembled around his body. It was like a giant three-dimensional puzzle.
“Please breathe normally,” Dr. Halsey told him, “but otherwise remain absolutely still.”
John held himself as motionless as he could. The armor shifted and melded to the contours of his form.
It was like a second skin . . . and much lighter31 than he had thought it would be. It heated, then cooled—then matched the temperature of his body. If he closed his eyes, he wouldn’t have known he wasencased.
They set the helmet over his head.
Health monitors, motion sensors32, suit status indicators33 pulsed into life. A targeting reticle flickered34 onthe heads-up display.
“Everyone move back,” Halsey ordered.
The Spartans—from their expressions, they were concerned for him, but still intensely curious—cleareda ring with a radius35 of three meters around him.
“Listen carefully to me, John,” Dr. Halsey said. “I just want you to think, and only think, about movingyour arm up to chest level. Stay relaxed.”
He willed his arm to move, and his hand and forearm sprang forward to chest level. The slightest motiontranslated his thought to motion at lightning speed. It had been so fast—if he hadn’t been attached to hisarm, he might have missed that it had happened at all.
The Spartans gasped36.
Sam applauded. Even lightning-fast Kelly seemed impressed.
Dr. Halsey slowly coached John through the basics of walking and gradually built up the speed andcomplexity of his motions. After fifteen minutes he could walk, run, and jump almost without thinkingof the difference between suit motion and normal motion.
“Petty Officer, run through the obstacle course,” Dr. Halsey said. “We will proceed to fit the otherSpartans. We don’t have a great deal of time left.”
John snapped a salute37 without thinking. His hand bounced off his helmet and a dull ache throbbed38 in hishand. His wrist would be bruised39. If his bones hadn’t been reinforced, he knew they would have beenpulverized.
“Carefully, Petty Officer. Very carefully, please.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
John focused his mind on motion. He leaped over a three-meter-high wall. He punched at concretetargets—shattering them. He threw knives, sinking them up to their hafts into target dummies40. He slidunder barbed wire as bullets zinged over his head. He stood, and let the rounds deflect41 off the armor. Tohis amazement42, he actually dodged43 one or two of the rounds.
Soon the other Spartans joined him on the course. Everyone ran awkwardly through the obstacles,though they had no coordination44. John expressed his worries to Dr. Halsey. “It will come to you soonenough. You’ve already received some subliminal45 training during your last cryo sleep—” Dr. Halseytold them, “—now all you need is time to get used to the suits.”
More worrisome to John was the realization46 that they’d have to learn how to work together all overagain. Their usual hand signals were too exaggerated now—a slight wave or tremble translated into fullforcepunches or uncontrolled vibrations47. They would have to use the COM channels for the time being.
As soon as he thought of this, his suit tagged and monitored the other MJOLNIR suits. Their standardissueUNSC neural chip—implanted in every UNSC soldier at induction—identified friendly soldiersand displayed them on their helmet HUDs. But this was different—all he had to do was concentrate onthem, and a secure COM channel opened. It was extremely efficient.
And much to his relief, after drilling for thirty minutes, the Spartans had recovered all of their originalgroup coordination, and more.
On one level, John moved the suit and, in return, it moved him. On another level, however,communication with his squad48 was so easy and natural, he could move and direct them as if they werean extension of his body.
Over the hangar’s speakers, the Spartans heard Dr. Halsey’s voice: “Spartans, so far so good. If anyoneis experiencing difficulties with the suit or its controls, please report in.”
“I think I’m in love,” Sam replied. “Oh—sorry, ma’am. I didn’t think that was an open channel.”
“Flawless amplification49 of speed and power,” Kelly said. “It’s like I’ve been training in this suit foryears.”
“Do we get to keep them?” John asked.
“You’re the only ones who can use them, Petty Officer. Who else could we give them to? We—” Atechnician handed her a headset. “One moment, please. Report, Captain.”
Captain Wallace’s voice broke over the COM channels.“We have contact with the Covenant50 ship,ma’am. Extreme range. Their Slipspace engines must still be damaged. They are moving toward us vianormal space.”
“Your repair status?” she asked.
“Long-range communications inoperable. Slipstream generators51 offline. MAC system destroyed. Wehave two fusion missiles and twenty Archer52 missile pods intact. Armor plating is at twenty percent.”
There was a long hiss53 of static. “If you need more time . . . I can try and draw them away.”
“No, Captain,” she replied, and carefully scrutinized54 John and the other armored Spartans. “We’re goingto have to fight them . . . and this time we have to win.”
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1
spartans
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| n.斯巴达（spartan的复数形式） | |
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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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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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trenches
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| 深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕 | |
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dummy
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| n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头 | |
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mermaid
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| n.美人鱼 | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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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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iridescence
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| n.彩虹色；放光彩；晕色；晕彩 | |
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marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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alloy
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| n.合金，(金属的)成色 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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density
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| n.密集，密度，浓度 | |
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neural
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| adj.神经的，神经系统的 | |
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implant
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| vt.注入，植入，灌输 | |
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collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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fusion
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| n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接 | |
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amorphous
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| adj.无定形的 | |
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amplifies
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| 放大，扩大( amplify的第三人称单数 )； 增强； 详述 | |
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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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blurred
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| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
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stoic
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| n.坚忍克己之人，禁欲主义者 | |
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spasms
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| n.痉挛( spasm的名词复数 )；抽搐；（能量、行为等的）突发；发作 | |
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killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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bonded
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| n.有担保的，保税的，粘合的 | |
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insufficient
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| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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sensors
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| n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 ) | |
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indicators
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| （仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号 | |
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flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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radius
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| n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限 | |
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gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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throbbed
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| 抽痛( throb的过去式和过去分词 )； （心脏、脉搏等）跳动 | |
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bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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dummies
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| n.仿制品( dummy的名词复数 )；橡皮奶头；笨蛋；假传球 | |
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deflect
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| v.(使)偏斜，(使)偏离，(使)转向 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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dodged
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| v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避 | |
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coordination
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| n.协调，协作 | |
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subliminal
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| adj.下意识的，潜意识的；太弱或太快以至于难以觉察的 | |
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realization
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| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
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vibrations
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| n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动 | |
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48
squad
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| n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组 | |
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amplification
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| n.扩大，发挥 | |
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covenant
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| n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约 | |
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51
generators
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| n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司 | |
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archer
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| n.射手，弓箭手 | |
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hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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scrutinized
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| v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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