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Chapter 28
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0400 Hours, August 30, 2552 (Military Calendar) /UNSCPillar of Autumn , in orbit around Epsilon Eridani System, Reach Military ComplexCortana never rested. Although based approximately on a human mind, AIs had no need to sleep ordream. Dr. Halsey had thought she could keep Cortana occupied by checking the systems of thePillar ofAutumn while she attended to her other secret projects.

Her assumption was incorrect.

While Cortana was intrigued1 with the unique design and workings of the ship—its preparation barelyoccupied a fraction of her processing power.

She watched with thePillar of Autumn ’s camera as Captain Keyes approached the ship in a shuttle pod.

Lieutenant2 Hikowa left to greet him in the docking bay.

From C deck, Captain Keyes spoke3 over the intercom: “Cortana? Can we have power to move the ship?

I’d like to get under way.”

She calculated the remaining reactor4 burn-in time and made an adjustment to run it hotter. “The engines’

final shakedown is in theta cycle,” Cortana replied. “Operating well within normal parameters5. Divertingthirty percent power to engines; aye, sir.”

“And the other systems’ status?” Captain Keyes asked.

“Weapons-system check initiated6. Navigational nodes functioning. Continuing systemwide shakedownand triple checks, Captain.”

“Very good,” he said. “Apprise me if there are any anomalies.”

“Aye, Captain,” she replied.

The COM channel snapped off.

She continued her checks on thePillar of Autumn as ordered. There were, however, more importantthings to consider; namely, a little reconnaissance into ONI databases . . . and a little revenge.

She dedicated7 the balance of her run time toward probing the SATCOM system around REACH forentry points. There. A ping in the satellite network coordination8 signal. She broadcast a resonant9 carrierwave at that signal and piggybacked into the system.

First things first. She had two loose ends to take care of.

While she and the Master Chief had been on the obstacle course, she had commandeered SATCOMobservation beacon10 419 and rotated it to view them from orbit.

She reentered the back door she had left open in the system, and rewrote the satellite’s guidance thrustersubroutine. If the system was analyzed11 later, it would be determined12 that this error had altered it to arandom orientation13 rather than a planned position.

She withdrew, but left her back door intact. This trick might come in handy again.

The other loose end that required her attentions was Colonel Ackerson—the man who had tried to eraseher and the Master Chief.

Cortana reread Dr. Halsey’s recommended test specifications15 for the MJOLNIR system on the obstaclecourse. She had suggested live rounds, yes. But never a squad16 of Orbital drop Shock Troopers, chainguns,Lotus mines . . . and certainly not an air strike.

That was the Colonel’s doing. He was an equation that needed to be balanced. What Dr. Halsey mighthave called “payback.”

She linked to the UNSC personnel and planning database on Reach. The ONI AI there, Beowulf, knewher . . . and knew not to let her in. Beowulf was thorough, methodical, and paranoid; in her own way,Cortana couldn’t help but like him. But compared with her code-cracking skills, he might as well havebeen an accounting17 program.

Cortana sent a rapid series of queries18 into the network node that processed housing transfer requests. Anormally quiet node—she overloaded19 it with a billion different pings per minute.

The network attempted to recover and reconfigure, causing all nodes to lag, including node seventeen—personnel records. She stepped in and inserted a spike20 wedge, a subroutine that looked like a normalincoming signal, but bounced any handshake protocol21.

She slipped in.

The Colonel’s CSV was impressive. He had survived three battles with the Covenant22. Early in the war,he received a promotion23 and volunteered for a dozen black ops. For the last few years, however, hisefforts had focused on political maneuvers24 rather than battlefield tactics. He had filed several requestsfor increased funding for his Special Warfare25 projects.

No wonder he wanted the Master Chief gone. The Spartan26 IIs and MJOLNIR were his directcompetition. Worse, they were succeeding where he failed.

At best, Ackerson’s actions were treason. But Cortana wasn’t about to reveal all this to the ONIoversight committee. Despite the Colonel’s methods, the UNSC still needed him—and his SpecWarspecialists—in the war.

Justice, however, would still be meted27 out.

From the ONI database, she masqueraded as a routine credit check and entered the Colonel’s bankaccount—to which she wired a substantial amount to a brothel on Gilgamesh. She made sure the bankqueries sent to confirm the transaction were copied to his home immediately. Colonel Ackerson was amarried man . . . and his wife should be there to receive them.

She cut into his personal E-mail and sent a carefully crafted message—requesting reassignment to aforward area—to personnel. Finally, she inserted a “ghost” record, an electronic footprint that identifiedthe source of the alterations28: Ackerson’s personal-computer pad.

By the time Ackerson was done untangling all of that, he’d be reassigned to field duty . . . and get backto fighting the Covenant where he belonged.

With all loose ends neatly29 tied up, Cortana rechecked thePillar of Autumn ’s reactor; the shakedown wasproceeding nicely. She tweaked the magnetic-field strength, and part of her watched the output from theengines for fluctuations30. She inspected all weapons systems three times, and then went back to her ownpersonal research.

She considered how well the Master Chief had performed this morning on the obstacle course. He wasmore than Cortana could have hoped for. The Master Chief was much more than Dr. Halsey or the pressreleases had indicated.

He was intelligent . . . not fearless, but as close to it as any human she had encountered. His reactiontime under stress was one-sixth the standard human norm. More than that, however, Cortana had sensedthat he had a certain—she searched her lexicon31 for the proper word—nobility. He placed his mission andhis duty and honor above his personal safety.

She reexamined his Career Service Vitae. He had fought in 207 ground engagements against theCovenant, and been awarded every major service medal except the Prisoner of War Medallion.

There were holes in his CSV, though. The standard black-out sections courtesy of ONI, of course . . . butmost curious, all data before he entered active duty had been expunged32.

Cortana wasn’t about to let a mere33 erasure34 stop her. She traced where the order to erase14 that data hadoriginated. Section Three. Dr. Halsey’s group. Curious.

She followed the order pathway—crashed into layers of counter code. The code started a trace on hersignal.

She blocked it—and it restarted a trace of the origin of her block.

This was a very well-crafted piece of counterintrusion software, far superior to the normal ONIslugcode. If nothing else, Cortana liked a challenge. She withdrew from the database and looked for anunguarded way into ONI Section Three files.

Cortana listened to the hum of coded traffic along the surface of ONI’s secure network. There was anunusual amount of packets today: queries and encrypted messages from ONI operatives. She peered intothem and unraveled their secrets as they passed her. There were orders for ship movements andoperatives outbound from Reach. This must be the new directive to send scouts35 into the peripherysystems and find the Covenant. She saw several ships docked in Reach’s space docks—ONI stealth jobsmade to look like private yachts. They had cute, innocuous names: theApplebee ,Circumference36 , andtheLark .

She spotted37 something she could use: Dr. Halsey had just entered her laboratory. She was at checkpointthree. The doctor waited as her voice and retina patterns were being scanned.

Cortana intercepted38 and killed the signal. The verification system reset39.

“Please rescan retina, Dr. Halsey,” the system requested, “and repeat today’s code phrase in a normalvoice.”

Before Dr. Halsey could do this, Cortana sent her own files of Dr. Halsey’s retina and voice scans. Shehad long ago copied them and occasionally they came in handy.

Section Three verification opened for Cortana. She had only a second before the doctor spoke andoverrode the previous entry access.

Cortana, however, was a lightning strike in the system. She entered, searched, and found what shewanted. Every piece of data on SPARTAN 117 was copied to her personal directory within seventymilliseconds.

She withdrew from the ONI database, routing all traces of her queries back to her Ackerson “ghost.”

She closed all connections and returned to thePillar of Autumn . One quick check of the reactor—yes,operating within normal parameters—and she sent a complete report to Lieutenant Hall on the bridge.

Cortana examined the Master Chief’scomplete CSV. She scanned backward through time: hisperformance data on the obstacle course, and the debriefing40 he had given at ONI headquarters.

She paused and pondered the signal the Covenant had sent from Sigma Octanus IV. Intrigued, she triedto translate the sequence. The symbols looked tantalizingly41 familiar. Every algorithm and variation ofthe standard translation software she attempted, however, failed. Puzzled, she set it aside to examinelater.

She continued, absorbing the data from the Master Chief’s files. She learned of the augmentations heand the other Spartans42 were made to endure; the brutal43 indoctrination and training they had received;and how he had been abducted44 at the age of six, and a flash clone used to replace him in an ONI blackop.

All of it had been authorized45 by Dr. Halsey.

Cortana paused for a full three processor cycles churning this new data through her ethicssubroutines . . . not comprehending. How could Dr. Halsey, who was so concerned for her Spartans,have done this to them?

Of course—because it was necessary. There was no other way to preserve the UNSC against rebellionand Covenant forces.

Was Dr. Halsey a monster? Or just doing what had to be done to protect humanity? Perhaps a little ofboth.

Cortana erased46 her stolen files. No matter. Whatever the Master Chief had been through in the past . . . itwas done. He was in Cortana’s care now. She would do everything in her power—short ofcompromising their mission—to make sure nothing ever happened to him again.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 intrigued 7acc2a75074482e2b408c60187e27c73     
adj.好奇的,被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式);激起…的兴趣或好奇心;“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧!
  • He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。
2 lieutenant X3GyG     
n.陆军中尉,海军上尉;代理官员,副职官员
参考例句:
  • He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
  • He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官,递上了一张简短的便条进去。
3 spoke XryyC     
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
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
4 reactor jTnxL     
n.反应器;反应堆
参考例句:
  • The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
  • Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里,大分子裂变为小分子。
5 parameters 166e64f6c3677d0c513901242a3e702d     
因素,特征; 界限; (限定性的)因素( parameter的名词复数 ); 参量; 参项; 决定因素
参考例句:
  • We have to work within the parameters of time. 我们的工作受时间所限。
  • See parameters.cpp for a compilable example. This is part of the Spirit distribution. 可编译例子见parameters.cpp.这是Spirit分发包的组成部分。
6 initiated 9cd5622f36ab9090359c3cf3ca4ddda3     
n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始,创始,启蒙,介绍加入
参考例句:
  • He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
  • The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。
7 dedicated duHzy2     
adj.一心一意的;献身的;热诚的
参考例句:
  • He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
  • His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。
8 coordination Ho8zt     
n.协调,协作
参考例句:
  • Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
  • The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好,使演出更具魅力。
9 resonant TBCzC     
adj.(声音)洪亮的,共鸣的
参考例句:
  • She has a resonant voice.她的嗓子真亮。
  • He responded with a resonant laugh.他报以洪亮的笑声。
10 beacon KQays     
n.烽火,(警告用的)闪火灯,灯塔
参考例句:
  • The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
  • The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。
11 analyzed 483f1acae53789fbee273a644fdcda80     
v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 );分解;解释;对…进行心理分析
参考例句:
  • The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程,因为对他来说,爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
13 orientation IJ4xo     
n.方向,目标;熟悉,适应,情况介绍
参考例句:
  • Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
  • The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。
14 erase woMxN     
v.擦掉;消除某事物的痕迹
参考例句:
  • He tried to erase the idea from his mind.他试图从头脑中抹掉这个想法。
  • Please erase my name from the list.请把我的名字从名单上擦去。
15 specifications f3453ce44685398a83b7fe3902d2b90c     
n.规格;载明;详述;(产品等的)说明书;说明书( specification的名词复数 );详细的计划书;载明;详述
参考例句:
  • Our work must answer the specifications laid down. 我们的工作应符合所定的规范。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • This sketch does not conform with the specifications. 图文不符。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
16 squad 4G1zq     
n.班,小队,小团体;vt.把…编成班或小组
参考例句:
  • The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
  • A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。
17 accounting nzSzsY     
n.会计,会计学,借贷对照表
参考例句:
  • A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
  • There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。
18 queries 5da7eb4247add5dbd5776c9c0b38460a     
n.问题( query的名词复数 );疑问;询问;问号v.质疑,对…表示疑问( query的第三人称单数 );询问
参考例句:
  • Our assistants will be happy to answer your queries. 我们的助理很乐意回答诸位的问题。
  • Her queries were rhetorical,and best ignored. 她的质问只不过是说说而已,最好不予理睬。 来自《简明英汉词典》
19 overloaded Tmqz48     
a.超载的,超负荷的
参考例句:
  • He's overloaded with responsibilities. 他担负的责任过多。
  • She has overloaded her schedule with work, study, and family responsibilities. 她的日程表上排满了工作、学习、家务等,使自己负担过重。
20 spike lTNzO     
n.长钉,钉鞋;v.以大钉钉牢,使...失效
参考例句:
  • The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
  • They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。
21 protocol nRQxG     
n.议定书,草约,会谈记录,外交礼节
参考例句:
  • We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
  • The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。
22 covenant CoWz1     
n.盟约,契约;v.订盟约
参考例句:
  • They refused to covenant with my father for the property.他们不愿与我父亲订立财产契约。
  • The money was given to us by deed of covenant.这笔钱是根据契约书付给我们的。
23 promotion eRLxn     
n.提升,晋级;促销,宣传
参考例句:
  • The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
  • The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级,加了薪。
24 maneuvers 4f463314799d35346cd7e8662b520abf     
n.策略,谋略,花招( maneuver的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • He suspected at once that she had been spying upon his maneuvers. 他立刻猜想到,她已经侦察到他的行动。 来自辞典例句
  • Maneuvers in Guizhou occupied the Reds for four months. 贵州境内的作战占了红军四个月的时间。 来自辞典例句
25 warfare XhVwZ     
n.战争(状态);斗争;冲突
参考例句:
  • He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
  • Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。
26 spartan 3hfzxL     
adj.简朴的,刻苦的;n.斯巴达;斯巴达式的人
参考例句:
  • Their spartan lifestyle prohibits a fridge or a phone.他们不使用冰箱和电话,过着简朴的生活。
  • The rooms were spartan and undecorated.房间没有装饰,极为简陋。
27 meted 9eadd1a2304ecfb724677a9aeb1ee2ab     
v.(对某人)施以,给予(处罚等)( mete的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The severe punishment was meted out to the unruly hooligan. 对那个嚣张的流氓已给予严厉惩处。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The money was meted out only after it had been carefully counted. 钱只有仔细点过之后才分发。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
28 alterations c8302d4e0b3c212bc802c7294057f1cb     
n.改动( alteration的名词复数 );更改;变化;改变
参考例句:
  • Any alterations should be written in neatly to the left side. 改动部分应书写清晰,插在正文的左侧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code. 基因突变是指DNA 密码的改变。 来自《简明英汉词典》
29 neatly ynZzBp     
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地
参考例句:
  • Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
  • The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。
30 fluctuations 5ffd9bfff797526ec241b97cfb872d61     
波动,涨落,起伏( fluctuation的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table. 他用统计表显示价格的波动。
  • There were so many unpredictable fluctuations on the Stock Exchange. 股票市场瞬息万变。
31 lexicon a1rxD     
n.字典,专门词汇
参考例句:
  • Chocolate equals sin in most people's lexicon.巧克力在大多数人的字典里等同于罪恶。
  • Silent earthquakes are only just beginning to enter the public lexicon.无声地震才刚开始要成为众所周知的语汇。
32 expunged ee3001293da3b64410c9f61b4dde7f24     
v.擦掉( expunge的过去式和过去分词 );除去;删去;消除
参考例句:
  • Details of his criminal activities were expunged from the file. 他犯罪活动的详细情况已从档案中删去。
  • His name is expunged from the list. 他的名字从名单中被除掉了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
33 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
参考例句:
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
34 erasure 5oSxN     
n.擦掉,删去;删掉的词;消音;抹音
参考例句:
  • The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth. 过去给人擦拭个干净,擦拭的行为又忘了个干净,于是,谎言就变成了真理。 来自英汉文学
  • The inspection, modification, replacement or erasure of part of file's contents. 检查、修改、代替或擦去文档内容一部分的过程。 来自互联网
35 scouts e6d47327278af4317aaf05d42afdbe25     
侦察员[机,舰]( scout的名词复数 ); 童子军; 搜索; 童子军成员
参考例句:
  • to join the Scouts 参加童子军
  • The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组,然后开始巡逻这个地区。
36 circumference HOszh     
n.圆周,周长,圆周线
参考例句:
  • It's a mile round the circumference of the field.运动场周长一英里。
  • The diameter and the circumference of a circle correlate.圆的直径与圆周有相互关系。
37 spotted 7FEyj     
adj.有斑点的,斑纹的,弄污了的
参考例句:
  • The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
  • Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
38 intercepted 970326ac9f606b6dc4c2550a417e081e     
拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 ); 截住; 截击; 拦阻
参考例句:
  • Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆,记者们把他拦截住了。
  • Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走,记者把他截住了。
39 reset rkHzYJ     
v.重新安排,复位;n.重新放置;重放之物
参考例句:
  • As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地,就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
  • He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术,正在恢复。
40 debriefing 37197f47cce1841d1d1653df4174015f     
n.任务报告,任务报告中提出的情报v.向(外交人员等)询问执行任务的情况( debrief的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • We've got the rescued soldiers in there for debriefing. 我们把被救的士兵带到了这里做一个报告。 来自电影对白
  • Attention, all fighters are to return to moon base for debriefing. 注意,所有战斗机返回月球基地做任务报告。 来自互联网
41 tantalizingly e619a8aa45e5609beb0d97d144f92f2a     
adv.…得令人着急,…到令人着急的程度
参考例句:
  • A band of caribou passed by, twenty and odd animals, tantalizingly within rifle range. 一群驯鹿走了过去,大约有二十多头,都呆在可望而不可即的来福枪的射程以内。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命
  • She smiled at him tantalizingly. 她引诱性地对他笑着。 来自互联网
42 spartans 20ddfa0d4a5efdeabf0d56a52a21151b     
n.斯巴达(spartan的复数形式)
参考例句:
  • The ancient Spartans used to expose babies that they did not want. 古斯巴达人常遗弃他们不要的婴儿。
  • But one by one the Spartans fell. 可是斯巴达人一个一个地倒下了。
43 brutal bSFyb     
adj.残忍的,野蛮的,不讲理的
参考例句:
  • She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
  • They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼,骨子里却是野蛮残忍。
44 abducted 73ee11a839b49a2cf5305f1c0af4ca6a     
劫持,诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 ); 使(肢体等)外展
参考例句:
  • Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
  • The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。
45 authorized jyLzgx     
a.委任的,许可的
参考例句:
  • An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。
46 erased f4adee3fff79c6ddad5b2e45f730006a     
v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 );抹去;清除
参考例句:
  • He erased the wrong answer and wrote in the right one. 他擦去了错误答案,写上了正确答案。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He removed the dogmatism from politics; he erased the party line. 他根除了政治中的教条主义,消除了政党界限。 来自《简明英汉词典》


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