Halo_ The Fall of Reach - Eric Nylund [10]
picked which side he wanted? She hoped the Lieutenant had recorded that. She should have told him to keep the data pad trained on her. John retracted his hand. “I get to keep it, right? That’s what you said.”
“Yes, you can keep it, John.” She smiled at him—then stopped. She shouldn’t have used his name. That was a bad sign. She couldn’t afford the luxury ofliking her test subjects. She mentally stepped away from her feelings. She had to maintain a professional distance. She had to . . . because in a few months Number 117 might not be alive.
“Can we play again?”
Dr. Halsey stood and took a step back. “That was the only one I had, I’m afraid. I have to leave now,” she told him. “Go back and play with your friends.” “Thanks.” He ran back, shouting to the other boys, “Look!” Dr. Halsey strode to the Lieutenant. The sun reflecting off the asphalt felt too hot, and she suddenly
didn’t want to be outside. She wanted to be back in the ship, where it was cool and dark. She wanted to get off this planet. She stepped under the canvas awning and said to the Lieutenant, “Tell me you recorded that.” He handed her the data pad and looked puzzled. “Yes. What was it all about?’ Dr. Halsey checked the recording and then sent a copy ahead to Toran on theHan for safekeeping.
“We screen these subjects for certain genetic markers,” she said. “Strength, agility, even predispositions for aggression and intellect. But we couldn’t remote test for everything. We don’t test for luck.”
“Luck?” Lieutenant Keyes asked. “You believe in luck, Doctor?”
“Of course not,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “But we have one hundred and fifty test subjects to consider, and facilities and funding for only half that number. It’s a simple mathematical elimination, Lieutenant. That child was one of the lucky ones—either that or he is extraordinarily fast. Either way, he’s in.”
“I don’t understand,” Lieutenant Keyes said, and he started fiddling with the pipe he carried in his pocket.
“I hope that continues, Lieutenant, ” Dr. Halsey replied quietly. “For your sake, I hope you never understand what we’re doing.”
She looked one last time at Number 117—at John. He was having so much fun, running and laughing. For a moment she envied the boy’s innocence; hers was long dead. Life or death, lucky or not, she was condemning this boy to a great deal of pain and suffering.
But it had to be done.
CHAPTER THREE
2300 Hours September 23, 2517 (Military Calendar ) / Epsilon Eridani System, Reach Military Complex, planet Reach
Dr. Halsey stood on a platform in the center of the amphitheater. Concentric rings of slate-gray risers surrounded her—empty for now. Overhead spotlights focused and reflected off her white lab coat, but she still was cold.
She should feel safe here. Reach was one of the UNSC’s largest industrial bases, ringed with high-orbit gun batteries, space docks, and a fleet of heavily-armed capital ships. On the planet’s surface were Marine and Navy Special Warfare training grounds, OCS schools, and between her underground facilities and the surface were three hundred meters of hardened steel and concrete. The room where she now 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 be served . . . even if a tiny handful of them had to suffer for it. Still, when she turned inward and faced her complicity in this—she was revolted by what she saw.
She wished she still had Lieutenant Keyes. He had proven himself a capable assistant during the last month. 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 both present when I address them.”
Déjà’s hologram flicked on next to Dr. Halsey. The AI had been specifically