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ERIC NYLUND
129
Kalmiya would undoubtedly stress-analyze her vocal pat-
terns, so she told her the truth. It was always a game of chess
with smart AIs—move and countermove. It was a constant chal-
lenge to earn and keep their respect. That's why she preferred
their company to humans—they were so deliciously complex.
Yes, she told her the truth... just not the whole truth.
"Here they are, Doctor."
Holographic file and folder icons filled the space over her desk.
"Filter by proper names," Dr. Halsey said. "Let's not waste our
time with Ackerson's petty blackmails. Also remove any files
dated before the SPARTAN-IIs went online, and any not ac-
cessed more than a dozen times. I want to see what black ops
topped his list."
The folders and files winked away, and only two folders re-
mained floating over Dr. Halsey's desk: s-ni and KING UNDER THE
MOUNTAIN. She tapped on the first one and it opened, revealing
hundreds of separate files. Dr. Halsey examined them—there
were medical files on each of her Spartans: complete records from
their preindoctrinated origins; their childhood vaccinations; their
parents; their extensive injuries and treatments during their train-
ing; even the experimental procedures used to enhance their
strength, agility, and mental resiliency.
"What the hell was he up to?" she muttered. She felt her pulse
quicken as she scoured his records. There were DNA profiles on
each Spartan, and there were extensive files on the old flash clone
techniques that ONI had used to replace the originals. Ackerson
seemed especially interested in this aspect of the program. He
had followed the medical records of the replacements as they
grew up, succumbed to congenital diseases, and inevitably died.
He even had the bodies retrieved and autopsies performed.
Dr. Halsey's stomach soured. It was her fault, in part, that these
replacement children had died so young. They had never per-
fected flash cloning for an entire human. They had done it any-
way thirty years ago because the Earth government was on the
verge of falling apart... collapsing into a hundred civil wars.
They had desperately needed the SPARTAN program.
And of course, they had done it simply because they could.
No matter the legitimacy of her reasons, she knew she had
killed these children as sure as if she had shot them dead.