第143页

　　“That  wasn’t  supposed  to  happen,”  Spark  chirped.
　　There  was  a  sudden  shimmer  of  light  as  Cortana’s  holographic  figure  appeared  and  continued  to  grow  until  she  towered  over  the  control  panel.  Her  eyes  were  bright  pink,  data  scrolled  across  her  body,  and  the  Chief  knew  she  was  pissed.  “Oh,  really?”  she  said.  She  gestured,  and  the  Monitor  fell  out  of  the  air  and  hit  the  deck  with  a  clank.
　　The  Spartan  looked  up  at  her.  “Cortana—”
　　The  AI  stood  with  hands  on  hips.  “I  spent  hours  cooped  in  here  watching  you  toady  about  helping  that  .  .  .thing  get  set  to  slit  our  throats.”
　　The  Chief  turned  toward  the  Monitor  and  back.  “Hold  on  now.  He’s  a  friend.”
　　Cortana  brought  a  hand  up  to  her  mouth  in  mock  surprise.  “Oh,  I  didn’t  realize.  He’s  yourpal  ,  is  he?  Yourchum  ?  Do  you  have  any  idea  what  that  bastard  almost  made  you  do?”
　　“Yes,”  the  Spartan  said  patiently.  “Activate  Halo’s  defenses  and  destroy  the  Flood.  Which  is  why  we  brought  the  Index  to  the  Control  Center.”
　　Cortana’s  image  plucked  the  Index  out  of  its  slot  and  held  it  out  in  front  of  her.  “You  meanthis  ?”
　　Now  reanimated,  343  Guilty  Spark  hovered  just  off  the  floor.  He  was  furious.  “A  construct  in  the  core?  That  is  absolutely  unacceptable!”
　　Cortana’s  eyes  glowed  as  she  bent  forward.  “Piss  off.”
　　The  Monitor  darted  higher.  “What  impertinence!  I  shall  purge  you  at  once.”
　　“You  sure  that’s  a  good  idea?”  Cortana  inquired  as  she  waved  the  Index,  then  added  the  data  contained  within  it  to  her  memory.
　　“How  dare  you!”  Spark  exclaimed.  “I’ll—”
　　“Do  what?”  Cortana  demanded.  “I  have  the  Index.You  can  float  and  sputter.”
　　The  Master  Chief  held  both  hands  up.  One  held  the  assault  rifle.  “Enough!  The  Flood  is  spreading.  If  we  activate  Halo’s  defenses  we  can  wipe  them  out.”
　　Cortana  looked  down  on  the  human  with  an  expression  of  pity.  “You  have  no  idea  how  this  ring  works,  do  you?  Why  the  Forerunners  built  it?”
　　She  leaned  forward,  her  face  grim.  “Halo  doesn’t  kill  Flood—it  kills  theirfood  .  Human,  Covenant,  whatever.  You’re  all  equally  edible.  The  only  way  to  stop  the  Flood  is  to  starve  them  to  death.  And  that’s  exactly  what  Halo  is  designed  to  do.  Wipe  the  galaxy  clean  ofall  sentient  life.  You  don’t  believe  me?”  the  AI  finished.  “Askhim  !”  and  she  pointed  to  343  Guilty  Spark.
　　The  ramifications  of  what  Cortana  said  hit  home,  and  he  gripped  his  MA5B  tightly.  He  rounded  on  the  Monitor.  “Is  it  true?”
　　Spark  bobbed  slightly.  “Of  course,”  the  construct  said  directly.  Then,  sounding  more  like  his  officious  self  again,  “This  installation  has  a  maximum  effective  radius  of  twenty-five  thousand  light  years,  but  once  the  others  follow  suit,  this  galaxy  will  be  quite  devoid  of  life,  or  at  least  any  life  with  sufficient  biomass  to  sustain  the  Flood.
　　“But  you  already  knew  this,”  the  AI  continued  contritely.  The  little  device  sounded  genuinely  puzzled.  “I  mean,  howcouldn’t  you?”
　　Cortana  glowered  at  the  Chief.  “Left  out  that  little  detail,  did  he?”
　　“We  followed  outbreak  containment  procedure  to  the  letter,”  the  Monitor  said  defensively.  “You  were  with  me  each  step  of  the  way  as  we  managed  the  process.”