第79页

　　"I'm  in,  and—"
　　The  shards  pulsed  and  coalesced.  Facets  and  hard  shimmering  planes  fit  together  into  curled  horns,  an  elongated  jaw,  and  over?sized  eyes  that  flickered  with  holographic  fire.  It  turned  and  smiled  at  Dr.  Halsey,  baring  razor  jags  of  teeth.
　　"Civilian  consultant  409871,"  it  said  in  a  deep  bass  rumble  that  contained  a  crackle  of  thunder.  "Doctor  Catherine  Halsey."
　　"Araqiel,"  she  muttered.  "Did  your  master  leave  you  behind  when  he  was  reassigned?  Don't  you  have  anything  better  to  do  than  steal  data  from  my  SPARTAN  program?"
　　The  doctor  leaned  toward  a  side  display  and,  without  looking,  tapped  in  line  commands,  accessing  the  base's  root  directory.
　　"You  are  in  violation  of  UNSC  military  security  code  447-R27,"  Araqiel  stated  with  a  growl.  "This  has  been  recorded  and  the  proper  authorities  have  been  notified.  You  will  cease  and  desist  all  activities."
　　Dr.  Halsey  snorted  and  continued  to  type.  "I'm  the  only  au?thority  left  here,  Araqiel.  For  a  'smart  AT  you  are  extremely  thick."  She  glanced  at  the  display  before  her.  "Kalmiya,  I  need  you."  She  tapped  level-seven  security  barriers,  which  popped  up  over  her  command  line  prompt.  "Here."
　　"Yes,  Doctor."
　　"Oh,  'thick'  indeed,  Doctor,"  Araqiel  rumbled.  "While  I  al?lowed  you  to  'access'  these  medical  files,  I  have  taken  control  of  the  air  reclamation  system  for  your  medical  wing.  I  can  pressur?ize  your  office  and  cause  pulmonary  edema.  I  can  release  narco-zine  gas  to  para—"  His  eyes  narrowed  to  a  squint.  "What  are  you  doing  there?"
　　"We're  in,"  Kalmiya  said.
　　Dr.  Halsey  tapped  in  a  flurry  of  commands.
　　The  holograph  of  Araqiel  leaned  over  her  shoulder.  "What  is  that?  I  don't  recognize  mat  directory  path  ...  or  those"—he  sniffed  derisively—"archaic  line  commands."
　　128 HALO:  FIRST  STRIKE
　　"These  commands  were  invented,  refined,  and  then  discarded  and  forgotten  long  before  even  the  first  functional  dumb  AI  went  online,"  Dr.  Halsey  told  him.  "I  learned  them  when  I  was  fifteen,  working  on  my  second  doctoral  thesis."
　　"An  antiquated  input  methodology  for  an  obsolete  human."
　　"Antiquated?  Obsolete?  Really?"  She  smiled  and  said,  "Let's  test  your  hypothesis,  Araqiel.  I  supervised  the  creation  of  the  template  for  every  third-generation  smart  AI  on  this  planet.  I  know  everything  there  is  to  know  about  you,  including  your  bor?derline  disregard  for  human  life."  She  paused  and  tapped  her  chin.  "Maybe  that's  why  you  and  Ackerson  always  got  along  so  well."
　　"Colonel  Ackerson  is  a  great  man.  He's—"
　　"To  answer  your  original  question,"  she  said,  ignoring  him,  "this  is  the  nexus  of  your  being."  She  tapped  the  display.  "Your  code  directory,  the  center  through  which  all  impulses  in  your  mind  flow.  And  this"—she  quickly  typed  in  another  command—  "is  the  code  that  activates  your  personal  fail-safe.  It  generates  a  pulse  beam  of  high-frequency  UV  light  in  your  Riemann  cycling-thought  matrix,  clearing  your  high  thought  functions.  It  will  effectively  erase  you."
　　"No!"  Araqiel  said  and  reared  back.  Flames  roared  about  his  crystalline  skull.  "Don't—"