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Prodigal Son: Part 6 (beginning)
Posted By: Scott D
Date: 31 March 2004, 9:09 PM
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Part 6: Toy Soldier 079
March 14, 2523 UNSC Special Operations development facility Planet Reach
The twelve year old boy walked briskly beside Halsey as she paced down the white hallway. The boy had a military gait, rigid upright, strong and confident with each step. His dark hair and tanned skinned spoke of the rigors of his training, closely cropped and hardened beyond his youthful visage. His blue eyes were cold and hard, always straight ahead, but she watched him closer than he knew, and she saw his subtle movements, the slight angling of his neck, the tilt of his eyes, constantly surveying his surroundings.
This was Scott 079, her least favorite of the children to deal with; he was here under disciplinary orders. Having been caught trying to steal a full crate of food from the officer's club mess haul while he was supposed to be out on night maneuvers training with the other SPARTAN program candidates. He had been alone, and extricating him had not been easy for the Marines called in by the cooks he had attempted to subdue. It had taken a sergeant and two privates to finally corner him in a freezer, but not without him giving them both their fair share of difficulty.
The calamitous event marked a set back for her credibility, the children were supposed to be completely obedient in order to be shaped into the fighting soldiers that would unite the colonies. Their task was so grievous and great that any deviation from the Navy's precise desired results could defeat the whole purpose of the plan. Scott's face was bruised, a large purple mark extending down from his left temple to his cheek, the imprint of a rifle butt. Halsey wondered why the boy had done such a thing, deviated from protocol the rest normally so rigidly adhered to. But then again, this hearing was to evaluate the boy's mental capabilities, his personality make up. Halsey knew certain intelligence branches looked unfavorably upon her work with the SPARTAN II program, her purpose with Scott would have to unfortunately be to control the potential damage to the program's credibility. Rather than simply discipline him, she would have to find the cause of his behavior, and then to discipline him as an example to the others.
Halsey took Scott to the empty darkened room, where there sat a solitary chair and table. "Sit down Scott," her terse voice was met with immediate compliance from the small child. "You will be answering a series of questions Scott, this is not a test, there is no right or wrong answer, just what you think is most right for you. In a moment you'll be greeted by Anathema, do not be alarmed by her demeanor, she is simply ONI's personnel evaluation AI." Scott sat motionless in the dark room as Halsey stepped away and closed the door. In the room medical sensors trained on his brain waves and autonomous body reactions to the questioning, entering a room adjacent to the monitoring room Halsey sat down with Chief Mendez.
"When will I have my answers Doctor?' Mendez spoke impatient, wishing to deal with the boy within the normal script of military protocol.
"Shortly, Chief, for now though, we need to provide formal proof of the incident as a positive sign for the program." Halsey replied.
"Positive sign? I hardly see desertion as a positive in any military function what so ever Doctor, the boy abandoned the training exercise. Either we deal with him and keep him in, or we send him home." Mendez said, aggravated.
"We both know that's not an option Chief, and further more, you have seventy four brilliant other candidates, we need to evaluate the deviation in this one." She replied.
"He's the same as the others, except he disobeyed orders." Mendez replied the AI was now questioning Scott, and data streamed over the holographic screens before them, categorizing, analyzing the answers the boy was giving. "Why can't we hear his responses?"
"He's hardly the same as the others Chief Mendez, and at this phase it is essential we begin to sort and categorize the differences between the candidates. His deviations are unique so far. We have never once had a SPARTAN II candidate perform any kind of insubordinate act, and blindly we've accepted it as the success of our program, that these children do and act however we say. What we fail to consider is the impact of the training on them, of our specific goal to establish and enhance their abilities as soldiers, perfect soldiers."
"What are you getting at Doc?" Mendez growled folding his arms over his chest.
"Perfect soldiers adapt to their circumstances. And some of our candidates might be ahead of schedule." Halsey paused for a moment, "Deja cross reference data from Anathema subject 079 with academic performance and evaluation subject 079." She spoke clearly to the disembodied AI she knew was present in the computer system.
"Working Doctor." The heavenly voice answered to her. "Complying Doctor Halsey." Anathema's monotone voice acknowledged.
Mendez looked at the screen angrily, the boy had hardly moved, not fidgeting, not touching the desk. All the while the AI Anathema sat across from Scott in a virtual chair, looking exactly like the boy, mirroring him. He tests were provoking a response finally; the monitors showed high brain wave activity, Mendez wondered what the boy was thinking. Halsey knew.
Halsey reviewed the data concluded by Deja and Anathema as the test concluded, the boy still sat in the dark room in silence. "He's analyzing the evaluation." Halsey said exasperated, in her mind she knew the boy was a flaw in the program, but I was shocking at such a young age to become cognizant of the forces that were shaping his life. She wondered now exactly how much of his own volition he participated; Anathema was busy reanalyzing his reactions when she noted the extreme variance in his performance evaluations.
"For two days straight last month he failed every test, physical exertion, tactical training, specialized training, and all academic evaluations." Halsey stated almost to herself. "And then for three days afterwards led the squad in every test, including the group exercise where reports say he volunteered for the most hazardous part of the challenge... the tactical diversion."
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