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Catherine Halsey: Difference between revisions
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{{Quote|no=three|q1=We screen these subjects for certain genetic markers. Strength, agility, even predispositions for aggression and intellect. But we couldn’t remote test for everything. We don’t test for luck.|Catherine Halsey|q2=Luck? You believe in luck, Doctor?|Jacob Keyes|q3=Of course not. 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.|Catherine Halsey|Doctor Halsey defends her peculiar means of testing [[John-117|John]].}}<ref name="HTFOR2">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 2''</ref> | {{Quote|no=three|q1=We screen these subjects for certain genetic markers. Strength, agility, even predispositions for aggression and intellect. But we couldn’t remote test for everything. We don’t test for luck.|Catherine Halsey|q2=Luck? You believe in luck, Doctor?|Jacob Keyes|q3=Of course not. 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.|Catherine Halsey|Doctor Halsey defends her peculiar means of testing [[John-117|John]].}}<ref name="HTFOR2">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 2''</ref> | ||
[[File:FORAS HalseyKeyesHan.png|350px|right|thumb|.]] | [[File:FORAS HalseyKeyesHan.png|350px|right|thumb|.]] | ||
By [[2517#July|July 21, 2517]], Halsey had been provided with her own team, to which she delegated much of the responsibly for screening Outer Colonies candidates for SPARTAN-II.<ref name="HJ72117">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''July 21, 2517''</ref> She did this so it might be completed within a reasonable time frame and so that she could personally focus on processing those from a single region of space: [[FLEETCOM Sector Four|Sector 4]].<ref name="HJ72117"/> The children from this [[sector]] which met the criteria Halsey had identified in her original study had files assembled personally by her.<ref name="HTFOR2"/> In total, one hundred and fifty subjects were to be considered. The Spartan-II program had only been granted facilities and funding for half that number, however, so only seventy-five would ultimately be selected.<ref name="HTFOR2"/> Vice Admiral Stanforth had agreed to lend Halsey a [[diplomatic shuttle]] called the ''Han'', provided that she agreed to at least one naval officer accompanying her.<ref name="HTFOR1"/> Halsey was given free reign to choose her attaché and after reading through the file of one [[Lieutenant (disambiguation)|Lieutenant Junior Grade]] [[Jacob Keyes]], she requested him based on his demonstrated ability to keep a secret. Keyes was then, without any explanation provided to him as to why, assigned to pilot the ''Han'', protect the doctor, and otherwise stay out of her way.<ref name="HJ72117"/><ref name="HTFOR1">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 1''</ref> On July 21 Halsey wrote in her journal that she was considering recommending him for permanent reassignment to her staff.<ref name="HJ72117"/> The ''Han'' also came with its own dedicated artificial intelligence by the name of [[Toran]].<ref name="HJ72117"/> | By [[2517#July|July 21, 2517]], Halsey had been provided with her own team, to which she delegated much of the responsibly for screening Outer Colonies candidates for SPARTAN-II.<ref name="HJ72117">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''July 21, 2517''</ref> She did this so it might be completed within a reasonable time frame and so that she could personally focus on processing those from a single region of space: [[FLEETCOM Sector Four|Sector 4]].<ref name="HJ72117"/> The children from this [[sector]] which met the criteria Halsey had identified in her original study had files assembled personally by her.<ref name="HTFOR2"/> In total, one hundred and fifty subjects were to be considered. The Spartan-II program had only been granted facilities and funding for half that number, however, so only seventy-five would ultimately be selected.<ref name="HTFOR2"/> And even then, an ONI representative reminded Halsey that not all would make it through the [[Project ASTER|augmentation procedures]] when the time came for that.<ref name="HTFOR3"/> Vice Admiral Stanforth had agreed to lend Halsey a [[diplomatic shuttle]] called the ''Han'', provided that she agreed to at least one naval officer accompanying her.<ref name="HTFOR1"/> Halsey was given free reign to choose her attaché and after reading through the file of one [[Lieutenant (disambiguation)|Lieutenant Junior Grade]] [[Jacob Keyes]], she requested him based on his demonstrated ability to keep a secret. Keyes was then, without any explanation provided to him as to why, assigned to pilot the ''Han'', protect the doctor, and otherwise stay out of her way.<ref name="HJ72117"/><ref name="HTFOR1">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 1''</ref> On July 21 Halsey wrote in her journal that she was considering recommending him for permanent reassignment to her staff.<ref name="HJ72117"/> The ''Han'' also came with its own dedicated artificial intelligence by the name of [[Toran]].<ref name="HJ72117"/> | ||
Halsey was awakened from [[cryostasis]] alongside Keyes shortly after 0430 hours on [[2517#August|August 17]] while the ''[[Han]]'' was still in slipspace but set to emerge soon in the [[Eridanus system]].<ref name="HTFOR1"/> Giving not so much as an acknowledgement that they were both naked, Halsey simply climbed out of her tube and told the lieutenant to get cleaned up and dressed as she headed for the showers herself, making it clear to Keyes that she was in charge. Halsey was already strapped into the navigator's couch and on the bridge and tapping in commands across four keypads when he joined her soon thereafter. The doctor welcomed him and asked that he be seated at the communication station to monitor channels when they reentered normal space. She then had [[Toran]] provide her with [[astronavigation]] maps of the system and asked if any planets between their current position and [[Eridanus II]] could be used to pick up a [[Wikipedia:Gravity assist|gravitational boost]] to let them arrive sooner. Additionally, in rapid succession she had the A.I. begin to play [[Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto Number Three]], begin a preburn warmup cycle for their [[fusion engine]]s, and halt the rotation of the shuttle's central carousel section to conserve power. Toran obliged with each request and informed her they they would exiting slipspace in about five minutes, give or take three minutes. From the way Keyes was glancing at her, Halsey could tell he was impressed at her ability to put Toran through his paces so rigorously, so she asked if he had a question for her. In response he composed himself before inquiring as to the exactly what they were doing. Halsey told him that they were on a reconnaissance mission of sorts, as they were heading to Eridanus II in order to observe [[John-117|a child]] whom she hoped would only be the first of many. She suggsted the junior lieutenant should just think of it as a UNSC-funded psychological study and then sternly told him that was exactly what he was to say it was to anyone who asked. The ''Han'' soon decelerated as it dropped out of slipspace near a gas giant and then began a hard burn, accelerating for sixty-seven seconds before arcing away from the planet. As soon as the boost was complete Toran informed the two humans that their [[Wikipedia:Estimated time of arrival|ETA]] was forty-three minutes and three seconds. At this, Halsey unlocked her harness and floated free. Just before they had dropped into normal space, Keyes had started to ask her if she knew how dangerous the Eridanus system was then and now she finally answered him in the affirmative. After stretching and strapping herself back into her couch, she reminded her escort that he was supposed to be monitoring their comms for that very reason. Catherine spent the next thirty minutes with her back to Keyes while she read over reports on her navigation screens. The Keyes eventually spoke up to candidly ask why he was there, and Halsey told him the truth about why she had selected him for the job. She also assured him that though he may have rather been on the {{UNSCShip|Magellan}} then, which now-rescinded orders had previously had him rotating to, the child they were traveling to observe could make all the difference for the ongoing struggle against the [[Insurrection]]. Once Toran announced they were approaching Eridanus II Halsey had him plot an atmospheric vector for the [[Luxor]] [[Luxor Spaceport|spaceport]] and ordered Keyes to make ready to land.<ref name="HTFOR1"/> | Halsey was awakened from [[cryostasis]] alongside Keyes shortly after 0430 hours on [[2517#August|August 17]] while the ''[[Han]]'' was still in slipspace but set to emerge soon in the [[Eridanus system]].<ref name="HTFOR1"/> Giving not so much as an acknowledgement that they were both naked, Halsey simply climbed out of her tube and told the lieutenant to get cleaned up and dressed as she headed for the showers herself, making it clear to Keyes that she was in charge. Halsey was already strapped into the navigator's couch and on the bridge and tapping in commands across four keypads when he joined her soon thereafter. The doctor welcomed him and asked that he be seated at the communication station to monitor channels when they reentered normal space. She then had [[Toran]] provide her with [[astronavigation]] maps of the system and asked if any planets between their current position and [[Eridanus II]] could be used to pick up a [[Wikipedia:Gravity assist|gravitational boost]] to let them arrive sooner. Additionally, in rapid succession she had the A.I. begin to play [[Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto Number Three]], begin a preburn warmup cycle for their [[fusion engine]]s, and halt the rotation of the shuttle's central carousel section to conserve power. Toran obliged with each request and informed her they they would exiting slipspace in about five minutes, give or take three minutes. From the way Keyes was glancing at her, Halsey could tell he was impressed at her ability to put Toran through his paces so rigorously, so she asked if he had a question for her. In response he composed himself before inquiring as to the exactly what they were doing. Halsey told him that they were on a reconnaissance mission of sorts, as they were heading to Eridanus II in order to observe [[John-117|a child]] whom she hoped would only be the first of many. She suggsted the junior lieutenant should just think of it as a UNSC-funded psychological study and then sternly told him that was exactly what he was to say it was to anyone who asked. The ''Han'' soon decelerated as it dropped out of slipspace near a gas giant and then began a hard burn, accelerating for sixty-seven seconds before arcing away from the planet. As soon as the boost was complete Toran informed the two humans that their [[Wikipedia:Estimated time of arrival|ETA]] was forty-three minutes and three seconds. At this, Halsey unlocked her harness and floated free. Just before they had dropped into normal space, Keyes had started to ask her if she knew how dangerous the Eridanus system was then and now she finally answered him in the affirmative. After stretching and strapping herself back into her couch, she reminded her escort that he was supposed to be monitoring their comms for that very reason. Catherine spent the next thirty minutes with her back to Keyes while she read over reports on her navigation screens. The Keyes eventually spoke up to candidly ask why he was there, and Halsey told him the truth about why she had selected him for the job. She also assured him that though he may have rather been on the {{UNSCShip|Magellan}} then, which now-rescinded orders had previously had him rotating to, the child they were traveling to observe could make all the difference for the ongoing struggle against the [[Insurrection]]. Once Toran announced they were approaching Eridanus II Halsey had him plot an atmospheric vector for the [[Luxor]] [[Luxor Spaceport|spaceport]] and ordered Keyes to make ready to land.<ref name="HTFOR1"/> | ||
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===SPARTAN-II=== | ===SPARTAN-II=== | ||
[[File:Halseyrecruits.png|thumb|right| | [[File:Halseyrecruits.png|thumb|right|350px|Dr. Halsey looks over the profiles of the abducted children.]] | ||
{{Main|SPARTAN-II program}} | {{Main|SPARTAN-II program}} | ||
Halsey and Keyes had returned to [[Reach]] by [[2517#September|September 10]] and it is on this date that Halsey told [[Déjà]] to let others know she had settled on the final seventy-five subjects.<ref name="HFORBC">''[[Halo: Fall of Reach]]'', ''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp|Boot Camp]]''</ref> Halsey was stationed in low Reach orbit when she gave final approval to kidnap the seventy-four which still remained to be acquired. Halsey later recorded a private spoken journal entry, using [[Encryption code|RED encryption]] and her private key, in which she voiced how regrettable she felt what she was doing was. She had planned to keep the recording private but changed her mind and just had Déjà erase it entirely once she had finished.<ref name="HFORBC"/> On [[2517#September|September 17]] Halsey, writing in her journal, expressed that every child had exceeded the selection criteria and her own expectations.<ref name="HJ91717">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''September 17, 2517''</ref> She was particularly impressed by two: [[Linda-058|Number 058]], a girl named [[Linda-058|Linda]] who had engineered her own intelligence network at school to spy on her teachers, John (Number 117), who had won king of the hill forty-five times in the two weeks before their meeting. Halsey noted that [[Caleb Aagard|Number 095]], a boy by the name of [[Caleb Aagard|Caleb]], had never been located. Later that day Halsey added an addendum to her journal entry after [[Retrieval team Gamma]] reported that [[Kelly-087|Number 087]], a girl named [[Kelly-087|Kelly]], had remarkably eluded capture for six hours before coming forward on her own, having believed her capture attempt to be an elaborate game for her upcoming birthday. Gamma's report caused Halsey to ensure new retrieval protocols were implemented to prevent similar mistakes in the future.<ref name="HJ91717"/> The next day, [[2517#September|September 17]], Catherine and Jacob Keyes finally parted company after months together. Halsey felt he was beginning to suspect there was more to their incursions than mere field observations so she requested that he be reassigned both for his own protection and the protection of the program.<ref name="HJ91617">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''September 16, 2517''</ref> | Halsey and Keyes had returned to [[Reach]] by [[2517#September|September 10]] and it is on this date that Halsey told [[Déjà]] to let others know she had settled on the final seventy-five subjects.<ref name="HFORBC">''[[Halo: Fall of Reach]]'', ''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp|Boot Camp]]''</ref> Halsey was stationed in low Reach orbit when she gave final approval to kidnap the seventy-four which still remained to be acquired. Halsey later recorded a private spoken journal entry, using [[Encryption code|RED encryption]] and her private key, in which she voiced how regrettable she felt what she was doing was. She had planned to keep the recording private but changed her mind and just had Déjà erase it entirely once she had finished.<ref name="HFORBC"/> On [[2517#September|September 17]] Halsey, writing in her journal, expressed that every child had exceeded the selection criteria and her own expectations.<ref name="HJ91717">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''September 17, 2517''</ref> She was particularly impressed by two: [[Linda-058|Number 058]], a girl named [[Linda-058|Linda]] who had engineered her own intelligence network at school to spy on her teachers, John (Number 117), who had won king of the hill forty-five times in the two weeks before their meeting. Halsey noted that [[Caleb Aagard|Number 095]], a boy by the name of [[Caleb Aagard|Caleb]], had never been located. Later that day Halsey added an addendum to her journal entry after [[Retrieval team Gamma]] reported that [[Kelly-087|Number 087]], a girl named [[Kelly-087|Kelly]], had remarkably eluded capture for six hours before coming forward on her own, having believed her capture attempt to be an elaborate game for her upcoming birthday. Gamma's report caused Halsey to ensure new retrieval protocols were implemented to prevent similar mistakes in the future.<ref name="HJ91717"/> The next day, [[2517#September|September 17]], Catherine and Jacob Keyes finally parted company after months together. Halsey felt he was beginning to suspect there was more to their incursions than mere field observations so she requested that he be reassigned to the ''Magellan'' with a commission to full lieutenant both for his own protection and the protection of the program.<ref name="HJ91617">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''September 16, 2517''</ref><ref name="HTFOR3">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 3''</ref> Once all the children had been collected Déjà undertook a psychological evaluation of each and provided the results and her recommendations to Doctor Halsey.<ref name="HTFOR3"/> | ||
By 2300 hours on [[2517#September|September 23]] Halsey was standing on a platform at the center of an amphitheater far beneath the [[Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex|FLEETCOM military complex]] where her facilities were located.<ref name="HTFOR3"/> When Déjà asked if she was ready to speak to the abducted children she told the A.I. she almost was but wished for her to summon [[Chief Petty Officer]] [[Franklin Mendez]], the [[drill instructor]] who would be overseeing the trainees' physical training and hand-to-hand combat, to join her first. She directed Mendez to join her on the platform once he entered. Déjà asked the doctor for her thoughts on the candidates' psychological evaluations and Halsey, while thanking her for their thoroughness, informed her she was forgoing her recommendation to lie to the children. Halsey argued that though the truth had its own risks, lying to the children about the circumstances of their kidnappings or even inducing memory loss could jeopardize the program's goals. Before Déjà could offer a response Halsey clicked her microphone and gave the command to bring the abductees in. Once all seventy-five were seated, she explained that per [[Naval Code 45812]], they were thereby conscripted into SPARTAN-II. She said that they were to be the [[UEG]]'s protectors and promised that here they would become the best they could be. She also informed them that they could not return to their homes or families. She closed by telling them to rest then, since their training would begin the next day. Halsey then instructed CPO Mendez to escort the trainees to their barracks to be fed and put to bed, also advising that they be kept plenty busy the following day in order to keep them from thinking about what had just been done to them.<ref name="HTFOR3"/> Before all the children could file out of the amphitheater one boy asked Halsey if they were there to stop everyone from fighting and killing each other.<ref name="HTFOR3"/><ref name="HJ92317">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''September 23, 2517''</ref> Before the day was done Halsey noted in her journal that the first phase of the program's indoctrination was under way and that her team of ONI child psychologists was assuring her the children wouldn't even remember their names or families after just six months under Mendez' tutelage. Even so, she also wrote that she was working with Déjà to continue indoctrination protocols and the candidates' education.<ref name="HJ92317"/> On the fifth day of training, the children were given haircuts.<ref name="HJ92817">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''September 28, 2517''</ref> Halsey took note in her journal that [[Kelly-087]] had clawed at and disarmed the master sergeant barber of his clippers before needing to be pinned down by three other attendants.<ref name="HJ92817"/> | |||
{{Expand-section}} | {{Expand-section}} | ||
The 'recruited' children were replaced with [[flash cloning|flash clones]], all of whom died due to various neurological and physiological diseases that were the natural side effects of making an entire human flash clone. In the early stages of the program, Halsey attempted to cover up the program's use of flash clones, both by withholding information from [[Admiral]] [[Margaret Parangosky]] and by using one of her AIs to cover fiscal evidence;<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 345''</ref><ref group="note">Halsey's attempt to hide the cloning aspect of the program would have had to have occurred in its conceptual phase, as it would have been impossible to cover up when the cloning was put into practice; even if Halsey did manage to hide the data involving the funding, numerous ONI operatives and scientists were involved in the replacement operation and Halsey was not in a position to keep them from relaying the information to Parangosky. In addition, with ONI constantly monitoring the progress of the program, Halsey would have had no way to keep such a large-scale operation secret in the long term.</ref> Parangosky eventually discovered the cloning scheme, which would contribute to Halsey's arrest by ONI decades later.<ref name="clones" group="note">This seems to exhibit a double standard on Parangosky's part, as she had authorized the deaths of hundreds of children through the SPARTAN-III program. However, Parangosky viewed the Spartan-IIIs as a necessary sacrifice, whereas the use of flash clones was not strictly necessary and caused excessive trauma to the already beleaguered parents of the SPARTAN-II candidates. Though she was angered by Halsey's refusal to admit the use of flash clones, her true quarrel with the doctor was based on her motivation for using the clones. While Halsey insisted that the flash clone project was meant to ease the parents' suffering and stifle suspicion, Parangosky was adamant that it was intended, (perhaps subconsciously), to ease Halsey's guilt and comfort her ego.</ref> | |||
With the assistance of [[Chief Petty Officer]] [[Franklin Mendez]] and the AI [[Déjà]], she proceeded to train the Spartans. She supervised their augmentation procedures, combat training, and education, and studied the effects of the Spartan lifestyle on the children. She kept in close contact with them all throughout their lifetimes, from her base under Reach. To the minor annoyance of the Spartans, Dr. Halsey was capable of identifying them even underneath heavy combat gear or their MJOLNIR armor, and used their first names to prove this time and again. | With the assistance of [[Chief Petty Officer]] [[Franklin Mendez]] and the AI [[Déjà]], she proceeded to train the Spartans. She supervised their augmentation procedures, combat training, and education, and studied the effects of the Spartan lifestyle on the children. She kept in close contact with them all throughout their lifetimes, from her base under Reach. To the minor annoyance of the Spartans, Dr. Halsey was capable of identifying them even underneath heavy combat gear or their MJOLNIR armor, and used their first names to prove this time and again. | ||