Project ORCHID

"We're not exactly like those artificial gods from the earlier generations. More like demigods. And I'll be damned if that usually isn't good enough."

— Edward Buck

Spartan Sarah Palmer undergoing her augmentation procedures.

The SPARTAN-IV Augmentation Program is the formal name for the biochemical and surgical augmentation procedures performed on the SPARTAN-IV supersoldiers. As with the recruitment methodology of the SPARTAN-IV program, the scope of their augmentations hearkens back to the ORION Project's less extensive physical enhancement more so than the decidedly more superhuman SPARTAN-IIs and SPARTAN-IIIs, although several all-new procedures are also introduced.

Background

Like the augmentations performed for the SPARTAN-IIs and the improved procedures utilized in the subsequent SPARTAN-III program, the SPARTAN-IVs underwent a series of procedures to enhance their physical capabilities. Unlike the Spartan-III augmentations, which were almost entirely based upon chemical injections as opposed to requiring the many highly invasive surgical implants that the SPARTAN-II program required, the SPARTAN-IV augmentations utilize chemicals and surgical procedures like those pioneered by Dr. Catherine Halsey in the SPARTAN-II program. The technology used in the two preceding SPARTAN programs necessitated that the candidates meet exceedingly strict genetic qualifications as well as the application of the enhancements on preteens to avoid the catastrophic failure rates produced by the augmentation of adult subjects in the ORION Project. By the time of the initiation of the SPARTAN-IV program, the technology had advanced to the point that some of the previously dangerous procedures could be performed fairly safely on adults and without stringent genetic requirements. Due to the subjects' bodies no longer being in developing stages as well as their lack of genetic requirements, the process must be carefully custom-tailored for each individual.

Augmentations

While the enhancements have not been described in detail, they incorporate technologies originating from the prior SPARTAN programs as well as completely new additions. However, because the SPARTAN-IVs' performance-enhancing physical augmentations do not produce as effective results as those of their predecessors, they are forced to rely more heavily on their GEN2 MJOLNIR armor.

Nature	Description
Skeletal	Bones are infused with a substance which makes them virtually unbreakable and is described as tougher than steel, allowing survival in harder impacts. The joints are also reinforced or replaced while the bones are lengthened, making the subject several centimeters taller than they originally were. The reinforcement is necessary as without it, simple actions such as jumping would result in the bones disintegrating due to the strain from the strengthened muscles.
Muscular	Muscles are injected with a material that allows them to work harder without breaking the Spartan's skeleton
Neural	The nervous system is "super-myelinated" to decrease reaction time.
Corneal	Corneal implants are provided, improving the subject's eyesight and night vision. The use of implants is a departure from the SPARTAN-III program's use of a retinal-inversion stabilizer drug to achieve the same effect.
Pulmonary	Lungs are lined with a polymer that enhances oxygen intake and allows the subject to process air-borne toxins or foreign gas mixtures
Intestinal	Intestinal bacteria are altered to enable the digestive system to absorb more nutrients out of food
Pancreatic	Pancreas is replaced by a completely new, vat-grown organ
Cardiac	Heart is implanted with a synthetic weave which significantly increases its capacity to pump blood
Cardiovascular	Blood is altered to allow for faster clotting. Subject's blood is modified to make them immune to most toxins.
Biological	Other than the brain, virtually all other organs in the body are either modified in some manner or replaced.
Cybernetic	The subject is given a specialized neural implant capable of interfacing with an AI alongside a significant number of implanted electronics. They are also implanted with several monitoring devices to help medical teams keep tabs on them.

Experimental phase

A series of additional augmentations were included in the earliest, prototypical phase of the program. These enhancements would have made the Spartans significantly stronger and more resistant to injury, the goal being that they could operate without MJOLNIR armor. However, these procedures proved to have an unacceptable casualty rate, killing or crippling nine of the ten initial candidates; the sole survivor, Ilsa Zane, was rendered mentally unstable. Demonstrating the effectiveness of these experimental enhancements, Zane was able to engage a MJOLNIR-armored Sarah Palmer in hand-to-hand combat without the use of any protective equipment, and survived Palmer violently driving her head into a metal bulkhead face-first, as well as her subsequent prolonged exposure to the vacuum of space.

Procedure

The SPARTAN-IV augmentation procedures take three weeks to perform, with recovery and subsequent training usually lasting several months. It took about two days for the Spartans to relearn how to walk again following their augmentations; additionally, significant disorientation was in evidence during their initial training exercises.

The augmentation procedures were conducted in a dedicated SPARTAN-IV facility on Mars and were noted to be considerably painful. There were approximately two dozen candidates being augmented and conditioned at any given time during the second SPARTAN-IV class, which Edward Buck was part of.

Effects

After her SPARTAN-IV augmentations, Sarah Palmer stated that the synthetic cardiac weave allows her to "outrun a horse". The enhancements performed on the lungs potentially allow a SPARTAN-IV to breathe methane for around an hour. Nutrition-wise, it is also said that a Spartan could eat a raw tree and retain the equivalent of six meals' worth of calories in terms of energy. According to Edward Buck, the ocular implants enabled him to see in the dark and read the fine print on release forms "from across the room". The subject's hearing is also greatly improved.

However, the decision to augment adults as opposed to preteens comes at the cost of performance: the SPARTAN-IVs' physical augmentations do not produce as effective results as those of the preceding generations. To compensate for this shortcoming, the GEN2 MJOLNIR armor worn by the SPARTAN-IVs is designed to multiply the wearer's strength and speed significantly more than the first-generation MJOLNIR. At least in theory, this makes a Spartan-IV clad in GEN2 armor equal to a GEN1-wearing Spartan-IIs in terms of strength and speed, but leaves the Spartan-IVs at a considerable disadvantage in comparison to their predecessors when out of armor. The physical disparity between an unarmored Spartan-IV and Spartan-II has been compared to that between an elite-level athlete and a "near-supernatural monster". Likewise, Edward Buck remarked that the difference between the Spartan-IV's and their predecessors (the Spartan-II's and III's) in regards to their augmentations was similar to the discrepancy between demigods, the Titans, and their godly descendants respectively. While the latter two were either unimaginably powerful in every way or were within the limits of imagination, the former can pass easily as regular people but were more than mere mortals on the inside.

Spartan-IVs must follow a rigid set of guidelines to maintain their physical fitness and health. These include undergoing regular medical examinations, including physiological scans, reviews and treatment before and after each mission. A Spartan-IV is expected to perform at optimum capacity with a minimum of two-and-one-half hours of sleep per a 48-hour cycle; for cryosleep, standard UNSC practices apply. They are also instructed to follow standard UNSC physical training practices. Due to their augmented physiques, however, they are provided their own, custom-built gym equipment. Official meals are specifically prepared to meet the caloric, nutritional and medicinal needs of each individual Spartan. These personal needs are measured based on activity data recorded by the Spartan's individual physiometer. Ancillary medications may be provided to ensure the Spartan's well-being and to reduce risk of potential implant rejections.

Performance

Training performance of the initial SPARTAN-IV batch in 2553 was decidedly underwhelming, something that was acknowledged by their recruiter, SPARTAN-III supersoldier Jun-A266. Part of this may be attributed to their still-ongoing acclimatization to their enhancements, as well as the group not having worked together before, although all of them did possess a military background. The majority of the first batch of SPARTAN-IVs were incapacitated by their baseline human Marine training opponents, who outnumbered them ten to one, and their lack of coordination resulted in SPARTAN-IV program head, Commander Musa-096, personally chastising them about the importance of teamwork (a lesson the SPARTAN-IIs learned in their first days of training at the age of six). However, several SPARTAN-IVs of this group later distinguished themselves in live combat during the New Colonial Alliance's attempted takeover of UNSC Infinity.

Later combat performance also shows marked improvement to the training sessions of the initial group. During the 2555 mission to Talitsa, Spartan Edward Buck fought Michael Crespo in hand-to-hand combat and shattered the visor of the latter's MJOLNIR GEN2 armor by pummeling it repeatedly. Spartan Kojo Agu killed multiple Insurrectionists by throwing rocks at them before procuring a weapon from the fallen rebels. Agu subsequently assaulted a rebel stronghold singlehandedly, eliminating numerous Insurrectionist combatants.

During the Requiem Campaign, Spartan Gabriel Thorne was able to fight five Sangheili in close-quarters combat and successfully kill them before being subdued by two other Sangheili. Thorne also took on a battle-seasoned Sangheili, Gek 'Lhar, in hand-to-hand combat and had the upper hand for a majority of the brawl, before having a boulder smashed on his chest and unprotected head, dazing him. Later on during the Requiem Campaign, Spartan Paul DeMarco was able to defeat multiple Sangheili and a Promethean Knight in close-quarters combat. During the Battle of Ealen IV, Spartan Naiya Ray took on and defeated a Sangheili Warrior in close-quarters combat. While on a War Games simulation marathon, Sarah Palmer fought and killed a Hunter with her bare hands.

List of appearances

• Halo 4
  • Infinity Briefing Packet Template:First mentioned
• Halo: Initiation (First appearance)
• Halo: New Blood