Project: ASTER

John-117 being prepared for the augmentation procedures.

"...the white coats coming at you with their needles and knives, their kind and serious voices. Their heartfelt belief that it's all for a good cause."

— Melissa

Project: ASTER was the codename for the series of biochemical and biomechanical augmentation procedures applied to SPARTAN-II conscripts at the onset of puberty. The project was implemented by the Office of Naval Intelligence's Section Three under the supervision of Dr. Catherine Halsey.

History

Human biochemical experiments and enhancement procedures have been a part of society dating back to the 20th Century; their gains have attracted widespread attention in the hopes of improving human strength and endurance. Military experimentation with such enhancements has always been limited for the sake of moral and ethical concerns. However, as technology improved and scientists continued to understand the human body, advancements paved the way for the eventual use of body enhancement chemicals; the first bio-engineering protocol was established to help humans adjust to long duration spaceflight and different planetary environmental conditions, and subsequently for interplanetary war. The fruition of such procedures to help create a superior soldier did not solidify until the limited success of the augmentation procedures of the ORION Project, which would pave the way for the success of the SPARTAN-II Program.

Research on the then-named ORION Generation II augmentations began five years after the deactivation of the ORION Project. Early analysis concluded that next-generation candidates must have "more malleable, robust DNA structure and repair enzymes," this being based on the fundamental flaw of the augmentation procedures performed on the ORION soldiers. Because of the requirements, the best candidates who would adapt without severe side effects were those of prepubescent age.

Candidates of prepubescent age were screened based on genetic markers/SNPs that are linked to positive fitness and decreased disease incidence. The task of screening for such DNA structures was astronomical, and to properly screen for the correct genetic markers would require thirty-nine billion records. However, as DNA samples were covertly collected as part of the Colonial Administration Authority (CAA)'s Outer Colony vaccination program, the UNSC had a rather comprehensive record of Outer Colony citizens to use for candidate selection.

From 2511 until the augmentation of the SPARTAN-IIs in 2525, research continued refining and improving the chemicals to reduce the failure rate. Later research proved difficult for other mental, adrenal and neural enhancement procedures to be used on the SPARTAN-IIs because of their unacceptable failure rates. At the request of Doctor Halsey, her mentor and former teacher Admiral Ysionris Jeromi conducted a review of the planned augmentation procedures. However, Halsey presented the augmentations as merely hypothetical in nature, to be conducted on bonobo chimpanzees. Jeromi concluded, in his report, that the subjects would have a high risk of severe medical complications and death, and that he hoped the project Halsey proposed was merely hypothetical.

In the initial studies and research conducted on possible procedures, two of the proposed augmentations were rejected because of their risks and drawbacks. The first was adrenal-response enhancement, which would enhance the autonomic nervous system to better balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic function in the body's response to stress. The next was memory and cognitive enhancements; these were rejected based on the mental instabilities that could occur.

The augmentation procedures themselves took place aboard Medical Facility Endurance in orbit over Reach and began on March 9, 2525.

Augmentations

Chemical augmentations work on a molecular level by targeting molecules within the body and then altering them to begin a growth process of targeted tissues. Although the chemicals work on a molecular level, they do not work on a genetic level, as targeted mutagenesis is impossible using chemicals alone.

The process of augmenting the SPARTAN-IIs was divided into two parts, surgical procedures and injection procedures. Surgeries were highly risky, intensive, and required special medical talent. Their safety and effects varied substantially from subject to subject, with the benefits and risks varying with the surgeon, the surgical conditions, and the state of the patient. Chemical augmentations have their own risks dependent upon the subject's genetic background and how they adjust to the alteration of cells and molecules and to a more physical point, tissue growth. SPARTAN-IIs also underwent extensive gene therapy. In addition, the ASTER augmentation routine also replaced a number of organs.

Procedure	Description	Risk(s)
Occipital Capillary Reversal	Surgery is performed on the occipital lobe of the left cerebral hemisphere of the brain; the occipital lobe is the visual processing center of the brain, containing most of the anatomical region of the visual cortex. The surgeon performs a procedure on the capillaries, the smallest of the body's blood vessels, to reverse the direction of blood flow in each capillary to boost the blood flow beneath the rods and cones of the subject's retina. The rods and cones of the eye are light-sensitive receptors located in the back of the eye. Together, they are able to detect movement, light and color, and relay that information back to the brain. This procedure produces a marked increase in visual perception.	11% of subjects could face retinal rejection and detachment causing permanent blindness.
Carbide Ceramic Ossification	The candidate's bones are exposed via surgery or procedurally sequential surgeries. An advanced carbide ceramic material is grafted onto the skeletal structure to begin assimilation into the upper layers of each individual bone. This results in the bones being virtually unbreakable. The coverage of this procedure does not exceed 3% total bone mass due to significant white blood cell necrosis: effectively, the carbide ceramic can only comprise a thin outer "shell" bonded to each bone without interfering with bone functionality as organs.	3.8% failure rate due to possible mutations and compromised bone marrow matrix integrity. In pre-and near-postpubescent adolescents, skeletal growth spurts may cause irreparable bone pulverization.
Catalytic Thyroid Implant	A platinum pellet is implanted in the left thyroid gland; this pellet contains a human growth hormone that is released into the body to boost growth of skeletal and muscle tissues. As the hormone is released into the body the pellet dissolves and is absorbed. The hormone targets and stimulates the growth of fast and slow twitch muscle fibers, effectively producing significant gains in muscle mass. The hormone also targets osteoblasts to help boost bone tissue formation and effectively strengthen the bone structure.	2% of subjects acquire elephantiasis. Suppressed sexual drive.
Muscular Enhancement Injections	In addition to the growth hormone catalyst, a protein complex is injected intramuscularly that targets the muscles' intracellular molecular machinery to help increase muscle strength and endurance. These injections target the muscles' molecules increasing the density of the connective tissues and fibers, the more visible result being the muscles quivering and contorting over one another, making connecting tendons stronger and decreasing lactase [sic] recovery time.	5% of test subjects experience a fatal cardiac volume increase.
Superconducting Fibrification of Neural Dendrites	Alteration of bioeletrical nerve transduction to shielded electronic transduction. 300% increase in subject reflexes. Anecdotal evidence of marked increase in intelligence, memory, and creativity.	12% of subjects can contract Parkinson's Disease and Fletcher's Syndrome.

Procedure

Candidates awaiting augmentation procedures.

To prepare the subject for the augmentation procedure, the subject's head is shaved and incision vectors are lasered onto the subject's body. An intravenous drip is inserted into the subject's arm, and a general anaesthetic is administered to ease the subject into a state of unconsciousness. Once the subject has been sedated, he or she is transported from the pre-op wing of the facility to another area where the surgical procedures are performed.

During the occipital capillary reversal, a neurosurgeon cuts out a small space in the skull, exposing the brain. The neurosurgeon then performs a procedure to rearrange the capillaries in the occipital lobe of the left cerebral hemisphere of the brain. This redistribution of blood vessels boosts the flow of blood beneath the rods and cones of the subject's retina. Once the surgery is complete, the piece of the subject's skull that was removed in order to access the occipital lobe is repaired and the subject's head is bandaged.

When the catalytic thyroid implant is inserted, surgery is performed on the thyroid gland, where an incision is made to the left thyroid gland large enough for a platinum pellet to be implanted; once done, the incision is closed up. The growth hormone is released and progressively works its way through the body, stimulating the growth of skeletal and muscle tissue.

As this takes place, muscular enhancement injections are administered throughout the subject's body to aid the previous procedure. This produces the most prolonged delay in the rest of the augmentation procedures as the subject's body begins to alter as a result of the previous procedure. If the subject has survived the changes, the final part of the augmentation is performed.