009762-OO

009762-OO was the serial number for a drug outlawed by the UNSC Medical Corps in 2513. It was a mutagen designed to alter key regions in a subject's frontal lobe. The drug enhanced aggression, making the "animal" part of the mind more accessible during times of stress. Someone subjected to the mutagen has reserves of strength and endurance no normal human being could call upon. Such a person could also function under the influence of wide systemic shock that would kill a normal human. Without drugs to counter it, this mutagen would alter the subject's brain permanently, making them extremely irrational and violent.

This mutagen was illegally authorized and injected into the Spartan-III Gamma Company by Kurt-051, under the name "Ambrose", in 2551. He hoped it would increase their abilities to fight and sustain injury, making them harder to kill. This way, they would not be eradicated the way Alpha Company and Beta Company were.

To counter the agent, the drug miso-olanzapine was also administered, which is an anti-psychotic, as well as cyclodexione-4, a bipolar-integration drug. Though they countered the effects of 009762-OO during periods of calm, they had to be regularly administered to the Spartan-III's to avoid permanent brain damage.

Deep Winter, the AI, discovered the presence of these mutagens in the Spartans augmentations and was not aware who was responsible. He sent a Slipspace probe to meet Kurt at a specific location to warn Kurt about the illegal augmentations and alert him of hidden files he left behind. Kurt later went and destroyed these files upon his return to Onyx.

Trivia

 * The brain mutations caused by the drug are speculated to have made Sentinels mistakenly identify members of Gamma Company as an "aboriginal sub-species" instead of "Reclaimers". This is unlikely as the SPARTAN-IIs were not classified as Reclaimers either, it is possible that it requires a Monitor to classify non-Reclaimers.
 * The Neural Mutation for the SPARTAN-IIIs alters their frontal lobe to enhance aggression response. In times of enhanced stress it makes them nearly immune to shock, able to endure damage not even a SPARTAN-II could.