Creating a Space Marine.
Super soldiers are not an uncommon concept in fiction, from Captain America to Master
Chief, and represent a potential future reality as well.
Augmented by genetic engineering, cybernetic enhancements, potent drug cocktails, or even
more supernatural means, super soldiers are meant to be stronger, faster, and smarter
than the average soldier.
Space Marines in Warhammer 40,000, officially called the Adeptus Astartes, are easily among
the most capable of fictional super soldiers.
Each space marine is worth hundreds if not thousands of normal men, and are the greatest
living weapons available to the imperium of man.
This video will focus specifically on the process of converting a normal man into a
space marine, including both the implant process as well as their equipment.
The recruitment process for space marines starts fairly young, generally between 10
and 16, due to the way the implants function, and additionally recruits must be male, for
the same reason.
Recruits are often taken from worlds with harsh conditions or those with tribal populations
lacking technology.
Hive worlds, with massive, dirty, dangerous cities, also make prime grounds for finding
recruits.
Potential recruits are generally selected due to their aptitude for violence, aggression,
and killing instincts.
Some space marine chapters only take recruits from a single planet or group of planets,
while others scour the galaxy to find them.
Once potential recruits are selected, they usually are put through a trial in order to
determine which, if any of them, are capable of becoming space marines.
These trials vary wildly from world to world, and chapter to chapter.
Some trials are built in to a civilization's culture, while others are specifically introduced
by a space marine chapter.
Often, the participants of a trial won't even be aware that the reward is a place among
the space marines, or sometimes not even know what a space marine is.
These trials are almost always extremely difficult, and a participant is fortunate to even survive
them.
These trials take the form of duels to the death, hunting a predator, including other
humans, beasts, or aliens, wiping out rival tribes or gangs, or prolonged survival in
an extremely harsh environment.
Some chapters even have aspirants compete against a space marine, measuring his degree
of failure, assuming he survives.
If the recruit is biologically and mentally prepared at this point for the initiation
process, he is then taken to a chapter's fortress monastery to begin training, conditioning,
and the implant process.
A standard space marine receives 19 distinct implant into their bodies, each designed to
enhance their combat and survival potential.
These implants are created through the use of 19 different gene-seeds, genetic material
created by the emperor of mankind that is capable of developing into the organs, either
in vitro or within the initiate's body directly.
The imperium no longer knows how to engineer new gene-seed, and so germ cells are often
taken from a specific implant in each space marine so that they can used to create more
implants.
The implant process is both highly dangerous to an individual as well as highly painful,
as most of the implants require the subject to be awake and their minds not dulled by
painkillers.
The first implant is a secondary heart, which increases blood supply and pumping capacity,
and allows the space marine to survive should their primary heart fail.
This also allows them to function normally in a low-oxygen environment.
The second affects a space marine's bones, allowing them to absorb specific chemicals
laced in their diet, drastically increasing the size and strength of their skeleton, and
fusing their ribcage into a solid bone plate.
The third is introduced at the same time in order to vastly increase their muscular growth,
as well as regulate their hormonal changes from the many implants.
The fourth alters a space marine's blood to make it far more efficient in carrying oxygen
and nutrients, and the fifth creates new cells that function as super platelets, causing
blood to clot much faster and more effectively, forming scar tissue in seconds.
The sixth, implanted in the cerebrum, bypasses the normal human need for sleep, allowing
a space marine to shut down half of their brain while the other half remains functional.
A squad of space marines is on record for being on active combat duty for 328 hours
straight thanks to this implant.
The seventh functions as a pre-stomach above the normal stomach, where it isolates inedible
substances as well as ingested poisons and toxins.
The eight hooks into the central nervous system, and allows a space marine to consume a creature's
flesh and gain some of its memories.
Some mutations in this implant's gene-seed have led a few chapters to develop a craving
for blood or flesh.
The ninth is a third lung that allows a space marine to breath in extremely low-oxygen environments,
toxic environments, or even underwater, pulling oxygen directly from water.
The 10th modifies their eyesight, making it far superior to an average human, and allowing
them to see in low-light conditions as if they were in daylight.
The 11th replaces their ear, enabling them to filter out certain sounds, protects them
from certain sonic attacks, and makes them immune to dizziness and motion sickness.
The 12th allows a space marine to essentially enter a state of suspended animation, either
on purpose or as a result of extreme trauma.
This can keep a mortally wounded space marine alive for years until they are properly revived,
and the record stands at 567 years.
The 13th affects a space marine's skin, making it more resistant to radiation, heat, and
high levels of sunlight.
The 14th regulates a space marine's circulatory system and organs, and is also capable of
detoxifying their body very quickly, although this process renders the space marine unconscious
as it quickly circulates their blood.
The 15th enhances their senses of taste and smell, allowing them to easily determine the
chemical composition of a substance by simply tasting or smelling it.
It also allows them to track a target by taste alone.
The 16th does nothing on its own, but when a specific chemical treatment is applied to
a space marine's skin, they begin secreting a waxy protein substance that seals their
skin, much like a cocoon.
This process allows them to survive extremely harsh environements, up to and including the
vaccuum of space.
The 17th is among the most unusual, and has in fact atrophied in a number of space marine
chapters.
It allows a space marine to actively transform their saliva into a corrosive, blinding acid.
This lets them chew through iron bars, digest substances that would otherwise be impossible,
and blind their opponents.
The 18th reproduces the gene-seed capable of creating new implants, and its contents
have to collected by an apothecary after a certain number of years.
Finally, the 19th implant is implanted directly underneath the skin of the torso, sending
invasive neural bundles into their bodies.
This allows for a direct connection between a space marine's nervous system and their
power armor through a number of connection points in their skin.
Although power armor does not require this implant to function, it makes it far more
capable, acting more akin to a second skin for the space marine.
It also allows them to directly interface with space marine vehicles.
More recently, new developments in gene-seed technology have led to the creation of primaris
space marines, who possess three additional implants.
One greatly enhances their strength, even compared to a normal space marine, another
makes them even closer to a primarch in physical size and capabilities, and a third expels
a self-synthesized chemical into their bodies that functions as a combat stimulant, as well
as aiding in the rapid regrowth of tissue, bone, and muscle.
While the implant process is going on, Iniates undergo extremely rigorous conditioning, including
chemical treatments, hypnotherapy, mental indoctrination, and of course physical training.
This conditioning serves to hone the initiate into a finely tuned weapon, capable of focusing
his senses to an extreme degree, enduring pain that would kill a normal man, increasing
their reaction speeds and response times, and enhancing their memory capabilities, sometimes
leading to photographic memories.
This conditioning also serves to reinforce the initiate's respect for authority and resistance
to the temptations of chaos.
At a certain point, these initiates will be placed into a squad of space marine scouts,
lightly armed and armoured recon troops that are more than human, but less than a full
space marine.
Space marine scouts rely more on stealth, going ahead of a proper space marine squad
to gather intelligence, destroy strategic targets, and capture or assassinate enemy
commanders.
This field training allows the initiate to function as part of a squad of their brethren
and really learn what it is to be part of the space marines.
Once an initiate is given the final implant, the black carapace, they are ready to become
a full fledged space marine.
Every chapter of space marines is different, so we'll save discussions about the ranks,
roles, and operations of a space marine for the specific videos on different chapters.
Instead, let's finish by going over the standard equipment that most space marines are likely
to utilize.
First is their iconic power armor.
Space marine power armor is a fully enclosed, full body suit of heavy armor, composed of
thick ceramite plates designed to protect the space marine from both weapons and environments,
and also contains a number of auxilarlly systems to assist them.
Standard power armor is impossible for a normal human to function in, although there are lesser
suits made for non-space marines.
A number of different models and variations have been made to power armor, but generally
the suits enhance the already considerable strength and durability of a space marine,
and through the connection to the marine's black carapace implant, function as practically
an extension of their bodies.
The helmets contain advanced communication equipment and automatic targeting systems,
infrared and ultraviolet lenses, and an internal oxygen supply.
Other accessories include gyroscopic stabilizers, temperature regulators, nutrient reservoirs,
and a biomonitor capable of automatically dispensing painkillers and combat stimulants
into a space marine's body.
Even larger power armor models are used as well, including the terminator armor, the
centurion armor, and the mighty dreadnought armor.
As for weapons, as you might expect for some of the toughest warriors in the warhammer
40k universe, the space marines boast a formidable arsenal.
The most ubiquitous weapon available to space marines is the bolter, which itself comes
in a huge amount of varieties.
A bolet is a powerful assault weapon that fires explosive rounds commonly called bolts.
Much like the standard power armor, a standard bolter would be practically unusable in an
average human's hands, and it's bolt rounds are capable of ripping through or blowing
apart a foe.
Heavy bolters are also used, with a high rate of fire capable of chewing through enemy ranks,
as well as bolt pistols, a lighter sidearm that is usable by normal humans.
Another iconic weapon of space marines, although certainly not limited to them, is the chainsword,
essentially a one-handed chainsaw in the shape of a sword.
Chainswords are capable of tearing through flesh, bone, and metal, emitting high-pitched
buzzing sounds as it does so.
Death by a chainsword is bloody, painful, loud, and effective.
Countless other pieces of gear, armor, and weaponry have been used by space marine forces
throughout the years, as well as by chaos space marines, and it would be pointless to
try and go over all of it here.
Space marines are very much the face of warhammer 40k, being strong, resilient, resolute, and
unabashed angels of death.
Despite being a familiar concept, they represent much of what makes 40k what it is, endless
warriors fighting an endless battle.
They are certainly over the top, capable of chewing through metal, shrugging off bullet
wounds, and tearing through aliens with a chainsword, but that's a big part of what
makes 40k fun.
In the future, I'll go over more specific examples of space marine chapters and their
conduct, but it's good to understand what it takes to make a man into a space marine.