# Sus-an Membrane: The forgotten implant



## hailene (Aug 28, 2009)

This is more of an observation on my part, but feel free to contridict me if I'm wrong...

I'm currently hacking through The Horus Heresy Book 1--Betrayal. The first part is mostly hub-dub that we already know, minus a few interesting nuggets (the first ones I noticed is that the original Space Marine Legions took part in the unification of Terra and that they put in the part that only males can become space marines). The Sus-an Membrane was of course mention in the creation of a Space Marine and its descption is listed briefly as "Allows survival and recovery of trauma through suspend animation".

That's great. Basically any shot or blow that doesn't kill instantly shouldn't be fatal, assuming a marine can be brought to the proper medical facilities. I do recall in fluff (no more than a couple times that I can vaguely recall) that marines, after traumatic injuries, fall into a sus-an membrane induced coma. More often than that, they die.

Still, I think we've seen the membrane in action and it only took a few seconds for it to kick in. Even if a marine's chest is destroyed (including most of his vital organs), there should be enough time to activate the membrane, no? Think of the number of marines that could be saved from normally fatal injuries. Even if their hearts and lungs get blown out, they can simply have bionics replace them.

Even if in many of their missions they can't afford to pick up the marines, it should be noted.

Personally I think there are two reasons why it doesn't happen. Both out of universe explanations:

1. It's not really on the top of most peoples' minds. It seems in most writings the membrane is used as a lifeboat like object. When a marine is cut off and cut adrift their membrane kicks in. Not something used when they're hurt.

2. It'd be really annoying to have marines collect their wounded. It'd cut the flow of the action and make a lot of stories bogged down when they have to lug around 5-6 power armored bodies.

Thoughts?


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## Archon Dan (Feb 6, 2012)

I have noticed that sometimes a Marine will die when they should live. This is whether or not they could go into a trance. I think the Black Library authors try to make the Marines more identifiable with the readers and thus more human. The irony being that most of us expect them to survive things we cannot. Sadly, it is only antagonist Marines that seem super human. One Bolter wound can kill a protagonist Captain but the Dark Apostle not only survives be covered in molten steel but keeps fighting. 

And apparently, slicing the jugular is fatal regardless. But even a protagonist can survive a combat blade going down through the top of his shoulder and into one heart; likely severing one or both aortas and still fight. So internal bleeding is survivable but not external. 

I have read about a Marine going into sus-an stasis once, though it may have been induced stasis. He had his arm sliced off by a Lictor. The more interesting thing is that all the examples I just gave come from one author and one series. So a Marine is only as tough as the author needs him to be. Captains can die by something a Scout would survive just to prove a situation is dire. But all literature follows this.

So:
1: I think it depends on if the character needs to live or not. The guy losing his arm above would have been the 3rd in a squad of 6 Flesh Tearers to die. Got to give readers some hope and one author can't kill off what is known to be a dying chapter with only 4 Companies. 

2: If they have a means to move the body around, he could survive. But even if a battle occurs in a fortress or even Fortress/Monastery, people will die. Medical aid could be right there but it could be too dire.


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## Phoenician (Jan 14, 2013)

From my understanding the Sus-an Membrane isn't always automatic and takes training to activate (some sources says its automatic but others say it takes effort). And if its not automatic you must think of the Space Marines personalities - how many would give up and go into basically a coma in the middle of a fight? Not many, its not really their way. They're too stubborn. I think that is probably the biggest reason why its not often used and only really used as you say as a lifeboat. 



hailene said:


> 2. It'd be really annoying to have marines collect their wounded. It'd cut the flow of the action and make a lot of stories bogged down when they have to lug around 5-6 power armored bodies.


I would definitely agree that is also probably another reason.


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## Lost&Damned (Mar 25, 2012)

This implant allows a Space Marine to enter a catatonic or "suspended animation" state and is implanted within the brain near the pituitary gland as a part of the body's endocrine system. It can allow a mortally wounded Astartes to survive his injuries, and bring the metabolism to a standstill until he can receive full medical care. Only the appropriate chemical therapy or hypnotic auto-suggestion can revive a Space Marine from this state. The longest recorded period for this form of hibernation was endured by Battle-Brother Silas Err of the Dark Angels Chapter, who was in Sus-an hibernation for 567 standard years.


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## Over Two Meters Tall! (Nov 1, 2010)

hailene said:


> 2. It'd be really annoying to have marines collect their wounded. It'd cut the flow of the action and make a lot of stories bogged down when they have to lug around 5-6 power armored bodies.
> 
> Thoughts?





Phoenician said:


> I would definitely agree that is also probably another reason.


I agree with you from a flow of writing concept, but aside from the gene-enhanced meat filler, I have read several examples in BL novels of the value placed by chapters on their armor. The most descriptive comes to mind from The Killing Ground by Graham McNeill, when Uriel Ventris discovers almost a dozen suits of 'Sons of Guilliman' Chapter armor that had been lost on a planet several hundred years prior. At least in that novel, GM goes through great pains to describe the reverence and honor given to the suits of armor, and how Ventris becomes almost honor-bound to take whatever efforts to return the armor to the SoG, so they can be used again in active combat.

I also think there's far too little emphasis placed on the efforts to recover an Astares that has been mortally wounded in battle, considering it takes decades in most chapters between initial selection, pre-implantation training, the years-long implantation process, then somtimes another decade or two before they can become a full Battle-Brother. The resources expended on the raising and training of an Astares is freakish in any contemporary terms... current-day special forces are fully trained in less time than an Astares spends through the implantation process... you know, imaginary world comparisons and all. That given, IMHO the sus-an membrane is one of the most important of all the implants.

While not a WH40K tabletop gamer, it would even make sense to me if they included point modifiers that penalized tactics making too fast and loose with Astares as battlefield resources... or at least had a unit recovery calc based on how an Astares was killed and the liklihood the sus-an membrane saved them in the end. In similar fashion, any army that just hits and runs against an Astares opponent without ensuring they're fully decaptitated deserves to have a partially-functioning Space Marine crawling up their backside in short order after what they thought was a kill shot.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

In terms of marines being left behind/harvested on the battlefield...haven't we seen in enough novels that apothecaries move through the field after a battle that has been won to reclaim the geneseed of fallen warriors? It makes sense that even if it hasn't been mentioned specifically that some of those fallen warriors have been woefully injured and had the sus-an membrane activated through whatever means to keep them alive until the apothecary can tend to them. Whether the apothecary gets there in time/at all is up to the way the battle goes I think. 

Potentially also, if an apothecary comes into contact with a fallen Astartes that has been so wounded, could that apothecary put them into sus-an stasis by triggering it for them?


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## Brother Lucian (Apr 22, 2011)

From what I heard, it takes specialized training, as wel some meditation time to start the sus an membrane. Uriel Ventris made good use of the Sus-an implant in dead sky, black sun. He and Passanius was chased by beasts tracking them by their heartbeats. So they went partially into sus-an, slowing their metabolisms enough to reach safety. Though it was a dangerous gamble, comming close to pass out from it.


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## hailene (Aug 28, 2009)

Archon Dan said:


> And apparently, slicing the jugular is fatal regardless.
> 
> I have read about a Marine going into sus-an stasis once, though it may have been induced stasis. He had his arm sliced off by a Lictor.


It's odd. Neither of these injuries should be serious. In fact, the bleeding in the first case should be healed within moments and the second not more than an extra half a moment. That's exactly what the Larraman cells are for. Bleeding out shouldn't really occur unless massive chunks of the body are missing....like being blown in half or something. 



Archon Dan said:


> 2: If they have a means to move the body around, he could survive. But even if a battle occurs in a fortress or even Fortress/Monastery, people will die. Medical aid could be right there but it could be too dire.


They shouldn't die. Once in the coma their biological functions essentially stop. Their bodies are extremely resilient. Almost anything can be replaced and patched up. Though they don't always remain fully functional. Sometimes they must be interred in a dreadnaught in order to survive. Still, something as mundane as blade wounds and most bolter wounds should be easily survivable.



Archon Dan said:


> But even if a battle occurs in a fortress or even Fortress/Monastery, people will die. Medical aid could be right there but it could be too dire.


The Deathwatch rulebook states that even if a marine receives a fatal injury, if he manages to lapse into a coma he can live for "years" without medical attention. that ought to be enough time for the battle to sort itself out one way or another. He'd either be killed by the enemy or receive medical attention.



Over Two Meters Tall! said:


> I also think there's far too little emphasis placed on the efforts to recover an Astares that has been mortally wounded in battle, considering it takes decades in most chapters between initial selection, pre-implantation training, the years-long implantation process, then somtimes another decade or two before they can become a full Battle-Brother. The resources expended on the raising and training of an Astares is freakish in any contemporary terms... current-day special forces are fully trained in less time than an Astares spends through the implantation process... you know, imaginary world comparisons and all. That given, IMHO the sus-an membrane is one of the most important of all the implants.


I fully agree with both points here. The suits are incredibly valuable in of themselves.

Also the casualties some units suffer in even mundane battles sometimes scares me. I finished up _Ravenwing_ a couple weeks ago and I was startled when they lost 5 marines of the elite 2nd company, the Ravenwing, against a much of civilians armed with heavy weapons.

Then again they lost 5 marines in the sweeping of a relatively small space station. They fought ~300 ill-armed pirates with mostly auto and las guns. Set against probably around 120 marines or so.

I don't think some authors realize how valuable a marine is. There's one per a world. I think they believe some people must die in order for a battle to be taken seriously...but there's no way any Chapter could sustain themselves if they get chopped up like this.



ntaw said:


> In terms of marines being left behind/harvested on the battlefield...haven't we seen in enough novels that apothecaries move through the field after a battle that has been won to reclaim the geneseed of fallen warriors? It makes sense that even if it hasn't been mentioned specifically that some of those fallen warriors have been woefully injured and had the sus-an membrane activated through whatever means to keep them alive until the apothecary can tend to them.


A lot of times the narrative will say a marine is outright killed. Or the commanding officer will request a status report and discover X dead. You'd normally think the wounded would exceed the dead in most circumstances since all but the most instant of wounds should allow a marine to fall into a coma.



ntaw said:


> Potentially also, if an apothecary comes into contact with a fallen Astartes that has been so wounded, could that apothecary put them into sus-an stasis by triggering it for them?


I would imagine so. 



Brother Lucian said:


> From what I heard, it takes specialized training, as wel some meditation time to start the sus an membrane.


This would normally be done when a marine works his way through the ranks of a scout. 

The Deathwatch rulebook does state that a marine can lapse into a coma "automatically in the event of extreme physical trauma".


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