Boren's Syndrome

Boren's Syndrome is a human disease caused by prolonged exposure to high-yield plasma, such as from plasma grenades. It has several symptoms including brain tumors, migraines, and amnesia. Without proper treatment, it may also cause death. It is treatable by thirty weeks of intensive chemotherapy.

It is a condition that Sergeant Avery Johnson may have, caused by exposure to plasma grenades. It was said to have been contracted when he used an entire crate of plasma grenades to hold off Covenant forces on Paris IV. However, this is possibly a hoax used to hide that Sergeant Johnson could be a SPARTAN-I, known as the Paris/BS Spoof.

Several members of the United Rebel Front claimed to have this condition, they hoped to bargain with the UNSC to gain treatment for the condition in trade for some FENRIS Nuclear Warheads.

Several members of the UNSC have alleged that inhaling the gases released when a Carbine magazine is ejected causes Boren's Syndrome, but the truth of this statement is unknown.

*NOTE: It may be possible that Boren's Syndrome is sensitive to high yields of radiation, and although this is not comfirmed, it may explain Johnson's death, despite his regenerative abilities.

The Flood

The condition has a curious side effect; it is the only known natural defense against the Flood organism. This is because of the way Boren's syndrome alters the neural synapses of a stricken person, which makes their physical processes too unstable for an Infection Form to control, thus making it virtually impossible for an Infection form to match neural electrical signals with a potential host.

Sources

• Halo: First Strike pg.243-245
• Borens Syndrome Hoax

A. J. Johnson must have contracted Boren's syndrome, seeing as that is the only way he could have avoided the flood. And I qoute page 47 of Halo: First Strike,"They swarmed all over us. Jenkens and Keyes were taken...but I guess I didn't taste to good. The chapter goes on to say that the flood never pass up another host, and that the flood do not taste. Seems to me the only answer is that A.J. Johnson must have Boren's Syndrome.