The Synthesis is the embodiment of the Politeian principle that human social, political, and military organizations should exist to support the good of not just humanity as a whole, but of the individual, and that only through those organizations can the individual achieve their true potential. Part test and part journey, each Synthesis is customized to build on and reveal the participant's unique proficiencies, weaknesses, and values, but this is only possible under the most extreme conditions.
Each Synthesis carries with it the risk of failure or death, and is often traumatic for the participant, which is why only individuals who have achieved a certain level of attainment already are given the opportunity to undergo one. Those who emerge are forever changed.
As the survivors of the ARK project returned to the Federal Fleet, the practice of the Synthesis was combined with the Fleet's command school testing to form the basis of the Immortal Program.