Brain Parasites
Jun. 21st, 2011 11:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccastareyesSo, I was pondering the nature of evil mind-control aliens in fiction. And mostly that they are usually either wormish or insectoid (or machines).
So, I'm in one of those large multifandom RPGs (well, several, but right now I mean![[insanejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/ij-community.gif)
sabra_la_tau). And it so happened the new character I was playing was interacting with a Protoss from Starcraft, which lead to me reading the Starcraft setting material (note the Zerg, a species of insects with a hive mind and the ability to capture units and infest them). It also happens that SLT had some characters from Jim Butcher's Codex Alera... which also features a species of insectoid invaders with hive minds, and the ability to take over other species**. Then there's also the Borg, which aren't insectoid, but are compared to social insects and... well, they assimilate other species.
Looking into the mind control trend, we also have the various brain parasites. Heinlein's Puppet Masters aren't insectoid -- they're kind of more of the 'vaguely-squishy invertebrate' -- but Heinlein predates everything so far mentioned. Applegates Yeerks are slug-like***. The Goa'uld from Stargate are described as 'snakes', but are aquatic. (OTOH, they still might be the only vertebrate I can think of.)
(For that matter, all three end up with a recognizable female character as their head, between Kerrigan, the Vord Queen and the Borg Queen*. Even the Goa'uld have a special status for those of them who are fertile females. Heinlein's Puppet Masters are an exception, but the story doesn't give them any real sense of individuality -- it's much more of a zombie movie in that sense. The Yeerks might be: they themselves don't have a fixed gender, and (male) Visser Three is the usual foe of the Animorphs, though (female) Visser One is the highest-ranked Yeerk regular character.)
Now, some of that is probably because a lot of parasites are squishy things, especially endoparasites. Or the whole eusociality thing that occurs in social insects (but not exclusively). OTOH, it might just be that the writers want species that look unsettling to humans to have unsettling habits. A lot of bad guy aliens are slimy, reptilian or instectoid.
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* Though Picard-as-Locutus was an early attempt, but, since we've spent so much time with regular Jean-Luc Picard, it's hard to see him acting as the speaker for the Borg without realizing that it's clearly against his will. Basically, Locutus doesn't seem to have his own personality, while the Borg Queen does seem to present as somewhat distinct from the Collective. (Even if it might be an illusion and she only exists when needed.)
** Though one of their most useful tools actually came from the humans of the setting. Before, they could make what essentially amounted to zombies with a link to the hive mind. To actually get a loyal slave with initiative and the furycrafting power that Alerans have required adapting the control mechanisms Alerans used on their own slaves.
*** I don't try to do taxonomy on aliens. Strictly speaking, Yeerks are phototrophic, so don't really fit any group of Earthly animals at all. So, your choice on shelless mollusc versus one of the umpteen billion categories of worm things. Canon uses 'slug'.
So, I'm in one of those large multifandom RPGs (well, several, but right now I mean
sabra_la_tau). And it so happened the new character I was playing was interacting with a Protoss from Starcraft, which lead to me reading the Starcraft setting material (note the Zerg, a species of insects with a hive mind and the ability to capture units and infest them). It also happens that SLT had some characters from Jim Butcher's Codex Alera... which also features a species of insectoid invaders with hive minds, and the ability to take over other species**. Then there's also the Borg, which aren't insectoid, but are compared to social insects and... well, they assimilate other species. Looking into the mind control trend, we also have the various brain parasites. Heinlein's Puppet Masters aren't insectoid -- they're kind of more of the 'vaguely-squishy invertebrate' -- but Heinlein predates everything so far mentioned. Applegates Yeerks are slug-like***. The Goa'uld from Stargate are described as 'snakes', but are aquatic. (OTOH, they still might be the only vertebrate I can think of.)
(For that matter, all three end up with a recognizable female character as their head, between Kerrigan, the Vord Queen and the Borg Queen*. Even the Goa'uld have a special status for those of them who are fertile females. Heinlein's Puppet Masters are an exception, but the story doesn't give them any real sense of individuality -- it's much more of a zombie movie in that sense. The Yeerks might be: they themselves don't have a fixed gender, and (male) Visser Three is the usual foe of the Animorphs, though (female) Visser One is the highest-ranked Yeerk regular character.)
Now, some of that is probably because a lot of parasites are squishy things, especially endoparasites. Or the whole eusociality thing that occurs in social insects (but not exclusively). OTOH, it might just be that the writers want species that look unsettling to humans to have unsettling habits. A lot of bad guy aliens are slimy, reptilian or instectoid.
--
* Though Picard-as-Locutus was an early attempt, but, since we've spent so much time with regular Jean-Luc Picard, it's hard to see him acting as the speaker for the Borg without realizing that it's clearly against his will. Basically, Locutus doesn't seem to have his own personality, while the Borg Queen does seem to present as somewhat distinct from the Collective. (Even if it might be an illusion and she only exists when needed.)
** Though one of their most useful tools actually came from the humans of the setting. Before, they could make what essentially amounted to zombies with a link to the hive mind. To actually get a loyal slave with initiative and the furycrafting power that Alerans have required adapting the control mechanisms Alerans used on their own slaves.
*** I don't try to do taxonomy on aliens. Strictly speaking, Yeerks are phototrophic, so don't really fit any group of Earthly animals at all. So, your choice on shelless mollusc versus one of the umpteen billion categories of worm things. Canon uses 'slug'.
