The Consumption

Contents

1. Biology
• Early Infection
• Late Infection
• Hivemind
2. History
3. Diplomacy
4. See Also
5. Notes

The Consumption is a biological hivemind that comes from the planet Hulfassa in the Hulfass Khor system. They are considered extremely dangerous.

Origins & Biology

The exact origins of The Consumption is unknown, but some insight can be learned based on what we know of their biology and home planet. The Consumption is not, itself, a sapient organism. The Consumption refers to a parasitic organism that infects, and ultimately takes control of, other biological life forms.

Early Infection

Early infection is often very mild, and can be easily mistaken for other parasitic conditions. However, the organism will eventually work its way into the nervous system, and if the host's biology permits, the brain. At this point, curing the disease without potentially fatal harm to the host is effectively impossible.

Late Infection

After some time (depending on host biology), the parasite completely hijacks its host, taking over the nervous system in its entirety. At this stage, the host is considered dead, even though brain / nervous system activity continues. For some time during this stage of infection, the host seems largely normal. No external signs of infection are often visible, and the host tends to act relatively normally. It is assumed that the parasite is able to use the memories and 'muscle memory' of its host to seemlessly blend in with its host species. However, it will try to infect other lifeforms through various means. In this early stage, this spread is usually limited to bodily fluids. Some hosts have been observed to use limited airborne infection using spores in its host's respiratory system.

Hivemind

After yet more time (exact gestation time unknown), brain / nervous system activity drastically changes and increases. Tests done after this point imply that whatever change occurs at this point results in a low-level hivemind with other nearby infected organisms that have reached this stage of development. At this point, development rapidly accelerates. New tissue on the exterior of hosts is created by the body. This tissue can broadly be split into three categories; nervous tissue, reproductive tissue, and motile tissue. Nervous tissue is most often grown in areas near the host's nervous system, and is the only kind of this newly created tissue to be created inside of the host aswell. Much of this new nervous tissue seems to take the role of communicating with the hive mind, as the host's other brain / nervous system activity decreases closer to pre-hivemind levels. Reproductive tissue is new extraneous tissue that seems entirely dedicated to creating and dispersing spores able to infect new hosts. These spores seem incredibly hardy, able to survive on most surfaces and in most liquids seemingly indefinetly. Spores are also able to stay airborne for long periods of time, meaning full personal protective equipment is necessary in dealing with specimens at this stage. Lastly, motile tissue is most often seen in individuals who have been infected for quite a long time. This new tissue most often creates appendages resembling legs for locomotion or tentacles for manipulation. Some specimens have been observed with other new appendages, such as claws, new teeth, and blades. These are presumed to be created in order to make infection easier. New tissue is also occasionally created in order to repair previously broken or damaged parts of the body. In an extreme example, a host with an amputated arm grew a tentacle-like appendage where the missing arm would have been. Other similar examples include regrowing missing digits on the hands, regaining nervous tissue in paralyzed hosts resulting in regained movement, or the regrowth of tissue on the wings of flying hosts that lost substantial tissue and were subsequently unable to fly.

History

The exact timeline of The Consumption's takeover of its home planet is unknown, however it is hypothesized that the parasite suceeded in taking over much of the planet's sapient life, however what remained attempted to fight back using nuclear weaponry. This resulted in the near-complete destruction of the planet's biosphere. Despite their efforts, the Consumption was able to survive the nuclear annhiliation and became the preeminent species of the planet. After this point, the hivemind rebuilt "civilization," eventually looking to the stars. Sometime in its early spacefaring age, the hivemind was seemingly able to infect a number of space amoeba. Since then, they have invented faster-than-light travel.