Cogitatio vermis (C. vermis) is an alien wormlike parasitic creature that serves as a vessel to The Enemy. It infects target species, attaching to the central nervous system / brain and wresting control over to the Enemy.
Other names: Thoughtworms (Humanity)
Description
Cogitatio vermis loosely resembles the worms of Earth, though it has little in common with the other helminths, such as tapeworms, roundworms, and flukes. C. vermis is very small, on the borderline of visibility and microscopic. They range in size, but are similar to most nematode varieties on earth at only one millimeter long.
Similar to nematodes, the body plan and biology of the Thoughtworm suggests an aquatic upbringing. They require a liquid medium for life or the biology of a host. They are extremely mobile within water, and seem to depend on it for some aspects of reproduction. The body is long and thin, with powerful muscles and small “sails” that aid in propulsion through liquid media. The head is distinct, with a complex jaw and teeth arrangement within. It has no visible sight organs. Stemming from a blue-white spot on the top of the head, is a geometric network of extremely densely bundled nerve-like tissue. This tissue-the Crown-is rooted into the Thoughtworm’s brain, a notably distinct structure within the tiny body.
C. vermis’ internal biology is simple, but quite remarkable. The brain is the primary component of the animal. Notably, worms of Earth do not have complex brains, only enough tissue to handle their very basic lifestyles.
The brain of the Thoughtworm takes up approximately 65% of the animal’s total body mass. Its composition is utterly alien.
Chemical Makeup
The chemical makeup of the Thoughtworm is not too far off from known biochemistry. It is a carbon-based lifeform, like Earth descended life, and uses things like water, phosphorus, sodium, and other elements in capacities similar to their use in Earth life.
However, the brain tissue incorporates a novel biochemical, one of many within the Thoughtworm, believed to have been born from the evolutionary stew of the Thoughtworm’s native world. This chemical, termed NAB1 (Novel Alien Biochemical One) appears to serve energy and information exchange functions, and acts as a liquid medium that permeates the entire brain structure akin to cerebrospinal fluid in humans.
NAB1 is the proposed mechanism, or part of the proposed mechanism, for C. vermis’ anomalous capabilities and high level of neural processing power. In retrieved specimens drained of NAB1, the Thoughtworm was observed to enter a subdued, seemingly depressive state and cease all anomalous capabilities before dying within 24 hours.
Infection and Subjugation
Cogitatio vermis is a helminth; a parasitic worm. Its preferred hosts are animals with similarly high levels of intelligence, such as human beings. Thought-worm specimens have been observed infecting lesser animals, however, this seems to result in a “stunted worm” who acts without the same level of agency as others in more powerful hosts. This suggests that, while Cogitatio vermis is quite intelligent on its own, its parasitical behavior relies on equivalently neurologically dense animals.
Humans
The thought-worm enters human hosts via a liquid medium when possible, such as a body of water. It may be drunk at that point, or attempt to swim into a bodily orifice. The mouth, nostrils, and ears are all viable infection routes; they will also enter through any open wounds. Fortunately, reproductive and waste orifices do not present a viable infection route due to chemical imbalances.
Study confirmed that the thought-worms’ reliance on liquid media for infection is due to their own limitations. C. vermis is an aquatic organism, and cannot survive for more than 12 hours out of its preferred liquid media. Thought-worms do seem able to live well enough in Earth’s oceans as well, though long-term study has proven difficult. This suggests a similarity in the chemical makeup of Earth’s oceans and the thought-worm’s home.
Once within a human body, the thought-worm immediately gets to work. It travels through the body’s internals, following paths to the brain and cutting its way in. Thought-worms are extremely precise; creating only enough damage to suit their purposes and repairing it in their wake. When making their penetration into the human brain, they are careful to repair the layers of insulating tissue behind them to ensure the brain remains safe from infection.
The thought-worm then navigates to the brainstem and “roots” itself there. The Crown extrudes new neural tissue which integrates into the brain. A significant energy-information transfer is then observed, with the thought-worm producing a flood of NAB1 to inundate the human brain. No allergic response is observed at any point throughout this.
The human brain then experiences something akin to REM sleep, with rapid eye movements and facial twitches and enormous electrical activity within the brain tissue. This pattern continues until electrical activity resembles a grand-mal seizure, before suddenly dropping to normal levels. This concludes the parasite’s takeover. The process somehow preserves the former mental structure but “unseats” the human consciousness and leaves the thought-worm behind, now able to perfectly act as the human it occupies. The time between initial infection to completion is approximately 5 minutes.
Most humans have severe health complications with very short lifespans post infection. In most infection cases, the seizure-like period of extreme brain activity does not cease, instead continuing for days. Infected individuals then display the characteristic extreme aggression, paranoia, and irrational behavior commonly known to be the signs of the Defilement. Eventually, their brains settle, but they never recover either. It is unknown what transpires within the Thoughtworm’s own minds in these instances, though it will continue to be active within the human brain and provide power for anomalous abilities
According to Ephraim, humans have been the most challenging species to deal with.
A small percentage of the infected population display a higher level of intelligence and psychic powers
- Targeted hallucinations
- A general mental field capable of inducing various states of emotion and sway some towards certain actions
- Telepathy
- Telekinesis
- Unusually rapid regrowth and healing
- Spatial distortion/teleportation
- Precognition
- Amplification/nullification and other types of control over the exotic radiation emitted by the thought-worms.
- More emergent and complex capabilities have been observed amongst large groups of infected individuals
Lifecycle
Not much is known about the lifecycle of the worms themselves. Studies have yet to be conducted on how the vessel behaves outside of a host.