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Parasitoid werewolves
13 years ago
Based on a dream I had.
I conceived of werewolves as parasitoid organisms that rely on humans as hosts for one of their life-cycle stages, much the same way that certain wasps do with spiders or caterpillars (or the way genestealers, of Warhammer 40,000 infamy, sort of do). It is as follows:
0- Where there are enough werewolves in an area, they will mate. (They are hermaphroditic but unable to fertilize their own eggs.) Otherwise, ignore this step and proceed:
1- A mature adult ("werewolf") seeks out a victim for implantation. This can be a long-term process involving gaining the trust of the victim or even sexual seduction, but the mature adult is physically similar to an adult human. Then the werewolf mauls the victim. The wounds look like animal bites, but conceal the implantation of an egg sac usually in the abdominal cavity. The wounds heal remarkably fast, though... This discourages close inspection of the subject's body.
2- The egg sac, itself a living organ, secretes hormones and other neuromodulators to alter the behavior of the victim. These changes are generally slight at first, such as eating more, gaining weight and becoming a little more risk-averse, a little more shy and reserved. Unless this is a dramatic contrast with the victim's earlier personality, most people will write this off as stress, mild illness or, ironically, as pregnancy.
3- As the eggs hatch into larval wolves, the victim finds somewhere quiet to lie down. At this point the larvae push their way out, a slimy and disgusting process that inevitably destroys the victim's body, usually leaving behind only a few scraps of flesh, fragments of half-dissolved bone and shreds of clothing. The larvae can travel for a considerable distance before they begin to actively feed. While the larvae look superficially similar to juvenile predatory mammals, they are fully omnivorous and capable of avoiding larger predators. So they eat, and grow, and eat some more...
4- As they grow, the larvae metamorphose into an intermediate nymph form, similar to a human child. Again, they are capable of taking care of themselves, but they more often take advantage of human empathy; people will adopt them and train them in the language and culture of their host society, as well as offering them food and shelter. This stage is sometimes called a "changeling".
5- The changeling grows into a mature adult in about 15-20 years, although sometimes they grow faster. The mature adult is known as a werewolf, and it is at this point that its shape-shifting ability manifests itself...
(Lather, rinse, repeat)
Compare to demon-worms, another parasitoid organism which have no human-shaped life stage. They resemble hookworms, both physically and in life-style. Adults living in contaminated water burrow through the skin of new hosts; they have sex in the blood, whereupon gravid females enter muscle tissue and form egg-laden secretory cysts whose secretions slowly drive the host aggressively insane; by this time the eggs have hatched into larvae, and when the host is inevitably killed as it attempts to attack others, the larvae burrow their way out and escape into the environment. Those that reach water will eat microscopic organisms until they grow into adults. Those that don't reach water, or those that dry out early in the larval stage, encapsulate themselves and enter a state of suspended animation. As the capsule is generally smaller than a grain of rice, it easily escapes notice. When rehydrated, it resumes its normal life cycle (which takes about a year, from adult to adult, in the presence of stagnant water).
Among their other similarities, the "cure" for those infected by either werewolves or demon-worms is a swift death followed by immediate immolation.
I conceived of werewolves as parasitoid organisms that rely on humans as hosts for one of their life-cycle stages, much the same way that certain wasps do with spiders or caterpillars (or the way genestealers, of Warhammer 40,000 infamy, sort of do). It is as follows:
0- Where there are enough werewolves in an area, they will mate. (They are hermaphroditic but unable to fertilize their own eggs.) Otherwise, ignore this step and proceed:
1- A mature adult ("werewolf") seeks out a victim for implantation. This can be a long-term process involving gaining the trust of the victim or even sexual seduction, but the mature adult is physically similar to an adult human. Then the werewolf mauls the victim. The wounds look like animal bites, but conceal the implantation of an egg sac usually in the abdominal cavity. The wounds heal remarkably fast, though... This discourages close inspection of the subject's body.
2- The egg sac, itself a living organ, secretes hormones and other neuromodulators to alter the behavior of the victim. These changes are generally slight at first, such as eating more, gaining weight and becoming a little more risk-averse, a little more shy and reserved. Unless this is a dramatic contrast with the victim's earlier personality, most people will write this off as stress, mild illness or, ironically, as pregnancy.
3- As the eggs hatch into larval wolves, the victim finds somewhere quiet to lie down. At this point the larvae push their way out, a slimy and disgusting process that inevitably destroys the victim's body, usually leaving behind only a few scraps of flesh, fragments of half-dissolved bone and shreds of clothing. The larvae can travel for a considerable distance before they begin to actively feed. While the larvae look superficially similar to juvenile predatory mammals, they are fully omnivorous and capable of avoiding larger predators. So they eat, and grow, and eat some more...
4- As they grow, the larvae metamorphose into an intermediate nymph form, similar to a human child. Again, they are capable of taking care of themselves, but they more often take advantage of human empathy; people will adopt them and train them in the language and culture of their host society, as well as offering them food and shelter. This stage is sometimes called a "changeling".
5- The changeling grows into a mature adult in about 15-20 years, although sometimes they grow faster. The mature adult is known as a werewolf, and it is at this point that its shape-shifting ability manifests itself...
(Lather, rinse, repeat)
Compare to demon-worms, another parasitoid organism which have no human-shaped life stage. They resemble hookworms, both physically and in life-style. Adults living in contaminated water burrow through the skin of new hosts; they have sex in the blood, whereupon gravid females enter muscle tissue and form egg-laden secretory cysts whose secretions slowly drive the host aggressively insane; by this time the eggs have hatched into larvae, and when the host is inevitably killed as it attempts to attack others, the larvae burrow their way out and escape into the environment. Those that reach water will eat microscopic organisms until they grow into adults. Those that don't reach water, or those that dry out early in the larval stage, encapsulate themselves and enter a state of suspended animation. As the capsule is generally smaller than a grain of rice, it easily escapes notice. When rehydrated, it resumes its normal life cycle (which takes about a year, from adult to adult, in the presence of stagnant water).
Among their other similarities, the "cure" for those infected by either werewolves or demon-worms is a swift death followed by immediate immolation.
You have WAY too much time on your hands.
Sorry man, this is just a wee bit too creepy for me.