Parasitic Extra-dimensional Entities
[Excerpted from the files of Daniel Jericho of the Void
Engineer Research and Execution methodology]
An analysis of the psycho-parasitic beings self termed 'Changelings'
Though the current consensus of Control seems to be that such beings as these
'changelings', or Parasites, are less important than those infected with the
Haemotropic Deficiency Virus, or standard 'mystic' Deviants, I must beg to
differ. I have been observing these creatures for some time, and now document my
findings.
The parasite itself exists entirely in a sub-dimension seemingly visited by the
human psyche in its sleep. Individuals infected by the parasite have a chance of
siring offspring which bear fragments of another parasite; or a free-roaming,
but dormant parasite can attach itself to a pre-existing human being. This
attachment process seems most likely to happen when young; as the person grows,
their emotional and mental defences grow stronger and resist this incursion.
Once the parasite joins with it's host, it becomes self-aware, and subsumes some
of the thought processes of the host with it's own thoughts. This is never a
good thing. From the influence of the parasitic entity, the host slowly begins
to lose his mind. As a result of confrontations we have had with these beings, I
have gleaned that they share a mass delusion as to the world around them, seeing
the world differently from normal people. The delusion seems to be consistent,
and rooted in a form of feudal fantasy realm. Thanks to the parasite, the host
honestly believes that a piece of wood is a sword, for instance, and that the
blow from said weapon could sever an arm. Regardless of whether it does or not,
the parasite will override the rational thoughts of the host, forcing them to
believe that their arm has been severed.
This in itself would pose a large problem. These hosts are more unbalanced than
the inmates of most asylums, believing that they are the 'dreamed' incarnation
of everything from beauty to hunger to fear. Their detachment from reality grows
as they surround themselves with other infected, and some even break through
into the sub-dimension that the host hails from. To add to the danger of
communities of highly insane entities living apart from the mortal world and
gallivanting about in alternate dimensions, the possessed are capable of
bringing another person into the mass-delusion. Though said person does not
become possessed, the hosts must donate some energy to generate a psionic
clouding effect that fuddles the mortals senses, and though it does not alter
his self-image (this and the lack of permanence are my reasons for deducing that
the subject is not possessed) it does leave him in the same shared delusion as
the possessed. In some cases, this has lead to a perfectly ordinary person
caught up in the schemes of these alien entities being rendered comatose or
schizophrenic.
The final power of these possessed is quite possibly the most dangerous. By
exerting a measure of their power, they can counteract the rational world and
imprint their host with the image that said host takes in the delusion. In
short, a scrawny, possessed youth can suddenly become nine feet tall, with
armour and blue skin. Having seen the effects that last even after such an
apparition has faded, I am forced to conclude that the parasite opens up a small
gateway to the specific parallel dimension and draws through the idealised form
of the host from there, mutating the host's actual body to create such an
effect. They can use a similar power to allow their host to project simple
desires upon the material world, such as limited telekinesis or the ability to
summon flame.
This does drain the parasite of energy, and from attempts to communicate with
one, such energy is regained by harvesting the psionic resonance of the work of
artists and those who daydream. Unfortunately the possessor of the subject soon
departed the host in the face of the cold reality of what it was doing, leaving
us with a disoriented, confused young man that had only very vague recollections
of the last eight years. The last piece of information we acquired was the
number of these entities. Anywhere up to one person in every three thousand.