1 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:05,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of 2 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:10,360 Speaker 1: My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and 3 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 1: this is the Monster Fact, a short form series from 4 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:17,840 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow Your Mind focusing on on mythical creatures, ideas, 5 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: and monsters in time. In the Warhammer forty universe, the 6 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:32,760 Speaker 1: Underhive of Necromunda is a subterranean maze of industrial grime 7 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:37,160 Speaker 1: and dystopian anarchy. You're way better off running away from 8 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 1: most innocence of the Underhive, but one of its monsters 9 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:46,120 Speaker 1: is also a sought after commodity, the parasitic icrotic slime. 10 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:53,760 Speaker 1: As described in the publication Necromunda Outlander's rule Book, an 11 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:58,080 Speaker 1: adult necrotic slime is a slow moving, fist size globe 12 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:02,880 Speaker 1: of translucent sludge. It creeps up on a slumbering humanoid. 13 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:07,319 Speaker 1: It first engulfs the sleeper's head before oozing into the 14 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:12,319 Speaker 1: flesh and eventually colonizing the host's brain. Once in the brain, 15 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:16,039 Speaker 1: the slime reproduces and the young feast on the gray matter, 16 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:20,199 Speaker 1: which turns the host into a shambling zombie, and eventually 17 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:25,560 Speaker 1: the creatures burst through the host's skull. This is all 18 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:29,119 Speaker 1: pretty standard sci fi brain parasite stuff, to be sure, 19 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:32,400 Speaker 1: But the really interesting wrinkal in the creature's life cycle 20 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:35,800 Speaker 1: is the way it defends itself during its initial conquest 21 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:39,760 Speaker 1: of a new host. It's slow moving and not particularly strong, 22 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 1: so you could simply pull it off your head before 23 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: it has a chance to seep into your flesh. But 24 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: to protect itself during this vulnerable stage, we're told this 25 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 1: fictional slime releases chemicals to induce a feeling of power 26 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:58,680 Speaker 1: and euphoria in the host. They feel so good they 27 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:02,080 Speaker 1: simply don't want to remove the slime from their head. 28 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 1: As such, some of the many desperate denizens of the 29 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:10,639 Speaker 1: Underhives us the slime as a narcotic, trusting a friend 30 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 1: or an accomplice to simply remove the slime from their 31 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:21,520 Speaker 1: head before matters progress too far. It's a wonderfully dark creation, 32 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:25,920 Speaker 1: clearly drawing on natural world examples of brain eating amibas 33 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:30,959 Speaker 1: and such behavior hijacking parasites as the protozoa, Toxoplasma GANDHI. 34 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: Various parasites are known for their ability to hijack behavior, 35 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 1: but I don't think I'd ever read about one from 36 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:43,320 Speaker 1: the real world that's linked to feelings of euphoria. Euphoria 37 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:46,679 Speaker 1: is generally associated with a number of typical life experiences 38 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:49,120 Speaker 1: and activities, but of course it can be boosted by 39 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 1: various substances or generated via brain disease or injury. But 40 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:59,079 Speaker 1: euphoria as a product of host manipulation by a parasite, again, 41 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,280 Speaker 1: nothing turned up in my research. But as Martin Hyle 42 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:05,920 Speaker 1: discusses in the two thousand sixteen Frontiers and Ecology and 43 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:11,400 Speaker 1: Evolution paper, host manipulation by parasites, any manipulation by parasite 44 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 1: will depend on a physical or molecular trigger that comes 45 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:18,760 Speaker 1: with a metabolic cost. That cost would have to balance 46 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:22,600 Speaker 1: out in the creature's evolution. While some studies have linked 47 00:03:22,639 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: Toxoplasma gandhi to libido in some host subjects, we really 48 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:30,920 Speaker 1: don't see anything like, say, the sex parasites from David 49 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 1: Cronenberg's film Shivers in the real world. In both Necromunda 50 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 1: and Shivers, the monstrous parasites in question are far more 51 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 1: useful as a means of commenting upon or exploring other 52 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 1: social concerns. However, I did find discussion of a southeastern 53 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:56,280 Speaker 1: African plant known as kat or katha edulis. The plant 54 00:03:56,280 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: contains a stimulant and when chewed, can produce feelings of 55 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: excitement meant appetite loss and even euphoria. Like other euphoria 56 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 1: inducing botanical substances. We're not talking about a parasite here, 57 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:12,200 Speaker 1: but according to a two thousand and twenty two paper 58 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:17,599 Speaker 1: by Jacob Nehru Nahiga for the Jomo Kenyatta University of 59 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:22,200 Speaker 1: Agriculture and Technology, the leaves as sold in parts of 60 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: Kenya are sometimes contaminated with intestinal parasites, generally due to 61 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 1: quote poor storage of leaves, personal hygiene, and polluted environmental conditions. 62 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:36,279 Speaker 1: It's not quite a sci fi brain slug, but it 63 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 1: checks off a couple of the boxes here under some circumstances. 64 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,239 Speaker 1: Tune in for additional episodes of The Monster Fact each week. 65 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 1: As always, you can email us at contact at Stuff 66 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:59,719 Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind dot com Stuff to Blow Your Mind. 67 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:02,560 Speaker 1: It's production of I Heart Radio. 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