| Water Parasite | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Naming | |||
| Binomen | N/A | ||
| Morphology | |||
| Body type | Amorphous | ||
| Average height | Microscopic | ||
| Intelligence | |||
| Sentience | Unknown | ||
| Sapience | Unknown | ||
| Ecology | |||
| Place of origin | Bermuda Triangle | ||
| Habitat | Parasitic | ||
| Behind the Scenes | |||
| Universe | Sanctuary | ||
The Water Parasite is a parasitic abnormal microbe from the Bermuda Triangle which colonizes the brain stem of sapient hosts. Its natural hosts are merfolk, although it's also capable of infecting humans.
Biology[]
Outside of a host, the Parasite appears as a small moving puddle of transparent fluid, which can crawl out of a dead host's ears and move around, presumably in search of a new body to infect. Despite being microscopic, its cells are capable of perforating surgical gloves and skin in order to get into the new host's system.
Once it colonizes a host's brain stem, the Parasite multiplies at a phenomenal rate and causes damage to the limbic system and logic centers. It seems to have some level of sapience, and uses pain to persuade its host against measures that would not be beneficial to the Parasite. When Helen Magnus was infected inside a submarine, the Parasite caused her excruciating pain that was only mitigated when she dove the submarine deeper.
At later stages, the hosts become extraordinarily aggressive. Infection by the Parasite resulted in a colony of naturally peaceful merfolk literally tearing each other apart until all were dead. The ultimate purpose of this is not clear, as it's not known how the Parasite might benefit from the host's death, suggesting that it might not be fully sapient.
Appearances[]
- Sanctuary, s01e09, "Requiem" (2008)