ResearchPherocytes

Research Hydra Pherocytes
Solution
Research the "Hydra Pherocytes" project when it becomes available.
Description		Resolution
The Hydras seem to use pherocytes – information-heavy biological emanations – as a communication tool. Maybe this is the key to their mind control? For now, at least, it's the best lead we've got.		Well, for good or bad, we've got our answer. Our biologists are 99 percent certain that these "pherocytes" are how the Hydras are able to control their victims. The particles enter the system via the respiratory system or mucous membranes and make their way to the brain. Once there, they effectively grant the Hydras complete mental control over the target. There doesn't seem to be any limit to it – even suicidally dangerous orders will be carried out without hesitation. All a Hydra needs is time, and it can press-gang an army of fanatically loyal slaves. It's what every crazy warlord and tin-pot dictator in Earth history has dreamed of – soldiers that can't disobey. And the Hydras can make them just by breathing. The good news is that the pherocytes can be stopped – standard MOPP gear provides complete protection, and even a basic gas mask will work in a pinch. The bad news is that once the pherocytes are in your system, we've got no way to get them out. They lose effectiveness over time, but given that the Hydras will be constantly topping up the pherocyte levels on their slaves, that doesn't help much. Our research teams say they've learned all they can from the body. If we want to find out more, we'll need a live subject.
Quote
Take a look at this, Colonel. We're beginning to understand how they control their foot soldiers.
Prerequisite Objective(s)
Research Hydra Biology
Can be completed by Project:		Pherocytes
Notes

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Research Hydra Pherocytes
Solution
Research the "Hydra Pherocytes" project when it becomes available.
Description		Resolution
Over and over again, we have come back to the same question. How are the Hydras controlling their human servants? The Hydra pherocytes – these information-laden cells that the Hydras produce within their own bodies – may be the key.		Our suspicions are confirmed. The pherocytes are indeed the mechanism by which the Hydras control their servants. The chemicals that Hydra pherocytes produce are incredibly potent, and seem specifically designed to affect humans, so much so that we now believe that the initial abductions must have been an alien research effort to develop them. Even momentary exposure can affect a recipient; longer exposure will quickly overwhelm them. Once ingested, the pherocytes make their way via mucous membrane to the region of the brain called the supra-marginal gyrus, the region of the parietal lobe that is responsible for human empathy. Once there, the pherocytes take up residence in the myelin sheath around the Nodes of Ranvier, where they regulate impulse conductivity. Influence increases until maximum saturation is reached, at which point additional exposure has no further effect. The pherocytes have a limited lifespan. As they die off, and in the absence of a "top up", the subject gradually regains its sense of self-determination. This process is slow, less like awakening from sleep and more like gradually coming to terms with a new perspective. This gives us a slow, but reliable, method of treating returned abductees and Hydra servants from now on. Unfortunately we have yet to discover any method of expelling pherocytes from a human body directly. We have, however, confirmed that pherocyte exposure can be prevented by basic air filtration systems. All of our personnel will be issued with such gear on future operations.
Quote
We are learning how the Hydras control our people's minds, Commander.
Prerequisite Objective(s)
Research Hydra Biology
Can be completed by Project:		Pherocytes
Notes

Data Sources
TIMissionTemplate_EN • TIObjectiveTemplate_CSV • TIObjectiveTemplate_EN • TIOrgTemplate_EN • TIProjectTemplate_CSV • TIProjectTemplate_EN
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Research Hydra Pherocytes
Solution
Research the "Hydra Pherocytes" project when it becomes available.
Description		Resolution
Our autopsy suggests that the alien pherocytes are central to their communication and – possibly – their influence over their human subjects. Researching them should be a priority.		The alien pherocytes are a fascinating evolutionary phenomenon, totally unlike anything that has developed upon Earth. They are cells that not only contain a vast amount of chemical information, but also function as adaptive factories capable of producing advanced biological compounds. When introduced into the system of a non-Hydra, they make their way to the supra-marginal gyrus within the parietal lobe, then take up residence in the myelin sheath, where they regulate impulse conductivity. From there, they exercise a strong and immediate influence over the subject's empathy, attachments, and drives. This influence persists until the pherocytes die off, which can take days if not weeks. While this is not "mind control" as popular fiction would understand it, the effect is similar. Although this breakthrough is of course good news, it is nevertheless worrying. The alien ability to exercise control is far more advanced than we had suspected. Preventing pherocyte exposure is relatively straightforward – basic filtration systems will suffice – but without extensive research, we will have no means of countering the pherocytes except time.
Quote
We can only wonder at what environmental circumstances led to this evolutionary adaptation, Director.
Prerequisite Objective(s)
Research Hydra Biology
Can be completed by Project:		Pherocytes
Notes

Data Sources
TIMissionTemplate_EN • TIObjectiveTemplate_CSV • TIObjectiveTemplate_EN • TIOrgTemplate_EN • TIProjectTemplate_CSV • TIProjectTemplate_EN
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Research Hydra Pherocytes
Solution
Research the "Hydra Pherocytes" project when it becomes available.
Description		Resolution
The Hydras appear to produce a type of cells, dubbed "pherocytes," that can produce chemicals with psychoactive properties. This is currently our leading theory as to how they are able to influence humans so effectively.		Our suspicions have been confirmed; the alien pherocytes are the key to the Hydra ability to influence other species. Hydra pherocytes are effectively miniature drug factories. They are produced within the Hydra's internal organs and released into the air, from where they can enter the bodies of other creatures via breathing or mucous membranes. Once there, they release chemicals directly into the brain. This effectively functions as biological mind control, similar in principle to our own techniques of medical and psychiatric medication, but vastly more advanced. With a sufficient dose, the pherocytes enable near-total control over the subject's behavior, even capable of forcing them to act against their core beliefs or instincts. The advantage this gives the Hydras is obvious. Each Hydra effectively functions as a living biological domination system, able to subvert any creature in its proximity. There are, however, two reasons for (cautious) optimism. Firstly, while the Hydra pherocytes are highly complex and advanced, they are not radically different from the biological systems of living creatures on Earth. There is, at present, no obvious theoretical reason why it should be impossible for us to replicate Hydra pherocytes and employ their capabilities ourselves. Second, the Hydras are not immune to their own pherocytes. While they appear to work differently on a Hydra subject as compared to a non-Hydra one, the same methods that allow the Hydras to control humans could, in theory, allow us to control Hydras. Much, however, remains to be done before we can approach this step.
Quote
It seems every alien comes with its own marketing department.
Prerequisite Objective(s)
Research Hydra Biology
Can be completed by Project:		Pherocytes
Notes

Data Sources
TIMissionTemplate_EN • TIObjectiveTemplate_CSV • TIObjectiveTemplate_EN • TIOrgTemplate_EN • TIProjectTemplate_CSV • TIProjectTemplate_EN
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Research Hydra Pherocytes
Solution
Research the "Hydra Pherocytes" project when it becomes available.
Description		Resolution
The Hydra "pherocytes" explain the odd, pheromone-like signatures that have been reported in areas of Hydra activity. They clearly have some ability to influence behavior. Perhaps this is the missing link we have been searching for.		Now much has become clear. Hydra pherocytes are adaptive mind control agents. They are released into the air, are inhaled or ingested into the target's bloodstream, and travel from there to the brain, where they suppress the target's desires and loyalties and replace them with new directions, effectively enslaving them. They are clearly a natural evolution, rather than the result of bioengineering. The implications are enormous. For Hydras, taming and controlling other species would be as instinctive as language or tool use is to us. They would have developed advanced techniques of animal husbandry before inventing fire, or the wheel. This would in turn have shaped their entire culture. To Hydras, other species are not rivals, or companions; they are first and foremost resources, to be tamed and trained. When Hydras look at humans, their first instinct must be to view us as we would view a feral dog or cat. It feels sometimes as though all of our research since first contact has been one piece of bad news after another. How can we possibly negotiate with creatures who view us as we would a stray pet? The task seems overwhelming, yet it must start with a better understanding of the Hydra pherocytes.
Quote
Chancellor, we believe we have found the missing piece to understanding the Hydra behavior.
Prerequisite Objective(s)
Research Hydra Biology
Can be completed by Project:		Pherocytes
Notes

Data Sources
TIMissionTemplate_EN • TIObjectiveTemplate_CSV • TIObjectiveTemplate_EN • TIOrgTemplate_EN • TIProjectTemplate_CSV • TIProjectTemplate_EN
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