Anatomically Correct Hunter from Needle

Hal Clement's novel Needle was revolutionary in featuring a non-parasitic alien lifeform capable of inhabiting a human body.

Specifically, the Hunter in its independent form is a gelatinous mass capable of amoeboid swimming and slow crawling like a slime mold. It is implied (though I do not recall if it is explicitly stated) that the creature's body need not remain contiguous, and it can separate into a swarm of individual cells circulating through its host's body without losing its identity. Despite this inconstant form, they demonstrate human-level intelligence. Creatures of the Hunter's species can seep through the skin of humans and other animals to enter or abandon hosts, and can choose to take over their host's nervous systems, or hide. Over time, they will destroy the host immune system to preserve themselves, but take over its functions so as not to leave the host vulnerable. When in humans or other sapient hosts, they typically wiretap sensory nerves, and communicate with the host by drawing shapes with their bodies on the host's retinas.

To what extent is a creature like this actually plausible, and for those features which are plausible, how would they accomplished?

A list of all of the Anatomically Correct questions can be found here: Anatomically Correct Series

posted over 4 years ago

Logan R. Kearsley‭

-1 reputation 32 0 -2 0