There is almost a genre (or at the very least, a trope) of an intelligent alien species that is a parasite, that attaches itself to humans, and then controls them, infiltrating society. It is, in a sense an allegory regarding everything from terrorist cells to insurgencies. The ability for an insurgency to spread itself through countries (or from country to country) seems particularly threatening these days, with authoritarian ideas spreading like a virus throughout the world.
It's true, as others have noticed, that this trope has been explored through several classics and popular TV series, from 'The Invaders', 'Star Trek the Next Generation( in the 'Conspiracy' Episode), and movies ranging from 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' to 'The Puppetmasters'. A more benign version of this idea is the basis for 'Travellers', where the consciousnesses of volunteers from a dystopian future overwrite the consciousness of people who they know through historical records are about to die (so they are not murdering anyone), traveling back to try and alter the trajectory of our present to avoid the horrible future (only hinted at - we know they live in domes and eat barely edible synthetic food because nature has been all but destroyed).
However in this case, it's malevolent control, and very much like The Puppetmasters of Heinlein. I almost wonder if he, like Ellison, felt that this was a theft of his work, but there's no record that I know of involving any legal moves my the author regarding this episode.
It's the tone of this episode, more than anything, that strikes me as so creepy. The main characters are either compromised (controlled by the creatures), or those who might be infected, including young men, just like potential terrorist recruits. The creatures are scary enough, even if they are low-budget creations that look like a hairy trilobite and they make a noise not unlike the roaring of a lion crossed with wheezing. There is something particularly unsettling in something so alien yet familiar, the way that the Puppetmasters movie (which came out several decades later) created a sort of mashup of a rubbery squid with the ability to strike with a stinger arm. These are patterns from nature, so they make for me, at least, a believable alien creature.
There's little discussion of how the creatures arrived; only that they are spreading and quickly. It's this perniciousness that makes the whole concept ring true today. Having gotten to the tail end (we hope) of a worldwide pandemic, the swiftness that a contagion can spread is not lost on anybody. The conspiracy plots promoted by QAnon as well las some of the Republican Party seem like echoes of this episode. Indeed, we have come full circle and today's anxieties mirror those from the 1950s and 60s. This episode is still nightmarish today.
It's true, as others have noticed, that this trope has been explored through several classics and popular TV series, from 'The Invaders', 'Star Trek the Next Generation( in the 'Conspiracy' Episode), and movies ranging from 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' to 'The Puppetmasters'. A more benign version of this idea is the basis for 'Travellers', where the consciousnesses of volunteers from a dystopian future overwrite the consciousness of people who they know through historical records are about to die (so they are not murdering anyone), traveling back to try and alter the trajectory of our present to avoid the horrible future (only hinted at - we know they live in domes and eat barely edible synthetic food because nature has been all but destroyed).
However in this case, it's malevolent control, and very much like The Puppetmasters of Heinlein. I almost wonder if he, like Ellison, felt that this was a theft of his work, but there's no record that I know of involving any legal moves my the author regarding this episode.
It's the tone of this episode, more than anything, that strikes me as so creepy. The main characters are either compromised (controlled by the creatures), or those who might be infected, including young men, just like potential terrorist recruits. The creatures are scary enough, even if they are low-budget creations that look like a hairy trilobite and they make a noise not unlike the roaring of a lion crossed with wheezing. There is something particularly unsettling in something so alien yet familiar, the way that the Puppetmasters movie (which came out several decades later) created a sort of mashup of a rubbery squid with the ability to strike with a stinger arm. These are patterns from nature, so they make for me, at least, a believable alien creature.
There's little discussion of how the creatures arrived; only that they are spreading and quickly. It's this perniciousness that makes the whole concept ring true today. Having gotten to the tail end (we hope) of a worldwide pandemic, the swiftness that a contagion can spread is not lost on anybody. The conspiracy plots promoted by QAnon as well las some of the Republican Party seem like echoes of this episode. Indeed, we have come full circle and today's anxieties mirror those from the 1950s and 60s. This episode is still nightmarish today.
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