Cortical Borer
File:Brainslug.jpg
Cortical Borer
Superiors: You're on your own, kiddo.
Difficulty: Depends, some Hosts will help you, others will surrender completely, and yet others will resist you at all moments.
Guides: This is the guide
Access: All Non-Welded Vents and Scrubbers, whatever access your current Host has.
Duties: Propagation of your species, survival of the Host, and ultimately your own survival
Little Overview
Cortical Borers are a Random Event, that creates a disgusting little brain slug and automatically pulls a Ghost/Observer into it, provided they have that particular Game Setting set to "yes".
You begin in a random location on the station, with no chemicals inside you, and are very likely to die to the first Assistant that spots you. Your survival rests on finding a Host and seeking refuge inside them.
But, before you start controlling your poor, randomly chosen crew member, you should know the MOST important thing of being a Cortical Borer: your objective is always to survive, and this means to BE ALIVE AT THE END OF THE SHIFT, not kill everyone that stands in your way just because you're an antagonist, or deliberately harm your own Host for no good reason.
Being A Disgusting Brain Slug!
First of all, you should check who your fellow Borers are, and where they are at. You have access to your own Hivemind, which you can speak into by using :x. This will let you know if your fellow Borers have infested someone important.
Your main objective is to locate a Host and wriggle into their ear. Once you've done that, you'll be stuck inside their head unless you intentionally release yourself or get surgically removed. You can speak and whisper to your Host, who will now know they have a brain-controlling parasite inside their head. Usually, this does not end well.
Try to be kind with your Host and they will help you survive in even the direst of situations. Remember, you're incredibly fragile when not in a Host, so getting your Host to cooperate with you is paramount. Engage in talks with them, don't take over unless you really have to or if they allow you to, and always remember to use the beneficial chemicals to help them in their personal ventures (see below).
Do be warned, however, that you can easily overdose your Host on Meth, slowly killing them off with Brain and Toxin damage, so try not to use it too much. Deliberately releasing Meth because your Host refuses to cooperate should be avoided. You're not meant to murder every Host who disobeys you.
You generate Chemicals automatically when inside a Host. Your current Chemicals can be found in your Status tab. These can be used to secrete chemicals, or reproduce. Do keep in mind, reproducing can only be done when in full control of a Host (see below), so try and get them to cooperate before you do it, unless you're just brute forcing it. Newborn Borers will automatically pull a Ghost/Observer into them. If none are available, they will remain inert.
Chemicals regenerate rather slowly, so keeping on your Host's good graces is always a good idea.
As a final note, remember that you are very vulnerable to sugar. If your Host consumes anything with sugar in it, you will enter a docile state, and will be unable to do anything. So if you see your Host gobbling down Twinkies, then it's a great time to start running.
You're Mine, Now!
These abilities deal with OH GOD A MIND SLUG GET IT O-Oh, was I screaming? I'm sorry, I had a lucid dream...
| Ability | Cooldown | Chemical Cost | Casting Time | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assume Control | N/A | N/A | ~30 | This allows you to take direct control of the person you're inside of. Be aware, the person can resist and break this control (anyone with a Medical HUD can identify the person as being controlled, however, as long as you're in direct control) |
| Crawl Through Vent | N/A | N/A | N/A | This allows you to enter the piping system by Alt+Clicking a vent (leads you to the Supply Loop) or scrubber (leads you to the Waste Loop) |
| Dominate Victim | ~30 | N/A | N/A | Paralyzes a victim for about 3-4 seconds. Be careful, however, because this is not quite long enough to infest them. Either do it strategically at choke points or when they stop and you are hidden. |
| Hide | N/A | N/A | N/A | Hide under tables and lay in wait to slither into an unsuspecting head! |
| Infest | N/A | N/A | 5 | This allows you to slither into someone's ear and be inside their brain, from where you have access to further abilities. Both you and the Host must remain still during the process, or it will fail. Health Analyzers and Full Body Scanners can still detect your presence, however. |
| Release Control | N/A | N/A | ~10 | Gives the Host control over their body again. |
| Release Host | N/A | N/A | ~30 | This disconnects you from the brain and drops you out of the Host's ear to slither away. |
| Reproduce (only available when Assume Control is active) | N/A | 100 | N/A | Creates a new Cortical Borer at your current location. Be careful about where you do this, as your Host will vomit quite noticeably. Be sure to use it where your newborn child can quickly crawl under cover or into a vent. |
| Secrete Chemicals | N/A | 30 | N/A | Injects one of 4 possible chemicals (see below) |
| Secrete Mannitol | N/A | 30 | N/A | Lessens damage to neurological tissue, effective even after catastrophic injury. Used for treating brain damage. |
| Secrete Salicylic Acid | N/A | 30 | N/A | An analgesic which is highly effective at treating brute damage. It is useful for stabilizing people who have been severely beaten, as well as treating less life-threatening injuries. |
| Secrete Methamphetamine | N/A | 30 | N/A | A highly effective, long lasting muscle stimulant. It allows greater freedom of movement in bulky clothing although it has the side effect of causing some twitching. It also causes Brain and Toxin damage when overdosed, so don't go nuts. |
| Secrete Styptic Powder | N/A | 30 | N/A | A simple, yet effective chemical used for treating brute injuries. |
| Torment Host (only available when Assume Control is active) | N/A | N/A | N/A | Is your host displeasing you? TORMENT THEM WITH LANCES OF PAIN TO THE BRAIN!! (Your host will receive a large message about feeling intense pain. No actual mechanical effect) |
Fight Against Your Mind!
So you have a disgusting little brain slug inside your head. Woe is you.
But wait! Don't just throw yourself out the nearest airlock or commit suicide! Not only will that permanently remove you from the round, but there's a lot of stuff you can do as a Host of a Cortical Borer.
You can try to rationalize with the disgusting little thing and set boundaries. Try to have a nice dialogue and see if you can't benefit off one another. Or just eat a ton of Twinkies and have someone remove the thing from your head so you can squish it.
Remember, it isn't always so bad having a creature that can help you out when in need of a massive power up (that will probably save your ass) or emergency medication. All it asks in return is for you to occasionally puke out some baby slugs. That's not so bad, is it?
If the slug is behaving badly, show it who the boss is and eat some Sugar (simplest way is to gorge on Twinkies, or get the Chef to just let you hit the bottle). It will put the Borer to sleep for some time, which can be used either as a disciplinary method, or as an opportunity to surgically remove it.
Remember, your RP experience may vary depending on how you and it feel like behaving. Above all, try to make it fun for both parties.
