Some
time ago now I posted some random thoughts about the infamous Fungi from
Yuggoth inspired by an investigation of Laurent de Longnez’s Eighteenth Century
work about the planets of our solar system. I thought I would put some of these
cogitations into action and come up with a new way of looking at the Mi-Go. For
what it’s worth, here is a different take on an old Mythos stand-by that might
get some creative juices flowing out there.
Of course, none of this is canon and is easily ignored if it doesn't suit your purposes; however, if you think it might add some interesting wrinkles to your material, give it a shot!
de Longnez Redux
De
LONGNEZ, Laurent, L’Histoire des Planetes, Paris France, 1792
Quarto; full calf, decorated in blind with blind rules and
blind-stamped spine titles between six raised bands, with two brass hasps;
320pp., on laid paper, with a decorated title page and 16 engraved plates, one
folding.
French;
Laurent de Longnez; 1792; 1D2/1D4 Sanity Loss; Cthulhu Mythos +10; 17 weeks to
study and comprehend
An
enigmatic book. It contains a wealth of information about the planets of our
Solar system, much of it fanciful and mired in mythology and legend. A lot of
the occult detail derives from sources which are plainly not of the Western
mystical tradition and is said to have been generated by some unknown access to
Hyperborean sources. It’s noteworthy that several planets listed in the outline
were not known of at the time of writing, specifically Uranus, Neptune and
Pluto, although the planets spoken of are not identified by those names.
De
Longnez’s book suffers from poor editing and is riddled with errors of grammar
and punctuation, indicating that its production suffered from an excess of
haste. Modern readers (from about 1900 onwards) incur a -15% penalty to their Read
Language: French rolls when engaging with this text if their level in that
skill is below 60%.
*****
The
thing that got me thinking was the reference in L’Histoire des Planetes of
a race of “men” living on Neptune which were of a fungoid nature. De Longnez
portrays them quite whimsically as human-seeming figures with large mushroom
caps on their heads; interestingly, he shows them being tossed by great winds,
a known feature of Neptune’s atmosphere but something of which the French
writer could not have been aware at the time of writing. He later refers to
another fungal species living on a distant planet which he calls “Iukkoth”, and
he also speaks of an insectoid species – the Shan - driven from the planet
Shaggai and which planet-hopped towards Earth looking for a new home base
before stopping on L’gy’hx (Uranus).
While
it might be plausible that fungal species predominate at the further reaches of
our solar system (making it a dominant lifeform in our part of the universe
when you consider the diversity of fungoid life on our planet alone), it seemed
a little convenient that there would be two highly intelligent fungal
life-forms kicking around out there, especially when you consider the voracious
nature of the Insects from Shaggai and their tendency to colonize fanatically
and dominate all sentient creatures wherever they go. Put plainly, if the Shan
had jumped steadily from planet to planet, they would have colonized Earth
completely by now, and things would be a little grim for us as a species.
Something stopped them in their tracks, and that something – to my way of
thinking – was those funny looking mushroom-people on Neptune.
The Nature of Fungus…
Fungal
lifeforms – which include a bewildering variety of mushrooms, toadstools,
molds, smuts and rusts – are typified by the fact that they cannot be
conclusively defined as plants or animals. They display features from both
camps and thus, because they belong absolutely to neither, must be
taxonomically described as either and listed as a separate type of lifeform.
It’s this combination of features which allows fungal entities to invade both
plants and animals in order to – primarily – bring about their decomposition.
Fungi
procreate by creating and releasing spores. These are sometimes released
explosively through the creation of fruiting bodies generated by the main
structure of the fungus or are dispersed by wind or water. Other types of
fungus move about in order to maximise resources and to spread to more
favourable locales, while other forms deliberately infect other plants or
animals using their growth or locomotive faculties to spread the range of their
habitat. Fungi do the majority of this work using long, almost invisible fibres
called mycelia which they radiate outwards from their central mass. It
has recently been discovered that many trees and other large plants use these
webs of fibres under the ground to symbiotically ‘communicate’ with each other
concerning such things as soil quality, water levels and weather conditions.
One
particular family of fungus – Cordyceps – uses its mycelia to
infect ants and other insects. The fungus growing within the insect then drives
the creature as if using a kind of exoskeleton, sending it out to find the
kinds of nutrients and other raw materials its host needs in order to survive
and procreate. When the time is right, it forces the insect to crawl upwards
onto grass stalks or tree limbs and position itself such that it cannot easily
be dislodged. Then, the fungus creates a fruiting body called an ascocarp
which bursts forth out of the insect’s head or thorax, releasing spores for the
wind to carry out to the next waiting insect drones. Some Cordyceps
species utilize only ants in this fashion; others are less choosey. One species
inhabits only tarantulas…
Putting it All Together…
My
premise, therefore, is that those benign little guys with the big hats on
Neptune, were actually a species of fungus which reproduce a lot like Cordyceps
does. I imagine that the Shan – an insect species which, like many insect
species – would have a range of body types within their hive structure, suited
for various purposes, one of which would be a ‘heavy infantry’ or ‘shock
trooper’ form, useful for crashing down onto a planet and taking it over. The
standard Shan form is quite small, with intelligence seeming to be
inversely-proportional to size in their race, and the usual Shan entity
encountered is a sneaky, vicious scout model, useful for infiltrating when the
odds would seem to be against an easy Shaggai victory.
I
imagine that initial Shan reports of L’gy’hx reported a rather benign and
unwarlike race in charge, if only because everything on the planet that could
have been infected by the inhabitants’ mycelia had been. Accordingly,
they rained destruction from the skies in the form of their heavy cavalry
fighter swarms, only to become bemused when everything went very, very quiet. I
imagine the fungus folk on Neptune thought that all of their Christmases had
come at once: here was a perfect vehicle for them to occupy; space-worthy, made
of extraterrene, dimensionally-shifting matter and built for mayhem on a
galactic scale. What’s not to love?
My
suggestion is that, unlike other fungal types who create ascocarps and
other fruiting bodies in response to nutritional and environmental stimuli, the
fungus people of Neptune could delay certain phases of their physical
development according to need. Thus, they could infiltrate the Shan
stormtroopers with their mycelia, grow inside them and control their
bodies and then burst forth their ascocarp without letting it release
its spores, but rather to enact certain other useful protocols.
Thus,
while most of us would think of a Mi-Go as something like this:
Strictly
speaking, a Mi-Go is just this:
And
just like that, the deadly rampage of the Shan through our solar system was
stopped dead in its tracks and the Mi-Go, the “Fungi from Yuggoth”, were born.
(The
relocation to Yuggoth – possibly our Pluto, but not likely – makes sense since fungal
species do not enjoy bright light – so moving away from the Sun is key – and
also they needed to consolidate their claim over the Shan by backtracking
across the Insects from Shaggais’ dominion.)
But
having taken control of the local Shan enclaves, the MiGo didn’t just settle
down into the sort of torpor that had consumed them on L’gy’hx. With these new
bodies they began exploring their new environments, now no longer confined to a
single planet. They experimented with innovative surgical techniques, made
contact with the other entities in their neighbourhood and began to consolidate
themselves as the creatures which we have come to know.
Alternative Fungal Bodies
Once
they have compromised a body to use as a means of locomotion, the MiGo have to
adjust to their new circumstance. After a number of months equal to the MiGo’s
CON score, they go into a torpid state during which their new body structure
becomes consolidated. The ascocarp firms up and the matter forming the unreleased
spores within it is re-absorbed; as well, any extraneous, or problematic, remnants
of the original body are sloughed away or reconfigured. In the case of the
insectoid hosts provided by the Shan, this period of torpor includes the
creation of a cocoon like structure around the creature; in other instances, a
tight web of mycelia are created around the nascent being. The being
that emerges from such a state is more ‘solid’ and defined, and able to become
an effective member of MiGo society, lending the skills that its new form bestows.
Many
hive-based insects have alternate forms within their species designated
“castes” and I see no reason why the Shan should not follow suit. The
pigeon-sized, sneaky, monstrous blowfly form familiar to Mythos aficionados works
as a scout operative, hiding in the shadows while surveying potential planets
for domination and taking over the bodies of the inhabitants. Because they work
at great distances from the hive and must adapt to changing and volatile
situations, they are generally cunning and resourceful.
These
Scouts have a variety of different kinds of limbs useful for a range of
activities, although whether these occur naturally or are surgical
modifications is currently unknown. The Shan are highly adept at such surgery
and it can be inferred that the MiGo only took on such skills after assuming
control of the Shan enclaves in our Solar System. The Insects from Shaggai are
also dimensionally unstable, allowing them to fly through space or invade the
bodies of their hosts: Shan entities who have been Fungally compromised, lose
this quality but not entirely: they are left with an inability to be
photographed without the use of special camera equipment. Photos taken of the
MiGo always display blurred images but can be viewed correctly through complex exotic
lens arrays or rendered visible using eccentric emulsions during the
photographic development phase. Whilst unable to phase through solid matter,
the fungal avatars do become resistant to extremes of temperature and environment
and can thus endure high altitudes and even the rigours of outer space.
MiGo
who infect Shan Scouts, while unable to possess other creatures, benefit from
their small size in being able to hide and crawl on vertical planes or the
underside of horizontal surfaces. The passive telepathy with which all MiGo are
gifted also allows them to avoid detection by other creatures in their vicinity.
An interesting aspect of this body conformation is that, if the MiGo Scout uses
its large claws to cover its ascocarp, their telepathy becomes obscured,
allowing them to hide from beings able to detect such emanations. Some
metaphysical researchers have however, determined that, if a Shan spell - the “Invocation
to Azathoth” (see below) - is used while in the company of such shielded
fungi, they will raise their claws and join in, thus revealing their locations.
*****
The
most common form of MiGo encountered is the larger mantid form generated from the
combining of MiGo ascocarp and Shan ‘shock-trooper’. This format has
wings and a myriad of pincers and nippers, allowing for all kinds of useful
adaptation. Many of the notorious MiGo surgical processes are performed by such
entities. But there are other forms available to the Fungal infiltrators,
within Shan society.
The
Insects from Shaggai are cruel and despotic. They enjoy dominating other
creatures and they delight in torturing them. A feature of their society are
the presence of torture pits and gladiatorial arenas. These have proven to be
fertile grounds for the MiGo, who have generated many interesting new hybrid
forms from them.
Foremost
amongst these are the MiGo generated from the Beings of Xiclotl. The Beings are
massive and used by the Shan for heavy labour, blitzkrieg strikes, or
for gladiatorial bouts. When combined with a MiGo, they become more intelligent
which makes them a lot more useful. Firstly, given their massive size, the MiGo
tend to colonise the Being of Xiclotl, with up to five ascocarps
erupting from the infestation. Given that the MiGo have a shared intelligence,
this doesn’t affect their ability to operate the creature, but it does allow
for the combination to be an effective ‘seeding’ agent. A Xiclotlan MiGo can
lumber into an environment with up to four of its ascocarps releasing spores,
either simultaneously or in sequence, to populate a territory or decimate an
opposing army (obviously, the creature will not have undergone a period of
torpor for this to occur). Otherwise, the sheer size and combat effectiveness
of the Xiclotlan MiGo has all kinds of applications.
Another
creature from the torture pits of the Shan is a kind of whip-spider which seems
to have been built from one of the Shaggai shock troopers. These creatures have
been modified to appear more like scorpions than mantids and are used by the Shan
to transport troops and equipment into areas which they seek to control. These entities
have broad backs upon which stuff can be placed and they have been surgically modified
to have claws to aid in this process. A long whip-like tail has also been
provided for defense: this mainly works like a long flexible club and is also fitted
along its length with venom producing glands capable of blinding foes, but
which mainly induces an incapacitating stinging sensation in those it strikes. Of
course, this venom, like all poisons, is meaningless to the fungoid MiGo, but
they have learnt that it works against their enemies, so they retain it when
infecting these creatures as hosts.
Again,
these are mostly mindless creatures in their standard form; when infected by
the MiGo, they have access to the Fungal hive mind and their actions become generally
more considered.
Fungal Technology
Re-visiting
the Fungus from Yuggoth also means looking once more at their technology and
these creatures have perhaps the most comprehensive equipment catalogue in the
Mythos. Let’s unpack:
First,
we have to acknowledge that most of the more familiar items of MiGo tech have
been developed since the race took over Shan bodies. This is because these
items conform – in most cases - more particularly to the new dimensions of the
standard MiGo form than otherwise. Second, Shan technology is more, well, ‘technological’
than the things which the MiGo create and some of this expertise has obviously
been incorporated into the newer forms of MiGo tech.
Bio-Armour:
These
bio-luminescent harnesses are actually a type of slime mold. They can exist well
enough when worn by a MiGo user, since the fungal nature of the MiGo allows the
mesh to absorb the proper nutrients from its wearer. When worn by a human
however, the armour is less effective and causes damage to the wearer. Over
time, due to lack of proper nutrition, the slime mold eventually dies.
Brain
Cylinder:
Humans
tend to rationalise things, putting objects that they see but don’t immediately
understand into a context that allows them to make sense of their experience. In
the case of the MiGo Brain Cylinder, humans have seen the hard, pod-like
dimensions of these objects, and have seen the brain within, suspended in a
mesh of mycelium strands and have ‘read’ these as technological objects when in
fact they are organic structures. The vaguely cylindrical exterior of the ‘Cylinder
is composed of a leathery skin – akin to the outside of a puffball but far more
durable – with a transparent patch allowing visual access to the brain encased inside,
suspended in a mycelium web and being fed nutrients inside a slime medium. And
those external components which are plugged in to allow communication with the
brain’s owner? Why build eyes and ears from scratch when you can just take them
from another creature and surgically affix them to the Brain Cylinder? Fungus
doesn’t utilize nerves or axons, so the MiGo don’t really comprehend such
things as pain…
Earthquake
Mining Machine:
The
other way that the MiGo dissuade outsiders from learning about their
capabilities – especially their technological devices – is to use their inborn
abilities of psychic manipulation to alter their enemies’ perception of their
equipment. The fact that these devices have been described by witnesses as “enormous
cubes, twenty feet on a side” leads me to think that they are in fact anything
but.
I
would posit – given that such agglomerations of fungus exist here on Earth – that
the “Earthquake Mining Machine” is in fact an enormous fungal mass, capable of
moving through rock strata and of dislodging pieces of the earth’s crust –
hence the name. These masses would – like all MiGo fungal entities – share a
consciousness with their creators and be effective agents in creating
earthworks, subterranean hideouts and other useful defences.
Electric
Gun:
The
Electric Gun would seem to be a piece of MiGo tech that pre-dates their
transformation into Shan hosts. When you think about it, a race with pincers
and claws would never create a weapon that can only be effectively utilized by limbs
of a more accommodating nature – like hands for example. I would propose that
these devices were (and probably still are) affixed into the fungal matter of
the entity and are then fired by conscious mental manipulation. Human witnesses
may well have seen the MiGo carrying these objects prior to implantation; they
may have seen the MiGo use them by activating them clumsily with their claws;
and some humans might well have gotten one of these thing to work by fiddling
with its mechanism; but it’s not how they were meant to be used. Not a pistol;
not so much: more like a cybernetically-implanted taser-gun.
Mist
Projector:
Intense
cold tends to slow fungal matter down, but it doesn’t necessarily kill it. The
MiGo may well have used these items to curtail unwanted blooms of material but
they have since found out that sub-zero temperatures are very useful in slowing
down and destroying other lifeforms. Since having taken over Shan bodies, the
MiGo are even more resistant to temperature extremes than they were previously.
With the adoption of Shan nous, these devices are more efficiently technological
nowadays rather than organic in nature.
We
should also include known Shan equipment in this list, since – positing that
the MiGo (as we know them) are simply compromised Shan entities – the technology
of Shaggai has now also become the property of the MiGo.
Space
Pyramids:
The
Shan and the MiGo both share a worship of Azathoth, but whether this arose in
both species independently or if it was adopted by the MiGo after their
occupation of the Shan, is unknown. These pyramidal interstellar ships are
powered by a radioactive core which is said to be a dimensional connexion to
Azathoth itself. The MiGo seem not to be too keen on using them, which makes
sense: the Shan, being extra-dimensional in nature, can shrug off heavy rads; fungus
is durable, but can still be affected by intense radiation, even when bolstered
by a partial dimensional fluidity granted by ex-Shan bodies. Still, it must be
assumed that the MiGo know of these spaceships, are able to build them, and can
use them at a pinch.
Nervewhip:
The
Nervewhip is a vicious device which speaks to the nature of the Shan in that it
causes maximum pain and disability without doing a lot of damage (although it
can still give the victim a heart-attack). The MiGo are aware that other races
experience pain, but they are unable to understand it, since fungus just doesn’t
work that way: nerves are for other species. Thus, this device is infrequently
found in the average MiGo armoury, although they do like to arm their “Alien
Grey” creatures with them, if only to throw off the suspicions of those
familiar with traditional MiGo armaments.
Fungal Dirty Tricks
One
thing that makes the MiGo so insidious as enemies of Earth is that they are
able to adapt and to re-configure themselves and their technology in order to
accommodate the things that they learn about us. Essentially, they learn and
then they formulate new ways of doing things, factoring in the stuff that they’ve
discovered. Here are a few choice instances.
Poison:
Most
chemicals have a minimal effect upon the MiGo. Acids and other caustic
substances will burn them but there are few substances which could be called ‘poisonous’
to a fungal lifeform. The prime enemy of the MiGo – chemically – is Sulphur,
which is a known natural fungicide, but other compounds must be formulated
using the capabilities of a lab.
On
the flipside, the MiGo are extremely poisonous to human beings, as are many other
fungal bodies. If the substance of a MiGo is ingested by a human, they will start
to malfunction on a chemical level. The damage to their body is systemic,
meaning that entire systems of organs within the body begin to shut down,
starting with the liver and kidneys. Death is always drawn-out and inevitable.
Hallucinogens:
No-one
is quite sure what gives the MiGo their telepathic qualities, but when these
are combined with the hallucinogenic emissions that these creatures can summon
up, the effects that they can produce are quite literally terrifying. The MiGo
have become experts in generating complex narratives designed to dupe their
prey, using the powers that their hallucinogens can inspire in their targets –
fear, panic, paranoia, sensory overload, somnolence and disassociation. The most
complex and ongoing narrative that they have formulated includes the following:
“Alien
Greys”:
The
entire body of lore which can be labelled as the “UFO Phenomenon” is a wall of
deception generated by the MiGo to obfuscate their various incursions upon this
planet. As part of a highly organized plan which includes hallucinogenic
manipulation of witnesses and the implantation of various narratives including
the “alien abduction scenario”, the MiGo have gone so far as to create fungal
exoskeletons in the form of the Alien Grey, a now well-known by-product of UFO
hysteria.
These
are bodies made from fungal matter and are designed to throw off any connexion
to the MiGo operatives working here on this planet. It’s not known if these are
wholly-created sentient beings, telemetric automata controlled distantly by
MiGo ‘puppeteers’, or if they are standard MiGo which have been extensively
surgically altered. Time, and investigation, will no doubt tell…
Interstellar
Missiles:
A
niggling fear among the fraternities of those who are aware of the MiGo threat,
is the possibility that they might be able to create interstellar missiles
capable of travelling through space and ‘seeding’ planets with MiGo creatures.
Of course, the MiGo have already achieved this goal.
For
more details about these terrifying weapons, backtrack through this blog and
read the scenario entitled “The Monkey Tree Puzzle”, along with a bunch
of other nifty ideas about MiGo nastiness.
Eggs:
While
fungal and driven by a space-faring collective intelligence, the MiGo – since being
freed from their prison on Neptune – are still fundamentally invasive
intelligences driving alien bodies. That doesn’t mean that the capabilities of
those bodies cannot be exploited. One of the driving requirements of the new MiGo
species is continuation and growth; more MiGo means more Shan bodies which are
required for exploitation. That means one thing: eggs.
The
Shan, while a loosely hive-based species, are not, like ants or bees, truly a
hive consciousness. They are more closely analogous to wasps, in terms of their
social organization, but more truly like flies. As such, they have no single “queen”
entity birthing all members of the hive, neither do they have a true caste
system, although they have generated their own diversification of form and function
as part of their culture. Therefore, each Insect from Shaggai is capable of growing
eggs, of fertilizing the eggs of another of their kind, and of implanting their
own fertilised eggs inside the body of a host creature. None of these
capabilities are denied the MiGo usurper of a Shan corpus.
If
necessary, a MiGo can activate the organs of generation of their Shan body and
create eggs. These can be fertilized by another MiGo and inserted – using the
Shan’s standard ovipositor – into the body of a host creature. These eggs will
then mature, hatch and begin eating the body of the host from the inside out. At
the appropriate time, the MiGo will harvest the larvae and imprison them in “Brain
Cylinders” controlling their development until MiGo spores can be introduced to
them and they can then emerge as new MiGo beings. Sometimes, the MiGo lay eggs
in captive creatures simply for food. Omelette, anyone?
New Spell
Invocation
to Azathoth:
This
is a ritual benediction to the Outer God, asking for assistance in forthcoming endeavours.
It involves a traditional chant and a complex (for humans, anyway) set of
gestures made with the hands. When cast by a human practitioner, it costs 1 Magic
Point and 1 Sanity Point; Shan and MiGo casters only spend the
Magic Point since sanity is a meaningless term when applied to them.
Casting
this spell means that any subsequently cast Mythos spell is 5% more likely to
succeed, and 10% more likely to do so if that spell specifically invokes, or is
associated with, Azathoth. It also occasionally (5%) reveals the presence of
invisible, or magically hidden, objects or creatures. As mentioned above, if
used in the vicinity of telepathically shielded MiGo Scouts, they will reveal
themselves to those able to spot telepathic activity.
