The Quid are a species of aliens that invaded Earth.
Biology[]
A Quid possesses a massive, bulbous head—larger than a human torso—with a single, enormous eye dominating its face, easily bigger than a human skull. Below the eye, a mass of swaying tentacles hangs down, constantly in motion. Its wide maw is large enough to fit a human head—perhaps even a pair of shoulders—and is lined with enough teeth to decapitate a person in a single bite.
Rather than a single brain, the Quid species evolved with two: a forebrain and a rear brain. The forebrain, protected by dense layers of tissue and an incredibly durable hide, controls most of their higher functions. This head hide is tougher than any known blunt weapon could penetrate. The larger rear brain houses their telekinetic capabilities and extraordinary computational power. Each Quid is capable of functioning like a living computer—able to calculate interstellar navigation or run complex simulations with inhuman precision. The brain is capable of even functioning even when removed from the body, as it has so many neural pathways and enough telekinetic power that it can shoot its nerves like razor wires as a protective mechanism.
Quid go through a larval stage before reaching full maturity. In this early form, they are incredibly weak—so much so that certain simple liquids can contain them for millennia. While in this state, they can briefly phase through solid matter. Intriguingly, if their rear brain is damaged or surgically removed—effectively a kind of lobotomy—they revert to this larval form. Although their physical strength is severely diminished in this state, their cognitive functions remain largely intact.
Most disturbingly, Quid are capable of regenerating themselves through human women. By passing through the womb, they can traverse the rest of the human body and reach the brain, extracting the neural tissue needed for regeneration. Victims of this process retain only basic brain functions—such as those controlled by the cerebellum—leaving them alive but effectively brain-dead, reduced to the state of biological automatons.
Adult Quid also possess telepathic abilities and limited telekinesis. They can levitate their own bodies and manipulate objects at a distance, though the mass they can lift is constrained by the limits of their psychic strength.
History[]
The Quid arrived on Earth many centuries ago, first encountering the Ancient Egyptian civilization. These alien beings proved hostile, and it took the combined might of Egypt’s greatest warriors and sorcerers to subdue just seven of them. Even then, victory was only partial—the Egyptians using a combination of magic, and the Quid's own weapons managed to revert the Quid to their larval state by surgically removing part of their brains.
In their shrunken down child forms, the Quid were too weak to resist as they were contained in liquid to be preserved. To ensure the safety of his people, the Pharaoh at the time made a fateful decision: he would take the dormant Quid far from Egypt, journeying across the vast Atlantic Ocean to place them as far from his homeland as possible.
His voyage brought him to what is now near present-day Philadelphia, in North America. There, he constructed a pyramid—the first of its kind on that continent—and upon his death, had it buried with him. This structure would predate Netjerykhet’s (Djoser’s) famous step pyramid by several decades, which was built around 4,700 years ago.
The Pharaoh believed that his mummified form would one day awaken if the Quid ever broke free—his final act of protection in an eternal struggle against a threat from the stars.
In the modern era, the pyramid was uncovered by an archaeologist named Dr. Betty Lou Jones. Having experience with tangling with the living undead, Betty Lou deactivated the curse that revived the Pharaoh. Unknowingly she also dispelled the wards that prevented the Quid from communicating telepathically. Due to being in their larval state, the Quid reached out to a corrupt and sexist Sheriff Glass promising to make him their prophet and his own harem.
Needing seven human brains to regain what ancient humans took from them to return to their mature forms, Glass cooperated in kidnapping five young women. Among them was Jenny, Betty Lou's assistant. Due to the disappearances Betty Lou called her estranged sister Mary Sue Jones the adventurer known as "Bikini Jones."
The two putting their sisterly grievances aside, entered the pyramid and braved it traps. Upon seeing the high advanced technology and ancient warnings, they were confronted by the idea that the pyramid contained alien life. After encountering the Quid and barely escaping, they met with Sheriff Glass. The three worked to set up a sting operation, but soon were caught by Glass who revealed his complicity with the aliens and his intent to turn them over so he could add them to his harem of brain dead women.
However in the fight, Jenny who's brain was taken by one of the Quid, found she has resurfaced in the alien's body as the dominant personality, after being hit by a neural shock. Together with another alien who was controlled by one of the female victims, they helped the sisters escape. The aliens and Glass pursued them, but Betty Lou pulled an ace up her sleeve by reactivating the Pharaoh Zoser as a mummy to battle the Quid. In the aftermath Zoser and Bikini Jones freed the women of the alien's influence. And preparations were being done to arrange for the women's minds to be restore back to their former bodies.
Culture[]
It was said that only a mere seven Quid could conquer a planet.
Source[]
- Bikini Jones Vs. The Brainnappers From Outer Space by Patrick Thomas