How To Take Over Someone's Brain
The Yeerks are one of many races of parasitic slugs, usually called "puppet masters," from the Robert Heinlein book. These are generally large, alien slugs that take over someone's brain, and are a standing cliché of science fiction.
Everyone's brain, as you know, has completely different neural pathways. No one's is anywhere near the same, and therefore, almost impossible to map, even for scientists. To make matters more complicated, the human brain isn't even put together in logical order. There is no system that tells us which nerve cells control a certain body part, and how the human body would react if it were stimulated.
Even worse, the brains of species from different planets would differ greatly, similar to a pocket calculator and a Gameboy. So how can the Yeerks possibly take over the brains of so many different species with such relative ease?
One theory is that the Yeerks are actually made of neural matter, and therefore can blend with other neural matter. However, if that were the case, they wouldn't be able to control it, only add to it. And muscles are necessary to move.
Another theory is that the Yeerks have small electrical feelers, which they snake into the crevices of brains to manipulate the electronic impulses. But how do they know which ones to manipulate?
One possibility, of course, is that there are different Yeerks who are somehow trained in the mechanics of the species of different brains. This idea is moot, however, when faced with the many Yeerks that change species.
The answer: Telepathy. The Yeerks are obviously telepathic, or they wouldn't be able to make sense of an alien brain so quickly.
Next time: The Mechanics Of Z-Space.
