- an REG Omega
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- Exalted Legendary Member
This guess is as good as any.
Excerpt from Halo 3: Collapse
FLOOD PARASITE OVERVIEW
The Flood is a virulent, parasitic life form only know to exist in quarantined laboratories near the Libraries of each Halo installation. Unique to the species is the ability to assume complete and total control of the bodily functions of its host, easily making it the most dangerous life-form Mankind has yet encountered. The very existence of the Halos shows that the Forerunners would concur with this assessment.
The life cycle of the Flood comes in four distinct stages, each dangerous in its own way.
From observations on Installation 04, known compatible Flood hosts included Humans and Elites.
MORPH/BIOLOGY
FLOOD INFECTION FORM
An infection form is an invertebrate with a sack of gel containing the Flood's genetic material and seven tentacles capable of cutting through flesh. Upon latching onto a compatible host's chest, the tentacles would immediately punch into the chest cavity and destroy the core of the host's circulatory system, in the case of Humans, Elites and Prophets. Death for the host would be almost instantaneous if the Infection form were removed at this point, but the host would endure if the form were left alone, as the Flood remarkably replaces the heart's function, circulating blood throughout the body. In short, within seconds of infection, the host depends on the parasite to survive.
The Infection form would then release trace amounts of its genetic material into the host's chest cavity, in essence digesting and moving parts of the host through the bloodstream to their desired locations. The tentacles would latch onto the host's spinal column, fitting the Infection form neatly into the host's chest. Upon severing the spinal cord, the host would be paralyzed from the neck down until the Flood assumed control of the host's nervous system below the point where the host's back had been broken. This process takes roughly one minute, in which the host would uncontrollably spasm on the ground as the Flood analyzed and learned to control the host's nervous system.
MORPH/BIOLOGY
FLOOD COMBAT FORM
At this point, the host would still be recognizable as its original species, save for the Flood form in its chest and the snapped spinal column. The Flood, having taken full control of the host, is then referred to as a Combat form, capable of wielding weapons. However, the Flood form does not have access to the host's mind yet. Having broken down much of the host's skeletal structure as the Infection-form feeds on calcium, the host's body is significantly less durable than it was originally.
Flood genetic material is circulated throughout the host. Through a level of remarkable coordination on a cellular level, the Flood begins to disassemble the host, rearranging components to be more efficient, taking “unnecessary” building material from some parts, such as the digestive system and skin, to enhance others. Before Flood infection, a host can only jump one tenth of the height that its Combat form can. The Flood leaves one of the host's arms mostly unchanged to allow the use of hand held weapons and manipulation of technology, but the other is warped and malformed into a whip-like weapon capable of slicing through metal. This is when the Combat form is most dangerous. At this point, similar effects are taking place on the brain, allowing the Flood access to information from the eyes, ears, and, to an extent, the memory of the host. If the Infection-form located in the chest is destroyed, the Combat form is again paralyzed until another Infection-form takes its place, a process which takes mere seconds.
MORPH/BIOLOGY
AMORPHOUS
The Flood then reaches a crossroads. Once removed from use in combat or operation of technology, Flood combat forms may go idle. The Combat-form rolls up on the ground, wall, or even ceiling and the Infection-form empties its genetic material into the host, killing the Infection-form but digesting almost all of what's left of the host into a nondescript mound of tissue. This ball can grow to incredible proportions as additional Combat-forms meld with it, and may or may not have tentacles with unknown function. Completely inert, it doesn't react to anything, even if it is shot, making it almost impossible to destroy.
MORPH/BIOLOGY
SPAWN FORM
Spawn forms rise from Amorphous forms after a time which may extend from fifteen minutes to several hours. Spawn-forms are bipedal, bulbous creatures with no recognizable sensory organs which slowly approach other potential hosts. Once they come close enough to the hosts, or they are knocked over, they explode, releasing anywhere from three to twelve new Infection-forms in the vicinity of their prey.
UNKNOWNS
The Flood act not as multiple sentient organisms but as a single collective consciousness. How this is done is unknown, but from analysis of genetic material, they appear to be not so much multicellular organisms as they are collections of single-celled organisms, gathering to form the distinct stages described above. Their origin is unknown. Their methods of communication are unknown, but sound is one likely method. Thirdly and finally, I find it important to note that while an Infection-form is the most efficient way that the Flood acquires hosts, in theory, it would be possible for Flood tissue of any type to assimilate an entire organism, given prolonged physical contact.