Parasitic being A mysterious race of " parasitic beings " and their " mother creature " recognized as an otherwise intelligent alien non - humanoid parasitic lifeform was discovered by the during the 2360s . Though the true origins of these lifeforms was specifically unknown , it was determined that they originated from an otherwise unexplored quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy . Though stating " We " mean you no harm . We seek peaceful co - existence , " " the actions of these otherwise aggressive parasites said otherwise , as they had the ability to invade and control humanoid species , notably Human s and Vulcan s . ( ) Overview . Overall , these parasites viewed themselves as superior lifeforms to humanoids , noting that " " patience is one of our virtues . " " They also stated that they in fact appreciated drama , and shared that when compared to Humans , " " one thing both races share is a love of theater . " " Parasitic beings . The appearance of these " parasitic beings " resembled that of common crawling insect s . The body was approximately a decimeter in length and light purple in color . The arrangement of the extremities , from anterior to posterior , were two pincers , six - legs , and a blue gill . When invading the host - victim , the parasitic being ' s gill protruded from the victim ' s skin at the base of the neck allowing it to breathe . This was the only identifiable physical attribute shown by the parasite through its host . When the host body was invaded , the " parasitic being " took complete control over all brain functions by placing its tendril s around the victim ' s brain stem . Their tendril placement also stimulated the victim ' s adrenal gland s , which allowed the parasite to generate great strength for the host - victim , while also allowing much greater resistance to otherwise normal physical harm . During a physical altercation between two Humans and a Klingon , it was claimed by the host - victim that he " could snap your neck in a second , but that wouldn ' t be as much fun , " while one of his opponents described how , " he picked me up like a rag doll . " This host - victim experiences little effect to a phaser set on " stun " , while one set on " kill " was required to effectively immobilize the host being . When hosted , the single weakness that was identified was the " lack of memory , " taken from the host , forcing them to speak through their victims " by bluffing their way through talks of old times . " Once integrated , the parasite could not be removed , by means of surgery , without killing the patient . Though it was unknown how they entered the hosts body , it was known that when a host was killed , the invading parasite evacuated through the host ' s mouth and returned to the host of the " mother creature . " Mother creature . The " mother creature " was much larger in size , appearing over half a meter tall , and was capable of making audible roars . It too was capable of living within a humanoid host , along with dozens of progeny " parasitic beings " coexisting throughout the body , while the " mother creature " itself inhabited the host ' s lower body cavity . The death of the " mother creature " meant that the inability for its progeny to continue to survive . ( ) Federation infiltration . " " We ' ve been moving slowly , cautiously , for many months now . Careful to cover our tracks . Careful not to arouse suspicion , until it ' s too late . " " The Federation first discovered the creatures on a distant uncharted planet during a survey mission . Over a period of around six months ending in late 2364 , these lifeforms had infiltrated the Federation ' s Starfleet Command , even high - ranking admiral s within the organization . Persons who fell victim to infiltration included Admirals Gregory Quinn , Aaron , Savar , as well as Captain Tryla Scott , Lieutenant Commander Dexter Remmick , and the first officer and medical officer of the were also suspected . ( ) Admiral Quinn suspected that something was wrong at the highest levels of Starfleet Command in mid - 2364 . Seeking allies he could trust , he ordered Lieutenant Commander Remmick to investigate Captain Jean - Luc Picard to determine his trustworthiness . Remmick ' s investigation found that , despite a sense of over - familiarity among the ' s bridge crew , Picard was above reproach . Quinn told Picard of his suspicions and that he wanted to promote Picard to admiral , and make him Commandant of Starfleet Academy , so he could be nearby . Picard turned down the offer , believing he could serve Quinn better by remaining as captain of the " Enterprise " . ( ) Other high - ranking officers had their own suspicions . Admiral Norah Satie was also instrumental in discovering the conspiracy . ( ) Captains Walker Keel , , and Tryla Scott noticed a pattern of unusual orders and activity coming from Starfleet Command . Officers they had known for years were , in Keel ' s words , suddenly " bluffing their way through talk of old times , " Starbase 12 was mysteriously evacuated for two days without explanation and Onna Karapleedeez , Ryan Sipe , and McKinney had all died under mysterious circumstances . Quinn and Scott eventually fell victim to the parasites , both becoming hosts , while Remmick became the unwilling host to the parasites ' " mother creature . " Several other officers were infected and either kept at Starfleet Headquarters or transferred to starbase s to increase the creatures ' influence . Captains Keel and Rixx were unaware of this and called Picard to a meeting on Dytallix B via a Code 47 signal . They warned Picard of the threat , and to watch his back . Soon after , Keel ' s ship , the , was destroyed with Keel aboard . This incident , and evidence of a pattern in Starfleet ' s unusual orders found by Lieutenant Commander Data , led Picard to order the " Enterprise " to Earth to confront Starfleet Command directly . On Earth , Quinn boarded the " Enterprise " , and , while Picard was on the surface with Aaron and Savar , Quinn attempted to implant Dr . Beverly Crusher with one of the parasites . Instead , Commander William T . Riker caught Quinn ' s attention first , and Quinn attempted to infect him instead . Riker attempted to fight him off , but was easily overpowered , as were Worf and Geordi La Forge . Quinn was extremely hostile and made several threats against Worf ' s life , asking whether Klingons ' feared death as much as Humans ' and claiming that he could snap his neck in an instant . He was only subdued when Dr . Crusher shot him repeatedly with a phaser set to stun . Having subdued Admirals Savar and Aaron and Captain Scott , Picard and Riker tracked one of the parasites to a room where Dexter Remmick , inhabited by the " mother creature " , was discovered transmitting a message . The creature - communicating through Remmick - said its race seeks " peaceful coexistence , " contrary to death count they had amassed to that point . Both Remmick and the " mother creature " were killed by the combined phaser fire at the hands of Picard and Riker , which caused the deaths of all the other parasites on Earth . Admiral Quinn , fortunately , made a full recovery . The " mother creature " had sent a signal into deep space , which Data identified as a beacon , indicating that their return would only be a matter of time . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Script . The " parasitic being , " as it was called by Dr . Crusher , was described in the final draft of the script as " " looking something like an oversized . " " Later in the script it was also described as a " " strange insect - like animal . " " The " mother creature , " as it was called by Captain Picard , was described in the final draft of the script as being " " dull yellow – looking like a cross between a parasite and a Human fetus . " " It was also described as a " fetus - creature . " The parasite storyline was not revisited partially due to the negative reaction " Conspiracy " received , as the story was too different from what viewers had come to expect from " Star Trek " . ( " The Art of Star Trek " ) Design . These parasites were designed by Andrew Probert . In his concept designs , dated , the " mama bug " originally had a head with pincers appearing more reminiscent of the smaller parasites . The " mother creature " studio model was later built by Makeup & Effects Laboratories , a company headed by Allan A . Apone , following a design by Rick Sternbach . ( " " , p . 111 ) The soft - wire armature prop used within the stop motion puppet of the " parasitic beings " was made by the Starlight Effects shop , and measures 4 . 5 inches in length . ( " Per Roger Sides eBay listing for prop . " ) Apocrypha . Literature . The parasites reappear in the comic book series " The Broken Moon ! " , when Geordi La Forge thwarts their attempt to take over the . In the of novels , the short story " Sins of the Mother " , from the anthology " The Lives of Dax " , revealed that the neural parasites were discovered on a comet near , by then - head of Trill Symbiosis Commission Audrid Dax , whose husband was a victim of a parasite . The Trill authorities classified the knowledge and never released it to the public . " Mission Gamma " , and the conclusion " Unity " , had the neural parasites return in 2376 , following the end of the Dominion War . Shakaar Edon was one of those infiltrated and was assassinated by a Trill delegate to Bajor ' s entering of the Federation . In " " , it was revealed that the neural parasites were genetically created from Trill symbionts in an ancient Trill colony on Kurl ; these symbionts were designed to be removed without killing the host and were passed from Trill to Trill . The colony was annihilated by the regular Trill when it was discovered that the fatal combination of a mutated virus and genetic engineering caused the symbionts to go mad . Games . The " " expansion for the " Star Trek Customizable Card Game " gives their species name as " Bluegill " . In " Star Trek Online " , these parasites , called the " Bluegills " , were bio - engineered by the " Solanae " on behalf of the Iconian s , who were acting as agents of the Vaadwaur , assisting the Vaadwaur to help them become a feared power in the Delta Quadrant , in exchange for the Bluegill to take possession of the Vaadwaur leadership . The mission " Uneasy Allies " establishes that Trill physiology was very resistant against the parasites , giving them a much better chance at surviving possession . Joined Trills were said to be immune thanks to their symbiont .