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Observation: "There's this one ballsy
Skulk, makes a run on the base. We all stop what
we're doing and lay down suppressing fire. It's
in mid-air, comin' right at me (I notice it's
missing half of a tooth, that's how close it gets)
– when it just disappears. Gone. We all look
at each other like 'Okaaaay …' and get back
to work. A minute later, a Skulk makes a run on
the base from another direction, starts chewin'
on our resource tower. We just cover the area
with a blanket of bullets and it disappears. So
sure. Whatever. The third time I recognize the
sucker. It zips up the wall and drops right on
top of me. I get to look right up its throat.
It's the same Skulk. I'd swear to God."
Thesis: This, paired with the "blink"
ability, may be the most scientifically troubling
of alien evolutions. The two must be related,
but it is unclear how – and any "experiment"
that might "test" these abilities is,
at this juncture, impractical. The best idea so
far is that a new body is created back at the
hive, and the alien's unique information (memories,
etc.) is somehow transferred to it. This information
is probably stored in some transmission-ready
bacterial form, that is released when the creature
sustains too much damage – much like a mushroom
shooting off its spores when it is stepped on.
The redemption ability does not appear to be
one hundred percent certain. As an alien drops
below a certain health limit, there seems to be
an increasing chance that it will be redeemed.
With each increased level of this evolution, the
chance of redemption improves.
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