Wraith Biology

[smartquin]

Lo all. This thread is specifically for Wraith biology/physiology.

I have a couple of theories:

Wraith Feeding hand: they only use their right hand to feed, their left hand is their 'web' hand, to tie up their victims etc.

Feeding process: Thier fingers lock into the chest area so that the prey cannot escape, and the middle 'sucker' expands into the heart, so that they can use the circulatory system as a means of

Spoiler:

transporting their enzyme(s) to all body cells to strip them of nutrients etc. It also paralyses and strengthens their victims so that they can get more out of them.

As the nutrients etc. are stripped away from the cells, the victim's body mass dwindles, as seen in rising with Colonel Sumner's torso begining to like like he was anorexic.

Thats my 2 cents, what do you rekon? Got any other ideas?

[theStormWeaver]

I have a theory as to how the Wraith were made SPOILIERS BELOW.
As stated before, the Wraith came into being shortly after the Ancients arrived. They were created when the Urethas bugs were exposed to human DNA.

While the bug absorbed the living tissue of the host it also ended up absorbing large, if not whole, sections of the genome. When the bug laid its eggs it would put a bit of unprocessed food into the egg. Thus, over a few centuries, several colonies underwent rapid mutations in the direction of a humanoid form.

[Charles17]

i dont think the wraith feed on the nutrients in a human... there are more efficient ways to do that... they said they suck the life energy out...

spoilers




i thinkit makes more sense for the wraith to evolve if an iratus bug infected a human like what hapened to sheppard, and the resulting hybrid bred with other infected proto-wraiths.

[smartquin]

Not a bad idea. It'd explain why the Wratih evolved so quickly.

I was thinking today about how the Iratus bugs don't like salt water... maybe that can be made into some sort of weapon or torture device later on in the series... TPTB had to put the salt water connection in there for some reason.

Any other idea's?

[theStormWeaver]

SPOILER







But what happened to Sheppard was caused by the unperfected retro-virus, not by some work of the bug itself. Your theory falls apart right there. Look at smartquin's first post in this thread, the person loses considerable mass. I believe they do take alot of the nutrients from the victim.

[Wandering Tamer]

there is a thread already discussing this here
http://forum.gateworld.net/showthread.php?t=17223

[Quakerbone]

Correct, the bug itself did nothing to Shepard. The retrovirus was a recent invention of Beckett's and only worked on an already evolved Wraith, if an adolescent one.

As far as I can tell, the Wraith first injects (With its' fingers) its' victim's aorta with the enzyme to strengthen the body, kick up the circulation rate and BP, and coagulate cellular and organ nutrients in the blood.

Next, the Wraith uses the highly increased BP and circulation to bring the fluids back into the chest, but sucks them up (With the palm organ) on the way to the heart.

The resulting loss of nutrients wears down the body, simulating aging, and the fluid loss drains body mass, as evidenced by an anorexic-appearance.