Facsimiles is the name given by humans to an extraterrestrial species responsible for the silent takeover of numerous civilized planets across the universe. Earth is neither their first target nor their last. Hundreds of planets have fallen before it, and hundreds more are projected to follow.
The name is human in origin. The creatures have their own language and their own name for themselves, neither of which is known.
Despite developing technology capable of interstellar travel and planetary conquest, Facsimiles are not infallible. They make emotional decisions, act on desire over logic, and are capable of significant strategic failure. They are advanced. Not perfect.
In their natural state, Facsimiles are tall creatures, roughly human in shape but noticeably too tall, with limbs that read as slightly wrong in proportion. Their bodies are covered in a thick, slowly shifting layer of ooze, a deep greenish-brown, almost black but not quite. The ooze moves faintly even when the creature is still, as though breathing independently.
Their eyes are wide and white, with vivid red pupils.
Beneath the ooze is a denser, rougher biological material. The mouth and other anatomy exist beneath this layer. The creature can shift the ooze aside at will when needed, functioning similarly to how humans use clothing. The ooze returns afterward.
Facsimiles are not naturally capable of shapeshifting. The ability to take on a human appearance is entirely technological, requiring access to their ship. The process takes approximately one full day when copying a living subject and produces a permanent result.
Once transformed, the human exterior is fully integrated. Physical trauma produces a convincing human response. However, sufficient damage will cause dark ooze to bleed through the surface. The creature heals regardless.
A Facsimile stranded without their ship cannot change form. They are locked into whoever they have become.
To fully replace a human, a Facsimile must consume their brain. Through an extraordinarily advanced sense of taste, the creature reconstructs the brain internally, reading the victim's memories, personality, speech patterns, and behavioral tendencies through the process of consuming them. The reconstructed material is stored within the Facsimile's body. A single Facsimile can carry many of these at once.
When a stored brain is being actively referenced, the original person briefly regains a form of consciousness. They see what the Facsimile sees. Then it goes dark again. When not in use, they experience nothing. No sensation, no light, no sound. Just existence without input.
The Facsimile's technology is theoretically capable of reconstructing a full human body and returning a consciousness to it. They choose not to. Victims remain stored indefinitely, occasionally forced to witness their own life being lived by something else.
This is not a byproduct of the process. It is deliberate.
Facsimile vessels travel at extraordinary speed, entering atmospheres fast enough that arrival goes largely unnoticed. Landings typically occur in remote or unpopulated areas.
The Earth operation was considered high priority but was poorly executed. Most operatives were lost in transit, leaving only one Facsimile on the planet. Leadership has decided not to send replacements until Earth becomes a higher value target. The ship is gone. The operative is on its own.
The standard method involves replacing people of influence, then using their platform or resources to distribute a biological agent through food and water supplies. Sufficient exposure converts humans into passive sleeper agents. The agent is difficult to produce in large quantities, ruling out mass contamination directly.
Facsimiles are not especially powerful on their own. Their technology, however, is capable of destroying a planet entirely if needed. They prefer control over destruction. The option exists regardless.
The current Earth operative has assumed the identity of a content creator and is working to build the infrastructure needed to begin distribution.
To most humans, a Facsimile in disguise is indistinguishable from the person it replaced. However, individuals who subconsciously register that something is wrong perceive the creature differently. Their mind, unable to process the wrongness of the imitation, projects it onto the face. These individuals see a distorted, warped version of the human face, features that are almost right but deeply off.
This is not the Facsimile's true appearance. It is what a human brain produces when it knows something is wrong but cannot name what.
Children are particularly susceptible, as they have not yet learned to override instinct with social acceptance. The Facsimile cannot prevent this. It is not a flaw in their technology. It is a flaw in human psychology that works against them.
Facsimiles have a severe biological vulnerability to Vitamin D. Direct contact causes immediate pain and tissue damage. Small amounts are not lethal but provoke a violent response. Sustained exposure to concentrated Vitamin D is theorized to be fatal.
Facsimiles are highly intelligent but prone to emotional and impulsive decision-making. Intelligence varies between individuals. Some are exceptionally capable. Some are not.
They are, however, consistently sadistic. The takeover process does not require cruelty. They prefer it anyway. Victims are taunted before and during replacement. Stored consciousnesses are kept alive far longer than necessary. The suffering serves no strategic purpose. They simply enjoy it.
Facsimiles operate under a centralized hierarchy based on their home planet, the name and location of which remains unknown to humans. Individual operatives carry out planetary assignments largely independently but ultimately serve a broader organizational structure with central leadership.