Vocal cord parasite

The vocal cord parasites were a group of parasitic organisms that infested the victims' vocal cords.

History
The parasites were discovered by Code Talker upon researching the remains of The End after Operation Snake Eater in 1964, who had the parasites sealed away. The American Philosophers foud Code Talker's research and attempted to recreate the parasites as a form of "ethnic cleansing", but the project was abandoned. Unfortunately, they were uncovered and stolen by Skull Face by way of his infected Parasite Unit, who forced Code Talker to work for him in making other strains until he was rescued by Venom Snake of Diamond Dogs. Skull Face himself was infected with every strand of the parasites except for the English version, which also cost him his ability to speak Hungarian. As such, upon his death, he had to be cremated to ensure the parasites didn't spread since they affected him even down to the cellular level.

The parasites were used in the creation of the Parasite Unit and the return of Quiet to active service. He also attempted to use them in his plans in the 1980s, alongside metallic archaea and the Sahelanthropus, to wipe the English language and vocal lingua franca off the face of the Earth. In his final battle with Venom Snake, the latter destroyed almost every sample of the English strain. However, Tretij Rebenok managed to intercept a remaining sample unnoticed by either Skull Face, Venom Snake, Kazuhira Miller, or Huey Emmerich. This sample was later supplied to Eli by Tretij Rebenok in secret shortly after returning to Mother Base. Before his death, Skull Face, when Venom Snake attempted to inquire where the third sample was due to it being missing, cryptically stated that it was very close to him.

Two outbreaks of the parasite in its contagious form occurred on Mother Base. The first was halted by Code Talker providing the symptom-halting wolbachia, but the second, which could not be affected by the wolbachia, was only stopped when Venom Snake made his way through the quarantine zone, executing everyone who was infected. In order to ensure the parasites were not spread (as the birds would feed upon their corpses when they died and spread them via that manner), their remains were cremated and later converted into diamonds. Huey was accused of being responsible for the latter outbreak. He was also accused of mutating the wolbachia to such an extent that they were ineffective against the parasites.

Eli, with the final sample of the English strain of the parasite, infested an entire island, which had to be sanitized with napalm across its entirety. However, he himself kept a strain of the parasite inside him, and, symptomatic, he was nevertheless healed by having the parasite telekinetically removed by Tretij Rebenok.

Zero himself hinted that the original project by the American Philosophers would eventually evolve into the FOXDIE virus project, allowing the Patriots to target the genetic code itself.

Capabilities
Initially in larval form, the parasite entered through the throat and attached to the vocal cords, mimicking the host's membranes flawlessly. Upon reaching maturity, the larvae mate, triggered by sustained exposure to the specific language the parasite was attuned to. The resulting larvae then feast on the host's lungs, killing the host. Once symptoms of infection manifest, the larvae had infested the host's alveoli, at which point nothing could be done to save the host.

Code Talker possessed a pipe with an herb that the parasite dislikes, which, when smoked, would allow the host to speak for some time with their parasite "deafened." He also possessed a strain of the bacteria genus Wolbachia that could, by turning the male version of the parasite to females, halt the onset of symptoms, but would also make the host infertile.

The One That Covers
A similar parasite to the vocal cord parasite, albeit one that was deliberately said to be different, was known as "the one that covers." This parasite was provided to the Parasie Unit and, in a mutated strain, to Quiet. The parasite acted as the host's skin, to a variety of effects. These included reinforcing the skin to a kind of armor, providing camouflaging abilities to the point of invisibility or disguising as another military force, superhuman speed and jumping, and superhuman strength. In return, the parasite took in "nourishment" of some sort.

The parasite could also replace lost organs of the host, as seen in Quiet's replacement of her digestive systems to make her photosynthetic well as the modification of her respiratory system to be cutaneous (through the skin) rather than pulmonary (through the lungs).

Behind the scenes
The parasites are a major element in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. In one of the cassette tapes, it is revealed that, in addition to The End's parasite, The Fury and The Pain had parasites that respectively provided adrenaline in response to pain and secreted a pheromone that allowed the control of insects at will, although it is not clear whether they had any relation to the vocal cord parasite unlike The End.

Appearances

 * Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain