Talk:Noro/@comment-26974774-20160106122655/@comment-213.66.199.45-20160115095215

^ mutations do count as "dieases", Cancer for example is nothing but "hostile mutations" without any viruses or other organisms involved yet is counting as a massive people-killer world-wide.

But back to the species aspect.

If the rc-cells are a combo between a parasitic and viral lifeform, then the massive alterations and differences in a ghoul´s physiology and biology compared to a human would make sense if the rc-cells are causing disruptions in the genetic code akin to the muscle thing I previously mentioned.

Parasites are acknowledged to have the ability of "brainwashing" and significantly alter the behavior in their hosts to suit their needs, examples are one type of parasite that infects ants, turns their asses red and then forces them with the command of "Get your sorry ass up on that straw this instant, once your there, shake it like there´s no tomorrow." And then the ant is eaten by a bird, thinking of it as a berry due to the discolored butt, and completing the life-cycle of that parasite at the expense of the ant.

Another parasite, (a worm that infects crickets.) basically hijacks their heads and give them the command of "Drown yourself.", forcing them to seek out water and then jump in, letting the worm (which is much longer than their bodies) slither out through their asses to complete the cycle.

There´s the wasp that stings caterpillars which are then brainwashed to "Protect my offspring with your life, your worthless maggot." and then, the caterpillars are doing just that, at the expense of their own lifes and if their unlucky, ends up as food for the wasp´s offspring.

Then there´s the "zombie ant fungus" which is basically commanding its host to "Get up on a straw over your colony, wait there." In order to keep infecting others once it releases through the neck.

And then there´s this parasite that infects fish and forces them to "Swim as near the surface as you can" just so they can be easy prey for birds.

And then there´s this one... the one closest to the rc-cells... which is called "Toxiplasma Gondii", which is a protozoan that completes the lifecycle through cats and rodents. It infects the rodent, hijacking its brain to lose its ability to feel fear, and just sit there as it gets eaten by the cat, where this single-cell organism reproduce sexually in the digestive system and then comes out to repeat the cycle again. This parasite is also capable of infecting "humans", but once that happens, it´s a dead end, it can´t get out, so it´s stuck in there... and most people aren´t even realizing they´re infected with this thing. There´s some studies that hints that it might be capable of developing schizophrenia in humans and alter their behaviors in subtle ways, such as increased aggresivity in men and increased courage in women, but it´s not confirmed as I know...

What says that the rc-cells, as a parasitic lifeform, isn´t forcing a similar command like the other parasites, on its hosts mind? A command like "Cannibalize" (since the rc-cells are what the ghouls are after in human beings, if this wasn´t the case, they wouldn´t been able to eat other ghouls as they do, but they do, so it´s the rc-cells that´s the goal here, not humans in their pure essence.)

The rc-cells themselves are parasitic, akin to Toxiplasma Gondii, and viral through how they alter the physology of a human being to reach the powers of what a ghoul is capable of.

I´m sure there´s more too it, since the rc-cells are acting like sentient muscle connected to the host´s brain for control, but we don´t know.

My point is, in this universe, there might have been this species of parasite that specifically targeted and evolved to involve humans in their life-cycles, just as the "Zombie ant fungi" have multiple sub-species which specialize in one single insect species themselves that only that specific species can infect. (Zombie locust fungi, zombie moth fungi, zombie caterpillar fungi and so on...) This might be the case of one that only have humans as its hosts in comparison.

And in this world, the parasite is so widespread that it as essentially infected all of humanity already, with only some of the population turning into "ghouls" so to say.

A wide-spread parasitic disease.

But if Ishida is playing the cards smart, then I can bet you all that the origins of the ghouls will "never" be revealed, never. (Some mystries are fascinating just because they´re mysteries. A good horror story is the one that makes the reader ask "why?" but there´s no answer and there shouldn´t be one. That´s the lucrative flare about horror, the same can be said here.)

Parasites are capable of altering the host´s body (the berry-rump ant for example) and their minds (A lot of examples mentioned above.) So the rc-cells might be a parasitic disease themselves that have a life-cycle of "Human-Cannibalism-Ghoul-cannibalism-Kakuja-cannibalism-(whatever Eto has become)..."

Just saying.

This is a theory.