Infested terran

"Live for the Swarm!"

- Infested Terran

An infested terran is a breed of zerg created when the zerg infest a terran with a hyper-evolutionary virus.

Most infested terrans were used as powerful suicide bombers.

Purpose of Infestation
The zerg believed they needed the use of psionic powers to defeat the protoss. The terrans were the only species they discovered with psionic potential powerful enough to help them achieve victory. However, most terrans aren't psychic, and even those that are, are not necessarily genetically compatible (meaning they would lose their intelligence and any psionic powers).

Most infested terrans, being failures, were used as disposable drones.

Effects of Infestation
An infested terran is created when a terran is infected with the zerg hyper-evolutionary virus. The victim usually loses most of their intelligence and sanity, as their mind becomes consumed by the zerg. Most become faster, tougher, and develop the ability to burrow, as well as other typical zerg traits (the ability to quickly heal wounds, psionic sensitivity, and so forth). In addition, most infested terrans can explode, sacrificing themselves in a splash of toxic fluid. The resulting explosion has a ten meter radius and can destroy small structures.

In appearance, the infested terran still possesses a slightly humanoid frame; however, since most of its body is encased in armor, this might be inaccurate. Several "tentacles" protrude from the infested terran's back, each tipped with a bony scythe-like blade, reminiscent of the ones zerglings sport. What remains visible of the infested terran's face appears elephantine, with the suit's helmet concealing the rest.

Experiments
Infested terrans have been the subject of many experiments by both terrans and zerg. Even the protoss have taken to experimenting on them.

Zerg Experiments
The zerg were successful in acquiring Sarah Kerrigan, a ghost who had been a member of the Sons of Korhal. The Overmind left her with the majority of her spirit, and she retained her intelligence and even some of her humanity.

Kerrigan's Experiments
Infested Kerrigan developed an interest in recreating the experiment which created her sometime after the end of the Brood War. While she did not believe she could perfectly duplicate the results of her own change, still she sought another infested terran such as herself. Although she specifically sought out psychic terrans, most of her subjects were non-psionic.

Her experiments were usually a failure, resulting in defects in intelligence and even mobility. She and a Cerebrate believed the problem was a genetic compatibility issue, and the rare terrans who are compatible could result in another creature such as herself, albeit less powerful. The experiments were important enough to keep Kerrigan from engaging in combat with her enemies.

Kerrigan's experiments finally succeeded with ex-mercenary and (former) crime lord, Ethan Stewart. She intends to make him her consort. He quickly became one of her troop leaders.

Reanimation
Kaloth, a zerg Cerebrate who survived Kerrigan's purge of the Cerebrates, conducted its own experiment of infesting humans as leaders. It acquired the corpse of former United Earth Directorate Vice Admiral Alexei Stukov and reanimated it, creating Infested Stukov. Stukov was able to interact with remnants of the old Terran Confederacy, who were engaging in high-tech research, including experimentation on infested terrans such as Morik.

Stukov was put in charge of a weak Brood on Braxis, a world he was already familiar with. Stukov was captured by a protoss and terran task force, led by Jim Raynor and Taldarin, who subjected him to an experiment of their own; they used protoss-devised nanites to reverse the infestation process, resulting in a living (and presumably fully human) Alexei Stukov.

Terran Experiments
The Terran Confederacy stored ardeon crystals tainted with zerg spores deep within the Jacobs Installation. Years later, a deserting soldier tried to steal the crystals, and discovered to his dismay that mere contact with a tainted crystal would quickly transform a terran into an infested terran. He was trapped within the facility.

Remnant members of the Terran Confederacy worked at a secret facility on a means of "restoring faculties in Infested Terrans" and created Morik, a terran they performed horrible experiments on. They also studied a method of reanimating the dead using zerg infestation techniques. Significantly, one reanimated human, Infested Stukov, appeared in their facility. Along with studying the possibility of offspring from infested humans, a few files on such experiments were found;


 * "Zerg/Human Genome Manipulation."
 * "Saving Human Mental Faculties In Zerg/Human Hybridization Experiments."
 * "Reanimation Using Zerg Infestation Techniques."

The data was sold to the black market by the Kimeran Pirates. Most of the above experiments, including the possibility of offspring, had little to no chance of success. (Offspring of such unions, if they could even be created, would be dangerous captives and "irredeemably unbiddable.")

Mutates

 * Main article: Mutate

"Mutate" is a term used for an infested terran whose intelligence has been preserved through the use of terran-devised nanites.

Protoss Experiments
The protoss are more interested in destroying infested terrans or reversing the process which created them than using them. To this end, the protoss developed a "radical nanotech serum" which could be used on infested terrans such as Infested Stukov. The serum was successfully administered to Stukov, who was freed from his infestation.

StarCraft I

 * ''Main article: Infested terran game unit

Infested Marines

 * Main article: Infested marine

Other, more advanced types of infested terrans have been seen recently. They appear in both StarCraft: Ghost and StarCraft II.

Advanced Infested Terrans
All of these infested terrans have kept their sentience, although not necessarily their sanity.


 * Infested Duran (exact species and even whether or not he was actually infested are in dispute)
 * Eschueta the Wicked (mercenary leader)
 * Infested Hauler (only from concept art)
 * Infested Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades, now the sole ruler of the Zerg Swarm
 * Morik (infestation held in check by nanites)
 * Sistask (infestation held in check by nanites)
 * Infested Stewart (infested by Kerrigan to be her consort)
 * Infested Stukov (infested and reincarnated by Kaloth, later uninfested in Resurrection IV by nanites)

Other Infested Terrans
A few other infested terrans have been named in the series, although, for the most part, are mindless drones.


 * Infested Forst
 * Infested Haley
 * Infested Henderson
 * Infested Rastin

Similar Types of Infestation

 * Old Blue (Roverlisk)
 * Cerebrate Carpenter (Cerebrate)