Mangler
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| Classification | |
|---|---|
| Structure | Field |
| Origin | Fabricated |
| Class | Inborn |
| Characteristics | |
| Life cycle | Buglin, Rupter, Mangler |
| Length | 2–4 m |
| Height | 1–1.5 m |
| Mass | 80–200 kg |
| Group size | 4–20 |
| Transmits | COTH |
The Mangler is an Inborn field parasite of Fabricated origin, and the mature form of the Rupter. A Rupter that survives long enough transforms into a Mangler, an animal 2 to 4 m long with a full coating of membrane gel, against which small arms are largely ineffective. Manglers hunt in groups of 4 to 20 and spread COTH in the same way as Rupters.
Manglers were first recorded in 2022, and as of 2028 are found in every infested region. They are the commonest organism against which small arms are ineffective, and the main use of the infantry's RTG ammunition.
Description
A Mangler is 2 to 4 m long, stands 1 to 1.5 m high at the back and weighs 80 to 200 kg. Its body plan is that of the Rupter, enlarged and lengthened: a long, low trunk on four legs, with thick tentacles growing from the top and front that are used for grasping and striking. It is near-black, has no eyes, and finds prey by scent and by vibration through the ground. The mouth, at the front of the trunk, is wide and ringed with hooked teeth.
The whole body is covered in the non-Newtonian membrane gel of the larger parasites, which hardens under impact and spreads the force across the surface. Rifle fire rarely penetrates it. Heat does not harden the gel, and Manglers are killed with RTG ammunition, fire and explosives.
Life cycle
A Rupter becomes a Mangler after surviving long enough in the field, usually a year or more. Rupters that have fed well transform sooner. The transformation takes place on infested ground: the animal burrows into the root mat, stops moving, and grows over two to three weeks to twenty or more times its former mass, drawing the biomass from the stores of the mat. Its tentacles thicken, its legs lengthen and the membrane coating covers the whole body. A Rupter that dies in the mat during the transformation is reabsorbed.
Rupters far from infested ground do not transform until they return to it, and Manglers are most numerous within a few kilometres of established Beckons.
Behaviour
Manglers hunt in groups of 4 to 20. They move in short, fast sideways dashes of 5 to 15 metres at up to about 40 km/h, and are difficult to track and to hit. In an attack they spread out and come at a position from several sides, under the direction of a Bolster where one is present. Their strikes cause heavy blunt and tearing wounds, and carry COTH in the same way as a Rupter's, although a Mangler's attack is more often fatal. They break into vehicles and through the doors and walls of ordinary buildings.
Genome variants
Sinic Manglers, in East Asia, are faster than others. Boreic Manglers, in Siberia, carry a denser membrane and remain fully active through the winter. Alclidic Manglers, in Australia, are smaller, rarely more than 2.5 m long.
Control
RTG ammunition is the standard weapon against Manglers, and infantry in infested areas carry it for them. Fortified positions are built to withstand their attacks, and small arms are used against them only to slow them. Grenades, mines and flamethrowers are effective at close range. Since 2023 positions near infested ground have been ringed with ditches and concrete obstacles that break up their dashes, and the clearance of Rupters before they transform is part of the routine work of units holding a sector.
History
The first Manglers were recorded in 2022, as Rupters that had survived from the first years of the infestation transformed. They were sparse at first. Their numbers grew with those of the Rupter from 2023, and by 2024 Manglers were the organism most often reported in attacks on European Defence Force positions in eastern Europe. The demand for RTG ammunition for infantry weapons rose with them.