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Chemlocks, referred to as Harnesses by humans, are bio-mechanical organisms used/created by the Overlords to control other species.
After the initial attacks on earth, Skitters began to abduct children and place what humans refer to as a 'harness' to each of their backs. Appearing bio mechanical in nature, the harness bonds to the child's spinal cord, from which point they can be controlled by Skitters, and the Espheni as well. It appears that this control is connected to the aliens' radio-wave based communication.
They grant superhuman strength and senses, but also give a high dose of an unknown opiate, and modify the hosts DNA to turn them into something similar to skitters.
The harnesses are currently not being used by the Espheni.[1]
Biology[]
Unattached harnesses resemble large slug-like organisms capable of movement on their own. They are normally stored in a fluid-filled tank. A host child is restrained nearby while the Harness is sent down a chute and is guided onto the child by a Skitter and attached. Once in position the head of the harness reveals a "mouth" like structure full of sharp teeth that clamps down into the victims neck.
Once this occurs the host appears to lose free will and the tail of the harness then clamps down onto the back and the body hardens growing a shell like structure of a complete harness. After the harness has hardened, it appears much less organic and more like technology, so the resistance was not aware at first that they are a form of bio-mechanical creature. After a harness has hardened into place, it does not appear that it can revert back into an independently mobile form, and harnesses cut off children by the resistance are inert.
It is also seen without guidance to a host a harness will attempt to latch on to any living creature they can find; one bit Weaver on the leg when he got too close. They are also strong despite their helpless appearance as Tom had to wrestle one of the harness creature that was crawling up Matt's back away before shooting it.
It was shown that a harness can inject an aggressive bacteria through biting a victim. The pathogen moves through the the victim's capillaries near the skin and lower the victim's body temperature due to needing a cool temperature to survive. The pathogen is immune to all known antibiotics and antivirals and is incurable if it crosses the blood-brain barrier. However, it is vulnerable to heat and can be killed through enough heat. The only known cure is to pump the victim's blood out of their body, heat the blood up to 105 degrees, cool it down to normal and return it to the victim's body, a process that takes about eight hours. Once the blood has been returned to the victim's body, the pathogen has been killed by the heat and the victim will recover.
Given that the Skitters themselves were mutated into their current form using the harnesses, the origin of the harnesses themselves is unclear. It is possible that they were once free-living organisms before the Overlords modified them, but if this is the case they have been so heavily modified that they are now bio-mechanical constructs which seem far more machine than animal (in their final, immobile state). The other possibility is that the Overlords bio-engineered them from scratch.
Unlike all the other Espheni species or converted species, those with just spikes were not killed by the Dornia bioweapon as shown when Ben Mason, who still possessed his spikes, survived the destruction of the Espheni.
Attachment[]
A Harness being taken off of Rick.
According to Michael Harris's theory, when the mechanism's needles penetrate the child's spine "they soften and grow roots to become part of the host's nervous system". The device releases a form of opiate, unfamiliar to humans, which may play some part in ensuring submission to the aliens' orders. It appears highly addictive, as when removed from a child they go into shock, and die from apparent withdrawal. Another element of Harris's theory is that having the child on an IV drip with a man-made opiate allows for removal of the harness, though the process is still not entirely without risk. The removal of Rick's harness proves this theory true, and subsequently he was weaned off of the drugs and survived the procedure. This allows the process to be carried out on other children, including Tom Mason's son Ben.
Effects[]
When attached to a child, skitters are able to communicate and control the subject, manipulating them at will. It is unclear whether ability this relates to the harness, the opiate it releases, abilities of either the Skitters or "Overlords", or some combination of these elements. What is clear though is that this connection remains even once the harness is removed, although with limited effectiveness. This was shown at the end of Prisoner of War when the newly captured Skitter and Rick awoke at the same time. Throughout the rest of the season, Ben and Rick, who wore their harnesses longer than the other children, continued to show signs of being affected.
The effects of wearing a harness are minor at first; in addition to loss of will, harnessed children have apparently improved health and vitality, as Rick was cured of his cystic fibrosis, and Ben was shown to be capable of doing 102 push-ups, or jumping rope continuously for over three hours. Ben also indicates that while harnessed, time is experienced differently to how humans normally perceive it, and that there's a feeling "like someone's thinking with you." There are also physical changes such as rough, discolored skin, and these changes increase over time.
A Harness discovered during an autopsy on a skitter.
In "What Hides Beneath", Anne Glass and Lourdes dissect the Skitter prisoner, which had been killed a few episodes prior. They discover what appears to be a harness fused to the Skitter's spinal cord, which may explain their method of communication and ability to control harnessed children. The same episode was the first to introduce the "Overlords", and indicated that they controlled the Skitters in a way similar to how Skitters controlled harnessed children. In addition, it is suggested that the harness actually modifies the host, suggesting the Skitters were mutated from another species that may have been previously conquered by the "Overlords" in the same way they are attempted to with Humans.
It is possible that removing the harness slows the process, as both Rick and Ben were far less developed in their transformation than Megan, despite indication they were harnessed far sooner than her. Also, the Skitter known as "Red Eye," can even control children who have been released from their harness, as seen in "Compass", when Ben was about to kill him, the spines on his back started to glow, and Ben stopped. Also at the end of Compass, Red Eye found Ben and subdued him, causing his spines to glow again. What was being communicated, though, is still unknown. It is also unknown if other Skitters can do this.
A holding tank for the Harnesses.
Of interest is that despite the continuous effect of the harness on its host, and the feeling of shared thoughts, the connection between Skitter and child is only activated when a direct command is to be issued. This allowed Hal Mason to infiltrate a Skitter base and rescue Ben in Silent Kill.
In Love and Other Acts of Courage, the skitter known as Red Eye, through Rick, refers to the harnesses as "chemlocks". This may be the true term for the creatures.
In Molon Labe it is seen that despite losing free will harnessed individuals can have a level of authority among the aliens as it seems Karen Nadler was leading an entire squadron of Mechs, Skitters, and implied to be Airships. It appears that this authority is due to her connections with the Overlord.
In Collateral Damage a group of extremely mutated harnessed children where seen guarding the Nuclear plant. Communicating in skitter screeches and faster than recently harnessed children they were covered in molted skin with bulging heads taking on a Skiter shape. Close inspection of one dead child revealed he was starting to sprout extra limbs.
In A Thing With Feathers, Hal Mason suggests using Denny's spike fluid to heal Maggie's mortal injuries after having seen that it healed Denny's leg wound the night before. Cochise explains that the fluid in the spikes is an engineered bio-plasma which is why it heals injuries. However, while using the fluid on a patient could heal them, they could also have an allergic reaction to the fluid, go into anaphylactic shock and die. In Maggie's case, the fluid doesn't work on Maggie and Hal states that her body rejected it. Maggie is later saved by Anne Mason transplanting three of Ben's spikes into Maggie. The spikes grant Maggie the abilities of a harnessed child but also creates a link between the two as they share the same spikes.
In Stalag 14th Virginia, Ben Mason's spikes react with the activated Shadow Plane hub. Cochise theorizes that as both are Espheni technology, they are compatible. Ben suggests that his spikes will allow him to connect to the hub better than anyone else and learn what the Overlords are saying. Ben proves to be right and learns from the hub of the existence of the Higher Beings. However, using the hub for even a couple of minutes causes Ben to develop a high fever as Anne Mason says that he is "burning up" after putting her hand to his forehead. Following this, in Reunion, Ben continues to use the Shadow Plane, but doing so results in a high body temperature each time that he drops by immersing himself immediately in an ice bath for a few minutes. However, the effects of doing so alter his appearance to be more sickly, presumably due to the strain the device puts on his body. He tells the clone of Alexis Glass-Mason that since getting his spikes, he has started to forget what normal human limitations are. After he stops using the Shadow Plane, Ben returns to normal.
When the Espheni and all their creations are wiped out by the Dornia bioweapon, all those actively Skitterized by the harnesses die too. However, Ben Mason survives despite still having his spikes.
Removal[]
Humanity came up with a low tech method that releases the victim from the harness. Initial attempts at simply pulling the harness out were unsuccessful and killed the victim. It was later discovered that the harness pumped an unknown substance into the victim and forcibly removing the harness sent the child into shock and led to death from withdrawal. Since Morphine was the closest Earth bound substance it was decided it should be used as a bridge during removal. The harnessed individual is then fed a drip of Morphine before and during the procedure. However, if multiple harnesses are removed in this way, they seem to sense what is happening to the others. After Ben Mason and five other kids were rescued, the kids immediately started going into withdrawal before the procedure actually began. While quick enough action saved five of the kids, one still died as a result.
A Harness taken off by force.
In "Sanctuary (Part 1)", its stated that some of the kids who were harnessed and rescued were losing their spikes. Ben Mason theorized that as they had the spikes for a less time than himself and Rick Thompson, they were able to lose them. In "What Hides Beneath", Ben comments that one of the other rescued kids spikes are nearly gone and Anne speculates that it was because they were harnessed months less than Ben and Rick. At the end of the episode, Lourdes Delgado states that all but Ben and Rick's spikes have healed, meaning that the other kids have lost all of theirs and are back to normal.
Instead of pulling the harness out several people lift the harness exposing as much needle as possible while someone else cuts the needles with a blow torch; cutting the harness off the victim. This procedure is the most successful with only one fatality having occurred in the series. This procedure leaves behind the spikes and internal nucleus of the harness. These allow the former host certain benefits, such as no longer having asthma, needing glasses. It also increases agility, eye sight, and allows for communication with Skitters and Espheni. For the children who have their spikes left behind, it is still unclear as to what the long term effects are. It does put stress on the host’s skeletal muscles, and they are suspected to interrupt stem-cell production, which could lead to shortening the former hosts life-span. (At All Costs)
In "Homecoming" the Overlords claim they have a method of removing the harness, in order to coax Tom Mason onto their ship. The offer, at least, was later revealed to be a lie, though it is still unclear if the Overlords are capable of removing the harnesses themselves.
It should be noted that while no longer mobile the harness creatures seem to be aware of what the humans were attempting as, when Ben's group were being de-harnessed, the children started seizing before they were touched. This could have also been due to the "guardian" skitter being killed prior to harness removal.
In "Death March", it is shown that if a harness is hit with enough blunt force (in the episodes case a moving vehicle) the harness will die but the child it is attached to will survive, freeing him or her from the harness' control but will still suffer from side effects.
With the arrival of the Volm, humanity was given a machine capable of removing Harnesses safely with no risk to the host. It does however cause the Harness pain, as shown when Anne Glass was removing Diego's, his harness could be heard screeching. Anne Glass noted that, with the machine, she was able to remove 25 harnesses with no children dying. (On Thin Ice)
Humanity later discovers safely removing the harness externally leaves its internal nucleus intact. Fibers extending out to their spikes are being regenerated by the nucleus. The Volm de-harnessing machine allows the fibers to be extracted and the nucleus uprooted without affecting the host’s spinal cord or nervous system. However, all the benefits that it provides will be lost with it, i.e. Ben needing his inhaler again. (At All Costs)
In A Thing With Feathers, in order to save Maggie's life, Ben suggests transplanting his spikes into Maggie to give her the healing ability that comes with the spikes. Anne Mason is dubious given that they don't have the de-harnessing machine, but Hal and Ben convince her to see if the Volm have a field medicine version of the machine. Cochise is able to aid Anne in using a device the Volm have that is controlled by instinct rather than a visual. Once the machine is locked onto a spike, it can then be manually removed with a pair of tweezers with no harm to the host and it can be transplanted to another host. However, using this machine can harm the host as just removing three spikes caused Ben great pain and the procedure had to be stopped.
Related Pages[]
References[]
- ↑ "Find Your Warrior"