Ing (Metroid)

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The Ing are a fictional evil race that is the major foe of Samus Aran in the video game . Their name is the Luminoth word for 'terror'. Ing generally take on a dark, hideous, alien look, unless they have possessed other life forms, in which the host remains mostly the same, except that it takes on a blacker hue, spines, and Ing-like eye structures. It is unknown whether or not Ing can possess other Ing, or what effect that would have. The possessed creatures are called Darklings. To avoid fighting, the Ing can transform into puddles of dark matter and slither around for long periods of time. As inhabitants of Dark Aether, Ing hate strong light. However, the final beam weapon in Echoes is a combination of both light and dark energy, therefore, it attracts the Ing to the crystals or beacons while charging them with light energy.

The Ing were created when a meteor containing high amounts of Phazon struck planet Aether with such intensity that it ripped open a new dimension, called dark Aether. It is thought that the Ing are indigenous to this world. They can only survive in Dark Aether yet they can turn into a mist form that can inhabit both Dimensions (And possibly more). It is in this form that they are able to possess creatures.

The Ing appear to have some sort of a social class, much like colonies of ants. Inglets make up the lowest class of the Ing community, Warrior Ing and Hunter Ing make the security class, the higher rank of Ing consists of Sub-guardians and Guardians, and the Emperor Ing holds the highest rank.

Classes

• Ing Larvae are tiny, weak creatures that lack significant offensive or defensive capabilities. They often fall prey to larger predators on accident, and travel in swarms for protection. Only a few of any given swarm survive to adulthood, but these are the most vicious and cunning of the brood.

• Ingstorm are swarms of tiny, flying Ing. Other than their vast numbers, they appear harmless enough. However, such large groups produce fields of destructive energy that can gradually break down even the strongest of alloys, and so are extremely dangerous. Luminoth Light Suit technology blocks this energy.

• Inglets are the bottom of the Ing social ladder, making up the worker class. These polyp-shaped creatures do menial labor for the Ing Horde, such as resource gathering and construction. While they can attack by firing globules of dark energy, they do very little damage and depend on larger Ing for protection. Ing of other classes don't seem to care about Inglets one way or another. Inglets possess the ability to shift into a liquid state, much like the Warrior Ing. This liquid state is the only state in which they can move. (see below.)

• Warrior Ing (shown in the top right corner) are far superior to their Inglet kin in every way. Their spider-like bodies move with fluid grace, and the ends of their legs are razor sharp, making them formidable melee combatants. From a distance, they can attack with a ray of transdimensional energy, or make a spinning leap attack. They can dissolve at will into an inky black ooze, hazardous to touch, that can flow up walls and over any kind of terrain. Though they can be damaged in liquid form, special scanning equipment is required to locate their vulnerable spots, and a solid Warrior Ing is very resistant to damage (probably due to their shapeshifting ability.) More terrifying than any of their attack forms or their incredible toughness, however, is their possession ability, described in greater detail below. They can attempt a possession when they cross into Aether from Dark Aether in Mist form or when they hit a foe with their spinning leap attack. If the possession fails, the Ing reverts to its liquid form and attacks conventionally. Like all Ing, Warrior Ing hate bright light and can be destroyed by suffuciently intense photonic radiation, even in liquid form. Superficial similarities between Warrior Ing and Metroid Prime have lead some to theorize that the two are somehow related. There is no canonical information to confirm or deny this.

Note that what appears to be a red eye in the image is in fact a cluster of small, multicolored lights. The purpose of these lights is unknown.

• Hunter Ing defy many biological laws. They appear as a floating red light caged by strands of pure darkness. These strands extend off the creature's body to form tentacles. Hunter Ing have no discernable eyes, ears, or any other sensory organs. As the name implies, they roam the surface of Dark Aether, tracking down and slaying all enemies of the Horde. They have the ability to warp out of the local space-time continuum, rendering their bodies incorporeal. While they cannot use their razor-edged tentacles (or be damaged by conventional weapons) in this form, simply passing through a foe does slight damage, interferes with mechanical equipment and may permit possession. They can become incorporeal almost instantly, and will do so if they sense strong weapons fire heading for them. Combined with their great toughness, this ability makes them extremely difficult to kill, though they share the Ing vulnerability to light, which damages them either way. Hunter Ing rank higher than Warriors, and so have several rights and privileges than their lesser kin lack, such as the privilege to possess especially powerful creatures (such as the Pirate Commandos), though they must compete with each other for this right.

• Guardians and sub-guardians are always either very powerful Ing or very powerful Darklings (creatures possessed by Ing.) They protect items and locations of great importance to the Horde, including the planetary energy collection apparatus that maintains their world's existence. Many of the Guardians make use of stolen technology; it seems that Ing can modify and utilize the abilities of items they steal, even when possessing another creature. Slaying the creature or Ing will allow the victor to take any items it may have.

• The Emperor Ing is the absolute leader and commander of the Ing Horde, their alpha and omega. It was the first Ing to come into existence, and the most powerful. While it commands the Ing Horde from its lair in the Sky Temple, it also works to absorb as much phazon and planetary energy as it can, mutating its body and becoming ever more powerful. Like lesser Ing, the Emperor is a metamorph, and fights in several forms. The first resembles a massive, twisted tree trunk topped by an orb, which sprouts numerous tentacles. The Emperor Ing can attack physically with the tentacles or launch powerful energy attacks. Once all the tentacles have been damaged or destroyed, the creature’s out shell retracts, revealing a glowing “eye” of almost-pure energy surrounded by a protective shell. When damaged sufficiently, the Emperor Ing sheathes its lower “trunk” with the crowning orb and hardens it into a nigh-impenetrable shell. The shell protects the Ing ruler while it mutates and regenerates. The shell is magnetically charged, and Spider Ball technology can be used to cling to it. While immobile in this state, the beast is far from helpless; it produces a thick fog of highly toxic purple gas, can spawn Inglets from a structure atop the shell, and attack with short tentacles through small holes in the shell. The tissue around these holes is softer than the surrounding shell and can be damaged by explosives, though the shell loses no actual structural integrity until all of the weak spots have been destroyed. This gives the Ing ruler enough time to complete its metamorphosis into a creature resembling a massively overgrown Warrior Ing. Through gaps in its carapace, the creature’s glowing “heart” can be seen; this is actually concentrated energy absorbed by the Emperor Ing and bonded with its body. The red light signals a durable energy barrier.The Emperor can alter the polarity of its “heart” between light and dark energy at will; doing so renders it resistant to its own polarity and permits the use of certain abilities tied to that energy type. If the heart is destabilized with opposite-polarity energy, the Emperor Ing dies.

Special Ing

These kinds of Ing are unusual in some way: they fill a strange place in the Horde social hierarchy, or seem to live just outside it.

• Darkling Tentacles are actually the tentacles of regular Ing (probably Hunters) that have opened a dimensional portal, through which they extend a long, three-pronged tentacle to ensnare prey. While energy attacks, especially light energy, will cause them to retract and close their portals temporarily, they sustain no real damage from any conventional weaponry.

(Note: While the scan suggests these creatures are Darklings rather than actual Ing, they are listed in the Ing section of the Logbook.)

• Ingsphere Cache are living creatures, despite all appearances. These purple orbs form dimensional pockets to store useful items, releasing them when ordered to by their Ing masters. Other creatures may only gain this item by destroying the Ingsphere. There is a risk that the collapse of the dimensional pocket will destroy the item within, however.

• Ingworms are long, ropy creatures used for various purposes by the Ing. While they lack offensive powers and are not especially resilient under normal circumstances, they are used to protect and store useful items for Ing to retrieve later [or perhaps ensnaring a hapless creature passing by, to hold it captive for the Ing to possess]. They can also be mutated to enormous size, large enough that several Ingworms can form building-sized structures or serve as a nigh-impenetrable blockade.

• Bladepods , despite their name and somewhat fearsome appearance, are defenseless living storage units for the Ing, much like Ingworms and Ingsphere Caches.

• Flying Ing Caches are exactly what their name implies: floating creatures (resembling a single, swollen eyeball in a cage of black flesh) that store and protect items of great value to the Horde. Unlike the above “cache” creatures, which lack defensive abilities of any sort, a Flying Cache has a limited stealth field that renders it invisible to most natural sight. Slight damage to the creature forces it to drop the field, but also causes it to release an aura of energy that overwhelms transdimensional sight (such as that provided by a Luminoth Dark Visor.). The Flying Cache is incapable of releasing its item on its own, even to its Ing masters; it must be killed for the item to be retrieved. The only known Flying Ing Caches store the sacred Sky Temple Keys.

Related Creatures

The following are creatures that coexist with the Ing on Dark Aether, but may not technically count as part of the Ing race.

• Dark Phlogi are strange, floating creatures that can withstand the toxic water of Dark Aether. They look sort of like upside-down mushrooms. When they detect prey, they open their shells to spray acid, but expose a weak nerve center that can be fired at to stun them. Although the "Dark" prefix suggests they are just a Darkling-possessed Phlogus, no examples of said creature exist in Light Aether.

• Nightbarbs are small, swarming flyers with bizarre, three-pronged bodies. They are a favorite food of Hunter Ing. How they fly is unknown, as the spikes protruding from their caltrop-like bodies don't seem to be very useful for flying.

• Ingclaws are bizarre, egg-shaped creatures that can be found attached to cliff walls throughout Dark Aether. They are immobile but virtually indestructible. Ingclaws feed on tiny airborne creatures and other atmospheric floatsam, releasing waste in the form of a highly toxic purple vapor. Occasionally, an Ingclaw enters a dormant state, apparently due to their constant exposure to Dark Aether’s deadly atmosphere. Since they never move anyway, the only notable difference between an active Ingclaw and a dormant one is the production of toxic gas (dormant Ingclaws do not feed and thus do not produce any waste.)

• Ing Webtraps are creatures used as living barriers by the Ing. They phase into existence where and when ordered, covering doors or other important locations with strands of an unknown material. They are highly resistant to damage; only by destroying the commanding Ing can a Webtrap be removed. In Metroid Prime 2, only one Ingtrap ever appears; perhaps they were always rare or have been mostly eliminated by the Luminoth.

• Weblings, likely close cousins to the Ing Webtraps, look like single eyes resting in the center of their large webs. Like many spiders, Weblings simply wait for prey to be caught in it. They are resistant to most weapons, though like all darklings they are vulnerable to light.

Signature ability

While their sheer numbers, high durability and brute strength make the Ing fearsome, several Ing classes (including Warrior and Hunter) have the ability to physically "meld" with a creature (or mechanical construct) and control its body. A being controlled in this way is described as being "Dark", and Ing-possessed creatures as a whole are Darklings. The host need not be alive (or functional) prior to possession, but an Ing whose host dies perishes soon afterward. It is possible to resist possession with enough willpower and/or psychic force: the corpse of one Luminoth sentinel in particular indicates multiple failed attempts at possession, and others were able to fend off total possession just long enough to take their own lives. Soldiers (such as Space Pirate troopers) and other persons conditioned to take orders make easier hosts. Creatures with strange psychology or physiology are difficult to fully control: a Dark Blogg, for instance, cannot use the sonic blasts typical of its race.

A Darkling is easily distinguished from a non-possessed specimen: its skin or outer covering becomes a black or dark purple color, and it may display physical features not found in normal specimens, such as spines or extra eyes. A Darkling's physical strength and endurance are both dramatically increased, and any energy-manipulating powers it may have could be enhanced or altered. However, the Ing tissue in its body remains vulnerable to light energy. Ing who have incorporated devices, such as the weapons modules stolen from Samus Aran at the beginning of Metroid Prime 2, into their bodies can make use of these devices even when possessing another creature.

Samus cannot be possessed during the course of the game because the planetary energy transfer module she acquires early in the game has a light-based power core. This energy permeates her Power Suit and prevents Ing penetration. While the Ing (Warrior Ing to be specific) don't know this at first, and will perform rather powerful tackles in a vain attempt to possess her, they do figure it out eventually; Hunter Ing perform high-speed rams without activating their possession ability, while Warrior Ing and, more specifically, the Boost Guardian turn into a corrosive slime on impact.

 

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