BP8 – Gabriel Aguilar

Octavia Butler’s “Bloodchild” presents an excellent example of parasitic symbiosis. Parasitism, which the National Library of Medicine defines as “A symbiotic relationship in which a symbiont lives all or part of its life in or on a living host, usually benefiting while harming the host in some way and usually having a higher reproductive potential than the host.”(Overstreet 1) is at the forefront of this story and is pretty much exclusively the relationship between the Tlic and the Humans. In order to survive the Tlic implant the humans with their eggs for them to grow into adulthood with proper nutrients as well as protection. This type of parasitic symbiosis happens in a variety of animals in the world, however, Butler states that this story was largely based on the botfly of the Peruvian Amazon. “The botfly lays its eggs in wounds left by the bites of other insects. I found the idea of a maggot living and growing under my skin, eating my flesh as it grew, to be so intolerable, so terrifying that I didn’t know how I could stand it if it happened to me.” (Butler 20)

The parasitic relationship between the Tlic and humans is a scary, and yet somehow beautiful thing. While yes, the humans don’t necessarily have a choice in the matter, literally being caged by the Tlic, “Yeah. Stupid. Running inside the Preserve. Running in a cage.” (Butler 12) the humans have also found that they have been able to form a deep relationship with their captors. This relationship wasn’t always the case, and the fear of the situation, was said to only really settle once the humans began inviting the Tlic into their homes as a part of their family. “It was an honor to have T’Gatoi in the family, but it was hardly a novelty.” (Butler 1). Not only do the Tlic use the humans as the hosts for their spawn, they also seem to have developed a relationship in which the humans become a host for themselves, taking up residence within their homes, and on occasion protecting them from outside forces. It’s at this point in adulthood where I think an argument could be made that while their relationship is largely still Parasitism, it turns into something at least representing mutualism.

While I believe the shift that happens when the Tlic become adults is important I also am not exactly sure what to call the relationship going forward. The parasitic symbiosis is still there and largely active as the main reason for their relationship, however there is something deeper going on. At least, in T’gatoi’s case there is a love between her and Gan, “On one level, it’s a love story between two very different beings.” (Butler 20). We don’t exactly have a relationship like this on Earth, at least not that I was able to find. The closest I got to this was humans taking on pets, such as guard dogs. In the real world, some humans choose to buy dogs in order to help protect their homes and their young. Much like the Tlic use the humans to protect their spawn, and the humans use the Tlic to protect themselves within their homes. This, admittedly is a loose argument however, and the only other I found was an animal called the Ichneumon Wasp. These creatures are “… koinobiont parasitoids—that is, they keep their hosts alive and functioning (more or less) as they feed either from the inside or the outside, eating the non-essential bits first and delivering the coup de grace when they are ready to pupate.” (University of Milwaukee) This isn’t exactly the same as what the Tlic are doing, however, some less scholarly articles claim that the parent wasp will implant chemicals that allow a host to have a longer life while implanting their eggs.

Sources:
Parasitism
Ichneumon Wasp