Whoa, maybe I really missed something here, but what are you guys talking about? Wasn't the worm thing said to be a memory-wipe that removes memories of the alien? I thought it supposed to be a mildly unpleasant thing, not horror or violence.
Okay, I went back and listened very carefully to the last scene again....
We are never actually told what the worm is, at all. No hints, nothing.
- harmful worm was *my* assumption
- memory wipe was eytanz's
- who knows what other people came up with.
My assumption that the worm was harmful came from this:
- when the worm was tossed at the coworker, it "landed on his lapel and *shot* upwards"
- then, "the coworker *shook* as the worm" continued
- the "turn-around" of the alien society's attitude seems very sudden and unexplained to me
- Thargus is a relatively simple being, e.g. not that bright and easily manipulated, as we saw Brian do several times in the spaceship.
Use of words like "shot" and "shook" made me think things weren't as hunky-dory as they seemed on the surface. I don't think societal change can really happen that quickly. So, putting all of this together, I get the very distinct feeling that Thargus is being used by his elders for something not very nice at all....
BTW, I'd love to hear how others got to their conclusions.