- "I am Temrash one-one-four, formerly Temrash two-five-two, of the Sulp Niar pool. I have been promoted. No doubt you are happy for me."
- ―Temrash 114 to Jake
Temrash 114 (pronounced Temrash One-One-Four) was the Yeerk who originally infested Tom before being promoted to the position of infesting the Governor of California. After accidentally infesting Tom's brother Jake, Temrash discovered that Jake was morph-capable and that the Andalite bandits were human children. However, he was held prisoner for three days by the Animorphs and subsequently died of Kandrona starvation.
Biography
Early Life
- "The Yeerk home world is a simpler place than this planet. Simple and elegant. [...] We Yeerks evolved as parasites, not predators. Unlike you humans, we did not kill to eat. We were peaceful. We took many different species as our hosts. And as they evolved, so did we. Over time, the Gedds evolved. They were a sort of... like a monkey, I suppose. We were in the Gedds till the Andalites first came."
- ―Temrash 114 to Jake
Temrash 114, allegedly formerly known as Temrash 252,[1] was born prior to 1966[2] on the Sulp Niar pool on the Yeerk homeworld. He infested a Gedd to serve as his host after which he able to notice the environment of his homeworld and the species that lived there for the first time. Temrash felt glee as he crushed the Gedd's attempt to resist him, although the Gedd mentally fought Temrash the whole time. Temrash was within a Gedd body when the Andalites first visited the Yeerk homeworld.[3] In 1966, many of the Yeerks in the Sulp Niar pool were loaded onto a stolen Andalite ship by a small army of Yeerks who wished to expand to the cosmos and conquer other species and territories,[4] with Temrash being one of the Yeerks who joined the exodus.[2] Temrash then joined the Yeerk Empire and was given a Hork-Bajir host body, which he used to participate in the subjugation of the Hork-Bajir on the Hork-Bajir homeworld. During his infestation, Temrash absorbed part of the Hork-Bajir's warrior mentality within his own mind.[3]
Controlling Tom
Climbing the Ranks
In 1995,[5] the Yeerk Empire began their invasion of Earth, led by Visser One.[6] By 1996,[7] Temrash 114 was among the many Yeerks who were brought to Earth[3] specifically to a city in California[8] where the Yeerks were basing their planetary invasion from.[6] Temrash was given a human host, a high school boy named Tom Berenson who accidentally witnessed Visser Three's Andalite form during a meeting of The Sharing,[3] a cult designed by Visser One to acquire voluntary human hosts.[6] Tom offered to become a voluntary host if Temrash agreed to spare his brother Jake, although Temrash did not agree to the deal since he found himself able to retain control of Tom without difficulty.[3]
Temrash had Tom publicly join The Sharing as a full member in order to recruit other humans into surrendering their bodies. Ambitious, Temrash quickly climbing up the ranks, and within a year was important enough to be among the few human-Controllers in Visser Three's inner circle. In 1997,[9] as the invasion of Earth was being transferred from Visser One to Visser Three,[6] Temrash dropped out of Tom's high school basketball team in order to free up their time. A few days later, he left Earth briefly before returning to California, arriving in the abandoned construction site where the Andalite Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul had crash-landed. Temrash watched as Visser Three morphed into an Antarean Bogg and killed Elfangor by devouring him, after which Temrash laughed with the other Controllers.[10]
A few weeks later, Temrash left the Berenson Residence on a Tuesday after school. He was then picked up by a car and was driven to attend a meeting of The Sharing.[11]
Suspicions
- "Item one. We still have not found the brats who were at the construction site. I want them found. Visser Three wants them found. Does anyone have any clues?"
"It could have been anyone. But it might be the one who's my brother, Jake. I know he goes through the construction site sometimes. That's why I brought him here tonight. So we could either make him ours... or kill him." - ―Iniss 226 and Temrash 114
While at the abandoned construction site, a group of teenagers were spotted fleeing shortly after Visser Three killed Elfangor. The next day, a Saturday, Temrash, who had since returned to his host's residence, entered Jake's room to tell him to keep their dog Homer quiet, as Jean was on the phone, only to see Tobias in Jake's room. After asking where Jake was, Temrash called "Homer" a bad dog and left. Not too long after, Temrash made his way to the kitchen where Jake was on the phone and began to eat some toast; as they discussed basketball, Temrash informed Jake that he had dropped out of his high school basketball team. As Temrash knew that Jake used the construction site as a shortcut from the mall and that he had been at the mall the night before, Temrash suspected that Jake might be one of the teenagers that they were looking for. Later on in the day, Temrash entered Jake's room, where Jake and Marco were playing Dead Zone 5, and asked if he could play. After a while, he gave his controller back to Marco before asking Jake multiple questions about kids at the construction site as well as his belief in aliens. When Jake responded that he did not know anything nor did he believe in aliens, Temrash left, although not before inviting the two to join The Sharing.
Shortly after, Jake notified "Tom" that he and his friends were interested in attending a meeting of The Sharing, and Temrash enthusiastically invited them to a bonfire that The Sharing were hosting at the beach that night. Temrash offered to drive them, although Jake and his friends elected to walk. At the beach, Temrash played night volleyball with Jake while enjoying barbecue. As the night was winding down, Temrash and Jake sat by the fire, where Temrash informed Jake that while The Sharing could be fun, there was more to the organization once he became a full member. However, when Jake asked how he could become a full member, Tom began to fight for control of the body. Enduring a brief struggle, Temrash managed to regain control over his host before excusing himself to attend the full members meeting.
Arriving at the meeting, Temrash sat with the others and noticed Iniss 226 approaching, who asked if any of them had any clue on the teenagers they were seeking. Temrash notified Iniss on his suspicions regarding Jake, and claimed that invited Jake to the beach tonight to either have him killed or infested. However, Iniss responded that they would not be killing anyone during Sharing meetings and that they couldn't kill any child they suspected since the public would notice the mass killings. Temrash then spoke to another Controller about his feeding cycle, and informed them that he would be returning to the Yeerk pool on Monday night. On Monday night, Temrash was eating dinner at home when he informed Jake that he could not play basketball with him as he had things to do. Heading to the Yeerk pool, he left Tom's body to feed. He then reinfested Tom and returned home later that night.[10]
Further Suspicions
- "Do you think these are the Andalite guerillas?"
"No. The tracks are human." [...]
"If they're human, why don't we see them out there? Four sets of human tracks. No humans in the water. Is it possible... is Visser Three wrong? What if they're not Andalites at all?" - ―Temrash 114 and Iniss 226
When a fragment of an Andalite ship washed up on the beach, Temrash and Iniss 226 were assigned to lead a group of human-Controllers, all full members of The Sharing, to search the beach at night for additional pieces. The Controllers discovered four sets of fresh human footprints and followed them. Noticing four silhouettes in the distance, one of the Controllers began firing at them with a handgun. When the Controllers reached the shore, they saw no humans in the water but found discarded clothing. Temrash then wondered if the tracks belonged to the Andalite bandits; when Iniss pointed out that the tracks were human, Temrash brought up the fact that the humans they were just chasing were not visible in the water and suggested that maybe Visser Three was wrong about the bandits being Andalites and that they might actually be human. Iniss then replied that even if Visser Three was incorrect in that belief, he was not foolish enough to try and correct him.[12]
Promoted to State Governor
Temrash 114 continued to rise through the ranks of the Yeerk Empire and worked alongside a group of fellow Controllers to set up an infestation wing at the Berman Clinic. Temrash's ascension in the ranks and his position in Visser Three's inner circle led to him being just under Iniss 226. With the Berman Clinic plan underway, the Governor of California, who planned to run for President of the United States[3] in the future,[13] was set to visit the hospital for a procedure. The Yeerk Empire decided to have the governor infested when he visited the hospital, and therefore promoted Temrash as they assigned him to be the one to infest the governor and handle state operations. With his time inside Tom now coming to an end, Temrash used the landline at the Berenson Residence to call the infested doctors at the Berman Clinic, including Dr. Berman himself, to prepare for his future host.
One Saturday morning, Temrash, playing the part of "Tom", greeted Jake at the breakfast table before leaving to go to the park, where The Sharing held a clean-up effort. Temrash then spent the day performing the clean-up before returning to the Berenson Residence late in the evening. Greeted by "his parents," Temrash as Tom informed them that he had already eaten; when Steve remarked that "Tom" would not get any cheesesteak, Temrash "begged" to have some, playing the part as Tom would have reacted. Temrash then noticed that Jake was staring at his forehead and called him out on it, eventually throwing a dinner roll at him, which Jake caught. When Jake remarked that "Tom" had gotten slower since he joined The Sharing, Temrash glared at Jake, who then excused himself to do homework. Temrash quickly left the dinner table and caught up with Jake, where he asked Jake why he was so against The Sharing. Temrash attempted to convince Jake to join the organization in order to become part of something greater, but when Jake refused, Temrash felt contempt and showed it for a brief second with Tom's facial muscles before quickly regaining composure and walking away.
On a Thursday night, Temrash attended a leadership meeting of The Sharing at The Sharing's Headquarters. There, he listened as Visser Three spoke about the hospital plan and how they were projecting to infest at least two hundred patients a month, with a focus on those with power and influence. During the meeting, several cockroaches were found on the floor, which Visser Three suspected were Andalite bandits in morph. Temrash watched as a human-Controller who dismissed the cockroaches was shot dead and aided the others Controllers in crushing or capturing the cockroaches, although the cockroaches successfully escaped. As a bird snatched one of the cockroaches, Temrash exited the building with Visser Three and his guards.
A Jacuzzi whirlpool was added to a room at the Berman Clinic to serve as a portable Yeerk pool, where Yeerks who were slated to infest hospital patients were to be kept. With the governor scheduled to visit in a few days, Temrash exited Tom as a host, with Tom being given to a Yeerk with a low rank, while Temrash was placed in the Jacuzzi Yeerk pool.[3]
Controlling Jake
- "Why would I abandon such an interesting host? So you are the one who has driven Visser Three half-mad with rage. A kid. The midget."
"Midget? How do–"
"You're surprised I know what Tom calls you? Ha ha ha. Oh, the irony really is sweet. Don't you get it, clever Jake? Don't you see what's happened, my little Animorph." - ―Temrash 114 and Jake
On Saturday, at around 9:00 A.M., Temrash 114 was in the Jacuzzi portable Yeerk pool when the temperature suddenly rose, causing the Yeerks in the pool to be boiled alive. As he was burning, Temrash noticed a human head fall into the agitated pool and quickly swam over to the human and entered its ear, saving himself from being boiled. Entering his new host's brain, Temrash realized that the host was none other than Jake, the younger brother of his previous host, Tom. As Temrash accessed Jake's memories, Temrash was shocked to discover that Jake and his human friends – his cousin Rachel, his friend Marco, a girl named Cassie, and a human trapped as a bird known as Tobias – along with an Andalite named Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, were the "Andalite bandits" they had been chasing, and that they were morph-capable human children rather than Andalites. As "Jake" had his face covered by the Animorphs as they carried him out of the Berman Clinic, Temrash tried to use Jake's hand to move the lab coat that they had placed on Jake's head to conceal his identity from other Controllers.
The Animorphs soon arrived deep in the national forest, and Temrash was amused as Jake wondered what the voice in his head was. Temrash then told Jake to put his brain to work and referred to Jake as "the servant of the Andalite filth," prompting Jake to immediately realize that he had been infested. As this was going on, Cassie attempted to speak to Jake as "Jake" was not being responsive. Temrash notified Jake of his name and that he was the Yeerk who controlled Tom, adding that Tom was now the host body to a Yeerk with a lowly rank. Temrash, as "Jake", took control of Jake's body and answered Cassie's questions, while internally telling Jake that he would never be able to resist him, and that he knew about all of the Animorphs and their secrets. As Jake, Temrash stated that once Ax and Rachel were safe, they should split up to avoid being caught, which would give Temrash the opportunity to rendezvous with Visser Three and deliver the Animorphs. However, as Temrash greeted Rachel, he received a tap on his shoulder and turned around, where he found himself face-to-face with Ax, who sneaked up behind him. As Ax stared into Jake's eyes, Temrash, filled with hate with having to look at an Andalite in the face and caught off-guard by Ax's sudden appearance, made a face of contempt and hatred with Jake's facial muscles. Upon noticing the facial expression, Ax quickly put his tail blade to Jake's throat and announced to the Animorphs that Jake had been infested.
Temrash tried to talk his way out of the accusation, but the Animorphs, now suspicious, wanted to detain Jake for three days. As Jake's parents would notice his three-day absence, Cassie proposed that Ax should morph into Jake. Ax then stepped up and placed his fingers on Jake and began to acquire him, and Temrash, disgusted and furious at an Andalite touching him, yelled "Get your hand off me, Andalite filth!" Temrash quickly tried to defend his outburst, but the Animorphs were now convinced that Jake had been taken by the Yeerks and decided to hold him at a shack that Tobias knew of. As Temrash was escorted to the shack, he tried to convince Cassie, whom he singled out as the weakest link in the Animorphs, that he was not a Controller and that he was just have a bad day. In response, Ax remarked that it was not that bad a day as many Yeerks had been killed, adding that only Temrash had survived by escaping into Jake; the reminder of his fellow Yeerks being boiled to death caused Temrash to feel immense rage and anger. During their walk, Temrash told Jake that the Animorphs would not be able to hold him against his will for three hours, let alone three days, as Temrash had realized that he could use Jake's morphing abilities to make his escape.
Nearing the shack, Temrash took this opportunity to plead with Cassie, casting doubt on Ax's ability to pretend to be him and that if "Tom" found out, they would all be killed. Rachel turned around and told Temrash to shut up, and stated that between her, Cassie, and Marco, they would manage to teach Ax to pass for Jake. Temrash merely responded that it would never work, but Ax, who had morphed into Jake, disagreed that the plan would fail as humans believed what they saw. Temrash then grinned at Ax using Jake's mouth and replied that Ax looking like Jake would not be enough and that "Tom" would discover him in about an hour. The Animorphs shared a look before Marco called Temrash stupid for his choice of response, noting that the real Jake would have helped Ax play the part in order to prevent "Tom" from noticing, with Rachel chiming in that Temrash had "blown Final Jeopardy" by not wanting them to succeed. Despite this, Temrash remained confident that the morphing ability would allow him to escape soon. At the shack, Temrash was tied up with a bit of rope that Tobias had found, with Rachel and Tobias taking the first shift while Marco and Cassie instructed Ax on how to portray Jake.
Inside the shack, Temrash had a fantasy about escaping and delivering the Animorphs to Visser Three on his Blade ship and being promoted. When Jake mocked him for his fantasies, Temrash accessed Jake's memories and forced Jake to view a fantasy Jake had of being a pro basketball player praised by Tom, much to Jake's embarrassment. Jake then began mentally yelling about how Temrash would lose, causing a smug Temrash to access one of Tom's memories, specifically the memory earlier that week at the breakfast table. Jake experienced the memory the way Tom did, and felt Tom's utter hopelessness and desire for death. During the breakfast conversation, when Temrash (as Tom) tried to convince Jake to join The Sharing, Tom mentally begged Temrash to spare Jake, although Temrash quickly quelled him. The realization that Tom had given up fighting and was awaiting death to free him greatly saddened Jake, and Temrash stated that this was the way it was for all hosts, who eventually surrendered when they realized they could not overpower their Yeerk. Despite this, Jake remained confident that the Animorphs would succeed and that Temrash would die.
That night, Temrash stayed awake and watched his surroundings as Jake fell asleep. Temrash observed Jake's dream where Jake hunted Tom in tiger morph before becoming Tom right before the tiger struck, and remarked to Jake when he woke up that the dream was metaphorical. Temrash directed Jake's eyes to Rachel, who had fallen asleep. Temrash then began morphing into the tiger and brought the rope to his tiger teeth to free himself. As he walked by Rachel, Jake was worried that Temrash would kill her, although Temrash stated that he would not kill her as her body was morph-capable and therefore of value to the Yeerk Empire. As Temrash made his way into the forest as a tiger, he smelled the scent of humans nearby while also realizing that the tiger could not tell which direction led out of the forest. Temrash then began running, but due to tigers not being long distance runners, he quickly tired himself out. Once again, Temrash picked up the scent of nearby humans, which both Jake and Temrash found odd for humans to be this deep into the forest in the middle of the night. Jake pointed out that they only had two hours in a morph and that Visser Three would not want his body to lose its morphing capability, and Temrash snapped that he did not need Jake to tell him what Visser Three wanted. Temrash then demorphed back into Jake's body and began morphing into a falcon, deciding to just fly away, when they were attacked by a great horned owl, which tore through Jake's shoulder and the tendons below, preventing the falcon from taking flight. Jake then began to inform Temrash what the owl was, much to Temrash's irritation, who tersely stated that he could read Jake's mind and therefore knew everything Jake knew. Just then, the great horned owl revealed itself to be Cassie in morph, who divulged that Rachel had pretended to fall asleep since the Animorphs had suspected that Temrash would morph, and apologizing for injuring him, assured them that the others were also in the forest.
Temrash looked through all of Jake's available morphs. Temrash considered morphing into an insect, doubting that Cassie's owl vision would be able to see it, but Jake pointed out that the insect would not be able to travel very far in two hours, which angered Temrash, as he read Jake's mind and realized that Jake relished in bothering him. Temrash then morphed Jake's body into a wolf and began running, and to Jake's chagrin he realized that the wolf was able to tell which path led deeper into the forest and which path led back to the city. As they ran, they heard the sound of two wolves howling before they smelled a rival wolf pack approaching. Laughing, Jake realized that the rival pack was the one they had encountered in the forest during the Truck ship mission and tried to notify Temrash, who once again lashed out that he did not need Jake to tell him things as he had access to Jake's mind. Jake chided Temrash as to whether he thought he could take on the pack as he realized that the two wolves howling were two Animorphs, who had notified the wild wolf pack of his presence. As the wild wolf pack emerged, blocking their way out of the city, Jake and Temrash found the path behind them blocked by Marco and Rachel, the two wolves who had been howling. Marco stepped out in human form, with Rachel having remorphed into an elephant, and addressed Temrash, urging him to return to the shack. Angered, Temrash felt like lunging at Marco and attacking him with his wolf teeth, although Marco, who sensed Temrash's mood, claimed that Temrash would not have much success with a wild wolf pack and an elephant to contend with. Temrash then surrendered, and Jake noted that unlike humans, who fought to the very end even when they knew they would lose, Yeerks were the type to surrender. Temrash responded that it was foolish to fight when there was no chance of victory, although Jake believed that humanity's decision to keep fighting is why they would one day win. Defeated, Temrash demorphed back into Jake's body and was escorted back to the shack.[3]
Death
On Sunday morning, Temrash morphed into an ant to try and escape, but only got three feet before a rival ant colony tried to dismember him, forcing him to demorph as he cursed the savagery of life on Earth. On Monday, during the daytime, Temrash tried to morph into the falcon once more, but was caught by Tobias, who put his talons around Jake's head while he was in mid-morph. Tobias threatened to kill the half-morphed falcon if Temrash did not demorph, prompting Temrash to finally speak to the Animorphs as a Yeerk. Temrash reminded Tobias that if he killed the falcon, Jake would be killed as well, to which Tobias pointed out that it was better to die than to be infested; however, Tobias added that he did not need to kill him as he could simply gouge the falcon's eyes out, which would prevent Temrash from flying away. Accepting his defeat, Temrash demorphed. As the evening approached, Temrash struggled to concentrate and had fantasies of being rescued by the Yeerk Empire, although even in his fantasies he realized he would not be rewarded even if rescued since he had failed to overcome the Animorphs. As night fell, Temrash's body wracked with pain as he felt immense hunger.
Around 4:00 A.M., Temrash spoke to Jake about how humans would not win since they were still unaware of the invasion, adding that the Andalites would not arrive to Earth on time, to which Jake merely responded that even if that were the case, Temrash would not live to see a Yeerk victory and that he had only five hours left to live. Temrash accused Jake of being cruel for laughing at him for dying, prompting Jake to retort whether Temrash expected pity, which Temrash denied. As the hours passed, Temrash began talking about the Yeerk homeworld and how their hosts were the Gedds, adding that he was in a Gedd body when the Andalites first arrived on their world. Jake quickly asked what happened when the Andalite arrived, but Temrash told him to ask Ax about the story instead. Temrash groaned as he informed Jake that the fugue — the final moments of a Yeerk's life as he died of starvation — began, and Temrash felt immense waves of pain that caused him to scream in pain. Cassie walked into the shack shortly after and took Jake's hand to comfort him, which Temrash allowed as he wanted some of the comfort for himself.
Temrash's mind then began deteriorating, and the mental wall he had erected between himself and Jake collapsed, allowing Jake view the memories Temrash was currently thinking of, which consisted of when he first infested a Gedd, his experience of being able to see and hear, crushing the Gedd's simple mind, his time living on the Yeerk homeworld, his control over a Hork-Bajir, which he used to take out other Hork-Bajir, as well as his time controlling Tom, including the memory of how Tom was captured by the Yeerks. In his dying moments, Temrash transferred these memories and the emotions attached to them into Jake's mind. With the pain far more intense than it had ever been before, Temrash lost control over Jake's body, allowing Jake to move his eyes as he told Jake that he had won against him after all. Temrash then exited out of Jake's ear and died of Kandrona ray starvation, and his dead body quickly shriveled into nothingness. The Yeerk Empire never knew of his fate, as they had believed he had been killed days earlier alongside the other Yeerks boiled to death at the Berman Clinic.[3]
Morphs
- "The Yeerk controlled my hands and feet and voice, he controlled my very mind. Of course he had my morphing power, too!"
- ―Jake
| Morph | Book Morphed In |
|---|---|
| Siberian Tiger | The Capture |
| Peregrine Falcon (partially) | |
| Wolf | |
| Black Garden Ant |
- Temrash 114's morphs were done using Jake's body, using Jake's pre-existing morphs.
Appearances
- The Invasion
- The Visitor (mentioned)
- The Encounter
- The Message
- The Capture
Trivia
- Temrash states he was "promoted" from Temrash 252 to Temrash 114. However, later books reveal that a Yeerk's number is determined and fixed at birth and does not change, as the number designation is in relation to birth and not rank.
Gallery
|
"Someone took a picture of me? Not cool. Do you see what I'm wearing? I'm Spandex-boy. Totally not cool."
The image gallery for Temrash 114 may be viewed here |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Temrash claims he was born with the number 252 but was promoted to 114. In later books, it is stated that Yeerks are given a number designation at birth that does not change upon promotion.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Temrash states he lived in the Sulp Niar pool on the Yeerk homeworld. As a Yeerk Empire officer who was born on the homeworld, he would have been part of the 1966 Yeerk exodus.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 The Capture
- ↑ The Hork-Bajir Chronicles
- ↑ In VISSER, it is revealed that the Yeerk Empire's invasion of Earth began at the same time Edriss 562 became Visser One. The promotion caused Edriss to fake the death of her host, Eva, in order to free up her time. In #1: The Invasion, set in 1997, it is stated that Eva died two years prior, placing the beginning of Earth's invasion in 1995.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 VISSER
- ↑ Jake mentions in #1 that he and Tom stopped being as close since "last year or so" after Tom joined The Sharing. As #1 is set in 1997, this puts Tom's infestation at 1996.
- ↑ The Beginning
- ↑ The Andalite Chronicles is said to take place 10 years after the 1966 Yeerk exodus of The Hork-Bajir Chronicles and 21 years before Elfangor met the Animorphs. This places it in 1976, meaning the Animorphs met Elfangor in 1997.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 The Invasion
- ↑ The Encounter
- ↑ The Message
- ↑ Rachel mentions that the governor would be running for President "next year." This book was released in January 1997, meaning that the next Presidential election at the time of publication would have been in 2000. Due to the series being set from 1997-2000, with this book being set in 1997, Rachel cannot be referring to the 2000 election; it also cannot be set in 1995 where Rachel's reference would instead be referring to the 1996 election. Therefore, Rachel's remark does not align with the timeline of the series. For this reason, the Wiki instead operates as if the governor was planning to run for President "in the future" as opposed to "next year."