Once upon a time I was trying to explain how Internet Explorer was integrated with Windows. The perfect analogy came to me: Star Trek - the episode where the alien creatures that looked like a flying version of that fake vomit they made when I was a kid attacked Spock and wrapped themselves around his nervous system. They couldn't get rid of the creature because it had become so integrated with Spock. I figured that's what IE did with Windows.

 

Note: I am not calling Internet Explorer flying vomit :-D

 

For years I used this analogy without knowing the name of the episode or the official taxonomy of the creatures.

 

Google to the rescue: http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TOS/episode/68718.html

 

Episode: "Operation: Annihilate!"

Creature: "large, amoeba-like aliens that attack humans and intertwine their tentacles with the body's nervous system" from Deneva.

 

Now, the fact that these parasites are described as using "excruciating pain as a means of controlling their victims" has nothing to do with my analogy, really....

 

:-D