When does the parasite lose its power?

Question

We ran into this crazy situation tonight in a game of cosmic encounter. (shocking...)

The parasite had the chance to force an alliance with an attacking player and then win, but he had no extra ships. All of his home and foreign colonies had only one ship. He had three home colonies, so if he were to send any of his home ships to ally he would immediately lose his power.

Is the parasite able to form the alliance first, then send ships against the will of the attacker, even if he loses his power immediately when he sends his ship? Or is it impossible for the alliance to happen because he loses his power as he's sending ships?

No idea of this can even be definitively answered...

Answer 1

Notice that the text of the Parasite say that "...you may use this power to ally..." (emphasis mine). It does not say "... you may use this power by allying...".

The point is that the use of the power and the actual process of allying are not one-and-the-same; using the power triggers and allows for allying when not invited.

So as long as you have three home planets (or two in a four-planet game), you may use your power. Your power gets you to ally.

During the Alliance phase of the next encounter, you'll either have three home planets or you won't.

Answer 2

In other words, yes the Parasite can use his power in that situation. He only loses his home colonies after he has initiated the action of using his power, and by then it's already under way. Once you start using your power, you don't have to constantly check to make sure that all the conditions for initiating it are still in effect. (It would actually be a problem if it did work that way, since the results of some powers actually change the very conditions that allowed the power to fire in the first place.)