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[Drnothing1]

[Starkley]

[DHawk314]

[Lithp]

I always kind of thought of The Operator as more of a "magic" entity, heightening just how alien he was to the setting, but just for the sake of the argument from pseudocience:

I would imagine that The Operator could send out some kind of field of electromagnetic radiation from his person. This is the cause of the slendersickness, the distortions, the broken electronics, & the memory problems. He knows what is around him from the way the waves come back to him. He also has the ability to sense other sources of electromagnetism, allowing him to know when thinking creatures or electronics are in the area. He can vary the direction, intensity, & wavelength of his own field, to acheive certain effects. For example, if he wants you to come with him, but he doesn't want to kill you, he employs a lower frequency wave of energy that interferes with your thought processes. He can never be "harmless," it's just an issue of whether or not he wants you dead on the spot.

This would suggest that he's "alive" in some sense, but probably makes use of energy for sustenance directly. Like some kind of super-efficient plant.

[guillaume]

the operator is probably a symbiote of some sort.

tim sort of mentions that it goes with alex where ever he is so im guessing the operator forms a bond with someone after driving them insane(Tim in season 1, Alex until present)

[Hillstar]

His relatability and relatively harmless outward appearance coupled to frightening, inescapable, possibly infallible powers. He is perhaps a universal symbol of the overwhelming dangers in life that perhaps fueled the evolution of such a thing as paranoia and the pursuit of knowledge and security, made apparent by the instinctive, basic nature of alex, jay, tim etc. after prolonged contact with him. He is a good argument for civilization, and his existence shows that even today, our world and our imaginations still have plenty of room for something more primal.