You mean the Satellite DISH. It can make Sims in the neighborhood Happy, Angry, Pee, Sleep or Dance But it can not attack anyone that is not how it works. It has other uses as well that don't directly affect Sims.
@hoxharding it seems you evoked the angry mood over the town with the Satellite DISH and you probably used a lot of counteracting cheats at the same time to undo the actions with the Satellite DISHes. When you also cheated an interaction between an alien and a mermaid, the offspring will have some strange features that do not work properly in the game. That together with a lot of cheats might make your save instable as well. So when you don't like this save anymore I suggest that you should start a new game. I am sure @jpkarlsen is correct in his suggestions in his earlier posts.
Anyhow, have fun playing. 😉
