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Latex species
General
In desperation, they knew they had to change the very genetic makeup of humans to eradicate this global threat. They began infusing various compounds with animal DNA. Latex creatures as they would be known, are primarily anthropomorphic (but occasionally feral or a different, miscellaneous form) and usually animal-like in appearance. Most of the latex act in a feral fashion, and will try to infect or assimilate any human that they see.
- Abhorrent Admirer: On at least two separate occasions, the latex beasts Colin runs into will have a massive heart above their heads when spotting him. They then instantly go on to try to transfur/absorb him. Colin doesn't want anything to do with them at all.
- Admiring the Abomination: At least one of the three research teams in the 'Genetic Project' began to feel this way about their creations, and wanted to continue studying their various capabilities, dark and light, rather than curing The Plague.
- Air-Vent Passageway: Their favourite method of moving around the tower complex. You learn in the game's first room, to stay well clear of any vents or shafts.
- All Animals Are Dogs: The researchers noted a lot of the creatures began to take on a "canine-appearance" and ethology, despite the fact that dogs weren't used in the Genetic Project. This was because over-domestication had inadvertently led to harmful genetic mutations, that the Pale Virus might exploit, making them undesirable candidates for testing.
- Animal Jingoism: Just about every latex creature sees humans as prey to either assimilate or convert. Puro is notable for being one of the only creatures that doesn't try to transfur Colin (which he does anyways in most of the bad endings). The Tiger Shark notably only wants Colin as a playmate instead of food or to turn into a mindless shark. This is downplayed in Special Edition, where most of the latex creatures hunt Colin, but quite a few are apathetic and fine co-existing with him.
- The Assimilator: They're driven by a primordial Horror Hunger to engulf and absorb any human they come into direct contact with.
- Bizarre Sexual Dimorphism: What gender they'll become when they mature is completely random and usually results in a Gender Bender for the human host.
- Blob Monster: All creatures start off as being mostly non-sentient, animorphed masses of latex or other slimy materials, giving them a malleable property. Like the trope, they're virtually indestructible and Immune to Bullets. By absorbing carbon-based organisms it effectively makes them immortal, gaining a semblance of human-like sapience, which they then use to seek out more prey.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: They're not exactly evil - they're just animals following their basic instincts to survive and reproduce. Most latex beasts are incapable of seeing people as anything other than Human Resources that need to stop existing and become part of them immediately. The more intelligent these monsters get, the more they want to play with their prey. When they do assimilate and 'transfur' to achieve Homo sapien-level cognitive facilities, it merely affirms in their minds
their position was always the correct one - they're saving humans from themselves and taking Bond Creatures to the next natural evolutionary level. - Born-Again Immortality: Being artificial they cannot "die", but both species of latex goos exist in an eternal regeneration cycle. The Dark creatures slowly revert to their crystalline states before they become part of the next generation of pups. The Light creatures, lacking this crystalline core, are inherently unstable, they'll eventually break down into their default blob forms. Each time they're "reborn" it causes a Loss of Identity; only devouring a human to become their host will halt this cycle, and make them truly immortal.
- Death of Personality: Their major design flaw. To eradicate the deadly Pale Virus, bioengineers infused latex goo with animal-DNA the pathogen was harmless to. These creations were meant to be a remedy, but all possess their own sentience and desires. Few people are 'lucky enough' to be "transfurred" with any of their memories and identities remaining; some monsters will preserve the person's mind, but completely assimilate the human host inside them, stripping away their freedoms and autonomies... forever; the vast majority of people, end up unwillingly consumed into a newly emerging Hive Mind.
- Destructive Saviour: The experiments were meant to be mankind's last hope against an unstoppable virus, but they got quickly out-of-hand and began asexually reproducing, wrecking the facility, and 'transfurring' any humans they came across into their expanding collective.
- Don't Touch It, You Idiot!: You'll learn this the hard way. If you're human or otherwise, you're prey and they will swallow you up without hesitation.
- From Cataclysm to Myth: Its heavily implied from ancient medical journals, legends, and horror stories based on local myths, that the latex goos were responsible for at least three epidemics in human history. The largest of which consumed the entire Mayan people, and each time they left as mysteriously as they came without a trace.
- Godzilla Threshold: The bioengineers of Thunder Science Company knew full well the latex monsters would be crossing this threshold and could potentially cause a Grey Goo doomsday scenario for all life on the planet. The Pale Virus however, was already killing them. Up against The Plague they didn't have the luxury of choice.
- Gone Horribly Right: They were man's last endeavour to make the ultimate vaccine for the ultimate disease. A vaccine that self-administers itself to a sick and dying populus, which by now was 99% infected, with the ultra-rich already sought refuge in their secret bunker. But while these synthetic animal-DNA infused creations are compelled to seek out any human being and swallow them up, the end result isn't only being saved from The Plague, but also a near-complete Death of Personality through assimilation by the monsters. In a sense, the cure is almost as bad as the disease.
- Hybrid Monster: These latex artificial creatures never stop growing or evolving, eventually some of them start resembling mythological creatures such as dragons, Medusa and the Classical Chimera.
- Immortal Procreation Clause: Averted. They cannot "die" of natural causes, all reproduce asexually, and everyone of them is an Explosive Breeder that could cause a Grey Goo scenario if left unchecked.
- It Can Think: The more they grow and assimilate, the more intelligence and cunning they'll acquire to hunt after people.
- Lack of Empathy: Like an amoeba, they will engulf and ingest any living thing they capture with a predators mind unclouded by conscience, guilt or pity for their prey.
- Logical Weakness: They cannot absorb inorganic matter such as robots or machines, but since mankind never got further than Prototype in developing AI, it's not an exploitable weakness. Due to their gooey malleable bodies they can also be compressed by solid objects and unable to reform until the compression on their mass stops.
- Made of Indestructium: Once these synthetic artificial-lifeforms were created, by definition of being Blob monsters could not be destroyed. When scientists failed with the dark-latex experiments to save people from the Pale Virus they were ordered to terminate the specimens, but found they were unable to. The bioengineers lamented they were trying to stop The Plague, not create Grey Goo monsters. The latex gooey animals were immune to bullets, sickness, dismemberment, injury, their matter was a natural repellant for contaminants or toxins, heck they didn't even need to breathe. All they could do was shove them into cylindrical containers to contain them away. That would've been the end of the story, until the riots happened.
- Magic Antidote: Their intended function was to be an automated self-aware vaccine that would seek out, transform, immunize, and save a dying humanity from an unstoppable pandemic. They succeeded. Despite the noble cause of the Project, the goo beasts beget Harmful Healing by causing a Death of Personality for anyone they assimilate.
- Metamorphosis Monster: The more they consume, the more diverse and powerful their bodies become. It's easy to see them as this world's Ultimate Life Form since they never suffer disease, fatal injury or die of old age once they've swallowed up a human host.
- Monochromatic Eyes: All the newly-created latex beasts have black sclera with white pupils by default. They don't change color, until after engulfing a human prey whose eye color they then take on.
- Non-Malicious Monster: None of the latex goo monsters want you dead, they're just running mostly on animal-like instinct in desiring to assimilate/absorb you. Even their playful mannerisms are evident as they chase and hunt you. The concept of "humanity", "rationality" and "reason" are all alien to them, and that's the problem. If they succeed in swallowing you up, you're effectively being killed by them - you lose your individuality, your freedom, everything.
- One-Hit Kill: Virtually every monster in the game can absorb and swallow you up with but a mere touch and there's almost nothing you can do to fight back as they're all indestructible, except run or hide.
- Perpetual-Motion Monster: Defied. While immune to dismemberment, they slowly shed their gooey residue over time. They need to eat organic matter to maintain their bodies. Fruit, vegetables, and other latex creatures will suffice, if humans or animals aren't available.
- Personal Space Invader: Intentionally encoded into the monsters by their creators, because what good is a sentient vaccine that can't administer itself to a dying mankind, most too ill to do it themselves?
- Sliding Scale of Anthropomorphism: They were just amorphous inanimate blobs, until bioengineers infused various latex compounds with animal-DNA to not only give dying patients immunity to the Pale Virus, but also an automated delivery of the vaccine to a population rapidly becoming too sick to administer it themselves. Generally, the more they assimilate, the more anthropomorphic they become.
- Takes One to Kill One: They can't be destroyed, even with their vulnerability to electric shocks. The only thing that can stop a latex beast, is another latex beast. Dark and light goo monsters naturally hate one another and will try to devour their rivals. The prey's consumed amorphous body gets broken down as the other latex corrupts and melds with its matter: The assimilator has become assimilated.
- Taser Tag Weakness: The only thing that can temporarily push back a Nigh Invulnerable latex beast into containment is electric shocks. Poisons, acids, bullets, and even explosives are useless against them. note Now After the End, there's not an equippable Static Stun Gun left in sight.
- The Virus: They work on a molecular/subatomic level to consume organic matter, assimilate it, and using the ingested material to replicate more of themselves in a process called 'transfurmation'. Their abilities are so virulent, in fact, just coming into contact with dark-latex inanimate crystals, or light-latex in either liquid or gaseous states made by the scientists studying the damn things, is enough to be 'transfured'. They were supposed to be the cure for a highly lethal virus but have untold potential for a Grey Goo scenario, and have begun to repopulate the planet After the End.
- There Is No Cure: Anyone assimilated by the Mutagenic Goo latex creatures is changed by them for keeps. The "transfurmation" process as it became known as by the bioengineers that created them, is permanent and irreversible.
- Uplifted Animal: After assimilating many humans, researchers realized the evolving latex beasts had acquired Super-Intelligence equal to or surpassing people. Super Intelligent Individuals, or "SII" as they were called, loved problem-solving, could speak, and even had Eidetic memory. This mutation proved ineffectual to Thunder Science, as being absorbed by a SII latex still resulted in a Loss of Identity. SII goos still had the Horror Hunger that compelled them to hunt humans. The bioengineers knew they had to eliminate them immediately. As the monsters were indestructible, they forced the SII to merge with regular-latex beasts, and via selective breeding, made them almost blind to remove the danger SII posed. These Formerly Sapient Species were still a threat however, as they can use their other senses to see, and if they ingest humans they'll be able to see again and regain their sentience.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: As the Special Edition showcases a lot of the monsters' newly acquired intelligence is coming into conflict with their basic instincts, the outcome can range from Big Fun to Chaotic Stupid.
Light Latex creatures
Light Latex creatures
- Animal Jingoism: Though there are some exceptions they generally HATE the Dark-latex goo creatures, seeing them as Dark Is Evil and a rival species competing for Human Resources.
- Animalistic Abomination: They lack the solid crystalline cores of their dark-latex counterparts, their anatomy without a human host is unstable, and many of them appear malformed with various missing attributes, no vision or hearing.
- The Assimilator: Compared to their Dark "cousins", Light-Latex beasts don't follow "a set of rules", meaning that they'll mercilessly transfur anyone they deem a host.
- Bizarre Alien Biology: Their basic body shape is most similar to dogs or wolves, but through assimilation of multiple organisms they soon take on a variegated form of virtually any animal or plant they desire.
- Blob Monster: More so than the Dark-Latex monsters. Most of the Light/White creatures start off like this, rather than the crystalline structures the Darks originate from.
- Cute Slime Mook: Unlike their Dark counterparts, when dealing with these Light goo monsters, anything larger than your fist is a potential threat even if it's not chasing you.
- Divergent Character Evolution: Scientists took note that the light-latex beasts were rapidly evolving from the lab animals they infused into their design, dubbing them "variegated-latex beasts" they were rapidly changing into all manner of diverse creatures and colors.
- Doppelmerger: If several or more light-latex Blob Monsters are unable to find a human, they may choose to perform a Fusion Dance to become able-bodied and more adept hunters.
- Grey Goo: They have an even greater potential for this trope than the Dark-latex monsters, although its not the The End of the World as We Know It scenario since the Pale Virus has already achieved that and the human race is virtually extinct.
- Hive Mind: Some share a collective hive-mind not having an indefinite lifespan, lacking a Hive Queen. Others have animal-like intelligence behaving far more independent, actively chasing humans on sight. Those hunters subvert the trope, by wanting to assimilate many humans inside their bodies instead.
- Made of Plasticine: Mutated from the Dark-Latex animals, they have no solid core or crystalline nucleus. This allows them to squeeze into any gap, crack or pipe unhindered. The drawback to this is, they can be flushed away if not careful.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Due to their diverging evolutions into many animal-like creatures, the white-latex creatures have formed many different factions. Some of them fight one another for Human Resources and control of territory.
- Non-Mammal Mammaries: Female latex creatures will develop pronounced human breasts after 'transfurring' Colin into themselves.
- Light Is Not Good: Because they will assimilate or 'transfur' any living being, the health or strength of their prey is irrelevant to them compared to their older dark-latex "cousins".
- Objectshifting: Light-latex beasts show an incredible faculty for transforming into and mimicking the appearance of everyday inanimate objects. Some even disguising themselves as plants to fool their prey.
- Removed Achilles' Heel: Light-latex beasts lack any solid crystalline mask that serves as the nucleus in a Dark-latex goo. A Light-latex monster appears to have no weakness its fleeing prey could exploit, but they've traded one Achilles' Heel for another; by having no solid mass they're now Made of Plasticine. Without a human host, they might get squashed, fall through gaps, or down drains, if unaware.
- States of Phlebotinum: Their gooey latex matter works on a cellular to submicroscopic level, so as such it can easily be transported in gaseous form, not just in liquid form.
- Trap Master: As their bodies are more adaptive and malleable, all are experts at catching their prey unaware. Several cervine-like creatures will often catch and devour an unsuspecting wandering Colin.
- Unstable Genetic Code: When the research teams failed experimenting with the dark-latex goos, they created the light-latex through mutations that removed the crystalline nucleus. This makes them very volatile and variable. They need a human host, and don't care if their prey is healthy, or sick. If too much of the light latex congregates, they become the Grey Goo, a sprawling malformation showcased with the White latex jungle area.
Dark Latex creatures
Dark Latex creatures
- Animal Jingoism: They HATE light-latex goo creatures, seeing them as Albinos Are Freaks; sometimes even ignoring Colin just to fight or eat each other. The feeling of hostility between opposing species is mutual.
- The Assimilator: They follow a set of rules, meaning that they'll seek out a preferably stronger human to transfur as a more suitable host, rather than mindlessly going after the sick or the weak. This 'rule' is merely a preference, and since Colin is the only human left in the tower complex, they'll pursue him regardless.
- Alpha and Beta Wolves: Dark Wolves put family and cohesion of the pack above all other primal needs, and have a Hive Queen-like monster as their leader. To leave the pack to become a lone-wolf is unthinkable to them and they'll never allow the exile to return.
- Bizarre Alien Biology:
- Their body shape is most similar to dogs or wolves, but they undergo a strange regeneration cycle where they revert into a crystalline form, and then back again into a Blob Monster. Only assimilating a human host inside them can halt this unending process.
- Their nucleus (their mask) is also powerful to function on its own, to the point that it is implied one could presumably rip a dark-latex's mask off and have the mask grow into a new latex beast. In his travel through the dark-latex wolf habitat, Colin can choose to put on a random dark-latex mask he finds on a table, which seals itself to his face and transforms him in both body and mind into yet another dark-latex wolf.
- Blind Without 'Em: Their optic nerves are not well-developed and usually can't see their prey in the dark or unless it moves. They can easily overcome this disability should they absorb a human host.
- Dark Is Not Evil: The black latex creatures, with their dark bodies and masks, look the most intimidating out of all the creatures you encounter. Despite this, not only is Puro — the only helpful latex creature you encounter — one of their kind, they also eventually cease pursuing the protagonist after sufficiently impressing the leader of their hivemind. The wolf cubs also don't try to absorb you, and prove to be an obstruction at worst and playful critters at best.
- Divergent Character Evolution: Its shown at the end of the game they're still evolving. Red crystalline structures undocumented by the research scientists are spreading out near the tower complex main lobby. If Colin touches one of these, he transfurs into a wolf-like creature with crystal ram-like horns instead of a mask.
- Flawed Prototype: In addition to the Death of Personality drawback that comes with being 'transfurred', Dark-Latexes have an indestructible body but a crystalline mask that serves as an Achilles' Heel. If they sustain enough trauma to the face, it'll reset their regeneration cycle and they'll end up as a puddle of goo on the floor.
- Gem Tissue: The black goo latex is derivative from crystalline structures that make up their basis and crystal face masks.
- Help, I'm Stuck!: As their crystals act as their nucleus for their Blob Monster bodies, they cannot squeeze into any tunnel or pipe with a smaller diameter than their cores. The Light-Latex beasts don't have this deterrent. Puro points out while they can't be flushed away, it's still an inconvenience.
- Hive Mind: Unlike Light-Latex experiments in which Hive Drones form their own small social groups, Zerg Rush, or go solo, Dark-Latexes always have a single Hive Queen of their respective species.
- Individuality Is Illegal: It is inconceivable to dark-latex monsters that one of their own would ever want to leave their family group. Whereas light-latex goo experiments are free to form their own Hive Mind, or chase after prey alone.
- Non-Malicious Monster: The wolf cubs are playful and don't seem to mind their white latex counterparts.
- Our Dragons Are Different: Dark-latex dragons are among the latex wolf counterparts and seem to be slightly more evolved than the wolves, seeing as how the wolves can only see motions while the dark-latex dragons don't have that limitation.
- Ominous Obsidian Ooze: Their basis was just black latex goo, that biomedical engineers infused with animal DNA to give anything it assimilated the desired-resistance to The Plague.
- Pet Baby Wild Animal: The black latex wolf cubs (unlike their light counterparts) are safe to handle without risk of 'transfurmation'. They're such playful critters that several scientists were known to have kept them as pets before reaching maturity.
- Picky People Eater: They'll prioritize over assimilating stronger healthier humans as hosts, rather than weaker sickly ones. Presumably this was intentionally encoded into them by their bioengineer creators to confront the Trolley dilemma
, where a surgeon can't treat all his dying patients so has to concentrate their efforts on those with the greater survival rate. - Species Loyalty: Different dark-latex creatures have no feelings of hostility towards one another, but ordinarily stick to their own kind and Hive Mind. Puro recalled that the Yu feng dragons and the Elder One didn't hate him like the other wolves did, but he couldn't live among them either.
- Thicker Than Water: While light-latex goos can form social groups or be solitary predators, dark-latex beasts always stick together in a Hive Mind. A lone dark-latex adult monster, like Puro, is abominable to them.
