The 'Lurker' was an early top-secret t-virus experiment created by Dr. James Marcus, developed from an amphibian frog base, based on a previous experiment conducted on an amphibian with the Progenitor virus. 1 2 3
History
During the early stages of the development of the t-virus, the most significant problem at the time was choosing a highly adaptable subject for the virus. During his research into the virus in a quest to create B.O.W.s in the late 80s, Marcus conducted three failed experiments with the goal of finding such a subject which would be a viable B.O.W. base. The Lurker is one of them, created after Marcus chose frogs as the samples to be the base of this B.O.W. 4 5 6
The Lurker was quickly abandoned as a potential weapon by both Marcus and the Umbrella Corporation research team that investigated it in 1988. However, many specimens had already escaped and found refuge in the Arklay Treatment Plant. As amphibians, this was their perfect habitat. Following the t-virus outbreak in Raccoon City, some smaller specimens were also recorded in the city's sewer system.
The Lurker experiment showed that there was little hope in manufacturing an efficient B.O.W. from an amphibian base with the t-virus, primarily due to their gaping lack of intelligence. It bears similarities to the later developed and improved B.O.W.-- Hunter γ, which is lacking in the same areas due to its amphibious nature.
Attributes
Following virus administration, the Lurker grows to around 20 times its original size, enabling them to swallow a human being whole. Their digestive systems develop to the point where they are strong enough to kill the swallowed prey easily. Its leathery, coriaceous tongue is used to capture prey, but has also become strong enough to impale a human with little effort. In this form, their eyes have degenerated to the point where they have lost their sense of vision almost completely. The space in which its eyeballs used to be has become a middle ear cavity, so their sense of hearing has greatly improved in exchange. They are able to hear almost every movement from a distance, with their ability to sense prey having developed to an almost supernatural level.
The mutated form of the frogs is considered to be more practical as a potential B.O.W. than most arthropods, which exhibit rampant growth and gigantism. However, its intelligence is severely low and it is known for its tendency to randomly attack all moving objects in its vicinity, making them impossible to control. No matter how much time has passed from the administration of the t-virus, their brains show no signs of development at all. Due to this, no effort was ever made to condition them to follow orders so they could become proper B.O.W.s, due to it being a fruitless endeavour despite their considerable offensive properties.
Footnotes
- 1. Lurker Notes
- 2. B.O.W. Report
- 3. INSIDE OF BIOHAZARD THE DARKSIDE CHRONICLES ~ page 068
- 4. biohazard 0 Kaitai Shinsho ~ page 072
- 5. biohazard archives ~ page 207
- 6. BIOHAZARD THE DARKSIDE CHRONICLES Official Guidebook ~ page 053