ENTITY NO. 69
THREAT LEVEL
1
Habitat:
Bright indoor spaces
Aggression: 0/5
Non-aggressive
Intellect: 2/5
Low-level intellect
Danger: 1/5
Causes minimal harm
Entity 69, best known as Lightlurkers or taxonomically as Luxsatietas nixtexere, are a species of cephalopod mollusk[1] native to the Backrooms. Their exterior sports several sets of pale, firm tentacles which can range anywhere from 24-32 in quantity. Lightlurkers are ~2.5 feet in width on average with their height on land being ~3.5 feet (these measurements including tentacles, as their main bodies are fairly small). Their tops feature a smooth, black chlorolamine[2] used for feeding on artificial light within indoor levels along with a collection of hook-like appendages that allow them to latch themselves into place. Hence their name, light composes most of a Lightlurker's diet, in tandem with mildews and calcium-rich particles scattered in the air.
Due to their minimal capabilities of offense - and as such, their lack of aggression, Lightlurkers serve as common prey to entities and wanderers alike. Once a Lightlurker secures itself to its chosen source of light, it becomes vulnerable to predation, as the process of detaching involves biological changes which last prolonged periods of time. Lightlurkers do, however, utilize their chromatophores to alter their appearance, camouflaging into their environment or putting on a deimatic display. Lightlurkers are not known to possess any threatening defensive features to dissuade predators from attacking.
Lightlurkers are colonial creatures that - more often than not - are seen in shoals[3]. While Lightlurkers are not exactly "social" given their non-active nature, they are able to produce chatters with their beak which can indicate distress. Studying the behavior of Lightlurkers has proven to be a significant challenge, as they are typically persistent in their deimatic displays upon sensing any trace of life in their environment.
Akin to other cephalopods, Lightlurkers are covered with chromatophores across their skin which allow them to alter their color and iridescence at will. While secured to a light, Lightlurkers will oftentimes disguise themselves among vines or mold; blending in as another growth on the ceiling. However, due to their distinctive scent and dimming of the lights, their camouflage typically proves to be useless in concealing into the environment. When threatened by a predator, Lightlurkers will flare their tentacles outwards and ripple their colors in a vibrant, hypnotic pattern while producing a loud chattering noise with their beak. Lightlurkers may also choose to slowly wave their tentacles and amplify the sheen of their skin, ensuring that any potential predators are frightened away by their threat display. Despite having little means of offense, Lightlurkers' threat displays are incredibly efficient against entities of lower intelligence, especially when done collectively in colonies.
In their adult stage, Lightlurkers are rarely active; only choosing to move when threatened or in their reproductive cycle. Newborn Lightlurkers hatch in clutches of up to 30 eggs which are each approximately the size of a thumbnail, resting on the parent's[4] top which faces their chosen light. To prepare for reproduction, the parent will form a space between the light and their chlorolamine, providing a large nurturing space for their young. Afterwards, the parent will release the eggs into this space through a siphon, taking approximately 4 weeks to incubate before the offspring are ready to hatch. In this time, the parent will enter a state of senescence, beginning to rest as their biological functions gradually slow until their decease. This is assumed to occur due to a decrease in nutrients - otherwise avoiding a painful starvation through this process.
In most cases, approximately 2-3 newborns will sufficiently grow from the light's nutrition, with all other offspring being forced out by the rapid growth of the others. "Runts" of the clutch will inevitably fall to the level's floor; most of these will either die on impact or be consumed by an entity. As for successful offspring, they will exit the nurturing space of the parent and move to a nearby available light to begin feeding. The remaining corpse of the parent decays several years later.
Lightlurkers are one of the few entities within the Backrooms that fit into an existing taxonomic class[5]. While Lightlurkers are the only known extant members of their order, they are otherwise best associated to Frontrooms life considering their lack of anomalous properties[6]; simply residing exclusively in the Backrooms. Their exact origin is unknown, however.
While not visible from the exterior due to their dense tentacle coverage, Lightlurkers possess three evenly-spaced eyes surrounding their main body, providing full horizontal sight of their environment. Their pupils typically have pointed tops and a wide bottom to receive a clear view of potential predators. However, Lightlurkers can only perceive heat and movement with their eyes, subsequently contributing to their low-metabolic nature.
Lightlurkers additionally conceal their beaks with their tentacles as means to blend into their environment. Albeit vestigial in terms of consumption, their beaks are commonly used to express a variety of vocalizations - most often being to indicate distress or as an additional factor to their threat display.
Aforementioned, Lightlurkers feed using a specialized plate-like organ known as a chlorolamine. From the exterior, the chlorolamine appears to be a glossy black disc positioned on the Lightlurker's top with a slight upward curve at the ends. This organ is mainly composed of translucent chitinous material on the exterior to allow for light to pass into the internal structure. The interior of the Lightlurker's chlorolamine consists of several small tracts woven to fit the space in a manner similar to intestines, filled with a pitch-black fluid. This substance is believed to absorb energy emitted by light, acting as a bloodlike fluid that flows to the chlorolamine to obtain energy, which can then be transported to the cells. Again, it is currently unknown how Lightlurkers convert this energy to biological matter during their growth.
Thick clusters of tentacles obscure a majority of the Lightlurker's external appearance, including their eyes, beak, and siphon. These tentacles, ranging from 24-32 in quantity, are ordered in two separate layers on Lightlurkers. The lower layer of tentacles is positioned near its base and are around ~2.6 feet in length, with these tentacles being longer near the beak. Longer tentacles of this layer serve as land mobility, while shorter tentacles are used to adjust their position while climbing on lights. The upper layer features exactly 4 tentacles which are commonly referred to as transcalcific tentacles. Transcalcific tentacles are positioned on the Lightlurker's top, surrounding the characteristic chlorolamine. While slightly squatter than the primary tentacles, transcalcific tentacles serve the crucial purpose of firmly securing a Lightlurker to its chosen feeding light. When a Lightlurker chooses to hook itself into a light, it will use its upper tentacles to wrap and coil around the fluorescent light fixture. Hence their name, the transcalcific tentacles will gradually build a rigid, calcified layer over themselves, ensuring that the Lightlurker cannot be removed from the light fixture.The earliest known documentation of Lightlurkers dates back to the late 1700's, in the form of wall etchings in Level 1 depicting several spiral-like formations appearing in the dark. These etchings serve as the oldest known proof of human discovery, though more formal documentation of Lightlurkers began in the early 1900's during the growth of significant groups such as the Backroom Colonists and the M.E.G..
Footnotes
- ↑ This class includes Frontrooms animals such as octopi, squids, cuttlefish, and nautili.
- ↑ The term used for a Lightlurker's photosynthesis organ.
- ↑ The collective noun for Lightlurkers.
- ↑ All instances of Lightlurkers are female, reproducing asexually via fertilizing their own eggs.
- ↑ Eukaryota > Animalia > Mollusca > Cephalopoda > Luxlollida > Luxlollidae > Luxsatietas > Nixtexere.
- ↑ Aside from their ability to feed on pure light. Studies are being conducted on how Lightlurkers are able to develop biological matter from majorly light.
CSS & Wikitext Help: Terraria
Previous Author: Extraluminus
Original Concept: AnnoyingAsteroidea from 2022.
Image(s): Image 1 unknown, images 2 and 3 created by Lemon.
