The Specimen

SAW-01, also called an Expie. Every experiment in this AU is one.

A SAW-01, put together from the game's own sprites. Move your mouse near it and it'll look around. Press B to make it bark.

Species	Human, fox and rat DNA
Height	130 cm (4'3") to 213 cm (7 ft)
Muscle and bone	Very dense
Legs	Digitigrade
Hands	Four fingers, opposable thumbs
Fur	Black, whole body
Tail	Black with a bright orange tip
Paw pads	Pink
Head	Three horns or spikes, made of cartilage
Eyes	Orange and bioluminescent
Blood	Yellow, no metal
Sex	Male or female
Speech	Talks like humans, plus chittering
Lifespan	About 100 years

Species and origin

Experiments are a mix of human, fox and rat DNA.

They were made to be sent down into the caves of the Grey Planet to recover lost company cargo. The company saw them as expendable and replaceable, not as living beings.

Height and build

Height: experiments range from about 130 cm (around 4'3") up to a max of 7 ft (about 213 cm).
Muscle and bone: experiments have very dense muscle and bone. This makes them much tougher and sturdier than they look, and it takes a lot more to injure them than it would a human.
Legs: digitigrade, meaning they walk on their toes like a dog or a fox.
Hands: four fingers with opposable thumbs, so they can grip and use tools just like a human can.

Physical appearance

Fur: black fur covers their whole body.
Tail: a black tail with a bright orange tip.
Paw pads: pink.
Head: three horns or spikes on the head, made of cartilage.
Eyes: orange and bioluminescent, meaning they glow. The glow fills the whole eye, including the part that would be white on a human.

Anatomy and body functions

Blood: yellow, with no metal in it, unlike human blood which gets its red color from iron.
Sweating: experiments can sweat.
Biological sex: experiments are male or female.

Growth and lifespan

The very first experiments, made in 2003, grew about 90% faster than humans. They went from newborns to the equivalent of a 20-year-old in roughly one year. This speed caused huge problems, because they also had kids just as fast (see the Record).

After 2011, controlled breeding slowed later generations down a lot. Experiments today grow about 20% faster than humans. Because of this, they have a birthday about every 10 months instead of every year.

Experiments can live to be about 100 years old.

Intelligence and personality

Intelligence: experiments are extremely smart, smarter than humans.
Emotions: they feel things very strongly and have deep, complicated feelings.
Temperament: they usually try to avoid conflict and fights, but they scare easily and are prone to fear and anxiety.
Speech: experiments talk just like humans do. They also have a language of their own called chittering (see Chittering).

Health chip

When the humans ran the facility, they put a chip in every experiment's head. The chip connects to the brain and shows the experiment a health panel with things like their heart rate, body temperature, oxygen, radiation and stats like strength and intelligence.

Even after the humans died, the experiments kept the chip. Every Expie born in the facility is taken into surgery before they turn 2, and a chip is placed in their brain, the same way the humans used to do it.

The difference is what the chip is used for. Under the humans, chips were tools for control. Now the chip is only used to monitor health, so the medical staff can keep track of the wellbeing of everyone in the facility.

Humans who are turned into experiments with the serum get a chip too, so they can be monitored the same as everyone else.