#taker

- ❄️🍎

Something that has been curious to me for awhile is Specimen 9. He's arguably one of the main antagonists of the game, second to Spooky. He's the only specimen that is based off of reality while all the others are based off works of fiction. He's the final boss. He's the only specimen whose entry is glitched in CAT-DOS. He's the only specimen that was deemed such a problem that he had to be killed by GL Labs, an attempt that was ultimately unsuccessful. He's given special status unlike all the other specimens.

So why is he the 9th specimen specifically? Just seems kinda random. Wouldn't it make more sense for him to be the 13th one? Well, there actually could be a thematic and narrative reason for this decision. It's quite interesting.

How Do We See the Number 9?

Numbers are neat in that they can represent many different things in different cultures. Like how 4 is seen as a number to be avoided in Japan due to its pronunciation sounding similar to the word death, or 666 being associated with Satan in modern Christian culture.

So what could be said about 9? Quite a lot. For starters, in the religion of Baháʼí Faith, 9 is seen as the number of perfection. Due to it being the highest digit, it is seen as a symbol of comprehensiveness and culminations. One article describes this well.

"Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha’i Faith, wrote that nine “is considered by the Bahá’ís as sacred, because it is symbolic of the perfection of the Bahá’í Revelation which constitutes the ninth in the line of existing religions, the latest and fullest Revelation which mankind has ever known.” 

That’s why one of our symbols for the Baha’i Faith is the nine-pointed star because it represents the unity, truth, and oneness of all religions. In fact, every Baha’i temple in the world has nine sides to it. For example, the Baha’i House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, one of only nine continental Baha’i Houses of Worship in the world, has nine entrances, nine surrounding gardens, and nine verses above the doors and alcoves."

Also worth pointing out that the word Baháʼ, in the Arabic alphabet, is assigned to the number nine. And Baháʼ is apart of the name of the religion's founder, Baháʼu'lláh. Further enforcing its divinity.

Similarly, in Hinduism, 9 is also seen as a perfect and divine number, due to it being the end of a cycle in the decimal system. There's also the 9 universal elements in Hindu philosophy (Earth, Water, Air, Fire, Ether, Time, Space, Soul, and Mind). The annual Navaratri festival, that takes place over 9 nights, celebrating the goddess Durga and her 9 avatars. And Navratna, meaning "9 gems", which is a sacred combination of 9 gemstones, since these specific stones have a mystical tie to the 9 Navagrahas. Who are basically celestial gods that represent the planets in our solar system.

Then we get to the culture of China. There and in other Asian groups, depending on what a number sounds similar to, it can be considered a lucky number or an unlucky number, like how I mentioned that 4 sounds similar to the word death earlier.

When it comes to the number 9 (九) specifically, it sounds similar to "long-lasting" or "long" (jiǔ). So it's often used to represent longevity and eternity. Very fitting considering it's also seen as the number of Heaven, due to it being the largest of the odd numbers and the largest of the single digit numbers.

It's because of the longevity theme with this number that lead to it being used by emperors in ancient China, whether it be putting officials in a nine-rank system or wearing robes with nine dragons on them. All a way of showing their power and hope for an eternal reign.

How This All Ties Back to Taker

I could go on and on of course, but you get the point. The number 9 is often used as a way to represent perfection or completion. Unity and longevity. Sacred and divine. This all makes sense when you consider Taker's completed humanoid form in the boss fight with him, especially taking account that he's most likely of Chinses origin with his history with Unit 731.

I've said something similar along these lines in my character analysis of Taker, but let's go through it again, while still making it feel a bit unique.

Taker was forced into a inhumane scientific facility that treated its subjects like objects, again. GL Labs had stripped Taker of his humanity, again. He had gone through attempted murder, again. He had nothing left, again. After GL Labs tried to unsuccessfully kill and dismantle Taker, he was left as a floating head. He was broken. Incomplete. He was more of an abomination than ever before.

He wanted to become human again. Put himself back together and become complete, whole. He would take the dead and get his old body back. Become a godly and everlasting figure. He did it before already. He nailed all those logs together, back at that old facility, and looked how that turned out.

He would go the whole nine yards. Anything to gain some semblance of his humanity back. He doesn't want to die. Not after having everything in his previous human life suddenly stripped away.

And… finally.

22 hours — almost a full day — of pure work.

Exploring digital art (yes, it’s still a new path for me, but I’m doing my best).

Let me introduce my Roblox Pressure OC — Taker.

Also known as Object Z-54.

A humanoid creature combining human and reptilian DNA. Direct combat is not his style: his theropod-like legs and powerful tail make Taker a natural sprinter — he survives through speed and observation.

His eyes are adapted to darkness, so bright light not only frightens him but actively damages his vision. He is intelligent, yet favors animal instincts over human empathy. Due to the structure of his jaw and teeth, he struggles with speech.

Physically weak and poor at obtaining food, he compensates with wit and resourcefulness. He won’t hesitate to steal something valuable from you and resell it to the right persons in exchange for temporary shelter and food.

I’d love to know if this character caught your interest and whether you’d like to see more of his lore (and yes, it is quite intriguing).

I’m considering telling his story through a comic format or a series of illustrated entries — we’ll see where it goes.