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The Cat, or Bayun, is a mutant appearing in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. Originally was designed as a part of Monster Ball Contest^{[source 1]}

Description

Bayuns prefer to live alone. Their bodies are well-developed and covered in scruffy fur, resembling that of a cat but about twice as large, broader and higher in the front than in the back. They are quite muscular — with very strong legs and a protruding jaw. The upper part of the head is also cat-like, though disproportionately large even compared to the body; the differences start with the jaws. They are extremely powerful and jut forward. Resonating sacs hang on the sides of the throat.

Although a model, texture, and engine class were created, the mutant never made it to release and was not restored in later add-ons. Most likely, the reason was that Bayun ended up as a copy of the Blind Dog. At the stage of development when it was scrapped, it had no memorable features.

In Heart of Chornobyl, these assumptions ring true. The Bayun also uses a scream/meow that stuns the player momentarily, like a bloodsucker. Presumably, the glands are used for the scream.

Appearances

Shadow of Chernobyl/Clear Sky

	This article or section is based on S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl cut content and may contain inaccurate information or speculation.

The Cat is implemented in the files of Shadow of Chernobyl and Clear Sky, along with complete textures and sound files; they can be added back into either game with the help of third-party modifications.

	End of information based on S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl cut content.

Heart of Chornobyl

The Cat, or Bayun, is a mutant appearing in Heart of Chornobyl. They are a fearsome predator akin to a bloodsucker in terms of strength and speed. They are significantly smaller compared to a Bloodsucker, but are also weaker. Bayun also have some psi abilities: they can imitate human voices and induce sleepiness in their victim.

One can be found being hunted by members of Duty, of which there are only two survivors. They will reward the player if they are able to kill the cat inside the building.

Relationships

Despite the author's vision of the mutant being very cautious, attacking stealthily, and avoiding humans, up until 2571, Bayun could display aggression toward the vast majority of Zone inhabitants, including humans. The only exceptions were Flesh and Izlom.

Starting from 2571, the mutant was assigned neutrality toward all mutants, becoming hostile only toward humans and the player.

Development

Concept Art

The mutant's concept art was drawn.

Design Documents

Description

2003

An example of Bayun's action: a stalker hears a child's cry and a woman's cooing in the ruins of a house: "There, there, little one, calm down." The stalker is stunned — a woman with a child in the Zone? He might pass by, but his instincts won't allow it. Tell me — what player would pass by? The man approaches more closely, cautiously peers into the dark doorway — it's empty. He realizes it's better to leave, turns around — and something furry with splayed clawed paws flies into his face…
And imagine how much trouble Bayun could cause a group expedition by shouting from the bushes in the voice of one of the stalkers: "Get down, bastards, I'll shoot!" and adding the sound of an automatic burst… If a random stalker happens to come near his lair, Bayun can, with a quite human voice from hiding, say: "Drop the gun, you're in my sights! I want to talk…" The stalker will drop the gun, and the little beast will pounce and run away!^{[original 1]}

Description of Bayun by Ladimir for the "Monster Ball" (translated)

According to the author's idea, Bayun has a very good auditory memory and can reproduce almost anything it has heard. A distinguishing ability planned for Bayun was to lure stalkers by imitating human speech into ambush-friendly locations — corridors, dense forests, ruins. Its fairly high intelligence allows it to figure out roughly which sound suits which situation.

…Bayun is a cat with all the usual consequences. He "walks alone" (there are no "Bayun packs"), sees in the dark, avoids water and fire, fears dogs (Blind Dogs) and most often eats birds and rats, which are plentiful in the Zone. And since dogs and rats in the Zone differ from ordinary ones, Bayun has specific ways to affect them. When defending against dogs, he uses not only vocal mimicry but also a special directed half-hiss half-wail. It sounds like an ordinary cat's meow in the heat of a March fight, only amplified many times. The wail also contains frequencies indistinguishable to the ear. A creature at which Bayun unleashes this close-range howl experiences a brief panic attack (chaotic behavior, increased pulse, trembling limbs, nausea, impaired hearing — all the delights of an acoustic strike), and the cat tries to sink his claws into it or simply run away.

Because a rat in the Zone is not only food but also a serious pack enemy, Bayun, when hunting, tries to sneak up suddenly, wail his shocking howl at the rat pack, grab one specimen and run before the others recover. Or he quietly approaches the rats, producing an inaudible lulling purr, then tries to kill as many rodents as possible before they regain consciousness. The second method is used against small packs (three individuals or fewer) and lone rats.

Bayun will not hunt a healthy human, although he may gnaw on a corpse, and he may try to kill a seriously wounded (or, in EXTREMELY rare cases, an unwary person who turned his back, or someone who was put to sleep) by biting the neck. Bayun is dangerous primarily when he believes a person has cornered him or threatens a nest with kittens. If a stalker accidentally sticks his head into a nook where Bayun hides, he risks suddenly getting a shocking howl in the face and four clawed paws. Bayun always aims for the eyes, so going blind or losing sight in one eye (if such an injury is implemented in the game) is quite possible. Then you'll come out of the Zone feeling your way to the doctors… Having attacked in this way, Bayun will most likely just run away.

If Bayun is cornered in a less literal sense — the person is farther than about 3 meters and does not yet see the cat — then the cat will simply lull, deceive, or scare him off: by imitating voices, cries for help, threats, screams of other Zone creatures, or the clatter of bolts. Even if Bayun doesn't later leap onto the person's back, there's nothing pleasant about spending another half hour in the Zone chasing sonic mirages… By the way, when Bayun purrs, imitates sounds, or hisses, his resonator-sacs inflate in accordance with the intensity of the sound. A Bayun with damaged resonator-sacs can only croak a meow — his special vocal abilities won't work in that case.

Another trait of Bayun is that he can get rid of an annoying human using other creatures. Hiding somewhere hard to reach, or tangled up in brush, Bayun can start making a lot of noise, barking, and using the call-sounds of local fauna… Any experienced stalker knows that such noise can easily attract anything — in the Zone you should even breathe quietly. So the person will flee that chaos as quickly as possible. If he leaves before Blind Dogs arrive or a tark gallops up (oh, how I want that magnificent horse-monster that came in second place to actually make it into the game!!! Personally I like it more than any other little creature sent to the contest!) the cat may well start pursuing the retreating person, occasionally creating terrifying racket again…

Moreover: the cat can run over to where other monsters or stalkers are and try to lure them where needed to provoke a confrontation. Not only to drive them away, but also to eat them. He finds one stalker, another stalker, then lures them toward each other hoping they'll start a shootout. He can push events along by imitating a pistol shot or the sound of a grenade pin being pulled at the right moment… Most likely the surviving stalker will not bother carrying away the enemy's corpse or burning it. Thus Bayun will have at least half a centner of "easily digestible, diet meat" after the person leaves. However, Bayun might lure stalkers (including the player) somewhere not to make them food, but to make them hunt for him. He leads the player to a monster lair, the player fries them with a couple of grenades — and Bayun is delighted: a ton of minced meat.

Bayun's purr can be not only lulling but also alarming. This is another way to drive off unwanted guests of all kinds who, unaware, have settled near Bayun's lair. An interesting effect can occur if Bayun tries to smoke out the garrison from some outpost. The soldiers will become restless day and night, argue, and may even abandon the post on their own…

But how do you get rid of Bayun if he plays tricks and doesn't show himself? Since he has a fairly keen sense of smell, you can spill gasoline or another strongly smelling liquid around. You can spray valerian on an open spot (or at least put a vial of it on the road) — this may attract Bayun, like any other cat (or may not), and then you can shoot him. You can throw something burning into his bushes; he'll certainly run away. Or you can leave him some food — Bayun will become less hostile toward the person feeding him once he gets used to the arrangement. You can't poison Bayun — he'll smell the poison immediately.

However, Bayun is not only trouble but also an opportunity to make good money. Bayun kittens are highly valued by traders — many wealthy lovers of live exotica dream of getting such a talking cat, which also guards a mansion well. By the way, a tamed Bayun raised among humans from childhood is no more dangerous to its owner than a regular Siamese cat. And in normal, non-Zone conditions, this beast would even become beautiful — it would fatten up and grow a normal, non-scruffy coat…

Bayun usually doesn't like to climb — it's hard with that jaw. But he most often nests as high as possible — so that dogs, rats, and other Bayuns can't reach the kittens. Attics, upper floors, roofs — these are the most suitable places. There are usually no more than two kittens in a nest. Besides them, you can find rags or someone's clothing in the nest — Bayun tried to warm his offspring. And there might be some useful things in the pockets, like a couple of coins… But remember: if you take the kittens — kill the female immediately. And make sure she's dead — Bayuns are incredibly resilient. If left alive, she will pursue you by all available means until she either rescues the kittens, kills you, or dies herself.

***

I asked a correspondent friend to post several pieces of the following on the forum. But it seems he couldn't do it. So I'm sending them directly to you — with additions that weren't there before.^{[original 2]}

Author's description of the mutant's behavior

Model and Texture

Trivia

• The mutant's sounds were never recorded — all sound events reference a single file containing one second of silence.
• The mutant's behavior was copied from the Blind Dog.
• In none of the known builds is there any in-game description of the Bayun.
• In Shadow of Chernobyl, one can from time to time hear cries of cats.
• In Heart of Chornobyl, Cats are known as Bayun, referring to the name of a magical cat in Slavic folklore.
• In Heart of Chornobyl, one can be found in Hlynka, the southern Garbage, behind a locked door.

Gallery

A cat mutant inside Inquisitor's zoo

The Bayun as seen on Sviatoslav Chervatiuk's ArtStation^[1]

References

Original

Sources

Notes