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 Tark supposedly a mutant horse, it was made for the Monster Ball contest in 2004.

Description

The mutant was drawn as a part of the Monster Ball contest by Menno Wittebrood and Jason Meyer from oblivion-lost.com forum. The contest organizers stated that the mutant awarded 2nd place would be implemented in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Oblivion Lost if development time allowed, or otherwise in the game’s expansions. However, the developers never began creating the mutant.

Illustrations by Menno Wittebrood

Main concept art

Illustration based on an in-game screenshot

Standalone Tark concept art

History

The mutant was conceived^{[note 1]} for the "Monster Ball" contest, where it won second place. Its authors were members of the English-speaking forum oblivion-lost.com^{[note 2]}, artist Menno Wittebrood and Jason Meyer from the Netherlands.

The mutant’s name is a reference to Andrey Tarkovsky, the director of the film Stalker. Along with the sketches of the mutant, its description was posted in the form of a diary belonging to a stalker gradually losing his sanity.^{[note 3]}

August 15(?), 2005. My name is Alexey Goronov. My name is Alexey Goronov. My name is Alexey Goronov. Goronov. I have to keep repeating my name. Goronov. It is one of the few ways for me to avoid insanity. It's so dark here, it's almost liquid. Water trickles down from somewhere high up. I have no way of knowing where it comes from. It tastes bitter. It is probably not good for me, but it is the only thing I have left to put into my system. My rations have long gone. My water flask is as dry as sand. How many days have I been here? I have no idea. I have no sense of time anymore. I sleep when my body shuts down. When I close my eyes, I see flashes of light. I have a perpetual headache. Dehydration. I sleep uneasily, and find myself having the same nightmare over and over again. I dream of being confined in a dark room, the door barricaded shut, with me huddled up in a corner, clutching my AK-47 with just two bullets left in the magazine. I strain my eyes, trying to penetrate the darkness, wincing at every thud on the door, at every scrape of those horrendous hoofs, at that terryfing whinnying. And every time I wake up to find that it is no bad dream. It is real. I try to move, but the pain in my upper body is nauseating. I think most of my ribs are broken. I can hardly breathe. I have no idea where Micha is. There are times I think I can hear him scream, somewhere off in the distance. We should never have split up when we entered this damned building. After the gunfire, there was only silence. Then they came after me. I tried to hide, but they found me. Picked up on my scent, probably. I..... there it is again. They are trying to make their way in. There are so many of them. God. I am so scared. I know I will die here. It's just a matter of time. But I am a Stalker. I have come here for a purpose. And while I failed in bringing back a specimen, I will report on what I have found here. On what is on the other side of the barricaded door. Here are my findings. I have included some sketches. For those who read it, may you learn enough for you to leave this hell immediately.

1) Description

The creature I wish to report on is a horse. Or rather, was. It no longer has a tail. Their hind legs withered, in favor of much stronger front legs. Standing tall, at its highest point it measures over eight to ten feet. Its neck, once holding its head proudly up in the air, has become a muscular unity with its back. Its biochemical structure appears to no longer be able to heal its wounds or broken bones. Its tissue is torn on numerous places, often exposing sheer muscle, sometimes protruding bones. Its blood seems very thick, barely flowing, and clogged everywhere. Its mouth no longer has lips, often baring a set of broken, rotten, filthy teeth, constantly soaked in white froth. While this alone struck fear into my heart, I was not prepared for what I saw in its eyes. Pure madness.

2) Method of movement

Although its physiology has changed drastically, its movement has basically remained the same. I have seen it walk, trot and run like hell, although no longer graciously. It can no longer jump very well, due to its under-developed hind legs, but its powerful front legs enable it to scale almost any slope. Once in deep water, it sinks like a stone due to its physiological imbalance. I think it cannot swim, or poorly at best. However, it is very fast on open land and almost overtook our car going full speed . One of its more distinctive qualities is that it can stand perfectly still for hours, blending into the surroundings and appearing as if out of thin air, in spite of its size.

3) Characteristics, behavior and places of habitation

This monster is twelve hundred pounds of sheer madness. It is highly unpredictable and can be very aggressive. It is nomadic, travelling in packs of five or more. Often, such packs contain several foals. Although they travel in packs, it appears this a mere remnant of their once sociable behavior, a collective memory none of them remembers the basis of. As a result they are highly aggressive towards one another. I have often seen them maiming or killing their own offspring minutes after they've given birth to it. They have even been known to eat their own, indicating that their diet has taken a carnivorous turn. They prefer to travel in darkness, and under dire weather conditions. One of the more horrendous sights I have witnessed was to see a pack travelling across the blasted lands during a downpour of rain that drowned out any light save for that of the occasional lightning. Their muscled necks bent down, limping through the mud, they seemed to sniff their way to wherever they were headed to. Smell seems to be their main sensory input. These horses are nearly blind. Yet, while they are highly dangerous, they are not malicious. They are simply insane. They often seek shelter in abandoned structures. They have developed carnivorous traits, their dented teeth enabling them to rip at flesh, although at great pain. But some things never change. I have also seen a pack of these creatures peacefully grazing in the Zone's equivalent of a meadow.

4) Legend of creation

I can only speculate, but from what I have seen and learned, I conclude the following. The countryside of the Zone was once rife horses, in content service of man. When the inhabitants were evacuated, they often had to leave their animals and livestock behind. Once inextricably linked with the prosperity of man, or lack thereof, the horses were now forced to fend for themselves. Many of them were seen attempting to flee the Zone, trying to return to their masters. They were often shot by the guard troops, under strict orders to prevent any possible radio-active contaminated life forms from getting out. This behavior constituted an important turning point. Over time, horses had developed a bond with humans to the extent that it was assumed a horse did not believe a human would harm it, and therefore was willing to lead itself in harm's way in their service. It was this emotional, historical, and some say evolutionary bond of mutual respect that disappeared over time. Horses were left stranded, an important ecological link severed. The horses, forced to live in the Zone, fed off the tainted land and waters, leading their offspring down the same path. Over time, these powerful animals evolved, mutated, carrying the scars of biological and emotional distress. As a result of evolving both physically and mentally, growing ever more insane, their attitude towards humans has now become a new and undocumented one.

5) Methods and types of actions on others in the Zone.

As I have stated before, they are nomadic and travel in packs. They are often oblivious to their surroundings. They feed collectively, on everything and everyone that is in their way when feeding time comes around. They fear nothing, because their insanity prevents them to. They have no goal or purpose. They just are, and insane at that. They do not interact with other species. There is no love lost between this creature and other creatures in the Zone, but also no focussed animosity towards any kind. Strangely enough, it does seem they are still drawn towards humans, most likely because of the collective memory I described above. But again, their madness prevents them from remembering why. It is this unpredictabilty that makes for this creature allowing itself to be led and patted one moment, and ripping a hand off the next. I have had one of these creatures walk past me at a mere two feet distance and completely ignore me. But Micha and I also just barely escaped with our lives the other day, just because, it seems, they had picked up on our scent from miles away and came charging over the hill in a white-frothed frenzy.

6) Combat tactics.

The basis of their aggressive behavior is sheer distrust of any creature other than themselves, courtesy of their insanity. Insofar as they can be conscious of this, their historical and natural place in their relationship to humans has been destroyed. They are frightened and angry, both emotions spinning in a whirlpool that drag them ever further down into the pit of insanity. Their acts of violence have no clear motive. Again, their behavior is unpredictable. Once a horse spots a prey, it will stand very still until he is very near, before attacking. Spotted at a distance, it will charge, hard and fast. Positioned directly in striking distance of their front legs, the horse will rear and lash out. Positioned behind its hind legs, it will stand on its powerful front legs and kick hard. I can still feel the incredible force that crushed my chest. Once on the ground, the horse tried to trample me. Luckily enough, I could get up in time. Next, it tried to sink its teeth into my neck, but I managed to dodge it. Lucky for me, for I have seen them rip flesh from bone like corn from the cob. Apart from the physical damage, we found that the froth caked and spraying from the horse's mouth is highly poisonous. It was our first indication that we were not alone in the building, as it was flaked and sprayed everywhere.

7) Fighting, winning, capturing, destroying

This creature is an extremely powerful threat, especially in numbers. However, it is a large, unarmored target. It has little defence against powerful firearms, especially when we fired at them from a considerable distance. However, it does take considerable firepower to bring down a horse swiftly. They are fast moving targets, especially once they spot a threat. Often several horses will advance at once. One effective strategy to get rid of a pack of horses (apart from steering well clear from them) is to aim from a safe distance in an upwind position. Shoot one, non-lethal shot into the middle of the pack, and the horse will panic and stampede. This often causes a fight amongst the pack, resulting in either all of them running in all directions, or killing each other off. At least they will be distracted. We tried to stay out of sight and make sure the horses didn't pick up on our smell. Once up close and in combat, I tried to stay at the horse's side, where it cannot aim its front legs or hind legs. I know it's an effective strategy, but I was simply too slow. Hence my chest. Its side also forms the largest target area. A shot in the head is lethal. Make sure that if you kill the animal from up close, you are not pinned down under the falling animal.

This is what I know of them. It is not much. But it must be my legacy, for I have nothing else left. All my life, I never bothered to find God. Now, I only hope he finds me in time to make it quick and painless. But I fear the worst. I.... Too late. The door. It's going. My God. They are so big. I have two bullets left. I shall keep one for myself. See you soon, Micha.

Original description from oblivion-lost.com

Gallery

The diary

Drawing of diary page 1

Drawing of diary page 2

Drawing of diary page 3

References